New Banning Policy: Introducing the Infraction System

Effective immediately, this new system allows us to hand out infractions and warnings from a bad post. You are automatically banned when you reach a specific amount of infractions. These infractions also expire after a set amount of time. Like a heavy spamming warning will last up to 30 days. Here are the following infractions you can receive and length of time before they expire:

Light Spamming: 10 Day(s)
Signature Violation: 7 Day(s)
Member Moderation: 10 Day(s)
Passive Trolling: 10 Day(s)
Heavy Spamming: 1 Month(s)
Aggressive Trolling: 1 Month(s)
Spammed Advertisements: Never
Ban-evasion: Never
As of 2/26/07

Your first 3 infractions will earn you a 1-week ban. Your next 2 will be a month. Past that point staff will decide any further punishment if needed. Permanent bans will be discussed in a thread within the mod hut and possibly voted on before placed unless they fall within the following:

Registered to spam advertisements
Ban evasion account

We might use the point system in the future at some point in order to remove different abilities as punishment, like the ability to a custom title and signature, but those will come at a later time. Here are explanations on the infractions you can receive:

Light Spamming: Given to someone who spams here and there. It expires after a short period of time. This should help warn you to watch yourself and maybe put a bit more thought into your posts.

Signature Violation: Given to members who constantly break the signature rules. The first time they'll probably just remove it and place the reason why in your signature. The second time will be a point against you.

Member Moderation: Given to someone who tries to act like a moderator. We have a report button for a reason. We don't need some guy posting in a thread just to tell someone else they did something wrong. That's the job of the moderators. Doing this too often will be an infraction point against you.

Passive Trolling: This expires fairly quickly as well. These are handed out to someone trolling of course. For the more serious trolls the aggressive Trolling is used, which stays on you for a whole month.

Heavy Spamming: Handed out to someone who spams way too much. This offense lasts longer.

Aggressive Trolling: For the more serious trolls. This infraction lasts much longer than the light one.

Spammed Advertisements: Automatic ban. Only used on someone who just registered to advertise. If its an active poster is caught doing it this isn't used. The moderator will close the thread and tell them it isn't allowed.

Ban-evasion: Automatic ban for evading a ban.

If you have any other questions please post them in this thread. Also keep in mind that this is somewhat of a test run and numbers may change in the future. I will update this post if they do.

Sounds good. How up to the mod's interpretations are these though?

I believe I should say "first" as in I think I was the first to recieve an infraction from this new-fangled system. Would have been nice to see this before, though.

Quote:

Light Spamming: Given to someone who spams here and there. It expires after a short period of time. This should help warn you to watch yourself and maybe put a bit more thought into your posts.

I have a feeling there will be butt-loads of these given out in the not too distant future.

Originally Posted by dagget

I believe I should say "first" as in I think I was the first to recieve an infraction from this new-fangled system. Would have been nice to see this before, though.

I thought Bredow was banned by infraction before you even got one.

First question - if you receive two infractions (say, one infraction for one post and another infraction for another post), do you have to serve the total combined time for those two infractions, or do you only serve the time of whichever infraction has the longer ban?

If it's decided that you serve the total combined time, then I have a second question...

Quote:

Your first 3 infractions will earn you a 3-day ban. Your next 2 will be a month. Past that point staff will decide any further punishment if needed.

So when you say this, do you mean that, if someone gets three ban infractions, they serve the total combined time for those three infractions plus an extra three days?

It's 3 days, then a month. The times to the right are how long it takes for the infraction to leave your "record" for lack of a better word.

Originally Posted by Devoxycontin

I thought Bredow was banned by infraction before you even got one.

Well, I have no idea. I didn't log on GFF for about 18 or so hours, I did so this morning and saw the message, also expressing my displeasure to staff. Besides, i f he was banned, then that just makes me the first warning? (Yes, I realize I'm being petty and annoying about this. But hey, it's been a long time since I've been outspoken here)

I thought it meant that after three infractions you are banned for three days. Then after two more, you get banned for a month. The length of time mentioned per infraction is how long it takes for the infractions to go away.

I suppose that means if I spam lightly, then 5 days later I could spam lightly again, ad infinitum with no consequence.

type too slow;_;

Actually, that should be 1 week. Not 3 days. I'm at work right now and am easily distracted, so sorry about any errors in my post.

Originally Posted by dagget

Besides, i f he was banned, then that just makes me the first warning?

We've been issuing warnings and infractions for a while now before we found something to warn you for, so you aren't the first there.

You may be the first person to whine about getting an infraction in their journal, though, so at least you've got that going for you.

Originally Posted by Avalokiteshvara

I thought it meant that after three infractions you are banned for three days. Then after two more, you get banned for a month. The length of time mentioned per infraction is how long it takes for the infractions to go away.

I suppose that means if I spam lightly, then 7 days later I could spam lightly again, ad infinitum with no consequence.

type too slow;_;

If it's a constant issue they'll most likely use the heavy spammer, which lasts a lot longer. Plus your infactions are always shown in your profile, even after they expire. So if you have a huge list of spamming infractions we might vote on a different punishment of our own.

Originally Posted by Lord Styphon

We've been issuing warnings and infractions for a while now before we found something to warn you for, so you aren't the first there.

You may be the first person to whine about getting an infraction in their journal, though, so at least you've got that going for you.

Awesome. I'll let this be a lesson. Don't reply to threads that mods have failed to close!

Ohh I see, I thought handing out one infraction to someone meant they get an automatic ban for whatever amount of time. I was confused when I looked at one of PsychoJosh's infractions and I thought he was banned until April 22nd rather than just one week as was announced in the Banned Members thread. But anywho, thanks for the info.

As an infraction - or red card - is "handed out", will there be an automatic PM generated and sent to the offender? Will they have a log in their control panel stating what their current "demerit" points are and when they expire? The only current sign I've seen so far is going into the specific offending thread and clicking on the red card itself. This might get unwieldy if say, a light spammer spams one place in general discussion, never posts there again (therefore never seeing that particular red card), and posts in say, the sewers and spams there as well, but only does it one time, therefore might not see the 2nd infraction/red card. In short, how will one keep track of their offenses?

EDIT: Alright, I see how it works. Initially I thought the card was placed in that avatar in that specific post and wouldn't be reflected in the avatar space in other forums. Thanks for the clarification.

How does one define passive trolling? You trolled but you didn't mean to?

Also, those cards are huge (and jagged). Need prettier infraction graphics

Originally Posted by Scratch and Sniff

As an infraction - or red card - is "handed out", will there be an automatic PM generated and sent to the offender? Will they have a log in their control panel stating what their current "demerit" points are and when they expire? The only current sign I've seen so far is going into the specific offending thread and clicking on the red card itself. This might get unwieldy if say, a light spammer spams one place in general discussion, never posts there again (therefore never seeing that particular red card), and posts in say, the sewers and spams there as well, but only does it one time, therefore might not see the 2nd infraction/red card. In short, how will one keep track of their offenses?

You get a PM stating you have an infraction, and a nice little red card under your name. As far as I know, you don't have to respond to these. Since I've never received any kind of warning before, I replied to the email thinking it was one of those "Failure to acknowledge this will result in a ban until you do so." thing.

Also, you seem to have a yellow card underneath your name.

Originally Posted by Scratch and Sniff

EDIT: Alright, I see how it works. Initially I thought the card was placed in that avatar in that specific post and wouldn't be reflected in the avatar space in other forums. Thanks for the clarification.

No, it is indeed post-specific. You will see all your infractions and warnings in your user profile page though.