Any updates on payments or chargebacks/Aug doing other sneaky shit? Unfortunately I think at this point it's getting to be too late to try for anything new in terms of refunds.
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'm not someone involved in any way shape or form. I do want to say that the site does still work. But it may be due to me not even being a member(I hadn't even heard of northernruins before the PSA came out)
I did SS while I was at it to double-check if the site did have a 404 error.
news post
From an outsider's perspective, the refusal to show proof of his claims makes him look worse. Regardless, I hope the SS helps.
For any info about the post above me, since I deleted my original comment, I had gotten a 404 error code when I was originally checking the page. It could have been from my wifi connection messing up (I have been—and still am—dealing with issues with connecting to my home wifi).
But I am still unsure of it, because this is the first time I’ve ever seen a 404 error code look like this. (And it strays away from the main point of the thread, but my wifi issue is literally only my inability to connect to my home wifi; I can connect to other wifi + my hotspot/4G with no issues). But with that in mind, it was the only website that I had an issue with loading for a short time. And my issue wouldn’t have affected any website access aside from being slower because I was running out of it.
I’m linking the screenshot I took of the homepage with the error code: https://sta.sh/018ci08u9cfm
Has anyone gotten this same look of a 404 error page anywhere, or is it an exclusive error page for NR (like DeviantART with Fella shrugging or standing in front of caution tape)? I’d like to know the legitimacy of this, or if I ended up catching something weird at the right time?
In any case, I am glad that it helped prompt someone to take a look themselves and take screenshots of a post online. I have to agree that the fact that he won’t show any screenshots himself makes himself look even worse, since he is refusing to show anything to back himself up. He’s expecting you to just take his word with NO evidence against the word of several other people WITH evidence.
Any updates on people's refunds or anything else going on? Just really concerned about how everything going on.
I haven't myself posted to the thread myself yet, but many people I care about very much were negatively affected by Komugitsune's appalling behavior. I wish the best of luck to every single person affected by their abuse and scamming, I hope you are able to heal from traumas they caused you and that you are given the compensation you rightfully deserve. I also hope Komugitsune never interferes with your life again and that burden can be lifted from your shoulders so you can have peace. And Komugitsune if you ever read this I hope you never show your face in the online community again, you have hurt so many people and you have no right to ever invite yourself into their lives again, I hope you realize this was entirely your doing and do the bare minimum and improve as a human being.
Today PayPal ruled in my favor in the case and will refund me for the slot I paid for and I hope everyone who is owed a refund will have their case close in their favor.
Been following this for a while...apparently there is a user on Strudel-Cafe called Komugitsune, even the Toyhou.se linked on the profile links to his TH. (I think you'll need to sign up/in to view the profile, but took screens)
Looking at their masterlist entry being a free MYO (given to all new signups), within the first 10 pages of a pretty active set of subspecies and there being little activity, it might be new...
Not sure what there was to imply other than as a head's up for people, tbh.
With how extensive the issue is here? Not going to want to interact with him accidentally.