New powerboards are available, including one inspired by the passing of Leonard Nimoy earlier this year, along with new swimwear and floaters. Players can also pick up a new companion pet, a new floral shirt for off-duty outfits, and a set of kit modules for each of the three careers. So sit back, enjoy the beach, and take on some new challenges for fantastic leisure rewards.
In other STO news, the controversy over the inclusion of lesbian Klingon NPCs as background characters in the recent featured episode (are they calling it klesbiangate yet?) has generated some unusual fallout: The volunteer moderator criticizing the inclusion has been placed on probation by Cryptic’s community manager pursuant to an investigation, and many of his critics have been banned for their part in the flamewar. LaughingTrendy writes,
Bluegeek made a post about his opinion regarding the episode. He deserves to have an opinion. He posted with civility and maturity, whether or not it was something I agree with (or in this case adamantly opposed to). In the year(s) that I and many other LGBT-identified people have worked with him, we have had nothing but a great working relationship.
I am looking into his past history of moderation. While I am confident in his ability to be impartial in his moderation with regards to our community in Star Trek Online, I now need to make sure. That requires him being placed under probation. Until further notice, he will not be in a position of moderation while I investigate his previous moderation.
There were a lot of opinions expressed for and against the inclusion of the two Klingons. Everyone had their right to express their opinions about the new Featured Episode in a respectful and civil manner. Everyone had their right to express their opinion, including Bluegeek. Yet I saw extreme vitriol thrown around. There was flaming, expositions from hate, and general jerk butt-ery from a lot of people.
This is not a place to flame each other. As someone who is specifically in the LGBT community and an advocate for human rights, I am sad to see the amount of hate being thrown around from both sides of this fence. I had to ban users who were all sides of the spectrum. People who agreed with the episode were banned for flaming. People who disagreed with the episode were banned for flaming. Morality and civility are sadly separate entities, where even if we hold a moral high ground that doesn’t mean we exhibit maturity. This is a grave reminder that asking for public shaming to happen is a really great way to earn my utmost ire.
In response, a few posters decided to dig up dirt on the community manager, declaring LaughingTrendy “officially a troll” and so far escaping bans of their own. [The link has since been deleted, but it complained of an allegedly religiously insensitive image on a personal Twitter account.]
