The Jungle Cloak Scandal

[cam0940]

I want to take a few minutes and address an issue that has been brought to me by several of you over the last week. I recently led a Titan raid where the Jungle Cloak and the Nullcloth Gown dropped. No one knows or cares who got the Nullcloth Gown, but apparently [Arlos] got the Jungle Cloak. Most of the party met at the raid entrance for a Greater Teleport to get our end rewards. Ultimately, [Arlos] passed the Jungle Cloak to [Venn], who looted it, and the raid was over.

Later, it was made clear to me that [Harbormaster Zen] was upset over this. Now, [Harbormaster Zen] and I have since exchanged tells and—I thought—resolved the situation. Apparently [Harbormaster Zen] wanted the Jungle Cloak and felt that it had been passed to [Venn] underhandedly. Apparently [Harbormaster Zen] felt that I was responsible for better organization or leadership in the distribution of this raid loot (e.g. facilitating some sort of roll). Because the loot was passed directly to [Venn], [Harbormaster Zen] (in a separate channel) viciously attacked me saying that I don’t belong in the channel that I DO participate in, because I had broken our agreed code of conduct regarding passing of raid loot (we pretty much agree to roll on loot that the puller doesn’t want). So as a result of these attacks, I receive random tells accusing me of being complicit in this raid loot passing scheme.

This is my response: A) [Arlos] is not a member of the private channel that has an agreed policy, and neither is [Venn]. This was a purely pug raid, anyone was welcome to join. As such, we cannot expect them to abide by rules that we use to govern ourselves. B) I had the star, but am not in a position to force [Arlos] to offer [Harbormaster Zen] a roll. [Arlos] could have given the Jungle Cloak to [Venn] with no roll at his own discretion C) I’ve grouped w/ [Arlos] on more than one occasion, [Venn] regularly. I’m cool w/ [Arlos], and [Venn] is a friend. Right here and now I’ll vouch for both of them and state that he would have offered the Jungle Cloak for roll if it was clear that anyone besides [Venn] wanted it. But the fact is, [Harbormaster Zen] did not make it clear that he was interested.

It wasn’t until four days later when it got back around to me that [Harbormaster Zen] was attacking me, that I learned that he was even interested in the stupid cloak. To this day I don’t know if he’s claiming he said it in party or typed in the party chat window that he wanted it. Either way, no one who was present, that I have spoken to, has any recollection of [Harbormaster Zen] expressing any interest whatsoever in the cloak. With all due respect to [Harbormaster Zen] (which I sincerely mean because up until the attacks I had considered him a friend), he cannot expect us to read his mind. Generally, if someone pulls an item and they don’t want it, it is YOUR responsibility to make it clear that you are interested. Not the party leader. Not the other guys who are interested. It is YOUR responsibility to say “Hey, is that for roll?” So four days later to come back and accuse me of looking the other way during underhanded loot transfers is nonsense. Again, it wasn’t even my pull to begin with.

So, frankly, the situation irks me. I do lead a lot of raids and this is the first time I’ve had some sort of drama result from a loot pull. I don’t like it, I don’t like the stigma that comes from it, I don’t like people approaching me about some nonsense that I couldn’t have controlled even if I DID know that Iniigo wanted the cloak. So, as the rumor mill turns, please know that this is exactly what happened, and that I am not involved in any loot shenanigans. I lead to complete, if it’s a guild or channel party we abide by our internal agreements, and if it’s a pug party, the puller decides what to do with his items.

[Harbormaster Zen] also felt betrayed that someone told me what he was saying in the alternate channel about me. A) I feel that [Harbormaster Zen] owes me a public apology and some minimal effort to rectify the damage he’s done to my reputation. Well, not damage, but just the idea of being questioned. B) These were real friends who have told me what was going on, and that goes deeper than any channel privacy policy. Honestly, if someone were trashing a friend of mine in any forum, I would tell my friend. I thank my friends for that. I thought [Harbormaster Zen] was a friend, but if he were, he wouldn’t have done this in the first place.

So there you have it, that’s where I stand on the whole Jungle Cloak Scandal. Hit me in game if there are any further questions.