Hello O R B I S,
I am the former leader of GOONS (yes, that GOONS). That left the game of their own volition after it became clear that Morningstar wouldn't be able to offer me the protection that I would need to continue playing the game in any capacity. I've since kept a relatively quiet profile, logging in here and there to double check on my nation and occasionally popping into discord.
There are some weird misconceptions that I wish to clear up before going any further;
1. Why didn't you delete and reroll?
A. I'm not hiding my previous actions as if I'm an innocent, that is wholly unfair.
2. Why weren't you banned? / I thought you were banned?
A. I never partook in the harassment of @Alex, giving him a heads up when people found his address (he already knew) and actively attempting to get the collective membership of GOONS to stop reporting the game on Google Play. I was never banned, nor moderated against for anything that occurred during NPOLT.
3. You mercyboarded people!!
A. You're right, I did, and so did my alliance. At the beginning this practice was viewed in the lens of humor and eventually after entirely legitimate complaints from both allies of GOONS and the community et al, we changed the way the process worked. Although we still practiced "mercyboarding" we tried to keep the requests funny and light hearted and avoid OOC breaches. Additionally, Alex had previously asked (and received) screenshots of our mercyboard chat room. AFAIK this was fowarded to the proper authorities to ensure that any violations were dealt with as required by the cyberbullying task force.
Specifically; I was never involved in the "DOG FOOD GUY" or "CAT FOOD KID" (these happened in another game, well over 8 years prior). Although I did rehost them upon the request of GOONS membership which I admit was a bad look.
4. What do you want?
A. Short answer? To play a nation sim and build cities / carebear. I have no intention of bringing back GOONS or Opus Dei. I have no intention of tracking down former OD members and creating a coalition. OD is dead and should stay dead. Any resurrection of those alliances should be met with brute force.
Onto the important stuff; As I previously stated I am not going to hide who I was or what I did. I'm not going to make OOC excuses for how I acted (although plenty exist); but I am going to offer an apology and a pledge to be better. I enjoy this game, and always have. I apologize to people who were doxxed by GOONS, NPO, or Opus Dei. Although not by my direction; my direct lack of action helped create the environment that Opus Dei flourished in. I apologize to people who may never read this as they have left the game due to being placed on Kill-On-Sight lists by Opus Dei. I apologize to those I was close in KERCHTOG with for not using the political weight of GOONS and myself to end the war before there was damage to the community. I apologize that the point of the war became one of community damage.
I cannot change the past, and I will not try rehash it. I can only post what I remember of my role; and what in my hindsight was going on. Although I may feel that some of those actions were completely justified I am certainly guilty of many times forgetting that we are all people on the other side of the screens and that the things we say, post, and do to each other can sometimes have drastic affects. Which should always be the first determining factor in how we interact with each other moving forward.
I, like Anna, would like to use this thread to respond to any questions, feelings, or thoughts you have still have on this. Alternatively if you feel that you need / or would like to speak privately my discord is Astryl#0420.
As for now, I'm going to slowly begin to rebuild the infrastructure of my nation and hope that Orbis can forgive my actions and more importantly give me a chance to prove that I am sorry.
((P.S, Although OOC, I would strongly prefer to have people use she/her pronouns when referencing me in the future.))
Love,
Astryl.
