Thank you for doing this Biggles. You did do wrong. And you did get what you deserved. But you show your true character by not blaming the site, by manning up and taking the responsibility for what you did. And I salute you . I was one of the silent members who watched in shock as the fiasco unfolded. And we simply could not believe what we were seeing. We all watched as you were banned, and while we felt that justice had been done for actions committed, we still could not believe what we were seeing.
Biggles, you and I are some of the old school members. You joined in August of 2011, me less than a month earlier. The forum was a lot different back then. AD wasn't even a Community Moderator back then. But look now, for the scales are tipped: AD is the only Site Moderator, and SJ has stepped down. This place has been a place to find Halo no matter what is going on, and to make friends, and to have fun! I remember getting online, and playing with you and Total Mayh3m. I remember when you were MoM, and when we were talking in an XBL party with a few others trying to guess who the next one would be. (Unfortunately, I still have not been MoM ) So with all these good memories, and with all that you had contributed, all you had done on here, it was simply devastating to see you banned.
But life went on, and you were talked about in hushed tones. You fell so far from up so high, we began to wonder if it could happen to any of us. You became the dirty secret, the scapegoat. We never expected you to come back. We thought that you would blame the site, blame us, blame anything, and would never return. Sometimes we would see your black name on the list of online members, and would wonder what you saw, or what you thought, or what you were thinking. And we misjudged you. If there's any apologizing to do, it's from us. We saw only what you did wrong. And you did get what you deserved, but we regarded you as trash. And I speak only for myself, but I'm sure most will agree, We're Sorry.
But now you're back, and celebration is in order! For some of us, you will still have to gain our trust once more. But that is a consequence of what you did. And we'll be helping you every step of the way. Thanks Biggles, and welcome back!