April 2017 incident

## **Combatants**

HHW Administration
"The Gang of Four"

## **Commanders**

Hypercane
 Bobnekaro
 StrawberryMaster
 MasterGarfield
 Money Hurricane
Nkechinyer†
 DarrenDude
 Sassmaster15
 Brickcraft1 (one-sided)

## **Casualties**

None
One, Nkechinyer himself

**The April 2017 incident**, also called **Discordgate**, was a major scandal that occurred in the Hypothetical Hurricanes Wiki on April 4, 2017, following former wiki leader and former bureaucrat Nkechinyer (Dane) being blocked due to manipulation and bribing. It also resulted in the demotion of then bureaucrat Brickcraft1.

## Timeline

### **Brick's first demotion and the creation of the server**

On March 24, the HHW bureaucrats (then composed of Hypercane, the wiki leader; Bobnekaro; StrawberryMaster; MasterGarfield; Brickcraft1 and Money Hurricane) agreed and requested the demotion of then-bureaucrat Brickcraft1 due to the leaking of confidential information to former bureaucrat and then chat moderator and rollback Nkechinyer (Dane). Brick denied the accusation and after a lengthy discussion, he was then restored as a bureaucrat. The following day, Dane was deemed by the administration as "too aggressive" to retain rights and was then demoted.

Prior to the incident, Dane created a server and invited some of his friends: Sassmaster15, Brickcraft1, and DarrenDude. Of those three, only DarrenDude wasn't labeled as Dane's best friend, but was eventually convinced by Dane that HHW had turned corrupt and was the head architect of the plan to demote Hypercane and install Brick as head bureaucrat. That server would be very important later in the timeline.

### **The second demotion and Nkech's block**

On April 3, due to "potentially aggressive/offensive" behavior against Money Hurricane on the Hypothetical Tornadoes Wiki's Discord server, Brick was stripped of his administrator rights. When Brick was informed of his demotion, Dane was quietly taking screenshots of the conversation in chat (a fact later confirmed by him) and sending them into the secret server. Brick eventually agreed to demote himself after the community voted, as the admins held a special meeting in the wiki's Discord server regarding Dane's actions during the incident.

During the meeting, an admin of the wiki, AkioTheOne, posted in the Hypothetical Hurricanes Wiki server a conversation between him and Nkechinyer, who was potentially trying to bribe him into opposing Brick's demotion thread. As a result, the administration, in a 2-2-0 vote, decided to block Nkechinyer.

> ugh, you are one tough nut to crack, did you know that? :P
>
> CycloneNkechinyer, during his conversation with AkioTheOne.
>
>

Below is the full dialogue between Nkechinyer and AkioTheOne (shown here as RAMTurtle).
Collapsible.

```
[start of conversation]
RAMTurtle - Yes? [edited]
Nkechinyer - okay, so, I've heard you don't want to see Brick demoted.
Is this correct?
RAMTurtle - As of the last time we talked about his demotion, I defended him.
I am not permitted to talk about what happened at this admin meeting.
I am also not permitted to talk about who supported or opposed Brick's demotion.
Nkechinyer - I am not going to be asking about that. I am rather going to ask why you would like to not see Brick demoted.
RAMTurtle - I just said, last time, I spoke for him, as his demotion was based off of suspicion.
I am not telling you my viewpoint as of now, or any other persons viewpoints.
Nkechinyer - ugh you are being quite vague, but anyway, we need your help.
RAMTurtle - Nkech, I hate seeing a friend being demoted, but I have to stay loyal to the wiki.
Nkechinyer - tell me the truth, please: Are you scared of Hype?
RAMTurtle - No.
Why would I be scared of Hype?
Nkechinyer - well, it's just that he, in my opinion, hasn't been very kind recently.
RAMTurtle - Honestly, I think he is doing his job fine.
Nkechinyer - you think so? please elaborate.
RAMTurtle - I don't see any way how I can elaborate without giving confidential information
Nkechinyer - ugh, you are one tough nut to crack, did you know that? :P
RAMTurtle - Are you trying to manipulate me?
Nkechinyer - well, anyway, I was going to show you some of the stuff I have screenshotted that may indicate otherwise, but if you are going to stay loyal that means you'll obviously leak them to the entire admin team, so...
no.
RAMTurtle - "Ugh you are one tough nut to crack"
Nkechinyer - here y'all go making assumptions again
RAMTurtle - If you are not trying to manipulate me, then please use a better statement than that.
Nkechinyer - my bad, not exactly a grammar genius
RAMTurtle - Okay.
Also, I was not asking for your screenshots for the record. Just saying.
Nkechinyer - I know.
RAMTurtle - I personally do not mind not seeing them.
Nkechinyer - I was going to show them to you but it's clear to me that you'll just show everyone else
RAMTurtle - If I may ask, where are you going to send these screenshots to?
Nkechinyer - they are evidence, being compiled into an evidence locker somewhere in my deep, hidden discord server with [people redacted]
RAMTurtle - Okay.
Is there anything else you would like to ask me?
Or is that it?
Nkechinyer - I was going to ask kindly to oppose Brick's demotion but it's clear you'll probably vote for it
RAMTurtle - Okay.
Nkechinyer - so, good day, I suppose.
RAMTurtle - Have a great one.
[end of conversation]

```

### **Initial cover-up and scandal escalates**

Afterward, bureaucrat StrawberryMaster later decided to contact Nkechinyer about his block, who in return, claimed the block wasn't "reasonable". Nkech then revealed the screenshots would be used as evidence for a possible demotion of a user and that he was assisting in on his "secret Discord server". When asked if he was trying to overthrow eldest bureaucrat and wiki leader Hypercane, he said he had no comment, which drew more suspicion into the case. He would eventually argue with the admins about assumptions made about the scandal.

Once the argument quieted down, Nkech then claims another user had the idea to demote Hype, and that he was merely helping the user in question. He then claims the secret Discord sever used to discuss the proposed demotion was not made with the intention to demote Hypercane, but yes, to be used as a "general hub" to stay in touch with other users, in which he refused to mention their usernames because it was "snitching". He also said he had no comment about the suspected manipulation and about the covered-up information.

Akio, the admin who was nearly blackmailed by Dane, then showed up and claimed Nkech was attempting to overthrow Hype and was hoping for him to change his vote on Brick's demotion (which did not happen as the thread was eventually closed after Nkech was banned).

### **Closure of the thread**

In response to Akio's statement, Nkech then stated that he was in fact persuading Akio, but not manipulating him. He then claims that there is no policy stating manipulating and persuading users isn't allowed. StrawberryMaster then replied to him, wondering why Nkech was still defending himself despite Hypercane previously stating in the thread that Nkech would not be unblocked. Nkech would then claim "he's not backing down" and that Force Thirteen (F13) was more his forte (he would go on to be a member of the F13 US team, and briefly served as a moderator).

Eventually, after discussing it with the admins, StrawberryMaster decided to close the thread, saying that leaving the thread open would be "irresponsible" of him. Nkechinyer would eventually apologize to StrawberryMaster, who accepted it.

### **Nkech's block appeal**

On April 21, 2017, Nkech would then ask Hypercane for his block to be shortened. Five days later, on April 26, after an admin meeting, a community consensus was held if Nkech should get his block shortened or be unblocked. Fourteen users voted in the thread, of which only two users supported the unblock — former junior admin Leboringjack (Jack), one of Nkech's best friends; and Chapsteck4yurlipis (now known as TropicalStormChapsteck, aka Chap), who considered Nkech was a friend during that time. Four users were neutral on it, while eight users opposed it. Eventually, it was agreed that it was too early to unblock Nkech. His block remained in place for months until he was again unblocked in late 2017.

### **Nkech's partial unblock**

Nkech made a second block appeal on September 7, and in a 6-2 vote, Nkech was unblocked on the Hypothetical Hurricanes Discord Server, but remained blocked on the wiki until January 1, 2018. Nkech was then blacklisted from rights for an unknown amount of time, however, it was assumed to be a permanent blacklist. StrawberryMaster would then protest the decision, calling it "risky". Nkech (later known as Dane) would later receive several warnings and nearly get blocked in HHWD, a name for the wiki's Discord server, but managed to stay out of trouble.