sidenote:
I only know what has been discussed here in the Commencement Thread, and the Administrative Decisions.
Can we users and supporters of Smogon get full transparency in the Administrative Decision process?
The big shot callers should be publicly accountable for their decisions.
Suppose a majority of Smogon userbase, or a majority of standout community leaders similar to ABR, think the decision is unreasonable, what is the process to get the problem fixed?
There seems to be genuine ambiguity in what is or isn't allowed for teamsharing etc., and genuinely no hard rules set with regards to punishment.
The TDs seems to have realised 12 months was too harsh, but why is 6 months the final call " Meanwhile, our decision is final for this case. " ? According to whom? Who gets to make the call that it's 6 months and not 3 months (and not 1 month?)
Smogon is a community that prides itself on our competitiveness, and it makes me sad to see a (as far as I know) well-meaning teammate punished so harshly. It would be a horrible tragedy if this guy was discouraged from participating in future events because he thinks Smogon tournament regulation is unfair.