EDU: The Infraction System

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I posted, weak and weary

Into many a fierce and furious thread of "these mods suck penor" —

While I trolled for big reactions, suddenly there came infractions

For the forum interactions, that I had to answer for

"'Tis not possible," I muttered, "that OP's a total whore" —

But the ban said, "Evermore"

There's been a little confusion with the infraction system and how it works, so I'm gonna give a quick run-down of what it does and answer any reasonable questions you guys want to ask (and then when the thread degenerates into a total shit-slinging fest, I will quietly slink away into the little room in the back where the mods get drunk and ignore the pitchforks at the door). For clarification, nothing described here is a new feature or new policy, I just wanted to explain how the existing system works.


Rules
First, the list of rules we currently have for the forum is here: http://www.xerq.net/showthread.php?4-Forum-Rules

The rules will probably be adjusted from time to time as XERQ deems necessary. As with any regulation anywhere, ignorance of the rules isn't an excuse for breaking them.


Infractions
When forum members break rules, moderators will, as they deem appropriate, issue infractions to users. The infractions work sort of the same way points on a license work. You get too many points, your license gets suspended. You get too many infractions, you'll get temporarily banned (this happens automatically).

Any time you receive an infraction, you will automatically receive a private message informing you of the infraction, which moderator issued it, what post it was issued for, and why it was issued.

Most infractions are worth one point, and they expire after two weeks. If, at any point, a user has three points worth of infractions, they will be banned for the duration of the period during which ALL of those three points are active. If you were issued a one-point infraction today, and then received a two more infractions a week from today, you would be automatically banned for a week while all three infractions were active, then the first infraction would expire and you would be able to post again. However, you would still have two points worth of infractions active, and until they expired any additional infraction would trigger another ban.

At the discretion of XERQ and/or the moderators, any infraction may be worth more than one point or expire after a longer period of time (including a full ban, should it be necessary). At any time, you may view this information on the infractions tab in your profile (click on your username at the top). This tab will tell you whether you have any infractions or warnings and when any existing infractions will expire. Moderators are also able to see this information, though other users are not.

All infractions also trigger a new post in the moderation subforum displaying all of the pertinent information to other mods and to XERQ. No moderator can ever issue an infraction that is not immediately available for review to all of the other moderators and to XERQ himself. Infractions can be only be reversed by XERQ, should he decide to have mercy on your soul.


Warnings
Warnings function exactly like infractions in terms of notification, profile display, and expiration, with one major difference: they're worth zero points. No amount of warnings will trigger a ban. Warnings serve two primary purposes: first, they inform the forum member that they're breaking a forum rule, and second, they create an audit trail (both on the user's infractions tab and in the mod forum), so that a second moderator won't jump on your case for the same issue.

I would urge users not to take offense to a warning. It's really not much different from a PM, it just lets other mods know that whatever the situation is has already been handled. That said, if you receive a warning for a particular activity, and you do it again, an infraction is probably in your future.


In Defense of Moderation
We try to be fair in our moderation (pause for laughter), but we do realize that moderator actions will inevitably be perceived as biased in some way. If you receive an infraction that you're certain is unfair, I'd advise you to start by responding to the moderator who issued it. Politely (). If you deem the moderator totally unreasonable, then you can appeal to XERQ. That said, if you aren't in the habit of getting infractions, a single infraction probably won't do you any harm as it'll just expire anyway.


tl;dr: don't behave badly and you probably won't get banned.


you all.

-red

(ibworstmoderatorever)

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tl;dr: don't behave badly and you probably won't get banned.

glad i scrolled to the bottom

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak November,
As each separate pissed off member of OT had sought the door.
Praying then for Fazle's sorrow; - "I hope he get AIDS tomorrow
From the diseased crotch of Caro - Caro dactyl, the forum whore" -
But the harsh, repressive mods for which OT had been known for -

Remain on Xerq forevermore.

Fuck this shit

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak November,
As each separate pissed off member of OT had sought the door.
Praying then for Fazle's sorrow; - "I hope he get AIDS tomorrow
From the diseased crotch of Caro - Caro dactyl, the forum whore" -
But the harsh and absolute mods of which OT had been known for -
Remain on Xerq evermore.

Fuck this shit

lol. bant.

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what is bad fellowship?

what if i'm not promoting good fellowship but not promoting bad fellowship at the same time?

can I haze newbs?

"Don't bring drama here from other forums or websites." What constitutes 'drama'?

Will previous infractions that have expired have any bearing on future judgement by the mods should it arise?

how many complaints from separate people would it take to receive an infraction or be banned?

Is there a defense for the user if they're ganged up on? Even if those ganged up on trolled or did something in bad taste?

How will mods be held accountable?

Will the featured section be fixed anytime soon? (e.g. IL issues, shitty appearance due to bugs etc.)

I guess I need to write an EDU on the use and purpose of the Encyclopedia XERtanica section of the forums ...

This will end up there, I'm sure.

what is bad fellowship?

As far as the infraction system goes, it's mostly a generic label under which other things listed in the rules fall. The most obvious of those is posting IRL information about other members. We don't want you posting pictures or personal information about our members without their consent.

what if i'm not promoting good fellowship but not promoting bad fellowship at the same time?

Promote Good Fellowship is a heading in the rules. We won't infract you for being boring.

can I haze newbs?

Sure. But we'd prefer you be gentle with their virgin cornholes. More newbs = more people = more posts = moar fun

"Don't bring drama here from other forums or websites." What constitutes 'drama'?

Mostly IRL shit.

Will previous infractions that have expired have any bearing on future judgement by the mods should it arise?

Not in any automatic sense, but I suspect that if you've been infracted for violating the same rules several times, it's unlikely that a mod would bother with a warning before infracting you for breaking that same rule again.

don't be an asshole and you have nothing to worry about?

don't be an asshole and you have nothing to worry about?

Honestly this explanation of infractions and warnings was very sound and the way it will be handled is very reasonable imo. There has to be guidelines and rules to follow in every forum. I was hoping that Xerq didn't turn out having a bunch of power tripping moderators who can't help themselves but to run off their members and stink up the forum with their adolescent behaviors. Once again Xerq shines through being an A+ leader of this great Forum we all have to enjoy.

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What the gay is this infraction bullshit?? Highschool 2.0?

I want to read all that but there's so many words. Can you make that info into a rage comic or something?

where does it say you can get an infraction for posting a pic of someone on NN?

IN FOR GROUP INFRAXONS!

Also...

redisworstmodev4r

Very well put @red. Poz incoming, sir.

Nice write up

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That thing is terrifying. It is staring into my soul.