jrandle8 wrote:I actually told myself that I would not respond to this anymore seeing that it was handled rather effectively, however, I believe the latest statement by Aquinas warrants a response on a number of grounds that I won’t layout at this moment. Before I begin, I want to reiterate my deep respect for Aquinas and I mean no disrespect in anything I say to him in our disagreements.
No matter how much I love seeing my name mentioned and how much it strokes my ego, I do, however, don’t like seeing my name drugged through the mud. That’s where I draw the line. Now, I know Aquinas meant no disrespect in any of the many statements made about me and what I’ve done, but I do feel as if the statements made do lean (a little) on the side of disrespect, not to me alone but to the other players in the Great Ying Ying. Let's begin to dissect the situation and where Moderation is right and Aquinas is wrong.
Crime Committed
The entire PT community knows what I’ve done. In case there are those who do not have a clue, I would like to inform them properly. I, Jack, plagiarized a treaty. I took the UN treaty and made it my own for the CESU. For that very reason, after being warned by Moderation to take it down, I failed to do so losing my position as WC Coordinator, a position I held for a literal 12 hours...literally. Not only that, suspension from Yingdala or PT is still, I believe, not off the table.
Wrongful Accussation(s)
(1) Aquinas is arguing that because I plagiarized a treaty, that all roleplay that I (and the other players in Ying) have done, whether that be economic, diplomatic, military, or ANY roleplay, that all of that should be ignored and that Yingdala’s ranking should not change because of plagiarizing a treaty. I don’t know how this particular treaty fits in with any of the economic roleplay we have done since Yingdala has never benefitted economically from it...at all.
(2) Aquinas also wants to deny Yingdala the economic upgrade ranking from “Strong” to “Very Strong” because I’m considered the “main role player” for Yingdala and that granting the upgrade sends the wrong message. I find that to be unfair to the other two parties in Yingdala, both of whom contributed a lot to the role play of Yingdala. Their contribution should not be ignored because of one player's mistake. They should not be denied an economic ranking upgrade because of what I did that they had NO INVOLVEMENT IN WHATSOEVER. Their only crime is simply being a player in the nation. Also, I don't know what negative message upgrading Yingdala's economic ranking would send to the player base since literally everybody has read our economic roleplay in the country.
Authenticity Matters
What Aquinas, however, fails to mention is the authenticity of my roleplay, and of course, those of the other players. NONE of our roleplay was plagiarized...none of them. I've been in Yingdala since 4848 and all roleplay I've done has been authentic, with the exception of a definition I used for smart cities (in which I deleted the entire roleplay in the early 4900s because of that definition). I believe that I should play fair and correct my mistakes, which I have done. I've even started Yingdala at an economic and military disadvantage in my early days in the country. The players in the country and I have collectively contributed to the growth of the Yingdalan economy, military, and regional standing since 4848. I am proud to say that, and I know that this is repeated, all of our roleplay was authentic and continues to be authentic.
Where Aquinas and I Might Agree
While our economic ranking should not be downgraded for reasons I mentioned earlier in this message, I believe that our regional ranking should be looked at again. I'm not sure if Moderation used the CESU when determining our regional power, however, if that is the case, I believe that Moderation should take a second look at that and simply remove our CESU roleplay in determining our regional power and influence. I believe it's fair and I think that Aquinas would agree. Actually, there has been a deal of discussion about this very topic (not Yingdala but regional and military power). Many of the points brought up should be looked at and considered by Moderation, but I will not comment on it for my knowledge in this matter isn't as...exquisite?...as those who are involved in the discussion.
Conclusion
I understand where Aquinas is coming from, but it sends out the wrong message to the community that if you make a mistake, all of your roleplay that you sacrificed your time to do, should be canceled. I have enough cancel culture in my real life to be dealing with it here, to be honest. The obsession with me has to end at some point, unless, you know, it's good then by all means continue lol. But, seriously, canceling roleplay in the rankings could lead to unseen consequences to the entire community and could potentially kill the game. I've been playing PT Classic since December 2014 and this the first time I ever communicated with the entire community outside of the game, so some things are new to me even if I could be considered a seasoned rper. Moderation, if you have to suspend/ban me in order to satisfy Aquinas, by all means, do it. Yeah, it'll suck and I would hate it, but I'd sacrifice myself for the sake of not only the community but myself, Moderation, and the other rpers in Yingdala.
Lastly, let's keep this forum thread clear of any mess and other unnecessary comments. We cannot and must not drown out the voices of players who wish to give moderation their feedback on where to make Dynamic Rankings better. Continuing to progress and upgrade is needed and we should respect that.
Jack,
There has never been any personal "obsession" with you on my part. My discussion in relation to you on the forum has been based on your actions in terms of plagiarising and then misleading us about your plagiarising, and Moderation's actions in terms of responding to this by appointing you to a position of senior responsibility and declaring your nation the premier power in the game.
I do appreciate it may feel uncomfortable finding yourself publicly discussed in the way I have done, but as I say, it is not personal, and this is about actions, not personalities. Also, FWIW, the fact I have found it necessary to discuss you to the extent I have is actually due to Moderation's handling of matters, as opposed to your own. You are, at least from my point of view, somewhat "caught in the crossfire" here. Whilst I am not without empathy for you in regards to this, I do maintain the points I have made are legitimate and that I am justified in raising them.
jrandle8 wrote:Crime Committed
The entire PT community knows what I’ve done. In case there are those who do not have a clue, I would like to inform them properly. I, Jack, plagiarized a treaty. I took the UN treaty and made it my own for the CESU. For that very reason, after being warned by Moderation to take it down, I failed to do so losing my position as WC Coordinator, a position I held for a literal 12 hours...literally. Not only that, suspension from Yingdala or PT is still, I believe, not off the table.
This is not a full and accurate summary of your plagiarism and the issues in relation to how you responded to it being discovered. The actual timeline reads:
10 March: You are revealed to have plagiarised in two separate articles and from two separate sources. In response, you promise us:
jrandle8 wrote:I will take further action in auditing all of my posts to check for plagiarism (which won't be more than the number of fingers on my hand) and edit them to be original creations from Jack.
4 April: I privately contacted Moderation about a third plagiarism of yours I had discovered, involving the plagiarism of the UN Charter on the forum. Four days later, Moderation appointed you WC Coordinator, despite having been informed about this, and despite the fact the plagiarism was still up there on the forum at the time. The details of this plagiarism can be seen
here.
8 April: You claim:
jrandle8 wrote:Actually Aquinas, I am not embarrassed this time. I made this aware to Vesica almost a month ago and that I used the UN Charter as a reference. While I did not post the real treaty for the CESU that is completely different from the UN Charter, I did fail to provide an OOC source to the original post.
10 April: Upon investigating your CESU Treaty, I discover it is in fact a large scale plagiarism of the UN Charter, and you have not simply used the document "as a reference". I also discover yet another Treaty you have wholesale plagiarised, this time an agreement between Yingdala and Davostan which was a plagiarism of a RL agreement between the United States and Mozambique.
13 April: Despite your having been found to have committed plagiarism in 5 separate instances, and despite the fact you did not "come clean" about the full scale of your plagiarism after the first 2 instances were revealed (notwithstanding the commitments you gave to us at that time), and despite your having misled us about only having used the UN Charter "as a reference" when in fact you had performed a wholesale plagiarism, Moderation declares your nation the premier power in the game.
jrandle8 wrote:Moderation, if you have to suspend/ban me in order to satisfy Aquinas, by all means, do it. Yeah, it'll suck and I would hate it, but I'd sacrifice myself for the sake of not only the community but myself, Moderation, and the other rpers in Yingdala.
I can only repeat, as I have previously, that I have never called for you to be suspended or banned. My actions have been limited to challenging your plagiarism and the less than satisfactory way in which you responded to its discovery, and challenging Moderation's decision to respond to this by appointing you to a position of senior responsibility and declaring your nation the premier power in the game.