I would count buying nazi merch as self harm.
It does three things in my mind, if they're not a Nazi.
It also puts you on the Nazi merch store's customer list, which gets shared among all the Nazi orgs, which will try to recruit you. One or more will likely succeed, eventually.
That's not really true though? It harms the person who bought it socially ("why would you do that?!") and funds Nazis. It should be pretty obvious how that's a terrible thing.
I'm pretty sure, from the number of people who get permabanned without publicly available tribunals being greater than zero this year, that the answer is probably yes.
I agree. I usually can't remember anything I've done with or for a client even a month or so later. Which is why I keep excessive fucking notes at work.
Honestly I would take that too tbh. "The decision was made long enough ago we don't recall the exact reasoning for it." And then maybe an explanation of why, generally speaking, they might extend leniency to a user who does something that extreme. Or any number of things that would go far in assuaging concerns people might have.
I mean that's your opinion and it's certainly valid, I'm just saying that the moderation team decided it was only a 25 point infraction. We can do some basic deductions, we know that 50 points usually triggers a minor suspension, points are usually assigned in increments of 25- so this was probably only a 25 point infraction. This is about the smallest infraction that you can receive so relatively minor as things go. If we want to scrutinize it more, it's possible that this was a 50 point worthy infraction but staff extended Aleksey leniency as per datcord's op but this is theorizing about things we simply don't know.
It's why I'm against any attempt to restrict the council from increasing punishments. The council acts as a check on the moderation staff, and one of those checks should be "the staff are going too easy on incredibly toxic forum users." Admittedly this check only works if someone appeals to the council, but it should be there.
If he just did the N&P stuff, I would agree with just a N&P ban, and a "if you do this an again, bye." The thing is he was threating to kill themself to another user. That kind of stuff cannot be on a board.
For better or for worse, Sufficent Velocity doesn't exist to serve as a therapeutic device.
Nah, I think the Islamophobia and blatant anti-Roma bigotry would be enough for a permaban and also y'know, the "buying a Nazi patch to Own The Libs" thing. And the transphobia. Point is, there's more than enough stuff not related to Ukraine to get him banned, even if you disagree about the Nazi patch stuff.
Like @IiamLiam notes, one of the issues with floating an N&P ban was that Aleksey had breached N&P on this latest incident, as it happened within a PM. That takes the issue outside of a specific subforum and into general SV territory. With regards to the "Living under Russian attack" matter though, while that earns sympathy, it does not earn excuse. Nothing can excuse what was done in that PM. Do not pass GO, do not collect 200 dollars. Someone's mental health, wellbeing, and circumstances earns understanding, but it does not earn a get-out-of-ban free card.
Sometimes someone is hurt and their life is threatened by vile, violent, and powerful people and you still have to throw them out because they aren't the only person in the room and other people's experiences must be weighed as well.
