I will concede that including an ex-player may not have been the best choice, when current players' voices hold more weight.

However, I respectfully disagree that Batty should have handled that plurk alone. She already had reason to suspect that this game's authority figures would not treat her fairly, and was in fact bringing that very concern to an authority figure about another authority figure. She did not feel safe being alone in a mod space at that time, and we felt that was a legitimate concern.

In that situation, it is perfectly natural to want witnesses to the conversation. Witnesses are used as a way to hold all parties involved accountable for their actions. This happens in real life all the time, and I see no reason why RP should be treated differently.