Well we sure had a big discussion yesterday about this subject but I am happy to say, no fights and no margin busting, so that is good.
The following is the last draft made by Vieravisionary based on what he got from the input of members yesterday. I am posting here pretty much as he sent it to me last night, I did remove some lengthy descriptions and changed the word Prickish to Jerkish.
This is still a work in progress,what I would like to do with this diary is whittle it down a little, take suggestions for language changes and so on and come up with a concise message to post on the site that will exemplify the etiquette rules, this is what I have come up with so far for posting:
Cordial and civil behaviour is required and strictly enforced
The second part of this the QRT, or community board part needs further refinement and simplification.
Modification of Site Etiquette Resolution
It is hereby resolved that the site rules of conduct shall be that vicious ad hominem attacks are forbidden.
Vicious is defined as ANY use of profanity in an attack against another member, ANY suggestion that a person needs to seek psychological counseling unless they are asking for personal opinions and interventions from the community, and ANY SUSPECTED outing attempts. This does not mean that all personal criticism or joking is forbidden. It means that if you attack someone in a way that is vicious, as determined by community consensus, you will pay. You also may not engage in any other kind of jerkish behavior. Jerkish behavior is defined as . . . . [Still need to define this term], as determined by community consensus. Community consensus means the views of the site owner [Executive] and those with administrative privileges, in consultation with the Community Board.The first offense shall result in a warning
Second offense shall result in a temporary blocking of the member for a period of twenty-four hours cooling down period.
Third offense shall result in a temporary blocking of the member for a period of two weeks cooling down period.
Fourth offense will result in a permanent blocking of member’s IP address and membership.
A Community Board shall be nominated and elected (in a poll and subject to ? renewal) by the membership to serve as an arbitration body or to act and represent for the benefit of members as opposed to management, similar to the minority party in congress, and to act on the behalf of the Site Owner [Executive] when he is not present.
The Community Board will consist of ? elected site members. Age or length of membership shall not be limiting factors to election on the Community Board. Maximum length on the Community Board will be ? months. The Site Owner [Executive] is not eligible to be elected as a Community Board member.
Six or more Community Board members can reach decisions by single majority vote and be allowed to take immediate binding action up to and including a two week time-out for a repeat offender. Six out of nine Community Board members’ votes (two-thirds majority) are required to recommend permanent banning of a site member and shall be to the Site Owner [Executive] for review or veto. There will be a minimum of ten days cooling off period for the entire Community Board and Site Owner [Executive], which may run concurrently with a two week suspension for the repeat offender.A Quick Response Team (QRT) comprised of three Community Board members shall be able to recommend temporarily suspend a member from posting for twenty four hours.
Enforcement of the rules for suspensions shall be strictly enforced.Such rules shall be prominently posted on site so that all are aware.
To all those that say what, more rules, I say we are modifying and clarifying site rules, which we have always had and members collectively wrote those rules before. The biggest change is the consequence area for violations and the QuickResponseTeam set up.
FWIW after the pie wars and the influx, the founding members of the FBC, Froggy Bottom Cafe were very much involved in a QRT effort, and we used our Yahoo Group Site as the meetup and exchange place….what we did was put out a call when tempers were flaring and whoever was available and good at diplomacy would then try to soothe the problem. It worked very well until I took a break from the site. Anyway, I think we might use this model which worked out easily and simply.
So please lets continue the work in progress.
To Teach313, I am not sure how or if to incorporate what you want included in this so I look forward to hearing more from you in that regard.
Let me also add that we were able to organize and do quite a lot on this site previously and see no reason why that can’t be done again.
Excellent work everyone! Now, if it can be cut in half by length and stated in more congenial, less stiff language, I will be happy with it. ;o)
And I think it is best to know that others with differing ideas as to resolving or finding solutions to the flame war problems should not hesitate to write their own solution and put it up in a diary to be voted on as well. Or submitted to Diane and all can be offered to vote on at the same time.
After the community votes its consensus, then Booman will determine what, if any, of the things he wishes to put in to practice.
Glad to see so many participate in this, and hope a lot more of you will offer your suggestions.
Hugs
Shirl
I think we’re all kind of intellectually and emotionally wiped out. But I hope BooMan can digest the good points of yesterday’s discussion and move things forward.
I think you are right, I am pooped for sure. I am going to work a little more on the committee part of it maybe Monday with a diary about that and asking if that is acceptable to Booman. I think we could easily do it and use the framework we set up for FBC cafe and welcome wagons, in fact use the yahoo group already there…booman is on that site as well.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who contributed, I thought we had a great discussion and lots gained out of it.
To Teach 313, I think I may have misunderstood the crux of your position and if you feel like it and aren’t too tired from yesterday could you write a short summary and post here…I am still a little confused. Thanks and thanks for all your contributions.
I hadn’t planned to respond to this diary, but since you directly mentioned me, I will respond. Also, many others also expressed doubts that more rules and committees were the answer. Please see my Meta diary on changes to the rating system.