Okay, so to address the issue with
@Flower
First off, this is not to be a public circus. If you have any reaction or comment to this, you can ask them in PMs. It's also not a debate.
To explain my thought process here, there are two sides I have to weigh up. The first is that Flower is an experienced player, and otherwise knows what is or isn't acceptable. If she were new, it would be easier to be lenient. On the other hand, this is to my knowledge the first time Flower has gotten herself modkilled in a game, for this offence. As a result, there is an argument for leniency, because it's not really in character for her. Overriding both of these two perspectives, I have the concern for precedent. Anything done here would have to be followed and applied to anyone.
My original decision was to provide a strike, which is essentially a warning, and to move on. That being said, given Flower's experience as a player, I don't feel like that is quite good enough if I want to deter this behaviour. This does not mean I'm going to jump to game bans, though, and if that's what you're aiming for, then you can skip to the end of this post where I reiterate where to send your *constructive* (that means, not whining) complaints.
She is, of course, receiving a strike, the warning one. She will also be on probation for the next 5 games. Before I get into what exactly that entails, in my view this modkill wasn't caused out of a desire to undermine the game or spoil it for everyone. Instead, I think Flower lost control of her emotions, and reacted disproportionately to the thread. Some players are difficult, and maybe even unlikable, and it can be easy to blow up on them. If I felt there was purposeful antagonation going on, I'd probably have settled with a warning, but for this case I don't think anything in the thread was so bad it cam close to justifying the response. I do not know what is going on in Flower's personal life, and we all have days where we are more emotional than normal, but there still has to be a point where one knows when and how to disengage. There are plenty of options available in the event that emotional control is lost, and this wasn't a good example of following them.
So, probation. Simply put, over the next 5 games, I expect Flower to demonstrate better control over her emotions, wherein I don't have to worry about this happening again. This is going to be subjective by nature, but what I really want to see is Flower show some improvement in what she does to avoid lashing out emotionally to this extreme. All being well, there will be no incident over these next 5 games to stress test this, but in the event that there is, I expect to see her handle it in a more mature, disciplined way. I tend to be pretty lenient when it comes to lashing out verbally against players, but over these 5 games, while I certainly wouldn't be strict, I will be hoping Flower reaches a higher standard than minimum, as a show of good faith if nothing else.
I believe I have a good measure of Flower's character, so I am trusting her that she will pass these next 5 games with no issue to note and I won't come to regret any leniency that I may be showing here. Going forward, of course, this will be the standard for all experienced players who force themselves to be modkilled by posting their role PM. If I am made to regret this, though, then Flower will be done playing here for the rest of the year.
Moreover, I mentioned earlier that I was giving a strike. That still remains, but if, over the course of the time remaining that this strike is in place (1 year), Flower gets herself modkilled again, assuming it's past the probation period of 5 games, then Flower will be signup banned for the following 5 games. To make the standard clear here, ordinarily, a second strike will be a signup ban for 2 games - in Flower's case specifically, a second strike for a modkill *in these circumstances* will be 5.
I don't post this to embarrass or promote mockery against Flower. If you think it's not harsh enough, you can tell me in PM. Fair warning - I won't be changing my mind, but if there is some explanation here that proves to be unclear, then I will be happy to provide it there. If you think it's too harsh - same story. I would rather players don't react at all and help us to draw a line under this affair and move on, but if you absolutely must comment on this, I expect your comment to ultimately be in promotion of the issue being resolved, and of course, constructive. To Flower specifically - this isn't a promotion of any defence here either, if you must have your say then do so, but again I expect complaints or need for clarification to be brought up via PM. I trust you know that there is a significant degree of trust and faith that I am placing in you with this, and that I fully expect there to be no further issues of this sort.
To outline, as this has been generally poorly defined, the standard for
experienced players will be:
1st Offence - Probation and Strike.
2nd Offence (while on Probation) - 1 year ban.
2nd Offence (post-Probation, while on Strike) - 2 game ban.
3rd Offence (post-Probation, while on Strike) - 1 year ban.
And with that, I hope that proves to be the end of it. Remember, if you feel like you have lost control of your emotions, step away from the game entirely. If that isn't effective, request with the host to replace you. Posting your role PM means the host no longer has that opportunity, which undermines the
game we are all here to play.