A top OneOf customer claims to have been removed from an official Discord server and a Telegram channel following public criticism of the company’s alleged failure to provide promised benefits to NFT holders. Photo Credit: Alexander Shatov
Last week, Digital Music News reported on far-reaching customer criticism of NFT platform OneOf. Now, despite having dropped thousands on tokens, a customer we spoke with says he’s been abruptly cut off from the Quincy Jones-backed company’s main communication channels.
The impacted NFT holder – who wasn’t identified by name in our piece but did provide quotes and disclose purchase-history details – emailed us about the abrupt end of his access to OneOf’s Telegram channel and Discord server. According to the individual, OneOf, which has yet to respond to DMN’s multiple requests for comment, blocked him on the mentioned platforms without notice.
(While Discord and Telegram seem relatively popular among OneOf’s NFT holders, the latest post in the company’s Reddit community looks to have been published nine months ago.)
Notwithstanding the lack of a public response from the tight-lipped NFT company, the allegedly excluded customer also told us that remaining members had been briefed on his conspicuous absence from the digital communities. A OneOf founder, the allegedly kicked-out purchaser explained of his discussions with members, had attributed the development to a purported violation of “community standards.”
It’s unclear exactly how the customer could have violated the Discord server’s community standards by respectfully expressing his opinion – and well outside the server at that. But moderators yesterday created new requirements for said server or modified existing rules, the appropriate page shows.
“Respect the Owner’s Decisions: The final say on server matters rests with the server owner,” reads rule 19, with rule 20 then encouraging “constructive criticism” but prohibiting “any defamatory, false, or harmful statements about our company.”
Of course, the customer’s remarks, far from constituting defamatory or false statements, were based upon easily verifiable facts. Similarly, others who’ve voiced even firmer criticism directly on OneOf’s Discord server appear to have continued access.
“How do the founders sleep knowing the platform they built is crumbling?” a different user wrote on the OneOf Discord last month. “Oh wait, they are waiting for another bullrun to help cover up their ineptitude.”
Independent of conversations regarding the long-term value trajectory and viability of non-fungible tokens, OneOf indicated in July of 2022 that those who bought its Biggie NFTs would “soon” gain access to The Brook “entertainment metaverse experience.” At the time of this writing, the promised digital world didn’t have so much as a live webpage.
That an individual who spent hard-earned cash on this and other “drops” is being punished simply for commenting on the matter raises questions about the precise plans of OneOf (which has announced at least $70 million worth of funding) and the steps that all digital-item platforms must take to maintain the trust of users moving forward.
