I agree with the above. The Social Contract is quite clear, no public accusations without substantial proof.
That is not actually what it says. The qualifier of 'substantial' is not present, which is not an insignificant difference. In other words,
there is nothing wrong with a public accusation of cheating so long as it is supported by proof or evidence. This fact should not be overlooked by us.
It seems to me that the Vanimedle player in fact
did offer both reasoning and potential evidence to support this claim. I direct your attention to this portion of his message in particular:
... the secession of Colasan, and then Ozrat was planned by friends for ages in advance, and then all the titles and appointments were given to certain players the moment they joined, and were reserved until they joined.
The thing I am unclear of, and which may be indicatory of guilt, is how the Vanimelde player came across this information, whether it is reliable, or whether it is true at all. If not, then his claim becomes one of an unsupported accusation, and subject to the penalties involved as such.
As to Don Smith, it appears as though he was merely forwarding a message. That message, it's source, and Don's reasoning behind posting it publicly, I feel are subject to the exact same test I applied to the Vanimelde player. If Don had no reason to believe the evidence was anything more than hearsay or fantasy, then both he and the original sender of that message might be subject to reprimand. However, we must also examine whether or not the message was forwarded to a public audience. I, for one, would not consider the ruler channel to be a public audience, and would therefor be opposed to any reprimand against Don Smith.
This said, Indirik (whom I trust) has already stated there was no OOC activity behind the scenes of this realm's secession. Therefor, I find it unlikely that the evidence provided alongside these claims is anything more than fantasy, and must call in to question the innocence of David D, Don Smith, and the player of the anonymous message (who I will locate later if need be).
Update: The author of the anonymous message was the Vanimedle player. However, as it was sent directly to the ruler of Cathay, I would hardly say it should be subject to any reprimand on its own merit.
