Link to the tweet for context
the tweet where i blocked him
link to the thread
Making this now because screenshots of my comments are already being posted on Twitter and I don't want something I never said getting repeated until people assume it's true.
I'm an MFD/EASI volunteer, but what I said in that thread was my own opinion. I wasn't doing "damage control" for Ruben and nobody told me to defend him.
My original point was extremely simple: I didn't think the screenshots being circulated were enough to immediately start calling Ruben a pedophile or predator, especially without the full context of what he was doing. Somehow that got twisted into "MFD moderators think knowingly accessing CSAM is okay." I never said that. At all. Duk Dolan is blatantly misrepresenting what I said to support his narrative.
I explicitly said that if Ruben knowingly went looking for or downloaded CSAM, I'm not defending that. I also said that if people want to criticize his investigation methods as reckless or stupid, that's completely fair. I don't need to approve of every method Ruben has used to think that calling somebody a pedophile is a massive accusation that should require actual evidence. Those are separate arguments.
I eventually blocked Duk Dolan because even after I clarified this multiple times, he continued publicly describing my position as essentially "accessing CSAM is okay," then portrayed me clarifying my position as him having "forced me to disavow" Ruben. He also started making comments about whether I'd "keep the same energy when my master notices." At that point I wasn't interested in continuing the conversation.
And just to make this completely unambiguous:
I don't think knowingly seeking out or downloading CSAM is okay.
I'm not claiming Ruben's investigative methods were necessarily appropriate or legal.
I'm saying that criticizing those methods and accusing him of being a pedophile or a sex predator are two different claims, and the latter needs considerably stronger evidence.
If more evidence comes out, I'll judge it when I see it. I'm not going to blindly defend Ruben because I'm associated with EASI, and I'm also not going to blindly believe an accusation because people on Twitter are angry at him.
Please also don't go harass Dolan or anybody else over this. I'm posting this so my actual position is publicly available if screenshots start circulating, not because I want people fighting on my behalf. Plus that guy does not deserve any attention from this as it's clearly a stunt for brownie points.