Hello, Fellow TBCS Moderators (and Admins). Here is the Official TBCS Moderator's guide on how to handle certain situations. This is so we can ensure consistency of action for specific cases, rather than things being done on a "per-moderator" basis.
Lets begin.
The moderator system has three classes of punishment. Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3. Class 1 has the light infractions while Class 3 has the heavy infractions. Depending on the severity of the infraction, a different class of punishment will be used.
Lets go over what specifically these classes mean, punishment-wise.
Class 1:
Verbal warning or slight alteration of post/profile. Small offences warrant this type of punishment, such as signature violations, deliberately poor english (non-native english speakers are exempt from this rule), excessive profanity (although this is not an issue due to the censor system, deliberately circumventing the system yeilds punishment), not clearing sponsors for a worklog, and other small nuisances that might not be documented go here. A yellow card infraction may be warranted if the user fails to comply with the moderator's request or if the offence itself warrants it, but does not warrant a week ban.
Class 2:
Week-long or other non-permanent ban. Flaming members, Explicit content, racial slurs, conversations about illegal things (Torrenting, installing OSX on PCs, drugs, underage drinking, prostitution, etc), spamming (non-spambot), and other non-documented incidents that would warrant this punishment.
Class 3:
Permanent ban. Spambots, two/three Class 2 infractions, three/four Class 1 infractions, or other undocumented infractions that would warrant this. All Class 3 punishments MUST BE DISCUSSED IN THE STAFF FORUMS BEFORE PROCEEDING, spambots notwithstanding.
Regarding bans:
All bans will be final and not up for debate unless otherwise stated. This is up to the issuing moderator/administrator’s discretion. Attempting to debate the ban when it is not allowed will result in an extended ban by one/two days, per the moderator’s or administrator’s discretion.
Right, now that we know the classes, we should outline, a bit more specifically, what falls under them, and the precise action to be taken.
C1:
Signature Violations: Request that the member adjust or remove the section of their signature that violates the rules. Members will be given two days to comply. Failure to do so will result in moderator or administrator alteration or removal of the member’s signature.
Deliberately poor English: Remind the member that the rules state that proper English be used, to the best of their ability, at all times, unless otherwise stated.
Profanity: Yellow card infraction for purposely circumventing the system (replacing letters with symbols, etc), as well as PM/Email sent to the member as a verbal warning and notification of the received infraction.
Not Clearing Sponsors: Removal of sponsor links, logos, and other sponsor-related content.
C2:
Flaming: Red Card infraction (One week +/- 2 days depending on severity) and PM/Email notifying the offending member.
Illegal content: Red Card Infraction (One week firm), and PM/Email notifying the offending member.
Spam: Red Card Infraction (One week firm), and PM/Email notifying the offending member.
C3:
Spambots: Permanent ban on sight, no question. Post in the “Banned Spambots” thread.
Repeated Flaming(2 infractions): Permanent ban per the permission of the administrators. The admins MUST clear the ban before it is performed. If no administrators are available, a one week ban shall be issued until the administrators can give their opinion on the further course of punishment.
Repeated Flaming(3 Infractions): Permanent ban, no questions.
Repeated Illegal content(2): See [Repeated Flaming(2)]
Repeated Illegal content(3): See [Repeated Flaming(3)]
Spam (2): See [Repeated Flaming(2)]
Spam(3): See [Repeated Flaming(3)]
Further information:
When in doubt, ASK THE ADMINISTRATORS. Do not assume a course of action if you are not sure of if it’s not stated here.
If a member e-mails or PM’s you about sponsorships, make a post in the staff section or forward it to Paul. It’s his website, so he gets the final decision on all advertisements on it. Moderators and other Administrators, unless given permission by Paul, do not have the authority to decide on this matter.
Also, all action taken against a member is to be recorded in the "Member Management" section to prevent over-action.