Edited sentence: Due to these events, riots began on the Mineplex network, which many to this day believe to be the beginning of the decline of the Mineplex network.Even though the staff member revealed themselves, Rebel was still punished.In 2016, the server became a center of controversy, after a user named IntergalaticJC was permanently banned from the network for refusing to testify to staff against his friend.Many users moved to other networks, as they believed the staff team had acted incorrectly, with many going as far as to call it extortion and blackmail.Mineplex was further criticized for punishing players who expressed their opinions on the matter, and made a specific rule that banned discussing banned players on their network.Subsequently, a player with a Youtube channel known by the name of Rebel_Guy, was permanently removed from the network for refusing to identify a staff member who had provided him information about a friend who he believed had been banned falsely.The staff team, however, maintained that in order for the network to run smoothly, players had a duty to report and testify against rule breakers