In the effort to be transparent, I've attempted to talk through concerns with a large part of the community today in private. It's difficult to keep up in a large thread like this one which moves quickly, but if I've missed you and you have a particular concern that you believe I can elucidate on or discuss further, please, as always, don't hesitate to PM me here, on SmogTours or Skype or Discord or any of them.
The main concern I am seeing throughout these posts is the nature that the information was obtained. I am going to pose a question that, if written without a disclaimer, would come across as entirely insincere, but I'd like to assure anyone reading of my complete and utter sincerity in writing it: what should we have done with that information?
The way that I see it, there was a "scandalous" part on either end of the situation. 1) if we had taken the information and methodically gone through it (as was the case in what happened), we give tacit credence to the hacker and validate their effort in some way. 2) if we had done nothing with the information and it came out eventually (as it always would) that we had received 100% firm evidence that team Germany engaged in these behaviors, there would be accusations of favoritism and misapplication of the public rules (especially considering there is a number of Tournament Community Darlings implicated)
I see a third option tentatively posed in this thread, that being: "soft" ban the users, don't make a public announcement for it, speak to them and reason with them privately. There's definitely some merit to this, and it is an option that I think we could have reviewed further (I speak for myself only when saying this, I don't know what the other TD Team Members think about this option). The negative part to this side though is that we would eventually have to explain why German members cannot play in tournaments, and I think surely the hacker (who is, most certainly, a part of this community) would catch on pretty quickly that his efforts were vindicated. I do however appreciate the idea that there was a more tactful way in which this could have been handled, and am open to feedback in order to have a learning moment should something of this nature happen again going forward (please, god, no).
I hope that I come across as completely and 100% sincere and honest in saying that I think this was handled to the best of our abilities. As I've learned in my life, career, and interpersonal relationships, there is not a perfect answer ready for every situation, and in some cases even the "best" answer can remain elusive. I'd like to take in community feedback about this incident, any critiques and criticisms of how I (or we, though I hesitate to speak for everyone) handled it and how best to approach similar situations in the future. I took the badge because I want to bring the best environment possible to the rest of you, so that everyone - from a 3 post wonder to the guy who's been grinding in ST since 2005 - can have an enjoyable tournament experience. Shaka Brah is right - it's a community focused game, for the most part we all play only because we enjoy hanging out and shooting the shit with one another, and I'm realizing quite quickly that the "line" and how to foster a good environment is quite thin and difficult to land on.
So I'll reiterate once more, please feel free to reach out to me any time and I'd be more than glad to discuss any concerns, and will take any constructive criticism and apply it appropriately in my dealings as a Tournament Director going forward.