@luxoracademy @luxorstarters @luxorgossip
I am writing to the current members of Luxor and to those who might be considering joining. I'm writing this because I have things to say, and I've been quiet for far too long. While the admins may write me off as a member burned, I hope at least one person can take me at face value, because I am here to tell my story.
I joined Luxor on May 17, 2020. However, it was not an easy process. The face claim I wanted to use was rejected as being "too old," despite that face claim having copious amounts of resources from when he was younger. At the time of my application, the rules regarding face claims were that they should have played a high school character before, which my desired face claim did. I had to fight to use the face for my character that I wanted to, and while I was successful, I was often scared to use resources that were in the time frame deemed acceptable by the admins, but that I was afraid they'd see as too "old". And this is a fear that I've kept until my last day as a member of this rp. I am still afraid that I may be issued warnings or other forms of cease and desists for using a resource for my character.
Despite the initial trouble, Luxor seemed like a great place. So many of the members I met when I joined were wonderful and welcoming except, funny enough, the admin team. The only thing I received from them upon joining was a link to the Luxor Discord server. They never introduced themselves, and only one of the admins included a very basic "welcome!" message upon my joining the server.
So while I was plotting with and getting to know the members, the admin team gave the air of being aloof and untouchable. Trying to reach out and plot with them, would result in a message or two every two weeks. And then nothing would ever come from it. I'd start threads and reply to threads with the admins, and they'd end within 4-5 replies if they ever got a reply at all. The rules of the role-play prohibit "bubble rp," but there's no one in more of a bubble than the admins.
Before this is written off as an unfounded claim, despite trying to plot with Admin Mimi for months, my first ever dash interaction with her was on October 21, 2020. That was more than five months after I joined the rp. So, for anyone considering joining and wondering about plotting with the admins, I'd suggest another rp, as these admins don't plot much outside their clique.
And yes, I called it a clique, because that's exactly what it is. Some people are in the "inner circle" and included in a private discord server with the admins, and surprise, those select people and the admins rarely plot outside themselves for anything. A thread started outside the clique, will more than likely be abandoned after one or two replies, if you see any replies at all.
Beyond their clique and bubble, the admins have a growing history with power trips. The first was on July 25, 2020, when the admins created a firm rule about the role-play's secret aspect. We were told that we were no longer allowed to speculate amongst ourselves. Honestly, that took a lot of the fun out of it. It was fun to speculate with others, see if they guessed our own characters' secrets or not. They created a rule; however, that stated that only two characters could know a secret of another character. Depending upon the secret, that is potentially impossible to maintain. But it limits characters from having ties to others in their past when the secret may have originated if two other characters already know the secret. The rule came out of nowhere and seemed very arbitrary. It was an unnecessary bid for power.
Then on October 7, 2020, the admin team decided to temporarily shut down the role-plays Discord server, under the guise of making the rp more inclusive. They asked for member feedback and thoughts and concerns. I, as well as others that I know of, gave them a list of concerns that we had. I can't speak for their concerns, but mine went largely ignored. I had issue with one of the members that were a part of the admins' clique, and the response was rather that they seemed untouchable, as if they couldn't possibly be making me feel like the rp was an unsafe environment. This was not the first time that I brought a concern that I had about this member to the admins, and it was the not the first time that they disregarded my concerns, as the things that bothered me weren't "against the rules."
Most recently, the admins created a new rule on December 15, 2020 about starters. The rule is unwieldy and dictates who a character can and cannot interact with. By forcing members to reply to three threads per character in order to do a single starter call, they remove the ability for some to role-play closed starters from more than just the few people they reach out to. I did bring this concern to the admins, and they all but wrote me off. Personally, I am a full-time student with a part-time job. I can barely maintain four threads per character. This new rule made it impossible for me to do a starter call in any capacity, severely limiting my ability to role-play as I have been doing for months now.
However, my issues aren't just from arbitrary and overly controlling rules. The admins have also accused me, personally, of things that I won't go into as they concern other people as well as my self. I received a warning for something they took on hearsay. It was reported to them by someone that had a falling out with myself, and the action itself supposedly occurred during a voice chat. Now, there is no way to prove a conversation over voice chat without a recording, but that's not the point. The point is that I was given a warning without the admins reaching out for my side of the story. They took the other person's word as fact, and didn't consider to hear both sides before issuing warnings. I wasn't the only to receive this treatment either, but that's not my story to tell.
On December 28, 2020, the admins began what is essentially a witch hunt. They received what they perceived as hate. In my opinion, what they received was simply a statement of an opinion of their members. However, they began this witch hunt, asking for members to accuse other members of sending these messages. This, like most witch hunts, ended with the accusation of someone innocent. This innocent is a dear friend of mine, and it hurt to see them hung out like a witch for the world to see with little to no proof. Seeing this, I know it's completely my time to leave. I cannot stay in a place that breeds hostility and threatens private conversations and feelings to be become public spectacle.
So now we're here. This is my official withdrawal from Luxor Academy. To potential new members, I hope at least some of my words prepare you for what kind of place this is. This all said, I want to be clear that it is not the whole admin team that are powerhungry. It is the two main admins, Nora and Mimi. I have had very little good experiences with them to share. To Yo, thank you for trying, and I appreciate you as the only sane admin on this rp. To my friends, I still consider you my friends. If you ever want to talk or even do a one on one role-play over Discord, you know where to reach me. Just because I'm dissatisfied with Luxor's management, does not mean I think less of my friends.
Further, upon completion of this letter, it has come to my attention that a member of this rp, someone I thought was my friend, or at least friendly, shared my personal medical information with the admins, without my knowledge or consent. This speculated information was taken as a screenshot and sent to multiple other members, something that caused me to have a panic attack. Having my information circulated like this is the very last straw. Luxor is an unsafe role-play environment, and anyone thinking to join, please think very carefully.
