#santae

Anyway, yeah, what it says in the title. On October 24th, around 10am EST, I was restocking my user shop when the entire webpage went white. I couldn't access the site at all and, when I tried to look for the Discord on my server list, it wasn't there. I knew what this had meant. I got banned from both the game, and the Discord - this is important to keep in mind for later.

I didn't receive any Discord DM or email notification about my ban, so after asking a mod what their support email was (and yes, I later verified that this is indeed their legitimate support email), I sent them this:

After a few hours, I get this back in response:

There's so much I'm confused about here. I think the one that screams out the most is that they're asking me to show them my photo ID so I can get unbanned. Absolutely not. I refuse to do this. This poses a massive security and privacy risk. They straight up banned my account, gave this half-baked explanation, and told me I need to send my personal information or... I stay banned?

Let me make something clear: The only personal thing they have on file about this account is the email address that I created my account with, which I've also used to contact them. My real name, date of birth, anything of that nature would not be connected because this was not asked for during account creation, therefore this wouldn't actually prove I'm the account holder. Theoretically speaking, I could show them any ID in the world and for all they know, that's my real information, because they have nothing else to go off of. They even say as much in their privacy page.

Secondly, "account has been compromised"? What does that mean? I think anyone's interpretation of this would be that my account got hacked. But if my account got hacked, why wasn't I informed of this? I had to reach out to support, they did not reach out to me first. That means my password, which I may share across other sites, would have been known to someone else and thus I should've been warned of this immediately, not roughly 5 hours after the fact.

Thirdly, what, was my Discord "compromised" too? If an automated system had flagged my account, does that system somehow interact with a Discord bot so they ban a user on both at the same time? How does that work? That makes no sense as to why they'd ban me on both the game and the Discord for something like this, which is why I'm calling bullshit.

Let me tell you what I think happened.

Recently, Santae has been in some really hot water with connections revealing their relation to an older petsite, Lurapets, which has a history of scamming and artist mistreatment, as well as proof coming out of them using AI art for their NPC art. You can find these posts on the @santae-salt blog if you want to see for yourself, but I'm also linking them throughout this post.

Once the post about them being directly related to Lurapets was released, several users that the Santae staff thought might be involved in the creation of the post got banned. As it turns out, I was banned at the same time as these users.

After speaking with the @santae-salt admin, we are both of the belief that I, a regular user, got caught up in this mess because they're assuming I'm an alt account of someone else and staff demanded to see my ID because they didn't think I was a different person. It may turn out to be wrong, and yeah that sounds a bit far-fetched, sure, but really, what else can I go off of here?? Santae staff has given me a very questionable and refutable explanation as to why I've been banned, and their radio silence after I refused to send them my ID is just making me believe they don't think I'm real. They don't want my photo ID to verify I'm the account holder, they want my photo ID to verify I'm not someone else.

This is unprecedented. I've never seen any petsite ask for a photo ID in any situation, and after asking around, not even those banned from Santae were asked for this. It's just me! This is an incredible attempted breach of privacy, and, with Santae now under doxxing allegations, I really don't feel confident they'd keep my personal information… well, personal.

I messaged back almost immediately after they responded to me where I told them I would not send my ID and I had asked if there were any other way I could verify myself to get my account unbanned. I've received no response so far, and after what I've learned, I feel like I'm not going to get one at all.

So, let this be a lesson to you: don't waste your time on Santae. You can be the most obedient player out there. You can abide by all their rules, be a nice and generous player, or just be minding your own business, but if they so much as think you're associated with someone who they think has wronged them, you'll be banned.

Staff Members of Santae Entertainment LLC.

Dear Management Head CJ, The present letter has the objective of opening communications regarding a series of events within the Santae Workspace. We as members of the Staff Team want to make an official petition to take these statements into consideration and open discussions to improve the workplace environment we have come to appreciate, all in order to continue making possible the growth of Santae.

Recently, we as staff members of Santae Entertainment have witnessed and experienced interactions that have been deemed as inappropriate or unprofessional. These interactions extend to staff members in Front-End and Back-End positions.

In order for us to continue providing service to Santae, we require an immediate acknowledgement and addressal of these eventualities, including a plan of action and the management of our workspace.

Issues of Note

Included are the concerns that Staff Members of diverse roles have reported not being handled in an appropriate manner for a work environment sharing the ideals of kindness, safety and unity as established by Santae. It is our hope that the acknowledgement of said events will open an opportunity to improve relations and foster a safe and professional environment for all Santae Staff Team members.

A. Frequent occasions of speaking ill or inappropriately about current and previous staff, site users and/or situations utilizing the designated Staff Server Voice Calls. As well as distasteful content being displayed in the shared Work Space, despite the vocalization of discomfort from multiple Staff Members.

Conversations on official Staff communication channels must remain professional and respectful, projecting an image of unity, while being mindful about social and historical backgrounds, ethnicity, race, identity and current sensitive global issues.

B. Concerns not being met with a professional or empathetic response, on the contrary, implying that expressing their uneasiness would foster an unsafe work environment, ultimately leading to members of the Staff feeling unheard. This is accompanied by the relaying of unclear terms, rules and regulations for Staff Team members that contradict or imply previous statements on said rules.

As Santae fosters values such as kindness, empathy and compassion, these same values must be represented within the private Staff spaces in order to create a safe work environment for every individual. Communication is essential for the best performance of their employees and therefore the correct functioning of the Santae Entertainment site both in private and public spaces.

C. Incidences of Staff and Users feeling that Management has previously or is currently utilizing resources, information, status or vulnerabilities in a way that elicits the individual into an emotional or moral disadvantage to argue or discuss issues openly. On a similar note, instances of Management insisting on conducting private conversations with Staff and Users after a discussion has been settled in public.

In order to promote a secure and equitable work environment, external factors to disagreements and conversations should not be taken into account unless specifically relevant to the resolution of said discussion. In a similar manner, private or sensitive information pertaining to any Staff member or User should not under any circumstances be distributed, displayed or relayed to any other Staff member or User without the former individual’s expressed written consent. As for an appropriate usage of the designated Staff communication channels, requesting private dialogue between staff without a mediator cannot be insisted on when it is expressed they are unwilling.

D. An incident involving multiple Staff Team members participating in an unrestricted Voice Call channel being spoken to in a manner that was deemed as disrespectful and severely harsh while in the presence of unrelated Staff Team members that were allowed to join the aforementioned call unimpeded, leading to shame and a posterior fearful environment.

We believe this to be the lead cause of reflection upon the conducts observed in Santae Entertainment’s workplace across an extended period of time, motivating the need to elicit change in order to keep operating in the most efficient, professional and adequate manner moving forward. Ideally, communications must be kept in a tone and volume that conveys respect in an omnidirectional way, benefiting the resolution of misunderstandings, mishaps and misinformation.

Suggestions and Future Improvements

The present Santae Staff cherishes the fellowship within its members, including that of the Management Head, and trusts that there is opportunity in hardship, guiding us in the search for a safer environment in which many of us find home. While changes are needed in order to improve current working conditions, the Santae Staff team is open and willing to collaborate in the proposition, development and implementation of the needed and/or requested measures written on this document or otherwise proposed by the Management Head, thus perpetuating the family values that Santae Entertainment holds as its core tenets.

The introduction of an HR Manager who acts as a mediator and impartial party between Staff and Head Management. Santae Staff will propose an interim HR Manager until a new, completely impartial external individual can be hired as fitting for both the Head Management and Staff requirements. We believe that a neutral ground would facilitate communications in the events of announcements, controversies, changes in reglament, management of Staff and resources, as well as scheduling and planification.

Reduce unnecessary private correspondence with Staff and Users, unless actively and enthusiastically consented to. Personal conflict should be handled through the HR Manager, who will arrange conversations between the appropriate Department Lead, the team Member/User, and Head Management. It is to be respected if any or both parties request a Mediator present in conversations taking place, all in order to ensure a secure, fair and respectful dialogue between both parties. This, at the same time, will foster a feeling of trust between all members of the Santae Staff Team.

Cease all distribution, relaying or display of private or sensitive information of any individual without their explicit written consent. This requirement is specially insisted upon as it is protected under various Data Protection Laws, including Federal US Law. We have trust that is in Santae Entertainment’s best interest to comply with such requirements.

Avoid introducing mentions of actions done magnanimously, status or vulnerabilities in irrelevant conversations on unrelated topics. With the objective of keeping communications clear and leveraged for all Staff members, it is important that the focus is kept on priority issues during conversations and discussions, separating personal and professional relationships in a healthy way.

All Staff and Management members must be addressed and referenced to in a respectful manner in all public channels and in private correspondence with other Staff Members. While we understand the existing trustworthy treatment between Staff members, it is important to remain cordial towards all individuals that are and have formed part of the Santae Staff team.

Staff Members should always operate in the chain of command in relation to official matters, unless there is a conflict with the direct next member of the chain, in which case they should address the next highest member in the chain. Management must allow Department Leads to operate as needed with only the necessary interference. This ensures that only verified and clear information is relayed between Departments and between members, avoiding miscommunication, controversies or escalating problematics.

Advances or bonus on Staff payment should be written and agreed to, signed by Santae Entertainment LCC and the next participating party. A signed agreement will ensure the safety of both parties and establish a reference point for future transactions.

Management is encouraged to allow an open, public conversation for Staff Members to discuss and suggest improvements to the structure and culture of the Santae Staff Team, with no fear of retaliation or punishment. We believe that great things are built in collaboration, and the unity Santae has projected in past occasions can shine again in the face of adversity.

We, as Santae Entertainment LCC Staff members, officially and formally request that these terms are met and that a betterment of the work environment is progressed upon in order to continue providing services by Front-End, Back-End, and other diverse Staff, some of which have preferred to remain anonymous. While we have trust that Management Head will take these claims into consideration as it is representative of Santae Entertainment’s core values, failure to hold this agreement on course would constitute a relapse of the previously stated consequences. We believe that the most appropriate way of addressing the present in order to keep transparency and trust is through a public written statement or action of similar fashion, avoiding the usage of unrecorded Voice Calls or private, unmediated channels.

We extend a sincere thanks while we work together to sort this issue.

Thank you beforehand for your involvement in the matter.

Sincerely,