Well I can tell you for one thing that whoever you are speaking of did not start with a REP12 - all new accounts start with REP25. All this means is the new account had already been flagged down to REP12 by the time you encountered it. But again, I don't know anything about this flap and honestly don't care to. I focus on positive things in my life in general and never go out of my way to bring negativity into my thoughts. I will say though that I 100% approve of and support the Steemit flagging system, warts and all - sure there are instances of unsavory behavior and flag wars. But with the alternative being some kind of centralized power/authority ("Steemit police" as you suggest), I infinitely prefer the decentralized nature of the Steemit system. You don't have to look farther than Youtube for an excellent example of how terrible the results can be when a central authority is the only arbiter of disputes, the sole judge/jury/executioner. I am actually a proponent of decentralization and transparency in all things. Centralization of power and decision making almost invariably leads to corruption and on top of that it is a horribly inefficient model.
RE your unrelated question - while Steemit does not have an onboard chat/private message, there are several 3rd party chat alternatives. The big ones are steemit.chat and discordapp.com. Steemit.chat is (obviously) an exclusively-Steemit chat affair. Discord is a broader chat service (often used by video gamers to communicate while gaming) that has several Steemit focused channels. Discord chat is much more full featured than Steemit.chat, with voice chat and video chat options and a lot more chat functionality as well. I am active on both of the above but I spend a lot more time on Discord - I am same username on Steemit.chat and I am @gnashster on Discord. Feel free to direct message me on either platform. Both are free to sign up for, follow the links above if you are interested.
Cheers - Carl
@carlgnash - As always, all information and advice are appreciated. The anomaly of the new account was its reputation score of 12 on the first and only post, the "introduce yourself" post. That's what struck me. That's what caught my attention. The account was birthed in a flag war. The episode reminded me of the scene in Brad Pitt's latest (?) movie co-starring the French actress whose youth and beauty triggered Angelina's paranoia. In the scene, the wife of Brad's character gives birth during a blitz. The new account appeared during a blitz and even its appearance was questioned as "suspicious." So much to learn, so little time.
I'll try the Steemit chat room for our next conversation.
Many thanks.