[11:12 PM] Roavin: This is Witness W1, colloquially known as Tim. Witness, please introduce yourself to the Court.
[11:12 PM] Tim: Hello Court, I am Witness W1, colloquially known as Tim.
[11:13 PM] Roavin: What are your nation, forum, and other names in the South Pacific?
[11:14 PM] Tim: Nation in TSP: Tim Stark
Forum Name: Tim
Discord Name: Tim#6442
[11:15 PM] Roavin: Do you know the Defendant, Cormac?
[11:15 PM] Tim: Yes
[11:16 PM] Tim: We've known each other since 2012
[11:16 PM] Roavin: How would you characterize your relation to the Defendant?
[11:17 PM] Tim: We had an extensive working relationship over the years stemming from our time in the UDL and then advancing into our involvements within Osiris where we were both frequently part of the "ruling group". In recent months this has broken down to a less amicable level.
[11:19 PM] Roavin: Given your, as you say, "extensive working relationship", is it fair to say that you know the Defendant, including their typical mannerisms and rhetoric, well?
[11:20 PM] Tim: I would say so, yes.
[11:22 PM] Roavin: And furthermore, do you think you are in a good position to judge the intent behind statements made by the Defendant?
[11:22 PM] Tim: I believe I'm in a very good position to judge the intent behind his statements, yes.
[11:24 PM] Roavin: I now present to you Exhibit E2, a sampling of the Defendant's posts on the NationStates Gameplay forum:
https://imgur.com/a/6eQND
[11:24 PM] Roavin: Are you familiar with the posts in question?
[11:25 PM] Tim: Yes, I'm familiar with those Gameplay posts.
[11:27 PM] Roavin: In the first post shown in that image album, the Defendant is shown to have written "I mean to overthrow the Coalition of the South Pacific, and I absolutely won't stop until it is overthrown".
[11:28 PM] Roavin: Does this, in your judgement of the Defendant's intentions, consitute an intent to overthrow the Coalition of the South Pacific?(edited)
[11:29 PM] Tim: I think Cormac's initial statement and subsequent posts evidence clear intent to overthrow The Coalition of The South Pacific. Cormac does mean his threats, regardless of if they come to fruition or not.
[11:32 PM] Roavin: In your judgement, do you see any way in which this statement could have been intended to be satirical, ironic, facetious, or in any other way not seriously conveying an intent to overthrow the Coalition of the South Pacific?
[11:33 PM] Tim: No, it was clearly presented in a manner that was serious and conveying intent to overthrow the Coalition
[11:34 PM] Roavin: Thank you, I have no more questions.
[11:35 PM] Belschaft: Tim, you testified that you have known the defendant since 2012 due to your involvement in a GP military organisation and a GCR region. Would it be fair to describe you as heavily involved in NSGP?
[11:36 PM] Tim: Yes
[11:37 PM] Tim: If I may, I also forgot to mention Cormac's involvement in Spiritus, the UCR which I've founded, where he and I worked closely together in the early stages of the region. That close partnership built further understanding of each others' characters.
[11:37 PM] Belschaft: Would it thus be fair to describe you as an expert in regards to NSGP?
[11:38 PM] Tim: I wouldn't be so arrogant as to call myself that, but I wouldn't see it as an unfair description.
[11:40 PM] Belschaft: Are you familiar with the term "shitposting"?
[11:40 PM] Tim: Yes, I would even characterize myself as an expert shitposter.
[11:41 PM] Belschaft: For the sake of the court, please describe what you understand it to mean.
[11:45 PM] Tim: Shitposting, particularly in the NS sense, would be posting content which is either satirical in nature or in an ironic/meme fashion made for the purpose of highlighting GP matters in an over-the-top comedic manner. Examples of expert shitposting would include the not-in-character Grey Warden update reports and parody news services like Todd McCloud's.
[11:47 PM] Tim: For reference, an example of a "TGW Shitpost"
https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic...#p32516915
[11:47 PM] Belschaft: Could it also be described as "over the top and attention seeking posting"?
[11:49 PM] Tim: Some have that opinion of shitposts, but the primary characteristics of "either satirical in nature or in an ironic/meme fashion made for the purpose of highlighting GP matters in an over-the-top comedic manner" must still be present for it to qualify as a shitpost in my expert opinion.
[11:50 PM] Belschaft: How often are posts in NSGP "over the top and attention seeking"?
[11:52 PM] Tim: I don't feel able to objectively answer that question. Everyone has different perceptions of what is "over the top and attention seeking", though it's worth noting that many posts perceived by some as over the top can still be very serious in tone and intent.
[11:53 PM] Tim: For example, I view most of OnderKelkia's posts as "over the top and attention seeking", yet his purpose behind his posts remains serious in tone and intent.
[11:55 PM] Belschaft: Have you ever known the defendant to make posts in the NSGP forum that meet the definitions of "shitposting" you and I provided?
[11:58 PM] Tim: Yes, I believe my long-time acquaintance with Cormac gives me the knowledge of his shitposts, and how to recognize them as shitposts rather than serious posts. He has at times made posts which would qualify as "shitposts" by the prior definitions of "satirical in nature or in an ironic/meme fashion made for the purpose of highlighting GP matters in an over-the-top comedic manner", though no significant shitposts come to mind in the past 2-3 months.
[11:59 PM] Belschaft: Could you please answer the question as asked.
[11:59 PM] Belschaft: I asked in regarding to both definitions, not just the one you provided.
[12:00 AM] Tim: I believe your definition is a purely subjective one and do not feel qualified to judge Cormac's posts by it.
[12:01 AM] Tim: I feel comfortable with the expert definition I have provided and can judge on that.
[12:01 AM] Tim: However, I have known him to make posts in the GP forum that meet my definition and could be perceived by others to match your definition.
[12:02 AM] Tim: None in recent months (2-3) come to mind, however.
[12:02 AM] Belschaft: Have you ever known the defendant to make a threat which he does not carry out?
[12:03 AM] Tim: I believe Cormac always makes effort to carry out the threats he makes.
[12:03 AM] Tim: So no, he always carries out attempts related to his threats.
[12:04 AM] Belschaft: In the time that you have known the defendant, roughly how many regions has he threatened to attack and/or coup?
[12:04 AM] Belschaft: Excluding day-to-day R/D
[12:06 AM] Tim: To my knowledge... I would say a handful, perhaps 3-5 being a rough guess, once we exclude day-to-day R/D
[12:07 AM] Belschaft: How many of these regions has he gone on to attack and/or coup?(edited)
[12:08 AM] Tim: I would say he has made serious attempts to attack/coup all those he has made these threats to, to my knowledge
[12:11 AM] Belschaft: To do you have any substantive evidence for these allegations and assertions?
[12:14 AM] Tim: A recent evidence would be Cormac's threat against The Rejected Realms and his subsequent multi-day tarting effort in the region as an attempt to overthrow elected delegate Church of Satan. A similar affair occured around my first term as Osiris Pharaoh, when Cormac's infighting with NES led to threats against the region and an effort to seize the delegacy of the region. In addition, it's well documented that Cormac receives information from within private areas of the TSP Assembly that he has then discussed in public, demonstrating a clear attempt to subvert the internal affairs of The South Pacific itself - something in-line with his serious threats against TSP in the Gameplay forum.
[12:17 AM] Belschaft: Do you have any substantive evidence for the specific allegation that Cormac is attempting to overthrow the Coalition?
[12:21 AM] Tim: In my opinion as a long-time acquaitance and associate of Cormac, the provided evidence in Exhibit E2 demonstrates evidence of clear and serious intent to overthrow the Coalition.
[12:21 AM] Belschaft: That was not the question.
[12:21 AM] Belschaft: Do you have any substantive evidence for the specific allegation that Cormac is attempting to overthrow the Coalition?
[12:24 AM] Tim: Counselor, you asked for substantive evidence of Cormac's attempts to overthrow the Coalition. Exhibit E2 provides that, in my opinion. He does not make threats unless he is already carrying them out or intending to carry them out. A serious statement from Cormac on the Gameplay forum stating his clear intent to coup The Coalition of The South Pacific is incredibly substantive.
[12:26 AM] Belschaft: That is a matter of opinion; specifically, your opinion.
[12:26 AM] Belschaft: Further, intending is not the same as doing.
[12:26 AM] Tim: An expert opinion as a long-time acquaintance and associate of Cormac, yes.
[12:26 AM] Belschaft: For a third time;
[12:26 AM] Belschaft: Do you have any substantive evidence for the specific allegation that Cormac is attempting to overthrow the Coalition?
[12:29 AM] Tim: For a third time, Counselor, Exhibit E2 provides that. He does not make threats unless he is already carrying them out or intending to carry them out. A serious statement from Cormac on the Gameplay forum stating his clear intent to coup The Coalition of The South Pacific is incredibly substantive, and your attempt to dismiss expert opinion after attempting to previously inject a non-expert subjective and opinionated definition demonstrates a concerning double-standard.
[12:31 AM] Belschaft: For the record, defence identifies witness as hostile, noting three refusals to answer a direct question and a wilful "ignorance" of the meaning of a common English word
[12:31 AM] Belschaft: Unless prosecution has further matters?
[12:36 AM] Roavin: The prosecution does not consider the witness to have displayed hostility, but rather that there is merely a difference in opinion on what the standard of evidence implied by "substantive" is. No further questions.
[12:36 AM] Belschaft: Defence is satisfied that the hearing is concluded.
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