The Story of GLE and the GLC

Foreword

Introduction

When I joined Second Life in October, 2006, the registration process asked me to invent a first name and select a last name from a list. I could reinvent myself and be anyone, living or dead, real or fictional. I had always admired the comic book superhero Green Lantern, and of the available last names, Excelsior seemed to be the only one related to the comics. The fact that Green Lantern was from DC comics and Excelsior was from Marvel Comics didn't occur to me until later.

Like many residents, I heard of the GLC by reading the New World Notes article entitled Guarding Darfur. I found one of the members online and we talked on November 23, 2006:

[23:45] You: I see, now I have Hensonian Pennyfeather with an IM button available. Cool!
[23:46] Cloude Sukra: im here and send her a request
[23:46] Cloude Sukra: and she fill you in on details
[23:46] Cloude Sukra: and if you need any more help with ui or getting around im me
[23:46] Cloude Sukra: ill be in the friends button on the ui
[23:47] You: That is excellent, thank you very much. So you are also an applicant?
[23:47] Cloude Sukra: yup nothing more
[23:47] Cloude Sukra: im waiting for the beta group to start traing starting somewhere this december
[23:48] You: Oh good, maybe I could get in on that. I wonder if the user name I selected will need to be changed. I never thought about whether there might be a GL group when I registered.
[23:49] Cloude Sukra: well luckly you wont need to change your name
[23:49] Cloude Sukra: but lets just say you wont be able to do any undercover missions lol
[23:50] Cloude Sukra: that person right there
[23:50] Cloude Sukra: his name is cid jacobs
[23:50] Cloude Sukra: the best gl yet
[23:50] You: Hmm...maybe it would be a good thing to create a second account with a different name.
[23:50] You: Oh, the statue?
[23:50] Cloude Sukra: and he taught me alot about scripting
[23:50] Cloude Sukra: yep
[23:50] Cloude Sukra: hes my mentor in a way

Cloude had pointed me toward Hensonian Pennyfeather ("Hens"), who became a good friend. We talked on November 26, 2006::

[10:07] GreenLantern Excelsior: I'm doing well, been exploring Camp Darfur after reading a news item about it. How is life treating you?
[10:07] Hensonian Pennyfeather: doing all right thanks.
[10:07] Hensonian Pennyfeather: ready for your interview?
[10:07] GreenLantern Excelsior: I sure am.

I joined the GLC later that day, less than a month after I joined Second Life:

[22:01] GreenLantern Excelsior: Hi, I was checking in as you suggested so you could let me know about the status of my application.
[22:02] Hensonian Pennyfeather: you are approved
[22:02] GreenLantern Excelsior: WOW!
[22:02] Hensonian Pennyfeather: :DDD
[22:02] GreenLantern Excelsior: Thanks
[22:02] Hensonian Pennyfeather: welcome to the team

The last sentence stuck with me and shaped my attitude. Who would have thought that four simple words could be so thrilling? As a Trainer, I would always end an interview with a GLC Applicant by having the group invitation window open and entering my next line of text in local chat. Then I would click two buttons, and the Applicant would see me say "Welcome to the Green Lantern Core" at the same time they saw the group invitation window open up. I always hoped it gave the person the same kind of thrill that I had experienced back in 2006.

Like most noobs, I had no idea about custom shapes or skins or hair. Marious Bishop gave me my first GL uniform and that supercool flight aura. Since I didn't want to look like everyone else and I did want to have some kind of back story, I "alienified" myself with yellow skin and blue hair. It looked awful, but I liked it because I did it myself.

One evening in New Oa when no one else was around, I decided to test my building ability, so I constructed a spiral staircase. I had just learned how to link prims into a single object and then duplicate the object, so I built a "stairway to heaven." At the time, I didn't know about the Flight Feather, so my flight was limited in height. I built the stairway so high that I used up every prim in the parcel, but I was able to climb higher than I could fly. So I took a picture of the stairway and then destroyed the build. I still have the pieces in my inventory somewhere. At this point I had ditched the yellow skin and blue hair, but still looked horribly noobish.

By August of 2007 I was in training as a Rookie ("Poozer"), and had changed my look again. The back story was being written at that time. I was an alien policeman from a planet of chlorine breathers who had wings for some reason. The spherical helmet was filled with chlorine, which was why it was green, and why classmate Darick Allen started calling me "Mister Fishbowl Head." Later, I realized that the power ring should be able to rez chlorine inside my character's lungs, so there was no need for the helmet. The wings went through several revisions, and recently they were retired for good.

Click the thumbnails below for a larger version of each picture.

Noobish first photo of GLE, March 4, 2007

Slightly less noobish GLE surveys his build, March 12, 2007

Hens and GLC Rookie GLE in Sandbox Goguen, August 1, 2007

Table of Contents

The Justice League Unlimited

Hens Calls for Help

The Birth of the "Concerned Lanterns"

AR Parties - "Because Plexus Said So"

The New Laws

Somebody Spilled the Beans

The Concerned Lanterns Meet the Guardians

Banned in Asimov Park

The Outreach Team

The Star Chamber

Secret Censure

Response to Censure

Star Chamber 2 - Double Jeopardy

Star Chamber 3 - Third Time's the Charm

Epilogue

Timeline

Glossary

Aftermath

In those days, GLC and JLU were allies, working together during griefer attacks. The relationship grew so close that a new group was created, the GLC-JLU Tactical Channel. Members of both GLC and JLU were added to this new group, and suddenly we could talk to each other without having to rely on joint members relaying information from one group's channel to the other. As a JLU member, I learned that GLC actually assisted JLU during its early developmental days. On January 27, 2008, GLC set up a photo shoot with poseballs and a figure of the Anti-Monitor (a gigantic supervillain from the comics), and invited JLU members to participate. Here are some of the photos that I took.

But there were bad feelings between the groups, and these feelings were deliberately exacerbated by three people who left JLU in late 2007 and early 2008.

• Angelica Nephilim was in my GLC Rookie class in 2007. She was also a member of JLU. She was removed from JLU on December 11, 2007, after JLU meeting logs from the Sunday morning meeting of December 9, 2007 were shared with other residents and she was identified as the source. The logs were delivered to the PN and displayed on one of their websites.
• Pierce Kronos resigned from JLU on January 31, 2008, after a confrontation in the JLU forums about disclosure of JLU information outside the group. His membership in JLU lasted only eight months. He registered an alt named Tizzers Camel, dressed up in a Bridget costume (like Tizzers Foxchase used to wear), and invaded the JLU morning meeting on February 3, 2008 to harrass the group. He joined the GLC.
• Pierce's partner Aree Lulibub also resigned from JLU on January 31, 2008, and also joined the GLC.

Pierce and Aree began their GLC careers as hardworking Lanterns, reorganizing current programs, advocating new programs, and encouraging the membership to improve in many significant ways. The amount of work they did for the GLC was impressive. Angelica was promoted from Honor Guard to Guardian, Pierce was promoted to Honor Guard, and Aree was promoted to Ion.

At the point where the ex-JLU members were promoted to positions of power, things began to change for the worse in the GLC. Patrolling started to take on a negative connotation as they spoke out against it. Since Linden Lab was the only group that could get rid of griefer items in the public sandboxes, it was suggested that the GLC's time could be better spent elsewhere, and we should allow Linden Lab to clean up their own sims, or simply wait for 5 hours until the griefer objects were automatically removed. Another negative change was that GLC's good relationship with JLU was thrown away. Rather than being considered allies, JLU was talked about by some members as enemies of the GLC, little better than griefers. According to the ex-JLU members, if JLU did something one way, GLC needed to change their ways to do it differently. If JLU members were working at a public service event, GLC as a group was urged to stay away. If JLU kept a database of Abuse Reports written by its members, it was labeled an invasion of privacy (even though it had been extensively used by all three of them as JLU members). GLC implemented a new patrol program with Angelica in charge, in which patrolling Lanterns were assigned empty sims to patrol, and the most active patroller (me) had no assignment at all for months. Anyone who pointed out that these changes went against the GLC's reason for existence was labeled an enemy of progress. At the same time, the ex-JLU members began to gather allies in the GLC who assisted them on the discussion board, trivializing and ridiculing anyone who spoke out against the changes. If there was resistance to the anti-JLU propaganda or the deemphasis on patrolling, posts began appearing on the GLC forum from the ex-JLU members about how great the GLC was doing, how much progress had been made, and how GLC as a group would never go back to "the old ways."

At about this time, Murphy's Law took the GLC owners out of the picture. Hensonian Pennyfeather and Jeff Beckenbauer had crises in real life which allowed them to be online only periodically, and KallfuNahuel Matador was offline for months at a time due to his work schedule. Shirokuro Sojourner never acted as a GLC owner or participated in any GLC functions. If those GLC owners had been online every day to see internal events as they unfolded, they would have called the whole thing to a halt, but they weren't available. And don't get me wrong here - I'm not blaming them for what happened. I'm just saying that it was unfortunate that RL kept them away from the GLC at that time. Angelica and (perhaps unwilling) allied Guardian Cathy Gray, along with Pierce and Aree, took the GLC down the wrong path. Patrol and griefer response received very little attention and were hardly ever mentioned. Instead, the most important issues in the GLC became rebuilding their parcel at New Oa and appointing an Events Coordinator to plan dances and fishing tournaments and (I'm not kidding!) a pajama party.

Right after the start of the Thursday GLC meeting, Guardian Hensonian Pennyfeather put out a call for help on the GLC group channel from Sandbox Goguen:

[2009/07/16 18:32] Hensonian Pennyfeather: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sandbox%20Goguen/119/106/36 followers and prim spam, sound spam, ipedence, resources owner is apollow mint
[2009/07/16 18:33] Hensonian Pennyfeather: apollo*
[2009/07/16 18:33] Kylan Nicholls: need help?
[2009/07/16 18:33] Hensonian Pennyfeather: lag is sever
[2009/07/16 18:33] Hensonian Pennyfeather: severe
[2009/07/16 18:33] Hensonian Pennyfeather: yes pls
[2009/07/16 18:38] Hensonian Pennyfeather: we need people
[2009/07/16 18:38] Hensonian Pennyfeather: I need reports please

I posted one line of text and then TPed out of the meeting:

[2009/07/16 18:39] GreenLantern Excelsior: Be right back, Hens is calling for help

When I returned to the meeting, I was dismayed to see one of the opposition folks stand up and post a rant about me and my single line of text:

[2009/07/16 19:11] Artevus Corleone: But if you're going to come to the meeting first, I'd say it's a pretty big disruption to the rest of us when we have people suddenly stand up in the middle of the meeting and -announce- that they're taking off to do God knows what. The same would go for the chat channel.

This bothered me so much that I wrote up my own little rant and delivered it right on the spot (shown in the message below). And I wrote a note to Hens about it immediately after the meeting:

Concerns about the GLC - from GLE

Hens, I'm getting more and more worried every day about the way the GLC is changing. Although there are some bright spots here and there, for the most part the group is moving away from its heritage toward some unidentifiable goal that means we won't even be real Lanterns any more. Tonight was almost the worst I've ever seen it.

Tonight (July 16) at 6:38 p.m. you called on the GLC group channel asking for help in Sandbox Goguen, I was happy, because finally we would be teaching the Rookies and Applicants how things work when there's an attack during a meeting. In the past, we have always stopped the meeting when a call like that comes in, and whichever Guardian is leading the meeting will ask who wants to respond to the attack. 3 or 4 of us will take off, and the rest will continue with the meeting. I waited for one minute, but no one said anything about your call for help, so I said "Be right back, Hens is calling for help" and TPed out. I noticed that the only GLC members in Goguen were Kylan Nicholls and Troshna Martynov, neither of whom had been at the meeting. As I was writing my ARs, I kept an eye on the avatar scanner, and I still wasn't seeing any more GLC members show up. So at 6:49 I announced on the GLC channel that I was heading back to the meeting. At 6:52 I was finally able to TP home, where I immediately crashed. At 6:55 I was able to log on again, and at 6:58 I was back in chat range of the meeting.

At 7:06, Artevus Corleone stood up and gave a long rambling speech about how important it is to attend meetings and how rude it is to leave in the middle of the meeting. I started to get a little suspicious that he might have been talking about me, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions, since Shade Metall had showed up in the seat where I was sitting earlier and stood up and announced he was leaving right after I came back. But this whole thing about everyone staying in the meeting while you were yelling for help was getting to me, so I composed a little speech and gave it right after Art got done with his.

[2009/07/16 19:15] GreenLantern Excelsior: I have a very serious topic to discuss. I'm somewhat disturbed about what happened this evening.
[2009/07/16 19:16] GreenLantern Excelsior: The next time a Guardian asks for assistance on the group channel, I want to see more people get out of their chairs and run to assist.
[2009/07/16 19:16] GreenLantern Excelsior: There was a major attack in Sandbox Goguen, reported by Guardian Hens, and we had a weak showing out there. Kylan and Troshna were the only other GLC members there.
[2009/07/16 19:16] GreenLantern Excelsior: It is a longstanding GLC tradition that when there's a call for help on the GLC channel, we go to assist our fellow Lanterns, whether we're in a meeting or not.

That opened the floodgates, and the wrath of several people came down on me right there in public. I won't go into detail about everything, since Art posted the minutes here:

http://greenlanterncore.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1077

I do want to say how disturbed I am about several things that were said, though. This came out while I was in Goguen:

[18:45] Angelica Nephilim: And I appreciate those who have stayed behind. Without meetings like this, information about what's going on out there and more important charities cannot be shared effectively. Especially in the case of a sandbox, where any threat is a temporary inconvenience at best. The meeting has far more value.

A GLC meeting where we're talking about a car race has far more value than helping people during a griefer attack? Two years ago, anyone who made that statement would have been laughed out of the sim. Today a Guardian is voicing that opinion as GLC policy. Then Cathy said this:

[19:29] Cathy Gray: Since then, and after knowing that the Linden do not apreciate mass ARs anymore, we have since then agreed to stop mass ARing, since it wouldn't help.

Now this idea that LL doesn't want several people to write ARs during attacks comes from Pierce Kronos. He is friends with Plexus Linden, and Plexus said that. And of course we know from past dealings with the GTeam that each Linden has a different opinion about what they want to see in reports, so taking one Linden's opinion and making GLC policy of it is not too smart. So I responded with this:

[19:35] GreenLantern Excelsior: Whatever the Lindens might want or not want, the fact is that a GLC Guardian requested help. That's why I responded. To tell people they can't go help Hens is not a good thing in my mind. Probably won't feel too good to her either when she reads the meeting minutes.

And now, incredible as it may seem, look at this statement:

[19:37] Angelica Nephilim: ANd I would like to address the statement that ARing during mtgs is a long standing policy of our group. It is not. It is the policy of other groups, but not ours, and I say that having been Head Trainer , HG and Guardian.
[19:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: Look back in the meeting logs and you will see that we have always done that, Ange.

It's like revisionist history. She never sat in on any meetings where a few members were sent out to deal with an attack? The final stone that was thrown was what Angelica said to me after that:

[19:40] Angelica Nephilim: Guardian instructions have been ignored by people before, HG, including yourself.

What kind of thing is that to say in a meeting, right in front of everyone?

Anyway, that's what happened tonight. But we haven't come to this in one night or even in one month. This change in the GLC has been progressing over maybe a year or two. We used to be interested in getting out on the grid and helping people, patrolling, writing ARs on griefers, and recruiting new members. But what are we doing these days? We've built this shiny new sim with all kinds of cool stuff that make us look great. We've devoted lots of time and effort toward auctions, and building stores and taverns, and getting the trees and rocks placed just right, and none of that does anything to help the residents of Second Life at all. Patrolling is seen as unnecessary, people in the field calling for help are ignored, and the entire group turns inward, ignoring the rest of the grid. This is not the Green Lantern Core that I joined, and from what I saw from quite a few IMs I received after my speech, other people are just as concerned as I am about it. Of course we have some people who have been assigned patrol sectors, but there is no patrol required and the sectors seem to be abandoned. I heard from one person tonight whose sectors never have any action, and my sectors are the empty vehicle testing sims north of Cordova and Goguen, so it seems that the patrol schedule is meant to pay lip service to patrol while not actually requiring anyone to be out in the field or do anything at all.

It's so discouraging trying to keep people interested in patrolling, when the official GLC opinion these days seems to be that patrolling is the least important thing that we do. It's very hard to discuss things in a rational manner on the GLC discussion board when Pierce and Aree and usually Angelica are in there telling me how wrong I am in the most drama-filled way possible. I'm getting to where I don't even want to go to meetings any more when the group leadership openly says things like Angelica said at this meeting. And if you'll look at the latest discussion in the training forum, you can see how Pierce is trying to stuff my griefer response classes in with about 4 other unrelated topics so there will be room for a new class called Community Service that isn't really needed at all.

I would certainly not consider starting a "rebellion" the way Matthew Stork tried to do. But I'm also not going to keep trying to return the group to its former values all by myself, if that's going to be met with so much drama and rhetoric from those who want to keep changing it. I don't want to be the only person on my side of a GLC Civil War if that conflict is going to tear the group apart. I will stand up for what I know is right for as long as I can, but when it becomes obvious that I'm outvoted and marginalized, and the majority of the group wants to concentrate on fundraising and parties to the exclusion of patrolling and opposing griefers, then I will join Cid Jacobs in bidding the GLC a fond farewell, and I will concentrate on my other community patrol groups who are serious about helping people in Second Life.

I would like to know what you think about all this. Is there something I forgot, or something else I can do? I value your judgment and I wanted to run this by you before I do anything that I can't take back. Also, please feel free to share this notecard with anyone you want to.

Thanks for reading another one of my mini-novels...

- GLE

After thinking about this, I realized why Artevus's tirade aimed at me must have been part of the organized opposition group. If you read the minutes of any GLC meeting that's ever been held, you will see that there are numerous status report statements from people, such as "Sorry I'm late, everyone is still rezzing," or "Sorry but I have to leave, RL calls," or an example from the end of this document, "I need to log but I'll be back on later." But eight words in local chat on the same type of topic prompted a tirade from the opposition, either because they were about griefer response or because they came from me, or both.

In my note to Hens, I had said the following:

This is not the Green Lantern Core that I joined, and from what I saw from quite a few IMs I received after my speech, other people are just as concerned as I am about it.

The tirade by Artevus and the response to my tirade by certain members of the opposition angered several of the Lanterns in the meeting. They sent IMs to me during the meeting, and through me they began talking to each other. They were concerned that the GLC was being taken in the wrong direction, and they wanted to work to get the group back to what it had been before the poison entered its system. On July 19, 2009, the members assembled at the home of JLU member Maverick Grunfeld, who had offered his home as a private meeting place. Maverick made a statement prior to the start of the meeting.

[20:15] Maverick Grunfeld: Here's my disclaimer before you all start.
[20:15] Maverick Grunfeld: First, in the spirit of disclosure, just so you all know, I have Ban Lines up. Blocking access to anyone not in this room. Jeadeen had to relog and he's coming back. Should be noted I did not organize this meeting, nor as a JLU officer should be taken or observed that the JLU have a stake in this fight. My perspective in this is only as a former Core member that hit some ugly situations and left quietly.

All the attendees agreed with that statement. Maverick had no further involvement with the group, and JLU was never involved at all. Here are some of the statements that were made during that meeting.

• Well, so there has been some bad stuff going on in GLC. From my point of view, the group has been going down the wrong road for quite a while.
• I have seen GLE be hollered at over the GLC 'phone"..late at night..maybe they didn't know i was on to see. You were browbeaten, GLE
• The scene in the meeting on Thursday was disgusting.
• I wasn't there, but read on the forum
• I read the log later, I was floored by it.
• I told GLE this before tonight, but the Core was set up to be a group to make a difference in SL. Now they don't patrol and the charity work is subpar. This took it a step further, and sent the message to its members don't support your own.
  
• Apparently, they forgot their own oaths.
  
• I was at the meeting, but suffering from severe lag. I missed the call for assistance, and the discussion about it in the meeting. I was floored to learn that Aree told a member not to go.
• I was floored by Angelica saying the we have never responded during meetings.
• I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
• From my view, although admittedly sporadic (due to my low SL time and meeting attendance) seems to revolve around a limited number of people entering the core and changing things.
• Well, you're right, it is a select few, but here's the issue. Those select few are driving the train. Kallfu and Jeff are great people, but they're removed from the day to day for various reasons and can't see the problem.
• We used to be serious about getting out of New Oa and helping people. Now we hardly leave the place.
• The issue is the select few in charge are calling the shots. And the troublemakers are likely next in line for more leadership slots. Once that bridge is crossed, it is done.
  
• Since they came into the group, there has been endless drama.
• Isn't there something that can be done to change this? Make this a group we love again?
• We need more Guardians and Honor Guards who feel like we do. The way to be promoted is to do something spectacular for the group.
• I know I'm probably one of the newest at this, but I don't feel I can give up on the Core easily.
• To have us sit and complain is exactly what they want!
• Right now the GLC is a popularity contest. Based on who helps certain people look better. And you helped Aree look like a diamond in a goat's butt. (to borrow a phrase from my boss.)
• Here I though the both of you were more with the 'in' crowd than I ever was.
• I think that's the problem: no one is in the "in" crowd who cares at the moment.
  
• I'm so far "out" of that crowd, even removing camera restrictions doesn't help me see in.
  
• Yes, they are very cliquish and support each other
  
• I haven't left, and I do not plan on leaving unless it is truly unfixable.
• Speaking of sectors, all of my sector is either member only or foreign language. I am either banging my head on invisible boxes or being yelled at in a language I do not understand.
• We do need to be very careful about one thing here. Some time ago there was a Lantern who told someone he was going to start a rebellion in the GLC and get people to go on strike or something so he could get his way. Jeff took that very seriously and made the guy resign.
  
• We don't wish a rebellion.
• Strike? lol, there's nothing to really strike about these days.
  
• I would say, it is not us trying to get our way, we simply are concerned about where the GLC is going and wish to do our part to see it be bettered.
• As soon as Pierce or Aree or Ange hear about this meeting we will be in trouble.
  
• Fair to say there's a lot of folks who support the group in charge and many more who don't want to remotely think about rocking the boat.
  
• We're not doing anything wrong here. We have the best interests of GLC at heart.
• I agree, but that is not how certain people will twist it.
• True, but they won't find out about it.
• I have to be a little careful because I'm in a private forum with the other Honor Guards and Ion and the Guardians, so I can't talk about what's being said in there. But anything in public is fair game. I'm surprised I haven't been sanctioned in some way already from what Angelica has been saying.
  
• The smaller we keep this group the less likely of a leak, but the less ability we have to affect change.
  

The rest of the meeting consisted of the attendees getting registered for a small discussion board that I had created a long time ago and had been sitting unused. We used the discussion board extensively, and even joined an unused SL group owned by one of the members so we could communicate and send Notices inworld. Contrary to the rumors manufactured by certain people to discredit the group, the group, which came to be known as the "Concerned Lanterns":

• Did not have as a goal the removal of anyone from the GLC group.
• Did not have as a goal the overthrow of GLC leadership.
• Were working without the support of any other groups.

At the Thursday night GLC meeting, the opposition tried to provide documentation to prove that the anti-griefer mission of the GLC was obsolete.

[2009/07/23 18:42] Aree Lulibub: Some of you may have noticed the thread on the forum regarding the "magical" number of abuse reports that will get Linden attention. There has been a call for "official" documentation, so I decided to attempt to get just that this afternoon. Fortunately, I still enjoy a nice relationship with GTeam Lindens so I am happy to give you this information.
[2009/07/23 18:42] Aree Lulibub: GTeam Lindens do not respond to "AR Parties." It just isn't in the equation anymore as the system is more efficient now. With Havok 4, griefers really can't take down a ton of regions, so residents fend for themselves until Lindens get there. Officially, "It no longer appears that the amount of AR's cause a heightened response time. It is based on the severity of the abuse, not the amount of reporters."
[2009/07/23 18:43] Aree Lulibub: There is no official documentation, as the Linden Lab systems work is proprietary for the most part and they won't divulge how things work or why, just that they do. There is also additional information regarding this, but I won't take up meeting time for it. If you would like to know what that is, you can attend my and PK's class on August 4th.

Naturally, some of the members raised the red flag, wanting to know where the information came from. Aree said that it came from Plexus Linden. This immediately started alarm bells ringing for me because of what Pierce tried to do during his time in JLU. He had attempted to gain a position of power in the group by claiming a special relationship with Plexus that the other JLU members did not have. So I did some research, and friends did some research, and we debunked the statement. Here's a post I made in the Honor Guard forum on the GLC discussion board:

A friend who knows one of the GTeam members asked about griefer response. I'm not allowed (so far) to give the LL employee's name or quote the message directly, but here's an idea of the important part of what was said...

1.) If there's a griefer attack that affects only you,
2.) And you TP in a bunch of friends to write ARs on it,
2.) Then you give it more importance than it is due,
4.) So the GTeam may be late in responding to other, more important issues.

I read this statement all in one sentence, and at first reading it appeared to me that LL doesn't want people to have AR parties. But it was explained to me that LL is always careful about how they word these responses to questions, and this one needed to be read carefully so the reader could achieve understanding.

What the Linden is trying to say is that the GTeam doesn't want people to invite their friends to write multiple ARs on something trivial. However, multiple ARs do increase the importance of an issue to the GTeam and decrease their response time to come and fix it, and they do want to respond to the important problems.

How does that translate into action for us? It's simple, it makes sense, it's actually what we've been doing when we're on patrol, and it's what everyone else does. If we see a single Batman box or one person advertising one item for sale in a Linden sandbox, we wouldn't call out large numbers of people to write ARs. However, if we discovered a situation where griefers had rezzed enough objects to almost crash a sim, or they had placed multiple pornographic floating textures in a crowded parcel, we would want to summon additional help and make sure that multiple ARs were written to escalate the priority of the event to the GTeam.

So we don't want to tell our Rookies "GLC never ever calls out an AR party." What we want to tell them is "The number of people who respond to a griefer attack is proportional to the severity of the attack." It's a judgment call that relies on the expertise and training of the responder. We can train people to do this very easily. It is an approach that is based on common sense and personal judgment rather than absolutes, and it is comparable to the way that everyone else on the grid does business. I think this is a workable approach that we can use to train our Rookies.

Of course, since I was not at liberty to reveal the name, the opposition declared my post invalid. So here was my response:

It comes from another GTeam member, and for that reason it's every bit as valid and "official" as Plexus's opinion on the matter. I don't have clearance to reveal the name, and I won't betray someone else's confidence by doing it just to make points here. Frankly, I thought it was very strange that Plexus didn't echo the GTeamer here and quote the Guide to Filing an Abuse Report, which states, in part:

Besides, reports from multiple people show the Governance Team that an incident affected more people than a single report would. If twenty of you are affected, we should receive twenty abuse reports from twenty different Residents.

This is the official stated position of Linden Lab, that they want multiple ARs if the griefer attack affects many people. It's available on their Knowledge Base, and the link can be copied and pasted and clicked on and read by everyone. My GTeam member paraphrased that statement. I would expect any GTeam member to say the same thing, since it's the official LL position. It's obvious from the context of the statements that if several different people report the same problem, it results in a higher priority response for the GTeam.

The opposition then tried to shut down the discussion altogether. My response:

This subject is not going away, and people are not going to shut up about it. I certainly won't. One Lantern last night asked why there is a GridWatch or an Assistance Notification Network if LL doesn't want people to write multiple ARs. They recognize that there's something badly wrong with this idea. And then we came up with the unbelievable response that if everyone else is doing things different from the way we're doing things, everyone else is wrong and we are right. We are so desperate to do this that we're saying things that no longer makes sense.

It's clear from what was said in Thursday's meeting that people have been reading that forum thread and recognizing that something very wrong is happening here. And rather than discussing this with the membership in a reasonable way, so they understand it and agree with it, what we're saying is "the Guardians said so" and then telling everyone to shut up about it. This heavy-handed approach is absolutely the wrong way to go for a cooperative group like ours. It is alienating the membership and causing a lot of anger. If it is the planned objective of the Guardians to get everyone all stirred up and then smack them back down, then by all means continue. But with this much dissatisfaction in the ranks, it would be a good idea to back off for a bit, tell the group that we are reexamining the issue, and then come up with a compromise position that satisfies everyone. There is really no need for us to be so rigid and inflexible that we start to lose members.

Another Concerned Lantern had corroborating information.

I, too, had a discussion with someone on another team that has a Linden contact..They say the GLC story is totally false. They would reveal their Linden but don't want the GLC to try to maneuver them either.

Luckily, the Guardians decided to do just that - reexamine the issue and develop an official position. They sensibly agreed with the stated policy of Linden Lab as stated in their Knowledge Base. This is generally known in the real world as a Graded Approach, which means that the more important the issue, the more attention it needs.

There was another issue raised during the meeting that indicated the direction GLC would be taking in the future and the justification for it.

[2009/07/23 18:50] Sean Petit: AR parties have been unnecessary for at least six months, as I recall.
[2009/07/23 18:50] Cathy Gray: Just do what you believe is best, but "AR parties" are no longer strictly necessary.
[2009/07/23 18:50] Aree Lulibub: Maybe more than that, Sean
[2009/07/23 18:51] Sean Petit: we should be thankful that the Governance has things in such control that they are no longer needed.
[2009/07/23 18:51] Artevus Corleone: Hear hear.
[2009/07/23 18:51] Aree Lulibub: Indeed
[2009/07/23 18:51] Sean Petit: this is a great advance
[2009/07/23 18:51] GreenLantern Excelsior: LOL
[2009/07/23 18:51] Jessi Castaignede: so, then what exactly are we doing?
[2009/07/23 18:51] Cathy Gray: Anyway, let's move on. If anyone has further questions regarding this, please go through me or ION.
[2009/07/23 18:51] Phillip Beeswing: *Raises Hand*
[2009/07/23 18:51] Sean Petit: we're play Green Lanterns, like we always have
[2009/07/23 18:51] Aree Lulibub: lol but please don't bog me down with IMs during the meeting.
[2009/07/23 18:51] Jessi Castaignede: I don't "play"
[2009/07/23 18:52] Cathy Gray: yes, after meeting is best!
[2009/07/23 18:52] Sean Petit: governance was never the job of the residents of Second Life
[2009/07/23 18:52] BilliAnn Bravin: Er
[2009/07/23 18:52] Cathy Gray: Hold on everyone, let's move on.
[2009/07/23 18:52] BilliAnn Bravin: We're just "playing"?
[2009/07/23 18:52] Cathy Gray: Phillip, please direct your question to IMs please so we can continue.
[2009/07/23 18:53] Sean Petit: well, yeah. what else do you call it? this is technically roleplay, which is a game of sorts
[2009/07/23 18:53] Sean Petit: I will shut up now
[2009/07/23 18:53] Cathy Gray: Everyone, moving on, thank you.
[2009/07/23 18:53] Artevus Corleone: Let's all give Pierce the floor

This caused instant anger in the Concerned Lanterns, which probably still smolders to this day. Many GLC members take Community Service seriously, but this subset of GLC leadership decided that the group was to be used for nothing more than play. Before the statement could be questioned, discussion on the matter was shut down and the next topic was the GLC newsletter, obviously a more important topic than helping people.

At the Thursday GLC meeting, Jeff Beckenbauer talked about the "new laws" for the GLC. They were given out in draft form for discussion, and input was solicited. Here they are:

#1 Meeting etiquette

• During meetings Green Lantern Hierarchy will be respected, as well as respect for each and every lantern equally.
• Guests shall also receive our respect and are welcome during open meetings.
• Issues with other groups, issues between lanterns, and issues where common sense dictates WILL be brought before the guardians/ION/Honor Guard first before being presented to the entire group either in meetings or through group notices. If these issues involve higher ranks then it will be presented to the next highest rank, with group owners being top link in food chain.
• Issues to be brought up at meetings will be presented to guardians/ION/Honor Guard at least 24hrs before that coming meeting or it will have to wait for the next.
• Issues brought to Honor Guard or ION first must still be presented to the Guardians by them 24hrs prior to the next meeting.
• Disruptions of meetings and/or outbursts by members or guests will be dealt with by the Guardians present or by Honor Guard at the direction of the Guardians.
• “DEALT WITH” means any action from a private IM to the disruptive party to ask them to stop their actions – up to – Ejection from the sim with possible 1hr ban.
• Discipline beyond that will be decided by Guardian Council.
• Honor Guard will be rotated each meeting so a different one is in charge for that nights "troubleshooting" and will be informed at the start of the meeting that they are "on duty"
• NO single Guardian may take disciplinary actions against members (beyond meeting rules above) without at the very least consulting with 2 other Guardians. Preferably matters would be taken to a full meeting of Guardians. (This is not just a meeting rule)
• Distress calls during meetings: (proposed)
• If a call for help is received during a GLC meeting, the member or members receiving it should IM a Guardian or a lead first responder and inform them without disrupting the meeting (we do have other non lantern/guests at these functions 90% of the time).
• The Guardians will maintain a roster of available Lanterns to call upon as first responders should a call come in during a meeting. If Honor Guard are available the first responder team would most likely consist of one HG and one Lantern or possibly a rookie for field experience. Lanterns and Rookies would be rotated on the list to allow everyone a chance to go but the Lantern in charge will be a HG or even a Guardian if available.
• First responders will be informed that they are "on call" for the duration of that meeting. This will be announced to the group at the meeting start so members receiving calls may private IM the lead responder.
• First responding Lanterns will keep the Guardians informed of the situation preferably in a private group chat with Guardians present, who then can dispatch more help as needed or take whatever actions are appropriate.
• In the future there may even be a "check in" scripted item at the meeting hall to generate a list of who is present and would like to be a first responder that night.
  

#2 Behavior in the Field

• When to call for help.
• A lot of this rule depends on common sense. If 2 residents are arguing in a hottub you do not need 15 Superheros standing around them ready to AR someone (laugh but I swear to god it happened).
• If its a matter that can be handled by one lantern then so be it, if not then a call for help either in the group channel or via the ring beacon should be made. From there the original reporter or highest ranking lantern can make the call of " I need XX number of people" or "There are enough here for now" determinations.
• This is all going by the only "written" rules we can find from Linden Labs:
• Quote:
• *******
  When should multiple abuse reports be filed?
• File multiple abuse reports if there are multiple incidents, or if many people are affected by an incident. You can file reports about abuse that you observe, not just abuse directed at you personally. Not every Resident is aware of the abuse reporting mechanism, or remembers to use it in a time of trouble. So help your fellow Residents! Besides, reports from multiple people show the abuse team that an incident affected more than one person. If twenty of you are affected, there should be twenty abuse reports. Not just one!
  *******
• DO NOT file multiple abuse reports on the same item by the same reporter - this has lead to reporters being banned for abusing the system!!
• Choose the worst offense the item or abuser is causing and report on that for the one item to report.
• If there are many who wish to help or leaving the scene, they can report to the command center in the Armor to monitor the situation and be available if needed.
• Do not linger at the scene. A few lanterns can remain such as the original reporter to help residents and answer questions. A large crowd of heros usually calls forth more trouble than good. Again extra personnel can report to the command center to monitor.
  

#3 Code of Conduct

• Proposed code of conduct as a GL for the 3rd law:
• Lanterns are expected to follow the guidance of the Guardians and use what they have learned during their training.
• Lanterns are expected to act within the Terms of Service agreement (TOS) and obeying the local authority in carrying out their duties as assigned by the Guardians.
• Lanterns are expected to show respect for the GL title, uniform and ring. If it becomes known to us that a member has been griefing, (small or large scale) while in uniform and wearing the GL title or abusing the ring, whether it be Rookie or Green Lantern, either for personal gain or some other reason, your membership will be immediately evaulated by the Guardians, Honor Guards and the current ION depending on circumstances and the severity of the situation.
• Lanterns are expected to show respect for residents of all shapes, races (furry, human, demon, dragon, dinosaur, etc), sizes (tiny, "biggy", giant, etc) and beliefs.
• Lanterns are expected to uphold the honor of the Core, in actions as well as words.
• We are not the sanctioned police of SL, we do not have police powers. If you attack someone, even a griefer, then you may yourself be suspended or banned. Lindens will not differentiate between us and them.
• Ego and bias shall not taint your duties as a Green Lantern.
• Above all, Lanterns are expected to have fun while carrying out their duties, be kind and understanding, learn more as they become more experienced and thus they will be exemplary officers of the Green Lantern Core.

The "new laws" were significant for several reasons.

It was the first attempt to proceduralize disciplinary action to be delivered during meetings. There were so many people who wanted to discuss issues that it became necessary in the eyes of some to forcibly prevent such discussion. Previously in meetings there had been Guardian threats to mute or freeze members, but appointing an enforcer position was an unprecedented new step, very unlike the friendly GLC that many of us had come to love. Such heavy-handed action had never been taken before, much less proceduralized.

In previous meetings, griefer attack notifications would be handled in local chat. A Guardian would announce that a griefer attack was in progress. One or more Lanterns would say that they were responding. The responding Lanterns would TP out. The meeting would then continue. This was very much in line with the Core's reason for existence. Since griefer attacks were important, it was important to deal with them right on the spot. It was also a good way to demonstrate to visitors that the Core was serious about its mission. The new procedure for responding to griefer attacks was designed to ensure that the response was not mentioned in local chat. No one explained why this was considered necessary, or why mentioning response to griefer attacks was newly considered to be disruptive in the first place, but it was in line with some members' attempt to trivialize patrol and griefer response. There was no new rule preventing people from making grand entrances with extensive apologies for being late, or grand exits with extensive apologies for leaving early, but griefer response was not to be mentioned under penalty of action by the meeting's enforcer.

The rule about behavior in the field was good because it brought GLC response in line with Linden Lab guidelines and thwarted the attempt by the opposition to prevent "AR parties." The "do not linger at the scene" paragraph made sense from the standpoint that the opposition wanted to minimize the GLC presence in the field as much as possible, but there is no evidence that a peacekeeper presence in the field attracts or provokes further griefing.

Here are two posts I made on the "Concerned Lanterns" discussion board. August 5, 2009:

Jeff posted in the private HG forum that someone had told him about the meeting in Justice Island by a group of "Concerned Lanterns." I am going to tell him of our group without revealing names. I am then going to lay my head on the chopping block and invite him to use the axe if he wants to.

August 6, 2009:

All the information Jeff had was "little sewing circle," "side meetings," "on justice island." Here is the story I told. It was the meeting night when Hens called for help in a griefer attack and I left the meeting to assist. When I returned there was some discussion and some controversy and several of you sent IMs to me. One of you suggested we get together for a meeting. A sympathetic JLUer provided a place on Justice Island for us to meet so we could talk in private without being bothered. We joined a group and a discussion board and talked about ideas. The JLU member wasn't part of either the group or the board so we could avoid the perception of JLU influence. The group had no name but the title of the thread, "Concerned Lanterns," was what we used to refer to the group. I likened us to a group of lobbyists persuading others to adopt the ideas we advocate. One thing we try to do is lead by example, so we go out to do community service. One of our principles is to ask "How does this benefit the residents of Second Life?" for each GLC action. We didn't bring this to the Guardians because I had already sent messages to them detailing the many problems on June 29 and July 1 with no reply. Our perception is that no one wants to acknowledge or fix GLC problems. Another perception is that the new laws were created not as a result of reasonable discussions, but the need to respond to some members who "created a ruckus" in a meeting. I put my neck on the block to be chopped but they didn't chop it. I said that the general consensus is that the new laws are a step in the right direction, and so is the presence of more Lanterns and Guardians in response to callout messages. I suggested "But there is an incredible opportunity here to address the concerns of a group of gung ho, dyed in the wool Lanterns who want to get going and do some positive things for the group. We can listen to them and address their concerns, or we can ignore them and tell them to shut up and go away. I will be happy to be the conduit for discussion if we choose the former."

I've spent all day discussing this in the Honor Guard forum. I have been called names. I have been laughed at. My words have been twisted to mean something other than what I wrote. I've seen people I thought I knew turn into people I've never seen before with personalities I don't like. Everyone who has access to that forum except for Kallfu and Hens has posted there, and every one of them opposes me and our group and what we stand for. I've been so careful and thorough at composing my posts, and each one is picked apart and thrown away like used Kleenex.

In the end, Jeff took charge as he should have at the first. He wants to end the sniping and bickering in that thread, and he wants to know what it is that we want. Or, what is it that will "satisfy" us? I will convey some of the general thoughts that are in the forums so far, and please add any thoughts here that you want me to convey to them. Right now they have no idea whether there are two of us or twenty-two of us (I crafted the story to make it seem like more). Please let me know what you want me to tell them.

Here's a post I made on the GLC Honor Guard forum later that day, August 6, 2009. I was so tired of trying to be reasonable when I was the only one there who was making that effort:

I have posted a note on the other board summarizing what was said here, in general terms, and asking for their ideas. It's not that we need to try to "satisfy" them somehow, but more like it's a good idea to address the concerns of members if they are legitimate. They may be seeing some things that we don't see, and their perceptions may be (probably are) different from ours.

Here are my personal opinions in the meantime:

1.) I haven't heard anyone talk about "de-emphasizing" patrol for a while. If we can toss that word out of our lexicon and just say that GLC is made up of many members with many interests, we will be better off.

2.) The laws are fine. I think they are wonderful. Not everyone agrees, but it's impossible to create laws that satisfy everyone. Quoting the LL Knowledge Base was a smart move, and it gives us a way to talk about a proportional response to griefing. 1 couple arguing in 1 hot tub can be handled by 1 Lantern. 35 people being attacked by hundreds of replicating cubes needs an emergency callout on the GLC channel and multiple ARs.

3.) We have several GLC members who are also JLU members. We have more JLU members coming in as GLC Rookies. With all the discussions and comments and questions and ideas that are bound to be passed around among all the new members, sooner or later someone is going to say the word "JLU." Recently when someone says that word, it triggers something like the Slowly I Turned vaudeville sketch. Someone makes a snarky comment against JLU, someone else responds in their defense, and we are off to the races with another meaningful discussion thread hijacked, destroyed, and eventually locked. Angry words are exchanged, feelings are hurt, and friendships are lost. After a while we will lose members from the forum, and ultimately we will lose members from the group. If we can refrain from making negative comments about JLU, the forum will be a pleasant place to visit once more.

Personal opinions only, your mileage may vary.

Tonight I was thinking about "The High Road" and wondering where I had heard it. It's part of the lyrics to "Loch Lomond," but I remembered it being a big part of my life at one time. I thought Hens had used it, but I couldn't find her saying it in any of my chat logs. Finally I searched my hard disk and found some chat logs from 2001, where my old friend Blue Phoenix had used "The High Road" as a governing principle in her life. As an Administrator on her discussion board, I would sometimes want to discipline a misbehaving newbie, but she would always urge me to "take the high road" and treat him with kindness. So while searching for similar concepts, I found this website called Weaver's Wisdom. It is all about a man named Tiruvalluvar who lived in India 2200 years ago and wrote a book of short poems about life called the Tirukural. The website's introduction page explains the history of the man and his book of poems, and states that it "is one of the most revered scriptures in South India, where every child learns to recite its verses by heart." The page I stumbled upon contained ten verses about "Avoidance of Injuring Others."Here they are:

Even if injuring others would bring princely riches,
the pure in heart would still avoid it.

It is the principle of the pure in heart never to injure others,
even when they themselves have been hatefully injured.

Harming others, even enemies who harmed you unprovoked,
surely brings incessant sorrow.

If you return kindness for injuries received and forget both,
Those who harmed you will be punished by their own shame.

What good is a man's knowledge unless it prompts him
to prevent the pain of others as if it were his own pain?

Actions that are known to harm oneself
should never be inflicted upon others.

The highest principle is this: never knowingly
harm anyone at any time in any way.

Why does he who knows what injury to his own life is like
inflict injury upon other living human beings?

If a man visits sorrow on another in the morning,
sorrow will visit him unbidden in the afternoon.

All suffering recoils on the wrongdoer himself. Thus, those
desiring not to suffer refrain from causing others pain.

After spending all day in this forum, reading these lines is like taking a drink of cool water. I think I will log on now, and find someone to treat with kindness.

So I logged on to Second Life and helped some people, and it felt better. But there was one more post that should be discussed here, because this one caused a misconception. The folks in the Honor Guard forum asked what the Concerned Lanterns wanted. Only one suggestion was made on the private forum, so I posted most of the text from that suggestion in the HG forum:

What do we want to see happen? For one thing, an end to the backbiting, gossip, slander and other behavior unbecoming a Lantern by all involved. Honesty and forthrightness in dealing with fellow Lanterns, even from officers and Guardians--especially from officers and Guardians. A return to the concept that the Guardians and officers are servants who take care of the Core and not the other way around. The removal of the true disruptive influences in the power structure of the Core--not those who speak up against the abuse of power. A return to the principles of the "real" Green Lantern Corps from the comics--either that or quit pretending and just declare the group an RP group and have done with it so that those of us who want to make a difference can move on to places where we can. Is that too much to ask? I don't think so.

This may have been the source of the misconception that the Concerned Lanterns wanted certain GLC members to be ejected from the group. This was never the case. Note the difference between a "disruptive influence" and a "disruptive member." Also note that "removal" in the context of that paragraph referred to stopping the disruption rather than ejecting the disruptive member.

So the group of Lanterns who gathered to talk about improving the GLC were given the name "Concerned Lanterns" on August 5. The name stuck, even though we discussed changing it to something else. There was speculation among the Guardians about how many members were in the group. I made it a point not to provide any clues about that, since I wanted the Guardians to treat the issues raised by the group as though they were being raised by a significant percentage of GLC members. I thought that if they knew the Concerned Lanterns consisted of only five GLC members, they could have talked themselves into disregarding the issues. Maybe I was wrong about what they would have done, but that's how the affair was handled.

After the Concerned Lanterns group was given a name and was known to the Guardians, we talked it over and asked to schedule a meeting. The meeting took place in the Guardians Citadel New Oa. Only two representatives from the Concerned Lanterns were able to attend. Here is the first prepared statement that opened the meeting.

[19:55] My take on it all was this: when I first came to the GLC, I loved hanging around the sim. I helped greet people when they came by and even showed the history room to many visitors. I was made an Oan resident. I was taken out and shown patrolling way before my classes. The GLC respected me, and I looked up to them.
[19:56] Then after I graduated, I looked forward to be what I thought the GLC was doing when not at Oa..guarding Second Life. Now I've seen it to be 'disrespectful' to do our job, and shut out of discussions in the message boards, and then shut up at a general meeting. The atmosphere has changed.
[19:57] I just feel it should be something we still use, and perhaps come to some midway point
[19:58] the GLC made me become a person in SL. I'd hate to lose that feeling

I had also prepared an opening statement.

[19:59] GreenLantern Excelsior: Well for my part, as usual, I have written a novel. I think it will help to lay out some specifics that we can discuss though.

[20:00] GreenLantern Excelsior: So here it is. I want to thank the Guardians for scheduling this meeting to talk with us today. I also want to thank my fellow Lanterns, who love the Core so much that they got together to discuss ways to improve it. If we didn't care, we wouldn't be here.

[20:00] GreenLantern Excelsior: GLC has overcome some serious problems in the past. At one point we went through a period of extreme inactivity, and some of us became concerned that people were losing interest and the group might not survive. So Cathy Gray and Jordan Islander and I formed the "Torchbearers" in October of 2007. That group held meetings at Cathy's house in "Little Oa" and talked about our issues in a private discussion forum. Once we were organized and ready, we talked to the Guardians and invited them to join the group.

[20:00] GreenLantern Excelsior: Just like in 2007, some of us have become concerned recently due to some problems we're seeing in GLC. So we formed a group in mid-July, held one meeting, and talked about the issues in a private discussion forum. I had always planned to take our list of problems and possible solutions to the Guardians once we were ready (otherwise there would be no point to having the group), but someone heard about the group about two weeks after it was formed and made a fuss. The group is informally called "Concerned Lanterns" by GLC leadership, but we have recently renamed it. Its official name now is "The New Torchbearers" because its purpose and methods are the same as the original Torchbearers.

[20:01] GreenLantern Excelsior: I want to begin by discussing three problems we've seen recently, listed in increasing order of severity. The first problem was the attempt to change GLC policy and training to say that one Abuse Report is all we need for each griefer attack. Supposedly this came directly from Plexus Linden, but there was never any documentation of this online, it was in conflict with current SL Knowledge Base AR guidance, and it was directly contradicted by a different RESI Team (GTeam) member. The only reasons I can think of for someone to lie about this information (lying either outright or by omission) is to try to gain power and status within the group ("GLC needs to do as I say, because a Linden is my personal friend"). The other possible reason for trying to put this policy in place might be to make Abuse Reporting a lower priority than it is now. If we had set this rumor as an official GLC policy, we would have severely decreased our effectiveness in the field. By implementing the SL Knowledge Base guidance on Abuse Reporting as official GLC law, the Guardians ended this problem, and thank you for your action.

[20:02] GreenLantern Excelsior: The second problem I would like to discuss, and this one does need Guardian attention, is the continuing drama being caused on the GLC discussion board. There are multiple examples in the public forums where certain individuals have posted snarky comments that belittle other groups. Sometimes new threads are started where the topic is how bad another group or another leader is. Other times existing threads are hijacked by an off-topic criticism of another group. When other Lanterns point out that this is unnecessary drama that is causing problems, the response is often defiant, e.g., the "leadership is so very wrong and I won't change my stance on that and I will continue to speak out if need be."

[20:03] GreenLantern Excelsior: Our current training on the Code of Ethics says the following with respect to other groups: "It is best to remain at all times courteous and respectful in dealing with other gridwatch types of groups. Treat them as we would expect to be treated." This is being willfully and repeatedly disregarded on our discussion board, and it needs to be stopped. The Guardians and Honor Guard need to set an example here. Even if it's a group or leader that we don't like personally, we need to make sure that we and our members don't disrespect them in public. One way we can stop these problems before they get out of hand is to use the "Report this post" feature (exclamation point icon) that is shown on every post to notify the board administrators that the problems are starting again. And the board administrators need to start watching the board more closely and take action at the first sign of trouble, so we don't end up with more discussion threads locked and more Lanterns being polarized into an "us versus them" position.

[20:04] GreenLantern Excelsior: The third and most severe problem GLC is facing these days is the state of our Rookie training program. Basically, two of the Trainers have taken over the program and have reformatted it to the point where some of the important topics are virtually nonexistent, while other topics unrelated to any GLC duties are being emphasized. For example:

[20:04] GreenLantern Excelsior: - The Patrol Protocols class has been combined with something called "Conflict Resolution," which is all about mediating disputes between Residents during the annual Burning Life celebration. GLC members are not mediators, and we don't resolve conflicts between residents, yet the Burning Life training takes up most of the class. Since we are not graduating any Burning Life Rangers during our ceremonies in New Oa, the information that is not applicable to the Green Lantern Corps needs to be removed from our course of training.

[20:05] GreenLantern Excelsior: - Four days prior to last Tuesday's class, I discovered that I was no longer scheduled to train the Rookies on my normal subjects, "Dealing with Griefer Attacks" and "Writing Abuse Reports," but was assigned a class entitled "Linden Tools and Shortcuts." The schedule had my two former classes separated so one was taught during week one and the other was taught during week two, while the third class in the trio (the "Griefer Lab") that's normally taught in the same week with the first two, was delayed until week four, when the Rookies will have forgotten what they learned earlier. The Griefer Attacks class and the AR class were both assigned to one of the trainers who has declared repeatedly that he is "retired" from patrolling and does not do field work anymore.

[20:05] GreenLantern Excelsior: - I discovered the awful truth about the two classes above. The current training schedule shows that "Dealing with Griefer Attacks" is a scripted lecture with slides. But in actuality, there is no instructor-led classroom training on griefer attacks or writing ARs. Instead, the Rookies were shown a year-old YouTube video about how to write an AR (which is useless for someone who does not speak English), and they are given a link to the GLC wiki to read about what do do during a griefer attack. This is absolutely unacceptable.

[20:06] GreenLantern Excelsior: Guardians, when you have 45 minutes to an hour free, please go to "The Trainer's Grounds" forum on the GLC discussion board and read the three-page thread entitled "Rookie Training Curriculum 2.0." You will see how these two trainers have basically taken over the training program, mixed up all the classes so they are out of sequence, added information and classes that are not necessary, defended all this as "innovation," and accused anyone who does not agree with them of being "resistant to change." And while I was spending hours in that thread crafting logical reasons to put the classes back in some semblance of order, these two trainers spent hours inworld browbeating and double-teaming our lead trainer, until she let them have their way out of sheer frustration. Not only did they undermine the authority of a Guardian to get their way, but also they treated my friend, which is far worse. My recommendation here is that the lead trainer should make the schedule and approve the class content, and the trainer should conduct the training classes. If the job of lead trainer becomes too difficult and arguing with the other trainers takes too long, I will volunteer to take over the job and put the program back into shape. Constructive suggestions will always be cheerfully implemented, but I will not be browbeat into submission by anyone.

[20:07] GreenLantern Excelsior: * treated my friend badly * that should read

[20:07] GreenLantern Excelsior: Now I am not asking for anyone to be ejected from the group or even disciplined here. These two people do many good things for the group. But also, they have been causing major problems within the group, and those problems have not been addressed. They need to be more closely monitored, and they need to be informed immediately when they go outside the bounds of acceptable GLC behavior. A large percentage of the drama within the Core, which was not here prior to their arrival, is being instigated and fed and reinforced by them. It has gone on for too long, and it needs to stop.

[20:08] GreenLantern Excelsior: That is all I had to say. I couldn't think of a way to get it down to 3 paragraphs but maybe that's a good thing.

After the opening statements, I said this:

[20:19] GreenLantern Excelsior: That is the end of our opening statements. We were hoping for a discussion of the topic now.
[20:19] GreenLantern Excelsior: Maybe an evaluation of how you feel about what we said.
[20:20] GreenLantern Excelsior: Hopefully an acknowledgment that not everything in the GLC is rosy and there are some problems that need to be fixed.

The Guardians started a private IM session at that point, and the local chat session degenerated from a discussion of the topics mentioned into a discussion of why the Concerned Lanterns didn't follow what Angelica and Cathy thought were "proper communication channels" to bring the problems to the attention of GLC leadership. It started here:

[20:37] Cathy Gray: It's wrong to go around the proper channels.

And continued nonstop in a circular fashion, coming back to the beginning again several times, until here:

[21:01] Angelica Nephilim: No, the way it was done was improperly conducted.

The problems listed in the opening statements were not part of the discussion. The Concerned Lanterns were made out to be some kind of sinister undercover group, yet the biggest problem that they could find was that we got together and discussed issues on our own. Finally, after no progress was made in the discussion and it was getting late for some of the east coast folks, we were asked if we had anything else to add to the discussion.

[21:02] GreenLantern Excelsior: I can't think of anything to say that I haven't already stated in my little novel at the beginning. Just to reiterate that if we didn't care, we wouldn't have formed the group and wouldn't be here tonight.
[21:02] Cathy Gray: And don't confuse things, we're not saying you never did a good job nor that you don't care.
[21:02] Cathy Gray: That's a really big difference.
[21:03] GreenLantern Excelsior: Thank you. I think the particulars of what avenue was used for the discussion aren't quite as important as the fact that enough people are worried about these problems to think that they need to be discussed.

During my time in the GLC it was a well known phenomena that any problems brought up to the Guardians disappeared into a black hole, never to be heard from again. This was the case with the issues brought up in this meeting. Training wasn't fixed. the discussion board problems continued and worsened, and the Concerned Lanterns were left wondering if there was a point to having the group if the Guardians refused to address the issues that were identified. But as I was about to discover, it's dangrous to point out problems in the GLC. Some of the issues I raised were placed into a GLE "Pearl Harbor file" which was destined to be used against me in less than three weeks.

I posted the following on the Concerned Lanterns message board.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The following personnel have been banned from the southernmost parcel of Asimov Park, owned by Pierce Kronos and Aree Lulibub:

Cam Mitchell
GreenLantern Excelsior
Jeadeen Niles
Kalel Venkman
Kara Timtam
Maverick Grunfeld
Nikola Shirakawa
Samantha Lowell

My first reaction to this is "how childish." And this wasn't posted anywhere in public. I just crashed into the ban lines while testing a freebie hoverboard.

It looked like an official announcement, so it was taken and distributed as such. If I had explained this better, it wouldn't have gone any further. But it was sent to a JLU member, who sent it out as a JLU notice. Then the JLU communications channel came to life.

[2009/08/23 8:51] Quinstar Gremlin: not cool
[2009/08/23 8:51] ?
[2009/08/23 8:51] problem?
[2009/08/23 8:51] Quinstar Gremlin: the Notices just now
[2009/08/23 8:52] The content, or the notices themselves?
[2009/08/23 8:53] Not cool = one GLC honor guard banning another from his propterty and removing people from his and Aree's friends list merely becaue they are associateed or belong tothe JLU. AT least in my humble opinion.
[2009/08/23 8:53] we can all express our opinions freely in the League :)
[2009/08/23 8:53] Quinstar Gremlin: I didn't see anything "humerous" in putting someone in the "crosshairs" of many people in public like that
[2009/08/23 8:54] listens to Quin thoughtfully
[2009/08/23 8:54] a valid opinion, Quin :)
[2009/08/23 8:54] Quinstar Gremlin: each individual is free to grant or deny access on the land they own for whatever reason they see fit. My large parcel doesn't have any JLU access for example, only a few selected people from my SL
[2009/08/23 8:54] the ban is real, Quinn... and one of the people banned put the notices out. We are (or were) discussing this in the Sunday morning JLU meeting at the watchtower.
[2009/08/23 8:55] It;s a non-event. Nobody has even been there in almost two years, certainly nobody cares.
[2009/08/23 8:55] Quinstar Gremlin: I have no doubt the ban is real, but my above statment stands as a Resident's right that comes with owning land
[2009/08/23 8:55] His parcel, so let him do as he likes.
[2009/08/23 8:56] Who cares?
[2009/08/23 8:56] Seem pretty counterproductive to any kind of working relationship within a group, much less esprit de corps. Again, just my humble opinion.
[2009/08/23 8:57] shouldn't we be paying attention to the meeting instead of this nonsense :P XD
[2009/08/23 8:57] Quinstar Gremlin: I will bow out of this discussion as I seem woefully ignorant on the subject from not being able to attend the JLU meetings regualrly
[2009/08/23 8:59] GreenLantern Excelsior: I wrote the wording in that "news release" just to let some friends know what happened. It didn't come from Pierce. I don't know why she would say it did.
[2009/08/23 8:59] I haven't been there in almost two years. I seriously doubt traffic on Asimov goes into double digits.
[2009/08/23 8:59] Well that's odd, then.
[2009/08/23 8:59] GreenLantern Excelsior: I suspect it was a misunderstanding because she knew I wrote it.
[2009/08/23 8:59] She probably just misunderstood.
[2009/08/23 8:59] It sounds like it was a misunderstanding.
[2009/08/23 9:28] Ah well, no biggie
[2009/08/23 9:28] This Pierce thing is of zero importance to anyone, except, perhaps, Pierce.
[2009/08/23 9:29] pierce himself is of zero importance, except, perhaps, to aree
[2009/08/23 9:29] My dear teammates, then why are we still talking about it?
[2009/08/23 9:30] GreenLantern Excelsior: She didn't hear about it until now
[2009/08/23 9:30] i still have NO idea what you all are burbbling about :)
[2009/08/23 9:31] Pierce made known that he's banning certain people from his parcel at Asimov Park. A list of people we already know don't get along with him, and who never go to his parcel anyway, let alone Asimov Park.
[2009/08/23 9:32] i can't think of anything LESS newsworthy...except maybe my last pedicure
[2009/08/23 9:32] And he and Aree removed many of us with JLU ties from their friends list. Yawn.
[2009/08/23 9:32] GreenLantern Excelsior: YOU had a PEDICURE? Wow!
[2009/08/23 9:33] And they're STILL talking about it!
[2009/08/23 9:33] So what was the point of making it known? sorry im late on this
[2009/08/23 9:34] GreenLantern Excelsior: I bumped into the ban lines last night and wrote a semi-humorous "news release" about it. I didn't make it clear that I was the author, so it was assumed to have come from Pierce. My mistake.

The notice was forwarded to some GLC members, probably by Quinstar Gremlin. Aree started whining about being harassed and stalked, and talked about going to the local police or filing a complaint, or something similar. But ban lists are not secret information, the residents who were on the ban list never visited that parcel anyway, and the whole affair was probably orchestrated to try to draw JLU into the drama, which didn't work. In the end, this was a complete non-issue, but it was another item that was added to the GLE Pearl Harbor file.

I started a thread on the Concerned Lanterns discussion board entitled "Let's start doing some Community Service projects." Here's the first post in that thread:

We have an internal group that's busy planning parties and go-kart races and other stuff inside New Oa. That doesn't help anyone but the GLC. If we want to show what Community Service is all about, let's go do some of it. We can patrol, or help newbies, or watch over other people's sims, or do security for different events, or whatever else we can think of. I'm supposedly the "External Liaison Group" leader with authority to commit GLC resources to external events. It's a committee of one. We can talk this up on the GLC channel when we're out volunteering, we can write patrol reports and other posts in the Community Services forum, and maybe we can get other interested in setting foot outside our home sim. I also have the capability to do some web stuff, Google documents for planning, Photoshop for illustrations, or whatever. I think it would be great for us to be out there showing the Guardians that we aren't just a little secret group plotting to do who knows what.

We tossed around some ideas:

• All we seem to hear these days is lots of publicity about the events committee and charity work and redecorating New Oa. We can "lead by example" and show the GLC that other things are just as important as those. Maybe we can get people interested in the original GLC goals again without having to argue with Pierce and Aree on the discussion board.
• I'm thinking "Community Services Team" might not be the best name for this. "CST" means Central Standard Time and "CS" of course means chickenshit. Maybe "Outreach Team" would be received a little better.
• [Discussing our unsuccessful attempt to get a Guardian to "sponsor" the effort] You know, I really don't know why it's necessary to have a sponsor among the guardians on this. It's not like we need approval on everything we do, as long as we remain within the ideals of what the Core is supposed to stand for (whether it does any longer or not). Or at least I hope it's not come to that sort of repressive condition. I suggest we simply start doing it as we can. Then report on it at the meetings so others know what we are doing. Maybe then some will want to become a part of it. That's how you work to turn things around--win hearts and minds by doing. Not by waiting for approval from a guardian--approval that may never come. If it's worth doing, let's do it.
• Agreed. I told GLE he should just mention the idea in the next general meeting. Even if some Guardians dislike the idea...if we get some support, like some rookies interest, then what can they do? Ban all new rookies? And some POSITIVE spirit will flow. The negativity in the message board doesnt help at all, that's our problem, and they win there...since they are griefers in that sense. But, they can't stop us when we're out in the open!!
• That's right--what are they going to do? Declare in a meeting that community service is evil because a guardian isn't sponsoring it? Or because we're doing it "unsanctioned"? If so, they doom themselves in the eyes of anyone not already brainwashed. So, yeah, let's do it We should try to meet again soon to discuss a course. Anyone up for it?

I spent a long time working on the project's announcement. It was in basic form by August 23, almost ready for the meeting on August 27. Although the idea was designed to solve some problems, I didn't want to be negative and talk about the problems. Rather, I wanted to make the effort sound one hundred percent positive and not like I was throwing darts at someone else's effort. Here's the announcement as it was delivered at the meeting:

I think everyone is going to like what I have to say tonight. I'm cutting and pasting from a notecard like Jeff did. I would ask that everyone hold your questions and comments until the end.

In late 2007, Guardian KallfuNahuel Matador assigned me to lead the Patrol Task Force for the Green Lantern Core. This was intended to increase GLC activities at a time when many of the Guardians were unavailable for long periods.

In April of this year, Kall assigned me to lead the External Liaison Group, which was formed at the same time as the Events Coordinator position. While the Events Coordinator works on events within Beta Quadrant, the External Liaison coordinates GLC participation with other groups for special events (like Earth Week) outside Beta Quadrant.

There is a need for both patrol and external event coordination in GLC, but there is no need for two separate groups. So I am combining the two into something I call the "Outreach Team." Before I ask for volunteers to help, let me explain my vision of what this team will do.

The Outreach Team will be the lead group for security patrols during special events outside of Beta Quadrant. The Team will work hand in hand with the Blue Lanterns and JLU and Star Sapphires and the event organizers during these events.

The Team will also spend time helping newbies, and to assist with that, it will keep an up to date list of newbie help documents and objects available for distribution in the field. Helping newbies is part of the GLC mandate to deliver Community Service.

And finally, the Team will be the lead group for GLC peacekeeping. It will keep an up to date list of patrol techniques and an up to date list of patrol locations that need extra attention. The Team will consider setting up training seminars on sim security and griefer response for other groups (like Assistance Notification Network) or interested residents.

The Outreach Team is not intended to take over anyone else's duties. So for that reason, the Team will not script GLC rings or equipment, build Beta Quadrant facilities, coordinate charity efforts, or be in charge of events within Beta Quadrant. Individual Team members are free to be scripters and builders and whatever else they want to do, but the Outreach Team itself has duties which lie elsewhere.

The word "Outreach" was used in this context by Guardian KallfuNahuel Matador in the GLC meeting of January 23, 2008. His idea is that we should be doing more than just patrolling and writing Abuse Reports on griefers. He wants us to become "Second Life Ambassadors," not just "traffic cops" in the sandboxes. Over time and through several lengthy discussions, the word "Outreach" has come to mean reaching out to assist Residents of Second Life, in many different ways.

This is a volunteer effort, so everyone is welcome to participate (including Rookies). It's voluntary, so if you would rather not participate, that's okay too. I would like to start us out with just three rules, although we may change these or add more later:
1. Have fun!
2. No drama.
3. Don't be evil.

I would like to get started with this project right away by convening an Outreach Team meeting in the GLC Control Center after this meeting is over. Are there any questions about the Outreach Team, and is anyone interested in participating?

I wasn't able to make it through the entire announcement without Guardian interruption. And as people started to volunteer, the opposition formed up and began doing what they do best - oppose.

[2009/08/27 19:30] anthoney Gothly: *raises hand*
[2009/08/27 19:30] IM: I would love to help GLE out but I'm streched thin on time as it is....
[2009/08/27 19:30] Cathy Gray: No.
[2009/08/27 19:30] Cathy Gray: Hold it.
[2009/08/27 19:30] Jeadeen Niles: Yes.
[2009/08/27 19:30] Cathy Gray: Hands down.
[2009/08/27 19:30] Joren Nexen: I am, GLE.
[2009/08/27 19:30] GreenLantern Excelsior: ??
[2009/08/27 19:30] IM: Here we go!!
[2009/08/27 19:30] Bobkoe Nirvana: sounds good
[2009/08/27 19:30] IM: Oh oh--here it goes.
[2009/08/27 19:30] Artevus Corleone: Cathy called for order, folks
[2009/08/27 19:30] Prototype Mocha: I would like to do what I can but I'm usually only availible for events in the late evening
[2009/08/27 19:31] Cathy Gray: It's an interesting idea, but next time, come to Guardians first. I'll let people raise hands, for now.
[2009/08/27 19:31] Prototype Mocha: Maybe I could help paperwork or building for folks
[2009/08/27 19:31] Shakira Ruby: Raises claw* "I would like to try it whenever I can, if that's possible. Will aslo help me be more friendly and tolerant. "
[2009/08/27 19:31] GreenLantern Excelsior: I was assigned these duties by Guardian Kall
[2009/08/27 19:31] GreenLantern Excelsior: anthoney go ahead
[2009/08/27 19:31] IM: She had to put the "Guardian stamp of approval" on it!!
[2009/08/27 19:31] Heinrich Muircastle: I'm definatly inrested too
[2009/08/27 19:31] IM: Of course.
[2009/08/27 19:31] Cathy Gray: You were, then others were given around to other people.
[2009/08/27 19:31] Heinrich Muircastle: Love working events and patrols
[2009/08/27 19:32] anthoney Gothly: i raised my hand to say i would like to join this group
[2009/08/27 19:32] Cathy Gray: New "sub-groups" are to be authorised first.
[2009/08/27 19:32] GreenLantern Excelsior: Cool, thanks to all who volunteered
[2009/08/27 19:32] Cathy Gray: Keep that in mind.
[2009/08/27 19:32] BilliAnn Bravin: Yes, I would be happy to help as well.
[2009/08/27 19:32] GreenLantern Excelsior: That rule is new to me
[2009/08/27 19:32] IM: Damn, Guardians must control everything??!?
[2009/08/27 19:32] Cathy Gray: Never was.
[2009/08/27 19:32] IM: Of course . . .
[2009/08/27 19:32] GreenLantern Excelsior: Any other questions, comments, volunteers?
[2009/08/27 19:33] GreenLantern Excelsior: All right. Thanks for your time.
[2009/08/27 19:33] Bobkoe Nirvana: i want to. let's get the GLC more out there
[2009/08/27 19:33] Ivy Tantalus: Isnt half of what you just suggested already covered bu Guardian Anges patrol assignments
[2009/08/27 19:33] IM: You already have my volunteer... do you need it public?
[2009/08/27 19:33] Cathy Gray: Pretty much, Ivy.
[2009/08/27 19:33] IM: Tell them why it is different GLE.
[2009/08/27 19:33] Artevus Corleone: And isn't the rest left to Guardian directives anyway?
[2009/08/27 19:33] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yes there are patrol assignments but this is over and above those
[2009/08/27 19:33] Ivy Tantalus: You have that authroity?
[2009/08/27 19:33] Reymon Thalheimer: O.o
[2009/08/27 19:33] Hensonian Pennyfeather: over and above?
[2009/08/27 19:34] GreenLantern Excelsior: In addition to
[2009/08/27 19:34] Hensonian Pennyfeather: oh.
[2009/08/27 19:34] GreenLantern Excelsior: Supplemental
[2009/08/27 19:34] Sean Petit: Isn't that a decisions for the Guardians? I wasn't waware that Honor Guards made group policy?
[2009/08/27 19:34] Cathy Gray: Wait, what? Repeat, slowly, please, and carefully.
[2009/08/27 19:34] IM: so many rookies like it
[2009/08/27 19:34] Ivy Tantalus: It seems to this humble lantern that an Honor is attempting to supercede a program set into place by a Guardian
[2009/08/27 19:35] GreenLantern Excelsior: Guardian Kall assigned me to lead the Patrol Task Force and the External Liaison Group. That assignment was never rescinded.
[2009/08/27 19:35] GreenLantern Excelsior: The External Liaison Group thread is here: http://greenlanterncore.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=166
[2009/08/27 19:36] Angelica Nephilim: I got my orders in the Guardian chamber when I became one.
[2009/08/27 19:36] GreenLantern Excelsior: I got my orders from Kall who is a Guardian
[2009/08/27 19:36] Euclidean Surface: This is a separate duty from the regular patrol duty, correct GLE?
[2009/08/27 19:36] Angelica Nephilim: Same Guardian
[2009/08/27 19:36] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yes, this is patrolling trouble spots after you're done patrolling your assigned sims
[2009/08/27 19:36] Reymon Thalheimer: GLE stop saying Kall gave you full authority over policy
[2009/08/27 19:37] Euclidean Surface: Okay. There was some confusion about that earlier.
[2009/08/27 19:37] GreenLantern Excelsior: Maybe with time we can get the trouble spots turned into assigned sims.
[2009/08/27 19:37] Phillip Beeswing: I volentire too.
[2009/08/27 19:38] IM: Here go the big lies and the coverup.
[2009/08/27 19:38] Cathy Gray: That was roughly 2 years ago, that was restructured. You'll realise the "liaison" tag is no longer a part of the GLC tags even.
[2009/08/27 19:38] Cathy Gray: It was removed.
[2009/08/27 19:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: JLU Liaison? Okay
[2009/08/27 19:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: Not what I was talking about
[2009/08/27 19:39] GreenLantern Excelsior: Anyway, this is a group of people interested in community service. I hope we aren't going to restrict that.
[2009/08/27 19:39] Cathy Gray: we never did, it's what we do, if you want. It never needed a sub-group for that.
[2009/08/27 19:39] Aree Lulibub: I thought the GLC was a group interested in community service
[2009/08/27 19:39] Reymon Thalheimer: oh of course now that you took you own inititative GLE
[2009/08/27 19:40] Prototype Mocha: Ok it's a group focused on a specific type of community service maybe
[2009/08/27 19:40] Cathy Gray: Everyone who wants to do what was "proposed" can do, and always was able, to do so, beyond their respective sectors.
[2009/08/27 19:40] GreenLantern Excelsior: In an organized fashion, I mean. There has been some resistance to doing security patrols during events if certain other groups are present.
[2009/08/27 19:40] IM: *here tops that
[2009/08/27 19:40] Aree Lulibub: Oh please, don't drag that into the conversation
[2009/08/27 19:40] Cathy Gray: If I may say so, what a lie.
[2009/08/27 19:40] Ivy Tantalus: Ive never heard anyone say they refuse to do security because of anyone GLE
[2009/08/27 19:40] Reymon Thalheimer: GLE nice game bro

NOTE: Check the Peace Train thread where Pierce Kronos says he's not interested in seeing GLC participate in the event since JLU was involved. GLC did not participate in event security during Peace Train. So the resistance was there, and has been there since the ex-JLU members started unfolding their agenda.

[2009/08/27 19:41] Artevus Corleone: Guardians, I wish to speak when there is an opening
[2009/08/27 19:41] Jessi Castaignede: uhm.."Can't we all just get along??"
[2009/08/27 19:41] Hensonian Pennyfeather: any resistance that may have been sen was on an individual level, nt a group level, as I recall.
[2009/08/27 19:41] Reymon Thalheimer: um jessi when people stop playing games yes
[2009/08/27 19:41] Jessi Castaignede: right, Rey
[2009/08/27 19:41] Sean Petit: patrolling was never a requirement of membership in the GLC
[2009/08/27 19:41] Angelica Nephilim: I'd like to know that too, Lantern Castaignigde
[2009/08/27 19:41] GreenLantern Excelsior: And it's not a requirement now
[2009/08/27 19:41] Ivy Tantalus: Nor should it be
[2009/08/27 19:42] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay
[2009/08/27 19:42] GreenLantern Excelsior: No one is required to patrol
[2009/08/27 19:42] Sean Petit: then what ois th eso-called resistance to an activity that cannot be required?
[2009/08/27 19:43] GreenLantern Excelsior: The activity in question was not doing security patrols during Peacefest because JLU controlled the scheduling
[2009/08/27 19:43] Cathy Gray: Ok, GLE; shut it.
[2009/08/27 19:43] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yeah, we don't want to get into a fight here
[2009/08/27 19:43] Artevus Corleone: Order, please.
[2009/08/27 19:43] Cathy Gray: Katar?
[2009/08/27 19:43] Katar Supercharge: 2 quick comments , if i may
[2009/08/27 19:43] Cathy Gray: Go ahead, then I have something to say.
[2009/08/27 19:44] IM: GreenLantern Excelsior: Well Cathy just told me to shut up. Nice, eh?
[2009/08/27 19:44] IM: Have a ducktape script for Art's mouth?
[2009/08/27 19:44] IM: Yup.
[2009/08/27 19:44] IM: hahahahaha
[2009/08/27 19:44] Katar Supercharge: 1 - this was partly covered just now, but why not have GLE post his proposal on the forum, and then compare it to existing programs to eliminate redundancies? maybe fold it into existing stuff?
[2009/08/27 19:44] Cathy Gray: It'd have done if he had announced his proposal before.
[2009/08/27 19:44] Cathy Gray: been done*
[2009/08/27 19:44] GreenLantern Excelsior: It's not a proposal
[2009/08/27 19:44] Cathy Gray: It was a "surprise" as he put it.
[2009/08/27 19:44] Cathy Gray: It's a proposal.
[2009/08/27 19:44] Katar Supercharge: 2 - I may well be wrong, but GLE, could the patrol thing you were talking about have maybe come up in the JLU, or one of the other groups you're in, and not here?
[2009/08/27 19:45] Reymon Thalheimer: your telling a guardian its not a proposal? WOW
[2009/08/27 19:45] IM: Cathy cannot be trusted--never has been trustworthy, never will be.
[2009/08/27 19:45] GreenLantern Excelsior: Katar, I don't understand the question
[2009/08/27 19:45] IM: She used to be, she is no longer the rookie I knew.
[2009/08/27 19:45] Cathy Gray: Well, let's finish this here for now then. :)
[2009/08/27 19:45] Cathy Gray: But I have one thing to say.
[2009/08/27 19:46] IM: How about a big sock full of wet sand script for Reymon.
[2009/08/27 19:46] Ivy Tantalus: Could it have acame from outside influences I think was what he was getting at
[2009/08/27 19:46] Cathy Gray: Patrolling, as was suggested, beyond given patrol sectors, is and always will be, allowed.
[2009/08/27 19:46] Katar Supercharge: "patrol task force".. could that have come up in a different place than our forums, maybe?
[2009/08/27 19:46] Cathy Gray: People, I'm talking.
[2009/08/27 19:46] GreenLantern Excelsior: No, it was a GLC initiative
[2009/08/27 19:46] Artevus Corleone: Guardian Cathy has the floor
[2009/08/27 19:46] Cathy Gray: People... don't make me start freezing those who are still talking.
[2009/08/27 19:47] Cathy Gray: Thank you.
[2009/08/27 19:47] Cathy Gray: Like I said, Patrolling is, and always will be, a part of the GLC. However, we have more than just that. Those who are interested, please do so, it's a part of us, we never stopped it, nor we ever wil stop it.
[2009/08/27 19:48] Cathy Gray: If you want to patrol, even in an organized way, just use the GLC group chat, which is always the way we've done it in the past.
[2009/08/27 19:48] IM: This is too impromtu. If we are going to do this we want to do it right. Now an impromptu thing with no little effect.
[2009/08/27 19:49] Cathy Gray: Now, rookies, and even applicants who got caught in this, have no fear. :) Patrolling is allowed, you can patrol.
[2009/08/27 19:49] IM: Jeadeen Niles: I am not quite ready to quit yet, but almost there.
[2009/08/27 19:49] Cathy Gray: Your training clearly mentions patrolling as a part of what we are.
[2009/08/27 19:49] Cathy Gray: But we also let you all know that there's more to community service than just patrolling.
[2009/08/27 19:49] Cathy Gray: What you do out of the community service choices is up to each lantern.
[2009/08/27 19:50] Cathy Gray: This meeting is adjourned, thank you all for coming. :)

I was asked to stay after the meeting.

[2009/08/27 19:51] IM: Still doing the meeting GLE? or are you being called to the Guardian's area?
[2009/08/27 19:51] IM: GreenLantern Excelsior: They want to talk to me afterward
[2009/08/27 19:51] IM: Hahaha, knew that was coming.
[2009/08/27 19:51] IM: uh oh
[2009/08/27 19:51] IM: GreenLantern Excelsior: Or someone does, not sure
[2009/08/27 19:51] IM: Want backup?
[2009/08/27 19:51] IM: Keep on the IM conference and keep us in the loop.

The Guardian conference after the meeting did not begin well.

[2009/08/27 20:08] Angelica Nephilim: What a waste of a fine speech. Falling on deaf ears has taken a whole new meaning.
[2009/08/27 20:09] Angelica Nephilim: Working within the group's structure is all that was ever asked.
[2009/08/27 20:09] Angelica Nephilim: You disagree with things?
[2009/08/27 20:09] Angelica Nephilim: There *is* a proper channel
[2009/08/27 20:10] Angelica Nephilim: Trying a grade school stunt like that would get you literally booted from most groups, no questions asked or statements given.
[2009/08/27 20:10] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay, let's back the truck up for a minute
[2009/08/27 20:11] GreenLantern Excelsior: I didn't do this because of disagreement with any policy
[2009/08/27 20:11] Angelica Nephilim: Be careful, you might be under the wheels already.
[2009/08/27 20:11] GreenLantern Excelsior: What does that mean?
[2009/08/27 20:11] GreenLantern Excelsior: Are you threatening me?
[2009/08/27 20:11] Quinstar Gremlin: We do need to try and keep it civil if not polite
[2009/08/27 20:11] Quinstar Gremlin: Emotions are running high at the moment
[2009/08/27 20:11] Cathy Gray: let's all relax, within the possibilities.
[2009/08/27 20:11] GreenLantern Excelsior: May I take some time and explain what I did tonight?
[2009/08/27 20:11] Hensonian Pennyfeather: please do.
[2009/08/27 20:12] Angelica Nephilim: I'm talking positions and realities. I can put it in terms of a game if necessary.
[2009/08/27 20:12] GreenLantern Excelsior: Let's not play games, Ange, this is serious.

Any thought that I was considered by some Guardians to be a respected officer of the GLC went out the window on this evening. I could almost reach out and touch the raw hatred in the room. In the words of Khan Noonien Singh: It has been said that social occasions are only warfare concealed. Many prefer it more honest, more open. I began the discussion by explaining the program I had devised.

[2009/08/27 20:14] GreenLantern Excelsior: The major point tonight was that GLC has organized groups doing events and building within New Oa, but nothing organized for outside. Since I had already been assigned to do external organizing, I was just asking for volunteers to help. And I gave the committee a fancy name. I had no idea the Guardians wanted people to notify them before doing things like this. I thought the building committee was started by Pierce and Aree with no Guardian involvement that I could see. So I did the same thing. I didn't plan to usurp anyone's duties or assignments or take anyone away from anything else. I just wanted to do some Community Service and get organized while doing it.

This discussion was very similar to the earlier meeting between the Concerned Lanterns and the Guardians. The Outreach Team was seen to be a good idea that would help the group, but it could not possibly be implemented in any way, because it hadn't been discussed with the Guardians first. As the discussion progressed, it turned out that there wasn't a chance for the Outreach Team even if it had been discussed first, because there was already a patrol program (run by Angelica and acknowledged to be inactive and ineffective), and there was already an education program being talked about (with unspecified members and still inactive). So I tried a different approach.

[2009/08/27 20:53] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay, so here's a proposal about the proposal, if that makes sense: If no one is giving reports about the current patrol program, why not give it to me? I will hustle my committee members around and urge them to keep reporting things they have seen and done. Let's say I take it for two months. If it doesn't work out, I give it back. No harm done, couldn't be much worse than it is now, might be a big improvement.

It was a reasonable request to give me a chance to try to improve things, but they shot down the suggestion by changing the subject. Instead of trying an improvement, the discussion returned to the same questions as before, about why people wouldn't use the current patrol program. And during discussion of the current program, it was revealed that people weren't patrolling the empty sims they had been assigned, they weren't reporting to Ange that their sims were empty and requesting new locations to patrol, and any patrol reports they sent to Ange were stored in her inventory and never saw the light of day afterward. My program would have been very high profile, with Lanterns listing patrol locations for all to use and discussing event response and patrol tactics in the public forum. Apparently the current secretive low profile patrol program was preferable to that. The discussion ended with a request for me to post the the Outreach Team idea in the Honor Guard forum where it could be discussed thoroughly. As I recall, the topic was discussed for a short time in that forum. Then the opposition came in and whined and flamed until the discussion thread ended. So the idea was effectively killed, even though it was acknowledged to be a good one and had broad support among the membership.

I did notice something while building this web page that I missed on the night of the discussion.

[2009/08/27 21:34] Cathy Gray: We know you went to Hens, but Hens didn't reply anything in clear.
[2009/08/27 21:34] Cathy Gray: So you should have went to others, as many as possible.

I had approached Hens early on about Guardian "sponsorship" of the Outreach Team, but she was too busy in RL at that time to discuss it in detail with the other Guardians. Cathy's statement shows that the Guardians were already aware of the Outreach Team concept, and it was obvious from the post-meeting discussion that they had thought about how to oppose the idea if it were ever brought up. So Murphy's Law struck down this idea too, but it made a great addition to the GLE Pearl Harbor file.

Star Chamber - In modern usage, legal or administrative bodies with strict, arbitrary rulings and secretive proceedings are sometimes called, metaphorically or poetically, star chambers. This is a pejorative term and intended to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the proceedings. The inherent lack of objectivity of any politically motivated charges has led to substantial reforms in English law in most jurisdictions since that time.

The following action was not communicated to GLC members.

[2009/09/03 18:25] Quinstar Gremlin: (Saved Wed Sep 02 14:52:00 2009) At this time I am charged with bringing a new thread ot your attention for you input: http://greenlanterncore.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1151

The link took me to a hidden forum entitled "Legal Matters" under the "The Guardians Speak" category. There was one thread in the forum entitled "Honor Guard GreenLantern Excelsior." The first post in the thread was from Quin:

Quinstar Gremlin
Sun Aug 30, 2009 2:01 pm 
This topic is to deal with various accusations being brought against Honor Guard GreenLantern Excelsior. This thread will be made visible to him once the charges are formally added in a Reply on this thread. The accused will then be allowed a response to the Guardian Council before judgment is passed.

The GLE Pearl Harbor file was opened and the contents were used to try to smack me down. I quoted each charge and addressed it with a response. It took me five and a half hours to finish but I completed it by the next evening.

Quinstar Gremlin
Honor Guard GreenLantern Excelsior is accused of the following:

#1) Conduct Unbecoming an Officer.
This behavior was carried out in front of rookies, applicants and guests on Thursday, August 27, 2009 as the most current example.

Meeting logs as examples:
http://greenlanterncore.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1077
http://greenlanterncore.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1146

GLE's Response
With regard to the July 16, 2009 meeting, I stood in front of the group as a GLC Officer and outlined the expectation that when a Guardian calls for help from the field, Lanterns need to respond. We have always responded to griefer attacks during meetings. There are numerous examples in previous meeting logs. I thought that perhaps some of the newer members needed a nudge in order to establish the precedent for them too. I was surprised that this precedent would even be questioned, much less actively opposed, and I was somewhat angered when I read the log afterward and discovered that Aree had prevented Tamias Orenberg from responding to the attack. This order was in direct contradiction to the request from Guardian Hens, who wanted people to come and help her.

With regard to the August 27, 2009 meeting, this was the announcement of a project that had taken a significant amount of my time to put together, and if implemented, would have been an immense help to the residents of Second Life as well as a segment of the GLC who may not have been interested in participating in events within New Oa to the exclusion of the rest of the grid. I had expected to be congratulated and praised for making such an effort to help the group. Instead, I discovered that Honor Guards are not allowed to create committees and programs on their own. I hadn't known that this was a requirement until after I announced the program:

[2009/08/27 19:32] GreenLantern Excelsior: That rule is new to me

Had I known about it, I would certainly never have stood in front of the group and announced something that I knew was unauthorized.

Quinstar Gremlin
#2) Insubordination
This behavior was carried out in front of rookies, applicants and guests on Thursday, August 27, 2009 as the most current example. Examples also follow from Forum entries and previous meeting logs. This continues into not following the chain of command and allowing the formation of a group from within the membership to try and address the removal of other members, including a fellow Honor Guard, ION, and two Guardians.

GLE's Response
I don't have any specific forum posts or meeting logs to address, but I can certainly talk about the group formation. After the meeting on July 16, I was flooded with IMs. Some were from members who had not received the channel notification from Hens and didn't respond for that reason, and others were from members who agreed with my announcement and response and disagreed with all the controversy. This second batch of people were somewhat angry that people has reacted in that way, and more than one talked about leaving the GLC as a result. While I was calming them down and talking to them further, I realized that these people all wanted to help the GLC but didn't know how to do it. One asked me to give his name to anyone else who was interested, and as soon as I did that, everyone else did the same, so they were all in touch with each other. One of them suggested a meeting to discuss the issues, and the group was up and running. I did tell them that I would talk to the Guardians when the time was right, since I was the highest ranking Lantern there, but we never discussed removing any Lanterns from GLC. Our idea was to lead by example, to try to figure out ways to get Community Service off the back burner and up there with the same priority as internal New Oa events. One idea was to go on a drive to get more people to use the GLC forums. That morphed into an idea to get just more patrollers to use the GLC forums so their posts would at least match the number of people interested in internal events. Right after that came an idea to get good patrollers to volunteer to join the GLC to counter the trend away from patrolling. There was an idea to come up with a mission statement for GLC. There was discussion of the proposed new GLC rules. But there was no stated goal for the removal of any Lanterns. Individually some of the group members expressed frustration at the continued presence of certain troublemakers, but that's all.

Quinstar Gremlin
#3) Endangerment
It has come to the attention of the Guardians through reliable outside sources that Honor Guard Excelsior did knowingly help distribute a listing of the bans in place on private land owned by a fellow Honor Guard and Ion, at the time of a JLU meeting in order to stir up trouble against said HG and Ion. This puts the privacy and peaceful existence of two of your fellow Core members in jeopardy. It is also noted that the Creator name on the Notecard listing the bans was Lantern Jessi Castaignede and not HG Excelsior.

This same action also helps continue to keep members of the GLC and the JLU at odds with each other, when things had been relatively quiet of late on that front. This jeopardizes the GLC and its work in the field when members of each group meet and may need to work together.

GLE's Response
Here's the story of the ban list. One day Broc Janus sent out another Hero Universe freebie, this time a nice hover board. I jumped on and gave it a test ride, and right away I bumped into a ban line on the south end of the island (the board got stuck and I had to get off and pull it out). I was curious, so I flew up to 800 meters to see if it was just me on the list. I copied down the names and immediately posted the following on the private board:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The following personnel have been banned from the southernmost parcel of Asimov Park, owned by Pierce Kronos and Aree Lulibub:

Cam Mitchell
GreenLantern Excelsior
Jeadeen Niles
Kalel Venkman
Kara Timtam
Maverick Grunfeld
Nikola Shirakawa
Samantha Lowell

My first reaction to this is "how childish." And this wasn't posted anywhere in public. I just crashed into the ban lines while testing a freebie hoverboard.

This is the action I was talking about in The Outreach Team thread. If I could take this back, I would. The only reason I posted it was that at the time we were discussing current events around the group including the forum thread about Peacefest and several other things. It seemed to fit into the "look what happened now" news type of topic. But I wasn't careful enough in my post, so it wasn't clear that I was the author of the "news release" format. Jessi copied the post and sent it to Samantha Lowell, who was sitting in the JLU morning meeting. She mentioned it in local chat at the meeting, and someone put out a Notice to the JLU group about it. I immediately realized that they thought Pierce wrote the "IMMEDIATE RELEASE" part, so I told everyone that I was the author. When I was finally able to make everyone understand that, Kalel put out another Notice less than ten minutes later that the ban list was a non-issue and shouldn't be a JLU concern. It would have stayed as a non-issue, too, if someone hadn't leaked the Notice to Pierce and Aree.

That's what happened. Now, as to the specific accusations:

1. The purpose was not to "stir up trouble," but to post a news item about the latest unfriendly acts of Pierce and Aree against fellow Lanterns.
2. There is no privacy associated with a parcel ban list. Anyone who flies over the property can see the list, and anyone who is banned can still see it by flying about 750 meters.
3. The fact that people know their name is on a ban list doesn't jeopardize anyone's peaceful existence. JLU's reaction was a collective yawn, and I certainly won't go where I'm not wanted. Jeadeen says he doesn't go to Asimov Park.
4. JLU is not "at odds" with GLC, and this did not increase the tension between the groups in any way. JLU generally dislikes Pierce and Aree, and this list may have given them one more reason why. But as soon as Kalel put out that second notice, any discussion of the ban list dropped, so that was no longer an issue.
5. Jessi felt really bad about sharing that information and then having JLU issue it and then retract it. She was asking us whether she should resign from the GLC over it. We reassured her that there were no consequences, so she shouldn't worry, but she did. I don't care what happens to me over this but please leave Jessi out of it.

Angelica Nephilim
Continuing targetted disruption, harrassment and undermining in training classes. Example:

[2009/08/15 9:24] Pierce Kronos: Marvelous. STudy those links on AR writing and GRiefer Attacks that are available to you any time on our wiki. If ever you have a question about something, like ION Aree taught you, kick it sideways.
[2009/08/15 9:25] GreenLantern Excelsior: (ask me)
[2009/08/15 9:25] Pierce Kronos: Any trainer or officer will be able to assist you.
[2009/08/15 9:25] Pierce Kronos: Any Lantern should be able to assist you.
[2009/08/15 9:26] Pierce Kronos: Now, I know you are all chaffing at the bit to get to the main course, so, with no further ado, I give you our exam chef for today, Guardian Cathy Gray. Good luck rookies, you will do well

GLE's Response
This is not disruption, harrassment, or undermining. Our training schedule called for a scripted lecture with slides for Dealing with Griefer Attacks. Instead, the Rookies were pointed toward the wiki and asked to read up on how to respond to attacks. There's no way they can get enough information that way to be able to respond effectively, and there's no opportunity to ask questions and discuss methods if all you're doing is reading a wiki page. When the second sentence said "If you have a question, kick it sideways," I could tell this wouldn't make sense to the Rookies. "Kick it sideways" is something the Burning Life Rangers do when they're uncomfortable handling a situation. They find another Ranger and let him handle it. "Kick it sideways" is meaningless when you're trying to get a question answered. So I offered my expertise as an experienced patroller, and hoped to end the confusion of the previous sentence, by saying simply "(ask me)." I could have said other things that would have been much worse and might really constitute harrassment, but I didn't.

Angelica Nephilim
One of two possibilities: I. either information was shared from the Council Discussions subforum, as the only examples of this were on the private subforums at the time. Only examples in public were of me disagreeing vehemently with HG, then Lantern Kronos. II. In the other case, the "Concerned Lanterns" choose to distrust and disbar a member of this group's leadership team based merely upon the status of "Ex-JLU member" Evidence:

[20:40] GreenLantern Excelsior: They don't trust you, Ange
[20:40] Angelica Nephilim: Obviously.
[20:41] Angelica Nephilim: But am I the only Guardian?
[20:41] GreenLantern Excelsior: You're ex-JLU like Pierce and Aree, and you side with them in discussions
[20:41] Angelica Nephilim: I side with my conscience and logic.
[20:41] Cathy Gray: Mind I remind you that PK and Aree were actually on your side in several ocasions, and that Guardian Angelica herself was against PK as well in the very recent past.
[20:41] Angelica Nephilim: But I am not the only Guardian.

The accusation here is unclear. I've said several times that I don't copy/paste between private forums, and I don't. You will never hear one of the "Concerned Lanterns" quote anything that was posted in the Council Discussion forum because they have never seen it. I don't understand what you're trying to say in the "only examples in public" sentence. "They don't trust you" was part of a discussion where it was stated that the "Concerned Lanterns" should have gone to Ion with their problems but instead they talked to me because Ion was part of the problem, as stated in the next cut/paste from the Guardian meeting with Jessi and GLE.

Angelica Nephilim
Gross failure to understand the chain of command or hierarchy of the group, placing oneself above the Guardian Council and Ion in the flow of authority.Example:

[20:37] Cathy Gray: It's wrong to go around the proper channels.
[20:37] GreenLantern Excelsior: * I * am the proper channel
20:38] Cathy Gray: The proper channel is actually ION, as said in a meeting, that ION would be the link between Guardians and membership.
[20:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: And if Pierce and Aree heard about the group they would create another fuss
[20:38] Cathy Gray: And the go to lantern for concerns about the group.
[20:38] Angelica Nephilim: If that happened, then you go to a Guardian.
[20:38] Jeff Beckenbauer: You will never know if it would have been closed out because it never made it there - the original Torchbearers has a sub forum on the GLC board.
[20:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: ION was part of the problem
[20:39] GreenLantern Excelsior: They saw a problem and they came to me
[20:39] Angelica Nephilim: Then you go to a Guardian if Ion is a problem.
[20:39] Cathy Gray: And you should have went to the Guardians directly, asking for an official hearing.

GLE's Response
The statement about Ion being the "complaints department" for Lanterns may have been made at a meeting some time in the past, but when was it? It's difficult to recall everything that was said at every meeting, especially when a person may or may not have been in IMs at the time. If there isn't a notecard available with a list of what an Honor Guard can and can't do, and an HG's specific duties, then let's type one up and hand it out so no one else gets accused of this. As for the next one, I certainly didn't place myself above the Guardians in the flow of authority. "* I * am the proper channel" means I'm the communications channel from the "Concerned Lanterns" to the Guardians. I held that position ever since Jeff's original post about the meeting that were held on Justice Island. And according to a conversation with Cathy, Ion ranks below Honor Guard in the chain of command.

Cathy Gray
1) Ignoring, misinterpreting and twisting what's told to him, with good examples in the following threads, with multiple occurances in said threads:
http://greenlanterncore.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1145
http://greenlanterncore.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1105
As well as during the "extra meeting" after the August 27, 2009's meeting debacle.
There are more occurances, some more in the past.

GLE's Response
First thread: "The Outreach Team," from The Council Discussions forum. It's four pages long and there were many posts in that thread. I patiently explained each and every question that was put to me in the best way I knew how. I can't address this accusation unless I know which specific items I posted that are alleged to be misinterpreting or twisting.
Second thread: "Concerned Lanterns," from the same forum. This one is five pages long and I posted sixteen times in it. Please let me know which posts you take issue with so I can address your concern.
We had a long talk in the after-meeting on August 27. I don't recall intentionally ignoring or misinterpreting or twisting anything that night. Please, if you have a specific comment, I would love to discuss it.

Cathy Gray
2) Trolling, in discord with our ethics. To clarity, picking a disagreement with a Guardian, who was courteous in acknowledging a difference of opinion on a subject, then accusing said Guardian on one of the other rules, and inserting it into his signature file to further troll. ( "Ego and bias shall not taint your duties as a Green Lantern. ")
It was later removed when pointed out to him by a few people, but was still done none the less.

GLE's Response
That was near the bottom of page 2 of the thread "A Second GLC Meeting Time" in The Council Discussions forum. I had suggested that since JLU meetings were at 8:30 on Sunday mornings, we could hold a GLC meeting at 10 a.m. on Sunday to allow any GLC members who were also JLU members to attend both meetings. I pointed out that if any good information came out in the JLU morning meeting, it could be repeated in the GLC morning meeting. And any good information from the GLC morning meeting could be brought back to the JLU evening meeting at 5:30 p.m. Angelica responded and talked about "general ill-feeling" and "incompatible membership" and how mixing the two doesn't work. I responded by explaining that JLU doesn't hate us, but they are mostly concerned about us, so there is no need to "distance ourselves" from them. And yes, I did put that phrase from the proposed GLC rules into my signature. I had understood that The Council Discussions forum was a place where we could speak openly with each other without worrying about the deference and protocol we show in public. If I'm wrong about that, please let me know.

Cathy Gray
3) During the Second Pride event: Starting a political argument after a joke targetted at Ann Coulter, then insinuating the people of the group weren't tolerant in the Second Pride group chat, the same group we were assisting.
That surely left a "good impression" of the GLC in their eyes.
Here's the block of text with that particular incident:

[2009/05/30 20:15] Elf Juran: Cop. you can make a man out of me??
[2009/05/30 20:16] Cooper Janus: Hell I can make a man out of Ann Coulter.
[2009/05/30 20:16] Cooper Janus: Oh wait.
[2009/05/30 20:16] Cooper Janus: Someone already did that.
[2009/05/30 20:17] GreenLantern Excelsior: I don't think so
[2009/05/30 20:50] Tirgoviste Vaher: if I was Ann Coulter (god forbid! ) I would sue the doctor that did the sex change operation for malpractice :)
[2009/05/30 20:53] GreenLantern Excelsior: I find this kind of talk hilarious from a group that's supposed to espouse tolerance.
[2009/05/30 20:55] Tirgoviste Vaher: then I take it GreenLatern political humor is not exactly your cup of tea ?
[2009/05/30 20:56] GreenLantern Excelsior: I love politics. If I could, I would get down on the floor and roll in it. But that wasn't funny.
[2009/05/30 20:56] Cathy Gray: breath in, breath out, GLE
[2009/05/30 20:57] Angelica Nephilim: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...the hallmark of tolerance :)
[2009/05/30 20:57] Tirgoviste Vaher: then by all means, please give us an example of something you would find funny
[2009/05/30 20:58] GreenLantern Excelsior: Irony is hilarious.
[2009/05/30 20:58] Rimpoche Kiama: You know what else is funny?
[2009/05/30 20:58] Rimpoche Kiama: George W. Bush.
[2009/05/30 20:58] Rimpoche Kiama: Taking himself seriously.
[2009/05/30 20:58] Rimpoche Kiama: THat's f'n hylarious.
[2009/05/30 20:58] Rimpoche Kiama: or is it just me?
[2009/05/30 20:59] GreenLantern Excelsior: It's just you.
[2009/05/30 20:59] Tirgoviste Vaher: I think you can get an amen from the congregation on that one Rimpoche
[2009/05/30 20:59] Angelica Nephilim: to me and many others as well - one youtube search proves that
[2009/05/30 20:59] Cathy Gray: erm... it's probably not just Rimpoche, but this is turning into an evil thing
[2009/05/30 20:59] Rimpoche Kiama: lol sorry Green...I figured us Canucks thought Pres Shrub was good comedy..meh... :)
[2009/05/30 20:59] Rimpoche Kiama: where's the good stuff at pride right now?
[2009/05/30 20:59] Angelica Nephilim: but on the flipside, there are others to whom its not funny, we just have to respect one another
[2009/05/30 21:00] Kiroja Fluffy: the good stuff is coming
[2009/05/30 21:00] Rimpoche Kiama: ooo tp tp tp
[2009/05/30 21:00] JohnnyD Posthorn: Rimpoche for next year's chair
[2009/05/30 21:00] GreenLantern Excelsior: Goodnight all

GLE's Response
The "T" in the acronym "LGBT" stands for "Transgendered." Rebecca Wendell, a good Lantern friend of mine, is a transgendered person. If she had heard that comment making fun of people who have had sex change operations, it would be hurtful, as it would have been for any other transgendered person listening in the channel at the time. That kind of talk deserves a response in all caps with multiple exclamation points, but I restrained myself and pointed out calmly that they were displaying intolerance. Angelica helped out by mentioning that "we just have to respect one another,k" which was good. When it became apparent that they had abandoned their intolerant speech, and they were now only using the name of George Bush to try to get a reaction from me, I said good night and closed the channel.

We're supposed to be the good guys, the people who uphold the rules. If we let a comment like this go by without saying anything, something that's not only wrong but also a clear violation of the Community Standards, then we don't deserve to wear the ring or the title. I will never apologize for pointing out intolerance.

Cathy Gray
4) Recently insinuating that the "Concerned Lanterns" believe the majority of the leadership isn't trustworthy.
As an officer, such should have been contained and prevented through clarification and exposition, or even contacting said Guardians for advice.
Instead, it was maintained and allowed, leading to the "Concerned Lanterns" only trusting both himself and Guardian Hensonian.

GLE's Response
I do have some small influence over the group, but it's mostly that they respect me because I've been here longer and I have the title. Hens says that people respect the man behind the title more than whatever words are floating over his head, but I try to be modest. Even with some small amount of respect, I can't force one person to trust someone else. What I wanted to do when I built that private discussion board was to tell the members that it was a completely free and open communication forum where they could speak their minds with no fear of reprisal. Sometimes it got a little out of hand, but when one of them said "Maybe GLE doesn't want us to talk that way" I always said "This is a free speech board and you can say whatever you want." Now when I say "they don't trust you," I can't tell you that every member on the board showed distrust for every GLC officer but two. Most of the angry rhetoric was coming from one person, supported by one and maybe two others. I guess the concensus was a general lack of trust, but I never did set up a "who do you trust" poll, so I can't be completely sure. As for contacting the Guardians for advice, I was never told when promoted to Honor Guard about what things I could to on my own and what things required approval, so I'm still not sure I'm all the way "in the groove" on those guidelines.

Jeff Beckenbauer
I will simply mirror what Guardian Quinstar has said.

Only thing I wish to add is that I dont believe GreenLantern Excelsior has any faith or trust in the Guardians and has exhibited this in word and deed.

That is all I will say.

GLE's Response
This is probably the most difficult accusation to address. As usual, communications is the key to almost everything in this world. I see a discussion board that is increasingly tending toward chaos. I see a couple of troublemakers who have enlisted some allies and seem to be running around causing problems at will. And when I ask about this I am told that "the Guardians are working on the problem, so please be patient." So I do have faith that things are happening, that discussions are progressing, behind the scenes. I can't believe someone would lie to me and tell me that things are being done when they aren't. But at the same time, I don't see any progress. I did see one post from Quin, telling Reymon Thalheimer to stop attacking HG Excelsior (who hadn't even posted in the thread), and that was extremely encouraging. Faith increases when results are evident. Now as for trust, that's something different. I thought I was one of the good guys, a person whose standards couldn't be compromised no matter what happened. I think there are at least two people who have called me "a Lantern's Lantern" (whatever that means). But I do what's right in the best way I can, and I'm always surprised to find there are people who don't like me. And increasingly in the GLC, that seems to be true. First it was Aree, then Pierce, then Artevus and Ivy and Reymon. I'm even getting the impression that you don't like me, Jeff. So I do trust all of the Guardians to do the right thing as they see it, but my personal opinion is that perhaps their vision of the GLC has been a little skewed by recent events and there needs to be a RESET button pushed to bring us back to the ideal Core that we used to have, with honor and friendship and service to the grid as the primary goals.

The last part of my post is a Private Message on the GLC forum that I sent to Jeff and Quin and Hens. I received no reply from any of them, but I think it's important to post this because it's the place where I advocate removing Pierce and Aree as the major problems causing GLC to "spiral downward into chaos:"

---

Trouble brewing within GLC (yes, it's long)

Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:49 pm

I am becoming very concerned about problems I've been seeing recently, both within the GLC discussion board and inworld. For a long time (ever since Matt left), things have been peaceful and drama-free and we have all been good friends. But now there is increasing drama and strife within the group, and generally most of it can be attributed to actions by Pierce and Aree. They make no secret of their hatred for JLU and Kalel in particular, and they seem to take every opportunity they can find to bash JLU in our forums. An excellent example is the My view thread that Pierce started in the Council Discussions thread where he tried to convince the group to censure or "declare persona non grata" the entire JLU group. I'm glad to see that nothing resulted from that request, but I'm worried about other discussions that might be going on behind the scenes that could undermine the group like this one almost did. It's obvious to me that our group is becoming polarized now, with Pierce and Aree and a few others taking a "with us or against us" attitude toward JLU. Another good example of this is the Peace Train thread. JLU announced in their meeting Sunday afternoon that the Peace Train organizers approached them and asked them to coordinate event security. I posted that fact in the thread, and noted that it wouldn't stop us from participating in the event. Immediately Pierce and Aree jumped in there, saying that if JLU was leading the response then they didn't want GLC to be involved. I wouldn't have a problem with this at all if Pierce had said he didn't want to participate because JLU was in charge. But check the way he said it: "I'm not really interested in the GLC being under anyone else's auspices." Once again he is trying to influence the group to participate in his personal vendetta against JLU by boycotting JLU events. He and Aree generally double-team any such discussion threads, so one will express an opinion and the other will usually post something supportive (or equally negative) in response. If something is being said against JLU, Angelica will usually chime in as well, although her posts are generally constructive (from her point of view) and not as acidic as Pierce and Aree. On the other side of the argument are Quin and probably Hens (if she would get into the forums more often) and me. We urge reconciliation and friendship between the groups and an end to hostilities and old grudges. That is not working at all, since Pierce and Aree not only hold on to their grudges, but also take them out and polish them in public any chance they get. Those two are out of control and they are dragging the group down as a result. When Kalel heard that Pierce had been promoted to Honor Guard, his comment to me was "Well, that's the beginning of the end for the GLC." From what I've seen so far, he appears to be correct, and I'm worried about it.

The other thing that has been bothering me recently is the tendency of some of the newer Guardians, Honor Guard, and ION to say "We don't [fill in the blank]" and assume that instantly that is a new GLC policy just because they stated it. This happened to some extent with the discussion thread about Rachealless Drezelan, GLC Applicant. The reason I started that thread was that I had multiple warnings from multiple trusted sources saying that this person was trouble and shouldn't be brought into our training program. In response, here's the ION trying to set group policy with a single statement:

Aree Lulibub
Thank you, GLE, for the information but we treat everyone fairly and equally.

The reason I was positive this statement was wrong is that Cathy confirmed it last November when we were discussing Valor Hyun:

Cathy Gray
Valor is NOT to be considered for entry in our training program, at all.

And why was Valor not to be treated the same as any other applicant? It was because I posted information from multiple trusted sources saying that he and his multiple alts were big trouble, AND Cathy had personal experience with him. Actually I'm thinking that maybe my post about Valor in that thread didn't make any difference one way or the other, and that it was Cathy's personal opinion that kept Valor out of the program. But whatever the reason, it's clear that everyone is not treated the same, and for the really bad cases like Rachealless and Valor, they shouldn't be.

But the worst thing that has happened recently, that has me worried about the Core in general, is what happened on Saturday night with the griefer attacks. I don't know if you were listening on the GLC channel when it happened, but Aree was right in the middle of that mess. To start the story I have to go back more than a couple of months, to where I was still in the Blue Lantern Corps. The griefer whose first name is always "Fire" was causing problems in the sandboxes. I saw him appear in Sandbox Island, so I went over to talk to him in a friendly way, as I always do with griefers. He made a few accusations about some of the anti-griefer groups, and I agreed with some of them and explained the others. We talked for a short time and he became so impressed with me that he said I should be the leader of all Lantern groups in SL, and he gave me his MSN address. I linked up with him on MSN, and we chat for a few minutes maybe once every two weeks. He doesn't inform me of his exploits (except once last week when he came into New Oa), and although I don't ask him any questions about what he's going to do next, I do write ARs on him when I see his stuff filling the sandboxes. He's a "hobbyist" griefer, just a bored college kid who comes in for one or two attacks and then calls it a night, but he did tell me that he really hates the PN and wants to hurt them. I've been super extra nice to him after he said that, because I thought maybe he would give some insights or warnings about PN tactics or membership.

On Saturday night, the Woodbury folks were at the dance in Beta Quadrant by the time I showed up. They started ganging up on me, accusing me in voice chat of supporting "griefer tools" because I use the GreenLife Emerald client. I tried to determine what they were talking about, but the discussion went downhill until finally I informed them that this was a fund raising celebration and not a venue to make complaints. At that precise moment, someone turned off voice chat on the parcel. At least one of them expressed disappointment about it, and a few minutes after that, the sim crashed. Now I have no doubt in my little mind that one of our sterling high quality friends from Woodbury got mad about losing the capability to harrass GLE, so they contacted their PN buddies to come crash Beta Quadrant. I wouldn't make such an accusation in public without more evidence, but I believe this is a great reason to consider the Woodbury folks as people who need closer scrutiny.

After I recovered from the crash, I came back and stood in one corner of the dance floor, watching my radar. Sure enough, within 5 minutes an avatar showed up, born that day, with that long ALL CAPS name that fairly shouts "I am a PN member" to anyone willing to listen. He walked along the beach, across the pier, up on the dance floor, shouted "The PN owns this sim!" and instantly he flew 800 meters up in the air because I had my finger poised over the Eject button. I entered his name into the ban list and went back to the dance floor to monitor the radar again. There was some discussion about the griefer, but no accusations or problems from the GLC members.

Within a couple of minutes, my MSN came to life, and Fire was asking me if something was going on at "the GLC base." I told him about the sim crash and the griefer ban, and he said that the PN members were talking about it in their IRC channel. He said he saw them mention my name and thought "Hey, I know that guy!" so he wanted to check. He gave me what information he could, and then said "More of them are coming." So I relayed that in the SL GLC channel and kept my eyes glued to the radar. The first griefer was still circling the outside of the sim looking for a way in, and within 5 minutes a second new resident showed up with the first name of "THEREALDICKBURNS" or something similar. I immediately ejected and banned him too, and posted in the GLC channel that I had done a "preemptive ban" on him. The echoes had barely died on that statement when the complaints started rolling in from Aree and Angelica. "We don't do preemptive bans in the GLC" was the main focus of their tirade. I tried to explain that I had solid information about approaching griefers, and the 0-day-old ALL CAPS Dick Burns was obviously not in the sim to deliver flowers, but they wouldn't listen. Finally Mr. Burns rezzed 10 particle emitters near the stage, which I immediately returned to him, so that quieted down the complaints a bit from the folks who thought he was innocent. I had to leave right after that for a RL event, so I wasn't around to defend myself afterward, but the next day I received many IMs and other messages of support from people who heard about what happened or were there to see it. One person wanted to be sure I was going to be on the scene for the concert on Sunday night, because she felt safer with me around. Apparently JLU got wind of the GLC channel discussion after Burns was banned, and they talked about it in the Sunday evening meeting. Without saying anything about what was posted in the GLC channel, I told them how I received the information and what I did about it, and they expressed complete support for my actions while also expressing concern that GLC leadership would have a problem with that. There were even some uncharacteristic negative comments, which I opposed as I always do.

Jeff, this last event made me angrier than anything that's ever happened in the group. I had solid information that we were going to be attacked, from a source who has never been wrong about anything he's told me. I acted immediately to protect the group and our guests, averting a first attack and minimizing the damage done in a second attack. I explained that I had conclusive information about the upcoming attack, but these folks still questioned my actions in the group channel like I was some kind of newbie. I do have freeze, eject, and ban powers in New Oa and Orilla, and I have never abused them. I am proud to be a GLC member, doubly proud to be an Honor Guard, and I take my responsibilities seriously. The members know that, and the fact that so many of them are sending me messages of support makes this a serious problem. The drama that's coming from Pierce and Aree is polarizing us into two warring factions, and if it isn't stopped, it will destroy us. Other members have noticed and commented on the Pierce/Aree drama show, but it just keeps going night after night and no one is stopping it. I have tried to be nice in the discussion forums even when responding to accusations and hostility, but I wasn't able to completely hold it in on Saturday night and apparently it showed, because Cathy came on the channel to urge everyone to be nice to each other. I can't think of another way to work on the problem from my end other than to keep being nice in the forums and letting them keep being accusatory and hostile so they look bad, but it would be good if someone like you or Quin or Hens could look at some of their threads and try to rein them in before things go past the point of no return. For example, I suspect that the thread Who is this Avatar? is a sarcastic attempt to postulate that we should eject and ban New Oa visitors if they look like griefers. It might be a good thread to watch.

I will be glad to get together and talk about this with you, and I still need to see whatever awesome thing you've built that you were trying to show me last night. I came to the dance qwith a very upset young lady who had been treated badly, and thought I should stay with her until she calmed down and felt better. This afternoon should be quieter, I hope.

---

I hope this is acceptable as a response to the accusations in this thread. I will await your judgment.

The portions of this discussion marked with "(REMOVED)" were private concerns or not pertinent to the topic. This censure was not communicated to the GLC members.

[2009/09/11 17:20] Quinstar Gremlin: (Saved Fri Sep 11 17:14:40 2009) Need to catch up with you as soon as I can
[2009/09/11 17:23] GreenLantern Excelsior: Hi, Quin. Happy Friday!
[2009/09/11 17:25] Quinstar Gremlin: hey GLE.
[2009/09/11 17:27] Quinstar Gremlin: I got picked to be the "informer" last night after the Guardian meeting. Things came out 3 to 2 with the voting, with the majority being Jeff, Hens, and myself. Hens and I did manage to keep your HG title intact, but your Council forum access has been temporarily removed
[2009/09/11 17:29] GreenLantern Excelsior: I appreciate your efforts on my part
[2009/09/11 17:29] Quinstar Gremlin: If you have an HG you'd like to work with for a while, patroller or not, I'd like to know to pass it on as one of the compromises was to pair you up with someone for a while
[2009/09/11 17:30] Quinstar Gremlin: Nothing I could do to keep you as a Trainer this next class either, as it is Cathy's realm and out of my hands
[2009/09/11 17:30] GreenLantern Excelsior: Actually training belongs to Pierce and Aree now. They browbeat Cathy until she let them have their way.
[2009/09/11 17:31] Quinstar Gremlin: We are also looking for someone to rotate ION duties to as well as more HG nominations which would slide Aree into an HG position when we find a new ION
(REMOVED)
[2009/09/11 17:32] GreenLantern Excelsior: Why was the Council forum access removed?
[2009/09/11 17:32] GreenLantern Excelsior: And for how long?
[2009/09/11 17:34] Quinstar Gremlin: The compromise was to pair you with someone for evaluation to gain such back. Once we have an idea of who your "partner" will be, we can set a timeline - if it is someone who is on a lot like Euc, it would be shorter than say Jeremy - which is part of why I was looking for your pick as to who to work with
[2009/09/11 17:35] GreenLantern Excelsior: I like Euc and we can work together I'm sure.
[2009/09/11 17:35] GreenLantern Excelsior: I don't understand the "evaluation" though.
[2009/09/11 17:35] Quinstar Gremlin: Hens and I fought hard for you with the rest to get even this much for you, and I just have to say that so you understand - we put our own standing among the Guardians out there for you to keep you an HG because we believe in you
[2009/09/11 17:36] GreenLantern Excelsior: Thank you, I do appreciate that
[2009/09/11 17:36] Quinstar Gremlin: I've had my JLU membership in jeapordy as well as my name dragged through the mud by a fellow Leaguer in at least one Notice to a group - but I still stand behind you
[2009/09/11 17:37] GreenLantern Excelsior: I saw part of that, and there was lots of pressure for me to leave the GLC behind, but I wanted to stay and fight until the end if that's what it was to be.
[2009/09/11 17:39] Quinstar Gremlin: You wouldn't have been removed from the GLC, even Cathy and Ange said that, but the main issue was keeping your HG title or not and what abilities you'd keep - it was a 3+ hour meeting just on that part
[2009/09/11 17:40] GreenLantern Excelsior: I see the forum removal and Trainer removal as a way to shut me up so an agenda can be put into place without those pesky dissenting voices.
[2009/09/11 17:41] GreenLantern Excelsior: I guess it does free up a couple of groups for me though
[2009/09/11 17:41] Quinstar Gremlin: the Trainer stuff was totally out of my hands - I did keep you access to the Forums' main areas. I think it will be easier for me to get you back in the Council section when we find a new ION though
[2009/09/11 17:42] GreenLantern Excelsior: With Aree as HG it will not get any easier. That's just my opinion but she seems to consider me to be Satan for some reason I've never been able to fathom.
[2009/09/11 17:43] GreenLantern Excelsior: Maybe she won't have a vote in that matter though
[2009/09/11 17:44] Quinstar Gremlin: but with a new ION in place, that make some less stress for Aree hopefully calming that some, and a new line of communication to the Guardians for the membership
[2009/09/11 17:44] GreenLantern Excelsior: Maybe so. It will be interesting to see what happens I guess.
[2009/09/11 17:46] Quinstar Gremlin: We were trying to work as much of the entire situation out at once to keep it on an even a keel as possible with Hens and myself - Jeff had similar ideas at one point, but the others were talking him around to their views before last night and even then it was close
[2009/09/11 17:48] Quinstar Gremlin: This is essentially a probation period where you'll be watched like a hawk - nothing more we could do on that
(REMOVED)
[2009/09/11 17:53] GreenLantern Excelsior: With me out of training and out of the council forum, all kinds of things are possible. I suspect the "no reposting of SL chat in the GLC forums" will be implemented immediately now.
(REMOVED)
[2009/09/11 17:54] Quinstar Gremlin: I'm doing as I can to balance things out there
(REMOVED)
[2009/09/11 18:04] GreenLantern Excelsior: I see. The only two people who unfriended me in this whole affair were Aree and Reymon.
[2009/09/11 18:05] Quinstar Gremlin: I'm being called to dinner, but I did want to catch up with you as soon as I could on all this, and look forward to talking with you more
[2009/09/11 18:05] GreenLantern Excelsior: Thank you Quin, for everything. I do want to know more about this evaluation, so maybe you can fill me in on that later.
[2009/09/11 18:05] Quinstar Gremlin: will do my best
[2009/09/11 18:05] GreenLantern Excelsior: Thanks!
[2009/09/11 18:06] Quinstar Gremlin: See you around :)
[2009/09/11 18:06] GreenLantern Excelsior: You betcha
[2009/09/11 18:06] Quinstar Gremlin is Offline

The talk about "no reposting of SL chat in the GLC forums" refers to a thread started by Aree in the Honor Guard forum, proposing that the Guardians should make a ruling prohibiting the posting of chat logs in the GLC forums. As far as I know, this didn't happen, but it was another instance of the way the opposition members targeted those they disliked for removal. I had posted chat logs several times on the forum, and of course there is no prohibition against that. Linden Lab even expects chat logs to be posted outside Second Life and the Second Life Forums. There's nothing they can do about it. But it's obvious from reading through the GLC discussion board that only one person has ever posted multiple conversation logs, and that person was me. Rather than discussing the idea reasonably in that thread as I did, I should have responded this way:

Dear Aree,
Please stop trying to cause trouble again.
Thank you.
Your friend, GLE

Maybe it would have helped to post a big red flag graphic in every discussion thread where the troublemakers started trouble. I'm not sure even that would have done the trick, since the leaders who could have stopped the problem were offline so much.

I dropped the following notecard on some of the Guardians after being informed of actions taken against me:

This is what I plan to do in response to the trial results.

Nothing.

I won't protest the results. I won't file counter-charges. I won't go into the forums and start causing trouble. And I certainly won't start IMing everyone to complain.

What I will do is continue with the Community Service projects that I've always done - patrolling, helping newbies, and volunteering for security details. I will keep making callouts in the ANN and GLC group channels when help is needed, and I will start writing regular Patrol Reports in the Community Services forum. I will demonstrate by example and quiet competence what a Lantern should be, and whoever wants to join me in Community Service is welcome. And whoever doesn't feel like doing Community Service will not be ridiculed.

This trial has gone on for too long, and there are too many people who are way too upset about it. From my side, I'm going to end it. I hope the decision is mutual. Please feel free to distribute this notecard at your discretion.

As you will see, the decision to end the controversy was not mutual. I should have done all the things I vowed not to do. The rank and file GLC members had no idea what had happened (but they will now). Maybe "nice guys finish last" is indeed a true statement.

Double jeopardy is a procedural defense (and, in many countries such as the United States, Israel, Canada, Mexico and India, a constitutional right) that forbids a defendant from being tried twice for the same crime on the same set of facts. The portions of this discussion marked with "(REMOVED)" were private concerns or not pertinent to the topic. This censure was not communicated to the GLC members.

[2009/10/01 18:18] Cathy Gray: (Saved Thu Oct 01 17:01:26 2009) You have been ejected from 'GL Applicants' by Cathy Gray.
[2009/10/01 18:18] Cathy Gray: (Saved Thu Oct 01 17:01:31 2009) You have been ejected from 'Green Lantern Core Rookies' by Cathy Gray.
[2009/10/01 18:19] GreenLantern Excelsior: You ejected me from the Applicants and Rookies groups. Why?
[2009/10/01 18:20] Cathy Gray: didn't Quin tell you before?
[2009/10/01 18:21] GreenLantern Excelsior: He mentioned that it might happen, but not that it was for sure. And he didn't say why.
[2009/10/01 18:21] Cathy Gray: he must have passed the message in a very light way then, it was going to happen o.O sorry if you weren't completely aware, I was just waiting for the clean-up period before a following class
[2009/10/01 18:22] GreenLantern Excelsior: I'm a good trainer. The Rookies like me. What did I do to deserve this?
[2009/10/01 18:23] Cathy Gray: it was a decision made by the Guardians in general, doesn't mean it's permanent and that you won't be able to be a trainer again
[2009/10/01 18:24] GreenLantern Excelsior: I understand it was a decision. I want to know why. There must have been a reason.
[2009/10/01 18:25] Cathy Gray: this was a decision made from the previous threads, you saw the thread in question since you replied to it
[2009/10/01 18:25] GreenLantern Excelsior: If we're talking about the trial here, there was nothing mentioned about removing me as a trainer.
[2009/10/01 18:26] Cathy Gray: it was one of the things mentioned, Quin was going to tell you everything
[2009/10/01 18:26] GreenLantern Excelsior: As I understood it, I was found innocent of all charges.
[2009/10/01 18:26] Cathy Gray: no you weren't
[2009/10/01 18:26] GreenLantern Excelsior: That's not what Quin said
[2009/10/01 18:27] Cathy Gray: that's not how it happened though and not what Quin said he was going to tell you
[2009/10/01 18:28] GreenLantern Excelsior: I hope someone will fill me in someday then. Is Quin the only person who will tell me anything?
[2009/10/01 18:29] Cathy Gray: he was the one who even volunteered to tell you
[2009/10/01 18:30] GreenLantern Excelsior: He talked to me about it. He didn't say I was guilty of anything. There was no verdict posted in the trial thread. Actions were taken against me and I don't know why.
[2009/10/01 18:31] Cathy Gray: perhaps the verdict should have been posted, but it was going to be told to you, which is mostly why it was never posted
[2009/10/01 18:33] GreenLantern Excelsior: How can I find out what really happened then?
[2009/10/01 18:33] Cathy Gray: guess all we can do now is wait for Quin to be online
[2009/10/01 18:34] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay. I will send him an IM. Do you remember how you felt when you were ejected from the Star Sapphire Core? That's how I feel tonight. This hurts.
[2009/10/01 18:35] Cathy Gray: yep, I can imagine very well, but you should have been informed this would happen, I didn't have a warning

Cathy said that removing me from training was a decision of the Guardians, but she wouldn't say why. Quin had told me earlier that it was Cathy's decision alone. So I sent an IM to Quin to try to figure out what was going on.

[2009/10/01 18:45] Quinstar Gremlin is offline.
[2009/10/01 18:46] GreenLantern Excelsior: Hi, Quin. Cathy ejected me from the Applicants and Rookies group tonight. In the course of our discussion she mentioned that I had been found guilty on at least one charge during the trial. This was not my understanding after the conversation you and I had. Can we have another chat and can you fill me in on what happened? Cathy won't tell me anything.
[2009/10/01 18:46] Second Life: User not online - message will be stored and delivered later.
[2009/10/01 20:08] Quinstar Gremlin: During our chat I did say that Cathy, as Head Trainer was going to have you sit out this next Rookie class as a Trainer. That is entirely her realm of responsibility, and the Guardians in the discussion agreed when we met to talk about what judgements were to be passed. Seems there was a lot of friction between you and some of the other Trainers last class and she felt it best to have you sit out a round
[2009/10/01 20:10] Quinstar Gremlin: When her schedule allowed her to remember to do the cleanup of the Rookie group, she did all the admin she needed to do there
[2009/10/01 20:10] GreenLantern Excelsior: You told me you couldn't stop them from removing me from training. There wasn't anything said about it only being for one round. And the friction was not coming from me. It was all coming from Aree. So I guess since Pierce and Aree wanted me out, I'm out.
[2009/10/01 20:12] Quinstar Gremlin: Indeed, it is Cathy's baliwick, so I couldn't interfere. And what the rest of us were made to understand, it was more generalized on the friction there
[2009/10/01 20:12] GreenLantern Excelsior: It certainly wasn't anything I said in class. I was totally professional.
[2009/10/01 20:13] Quinstar Gremlin: I do know there is friction between you and PK & Aree there for a while now. And there were examples from Trainer's meetings and Forum stuff cited as well
[2009/10/01 20:14] Quinstar Gremlin: I was also contacted by several Guardians offline that I urgently needed to check the Forums ASAP tonight
[2009/10/01 20:15] GreenLantern Excelsior: Oh? I've been on there and didn't see anything bad. Cathy locked a thread yesterday.
[2009/10/01 20:16] GreenLantern Excelsior: I see now. The other part was just deleted?
[2009/10/01 20:17] Quinstar Gremlin: not deleted, but split and moved to Archive
[2009/10/01 20:18] GreenLantern Excelsior: I'm sorry to see that. I thought it was a good discussion up to the point where Cathy locked it.
[2009/10/01 20:19] Quinstar Gremlin: It seems Jeadeen didn't want the matter to lie, so he's started a new thread for discussing it outside of the Congrats thread for the new Lanterns
[2009/10/01 20:19] Quinstar Gremlin: I'm going to let it stand for now, but will have to watch it closely, as both you and Bobokoe were cited in messages to me from people
[2009/10/01 20:20] GreenLantern Excelsior: This is not good
[2009/10/01 20:20] Quinstar Gremlin: and I don;t want either of you to catch backlash on it
[2009/10/01 20:20] GreenLantern Excelsior: He said he was going to do that and I recommended against it
[2009/10/01 20:20] GreenLantern Excelsior: That's a board administrator's pet peeve, people starting threads asking why other threads were locked.
[2009/10/01 20:21] Quinstar Gremlin: he does mention that, and indeed it is one of mine. I am trying to read through his text, but he seems to be calling out Pierce in there
[2009/10/01 20:21] Quinstar Gremlin: "Let me give you a little background of what is going on in my life so that you can know one of these people that Pierce speaks so lowly of."
[2009/10/01 20:21] GreenLantern Excelsior: Oh he even used the term "pet peeve" that I mentioned
[2009/10/01 20:24] Quinstar Gremlin: I'm going to need to delete it I am sorry to say, before too many see it
[2009/10/01 20:24] Quinstar Gremlin: well, archive it.
[2009/10/01 20:25] Quinstar Gremlin: Cathy already saw it and she isn't happy
[2009/10/01 20:25] Quinstar Gremlin: he's taking it as a personal attack, and it wasn't meant that way
[2009/10/01 20:28] GreenLantern Excelsior: I think it's too bad we can't discuss controversial topics on the board. Either they get locked or people just stop posting in them. I would have responded with something about how it is a characteristic of any organization to have members who do a lot and members who don't do much.
[2009/10/01 20:29] Quinstar Gremlin: If I could have edited it for moderation to still have enough left to get his point across without a personal attack and seeming grudge about his mispercieved attack from Pierce I would have, but there was just too much related to it
[2009/10/01 20:30] Quinstar Gremlin: and the controversy is tearing the Core apart right now. It is starting to splinter and we are doing our best to try and get things calmed down so everyone can move forward together
[2009/10/01 20:32] Quinstar Gremlin: I see Jeff and Ange on the forum now, no way I can keep them from reading it
[2009/10/01 20:34] GreenLantern Excelsior: If they're still reading it and you move it to the archive, their copy won't go away. If they try to reply they will get an error message which will keep them from spending too much time typing out a reply.
[2009/10/01 20:35] Quinstar Gremlin: they can read it in the Archive area, so no replies will be made on it directly
[2009/10/01 20:36] Quinstar Gremlin: I got it moved there before they signed in
[2009/10/01 20:37] GreenLantern Excelsior: Ha! I hid ADD REPLY and it told me "You are not authorized to read posts in this forum." So the board knew where the thread was moved to, apparently.
[2009/10/01 20:38] Quinstar Gremlin: I also get to be the "bad guy" tonight here in world as well as on the Forum. Jeff has had to step back a bit from GLC due to his RL (REMOVED) and left myself and Cathy "in charge" when he isn't able to be in world.
[2009/10/01 20:39] GreenLantern Excelsior: Oh man, (REMOVED)
[2009/10/01 20:42] Quinstar Gremlin: Seems there is enough outcry at this point we need to move you down from Honor Guard status. I have had many, many Lanterns come to me directly about this. While I personally don't think it is intended, many are viewing any mention you make of JLU on the Forum as your trying to start trouble.
[2009/10/01 20:43] Quinstar Gremlin: Others think you and Jea, BilliAnn, etc. were trying for a coup to remove Cathy, Ange, PK, Aree, and maybe more from the Leadership
[2009/10/01 20:43] Quinstar Gremlin: it is coming to a point where the firestorm in private is trying to break out everywhere on this.
[2009/10/01 20:43] GreenLantern Excelsior: No one has said a word to me about it until now
[2009/10/01 20:44] GreenLantern Excelsior: What posts are they referring to?
[2009/10/01 20:44] Quinstar Gremlin: Without Kallfu or Jeff available, I am left to be the "bad guy" and have to do such things.
[2009/10/01 20:44] Quinstar Gremlin: Your patrol reports for example - several have JLU members mentioned, as well as the whole RAPE APE spam thing
[2009/10/01 20:45] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yes, JLU members were there, so I mentioned them factually
[2009/10/01 20:45] Quinstar Gremlin: as I said, any mention at all of JLU has some people screaming "troublemaker" when it is seen on our Forum.
[2009/10/01 20:45] GreenLantern Excelsior: Well that is ridiculous
[2009/10/01 20:45] GreenLantern Excelsior: IMHO
[2009/10/01 20:45] Quinstar Gremlin: I know you stated a fact that JLU was moving to a different BL parcel, but some viewed that as trolling
[2009/10/01 20:46] GreenLantern Excelsior: It wasn't
[2009/10/01 20:46] Quinstar Gremlin: While I don't know the actual reason for the move, I'm guessing that JLU doesn't want to be associated with GLC by proximity
[2009/10/01 20:46] GreenLantern Excelsior: They thought there would be trouble so they moved to another parcel that they had acquired
[2009/10/01 20:47] Quinstar Gremlin: as I suspected, but hadn't seen any recent enough Meeting Logs on the (REMOVED) to find out for sure if it had been discussed with everyone or not
[2009/10/01 20:48] GreenLantern Excelsior: They were talking about it on the group channel. A couple of people were saying some unkind things about GLC but Ilsa quieted that down (REMOVED).
[2009/10/01 20:52] Quinstar Gremlin: Given everything though, things are at a point that if I don't move you out of HG things are going to explode. And I know no one has said anything to you, they have been going to Cathy and Ange directly, then this week to Jeff and myself.
[2009/10/01 20:53] GreenLantern Excelsior: If this is as a result of misconduct I can understand it. If it's because people don't like to see the acronym "JLU" posted on the forum then it's not right.
[2009/10/01 20:54] GreenLantern Excelsior: And I believe I should have the ability to defend myself against any charges that have been made.
[2009/10/01 20:54] Quinstar Gremlin: they whipped Jeff up into a frenzy, but thankfully Kallfu happened to call him on the phone and ended up talking him down for you before the RL stress from everything with his job and his boys made him do something in SL he'd regret
[2009/10/01 20:55] Quinstar Gremlin: Some of it is people not seeing anything done to you from what they see as an attempted coup, and misconduct with your challenging Ion and Guardian authority in meetings, on the forums, "attacks" against PK and Aree on the Forum in the past
[2009/10/01 20:55] GreenLantern Excelsior: And I already paid the price for that
[2009/10/01 20:55] GreenLantern Excelsior: Didn't I?
[2009/10/01 20:57] Quinstar Gremlin: Jeff, Hans, and myself all didn't really make things known, trying to not have you feel humiliated or seen as being so. Unfortunately not saying anything at Jeff's call seems to have not been the right decision. As one person put it "in the military when you get busted down to Private it is supposed to hurt, everyone should see it happened and that you mean business. If we are going to base our goup on a paramilitary group from the comics, we should be that way too."
[2009/10/01 20:58] Quinstar Gremlin: *Hens I meant, not Hans
[2009/10/01 20:58] Quinstar Gremlin: that is as near as I can remember the quote from a Lantern made to me this week
[2009/10/01 20:59] GreenLantern Excelsior: Sounds familiar to me
[2009/10/01 21:03] Quinstar Gremlin: It looks like the real price is going to need to be your Honor Guard status,or things will strain till they start breaking. I'm not saying I agree myself, but that is the call being made right now, and I have to be the axeman. I know it is going to hurt you further, and I am sorry for that. Also if you personally feel that my doing this is against my JLU Oath, then you can report it to Kalel and let him come to me about it. I personally don't think it should have come to this, but it is the Will
[2009/10/01 21:04] GreenLantern Excelsior: What happens in GLC is none of JLU's business and I wouldn't jeopardize your membership there with this
[2009/10/01 21:04] GreenLantern Excelsior: But if I'm going to lose my HG status I want a hearing first
[2009/10/01 21:05] GreenLantern Excelsior: Also I think if what had been done to me already were publicized, these people wouldn't have so much of a problem.
[2009/10/01 21:06] GreenLantern Excelsior: If I'm no longer going to be an Honor Guard, and can't be a trainer, then I see no reason to stay with the group. I'm not interested in go-kart races and pajama parties.
[2009/10/01 21:07] GreenLantern Excelsior: I've been doing my best to put my patrol reports in the community services forum and I think they've been pretty good.
[2009/10/01 21:10] Quinstar Gremlin: I am going to say this now, in the best interest of supporting a fellow Lantern. I have to remove your HG title at this time. But I ask that you stay with the group, and here is why: the GLC group has 5 owners. If you can appeal to Hens, and to Kallfu (who should be back soon, hence your staying in the group until then) and get them to convince Jeff to reopen the case so to speak, then you have a shot at getting it back. At the moment though I am outnumbered and outvoted on all counts with the events of this past week and people coming out of the woodwork to speak to Jeff
[2009/10/01 21:11] GreenLantern Excelsior: When will Kall be back?
[2009/10/01 21:11] Quinstar Gremlin: He was the swing vote on the "punishment" handed out, and this week he's been pushed until near breaking with everything
[2009/10/01 21:12] Quinstar Gremlin: as for Kall, Jeff said he'd be back soon, but I don;t have an exact timeframe
[2009/10/01 21:13] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay. I will stay until Hens and Kall have the chance to talk to Jeff. Do I have your permission to repost the paragraph where you talk about appealing to them? Or do you want to rewrite it?
[2009/10/01 21:14] Quinstar Gremlin: I only had a brief time on Skype with Jeff as he was also on the phone with Kall at the time, and signed off soon after he had my attention and gave his somewhat calmer views.
[2009/10/01 21:15] Quinstar Gremlin: Honestly, that paragraph would probably get me in hot water with any Guardian except maybe Hens, who isn't going to be happy with me in a minute when she finds out about tonight's events
[2009/10/01 21:15] Quinstar Gremlin: But it is the only course I can see for reinstatement anytime soon of your HG status
[2009/10/01 21:16] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay
[2009/10/01 21:16] GreenLantern Excelsior: I will paraphrase then. I don't want you to get into trouble.
[2009/10/01 21:16] Quinstar Gremlin: I've been looking for some other way since about 10:30 tonight (eastern), but havent found anything else
[2009/10/01 21:18] GreenLantern Excelsior: I wish I could see another way out too. GLC is becoming something I don't recognize any more. There's a certain subgroup that's been looking to push me out, and it appears they have succeeded.
[2009/10/01 21:27] Quinstar Gremlin: and if you run across Jeadeen, let him know I didn't move his post out of spite, but to try and protect him from himself on that
[2009/10/01 21:28] GreenLantern Excelsior: I'm talking to him now and he doesn't appear to be too upset. He probably expected it.
[2009/10/01 21:37] Quinstar Gremlin: I have to go (REMOVED). I have clued Hens into some of this so she may seek you out soon
[2009/10/01 21:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: Thank you Quin. I understand you're in a hard place here. I think if it had been me I wouldn't have done it but I do understand being outvoted.
[2009/10/01 21:39] Quinstar Gremlin: I am only filling the large footprints left by Kallfu while he is gone that Jeff was trying to fill, and had to pass to me because his RL also got so out of whack. If Kallfu were able to have been around it might have turned out much different from the start, but *shrug*
[2009/10/01 21:40] GreenLantern Excelsior: I think there comes a time when you have to tell people "I don't care how you voted, I will resign rather than take an immoral action."
[2009/10/01 21:41] Quinstar Gremlin is Offline

Apparently, the way my Honor Guard title was removed was that the opposition members started complaining about me to the Guardians, and made an organized campaign of it, and got the Guardians so upset that they sanctioned me a second time just to stop the complaining. The tactic was so underhanded that I never would have thought of it. Even if I had considered getting a group of people to start complaining about Pierce and Aree and Angelica, I would have thought that the Guardians at some point would have told me that no further complaints were needed and they were working on the problem. Angelica, as one of the Guardians who wanted me to leave, should have recused herself from any voting on my case since she had a conflict of interest (an ex-JLU member who left under a cloud of controversy passing judgment on a current JLU member). But it was Murphy's Law that was mostly responsible for the loss of my Honor Guard title. If the reasonable non-opposition Guardians had been available, they would have told the complainers to stop trying to cause trouble. They were gone, so the troublemakers (assisted by the group's remaining leadership) succeeded.

JLU found out that Quin had removed my Honor Guard status, so the leadership had a discussion about it and ejected him from JLU. His action was a violation of the section of the JLU oath directing a member to "strive to the best of my ability to stand by my fellow League members, in friendship and in battle." This doesn't mean that you stand by someone who is breaking the rules, but if you are asked to discipline someone, and you know the action is unjust, as a JLU member you would refuse to do it. Quin said "I'm not saying I agree myself, but that is the call being made right now, and I have to be the axeman." As someone told me afterward, "I've never been too fond of the Nuremburg Defense." Apparently, "I was just following orders" translated into GLC-speak comes out as "it is the Will," which is in itself rather creepy.

There were no specific charges, there was no trial, and I had no chance to defend myself. At this point, I ended my participation with the Green Lantern Core. I stopped attending the Thursday meetings, stopped posting on the GLC discussion board (except for two posts in the GLC Community Services forum on December 9), and stopped replying to messages on the GLC group channel. But, as Quin had requested, I stayed in the group to await final judgment. And, as before, I didn't cause any trouble within the group. Here is part of an email message I sent to Hens and Kall afterward:

Right now, I am disconnecting from the Green Lantern Core. I won't attend any meetings or parties, and I won't post on the discussion board. If any of the members needs help, I will be glad to give it, but that's all the group involvement I will have. I have tried throughout my career here to be a good and honorable member of this group. If I failed, it was because I was too passionate in defending the principles I care about. Because I love the group and everything it stands for, and was worried about it moving in the wrong direction, and because I saw some fellow members who thought the same, I came to the Guardians on several occasions to point out problems that were being caused by the ex-JLU members in the group. When I did that, I was labeled the bad guy for "attacking" fellow members, and no action was taken. And now, when a different group of members pointed out that I hadn't been sufficiently punished for my supposed transgressions, I was labeled the bad guy again, and action was taken against me. Pierce and Aree and Cath-gelica want public humiliation for me in front of the other group members. I will not participate in that spectacle.

I was going to resign from the group on October 1, but Quin asked me to stay until Hens and Kall had been informed of this action. I am appealing to you two. If you would like to see me stay in the group, and if you can get the rest of the Guardians to reverse their decision to demote me, then I will return and keep doing as much Community Service as I can to serve as a good example. Otherwise, I see no further benefit to remaining in the Core, either for me or for my fellow members.

I find it somewhat hypocritical that the GLC members who conspired to shower the Guardians with complaints about me were not subjected to the same amount of scrutiny and distrust as the Concerned Lanterns, because almost certainly they too had met in secret to make their plans prior to taking action. Perhaps the fact that two Guardians were part of that conspiracy meant that no one dared to complain about it.

KallfuNahuel sent me an email asking to meet with me. We met at my house at Asimov Park. The portions of this discussion marked with "(REMOVED)" were private concerns or not pertinent to the topic.

[2009-12-09 11:22:28] KallfuNahuel Matador: There you are. Everything is coming into view.
[2009-12-09 11:22:29] GreenLantern Excelsior: A cape, eh?
[2009-12-09 11:22:35] KallfuNahuel Matador: it's a mantle. . .someone made them for us.
[2009-12-09 11:22:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: Oh, the crimson mantle
[2009-12-09 11:22:47] KallfuNahuel Matador: yep yep. that one.
[2009-12-09 11:22:49] KallfuNahuel Matador: goes with my eyes
[2009-12-09 11:22:53] GreenLantern Excelsior: I have one of those :\
[2009-12-09 11:23:21] KallfuNahuel Matador: hmm
[2009-12-09 11:23:24] KallfuNahuel Matador: i can't get it to fit me right.
[2009-12-09 11:23:39] KallfuNahuel Matador: Anyway, good to see you. Sorry again I was late.
(REMOVED)
[2009-12-09 11:27:57] KallfuNahuel Matador: we won't bug the neighbours.
[2009-12-09 11:28:10] Adah Sinister: we have neighbors?
[2009-12-09 11:28:15] GreenLantern Excelsior: I'm banned from their property anyway, LOL
[2009-12-09 11:28:27] KallfuNahuel Matador: they don't like green?
[2009-12-09 11:28:46] GreenLantern Excelsior: Aree Lulibub banned and muted me and several other Lanterns
[2009-12-09 11:28:54] KallfuNahuel Matador: This is her land?
[2009-12-09 11:29:02] GreenLantern Excelsior: No but she is a neighbor
[2009-12-09 11:29:05] KallfuNahuel Matador: gotcha.
[2009-12-09 11:29:12] KallfuNahuel Matador: I didn't remember that.
[2009-12-09 11:29:28] GreenLantern Excelsior: It has been difficult, to put it mildly
[2009-12-09 11:29:29] Adah Sinister: Ok I'm out light a lightbulb XD Nice meeting you KallfuNahuel :)
[2009-12-09 11:29:39] KallfuNahuel Matador: And you, Adah. Have a good day!
[2009-12-09 11:29:42] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay see you around! :)
[2009-12-09 11:30:47] KallfuNahuel Matador: So I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to speak before now.
[2009-12-09 11:31:03] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yes, me too, but it couldn't be helped.
[2009-12-09 11:31:11] GreenLantern Excelsior: RL always comes first
[2009-12-09 11:31:23] KallfuNahuel Matador: yes and boy did it. I'm still kinda burned out.
[2009-12-09 11:31:31] KallfuNahuel Matador: I assume yours has not been quiet either.
[2009-12-09 11:32:00] GreenLantern Excelsior: It quieted down a lot once I walked away from the GLC, after they took my Honor Guard title
[2009-12-09 11:32:19] KallfuNahuel Matador: right.
[2009-12-09 11:32:32] KallfuNahuel Matador: I wasn't here for all of that, but I just re read your resignation again this morning.
[2009-12-09 11:33:09] GreenLantern Excelsior: I haven't resigned yet but I'm considering that, after several others were given Honor Guard titles but mine is still missing.
[2009-12-09 11:33:32] KallfuNahuel Matador: Well, it's only going to get worse I'm afraid. I have more bad news for you.
[2009-12-09 11:33:41] GreenLantern Excelsior: I don't see that there's much left for me in the group these days. More bad news?
[2009-12-09 11:33:47] KallfuNahuel Matador: Yes.
[2009-12-09 11:34:10] KallfuNahuel Matador: I'll get right to it. I didn't want say anything in the emails because that wouldn't have been fair and we were supposed to speak long ago.
[2009-12-09 11:34:20] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay, thank you.
[2009-12-09 11:34:42] KallfuNahuel Matador: i'm going to pass you the note they gave to me. it's copy paste because I am a goofly newb SL'er again and lost the original.
[2009-12-09 11:34:51] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay, LOL
[2009-12-09 11:35:01] KallfuNahuel Matador gave you GLE Dec 9th, 2009.

Notecard contents:

It is the judgement of the Guardians of New Oa of the Green Lantern core that GreenLantern Excelsior be dismissed from membership in violation of his parole.
Offenses of the parole violation are as follows:
1) Sharing of sensitive group information to with an outside agents (Kalel Venkman) as evidenced via offworld sources.
2) Violation of TOS on the ANN group chat in divilging unsubstantiated alt names of a resident suspected of griefing. Then correcting himself and then divulging even more names, so it is undetermined how many innocent residents were listed.
3) Divulging private group details to others (Jeadeen Niles, BilliAnn Bravin and Kalel Venkman) leading to the threatening and dismissal from the JLU of Guardian Quinstar Gremlin.
4) Failure to provide mutual support of fellow members of the GLC in the matter of scandal being put forth through many groups by BilliAnn Bravin and Jeadeen Niles, some of which were owned by Lantern Excelsior. Even when asked directly by two Guardians on two different occasions.
It is in light of these acts , and after the leniency given for prior offenses, that Green Lantern GreenLantern Excelsior be removed from the Green Lantern Core.

[2009-12-09 11:36:10] KallfuNahuel Matador: Now this was done and they sent it to me for perusal and Hensonian Pennyfeather did not respond to them. I'm still trying to meet with her.
[2009-12-09 11:36:11] GreenLantern Excelsior: I guess this is not surprising.
[2009-12-09 11:36:17] KallfuNahuel Matador: I'm really sorry.
[2009-12-09 11:36:43] KallfuNahuel Matador: It's four Guardian votes. That leaves only myself and Hens, but if all these charges are correct, there's not much I can do about it either.
[2009-12-09 11:37:01] GreenLantern Excelsior: I appreciate that, and I am sorry too.
[2009-12-09 11:37:27] GreenLantern Excelsior: It's also not surprising that I wasn't asked to address the charges.
[2009-12-09 11:37:43] KallfuNahuel Matador: Well, it's your right to appeal to the Guardians on it, if you wish.
[2009-12-09 11:37:50] GreenLantern Excelsior: I think they used to call that kind of action a "Star Chamber."
[2009-12-09 11:37:53] KallfuNahuel Matador: I don't imagine they would say no to that.
[2009-12-09 11:37:59] KallfuNahuel Matador: Star Chamber? In police work you mean?
[2009-12-09 11:38:29] GreenLantern Excelsior: No, it's kind of the same thing as a kangaroo court. Has the appearance of a court trial but the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
[2009-12-09 11:38:34] KallfuNahuel Matador: And just so you know. Aree and PK were left out of this decision. From what I have gathered it peaked when Quinstar was burned at the stake.
[2009-12-09 11:38:43] KallfuNahuel Matador: Gotcha.
[2009-12-09 11:39:05] KallfuNahuel Matador: (kangaroo court i've heard of)
[2009-12-09 11:39:58] GreenLantern Excelsior: When I mentioned to Kalel that Quin had removed my Honor Guard status, he ejected Quin from JLU. NOTE 1 There's a part of the JLU oath that says members are supposed to protect each other. If Quin had allowed someone else to remove my title that wouldn't have happened.
[2009-12-09 11:40:17] GreenLantern Excelsior: Or at least that's what I was told.
[2009-12-09 11:40:52] KallfuNahuel Matador: From what i understand it was his Job to do that. I guess he could have. Still my thoughts are JLU's business is not the GLC and vice versa. I don't tell them how to run their ship.
[2009-12-09 11:41:14] GreenLantern Excelsior: And Quin had told Kalel that if Kalel wanted to remove him from JLU, that was understandable. So it wasn't exactly unexpected.
[2009-12-09 11:41:45] KallfuNahuel Matador: right.
[2009-12-09 11:41:52] KallfuNahuel Matador: i'm afraid I missed a tonne of stuff.
[2009-12-09 11:41:59] KallfuNahuel Matador: I had a chat with Kalel last week.
[2009-12-09 11:42:11] KallfuNahuel Matador: I came online after the meeting. We didn't discuss any of this mind you.
[2009-12-09 11:42:43] GreenLantern Excelsior: There was a lot of drama and many charges that went flying by. Some of these charges are from the previous "trial." There was no "parole" that I was informed of.
[2009-12-09 11:43:18] KallfuNahuel Matador: I wondered about that. I suppose the period from your resignation to now was the parole period? I can ask for clarification on that if you like.
[2009-12-09 11:43:22] GreenLantern Excelsior: But I guess this makes my decision easier, or actually takes it out of my hands.
[2009-12-09 11:43:28] GreenLantern Excelsior: I never resigned from the GLC
[2009-12-09 11:43:34] GreenLantern Excelsior: I just stopped going to meetings.
[2009-12-09 11:44:00] KallfuNahuel Matador: sorry when I say that i refer to the note that you titled 'my resignation' and then said you would pull back to think about it.
[2009-12-09 11:44:11] KallfuNahuel Matador: And from my perspective?
[2009-12-09 11:44:13] GreenLantern Excelsior: Ah, okay
[2009-12-09 11:44:19] KallfuNahuel Matador: You have not been happy for a long while.
[2009-12-09 11:44:28] GreenLantern Excelsior: That's very true
[2009-12-09 11:44:43] KallfuNahuel Matador: I re read your note on the Cath-gelica and the PK / Aree stuff and you sound so disappointed and frustrated.
[2009-12-09 11:45:01] KallfuNahuel Matador: (same note fyi )
[2009-12-09 11:45:14] GreenLantern Excelsior: Several of us have been unhappy enough that we resigned. I pointed out the problems in a private message to Jeff and Quin back in June and they didn't bother to respond.
[2009-12-09 11:45:37] KallfuNahuel Matador: oh believe me some of those problems have come up and been confronted.
[2009-12-09 11:45:42] KallfuNahuel Matador: When you wrote to them, they wrote to me.
[2009-12-09 11:45:59] KallfuNahuel Matador: it's partly those problems that drove me out of forums. I was tired of putting up with drama and bs.
[2009-12-09 11:46:23] KallfuNahuel Matador: I told Kalel the same thing last week, he tried to spring some drama on me, Reymon and the rings and what not and i told him, i'm not dealing with that stuff anymore.
[2009-12-09 11:46:56] GreenLantern Excelsior: Apparently my forum access has been removed so I can't forward my private message to you. I guess if you saw it anyway, it's not necessary.
[2009-12-09 11:47:13] KallfuNahuel Matador: Already?
[2009-12-09 11:47:23] KallfuNahuel Matador: hang on. I may have jeff in gmail chat
[2009-12-09 11:47:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yeah. One thing that also needs to be done is to remove my FTP access to the GLC website.
[2009-12-09 11:47:59] GreenLantern Excelsior: I still have that, and don't want to be accused of something if the website has problems some day.
[2009-12-09 11:48:21] KallfuNahuel Matador: he's not there. okay, thank you for telling me that. I will send an email.
[2009-12-09 11:48:48] GreenLantern Excelsior: Thank you. This has been planned for a long time, apparently. Aree has been returning my stuff from New Oa for weeks. NOTE 2
[2009-12-09 11:49:05] GreenLantern Excelsior: Ange asked me to remove the Oa Combat Level a couple of weeks ago.
[2009-12-09 11:49:17] GreenLantern Excelsior: All very well orchestrated
[2009-12-09 11:49:46] Second Life: You have left the group 'Green Lantern Core'.
[2009-12-09 11:49:48] KallfuNahuel Matador: I honestly can't say when it was planned. I can tell you that they were cleaning up OA though,
[2009-12-09 11:49:56] Second Life: You have left the group 'The Asgard'.
[2009-12-09 11:50:07] KallfuNahuel Matador: they ran out of prims I think and now Vidya has vanished and the GLC is taking over the sim.
[2009-12-09 11:50:33] KallfuNahuel Matador: I know that Jeff sent me an email about a week ago, asking if i had spoken with you (like I was supposed to)
[2009-12-09 11:50:59] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay, I've left the GLC and The Asgard. I won't make any trouble for the group. This is their wishes and if that's what they want then I will comply.
[2009-12-09 11:51:37] KallfuNahuel Matador: Thank you, GLE. Again I'm sorry about this. You know if there's ever anything you need from me, I'm here.
[2009-12-09 11:52:00] KallfuNahuel Matador: I'm certain also that Hensonian Pennyfeather will want to speak with you.
[2009-12-09 11:52:06] GreenLantern Excelsior: I appreciate that. I've always known you are a stand-up guy and I value our friendship.
[2009-12-09 11:52:45] KallfuNahuel Matador: Well, I have my moments, but I try. Thank you.
[2009-12-09 11:52:49] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yeah I would love to talk to Hens. She's been a great friend over the years, recruited me to the GLC and gave me my interview.
[2009-12-09 11:52:59] KallfuNahuel Matador: She's been my partner since the beginning.
[2009-12-09 11:53:22] GreenLantern Excelsior: She's a beautiful person, and I dislike what's happened to her in RL.
[2009-12-09 11:53:24] KallfuNahuel Matador: we were the first HG, the first members drafted to Guardian. hehe first day I met her she snapped at me. it was fantastic.
[2009-12-09 11:53:54] GreenLantern Excelsior: Cool. Yeah, there are plenty of fine memories that can never be taken away.
[2009-12-09 11:53:56] KallfuNahuel Matador: Her RL is tough, yes. I haven't spoken to her in a bit, caught her briefly last week or maybe it was a couple of days ago and sent her an email just this morning to let her know I was meetng you.
[2009-12-09 11:54:40] GreenLantern Excelsior: You know, somehow this doesn't hurt quite so much coming from you.
[2009-12-09 11:55:00] KallfuNahuel Matador: That was the way I hoped it would be. I think that's why they asked me too.
[2009-12-09 11:55:21] KallfuNahuel Matador: Aside from the fact I had told them all I spoke with you long time ago.
[2009-12-09 11:55:31] KallfuNahuel Matador: i'm glad to hear it.
[2009-12-09 11:55:53] KallfuNahuel Matador: I do like your uniform though. :-) looks like you've brought your RL and mixed it in with your SL.
[2009-12-09 11:56:43] GreenLantern Excelsior: It's certainly not a death sentence. There's plenty to do in SL. I have http://lanternalliance.com and it's growing little by little. The uniform is a Power Corps creation that mixes with all different colors of clothing.
[2009-12-09 11:57:09] KallfuNahuel Matador: it's very cool. I notice the sherrif's badge.
[2009-12-09 11:57:20] KallfuNahuel Matador: oh wow. . pop up inworld browser. i Have been away
[2009-12-09 11:57:24] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yeah, my character was a cop before he was a lantern
[2009-12-09 11:57:45] KallfuNahuel Matador: This looks familiar. Who's running this group?
[2009-12-09 11:58:38] GreenLantern Excelsior: I maintain the website and discussion group and blog. The member groups are owned by various folks. Some JLU types created The Green Lanterns. It's a patrol and community service group like the GLC of old.
[2009-12-09 11:59:16] KallfuNahuel Matador: Gotcha.
[2009-12-09 11:59:52] GreenLantern Excelsior: And I still have the Assistance Notification Network that patrols all the time, great bunch of folks and a good source for new Lanterns.
[2009-12-09 12:00:05] KallfuNahuel Matador: Excellent.
[2009-12-09 12:00:14] KallfuNahuel Matador: Are there a lot of GL's in there?
[2009-12-09 12:01:12] GreenLantern Excelsior: 15 members at the moment. I grab one every week or two, train them up, and set them free to do good for the grid.
[2009-12-09 12:01:22] KallfuNahuel Matador: wow.
[2009-12-09 12:01:32] KallfuNahuel Matador: how long does it take you to train them?
[2009-12-09 12:02:23] GreenLantern Excelsior: I have 6 classes, and I ran one guy through all 6 in a single evening. He was dedicated, though. I'm going to be training some of the different Lantern groups and ultimately everyone in the ANN group who wants it.
[2009-12-09 12:02:48] GreenLantern Excelsior: We're also looking at supplying ANN members with some basic tools, scanner and rezzer and shield, etc.
[2009-12-09 12:03:15] KallfuNahuel Matador: So you're right on it. I'm looking at the group profile right now. . hah! love the phone.
[2009-12-09 12:03:39] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yeah, the Red Phone like Commissioner Gordon might be on the other end.
[2009-12-09 12:03:44] KallfuNahuel Matador: exactly.
[2009-12-09 12:03:50] KallfuNahuel Matador: You have PK in there.
[2009-12-09 12:04:27] GreenLantern Excelsior: Several GLC members are in there. I've never had to eject anyone for misconduct, and I invite even newbies if they want to help.
[2009-12-09 12:04:38] KallfuNahuel Matador: that's great.
[2009-12-09 12:04:49] KallfuNahuel Matador: yep I see Euc too!
[2009-12-09 12:04:54] GreenLantern Excelsior: I'm not going to eject GLC members in a fit of pique, either, even after what they did.
[2009-12-09 12:05:14] KallfuNahuel Matador: Looks good on you. Higher ground.
[2009-12-09 12:05:31] GreenLantern Excelsior: Thanks, it's a good place to be.
[2009-12-09 12:05:44] KallfuNahuel Matador: I try to walk the high ground as much as I can.
[2009-12-09 12:05:57] KallfuNahuel Matador: trip now and again, but it just reminds me i'm human and not blue all over.
[2009-12-09 12:06:39] GreenLantern Excelsior: Well nobody's perfect, and I suppose others can accuse you of wrongdoing even if you think you're okay.
[2009-12-09 12:07:14] KallfuNahuel Matador: yep. I've gotten that from time to time too. I know what you mean.
[2009-12-09 12:07:31] KallfuNahuel Matador: So where'd the blue uniform come from? You have two versions of this one?
[2009-12-09 12:08:19] GreenLantern Excelsior: The top and the gloves and the socks are the same, just the colored parts are different. They came from a "latex pack" from Power Corps.
[2009-12-09 12:08:30] KallfuNahuel Matador: ahh Cool.
[2009-12-09 12:09:03] KallfuNahuel Matador: Well, i'm glad you'll have a lot of things to busy yourself with. Sounds like you have a full plate anyway.
[2009-12-09 12:10:14] GreenLantern Excelsior: Yes, there's plenty to do. I figure if the group isn't moving toward a goal of helping other residents on the grid, we're moving in the wrong direction. That's why I wasn't too happy with all the GLC pajama parties and fishing tournaments. But they can do what they want and call it progress I guess.
[2009-12-09 12:10:43] KallfuNahuel Matador: Yeah, I'm not familiar with all that stuff, but I imagine i will be soon enough.
[2009-12-09 12:10:53] KallfuNahuel Matador: that one was cool, yellow and red.
[2009-12-09 12:11:15] GreenLantern Excelsior: If you're back in the group you'll see it all. There's not much patrolling going on these days, not like we used to do.
[2009-12-09 12:11:33] KallfuNahuel Matador: I've noticed A LOT of rookies.
[2009-12-09 12:12:19] GreenLantern Excelsior: PK had a post in the Community Services forum about how he couldn't figure out how to avoid dialog spam. It was funny, since he tends to point out that he's written thousands of ARs but is now "retired." Yeah there are Rookies all over the place, lots of training and testing going on.
[2009-12-09 12:13:20] KallfuNahuel Matador: hehheh I think they have stuff for dialogue spam, dont' they? IN the HUD? I better get in there and check out some of these rookies. Pretty soon I won't know the majority of the group.
[2009-12-09 12:14:36] GreenLantern Excelsior: I know, there are lots of new names, even one Honor Guard you probably don't know. The Emerald viewer takes care of dialog spam easily. I pointed that out in the forum thread, and Aree immediately came in and said she would never use Emerald. Also not surprising.
[2009-12-09 12:14:55] KallfuNahuel Matador: did she say why?
[2009-12-09 12:15:21] KallfuNahuel Matador: Yes I think you're right about the HG. Jeff passed the names by me for approval, but I could only vote on the ones I knew.
[2009-12-09 12:15:32] GreenLantern Excelsior: No she didnt. And actually no one needs Emerald for just hanging around in your home sim. But out on patrol and in griefer attacks it's valuable.
[2009-12-09 12:16:08] KallfuNahuel Matador: I"ll have to check it out. It's been around awhile yes? I seem to recall it. Maybe it was used during Second life Pride ?
[2009-12-09 12:17:46] GreenLantern Excelsior: http://modularsystems.sl is the download website. It's free and it's amazing. I think we used it during Second Pride, yes. They're constantly improving it. It has the best avatar radar I've ever seen, and lots of goodies like on-the-fly revision of draw distance.
[2009-12-09 12:18:21] KallfuNahuel Matador: just grabbing the link.
[2009-12-09 12:19:27] GreenLantern Excelsior: Another example - right click on a Mini-Map dot and select Profile and you see who the dot belongs to. Select Cam and your camera zooms to them. Draw distance out to 1024 meters. Just incredible stuff.
[2009-12-09 12:19:56] KallfuNahuel Matador: who created it?
[2009-12-09 12:20:30] GreenLantern Excelsior: I'm not sure if there's a single creator. It's open source though, so anyone can mess with the code.
[2009-12-09 12:20:39] KallfuNahuel Matador: oh that's great.
[2009-12-09 12:20:39] GreenLantern Excelsior: ...and see if there's anything suspicious in it.
[2009-12-09 12:20:54] KallfuNahuel Matador: What you mean suspicious?
[2009-12-09 12:20:56] KallfuNahuel Matador: like malware?
[2009-12-09 12:21:23] GreenLantern Excelsior: Right, or something that communicates your information to someone else. It's all open for viewing if you know what you're looking at.
[2009-12-09 12:21:40] KallfuNahuel Matador: Very cool. I will have a look.
[2009-12-09 12:22:00] KallfuNahuel Matador: Hey bud, I'm sorry to cut out, but I'm going to have to go. I still have to work and prep for a meeting tonight and tomorrow as well.
[2009-12-09 12:22:00] GreenLantern Excelsior: Neat. I think you will be impressed.
[2009-12-09 12:23:43] GreenLantern Excelsior: Okay, well thanks for coming by and I hope things work out okay for the GLC. I will send an IM to Hens so she knows what's going on as soon as she comes online.
(REMOVED)
[2009-12-09 12:28:44] KallfuNahuel Matador: okay the phone has started. I need to run. Thanks again for your time GLE.
[2009-12-09 12:28:59] GreenLantern Excelsior: You're welcome, and thank you for your consideration. Take care my friend.
[2009-12-09 12:29:47] KallfuNahuel Matador: Of course. And you, take care. And geez. I don't know how to thank you for all the time you've put in. Years! Since you and Jordan graduated together. Thank you. There's no way to express all that accurately.
[2009-12-09 12:30:19] GreenLantern Excelsior: Well it wasn't wasted. The training and experience I gained in the GLC are helping residents even today.
[2009-12-09 12:30:38] KallfuNahuel Matador: That's very good to hear. Keep up your good work then. We'll stay in touch.
[2009-12-09 12:30:46] GreenLantern Excelsior: I hope so.
[2009-12-09 12:31:06] KallfuNahuel Matador: See you soon. Not sure when I'll get back in world, but I'll drop you a line.
[2009-12-09 12:31:22] GreenLantern Excelsior: Great, I hope you can be online more and I hoe to hear from you.
[2009-12-09 12:31:36] KallfuNahuel Matador: Indeed. See you soon, GLE.
[2009-12-09 12:31:46] GreenLantern Excelsior: You too

Now, as to the charges:

1) Sharing of sensitive group information to with an outside agents (Kalel Venkman) as evidenced via offworld sources.

Normally when a person is charged with an offense, the offense is explained at a trial or hearing and the person is afforded the ability to respond. There was no trial before the verdict was handed down, so this charge was never explained, and I have no idea what it's about.

2) Violation of TOS on the ANN group chat in divilging unsubstantiated alt names of a resident suspected of griefing. Then correcting himself and then divulging even more names, so it is undetermined how many innocent residents were listed.

One problem that is seen from those who don't patrol is that they lose their familiarity with the Terms of Service (ToS) and Community Standards (CS). "Disclosure" is defined within the CS, not the ToS, and sending out a list of possible griefer alt names as a way to raise awareness is not a violation of disclosure or any other LL rule.

3) Divulging private group details to others (Jeadeen Niles, BilliAnn Bravin and Kalel Venkman) leading to the threatening and dismissal from the JLU of Guardian Quinstar Gremlin.

Quin talked to Kalel during the first Star Chamber trial, recognizing that his JLU membership was in jeopardy. Kalel told him not to worry about it at that point. On October 1, just before Quin removed my Honor Guard title, he said "Also if you personally feel that my doing this is against my JLU Oath, then you can report it to Kalel and let him come to me about it." My response was "What happens in GLC is none of JLU's business and I wouldn't jeopardize your membership there with this." But what happens to me personally also becomes the business of my friends, so I informed some of them and they informed Kalel. Even if I had told Kalel directly, the matter ceased to be a "private group detail" when Quin gave me permission to talk about it.

4) Failure to provide mutual support of fellow members of the GLC in the matter of scandal being put forth through many groups by BilliAnn Bravin and Jeadeen Niles, some of which were owned by Lantern Excelsior. Even when asked directly by two Guardians on two different occasions.

The scandal being discussed here is probably the use of Power Corps ring scripts in the for-profit commercial rings that GLC is selling. This is a fact, which was proved by the ability to control a GLC ring with a Power Corps HUD and vice versa. In addition, it was recently discovered that the GLC commercial rings include information from the Mystic Gems ring. The "failure to provide support" charge may stem from the fact that any ANN member can send out a notice to the group, or send a message on the group IM channel. I would not have been able to prevent a group notice or message, and in this case I wouldn't have done so even if I did have foreknowledge that a message would be sent. Without a specific description of the scandal, it's hard to know whether I could have prevented it or provided some kind of "mutual support." But whatever it was that happened, I'm taking a hit for the actions of someone else, actions that occurred in groups outside the control and jurisdiction of the GLC.

Here are some further points that need to be made.

• There was no "parole" prescribed for the earlier Star Chamber trials, so there was no "parole violation."
• The "leniency given for prior offenses" is a laughable assertion. They had already taken everything else they could take from me by the time Kall arrived at my house to take my membership. There was no leniency here.

NOTE 1: I was in error on this statement. Quinstar Gremlin was ejected from JLU after a discussion among the officers.
NOTE 2: Objects began to be returned to me from New Oa in mid-November:

• November 7, 2009 - Aree Lulibub returned several items to me from the Oa Combat Level (used for training Rookies in how to find griefer objects). Since she had muted me several months back, I had no way to communicate with her and had to contact Angelica to determine what was happening.
• November 15, 2009 - Angelica Nephilim requested that I remove the entire Oa Combat Level. This location took me weeks to build. It was extremely popular with the Rookies, since it taught them valuable skills that would be used during peacekeeping callouts.
• December 2, 2009 - Aree Lulibub returned the Hero Universe teleport pad to me from Level 4 of New Oa. This was the last object owned by me in the entire GLC parcel, an indication that I had been involuntarily disengaged from the GLC by two of the former JLU members.

• Several good and productive members of the GLC left the group during 2009, including Cid Jacobs, the group's founder. Instead of taking the time to determine why a member is leaving, and saying "We're sorry you feel the need to leave, and we will miss you," some GLC members immediately vilify the person, even directly to his face. Cid Jacobs posted a goodbye message on the GLC discussion board, and Pierce and Aree instantly responded to it with extreme hostility (that thread is now stored in the board's archives so members can't see it). If a member stands up during a meeting and delivers a goodbye message, the opposition group is quick to jump in after they get out of chat range and "close ranks," instantly changing the departing Lantern from a valued former member to a hated enemy. Note the following (comparatively mild) reaction from all members of the opposition group (except Pierce Kronos, who wasn't present at the meeting) after Phillip Beeswing's resignation speech:
  [2009/09/03 18:51] Phillip Beeswing: bye everyone.
  [2009/09/03 18:51] Phillip Beeswing has left chat range.
  [2009/09/03 18:51] Cathy Gray: Bye, the door is right behind you.
  [2009/09/03 18:51] IM: Phillip Beeswing: TPing home.
  [2009/09/03 18:51] Reymon Thalheimer: wow mature
  [2009/09/03 18:51] Angelica Nephilim: peaking of rudeness......
  [2009/09/03 18:51] Sean Petit: buh-bye
  [2009/09/03 18:51] Reymon Thalheimer: bai bais
  [2009/09/03 18:52] Angelica Nephilim: Speaking*
  [2009/09/03 18:52] Aree Lulibub: ass-door
  [2009/09/03 18:52] Artevus Corleone: ...
  [2009/09/03 18:52] Cathy Gray: I apologise for the interruption, Ceri.
  [2009/09/03 18:52] Aree Lulibub: Please continue, Ceri
  [2009/09/03 18:52] Ceri Denimore: Thast ok, I was about done unless anyone has questions
  [2009/09/03 18:52] IM: GreenLantern Excelsior: The typical post-resignation badmouthing didn't seem to last very long this time.
  [2009/09/03 18:52] IM: GreenLantern Excelsior: Maybe they're getting used to seeing people leave.
• Another statement that's often used after a resignation speech is that the GLC is a family. The implication is that family members stick together, and that once someone is no longer a member of the family, they are by definition an outsider. But the GLC, in my estimation, has become a dysfunctional family. The Wikipedia article Dysfunctional Family contains the following list of items under "Signs of unhealthy parenting" that are directly applicable to today's Green Lantern Core:
  • Disrespect ["Shut it, GLE"]
  • Ridicule and belittling ["Trying a grade school stunt like that would get you literally booted from most groups, no questions asked or statements given."]
  • The absentee parent (seldom available for their child due to work overload, alcohol/drug abuse, gambling or other addictions) [Absentee group owners allow mid-level group managers to run amok]
  • Faulty discipline based more on one's emotions than established rules (i.e. punishment by"surprise") [Star Chamber trials and ad hoc disciplinary action]
  • The "know-it-all" (has no need to obtain child's side of the story when accusing, or listen to child's opinions on matters which greatly impact them) [Star Chamber trials with no input allowed from the accused]
  • Isolation (parents unwilling to reach out to other families, especially those with children of the same age and gender) [GLC unwilling to reach out to JLU or other groups, or even residents of Second Life, instead "cocooning" inside New Oa]
  • Unfulfilled projects, activities, and promises affecting children ("Give them three days, and they'll take three decades.") [Multiple Guardian assurances that problems will be addressed, yet no results are ever seen]
• When owners of the group stay away from the GLC forums because they are full of "drama and BS," it allows the drama and BS to continue unchecked. The active leaders of the GLC who have time to govern it are either anti-JLU or neutral. The owners of the GLC need to stay connected to the forums and fix the problems that show up there. Otherwise there will be things happening within the group that they may not like.
• I firmly believe that the rank and file GLC Lanterns have no idea whatsoever that these secret trials and behind the scenes censures have occurred. GLC leadership tells them that everything is going along fine. The occasional rough patch, like someone resigning in disgust and sending out a goodbye message, is dismissed as an aberration, with the leadership apologizing to the members for having exposed them to it. I created this web page not to cause problems and drama for the GLC, but to reveal the truth about its inner workings to all of its members.
• I regret to predict that there is an extremely nasty internal conflict in the GLC's future, directly related to Pierce and Aree. JLU has documented their attempt to take over that group when they were members. Pierce and Aree's mistake in JLU was in not having sufficient allies to back them in their power play, and in believing that JLU leadership didn't notice what they were doing. They have moved more slowly in the GLC, inviting prospective GLC friends to their home for hospitality and friendship, muting other GLC members and adding them to their parcel ban list if they are potential stumbling blocks to their goals, and working tirelessly to pile up accomplishments within the Core while making an endless series of suggestions for change within the Honor Guard forum. The miscalculation they have made about their rise to power in the GLC is that they will be unable to advance any higher than Honor Guard status, because they are not trusted by the group owners. Since the owners know what Pierce and Aree tried to do within JLU, neither will ever become a Guardian of Oa in the GLC. When their bid for Guardianship is denied, and they understand that they will be Honor Guards forever, they will leave the group, since they are unable to control it. Some of their GLC friends will resign as well, while others who have allied themselves with Pierce and Aree will find themselves alone, without a patron. The end of a power struggle like this is always a messy affair. This one will divide the GLC and cause the loss of many members. There will be shouting matches and hard feelings, old friends will become bitter enemies, and those of us who tried to sound the warning will watch in sadness as the group that we once loved becomes a ghost town.
• I believe that the GLC has a proud history and an unlimited potential. Its current path toward isolationism and stagnation could very well be only a momentary diversion from its path to greatness. A firm hand on the steering wheel could return the group to the right path.

I see the spin has already begun. Aree Lulibub sent out the following GLC Notice (inexplicably entitled "Holiday Griefing") on December 26:

Happy Holidays all.

Happy Holidays Everyone! There has been some anti-GLC propaganda circulating by a disgruntled ex-Lantern. If anyone has any questions about the recent "revelations" by former Lantern GLE on the lanternalliance.com forum, feel free to contact any Guardian or Core Officer.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

<3 ION Aree

The Notice attempts to label me a "disgruntled ex-Lantern." Wrong on both counts. The word "disgruntled" means "displeased and discontented; sulky; peevish," but that is not my attitude. Although leaving the GLC was painful, because as Kall said I had been unhappy for a long time, in the end my resignation was the lifting of a burden. There was no more waiting for a decision from the Guardians, and I was free to pursue other goals, including this web page. I am happy. As for calling me an "ex-Lantern," that is laughable. I am a Blue Lantern in the Blue Lantern Corps, a White Lantern in The White Lantern Corps, and a Green Lantern in both the Justice League Unlimited and The Green Lanterns. In those groups, I am heavily involved in community service, fundraising, and peacekeeping, a claim which cannot be made by Ms. Lulibub. Although it is a good thing to ask questions, ask questions of both the current and the former GLC members, and don't believe everything you hear from either side.

Lanterns, this has been a tour of the inner workings of the Green Lantern Core. Your Green Lantern Core. The Core is what you make it. If you want pajama parties and go-kart races and continuous rebuilding, then you're in the right place. Go along for the ride and have fun. But if you think the Core should be something more, a group that helps residents avoid griefer harassment, a group that participates in charity events, a group that works to educate and assist new residents, then do something about it. GLC was a fine and respected Community Service group in the past, and it can become one again with a lot of work. But if your best efforts fall flat, don't despair. There are plenty of Community Service-oriented superhero groups on the grid that will love to have you as a member.

- - Thursday, December 10, 2009 - -

Jeff Beckenbauer's announcement in the Thursday GLC meeting.

[19:05] Jeff Beckenbauer: GreenLantern Excelsior is no longer a member of the Green Lantern Core
[19:05] Baldi McMillan: O.o
[19:05] Morgoroth Netizen: ?
[19:05] Troshna Martynov: ???
[19:05] Troshna Martynov: (pt->en) ??
[19:06] Jeff Beckenbauer: I wanted you to hear it here before the rumors start (as usual)
[19:06] Jeff Beckenbauer: Guardian KallfuNahuel talked with him yesterday
[19:06] Jeff Beckenbauer: and thats mostly all I will say about it - other than
[19:06] Anubis Aker: (( I need to Log but I'll be back on latter
[19:06] Anubis Aker: ))
[19:07] Jeff Beckenbauer: Our HG have been brought up to speed on matters
[19:07] Jeff Beckenbauer: If anyone has questions or issues they can corner on of them/ION or a Guardian.
[19:09] Artevus Corleone: One at a time, no freebies or refunds. :P
[19:09] Jeff Beckenbauer: But I under no circumstances will listen to or tolerate any "bad mouthing" of him. Not that any of you would - just has to be said.
[19:09] Euclidean Surface: GLE is still active in GridWatch and the Assistance Notification Network, so if you patrol the sandboxes from time to time you'll probably run into him.
[19:09] Jeff Beckenbauer: Indeed
[19:09] Morgoroth Netizen: we all wish him well, he will be missed
[19:10] Shakira Ruby: We respect any decision, Guardian Jeff & others. He's a great friend.
[19:11] Jeff Beckenbauer: I have done all in my power to avoid making him look bad - I have to say that because some have already run with rumors to the opposite as you have heard in this very room.
[19:12] Jeff Beckenbauer: Sorry if I ramble - its still upsetting to me.
[19:12] Jeff Beckenbauer: Thats all I have

And that's all I have, too. I've been your host, GreenLantern Excelsior. Good luck and good night, and please take these meaningful quotations with you on your way out.

"The zeal which begins with hypocrisy must conclude in treachery; at first it deceives, at last it betrays."
- Francis Bacon

"He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; / When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart."
- Holy Bible, Proverbs 26:24-25

"Ambition is a gilded misery, a secret poison, a hidden plague, the engineer of deceit, the mother of hypocrisy, the parent of envy, the original of vices, the moth of holiness, the blinder of hearts, turning medicines into maladies, and remedies into diseases."
- Thomas Brooks

"Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"All change is not growth; as all movement is not forward."
- Ellen Glasgow

"Whatever you dream, you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"One deceit needs many others, and so the whole house is built in the air and must soon come to the ground."
- Baltasar Gracian

"The silence of a friend commonly amounts to treachery. His not daring to say anything in our behalf implies a tacit censure."
- William Hazlitt

"The people of the world having once been deceived, suspect deceit in truth itself."
- Hitopadesha

"The heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next."
- Hellen Keller

"Integrity is the lifeblood of democracy. Deceit is a poison in its veins."
- Edward Kennedy

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
- Robert F. Kennedy

"We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."
- C.S. Lewis

"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
- George Orwell

"If, in the present chaotic and shameful struggle for existence, when organized society offers a premium on greed, cruelty, and deceit, men can be found who stand aloof and almost alone in their determination to work for good rather than gold, who suffer want and persecution rather than desert principle, who can bravely walk to the scaffold for the good they can do humanity, what may we expect from men when freed from the grinding necessity of selling the better part of themselves for bread?"
- Lucy Parsons

"Was ever book containing such vile matter
So fairly bound? O that deceit should dwell
In such a gorgeous palace!"
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 2

"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow."
- Alice Walker

October 23, 2006 - Joined Second Life
November 26, 2006 - Joined the Green Lantern Core
August 23, 2007 - Graduated from GLC Rookie to full Lantern
April 16, 2009 - Promoted to Honor Guard
July 16, 2009 - Hens calls for help during a GLC meeting
July 19, 2009 - The "Concerned Lanterns" hold their first meeting
July 23, 2009 - Attempt by some GLC members to declare that the GLC's anti-griefer mission is no longer needed
July 30, 2009 - GLC issues "The New Laws"
August 5, 2009 - GLC leadership is made aware of the existence of the Concerned Lanterns
August 12, 2009 - The Concerned Lanterns meet with the Guardians
August 23, 2009 - Minor controversy surfaces over the banning of selected peacekeepers from a GLC member's home parcel
August 27, 2009 - Outreach Team presentation to GLC membership, immediately squelched by GLC leadership
September 2, 2009 - First secret trial begins
September 11, 2009 - Censured as a result of the first secret trial
October 1, 2009 - Censured as a result of targeted complaints by several GLC members, Honor Guard title removed
December 9, 2009 - Another secret trial results in a decision to remove GLE from the GLC
December 9, 2009 - Resigned from the Green Lantern Core

Glossary

• ANN - Assistance Notification Network, a group of volunteers who report violations of the CS and ToS
• AR - Abuse Report
• Abuse Report - A report sent to Linden Lab to inform them of a problem, often written by peacekeepers as a result of griefer action
• Avatar - Representation of a Second Life resident
• Ban Lines - Impenetrable boundaries around a Second Life parcel, indicating that you are either on the parcel's ban list or not on the parcel's access list
• BanLink - A free system of sharing Second Life ban links among land holders and estate managers
• Bridget - Bridget Harkness, a character in the video game Guilty Gear XX, is male but has the appearance of a female
• Camp Darfur - Second Life location where GLC members assisted parcel owners to secure the parcel against griefers, changing GLC from a comic book fan group to a community service group. Reference: Guarding Darfur
• CS - Community Standards, a list of the rules of behavior for Second Life
• DC Comics - Comic book company that owns the Green Lantern series of comics
• Flight Feather - A freebie attachment that allows residents to fly higher than the default flight ceiling
• Follower - An object in Second Life that follows a resident, often bumping them and pushing them around
• GL - Green Lantern, a comic book superhero
• GLC - Green Lantern Core, a Second Life group
• GLE - GreenLantern Excelsior
• Grid - All Second Life regions, in total
• Griefer - A player who plays a multiplayer video game to irritate, annoy and harass other players, rather than in pursuit of game objectives
• GTeam - The Linden Governance & Response Team, a group of LL employees who respond to ARs and correct problems caused by griefer attacks (replaced by the LL RESI Team)
• Guardian - Highest officer position in the GLC
• Hens - GLC Guardian Hensonian Pennyfeather
• Honor Guard - Second highest officer position in the GLC
• JLU - Justice League Unlimited, a Second Life group
• Lag - The state of extreme slowness in a Second Life sim
• LL - Linden Lab
• Linden - A resident with the last name of Linden, indicating that he is a Linden Lab employee
• Linden Lab - The company that owns and runs Second Life
• New Oa - Second Life parcel, home to the Green Lantern Core
• Newbie - A new resident in Second Life. Also called noob, n00b, etc.
• Parcel - A piece of land in Second Life
• Patrol - Touring Second Life locations to check for griefer activity
• Peacekeeper - Second Life resident who voluntarily patrols, writes ARs, and assists other residents during griefer attacks
• PN - Patriotic Nigras, a Second Life griefer group
• Poozer - Affectionate name given to GLC Rookies in training, taken from the GL comics as used by GL training Sergeant Kilowog
• Prim - An object in Second Life, short for "primitive"
• Region - An area in Second Life 256 meters on a side, given a unique name, and separated from other regions
• RESI Team - The LL Resident Experience Support Inworld Team, replacement for the GTeam
• Resident - A registered user of Second Life
• Rez - Slang for creating an object in Second Life, also used to indicate the Second Life viewer displaying local surroundings ("Hang on for a minute, the room is still rezzing around me")
• RL - Real Life, that part of existence that is outside of Second Life
• Sandbox - An open area in Second Life where residents may build
• Second Life - A virtual world developed by Linden Lab, accessible via the Internet
• SL - Second Life
• Spam - Repetitive sounds, particles, dialog boxes, or text messages in Second Life, used by griefers to cause annoyance
• Sim - Same as Region
• Teleport - Second Life method of traveling from one map location to another
• Texture - A photo or graphic representation in Second Life
• Tizzers Foxchase - Second Life resident permanently banned by Linden Lab for repeated violations of the Community Standards and Terms of Service
• ToS - Terms of Service - anyone who accesses Second Life agrees to this list of rules under which Linden Lab provides its services
• TP - Teleport
  

Aftermath

In this section I will publish the followup actions and discussions that resulted from the creation of this website.

- - Saturday, December 26, 2009 - -

I see the spin has already begun. Aree Lulibub sent out the following Notice to GLC members (inexplicably entitled "Holiday Griefing"):

Happy Holidays all.

Happy Holidays Everyone! There has been some anti-GLC propaganda circulating by a disgruntled ex-Lantern. If anyone has any questions about the recent "revelations" by former Lantern GLE on the lanternalliance.com forum, feel free to contact any Guardian or Core Officer.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

<3 ION Aree

The Notice attempts to label me a "disgruntled ex-Lantern." Wrong on both counts. The word "disgruntled" means "displeased and discontented; sulky; peevish," but that is not my attitude. Although leaving the GLC was painful, because as Kall said I had been unhappy for a long time, in the end my resignation was the lifting of a burden. There was no more waiting for a decision from the Guardians, and I was free to pursue other goals, including this web page. I am happy. As for calling me an "ex-Lantern," that is laughable. I am a Blue Lantern in the Blue Lantern Corps, a White Lantern in The White Lantern Corps, and a Green Lantern in both the Justice League Unlimited and The Green Lanterns. In those groups, I am heavily involved in community service, fundraising, and peacekeeping, a claim which cannot be made by Ms. Lulibub. Although it is a good thing to ask questions, ask questions of both the current and the former GLC members, and don't believe everything you hear from either side.

- - Sunday, December 27, 2009 - -

I received the following email from Aree today:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Cease and Desist
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:34:04 -0800
From: Aree Lulibub (email address removed)
To: GreenLantern Excelsior (email address removed)

CEASE AND DESIST LETTER/RESTRAINING ORDER

December 27, 2009

Dear GreenLantern Excelsior:

This CEASE AND DESIST ORDER is to inform you that your harassing and intimidating actions against myself has become unbearable. Such anti-social behavior is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form. This letter is to demand that your continuing involvement in, planning and encouragement of, information gathering, harassment and intimidation must CEASE AND DESIST immediately. Should you continue to pursue these activities in violation of this CEASE AND DESIST ORDER, I will not hesitate to pursue further legal action against you, including, but not limited to, civil action and/or criminal complaints.

September 3, 2009, [2009/09/03 18:51]  Beta Quadrant, Second Life.
Harrassment upon myself, evidenced by witnesses and a recorded chat log of a meeting of the Green Lantern Core, of which I am an officer.  Second Life Resident BilliAnn Bravin, a member of the "Concerned Lanterns" of which you are a leader, disrupted a meeting where I was in attendance along with a group of my peers, with defamatory and inflammatory statements in an attempt to cause distress upon myself and my peers in attendance.  Shortly thereafter Ms. Bravin then circulated a notecard entitled "My Resignation from the Core, 2009-09-03 07:13:23," to various other groups in Second Life via the group notice system. Said notecard contained repeated defamatory statements against myself and my peers in an attempt to cause distress upon all involved and named therein.

September 3, 2009, [2009/09/03 18:51]  Beta Quadrant, Second Life.
Harassment upon myself, evidenced by witnesses and a recorded chat log of a meeting of the Green Lantern Core group in Second Life, of which I am an officer. Resident Phillip Beeswing, a member of the "Concerned Lanterns" group, of which you are a leader, disrupted a meeting where I was in attendance, along with a group of my peers, with defamatory and inflammatory statements in an attempt to cause distress upon myself and my peers in attendance.

August 23, 2009, Asimov Park, Second Life.
An invasion of my privacy and harassment in your attempt to enter my private parcel on Asimov Park.  Recording of the list of banned residents on that private parcel by JLU member and Second Life resident, Jessi Castiagnede, in a notecard titled "New Note, 2009-08-23 10:43:23 note card" and posting said list to a Justice League Unlimited group notice by resident and Justice League member, Samantha Lowell in an attempt to cause distress upon myself.

August 6, 2009, Region Unknown, Second Life
Harassment upon myself, evidenced by a notecard entitled "Jeadeen's half-assed resignation without trully resigning!" regarding Jeadeen Niles, a member of the "Concerned Lanterns" group, of which you are a leader, and was given to resident Cathy Gray, officer of the Green Lantern Core, containing inaccurate and upsetting information in an attempt to cause distress upon myself.

July 28, 2009, Beta Quadrant, Second Life
Harassment upon myself evidenced by a notecard titled "Trouble brewing within GLC (yes, it's long)," sent to resident and Green Lantern Core group owner, Jeff Beckenbauer from resident and Justice League Unlimited member Green Lantern Excelsior, in an attempt to cause distress upon myself.

December 24, 2009, Lantern Alliance website posting:  http://lanternalliance.com/glestory.htm.
Harassment evidenced by approximately 20 pages of defamatory information posted to the Lantern Alliance website in an attempt to cause distress upon myself.

I have a right to remain free from your and the "Concerned Lanterns" intimidating, manipulative and distressing tactics, and I will take the responsibility upon myself to protect that right. Note that a copy of this letter and a record of its delivery will be stored. Note too that it is admissible as evidence in a court of law and will be used as such if need be in the future.

This CEASE AND DESIST ORDER demands that you immediately discontinue and do not at any point in the future under any circumstances do the following to me: speak to, contact, pursue, harass, attack, strike, bump into, brush up against, push, tap, grab, hold, threaten, telephone (via cellular or landline), instant message, page, fax, email, follow, stalk, shadow, disturb my peace, keep me under surveillance, gather information and/or post about and/or block my movements at home, work, social gatherings, religious functions on any online, offline or real time activities.

[California: Note that your behavior is a violation of the California Penal Code Subsection 646.9 - Stalking and 422 - Punishment for Threats, and  California Code of Civil Procedure § 527.6, harassment]

[Arizona:  Note that your behavior is a violation of Arizona's Harassment Laws, ARS 13-2921]

Should you willfully choose to continue your current course of action, I will not hesitate to file a complaint with the Police Department for your ongoing violations of the Criminal Laws noted previously.

This letter does not constitute exhaustive statement of my position nor is it a waiver of any of my rights and/or remedies in this and/or any other related matter.

I demand your immediate compliance, and furthermore that you confirm in writing that all violative activity will cease immediately.

Very truly yours,

Aree Lulibub

cc:

Lake County Sheriff's Office, 1220 Martin Street, Lakeport, CA 95453
Phoenix Police Headquarters - 620 W. Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003

My response:

• Email is not considered legal notice.
• To be defamatory, adverse public statements must be proven false.
• To be defamatory, adverse public statements must be presented as facts. Statements of opinion are not actionable.
• Restraining orders are issued by courts, not private citizens.
• Restraining orders do not apply to video games, because there is no way to enforce them.
• Video game logs are not admissible in court.
• The Lake County Sheriff's Office and the Phoenix Police Department will not be interested in what someone said about someone else online. There would be no way for them to put handcuffs on the avatar GreenLantern Excelsior and throw it into jail.
• I have never threatened, harassed, or even met Aree in Real Life.
• I won't respond to Aree's email, and I'm not worried about consequences. Lanterns are without fear.