Dear Nodeka Players -

    It has come to my attention that some players have voiced their concern
    regarding the return of Leben. I have decided to write a brief memo
    explaining the "why" of his return.

    As many of you know, enforcing the Nodeka rules is a primary concern that
    we take very seriously. In the past, I have gone to great lengths to ensure
    the rules of Nodeka have been followed. In some of these cases, I have had
    to make extremely difficult decisions that involved deleting my own staff
    members since they had been caught breaking the rules. In other cases, I
    have reversed decisions that I had personally made because the evidence
    against the person was not sufficient. Leben falls into the latter category.

    For the last month, Leben has been appealing the sentence we placed on him.
    In the ten years I have been running Nodeka, I have seen a variety of pleas
    for leniency. Many of these pleas are out of regret for breaking the rules.
    Leben's plea was not. Instead, his plea was a request to be heard as he had
    argued from the beginning that we were making a mistake. As I continued to
    see his requests, I revisited our evidence against him and saw the weakness
    of our initial argument.

    Yesterday, I spent an hour talking to Leben on the phone. After he clearly
    explained the situation to me, I realized I had made a mistake and that
    he was innocent. The initial evidence we had was weak and Leben's story
    moved the evidence from being weak to worthless.

    As a prior MUDder, I know what it means to dedicate hours, days, months and
    years into building your character. I also know what it means to lose all
    of that in seconds due to a discrepancy or difference of opinion. For the
    last 10 years, I have run and created Nodeka in the way I feel is best for
    everyone. Sometimes these decisions will hurt you, sometimes they will help
    you. But no matter what the decision, you will always know that the decision
    I am making is what I believe is in the best interest of Nodeka. Leben's
    case is no different. I have treated Leben in the same way I would treat any
    Nodeka player; with patience and fairness.

    I know these decisions can be frustrating for players who believe they have
    insight that I lack. I ask that you trust my judgement, as you have for the
    last decade, and know that every decision I make is made in the most fair,
    ethical and rational way I can.

    Thank you for continuing to support Nodeka.

    Best Regards,
    Nijlo