Ms.Spooks

TL;DR posts galore, hell yes!
Would like to first address one of OP's main points: no, in my opinion a player should not be given a ghost promotion based solely on their social status in the community- that is, the amount of which the player is generally 'liked'. For obvious reasons, this doesn't reflect their capability to moderate servers or to perform administrative duties. Yes, this is something that should be taken into consideration by the higher-ups because there are always two sides to a coin (eg. "fun" vs "serious" staff), but it should definitely not be a deciding factor nor should it be the 'go-to' precedence for whether someone is deserving of it or not.
Ghost promos were typically reserved for those who "wowed" their peers and higher-ups. More than it was a pleasantry, it was a way for higher-ups to let a player know that they were exceeding expectations as a Member and that their efforts were being noticed to the degree that they could improve the overall server experience for players, not that they were just "likable". I say "was" because I'm speaking from past experience, however I'm confident that this still applies even today.
With that said, I personally am not a huge fan of the situation where anyone gets that opportunity just because of connections; whether that be regularly playing games with a higher-up or just generally being friends. This is primarily due to the conflict of interest and generally bias nature of this sort of situation. Should there be a moment where a player [who is closely associated with any higher-up of the respective Division] is recommended for a promotion [and is interested in taking it], there should absolutely be a Staff application, at the very least as a formality. This is simply to mitigate bias in the process, and while it won't eliminate all bias it will certainly minimize it by giving the community an opportunity to present their opinions/concerns. Although there is something to be said for these instances where it seems like bias/favoritism rules the ghost promos.
Those who work hard should receive recognition for it, but the sad fact is that this does not always happen and it can certainly feel like there is some sort of bias at play when others do. But it really speaks for itself: much like any other community-driven process, whether that be in the workplace or here at Xeno Gamers, an opportunity may or may not present itself and fall into your lap- it is not always based on some form of favoritism. You could be the hardest working person and not receive recognition, but at that point you need to ask yourself: did you voice your opinion? Are you actively making an effort to let the higher-ups know that you are deserving of it? Or are you simply waiting for it to happen. Consider even, that you may not play at the same hours that a higher-up may, thereby making it that much more difficult to be recognized. It's easy to scream "bias/favoritism", but know that it likely won't help you. Sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands and to simply own it. Yes, a ghost promo is a special case, but that should not make it any more desirable than outright applying for a Staff position.
All-in-all, trust in your higher-ups to be making the right call/decision with minimal bias/favoritism- because believe it or not, they also rely heavily on you to provide your opinion, comments and feedback all the same, even in situations like ghost promotions. If it helps, keep in mind that they are unpaid, just the same as any other Staff, and that their best interests are for the community (which is more than I can say for my employer).

Anything that I circled in the red was before precious joined the server and someone was bodyblocking me constantly then started to shittalk also 
Everything i said there was towards me and another regular on tgh who was bodyblocking constantly then would shittalk and I would then clap back with shut the fuck up or ur fuckhead after that we left it on that and that's when bonfire told us to stop which we already did and left it.
Precious wasn't on the server at this time.   

For some context, I was not online during this; The information I have is provided here and through discord; This is my unimportant opinion on the situation.
My main issues with this situation are that Red evaded gag and that what was said wasn't particularly unique in tgh. The gag itself should have been enough of an indicator to not continue the behavior. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment red decided to make a funny and rename himself to evade. A lot of (typically more toxic) randoms tend to use this which issues a kick(since they don't have history in most cases.) Red on the otherhand should know better, but also doesn't have a history(that I know of) for gag evasion. I think this was handled more of a toxicity issue than a gag evasion. Gag evasion, in my opinion, is a lot easier to scale reasonably.
The main issue with determining toxicity stems from intent. Someone of ill intent meaning to effectively bully and harass a user would have more to say than what's basically commonplace. For starters, furfag itself is a joke title. Calling people furfags on tgh isn't anything new and in some cases used as friendly banter. I don't think that this case specifically applies for friendly banter however I don't find it alone strong enough to point at toxicity. I do think that some part of the intent with furfag here was ill meaning. "ur so shit" is definitely not in good intent as it's clearly said to make the other party more upset in the same way as saying "ez" and co. Calling furries "fucking weirdos" on a server with a lot of furries is asking for trouble. However, I don't think it's uncommon. Furries being called weird is almost a daily occurrence in terms of tgh conversation from my own experience. I don't think this case was in ill intent. The issue is the timing adds salt to the wound of him already stirring the pot with "shut the fuck up," "ur a fuckhead," and "ez." Lastly, "suck my dick" the ending words and the rename for gag evasion. Two things, saying suck my dick on tgh (where non surprisingly a lot of people are gay) is funny in of itself because the sheer irony. Secondly, saying variations of dick sucking is so uncommon it's a laughable way to end an argument. It's the slightly more vulgar "no u." in my opinion which makes it even funnier.
I think that seeing furfag, suck my dick, and "you are all fucking weirdos"  aren't really enough on their own with context to show the levels of toxicity that was clearly received. I do think however his shittalking (ur, so shit, ur a fuckhead, ez) Isn't acceptable but still ends up as commonplace on tgh, unfortunately. I think the reasoning was fair from the perspective of Precious. However there is still the can of worms that this behavior *it seems like* is punished on some more than others. I don't think that it's really fair to say that his situation is far worse than if a random joined and did the same actions. I believe the punishment would be delivered in the gag-kick-ban-ban-ban format for a random while Red was already on thin ice, so to speak. He was told to stop, he didn't; he got gagged, he gag evaded. That enough warrants punishment.  He was warned on unban, he was warned on server, but the moment escaped him as he made a mistake. I do think that the focus of the punishment should be on the gag evasion and less on the toxicity as there are more members than just him that shittalk just like that and get away with it for god knows why.
To be clear I don't have an issue with red personally; I think he can be very chill. The evidence is here that he was not chill at the time. I think that's something he can improve on as he has already improved for the better (as others stated.) He was willing to come back after the first ban and do better he might do better again. I don't think there is a reason to report abuse for this case as precious did what any staff would do in the situation. I think the reasoning is a little debatable as the main breaking point was the gag evasion. Hopefully if he does come back he can reflect on this moment for improvement. It's hard to determine tone over text and what he may have seen as friendly banter might not come across as such. Like I said before this kind of shittalking isn't particularly new on tgh. I'd like to see some consistency for some of the other members who seem to get away with this. 
While I think the ban was fair I would like to see him come back and try again as he has made improvements. He shows he is capable of doing better. Hopefully he can find a way to bury the hatchet and make amends. In the mean time I'll drop my current worthless +1.
Tl;dr
Gag evasion should be seen as the main punishment imo
Half of the shittalking going on isn't particularly uncommon and others who employ the toxic half should have similar expectations.
Saying suck my dick on a server with a lot of gay/bi people is funny as hell.
Precious did nothing wrong imo.
I hope red can do better, as he has shown, if he comes back.

In terms of actual prizes we could throw in some credits and items. Here's to competitive event actually happening for the 3rd time, but I guess 3rd time's a charm

I just called him out for bodyblock and we just exchanged a few words then left it on that. You can't call that toxic nor was I breaking any rules at the time.

For some context, I was not online during this; The information I have is provided here and through discord; This is my unimportant opinion on the situation.
My main issues with this situation are that Red evaded gag and that what was said wasn't particularly unique in tgh. The gag itself should have been enough of an indicator to not continue the behavior. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment red decided to make a funny and rename himself to evade. A lot of (typically more toxic) randoms tend to use this which issues a kick(since they don't have history in most cases.) Red on the otherhand should know better, but also doesn't have a history(that I know of) for gag evasion. I think this was handled more of a toxicity issue than a gag evasion. Gag evasion, in my opinion, is a lot easier to scale reasonably.
The main issue with determining toxicity stems from intent. Someone of ill intent meaning to effectively bully and harass a user would have more to say than what's basically commonplace. For starters, furfag itself is a joke title. Calling people furfags on tgh isn't anything new and in some cases used as friendly banter. I don't think that this case specifically applies for friendly banter however I don't find it alone strong enough to point at toxicity. I do think that some part of the intent with furfag here was ill meaning. "ur so shit" is definitely not in good intent as it's clearly said to make the other party more upset in the same way as saying "ez" and co. Calling furries "fucking weirdos" on a server with a lot of furries is asking for trouble. However, I don't think it's uncommon. Furries being called weird is almost a daily occurrence in terms of tgh conversation from my own experience. I don't think this case was in ill intent. The issue is the timing adds salt to the wound of him already stirring the pot with "shut the fuck up," "ur a fuckhead," and "ez." Lastly, "suck my dick" the ending words and the rename for gag evasion. Two things, saying suck my dick on tgh (where non surprisingly a lot of people are gay) is funny in of itself because the sheer irony. Secondly, saying variations of dick sucking is so uncommon it's a laughable way to end an argument. It's the slightly more vulgar "no u." in my opinion which makes it even funnier.
I think that seeing furfag, suck my dick, and "you are all fucking weirdos"  aren't really enough on their own with context to show the levels of toxicity that was clearly received. I do think however his shittalking (ur, so shit, ur a fuckhead, ez) Isn't acceptable but still ends up as commonplace on tgh, unfortunately. I think the reasoning was fair from the perspective of Precious. However there is still the can of worms that this behavior *it seems like* is punished on some more than others. I don't think that it's really fair to say that his situation is far worse than if a random joined and did the same actions. I believe the punishment would be delivered in the gag-kick-ban-ban-ban format for a random while Red was already on thin ice, so to speak. He was told to stop, he didn't; he got gagged, he gag evaded. That enough warrants punishment.  He was warned on unban, he was warned on server, but the moment escaped him as he made a mistake. I do think that the focus of the punishment should be on the gag evasion and less on the toxicity as there are more members than just him that shittalk just like that and get away with it for god knows why.
To be clear I don't have an issue with red personally; I think he can be very chill. The evidence is here that he was not chill at the time. I think that's something he can improve on as he has already improved for the better (as others stated.) He was willing to come back after the first ban and do better he might do better again. I don't think there is a reason to report abuse for this case as precious did what any staff would do in the situation. I think the reasoning is a little debatable as the main breaking point was the gag evasion. Hopefully if he does come back he can reflect on this moment for improvement. It's hard to determine tone over text and what he may have seen as friendly banter might not come across as such. Like I said before this kind of shittalking isn't particularly new on tgh. I'd like to see some consistency for some of the other members who seem to get away with this. 
While I think the ban was fair I would like to see him come back and try again as he has made improvements. He shows he is capable of doing better. Hopefully he can find a way to bury the hatchet and make amends. In the mean time I'll drop my current worthless +1.
Tl;dr
Gag evasion should be seen as the main punishment imo
Half of the shittalking going on isn't particularly uncommon and others who employ the toxic half should have similar expectations.
Saying suck my dick on a server with a lot of gay/bi people is funny as hell.
Precious did nothing wrong imo.
I hope red can do better, as he has shown, if he comes back.

For some context, I was not online during this; The information I have is provided here and through discord; This is my unimportant opinion on the situation.
My main issues with this situation are that Red evaded gag and that what was said wasn't particularly unique in tgh. The gag itself should have been enough of an indicator to not continue the behavior. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment red decided to make a funny and rename himself to evade. A lot of (typically more toxic) randoms tend to use this which issues a kick(since they don't have history in most cases.) Red on the otherhand should know better, but also doesn't have a history(that I know of) for gag evasion. I think this was handled more of a toxicity issue than a gag evasion. Gag evasion, in my opinion, is a lot easier to scale reasonably.
The main issue with determining toxicity stems from intent. Someone of ill intent meaning to effectively bully and harass a user would have more to say than what's basically commonplace. For starters, furfag itself is a joke title. Calling people furfags on tgh isn't anything new and in some cases used as friendly banter. I don't think that this case specifically applies for friendly banter however I don't find it alone strong enough to point at toxicity. I do think that some part of the intent with furfag here was ill meaning. "ur so shit" is definitely not in good intent as it's clearly said to make the other party more upset in the same way as saying "ez" and co. Calling furries "fucking weirdos" on a server with a lot of furries is asking for trouble. However, I don't think it's uncommon. Furries being called weird is almost a daily occurrence in terms of tgh conversation from my own experience. I don't think this case was in ill intent. The issue is the timing adds salt to the wound of him already stirring the pot with "shut the fuck up," "ur a fuckhead," and "ez." Lastly, "suck my dick" the ending words and the rename for gag evasion. Two things, saying suck my dick on tgh (where non surprisingly a lot of people are gay) is funny in of itself because the sheer irony. Secondly, saying variations of dick sucking is so uncommon it's a laughable way to end an argument. It's the slightly more vulgar "no u." in my opinion which makes it even funnier.
I think that seeing furfag, suck my dick, and "you are all fucking weirdos"  aren't really enough on their own with context to show the levels of toxicity that was clearly received. I do think however his shittalking (ur, so shit, ur a fuckhead, ez) Isn't acceptable but still ends up as commonplace on tgh, unfortunately. I think the reasoning was fair from the perspective of Precious. However there is still the can of worms that this behavior *it seems like* is punished on some more than others. I don't think that it's really fair to say that his situation is far worse than if a random joined and did the same actions. I believe the punishment would be delivered in the gag-kick-ban-ban-ban format for a random while Red was already on thin ice, so to speak. He was told to stop, he didn't; he got gagged, he gag evaded. That enough warrants punishment.  He was warned on unban, he was warned on server, but the moment escaped him as he made a mistake. I do think that the focus of the punishment should be on the gag evasion and less on the toxicity as there are more members than just him that shittalk just like that and get away with it for god knows why.
To be clear I don't have an issue with red personally; I think he can be very chill. The evidence is here that he was not chill at the time. I think that's something he can improve on as he has already improved for the better (as others stated.) He was willing to come back after the first ban and do better he might do better again. I don't think there is a reason to report abuse for this case as precious did what any staff would do in the situation. I think the reasoning is a little debatable as the main breaking point was the gag evasion. Hopefully if he does come back he can reflect on this moment for improvement. It's hard to determine tone over text and what he may have seen as friendly banter might not come across as such. Like I said before this kind of shittalking isn't particularly new on tgh. I'd like to see some consistency for some of the other members who seem to get away with this. 
While I think the ban was fair I would like to see him come back and try again as he has made improvements. He shows he is capable of doing better. Hopefully he can find a way to bury the hatchet and make amends. In the mean time I'll drop my current worthless +1.
Tl;dr
Gag evasion should be seen as the main punishment imo
Half of the shittalking going on isn't particularly uncommon and others who employ the toxic half should have similar expectations.
Saying suck my dick on a server with a lot of gay/bi people is funny as hell.
Precious did nothing wrong imo.
I hope red can do better, as he has shown, if he comes back.

For some context, I was not online during this; The information I have is provided here and through discord; This is my unimportant opinion on the situation.
My main issues with this situation are that Red evaded gag and that what was said wasn't particularly unique in tgh. The gag itself should have been enough of an indicator to not continue the behavior. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment red decided to make a funny and rename himself to evade. A lot of (typically more toxic) randoms tend to use this which issues a kick(since they don't have history in most cases.) Red on the otherhand should know better, but also doesn't have a history(that I know of) for gag evasion. I think this was handled more of a toxicity issue than a gag evasion. Gag evasion, in my opinion, is a lot easier to scale reasonably.
The main issue with determining toxicity stems from intent. Someone of ill intent meaning to effectively bully and harass a user would have more to say than what's basically commonplace. For starters, furfag itself is a joke title. Calling people furfags on tgh isn't anything new and in some cases used as friendly banter. I don't think that this case specifically applies for friendly banter however I don't find it alone strong enough to point at toxicity. I do think that some part of the intent with furfag here was ill meaning. "ur so shit" is definitely not in good intent as it's clearly said to make the other party more upset in the same way as saying "ez" and co. Calling furries "fucking weirdos" on a server with a lot of furries is asking for trouble. However, I don't think it's uncommon. Furries being called weird is almost a daily occurrence in terms of tgh conversation from my own experience. I don't think this case was in ill intent. The issue is the timing adds salt to the wound of him already stirring the pot with "shut the fuck up," "ur a fuckhead," and "ez." Lastly, "suck my dick" the ending words and the rename for gag evasion. Two things, saying suck my dick on tgh (where non surprisingly a lot of people are gay) is funny in of itself because the sheer irony. Secondly, saying variations of dick sucking is so uncommon it's a laughable way to end an argument. It's the slightly more vulgar "no u." in my opinion which makes it even funnier.
I think that seeing furfag, suck my dick, and "you are all fucking weirdos"  aren't really enough on their own with context to show the levels of toxicity that was clearly received. I do think however his shittalking (ur, so shit, ur a fuckhead, ez) Isn't acceptable but still ends up as commonplace on tgh, unfortunately. I think the reasoning was fair from the perspective of Precious. However there is still the can of worms that this behavior *it seems like* is punished on some more than others. I don't think that it's really fair to say that his situation is far worse than if a random joined and did the same actions. I believe the punishment would be delivered in the gag-kick-ban-ban-ban format for a random while Red was already on thin ice, so to speak. He was told to stop, he didn't; he got gagged, he gag evaded. That enough warrants punishment.  He was warned on unban, he was warned on server, but the moment escaped him as he made a mistake. I do think that the focus of the punishment should be on the gag evasion and less on the toxicity as there are more members than just him that shittalk just like that and get away with it for god knows why.
To be clear I don't have an issue with red personally; I think he can be very chill. The evidence is here that he was not chill at the time. I think that's something he can improve on as he has already improved for the better (as others stated.) He was willing to come back after the first ban and do better he might do better again. I don't think there is a reason to report abuse for this case as precious did what any staff would do in the situation. I think the reasoning is a little debatable as the main breaking point was the gag evasion. Hopefully if he does come back he can reflect on this moment for improvement. It's hard to determine tone over text and what he may have seen as friendly banter might not come across as such. Like I said before this kind of shittalking isn't particularly new on tgh. I'd like to see some consistency for some of the other members who seem to get away with this. 
While I think the ban was fair I would like to see him come back and try again as he has made improvements. He shows he is capable of doing better. Hopefully he can find a way to bury the hatchet and make amends. In the mean time I'll drop my current worthless +1.
Tl;dr
Gag evasion should be seen as the main punishment imo
Half of the shittalking going on isn't particularly uncommon and others who employ the toxic half should have similar expectations.
Saying suck my dick on a server with a lot of gay/bi people is funny as hell.
Precious did nothing wrong imo.
I hope red can do better, as he has shown, if he comes back.

For some context, I was not online during this; The information I have is provided here and through discord; This is my unimportant opinion on the situation.
My main issues with this situation are that Red evaded gag and that what was said wasn't particularly unique in tgh. The gag itself should have been enough of an indicator to not continue the behavior. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment red decided to make a funny and rename himself to evade. A lot of (typically more toxic) randoms tend to use this which issues a kick(since they don't have history in most cases.) Red on the otherhand should know better, but also doesn't have a history(that I know of) for gag evasion. I think this was handled more of a toxicity issue than a gag evasion. Gag evasion, in my opinion, is a lot easier to scale reasonably.
The main issue with determining toxicity stems from intent. Someone of ill intent meaning to effectively bully and harass a user would have more to say than what's basically commonplace. For starters, furfag itself is a joke title. Calling people furfags on tgh isn't anything new and in some cases used as friendly banter. I don't think that this case specifically applies for friendly banter however I don't find it alone strong enough to point at toxicity. I do think that some part of the intent with furfag here was ill meaning. "ur so shit" is definitely not in good intent as it's clearly said to make the other party more upset in the same way as saying "ez" and co. Calling furries "fucking weirdos" on a server with a lot of furries is asking for trouble. However, I don't think it's uncommon. Furries being called weird is almost a daily occurrence in terms of tgh conversation from my own experience. I don't think this case was in ill intent. The issue is the timing adds salt to the wound of him already stirring the pot with "shut the fuck up," "ur a fuckhead," and "ez." Lastly, "suck my dick" the ending words and the rename for gag evasion. Two things, saying suck my dick on tgh (where non surprisingly a lot of people are gay) is funny in of itself because the sheer irony. Secondly, saying variations of dick sucking is so uncommon it's a laughable way to end an argument. It's the slightly more vulgar "no u." in my opinion which makes it even funnier.
I think that seeing furfag, suck my dick, and "you are all fucking weirdos"  aren't really enough on their own with context to show the levels of toxicity that was clearly received. I do think however his shittalking (ur, so shit, ur a fuckhead, ez) Isn't acceptable but still ends up as commonplace on tgh, unfortunately. I think the reasoning was fair from the perspective of Precious. However there is still the can of worms that this behavior *it seems like* is punished on some more than others. I don't think that it's really fair to say that his situation is far worse than if a random joined and did the same actions. I believe the punishment would be delivered in the gag-kick-ban-ban-ban format for a random while Red was already on thin ice, so to speak. He was told to stop, he didn't; he got gagged, he gag evaded. That enough warrants punishment.  He was warned on unban, he was warned on server, but the moment escaped him as he made a mistake. I do think that the focus of the punishment should be on the gag evasion and less on the toxicity as there are more members than just him that shittalk just like that and get away with it for god knows why.
To be clear I don't have an issue with red personally; I think he can be very chill. The evidence is here that he was not chill at the time. I think that's something he can improve on as he has already improved for the better (as others stated.) He was willing to come back after the first ban and do better he might do better again. I don't think there is a reason to report abuse for this case as precious did what any staff would do in the situation. I think the reasoning is a little debatable as the main breaking point was the gag evasion. Hopefully if he does come back he can reflect on this moment for improvement. It's hard to determine tone over text and what he may have seen as friendly banter might not come across as such. Like I said before this kind of shittalking isn't particularly new on tgh. I'd like to see some consistency for some of the other members who seem to get away with this. 
While I think the ban was fair I would like to see him come back and try again as he has made improvements. He shows he is capable of doing better. Hopefully he can find a way to bury the hatchet and make amends. In the mean time I'll drop my current worthless +1.
Tl;dr
Gag evasion should be seen as the main punishment imo
Half of the shittalking going on isn't particularly uncommon and others who employ the toxic half should have similar expectations.
Saying suck my dick on a server with a lot of gay/bi people is funny as hell.
Precious did nothing wrong imo.
I hope red can do better, as he has shown, if he comes back.

For some context, I was not online during this; The information I have is provided here and through discord; This is my unimportant opinion on the situation.
My main issues with this situation are that Red evaded gag and that what was said wasn't particularly unique in tgh. The gag itself should have been enough of an indicator to not continue the behavior. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment red decided to make a funny and rename himself to evade. A lot of (typically more toxic) randoms tend to use this which issues a kick(since they don't have history in most cases.) Red on the otherhand should know better, but also doesn't have a history(that I know of) for gag evasion. I think this was handled more of a toxicity issue than a gag evasion. Gag evasion, in my opinion, is a lot easier to scale reasonably.
The main issue with determining toxicity stems from intent. Someone of ill intent meaning to effectively bully and harass a user would have more to say than what's basically commonplace. For starters, furfag itself is a joke title. Calling people furfags on tgh isn't anything new and in some cases used as friendly banter. I don't think that this case specifically applies for friendly banter however I don't find it alone strong enough to point at toxicity. I do think that some part of the intent with furfag here was ill meaning. "ur so shit" is definitely not in good intent as it's clearly said to make the other party more upset in the same way as saying "ez" and co. Calling furries "fucking weirdos" on a server with a lot of furries is asking for trouble. However, I don't think it's uncommon. Furries being called weird is almost a daily occurrence in terms of tgh conversation from my own experience. I don't think this case was in ill intent. The issue is the timing adds salt to the wound of him already stirring the pot with "shut the fuck up," "ur a fuckhead," and "ez." Lastly, "suck my dick" the ending words and the rename for gag evasion. Two things, saying suck my dick on tgh (where non surprisingly a lot of people are gay) is funny in of itself because the sheer irony. Secondly, saying variations of dick sucking is so uncommon it's a laughable way to end an argument. It's the slightly more vulgar "no u." in my opinion which makes it even funnier.
I think that seeing furfag, suck my dick, and "you are all fucking weirdos"  aren't really enough on their own with context to show the levels of toxicity that was clearly received. I do think however his shittalking (ur, so shit, ur a fuckhead, ez) Isn't acceptable but still ends up as commonplace on tgh, unfortunately. I think the reasoning was fair from the perspective of Precious. However there is still the can of worms that this behavior *it seems like* is punished on some more than others. I don't think that it's really fair to say that his situation is far worse than if a random joined and did the same actions. I believe the punishment would be delivered in the gag-kick-ban-ban-ban format for a random while Red was already on thin ice, so to speak. He was told to stop, he didn't; he got gagged, he gag evaded. That enough warrants punishment.  He was warned on unban, he was warned on server, but the moment escaped him as he made a mistake. I do think that the focus of the punishment should be on the gag evasion and less on the toxicity as there are more members than just him that shittalk just like that and get away with it for god knows why.
To be clear I don't have an issue with red personally; I think he can be very chill. The evidence is here that he was not chill at the time. I think that's something he can improve on as he has already improved for the better (as others stated.) He was willing to come back after the first ban and do better he might do better again. I don't think there is a reason to report abuse for this case as precious did what any staff would do in the situation. I think the reasoning is a little debatable as the main breaking point was the gag evasion. Hopefully if he does come back he can reflect on this moment for improvement. It's hard to determine tone over text and what he may have seen as friendly banter might not come across as such. Like I said before this kind of shittalking isn't particularly new on tgh. I'd like to see some consistency for some of the other members who seem to get away with this. 
While I think the ban was fair I would like to see him come back and try again as he has made improvements. He shows he is capable of doing better. Hopefully he can find a way to bury the hatchet and make amends. In the mean time I'll drop my current worthless +1.
Tl;dr
Gag evasion should be seen as the main punishment imo
Half of the shittalking going on isn't particularly uncommon and others who employ the toxic half should have similar expectations.
Saying suck my dick on a server with a lot of gay/bi people is funny as hell.
Precious did nothing wrong imo.
I hope red can do better, as he has shown, if he comes back.

All though I am a higher-up, I feel/felt the same way. I was not the child of an invisible promo but I have never seen the issue with them unless the community as a whole is finding an issue with it. I think its kind of like a see-saw. The higher-ups make a call and the community checks it, or the community makes the call and the higher-ups check it. I trust the other higher-ups and I trust the community. But @Ms.Spooks has just as valid a point about favoritism. Ultimately - personally, I feel silent promotions are an issue, but only if you don't have faith in the higher-ups to make the right call. 

I can say that 2018 xG is better than 2010-2013. More enjoyable and friendly 

Personally I'm in the boat that silent member to staff promotions are a bad thing. It opens the doors for favoritism and  closes the door for people to say why said people shouldn't be staff. While I can understand the ease of process(as my first time getting staff was silent and when I came back from my break was also silent) It does prevent the discussion from being had of why someone is not optimal for their position. I'm all for reducing personal bias in the application process. It's too easy for someone to be chummy with higher ups and ask for staff i m o. I am also not looking to shit on current staff who have been silent promoted or the higherups who have employed it. I do think that having the opportunity to dispute the promotion with a -1  is a good thing. At the end of the day a -1 can be dismissed if the reasoning isn't clear or accurate but someone who already gets promoted is just going to stir more internal drama from the people who did want them in. All in all though higherups do have the final say.
Overall I think that promotions should be handled clearly and well defined so people aren't suddenly surprised that someone else got staff just because they chill in a discord with a higherup. In my opinion the times that silent promotions end up being abused are few and far between. The potential for the worst is still present. ideally bad staff should eventually be siphoned out before they're a problem. However, there are times that moderators who have been silent promoted have gone untouched because either favoritism or not enough evidence of poor performance were provided.
I say silent promotions shouldn't be a thing even in the case of returning staff. While it's easy to point out what staff were good previously and they SHOULD be good again it doesn't mean their circumstance hasn't changed. The time away from being staff does affect how the community perceives them. It should be a matter of consistency as essentially they're trying to be staff from member again. Case by case can be more extreme from silent leaving to toxicity or whatnot. Opening a window to air the shit so to speak is a good way to get certain distrusts out of the way. If there are no problems then it shouldn't affect the staff returning negatively. The most that'd be asked of them is just to sum up why they want to be staff again.
I'm all for keeping things out from closed doors so to speak. Openness and clarity should be what the community deserves. I think the application process is a good way to provide that outlet. I'm not exactly the most passionate about the subject but I want to throw my two cents in since this ended up getting thrown on my "Hello again." thread in regards to me. That told me a couple things. 1 is that not everyone is happy about how I left and they want to make it clear and 2 It's easy to pass favoritism when you're on the receiving end. I don't care much to stir bad blood, however I don't think they should be denied voicing their complaints (as long as it's within the community guidelines.)
Tl;dr
That's a no from me.

Just to get the bias out of the way, i have never made a staff app before and all my promotions have been due to being good friends with higher ups and (hopefully) for being a good staff member.
To add onto what @LeToucan said, there is almost no way we'll be getting rid of silent promotions entirely as it easily helps us regulate the amount of staff we feel like we need at the moment (high pop times during summers usually see a bunch of promotions, even if we usually never have the expectation of them sticking around for a longer period of time).
If people believe there is some sort of conspiracy around us higher ups to only promote our friends and thats the reason we need to disallow silent promotions, we really need to take a look at what we can do to regain that trust.
 
Abuse reports is actually something i was talking to @Tatost about yesterday on discord, and id just like to drop some pointers regarding those real quick.
An abuse report can be made at any time for any reason, as long as you believe you have been unfairly treated. HOWEVER, just because you make an abuse report does not mean that the staff member in question will be demoted. For example, the situation yesterday was pretty minor in the grand scheme of things and it would very likely not have ended up in any punishment past a warning (if tatost was in the right) but i still encouraged him to make an abuse report because it sets an example and gives us as higher ups the heads up that "hey, someone is unhappy with this person, we should keep an eye on them".
 
You guys have the potential to do a lot of things and its up to you guys to hold the higher-ups accountable for their decisions but that requires you guys to actively raise your voice when we do something bad. That said, i also believe that you should place some trust in the higher ups, we all want the community to be the very very best but we cant please everyone and sometimes we do get things wrong. If there are any doubts around that its something we need to work on and adress as soon as we can.
 
Great thread @Precious

I'll give you guys my reasoning for "invisible promotions".
People don't need to apply to be a good candidate for being a staff member. You guys have to remember that higher-ups are the position that they are because we have a lot of trust in them. We believe in their judgement, and they have experienced through a ton of good and bad staff throughout their time in xG. They take time to discuss if a member who hasn't applied deserves to be staff, and they always reach a consensus before doing so. Of course, we have changed it so we ask the individual if they want staff or not before the promotion takes place. The higher-ups also talk to their fellow staff / friends to get more input, so it's not 1 person who single handedly promotes a member to staff.
People can easily get demoted if they don't deserve staff. Please do not confuse member protests with admin abuse threads. Staff do get a few chances as human error is bound to happen, but people can make mistakes even if they had everyone +1 them. There are also multiple instances where admin abuse threads popped up on people that only had one side of the story, where the accusers were hiding the information to make the staff look bad. If someone is caught Slay All or other abusing instances, they can get demoted if it's a problem. 
People under 14 can still get staff. This is rare, but is always on a case-by-case basis. You can think of it in the real world as someone who gets a job offer without filling the requirements. That is also why (at least in CS:GO) we sometimes allow people to post a mod app without getting 50 posts on the forums. If we feel like we need more input on if someone should get staff, letting them apply doesn't hurt. 
These discussions never hurt, and I'm happy to improve a system if you guys feel it is broken. From the staff we have promoted that haven't applied themselves so far in recent memory, at least to the best of my knowledge, none of them have had a negative impact on our community. After a while, you  get a good idea if someone would be a good staff member or not just from interacting with them.
If anyone has anything that they feel contradicts any of my statements, I'm happy to read it so I'll keep this thread open.

To put a little perspective on how these "silent promotions" work, here's how the promotion / demotion process works for higher ups. It varies a bit from division to division, but it's in general the same.
A thread/discussion is created for promotions and demotions All prospective (Both members that have applied and not applied) staff are discussed thoroughly All higher ups of the division get input All community managers/Aegean can see all discussion Feedback must be valid, and is under scrutiny of all higher ups, including CMs/CLs (CSGO exclusive?) Goes through chat logs to see how they interact when staff is not available Use GameME to see activity on servers Higher ups come to a unanimous decision After discussion, approval goes to CMs We almost never disagree upon decisions, I honestly cant remember the last time we rejected someone If the prospective staff hasn't applied, they should be contacted to see if they would accept the position To my knowledge, this hasn't always been followed, but we will certainly follow up with higher ups to ensure that this happens In addition, +1/-1 on a staff application is not entirely representative of if someone will be promoted. We appreciate your feedback, but someone who receives all +1s is not guaranteed to get staff, just as someone who receives majority -1s is not guaranteed to not get staff. Everything is always taken on a case by case basis. Getting "Chummy" with higher ups is not necessarily a way to get staff (see @Jaydow CSGO Division Manager position). I can safely say that there's nothing more annoying than someone asking for staff, and they almost never get promoted any time soon. Obviously, getting to know higher ups is going to get you promoted quicker, as they'll know you better. Honestly, that's life, anyone who's been working before knows that the better relationship you have with your boss, you're probably going to get promoted quicker. This also assumes that you deserve to be promoted, as I've gotten to know people better and realized "Wow, I'll never promote that guy" before, even when I like them as a person.
As for bad staff, staff are held to a high standard. Of course, you learn through mistakes, and our staff are people too. But for example, toxicity and abuse will never be tolerated, and its quiet easy to remove staff that don't deserve powers. Anyone can post a staff abuse thread, and demotions can occur without a staff abuse thread. I've found that many times that people don't want another person to be staff hasn't actually been due to if the person does or doesn't deserve staff, but more personal vendettas against one another.
Edit: I'll also be moving this to General, as this applies to all divisions
 

Personally I'm in the boat that silent member to staff promotions are a bad thing. It opens the doors for favoritism and  closes the door for people to say why said people shouldn't be staff. While I can understand the ease of process(as my first time getting staff was silent and when I came back from my break was also silent) It does prevent the discussion from being had of why someone is not optimal for their position. I'm all for reducing personal bias in the application process. It's too easy for someone to be chummy with higher ups and ask for staff i m o. I am also not looking to shit on current staff who have been silent promoted or the higherups who have employed it. I do think that having the opportunity to dispute the promotion with a -1  is a good thing. At the end of the day a -1 can be dismissed if the reasoning isn't clear or accurate but someone who already gets promoted is just going to stir more internal drama from the people who did want them in. All in all though higherups do have the final say.
Overall I think that promotions should be handled clearly and well defined so people aren't suddenly surprised that someone else got staff just because they chill in a discord with a higherup. In my opinion the times that silent promotions end up being abused are few and far between. The potential for the worst is still present. ideally bad staff should eventually be siphoned out before they're a problem. However, there are times that moderators who have been silent promoted have gone untouched because either favoritism or not enough evidence of poor performance were provided.
I say silent promotions shouldn't be a thing even in the case of returning staff. While it's easy to point out what staff were good previously and they SHOULD be good again it doesn't mean their circumstance hasn't changed. The time away from being staff does affect how the community perceives them. It should be a matter of consistency as essentially they're trying to be staff from member again. Case by case can be more extreme from silent leaving to toxicity or whatnot. Opening a window to air the shit so to speak is a good way to get certain distrusts out of the way. If there are no problems then it shouldn't affect the staff returning negatively. The most that'd be asked of them is just to sum up why they want to be staff again.
I'm all for keeping things out from closed doors so to speak. Openness and clarity should be what the community deserves. I think the application process is a good way to provide that outlet. I'm not exactly the most passionate about the subject but I want to throw my two cents in since this ended up getting thrown on my "Hello again." thread in regards to me. That told me a couple things. 1 is that not everyone is happy about how I left and they want to make it clear and 2 It's easy to pass favoritism when you're on the receiving end. I don't care much to stir bad blood, however I don't think they should be denied voicing their complaints (as long as it's within the community guidelines.)
Tl;dr
That's a no from me.

The good old days where you get permed for saying "kys". Let's also not forget how if you said "perm me no balls" you'd get permed instantly. God, I miss it.

Oh boy where do I start. 
I guess I'll start off by talking about my leaving. To be honest I left in a storm. I feel like I hurt a lot of people in the crossfire of my anger. Im sorry to those people. I'd also like to apologize to the members I let down. I wanted to provide the support I could for you guys and because I felt hurt and betrayed so I put myself first. It wasnt fair for you guys.
I also want to apologize for going dark for so long. In case you don't know I've been under the guise of myagic for a while. It's taken me a long time to not feel so sour. With the recent state of staff however I feel a lot more comfortble in my return. Those who I've *unintentionally* hurt I want to bury the hatchet, if I havent already. 
I would like to be a part of the community again and hopefully most of you can forgive me in time. There was a lot of behind the scenes activities that left me hurt for a while. I was hoping to shed light in those issues when I left which for the most part I feel has been corrected. The state of xg *from what I've seen on the sidelines* has improved in a lot of ways.
I'm hoping for a fresh start. I'm not looking for handouts. I dont know if I'm even considering staff in the near future. In time when I feel a bit more connected to the community again I may go for staff again. I just want to be clear my intentions are not set for staff again. I just want to feel involved with the community again. I hope we can move forward together. 
Thanks for your time.

Welcome back! Please don't hesitate to talk to a higher-up including myself if you have any concerns in the future so we can address them or clear up any misconceptions.

Nice selective reading. 
 

Eh, to be honest neither of you can say that xG is in its best place when neither of you have been round for more than 2 years. I would even struggle to say it myself, playing the servers since 2013 and joining in 2014. Oldfags would 100% say like 2011-2013. It's all subject to opinion.
Yeah, it's better than it was, in my opinion, to the end of last year. But you've gotta have experienced the whole thing or at least a large time here to really say when the best time was.
Regardless, this is irrelevant to the thread ?

This isn't the place to discuss this. If you have a problem with how people are chosen to become staff on xG, make an independent forum post about it. This is a hello/apology post where spooks herself literally said she's not going for staff right now, so there's no reason you should be discussing that here unless your intention is to start drama.
Also hello and welcome back @Ms.Spooks, It's good to see you again! I believe xG is the best it has ever been currently, and I think your return will only make things better. I do hope you stick around, and remember to let staff know if you have any problems or questions! We'd be happy to help! ? 

Oh boy where do I start. 
I guess I'll start off by talking about my leaving. To be honest I left in a storm. I feel like I hurt a lot of people in the crossfire of my anger. Im sorry to those people. I'd also like to apologize to the members I let down. I wanted to provide the support I could for you guys and because I felt hurt and betrayed so I put myself first. It wasnt fair for you guys.
I also want to apologize for going dark for so long. In case you don't know I've been under the guise of myagic for a while. It's taken me a long time to not feel so sour. With the recent state of staff however I feel a lot more comfortble in my return. Those who I've *unintentionally* hurt I want to bury the hatchet, if I havent already. 
I would like to be a part of the community again and hopefully most of you can forgive me in time. There was a lot of behind the scenes activities that left me hurt for a while. I was hoping to shed light in those issues when I left which for the most part I feel has been corrected. The state of xg *from what I've seen on the sidelines* has improved in a lot of ways.
I'm hoping for a fresh start. I'm not looking for handouts. I dont know if I'm even considering staff in the near future. In time when I feel a bit more connected to the community again I may go for staff again. I just want to be clear my intentions are not set for staff again. I just want to feel involved with the community again. I hope we can move forward together. 
Thanks for your time.

Fantastic to see you officially back. Although I know you're already aware of this, if you have any issues please come straight to me or any higherup. Things will be sorted instantaneously. If you want staff again just let a higherup know. I know for a fact we would all welcome you back with open arms. ?
Once again, welcome back!