The entry "83years" by Matthias M. Giwer has been removed from the
competition under the provisions of rule 2.d of the IRTC Rules for
Stills which states "The IRTC reserves the right to reject and remove
any submission, at any time, for any reason.".

This is not the first time the IRTC Admins have decided to remove an
entry, and it will likely not be the last.

The image was not censored for content--we were well aware of its
content before voting was opened.

Our concerns are based on Mr. Giwer's history for being a disruptive
force in the communities he frequents, often leaving those communities
in ruins when he's done. We've seen first hand and heard stories of
his repetitive inflammatory statements side tracking groups, causing
the members to argue and thus diverting the purpose of the group and
driving away its members.

In the last day we have seen clear evidence that this pattern had
begun with the competition itself. So, we're now seeking to repair
that damage has been done by any means at our disposal.

This has been a very hard decision for the IRTC Admins. Even now, we
are not unanimous in our decision to take this action and the admins
in favor of taking this action do so with heavy hearts. We believe
strongly in freedom, especially the freedom of artists to create
whatever they like. But given Mr. Giwer's historic record and the
statements made in his submission, we felt it was not in the IRTC's
best interest to give him a venue to express his inflammatory views.
There are other, more appropriate places where such views may be
expressed.

We hope our actions will settle this matter and get us back on track.
There are 99 other entries in this round of the competition that
deserve as much attention.

Bill Marrs
IRTC Admin

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