PoliceRP, Matilda Ban Appeal - Citizen Quack- Denied

[HiddenUser]

Steam Name: HiddenUser

Ingame Name: Citizen Quack / Trooper Quack 1T

SteamID: STEAM_0:0:33905900

Ban Length: 5 Days

Admin that Banned you: Matilda

Reason for Ban: Racism

Dispute:
I'm not trying to excuse what I said, nor downplay the potential consequences of using this kind of language. I am disputing the length of the ban and the action taken by Matilda. I would like to point out this happened around 9:40AM EST this morning, when only roughly 5-6 people were active. 

I'm new to the community, having only joined a few days ago. I typically play as Trooper Quack, some of you may have seen me around. I'm not trying to use this as an excuse, just as an example that this is not typical behavior from me. I have had a lot of Staff sits during the few days I have been in the community, usually reporting the people breaking rules. So far, I have been very lenient and understanding when people make mistakes and don't push for warnings or bans. I am a very forgiving person by nature.

This was my first sit where I was the one being punished. Again, I admit my mistake and chose a very poor set of words. I immediately recognized the situation, and apologized for my actions. I asked for a verbal warning, given that I am new and do not typically engage in this behavior. I have to deal with statements like what I made IRL all the time, which again doesn't excuse my statements, but does explain why it came off the top of my head like that. My typical response is to ignore it to the best of my ability and continue about my day. I myself am a White male that lives in one of the more dangerous parts due to financial restraints.

During the process of getting banned, Matilda was asking some very direct questions in what I believe was an attempt to get me to say the banned words again. On top of her questions, it appears as if she was trying to flip the situation into something it was not. This does not seem like unbiased or professional behavior.

I believe the clip attached below will speak for itself, and I am willing to join TS or Discord for a VC to discuss this further. I hope for a peaceful and swift resolution that doesn't affect my long-term standing with the community. I believe this community could be a great place to spend spare time, as I have already met many like-minded people and thoroughly enjoy the gameplay that has been carefully crafted.

Medal Video (Edited from 3 clips into 1 Video)
https://medal.tv/games/garrys-mod/clips/21IaX1MDLajEKJ/d1337lMYdZFn?invite=cr-MSxwbWEsMjAxNjIzOTY5LA

EDIT* Formatting, Timezone

Edited March 18 by HiddenUser

[DaksHour]

+/- Support

+ : I dont think he meant it to be racist, even though he was cracking a racist joke. Which for obvious reasons makes it racist. I also believe he wont do it again, as his response is not only genuine but from my interactions with him in-game have been great. 

-Side note- I dont think matilda was trying to get you to say the words again, i think she was just trying to explain to you that what you said should have never been said

- : As this is considered a Mature Community. There are something that are taken seriously. Rasicm is a big one. Its a no tolerance behavior and normally results in extensive punishments.

 

I hope you the best in getting your ban at least reduced and i hope you make better choices in words in the future adventures to come

[Matilda]

I don't have much to provide from my side more then that I was not meaning to making you say the word again it's more of a thing of making you think about what you just said. Racism/ racist jokes is not something that is taken lightly and I do not believe one should go around making racist jokes just because.

[HiddenUser]

I could understand being absolutely 0 tolerance and not allowing any kind of warning for these things while the server is active and populated, but again there was only a few people in Non-AFK Jobs. I would completely understand if I was on my State Trooper Character and I made a statement like that. That doesn't excuse or make the statements any less severe, but they are mitigating factors, along with my newness (I only started playing the server actively a few days ago) that should have been considered.

I feel it's important to point out that the player at the receiving end of the comment (Bed) also left the server right after I got banned. I believe this shows that they did not agree with the choice to ban me. I can't say for certain, as being shadow banned I can't use voice or text chat whatsoever, and this is merely speculation. Regardless, this action caused 2 of 7 active players to leave the server. Bed and I have no prior interaction of note, this was not done with the intent to cause harm, duress, or instigate any form of emotional response. It was a slip of the tongue, and does not warrant this level of punishment.

I believe a verbal would have been far more appropriate given the totality of the circumstances. I know what I did was wrong, and I don't want my warn record to have something so serious pasted on it when it was an honest mistake and misunderstanding with very minimal exposure to the average or common player base during a time of relative inactivity for the server.

Edited March 18 by HiddenUser

[Isaac Jones]

Although this took place during low population there's no guarantee you could give us that it won't happen again and towards another player. Additionally the fact you supposedly said the word again doesn't give me much hope. I personally believe that the ban you got was fair as normally players can end up with a lot longer ban for this specific rule break. As mentioned previously many times in this forum alone racism is a zero tolerance at GL.

What I personally say is wait your ban because I believe this small ban on your record will help you improve and not make more mistakes in the future

[HiddenUser]

I don't believe permanently labeling me a racist because I made a slip of the tongue statement is exactly fair treatment. That is disproportionate to the severity of the infraction.

As for repeating the word, people were asking me what was going on and I did not want to appear as if I was downplaying the situation. I'm very open and honest about any direct question I receive.

I don't believe this will "help me improve and not make more mistakes in the future", as previously stated, I do not engage with this behavior typically. If you want a reassurance that it won't happen again, on the promise that a more severe punishment should follow, I would find that agreeable. This was an isolated incident that did not have any hateful meaning behind it. I was attempting to parody people who act like this in real life.

Generally speaking, when I have a bad situation like this or I make a massive mistake, I just leave the community and find a new one to start over with.

There are also factors regarding this situation that I do not want to make public that may change the outcome. I have stated this previously in Discord.

*Multiple edits. Mostly formatting, some words switched around / replaced.

Edited March 18 by HiddenUser

[Ion Davis]

-SUPPORT

I was present when this situation occurred. There was at least three other people present excluding myself and Matilda. You began cursing a lot and finished your sentence with the slur used. I understand in a sense people mostly overlook the term used; however, it is still a slur and should be treated as such. Effectively, what you said is just as equivalent as saying the "N word". Many may argue it's not as bad, but they're both slurs for people of different races. You should be more considerate about the people around you. There is never a reason you should be using that type of language. Now it's one thing to use it in a Private Voice Chat (PVC) with you and friends, but you were in a public zone filled with new and old players, maybe even kids too.

Matilda considered the situation and the people present. Then, she also gave you a two day reduced ban because you're a new player. From this point on, you should take accountability and just wait it out. 

[HiddenUser]

I have the clip in it's entirety from when I walked out of spawn to when I got banned. There were only 4 people present for the entire thing as best as I can tell. I would really like to see where the other 3 people you're claiming to have been there are.

IF the ban really was reduced to two days, I may be willing to consider that a fair compromise IF the warn can be removed / changed to another label that doesn't explicitly call me a racist *for the rest of the servers lifetime*. If you spent time to know me, you would come to understand that I am not a racist, and this was just a genuine mistake.

I like this community. I have not signed up to Forums for any community, regardless of size or longevity, for a very, very long time. No matter the rhyme or reason, I virtually always refuse to opt in to the Forums. I believe this really is one giant misunderstanding, and that some of us may have gotten off to the wrong foot. I am a genuine, honest, and fair guy and I believe this entire situation reflects poorly on who I really am.

I still haven't had a chance to talk to someone in the Senior Management Team about the details I do not wish to be public regarding this.

[Will]

Denied