Let's get a few things sorted out....

• Posted by Paul April 12, 2012 - 2,374 views

  Well, well, well....

  It seems like there has been some shenanigans over in the Skyrim Art Group overnight. I got up and found that various threads have been deleted, permissions altered - and my Inbox is bursting open with messages about what has been going on.

  Generally, I prefer to keep Administration-type stuff out of the public arena, but since John Rose decided to copy no less than 90 members of the site into his message to me, then I have no alternative but to drag this into the open.

  I am the nicest and most easy going person you could wish to meet, both in real life and on the Internet. However, you will find that changes when people disrespect me or show a lack of basic courtesy. And it certainly changes when someone sends out a message that I am, and I quote, 'a liar'. 

  So, lets get a few things absolutely straight.

  The Skyrim Blog is 100% owned and operated by myself, in my own spare time and using my own money. It's not a democracy, and its not open to anyone to decide that they can make up their own rules. It seems that John Rose thought that he could appoint - or demote - whoever he wanted as an Administrator in the Skyrim Art Group. So he appointed dcgamer as an Admin, and demoted Narmis from being an Admin. Then, in a fit of pique, he decided to delete content added by Narmis, and a thread containing art work submitted by Charlie, Ponty, Mason and others.

  That is not acceptable. It doesn't matter that 'it doesn't say it in the rules'. If you are trusted with responsibility by the owner of a site, then it is basically courtesy to value peoples content, and to run any changes past the site owner first. I think pretty well everyone will agree with that (and it doesn't really matter if you don't, because I'm saying it!). So, as an example, when Bilal wanted to have Ponty as a co-host in the Skyrim Challenges Group, he had the courtesy to run it by me first. And, of course, being the friendly sort of chap I am, I was happy to concur.

  Sorry that I am having to spell this out in such detail. Probably very obvious and boring to most people, but clearly not to a few....

  So, here is what has now happened. I have removed John Rose and dcgamer as Admins of Skyrim Art, and indeed from the Group itself. Narmis has been promoted back to Host, and I'll be appointing someone else to co-host in due course. As a temporary measure, new memberships to that Group have been suspended. I'll open it back up when it settles down. Existing members can, of course, still upload their art, and post in threads.

  I have not, at this point, suspended John Rose and dcgamer from The Skyrim Blog. Why? Because I'm a fair-minded person and will give them the chance to be a member here. They are welcome to post here and use the site as normal, so long as they are sensible and behave according to the site guidelines. However, if they come on here and start mouthing off, or derailing threads, or using the PM system inappropriately (and, trust me., I can see from the 'back end' what people do on this site) then they will be banned from the site, and their email and IP address blocked from access.

  That's all I've got to say on this subject. There are going to be a few site changes coming soon, but lets allow this to settle down first...