Warnings system updated and consequences

[Steven P. Administrators]

 

As you can see we have a few "Reasons" we can add and the points vary from one to two points per infraction.

 

The old system used percentages up to 100% which could result in a ban, the new system will instead use 10 points as a maximum and possible ban, suspensions and punishments remain at the discretion of the moderators and supervisors, or in other words, there are no default punishments for reaching a certain amount of points.

 

Also new is that you will have to acknowledge any warnings before you can post again. This ensures that the member is aware of a warning immediately, rather than seeing a new PM.

 

And finally, we used to reduce warnings every six months, now the warning is reduced after 90 days. This gives you a chance to get your warning level down quicker, and hopefully encourages better behavior due to the fast tracking of reductions.

 

The reasons are covered by our community rules, and as I pointed out moderators will still be required to give the member a custom message relating to the warning. There are no templates for this, so your communication with the moderator will always remain custom to the infraction.

 

Thanks to Haggis who helped me test the warning system earlier (y)

[Crisp]

It's a shame some mods like to give warnings for ridiculous circumstances, but oh well - you'll always get the one or two who do it.

 

Thanks Haggis :pirate:

[Haggis Veteran]

ok guys this is what you will see if you get a warning

 

at the bottom where the quick reply box usually is

 

 

and then when you click View Warning you will see this screen

 

 

When you click I Acknowledge this warning it then takes you back to the normal screen :)

 

If you click into your profile you will be able to see how many warning points you have

 

 

and if you click on that link it will give you a list of the warnings you have at the current time

 

 

 

 

[cork1958]

It's a shame some mods like to give warnings for ridiculous circumstances, but oh well - you'll always get the one or two who do it.

 

Thanks Haggis :pirate:

Couldn't agree with that one anymore than I currently am!! ;)

 

6 months was about a stupid and ridiculous amount of time.

 

Cripe,

Rapists don't do that much time!!

[Steven P. Administrators]

Cripe,

Rapists don't do that much time!!

 

It was determined over ten years ago ;)

[astropheed Veteran]

I already have 2 points... eh, punishment fits the crime -- I would'a gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling mods.

[Gary2MBz]

I already have 2 points... eh, punishment fits the crime -- I would'a gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling mods.

You funny sir  :rofl:

[Torolol]

so what exactly defined in 'Miscellaneous' point(s) ?

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

I think Spamming should result in a immediate ban for obvious reasons. I have seen some spammers get onto Neowin and post total nonsense in the threads.

[astropheed Veteran]

so what exactly defined in 'Miscellaneous' point(s) ?

 

Questioning their ability to randomly distribute points is probably under this banner, lol.  :rofl:

 

It's likely just a, 'we never thought about this, but we don't like this, here is a warning!' type thing. I doubt it's going to be just '1' point in every situation as well.

[The Evil Overlord]

Trolling is a bit of a 'grey area' imo, because a good troll can make people laugh, cause no more annoyance than an 'oh, it's him again' and generally, stay withing the rules

that being said, abusive and aggressive trolls and such, yes I can understand the need to have some sort of flagging system in place.

[astropheed Veteran]

Trolling is a bit of a 'grey area' imo, because a good troll can make people laugh, cause no more annoyance than an 'oh, it's him again' and generally, stay withing the rules

that being said, abusive and aggressive trolls and such, yes I can understand the need to have some sort of flagging system in place.

 

There are also legitimate cases where someone can be construed as a troll simply because he believes something no one else does. Trolling is certainly a grey area but it's not like it wasn't already a part of the warning system; I think Neowin is pretty relaxed on 'trolling' and I only really ever see issues in severe cases and even then I doubt a mod just all willy nilly shoots out warnings.

[The Evil Overlord]

There are also legitimate cases where someone can be construed as a troll simply because he believes something no one else does. Trolling is certainly a grey area but it's not like it wasn't already a part of the warning system; I think Neowin is pretty relaxed on 'trolling' and I only really ever see issues in severe cases and even then I doubt a mod just all willy nilly shoots out warnings.

:)

(Off topic, post)

Thank you by the way, I was wondering what the new notification system looked like, (instead of just 'lighting up' it now shows how many notifications etc...)

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

I've racked up 4 points because I committed some "fowl" behavior in the past. I've without a doubt learned from this, because I did not like having my posting abilities restricted. As long as you follow the rules and stay calm in heated discussions you'll be ok. Also, another thing is to not create feather ruffling threads that will inflame others (which can cause warnings)!

[zhangm Supervisor]

I still think an offender should be made to rewrite the offending post such that it constructively contributes to the community, before the posting ban is lifted. Some people could use the practice.

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

I still think an offender should be made to rewrite the offending post such that it constructively contributes to the community, before the posting ban is lifted. Some people could use the practice.

Or they should rewrite their to post to the moderator to prove they can post in a refined manner again! If you ever been restricted for one week, thats a good enough punishment.

[The Evil Overlord]

I still think an offender should be made to rewrite the offending post such that it constructively contributes to the community, before the posting ban is lifted. Some people could use the practice.

Posthumous like (since like is still broken)

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

I created this Neowin color coded alert system.

 

[Raa]

No points, yay!

 

But I think 90 days is a bit lenient, i'd increase it tbh. :)

[zhangm Supervisor]

Or they should rewrite their to post to the moderator to prove they can post in a refined manner again! If you ever been restricted for one week, thats a good enough punishment.

If it's rewritten, it should be good enough for public consumption.

 

I just get the feeling that the existing systems are passive (you just get the PM and click a button) and aren't corrective in that offenders don't need to address specific consequences related to a given infraction. In minor cases, the person can just forget that it happened. In major cases, the poster takes an involuntary break, which is still (arguably) a loss to the community - but still doesn't have to confront what they did, and contemplate what they should have done. If they have to go back, find the offending post, figure out what's wrong with it, and rewrite it to eliminate the douchebaggage, then they're learning to identify what breaks the rules, and maybe pick up a bit of restraint for future posts.

 

At the same time, I fully acknowledge that trying to adopt this proposed strategy would probably make moderating more challenging and thankless.

[theyarecomingforyou]

I'd have no problem with a longer period for warning reductions. The biggest issue I have is the lack of consistency - for instance, some topics will allow widely off-topic posts (often encouraged by mods) yet others will be shot down for the most tenuous of reasons (often by those very same mods). In some topics I've noticed posts of mine getting deleted without any indication as to why that is the case (no PM, no warning, no notification) and without knowing what the issue was it's hard to improve my post quality and prevent it happening again.

 

That said, my experience with the Supervisors here has always been positive and any disputes resolved quickly and fairly. Moderating is a difficult and thankless task, so I respect those who have the patience and time to do so.

 

PS - What has happened to the like system?

[cooky560 Veteran]

Questioning their ability to randomly distribute points is probably under this banner, lol.  :rofl:

 

It's likely just a, 'we never thought about this, but we don't like this, here is a warning!' type thing. I doubt it's going to be just '1' point in every situation as well.

 

Miscellaneous is a temporary category until all the reasons have been added to the system, and is used for rule breaking that does not fit in the other categories.

[The Evil Overlord]

Miscellaneous is a temporary category until all the reasons have been added to the system, and is used for rule breaking that does not fit in the other categories.

If it doesn't fit into the other catagories... is it still technically, rule breaking???

[cooky560 Veteran]

The answer is technically yes, the default IPB install comes with far fewer categories than we have rules. Further there will always be cases where a post breaks the rules in more than one way or is hard to classify, yet is still a clear violation of the rules.

 

A classic case is the Gamer's Hangout Forum which has loads of Personal Attacks (not a reason in the warning system if I remember correctly) yet still against the rules.

[Steven P. Administrators]

The answer is technically yes, the default IPB install comes with far fewer categories than we have rules. Further there will always be cases where a post breaks the rules in more than one way or is hard to classify, yet is still a clear violation of the rules.

 

A classic case is the Gamer's Hangout Forum which has loads of Personal Attacks (not a reason in the warning system if I remember correctly) yet still against the rules.

That would fall under Abusive Behavior.