Forum Rules Revision - Warning System & Mandatory Bans

[Neddie]

In the interests of improving both the clarity and fluidity of the warning system, here are two new rules. I will be adding them to the forum rules thread as well.

Mandatory Minimum Warning System Bans

1. Upon the receipt of a third formal warning in a sixty day period, the offending user will be banned from the forum. This ban shall have a minimum duration of one week.
2. Upon the receipt of a formal warning within sixty days of receiving any warning which resulted in a ban, the offending user will be banned from the forum. This ban shall have a minimum duration twice that of the previous ban.

You can check the number of warnings you have through the UCP. This is intended to manage repeat offenders more consistently as well as capture the value of a standard warning in some concrete manner. Extreme actions may still be met with immediate moderation, these rules merely establish a minimum disciplinary action given particular conditions.

[FLOZi]

Woo, neddie is back!

Now move the lua forum under the content creation section and give mods&games a resources subforum kthxlvu.

[Caydr]

How does one contest the circumstances leading to a ban when one is banned and unable to log in?

I would suggest that instead of using the board's built-in "ban" feature, you instead add "banned" users to a special usergroup that is unable to post in any forums, for the duration of their ban.

I'd appreciate this, as in the past I have been on the receiving end of actions that the moderation committee as a whole might not necessarily agree with.

It would be nice to know that the next time my warning level is bumped repeatedly by different moderators regarding the same posts, that this won't immediately lead to a week ban that I can't say anything about. Maybe put something in the moderation rules thread suggesting that user notes be checked prior to action being taken to avoid this kind of thing too.

[Neddie]

Repeat offenders under this system do not get to contest the ban upon enactment. They can contest warnings prior to enactment, and upon banning at least one other moderator or administrator will look at the ban to confirm it, and thus it won't lead in general to duplicate warning based bans. At the moment only a handful of people are doing regular moderation work, and we cooperate closely.

[AF]

Is this not loosening the rules? Prior to this change 3 strikes was supposed to invoke a permanent ban

[Neddie]

Not exactly. This is a mandatory minimum. Three strikes was never enforced, nor could it be well enforced because the period in which they might occur was not clearly defined. If we banned everybody to ever have three warnings, half the regular posters would be gone.

[SwiftSpear]

Is this not loosening the rules? Prior to this change 3 strikes was supposed to invoke a permanent ban

Three strikes referred to 3 bans, warnings have never been very potent. Three strikes was never officially in the rules anyways as far as I know, and it was very rarely enforced.

There wasn't really such a thing as a permanent ban for the longest time. Permanent ban meant "banned until we forget about you".

[Spawn_Retard]

+1 for still being able to log in and pm for contesting your ban.

I've seen it on other forums and it works.


It would also stop me reading topics I've already read as i rely on the orange icons to tell me if any new advances have happened.


Also could we be informed on what stage we are on during the sixty days?

[KDR_11k]

I think most forums just let moderators instaban when needed, that lets them weed out the trolls much more effectively than what we do here. Spring is the most hostile community I've seen.

[SwiftSpear]

I think most forums just let moderators instaban when needed, that lets them weed out the trolls much more effectively than what we do here. Spring is the most hostile community I've seen.

You're pretty sheltered then.

[AF]

About now I'd start looking for positive reinforcement and functional solutions, as we're kind of pushing the boundaries of rule changes since we have so many to follow and so few to enforce.

[knorke]

since we have so many [rules] to follow

hm, no? its just common sense really.

Spring is the most hostile community I've seen.

from my experience people are quite helpful and patient.

[bobthedinosaur]

I'll just take this outside...

[MidKnight]

Thank you very much for this, Neddie.

To those advocating the ability to log in to the forums when banned:
When and how would this be useful? Do you expect to be banned in the future? If so, do you also expect to only wish to contest your ban subsequent to receiving 2 warnings, and choose not to contest said warnings?

Edit: Thanks, Lurker.

[lurker]

Psst, when you get the third warning you are already banned.

Why are you nesting clauses so deeply?

[Forboding Angel]

Not exactly. This is a mandatory minimum. Three strikes was never enforced, nor could it be well enforced because the period in which they might occur was not clearly defined. If we banned everybody to ever have three warnings, half the regular posters would be gone.

Including me

Nice to see the hammer finally coming down. Only took 6 years to do it. Looking forward to a possibly more civil and helpful community

[Gota]

It already seems to be much less hostile...
I think the lack of proper moderation got on everyone's nerves so much they decided to stop trolling so much by themselves.

[Sausage]

has anything even changed

[==Troy==]

+ for being able to login and pm the moderators. With ability of those moderators to ban the user even from the pming (as a last resort, if the pms are not used to figure out the situation)

You can never prevent an accidental mistake.


To those who are trying to say "do you expect to be banned in the future" - that is the very reason we have the draconian laws on privacy and our freedoms.

[Forboding Angel]

You get 3 warnings troy. If you haven't talked to the mod before then and stopped your behavior, you deserve to get banned. Even if you do, the ban oly lasts a week the first time, so go take a vacation, see the world, etc.