I've known he was talented and I've defended him, including behind the scenes to other people turned off by the 'wall-of-text' posts, but there isn't much I can do if you attack other mods or even the owner of the site.
He was given a three day cool-down suspension which became a perma-ban when he decided to attack the site, Darksoft, and other members on Twitter. Once that happened there was zero I could do. No way to fix that relationship, at least in the near future. He 100% believes he was totally wronged but of course it's never that cut and dry. Unfortunately a blow-up like this was months in the making.
I know there are others that have felt like they have been picked on here. Moderating is not always easy. You dont want to run off talented people but also want normal members trying to learn to always feel comfortable.
As an example, and I wont mention any names (though many of you will remember), when the site was new we had a very talented guy join. We even offered a spot as a mod to him. Unfortunately he was too abrasive to fairly moderate and we made the difficult decision to remove him as a mod even though it also meant losing his talents.
There are very few people in the arcade scene that move the needle. There is a lot of politics that happens behind the scenes. Darksoft has negotiated the release of a lot of info since we started this site. A lot of info that was kept close to the vest by talented people. I fully understand finnestere's frustration with what he sees as the lack of openness some have with information. But lashing out is not the way to get that info. You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.
We will continue to do what we do behind the scenes to learn new things. Some info cant be released publicly for various reasons but sooner or later it all will be. I accepted long ago, with the way the whole Neo-Geo.com debacle happened, that we cant make everyone happy. Though I will always try. To a point. Defending myself doesn't change many minds so I will do that to a point also.
When it comes to this situation, that point is now.
To those people who think we dont try to be fair, we do. We really do try. But unpopular decisions must be made sometimes. And feelings will inevitably get hurt.
We are moving on and I suggest everyone else does as well. This is not productive.