An Announcement From The Sanctuary Coordinator Team

It has been brought to our attention that someone below the age of Discord’s terms of service was present in our server; after verification, the user in question has been removed from the server and given a warning. They will be welcome back once they’ve reached the age of 13; though if they try to join again before that day they will be permanently banned from the server.

In addition, we would like to remind you all that the on-site chatbox does exist as an alternative to Discord for those who can't use Discord.

There are also some other concerns which were brought to our attention at the same time that we would also like to address as part of this statement. Other members of Sanctuary, and the Coordinator team in particular, are encouraged to add their personal responses below if they feel so inclined.

Allegedly, another site’s staff has heard accusations that members of our site have formerly tried to drive others off both theirs and another site. None of us are entirely clear on where this seemingly unfounded accusation comes from; and until some form of evidence or further information is provided there isn’t anything we can do other than to state that we are strongly opposed to harassment of any kind.

(After thinking about it for some time, I think I might have some idea about who said this and what their reasoning was; and if I’m correct in that my personal response is this: I’m sorry if things I said or did multiple years ago were out of line. I will freely admit that I’ve said and done some potentially hurtful things in the past, but most of that was years ago and I would like to publicly apologize for any harm I’ve caused. I’d like to think that things have changed, though, and I wish everyone the best, even if that sentiment isn’t returned. - Holly)

There have also been alleged claims that members of our site have sabotaged the survey results of one of the aforementioned sites. We have no evidence and no reason to believe that members of Sanctuary sent any of the survey responses in question, and would like to remind our userbase that we absolutely do not condone this kind of behavior.

(I am, on a personal level, horrified by some of the things that were submitted. No avenue for constructive criticism and feedback should ever be abused the way this one was, and I am deeply disappointed that anyone would still consider those sorts of statements acceptable at this point in time. - Holly)

(Personally speaking, I can say on my behalf that I never said anything explicitly cruel, and near always added constructive criticism in each and every survey. I can also attest that I don't believe anyone here would be capable of trying to 'sabotage' survey results. Yes, we've said some things in private that weren't of the nice kind, but I believe with my entire heart that no person here would go so far as to try and purposefully tear someone down and ruin their reputation. - Stormy)

In addition, one user has been accused of lying to the aforementioned site’s staff with regards to both the author of an anonymous post and the nature of a private server. The user in question has opted to provide personal responses to each of the major points, so her response to this is included in her statement below.

(I’m honestly a little bit hurt that people I consider friends would immediately jump to the assumption that I was lying about something, especially on purpose; but I guess I can understand it. I genuinely didn’t know who had written the post in question at that point in time, and I wouldn’t blindly accuse anyone. In addition, Sanctuary at this point in time was already divorced in purpose from any other sites. I had been, and will continue to be, working hard to help Sanctuary develop its own unique identity. There hasn’t been any ill will toward anyone else, at least on my part. - Holly)

(The person in question has proven themselves to be trustworthy, honest, and nothing like this accusation suggests. I would trust this person to take a secret to the grave, and that says quite a bit as I'm slow to trust. Without any proof, I see no reason as to doubt their honesty, and until completely solid evidence citing otherwise, I'll continue to see no reason to doubt them. - Stormy)

One former member of Sanctuary at one point suggested they use forgery to make false accusations toward other individuals; others swiftly stepped in and told them not to, explicitly forbidding such behaviour and citing practical reasons as a method of discouragement rather than reprimanding them for suggesting dishonesty.

(I wasn’t aware of this incident in particular until after it occurred, and would like to state that I take a personal stance against dishonesty in general; though in this case the person in question is no longer a member of Sanctuary, and there’s nothing to be done about it now other than reiterate that we absolutely do not condone such behavior, for several reasons. - Holly)

Lastly, there are a number of things that have surfaced regarding things our members have said about other people. While we have little interest in policing how our members express themselves in private so long as they’re capable of following our rules of conduct, much of what was said was not representative of the views of Sanctuary's community as a whole; and we will continue to strive for an atmosphere of inclusion and respecting others.

(Sanctuary started its life as a small group of friends airing their grievances and frustrations with one another in confidence; and there exist aspects of this that absolutely got out of hand. Initially, it was a space meant to encourage constructive discussions and suggestions, and that unfortunately wasn’t what it was used for. The specific spaces that were abused have been removed from the server, as they weren’t used for their intended purposes and instead facilitated a number of unproductive and hurtful discussions. At this point in time, they’ve more than outlived their purpose, and I’m frankly ashamed that we allowed them to be used as they were without doing something sooner. - Holly)

(Sanctuary began as a safe space for a group of friends who felt upset and wanted a safe space to vent (that’s where we got our name in the first place). It evolved quickly into wanting to turn our anger into a constructive roleplay site, and we've poured, and will continue to pour, our hearts and souls into making this a safe community for all who want to be a part of it. What was said in private was never meant to be said in public. It was said in private for that very reason. I know, personally, I said some heat of the moment things I'd never want made public, and I think we're all guilty of saying horrible things during bad times, which is another reason what was said was said in private. As we decided to expand, we locked the negative things away, and as said earlier, we've deleted the channels entirely, because our one goal was to create a happy, equal environment where users felt comfortable asking questions and receiving answers from the community. - Stormy)