I didn't want to bump an old thread that was already filled with nastiness.
I wanted to start a new one so we could have fresh clean nastiness.
I would like to start off with some factual things regarding the charter. The philosophical aspect is something that can go on forever and never be resolved. Getting the simple stuff out of the way first seems easiest.
There has been lots of discussion over the last months regarding the charter. Many find it too confining to the rangers, and the processes too unwieldy. I tend to agree. I think the document itself, crafted after the TORC fallout, has left us with a piece of legislation that has become somewhat outdated. No worries though, there are ways to implement change within the charter.
A lot of the discussion recently has been on the subject of how to handle posters that are out of line according to most people's standards. Of late it seems the solution is to toss someone in the Bike Racks for a cooling off period. There is/was some question about this and legality of it, but rangers have been using this portion of the charter to handle situations.
I think there remains a lot of misconceptions about this.
I highlighted the word temporary for a reason.
Quote: Extraordinary Powers of Rangers
Recognizing that unforeseen events may occur which require a quick response, Board77 Rangers are expected to use their best judgment in emergencies, and to take whatever action they believe necessary to protect the board. An emergency would be an event which threatened real and immediate harm, but which is not otherwise addressed by this charter. In such an event, the Ranger(s) in question would be expected to explain the circumstances and consult with the board membership as soon as possible. Such measures are temporary by their nature and subject to review by the standing Committee for Charter Amendments
The only purported use for temporary bans and relegating someone to the Bike Racks is a temporary holding place while determining what the course of action should be. It is not and never has been meant to be a punishment capable of being enacted upon by rangers.
In fact by doing so, the ranger needs to justify his/her position and the offender has a right to contest that decision.
A ranger tossing someone in the Bike Racks without calling a hearing for offenses, is in fact going against the charter. This charter was written in an atmosphere, which essentially gave all the power to the posters regardless of their actions. It is incumbant upon the rangers to justify their actions.
Quote: In all other cases the poster has the Right to a Hearing, and if the poster registered more than seven days ago they are considered a member of the community and have a right to a hearing for these offenses as well; but their posting rights will be restricted to the Jury Room for the duration of the hearing.
Here is the rest of the rangers powers. Nowhere does it allow for them to mete out punishment. Their only powers are temporary and must be followed up with a hearing. Note the last line.
The misconception that issues are handled, over and done with after a ranger locks someone in the Bike Racks is wrong. Rangers do not have that power and that was done for a reason. It prevents someone acting as a ranger from unfairly treating a poster. Again drawn up in the atmosphere of the TORC fallout.
Quote: ¶4: Routine powers of Rangers
• Activate memberships;
• Create new forums when a majority of current Rangers agree it is necessary;
• Move the appropriate threads into newly created forums as necessary;
• Create temporary Ranger positions when a majority of current Rangers agree this is necessary, provided that the appointees have served as Rangers in the past and no formal complaint has been issued against them for their actions as a Ranger; a temporary appointment will last for two full weeks and may be renewed one time (four full weeks in total);
• In the Jury Room and the Archive, enable posting rights, delete illegitimate posts from Hearings, and delete threads when they are finished;
• In the Thinking of England Forum, initiate announcement threads and oversee consideration periods in accordance with the instructions in Article 6, ¶4.
• Lock, split, or move threads upon request of members, or when it is necessary to improve the coherence of a forum; the thread originator must be notified beforehand;
• Edit Posts if they affect the display of the page, e.g. stretched pages, after notifying the poster;
• If a poster registers an invalid email address, restrict posting rights to the Bike Racks and send the poster a PM so that a correct address can be provided;
• Download new smilies;
• Delete double posts at the request of the poster.
Rangers are required to:
• Note all Ranger edits in a post, and email the poster advising them of the edit;
• Rangers-in-training may have their administrative powers enabled and exercise routine powers under the supervision of a full Ranger, but administrative powers are disabled when the training session is over.
Rangers may not:
• Delete posts or lock threads without permission of the originator unless the originator has engaged in conduct justifying an immediate ban, or edit posts except in the circumstances specified in paragraph ¶5;
• Delete smilies or change the style of the board without allowing members to express their opinion beforehand in the proper forum;
• Change the permissions of a poster at the poster's request, except for routine changes of permission in the Jury Room, Archives, and Thinking of England Forum; nor can they ban members for any reason other than those listed below.
¶5: Special and Emergency powers of Rangers
• Edit Posts if they contain objectionable content (for example, abuse of another poster, defamatory remarks, pornographic, violent or distasteful content, or advertisement of products), or if they reveal personal information that compromises another poster's privacy or contain any personal information about a minor.
• Enact an Immediate Ban for the following offenses if the poster has registered within the last seven days:
1. Spamming the board with ads;
2. Spamming the board with porn;
3. Hacking the board;
4. Refusing to abide by the Decision of Jury in a Hearing;
5. Threats of real life violence or other criminal acts against members.
In all other cases the poster has the Right to a Hearing, and if the poster registered more than seven days ago they are considered a member of the community and have a right to a hearing for these offenses as well; but their posting rights will be restricted to the Jury Room for the duration of the hearing.
• Temporarily suspend posting rights or restrict access to a forum:
1. In the Jury Room, if poster has interfered with a Hearing on a Ban, board-wide posting rights can be suspended until the Hearing is concluded;
2. In the There and Back Again forum, if more than one complaint has been made against the way an RP identity has been used, posting rights can be suspended until a Hearing can be held regarding the continuation of that identity;
3. In the Thinking of England Forum, if more than one complaint has been made about the way a poster has been posting there, posting rights can be suspended until a Hearing can be held to determine the right of continued access to that forum;
4. If a sig pic is arguably pornographic, violent or distasteful it can be removed; and if the poster persists in reposting it, posting rights outside the Jury Room can be suspended until a Hearing decision is reached.
• Convene a Hearing on a ban whenever a bannable offense is called to their attention.
• Convene a Hearing to reverse a ban if the following three conditions are met:
1. if the duration of the ban was not specified;
2. the banned poster has requested a new Hearing in an email sent from the email address used to register;
3. at least one month has elapsed since the ban went into effect; Rangers can postpone a requested hearing longer but not more than three months.
Procedures for using special and emergency powers
An immediate ban is of unspecified duration. A Hearing must be convened to reverse it.
When posting rights are suspended, a Hearing must be held and the Jury will decide the duration of the suspension.
If the majority of the people here feel that needs to change, then that is what should happen. Arguing that matters, such as democacy's are handled and done with is essentially violating the rights of the posters.
Personally I would like to see some of that changed, but I doubt it will ever happen. No one here wants to give anyone the power to do anything. If that is the case, then the charter as it stands is the only recourse, and it and the poster's rights are being violated.