DRAFT BALLOT
Amendment to Article 6: DENIAL OF ACCESS TO THINKING OF ENGLAND FORUM
This is a lengthy and complicated ballot, so please read it carefully.
There are two models for a denial of access procedure. One model is distinguished by the use of an anonymous poll in the ToE forum, with variations including one or more PMs/emails to the Administrator account. In the other model, all ToE members who object to the petitioner gaining access state their objection either by PM/email or on the forum.
We will first vote on some options that apply to both of the models. Following that, we will vote on options within each of the models. We will then tally the votes from this ballot and vote again to choose the final amendment.
PART I. OPTIONS THAT APPLY TO BOTH MODELS
Question 1. The following text will be added to the ‘PLEASE READ before posting in this forum!’ sticky in the ToE forum under a heading, ‘Denying Access to this Forum’.
Seeking to deny another member the benefits and enjoyment of posting in this forum should not be undertaken lightly. Everyone who posts here must take full responsibility for their decision to reveal intimate and sensitive information to people they do not know and may not like. It would be unfair to shift the responsibility for your own feelings of vulnerability to others by trying to keep them out of this forum if your concern is not in some way related to an awaremess of questionable behavior on their part.
PLEASE RANK IN ORDER OF PREFEENCE:
A. I agree to include the portion of the statement shown in red
B. I agree to include the entire statement
C. I do not agree to include any of the statement
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Question 2. We will use the following statement (from the Bike Racks proposal) as a Preamble to the amendment text in the Charter:
In recognition of the special level of trust, sensitivity and comfort required in the Thinking Of England forum as already witnessed by the 3 month / 100 posts rule for eligibility, we propose the following amendment:
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I agree to use the statement
B. I do not agree to use the statement
Question 3. What will be the period of time for ToE posters to consider a petitioner to the forum and for the objection process to take place? (Note that 10 days is consistent with other portions of the Charter.)
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. One week
B. Ten days
Question 4. If an applicant is denied access to the forum, what will be the period of time before they can re-apply?
PLEASE RANK IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE:
A. 3 months
B. 6 months
C. 1 year
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Question 5. The instructions for the objection procedure in the petitioner’s threads in ToE will conclude with this sentence:
Please do not collude to deny access to the petitioner for inappropriate reasons.
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I agree to include this statement
B. I do not agree to include this statement.
Question 6.
Note: This question applies only to the procedures involving emails.
A Ranger will send an email acknowledgment to each person who submits an objection, to let them know their objection has been received, and will forward a copy of this acknowledgment to a designated ToE member.
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I agree to include the portion of the statement shown in black
B. I agree to include the entire statement.
Discretionary Exception for Extraordinary Circumstance
If a Ranger receives a communication that a ToE member has had a RL experience with the petitioner of a seriously harmful nature involving harmful personal contact, the veracity of which is supported by at least one other ToE member, the Ranger at their discretion may announce in the petitioner's thread in ToE that such a complaint has been brought and the petitioner has summarily been denied access. The petitioner will be informed that a serious complaint has been lodged and their access denied, and the thread will then be locked and deleted. If it is subsequently determined in a hearing that the accusation was false, the accusing member will be permanently banned.
Question 7a. PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I prefer the text in red to the text in blue
B. I prefer the text in blue to the text in red
Question 7b. PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I agree to include this statement.
B. I do not agree to include this statement
Question 8.
Note: The options of Question 8 apply only to procedures that include explanations
When the designated period is over, a Ranger will announce in the ToE thread whether the petitioner is granted or denied access,
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. and will list the names of those who objected
B. and will include the number of objections received
Question 9. If no member voices an objection, the petitioner will be granted access to the forum at the end of the (designated) period and should announce their arrival in the Welcome thread in the forum, which will be created for this purpose.
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I agree to include the portion of the statement shown in black
B. I agree to include the entire statement
Question 10. At the end of the deliberation period, a Ranger will supply the petitioner with the text of any objections lodged against them. If the applicant has been rejected, they may reapply at the end of the designated period, and the process will be repeated.
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I agree to include only the portion of the statement shown in black.
B. I agree to include the entire statement.
Question 11. After the objection period has concluded and the results have been posted, a Ranger will delete the petitioner's thread after a period of
PLEASE RANK IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE:
A. one day
B. three days
C. one week
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Question 12. A committee composed of volunteer ToE posters and Rangers will annually review these procedures to assess their effectiveness and determine if changes need to be made. If changes are required, they will make this known to the board at large and the usual procedure for amending the Charter will be followed.
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I agree to include this statement
B. I do not agree to include this statement
PART II
A. ANONYMOUS POLL MODEL OPTIONS
Note: Voting in the next two sections does not mean you are voting for any one procedure. At this time we are merely choosing options to define the procedures. We will choose between the models themselves on a different ballot.
Question 13. When a member requests access to the forum
PLEASE RANK IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE:
A. A Ranger will post their name in the permanent thread kept in the forum for that purpose.
B. A Ranger will title an announcement thread in the ToE forum with the petitioning member’s name and will post in it the following text:
(Member name) has requested access to this forum. Members have until (designated amount of time from day of announcement) to decide if they are personally uncomfortable with having this person in the forum.
C. A Ranger will title an announcement thread in the ToE forum with the petitioning member’s name and will post in it the following text:
(Member name) has requested access to this forum. Members have until (10 days from day of announcement) to consider whether they have a reasonable belief that the rules pertaining to posting on the ToE forum are likely to be broken by the petitioner based on past experience either here or elsewhere. Those rules include posting in a manner that ridicules, demeans or threatens other posters, or engaging in provocation or the spreading of sensitive information.
D. A Ranger will title an announcement thread in the ToE forum with the petitioning member’s name and will post in it the following text:
(Member name) has requested access to this forum. Members have until (10 days from day of announcement) to voice their objection if they have reason to believe that the petitioning member poses a danger to the community.
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Question 14. If a current ToE poster does not want the petitioning member to have access to the forum, then that poster will
PLEASE RANK IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE:
A. start a new thread titled with the petitioning member’s name (use the existing thread*) and will post the following sentence and only the following sentence in the thread:
I am asking for a veto-vote of this poster.
If two additional ToE posters subsequently post the following sentence (and only the following sentence) in the thread:
I support the call for a veto-vote.
Then the poster who started the thread will add a poll to the thread in which ToE members may register their objection by voting in the poll. If the number of votes exceeds 1/3 the number of ToE members, the petitioner is denied access.
B. PM a Ranger/send an email to the Admin. account stating their objection and giving a brief explanation of the reasons.
Once two objections have been received, a Ranger will start a thread in the ToE forum and will announce (will announce in the existing thread*) that objections to the petitioner gaining access to the forum have been submitted, and will state the nature of the objections. The thread will continue to be updated in this way if additional objections are received. Approximately halfway through the objection period, the Ranger will add a poll to the thread. ToE members who believe the petitioner should be denied access based on the objections listed will vote in the poll. If 12 ToE members vote to exclude the petitioner, the petitioner will be denied access.
C. PM a Ranger/send an email to the Admin. account stating their objection and giving a concise one to two sentence explanation of the reasons.
Once an objection has been received, a Ranger will start a poll thread (add a poll to the existing thread*) in the ToE forum and state that an objection to the petitioner gaining access to the forum has been submitted. Other ToE members may then register their objection either by PM/email or by voting in the poll.
(* depending on what option is chosen from Question 13)
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Note: Question 15 a and b apply to Question 14 option C only.
The thread will further explain that if at least three (four) other ToE posters PM a Ranger/email the Admin. account objecting to the petitioner gaining access to ToE, then a total of 10 votes is needed in the poll to deny access to the forum. If at least (designated number) additional posters do not PM/email objections, then a total of votes exceeding 1/3 the number of ToE members is needed to deny access. If eight ToE posters independently PM/email objections, then no more votes are required to deny access.
Question 15a. How many additional ToE posters must email their objections to initiate the threshold of 10 votes for denial of access?
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. Three additional posters
B. Four additional posters
Question 15b.
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. I agree to include the portion of the statement shown in black
B. I agree to include the entire statement.
Question 16. The poll will offer one of the following pairs of options:
Note that the only relevant option in all cases is 'I do not want this person to be a member of ToE'. Votes recorded for the second option will be disregarded.
PLEASE RANK IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE:
A. I do not want this person to be a member of ToE
A. I do not want this person to be a member of ToE
B. I do not want this person to be a member of ToE
B. I want this person to be a member of ToE
C. I do not want this person to be a member of ToE
C. I abstain
D. I do not want this person to be a member of ToE
D. This option is only here because a poll requires at least two options
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B. OBJECTIONS MODEL OPTIONS
Question 17. When a member requests access to the forum, a Ranger will title an announcement thread in the ToE forum with the petitioner's name and will post in it the following text:
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. (Member name) has requested access to this forum. Members have until (10 days from day of announcement) to voice their objection if they have a reasonable belief that the rules pertaining to posting on the ToE forum are likely to be broken by the petitioner based on past experience either here or elsewhere. Those rules include posting in a manner that ridicules, demeans or threatens other posters, or engaging in provocation or the spreading of sensitive information.
B. (Member name) has requested access to this forum. Members have until (10 days from day of announcement) to voice their objection if they have reason to believe that the petitioning member poses a danger to the community.
Question 18. Members will then
A. submit their objections by PM to a Ranger or email to the Administrator account with a brief explanation. If a Ranger receives an email or PM objecting to the petitioner gaining access to ToE, they will announce in the petitioner’s thread in ToE that such an objection has been received, and will state the nature of the objection. If the number of valid objections exceeds 5, the petitioner is denied access to the forum for (designated time period).
B. voice their objection by posting a brief explanation in the petitioner's thread. If a member does not wish to make their objection publicly, they may submit it by PM/email. A Ranger will announce in the objection thread that such an objection has been received. If the number of valid objections exceeds 10, the petitioner is denied access to the forum for (designated time period).
PLEASE RANK IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE:
A. I choose only the text of option A shown in black.
B. I choose the text of option A shown in black and the text shown in red
C. I choose the full text of option A
D. I choose only the text of option B shown in black
E. I choose the full text of option B
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Question 19.
Note: This question applies to Question 18 option B only.
The first poster to object in the thread will contact two or more Rangers and ask that either a Ranger or a mediator follow the process to make sure all of the objections are within the stated guidelines.
Who will oversee the objection process?
PLEASE SELECT ONE:
A. A Ranger
B. A mediator