so i havent really spoken on this a lot, but the reason goredev left the modding community was in large part due to the false accusations made against him a year ago that he was a sexual predator. the allegations were proven false, but not before a moderator at r/skyrimmods (a subreddit with over 400k members in it) allowed a callout post to made about him with these allegations and his personal details, such as his legal name, the city and state he lived in, his rank in the army, etc. all with the purpose of calling him out for something he was not. after he proved his innocence, the r/skyrimmods subreddit was quick to remove any and all mentions of the incident. goredev got little more than a "whoops, sorry I was manipulated!" for an apology from the admin that allowed his sensitive and private information to be posted, but the damage was already done. during that time I was driving 3 hours to his house and back once a week to check on him as a form of suicide watch. goredev, as im sure you all know, is a victim of CSA. to be called a predator was extremely triggering and had a noticeable impact on his mental health.
because of this, and because he never got more than a half-hearted apology and no true resolution besides just absolving his name of a crime he did not commit, he made the decision to leave the community he had been made to feel so unwelcome in. he brought it to the r/skyrimmods subreddit's attention of the admin's, Thallassa, actions. since then, the subreddit has been embroiled on the topic of if she should remain a moderator, what needs to be done about moderation, and what to do going further. Thallassa announced today that they were recruiting more admins for the subreddit, but that she would not be stepping down as a moderator. No accountability would be taken.
I made a post directly addressing her, which was immediately removed from the subreddit. I feel you all have a right to hear it:
"Ok Thallassa. Let me address you directly. Last time we spoke, you said you admired how kind I was, so let me pay you that same respect.
I am glad to hear that other moderators will be recruited. But, in my honest opinion, this needs to be done with the goal in mind that you will step down from your role. By your own admission just now, you allowed a man's government name and the city and state he lived in to be posted in a malicious callout thread. In doing so, you potentially endangered him and his family. You allowed my legal name to be posted on that same thread, and when I asked you to removed it and showed you my drivers license to prove it was my legal name, you still contested it and eventually settled on 'I'll ask [party accusing goredev] to remove your name.' You did not take action as a moderator and remove mentions of my name. You told me you would ask the same person who I had just shown you proof of attacking and insulting me to do it themselves. You have also allowed trash-talking about goredev to stay up in the discord server general chat, some talks you even participated in. It is clear that you have an outstanding bias and therefore cannot be impartial in this matter or any other matters to do with him whatsoever.
Let's also not forget why all of this started in the first place: because of the events of last year, wherein he was falsely accused of being a predator, because he never got a formal apology, and because the events that transpired on this subreddit permanently ruined his reputation amongst other mod authors, he is leaving the community. He was treated like shit, frankly. And never got more than a 'whoops, sorry'.
This post still falls short of what he was asking for when he brought this to light again: accountability. I think recruiting new admins is going to be a great start. But you cannot remain an impartial moderator here. It is too abundantly clear you are not impartial, you have bias, and you still cannot say directly 'I apologize for the role I had in malicious, false attacks against you that have affected you this deeply.' You still do not even say what the false allegations were that you kept up: that he, a CSA survivor, was supposedly a predator.
So sure, stuff is being done to fill the gap that Cobb left, but nothing is changed. No accountability has been taken. And until then, I cannot see how anything is going to get done and not allow something like this to happen again. I hope this was kind enough for you, and I hope you listen to what I have to say."
You all have a right to know why he left, what he went through, and what he is still going through. Thallassa, I hope you see this, and I hope you stop removing posts. Take accountability for your role in what you did to goredev, own up to what you did, and step down so no one else can be hurt like he has been.
jacobvanloon
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