Boubabi: A Newcomer's Perspective

[Gustav 6,407]

Boubabi has been banned indefinitely.

 

While I realize this was said once before, he was allowed back on the ideas of second chances and due process. At this point we’ve exhausted all alternatives with minimal to negative results. Nobody can reasonably claim he wasn’t given ample warnings and opportunities, up to and including an extraordinarily specific warning following his above suspension that this would be our next course of action. Ultimately his reaction upon returning has left us no viable alternative to following through on that warning.

 

It’s become sadly clear that something needs to change, and no further amount of warnings or public statements was going to do it. We’ve been on an unsustainable path as a community the last while with the admin team forced to devote more time than in any other period in VHL history to keeping the peace and disciplining members. It’s my hope that this action puts us back on a better track to where we can all have fun without taking the league too seriously. 

 

 

The above announcement, made on April 15th, 2018, seemed to finally seal the deal on @boubabi's long membership in the VHL. He'd been suspended, and even "permanently banned" (sike!), but this time seemed to be for real...at least until less than a week ago, when on August 17th, the league announced that his ban would be lifted. Boubabi has made a fairly quiet return to the league since, making this past Saturday the first time that he and I have existed in the league together. So, why am I writing an article on the guy if I never knew him beforehand? I can't claim to know all the details of his story, and I can't claim to have seen much firsthand. So, that's not at all what I'm doing here. What I hope to accomplish with this article is to present, in an unbiased manner, how I, and likely many others, learned about Boubabi, what my opinions were and how they may or may not have changed, and my opinion now that the ban has been lifted, to illustrate the league's general sentiment on the matter in his absence.

 

 

How did I learn about Boubabi?

I really don't remember, at all. I'm not sure if it were anything specific, or if it were a bunch of mentions that I just happened to pick up on casually, but I do know that I knew about Boubabi during my first season in the league, back in S65. Back then, I knew next to nothing about the situation, and all I really knew was that he was banned, more or less for not being able to shut up.

 

What did I learn about Boubabi in the time since then?

What seemed to be the general consensus around the league, or at the very least, what the impression I got while he was still banned was, was pretty much this:

-Boubabi was a pretty cool guy at one point, and everyone who has been around for a long time remembers a time when they liked him just fine.

-He was arguably the league's best graphics guy and gave a few people tons of help, all while building a few all-time great players.

-At one point, he'd gradually begun to become more and more unbearable, allegedly lashing out at members unprovoked and causing some to leave the site altogether.

-He wasn't banned for any one thing in particular, just for consistently being a dick in general.

-Most people whose opinions I heard seemed to think that he should remain banned, with the notable exceptions of @Higgins and @gorlab.

 

During this time, I'd also looked at his profile once or twice, and found out about (and read through a good deal of) the infamous S59 Slobodzian Trophy voting thread, which was the last appearance of Boubabi on-site before the mighty ban hammer of justice was swung for (presumably) the final time. 

 

What was my opinion of Boubabi?

I really couldn't say I had any opinion. I was aware that he'd done quite a bit to make a lot of people mad, and because of that I never felt that keeping him banned was wrong in any way. With that being said, I was well aware that I'd never actually known him, and did my best to never go too far to one side of the debate or another.

 

What did I think of the referendum?

At first, I never expected anything to be taken seriously--Higgins made an appearance on Discord and, over the course of a few days, talked quite a bit about Boubabi and why he should be unbanned. Even after the leaguewide referendum, complete with members tag, was released, I didn't think anything would have happened, no matter the results, and thought all talk would be over with when the votes significantly favored the "no" side (as in, no, we should not unban him). Personally, I didn't vote, for the reason stated above--I was inclined to vote no, but I wasn't here with him and could not say anything firsthand.

 

What did I think of the podcast?

I also had conflicting views on Higgins' podcast, which featured Boubabi himself and was released a while after the referendum. I did take a listen, and learned a couple things: one, that Higgins can't pronounce my name, and two, that Boubabi is capable of coming across as a completely normal, down-to-earth person for upwards of an hour. This changed a lot of people's minds, and I think it certainly helped me see the "good" side of Boubabi along with all the "bad" I'd seen. I'd certainly stop short of saying my opinion was changed at all--while I appreciate Higgins' efforts to keep a neutral ground, I was well aware that, with the podcast, he was trying to get Boubabi back into the league, and Boubabi almost certainly knew this. Any sort of loss of temper on the podcast would be a huge red flag, and would destroy the mission altogether. Do I think Boubabi, or anyone at all, is incapable of holding back for an hour and appearing nice? Not at all; I don't think it's very difficult. If Boubabi were being genuine during the podcast, I'd say that it could have safely been taken as a hint that he may be ready to be brought back. I just simply wasn't about to believe that fully.

 

Do I agree with the decision made to bring him back?

The podcast was what likely brought Boubabi back from the grave, and I thought that making the decision simply based on a pre-recorded interview would have been idiotic. That wasn't what happened, though, to the best of my knowledge. Reading through the comments on the podcast, league commissioner @Beketov is seen saying exactly this, along with a statement that if Boubabi were to be unbanned, he would have to talk to him about it personally beforehand. Boubabi was indeed unbanned, so I can assume that this happened, and if it's good enough for the commissioners, it's good enough for me. Having never been around when Boubabi was here, I cannot say that I personally would have unbanned him, nor would I ever make his banned status my problem or my decision. Since the unbanning, there's been no controversy, and I've said a few things back and forth with Boubabi on Discord. He's seemed just fine in the short time he's been back, and all in all, he never did anything to me, so I can't hold anything against him. I'm not forgetting the past here, I just simply think that at this point I shouldn't let it get in the way.

 

 

1,284 words, will likely be claiming for next week as well as this one.

[boubabi 4,725]

I'll let you know that I've graduated top of my class (navy)

[sterling 1,997]

22 minutes ago, boubabi said:

I'll let you know that I've graduated top of my class (navy)

Hopefully you don't get lost at sea

[Higgins 3,618]

boubs probably hates me. I paved the road for him to get back into this time sink

[Gustav 6,407]

Claiming for the week ending 9/1.