About the environment
We are aware that there is a lot of speculation at the moment.
Due to this, we would like to kindly remind you that it is against the rules to “badmouth” or otherwise target users, including moderators and staff. This includes the act of “exposing” people, blackmail, and other attempts at painting people in a bad light.
This rule is here for a reason. Though some speculate it is to hide events, the truth is that we have an obligation to keep the environment safe for everyone. We prioritize user safety above the satisfaction of curiosities. And whilst we emphasize with curiosity, we cannot allow curiosity to lead to damage.
Deleting users
We have, to a degree, allowed for users to speculate - and threaten/intimidate others - without getting deleted. However, we have learnt from previous experiences that the only thing that truly helps in these cases, is to delete the people responsible for this behavior.
On the basis of this, we have decided that moving forward, we will have a very low tolerance for damaging speculation and threats (and acts) of “exposing” others. What this means is that if you intend to post anything that is directly damaging statements about anyone, you would be deleted. It also means that if you come back on another account when being deleted and continue the behavior it will result in a ban.
There will be no public statements
We will also not make any comments publicly about any speculation. This is due to the fact that we do not have the time or resources to do so. We also do not want to encourage speculation by setting a precedent where speculation leads us to comment on them. The most important part, however, is that we cannot comment on issues regarding other users. This is because we do not want to put anyone in a negative light or “expose” their wrong-doings, even if this would provide enlightening information. Regardless, it would look hypocritical if we denied you to “expose” others, and then went on to do it ourselves.
What we expect of you
If you do have information that you want staff or the higher ups to take action on, we ask that you contact support at gosupermodel@watagame.com. We are aware that this seems counterintuitive, as goSupermodel would be receiving the complaints, and the complaint is about goSupermodel. However, this is our company and our page, which means that we are the ones who handle these situations.
Also note that, in general, rumors and speculations are rarely the whole truth. Oftentimes, they lack necessary context. This leads to untrue assumptions being made. Whilst speculating is fun, it has harmful consequences for the people it concerns. Moderators - and staff - in particular cannot spend time and resources correcting every assumption, as we have other jobs to do. It also has to do with others' privacy, and not wanting to put others in a bad light by bringing forth enlightening/relevant information. This creates a one-sided story, and we ask that you keep that in mind.
Going forward we hope to see a better understanding of each other and what consequences it may have when you post inaccurate, unconfirmed or speculating content on goSupermodel or in general. This also takes away time and resources that we can put on other more important things.
We thank you for taking the time to read this, and hope you take it to heart. Again, if you have any specific concerns - with proof - please reach out at gosupermodel@watagame.com. Upper management also have access to this email, so do not worry that we are “burying” evidence.
The statement was made as there were multiple users threatening to “expose” different users, eg. “Tonight I am going to show everyone that x is a bully” or “we are going to dox someone tonight”. This is the type of behavior we are looking to sanction, not harmless stuff like “I wonder if there’ll be a new collection soon”.
More “medium” grade speculation, such as “I wonder why x got deleted” would not be sanctioned harshly. We apologize for not making this clearler earlier, as we see that it has caused a lot of anxiety.
Again, if you have concrete evidence about a user doing something bad, report it to the moderator inbox. If you have concerns regarding staff or moderators, message gosupermodel@watagame.com.
We are also going to focus on making the community a safer space for minorities. Expect changes to the rules to come in the following week! We are sorry for not being able to get this done sooner.
