1. Part 3 - Fin

    Throughout this whole thing, I've been very clear on my wish to aid the community. That's all I've wanted, and I've gone about it with that in mind the whole time. I don't regret doing any of this; I fully believe it to have been the right thing to do and it was not on a small amount of thought. Once again, I'm super grateful for all the support, all the kind messages - from new people, from old friends, thank you so much to every single one of you :) . You guys are awesome, and regardless of what happens now, well - you guys are pretty damn cool in my eyes.

    I didn't want to put this entry out here quite so soon, but I've been getting poke-poked to release it as soon as possible. I guess 2-2.5 hours of thinking time is plenty (and I'd brought the idea up with Dragoneer previously, so it wasn't entirely new).

    I outlined a way that Dragoneer could fix everything, and he would not have to trust me at all to do so. I'm going to be showing that conversation log below - the whole thing.

    My hope was that he would have the courage to be honest, open, brave and to ask for forgiveness, publically to FA. Everyone makes mistakes in life. There's no shame in making a mistake. But it takes bravery and fortitude to admit you've done wrong and to ask for another chance.

    I wanted Dragoneer to admit the issues as being real, as proven by all the logs so far, and to stop attempting a cover up. A community built on a lack of trust does not work - and once the trust with a community is broken, you need to be extremely open and honest to get it back.

    Here is the full log of my conversation with Dragoneer, where I tried to get him to realise what needed to be done.

     kimithelion 11:15 pm
        If you're not willing to talk with me one-on-one, just say. But I have a way all of this can be sorted. Not just this, but all of the previous problems too. Vivisector, Diocletian, Eevee. All sorts of people. If you are willing to talk, I'm waiting. I don't hate you. I don't hate FA. I can't force you to talk with me directly, but... If you can find the bravery to chat one-on-one... I'm here.
        I saw you typing :-) . I'm not going to shout or be angry with you. No one knows I'm messaging you here, even.

     hyenafire 11:16 pm
        Don't take this the wrong way, but I have zero way to trust you. After our last "private" chat was made public, I do not feel I can trust you or that you're in any way trustworthy.

     kimithelion 11:17 pm
        You do not need to trust me for the solution.

     kimithelion 11:18 pm
        You've got a really good chance right now. With all that out there, you can start a clean state. You can come clean to the users. You can say sorry for all that's happened. And then from there, you can outline how you're going to solve things. Step by step, build back up.
        All of the corruption, all the empty promises. They're all revealed. You didn't have the courage to admit them yourself.

     hyenafire 11:19 pm
        You've already stated this before.

     kimithelion 11:19 pm
        Take the chance. You can have a fresh start.
        What's holding you back?
        Are you afraid of what the users might say?

     hyenafire 11:20 pm
        So you can post whatever response I give in your next log of leaks? No thank you.
     
     kimithelion 11:20 pm
        *Smiles*
        I can't convince you I won't, so I will not try.
        I'm willing to voice chat, if you are fine for that as "off the record". I want what's best for the community. Your chance is now. It's already out there. So just admit it. You fucked up, so what. Everyone fucks up from time to time.
        You can ask for forgiveness.
        Apologising is only half though. You have to give the other half too. How it will improve.
        To get the users' trust back, you need both halves.
        If you never come clean, the corruption/lies and such will remain even if improvements are made.
        And if you come clean but still nothing happens, users will view it as empty.

     hyenafire 11:23 pm
        We seem to have two different methods. You feel that to improve the community you need to set it on fire so that it has a chance to regrow. I want to mend things and cultivate it and try to improve it.

     kimithelion 11:23 pm
        That was my first line of approach. I spoke with you about all this stuff in the admin chat, and in private. Though even if that /did/ happen, the allegations of corruption and lies would remain (and rightly so; they were true).
        Sometimes you have to break things down to build them back stronger.
        With a foundation that's filled with holes, you can never have a solid structure on top no matter how hard you try.
        You never had the courage to do this yourself without any prompting. You hid your head in the sand. I've given the 'ooomph'. Make it happen.

     kimithelion 11:25 pm
        Not for me, not for you, or for Summer or Sciggles or anyone else.
        But for the whole community.
        If this just goes by, then two, three, five years from now, don't you realise there will still be these exact kinds of problems?
        My first post was almost empathic for you. I got quite a tapping for viewing you as "kind" and such. I do not hate you, at all. You're the only one who can do the right thing here, though, Dragoneer.
        Do you have the courage...?

     kimithelion 11:27 pm
        If you do the right thing on this, the blog will be replaced by a pointer to your announcement on FA, and I will back you up publically on there. Things can be mended and grow back stronger than before... But only if you give them the chance to do so.

     kimithelion 11:33 pm
        I realise even now it'd require you to be very brave, and might need some time to think about. If you'll give me a reply in a reasonable amount of time, I'll hold off on part 3 for now. You must get it out of your head though that I hate you, or hate FA, or anything like that.
     
     
    Dragoneer chose not to reply to me. Not only that, but Dragoneer mentioned in the admin chat (yes, I still can see what's being said - multiple sources, and no, don't fire more random admins as believe me it'd be like roulette) how I'd told him I "think the site should be torn down and rebuilt from fresh". You can quite clearly see above that that's not the case and not even the slightest bit representative of what I said.

    I tried. I did my best. This blog will all remain online - all the entries are backed up and referenced in other places.

    When I was young, an old lady said to me that it's okay to not achieve every goal, so long as you give it everything you've got. Even after all this, all the lies about me, the sharp actions, the denial... I still was willing to hold my paw out to him and back him up, to tell people "give him a chance, let his actions speak for themselves". He smacked my paw away and instead chose to live the lies and corruption he always has.

    As I've been saying all along, I wanted what's best for the community. I'm not the antichrist of FA (makes me laugh even reading that...!) FA does have a place, but... When even given a chance such as the above... Mmm. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.

    There are other things I've not revealed - quite a lot - but I take on board the comments of people that the first post contained (most) of the things most relevant to users.

    One final time - thanks everyone :) . It's been one hell of a ride. 17.5k views and counting. For the most part I'm a very quiet and shy individual; shall remember these unique few days for the rest of my life! Sometimes you just gotta stand up and do the right thing even when others are scared to do so. Especially when others are scared to do so.

    Goodnight.
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  2. Part Two - Q&A, More Logs...

    Good evening again, everyone!

    So - since the last post was published, there have been an astonishing almost 12,000 views - really did not expect quite so many, so needless to say I'm pretty pleased with that.

    The initial plan was just to leave it after the first post figuring that Dragoneer, Sciggles and co would get the message and not go around claiming the logs are fake and such.

    In the admin chat last night, Sciggles decided that she was going to try to get the blog pulled. Sorry, but I read the rules and such before I released such a thing.

    There was a part of me that hoped that they would completely come clean, admit everything and build things up from scratch. That was seemingly naive, and so to convince the doubters like Sciggles that this is indeed genuine, truthful and honest, I'll have to provide more evidence!

    First though, I'll start with some questions/answers. The response I've got both privately and publically has been incredible - close to 100% positive, and the sheer volume of it - wow. Thanks to all of you for coming together.

    Questions/Answers:

    Q. Why did you do this?
    A. As my first post highlighted; it's an unhealthy direction for the community to go in when the leaders of such a large vehicle for the community do nothing but lie, are corrupt and misleading. I did this to offer a valid solution that I personally believe in (Weasyl) but also hopefully to give Dragoneer, Yak and co a kick up their asses that they were not able to give to themselves all this time.

    Q. Do you hate FurAffinity?
    A. No - not at all, as the following log demonstrates:

    [08/04/2013 23:58:59] Simba: I've received dozens of IMs from people I wasn't even aware of being super positive :) .
    [08/04/2013 23:59:12] Simba: Even if it doesn't work, at least I can say I did my best and I tried.
    [08/04/2013 23:59:45] Simba: They don't need change, they need an absolute revolutionary miracle. If this doesn't spark it, there's no hope.
    [00:00:01] Simba: Indeed - some have already said "it's a valiant effort, but it's already too late", sadly.
    [00:00:18] Simba: That makes me sad. But at least I got out there are did my best.

    There were some admins (Trpdwarf, Summercat and others) hanging on by the skin of their teeth saying "oh it'll change" and such. If the lying continues, part 3 will probably contain these logs. If something this monumental does not cause the change required, then nothing is large enough to do so. It would be naive and unacceptable, unfair to the users to believe the empty promises another 6, 3, 1 month and not do something they cannot simply brush off and ignore like they have all this time. I don't wish to kill FA, but FA will kill itself unless the required changes are made before further stagnation and corruption drives the rest of the userbase to follow the ones who've already moved on.

    Q. Do you work for Weasyl?
    A. Again, no. There was a post on Reddit made by a guy claiming to be me who said he's on Weasyl staff - not true. I wish it was true; the place I can assist the community most is by working hard as a coder and staff member on that site. It's the direction I believe is correct, positive and best right now. Weasyl is not furry-specific but it has a large enough furry presence that I truly believe it is the best place to move on to. I've spoken directly with the directors of Weasyl who do not wish to harm inter-site relations. That's fine - fair enough. If I was offered a spot, I would take it; it's where I can help out most, and any backlash, you can give to me, rather than anyone working for Weasyl. For now though, no, I do not in any form work for Weasyl.

    Q. Are those logs real?
    A. Yes - haha, very real. The only one that was significantly changed (and only by removing lines) was the defence of Chase by Dragoneer relating to him leaking admin logs. The stuff I was talking about (the lines I removed) were not really relevant to the topic of Chase leaking (they were specific to my case), so they were not worth leaving in. I fixed a typo in one other log where I grammar failed at the time. Apart from that, they are all presented 'as is'.

    Q. Would you be willing to talk with Dragoneer about things in private?
    A. Yes. I've sent him messages. I was ignored. That's Dragoneer's choice.

    Q. Would you rejoin FA staff and sort things out, please...?
    A. No. I've done what I can. This is actually one of the questions I found toughest to answer on a personal level when I was asked, as the user clearly was dedicated to FA and was quite obviously upset they'd been lied to for so long. I think Dragoneer is too arrogant to bring me back anyway, despite me throwing all this out here to stop the recursive bullshit of "it'll be better tomorrow". Tomorrow never comes. I'm happy to sacrifice my position as an FA admin to give you guys all of what you've wondered for years, and for the hope that maybe now it's all out there, Dragoneer and the others might for god sake do something about it rather than all the empty promises. Tough love.

    Q. Are there other admins apart from the ones you mentioned in part 1 who are corrupt?
    A. Yes, but to a lesser degree. Though it was already long - I even had to hold back on the Chase section; that alone could've been 20 pages! Even staff not directly involved decided to be immature about the situation, for example here is FancySkunk making light of the whole thing: http://postimg.org/image/mr4hkou6v/ . I'm glad to see the humour of the whole situation was well-received :) .

    Q. How do you feel now?
    A. Grateful, I think sums it up. I knew I would get a positive reaction from the community by doing this, but I did not realise quite what scale it would be on, or just how positive. Dozens of messages from people I'd never even heard of, almost 100% support - dang. Just want to take this moment to thank every single one of you who have passed this on - every single one of you who has either publically or in private expressed your gratitude. You guys are awesome - I'd buy you all a drink except - wow - I'm not that rich ;) . From all corners of the earth though, you guys are fucking awesome.

    Logs - Part Two:

    This time I'm going to be a little more focused on what I talk about rather than giving a wide but not-too-deep look into a lot of different pieces of corruption.

    Sciggles has mentioned how the logs I've posted are edited, fabricated, yadda-yadda, yet when asked to provide logs, she refuses. So, for Sciggles' benefit and everyone else, just to clear things up and make sure it's understood just how honesty works, I'm going to give a deeper view of this rabbit hole.

    I'm going to be focusing on tickets. This is something that affects all users. You guys don't want to wait days or weeks or months for ticket replies - to be honest that's a total disgrace. I'm personally sorry for all of you whom I told "I'll refer a tech admin to it." That's just a standard line we give when we're faced with a technical issue. We link Yak/Net-cat to it, and they "take a look at it". I'm sorry having to say that to you guys when I knew fully well that they literally would not give a fuck. That's technical tickets though. Sciggles does not deal with those. Let's begin.

    First I'll highlight the lack of communication. Communication, as everyone knows, is key for a position of responsibility:

    [00:31] <@Sciggles> Just take it slow...I really want everyone properly trained
    [00:31] <@Sciggles> no rush right now, get it done right from the get go
    [00:32] <&Kitashi> Sciggles: yeah, but for the past week, we've literally done nothing to further admin groupings other than ask for preferences. Lots of time spent doing nothing.
    [00:32] <@Sciggles> Kitashi yes I have
    [00:32] <&Kitashi> Oh?
    [00:33] <@Sciggles> Yes. I have been chatting with Bazeel and writting up training methods. I don't like that you have already placed leads yet because I want everyone to start off the same till I get each group trained so everyone is on the same page...I have been doing pretty good with it so just give me the time I need to do it right
    [00:33] <@Sciggles> One group at a time
    [00:34] <&Kitashi> If we're both going to be working on admin groupings, then we need to improve communication regarding the project, because I had no clue you were doing any of that
    [00:34] <@Sciggles> You weren't online and I told you I was going to be contacting Bazeel and I told you I wanted to do it one group at a time
    [00:35] <&Kitashi> Also, as I said before, this is just a tentative outline for who's in what groups and who's the leads -- still very open to change.
    [00:35] <@Sciggles> Ya but I still don't think leads should be placed in there yet
    [00:36] <&Kitashi> Alright, I'll move the leads to be with the groups, then. That'd just leave Bazeel and Jasu as leads?
    [00:37] <@Sciggles> Just don't rush this :) I am getting things done. And no, Bazeel is not going to be a lead. He said he will not have the time to start with
    [00:43] <~Dragoneer> Sciggles has been doing some fantastic 1:1 with admins, taking her time to ensure they're well trained and good to go.

    Oh, she has, Dragoneer? Such as losing information and waffling about non-existent Wiki pages for which a link is to be provided at some point in the future? And doing fantastic 1:1 work with Kitashi to get all this set up, such as - I don't know - leaving him an offline message to outline how things are going?

    What's this group, nonsense, you might ask? Well, Sciggles had an awesome idea to add more bureaucracy to the site. She thought that by splitting admins into "specialist groups" trained by none other than herself and the one, the only, the talented Chase, things would become more "consistent". Consistently crap, bogged-down, corrupt, one might say. We didn't really get a say on this, though we did voice it. For example, in the following log:

    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> Consistent moderation, cool - we're already pretty consistent and fair.
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> But we have numerous tickets of "crap, why is this not working?"
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> "Weasyl can do this, why can't you?"
    [01:24] <~Dragoneer> SimbaTheLion: Yak has been working on the system to allow coders to work on items nd promote them to the site without overwriting other people's work and giving people full access to the site /can/ be dangerous at the same time.
    01[01:24] <@SimbaTheLion> We might improve to 90% consistency from 75%, but like, if the site is not so good...

    Yes indeed; the empty promises of "oh, it'll sorta maybe happen at some point LETS SAY MONDAY!!!" feature once again. I'm eager for that one Monday in 2015 to see if it does happen.

    Let's hear some more from Sciggles:

    [16:31] <@Sciggles> Okay, harassment group has started and I am training people in it now. Sheepdust is all set up to handle those tickets and if others are interested in joining that group please message me. If you have not been trained specifically for harassment tickets please do not work on them yet!!

    Oooh, training. That sounds good. Wait... I've been working as an administrator/moderator for eight years specialising in harassment and I'm being disallowed from helping the users because I've not been "trained" by someone who has literally no clue? Someone who claims these logs are edited, fabricated... Mmm. And so is added more timelag, more delay to users.

    I eventually did get in the harassment group even without 'training' (Sciggles promised me there would be a voice call along with a Wiki sent, instead I got a wall of text on Skype. Thumbs up!) It's there where things became pretty vile.

    Let's start off with some fun with good old Chase:

    [05/04/2013 15:25:55] Chase: Kimor, is it okay if I follow up with the user? I won't even bring you up. I want to be thorough, and again, provide a feeling of reassurance to the user.
    [05/04/2013 15:26:23] Henry Thiel: Chase, I'm uncertain if that would be a good idea in general...
    [05/04/2013 15:26:29] Henry Thiel: Until the user responds again.
    [05/04/2013 15:26:39] Kimor Knossos: You're going to do it whether I am OK with it or not.  Please note my objection, and the fact that I feel that it is undermining the authority of the administration in this matter.
    [05/04/2013 15:26:55] Henry Thiel: Kimor already agreed to kick it up to you if she replied again.
    [05/04/2013 15:26:56] Kimor Knossos: It will only encourage her to keep responding over and over again in future tickets
    [05/04/2013 15:27:02] Kimor Knossos: And will encourage all otehrs to do so
    [05/04/2013 15:27:40] Chase: Kimor, I'm not intending to undermine you; however, I am the leader here and it is my duty to respond where necessary, and I feel that in this circumstance, it is.
    [05/04/2013 15:28:00] Kimor Knossos: I'm not saying you're undermining me.  I'm saying you're undermining the administration
    [05/04/2013 15:28:02] Sciggles: Users should have the right to look to other admins for help when they feel a ticket is handled incorectly (NOTE I AM NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ACTION, JUST HOW THE USER FEELS)

    when they say they feel like that always offer to pass the issue to another admin (usually team leader)
    [05/04/2013 15:28:20] Henry Thiel: I'll also want to note my objection to reopening it without further input from the user.
    [05/04/2013 15:28:26] Kimor Knossos: Alright.  But you two had better be prepared for a *deluge* of tickets
    [05/04/2013 15:28:32] Henry Thiel: I do not think it's a good idea.
    [05/04/2013 15:28:34] Simba: I agree with Kimor and Summercat.
    [05/04/2013 15:28:48] Kimor Knossos: Because a lot of users keep responding in hopes that the squeaky wheel will get the grease
    [05/04/2013 15:29:09] Henry Thiel: If the user reopens the issue, then it would be time to escalate it to the next level.
    [05/04/2013 15:29:15] Chase: I understand what you're both saying, but at the end of the day, I'm not happy with the end result.

    This is fallout from a ticket where Kimor behaved completely appropriately - perhaps not perfectly, but the ticket was definitely not mishandled. Chase throws around his "I am the leader here!" nonsense and Sciggles just seems to flop around. The ticket had been closed. When tickets are closed on FA, users are free to message if they wish for further feedback. No message was received from the user. Chase went out of his way as you can see, going against Kimor, me and Summercat (Henry) merely to cause trouble. Chase, a good leader is determined by their actions, not by throwing around "I am the leader!" You were made leader because of the way Dragoneer and Sciggles are with you - see post 1 for more of that.

    [05/04/2013 15:55:51] Chase: Alright. To prevent us from going in circles on how the ticket was handled, I'm going to say this and then we're moving on.

    Chase waves his authoritay around much like Cartman some more and then the topic is moved to one side.

    [05/04/2013 18:34:31] Sciggles: "Whoever told you that is wrong, very wrong."

    Simba everything I enforce and say comes from Dragoneer himself on how he wants me to do things. We are to do things the way /he/wants them. You may not agree but you all are supposed to be doing this. If a user disagrees with actions taken they should always be allowed the option to open a ticket on the matter or have the isssue pushed up, MANY say no, others say yes and when the situation is handled by someone else they cool down or end up having action taken against them.

    As I said I brought the issue to Dragoneer's attention and will let you know what he says.
    [05/04/2013 18:35:15] Simba: [05 April 2013 18:34] Sciggles:

    <<<  If a user disagrees with actions takenSure they can.
    [05/04/2013 18:35:21] Simba: You're saying before any action is taken.
    [05/04/2013 18:35:29] Simba: I agree with Dragoneer. I do not agree with you.
    [05/04/2013 18:35:45] Sciggles: Admin action was taken, they contacted the user asking them to remove someone from their profile. User disagrees on that request.
    [05/04/2013 18:36:01] Simba: Simba sighs.

    Here you have the very moment I decided to myself "there is no hope, they simply do not listen or learn". This is referring to another ticket Kimor handled - the one with the icon mentioned in the first post. The admin action would be of course, for intimidation and refusing to remove an icon despite the user asking, a small suspension and removal of the icon. Sciggles instead decided that because the user disagreed with the other person's icon being removed, it had to be raised to the team leader! You can clearly sense my frustration in the final post. I agree with "the user can raise it if they disagree with admin action". Sending a note to a user is not admin action. If you have someone's icon on your page and they don't like it, and you refuse to take it off and act intimidatingly, there is no way in hell it should not be removed and a small suspension put in place.

    1,600 tickets. We got that down - way down. Since Sciggles started her nonsense, it's more than doubled again.

    To finish I'll share with you the one thing that personally appalled me most about Chase:

    [05/04/2013 19:04:42] Chase: I personally don't care how it's done on SITE B or how it was done years ago, it's how it's being done NOW. And if you don't like it, frankly, you can resign.

    I did as you asked, basically. Following this, I was done with FA. This person is meant to be a "team leader". He headed off to sleep soon after. I wished for him to sleep well, resignation already in progress in my mind.

    Conclusion to Part Two:

    That's some more info. I hope that it's even clearer now just how honest all of this is to those like Sciggles who seemed to doubt that. These are the people who are running FA. FA doesn't need a change. FA needs a miracle.

    Hopefully two parts will be all that are needed. Be honest with your users, cut the crap, stop lying, stop being corrupt.

    I still hope with my hand on heart that I'm able to help out with Weasyl - it's where I'd be able to better the community and help you guys most, though I respect the directors' caution and not wanting to start some kind of war. I do not hate FA. I don't even hate Dragoneer. I do hate the lies, the corruption, the disgusting attitudes in some cases.

    Once again, a link to Kitashi's FA downloader and Weasyl uploader:

    https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1404373/projects/index.htm

    See you next time, if there sadly needs to be one.
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  3. “Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves and those we love." - Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks

    Greetings everyone.

    Take a seat and listen - I'm here to tell you a tale like no other. A tale with many twists and turns - not unlike my own, though my tailtuft's second to none.

    I'll be talking about FurAffinity. The good, the bad and the ugly. Everything in pure honesty, using logs direct from admin chats, not altered in any way, shape or form. I'll be telling you plenty that the users are not told - and indeed there's some stuff the admins are lied to about also.

    First things first. You can call me Simba. I was an admin for a few months on FurAffinity. Yes, you can (and should) show this to all of your friends. The quote at the top is from a man who inspires me greatly. I don't like it when people lie. There are personal friends of mine - people I love and treasure deeply - who are deeply ingrained in the furry community, so much so that it's almost as if it's their "primary life". To see them fed such dishonesty, never having a full picture and such is not acceptable, and it is not something I will tolerate as a person with morals and care.

    Before I became an FA admin I heard stuff I dismissed as nonsense about "oh god, the FA admins, what a bunch of..." - I simply thought upon this sort of comment as the disgruntled whines of a user who had been punished rightfully for breaking a rule. It was not long after I became an admin that I began to realise a lot of what was being said is true. Very true.

    We start our tale with one whom I'm sure many of you are familiar.

    Chase:

    Having mostly dismissed the hearsay before becoming an admin, I was not really aware of this Chase person or what he had done. Chase is an old admin who was dismissed from his role for extremely inappropriate conduct and user outrage at what he had done. He was allowed back on the admin team. For those of you who are not aware, his FA admin page is Carmen. You can find it here: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/carmen .

    I'm now going to provide some conversation logs. The first shows Dragoneer openly admitting hiding Chase from the users.

    [04:55] <~Dragoneer> Chase may have had a rocky past previously, but he was a good admin. We're still on great terms. He's basically going to be coming in to help with harassment tickets (and only harassment).
    [04:55] <~Dragoneer> Kitashi: He and I got into a fight.
    [04:55] <&Kitashi> Ah :x
    06[04:55] * @Hendikins twitches
    [04:56] <~Dragoneer> Hendikins: ?
    [04:56] <@Hendikins> I'm just thinking PR.
    [04:56] <~Dragoneer> Again, hence with all admin accounts, why he's on an alt and it's on the downlow. If it comes out, we'll announce it.

    Things then continue:

    [05:03] <@Hendikins> I can't veto this (obviously), but it definitely trips my "this might not be a good idea" flag.
    [05:03] <~Dragoneer> Ahh.
    [05:06] <@Hendikins> At a minimum I'd put this to the whole team rather than making any sort of executive decision.
    [05:06] <@FancySkunk> Hey, the MLP main characters aren't considered underage are they?
    [05:06] <~Dragoneer> Hendikins: I was going to address the team tomrorow.
    [05:07] <@Hendikins> Ah, but is it a "What do you guys think of this?" address, or an "I'm doing this" address?
    [05:09] <~Dragoneer> I was going discuss with people I am planning on doing it, and here's why. If there were objections... whatever. Chase was only removed because of the fight. He was a good admin otherwise.

    Dragoneer is very good at twisting things with this Chase person, it seems. Even when other admins such as Hendikins make their disapproval clear. And as noted above in this section's header: Chase was not simply removed over a fight. Quoting directly from Wikipedia, referencing Chase's home state: "On October 1 2011 the state of Florida State Law 828.126, F.S went into effect, banning sex with animals". And therein lies the user outcry - not that I'm accusing or such. 

    The logs go on:

    [05:27] <@TrpDwarf> Is the possibility of another PR bomb worth the extra hand? I'd like to see all staff weigh input
    [05:27] <&Kitashi> Why do you think there'll be a PR bomb?
    [05:27] <@TrpDwarf> Chase was not popular (to my understanding) with a lot of users
    [05:27] <~Dragoneer> Chase was removed because I got into a fight. And Chase also did some stupid shit years ago.

    I wonder what "stupid shit" that could have been.

    They continue, and Dragoneer confirms what all the users were postulating:

    [05:36] <@TrpDwarf> The only thing I've ever heard of him is he's a zoophile.
    [05:36] <~Dragoneer> That's al I care about.
    [05:36] <@TrpDwarf> I don't know if that's true or not but you get what I'm getting at?
    [05:36] <~Dragoneer> TrpDwarf: Yes, he did some stuff years ago that he regrets.

    The discussions goes on over days (it's like a soap opera in there, honest):

    [02:12] <@Hendikins> When we've got a glut of staff, bring somebody else in is a slap in the face.
    [02:12] <@Hendikins> Particularly when it is done without consulting the team.
    [02:13] <~Dragoneer> If you want to be trained in a specialization just ask Sciggles. She'll take the time to train you and bring you up to speed.
    [02:13] <~Dragoneer> Hendikins: He's a former admin I asked personally to lend a hand.
    [02:13] <@Sciggles> Carmen is Chase. Chase used to be on staff, hes not a newbie.
    [02:13] <@FancySkunk> Yes, but part of the issue is that we're hiding who he is.
    [02:13] <@Hendikins> Sciggles: I am aware of this. I did have some feedback on the matter before it didn't go to consultation.

    I wonder why it didn't go to consultation, Hendikins, when we can all clearly see you questioned things above, and Dragoneer promised that discussion!

    I'll move on from this for now to talk about Chase leaking staff information (which ironically was why they removed me from admin. Apparently Dragoneer got logs. Well, might as well live up to the 'crime'!)

    My next segment is from when I personally reported Chase for leaking admin information. Here's Dragoneer's response after I presented my evidence (it's a 1-on-1 convo, a lot of my lines are removed since Dragoneer is slow at replying):

    [01:55] <Dragoneer> I've known Chase for a long time, he's not the kind of person to leak it.
    [02:07] <Dragoneer> I don't know. I've never known Chase to leak anything. Accused, yes, but never had. If he did, I would not have brought him back on.
    [02:12] <Dragoneer> Accused, but no proof was ever found. I've seen a ton of other admins accused of things like corrupt, bribes and more. Never saw a shred of proof of it.

    Dragoneer admits in the public admin chat that Chase is one of the "few people I can trust".

    That will do of him for now. Moving on! I have far more but this section's already long enough for today :) .

    Sciggles:For those who do not know, Sciggles is Dragoneer's wife. She was also removed from staff then added back. You know all those tickets you guys have which took a ridiculous amount of time to get resolved? Well, here's Sciggles view on things:

    [05/04/2013 18:22:44] Sciggles: Stay calm and tell them your request still stands but you are passing the issue to a lead admin
    [05/04/2013 18:23:23] Simba: So every time a user questions the action you want it to be passed to a lead admin/group leader?
    [05/04/2013 18:23:24] Henry Thiel: ...wat.
    [05/04/2013 18:23:29] Sciggles: Yes

    ^ This was referring to a ticket handled by Kimor, a competent mod, who had subsequently received an intimidating message from the user. The user had an icon of a 'former pet' on their page, and that person wanted it removed. The user refused and sent abusive messages. Instead of being allowed to remove the icon (as is obviously correct) and suspend the user for being abusive/intimidating and such, Kimor got told the above. Henry Thiel is Summercat, another of the admins who was removed (Kimor was also).

    When we new admins were brought on, we got the number of tickets down from about 16 pages (100 per page) to 3 pages. Sciggles had an obviously splendid idea of decided to split everyone into "specialist groups" and then saying training was required for said groups! I've got around 8 years of experience as a mod/admin dealing with harassment, so naturally I went into that group. Sciggles then informed me we would have a Skype chat for her to "train" me. She was late. Not only was she late, but when she arrived she had the following to say:

    <Sciggles> It looks like it was pulled offline last night so Neer is trying to poke Net-cat to get it back on. That had all the information I was going to give to you on how we handled certain issues. If you had any questions or anything or think something should have been added to it that wasn't was basically what we were going to go through.

    By "it", she's referring to a Wiki page with "FA harassment guidelines". She then proceeded to wall of text me with a lot of very generic information I knew within a month of my 8 years doing this stuff. I asked politely at the end:

    [17/03/2013 15:39:09] Simba: Could you toss a link to the Wiki page please once it's back up by the way :) ?
    [17/03/2013 15:39:14] Simba: On Skype is fine for that.
    [17/03/2013 15:41:53] Sciggles: Absolutely!

    Did I ever get the link? No. Does such a Wiki exist? I've never seen it if so.

    I don't think Sciggles is inherently a bad person, but I do strongly think (and the evidence shows) that administrative qualities are lacking. I'm sorry for those of you who have tickets open from months ago (there are 100+ if not 200+ of these). I'm sorry for how hopelessly inefficient things are with nonsense like the first quotes in this section. Which brings me handily on to our next of this tale's main characters!

    Yak:

    Yak seems like a bit of a mysterious person. I'll start off by telling you a little bit about my leonine self. In real life I'm a software developer. I work on things that are very large scale, and basically make it so that your Internet keeps working the way it should. My software has to have at least 99.999% uptime or people get very annoyed with me. I write code, I design it, I review it and I test it. Yak. I'm told Yak plays a lot of games, so he is very quiet in the admin chat, but I'll share with you a discussion a few of us had:

    01[17:46] <@SimbaTheLion> What's the reason why coders aren't currently allowed to contribute fully and such?
    [17:46] <&net-cat> Pretty easy, except for making the actual UI to do it.
    [17:46] <&Kitashi> Simba: In case we break something
    [17:46] <@Summercat> Both on the topic that brough it up, also on Kitashi's complaint.
    [17:46] <@Hendikins> The biggest problem from where I'm sitting is that even if we we're getting changes checked in, nobody is interested in back of house stuff. Everyone wants to show off shiny stuff to the users.
    01[17:46] <@SimbaTheLion> Kitashi: Yes, but we'd test it, surely, and it's not like we'd be more likely to break it than anyone else, lol.
    [17:46] <&Kitashi> That's pretty much what I've been told every time I've asked yak
    01[17:46] <@SimbaTheLion> That's kind of silly imo.
    [17:46] <&Kitashi> Well, look at it this way
    [17:47] <@Summercat> Because I am starting to get upset at this.
    [17:47] <&Kitashi> I've been trying to join the tech team since I joined FA staff
    [17:47] <&Kitashi> I've been trying to make coding changes since I was "brought on" to the tech team in July
    01[17:47] <@SimbaTheLion> That's a bit ludicrous.
    [17:47] <&Kitashi> Only 2 of my changes have gone live in this time
    01[17:47] <@SimbaTheLion> Why on earth is no one reviewing them/marking up?
    01[17:47] <@SimbaTheLion> And they are tested?
    [17:47] <&Kitashi> And that was putting people on the same page they were on when removing favorites and submissions from their management pages
    [17:47] <@Summercat> One of the biggest complaints we have is that we don't have enough coding staff to deal with issues. We have talent onboard already, but we are not using them.
    01[17:48] <@SimbaTheLion> Yeah, that seems a bit nuts - I work as a software engineer as my full time job and Kitashi and a few others here also are very techincal.
    01[17:48] <@SimbaTheLion> technical*
    [17:48] <&Kitashi> I've been trying to change how we do things so we can actually make use of people who have technical experience
    [17:48] <@Summercat> I want to start bashing peoples faces in for talking shit about how we treat other coders, but god damn if I don't have that wiggling doubt that they might be right, regardless of Eevee/Crpyto being giant douches.
    01[17:48] <@SimbaTheLion> We spend as long in our work testing as coding, if not a little longer, so "you might break it" is a bit silly.
    [17:49] <&Kitashi> I've asked yak to make documents detailing how to do stuff and how to do it right
    [17:49] <&Kitashi> So far, he's done a few of the things I've asked. Code styling guidelines, and a change to the SVN system for branches
    01[17:49] <@SimbaTheLion> I write such documents as part of my day-to-day work. Functional spec, design spec, unit test plan (both module and component), etc.
    01[17:49] <@SimbaTheLion> Mmm.
    01[17:49] <@SimbaTheLion> How long ago did you start on pushing for this?
    [17:49] <&Kitashi> At least months
    01[17:49] <@SimbaTheLion> Bleh.
    [17:49] <&Kitashi> Back in December
    [17:50] <&Kitashi> Yak doesn't have tons of free time is the problem
    [17:50] <@Hendikins> Now that the new moderators are settled in, we've hit the stage where this really has to be dealt with one way or another.
    01[17:50] <@SimbaTheLion> It doesn't have to be yak who writes said docs, surelu.
    01[17:50] <@SimbaTheLion> surely*
    [17:50] <&Kitashi> But at the same time, if we don't "risk breaking something," then we're going to continue stagnating as we have been for years

    You see the people in this chat? The people who actually wanted to get something done and not just give empty promises of "oh it'll be ready on Monday"? Kitashi, me, Hendikins, Summercat. None of us are admins anymore. The very people who had the time, the ability and the skills to sort things out.

    Next I'll share a log of a direct confrontation I had with Dragoneer, in our public admin chat:

    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> Well then why has it taken over a year to get this sorted properly?
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> And it's still not in place.
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> We're going to fall behind.
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> We already have.
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> Action needs to be taken and fast.
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> Consistent moderation, cool - we're already pretty consistent and fair.
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> But we have numerous tickets of "crap, why is this not working?"
    01[01:23] <@SimbaTheLion> "Weasyl can do this, why can't you?"
    [01:24] <~Dragoneer> SimbaTheLion: Yak has been working on the system to allow coders to work on items nd promote them to the site without overwriting other people's work and giving people full access to the site /can/ be dangerous at the same time.
    01[01:24] <@SimbaTheLion> We might improve to 90% consistency from 75%, but like, if the site is not so good...
    [01:24] <~Dragoneer> I'm *NOT* happy with the direction coding is taken.
    06[01:24] * @SimbaTheLion nods, "It can be dangerous, but if the users migrate elsewhere..."
    [01:24] <~Dragoneer> The coding issue leaves me irate.
    01[01:24] <@SimbaTheLion> Mmm, same, and not just me.
    [01:24] <~Dragoneer> SimbaTheLion: This is what I deal with every day. I know. Trust me, I know.
    01[01:25] <@SimbaTheLion> I don't get how it could've got this so bad.
    06[01:25] * @SimbaTheLion nods.
    [01:25] <~Dragoneer> I am not happy.
    [01:25] <~Dragoneer> But I'd rather not discuss the coding issues because that's another issue altogether.
    01[01:25] <@SimbaTheLion> It's your site at the end of the day, Dragoneer - you call the shots, right?
    01[01:25] <@SimbaTheLion> This consistency crap is basically secondary.
    [01:25] <~Dragoneer> Yes, it is my site.
    01[01:25] <@SimbaTheLion> We might get 75%->90% or whatever consistency...
    01[01:25] <@SimbaTheLion> But if we're getting people annoyed from errors in the site...
    01[01:25] <@SimbaTheLion> That's more severe. :(
    01[01:26] <@SimbaTheLion> Feels like the effort is in the wrong area.
    [01:26] <~Dragoneer> Again, yes, I am aware.
    [01:26] <@FancySkunk> On the subject, wasn't version control supposed to be done earlier this week? What happened?
    [01:26] <~Dragoneer> FancySkunk: It should be done per yak. That was the big thing holding up Kitashi getting access to cod.e
    01[01:26] <@SimbaTheLion> Being aware is fine, but it's your site. You gotta do it, not just be aware it needs to be done. :)
    01[01:26] <@SimbaTheLion> Give yak a kick up the ass then. :)
    [01:26] <@FancySkunk> Oh, so it is done then?
    [01:26] <~Dragoneer> SimbaTheLion: I know. I have been *TRYING* to get this setup correctly.
    [01:26] <~Dragoneer> FancySkunk: I haven't had a chance to speak with Yak yet.
    [01:26] <@Summercat> Yak has been being kicked over this for the last... what, year?
    [01:27] <~Dragoneer> Summercat: No.
    [01:27] <@FancySkunk> Well Yak said last weekend that it would be done by Monday or Tuesday unless other things came up, so hopefully it is finished
    [01:27] <@Summercat> I meant access in general.
    [01:27] <~Dragoneer> *nods* My schedule has been insane this past week, so I was not able to get things in line.
    [01:28] <~Dragoneer> Summercat: We're trying to get this done so we can brign in new coders. We have people want on staff ASAP, but we need to fix the structure /to/ bring them on.

    Believe you me, Dragoneer - a site like FA does not take anything close to a year to code, especially with amazing coders like Yak. FancySkunk, I think that when Yak said Monday or Tuesday, he was meaning one in 2015! Sorry for your misinterpretation :) easily done.

    Dragoneer:

    I've saved Dragoneer until last for a reason. He owns the site. As you can see from the log just above - he could have helped us, he could have saved FA. He chose not to. Yak did not get the kick up the arse he needed to utilise the talent FA had just waiting to go. Sciggles never received training to be able to administrate efficiently and upset other people pretending to do so. Chase - well. Chase was allowed back on staff, because Dragoneer "trusts him".

    I'm only going to share two quotes right now specifically to do with Dragoneer, as I feel they highlight a different side to him:

    [01:32] <~Dragoneer> Coding is a problematic issue as we need to give people access to the code without giving them keys to the entire DB and the site if we don't know if we can trust them.
    [01:32] <@Summercat> WE HAVE CODERS ON STAFF
    [01:33] <@Summercat> For the love of flying, Kitashi was going to be onboarded! Simba is a coder as well!
    [01:33] <~Dragoneer> Summercat: Please, not now.
    [01:33] <@FancySkunk> Keio as well, IIRC
    [01:33] <@Hendikins> I'm too tired to contribute to this. I'll just sit back and watch the fireworks.
    01[01:33] <@SimbaTheLion> Well - okay - so, either things carry on as they are, or 6 months from now we have the question of "oh crap, our users are leaving - and fast - for Weasyl, Inkbunny, other places... why?"
    [01:33] <~Dragoneer> We've been trying to fix the coding situation to bring new coders on ASAP.
    01[01:33] <@SimbaTheLion> Not able to trust us?
    06[01:33] * @Hendikins is experienced QA.
    01[01:34] <@SimbaTheLion> Well - either you trust the admins, the ones you chose to come on staff, or the site stagnates further and the users get more annoyed and leave.
    [01:34] <~Dragoneer> No, it's a matter of creating a safe environment for coding where one bad string of code does not take down the site.
    01[01:34] <@SimbaTheLion> That's not how coding works... Code is all reviewed before committed.
    01[01:34] <@SimbaTheLion> And tested.
    01[01:34] <@SimbaTheLion> You don't just randomly add new code to the site, that's not how software development works.
    [01:34] <~Dragoneer> Yes. I am aware.
    01[01:34] <@SimbaTheLion> I'm not really sure where that worry comes from then.
    [01:34] <@FancySkunk> My question is still this though: How much pushing had to be done before this small progress was made?
    [01:35] <~Dragoneer> FancySkunk: I've pushing for it non-fucking-stop.
    [01:35] <~Dragoneer> I'm tired of the coding situation and have been trying to help get this fixed ASAP.
    [01:35] <~Dragoneer> I'm not happy with it.
    [01:35] <@FancySkunk> That's a problem then. It seems unacceptable to have to push that hard for that long (>_>) without results
    01[01:35] <@SimbaTheLion> Dragoneer - don't get frustrated, we're not digging at you. *Hugs*
    01[01:35] <@SimbaTheLion> And yeah, indeed. Fancy is right.
    [01:36] <~Dragoneer> FancySkunk: AGain, for the nTh time, I am aware of that.
    [01:36] <~Dragoneer> I am trying to get it fixed.
    01[01:36] <@SimbaTheLion> I appreciate you want to help and are trying, Dragoneer.
    [01:36] <@Summercat> Which is why I was asking, a week or two ago, if anyone could be brought onboard - from those currently on staff - to assist Yak in getting everything set up.
    [01:36] <~Dragoneer> It is one of my highest priorities.
    02[01:36] * @Cyan (~Cyan@190.192.123.84) Quit (Quit: )
    [01:37] <@FancySkunk> I'm wondering the same thing as Summer. Is there a reason why we can't expand the coding team on a permanent basis? A team of 4 is really small given the size of the site, and the issues it has
    [01:37] <~Dragoneer> I don't wnat to discuss it anymore. The entire coding situation is my failing, and driving it into me will not help me fix it any faster. I'm tired and frustrated, and want things to be fixed.
    01[01:37] <@SimbaTheLion> Indeed, especially given enhancements etc...
    [01:37] <@Summercat> Fancy: Not quite what I was suggesting.
    [01:37] <~Dragoneer> I'm not talking about the coding anymore right now.
    01[01:37] <@SimbaTheLion> It's not your fault.
    01[01:37] <@SimbaTheLion> You've tried - you want it sorted.
    [01:37] <@Hendikins> Well for non-coding, who got knifed?
    [01:37] <@Summercat> We honestly do have a problem for bringing coders onboard, but part of the problem is lack of manpower to solve the problem to bring people on board.
    [01:38] <~Dragoneer> Summercat: It's being worked on, damn it. It should almost be done
    06[01:38] * @SimbaTheLion sighs.
    01[01:38] <@SimbaTheLion> I hope you're right.
    [01:38] <@Summercat> When it's here, I'll be happy.
    [01:38] <~Dragoneer> And I will be, too.
    [01:38] <@Carmen> There is more to the coding issue than simply bringing people on board. It is a difficult and sensitive subject, but Dragoneer is doing his best to see that it is done.
    01[01:39] <@SimbaTheLion> Agreed - is obvious Dragoneer wants to help.
    [01:39] <@Summercat> Let me say this:
    [01:39] <~Dragoneer>  At the end of the day, I have to deal with this shit non-stop 24/7. Every flaw, every admin mistep, every fuck up, every word spoke out of line is all my fault. I take every god damn hit on thie site. Every. Last. Fucking. One. And I'm god damn tired of it. So yes, when it comes to coding, I'm REALLY UPSET because I have to deal with the bugs, the flaws, the delays and eveything
    [01:39] <~Dragoneer> else... and I have to take the blame and the hits.
    [01:39] <~Dragoneer> And I don't fucking like that.
    [01:40] <~Dragoneer> It's not easy to deal with.
    [01:40] <@Summercat> I do not think Dragoneer stinted in his duty in poking the coding staff to get the work they need to do done.
    01[01:40] <@SimbaTheLion> No you don't Dragoneer, you just acknowledge Yak should be bloody faster and do it already ffs.
    01[01:40] <@SimbaTheLion> This is not a difficult task.
    01[01:40] <@SimbaTheLion> It isn't your fault.

    I don't really want to demonise Dragoneer in all this. I honestly see Dragoneer as someone who kind of would like to help but as the logs show lacks the 'ooomph' shall we say to actually give people a good kick up the ass to get a move on with things. It's not Dragoneer's fault the code is a mangled mess and no coders can be brought on board. Yak could fix that, if he had the dedication. It's not Dragoneer's fault we had 1,600 tickets unanswered.

    I'll tell you though what Dragoneer's fault is. Dragoneer, as the above shows, cannot poke-poke where the poke-pokes are needed. He's too nice a person to lead FA most effectively. To lead, you need to deal with conflict. When we were removed from staff, Dragoneer did not even try to message me directly to speak. He simply acted on whatever selected bits of logs he saw. Not only that but he got rid of Summercat and Kimor in his huff too - Summercat especially was very much of the opine "I know we need a miracle, but maybe, somehow we can fix FA."

    My final quote is the following, in private with Dragoneer:

    01[01:44] <SimbaTheLion> Heya. Is there something you're not saying quite so openly...? Is fairly obvious to me and the other coders that the problem here is Yak - it's not your fault at all, you want to help us, you want to help FA... Is there something preventing you from giving Yak a proper poke? *Hugs supportively* What's said in here I'll keep private if you wanna chat about stuff one-on-one. :)
    [01:44] <Dragoneer> I really just don't want to get into this.
    [01:45] <Dragoneer> We'll be bringing new coders on soon, as we're really close to cleaning up the backend and the dev documentation.
    01[01:48] <SimbaTheLion> *Nods* Well, let me know if you ever want to talk about this stuff, won't judge or anything. *Hugs* I think there is some stuff that's not being said - I hope you're okay and can cope. Message me if ever you want a hug or shoulder to cry on. :)

    I took him to one side, in a personal manner, and showed care to him, as a friend. I gave him my shoulder to cry on should the man need it.

    What next?

    As for me, I'll be moving over to Weasyl, and making sure as many people as possible see this blog entry. I'm going to make exceptionally clear right now - Weasyl did not in any way, shape or form approach me. I did not give them anything about FA's inner workings, simply explained things were in turmoil - and - "to defend ourselves and those we love", it was in my best interests to join Weasyl to guide the community.

    FurAffinity, Inkbunny, Weasyl - they're nothing more than vehicles to drive a community. The people I love, the ones I'm close to, my friends, the ones I've had the privilege to love, like and hate over the past 10+ years as a fur. They are the reason why I'm going to Weasyl. I can make the community a better place by doing so. I can give my friends the honesty, love, care and compassion they need and deserve. If there is backlash from this, by all means, throw it at me. I can take it; I've been nothing but honest. But I encourage you - as friends and furs alike - we're in this together.

    I want the best for the community. That's all I've ever wanted. That's why I joined FA staff. That's why I left FA staff to make the journey over to Weasyl.

    I'll leave with another quote:

    “The most valuable gift you can receive is an honest friend.” - Stephen Richards

    Closing:

    As our tale draws to a close, I shall bestow upon you two great resources Kitashi has coded, using the skills and talents he wished to use on FA, to similarly better the community as I, Summercat, Kimor, Hendikins and others also wished to.

    https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1404373/projects/index.htm

    This will allow you to bulk download pictures from FurAffinity, and to bulk upload the pictures (handily in the same format) to Weasyl.

    If you got this far, I thank you for your time. It did not provide me with pleasure to write this, but over the coming days, weeks and months, I hope with all my heart, my strength and my inner being that the community - my friends and loved ones past, present and future, will benefit.

    And so I leave you now - tale told - one of horror, bloodshed, tears and misfortune with a flick of my tuft, opening the door to take us to a brighter future. I'll see you there.
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