The official Constitution has been updated with the Fifth and Sixth Amendments - AKA the Harassment and Discussion Amendments. It also now lists the Chitchat Amendment as rejected, and I've updated the list of signatures too.

Somehow, we managed to keep the whole thing in exactly the same number of Articles (29), though the Sections have increased by two. Given how broad the changes are, it's probably wise to go and give it another read.

hS

But then again, I'm not too good at judging this type of thing. I especially can't predict if I'll end up bringing any of this on my head, so apologies in advance.

Yep. It's decided. I'm not going to partake in the Discord. Hearing about Discord drama on the Board throws me for enough of a loop already.

-Twistey

I'll restate my approval for the Harassment Amendment and the Discussion Amendment, even if they get shuffled around a bit.

I've left some comments on the Harassment Amendment.

For the Discussion Amendment, perhaps 20 might go better as 17.5? I think it's related closely enough to the "please talk about things and don't just post bare links" point. (20 is such a nice number, though, if that's what it ends up being.)

I agree that the Chitchat Amendment is unnecessary and thus disapprove.

~Neshomeh

Okay, first thing's first. I admit I was involved in this to some extent, and I apologize for anything I did that may have caused harm. I especially want to apologize for this specific comment I made:

GoodModAddict - Last Monday at 12:09 AM

TL;DR a newbie came, Drama happened twice, and he left and Iximaz decided to leave the Discord but stay in the PPC. Iximaz will probably be taking a break.

As Quincy pointed out, that wasn't the full story, and I knew that at the time. I was trying to respond quickly to Mattman, who was confused by the conversation, without giving out information that (while possibly relevant) would violate trust some people have placed in me. In doing so, I only caused more drama, and I'm sorry about that. For what it's worth, I also think it's a good thing that Quincy called me out immediately.

Instead of posting what I did, I should not have posted anything at all. I should have waited for somebody else to summarize what happened and continued the conversation from there.

With that out of the way, I ratify the Harassment and Discussion Amendments. However, I agree with everyone else who's commented so far about the third amendment. The Board has too little going on as it is, and limiting what people can post when there isn't even a problem (as far as I can see) would be counter-productive. I reject the Chitchat Amendment until there actually becomes a problem with people misusing the Board.

...And I'm glad I did, I'd rather stay out of this argument (though on the off chance I accidentally insult someone while in the chat, I want to apologize beforehand, I have a bad habit of saying/doing things without thinking.)

And while we're on it, I've noticed that the atmosphere here has gotten rather toxic and I'm sick of it. That and the prevalence towards angst in the current PPC missions. Character development is fine, but what's wrong with a little levity?

Sorry, I just wanted to get this all out...

-OpinionedAngel, fed up.

I am very tired of drama. I have offhandedly whinged about it quite a few times, before, and I find it disappointing that it's just so consistent.
So, I was miffed. I was miffed that another drama - which I thought was over with - was brought back into conversation. I was miffed that I attempted (weakly, I admit, and an attempt that I immediately went back on, myself) to drive conversation away from it and it was immediately brought back.

But miffedness is really all I have going for me. I was annoyed and my blathering gob said something completely unnecessary, which added nothing to the conversation, help cool it down, or anything. I didn't think big of it at the time, but, well, somebody was hurt and them being hurt can be tied directly to something I said.

So, I apologise for that. I didn't need to say what I said - could've just, I don't know, gotten off the computer, squeezed a stressball or whatnot - but I said it. Don't have anything nice to say, don't say it, and so on. I never want to be the person who's hurting someone or getting involved in dramas (the irony being that I have now enrolled myself in one) but there it is. Good effort on my part.

Sorry. I expressed myself immaturely and I won't do it again.

The Harassment Amendment
I've left a few comments in the GDoc (which is open for anyone to comment in, hint hint), but my vote is to ratify it, overall. I don't think anyone could argue we don't need it, in light of these situations sometimes occurring.

The Discussion Amendment
I also ratify this. More discussion leads to more thinking, which leads to smarter, more well-rounded PPCers. And I need all your brains as developed as possible before I can connect the entire community into a story-developing think tank.

The Chitchat Amendment
I can remember massive text chains between only two people happening, uh, once, or maybe even twice? And since the Board displays each page based on number of root posts only, and not response posts, it should hardly matter. I don't feel this amendment is necessary or productive, so I disapprove.

Dear Discord
I don't want to talk too long about this, partly because I wasn't present (or was busy on another screen at the time, if I was in fact in the Discord at the time these events took place), and partly because I feel it's being resolved as this thread goes on. I will briefly say that I don't see the comments posted as being serious or incendiary enough for me to view this situation as anything more than hurt feelings being expressed. I do, however, agree with Neshomeh that the individual who reported the conversation to Iximaz, seemingly with the intent to create conflict, does owe an apology to at least Iximaz and the other two parties, if not all of us.

—doctorlit, hopefully staying as diplomatic as he feels

The harassment amendment as written seem good enough. It's not perfect, and I might have some comments on how to tweak it later, but I think I'd be happy with it going in.

The discussion amendment is good to go (I helped write it, after all).

The chatter amendment seems unnecessary and a bad idea, and I think it'd stifle discussion by making people worried about having their conversations be "too long" or drive good discussions off the Board that other people want to see. If that situation comes up, we can poke people on a case-by-case basis. It doesn't need to be in the rules.

- Tomash

First of all, thank you to the people who supported me. I believe it was Maxewell who provided and alternative explanation on my comments and I have to say that he was right on the money. I hate myself for how I acted during the whole shebang and I cannot apologize for my insensitivity enough.

Also, I want to make it very clear that I DO NOT HATE IXIMAZ. I am upset, yes, and angry, but I make NO accusation and I expect NO ONE to share my views. And I am so hurt that someone could think that of me. Why didn't you just come to ME? I wouldn't... I didn't even know this was an issue. I would have apologized and explained in a heartbeat. This isn't... This was never what I wanted and it kills me that this made it to the Board as a real issue before I even knew somebody thought I was out of line.

And I've seen the log, which I very, very much appreciate.

What I see there is a hurt, upset kid (Quincy and Sprinkles are both about 14, I think?) being hurt and upset and maybe looking for support and reassurance.

I also see their accurate perception that people tend to unconditionally favor Iximaz over all comers--note Mattman's comment "Just how bad was the newbie?" indicating that anyone who doesn't get on with Ix MUST be bad. (And preemptive apologies if I'm reading it wrong, but it does seem telling.)

I also see Larfen's accurate perception that Ix leaving has happened before, and may logically be predicted to happen again. Could he have expressed it more kindly? Sure. But I'm here to tell you he's not the only one getting frustrated with cyclical drama.

I also see Iximaz in the Discord, making passive-aggressive, emotionally manipulative remarks, when they'd said they were going to stay out of the Discord. I thought that was a good, responsible decision. I want to know why they weren't called on not sticking to it. I also want to know why someone thought it would be a good idea to run and tattle to them in the first place. Did you really think that would result in anything good, for Ix or for anyone else? Why?

Because as Ix is a member of this community, so Ix is responsible for their behavior, just like the rest of us, and so we are responsible for holding them accountable. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: enabling someone with a problem is not helpful to them. All of you, stop it.

~Neshomeh

the general commentary about Iximaz, I did not, and still do not believe that it was meant as an attack on their person. Given what happened which made them leave in the first place, which, I'm just going to paraphrase here, "amounted to a painful and horrible situation", I don't think that anyone in the PPC is angry towards Ix for what happens.

I tried to distract from the commentary, because frankly, I thought it could lead into a bigger discussion, which should be on the Board or someplace where everyone could see it.

tl;dr: I think it might've been blown out of proportions, but I can see why the comments could be seen as an attack.

I support the first two amendments, but not the third, for basically the same reasons hS did.

As for the Discord thing... as someone who went and read the logs, that is a massively warped view of what happened, and I don't find it accurate at all. Nobody in any way had any intention of turning Discord against Ix. In fact, here's the tail of a response to Ix from the person who doesn't like Ix (sadly, Ix was already gone and didn't see it):

stop with the "I'm not welcome". That's my line. You are more welcome here than I ever was, and the only thing about that I begrudge you of is that you can't see it.

In fact, the individual said repeatedly that they would be glad to see Ix return, even if that meant they would no longer feel comfortable staying.

As for the "direct attack on Iximaz," I once again find this to be blown far out of proportion of what was actually said, unless I miss my mark on what you're referring to.

I have nothing further to say in this conversation, and no further remarks to make. My blood pressure does not need more of this drama.

Thoth out.

Alright. I'm not gonna say anything on the amendments, or even the event on Discord. I do not have enough caffeine in my system for that. However, I would propose that the relevant text from the 21st of January, or any other day being referenced, be screenshotted and copied so everyone knows exactly what's going on.

If so, it was never my intent to turn anybody against Iximaz. I know you guys love them; I'd never want to do that. Never. I personally do not like them very much, but... they're your friend, and you're their friends. I would never intentionally try to defame anybody within this community. If you'll see my messages on the chat, I never said anything bad about them- and I never wanted to.

Harassment Amendment: I think this is generally good. It may be a bit long, and I feel that the language used in article 4 (on Harassment itself) is probably too specific, accidentally excluding types of harassment that aren't listed.

I would also like to find somewhere to include language along the lines of: You do not have the right to someone's time or attention. Everyone has the right to prioritise their own mental wellbeing, including cutting off communication with others if that communication is damaging to them. Not sure where it would go, though.

Discussion Amendment: We hashed this out fairly recently. I would ratify this.

Chitchat Amendment: This was pulled out from the Harassment Amendment (since it addresses something entirely separate). I don't think this is a problem we actually face, and I think I have to disapprove of its inclusion; the Board is quiet enough that a 'private' chat can actually be invigorating, and can draw in other people.

hS