Hey everyone. For the last few weeks, the mods have been attempting to go over and bring a little more clarification and organization to some of the board rules, specifically regarding higher end bans and permas. Please read this thread carefully, as there is a fair amount of important information regarding the ban system on the forums itt.
Ban Progression
For some time now, ban progressions have been a source of much contention for users and mods alike. While finding a system that is completely consistent may be impossible (context, history, and severity of offense are just three of a number of variables that are involved in each ban), there are some factors that can and should be made firm and held to strict standards. In particular, that includes higher-end bans, and "permanent" bans. Below are a set of guidelines and standards we will be using and holding users accountable to on a few of these fronts.
The offenses below are considered worthy of either a Final Warning or instant permaban upon offense.
Ban types that result in a permanent ban, regardless of where user is at in progression
Actual rape / pedophilia content (i.e. video / image / graphic text-based depictions of rape or pedophilia)
Account hacking/sharing
Altering board code
Death threats (non-joke)
Animal Cruelty/Gore/Execution, and other malicious and obscene content
Ban types that result in Final Warning on first offense, and permanent ban on second, regardless of where user is at in ban progression
Posting pics / personal information from outside of IGN without permission
Promoting rape / sexualizing a minor/ pedophilia (in a facetious, joking manner)
"Heavy" Racism/Hate-speech (racial slurs or flames targeted at users & serious racist/sexist/religious/etc. hate speech)
_________________________________________________
3 month/6 month/12 month bans
Up until recently, ban progressions had been set up to one month before users were set onto Final Warning/Perma territory. In an effort to cut down on "permanent" bans, we are returning to a structure similar to the "old" ban style progression used during the days of Tal and/or Homer. This means the return of 3, 6, and 12 month bans. These bans are longer, and designed to be used in place of "permanent" bans for users who commit consistent but less severe behaviors.
Changes to Permanent Bans
Permanent bans now mean permanent
It has been mentioned (often mockingly, and with good reason) that "permanent" bans are not really permanent. In many cases, users that have been given perma status have ultimately ended up coming back after a year or two later (without circumventing) simply because the offense didn't merit a longer ban time. The word perma has been tossed around back and forth for a while now, and even to mods it had lost a lot of its meaning.
We're aiming to change that, going forward, permanent bans are only going to be issued towards users that have reached the absolute end of their rope. Once a user is permanently banned, they are not allowed back on these forums, and there will be no discussion or appeals for return. With the inclusion of longer ban times in place of "permas," there should be less cases where permanent bans are involved at all. When they are however, it will be for situations where a user has become a legitimate and/or consistent problem, and posted material or taken action that is excessively harmful and/or disruptive towards the board and its communities.
Special permanent ban clause
For the most part, permanent bans will be reserved for situations where users violated the "Ban Types" resulting in a Final Warning or Permanent ban listed above. However, for users that have proven themselves to be a consistent problem and overall detriment within their respective board communities, mods can request a user to be permanently removed from the boards. The case would be made against the user in question by mods from their local board, and the senior mods would look over the history and evidence, and determine if the user merits a permanent ban from the boards.
Unlike with other permanent bans however, a permanent ban issued under this clause is up for a yearly review. A user in such a situation requests a review from the Senior mods, and they go over the user's situation closely. Please note that, while this is a review, this does not guarantee that a user will be unbanned after one year, it merely allows for a chance to reassess the circumstances regarding said ban.
Regardless for what reason a user is permanently banned, if a user still believes they have a case or argument to be made against their ban, they are still allowed to contact IGN staff at bans@ign.com, or contact community manager Chris Abbott [URL='http://www.ign.com/boards/members/keylimepies.4406291/'][URL='http://www.ign.com/boards/members/keylimepies.4406291/']@Keylimepies[/URL][/URL]. Please be aware however, that the IGN Community Staff are in frequent contact with the Senior Mods, and will be kept abreast of any permanent ban situation -- including those that are banned under this special clause.
Banned User Amnesty
The board TOS has admittedly changed a lot over the years. Rules get updated, sometimes we even go back and forth with how they're presented. As such, the rules for what qualifies as a "permanent" ban on the forums has changed a lot over the years. We want to update exactly what that means, and provide some clarification for the userbase. Part of these changes involves the use of banned user amnesty.
To start off, let me make a few things clear. First and foremost, we're not looking to lift the bans of every user that has ever been permanently banned from the boards. In particular, users perma'd for malicious reasons (CP, hacking into accounts/personal info, or other "insta-perma" types of bans) are not going to have their permas lifted. Users deemed overly problematic to the board they were perma-banned, given a review of their entire history by the moderator community, they will not be allowed back on these boards.
This amnesty is a special circumstance type of deal, to be used more for users that were given permas under more minor offenses that accumulated over time, and have had their histories vetted by the moderation team. Now that we are re-instating a system where 3, 6, and 12 month bans are in place for most situations, these would be users that would otherwise have been put under one of those guidelines had the rules been different at the time of their perma. It is a bit of a retroactive action being taken.
In addition to not being banned for a particularly malicious/heinous offense, in order for a user to be granted amnesty, they would have to meet the following criteria:
- Received a permanent ban prior to 11/10/14.
- Have not circumvented in at a minimum of 6 months.
Under these guidelines, users that have been given permanent bans less than 6 months ago must carry out their bans until that time, at which point they can request amnesty from a moderator. Those special cases will be brought up for discussion amongst the mods, and we will respond to them as soon as possible.
Below are a list of users, that as of this thread, are hereby allowed back on the IGN boards.
Jscro
TheRussainPenguin
Wox_69
Darth_Vato
Jayemcee
Jak_Phreak
Brazil201
Iznogoud2
Revision to amnesty: Verbage added to point out the step by which we grant amnesty is ultimately through the moderation community discussing the user and their history. This was added to avoid future confusion and bring more clarity.
Ban Progression
For some time now, ban progressions have been a source of much contention for users and mods alike. While finding a system that is completely consistent may be impossible (context, history, and severity of offense are just three of a number of variables that are involved in each ban), there are some factors that can and should be made firm and held to strict standards. In particular, that includes higher-end bans, and "permanent" bans. Below are a set of guidelines and standards we will be using and holding users accountable to on a few of these fronts.
The offenses below are considered worthy of either a Final Warning or instant permaban upon offense.
Ban types that result in a permanent ban, regardless of where user is at in progression
Actual rape / pedophilia content (i.e. video / image / graphic text-based depictions of rape or pedophilia)
Account hacking/sharing
Altering board code
Death threats (non-joke)
Animal Cruelty/Gore/Execution, and other malicious and obscene content
Ban types that result in Final Warning on first offense, and permanent ban on second, regardless of where user is at in ban progression
Posting pics / personal information from outside of IGN without permission
Promoting rape / sexualizing a minor/ pedophilia (in a facetious, joking manner)
"Heavy" Racism/Hate-speech (racial slurs or flames targeted at users & serious racist/sexist/religious/etc. hate speech)
_________________________________________________
3 month/6 month/12 month bans
Up until recently, ban progressions had been set up to one month before users were set onto Final Warning/Perma territory. In an effort to cut down on "permanent" bans, we are returning to a structure similar to the "old" ban style progression used during the days of Tal and/or Homer. This means the return of 3, 6, and 12 month bans. These bans are longer, and designed to be used in place of "permanent" bans for users who commit consistent but less severe behaviors.
Changes to Permanent Bans
Permanent bans now mean permanent
It has been mentioned (often mockingly, and with good reason) that "permanent" bans are not really permanent. In many cases, users that have been given perma status have ultimately ended up coming back after a year or two later (without circumventing) simply because the offense didn't merit a longer ban time. The word perma has been tossed around back and forth for a while now, and even to mods it had lost a lot of its meaning.
We're aiming to change that, going forward, permanent bans are only going to be issued towards users that have reached the absolute end of their rope. Once a user is permanently banned, they are not allowed back on these forums, and there will be no discussion or appeals for return. With the inclusion of longer ban times in place of "permas," there should be less cases where permanent bans are involved at all. When they are however, it will be for situations where a user has become a legitimate and/or consistent problem, and posted material or taken action that is excessively harmful and/or disruptive towards the board and its communities.
Special permanent ban clause
For the most part, permanent bans will be reserved for situations where users violated the "Ban Types" resulting in a Final Warning or Permanent ban listed above. However, for users that have proven themselves to be a consistent problem and overall detriment within their respective board communities, mods can request a user to be permanently removed from the boards. The case would be made against the user in question by mods from their local board, and the senior mods would look over the history and evidence, and determine if the user merits a permanent ban from the boards.
Unlike with other permanent bans however, a permanent ban issued under this clause is up for a yearly review. A user in such a situation requests a review from the Senior mods, and they go over the user's situation closely. Please note that, while this is a review, this does not guarantee that a user will be unbanned after one year, it merely allows for a chance to reassess the circumstances regarding said ban.
Regardless for what reason a user is permanently banned, if a user still believes they have a case or argument to be made against their ban, they are still allowed to contact IGN staff at bans@ign.com, or contact community manager Chris Abbott [URL='http://www.ign.com/boards/members/keylimepies.4406291/'][URL='http://www.ign.com/boards/members/keylimepies.4406291/']@Keylimepies[/URL][/URL]. Please be aware however, that the IGN Community Staff are in frequent contact with the Senior Mods, and will be kept abreast of any permanent ban situation -- including those that are banned under this special clause.
Banned User Amnesty
The board TOS has admittedly changed a lot over the years. Rules get updated, sometimes we even go back and forth with how they're presented. As such, the rules for what qualifies as a "permanent" ban on the forums has changed a lot over the years. We want to update exactly what that means, and provide some clarification for the userbase. Part of these changes involves the use of banned user amnesty.
To start off, let me make a few things clear. First and foremost, we're not looking to lift the bans of every user that has ever been permanently banned from the boards. In particular, users perma'd for malicious reasons (CP, hacking into accounts/personal info, or other "insta-perma" types of bans) are not going to have their permas lifted. Users deemed overly problematic to the board they were perma-banned, given a review of their entire history by the moderator community, they will not be allowed back on these boards.
This amnesty is a special circumstance type of deal, to be used more for users that were given permas under more minor offenses that accumulated over time, and have had their histories vetted by the moderation team. Now that we are re-instating a system where 3, 6, and 12 month bans are in place for most situations, these would be users that would otherwise have been put under one of those guidelines had the rules been different at the time of their perma. It is a bit of a retroactive action being taken.
In addition to not being banned for a particularly malicious/heinous offense, in order for a user to be granted amnesty, they would have to meet the following criteria:
- Received a permanent ban prior to 11/10/14.
- Have not circumvented in at a minimum of 6 months.
Under these guidelines, users that have been given permanent bans less than 6 months ago must carry out their bans until that time, at which point they can request amnesty from a moderator. Those special cases will be brought up for discussion amongst the mods, and we will respond to them as soon as possible.
Below are a list of users, that as of this thread, are hereby allowed back on the IGN boards.
Jscro
TheRussainPenguin
Wox_69
Darth_Vato
Jayemcee
Jak_Phreak
Brazil201
Iznogoud2
Revision to amnesty: Verbage added to point out the step by which we grant amnesty is ultimately through the moderation community discussing the user and their history. This was added to avoid future confusion and bring more clarity.
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