Ban Appeal
Byond ID? Egorkor
Do you confirm you have read the Appeal Rules and that this appeal conforms to them? Yes
Character Name? Graham Maclagan
What is your discord tag? (If appealing a discord ban) -
Type of Ban? Timed Ban
What is your Bancode? N/A, timed ban
If jobban, which job are you appealing? N/A
Admin who banned you (if known) Silencer_pl
Total Ban Duration 30 days
Remaining Duration 28,7 days
What other servers do you play on? Nowadays and constantly, none. My original community died out years ago and other than that, I only used to main CM or Bay. These days I mostly play different servers for a short period then take long breaks, i.e. Fallout, SCP, etc.
Are you now or have you been banned on any servers? Which ones? No bans elsewhere at this time. I was permabanned off Baystation 3 years ago, give or take, for roleplaying a CO character with only a first name (an alien race character mimicking Grand Admiral Thrawn) and 'refusing to cryo', where in fact I was going to do so after handing down tasks to other crew members, as it was a code orange situation. I was typing out a response to the staffer to detail it when he banned me mid-sentence. My memory of the event may be a bit sketchy, but I believe any and all their bans at the time were perma until appeal, and the forum appeal was quickly denied by another member of staff for reasons unrelated to it (over 4 years of playing there and maining security I, along with a group of characters, have accrued a poor reputation among some members leaning toward more strict and bureaucratic roleplay style). Therefore the ban remained a permanent one despite the fact there was nothing to perma for.
Do you play using a Virtual Machine? No
Is your copy of Windows legitimate? No
Do you connect using a VPN? If so, which provider? N/A
Reason for Ban You have been banned by silencerpl.
Reason: Banned for Homophobic comments in-game: Multiple homophobic IC insults combined with death threats based on perceived sexuality issued on a character in game, a very vulgar breach of our no racist/homophobic language rule. Considering they just came off a ban for breaking the same rule and the break was so through, a 30 day ban and a perma will be issued. Explain yourself on the forum if you believe this was issued in error..
This is a temporary ban, it will be removed in 43800 minutes.
Link to previous appeals for the same ban (if applicable): N/A
Your appeal, including evidence (screenshots, etc). If you were in the wrong, explain what you did that was wrong, and describe how you have or will improve your behavior. I'll preface with saying I'm not a native English speaker nor entirely informed of some societal nuances such as the use of the word 'queer', of which I will elaborate below. I've also done my best to preserve all the logs of my interaction with the 'victim' in question for the sake of transparency and to save you time - although my chat bugged out and it was hard to do because of the ban, more logs may have to be posted by staff.
The story goes as follows: I was the squad leader of delta, and while attending briefing, I took notice of people making fun of a MP cadet with neon pink hair. Since my character doesn't like the MP's very much, I joined in on the fun as well as exerted my power as the NCO to order him to bring his hair into compliance with regulations, supported by the CMP. He denied us both. The briefing ended at that same time, so I left for cargo after the final phrase in the logs, not bothering to see if he's actually arrested or pressing the CMP on it.
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Holy fuck"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Real"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "This fuck's got pink hair"
Graham Maclagan points to Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "You"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Your hair's out of regs, pig"
LCpl Keaton Howard shouts, "PO-LICE THAT MOUSTACHE!"
PFC Byrne Harrison exclaims, "Woop-woop!"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Godam right"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Square that pink queer hair away, boah"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "That's an order"
1stLt Kenneth 'Coward' Sword says, "Cadet"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "Sexual harassment"
1stLt Kenneth 'Coward' Sword says, "Get your hair fixed up soon"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "My ass it is"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "It's a lawful direct order"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "Fuck you i wont change my hair"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Lest you want to go into the clink for insub"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Okay"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Arrest him for insub"
I've missed first drop while I was collecting the rest of my gear, so another SL was temporarily assigned. On my way to the hangar, I saw the MPC again, and he started to follow me, 'dancing' around me silently. To pass the time and seeing as he hasn't complied with mine and the CMP's order, I continued to prod him. Do note that at no point in time I pressed the issue further ( to get him arrested OR punished by admins after he shot me later down the line, I wrote this off as an IC issue since this was too funny of an interaction). He reacted with death threats, I called his bluff with taunting, and it ended in him stunning me with a taser and then killing me with his revolver, as well as cuffing me.
Overwatch: Attention: Graham Maclagan is demoted. A new Squad Leader has been set: Isaac 'Ike' Williams.
You're no longer the Squad Leader for Delta!
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "You know what to do, piggie"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Go get that shit cut"
2ndLt Tim Harley [Almayer (Rsr)] asks, "No autopilot CAS today?"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "You are no longer SL"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "I retain my rank"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Cry about it"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "As you cut your hair"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "Im gonna murder you"
Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan puts the M44 combat revolver into the M276 pattern M44 holster rig.
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "Ok and"
Sgt Graham Maclagan says, "You're too queer for anything, boy"
Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan fires the disabler gun!
x6
Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan puts the disabler gun into the M276 pattern military police rig.
... You can almost hear someone talking ...
...You hear something about...Gayyy
Your chest hurts.
Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan challenges Unknown (as Graham Maclagan) to a game of rock paper scissors!
PFC Bob Manly says, "Ayy"
PFC Bob Manly says, "Rather"
PFC Bob Manly says, "Ayyy"
You could use some painkillers.
Your chest hurts.
Sgt Graham Maclagan(as Graham Maclagan) stutters, "Y-You didn't finish the J-JOB"
You feel exhausted.
Sgt Graham Maclagan(as Graham Maclagan) stammers, "Q-Q-Queer"
Sgt Unknown (as Graham Maclagan) shouts an inspiring cry!
Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan fires the disabler gun!
x5
... You can almost hear someone talking ...
Your head hurts badly.
Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan has grabbed Unknown (as Graham Maclagan) passively!
You could use some painkillers.
Something feels like it shattered in your head!
Something feels like it shattered in your chest!
The cigarette machine beeps, "Real men smoke Lucky Strikes!"
PVT Harry 'Princess' Rodriguez asks, "Ugh what happened here?"
Sgt Unknown (as Graham Maclagan) screams!
You feel exhausted.
OH GOD! Your chest is hurting terribly!
Your source of light shorts out.
Unknown (as Graham Maclagan) seizes up and falls limp, their eyes dead and lifeless...
While in ghostchat, I saw some very interesting things, such as him trying to lie to someone else about what happened, I didn't see who. The last two lines are him speaking to the doctor trying to revive me.
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "He called me queer and gay multiple times"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "And trans"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "And told me to hang myself"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "Sexual harassment"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "Do me a favor and make him worse"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "Ashole"
After I was revived, the MP nearby questioned us as to what happened. The cadet gave a reply and shot me to death again, which was witnessed by many, including the delta medic Vasili Christus, who ahelped the murder, in his words. I was revived once more and decided to share the funny story with my squad in the form of a meme.
Sgt Martin Osterweis asks, "What happened?"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "So basically"
Cpl Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan says, "I did it like this"
Graham Maclagan has died to M44 combat revolver at the Medical Lower Medbay from Karl 'Wrong Tool' Sustan
Sgt Martin Osterweis says, "MPC just murdered the delta SL."
Sgt Graham Maclagan [Delta (SL)] says, "Now this is what you get when you let QUEER PINK HAIRED SISSYBOYS be MPs and oppress the traditionalist marine"
PFC Seo Ha-ra [Delta (RFN)] says, "What's up."
Sgt Graham Maclagan [Delta (SL)] says, "The queer shot me twice"
Sgt Graham Maclagan [Delta (SL)] says, "At least he had the balls to kill me"
PFC Seo Ha-ra [Delta (RFN)] says, "Are you arrested Graham."
Sgt Graham Maclagan [Delta (SL)] says, "Course not, I'm just laughing"
Almost immediately after I was messaged by Silencer_pl and instantly banned, with my questions ignored.
-- Administrator private message --
Admin PM from-Silencer_pl: Hello there. You have, per our logs, made mulitple derogatory homophobic comments towards a player character as well as implied a death threat them due to their percieved sexuality. This is a vulgar breach of our no Racism rule and because you literally came off a similar ban, also issued at me, I am issuing a 30 day ban and will file for a perma. Have a CM day.
Click on the administrator's name to reply.
PM to-Admins: i was under impression that 'queer' is the normal word and the f-word is the derogatory?
PM to-Admins: and what of the mpc going on a rampage
You have been noted by Silencer_pl.
The note is : Banned for Homophobic comments in-game: Multiple homophobic IC insults combined with death threats based on perceived sexuality issued on a character in game, a very vulgar breach of our no racist/homophobic language rule. Considering they just came off a ban for breaking the same rule and the break was so through, a 30 day ban and a perma will be issued. Explain yourself on the forum if you believe this was issued in error.
If you believe this was filed in error or misplaced, make a staff report at The CM Forums
You can also click the name of the staff member noting you to PM them.
You have been banned by silencerpl.
Reason: Banned for Homophobic comments in-game: Multiple homophobic IC insults combined with death threats based on perceived sexuality issued on a character in game, a very vulgar breach of our no racist/homophobic language rule. Considering they just came off a ban for breaking the same rule and the break was so through, a 30 day ban and a perma will be issued. Explain yourself on the forum if you believe this was issued in error..
This is a temporary ban, it will be removed in 43800 minutes.
Let us now go over Silencer_pl's messages and the ban reasoning.
1) 'made multiple derogatory homophobic comments' - as described above, I'm not a native English speaker, and not well versed in the dynamic and fluid speech norms that change often in our modern world. To my outsider knowledge, though seemingly out of date, the word 'queer' is acceptable (although insulting in the 60's), as is 'gay', ex. 'wow, that's rather queer of him to have piercings / pink hair / etc.', whereas the word 'faggot' and the like are clearly derogatory and insulting. An Australian acquaintance of mine confirmed this to me. If this is wrong, then as described, I was not aware of it and I acknowledge my mistake.
2) 'implied a death threat them due to their perceived sexuality' - as you can see above, no death threats have been made to the cadet. The only mention of this I've collected was the MPC himself lying to someone IC about it. Either he lied about it to staff as well, or Silencer_pl didn't bother to investigate the issue for unknown reasons.
3) 'you literally came off a similiar ban, issued by me' - the ban in question was a 'zero tolerance to racism escalation to 7 days' ban for saying 'че с ебалом хохлы' in OOC after a wave of anti-Russian jokes was made. I was offended and replied in kind, however the devil is in the details. To my recollection, the previous ban was escalated to 7 days because in the round prior to that I said 4 words in russian AFTER the round was over to a Russian-speaking queen I recognized the ckey of from round end stats in the chat. I was next to her and didn't use hivemind and was still warned by Segrain simply messaging me with 'Language.'. However, this wasn't actually a rule breach, as the English only rule allows it: 'All communications within the server (IC and OOC) should be done in English only. Phrases from other languages are fine but should not make up the majority of your conversations.'. Four words, 'ooo yebat' and 'vam pizda' as well as pointing at the queen once, clearly did not make up the majority of my conversation with the hivemind and the queen that round, and that was AFTER the round was over. This context is needed to observe the following chain of events:
I'm warned with a single word PM at round end for something that does not constitute a rule breach > Banned for a week the round after because 'you were just warned in the previous round, therefore I escalate to 7 days' > Banned for a month and filed for a perma because 'you were just banned for a week'.
Silencer_pl hasn't bothered to investigate the issue or question me at all, although questioning both parties has traditionally been the MO of CM staff for years - in BOTH of these cases he instantly went for the banhammer and to stack the ban. Had he done so a week ago, there might not have been a week ban, therefore there might not have been a month ban escalation two days ago. Similarly now, had he questioned me or actually investigated the logs, he would find that I never told the MP cadet to hang himself nor issued any threats. The seemingly complete indifference of Silencer_pl to any investigative work and his haste to simply drop the hammer and move on is rather a curious behavior, which I will leave to management to investigate unless they decide this warrants a separate staff report to gain traction.
Further, the rules state I may act hostile if I don't cross the line: 'Roleplaying hostile actions, beliefs or emotions through the use of profanity is permitted. However staff reserve the right to make calls on situations if a player has crossed the line. If a staff member tells you to stop, you stop.' - and so I did roleplay being hostile to the MP, as I often do.
As the rule goes, I was never made aware a line was crossed before being banned, or that the word 'queer' could constitute this rule break (I presumed that it didn't since if 'lighthearted' words like 'nigga' are allowed, then so would 'queer' - again, as opposed to 'faggot', which I know is derogatory). I never issued any death threats and in fact was murdered twice and lied about, and still I didn't take any action IC or called for staff to intervene; on the contrary, had I acted homophobic, I would've done all I could to make the life of this player and character worse, especially when he gave me the reason to by killing me, would I not? What really happened was I made fun of the MP, I took the loss that came with that in the form of being killed and my time wasted on being revived and answering questions, and was prepared to continue with my round as usual except for the ban.
In conclusion, I believe that while I may have overused the word 'queer', I used it while under impression that it was a mild one. Should this not be the case, I apologize - however I disagree with the implied homophobic intent as well as the rest of the ban reason, as this was all part of me roleplaying being hostile to MP's in the form of joking about his hair, as the rules allow it. In light of this, I request that the ban be lifted and the corresponding note struck from my record. Do you understand that making low-effort appeals (short/does not address the issue/shitposts) may lead to immediate denial and/or other types of consequences? Yes