My ban from Project Awesome and how i learned that imWheat was never the good guy
Original reddit post, because Reddit had removed it from my account:
----
What is this post?
In August 2023, I received a ban from my old Arma 3 unit Project Awesome. The ban was given in an overreaction to a situation involving the /r/JoinSquad subreddit, of which I gave my own opinion about on the PA Discord.
Given my positive history with both Project Awesome and the unit-owner /u/imWheat, I expected that he would recognize the error and lift the ban. However, the situation escalated inexplicably into a permanent ban for reasons I just don't understand. Despite my efforts to explain the circumstances, Wheat labeled me as "combative" and "unreasonable." This only led to him becoming increasingly more hostile towards me.
This is a (not-so)-short summary and record of events that serve as proof of imWheat's shitty behavior during this time. And serve as a warning for anyone who would think of joining Project Awesome, or any of Wheat's community in the future.
My time in Project Awesome
I joined PA in 2017, when it had just recovered from it's 2nd (or even 3rd) staff walk-out that Wheat caused. At that point, i didn't even know about it's previous reputation or all the shit Wheat pulled before.
Anyway, when i joined PA, I liked it. It was a cool place with cool people, and the Arma 3 missions were fun and relaxed. Eventually, I started making missions for them, creating my own unique style.
Here are a few videos of missions i made and hosted for PA:
Recreation of ShackTac "Operation Mongoose"
Mission with a prerecorded briefing.*
A TvT mission
I pitched in with some other tasks too, such as updating old mission making guide on how to use the customized MURK spawning system, Mission making do's and don'ts and other helpful stuff. I even chipped in nearly donated about $100 to support PA server upkeep.
Anyway, during my time in PA, I received multiple praise from Wheat for helping the community in a positive way, and was even Member of the week once.
The end of PA's 3rd iteration
In 2020, there was another stir in the PA staff. You can find some details here. The PA staff aimed to tweak the direction of the Arma group, but it clashed with Wheat's original vision for how PA's Arma community should run. Interestingly, Wheat, who participated in Arma events, and wasn't familiar with the gameplay or the wishes of the Arma side of PA.
When the conflict proved unsolvable, mainly because Wheat resisted any ideas or suggestions from the staff, the majority of the Arma staff decided to break away and created /r/The_Misfit_Company. Many players, including myself, who enjoyed gaming together in PA, joined them. Despite this, I remained active in the PA Discord for a while. Over time, my involvement decreased, and after about a year, during a Discord cleanup, I chose to part ways and leave the PA Discord.
The /r/JoinSquad incident
In July 2023, there was a huge drama going on the /r/JoinSquad subreddit that Wheat is the headmod off.
The details can be read in this Subreddit-Drama post, this video by MoiDawg, or this Google Document
In summary, Wheat updated auto-mod to recruit for Project Awesome on the (un)official Squad subreddit, violating three of its own subreddit rules. This move received a strongly negative reaction from the subreddit. Additionally, various words like "Wheat," "Discord," "Banned," and "PA" were restricted in comments or posts. The situation turned chaotic, with JoinSquad facing attacks from MoiDawg fanboys and possible brigading from users on /r/subredditdrama
My initial & undeserved ban from Project Awesome Discord
I decided to check up on the Project Awesome Discord how things were going there. I already saw some posts on the new /r/PlaySquad subreddit where people making "Speedruns to get banned from PA" so i expected it to a shitshow there too. But to my surprise, it was rather….okay. There was a written statement posted on the General Chat by one of the Discord mods distancing themselves from the actions of Wheat.
Now, the following is what led to my ban. I, being a former member of PA, felt compelled to share my perspective on the situation, believing that others might value the insights of someone who was part of PA for several years and had numerous conversations with Wheat. In the General chat, I conveyed the following three points
Wheat recruiting was always good for PA and always made sure that PA had quite a lot of members
However, using JoinSquad to recruit for PA is not the way to do it
Removing comments with certain words in them however, is fucking childish
Within a minute of posting this message, I found myself instantly banned from the Discord. No warning, no private message, and no indication of the reason behind the ban—just an instant removal from the Discord server.
My initial thought that the moderator who banned was someone that didn't know me, and just saw a NEW tag next to my Discord name, and assumed I was another troll, looking to cause trouble. This was of course not the case.
My appeal - Part 1 - ProjectAwesome Modmail
So instantly tried to contact Wheat on Discord PM to ask why I was banned. Certainly with my history in PA this was a mistake. I did the same on /r/ProjectAwesome modmail, to see if i could get a faster reply. Maybe from the mod who banned me himself.
The first one to reply was someone on the PA modmail. He didn't use his name, so i have no idea who responded.
The entire conversation can be read here
Basically, this mod says the reason I was banned was because I was hostile (by saying "fucking childish"), but later apologizes to me and says that the ban will be removed. And if I have any issues with Wheat should be directly said to him, and not the PA Discord.
My appeal - Part 2 - Discord DM with Wheat
After this conversation with the mod, Wheat responded on my DM in Discord.
The entire conversation can be read here
Wheat says he has no issue with unbanning me, but concludes that the only reason i rejoined the PA discord was just to bash on him. I say this was not the case, and that what i said wasn't worth an instant-permaban.
3 Days later
I noticed that my ban wasn't removed yet, so i PM Wheat again, asking why. Suddenly, Wheat informs me that he talked with the Discord mods and they do not want to reverse the ban, and that he doesn't want to go "against his team". He tells me to appeal to them directly and they will be reasonable.
Screenshot here (Part 1)
After I tell Wheat i already did contact them, there was a sudden change in his way of speaking. Suddenly, he was trying to find any excuse or any reason to justify the banned.
First he tries to get me to show my first appeal, suggesting that I was aggressive in that one. He can easily find that appeal himself since it was in the PA Subreddit Modmail, but he asks me to show a screenshot of it. Then he tries to catch me in a lie, saying that the mod in the PA Modmail told me to contact him.
Screenshot here (Part 2)
Then came an interesting part. Wheat, in again an attempt to try to justify the ban, says he will look up the original message i wrote that got me banned. I say I can recite the message that got me banned, and Wheat says: "If that's the exact message you wrote, you'll be unbanned.
So now I have two confirmations that my ban will be removed. From the PA Modmail, and from Wheat himself. Great right?
Screenshot here (Part 3)
Wheat then shows me some screenshot of other people, writing more hostile messages in the Discord that didn't got banned, so he expected me that I wrote something horrible.
This is also great for me…because what I said was not as nearly as hostile as the screenshots he shows me.
Screenshot here (Part 4)
Then there was a final attempt to find an excuse to justify the ban, by asking me what a deleted post was from the PA Subreddit. I told him that it was nothing, and it was simply the same question why I was banned, but I deleted it almost instantly and messaged Modmail instead. I asked him to stop looking for an excuse, because there simply isn't any.
Screenshot here (Part 5)
This was the end of the conversation with Wheat. I went on a short holiday to Las Vegas afterwards.
Wheat's decision to uphold the ban
After I returned from Las Vegas, i noticed I didn't receive a reply yet. So, i open the reddit modmail message and ask "Why is taking the removal of my ban so long". What followed was the following message from Wheat himself:
The way you talked to the team wasn't quite the way you explained it on Discord. Whether you meant it or not, you came across as combative and impossible to reason with. I've known you for a while and haven't seen this from you before but for whatever reason, you really came across as an ass. I know a lot of people on the internet might think I'm "Wheatler" and I'm going to do what I want but I listen to my team and work closely with them to build communities that others benefit from. If they think you shouldn't be unbanned, I'm going to listen to them and that's what I've done. It's also what I've explained to you in Discord DMs. It's possible you can be unbanned in the future but the way you talk to others (not me) matter and it will take time before anyone here wants to give you another chance. If it's worth it to you to wait, let your response to this message reflect that.
Screenshot of message here
This was absolute bullshit. First of all, both Wheat, and the PA modmail say that I will be unbanned. Then suddenly, there is a 180 on that decision because somehow, I wrote "combative" messages to the team.
So i demand an explanation.
At the same time, i also asked it directly to Wheat on Discord. Trying to get him into a Voice Call whenever he was online (which he of course refused to answer).
Screenshot here
Contacting other mods
Since Wheat stated that it was a vote by the other mods, i tried to contact them. I first contacted two mods in PA that was still on good terms with and had in my Discord friend list. The first mod however, stated that he didn't even know I was banned, and isn't involved in the politics of running PA.
Screenshot here
The second mod of PA also tells me he wasn't involved in my ban or the vote either.
Screenshot here
The third mod, which i had to add as a friend on Discord first before i could contact him, was involved in my ban and finally gives me some additional info. He tells me that the reason my ban will not be removed is because of a comment I wrote on the /r/PlaySquad subreddit. Specifically this comment where I explained that I was banned from PA for giving a simple opinion, and then concluded that PA screwed me over despite my positive contributions to the community. This was however misread as "Screw PA", instead of "Screw Nyte".
Screenshot here
The mod further explained that he voted to only ban me for 1 week. I explain that Wheat (initially) wanted to unban me. Finally, the mod says that I should continue on the PA modmail again. Our PM's stopped after this.
Screenshot here
I turn back to Wheat's DM and also explain that the "Screw PA" was misread. However, Wheat had at this point removed me from his Discord friend list, so he wouldn't receive my messages anymore.
Screenshot here
The accidental "Reddit mute"
So, things got messy here. First of all, i received a temporary mute from PA modmail. Which send me into a bit of a frenzy. Since Wheat had removed me from Discord, i send him a Reddit PM with "Are you fucking kidding me". He quickly explains that it was a misclick, and that I should stop PMing everyone because I am annoying them, which was a lie because there was only one mod I was talking too, and we already closed our conversation at that point.
Screenshot here
At the same time, Wheat also responded in the Modmail that the mute was accidental, and that he would respond later.
Screenshot here
I record a video
At this point, I was pretty fed up with the situation. Wheat was being extremely difficult for no good reason. He was lying and manipulative, and tried his best to justify the ban by baiting me into being hostile. And i think he kind of succeeded with the "accidental" mute.
At this point, i record a video on my webcam with a message to Wheat to say…. "Don't bother…". There was no way that, even after i would get unbanned, i would be on good terms with Wheat again. Even though there was a short moment before the ban that made me think playing Arma with PA again, Wheat destroyed any trust I had for him, or that PA was an enjoyable community with him on the helm.
The video is currently private, but here is the transcript of it:
You know what Wheat. Don't bother anymore. Don't bother removing the ban because frankly, I don't even care anymore. I'm done wasting my energy on this situation. You've shown to me that you are unwilling. UNWILLING to help me out. You tried multiple times to find some sort of justification to uphold the ban. And there weren't any. There was no reason at all to justify the ban. And you continue to keep giving me these bullshit reasons. I was banned, simply because the Discord had a moment that it was flooded with trolls, and i gave my opinion on the situation at a bad time. Whoever banned me saw this NEW tag on my name, and removed me for something that wasn't even worth a warning. A comment maybe. A comment like "Hey Nyte, we don't want to discuss this topic here so please stop bringint it up" But no. Your incompetent mod insta banned me. I was just caught in the crossfire of some trolls flooding your server. And to think that i defended you on the Squad subreddit. To think i reported every post about "fuck wheat" and called out every brigading dipshit coming from the Subredditdrama subreddit or from MoiDawg's video. I never had a problem with you Wheat. I was never part of the Arma staff back when the split happened, so i have nothing against you. The only reason i joined Misfit Company was because everyone I enjoyed playing Arma with all left to join Misfit And I enjoyed playing with those people. They made playing in PA fun for me so I joined them too. But, I still stayed in the PA Discord for a long time. I still replied in the Arma channels and mission making channels now and then. For me, there were no ill feelings towards PA. But, eventually i used the PA Discord less and less. And one day when i decided to clean up some servers, PA was simply one of them. But then came the shitshow at the Squad subreddit, and I decided to check on the PA Discord. I imagined it was a shitshow there too, but it was pretty mild, at least when I joined. Quagmire had just posted a statement in the General chat about the situation and i thought, i will give me own opinion about the whole ordeal. Maybe some words from an old member has some value. And even at that point, when I joined. I felt a bit of nostalgia. I was even considering being more active in PA again. Play some Arma again. I still have some unplayed missions ready that I could host. And while i was typing that typing something like "Hey, i got some ready-to-play missions I could host…" I got banned. No warning. No reasoning. No nothing. And that was a major kick in my balls. And then when i tried to get answers, try to reason with you. Try to explain the situation. That there was no ill will at play at all. You just kept giving me bullshit. Over and over again. It's honestly disgusting Wheat. You are the founder of PA, and you could have vouched for me. You could have brought up all that I did in favour of PA. But it meant nothing to you. You said "Screw Nyte" and you and your mods have said it clearly over and over again. So considered that bridge burned. Even if you still decide to remove the ban. And at this point, you will most likely won't I will NEVER return to PA Because you have a shitty mod team. And you have shown that you are a shitty person.
The final judgement
Even though i recorded the video, i withheld it from sending it to Wheat, having a sliver of hope that the ban would still be undone. Despite I already set my mind that I would not return to PA ever.
Then I received the following message from Wheat, putting the final nail in the coffin.
I thought about it and I really don't have the energy to continue this conversation. I trust the mods that removed you and based on how you've acted since you were banned makes me not want to have to deal with you again. If you come back in the future calmer and more reasonable, I'd be willing to have that conversation but we're at a point right now where people are having to block you on Discord because you keep asking about your ban. You've been told why you were banned and that message on r/Playsquad really had no bearing on why it's not being removed. You're acting like you deserve to be in that Discord. Like we're taking away your rights to complain to people that don't want to hear it. It does NO ONE any good unbanning you at this point because we have no reason to think you have any interest in actually being in our community. You know PA. Have you ever seen us let people come to our Discord and give others a hard time? You might say, "But Wheat, you shared your Discord server and you shouldn't have", etc, etc. I shouldn't have done that the way I did. It's over. People have had their say. The Discord link is no longer being shared in posts on r/joinsquad. I won't be responding to this post anymore and if you get rude, I'm just going to mute it. I've answered enough of your questions that at this point, you should understand. Sorry dude.
Screenshot here
At that point, i send him the video, and made a final message, proving every point he made in his message wrong
Screenshot of my reply
This reply ended up giving me another mute to the PA modmail. Which made me decide to post my video in the /r/ProjectAwesome subreddit for everyone to see. But it was removed within a few minutes, earning me a permaban from the subreddit.
Update 22 December 2023
/u/imWheat finally banned me from /r/Joinsquad for this post for "breaking community rules" without any further explanation or reasoning. I knew he was just waiting for any excuse to permaban me from Joinsquad, and I guess he just found one.
Update 22 December 2023 - 2
Here's proof that imWheat wanted to have me banned from the /r/Joinsquad subreddit from the start. Also, the fact he's making up shit like "He's reaching out to my family" is a very sad attempt to get people on his side.
Update 1 January 2024
In another "conversation" with Wheat, he now shares that he accuses me of sending emails to his mother, signed with "Nyteman" as the only form of evidence.
Afterwards, he threatens me with trying to get my reddit account banned and contacting my local authorities.
Update 2 January 2024
I have reported Wheats threats to Reddit, and he received a Reddit ban for it. My 2024 started off great
Update 16 January 2024
Sadly, it was only a 2 week ban. Shame. Because he deserves to be permanently removed from Reddit
Update 4 February 2024
Speculation ahead: So, my Reddit account and LinkedIn account were getting regularly "FORGOT PASSWORD" and "1 TIME LOGIN LINK" mails lately. LinkedIn however, shows where this request was made, and interestingly enough, they always came from Cincinnati in the U.S. On a hunch, i decided to check imWheat's account with RedditMetis, and i found an old comment from the /r/cincinatti subreddit, where he wrote that he was planning to move there.
When I confronted him with this… he immediately nuked his entire Reddit account, deleting all his comments and posts. I'm not saying he's actually doing it, but nuking your entire account for that is SUS AS FUCK
Update, 8-9 February 2024 - Wheat wants to negotiate
In a sudden move, i receive a PM from Wheat. He wants me to remove this post because it makes him look like the bad guy (no shit), but also because in the last update, i was hinting where he was living.
I decided to accept and tell him one more time what i want: Remove ALL my bans (PA Discord, Subreddit and JoinSquad), and will remove this post. I even tried to explain to him that I never had bad intentions in mind when i was to be unbanned.
Wheat replies that he can unban me from /r/JoinSquad, but will only unban me from the PA if I promise not to join it, or take part in PA activities. Stating that if he will unban me, the current PA staff will leave the community. This is of course no different than a ban, but I'm willing to help if it will remove the bans.
Screenshot here
So, despite I feel that i shouldn't even need to do this, I decided to write a super formal ban appeal on the /r/ProjectAwesome modmail. Explaining that it was just unfortunate circumstances, and that my initial ban appeal was mostly fuelled by emotions for being banned from a community i used to love.
Screenshot of my appeal here
A few hours later, i receive the following reply from /u/Tenebo, who is hiding his name. (I know who banned me because of inside info from one PA moderator, who was still on my side)
We say no and have no intention to ever change that stance. ~ Signed, the rest of the Project Awesome team. Typed by the person who initially banned you.
I ask to elaborate
We don't want anyone in PA who harasses people. The fact this has been going on for months and you're still updating your reddit post shows us that you're not someone we want there. The obsession is quite worrying. As you have said in your final judgement, you have already set your mind that I would not return to PA ever. We do not intend to remove the ban.
Screenshot here
Given that the PA moderators do not want to unban me, i return to Wheat and give him the following choice:
Remove my /r/JoinSquad ban, and i will remove all updates since 22 December
Remove ALL my bans, and tell your mod team to suck it, and i will remove this post
Wheat replies, saying that he can't do either. He points to the text of my video from 6 months ago, where I stated that I will never return to PA, and that it doesn't make sense that I still want to be unbanned. Well true, i will never return to PA after what happened, i simply want my bans removed.
Screenshot here
My final message to him was: "Goodbye Wheat"
and i blocked him
Update, 19 February 2024 - Wheat steps down as headmods on all his subs
Still another update. So, Wheat seems to have stepped down as headmods of all the subs he was moderating. He's still mod at /u/FindAUnit, but he's not the headmod there. I'm currently still muted in the /r/JoinSquad modmail, but i will see if they will unban me.
Update, 13 March 2024
And i'm unbanned from /r/Joinsquad. I had to wait till Wheat's mute expired, but after messaging the new mods, the ban was instantly removed.
