So, here we are.

By now, a lot of you have heard what happened. I've been debating how to address this properly, as this has been nothing short of massive. I recognize some users will go into reading this with a biased frame of mind, be it angered, curious or neutral. My aim is to clarify what we did, why we did it and what we could have done better.

Some of you may be wondering why there was such a delay in getting a response to this. The answer: I've been in the process of moving to a new state and getting caught up with a new job.

A summary of what happened:
1) Feb 6 -- Tarangryph contacted us via TT regarding a potential stalker issue.
2) Feb 13 -- In the meantime, Tarangryph created a journal warning users to beware the stalker, and listed some evidence. We deleted this journal, as we felt it was a call out journal, and we had no way to verify the given evidence (see below). The admin suggested the user block the stalker and that, if the stalker evaded that block, we'd take action.
3) Feb 14 - We responded, asking, "Do you have links to any harassing notes or comments this individual has sent you?" Tarangryph responded to the TT.
4) Feb 15 -- Qarrezel's journal is posted. All hell breaks loose. The admin handling the ticket did not yet have a chance to follow up on the ticket response.

* What We Could Have Done Better -- I will start the journal with this, as I recognize that we could have taken steps to better clarify our position to Taran. We should have clarified what information we need from users in these circumstances (comments, notes or other FA specific information) and what steps users can take to protect themselves in the meantime. Had we done that, I feel we could have reassured Taran we were there to help.

* Our Code of Conduct WILL BE UPDATED to better direct users on what actions they should take if being harassed or stalked, as well as what they can do to protect themselves, as well as what admins need from them to effectively investigate their claims.

We WANT to help, and we want to help users feel safe from harassers and stalkers. To that end, sometimes we need more information from users, and they may need more information from us. We should have been clearer in that message to Taran. At no point did we NOT want to assist her. We were more than willing to help, and were in the process of doing so when this broke out.

* In regards to Qarrezel's now infamous journal, Qarrezel NEVER ONCE contacted the admin team for clarification or to ask what's going on. Much of the journal was speculation in regards to FA's stance. AT NO TIME did I ever endorse stalking harassment as suggested by the journal. Ever.

A quote of mine regarding the admin's actions were taken grossly out of context. I was asked if I supported the admin's actions. From what I could see at the time, and from what I knew of the issue, a callout journal was removed and the admin involved suggested that the user block the stalker so we could attempt to get more evidence against them. The admin told Taran that, if the stalker did anything to avoid the block, we would take action (read: ban). The user was never blocked.

We were under the assumption at the time that, if Taran had any further issues with the user, she would contact us so we could take action against the stalker. She did, but the admin handling her ticket did not have a chance to see her response before Qarrezel posted her journal. In the ticket, Tarangryph states that Qarrezel had also filed a trouble ticket against Fredriksam for harassment. There were NO TICKETS open on this by Qarrezel, nor was there ever contact with the admins on the site regarding the issue.

* The Issue With Evidence -- The evidence of stalking was primarily pointing at actions that occurred on Deviantart.com and Flashback.org. When we are presented with information off-site we /very rarely/ take action on it, and here's why: we have NO WAY to verify the users' identities. We have to give users the benefit of the doubt. Did somebody make an account on Site X to harass the user, and implicate them in the issue? Is it legit, or just an impostor?

We have NO WAY of verifying what's going on behind the scenes.

When presented with off-site evidence, we usually make a note of it. "The user in question has shown really questionable behavior. If they bring that behavior to FA, we'll take action on it because now we've established a clear link between what happened on FA and Site X." So, until someone takes action directly linking their on-site behavior with off-site behavior, we will NOT take action on it. But once they break FA's rules and policies and we can trace that back to what they did off-site, we'll use /all/ of that information and make an appropriate judgment (up to and including perma-ban, even on first offense).

The evidence we had on FA against Fredriksam as a stalker was questionable. We could see behavior on FA that raised eyebrows, but was not enough to say "Yes, this is a stalker, no question." Hence the reason we suggested Taran block the user and to contact us if he tried anything (anything at all) to get around it.

That said, in the end, we did find evidence to support the claims against Fredriksam (and his alt account). If we had found evidence of the alt account up front, we would have banned the user immediately. The alt account was not brought to our attention until a user notified us. Had we had this information up front, we would have banned them on the spot.

We understand many of you are frustrated and upset, but we were ALWAYS willing to help from the get-go. We were always there to help. If we had been given an opportunity to respond to Tarangryph's ticket, this entire issue could have been resolved like any other issue. Instead, Qarrezel got involved and we were not able to resolve this directly with Tarangryph.

The entire site and team has spent countless hours trying to better the site the community. I, along with the rest of the team, regret that this happened the way it did. This could have gone a number of ways, but if we were allowed to resolve this directly with Tarangryph, we could have had a completely different outcome.

On a side note, admins are users of the site as well. We are all volunteers, and none of us are being paid to run the site. We're all here to help, and while you may disagree with our actions or personally dislike us, we ask that you refrain from going out of your way from attacking admins, because they are also fellow users. Verbally insulting the staff does nothing to help the situation and is still harassment.

We encourage users to ALWAYS seek out both sides of a situation before passing judgement. Seek out the facts, hear both sides and make a decision then. Putting this into a visible timeline was revealing in and of itself.