Three Strikes Policy

[TracyP]

Three Strike Policies:

Q. Why is this policy necessary?
A. The staff has implemented this policy in an effort to keep the site family friendly and to ensure more consistency in the moderation process. The Site Policies can be viewed by visiting the following link. Site Policies

Q. Who does this policy apply to?
A. This policy applies to anyone who uses North Carolina Woodworker including the staff and Board of Directors.

Q. What is a strike?
A. A strike is a violation of the posting policies as spelled out in site policies.

Q. Which forum does the three strike policy apply to?
A. This policy applies to all forums and content of North Carolina Woodworker. With special attention to the off topic forum.

(Special note regarding the off topic forum) "The off topic forum will now be an opt out forum."

Q. What happens when I get a strike?
A. This depends on how many strikes you have, see the strike process below.

Q. Who decides what constitutes a strike?
A. Staff members will define what violations or numbers of violations are considered to be a strike. Just because something posted is moderated doesn't mean it will be counted as a strike.

Q. Do I have any strikes against me when the policy is first put in place?
A. No, the good news is that all members start with a fresh slate.

Q. Can I be suspended for too many strikes?
A. Yes

Q. Can I be banned permanently for too many strikes?
A. Yes

Q. Do my strikes expire after a predetermined time?
A. Yes provided the number of strikes is less than three in a period of one year.

Q. Can I appeal a strike, suspension, and or banishment?
A. Yes, the Board Of Directors will handle any and all appeals and will have the final decision regarding the status of said appeal.


Q. How does the staff keep up with strikes?
A. The staff will use infraction software or an equivalent to track strikes.

Q. Can other members see how many strikes I have?
A. No, with the exception of the Staff and Board of Directors; your strikes are kept out of public view.

Q. If I am banished can I ever rejoin North Carolina Woodworker?
A. No, if you violate the policies enough in a year to be banished you will not be able to rejoin.

Strike Process:

Each Infraction issued to a user gives them a defined number of Infraction Points and adds to their total Infraction Count.

Infraction Points are cumulative. They also are in effect for 365 days from the issue date of the Infraction. At the end of 365 days, the Infraction Points expire.

Infraction Counts do not have an expiration date and are cumulative.

Both Infraction Points and Infraction Counts may be deleted at the discretion of the Staff.

A user who accumulates a total of Infraction Points can be either Suspended or Banned.

A Suspension is for a defined period of time. Banning is permanent. Either Suspension or Banning can be lifted at the discretion of the Staff.

Suspensions are lifted automatically at the end of the defined period of time.

Suspension and Banning block the user from any actions on the site including posting threads and sending Private Messages. They are able to read any thread and still have access to their Private Messages.

There is no public info displayed showing the user has been Suspended or Banned. It is only known to the user and the Staff.

A user cannot be issued Infractions while they are Suspended.

Here are the defined Infraction levels and consequences:
3 Infraction Points within 365 days triggers a 30 day Suspension

4 Infraction Points within 365 days triggers a 45 day Suspension
** This happens if someone triggered a 3 Point/30 day Suspension, then had another Infraction within 365 days of the first Infraction.

5 Infraction Points within 365 days or a total of 6 Infraction Count triggers a permanent Ban.
** 5 Infraction Points means they have had both a 30 and 45 day suspension, then a 5th infraction within 365 days of the first. Alternatively, should a user have been issued a total of 6 Infractions, regardless of the time frame, they are Banned. __________________
Tracy

 

[TracyP]

Please give me your input on this. We want to open the new ot forum on the 15th.

 

[Gotcha6]

Tracy, would it be possible to allow a no infractions redemption period on the total points? I'm thinking about the member that may take some adjusting that eventually does. If he keeps his/her nose clean for a period of say, 3 years, his points would zero out. Do we want to do this? Is it possible?

 

[froglips]

Just to be a broken record, Infraction Points do expire. Each point is active for 365 days.

The total count of Infractions do not expire.

Were we to remove an Infraction, you'd lose the history. I'll explore reversing infractions to see what that leads to.

In thinking about your request, I'd like to suggest we increase total Infraction Count for banning to 7. That will permit a user to get two 30 day suspensions, then banned on the next offense.

Someone can get a 30 day suspension, then a year later, a second 30 day suspension would be possible (with 7).

Leaving the points for banning at 5 makes sense.

Jim

 

[froglips]

1. I don't think the general public needs to get into strike expiration times/details. Plus, were we to tweak the specific settings, we'd need to update the policy. This info would be quite useful in the explanation email that is included when someone receives an infraction.

Q. Do my strikes expire after a predetermined time?
A. Yes provided the number of strikes is less than three in a period of one year.

2. I also don't think they need to know how we are tracking, just that we are. By mentioning software, it could raise questions or concerns about "big brothering".

Q. How does the staff keep up with strikes?
A. The staff will use infraction software or an equivalent to track strikes.

Oh, I really like calling them "strikes". Much more logical than infractions

Jim

 

[Mt. Gomer]

I'd also like to suggest that no infractions (strikes, not warnings) are handed out before they're discussed in in Mod's and Admin's forum. Even for extreme cases that are obvious there's no particular need to rush to issue an infraction immediately. Moderation of the thread should of course happen right away but just to keep everything transparent and objective I'd suggest vetting all infractions with the other mods. I'd think warnings could be given out at Mods discretion.

I'd also like a clarification on how we should use warnings. Should we issue a "warning" every time we moderate a post so that we have clear records or in some cases do we just moderate with an email to the poster and in more severe cases issue a warning?

Travis

 

[Bas]

1. I don't think the general public needs to get into strike expiration times/details.

Agreed. When the Off Topic forum is re-launched, I'd use something like this as the press release:

The staff recognizes that North Carolina Woodworker is a special place for people to come together as a family. So as of today, a new Off Topic forum will be opened for discussions that do not directly relate to woodworking but are still relevant to the community.

In the past, there have been numerous posts in the Off Topic forum that violated the site policy. As a result, the forum was closed a couple of months ago in order to address these problems. Two changes have been made:

• Users can choose to opt-out of the Off Topic forum. That means they won't be able to post in the forum, nor see any of the posts. So for those of you who come here just for woodworking, we heard you loud and clear.
• Users who violate the site policy will be warned and receive formal reprimands as necessary. Repeat offenders will be suspended and/ or banned from the site.

In other words, keep it short and sweet. I don't feel the need to bring up the details about points, expiration dates etc. Everyone will have an opinion on whether it should be 21 vs 30 days, or 5 strikes vs 6, or whether three warnings are an automatic infraction etc. It won't change anything of substance, and just take a lot of time, and most importantly, put a lot of focus on something that's unpleasant and irrelevant to 99.9% of our users.

Explanation of the specifics can be done in the PM that contains the formal reprimand, e.g. "Dear X: You did A, B and C, and as a result I am issuing you a formal reprimand. You already received a reprimand on August 1, 2010. If you are reprimanded again before July 31, 2011, you will automatically be suspended from the site for 30 days. Further infractions could lead to longer suspensions or even being banned permanently. I hope blah blah blah".

 

[Glennbear]

1. I don't think the general public needs to get into strike expiration times/details. Plus, were we to tweak the specific settings, we'd need to update the policy. This info would be quite useful in the explanation email that is included when someone receives an infraction.

2. I also don't think they need to know how we are tracking, just that we are. By mentioning software, it could raise questions or concerns about "big brothering".

In other words, keep it short and sweet. I don't feel the need to bring up the details about points, expiration dates etc. Everyone will have an opinion on whether it should be 21 vs 30 days, or 5 strikes vs 6, or whether three warnings are an automatic infraction etc. It won't change anything of substance, and just take a lot of time, and most importantly, put a lot of focus on something that's unpleasant and irrelevant to 99.9% of our users.

Explanation of the specifics can be done in the PM that contains the formal reprimand, e.g. "Dear X: You did A, B and C, and as a result I am issuing you a formal reprimand. You already received a reprimand on August 1, 2010. If you are reprimanded again before July 31, 2011, you will automatically be suspended from the site for 30 days. Further infractions could lead to longer suspensions or even being banned permanently. I hope blah blah blah"

I like what you have penned Tracey but I think the thoughts expressed above should be given consideration. :wsmile:

 

[NCTurner]

Not much to add here, I agree with the others in this.

 

[TracyP]

I agree the mundane details do not need to be public but the question and answer part was written to answer questions before the members ask them. I would like that part to be made part of site policy.

 

[Bas]

I agree the mundane details do not need to be public but the question and answer part was written to answer questions before the members ask them. I would like that part to be made part of site policy.

+1. It is crucial the staff fully understands the mechanism, durations and expiration, since we have to be consistent in execution. These Q&As definitely helped me understand it better. As for putting it in the site policy - I'd be OK putting it on a page somewhere and linking from the main site policy to it, but I'd rather not attract too much attention to it.

 

[TracyP]

"As for putting it in the site policy - I'd be OK putting it on a page somewhere and linking from the main site policy to it, but I'd rather not attract too much attention to it."

I am OK with that.