I can't help you on all of that, but....
Q: why would kpaca and kijin get one year probation for thanking a post and voting in a poll if not for using this as an excuse to ban them later?
A: Because what they did was against the rules of the site and in fact the second time they'd evaded their suspensions. So, instead of taking the hardest line with that we felt that a probation was the best option. The discussion about the role of suspensions is happening since not everyone thinks they do what they are supposed to do. So, it wasn't to ban them later. It was to keep them from being banned at the time since, while very much against the rules, it seemed needlessly severe.
The thing is that kpaca voted on a poll by mistake then snitched
himself by telling "hey sorry I posted in a poll, my mistake" and from what I understand this would have gone unnoticed if he hadn't alerted the staff on this. Kijin voting on a poll was for one of these gutter polls where the guttermods opinions were requested, and since he was suspended at the time, he voted with his well know Thrillho account, because he thouugh his opinion was requested.
Its not just about being on probation for two ridiculously tame misdemeanors, it also has this extra layer of people having been in good faith. As kpaca put it more eloquently "its like a gust of wind threw him on the street and then he called the cops"
Q: why wouldn't staff even budge 1mm from their initial stance of appeals in a hidden place, asking that we give them complimentary blowjobs after they are done fucking
around with us?
A: Is the issue the private appeals or the blowjobs? You have to understand that no matter the person did, it's really hard to say "Yeah, let's let this shit go" when he is being a complete asshole to us. I don't want people to show me respect because I am in charge - that feels too paternal for me... I just want to know that if they are unbanned they won't cause trouble because I have a responsibility to the users of the site and the staff to not jab sticks in their eyes.
(emphasis mine). Galspanic, how has your MTGS membership been these past 6 months? I trust you did not have any problems acessing forums and interacting with people.
Trying to put this into the least confrontational manner, I'll ask you this:
Did you pause to think for a second to think that maybe... just maybe... it is also hard for me to say "Yeah, let's let this shit go" when I've been banned and called a malicious scumbag and see my community
destroyed, then having to pick up the shards with the help of some other people, spending countless hours of hard work to get a replacement from scrap? And all this because of the lies of one paranoid admin and some sale who didn't concern me in the least?
Maybe I also think that you guys have done nothing but to behave like dicks but would be willing to go "
Yeah, let's let this shit go, zombie gutter is dead, lets unban everyone and just forget that these awful 6months ever occurred" but then you guys feel the need to get some more "vindication" of having people crawl on your turf apologizing and promising that they won't be troublemakers anymore? I mean, a lot of people (including me) made the first step over here telling you that we were not interested in keeping old grudges and that we would be very civil should an unban occur, but you still insist on having people crawl on your turf and repeat the same thing, possibly in the most contrived fashion? You
guys are just falling to one of the seven cardinal sins: pride.
I'm not taking option C) Period. I'll meet people halfway on the bridge at best, not at their own end. The thing is you guys are not ready to let things go, as attested today by the suspension of pinkfloyd and the banning of my wife's account.