SPLI is not happy to report that the former Co-Founder of SPLI, Jeff Weinstein, has been banned from the group and SPLI events. We wanted to be very open about what happened and to explain our actions to the StreetPass community, as we have nothing to hide and we’re doing what we think is right for the group as a whole.

Our decision was based on almost a year’s worth of documented incidents of cyber-bullying, leading up to a recent public threat by Jeff against our upcoming panel at Eternal Con. We take this very seriously. As it states in the SPLI TOS: “anyone seen maliciously targeting a specific PERSON or GROUP will be banned.”

This was not an easy decision. The SPLI Admin Team held a vote on this topic, because we do appreciate everything Jeff has done for the group through the years. However, his recent actions are completely unacceptable, and we have the TOS in place for this reason. We cannot afford to continue giving him special treatment when his actions have been so malicious, and now that he has directly threatened a group activity we have no choice.

Group members have approached SPLI Admin Staff several times saying that Jeff’s recent public outbursts make them uncomfortable, and that his presence at meetup events makes them not want to attend. We want group members to know that it is our mission is to ensure that SPLI meetup events are a safe and fun experience for attendees, and that Jeff is NOT welcome to participate in any future SPLI activities at public events.

Please rest assured that the Eternal Con staff has been alerted to the open threats made against our upcoming panel, and appropriate action will be taken if needed.

We also wanted to address Jeff’s recent allegations that SPLI is stealing his “intellectual property” by hosting a game show panel at Eternal Con. We’d like to quickly remind everyone of the definitions of intellectual property, copyright and trademark, as they are explained by Facebook:

Jeff does not have any legal claim to the idea/concept of a “game show,” nor does he have any ownership of the term “StreetPass Game Show.” We are by no means the first group to ever select game show contestants from an audience. His demands are completely ungrounded and out of line.

We can only ask that you not get involved with Jeff’s negative and accusatory posts while he attempts to threaten SPLI Admin staff members and the group itself. SPLI does not negotiate with cyber bullies. Please follow our lead in taking the moral high ground regarding this situation.