OMG, I got a warning! Now what?

By Fred Derf
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Grand Master

Fred Derf Veteran

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Q. OMG, I got a warning! Now what?

A. First of all, being assigned a warning on Neowin is not the end of the world (nor is it a badge of honour). We have an automatic warning reduction system that, after six months of good behavior, will reduce your warning level by 20% (currently it is offline for maintenance but we hope to get it up again soon, it's online again).

Normally, warnings do not affect your use of Neowin in any way. You may notice that your warning level increased by 20% but it is invisible to all members other than staff so no one else will know that you are anything other than an angel. :innocent:

If you think that your warning was not fair or just then you need to contact someone higher up on the chain of command. If your warning was from a fmod or a gmod then contact a Supervisor. If your warning was from a Supervisor then contact an Admin. Your challenge will be discussed at the upper levels and a reversal will be considered if your claim has merit. We seek to have as fair a moderation process as possible.

What if this isn't your first warning? If you repeat a rule violation for the same thing that you were already warned about, or if you do something severe, you may be told that you cannot post for a few days. It is also possible for us to selectively remove your access to certain features of the site (profiles, particular subforums) either temporarily or permanently. Generally, we are pretty conservative when it comes to applying these sorts of restrictions.

Remember, we warn you because we love you. :wub: There have been a several formerly difficult members who eventually adapted to our rules and have become very productive members. You know who you are. Well done.

Q. So why does Neowin have rules anyway?

A. Neowin's community rules serve three main purposes.

  1. They protect members from abuse.
    Neowin wants members to respect other members at all times. Members should feel free to express their opinions without being personally attacked by online bullies. This is not Survivor:Neowin where the most aggressive member left standing is the winner. Neowin is both diverse and international and thus we are trying to maintain a friendly community here. Thus we do not want to see examples of hatred towards any group (race, sex, orientation, nationality or religion).
  2. They protect Neowin from legal trouble.
    Some of the rules are designed to protect Neowin. We don't want minors seeing graphic material (even over your shoulder). We don't want to risk lawsuits by tolerating discussion of hacks, cracks or warez. We don't have a legal budget so we need you to do your part.
  3. They prevent additional work by the staff.
    We do not want to be constantly cleaning out topics that contain examples from the above two points. Thus we assign warnings to members who cause us work (like cleaning up flame wars) in the hope that they will learn and not do it again.

I would also like to remind everyone that moderators cannot be at all places at all times (although we try :p). We need members to assist us by reporting potentially inappropriate content or conduct. Thank you for your support and, hopefully, for your understanding.

Q. Why does Neowin not wish members to discuss their private warnings in public threads?

A. Members tend to provide one-sided or inaccurate information that would then cause us to respond to clear up the miscommunication. We do not want to be tempted to reveal private or personal information to "prove" our case publicly. Please contact us privately so no one else has to see the dirty laundry.

For the time being I will leave this thread open for mature discussion but if there are any public discussions about particular warnings they experienced it will be closed and potentially cleaned right back to this solitary post.

If you wish to discuss your warning privately then please do so with the original moderator. If you do not receive the answer that is acceptable to you then contact a Supervisor. If you still do not think that you have been dealt with fairly then you are free to contact an Administrator.

The forum staff hierarchy is as follows (most powerful first):

Administrators > Supervisors > fmods/gmods

Edited by Fred Derf
  • harrisrobert, spikey_richie and rosemartine
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Grand Master

Japlabot

Posted
Posted

We have an automatic warning reduction system that, after six months of good behavior, will reduce your warning level by 20% (currently it is offline for maintenance but we hope to get it up again soon).

Speaking of which, any developments with running the next round of reductions or is that still on the backburner? ;)

  • rosemartine
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Grand Master

Veedems Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
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I like my warning level, i dont care if its raised or not, because like they said there is no real punishment.

Exactly. I think the biggest issue comes when people refuse to take a breath before saying anything. We all make mistakes and the warning level is a realization of this simple fact of life.

Grand Master

Veedems Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

How come the warning level reducer is taking so long to fix? i coded a fully functioning one in about 15mins :|

Because there are specific parameters that need to be set and such. Also, the team is working on pr8 for the front page and the shift forum skin. Not to mention all the time spent on getting the servers running well again. Now, with IPB 2.2 coming, the team also has to prepare for that. It's a lot of coding for a few people to do.

Grand Master

kombolcha

Posted
Posted

I just asked an admin (it had been some crazy long time like a year and I was at 20%) and they got rid of my warning for me. :)

it was said they wont be doing manual reductions... but if it is being done and an admin is reading this. please.. it's been a year and some months now.

Exactly. I think the biggest issue comes when people refuse to take a breath before saying anything. We all make mistakes and the warning level is a realization of this simple fact of life.

i just want to change my name.

Grand Master

Fred Derf Veteran

Posted
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How come the warning level reducer is taking so long to fix? i coded a fully functioning one in about 15mins :|

There were complications that results from zero level warnings. Zero level warnings are used in two ways.

1) They can be used to educate a member about a rule where we do not feel a full warning is required.

2) The system will not allow us to give a warning level increase to a member who is already at 100%. If we want to restrict them for 30 days as a punishment for a new offence we need to do it as a zero level warning.

The warning reduction system was only looking at time since their last warning level increase and because of that, some members at 100% were getting their warning level reduced to 80% shortly after being warned again. It didn't make much sense to reward someone for re-committing an offence so we temporarily stopped it.

My understanding is that the front page will soon go to PR8 and then most front page development work will stop (except for bug fixes). At this point the coders will be able to fix the AWRS.

So, if you see PR8 released then hopefully the AWRS will be restored shortly after. It will be retroactive.

Grand Master

Fred Derf Veteran

Posted
  • Author
  • Veteran
Posted

I just asked an admin (it had been some crazy long time like a year and I was at 20%) and they got rid of my warning for me. :)

According to the logs, your warning(s) were clearly reduced by the automatic warning reduction system. Perhaps you asked for it to be removed shortly before it was scheduled and you assumed an admin did it for you manually.

Experienced

C_Guy

Posted
Posted

I would also like to remind everyone that moderators cannot be at all places at all times (although we try :p). We need members to assist us by reporting potentially inappropriate content or conduct. Thank you for your support and, hopefully, for your understanding.

Can you please tell us exactly how to go about reporting inappropriate comments on a news article or forum? Who should we notify and how?

Thanks!

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