Dear Members,
As announced earlier, CF is switching to a new moderation warning and infraction system, and a new appeals system. A Questions/Answers post follows this one.
Please note: People who currently are banned will need to serve out their bans as normal before returning to the forum, and those who currently have active Administrative Warnings will receive a 2-point infraction in the new system.
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New Protocols effective 1/1/09
Internal Moderation Protocol
Staff Actions
Members and staff may report posts, signatures, avatars, custom titles, PMs, Chat Box comments, etc. which they think may be in violation of the forum rules. Staff teams review those reports and come to consensus on whether it is indeed a violation, and if it is, what the result should be.
Staff actions for violations are based on the severity of the violation and the history of the member, and may include a(n):
Unilateral and Consensus Moderation
The first staff member to comment in a report is responsible for taking ownership of that report. If he feels the post is in violation, he may unilaterally edit/delete the post or thread for staff review, and send a PM to the member explaining that the post has been deleted for review. Staff will keep the report open, so that final consensus can be reached.
If consensus finds that the post is in violation, staff will issue a Counseling PM, Warning or Infraction, and close the staff report. If consensus finds that the post was not in violation, staff will restore the post/thread. FSB's are to be given with team consensus and the approval of a Supervisor or Admin.
Staff Position Descriptions
Moderators are responsible for actioning reports, including editing/deleting posts, closing threads, and issuing Counseling PM's, FSBs, and Warnings. They may guide discussions in their assigned forums through the use of mod hats or staff notes.
Supervisors are responsible for oversight of a forum category. They may vote and participate in reports, and overturn moderator actions or consensus, when necessary. Supervisors may issue staff actions including editing/deleting posts, closing threads, and issuing Counseling PM's, FSBs, Warnings, and Infractions. Supervisors cannot set forum policy or guidelines, nor discipline or manage staff. Supervisors are appointed by the Advisors.
Administrators manage the staff in their forum category, and facilitate the setting of guidelines for their forums. Administrators may vote and participate in reports, perform staff actions including editing/deleting posts, closing threads, and issuing Counseling PM's, FSBs, Warnings, and Infractions, and may clarify protocol and guidance for their staff. Administrators are appointed by the Advisors.
The Reconciliation Team (RT) hears appeals, answers member complaints, and conducts staff reviews. The Reconciliation Team may suggest to Administrators or Advisors possible disciplinary actions for staff members.
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Protocol for Appeals
Members may appeal infractions and bans. To begin an appeal, start a thread in the Appeals Forum within 7 days of the staff action you want to appeal. The Reconciliation Team (RT) will hear your appeal and will render a decision within 14 days. The RT will either uphold the staff action, or reverse it. If the RT reverses the staff action, they will inform the administrator of the staff team that issued the action. The RT's decision is final, and may not be appealed further.
Members may not appeal other staff actions, like counseling PMs, thread moves/closures, and warnings. If you have questions about or problems with other specific staff actions, such as warnings, thread closures, thread moves, or anything not resulting in an infraction or ban, you may contact the moderator who issued the action, or that moderator's Administrator. The Staff Team listings are available from the first page of the FAQ.
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ETA: Changed infraction expiration from six months to eight months
As announced earlier, CF is switching to a new moderation warning and infraction system, and a new appeals system. A Questions/Answers post follows this one.
Please note: People who currently are banned will need to serve out their bans as normal before returning to the forum, and those who currently have active Administrative Warnings will receive a 2-point infraction in the new system.
---------------------
New Protocols effective 1/1/09
Internal Moderation Protocol
Staff Actions
Members and staff may report posts, signatures, avatars, custom titles, PMs, Chat Box comments, etc. which they think may be in violation of the forum rules. Staff teams review those reports and come to consensus on whether it is indeed a violation, and if it is, what the result should be.
Staff actions for violations are based on the severity of the violation and the history of the member, and may include a(n):
Eban: An Eban is a site-wide ban of a member with fewer than 100 posts who is spamming or trolling the board.
Counseling PM: This is a private message (PM) from staff that explains a mild or first violation;
Staff Edit (SE): Staff will edit a member's post, then send the member a PM detailing what edit was made and why it was made;
Cool-down ban: Staff may issue cool-down bans at any time, with a duration of 24-48 hours. Cool-down bans require the approval of at least one administrator.
Warning (yellow card): Warnings expire in three months and are worth zero points. However, if you gain four unexpired warnings, staff will give you a one week site-wide ban with your fourth warning;
Warning with Forum Specific Ban (FSB): A ban from specific forums within Christian Forums, in which the member may not post in the specific forum(s) indicated for either 14 or 30 days. This counts as a warning. If the member violates their FSB, staff will give them a site-wide ban for the remainder of the time of their FSB;
Infraction (red card): Infractions are worth one point and expire in eight months. At their discretion, staff may issue a custom infraction worth two points, which will expire in eight months. A point total of four earns an automatic three month site-wide ban. A point total of six earns another three month site-wide ban. If you earn eight unexpired points in infractions, you will be permanently banned from the forum.
Members may appeal infractions and forum-specific bans to the Reconciliation Team (RT).
Unilateral and Consensus Moderation
The first staff member to comment in a report is responsible for taking ownership of that report. If he feels the post is in violation, he may unilaterally edit/delete the post or thread for staff review, and send a PM to the member explaining that the post has been deleted for review. Staff will keep the report open, so that final consensus can be reached.
If consensus finds that the post is in violation, staff will issue a Counseling PM, Warning or Infraction, and close the staff report. If consensus finds that the post was not in violation, staff will restore the post/thread. FSB's are to be given with team consensus and the approval of a Supervisor or Admin.
Staff Position Descriptions
Moderators are responsible for actioning reports, including editing/deleting posts, closing threads, and issuing Counseling PM's, FSBs, and Warnings. They may guide discussions in their assigned forums through the use of mod hats or staff notes.
Supervisors are responsible for oversight of a forum category. They may vote and participate in reports, and overturn moderator actions or consensus, when necessary. Supervisors may issue staff actions including editing/deleting posts, closing threads, and issuing Counseling PM's, FSBs, Warnings, and Infractions. Supervisors cannot set forum policy or guidelines, nor discipline or manage staff. Supervisors are appointed by the Advisors.
Administrators manage the staff in their forum category, and facilitate the setting of guidelines for their forums. Administrators may vote and participate in reports, perform staff actions including editing/deleting posts, closing threads, and issuing Counseling PM's, FSBs, Warnings, and Infractions, and may clarify protocol and guidance for their staff. Administrators are appointed by the Advisors.
The Reconciliation Team (RT) hears appeals, answers member complaints, and conducts staff reviews. The Reconciliation Team may suggest to Administrators or Advisors possible disciplinary actions for staff members.
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Protocol for Appeals
Members may appeal infractions and bans. To begin an appeal, start a thread in the Appeals Forum within 7 days of the staff action you want to appeal. The Reconciliation Team (RT) will hear your appeal and will render a decision within 14 days. The RT will either uphold the staff action, or reverse it. If the RT reverses the staff action, they will inform the administrator of the staff team that issued the action. The RT's decision is final, and may not be appealed further.
Members may not appeal other staff actions, like counseling PMs, thread moves/closures, and warnings. If you have questions about or problems with other specific staff actions, such as warnings, thread closures, thread moves, or anything not resulting in an infraction or ban, you may contact the moderator who issued the action, or that moderator's Administrator. The Staff Team listings are available from the first page of the FAQ.
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ETA: Changed infraction expiration from six months to eight months
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