Here I will summarize recent events and investigations relating to Wylted and Hammer. These summaries are accurate, complete, supported by cited evidence, and straightforward. They represent my final word on the issue.
I. Wylted
A. Wylted's Transgressions
Based on screenshots which were originally sent to me by a trustworthy party, I concluded that Wylted was actively campaigning for Supa's induction into the Hall of Fame despite rules prohibiting that kind of electioneering. On the basis of those screenshots, I referred the case to Castin--the Assistant Moderator for Special Cases--to further investigate. I am personally recused from moderating Wylted, and therefore stepped back to allow Castin to perform her investigation as she saw fit.
She reported back to me with the conclusion that Wylted had in fact been pursuing such an illicit campaign on Discord. She was able to confirm the validity of the screenshots with a different party (not the person who originally submitted the screenshots), and on that basis recommended a 4-day extension of Wylted's temp-ban. This was pursuant to the MEEP giving DART moderation authority over activities on Discord. When the campaigning persisted, despite Wylted being informed of this ban extension, Castin referred the issue to Discord moderation for further review.
Wylted knowingly violated the rule against campaign twice. Once when his ban was originally extended, and again when he continued to campaign despite having had his ban extended. A statement was made during the Hall of Fame voting phase stating these findings and making a ruling on the validity of certain votes cast in light of what had transpired.
B. Moderation Involvement
While some moderation figures (Supa, Vaar, and Virt) did vote with Wylted's campaign and were exposed to it, I said explicitly in a later statement that "I have not punished any user for voting with a campaign so long as they were not actively a part of the campaign." Virt also denied that Wylted's outreach had influenced his decision. No users was punished for voting with a campaign so long as they themselves were not actively doing the campaigning. No special treatment was given to these mods. Moreover, I reached out to each of these users to discuss the seriousness of their oversights. Moderation cannot be perceived to be breaking the rules it sets. I acknowledge that there choices were problematic, but, again, they received no special treatment.
II. TheHammer
A. The Beginning of the Inquiry
Hammer made a thread alleging that he had, in coordination with others, "pushed most of his early nomination votes." Having heard these allegations, I was concerned. I was initially inclined to believe Hammer's allegations in part because his cadre of friends had attempted to violate the rules of the last Hall of Fame election on DDO. I therefore needed to verify what was going on. I did not want to treat the Supa/Hammer case differently from the RM/Wylted case if indeed the situations were alike.
In my very first message to Hammer, I asked him who he had campaigned with. I also said, explicitly, that "if they were unaware of the rule, they will not be punished. I would just like to be able to verify your math." Hammer had already publicly stated that "most of them didn't even know about the no strategizing rule."
Given Hammer's admission that most were unaware of the rule and my assurance that they would not be punished in that case, I believed that Hammer would comply. Instead, Hammer consistently refused to provide me any names or other evidence with which I could corroborate his story. I either needed names of users, so that I could conduct interviews to back up his assertions, or I needed screenshots that verified Hammer's claims.