Pink Power row: committee members accused over Elimination team sign-up

A thread that drew the whole forum

On 06 Sep 2017 Beerstein [1322136] opened a thread titled "The truth behind Pink Power or..." about the Pink Power team in the Elimination event. The opening post began with the line "How I learned to stop worrying and love the Karma farming Cathead."^[1][2]

The thread reached 237 replies and 3,678 views, with 83 different players posting. Fifteen of the posts came from Torn staff, officers or moderators. It is locked and now sits in the Graveyard board.^[2]

Call-outs aimed at committee members

CatHead [1581564] wrote that committee and staff who found a loophole should have reported it to Ched instead of exploiting it. CatHead called Beerstein's response arrogant and said it read as damage control. Allegation^[3]

Kingstown [1957679] wrote that a committee member was abusing a flaw in the system, and said "as far as i'm concerned it's cheating". On 07 Sep 2017 Kingstown quoted Ched's remarks from the previous year on Elimination needing to be flawless. Allegation^[4][5]

Ominos [1962593] wrote that there is never a legitimate argument for a committee member to abuse a loophole. Ominos also asked whether the large factions were taking spots from real female players. Allegation^[6]

Chuckyboy2 [1875579] wrote on 07 Sep 2017 that the flaw had been pointed out the year before and that elite players connected to staff and committee members were using it. Allegation^[7]

On 06 Sep 2017 MarlonBrando [1337797] posted a vote call to remove the original poster from the Committee for "frontrunning explotive behavior". The post drew 13 likes and 37 dislikes. Beerstein replied that Marlon needed to learn to read. Allegation^[8][9]

On 07 Sep 2017 MarlonBrando wrote that it was "an exploit, clear and simple". That post drew 2 likes and 4 dislikes. Allegation^[10]

What Beerstein said had happened

Beerstein wrote that Pink Power was open only to females the year before, that it had around 600 members and never filled, and that other teams capped at 1,000. Participant claim^[1]

Beerstein wrote that some factions had stacked into one team, that joining Pink Power gave no advantage at the time, and that the players who joined were likely looking for a challenge with the underdogs. Participant claim^[1]

Beerstein wrote that Ched likely tweaked the formula so that nearly every female had access to Pink Power, and added that no one actually knows for sure. Beerstein also said they did not think Pink Power had the edge. Participant claim^[1][11]

Defenders, sceptics and staff

bogie [148747], a Torn staff Admin, wrote that people joining Pink Power was "a very clever tactic" and that the whiners were envious they had not thought of it.^[12]

bogie also wrote "Empty heads speak the loudest". In another reply bogie told a poster they were stuck on a team with idiots like them, and in a third said the poster should stick to whining.^[13][14][15]

Dolfwagos [1900418], marked as a Torn officer/committee, wrote that they had not been going to join this year but saw Pink Power as an option. The reply ended "Thanks for the clarification guys."^[16]

Proxima [1879587] wrote that they did not care that players did this and saw it as fun. rainbowsaurus [1884204] said some females did not get the Pink Power option. Participant claim^[17][18]

g_ho [1261819] wrote that the explanations felt dishonest. In a later post g_ho said they were pro the Pink Power plan and called it a good gamble that paid off. Participant claim^[19][20]

manic [1554958] posted that Elimination had not even started and the claws were out. Joke^[21]

Spin-off thread and later links

On 07 Sep 2017 CatHead started a thread called "Shake up the committee!" in General Discussion, which reached 310 replies. CatHead wrote that a recent catalyst had set off the thinking.^[22]

MarlonBrando linked the Pink Power thread in that thread on 07 Sep 2017 and alleged that the original poster edits and removes posts to cover their tracks. Allegation^[23]

On 08 Dec 2017 Stente [1899758] linked the thread in a Questions & Answers thread about newspaper comics showing women in pink suits.^[24][25]

Timeline

1. 6 Sep 2017 Beerstein opens the Pink Power thread; CatHead, Kingstown, Ominos and bogie reply the same day.^[1][3][12]
2. 7 Sep 2017 MarlonBrando calls it an exploit and Kingstown quotes Ched's earlier remarks.^[5][10]
3. 7 Sep 2017 CatHead starts "Shake up the committee!".^[22]
4. 8 Dec 2017 Stente links the thread in a newspaper comics question.^[24]