A bit of preamble before I get into the meat of the update: this update was written primarily for the discord server, but does involve this subreddit. Firstly, I would like to reiterate that both this subreddit and the discord server are fully community run, and are not officially affiliated with rose-engine or SIGNALIS. Sorry it took so long to post an update here specifically, as I wasn't a mod on the subreddit until yesterday (that was my fault for not reaching out to get the perms sooner after everything happened, apologies. I had to take a break yesterday because of some irl stuff, which is why it took an extra day to post this here). Anyways, I'm not super familiar with posting and moderating on Reddit, as I normally just browse it, so forgive me if there's any oddities with the formatting or if it takes me a bit to get used to everything.

Here is my update post from two days ago in the discord server, regarding the Joetastic ban, the state of the mod team, and the future of the subreddit/discord server:

Hi again everyone, and I'm very sorry that this update took so long -- lots of moving parts (and time zone differences) behind the scenes!

Firstly, I'd like to apologize on behalf of the staff for how much this has negatively affected the community, the server, and Joetastic. His ban was influenced by negative bias, heavy-handed mistakes, ableism, and many assumptions about his character were made without basis. I will outright state that Joetastic's ban was undeserved, a mistake, and will be rectified to the best of our ability -- regardless of whether or not he rejoins the server (for clarity, he will be unbanned). I have been in contact with him throughout the last few days about the incident, and I am hopeful to make changes to the server, staff, and rules to make this server into a place that is more comfortable for everyone. I have been trying to read as much feedback as I can about the situation, and hope I can address everyones' concerns about this incident and for the future of the server. If there is anything that I miss in this announcement, please message me and I will respond to the best of my ability.

Addressing the largest problem first: the staff involved in the screenshots and private chats will be removed from their roles. Additionally, the mod roles will be redefined and clarified, so that responsibilities and conduct within the role are fully understood by everyone. Some roles will be removed entirely; Many staff members will be reshuffled, and mod applications will likely open to gain back the coverage that we will lose with these changes. All of these changes are to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, and to ward against cliques forming or bias from affecting decision-making. I will also be trying to make a pass on the server rules for more clarity, as well as to remove the infamous "culture rule". I will make another announcement regarding these changes with more details when everything is finalized.

In regards to the subreddit: I will be looking to separate our server's involvement in managing/moderating the subreddit entirely. To put it bluntly, I do not have experience moderating on reddit, nor do I have any desire to involve myself with it as staff. This will likely be a very involved process, and will take time to figure out. The subreddit might be locked until I can find suitable and trustworthy members of the community to take over (I will not be giving the subreddit to serial reddit moderators lol, don't worry). Honestly, most of the stuff with the reddit is kinda up in the air right now with everything else that needs to be changed, so I apologize that it will be a low priority in the meantime. I will, however, do my best to prevent it from being abandoned to the point of a reddit ban; I will try to manage it with temp staff until I can find suitable successors.

All of the changes that I have mentioned in this update will be very time consuming, so I kindly ask for more patience from you all while the server goes through this shift. I would also like to clarify that while staff members have been removed from the team, many also left on their own volition unrelated to the incident. I ask that you do not harass any former staff, nor anyone else involved in the incident; doxxing and death threats will not be tolerated. As I mentioned before, I am more than happy to respond to anyone with questions or concerns regarding what happened.

And a reminder that this server is entirely community run, and has no official affiliation with rose-engine or SIGNALIS.

I don't expect for myself, nor the server, to have your trust after everything that has happened -- but I will do my best to earn it back.

Thank you again for your patience!!

(Also this was not written with AI, I just really like semicolons and emdashes 😭)

Sorry again that giving you guys this update took so long, and I also apologize for the current state of the subreddit. Like I mentioned before, I have been trying my best to keep tabs on what everyone has been concerned about or wanting addressed, so I hope that this update can quell some fears and restore some faith. And if I missed something or you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and I will do my best to respond!

Joetastic has also made a post about how things were resolved, and you can read that here.

As for what I said about the subreddit: I still need to get some things in order on my end, so I'm not sure how long any of this will take. The discord server will still be my priority for now, but I will try to prevent the subreddit from imploding until I can figure out everything. I ask for a bit of grace if things get handled slowly behind the scenes if there are any issues that crop up!

Thank you again sincerely for your patience!!