I really wanted to hold off on this for a little while, but after hearing some of the things I've been hearing in Community Issues yesterday and today I think it's time. So, I wanted to throw this out as a loose proposal and see what you all think. I do need to clarify that this is ME coming to YOU and not a vetting of something that we're planning to implement yet (or ever??).
Our infraction system is stupid. A lot of you have said this for a number of reasons but the reason I am talking about here is simple: It doesn't allow us to effectively assess and handle the broad range of issues we have to deal with. Some things are over-penalized and other are really big things that get a small slap on the wrist. If you forget to add card tags in the Rules forum you will get a 1-point infraction. If you scream,
belittle, and mock a person that is also worth 1 point. That's ****ed up. The thing is that a lot of the rules we have are technical things to keep the forum tidy and others are to keep the peace. And, most of us think that malicious things are worse than bookkeeping errors, right? The way it is now, the moderators are somewhat trapped by the points system. It's either a small infraciton or you're outta here (We very rarely use the 2-point and that would be a possibility but it still leaves a few things out).
Another problem is that people hate seeing warnings and infractions for the same thing. It makes it look like we are being inconsistent even though it's the "Strike 1 for an issue = Yellow, Strike 2+ = Red" standard that we have in most forums. For every person that asks "why did he get a warning and I got an infraction?" I am sure there are 2-3 more that just sit on that to develop resentment. Or not, but it still looks weird when things are penalized
equally.
Related to that is that warnings right now are not punitive. You get warnings and you get pissed but it's not important that they aren't worth anything, is it? So, we can go to a verbal PM warning system where nobody can keep track of anything (bad) or we can make warnings punitive - but small enough that nothing will happen unless you go nuts.
This is what I want since it makes the language consistent and doesn't require us to explain to people that a warning is just a rules reminder and that it's not a big deal the first time blah blah blah... I have to explain this to people all the time and it seems stupid that I am going to ticket these people with a pretty oppressive warning message and then say "but it doesn't mean anything!" It DOES mean something so let's just say that it's worth 1 point for now.
Right now suspensions trigger on 3 points. So, an infraction is worth 1/3 of a suspension. Using that logic I think we can just multiply by 3 to
create a similar but more flexible infraction system that will allow the mods to use their discretion. I know that some of you will think that it will allow mods to be more rigorous and dickish with their cards, but the complaint I've heard more than anything else is the opposite - "It's an auto-suspension infraction but it just doesn't feel like it should warrant a week off."
What to do?
Step 1. Start by multiplying the current system by 3.
That gives us:
| 0 points - Warnings = First offenses. 3 points - Second time addressed about a rule broken or really obnoxious behavior. 9 points - Suspension triggers, auto-suspension offenses. |
| 1 points - Warnings = First offenses. 3 points - Second time addressed about a rule broken or really obnoxious behavior. 10 points - Suspension triggers, auto-suspension offenses. |
| 1 point - Warnings = First offenses. 2 points - Second time with things like bad spelling, double post spam, card tags, spam, the **** that we categorize under bad etiquette and being a twit. 3 points - 2 point stuff that looks to be habitual... just to crank it up a bit. 5 points - Trolling, flaming, being a general horses ass. We actually UNDER penalize for this stuff right now, but "half way to a suspension" feels like about where it should be. This would be general dickery and not the malicious attacks and crazy racist, sexist, bigot crap we see. 8 points - Bad stuff* 10 points - Auto-suspensions and suspensions trigger. |
Other infractions are really hostile, disruptive, and pretty appalling but the rules say we have to suspend you or give you a 1 pointer.
Also, there will be no set number assigned to any of this. Above is a guide. 7 pointer? Sure. 4 point troll? I guess. But, what it does do is allow us to hit "mean people" harder than people that make simple mistakes that don't really hurt anyone directly.
Sooooooo..........
So far this is still in rough draft mode but I have heard nothing but support from people on the core idea of this. I however am tired of MTGS right now and need to go drink some water or something.
Note: Anybody punking out in here will just be suspended 3 days - no infractions. I want to talk about this because I think we need to not because the current climate in CI is good for this so treat this accordingly.[/quote1:ileppcji]
