Public Apology

Started by Liska, 2013 May 21, 18:41:04

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Liska

Hello,

I am AnyaSmash. As most of you may know me, I manage the Concept Art department as well as work on the forums. In light of recent events, I felt the need to apologize for what has been happening.

I'm sure many of you have noticed the screenshot of a forum user's immaturely "modified" post roaming around Tumblr, Facebook, deviantART, Skype chats, and the forums.

I would like to mention that all of the forum user's ideas were not wasted, we have a copy of all their suggestions, and we are already taking them into consideration. We normally do not censor any user's valid suggestions, and the posts were only censored due to the fact they were being spammed multiple times.

I will admit that I am the one who worked on word-filtering their post in order to say such ridiculous things. However, please note this post was not modified permanently, as word-filtered posts are returned to their original state once the word filter gets removed.

The word filter was put in place to prevent multiple temporary accounts from spamming the forum with the post, which had happened three times before I began working on the word-filter. The immature phrases were a joke I did while testing the word filter before they were replaced with the phrase "I will not spread drama."

The post in question was not visible to the public, and was only visible to team leaders. One of the other team leaders thought it would be a good idea to jeopardize their position for a screenshot of a  temporary filter not visible to anyone but a small group of seven people.

I know this does not excuse my actions. I take full responsibility as far as modifying the word filters.

I apologize for any tarnished reputation that the Legends of Equestria team may now have. I am hoping that we'll be able to move on past this small bump together and look forward to a summer full of fun events from Legends of Equestria.

I will be answering questions and comments as honestly as possible in this thread. 

Asteconn

I still think you're awesome Anya!

A bit of a silly filly, but awesome =D

Tekner

Oh! I have a question! Pick me!
Um.. Ms. AnyaSmash, if you were going to write a letter to Princess Celestia about what you learned, what would you tell her? :D

Billow Pillow

I knew it wasn't true you never seemed like a bad person to me, and have always been rather nice to us.  I'm just hoping that a lesson will be learned from this situation, hopefully one that could very well change the very core of all the problems, allowing for better communication and understanding between all of the staff members, and all of the users who look up to you guys.   

Here's to a better future.   :nod:
Senpai Notice me

LOE Craft: Here
My OC: Here
Dragon Cave Click Meow.

Liska

2013 May 21, 19:00:54 #4 Last Edit: 2013 May 21, 19:05:53 by AnyaSmash


Dear Princess Celestia,

I learned that I shouldn't make silly jokes even if I think they're hidden. Once something is out there, anyone can take it and leak it, even people you trust. Be serious right from the get go.

Your faithful student,
AnyaSmash




Thank you, Lyra. I appreciate your kindness and forgiveness. Lessons will certainly be learned from this unfortunate event.

Ateren

We all (hopefully) forgive you Anya.  ^-^

Now back to moderating I go.

HerpyDooves

You're forgiven, Anya. And I'm sure if I've never seen it, then not too many people have. ^-^

Hawk

Quote from: AnyaSmash on 2013 May 21, 18:41:04
Hello,

I am AnyaSmash. As most of you may know me, I manage the Concept Art department as well as work on the forums. In light of recent events, I felt the need to apologize for what has been happening.

I'm sure many of you have noticed the screenshot of a forum user's immaturely "modified" post roaming around Tumblr, Facebook, deviantART, Skype chats, and the forums.

I would like to mention that all of the forum user's ideas were not wasted, we have a copy of all their suggestions, and we are already taking them into consideration. We normally do not censor any user's valid suggestions, and the posts were only censored due to the fact they were being spammed multiple times.

I will admit that I am the one who worked on word-filtering their post in order to say such ridiculous things. However, please note this post was not modified permanently, as word-filtered posts are returned to their original state once the word filter gets removed.

The word filter was put in place to prevent multiple temporary accounts from spamming the forum with the post, which had happened three times before I began working on the word-filter. The immature phrases were a joke I did while testing the word filter before they were replaced with the phrase "I will not spread drama."

The post in question was not visible to the public, and was only visible to team leaders. One of the other team leaders thought it would be a good idea to jeopardize their position for a screenshot of a  temporary filter not visible to anyone but a small group of seven people.

I know this does not excuse my actions. I take full responsibility as far as modifying the word filters.

I apologize for any tarnished reputation that the Legends of Equestria team may now have. I am hoping that we'll be able to move on past this small bump together and look forward to a summer full of fun events from Legends of Equestria.

I will be answering questions and comments as honestly as possible in this thread.


I don't get it. What is so God-forbbiden, illegal and absolutely repulsive in what you did, Anya? I say that if there is more of that kind of stuff here, LoE's reputation would be BETTER, not worse. If the "Big wigs at corporate"(the teamleaders..) insist on this super-strict professional attitude, it will only just make this game that much less worth all this wait I have been doing so far and eventually I won't even care for this anymore.

The Wandering Magus

2013 May 21, 19:35:21 #8 Last Edit: 2013 May 21, 19:39:33 by The Wandering Magus
I thank you for your honesty and for publicly apologizing for this event.  While it does not excuse the action, the apology is appreciated as an acknowledgement of the problem.  The question now comes of whether the problem shall be addressed in seriousness.

While I am often optimistic about change for the better, my own personal experience tells me that old habits die hard, and more often than not public apologies by individuals in authority are simply gimmicks for fixing public relations.  I do, however, put some faith in the team that this will not be the case for this particular event, and that genuine positive change will come to both the leadership and to the way that such things are handled in the future.

Transparency and professionalism are things which are often expected of administrative groups but never actually placed into action.  Mistakes are hidden or placed under wraps, individuals are punished for revealing them, and information is censored rather than acknowledged.  We see this all too often in real life.

I hope that this event will allow the Legends of Equestria Development Team and Administration, including Anya, SweBow, Perry, and all the other members of the staff, to acknowledge the need for and begin implementing increasing transparency in both private and public conversation, to allow the members of the public to know exactly how things are truly being handled.

One's true character is shown by what one does when one thinks nobody is looking.  Let us hope that the true character of our leaders and staffers here at Legends of Equestria is responsible, professional, and worthy of the respect that we all give them.

~The Wandering Magus
Quote from: Hawk on 2013 May 21, 19:26:56I don't get it. What is so God-forbbiden, illegal and absolutely repulsive in what you did, Anya? I say that if there is more of that kind of stuff here, LoE's reputation would be BETTER, not worse. If the "Big wigs at corporate"(the teamleaders..) insist on this super-strict professional attitude, it will only just make this game that much less worth all this wait I have been doing so far and eventually I won't even care for this anymore.
The issue here being addressed is immaturity and a lack of professionalism when dealing with differences in opinions.  As evidenced in the picture referred to, the change was such that the original intent of the thought-out and serious post was reduced to essentially a troll post which characterized the poster as idiotic and irrational, and clearly displayed a desire to censor, ridicule and suppress differing thoughts and suggestions.
(sorry Bakasan, chose this image)
Descriptions and art of my OCs here: http://legendsofequestria.com/forum/index.php?topic=2636
my art: http://legendsofequestria.com/forum/index.php?topic=298
visiting soldier sister, be back 8/12/2013

Liska

Quote from: Hawk on 2013 May 21, 19:26:56
I don't get it. What is so God-forbbiden, illegal and absolutely repulsive in what you did, Anya? I say that if there is more of that kind of stuff here, LoE's reputation would be BETTER, not worse. If the "Big wigs at corporate"(the teamleaders..) insist on this super-strict professional attitude, it will only just make this game that much less worth all this wait I have been doing so far and eventually I won't even care for this anymore.

The fact of the matter is, something was leaked and spammed that people were confused by, and I need to fess up that I took part in working on the word-filter. I do feel that I am not the only one to blame, as if it had not been leaked by a certain team leader, everything would have been fine. But I am doing my part in apologizing and trying to fix what's been happening.

The Wandering Magus

why would the leak be a problem rather than a solution?  leaking this type of discussion is exactly what needs to happen in order to ensure responsible and mature leaders in this forum and future game.  It allows transparency and inspires accountability among the team members.  All leaders should be accountable for their actions, regardless of whether it occurs in public or in private, and mature in what they do and how they act.  Censorship only leads to a lack of accountability and a lack of professionalism.
(sorry Bakasan, chose this image)
Descriptions and art of my OCs here: http://legendsofequestria.com/forum/index.php?topic=2636
my art: http://legendsofequestria.com/forum/index.php?topic=298
visiting soldier sister, be back 8/12/2013

Rissian

2013 May 21, 19:52:28 #11 Last Edit: 2013 May 21, 19:54:47 by Trege
I guess I just want to ask why was it removed? Pushing things under the rug can often lead to more contempt. I saw the original post at 7AM though I doubt this will be acknowledged by the parties in question. But karma always has a way of catching up with people especially in situations like this. On the Internet nothing is ever truly deleted.

Also I was up from 7am all day that day it wasn't being spammed until it suddenly disappeared from the LoE section from what I could tell. As I was on all day watching the forum after I saw the original unedited post.

Liska

It was temporarily removed because it had some rude comments towards some team leaders. I had moved it to the Team Leader's only part of the forums so that we could discuss whether or not to move it back after maybe modifying some of the rude parts of the message that were completely unrelated to the suggestions, because mostly everyone was offline during that time of day.

After my second class, I had returned to see more duplicates of the same post by anonymous forum users who registered with temporary email addresses. At that point, a couple of the team leaders and I had decided to set up a word filter in order to catch any more posts since we had no idea if and when they would be spammed again. I began working on the word filter, joked around and made some silly immature phrases before putting in the real ones. And it just so happens a certain team leader had decided to screen shot the joke version and distribute it around.

The Wandering Magus

will the original post be returned, editing only the rude comments, to the forum general in the near future?  it's the least that can be done after what happened.
(sorry Bakasan, chose this image)
Descriptions and art of my OCs here: http://legendsofequestria.com/forum/index.php?topic=2636
my art: http://legendsofequestria.com/forum/index.php?topic=298
visiting soldier sister, be back 8/12/2013

Tekner

2013 May 21, 20:27:53 #14 Last Edit: 2013 May 21, 20:40:00 by Tekner
Quote from: The Wandering Magus on 2013 May 21, 19:48:40
why would the leak be a problem rather than a solution?  leaking this type of discussion is exactly what needs to happen in order to ensure responsible and mature leaders in this forum and future game.  It allows transparency and inspires accountability among the team members.  All leaders should be accountable for their actions, regardless of whether it occurs in public or in private, and mature in what they do and how they act.  Censorship only leads to a lack of accountability and a lack of professionalism.
Because 100% professionalism isn't as helpful as you'd think. If everything was business on projects like these and everything was transparent, we couldn't cultivate any kind of relationships with each other because that requires private time. Also, it'd become a job. Regardless of if working on any project actually is a job, it's still a choice of if if feels like one. The most productive work gets done when it's fun and staff are having a good time. Just look at big, successful companies like Facebook, Valve, and NASA. They have all kinds of videos and webpages talking about the renovations they do to their offices and work areas to make their employees more at ease and feel like they're at home when they're actually at work.

Does that mean that those employees will end up sometimes saying or doing stupid things? Yes, it absolutely does, and that's necessary for a cohesive work environment. Am I saying that nothing can get out of what happens there and it needs to turn into some secret cultist society? No.

The other point is that if any of your friends told someone what you said about so-and-such when you told them that in privacy, what do you call that? You call that gossip, and that is exactly what happened here. It is absolutely no different. Could that gossip have been avoided if it was never said in the first place? Absolutely, but that doesn't mean the person who gossiped in the first place has no blame in what happened either.

All in all, what happened ...happened. Mistakes were made and we proved to you guys, once and for all, that we are, in fact, human and screw up sometimes. I'm sorry it had to be revealed this way, however, the truth is that we're people just like you guys who have exactly the same needs. The only difference is that we have fancy name badges.

In regards to transparency between leaders and members: Any of the staff who've been around long enough weren't surprised by any of this. It was just that in this instance things got blown out of proportion by people who weren't on staff.

Liska

Quote from: The Wandering Magus on 2013 May 21, 20:19:37
will the original post be returned, editing only the rude comments, to the forum general in the near future?  it's the least that can be done after what happened.

We are not sure at the moment if it would be a good idea, but regardless of what we decide on that matter, their ideas are already being taken into consideration.

Rissian

2013 May 21, 20:42:00 #16 Last Edit: 2013 May 21, 20:48:33 by Trege
Only one comment was rude and it was on the bottom. As otherwise she didn't mention any names. And just explained what had happened. It's your guy's business but just know if the whole story isn't told things often end up worse than they are now with no one winning. As those wronged usually want what happened to them shown. And the Internet is a perfect place for them to attempt that.


If you truly have an apology then not showing everything will only end badly and worse for whoever it was, that is in the wrong.

Tekner

2013 May 21, 20:48:42 #17 Last Edit: 2013 May 21, 20:54:05 by Tekner
Quote from: Trege on 2013 May 21, 20:42:00
Only one comment was bad and it was on the bottom. As otherwise she didn't mention any names. And just explained what had happened. It's your guy's business but just know if the whole story isn't told things often end up worse than they are now with no one winning. As those wronged usually want what happened to them shown. And the Internet is a perfect place for them to attempt that.


If you truly have an apology then not showing everything will only end badly and worse for whoever it was, that is in the wrong.
Ordinarily I would completely agree with that sentiment, except that the apology is for inappropriate behavior executed in response to a justified action of preventing further drama. We don't need more gossip running around the forums. The parts that were removed, as you well know, Trege, were personal matters that may or may not be substantiated. They have no place on a forum, especially a forum with the themes of tolerance and kindness, and an average audience as young as we have.

Restoring the post with those parts removed I'm all for, however.

Rissian

Right sometimes I forget the target demographic here, but this never would have happened had no one jumped to conclusions and spread personal rumors, when the other party was gone and couldn't explain it. I'm just saying sometimes not showing things lead to more problems and the Internet is an easy place for people to show it here or on another site. And it's much worse when someone else shows it, especially if they are the affected party. And you can easily make the post appropriate for all ages. I saw the original post it isn't that hard to do so, as it was mild to begin with.

But like I said before it's your guy's business I'm only offering advice.

Tekner

Quote from: Trege on 2013 May 21, 20:55:43
But like I said before it's your guy's business I'm only offering advice.
We appreciate it. It's best for everyone if we just leave it at that we probably won't post it.

Anyone else have any questions for AnyaSmash?

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