Well with a bit more context, I don't believe you knowingly or immorally committed admin abuse. I do however believe at this time that you had insufficient evidence or reason to authorize the PK and were misinformed or misled by the member who ordered the HIT. Nothing personally against your competence or judgment. I just believe that you were misled and so you didn't have sufficient evidence to authorize. No big deal. I'll explain:
I appreciate the response and opportunity to clarify, but I must respectfully and thoroughly dispute the validity of this PK. I was an original member of Sanzekai and, following that group’s disbandment, never joined, was never initiated into, nor invited by the faction Takahashi-Kai. After Sanzekai’s discord and faction closed, I was never added to or even contacted about the new group's discord, and thus have had zero communication with or knowledge of any new management, leadership, rules, or expectations.
My only connection to Takahashi-Kai is an accidental technical placement—simply leftover from Sanzekai’s roster, not from any in-character recruitment or roleplay. The only possible way I can be in this faction is if Sanzekai's faction server file was recycled into an entirely new group (when it should have been demolished with Sanzekai's disband, starting a new faction from scratch). This, I believe to be a non-malicious server-side error that harmed my RP IC continuity. I have not been present for any meetings, have never visited the new faction’s locations, do not know their vendors or products, and have not been informed of any dues, obligations, or rules. It is impossible for me to be a “liability” to a group I have never even spoken to or been made aware of in any capacity. I have none of their info or "secrets".
For further context, I once had a discord conversation during the closing stages of Sanzekai where new management brought up my inactivity, dues, and possible removal from the faction, as I was busy earning a doctorate in real life and couldn’t play much for a couple years. Rage and other high-ranking Sanzekai members told the new leaders that I was very busy IRL but was an original since spring 2021 and should be grandfathered in. They explicitly agreed to let me stay on the roster as an OG who only pops into town, with an understanding that I did not have the same tax requirements while inactive and that I was always welcomed back. I have only played 2 times briefly to reminisce and walk around town late at night for like 20-30 minutes since I noticed the map changed and I’m randomly in Takahashi-Kai, With Sanzekai gone and all those high-ranking members, including Rage, now gone as well, there is no fair IC continuity or expectation by which Takahashi could claim a legitimate PK reason against me. I do not know any current Takahashi management or have any connection to their operations.
Another layer of complication is added where Diverge Networks does not have specific, detailed rules governing faction transitions or what happens when one faction dissolves and another takes over its infrastructure and member roster (consider this an opportunity to update/improve your server rules regarding faction disbands and transitions ). My search results online show various faction applications and one case where faction transfers caused technical "PK registration" issues, but no established protocol for member liability transfer from dissolved factions to successors. There are no rules requiring new leadership to honor previous agreements, notify members of faction changes, or establish how someone becomes officially "part of" a successor organization versus just being on an inherited roster. This regulatory gap actually strengthens my appeal argument because I cannot be held liable under faction rules I never agreed to, by leadership I never met, in an organization that I never officially joined due to the absence of proper succession protocols.
Per the server rules, a valid PK must be based on “repeated… poor behaviour, misconduct, violation of your family rules or even blatant disrespect of made men in your organization… there has to be tangible damages, disrespecting someone once is not a reason to kill someone. This also means you cannot PK someone for mucking up JUST one time. Having continued issues or warnings about behaviour or disputes can cause escalation to a PK. (record the Warnings/encounters/transgressions need be (very important key evidence invalidating PK))” (Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: Family Member Kills). In my case, I have not received any warnings, and there is no documentation or record of repeated problematic behavior, damages, or disputes—because there have been none. My only absence was due to real-life reasons, openly discussed a year or so ago with previous leadership, and never addressed IC or OOC by anyone in Takahashi-Kai.
I would like to see evidence (from he who ordered the hit) of old posts or records that indicate I was on their discord (Discord: .butface; I never was), or video/text/log evidence of warnings or attempt to rectify debt or liability (which should exist before the on-duty staff member approves a PK, so I expect they should be provided here in the report as the sole basis for evidence legitimizing the hit; there is none and that would be insufficient evidence at the very least making this a clear violation of DivergeNetworks PK rules and a mistrial). This guy is just a hater that I don’t know who was bored at 3am.
Rules specify, “The order must be given in-game by the Don or trusted High Command member of the family… The person receiving the order must have the identity (f3) of whomever is giving the order, they need to know who their boss is, they can't receive an order from someone they don't know” (Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: Family Member Kills). I had no in-game interaction, no opportunity for dialogue, no warning, and never even received a basic introduction from any current leadership. I was presented with no RP opportunity to amend, clarify, or officially leave, nor was I told of taxes or obligations—because I was never made aware or added to the new group’s infrastructure at all.
How can I be held accountable for rules, policies, or debts I was never told about by a management team I neither know nor recognize? I am not theirs to “discipline” or PK. If taxes or participation truly mattered, the Don could and, per the rules, should have reached out IC to clarify, offer a way to pay or leave, or set expectations before even considering a PK (Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: Family Member Kills).
None of the classic, codified PK reasons—such as betrayal, snitching, repeated warnings, harm to the family, or disrupting RP continuity—apply in my case, nor are they documented. Instead, this action appears to be purely mechanical, rooted in auto-inheritance of Sanzekai records (server-side design/continuity error/non-optimal server file management), not in-character escalation, repeated damages, or any real dispute. The rules are clear that “a valid reason is required for all PK’s. A PK’s approval is entirely dependent on the reason given, if you give a weak reason such as ‘he disrespected me’ then your PK will not be approved” (Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: General PK Rules).
The policy is also clear about the “left faction” clause: it applies only if a made member actively leaves, is informed, and has a two-week window with a clear in-game reasoning and evidence; there must be RP continuity and sufficient cause (Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: Family Member Kills). I never received any communication IC or OOC offering a way to leave or clarify my position, and I did not even know that I was considered part of any “new” organization or was on any “list.”
Additionally, the requirement is for “tangible damages, unwarranted harm in a financial (+10,000$) or repeated physical way,” not mere inactivity or tax owed when no opportunity to pay or even notification of dues was ever provided (Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: Family Member Kills). I was not actively participating, had no chance to respond, and the organization’s claim is based only on record-keeping rather than RP process.
Bottom line: Punishing a character who did not join, was not inducted, never informed of expectations, and is accused of non-participation in a group he was never actually part of is fundamentally unfair—and strictly contrary to the letter and spirit of Diverge’s rules. There was no legitimate RP escalation, warning, or opportunity for me to amend or even understand any “liability.” If there is specific documentation of repeated harm or toxicity, please present it, as stipulated in the PK rules. Otherwise, this PK is baseless, rooted in poor faction and server management (no offense, not saying this angrily, only technically just as a responsible and fair business would run with standards and policies), purely technical inheritance, and not genuine character progression or IC realism. A bona fide PK must show documentation, RP engagement, clear reason, and an opportunity for the member to be involved in the resolution or removal, none of which were given here.
I would actually like to request to see proof of liability, financial debt, or text,log, or video recorded evidence by the Don or high ranking members as an attempt to contact me and inform me of necessary work or debt IC. I think it's necessary evidence on the Don's part for PK and I know that it would not exist. I've only spent 45 minutes in town in the last year or so and was just about to try to start playing again and relearn the new locations and social networks/layouts of the server now that I have a little more stability and free-time IRL.
If there is any actual record of warnings, damages, or in-character misconduct, They should be presented now, as your guidelines explicitly require. Otherwise, this PK is not valid under the codified Diverge Networks PK rules—specifically for family kills, liabilities, and faction transitions—and should respectfully be overturned. (Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: Family Member Kills; Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: General PK Rules.)
This is why I respectfully request that the PK be overturned. If current management or the Don had any real concerns, they should have reached out IC with a clear chance for me to learn, pay, leave, or explain—just as would be expected in any well-run, fair RP environment. As it stands, this sets the wrong example for returning or inactive players and undermines faction and RP continuity on the server (Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: Family Member Kills; Permanent Kill Reasons & Rules: General PK Rules). This also encourages dropout from a user-design perspective: I wanted to start playing the character again but given the nature of having to relearn the new map and social networks, I'm not likely to start a new character on this server (especially on a 5 year old character with a decent item bank and especially when the PK was controversial; I don't even feel like my character died in RP, just basically got uninformedly minged by a player with a little bit of faction power who I did not even know; like that would lowkey be gay AF and such a lame, unwarranted, uninformed sendoff to Jimmy Hands' lore.).
Also, if witnesses exist or the crime is too public, the staff may not consider it a valid or realistic RP scenario, and it could affect appeal reviews (PK rules open to interpretation puts me in the center of a public park with like 12 people standing around). While this is open to interpretation and not inherently invalidating. There weren't even any LEOS online and I was eating noodles IRL at 3am, about to log off and go to bed. there were only like 18 people online... like come onnn -_- you and I both see that.
If I legitimately died from in game actions and was aware of a situation/beef that could possibly PK me.. like that's fun and fair RP. I would not complain, and I have endured many of those attempts/threats. This seems heavily disputable and kind of mingy and confusing for the one receiving the PK (me; you can see in the video i didn't even react angrily or verbally when I got PK'd just pure confusion). You should know why when you die or at least have some ideas. This just kinda feels like a slap in the face to OG characters who have supported the server and helped foster the community in the early days who wish to re-enter town and aren't doing anything to get PK'd. They couldn't have even like picked me up, talked to me, told me i was in trouble/to prepare for death like in a cool way so that I could at least clip Jimmy-Hands' demise in execution style. This was all done wrong.
I would encourage and appreciate multiple staff members to hear my reasoning and judge for themselves, perhaps to cross examine and give fair trial.
