Forum Constitution

Revision 0.2.3

Preamble

We, the users of this forum in its entirety, agree to abide by the laws stated within this constitution and acknowledge that violation of this constitution may warrant consequences that are outlined below. As users, we also acknowledge that this forum is provided to us as a privilege and as such can be taken away at the discretion of the forums current standing leader. Furthermore: we, us and our hereinafter shall refer to the users of the forum. Staff hereinafter refers to any person or persons that the leader of the forum has granted powers to govern the general populace and users of this forum. "Forum leader", "Forum's Leader" shall hereinafter refer to the forum's current leader which is the user currently in possession of the server that this forum operates from.

Section 1: Responsibilities of Law Enforcement Entities

Without order there is only chaos. It is therefore the responsibility of the forum's leader to create laws, which are informally known as rules, and enforce such rules in order to preserve the order and allow for peaceful existence. Within their power is the ability to grant other users power in order to assist them in enforcing these laws. However, power easily intoxicates man and can alienate them from their fellow users. It is the responsibility of any law enforcement entity to maintain a good reputation with the other users. Despite how they may have power, they are not above the law nor any other user. They are created equal and will always be equal.

The structure of power is not set in stone but at this moment there exists the remnants of a hierarchy of power. On the top of this hierarchy is the leader of the forums. All power draws its roots back to this user. This is from where all power originates. As such, it is at their discretion when and how to change the structure of power.

All powers not expressly stated within this constitution shall reside within the leader of the forum.

Section 2: A System of Punishment

Having a structured system of punishment is essential for protecting the rights of all users. This structure serves to assure that all users are treated equally based on the violation commited and receive a punishment that is not cruel or unusual. This structure serves to assure that a user is not banished for smaller violations because the staff member handling the report does not favor the suspected party. Punishments for certain violations can be found in Section 3, following is only a definition of every punishment currently in use.

All staff members bearing a title such as administrator or moderator has the power to warn users for undesirable behavior. Warnings, carry a point value which expire after a certain period of time. However, if there is no established value for these points, then their utility is diminished if not completely nonexistent. Warnings are not always the first punishment for every violation of the law. More accurately points are used for minor violations as a means of correcting the behavior. This system allows users that violate the law to be informed of a law they might not have known of or remembered. Points are not usually used for extreme violations which warrant immediate use of strong punishment.

Punishments for reaching Point Values

• 5 Points: User is temporarily placed on moderated probation until their point value drops to below 3.
• 7 Points: User is temporarily banished until their point value drops below 7.
• 8 Points: User is temporarily banished until their point value drops below 5.
• 9 Points: User is permanently placed on moderator probation and temporarily banished until their point value drops below 3.
• 10 Points: User is permanently banned with one chance of lesser punishment to be decided by a court consisting of the forum's leader, the guilty party and the staff member who has charged the guilty party. At the forum leader's discretion, this one chance maybe be denied.
• 11 Points and above: User is permanently banished by both user name and IP address with no chance of trial.

Punishments

• Warnings: User is contacted by staff for their violation and assigned points based on the severity within the limitations set by Section 3
• Like Deletion: User's likes from a certain period of time are removed.
• Thread Banishment: User is prohibited from posting to a specific thread.
• Moderated Probation: Any content created by this user must be approved by any staff member with a rank of at least moderator.
• Temporary Banishment: User's account is prohibited from viewing, posting, making threads or interacting with the forum for a period within the limitations outlined above of set by Section 3
• Permanent Banishment: User's account is prohibited from viewing, posting, making threads or interacting with the forums with no limitation of time. Only to be revoked at the discretion of the staff member who has charged the guilty party and the forum's leader.

Section 3: The Laws that Govern us All

The following laws may change at any time and it is the responsibility of the user to assure that their actions remain within the law's allowances. Ignorance, however bliss, does not excuse explicitly prohibited behavior.

Punishment is necessary for the enforcement of the law. Within this paragraph, we will discuss the separation of power. A well informed user should have no reason to fear any law enforcement entity.

The ability to disband the forum remains and shall always remain, reserved by the forum's leader. This decision shall not be made before the final meeting of a committee to consist of the leader and at least four representatives to be elected by the forum.

Any user granted the title of "Administrator" shall have the powers expressed in this paragraph. They shall have the power to permanently banish, informally known as ban, any user except the forum leader and other administrators; the power to permanently remove a user's account from the forum's database; the power to permanently remove any user's content from the forum's database. Anyone with such a title also has any power granted to any person with the title "Moderator."

Any user granted the title of "Moderator" shall have the powers expressed in this paragraph. They shall have the power to temporarily banish any user excluding those granted the titles of "Moderator", "Administrator", or the forum's leader; the power to remove any user's post from public view; the power to mark a user as a "spammer" and the power to warn a user for whatever behavior prohibited by this constitution.

No user shall treat any other user in a hateful manner with no regard to any user's status within the forum. Words that are used to purposely degrade another user based on their race, ethnicity, sex and/or gender identity are expressly prohibited. Other users whoever they may be are to be treated in a respectful manner. This also means that users should other respect users who have been granted power and the forum's leader. While not a user, the forum itself is an entity in the eyes of this constitution and as such should be treated with respect. Disrespect is punishable by moderation of a user's posts and can in extreme cases result in a user's account being removed from the forum.

No user shall promote the product of a third party unless the product is related to the topic of discussion. However, in absolutely no case, should any user be created for the express purpose of promotion of any product. Links are not to be placed within a user's status. If any post within a user's first 5 posts is composed in such a nature to promote a product or service, the user is to be marked as a spammer, and will be promptly removed. Their account will be deleted, their posts removed, and their IP address banished. Such punishment is to be enacted by any user granted power, including moderators. If the user has no previous record of spamming and their IP address currently holds no recorded reports of spam within the last 30 days and at the discretion of the assigned staff member the user may be warned instead of directly being banished. A warning for spamming should carry a rating of 3 points.

Section X: Addressing Grievances