Dear Members
We find ourselves once again in need of a ratification vote, this time to amend Article 6 of the Charter: Age Restricted Forum.
Given the sensitivity of the information posted in the Thinking of England forum and therefore the greater vulnerability of ToE posters to harm by careless or malicious use of that information, we realized as the eligibility deadlines for the forum approached that we need a way to keep people we have reason to believe can't be trusted with such information out of that forum.
What follows for your consideration is the result of our deliberations on how best to deal with this dilemma within the framework of our stated board ideals of equality, openness and respect.
HERE IS HOW THIS PROCESS WORKS:
All registered members are encouraged to discuss and vote in this thread.
A summary of the amendment we are voting on in this thread is given below, followed by the full text of the amendment and an addendum of other minor amendments to the Charter that will be approved (or rejected) along with this amendment in order to make the Charter and the new amendment consistent with one another.
Before voting, we discuss in this thread for a minimum of ten days.
Members are encouraged to comment on the proposal. If certain provisions prove controversial and can be removed without affecting the overall viability of the amendment, we will remove those provisions from the text before the voting begins.
At the end of the discussion, the vote opens and remains open for ten days. The vote takes the form of a poll in this thread, where you will vote either yes or no to approve this amendment.
Voting is now open and will remain open until Tuesday, October 25, 11:59 pm Greenwich Mean Time (which is approximately 8:00 pm Eastern or 5:00 pm Pacific Time).
In order to ratify this amendment, 33 members must cast votes, and of those who vote, two-thirds (67%) must vote in favor.
SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT
ToE members are cautioned to refrain from trying to deny a person access to the forum for reasons unrelated to an awareness of questionable behavior engaged in by that person either here or elsewhere.
When someone asks for access to the forum, the forum members will be asked to consider whether they have reason to believe it is likely that the petitioner will not follow the rules for posting in the forum. If a member does have reason to believe it is likely that the petitioner will not follow the rules for posting in the forum, they are asked to submit a brief explanation of these reasons to the Rangers either by PM to a particular Ranger or by email to the Admin. account.
If at least two such objections are submitted, a summary of each objection received will be posted in a thread in the forum, and then ToE members who believe the petitioner should be denied access based on the stated objections will be allowed to voice this viewpoint by voting in a poll that is added to the thread. If 12 ToE members vote to exclude the petitioner, then they will be denied access to the forum for six months, after which time they may reapply. The summarized objections will be shared with the petitioner at the end of the consideration period, and there will be an annual review of the procedure to assess its effectiveness.
FULL TEXT OF AMENDMENT plus ADDENDUM ------------------------------------
ARTICLE 6: Age Restricted Forum
¶3: Eligibility to Access the Age Restricted Forum
A member becomes eligible to access the "Thinking of England" forum after three months and 100 posts. After this time, a member can request access to the forum from a Ranger. Access is routinely granted unless the required number of ToE members voice their opposition to the petitioning member gaining access to the forum pursuant to the process outlined in ¶4.
¶4: Amendment Procedure for Denial of Access
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:
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 personal feelings of vulnerability to others by trying to keep them out of this forum if the concern is not in some way related to an awareness of questionable behavior on their part."
When a member requests access to the forum, a Ranger will title an announcement thread in the ToE forum with the petitioning member’s name and will post in it the following three paragraphs of 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.
"ToE members who object to the petitioner gaining access should submit a brief explanation by PM to a Ranger or by email to the Administrator account (List of Rangers and Admin. acct. email address). 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. Once two objections are submitted, a summary of those objections will be posted in this thread and the thread will continue to be updated in this way as more objections are received. Please do not post in this thread; it is intended for official updates only. Members are asked to refrain from publicly discussing the petitioner during the consideration period, as the petitioner is not in a position to respond.
"If at least two objections to the petitioner gaining access are submitted, a poll will be added to the thread approximately halfway (five days) into the objection period; ToE members who believe the petitioner should be denied access based on the objections listed should indicate this by voting in the poll. If 12 members vote to deny access, the petitioner is denied access to the forum for a six-month period, after which time they may reapply. Forum members are trusted to refrain from trying to deny the petitioner access without good reason."
The poll will offer the following options:
- I think the petitioner should be denied access to ToE based on the objections stated in the thread
- This option is only here because a poll requires at least two options
When the 10-day period is over a Ranger will announce in the ToE thread whether the petitioner is granted or denied access and will supply the petitioner with a summary of the objections lodged against them, making every effort to avoid revealing the identity of those objecting. The petitioner's thread will be left up for an additional three days, after which time a Ranger will delete it.
If the number of votes is less than that required to deny access, the petitioner will be granted access to the forum and should announce their arrival in the Welcome thread in the forum, which will be created for this purpose.
Discretionary Exception for Extraordinary Circumstance
If a Ranger receives a communication that a ToE member has had a RL experience of a seriously harmful nature with the petitioner, the veracity of which is supported by at least one other b77 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 for the usual 6-month period, and will be advised that subsequent requests for access are likely to meet with the same result. 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 subject to penalties up to and including an immediate ban and always including a minimum two-year ban from the Thinking of England forum.
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.
ADDENDUM of Minor Companion Amendments
1. The following provision from Article 2, section A, ¶1: Members Rights and Responsibilities:
(You have the right) to post in our Thiking of England forum (a forum restricted to those who are 18 years of age or older) once you have met the eligibility requirements.
will be changed to read:
You have the right) to post in our Thinking of England forum (a forum restricted to those who are 18 years of age or older) once you have met the eligibility requirements and if you have not been denied access pursuant to Article 6 ¶4.
2. The text in blue below will be added to Article 3, ¶3 Selection of Rangers:
While volunteers are listed as new entrants, all members are responsible for reviewing the roster to determine whether they know any good reason why a particular volunteer would not make a good Ranger and should not immediately enter the pool of full Rangers when their training is complete. If no member expresses a concern or objection volunteers will enter the pool of full Rangers without delay. If a member does have a concern or objection to a particular volunteer, these must be sent by email to the Administrator account, where they will also be forwarded to the Mayor so that the Mayor together with current Rangers can review them for merit. A Ranger will send an email acknowledgment to each person who submits an objection to let them know their objection has been received.
3. This text from Article 3 ¶4: Routine powers of Rangers:
• In the Thinking of England Forum, enable posting rights when age confirmations are received;
will be changed to read:
• In the Thinking of England Forum, initiate announcement threads and oversee consideration periods in accordance with the instructions in Article 6, ¶4.
4. The text in blue will be added to Article 5, ¶9: Offenses That Merit a Penalty
Offenses for which the maximum penalty for a first offense is an immediate ban
- Spamming the board with ads;
- Spamming the board with pornography;
- Hacking the board;
- Refusing to abide by the Decision of the Jury in a Hearing [maximum penalty is
mandated by Article 3];
- Threats of real life violence or other criminal acts against members [maximum
penalty is mandated by Article 3];
- Deliberately introducing a virus to members of the board.
- Falsely accusing a member of harmful RL actions in order to deny them access to the Thinking of England forum.