I'm not sure how to reach out to everyone that doesn't have TH to let them know what's happened, but if anyone has any suggestions I'd be grateful for them.
This is here in case the original letter is taken down from Northern Ruins.
Before delving into the details, keep several things in mind.
This all happened because two staff members, Min and Yolk, quit after not being allowed to discuss the idea of compensation for hundreds of hours of work in just the past few months. We just quit after leaving behind a notice of resignation with grievances in only the mod server. The goal was never to hurt Northern Ruins because despite all this, we still dearly loved it and, above all, its community. Northern Ruins contained so many friends that we would not want to hurt just because we were quitting. The only one who had the power to delete the servers was Aug despite what he has been relaying to people. And keep in mind, he has yet to release a comprehensive statement just explaining things to the people caught in the crossfire of his decisions.
Also note, Aug has not made any attempt to directly contact Min nor Yolk after quitting. Min has not been available for contact since the stress of the situation has landed them in the ER so lack of contact with Min might be excusable. However, Yolk has always been open to civil conversation and has told such to each and every messenger Aug has sent his way. Almost every messenger seemed to also think that Min and Yolk were at some fault for the servers being taken down or for the supposed destruction of Northern Ruins. As said previously, we merely quit because of lack of compensation. The only thing that was directly changed was that Min repossessed unpaid decorative code that they wrote and are the rightful owner of. Min left a lot of the code they themselves paid for along with other things on the site despite everything to make sure the site stayed perfectly functional with the database intact.
All destructive actions are by Aug’s hand only.
Plus, it was by his suggestion Yolk quit initially and Min followed soon after.
While Aug will repeatedly say he would have given compensation if he had known, he was the one who did not even want to discuss it in the first place. That is an undeniable fact. The issue is not a matter of money but rather a matter of fairness, transparency, and attitude. Aug does not entertain the idea of compensation in a transparent manner but instead opts to try to push it off till later. Compensation desired wasn’t even necessarily monetary but since he did not even want to discuss it, he would not have known. Min, who spent hundreds of dollars out of pocket, deserves monetary compensation especially considering their personal situation that Aug is completely aware of. Yolk did not want monetary compensation but rather wanted pets, items, and/or slots that were higher than common. But, again, Aug did not want to discuss compensation and therefore would not have known by his own choice. Note, previous staff-wide compensation was a single common slot. The only scaled compensation was a single Aspirith slot for Min. Compensation was not repeated nor otherwise scaled per work time. ONLY slots for compensation is a slap in the face since it requires work to truly get the benefit. Those bogged down by work by Northern Ruins or otherwise or even personal life would not really get any benefit from the slots at all. He also claims that the privilege to do adopts when he chooses to do them is compensation ignoring the fact that creating the adopts in itself is work. The price of an adopt pays for the adopt’s creation. It does not pay for the cost of the assets done. It does not pay for the cost of the site. It does not pay for the time spent on work for Northern Ruins outside of the adopt.
But, these words are nothing without the evidence to back them up. Aug, we know you keep telling people your version of the truth. So, we will tell our truth with the evidence to back it up.
If you wish to know the truth behind the issue at hand, this link will take you there.
If any questions come up, feel free to comment on the linked sheet. Since some of the images may be small, it is recommended to view it in presentation format. Imgur links will be added later to ease reading. For the sake of not overwhelming people, please do not DM any party involved! Additionally, please do not harass Aug. Even if we have issues with him, we do not want to cause him unneeded trouble in that regard. To be transparent, this letter and the attached compilation of evidence have been created and curated by Yolk. In order to ease the reading process, I have been referring to myself in third person. Min has had a limited amount of input regarding this because they have been hospitalized and are still ongoing treatment. Further details regarding their personal health will not be given at this time to respect their privacy.
Thank you for your time in reading this.
〔Edit 9-May-2021〕
Steve from Gumroad finally learns to read.
"If you haven't gotten your refund yet, you purchased through Gumroad, and you are being ghosted or dismissed by Komugitsune, please email [email protected] directly to get your refunds. They will process the refunds for you."
‣ Gumroad is now giving out refunds!
---
! ! ! ONGOING BREAKING OF TOS AND POTENTIAL SCAMMING ! ! !
Aug is currently upselling several designs despite not adding to their value via commissioned work or through any other valid means.
‣ NotDamien's Statement on Sell Value of Designs
‣ SnorkMaiden's Statement on Sell Value of Designs
‣ Heelies's Statement on Sell Value of Designs
If you wish to keep track of what he is attempting to sell and to see if anything might have inflated sell values, the link to his trade/sell thread is below. If you find something that may have inflated value, please report it and make a comment on his thread about it so more people can know. If you wish to, you can also comment here and I will add it to the list here.
〈Komugitsune's Trade/Sale Thread〉
EDIT: Image Transcription of Slides
PDF Version of Slide (Note: this will not be updated as fast but will be updated alongside the original.)
〔Edit 3-May-2021〕:
I'm adding this edit here since Aug decided, in a relatively confusing move, to lie blatantly on his site about the situation. Considering that, the following links will be added for ease of access to emphasize what he has had a direct hand in. This has gone beyond an issue concerning former staff since it has deeply affected many people unrelated to the original grievances I wrote. I sincerely hope this will help open more eyes to the issue.
I will preface with two important links.
This form is to collect formal evidence against komugitsune (Aug). As of right now, we are prioritizing gathering evidence of financial malpractice in order to strengthen cases against him in PayPal and Gumroad. However, if you have evidence of him doing any unsavory acts, we welcome that as well.
〈Please share this twitter link on the issue.〉
I have been informed that the issue is not well known outside of TH so it would be wonderful if you can spread the word outside.
Please note for posterity that this was done in a midst of a spike in anti-Asian crime. Both Min and I are Asian. Threats of police, in itself, is not a joke. But threatening it in this climate is horrendous especially considering he knows both of our addresses as well as the addresses of many others.
‣ Min's statements against Aug's allegations
‣ Persistent lack of communication
I would like to note that Aug has still never attempted to directly contact me and has blocked me everywhere instead.
‣ Cutting off communication avenues
It has been documented that Rook has been aiding with refunds as well as trying to be an avenue of communication between Aug and everyone else since he refuses to communicate directly. Since they have been cut off, Aug has effectively decided he would rather not face the allegations against him. Aug seems to have been using them as a scapegoat for failed refunds.
‣ Proof of selling traced Picrew design
He sold this to me when we were still friends and he had the picrew image hidden.
‣ Chargeback issues as well as Aug's indecision regarding NR
I don't know why Aug doesn't seem to be settled on what will happen to NR. But I will note his waffling on it seems to correlate with his waffling on refunds.
‣ Proof Aug said despeciesing applies to Official designs
‣ Aug lying about refund issues
I, and others, have experienced this. Aug has repeatedly been trying to lie on paypal about "nobody" trying to communicate with him. He's blocked most people seeking refunds so the only avenue of communication is PayPal where he, again, seems adamant on lying.
‣ Aug blocking those requesting refunds
It should be noted this wasn't a chargeback but a formal request for a refund. Basically, chargebacks seem to be the only valid avenue at this point.
i saw a lot of people commenting in regards to donating to min and i wanted to share their kofi link and i contacted them in regards to it! i want to show this message from them because it clarifies some things for anyone who needs it
Forgot to include the link oops: https://ko-fi.com/alyeong
pings for the recent people who were interested: moonilymoth MANTISPIRE zuckerr VictoryVManga
Rook I think it's a very concerning matter since I believe that the NR has a big community and it's extremely rude to decide the closing of the species/ARPG without letting everyone beforehand. It's quite upsetting to see how things turned out this way and honestly that move is not helping anyone.
I cannot imagine the amount of people spent on the species and could grow so much to fall like this. If Aug is 100% sure that it's closing and no resale/pass the ownership, they should come foward and make an annonucement about this matter before closing everything.
Just because you're the messenger for the refunds of the slots doesn't mean that it's okay to just leave this way. I'd love Aug to make an annonucement for everyone (either on DA or TH) of the closing or pass the ownership to someone else.
I'm sorry but that is just unfair not only for those affected but also for the ENTRIE community NR has.
Zuckerr, I absolutely agree with you, but the reason I'm doing this is because Aug WON'T come forward. For anything. I'm doing my best to help. Please do not direct your frustration at me. I have no admin control over the group, site, or TH.
I agree with zuckerr in most ways (sorry for the ping!). I can only imagine how big the community has become, and as I said before, it is quite a move that Aug decided to shut down the entire community of NR with this situation going on (that others not on TH and saw the PSA would probably have no knowledge of.)
Because of how big the community is I do support the idea of making an official announcement to let everyone know at least the basics of what is going on. Otherwise, there can be more problems that arise that could be have been preventable with one announcement, and Aug should know about this. Could be best if he does come forward but he apparently is not.
Transparency and clarity are always important honestly, and I feel very sorry for those parts of NR and now seeing the NR community gone... And Aug does have issues with that kind of stuff (geez, and that's why this entire drama went down...). Not directing this message at Rook, now it is mostly eyes on Aug and...the issues that still persist.
And also, that's great that Min is willing to accept donations! Someone for sure can make a donation pool for them! :)
Rook, you asked for suggestions and by no means I intented of venting any frustrations (since I'm not part of NR or related to any people here). However, I ,at least, expect you to send the suggestion of aug making an official annonucement of the closing of the species or any other suggestions other people will comment here.
VictoryVManga, don't worry about the ping!
Yolk, thank you so much for the ping and link! ♥
zuckerr Stop placing your expectations on me. I am NOT obligated to do anything. For anyone who's still confused, I am not NR staff. I am only here to help as the last person that Aug is still actively speaking to. I have absolutely no control over his actions and his choices.
And another note, thank you Yolk:
Thank you so much for offering to help, Red!!
I'm sorry if i offended you in any way. For future, i'd recommend you to delete your comment about accepting any suggestions, since if you aren't a mod or anything I don't see why would you open suggestions about NR related stuff. (specially if aug doesn't wanna know anything except refunds of slots)
Hi! Sorry for jumping on this late, I'm not too active in the adoptable community anymore so I was a bit late reacting to this. I used to be a mod for NR years ago so I know my designs are floating around. I, like many of the other mods affected, am totally okay with people voiding or de-speciesing my designs. Please just don't edit over my art and give credit. I'm just shocked that all this happened to people I cared about who I was able to build community with. I haven't been in contact with any of the NR team since stepping down due to life things, but my heart goes out to anyone hurt by this. I still think of the team as a small family of friends I had so if any one of them wants to speak with me my discord is open, just dm me. I hope you all take the time and healing you need! <3
fortuneyolk ofc, tysm! i want to say i dont mean for this to come across as pity or trying to fix augs mistakes by any means. mins compensation is purely HIS problem. however, i do think they deserve donations just in general as one disabled artist to another. their work ethic and coding on the site really was phenonmenal, and id love to show my appreciation and to help keep them fed while all this gets dealt with.
zuckerr i understand the frustrations in any way, but i dont think hitch needs to delete their comment about taking suggestions. while not a mod, they are basically the only person in direct contact with august at this point and doing everything in their power to help manage this situation and make things right. i think its only natural to seek out suggestions for what else to do in terms of notifying the community, because aug seems to absolutely refuse to engage in this situation and make any sort of official statement on his platforms.
VanillaStarburst as for an official announcement, i know the dA group has pretty much kicked everyone off. i think it might help to at least comment on the group page that NR is closing? its not as good as putting out an official journal, but at least its some form of notice for those who might look to the group page and wonder whats going on.
This is a relatively minor update, all things considered, but one comment on the slides pointed out something that really puts an even nastier turn on the initial issue of compensation. The first image shows a view he supposedly has that is in direct contradiction in how he acted in every aspect of his treatment of his mods. The second image shows that he demands that deadlines require a big fee and cannot be shifted as well as that he is allowed to be slow due to his conditions yet he doesn't afford the same thing to his mods. I wasn't even aware of these points on his carrd and neither were some mods I showed. It's sick that he puts forward these things to be his public stance but doesn't think those who work for him deserve the same.
