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Code of Conduct; TLS Rules, Staff Contract
Topic Started: Apr 21 2009, 05:55 PM (397 Views)
Cloud Strife
Member Avatar
-FF7TLS Founder-



Code of Conduct


Section A: General Rules

-The First Rule, AKA the "Golden" Rule-
Yes, this is the Golden Rule you're thinking about. Besides adhering to all the specific codes and procedures and all that other stuff, this is the One Thing that every single member on this site must abide by at all times, be it Out of Character, In Character, in PMs, or otherwise. Treat others the way you would have them treat you. Seriously. Be a Nice Person. People will have disagreements; this is a fact of life. However, there is absolutely NO reason that any disagreement should turn into some public debacle. We will not tolerate outright bickering and rudeness amongst members in a public manner; if you really need to go and get persnickety with someone, take it OFF-SITE and leave it there (however, that does not mean go off-site and abuse people; that will get you banned). If you're having a problem with someone and don't want to handle it yourself, contact one of the Staff Members listed in the Staff Contract below. We really and truly don't want fights going on, people; it's bad for morale and interaction and just the site in general, so don't do it.

-The Second Rule, AKA the "Follow Your Orders" Rule-
Do what the staff tells you to do. If a member of the staff is telling you to do something, you can be damn well sure that it's for a good reason. We won't go bossing people around for nothing; it takes up our own time and is often more of a hassle than it could ever be worth. Plus, it causes premature graying, bags beneath the eyes, and cellulite. Also, disobeying the staff has similar results - and then some. More on that later, though. Bottom line, a staffer will only come and bug you when you've done something wrong anyways... and wrong things aren't good.
This rule has a second clause, though. Do not interfere with staff matters, or act upon them yourself. What do I mean by that? Let's say someone has come to a staff member to report something you did. You are absolutely prohibited from refusing to answer any inquiries made upon the matter by the staff. There is no pleading the fifth or anything like that around here; you'll answer, or be punished severely. Also, you are absolutely prohibited from engaging whatever member turned you in for whatever it was. If we find out that you're being a little shit to someone who's turned you in for something, you will be banned instantly. This notion is also touched upon in the "Open Door Policy" of the Staff Contract.

-The Third Rule, AKA the "Plagiarism" Rule-
Do not steal ideas - or ANYTHING ELSE - from other members. This is fairly self-explanatory, and everyone knows what plagiarizing is, so I won't go into it. However, do note one thing. If you see someone parading around with an idea that you had, don't automatically assume that they are outright plagiarizing and should be burned at the stake. See who had the idea first; there could have simply been a lack of knowledge on the offending party's part. Naturally, whoever had it first gets it. If members can not settle the dispute, the staff will obviously take it into our own hands, and our word will be final and non-negotiable. If you are absolutely found guilty of (true) plagiarism, you will be punished and forced to change the material. A repeated offense, or a failure to comply, will result in immediate banning.

-The Fourth Rule, AKA the "Reporting" Rule-
If you have a problem with someone, or see someone breaking any rules, report them in the proper fashion. Do not "mini-mod" (take matters into your own hands and try to tell someone they're breaking the rules), as this is rude and, in itself, against the rules. It's very easy to report someone. Simply send a PM to any staff member (preferably myself or Red XIII) stating in detail the nature of the problem, the time it occurred, et cetera. If it's something between you and a member, include as much evidence as you can (E.G., copy and paste off-site conversations). If it's about someone breaking a rule and you just want to tattle on them, include a link to the post, et cetera. There are no rewards for tattling, and since we can't exactly tell who isn't reporting someone, there are no punishments for NOT doing so. However, if it is discovered that you are, in fact, aiding and abetting (helping someone in the rule-breaking, or helping cover their asses), you will be punished to the same extent as the offender. Repeated mini-modding will result in punishments; repeated aiding and abetting will result in - I'm sure you never saw this coming - instantaneous banishment.

Section B: Special Rules

-The Fifth Rule, AKA the "No Cheating" Rule-
Do not cheat with your funds. Keep up with all of your transactions on the proper page in your personal forum in the Character Database (as explained here [PUT A LINK HERE]). Mistakes will happen; that's no big thing. If a staff member sees a discrepancy in your funds, we will first assume that you have simply made a mistake, and investigate the matter further. If we come to the conclusion that you were, in fact, cheating, you will be fined triple the total amount of difference between how much Gil you had, and how much you were supposed to have. If this fine were to reduce your funds to below zero, you will be placed in a corresponding deficit; any Gil you make will have to be used to cover the difference. Obviously, you don't want to cheat. You will be caught, and it will suck. Repeat offenses will first result in a removal of your ability to earn Gil for a time equivalent to the amount of time between the first offense and the repeat (on top of the fine, meaning you'll have negative Gil for quite some time); if you cheat AGAIN after that, you will be banned.

-The Sixth Rule, AKA the "Godmodding, Etc." Rule-
Do not Godmod or Powerplay. Everyone should know what these terms mean. If not, refer to the How To Roleplay section. If you are caught Godmodding or Powerplaying, you will first be warned, and told to rewrite the post(s) in which you did so. The second time, you will be punished via some combination of fines and/or temporary banishment. A third offense will see the confiscation of anything and everything you possess (items, Materia, weapons, armor, Gil, Chocobos, vehicles- you name it), and a ban for one month. A fourth offense will get you completely and utterly banned, for good, with no warning. Godmodding and Powerplaying seriously make roleplays SUCK; this is why we have such little tolerance and such hefty penalties.

-The Seventh Rule, AKA the "Right to Life" Rule-
All mortal characters have the right to life, so long as the roleplayer who created them so wishes it. There are two approaches to the one point of this rule. Firstly, let me say this: no one has the right to just go out and kill another roleplayer's character out of the blue. People put time and imagination, and sometimes quite a bit of heart, into their characters, and as such, they seriously have the final say in what happens to them. There are obviously countless ways in which to go about murdering a character here; this is the Final Fantasy universe, for heaven's sake, where swords can be eight feet long and spells can conjure things the size of the moon. But that doesn't mean you should do it. If you purposefully go out and make an attempt on someone's life, you can rest assured that it'll fail, becuase... Any roleplayer who feels that their character is in mortal danger, and does not wish for said character to die, may use any and every means necessary to avoid such an occurrence - including Godmodding and Powerplaying. That's right, this is the one exception to the Sixth Rule. So don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself up against an invincible opponent. In this scenario, the rulebreaker is the one making the attempt on the character's life, and NOT the one doing the Godmodding. At first, no staff action will be taken, except for the possible Word to the Wise via PM, et cetera. However, if someone is found to repeatedly attempt murder, they will be punished in a manner of equally sinister proportions as their offense. There are a few more points to this notion detailed in the How To Roleplay section.

-The Eighth Rule, AKA the "Foul Language" Rule-
To a certain extent, foul language is allowed in both OOC and IC settings. There is no punishment for the occasional expletive dropped here and there. Care should be taken that a character's linguistic habits don't conflict with their general nature; E.G., a very calm, laid back character wouldn't usually go off on someone and call them a worthless fucking piece of shit. In OOC settings, all other rules of politeness impact this rule. Do not cuss someone out, or you will be punished. In all reality, that is the bottom line to this rule; while swearing is allowed in moderation, it is NOT to be directed at a fellow member.

-The Ninth Rule, AKA the "Gravedigging" Rule-
Do not post in a topic in which no one has posted for over a month. This applies mostly to the OOC topics; obviously, you may have to update your character after a month's gap, or perhaps even get going on a Roleplay that you just got kind of burned out on ages and a half ago. Nevertheless, if a topic is really and truly dead, it should remain that way. If it is an OOC topic, someone who is interested in the material discussed and would like to see it discussed further may feel free to start a new topic on the same subject, though as a word to the wise, you can almost be sure that it won't be that popular (repeated topics never are). This is not such a serious offense, but regardless, it is a rule and will be followed.




Staff Member Contract



Chain of Command

Posted Image

Cloud Strife
Director; Founder of FF7TLS
|
Red XIII
Administrator; Co-Founder and Shopkeeper of FF7TLS
|
Position Vacant ----- ----- ----- Position Vacant
Assistant Administrators
|
Position Vacant ----- ----- ----- Position Vacant ----- ----- ----- Position Vacant
Enforcers

The above is a projection of the Staff-to-be, providing that we accrue enough of a membership to afford such a necessity. Regardless, at least one position will be filled in each of the two Vacant levels (Assist. Admin and Enforcer). Staff positions are offered as appointments, and will rarely, if ever, be granted to someone who asks to be on the team. The names appearing here are links to their corresponding User Profiles, and act as an electronic signature on behalf of the appointed member, officially declaring that they swear to uphold and enforce every point of the Code of Conduct, and to abide by the rules and limitations applicable to their particular rank, as defined in this contract. Staff members acknowledge that, should they fail to adhere to any of the Code or break any part of their Contract, they could be immediately removed from the Staff team, and will always suffer severe penalties, the details of which will not currently be made known to the general public. Staff members are by no means above or beyond any part of the rules, and, like any member, can be considered for banishment if they perform any deed deemed to be thus punishable by the rest of the team, or ultimately, by the highest ranking officers - E.G., Cloud Strife and Red XIII (who, however, boast no immunity themselves). Again, all consequences and reverse-actions for the Staff Rules will be kept private for now.


-The First Rule: Banishment-
Only the Director and Administrator of FF7TLS have the right to permanently ban any member. Assistant Administrators have the capability to exact banishment upon members at their discretion, without any prior approval by upper Staff (hitherto referred to as Executives), however, if acting on their own, they are not permitted to permanently ban someone and remove his or her account. All permanent bans must be approved and physically carried out by the Executives. Furthermore, despite this freedom to initially act without prior approval, all Assistant Administrators must fill out a "Banned Member Report" and PM it to both Executives within one hour of creating the ban. Finally, only Executives have the power to ban Staff Members.

-The Second Rule: Punishment in General-
Any and all Staff Members have the power to punish any member who is found to be in conflict with the Code of Conduct. When punishments for a certain action are specifically detailed in the Code, these are the exact actions that a Staff Member will take. If specific punishments are not listed, the Staff Member has the freedom to act at his or her discretion, and will be expected to act in a manner according to the frequency and severity of offenses on the part of the member to be punished. Furthermore, all Staff Members are expected to enact all punishments with grace. Do NOT bully, threaten, or harass members; do NOT punish them in a public manner. All punishments, from simple warnings and reprimands to temporary bans, are to be made known to the offending party via PM. Finally, Staff Members can only punish those who are on or below their own level in the Chain of Command. As with bans, Staff Members must fill out a "Punished Member Report" and PM it to either Executive within one hour of enacting any punishment.

-The Third Rule: Limited Confidentiality-
Generally speaking, a Staff Member who is approached by a member with a concern/report/issue/et cetera shall not spread word of the issue to other staff members. This rule has obvious exclusions. If a Staff Member deems something to be dire enough, he or she has the right and responsibility to take it to an Executive for further deliberation. However, they must first let the member with whom they are dealing know that this is going to happen. Furthermore, if a Staff Member is approached about something that he or she feels could be better answered or handled by another member of the team, they must first recommend this option to the member that approached them, and then take it elsewhere (or even allow the member to do so themselves).

-The Fourth Rule: Reliability (AKA Do Your Duty)-
All Staff Members are expected to answer for themselves in full. If a Staff Member says that he or she will do something, he or she is expected to carry it out in due time. If presented with an inter-member problem, it is to become the Staff Member's absolute first priority, unless he or she is already dealing with another like issue. Likewise, if a Staff Member (in this case, usually an Enforcer) is asked to be the vocal intermediary on the part of the entire Staff for any reason, he or she is expected to do so. The Team has responsibilities to the site, and any failure on anyone's part to carry out any responsibility will result in serious deliberation over that person's place on the Staff. There are a very limited number of circumstances in which a Staff Member may decline this spokesperson-like duty, but these instances are very few and will not be made known to the public. Only an Executive will ever ask a Staff Member to act as an intermediary for any reason. As such, if someone has a valid cause to decline such a request, it will be kept completely confidential. Besides these sorts of duties, any Staff Member may be asked at any time to resolve any smaller issue noticed on the board by the Executives. This is the most specific duty of the Enforcers, whose very name implies that they will be enforcing things set out by the Executives.




Edited by Red XIII, May 3 2009, 05:38 PM.
Cloud Strife | Bahamut



The Lost Saga
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