Evidence record · D-010
Moderator discussion after Tom's removal
The Discord discussion following Tom's removal records the team's prior knowledge of his Ubiquiti employment and its decision to keep his personal moderator account beside a separate employee-tagged identity. When members question the lack of disclosure, moderator or administrator speakers ridicule the concern, insult participants, and tell critics to leave.
D-010DocumentedThe Discord discussion following Tom's removal records the team's prior knowledge of his Ubiquiti employment and its decision to keep his personal moderator account beside a separate employee-tagged identity. When members question the lack of disclosure, moderator or administrator speakers ridicule the concern, insult participants, and tell critics to leave.
What this shows
- Jon's announcement says Tom disclosed his Ubiquiti employment to the moderator team immediately after he was hired.
- Nevyn says he witnessed the internal discussions and that Tom alerted the team in May 2022, intended to step down, and remained after another moderator proposed using a separate official account; Nevyn says that proposal received immediate support.
- The account displayed as Reiko says there was no real reason for the connection to be public knowledge and later questions whether the issue affects anyone's life.
- The account titled t.c.o.a. and displayed as spot tells critics to leave, says the group laughed while Tom used the two accounts, and calls the server a benevolent dictatorship.
- Jon characterizes criticism as jealousy, tells a critic to grow up, and writes that everyone is lying in some way.
- Several community participants question the undisclosed employment relationship, describe a loss of trust, or say SuddenlyEngineer had denied working for Ubiquiti when asked through the personal account.
- DukeChocula expressly asks whether SuddenlyEngineer's alleged promotion or encouragement of Ubiquiti sales without an employment disclosure violated the FTC's material-connection disclosure guidance, citing 16 CFR § 255.5.
What this does not show
- The export does not include Discord role badges; the identification of Jon as server owner, t.c.o.a./spot as a moderator, and skeletorri/Reiko as an administrator or moderator was supplied by the publisher.
- The archive does not establish that every moderator knew, or that every community member was unaware of the connection.
- The conversation does not expose the complete private moderator discussion or an internal moderation audit log.
- The export does not establish the facts required for a legal conclusion under 16 CFR § 255.5, including whether any particular statement legally qualifies as an endorsement, what its audience reasonably understood, or whether an adequate disclosure appeared in context.
- A statement that a critic would be helped out of the server does not, by itself, prove that a removal or ban was executed.
Once he was hired at Ubiquiti, he disclosed it to us immediately. We felt he still brought great value to the community as a moderator, and didn't think much of it — especially since we have oversight of his limited moderation activities over the past years.
Verified speaker: Jon · Attribution verified
“In May of 2022 he alerted the mod team that he had a real possibility of being hired at UI, with the intent of stepping down as mod, and discussing how it would be handled.”
Nevyn · August 28, 2026 · 7:34 PM
“Another mod that I will leave unnamed suggested he simply have an official account as well rather than transitioning to a non-mod role completely. This got immediate support, and let me be blunt here: this was selfishness.”
Nevyn · August 28, 2026 · 7:34 PM
“No fuck them. I like your schizophrenic arguing with yourself. And I do like you having the separate accounts, because then I know when UI-Tom is posting it is ‘from the horse's mouth.’”
spot · t.c.o.a. · Discord moderator · August 28, 2026 · 7:37 PM
“And as far as you being a mod with your personal account, that's your personal account. Again, fuck them.”
spot · t.c.o.a. · Discord moderator · August 28, 2026 · 7:39 PM
“jealousy comes in many forms”
Jon · August 28, 2026 · 7:45 PM
“I'm just curious, what was the reason to hide the association in the first place?”
pcmike · August 28, 2026 · 7:49 PM
“also no real reason for it to be public knowledge”
Reiko · identified by publisher as skeletorri · August 28, 2026 · 7:49–7:50 PM
“Ya, but he's told me on more than one occasion ‘why are you asking me? I don't work for UI.’”
pcmike · August 28, 2026 · 7:50 PM
“Some of us had had adult jobs where things had to be clearly defined between a personal and the professional.”
spot · t.c.o.a. · Discord moderator · August 28, 2026 · 7:51 PM
“if people ask if he works for UI, and he blatantly states he doesn't … in what context do you see this as trustworthy”
icemanxbe · August 28, 2026 · 7:53 PM
“Trustworthy? The fuck are you talking about? Again, a clear separation between his personal account and his professional account, his personal account was his opinions, his professional account was the party line.”
spot · t.c.o.a. · Discord moderator · August 28, 2026 · 7:54 PM
“I suspected this like 2 years ago so I asked some people and SE messaged me directly and told me he wasn't.”
DukeChocula · August 28, 2026 · 7:56 PM
“did you think the advice and help you got was any less valid? grow up. it's the internet. everyone is lying in some way.”
Jon · August 28, 2026 · 7:59 PM
“Meanwhile, we all laughed our asses off while he was doing that. If you don't like it, you can fucking leave. Nobody's keeping you here. You know what? I'm gonna help you.”
spot · t.c.o.a. · Discord moderator · August 28, 2026 · 7:59 PM
“Again, no one's keeping you here. The door is right there.”
spot · t.c.o.a. · Discord moderator · August 28, 2026 · 8:01 PM
“This isn't freedom of speech. This is a benevolent dictatorship.”
spot · t.c.o.a. · Discord moderator · August 28, 2026 · 8:06 PM
“broke what trust? trust with who?”
Reiko · identified by publisher as skeletorri · August 28, 2026 · 8:10 PM
“it actually does very much matter which discord handle because one speaks for the company and one doesn't”
Reiko · identified by publisher as skeletorri · August 28, 2026 · 8:16 PM
“Wait, doesn't this violate the FTC's Material Connection Disclosure Requirement? I've seen SuddenlyEngineer the Ubiquiti employee promote/encourage the sale of Ubiquiti products.”
DukeChocula · August 28, 2026 · 8:16 PM
“oh my god 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄”
Jon · August 28, 2026 · 8:16–8:18 PM
“do you truly care — does it impact your life”
Reiko · identified by publisher as skeletorri · August 28, 2026 · 8:22 PM