APPROVED TEXT
¶4 Procedure for Hearings on a Community Disruption:
The violation of by-laws is called to the attention of the administrators, either because they observe it themselves or because a member reports it.
If action has already been taken by an administrator, such as restriction of posting rights, the administrator notifies the member at that time that a hearing will be held, and the hearing should be convened within three days.
If the problem is brought to the attention of the administrators by another member, two administrators must agree that a hearing is required and the member in question must be notified by email no less than twenty-four hours before the hearing is opened.
The posting rights of the member in question will not be restricted over the course of the hearing on the strength of another member’s report. Only an administrator observing a violation of by-laws directly, or a jury after hearing a case, may impose a penalty on a poster.
When the twenty-hour hour notification period has passed, a thread is started in the Jury Room, titled with the nature of the hearing, for example, “Hearing on Disruption of the RP Forum.â€
The first post of that thread will state the reason for the hearing. If two administrators convened the hearing, either one may start the thread but both names should appear at the end of the first post. Full names should be given so that PMs can be sent with ease.
The names of the jurors will be edited in to the first post of the thread and their posting rights will be enabled. The full name should be used so that PMs can be sent with ease.
Ideally, no more than three days should be spent selecting the jury, so that from the first action taken (suspension of rights or appeal from a member) to the opening of the hearing, no more than seven full days should pass in which the posting rights of a member are curtailed without recourse. Administrators and jurors should strive to act promptly and avoid delays.
Once the jury is selected and their names posted in the thread, the administrator(s) may remove themselves from the case and allow the jurors to take over. Administrators should remain alert to the need for changes of permission and deletion of posts that do not belong.
The member for whom the hearing is held may state their side of the case and the jurors may ask questions.
Either posters or jurors may request that witnesses be allowed to post in the thread.
Members who are called as witnesses participate voluntarily but should respond promptly to the request.
When the jury has sufficient information to decide the case, they may call an end to the hearing. They will post in the thread that the hearing is coming to an end twenty-four hours before actually beginning their deliberation so that the member has time to agree or present any additional information.
The purpose of the jury deliberation is to decide whether the member has in fact violated the by-laws or committed a bannable offense beyond any reasonable doubt, and if so, to impose a penalty not to exceed the penalty provided in the by-laws. If no maximum penalty is specified in the by-laws the jurors may use discretion based on the range of penalties contained in the by-laws for similar offenses.
Jury deliberations may be held in private, by PM or email. Jurors should strive to reach a decision within ten days. Agreement by four of the six jurors that a by-law has been violated is required for imposition of a penalty. Four of the six jurors must agree on the duration of the penalty, otherwise the lesser of all penalties considered by them will be imposed.
When the jurors have reached a decision, they will email their decision to the member and then post their decision in the thread twenty-four hours later. Anything they have taken into consideration should be presented honestly when they state their decision.
Any juror holding a minority position may express it in their post
If the jury has decided that the offense was not committed or that no additional penalties should be imposed, any suspended posting rights will be restored to the member within twenty-four hours.
If a penalty is imposed, an administrator will change the necessary permissions within twenty-four hours. Time limits on penalties will be maintained by the Mayor and it is the responsibility of the Mayor to notify administrators when the time limit on a penalty has expired.
If the decision of the jury is to require something of the member, such as removal of a signature picture, the member will comply within twenty-four hours. Members who refuse to abide by a jury decision may be considered for banning.
As soon as the jury has posted their decision and that decision has been implemented, the thread will be locked. At the request of the member, it may be deleted.
Elements of the case may be summarized and preserved in the Archive with the name(s) of the involved member(s) and witnesses deleted.
[approved May 16, 2005]