Hi everyone,

So yesterday I changed our rules regarding Leaks to be explicitly no-go territory. I knew that it was not going to be popular, but severely underestimated the degree to which this would upset our members. First and foremost, let me clear up that rules are being reverted and that there are a few other applications, then I ask that you allow me to apologize to those affected. Yes, rules are being reverted, but I’d encourage you to read all the way through so that everyone remains informed. Thank you for your time

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CURRENT Rules:

LEAK POSTS: It is preferred that leaks be posted and discussed on /r/VaingloryLeaks, where there are no restrictions to content. However, Leaks are allowed on /r/Vainglorygame so long as they fit the following criteria:

1) TEXT POSTS OR X-POSTS: Links must be contained within the text body. X-Posts must fit all additional Leak criteria (Title, NSFW)

2) TITLES MUST BE GENERALIZED: Rather than naming names, use general terms such as Hero, Item, Balance, Content, Rework. Don’t include specifics

3) MARK NSFW: We use NSFW to protect mobile users who do not wish to see Leaks. All Leak Posts must be marked NSFW

Failure to comply in part or whole may result in your content being removed, repeated failure may result in a ban at Moderator discretion

LEAK COMMENTS: When commenting about Leaks, spoilers for eSports matches, or just having fun and being halfway secretive, use this format:

[Example text](#spoiler) | Example text

Failure to comply may result in your content being removed, repeated failure may result in a ban

NEW: The following valid, rule-abiding Leak Posts removed during Leak-mageddon have been restored:

https://www.reddit.com/r/vainglorygame/comments/4ywwjd/new_hero_leak/

https://www.reddit.com/r/vainglorygame/comments/4yx1p6/more_pictures_of_that_new_hero/

https://www.reddit.com/r/vainglorygame/comments/4yx3ls/new_hero_other_leaks/

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NEW: /r/VaingloryLeaks is now a recognized subreddit on /r/Vainglorygame and appears in our sidebar along with other Sister Subreddits. Just as with /r/VaingloryGuildHall, we encourage leaks to be posted there, but as long as Leak Posts fit our rules, we will not penalize or adversely affect things posted here. Note that /r/VaingloryLeaks currently does not have restrictions outside of Reddit’s general policies--they’re all about leaks so you may post unfettered there (unless their Moderation team introduces rules, in which case we ask you to respect them as well as ours). That said, when sharing from /r/VaingloryLeaks to /r/Vainglorygame, users will need to ensure that any X-Post to /r/Vainglorygame fit our rules else the X-Post will be taken down

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Clarifications: There was a lot of incorrect information out there, hopefully we can set things right

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Bans: There was one ban enacted during “Leak-mageddon,” due to former ban avoidance, not a leak-rule violation. We did not attempt to censor negative reactions, and left key posts open for /r/VaingloryLeaks to allow Moderators to better gauge how the community felt and what numbers were also feeling that way

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Removals: All posts that were removed due to the now-reverted rules have been restored. Posts that were removed for non-Leak reasons will be considered for restoration on a case-by-case basis. You are encouraged to message the mods if you believe that your post should be restored, as this will expedite the process

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There was a lot of blaming and hate going around, and I don’t begrudge anyone for their reaction. HOWEVER, do NOT pull the other Mods into the dirt. Behind the scenes we’ve been discussing what works and what doesn’t with our Leak rules for quite some time. Every Mod has a different opinion in some way/shape/form regarding the rules and what should be done, but the team was split fairly evenly as to what we would do next, if anything

I was continuing to think about it myself and the disparity between supporting all Vainglory ToS and not supporting PBE-Vainglory ToS made it seem clear to me what we should do. As a lead moderator, I asserted myself and the rest is history. I made that decision and announcement in a terribly uncourteous manner, removing a few quick leaks and making the rules effective immediately. New rules or serious changes to new forms of rules should never be effective immediately—it’s not fair to our users and it’s just not a good way to operate in general. So now I’ll be a hypocrite and immediately do what I just said we shouldn’t do--as we immediately return to our old policies, but only with the goal of setting things right faster. Moderators and Communities have a mutual trust and yesterday’s changes definitely betrayed your trust to some degree or another, regardless of how you felt about the changes themselves. That is entirely my failure, and I take full responsibility for those mistakes

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For those concerned about SEMC involvement: There was no pressure at all. This was strictly a Moderator discussion and the reversion is also strictly a Moderator discussion. The team was more or less on the fence, but this reaction has made the team more comfortable taking a stand where we were before Leak-mageddon. SEMC’s policy is that they do not take a stance, however that manifests itself case-to-case. Whether you think that’s great or not, that’s simply how it is. They played no part in the change or this reversion, they just make the game and try to have fun in the community

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For those concerned about throwing out the results of the old poll: I was quite surprised by this reaction. From the moment I put that poll up, and for quite some time afterwards, I received a lot of flak. Why would I ask the community in the first place, and much less ask via a user-poll with potential for fraud? I heard not one soul say that they trusted the validity of the results. Apparently that changed behind the scenes, which was a large surprise for me, but we hear you loud and clear now. The vast majority of our users either aren’t bothered by how we were handling leaks, or are extremely bothered by the changes--there is hardly any benefit to gain from upsetting the latter group

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Whether changes (or lack thereof) result in praise or criticism, I really bleed over things like this even while the crickets chirp--it’s just my nature as a person and as a Moderator. I am sorry for letting many of you down. To those of you who supported me in various ways yesterday and earlier today, I hope this doesn’t dishearten you. I am honored to have received your support, and I hope that you’ll continue to support the Moderation Team and help us as we seek the best for everyone. We can do far better if we’re in it together :)

Cheers

Fierte