PCJC2020-3 Ruling - Dizerel (aka Juniper)
The COURT
Pegasus Command
Ref: PCJC2020-3
9th June 2020
JUDGEMENT
ACCUSER Thunder Catalyst
PROTECTOR Dizerel (aka Juniper)
Judges
Charles
smearcampaign
Samtastic
RECUSAL
[1] Thunder Catalyst recused herself from this case due to the conflict of interest. Samtastic was appointed by the Office of the President to the role of temporary judge.
BACKGROUND
[2] The Court received a written complaint from the Accuser on 29th May 2020. She submitted that that the Protector had posted conversation in the PegCom League of Legends Discord channel that breached PegCom rules, including 1-GM-09, 13-COC-5, 13-COC-6, 2-CR-04, and 8-COMR-09.
[3] The posts that gave rise to this complaint include the following: [edited for space]
[4] Dizerel 29/05/2020
Riot devs need to kill themselves
[5] I legitimately want to send death threats to riot HQ
Ban me from the game pls riot
I want to be done
give me a reason to stop playing
Prove to me that you are a bunch of idiots who think "Words hurt"
and allow trolling and inting games but not a few harsh words
Dizerel 29/05/2020
People think im crazy when I say that people should kill themselves but honestly give me an actually good reason why there isnt a single case where a person should end their life
Hydra29/05/2020
dude stop
Dizerel 29/05/2020
No, im not going to stop
[6] Dizerel 29/05/2020
another reason why the game devs need to put a gun in their mouth and pull the trigger
seriously does anyone have a counterargument as to why they shouldnt?
I want to hear it
and dont give me that "human life is precious" bullshit
cheesy29/05/2020
bc it's just a game, don't think someone's deserving the end of their life bc of a free to play game
Dizerel 29/05/2020
Im talking about the devs
this is their job
they are so terrible at their job
Dizerel 29/05/2020
round of a plause for the bunch of autists at riot
seriously
still waiting to hear a reason why they should keep their lives
[7] The Accuser had received a complaint from MisterBloo regarding these posts and MisterBloo also submitted a statement to the court.
HEARING
[8] A public hearing was scheduled for 9pm EST on Saturday 6th June, after confirming with the Accuser and Protector that this was mutually convenient.
[9] The Protector’s Discord status was offline throughout the hearing; they did not attend or indicate that they were unable to do so. The hearing started 9:25pm and lasted over one hour.
[10] The Accuser is the Game Commander for League of Legends (LoL) and is familiar with the culture surrounding the game. She is also well acquainted with the Protector.
[11] The judges questioned the Accuser.
a) Since the November ruling the GC of LoL knows only of some potential minor breaches of LoL rules in the Discord chat since then, but not seriously enough for the GC to raise with the Protector.
b) There is a SCGO that indicated Dizerel had an issue in March of 2020 and had a loss of command position as well as 4-week suspension. This punishment is based upon a violation of 13-COC-6, 13-COC-7, and 8-COMR-5.
c) The Accuser feels that the Protector does not belong in PegCom, as she isn’t a good fit with PegCom’s values or culture. She notes that it’s unusual for players to complain about in each other as has happened with the Protector.
d) The Accuser’s view, as a GC, is that there is a high probability of the Protector breaking similar rules again in the future. She describes the messages on Discord as going against everything she believes in and everything PegCom stands for.
e) The Accuser believes that if the Protector were to remain in PegCom, it would indicate to other players that they can do whatever they want without significant consequences. The Accuser emphasised that she does not want to lose members from PegCom due to disciplinary matters, but feels that it’s the correct option in this case
f) The Accuser does not believe PegCom is likely to face consequences from Riot (the developer) if the threats against them were brought to their attention. She does believe that the Protector would be permanently banned from the game though.
g) The Accuser acknowledges a higher threshold for what remarks are deemed offensive or ‘toxic’ in LoL, compared to other games. She believes that the severity of the language used by the Protector would be unacceptable even in the LoL in game chat.
h) The Accuser played LoL with the Protector during the 7-10 days leading up to the 29th May, saw no change in their behaviour and she was pleasant to play with. The remarks came out of nowhere.
i) The Accuser stated there is no missing context to the remarks not captured in the Discord transcript. She believes that the posts were made in the heat of the moment and the Protector may have regretted it soon afterwards.
j) The Accuser relayed a private message from the Protector, received 30th May. She told the Accuser she needed to take a break from LoL & ESO and would make a public post to that effect. Several pressures and difficulties in the Protector’s personal life were detailed in the message.
k) Despite trying to be “compassionate and understanding”, the Accuser felt that the private message was timed as a last-ditch attempt to explain the offensive messages rather than an unrelated update on their circumstances.
JUDGEMENT
[12] The court finds that the Protector made the remarks on Discord, and that they breach several PegCom rules.
[13] 1-GM-09, 2-CR-04, 8-COMR-2, 8-comr-5,
AGGRAVATING FACTORS
[14] The Protector specifically targeted the Riot developers with the wish that they’d put a gun in their mouths and shoot themselves etc. The remark about “autists” is a particularly demeaning and hurtful term that has the potential to cause considerable injury to the feelings of some PegCom members.
[15] This is the second time that the Protector has come before the court for similar rule breaches, but the messages are more severe and specific on this occasion. The Protector is certainly fully aware of the rules and that this sort of communication is prohibited.
[16] There was no attempt to apologise for the messages at the time. In response to another player, the Protector effectively doubled down on the offensive messages already posted. None of the messages were removed from Discord at the time of the hearing.
[17] The Protector did not attend the hearing.
[18] There is a high probability of the Protector breaching the rules again.
[19] The private message to the Accuser made no reference to the Discord messages or that the personal matters had directly contributed to the breach of the rules.
MITIGATING FACTORS
[20] The Protector has generally been of good character in LoL since the November 2019 ruling.
[21] The court hasn’t seen evidence that the messages caused severe alarm or distress to a particular member.
PENALTIES
[22] The Judges voted unanimously to;
a) Recommend to the Quorum that Dizerel is removed from PegCom
b) Recommend to the Quorum that Dizerel is deemed ineligible to apply for membership for no less than 6 months from the date of removal.
[23] The post-hearing discussion between the Judges lasted over 2 hours. Lesser penalties were identified and considered in detail, but the only penalty consummate with this misconduct is removal from PegCom.
Court findings were accepted, and due to the multiple warnings and official issues with this behavior and the potential for repetition. The Quorum does hereby order the following:
1. Dizerel is removed from Pegasus Command Guild.
2. This removal is permanent and may only be lifted by vote of the Pegasus Command Quorum after petition from the former member.
So Ordered:
16 JUN 20