The Roman Empire

[Aeneas Prime]

“Plag has handed over the discord and founder and both have retired in disgrace and left the region - sincerely someone not them” might do it, but I’d bet on a frog jockeying a squirrel to win the triple crown before I’d bet on seeing that.

Pretty much.

[Cormactopia Prime]

Good riddance to The Roman Empire. I hope no one else will harbor Kleo and Festavo after this either.

[Blood Wine]

As someone personally named in the logs, I personally feel betrayed my the trust I had put into Festavo, and feel disgusted he would tell Plagentine personal information to such a degree that he would know these personal details

I've dealt with depression and suicidal tendencies all my life, and this ain't making it any easier

[Lenlyvit]

I haven't seen the logs, but I can get a general feel for them after I read the last few threads. What Plagentine and Festavo did is despicable, and has no place in human society. Every person is born equal, whether they be man, woman, trans, gay, bi, lesbian, or any other way. I applaud the steps taken against TRE and their actions. We are all human, we are all equal, and you should be ashamed of yourselves Plag and Fest. I hope TRE rots by itself, and that more regions take action to blacklist the leaders or the organization of TRE. Truly heinous and despicable actions on the part of TRE.

Edit: saw the logs, post still stands.

[Deladara]

Let me get this straight (that's a word you guys will probably appreciate)

You guys...
Bullied someone because (s)he's a furry
Then continued to say that furries should be shot
Implied all trans are idiots
Explicitly named 4 people (1 of whom I consider a friend) who you wish to inflict physical harm upon
But only a slap with a pan so that makes it okay
You claimed all trans should be in work camps
Called the entire region of TBH degenerates
But hey, that was just a joke right?
I'm not done
You made a plan to impersonate a gay black man so you "could say n*a without retaliation"
Oh but thank goodness, bi is alright; guess that means I'm safe

All of that and more, and you want to tell me this is a f*cking joke? The only joke here is your apology!

[Reventus Koth]

You guys should probably be careful about what you're saying on this forum, there's a reason our statement was so vague.

[The Noble Thatcherites]

We do not expect a foreign affairs miracle from this post.

I truthfully believe that there is not a single thing that can be said from -anyone- in your region or organization in response to this that will generate a positive result. My advice? Exit stage left. Both of you. That is, if you truly care about your region and the community you have developed there.

There is no need to bring up r/d stuff as an excuse either. This is very strictly OOC territory. You both surely knew this.

This. Both of you need to leave TRE. What was said is entirely unacceptable, and should not be tolerated anywhere.

[Consular]

I'd like to say I'm intimately familiar with shitposting, and this wasn't that. It was so much more than that. Don't sell yourselves short, gents -- you're just not nice people, that's what this is.

[Devi Vytherin]

Literally the same line of defense as KR took when called out on their objectionable discord content.

[Mallorea and Riva]

You guys should probably be careful about what you're saying on this forum, there's a reason our statement was so vague.

Just looking through in passing, but Koth's advice is well founded. To the extent that people are citing things that occurred off of the site things get tricky quickly. I've been totally fine with the way this thread and the way The Black Hawks have handled their announcement, same with Euro's announcement, but be mindful.

[Rivine]

Iran is withdrawing it's embassy with us

[Tinhampton]

Iran is withdrawing it's embassy with us

That's because defenders have taken the region back from the TRE-TBH-etc. coalition, and are now closing all raider embassies. Standard practice.

[Alkasia]

That statement was a load of horseshit. I'm absolutely disgusted to see this abhorrent behaviour towards these groups. Nobody should be ridiculed or threatened for their identity and to see this from TRE leadership makes me sick to my stomach.

Good riddance. I hope your blacklist is long and reflective. And I look forward to seeing TRE's leadership replaced with those that will respect their members from those communities and provide a space for them where they don't have to be worried about being attacked and mocked for who they are.


To the members of TRE who are in these communities and/or are just as disgusted with the actions of their leaders: I recommend finding a new region, be it raider-aligned or not, that will provide a welcoming and supportive community. You are valued and you are important.

[Fauxia]

Hey guys, first rule to convincing someone you’re actually sorry? Do something about it. Do something that shows repentance. An yeah, packing up and leaving your region works. If you really cared about the people in your organization, you would leave. You bring it a bad name, and you give TRE a bad name, by extension.

[The Holy Principality of Saint Mark]

Bullying and intolerance should be eliminated whenever we see it. It is never acceptable behavior anywhere, but in NS we must be extra vigilant. Due to the anonymous environment, coupled with the fact that many people probably play this sort of game to run governments, the NS community is perhaps especially vulnerable. People bully in order to gain a sense of power, purpose or control. Many players here seek a simulation of the same, but they don’t do it by attacking or belittling others.
We must make it clear that anyone who chooses to act with hate will not only not gain the power or purpose they seek, but will be shunned and lose any prestige or good will they might have developed.
God made us each precious individuals. Although we have much more in common than we have differences, we should be glad of those differences.
The only intolerance we should allow in NS is toward the intolerant!
The recently released logs that document a pattern of intolerant behavior by Fest and Plagentine, which they do not deny are accurate, is unacceptable to The West Pacific. TWP is a region that will not tolerate bullying. Therefore, effective immediately, Fest and Plag are PNG in The West Pacific.

[Fauxia]

A wise move by TWP.

[The Glorious Hypetrain]

edit: not posting link to offsite as directed. sorry folks

[Vando0sa]

Ouch.. pretty harsh logs there.. TRE might as well ally itself with Fascists for now on..

[Cormactopia Prime]

Ouch.. pretty harsh logs there.. TRE might as well ally itself with Fascists for now on..

Now that you mention it, Kleo (Plagentine) has already done that. Twice.

He's been bad news for a long time, and I've been saying so for a long time. Hopefully the blacklisting will actually last this time.

[Fauxia]

Ouch.. pretty harsh logs there.. TRE might as well ally itself with Fascists for now on..

Uh, who’s saying this exactly?

[Consular]

Ouch.. pretty harsh logs there.. TRE might as well ally itself with Fascists for now on..

Uh, who’s saying this exactly?

Vando0sa is? Says the name right there.

[Yodle]

You call this an apology? Your entire premise about TRE being a safe and comfortable community is clearly false due to the fact that one of your own friends felt uncomfortable enough to leak these logs. You seem to have a very toxic way of letting off steam, it's almost as if you actually believe most, if not all, of those things you wrote on the logs! Also, your attempt at justifying your ignorant beliefs on transgender individuals is based on weak arguments which aren't even true. Perhaps the reason you don't think there is enough research out there, is simply because you've never bothered to look into it yourself. I would suggest stepping down from your role in TRE and taking a long while to reflect on this. Individual biases come out in ways you may not be aware of, and it does not take much to create a hostile environment for people who already face indescribable discrimination and hate for identifying as transgender.

[Saint Draig]

Interestingly enough, I have always known Festavo as an individual who often pushes the envelope on what is most commonly regarded as socially acceptable and socially unacceptable as it regards to the content of his comments. Of course, rather these past instances have been done in an in-character or out-of-character setting is debatable. However, what is not is the fact that none of this was done in a comedic context whatsoever in the slightest.

You both offer a quote unquote “apology”, but what is truly being apologized for? Your actions? I would say they’re laughable, but in all truth they are not. In fact, they are deplorable, and I’m sure I need not remind you of this.

Now, I understand there being dramatized occurrences in NationStates GamePlay. That happens daily, and it has become part of the culture of this game unfortunately. There are those that take in-character actions far too seriously in my firm opinion, but what both Emperor Plagentine and Legatus Festavo of the Roman Empire did was deliberate. As others have stated, this goes beyond the culture and nature of the game.

This is not drama, but rather this is something both of you did. The way I see it your “apology” is less than half-hearted. There has been no action as far as the general populace of this game is able to view and if there have been actions taken then a I would highly advise you publicize these undertakings in a way that promotes clarity and transparency.

If I were either of you, which ever-so fortunately I am not, I would be very careful about how I proceed with this matter going forwards. Be mindful of your actions, and enjoy the game for what it is.

This is a game, no? The point for which people partake in a game in the first place is to enjoy themselves, and clearly if someone with a role-specific designation in your organizational Discord server felt so inclined as to share these logs due to distress or uneasiness then you are thereby making this game less enjoyable for them along with everyone else.

What you both did goes beyond the confines of this game and that which is socially acceptable within it. I commend both the West Pacific, among other regions, for having declared both of these persons persona no grata and blacklisting them. Along with that, I commend the individual who took the steps necessary to come forwards with these logs, as I do understand that in itself can easily require great courage.

My advice one more, It was speculated that a limited number of people possessed that role-specific masking on the Roman Empire’s organizational Discord server; and, while I can neither confirm nor deny that personally, I truly do believe it. Whoever did leak these logs, don’t allow yourself to be made a target at the hands of your disgraced Emperor and Legatus. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it if there was an impending witch-hunt within the ranks of the Roman Empire for this person, and that’s honestly absolutely disgusting.

To those currently serving within the the Roman Empire: Your leadership is both incapable and incompetent. If they truly cared about your well-being then they wouldn’t be loose cannons and make statements that are uncalled for such as this. They’ve shown no remorse, and surely you know this. So when will action be taken? That is the question.

[Blood Wine]

That apology was on the level of the Jake Paul suicide forest apology

[Yodle]

That apology was on the level of the Jake Paul suicide forest apology

ouch