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We need to talk about responding to Trans related issues
- Thread starter Xaszatm
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There's obviously a lot going on in the thread right now, and I'm not really qualified to speak on the situation surrounding Ketkat's ban. What I can say is that as a trans person, I really enjoy this site but don't feel safe or comfortable at all if a thread has anything to do with trans issues, and I'm not currently feeling very encouraged about the future of any discourse here. I hope this changes, because I really need this place to be a safe one.
I find it interesting that mods have a private "safe space" channel where they are entitled to air out whatever grievances they have, regardless of bigotry, but no such space exists here on the forum (and rightfully so).
I supose the forum isn't a safe space. Which it never has been, nor was I under the illusion it was, nor am I sure it's possible for it to be one, but at least the air has been cleared on that.
I supose the forum isn't a safe space. Which it never has been, nor was I under the illusion it was, nor am I sure it's possible for it to be one, but at least the air has been cleared on that.
Do better by the Trans members of ERA.
you can PR your statement all you want, and heck - maybe you do need some time to figure out the proper response - fact is..people are losing faith in ERA moderation team.
you can PR your statement all you want, and heck - maybe you do need some time to figure out the proper response - fact is..people are losing faith in ERA moderation team.
I very rarely post, but I feel like this is one of those times I have to say something, if only to let ERA's trans community know there are people on their side. This thread has highlighted important issues regarding how trans issues and posters are often treated on this board, and how transphobic rhetoric is often left unactioned. So it's sad to see it finally gaining traction only after ScribbleD and Ketkat try to elevate the issue to the moderation team and gone entirely off the rails. I checked in late so I have no idea what image ScribbleD posted, but Ketkat's post seems on point and the "abuse/breach of privacy" rather innocuous. Granted as posters we do not have the full story, but the moderation team has to see that promising to do better, then banning 2 people who raised the issue looks rather suspect from a general poster's position. I imagine it's worse for any trans posters considering how helpful Ketkat has been.
And honestly the flood of staff posting in this thread make things seem rather intimidating. It's a bit of a conundrum because staff can't provide context for Ketkat's ban without breaching this mystery person's privacy which is what they banned her for (despite her being incredibly vague). Yet it feels like moderation is coming down a little too hard and it's having a chilling effect. As I type this I'm trying to choose my words very carefully because I'm not sure where the line on getting banned is and for all I know I've already stepped across it.
And honestly the flood of staff posting in this thread make things seem rather intimidating. It's a bit of a conundrum because staff can't provide context for Ketkat's ban without breaching this mystery person's privacy which is what they banned her for (despite her being incredibly vague). Yet it feels like moderation is coming down a little too hard and it's having a chilling effect. As I type this I'm trying to choose my words very carefully because I'm not sure where the line on getting banned is and for all I know I've already stepped across it.
the main question is, has whomever was being trans- and/or acephobic been dealt with appropriately
"appropriately" meaning, as if they were a normal member and not a moderator
"appropriately" meaning, as if they were a normal member and not a moderator
The moderator in question is not aphobic, transphobic, or anything of the sort, and in fact cares very deeply and personally about LGBTQ+ issues. That is a large part of why we find this ordeal upsetting.
Perhaps that is why Ket thought it prudent to at least vaguely mention? I don't see Ket digging up dirt and shit flinging on a bad faith basis as a likely explanation. There seems to be something more to this. You can assert "The moderator in question is none of those things", but Ket has been doing a service to the community for a very long time and has a voice that's worth listening to here. The fact that the moderation team seems to be so eager to dismiss it is a part of why the response to the team's presence here has been the way it is. It's an overly complicated quagmire of issues that is tough to wade through for any person, but the community at large has a hard time handwaving what Ket mentioned for good reason.
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The response from staff is staggeringly bad. You can't "We know what's best for you, trust us." your way out of this by demanding blind faith. You are failing the transgender community in a major, major way.
No actually, they banned her for looking through a discord channel meant for minority members of the staff to speak safely, they've said so like 10 times. Just take them at their word, it's a lot more believable than she was silenced to protect the transphobic mastermind behind the mod team...
I mean they probably could have resolved the whole thing privately as they love to tell us to do, but it looks like people are just completely ignoring their responses and inserting what they think they're saying.
this website is free
It wasn't hacking. See:
For the record, I've spoken with Ketkat and shown her an earlier draft of this post to make sure she was ok with me some of these revealing details.
Ketkat and a former moderator were, and still are, in a relationship. Part of that time during the relationship, the moderator was doing active moderation work as part of volunteering at ReseteEra. Being that they were frequently around each other, it isn't any stretch of imagination to say the moderator talked about moderation work with their partner or that they saw their partner's phone from time to time and so on. Something that I'm sure KetKat can attest to herself.
This isn't hacking. Ketkat didn't log into her partner's discord or something to try and dig up information. And I really don't think it is fair to associate with it abuse either - which implies there was some nefarious intent or plan on Ketkat's part in her relationship with her partner which is absolutely not the case. Really, they just love each other, and I'm sure ResetEra came up as part of normal conversations in a relationship. I know when I'm on the phone around my partner, we often talk about what we're browsing or doing - particularly when that job is something that is high stress and takes up a lot of a person's free time. It makes me sad to see a great relationship between two of my friends characterized in such a way.
ResetEra moderation isn't something that requires some security clearance. It isn't serious business. Granted, staff has always taken the time to try and keep things secure as best they can. Still, part of life is sharing things with your partner, and I don't think things that happen on ResetEra staff is such a thing to warrant absolute secrecy.
Speaking on the circumstances about this, the channel the message took place in is a private channel on the discord server intended for minority members of staff. It's a general support, friendship, and love channel with occasionally some discussion - at least it was when I was in there. Honestly, it is tame, lovely stuff, and it isn't anything serious. There was, and is, however, an expectation of privacy in there, sort of a 'this is your sanctuary here, what happens in Vegas stays in vegas' sort of deal so people felt comfortable bringing up things.
From the staff side, particularly for minority members of staff, I can understand how they felt that their trust and sanctuary was violated. I'm sure if I was on staff right about now, I'd probably be a bit upset too to find that someone was sharing details of that private chat with someone not in the room. At the end of the day, staff members, like anyone else, have an expectation to privacy, particularly minority members of staff who are often targets of harassment in general.
On the issue in question regarding the alleged conversation that took place, I'm not going to comment on except to say that what happens in an internal staff server is ultimately internal staff business, and the comments of any single person on staff shouldn't effect the hard work that staff put in behind the scenes every day. Whether or not the conversation happened, who was involved, if they believed what they said, and so on is moot, hearsay, and a distraction from the real goal of Ketkat's post which was to shine a light on feedback for how the forum can be a better place for those who browse it.
I'd ask y'all to not lose the focus on the bigger issues here. And please, don't paint this a staff only problem. I know staff has made their fair share of mistakes, but if we're being honest here, the community discourse around these issues has been shit for a long while too, regardless of anything that staff does or doesn't do. I know it isn't possible to completely root out unsavory individuals, but in an ideal circumstance, how these issues are moderated wouldn't be as much of an issue in the first place if the community got its act together. There's room for improvement here from everyone.
We live in a time where trans are being openly mocked, look at the last south park episode and the responses to it on social media.It's not safe out there for a lot of us.Era is...or was one of the few places online that trans are accepted, the moderation needs to step up or it's going to lose a lot of members.
Alright now that this thread has become about people's personal relationships it's time to close this down. We do appreciate the OP making the thread and regret the way it's ending.
For the record: This was never about what anyone saw when they were looking where they shouldn't. Personally, the idea that someone who was not supposed to have access to our private conversations had access makes me uncomfortable, and that has nothing to do with fear of being "outed" as a secret bigot. It's an invasion of a privacy we're entitled to, its us in our private moments, and us being mods does not give you the right to violate that. To think otherwise is, frankly, not something that sits right with me or anyone else on the staff. I guarantee you'd feel the same in our shoes.
We put in work every day to make this community welcoming to LGBTQ+ members and although recent events may have overshadowed that, we will continue to put in that work because we care. We wouldn't be here otherwise.
For the record: This was never about what anyone saw when they were looking where they shouldn't. Personally, the idea that someone who was not supposed to have access to our private conversations had access makes me uncomfortable, and that has nothing to do with fear of being "outed" as a secret bigot. It's an invasion of a privacy we're entitled to, its us in our private moments, and us being mods does not give you the right to violate that. To think otherwise is, frankly, not something that sits right with me or anyone else on the staff. I guarantee you'd feel the same in our shoes.
We put in work every day to make this community welcoming to LGBTQ+ members and although recent events may have overshadowed that, we will continue to put in that work because we care. We wouldn't be here otherwise.
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