Hello, friends and players of NationStates. My name is Atrulia. I am a site supporter, a regional founder, and an active member of the community. I was also involved with the recent so-called "scandal" on the website, which I'm sure many of you have heard of. I am here today to ask for just a few minutes of your time, and bring to your attention the horrible injustice that has been committed against not only myself, but all of the NationStates community. It is my strong opinion that the moderators of this website have far overstepped their boundaries, and I am not the only one who feels this way. And since they did not allow me to tell my side of the story (or even speak, for that matter), I am here to do just that. Let me begin with a personal story. I met my girlfriend (we will call her Jane for the sake of anonymity) nearly 2 years ago, on this very website. We quickly fell in love, and have endured countless hardships together. There is no doubt in my mind that we were made for each other. However, her parents are very strict. They would read all her texts and emails; the only way we could safely communicate was through telegrams. We have been together ever since... That is, until this Sunday, when I woke up, and found my account to be deleted. And for what? Showing the love I feel for my other. This is not a display of "a hookup site for horny teenagers and adults who have nothing better to do than engage in badly written pornography", as it was unprofessionally described in the moderator report (seen here: forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=376532 ). I just wanted to love my girlfriend. If my account remains banned, there is no doubt in my mind that I will never speak to her again... (Jane, if you are reading this, I love you so much. I hope this will not be the end for us). However, this brings me to my next point: the unprofessional and simply contemptible behavior of the moderators, in this entire affair. The report itself was written in a very insulting manner, depicting those involved as disgusting sex offenders and sickos. I am nothing of the sort, I assure you. I am a man who loves his other... Is that so wrong? Do I deserved to be publicly shamed before all 200,000 players of the game? The moderators' method of handling this was not discreet in the slightest, or even polite. It was unnecessarily cruel. I was not even given a chance to speak. I was banned by surprise, not even having been given prior warning of my wrongdoing. Indeed, I did not know that what I was doing was against the rules (I doubt that many of those banned knew it was). I understand that this is no ones fault but my own... But am I not even allowed a warning or a second chance? Years of hearing people on the regional message boards say "take it to telegrams" ingrained the idea in my head that it was acceptable there. The moderators have taken from me the love of my life, and all of my friends on the website—dozens of people who are like family to me, that I can never speak to again. In addition, they took my freedom of speech... Is that not an inalienable right? Where was my trial, or at the very least a chance to say my goodbyes? The fact that I could not give my side of the story was an underhand blow—it left only the twisted reported version, leaving people to interpret me as the aforementioned sexual creep that I was depicted as. Intentionally giving only one side of a story is classified as lying. The moderators were so harsh that they felt the need to take from me my dignity, too. But perhaps what hurts most of all is that they took from me my home. I was the founder of a region of over 150 people, called Great Barrier Reef. This region was created out of the ashes of Glorious Nations of Iwaku, after the moderators had deleted Vandoosa (in an unrelated but similarly merciless verdict, leaving 300 nations founderless). The death of our region, the one in fact with the most active message board in the game, broke our hearts. Nearly a month after we had rebuilt our home, and hope was beginning to shine through the clouds again, the moderators felt the need to pour salt in our wounds and destroy our sanctuary once more. I submitted a plea before iwaku was deleted, asking them to spare the 300 innocents from regional collapse. My request was ignored. I would've submitted the same once again before the collapse of Great Barrier Reef, had I only known it was coming. I now come to the final, and most important part of this petition—the part that impacts all of us. The moderators have no right to be reading people's telegrams. This is a clear infraction of privacy, and I can certainly say that I felt violated to hear that the moderators had sifted through all the messages I've sent to my girlfriend over the years. What goes on behind closed doors should be between only myself and my other. Doesn't it bother you, to think that every telegram you send goes through a moderator's eyes? This is disturbing and it needs to stop. If people have a problem, they will come to the moderators. Not the other way around. To conclude, I will bring up the point of the roleplaying community. Roleplaying is the heart of NationStates; people may start playing the game because it seems interesting, but the main thing that gets them to stay is the sense of community and friendship, that is built largely upon roleplay. Sexual intimacy is a regular part of roleplay. Almost every roleplayer I know has done it at one point or another. There's no shame in it; the vast majority of the time it's simply for the plot. I can think of dozens of people who have sent sexual telegrams over the years, for the purpose of roleplay... dozens of people who are now fearing for their own nations, and their personal privacy. Will the moderators punish each and every member of the roleplaying community? Will they uproot the entire heart of this integral community of NationStates? If the moderators are determined to destroy the very core of the game itself, then so be it. They will reap what they sow. If they do not desire destroying the roleplaying community from the inside out, however, then there is only one option: a recanting of their verdict. The path they are on is a slippery one; now that they have begun purging the roleplaying community, where are they to stop? Will these 36 currently punished souls only serve as a warning, which is wrong in its own right? It is simply unfair for this group to face unjust punishment, and for the moderators to stop after that, not subjecting anyone else to this misguided law. That is not fair; that is not equality. There are only two options: to go forward, and punish every single person who has sent a sexual telegram... Or to revoke the law. To apologize. Today, moderators of NationStates, we ask you to swallow your pride. We demand that you apologize to these individuals that you've humiliatingly put on display, revoke the "no sexual content in telegrams" law, and stop looking through what we send to each other. The only other option is unthinkable. I knew more than half of the people punished by this. Nearly all of them are kind and good people, not the monsters that they are displayed as. They do not deserve this cruelty, this humiliation. None of us at all deserve this; I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. I turn to you now, to sign the petition. Do it for privacy. Do it for roleplay. Do it for Jane, for community, for rebuilding our home. Thank you.