Author: Dan Homan
Date: 13:30:14 09/22/98
I know it has been suggested in several other threads and at other
times but I would like to re-iterate the suggestion of a moderate
suspension or 'time-out' as an alternative/pre-cursor to a dismissal.
In general I think that the moderation process works. We have general
club guidelines (set down in the charter) and the moderators do a
good job of keeping the spirit of the charter and using their 'power'
to delete posts (and posters) with careful consideration.
I am not inclined to suggest detailed guidelines that govern every
situation. I think that having human judgement is an important part
of the process... It allows unique cases to be dealt with reasonably,
without a lot of 'lawyering' going on.
With that said.... I do think there is a flaw in the system. The
moderators have three levels of response when someone is violating the
charter. 1) Warning 2) Yellow Card (stern warning) 3) dismissal (with
return contingent on a suitable degree of contrition). However, 1) and 2)
are really the same thing and perhaps difficult to distinguish if one were
to receive a warning... the seriousness of the warning may not be clear
to poster.
There is also the issue that the poster is not given time to think about
the warning or to 'cool-down' (if the issue is temper related and involves
others who also might need to cool-down). Perhaps it would be best to
accompany a 'Yellow Card' with a 'time-out' of a few days. The
re-instatement would be automatic at the end of this period, the poster
would not have to apologize - just think about his/her behavior and do
better in the future. There could be multiple levels of time-outs or just
one. I don't think this should be 'offical policy' - that is too
restrictive, but perhaps an informal policy used by the moderators.
My suggestion would be....
1) Clear Warning (with stated 'this is an official warning' - informal ones
don't count)
2) Yellow Card 1 (3-5 day time-out)
3) Yellow Card 2 (1-2 week time-out)
4) Red Card (Dismissal with return contingent upon a significant degree
of contrition.)
The moderators, of course, would have complete discretion on when to
use these levels and when to skip levels if a poster is obviously just
posting noise (i.e. some kid discovers the group and posts obscenity).
I would also suggest that a period of normal citizenship (without warnings
and such) should 'erase' past warnings or cards. Say that a warning or a
card expires after a month....
- Dan
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