ATTN: Everyone, concerning Riley and his position as CFO

Mirandha Laflor said:

I think it's important for more transparency regarding how our money is handled. And, like others have said, checks and balances are a must.

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this

And a dual responsibility accounting team.

Being married to an exec and bonded to a board member, I've had enough converstation to last me a lifetime about this disgrace.
Khelgan (sp, however), you speak with authority, but do you have authority to speak? If Riley is allowed to come back to this site, I will have to rethink my membership.
As a treasurer for quite a few non-profits and a member of the accounting industry I am :x <-- sick to my stomach about this.

No sympathy.

Because I've never seen this site turn away from someone in need. We rally and give the last shirt off of our back to people who are in need. To steal from people like these, from your friends? It's disgusting.

I hope we go after him to the full extend of the law. Leora is a lawyer, she'll know what to do. *nods*

I think he should also be forced to take out a loan to pay us back the money in full. It will look better for him in court.

All the business organizations i've been part of have a signing threshold for checks (ie. if your check is > X$ it requires two signatures). Thats less of an option if you work via debit cards and such though. (which is why real companies have *credit cards* which get billed back sepearately). Debit cards are virtually unheard of in business environments.

I'm not sure what options are available (and what they cost) to small organizations though.

We absolutely will keep all of you updated on what's going on. Make no mistake - this is not a membership issue where we're trying to make sure that we keep confidential matters confident, or are trying to help members save what face they can in the midst of personal interactions that went awry. I can think of no reason that we would not be absolutely clear about everything going on.

We are also in the process of consulting with different people who are professionals in this type of work about what controls we need to implement to drastically reduce the chances of this happening again. We are going to be limited in some respects since we're not a brick-and-mortar establishment, but that just means we have to be creative, not that we won't be changing how we do things.

Elbie, exactly like that is what i'm used to. That would work very well here, I agree.

I don't know Riley personally, I saw him on the boards but really had no personal interaction with him. That being said I don't know how to really process all of this. My main concern is having a very defined checks and balances going forward. I don't want to have to worry if I put in money to reserve a spot for an event or if I donate to a fund raiser that my money could be taken. It's a very crazy situation and it can't be easy.


On the note of letting Riley coming back, I don't think that would be a good idea. No one is going to forget what he did and I know he was a friend to a lot of people but he would probably be uncomfortable on the site. I am glad that he admitted it and is working with the board but I don't see how it would work.

I hope for the best in that this is resolved quickly.

Ne'Mireth Delvar said:

Kelgan, you speak with authority, but do you have authority to speak?

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On this, I speak as a Councilor of the Hall. As you know, the Hall recently voted to ban Twibli. As part of what was brought to us, the understanding was given very clearly that the issue of banned members returning is not one that is usually decided at the time the ban is implemented. There is, unfortunately, a limited amount I can say here because that situation is sealed to the Hall, but I think I can speak on this procedural matter. The situation here is clearly very different from what was faced with Twibli, but the understanding is that time brings change, and it may be that someone who previously needed to be removed from our community has reached a place where they can come back. Because of this, and because the Hall changes twice a year with members who may not even have joined the site when the ban took place, such decisions are taken by the admins and officers, with Mother as the final authority on the point. There is no distinction drawn between a temporary and a permanent ban.

None of this is to say that Riley will ever be allowed back, or whether he should or should not. What this is to say is that a ban is a ban, but that sometimes the situation changes and people can be allowed back. A day into this situation, I just don't feel comfortable saying for certain what things will look like in five years. Right now, I question whether it will ever be a good idea to allow him back. Down the line, though, things may change.

I am saddened by this course of events. However, I do agreee with the ban. It is hard for any group or organization to have ths sort of betrayal happen. Yes, there will be mixed emotions on the matter, but I am sure that the Admins will handle this matter and do what needs to be done.

Thank you for the transparency in this matter and will be watching for updates in the days to come.

I go from being angry..upset..crying because I can't believe this happened..and honestly..
if he were allowed back after making restitution.. he would have to face all of us..

My thoughts to a couple of things being expressed... but first a disclaimer. I'm not an Exec. I'm one of four Board members. Any views I express in this post are my own. I am also, truly, not even close to being done with processing this. Not mentally and definately not emotionally. I think this is true for a great many of us. It has also only been literally 24 hours since we found out. Well, 24 hours and of the time I'm writing this post, about 30 minutes. One of the challenges that comes from making this announcement as soon as we found out (or rather, as soon as we found out, had contacted an attorney, and handled emergency banking) is that we don't have answers to a lot of questions. I know I'm feeling really sensitive today, so I don't doubt I'm prone to reading all sorts of things into stuff. If I misunderstand anyone, please do let me know and clarify.

I see some comments saying that as members we deserve to know the scope of the theft. I agree. But, because we are releasing information as we have it, we don't have that information yet to give to you. We are avoiding throwing numbers around and speculating because we have engaged the services of an attorney and are still fact finding. All other things such as getting appologies, finding out why, these things are important for us emotionally. Right now, though, we are in the middle of serious triage. We are right in the middle of it. I can't tell you how many wounded and dead because they're still coming in the door. And because this matter is a legal one, we have to step very carefully. Speculation could make matters worse, and there is still so much more damage that could happen. None of us want to be asked to be patient. I want to know why, I want to know how, and I want to know what we're going to do about it. I deserve to know. So do you. But I also want as much unnecessary damage to be avoided as possibly can be.

From my perspective, this is what I want (in the order I want it)
- I want our immediate emergency financial situation to be addressed with a short term solution (point 1 for the team - this has already been addressed in a massive way thanks to extraordinary generosity and the speedy work of several people)
- I want to find out what we need to do legally to both being compliant with the law and to protect ourselves (point 2 - also a lot done on this in 24 hours, and we're having a board meeting with our attorney in about 4 and a half hours)
- I want our assets recovered as quickly and as inexpensively as possible
- I want a full report made to membership that includes a breakdown of past practices and the recommendation for future practices (with those practices being based on professional consultation). Of these four things, I expect this one will take the longest, but it is vitally important.

Thats the most I can hope for. There are still a lot of things we want - understanding, reasons, appologies, revenge, reconciliation. All of those things are valid. We may not get any or all of them, we may get more than we dare hope for today. For me, though, I'm concentrating on just getting those first four things: handle the emergency, deal with the legal issues, recover our assets, and being transparent about what happened and how practices will change to make this unlikely to happen again. Everything else, for me, has to take second place to getting our house in order.

I dont think there is going to be a lot of information that comes out of tonights board meeting. Our agenda includes appointing a new chairman of the board, discussion of filling the empty seat, and beginning a discussion about our legal rights and obligations. I do know we will update you with what comes out of it, and I expect that new information will be shared every day or so as we have it to share. I am really, REALLY amazed at how much has already been done.

I also want to give a big thank you to all of you for talking about how you feel, sharing your questions, and being respectful of one another. I want to thank you for your kind and supportive words to everyone working on this issue - we need them. I want to thank you for the advice you're sharing and sending in - it is already being compiled and shared as it comes in and is a direct and important part of any decision making process.

Personally, if he were allowed back after this betrayal--arguably the greatest in the history of our site--I would be astonished. Compassion is a fine thing but one must draw a line somewhere. This is not just a clear violation of immense trust, love and friendship developed over a decade. Whether charges are pressed or not, he admits to committing what I'd assume are multiple felonies against us, depending how many withdrawals he made. As said, we have banned people for looking into others' accounts. We have banned people for being cruel. We have banned people for taking others' money in good faith for services never rendered. Now we are banning someone for draining our entire budget, embezzling thousands in his role as CFO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, the highest financial position and Board position available. I cannot fathom a single reason why he should ever deserve to return.

We all of us have experienced hard times. Some more than others. One of the things I love most about our site is that we are loyal and we care deeply about members' wellbeing. When the company I worked at filed for bankruptcy and laid everyone off a few years back, I was immediately without income. I had no way to pay my rent and no way to buy food beyond two weeks out, because I'd found this job after many months of searching in a state with a horrible economy. As a result of that economy, they went under less than three months after I started and I was barely out of the black from the months of unemployment beforehand. If not for the unbelievable support of Tower members, I would not have had a home and I would not have had food to eat. This specific story of mine is a tiny blip on the radar. There are countless larger blips to demonstrate just how much our community cares about each other.

To see someone steal the entirety of the budget from this site, where people have proved not dozens but HUNDREDS of times that they WILL provide for each other when they are down, I cannot summon one single ounce of regard for Riley Maconnar's personal circumstances. He stole from people who loved him and who would have helped him if they had known, no questions asked. They would have sent care packages. They would have sent money. They would have sent their love. That is the kind of community we are. If you are a proven member of the site who has stuck by us and cared for us, we will care for you. We are not your average online community. We are so much more. That he would feel it an option at all to steal from us, let alone to that profound extent, is unacceptable and unforgivable.

We will get past this and be stronger. We are always learning and growing. I have deep faith in our ability to recover from this problem. It will be dealt with. Very smart people are working as we speak. Personally, I am so grateful for the expediency and clarity of the Execs and Officers in this matter. Thank you for your transparency, your honesty and your worthy efforts in the midst of such disgracefulness.

Suzanne for President 2012.

Suzanne would never consent to be anything less than a tyranical despot, and you know it Jeff.

Tyrant in Latin just means person in charge. Hells yes, I'd be a tyrant. Darim and I would rule with a harsh but sympathetic hand, and I think everyone who knows us understands he'd be the good cop.

Suzanne for Tyrannical Despot 2012.

:P @ the thought of Darim & Sela, the benevolent and not-so-benevolent Dictators of Tar Valon


Also, on a more serious note: I don't think I've ever been so proud to be part of this community as I am right now. Even with people enraged and feeling betrayed, there's more compassion here than I could ever even have imagined if I hadn't seen it. I'm trying to imagine how this would look in any other organization I've ever been a member of, and I...yeah, well, it would not have been pretty, not with the kind of money involved here. And as for Caerwyn making the offer he has, and Mother using her own money to get us back to zero...I have no words. You are both amazing, as is every single one of you dealing with this and trying (and it sounds like succeeding) to get through this.

As for Riley ever returning...I'm not sure if he'll ever want to return. I don't think I would were I in the same situation. There have been cases of embezzling in some of the organizations I've been or am a part of, though, and I think every single one of them says a board member or other member who embezzles money from the organization may become part of the organization again once the money they stole has been returned in full and any judicial punishment served. This kind of thing might be more unforgiveable in the US than here, though...I don't know.

Well said, Sela<3

I'm sure we'd find Pypy some portfolio too - Nail-Art Czar perhaps?

I really want to convey my deep respect and admiration for the Amyrlin Seat for stepping up to cover our community's deficit - she is truly a unique woman that we can all look up to - and to our other leaders for your excellence in this matter. I am shocked and appalled by what's happened; I really thought it was a joke at first. Good luck to all concerned with recovering from this devastation.

Ok, I think I can respond now.

I might be the only person here who has known Riley longer than Eleyan has. I met him well over 15 years ago in a roleplaying sub-community on AOL. He and I became very good friends. It's actually because of him that I am here today. He told me about this site, and I joined within minutes of him doing so. He was my Mayor. He was in charge when I was a Recruit (I don't remember the positions name that was essentially CoR and CoS combined). He helped me a lot at 9th Anni and some at 10th. He was there for me and for others, time and again. When I first read this post, I was stunned. Surely there had been a mistake. I still have a difficult time imaging Riley doing this, but the fact remains he did.

I am hurt, angry, disappointed, and terribly saddened by the actions of a man I admired so much. It feels much like a child finding out the sports star they idolized was caught doing steroids. My opinion? Banning him was the only realistic course of action. He broke our trust, he stole from us, he broke the law. The money may be irrelevant to some, including myself, but that doesn't change the fact that he betrayed us.

I know no one has brought up him being a DM, and I am relieved at that. I also know my guys (and I consider all of them to be *my* guys) feel even more deeply betrayed by this. He was one of us. He had been a shining beacon of what we were as DM. He personified all the traits we hold so highly. So thank you to everyone for not thinking that his actions reflect upon the rest of us. We are all hurt and saddened by what he did, but he is the one who did this, he is the one who will be punished for it.

This is a terrible thing in so many ways and for so many people. But in the end, I forgive Riley. It is not my place to judge. I hope that he finds a peace for himself and his family, and wish him well. I hope that what ever situation he was in that he felt the need to do this is resolved as best as possible. I know that we as an organization will do all that is necessary to recover from this, having already performed many actions to reach that end.