The charter states that:

(3) The Local Council may not be denied the authority to run regional polls, create and pin Dispatches, and to suppress messages on the Regional Message Board according to a standard moderation policy. However, it may not alter the regional flags or tags, and may not send out mass telegrams, without the approval of the Delegate.

However, the new LC (and actually also the previous LC) have the following policy:

Double-posting, or posting two posts in a row, is considered illegal on the RMB. To put multiple things in one post, it is advised for nations to use the edit tool or wait for another nation to post first.
Triple posting, or posting three posts in a row, is also considered illegal, as are any other number of posts more than one in a row. Repeated offences of triple posts and up will result in recommendation for banning.

The enforcement of this law in terms of double posting is up to the discretion of individual Councillors.

(This quote is specifically from the new dispatch)
I ask the court if this, specifically the bolded part, is actually a standard moderation policy, as it is not consistently enforced, as shown by this, a double post by Sword of Summer (although the second post was later deleted, it was originally suppressed), and this double post by Concrete Slab.

how am i even still a legislator at this point...?

(This post was last modified: 03-10-2019, 02:56 PM by Kris Kringle.)

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(I don’t know if this thread belong here, so sorry for encouraging it)

I do think we need a baseline for whether or not double posting is allowed because having it allowed for so long and then suddenly illegalizing it again just makes the new nations confused and leads to pointless suppressions.

Considering double posting is the most often suppressed post (if we count a spam thread as one post), then I think some more solid rules should be put in place to prevent needless confusion. Plus it’s just unprofessional to clutter the RMB with reminders to everyone on the new double posting rule ever few LC changes.

(This post was last modified: 03-06-2019, 02:10 PM by Lily Pad.)

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double post by Concrete Slab.

This has since been suppressed by lord Auphelia. I don't think it is, but if necessary I can provide a screenshot of before it was suppressed.

how am i even still a legislator at this point...?

(This post was last modified: 03-06-2019, 08:10 PM by New Haudenosaunee Confederacy.)

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I think what is meant by "standard moderation policy," is a policy agreed on by the LC.

AIDENFIEELD

Legislator in TSP | Active User of the RMB | Former Local Councillor | Member of The Ministry Of Regional Affairs

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The charter states that:

(3) The Local Council may not be denied the authority to run regional polls, create and pin Dispatches, and to suppress messages on the Regional Message Board according to a standard moderation policy. However, it may not alter the regional flags or tags, and may not send out mass telegrams, without the approval of the Delegate.

However, the new LC (and actually also the previous LC) have the following policy:

Double-posting, or posting two posts in a row, is considered illegal on the RMB. To put multiple things in one post, it is advised for nations to use the edit tool or wait for another nation to post first.
Triple posting, or posting three posts in a row, is also considered illegal, as are any other number of posts more than one in a row. Repeated offences of triple posts and up will result in recommendation for banning.

The enforcement of this law in terms of double posting is up to the discretion of individual Councillors.

(This quote is specifically from the new dispatch)
I ask the court if this, specifically the bolded part, is actually a standard moderation policy, as it is not consistently enforced, as shown by this, a double post by Sword of Summer (although the second post was later deleted, it was originally suppressed), and this double post by Concrete Slab. 

I would point out to the court that both of these referenced double posts were suppressed, the first by Concrete Slab, and it was later deleted by the user, and second referenced post was suppessed by Auphelia, both in accordance with the new policy.   The reason that the moderation policy gives the individual LC members discretion is to allow the option to not suppress the posts of new nations or nations that were unaware of the changes as we roll out this change.  As there some days when there are literally thousands of posts, the chances that some will pass without being suppressed are high:  this is not to be unexpected, however if a user feels that they have found a suppression worthy post I wonder why they would take the time to file a frivolous legal question when they could have simply telegramed any local councilor and asked for it to be addressed.   I for one have not received any in game Telegrams to this effect.  

I ask the court to dismiss this question as resolved and frivolous.  However, if the court is going to spend its time reviewing the successful application of this portion of the new policy I ask that it expand such a review to the entire standard moderation policy, so that we do not need to have every clause be individually litigated over the entire term.  

To NHC:  If you would like to have 24 hour per day coverage of the RMB so that double posts are found and suppressed immediately, please feel free to start a go fund me campaign so that each of the 3 LC's can quit our day jobs, divide the day up into 3 8 hour shifts and thus ensure that the we can patrol the RMB 24 hours per day.  My annual salary is $75K Canadian per year.  Once you have this amount raised please advise so I can give my current job 2 weeks notice.  I appreciate your pro-suppression stance and look forward to receiving bi-weekly payroll deposits from you.  Thank-you.  If that isn't an option for you, feel free to simply telegram a link to posts you feel merit review for suppression anytime and I will address them daily when I am on.

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Legislator | Local Councilor | Aspiring TSP Curmudgeon
Messages archived by the Ministry Of the Regal Executive - Bureaucratic Services

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double post by Concrete Slab.

This has since been suppressed by lord Auphelia. I don't think it is, but if necessary I can provide a screenshot of before it was suppressed. 

I would have no doubt that prior the post being suppressed, it was, shockingly enough, not suppressed.  Yes I concede to the court that all suppressed posts were, prior to their suppression, not suppressed.  The nature of the RMB is such that every post begins its life unsuppressed.  Only a very very few ever reach the status of being a suppressed post and then require one whole mouse click in order to be read. 

If you spot a post you feel needs suppressed is there some reason you feel the need to involve the courts, as opposed to simply contacting the Local Council?  My in game telegram system appears to be working fine:   Feel free to send your reports of missed double posts to me and i will address them.

Or feel free to file a referral to the courts every time you find a post you feel should be suppressed.  I suppose the High Court Justices were just sitting around waiting to moderate the RMB by proxy:  That's your right and I certainly am not here to infinge on your right to keep the court busy.

Again, thank-you for your clear enthusiastic support for suppressing double posts.

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Legislator | Local Councilor | Aspiring TSP Curmudgeon
Messages archived by the Ministry Of the Regal Executive - Bureaucratic Services

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Request to the Local Council:

• Provide a list of laws that have been passed by the Local Council, which regulate conduct, posting and moderation standards in the Regional Message Board.

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum.

Legal Resources:
THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System

(This post was last modified: 03-07-2019, 09:47 AM by Kris Kringle.)

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Request to the Local Council:

• Provide a list of laws that have been passed by the Local Council, which regulate conduct, posting and moderation standards in the Regional Message Board.
  

 

The new dispatch is pinned to the regions WFE.  I will quote it here for clarity, minus the header and footer.  It is directly accessible at https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1177407

RMB Rules and Etiquette  
[align=start]Hello! Welcome to The South Pacific, and its regional message board, or RMB! It is a vibrant, active place where people from all around the world can hang out and talk. It is the region's primary place of communication, and is open to all types of conversations, debates, and overall fun. However, without some form of rules, the RMB would be a wild, annoying, and downright un-enjoyable place. And so, due to this, rules must be laid down and enforced. These are important to protect everyone's safety, dignity, and sanity (but mostly sanity). So we all ask that you please take the time to read the following rules, and try your hardest to follow them. Remember, there are consequences for breaking the rules. Also keep in mind that for some rules, the Local Council can decide how to enforce them, so these might not always apply. The Local Council has ultimate discretion, unless otherwise stated.[/align]
[align=start]And so, after much introduction, here are your RMB Rules:[/align]
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I. Thou Shalt Not Spam

Spamming is probably best described as a post that is either meaningless and unnecessary, a.k.a. a post that repeats the same thing multiple times, multiple posts of the same thing, a series of posts that have no apparent meaning,etc.Even though it should be obvious, it has been done before.Please don't spam.Spamming is bad.It is the first rule for a reason. Repeated offences will result in recommendation for banning from the region.[/align]
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II. Thou Shalt Type No Other Languages Before English

We understand that many of you come from backgrounds where English is not your main language, as players come from all around the world. However, to avoid confusion among people who don't speak your language, we sincerely ask that you post in English only, for ease of communication.Remember, there are tools like Google Translate to help you. If you speak in another language, please add a translation to English in the same post. Posts with English translations will not be suppressed.Repeated offences will result in recommendation for banning, at the discretion of the Local Council.[/align]
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III. Though Shalt Not Ask For Endorsements or Recruit On Thy RMB

Asking for endorsements on the RMB is not allowed at all, under any circumstances. Ever. Permissions are only made if it is a CRS Member or Delegate seeking to increase endorsement counts for the purposes of promoting regional security.Similarly, recruiting, or telling people to move to a region is also not allowed. Breaking these rules will lead to warnings and suppression, at the discretion of the LC. Repeated offences will lead to recommendation for banning from the region.[/align]
[align=start] [/align]
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IV. Thou Shalt Role Play In Moderate Amounts

Role Playing on the RMB is legal, but excessive amounts of it is often looked down-upon.If you wish to role play, TSP has two regions who's RMB you can use for it: Knowhere, and Psomewhere.TEMPORARY LAW:Due to the increased prevalence of roleplay in the TSP RMB, and the seeming cultural shift in a pro-roleplaying direction, roleplaying is fully allowed, as long as it is inclusive to all nations who wish to join and does not take up an excessive amount of space on the RMB, an amount to be determined at the discretion of the Local Council.Single word posts in regards to role playing or posts that are simply too short are considered illegal, however. The exact determination of "too short" is to be determined by the discretion of each individual LC member.This law will be reviewed by the LC by the end of MARCH 2019. If you cannot handle yourselves, roleplaying will continue to be banned.If an RP is deemed to be taking up too much space, it will be asked to be taken to Knowhere or Psomewhere, and all further posts of that RP will be suppressed.Spoiler tags are highly recommended for RPs that may go on for a while or take up undue space.[/align]
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[align=start] 

V. Thou Shalt Not Multi Post

Double-posting, or posting two posts in a row, is considered illegal on the RMB. To put multiple things in one post, it is advised for nations to use the edit tool or wait for another nation to post first.Triple posting, or posting three posts in a row, is also considered illegal, as are any other number of posts more than one in a row. Repeated offences of triple posts and up will result in recommendation for banning.The enforcement of this law in terms of double posting is up to the discretion of individual Councillors.[/align]
[align=start] [/align]
[align=start] 

VI. Thou Shalt Debate Respectfully

Nations on the RMB are run by people with all kinds of political views. This opens up a large possibility for debates to form.While debating is perfectly legal, please be sure to respect others as you would wish to be treated. Everyone here (with a few exceptions) is a human being with emotions and the right to be respected. Flaming and trolling of others, especially in the context of a debate, will not be tolerated. If you find yourself getting heated, try to take a step back. If the debate does blow up, it will require intervention.Personal insults, insults to intelligence, etc. will not be tolerated.The only form of debate banned on the RMB is that over suppression. For more information, see the Help Section.Repeated offences (or a particularly nasty first offence) will result in recommendation for banning from the region.[/align]
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VII. Thou Shalt Not Troll, Nor Flame

Trolling or flaming (deliberately attempting to aggravate them) of nations is not at all allowed under any circumstances. This is a continuation of the policy of respect we have in the RMB. What may seem like good natured fun to you could be trolling to someone else, and if they tell you to stop, do so.We can and will warn/suppress you, as well as record the incident. In bad cases the Mods will be contacted, and puppets will not hide your IP address from them.Repeated offences (or a particularly nasty first offence) will result in recommendation for banning from the region.[/align]
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VIII. Thou Shalt Obey The Rules of Thy NationStates

Because TSP is in NationStates, the rules for the game still apply!See the link below for the list of rules and a quick FAQ page for more detail.The Link Below[/align]
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IX. Thou Shalt Not Post Inappropriate Things

Excessive swearing, harmful messages, sexual references, and other such things will be suppressed on sight, and the moderators can and will be called to get involved in serious cases.TEMPORARY LAW:However, swearing in clearly marked spoilers indicating that there is swearing within will be allowed, within reason, at the discretion of the Local Council. Derogatory terms will still be disallowed, and all swearing must abide by all other rules, particularly those about respecting others.This law will be reviewed by the LC by the end of MARCH 2019. If you cannot handle yourselves, swearing will continue to be banned.Repeated or particularly blatant offences will result in recommended banning from the region.[/align]
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X. Thou Shalt Respect Thy Officers As Thy Would Thine Own Mods

The regional officers (Local Council, CRS, Ministers, and Delegate), are to be respected at all times, and you are to do what they say.Remember, they are here to help protect and develop our region. Some mild dissent is fine, but remember that they are people too, and worthy of basic human decency.[/align]
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XI. Thou Shalt Quote As Thine Quotee Intended

When you are responding to someone's post, please quote their post (by pressing the "quote" button), as it makes it less confusing and will alert them to your post.Do not edit someone's post in a malicious way.When quoting a suppressed post, delete what they wrote, and replace it with "-snip-." It makes the admin's jobs a lot easier.When quoting long posts, please cut the post down to the particular parts you are responding to, or replace it with "-snip-".[/align]
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XII. Thou Shalt Use Spoilers

When making or quoting a very long post, please add spoilers, so as to avoid taking up a large amount of the page.If you are giving a spoiler of a recently released book/film) , put it in a spoiler, to give people who haven't read/watched it a chance. As a general rule of thumb, give a month for films post release (as release dates may be different in different areas) and two months for book releases.[/align]
[align=start] [/align]
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XIII. Thou Shalt Respect Everyone

The golden rule; treat others how you want to be treated. Remember, behind the nations are other people!In terms of emotions, we hold a singular policy: you break it, you buy it.[/align]
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Thank you for reading, and remember to follow these guidelines!
Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your stay here in TSP!

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~~~ HELP! ~~~

If you wish to have a post suppressed, appeal to have a post unsuppressed, or have any questions about the laws of the RMB, you can contact your current Local Councillors through telegrams:AupheliaVolaworandConcrete SlabIt is preferred that appeals to have a post unsuppressed be sent to the Councillor who suppressed it in the first place. Remember, the rules of respect apply to telegrams as well as the RMB.[/align]

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Legislator | Local Councilor | Aspiring TSP Curmudgeon
Messages archived by the Ministry Of the Regal Executive - Bureaucratic Services

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(This post was last modified: 03-07-2019, 11:38 AM by Volaworand.)

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I apologise to the Court that my copy and paste included some of the the tags and what not... but the text is unchanged.

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Legislator | Local Councilor | Aspiring TSP Curmudgeon
Messages archived by the Ministry Of the Regal Executive - Bureaucratic Services

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I think what is meant by "standard moderation policy," is a policy agreed on by the LC.

Personally, I interpreted it as a policy consistently enforced. Perhaps this is something we could specify in the charter depending on the outcome of this question.

how am i even still a legislator at this point...?

Reply