Message posted on Stardate 02071.8 at 2129 hours
Posted by Larry Garfield (President).
Edict #20
“An unfortunate event”
There is an expectation in STF that all members will act with civility and respect towards each other. That expectation is implicit in the very nature of STF as a community, and explicit in STF’s Terms of Service.
When someone violates that civility, STF as a community must do something about it. Whenever possible, those that violate that community civility and respect should be corrected and then reaccepted back into the community, in the hopes that they have learned better. In most cases, that is sufficient, and life may continue. Sometimes, however, more severe action must be taken.
Everyone knew the election rules when the election started. They were posted on the EC web site, as always. And as with every election since even before I was in STF, the rulings of the EC are final. That is necessary in order to remove any political pressure from the EC. We may not always agree with the decisions of the Election Coordinator, I have not agreed with every EC either, but we must accept that the EC’s word is the final word on election matters.
Disagreement with someone, whether the EC or not, does not give anyone the right to maliciously libel or slander that person. Nothing gives anyone that right. And when someone chooses to maliciously and deliberately lash out at another member, they must accept the consequences of their actions.
Eddie Lawson disagreed with a decision of the Election Coordinator, Deanne Ashton. That is his choice to do so. His response, however, was to maliciously and vindictively lash out at her, with flat lies and vicious character attacks. He also lashed out at the President, with the same blatant lies and direct character attacks. Such behavior cannot and will not be tolerated.
Effective immediately, Eddie Lawson is demoted to the rank of Lieutenant, junior grade. Any characters he holds that have a rank higher than Lieutenant, junior grade must be demoted to no higher than Lieutenant, junior grade. Furthermore, Eddie may not be promoted above the rank of Lieutenant, junior grade until 1 November (just over 90 days from now). Eddie is also restricted from posting on the Election Ship for the remainder of this Election Season. Violation of that rule may result in further penalties, possibly including provisional expulsion.
Furthermore, Eddie’s libelous assaults were published via the STF webzine “Project Omega” in a section called “Eddie’s Election Diary”. As Editor-in-Chief of Project Omega, Mike Rouse-Deane is responsible for its content, as is Project Omega itself. In the “real world”, such actions as these would result in a lawsuit against Project Omega, Eddie Lawson, and Mike Rouse-Deane. In STF there are no lawsuits, so that is not an option. Nonetheless, Project Omega is responsible for the material published therein. It is for that reason that Project Omega has been removed from the Media MOTD. Mike RD has been warned on countless occasions during this Presidency that Project Omega’s continual use as a platform for malicious acts of hatred against other members would not be tolerated. In the most severe cases, Mike RD has eventually backed down, but in this case he has not.
I spoke to Mike RD earlier today, and offered to return Project Omega to the Media MOTD, if he would remove all references to Eddie’s Election Diary and the patently offensive content therein, and apologized on behalf of the paper for Project Omega’s involvement in these uncalled for attacks. He declined. Therefore, Project Omega is hereby banned from the Media MOTD, and all STF-related advertising including, but not limited to, posting on any MOTD, posting on any ship, and posting in IRC of excerpts, links, or advertisements. The above offer to lift the ban on Project Omega will remain open for the remainder of my Presidency. However, attempts to circumvent the above ban may result in further sanctions, including possible expulsion.
Freedom of Speech is a dear right in any democracy. However, Freedom of Speech does not protect those who would abuse it to slander or libel another person, nor to propagate hate. When that right is abused, it is an affront not only to the victim of the attack but to those who enjoy that freedom who do not abuse it. Throughout my tenure, I have striven to encourage constructive dissenting opinion, and tried to avoid stifling it, even when I personally found it offensive. I have done my utmost to try and strike a balance, but in this instance the final line has been crossed, and that must not be permitted to happen.
In addition, Israel Harris has, repeatedly, continued to harass – not question, harass – candidates in the election. He was instructed to stop by the Election Coordinator. He did not. For violation of election rules, he was restricted from voting, and yet continued. The subject of his issue, a two and a half week old IRC conversation that he alleged was excessively sexually explicit, was put to rest by the official channels. The Internet Director decided that it was not in violation of the Terms of Service or IRC regs. The IRC Admin decided that it was not in violation of the Terms of Service or IRC regs. It was over and done with. However, Izzy did not stop, and went as far as to post the entire log in question in the Election Ship.
If, as Izzy alleges, the log is excessively sexually explicit, then he has by his own allegation posted sexually explicit material on the WeBB. If, as the IDir and IRC Admin have concluded, it is not, then he is merely harassing members of STF and in gross violation of election rules, despite repeated instruction from the Election Coordinator to desist. As a result, more stringent action is necessary.
Effective immediately, Israel “Izzy” Harris is demoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Any characters he holds that have a rank higher than Lieutenant must be demoted to no higher than Lieutenant. Furthermore, Izzy may not be promoted above the rank of Lieutenant until 1 November (just over 90 days from now). Izzy is also restricted from posting on the Election Ship for the remainder of this Election Season. Violation of that rule may result in further penalties, possibly including provisional expulsion.
I would very much now like to return to what was until the past few days the least aggressive and most boring election to date, something STF needs in much greater quantities.
Larry Garfield
STF President
18 July 2002