Great Moments in ResetEra History

[Uncle]

November 14, 2019 - the banning of KetKat

https://www.resetera.com/threads/we-need-to-talk-about-responding-to-trans-related-issues.151194/page-4#post-26470548 (archive)
bore investigation (archive)

KetKat was (apparently, according to era) a real sweetie who was always very supportive, a problem solver in the mental health era community thread who was always listening and cheering others up

that is, until she was banned for leaking secret mod discussions 

The way that bigotry is handled by people on Staff is also a bit strange. There was that one transphobic post by a moderator that when posted by anyone else would have been a month ban, but in this case, they were just talked to and allowed to stay on the team. When evidence was presented of how they had said these things throughout their time on GAF before this, it was dismissed and considered resolved. There are also chats that have been shown to people about a moderator on the staff talking in the discord about how Asexuals should not be a part of the LGBT+ community and instead of any challenging or talking through, was essentially told that people could see where they were coming from, to not feel bad, and then dropped.

a timeline of events here is actually best provided by none other than Kyuuji (archive):

A timeline for those new:

• Months of inaction while trans threads remain the most hostile and least pleasant place for trans people on Era.
  
• This is called out several times but is only dealt with in isolated single cases, like a post being edited out
  
• Finally hits breaking point, culminating in an ace member of the forum making a post calling it out
  
• Moderators offer support but refuse to stick the thread or address/acknowledge the issue
  
• A staff post is made a week later that’s generic, doesn’t acknowledge the inaction and is 50% about the staff themselves.
  
• That 50% is lamenting how the staff has been made to feel as a result of people expressing at the inaction
  
• Ketkat and other trans members push back, saying the attitude is the very issue we’re trying to highlight
  
• Ketkat mentions in a minor part of the post that a staff member that is known to be acephobic
  
• Ketkat is banned within minutes
  
• Mods suddenly start replying, with more passion than had been shown to the thread in the week prior
  
• It’s implied that Ketkat gained illicit access and abused her girlfriend
  
• Royalan then details in paragraphs the mod stance on the issue and comes to lock the thread
  
• The thread that was made to highlight trans issues is locked by Royalan
  
• The Trans Awareness Week becomes the home to share frustrations.
  
• Ketkat’s ban reason changes three times over this period.
  
• Eventually a staff post is made, much in the same vein as the past one
  
• It suggests that we should get back to talking about trans awareness
  
• It details that Ketkat is permanently banned
  
• Royalan once again comes in to detail why this is the way it is, and asks to be held accountable
  
• It is then uncovered that Royalan has posted acephobic comments in the recent past
  
• Robin (Ketkat’s girlfriend) mentions that Royalan isn’t even the person being referred to initially.

^ Trans Awareness Week casually hijacked into ERA Staff Awareness Week.

Fucking. Bullshit. 👎

Hijacking the thread? It's our fucking thread.

" Please return to the important topic of trans awareness week."??

Lmfao go fuck yourselves.

Lol, so basically telling us to know our place. Nice message.

(sabrina was not ok)

outside of the short thread where ketkat was banned, ground zero for discussions surrounding the horrible treatment of trans people at era, rampant acephobia among the mods, and calls to FREE KETKAT are mostly contained within the nov 13 2019 trans awareness thread, which seemed to have been left open by the staff as an "airing of grievances" thread (something they are now smart enough to shut down quickly instead):
https://www.resetera.com/threads/its-trans-awareness-week-nov-13th-19th.153146/page-2#post-26483135

but there were other protest threads at the time as well:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/resetera-moderation-staff-is-fucking-up-beyond-belief-on-lgbt-issues.153942/
https://www.resetera.com/threads/a-trip-down-memory-lane.153947/
https://www.resetera.com/threads/reminder-that-theres-a-trans-awareness-week-thread-stickied-at-the-top.153948/



however, after only a few days of uproar, ketkat was unbanned and made her own deconstruction of events post (archive), royalan stepped down from moderating (later rejoining) and they added a few more lgbtqia+ mods and admins (a rare action post from Cerium!) (archive) which quelled the uprising

indeed, this was the induction of Android Sophia they/themselves, and marked the rise of their star

5 months later, KetKat was permabanned again (archive) and this time no one fucking cared, whether because this time they thought she deserved it, or her cheerleaders had all been quietly disappeared by the mods in that time