Hi, it's Lana again. Since you've had some time to let things settle down and I know more about why I was banned, I think the time is ripe for me to try to appeal my ban again.
First, I would like to make one thing clear: I did not intend to take Sigma out of context. I was merely quoting the part of it I believed to be relevant. Nowhere in her message did she attempt to defend Askold, so I assumed she was agreeing with me. If that was not her intention, then I sincerely apologize for misinterpreting. I also apologize for quoting her message without permission in the first place. So I would like to say that if I quote another user's PM without said user's explicit permission again, I will not contest any punishment she deems appropriate.
On the other hand, while I can now acknowledge that it was wrong of me, I think there are some extenuating factors that give grounds for a reduction in my punishment. Under normal circumstances, I would not have done what I did. But the circumstances I was facing were not normal. I had already quoted a PM sent to me by The_Queen, and nobody was upset, not even her. The rules say to use common sense. My common sense told me that if nobody cared the first time, they wouldn't care if I did it again. That's not the only factor. Another is the rather... lax enforcement of the rules. Consider the "don't be a dick" rule. It clearly prohibits dickish behavior, specifically naming acts such as attacking people (rather than their arguments) over disagreements and jumping to the worst possible interpretation of people's words. But this keeps happening without so much as a warning from moderators. I won't name names, but if you want, I can provide examples of this. In light of this, why should I get hit with a permanent ban for unknowingly breaking a vaguely-worded rule that I had already broken with nobody caring? Even Jacob Harrison, who broke the explicit rule against talking like a bigot, was only given a couple of week-long bans. Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing that he should get a worse punishment now. He already paid for what he did. My argument is that I should not get a worse punishment for breaking ambiguous rules than he did for breaking explicit rules. Twice. After he was punished for it the first time. And is even now saying that gay people are destined for hell if they don't suppress their urges. No, I'm not saying I should be unbanned just because somebody else is worse. What I am basing my argument on is simple: consistency. If I was not punished or even warned before, why should I be hit with the harshest punishment for doing the same thing again? And why should I get a harsher punishment than the guy who broke a more explicit rule, then broke it again after failing to learn his lesson the first time?
I hope that, given these factors, you find it in you to forgive me. Or at least decide I've been punished enough.
Sincerely,
Lana Reverse
P.S. You've probably guessed that me posting this so soon after somebody else made an inquiry about Radiation's modship is not a coincidence. You'd be right. Those questions were posted by an acquaintance of mine. I strongly suspect they might be a former user of these forums, but I don't know for sure one way or the other.
P.P.S. I'd like to take this moment to ask why guest users can only start threads. It seems impractical to me.
P.P.P.S. Sorry about the wall of text, BTW.