Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Voting is now open on the following proposals. Voting will close 4/22/03 12:00 am EDT.

PROPOSAL: The following procedure will be in place for taking action for unacceptable behaviour.

1. A user-complainant will try to resolve the complaint on-thread. If unsuccessful,
2. A user-complainant (does not need to be same person) will post in-thread that it's time to meet in Bureaucracy. In Bureaucracy, user-complainant will outline the complaint with linky citations, and request an Action.
3. At least 10 other users in 48 hours second the need for an Action. If 10 other users do not complain within the 48 hour period, no complaint can be made again about that particular incident, unless it is being used to illustrate, with others, a pattern of demon-like behaviour.
4. As soon as the request for action receives 10 seconds, Stompy sets forth Action.

Yes/No

PROPOSAL: Warnings will be in effect for four months. After four months, the slate is wiped clean.

Yes/No

PROPOSAL: A Warning will be notified over email, in the thread of incident, and in Bureaucracy. A Suspension will be notified over email and in Bureaucracy. A Ban will be notified by email and in Press.

Yes/No

Voting is here .

From Deena:

It's after 12 a.m. EDT and the results are in:

94 buffistas voted; 76 ballots were received within the first 24 hours.

PROPOSAL: The following procedure will be in place for taking action for unacceptable behaviour.

86 Yes
7 No
1 No Preference

PROPOSAL: Warnings will be in effect for four months. After four months, the slate is wiped clean.

71 Yes
12 No
11 No Preference

PROPOSAL: A Warning will be notified over email, in the thread of incident, and in Bureaucracy. A Suspension will be notified over email and in Bureaucracy. A Ban will be notified by email and in Press.

82 Yes
6 No
6 No Preference

I'd say this is a picture-perfect example of a landslide.

I came here for an argument.

Proposal: That the community, if it is practical to code, allow individual threads to be designated, "Accessible only to members of the community," and restrict access to those threads only to registered users. Any such threads to be so designated shall be determined by separate proposal and vote. If the proposal passes, the coding of this feature shall be added to the features request list.

I'm against this proposal. I think that it's far too late in the development of this community to make a major change like requiring all lurkers to register.

Also I don't believe it will accomplish what people are hoping it will. There's no screening process to our registration. Anyone with a valid email address can become a member. So if a banned poster or a lurker or someone who's out to cause trouble wants to read the posts, they can. It just takes a minute or two for them to have access to it.

The two threads that have been proposed so far are B'cracy and Bitches. I take it the reason for this is to stop unregistered people from reading the posts and possibly causing problems for members--which has happened.

I don't agree with the proposal, I don't see what good it will really do. Yes, we can lock the threads for member only reading but that doesn't stop anyone from registering and then lurking and still causing problems for members.

If people really wanted to they could register, find out what information they wanted to and use it.

Then there would be an indication that the harasser was a registered user but there would be no way to tell how long the harasser had been a registered member and with a lurker I'm not sure how anyone could trace who this person is.

So I don't really see how members locking threads would help.

Bitterchick took the words right out of my mouth. Give 'em back!

And it may even encourage trolls to re-register just to see what's in the "locked" threads. I see no positives and only negatives.

I think this proposal creates a false sense of security.

ANYTHING you say on the Internet can wind up in Google. If you're not happy about a stranger seeing it, encrypt it; otherwise, you're taking a risk.

I've certainly censored things I'd like to say to the Buffistas, and furthermore said things I should have censored; not because the Buffistas are listening, but because of the strangers who can see it ten years from now.

But the thing is, creating a protected area makes people think they don't run that risk, and they are.

I'm also against it. I can almost sorta see the argument for Bureau, but then when you start getting into threads like Bitches...I've bared my soul in Natter, too. I talk about all sorts of crazy things in the fic threads, some of which could probably get me fired. It's my decision to post those things; it's my responsibility to find my comfort level and deal with any repercussions.

This isn't to say that it doesn't suck if someone I know finds the board and reads things I didn't want them to know, but I don't think registration would be a big impediment to anyone truly determined.

I said it in Bureaublahblah, and I'll say it again here for the record. I'm against the proposal. It won't protect us, may provide the false sense of security Betsy mentions, and certainly will set a bad precedent for the community.