r/ButtonNews • u/hansolo580 • Apr 13 '15
Editorials [Editorial] Assassin Reveals All
Greetings, followers of the Button saga.
This is hansolo580, the owner and editor of Button News. I am writing this post out of an obligation to our community, and an obligation to my Assassin brothers.
You may be confused by the final clause of the previous sentence. Yes, I, hansolo580, am an Assassin. Or at least I was. I am /u/SS57, the former High Commissioner of the Assassins of the Button. I answered only to /u/liminalsoup, the leader of our order. I once believed firmly in the cause of the Assassins, and was a diehard loyalist.
A search through /u/SS57's post history will reveal my loyalty. Until the bitter end. Dear reader, you must understand, this post is not part of some grand scheme or plot. I truly was one of /u/liminalsoup's most active and loyal followers. I created one of our first propaganda campaigns, found here. I actively participated in several hidden subs to plan for various operations. I even went as far as joining the Knights with this account, /u/hansolo580, and enlisted in the Redguard.
It did not stop there. I noticed a lack of press presence in the Buttonverse, thanks to /u/OscarDimlaw's post here. I saw this as a golden opportunity for the Assassins to secretly control the primary media outlet, and it worked like a charm. The sub exploded, and currently has nearly 200 followers. During the waiting period while the sub grew, I interviewed various people from a number of factions, including an interview with myself. While this was going on, I began to notice a trend of liminalsoup unnecessarily flipping out. A glance at his post history will reveal his active participation in flame wars, particularly early on in the history of the Buttonverse. He improved, largely due to my urging for him to allow me to be the public face of the Assassins. However, simply because he stopped such behavior in public does not mean it ceased among our order. A detailed explanation of his behavior will come later.
Regardless of liminal's internal behavior, the stage was set for a massive PR operation. In coordination with /u/liminalsoup, I organized a group of Assassin ambassadors, and even began to recruit potential diplomats. Liminalsoup had told me to get his approval prior to appointing people, however, and I made an effort to do so. I established new applicants as "Probationary Diplomats" pending approval from liminalsoup. If asked, I can present PM's supporting this claim. Liminalsoup did not respond to my requests, however, and the war of public opinion moves quickly. As a result, I had to make a decision. I decided to proceed with diplomatic actions, and intentionally left my orders to the Probationary Diplomats vague until liminalsoup had vetted them. This way, we could begin making progress without potentially revealing our plans to double agents.
As I headed to bed after a full day of coordinating diplomacy efforts, I received a PM from liminalsoup, in which he degraded me and showed no respect for my behavior. I reacted with strong, but true words, and urged him to trust me. I felt that given my history of massive operation successes, the number of Assassins I had recruited, and my public coverage of him, that I had proven myself reliable enough to be trusted. However, liminalsoup disagreed, and began a harsh conversation with me, in which he blatantly declared himself dictator of the Assassins. I can provide proof of this conversation, if asked. Additionally, he publicly humiliated me, despite his constant urgings to handle disputes in PM's. It is worth noting that I had only discussed his errors in private messages prior to this point.
Following a lengthy discussion with liminalsoup, I realized that his true motivation the entire time was to gain power. He is no warrior of justice against the Button, as he attempts to paint himself. Rather, he is looking to give himself the most powerful position that he possibly can. He repeatedly refuses to share any power with members of his organization, yet constantly lashes out at them about his frustrations having to do it on his own. Several users have offered to assist in organizing our efforts, and he has refused. He immediately shoots down his subordinates for daring to present an idea contrary to his own. Once again, I can provide proof of these claims.
When I joined the Assassins, I believed their cause to be just. I still do. I believed the Assassins were the pinnacle of individual freedom, and they could be, if liminalsoup was not in control of them. In fact, it is exclusively due to the nature of his leadership that the Assassins numbers are so few. The mood among the order is toxic, due to his incapability to trust anyone, ever.
As a result of the large list of abuses provided above, I have concluded that working for liminalsoup is the greatest of unnecessary burdens, and the most prominent evil within the Buttonverse. I urge the Assassins to abandon him, and form an alternate organization, based upon freedom. The ideas of shadowy operations and liberty are not mutually exclusive.
Following this post, I will be promoting /u/kindlyappreciated to full moderator status of Button News, and leaving the Button behind. While I will still remain the Owner of Button News, I will play a much more minor role in it. I still support my Assassin brothers, and I wish nothing but the best for them. However, Button News serves an important purpose, and I will leave it in capable hands in the interest of all of my dear readers. If you feel taken advantage of, I sincerely apologize. Please do not let my behavior reflect poorly on this publication, and continue to visit /r/ButtonNews for all of your media needs.
If any of you are wondering, I will still remain a staunch nonpresser.
May the Grey favor you.
hansolo580/SS57
P.S. Always keep in mind, this is just a game.
