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Difference between revisions of "User:Simetrical/Constitutional draft"

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In the event of a situation threatening or compromising the security, integrity or existence of the Site, a majority of the Council is empowered to suspend the operation of this document for a period of seventy-two hours. If necessary, and if the situation continues, the Council, acting unanimously, may, after seventy-two hours has expired, prolong the suspension for a further seventy-two hours, for a total suspension period of one hundred and forty four hours or six days.  
 
In the event of a situation threatening or compromising the security, integrity or existence of the Site, a majority of the Council is empowered to suspend the operation of this document for a period of seventy-two hours. If necessary, and if the situation continues, the Council, acting unanimously, may, after seventy-two hours has expired, prolong the suspension for a further seventy-two hours, for a total suspension period of one hundred and forty four hours or six days.  
  
For this to have affect, the Speaker of the House, or a Council Officers acting for him shall post an announcement in all Curia Forums stating the suspension of the constitutions and the reasons for doing so. When suspended, the work of all Curia Committees, including the Consilium de Civitates, is also suspended. Time under suspension does not count towards various time limits specified within this document.
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For this to have affect, the Speaker of the House, or a Council Officers acting for him shall post an announcement in all Curia Forums stating the suspension of the constitutions and the reasons for doing so. When suspended, the work of all Curia Committees, including the Consilium de Civitate, is also suspended. Time under suspension does not count towards various time limits specified within this document.
  
 
==Section 2 - The Legislature==
 
==Section 2 - The Legislature==
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*Curia Votes - An area strictly used only for voting on matters that bind the Curia
 
*Curia Votes - An area strictly used only for voting on matters that bind the Curia
 
*The Tabularium - A record chamber and archive.  
 
*The Tabularium - A record chamber and archive.  
*Consilium de Civitates - A special council chamber visible only to those elected members of the council as defined in Article 5
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*Consilium de Civitate - A special council chamber visible only to those elected members of the council as defined in Article 5
  
 
Additional areas may be added at the discretion of the Citizens following an appropriate Decision being passed.
 
Additional areas may be added at the discretion of the Citizens following an appropriate Decision being passed.
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After a Decision is made by a temporary committee, it shall be posted in the Prothalamos for three days, prior to implementation. If three or more Citizens state an objection, implementation will be postponed. It will be at the discretion of the Curator, Committee, and Committee Chairman whether to take the proposal back to the committee for revision (the objecting Citizens are therefore expected to take part in the revision discussion), or continue the discussion in the Prothalamos until there are no more than two objections.
 
After a Decision is made by a temporary committee, it shall be posted in the Prothalamos for three days, prior to implementation. If three or more Citizens state an objection, implementation will be postponed. It will be at the discretion of the Curator, Committee, and Committee Chairman whether to take the proposal back to the committee for revision (the objecting Citizens are therefore expected to take part in the revision discussion), or continue the discussion in the Prothalamos until there are no more than two objections.
  
===Article 5 - Consilium de Civitates===
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===Article 5 - Consilium de Civitate===
The Consilium de Civitates manages the granting and removal of all Curia Ranks by voting. The Consilium de Civitates may also function as an advisory body to the staff of TWC in matters concerning the Curia and its Citizens.
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The Consilium de Civitate manages the granting and removal of all Curia Ranks by voting. The Consilium de Civitate may also function as an advisory body to the staff of TWC in matters concerning the Curia and its Citizens.
  
 
====Membership====
 
====Membership====
 
The full membership comprises of:
 
The full membership comprises of:
  
*Twelve elected Citizens, who may discuss and vote on all matters within the Consilium de Civitates Forum
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*Twelve elected Citizens, who may discuss and vote on all matters within the Consilium de Civitate Forum
*Council Officers, who may discuss all matters within the Consilium de Civitates Forum, but have no vote.  
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*Council Officers, who may discuss all matters within the Consilium de Civitate Forum, but have no vote.  
*The Curator, who may take part in all Consilium de Civitates discussions, and has the deciding vote only in the case of a tie. The Curator has veto powers over any Consilium de Civitates decision.
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*The Curator, who may take part in all Consilium de Civitate discussions, and has the deciding vote only in the case of a tie. The Curator has veto powers over any Consilium de Civitate decision.
  
Elected members of the Consilium de Civitates and the Curator must actively participate in discussions and votes, Council Officers participation is optional.
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Elected members of the Consilium de Civitate and the Curator must actively participate in discussions and votes, Council Officers participation is optional.
  
 
====Elections====
 
====Elections====
Consilium de Civitates members are elected as per Article 2 of this Section - with the added requirements that candidates have no Staff warnings at the time of election and hold their rank for three months. Each elected Consilium de Civitates member has a term of three months starting from their date of election. When their term expires, new elections will be held for membership to the Consilium de Civitates.  
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Consilium de Civitate members are elected as per Article 2 of this Section - with the added requirements that candidates have no Staff warnings at the time of election and hold their rank for three months. Each elected Consilium de Civitate member has a term of three months starting from their date of election. When their term expires, new elections will be held for membership to the Consilium de Civitate.  
  
If a member of the Consilium de Civitates resigns during their term, or if during elections less than twelve eligible Citizens apply in the candidates thread, the vacant positions may be filled by a volunteering Staff Officer with at least Citizen rank.
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If a member of the Consilium de Civitate resigns during their term, or if during elections less than twelve eligible Citizens apply in the candidates thread, the vacant positions may be filled by a volunteering Staff Officer with at least Citizen rank.
  
 
====Removal from Office====
 
====Removal from Office====
A Consilium de Civitates member may resign from office, or can be removed from office by a majority vote of the elected councillors, such a vote being triggered by any of the following:
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A Consilium de Civitate member may resign from office, or can be removed from office by a majority vote of the elected councillors, such a vote being triggered by any of the following:
 
*A successful vote of no confidence by the Curia
 
*A successful vote of no confidence by the Curia
 
*Incurring a warning level of one
 
*Incurring a warning level of one
 
*Incurring 2 cautions in the space of 3 months
 
*Incurring 2 cautions in the space of 3 months
 
*Being subject to proceedings laid out in Section 4 Article 1
 
*Being subject to proceedings laid out in Section 4 Article 1
*Prolonged inactivity, as decided by a simple majority vote in the Consilium de Civitates
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*Prolonged inactivity, as decided by a simple majority vote in the Consilium de Civitate
  
 
===Article 6 - Council of War===
 
===Article 6 - Council of War===
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====Citizens====
 
====Citizens====
Contributing members of TWC have the opportunity to become a Citizen of the Forum as per Article 2 below. Once a member becomes a Citizen, they can then choose between 3 different badges. Artifex, designed for those who are modders, Civitate, designed for those who have contributed to the debating side of the Site, whether in TW or CC, and Citizen, for those who associate with both.  
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Contributing members of TWC have the opportunity to become a Citizen of the Forum as per Article 2 below. Once a member becomes a Citizen, they can then choose between three different badges: Artifex, designed for those who are modders; Civitate, designed for those who have contributed to the debating side of the Site, whether in TW or CC; or Citizen, for those who associate with both.  
  
 
To qualify for Citizen, a member must have at least fifty posts, been a registered member for one month, and have no warnings within the last three months.  
 
To qualify for Citizen, a member must have at least fifty posts, been a registered member for one month, and have no warnings within the last three months.  
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==Section 4 - The Judiciary==
 
==Section 4 - The Judiciary==
 
===Article 1 - Citizens Behavior===
 
===Article 1 - Citizens Behavior===
The suspension and removal of a Rank is handled by the Consilium de Civitates via the following disciplinary process. No Citizen may be subject to more than one process for a single post.
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The suspension and removal of a Rank is handled by the Consilium de Civitate via the following disciplinary process. No Citizen may be subject to more than one process for a single post.
  
 
====Procedure====
 
====Procedure====
If any Citizen receives a staff warning from an Officer of the Moderation Branch their case will be referred to the Consilium de Civitates by the Chief of Branch or the Speaker of the House, who will open a thread and post all relevant user notes of the accused. The accused will then be asked by the Speaker of the House to produce a defence within forty eight hours. At the conclusion of this period, regardless of whether a defence has been received, a vote shall be opened to conclude after four days. The options are
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If any Citizen receives a staff warning from an Officer of the Moderation Branch their case will be referred to the Consilium de Civitate by the Chief of Branch or the Speaker of the House, who will open a thread and post all relevant user notes of the accused. The accused will then be asked by the Speaker of the House to produce a defence within forty eight hours. At the conclusion of this period, regardless of whether a defence has been received, a vote shall be opened to conclude after four days. The options are
  
 
*Dismiss the Case
 
*Dismiss the Case

Revision as of 19:10, 28 October 2007

Contents

Preamble

This document exists to define the roles of the bodies that run and govern this site and community. The guiding principle of the site is to be that barring technical or fiscal obstacles, any considered mandate from the appropriate legislative body of contributing members will be implemented by the administrators.

This document is not absolutely authoritative. It is a compilation of the Curia, written and approved by the citizens, which may become outdated or contain oversights. Furthermore, this document may be suspended by the administration by the procedure outlined herein.

Section 1 of this document and the procedure for a vote of No Confidence lie outside the remit of the Curia to modify or amend, unless such amendment is commenced and wholly authorised by the executive. The only exception to this is where an amendment changes the name of an Officer

Section 1 - The Executive

The Executive is composed of the Council Officers, Senior Staff Officers and Staff Officers who run the Site.

Article 1 - The Council

The Council is the overarching governing body of the site. It is composed of Permanent Officers and Non Permanent Officers representing the needs of the Executive at any given time. All Council Officers fulfill normal day-to-day duties and all should discuss and co-ordinate their policies inside the Council.

Every Council Officer, in addition to any other ratification and appointments procedure must be ratified by the Curia immediately after appointment, by the process in Section 2 Article 2. An appointed Council Officer who fails the ratification vote is returned to his previous position.

Permanent Officers

There shall be 5 Permanent Officers on the Council

  • The Site Owner
  • Chief Moderator - Serves as Head of the Moderation Branch
  • Chief of Content - Serves as Head of the Content Branch
  • Chief Technician - Serves as Head of the Technical Branch
  • Speaker of the House - Represents the Curia on the Council

The three Branch Chiefs shall lead their branch, and be the principal officer responsible for policy within the three branches. It shall normally be presumed that they shall be selected from within their branch.

The appointment of each branch chief is decided by the Council but must be ratified by the Staff of the branch they are being appointed too.

The Speaker of the House is elected by the Curia, as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 2, from among those members ranked as Citizen, and will serve a term of three months.

Non Permanent Officers

An undefined number of non permanent Council Officer may be appointed by the Council as and when necessary. Normally these Council Officers shall be drawn from the Staff ranks, but other members of the site may be invited in.

Article 2 - The Moderation Branch

The Moderation Branch is responsible for maintaining order within the Site Forum and enforcement of the Terms of Service. Staff Officers of this branch are the only members of Staff invested with general moderating powers.

Senior Staff Officers - Strategos

The Strategos are Senior Moderators, led by the Chief of Branch, in charge of moderation within the Forum. They will all have Global Moderation powers, and some may have additional administrative powers depending upon their duties.

Senior Moderators are appointed by existing Senior Moderators from among the Staff Officers of this branch. Each appointment must also be ratified by the Curia in accordance with Section 2 Article 2.

Staff Officers - Tribounos

The Staff Moderators form the front line moderation force on the Forum. They are drawn from the Citizens and appointed and fired by the Senior Moderators, but each appointment must be ratified by the Curia as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 2. A Staff Moderator who fails his ratification is removed from his position.

The total number of Staff Moderators, along with individual assignments and powers are set by the Senior Moderators.

Article 3 - The Content Branch

The Content Branch oversees content produced on the main page of the site and the work of the official publications of the Site

  • The Helios
  • The Eagle Standard
  • The TWC Wiki
  • General Sun's Tent
  • The TWC Podcast
  • The Scriptorium

The Chief of Branch shall have general organizational and administrative control of all content areas of the site

Senior Staff Officers Editors

Each official publication shall have an Editor appointed by the Chief of Branch, with the exception of the TWC Wiki. Editors must be Citizens of the Forum. They shall have overall responsibility for running their publication and ensuring that content produced for their publication does not breach the Terms of Service.

The Editor of the TWC Wiki shall be appointed as a Curial Officer, not a Senior Staff Officer, see Section 3 Article 3 below.

Content Staff Officers

Staff Officers of the Content Branch are contributors and writers of the various publications and articles on the front page. They may be drawn from any rank, and are hired and fired by the Editor of the publication for which they contribute.

Article 4 - Technical Branch

The Technical Branch deals with the infrastructure of the site. They handle all administrative issues, maintain the forum software and ensure the security and reasonable running of the site overall.

Chief Technician

The Chief of Branch has overall control of all staff within this department. He decides the appropriate access levels for all Staff Officers of this branch and makes final decisions on issues relating to software. A principle concern of this Officer is the security of the site, and as such, has the right to remove administration and moderation privileges from any member and Staff Officer, though it is expected he will consult with the other Council members when doing so.

Staff Officers - Technical Staff

These Technical Staff aid the Chief of branch in the maintenance and secure running of the site. They are hired and fired by the Chief of Branch and have levels of administrative access dependent upon the jobs detailed to them.

Article 5 - Staff Awards

All Moderators, Council Officers and Staff Officers are awarded a medal appropriate to the branch they have served in, in accordance with Section 5 of this document, if time served as an officer equals or exceeds 12 weeks.

The awarding of these medals is honorary and accords no additional rights or privileges. They are the gift of the Council to retiring Staff Officers and may not be removed by the Curia.

The awarding of these ranks and awards to Staff Officers who are removed from their position following a vote of No Confidence, or are otherwise fired is at the discretion of the Council provided the 12 week service provision is also met.

Article 6 - Council Veto

Any Council Officers can veto any act or decision on TWC. However this veto is considered provisional until approved by a majority of Council Officers. This approval should be obtained as soon as possible.]

Article 7 - Emergency Powers

In the event of a situation threatening or compromising the security, integrity or existence of the Site, a majority of the Council is empowered to suspend the operation of this document for a period of seventy-two hours. If necessary, and if the situation continues, the Council, acting unanimously, may, after seventy-two hours has expired, prolong the suspension for a further seventy-two hours, for a total suspension period of one hundred and forty four hours or six days.

For this to have affect, the Speaker of the House, or a Council Officers acting for him shall post an announcement in all Curia Forums stating the suspension of the constitutions and the reasons for doing so. When suspended, the work of all Curia Committees, including the Consilium de Civitate, is also suspended. Time under suspension does not count towards various time limits specified within this document.

Section 2 - The Legislature

The Executive shall create within the Forum a place for all Citizens of the Site to discuss and propose Decisions that affect the governing of the Site and Site Policy, and also to amend this document. This place shall be known as the Curia and shall be a place for an exchange of ideas. As the Curia is considered the heartland of the Citizens right to influence their community, infractions of Forum Rules and the Terms of Service made in this forum are considered to be doubly serious.

Article 1 - Curia

The Curia is broken into distinct sections.

  • Curia - For general discussion of governance matters. Polls are not permitted within the Curia main.
  • Prothalamos - An area specifically for the proposal and discussion of legislation and decisions. Polls are not permitted within the Prothalamos
  • Curia Votes - An area strictly used only for voting on matters that bind the Curia
  • The Tabularium - A record chamber and archive.
  • Consilium de Civitate - A special council chamber visible only to those elected members of the council as defined in Article 5

Additional areas may be added at the discretion of the Citizens following an appropriate Decision being passed.

Article 2 - Election Procedure

When the Curia is required to elect an Officer or Rank, or ratify an appoint, the following process shall be applied.

Ratification Votes

When a member has been duly appointed as a Staff Officer, and where required, is ratified by his branch. After two weeks have elapsed from his appointment the Speaker of the House shall post a poll in the Curia Votes forum. The Speaker shall state which position the member has been appointed to, and that they have been ratified by their colleagues if appropriate. The vote shall last for one week, and the member shall be ratified if they receive a simple majority of non abstaining votes.

Election Votes

When a Curial Election is required, the Curator shall open an application thread in the Curia and the Speaker of the House shall post an announcement in any relevant forum. Applicants for the vacant position must post their reasons for wishing to hold the position and any relevant qualifications in the application thread. Any comments, debates or off topic posting shall be deleted. The thread shall remain open for no longer than one week.

The Council may veto applicants, and should more than six members apply for any position, may shortlist six members to stand for the election. Once applications are complete, the Curator shall open a poll in the Curia Votes. The vote shall last for one week, and the member who receives the plurality of votes shall be elected.

Where more than one of the same position is vacant, the procedure is the same, and the members with the highest votes are elected. In the case of ties, a run off vote is held between the tied members lasting 3 days.

Where the vacant position is that of Curator, the Speaker of the House shall undertake the Curator's duties in relation to the vote.

Votes of No Confidence

At any time, any Citizen of this site may initiate a vote of "No Confidence" in any Officer, with the exception of Moderation or Technical Staff not on the Council, for neglect of duty or abuse of authority by posting their case within the Curia. Frivolous use of this procedure may result in disciplinary proceedings. In all cases, a vote of "No Confidence" is exempt from veto, however the vote is non binding except in the case of elected officers. The debate and vote on a motion of "No Confidence" shall follow the same procedure as that of a bill as per Article 3 below, but shall be conducted in the Curia Main, and not the Prothalamos.

Article 3 - Legislative Procedure

Any Citizen may table a bill for discussion by posting a thread in the Prothalamos. This citizen will remain the sole proposer for this thread. Bills can take two forms:

  • Amendments - A proposal to alter the text of the Constitution. Amendments can alter or remove existing text and add entirely new text.
  • Decisions - A proposal for the creation of an official Decision of the Curia on a topic relevant to the functioning of TWC. The Curia has authority to direct the Officers of TWC in this way on any topic of which the primary say has been delegated from the Officers, who shall take such Curia Decisions under strong advisement. The Speaker of the House shall determine if proposed Decisions fall within the jurisdiction of the Curia.

Each version of the bill requires named support from three Citizens. The final draft of the bill must be debated for at least three days in the Prothalamos before the proposer can request the bill be moved to vote. When a bill is moved to vote, the debate thread is left open, and the Curator shall post the newest draft of the bill, the name of the Proposer, the Bill's 3 named supporters, and a link to the debate, as a new poll in the Curia Votes forum. All bills shall be voted on for one week. Subsequent posts in this thread are limited to notification of having voted. Messages lobbying to vote for or against, including via Signatures and Avatars, are prohibited except in the original debate thread. All bills shall pass on the basis of a two-thirds majority of non abstaining votes in favour. If any bill fails a vote, no re-vote on a substantially similar bill will be permitted within twenty-eight days.

Where a Decision requires the Curia to choose between multiple options, two polls shall be run concurrently. The first poll shall be as a normal decision, the second poll shall outline the various options to choose from if the decision passes. Whichever option receives the plurality of votes shall be implemented, but only if the Decision also passes in the usual manner. Both polls shall run for one week.

All citizens are honour bound to not view the results of Curia Votes until they have themselves voted, unless necessary for the execution of any other duty to the site.

Upon passing a vote:

  • The Curator shall post the text of all passed amendments in a stickied "Amendments" thread in the Tabularium and numbered consecutively in the order they pass. The poll is closed, moved to the Tabularium, and renamed to reflect the whether it passed or failed, and the numbers of votes. The sticked "Constitution" thread in the Curia is then edited to reflect the changes made by passed amendments. When a Section or Article is added or removed, all subsequent Sections and Articles are renumbered by the Curator appropriately.
  • The Curator shall post the text of all passed Decisions in a sticked "Decisions" thread in the Tabularium and consecutively in the order they pass. The poll is closed, moved to the Tabularium, and renamed to reflect the whether it passed or failed, and the numbers of votes.

All Amendments and Decisions are considered to have immediate effect and no retroactive effect unless specifically stated otherwise.

Minor Formative Changes

The Curator shall have the power to amend the text of the Constitution and any Curial Decision for the sole purpose of correcting any spelling and grammatical errors that are found within the documents. The details of any such changes must be recorded in the amendments thread of the Tabularium.

Should any such change be challenged by any Citizen, they may request that the Speaker of the House review the change and uphold or discard it. Further challenge may be put to a Curia Vote to veto the change via the procedure in Article 3.

Article 4 - Curial Committees

At any time, a member of the Council can establish a Curial Committee to investigate and discuss an issue. These temporary committees are to last one month, and after one month, are subject to ratification and extension by the Curia.

To form a committee, the Speaker of the House will create a thread in the Curia asking for applicants. When the Council decides it has enough applicants, it will choose however many it deems fit, and create a subforum in the Curia for the Committee. The temporary committee can be dissolved at the discretion of the Council. It can also add and remove members when it sees fit. Each committee shall also contain a Council Officer as Chairman and the Speaker of the House.

After thirty days, the Speaker can create a vote for a one or two month extension, following the vote procedure in Article 3 above.

After a Decision is made by a temporary committee, it shall be posted in the Prothalamos for three days, prior to implementation. If three or more Citizens state an objection, implementation will be postponed. It will be at the discretion of the Curator, Committee, and Committee Chairman whether to take the proposal back to the committee for revision (the objecting Citizens are therefore expected to take part in the revision discussion), or continue the discussion in the Prothalamos until there are no more than two objections.

Article 5 - Consilium de Civitate

The Consilium de Civitate manages the granting and removal of all Curia Ranks by voting. The Consilium de Civitate may also function as an advisory body to the staff of TWC in matters concerning the Curia and its Citizens.

Membership

The full membership comprises of:

  • Twelve elected Citizens, who may discuss and vote on all matters within the Consilium de Civitate Forum
  • Council Officers, who may discuss all matters within the Consilium de Civitate Forum, but have no vote.
  • The Curator, who may take part in all Consilium de Civitate discussions, and has the deciding vote only in the case of a tie. The Curator has veto powers over any Consilium de Civitate decision.

Elected members of the Consilium de Civitate and the Curator must actively participate in discussions and votes, Council Officers participation is optional.

Elections

Consilium de Civitate members are elected as per Article 2 of this Section - with the added requirements that candidates have no Staff warnings at the time of election and hold their rank for three months. Each elected Consilium de Civitate member has a term of three months starting from their date of election. When their term expires, new elections will be held for membership to the Consilium de Civitate.

If a member of the Consilium de Civitate resigns during their term, or if during elections less than twelve eligible Citizens apply in the candidates thread, the vacant positions may be filled by a volunteering Staff Officer with at least Citizen rank.

Removal from Office

A Consilium de Civitate member may resign from office, or can be removed from office by a majority vote of the elected councillors, such a vote being triggered by any of the following:

  • A successful vote of no confidence by the Curia
  • Incurring a warning level of one
  • Incurring 2 cautions in the space of 3 months
  • Being subject to proceedings laid out in Section 4 Article 1
  • Prolonged inactivity, as decided by a simple majority vote in the Consilium de Civitate

Article 6 - Council of War

A number of members shall be elected to the Consilium Belli to facilitate and improve relations between the modding community, the Curia, the Wiki Officer and the Council itself. The duties of the Consilium Belli shall also include, but are not limited to, overseeing all projects designed to promote the TW sections of TWC to the modding community and the general membership. When necessary, reports shall be submitted to the Curia by the Speaker of the House.

A forum shall be set up within the TW Modding Community publicly viewable and accessible by all, but posting and voting rights will be restricted to members of the CB.

All members of the Council, the Wiki Officer, and the Modding Registrar shall have permanent membership of the Consilium. Other members are selected with either of the following processes.

Application threads will be opened in the TW and Modding community forums and the Curia. Applicants are free to state any information or experience they wish; the applications will then be reviewed by the Council, which will select a varying number of members at least 50% larger than they wish elected and submit these for election, the vote thread to be placed in the TW Modding Community forum, with announcements in the Curia and the TW and Modding community forums.

The CB will also have the option to submit any member of TWC to the Council for consideration as a complimentary member of the Council of War. Any member of TWC may submit themselves to the administration should they wish to contribute in a specific area. The Council reserves the right to remove any member of the CB or to disband the CB at any time.

Section 3 - Member Ranks and Curial Officers

All members of the Forum can be divided into the following Ranks. Each Rank confers on the holders a specific set of rights and privileges unavailable to other Ranks unless explicitly stated. An individual may hold only one account of the rank Citizen or higher

A member, in addition to his normal Rank may also hold an Officer's position. In this case he may choose which Rank he is displayed under. Regardless of the Rank listed next to his name, he retains all the rights and privileges associated with all his ranks.

Article 1 - Ranks

Peregrinus

The Rank of Peregrinus is conferred automatically with registration to the TWC Forums. It confers posting rights in the General Fora. Any Peregrinus has the right to ask questions and suggest changes in the "Questions and Suggestions" Forum.

Citizens

Contributing members of TWC have the opportunity to become a Citizen of the Forum as per Article 2 below. Once a member becomes a Citizen, they can then choose between three different badges: Artifex, designed for those who are modders; Civitate, designed for those who have contributed to the debating side of the Site, whether in TW or CC; or Citizen, for those who associate with both.

To qualify for Citizen, a member must have at least fifty posts, been a registered member for one month, and have no warnings within the last three months.

All Citizens have the rights associated with Peregrinus, but in addition may post within the Curia, subject to the procedures in Section 2; may post with the Symposium and may patronise other members as per Article 2

Article 2 - Patronisation

Any Citizen holding their rank for three months can patronise a Peregrinus for citizenship subject to the requirements in Article 1 above. The process of patronisation is as follows.

  1. The patron confirms the candidate meets the requirements, OR a candidate meeting the requirements contacts a Citizen asking for patronage.
  2. The nominee sends the patron a PM explaining his duties and privileges as a Citizen, and his contributions to the community. The patron forwards this paragraph, along with his own, outlining why he nominated this member, to a CdeC member.
  3. The CdeC member opens a thread in the CdeC Forum and the proposed nominee is discussed and voted upon.
  4. If the nominee achieves sixty per cent of the non-abstaining votes, he becomes a Citizen.
  5. The Speaker of the House promotes the member to Citizen, with a Citizen badge, and contacts him as to whether he would like to remain a Citizen, or further self define as an Artifex or Civitate.

If a nominee fails his vote, he is not eligible to be considered again for one month. Members of the CdeC must abstain from voting on members they patronise. All CdeC votes must be concluded within seven days of the thread being opened in the CdeC.

Article 3 - Rank and Medal Resignation

The rank of Citizen and all medals listed here are honours given to members based on their merit. While members may refuse or resign their honours, that does not reduce their merit and they may request them back at will if they have not been revoked in the meantime. Procedures to remove a member's honours operate normally even if the member is not currently displaying them, except that the member is assumed to have declined any right of notification or response.

Article 4 - Curial Officers

A Curial Officer is a Citizen who has been given a mandate to administer a project or institution at TWC. It shall only apply to chairpersons or project leaders/managers, and not general or day-to-day staff of the project. Curial Officers shall be given by the Council appropriate local moderator privileges to carry out their duties

A Curial Officer shall be elected by the procedure in Section 2 Article 2, with the addition that the Curator shall post the mandate for the job in the Qualifications thread.

A Curial Officer shall hold his office for a period of three months from the day they are elected. In the event an office is vacant, its duties shall be assumed by the Curator until an officer is elected. If the office of Curator is vacant, the duties shall be assumed by the Speaker of the House.

If, in the judgement of the Council, an Officer has neglected their duties or abused his position, the Speaker may dismiss the Officer, and ask the Curator to arrange new elections.

Permanent Officers

The following are permanent Curial Officers:

  • The Curator - responsible for the day to day administration of the Curia, including but not limited to any tasks outlined in this document and any duties he may be given in the Curia by the Speaker of the House.
  • Modding Registrar - The Registrar shall be responsible for maintaining the Modding Registry, answering questions about the registry and resolving disputes between members concerning the registry in a fair and impartial manner.
  • The TWC Wiki Editor - Answering to the Chief of Content, is in charge of overseeing the Wiki Project.

Further Permanent Officers may be created by amendment. Any member of Citizen rank may apply unless otherwise stated.

Non Permanent Officers

Non Permanent Curia Officers may be created to oversee specific short term Curia Projects not covered by Curia Committees. They may be created by a Curia Decision and cease to exist upon the completion of the project.

Section 4 - The Judiciary

Article 1 - Citizens Behavior

The suspension and removal of a Rank is handled by the Consilium de Civitate via the following disciplinary process. No Citizen may be subject to more than one process for a single post.

Procedure

If any Citizen receives a staff warning from an Officer of the Moderation Branch their case will be referred to the Consilium de Civitate by the Chief of Branch or the Speaker of the House, who will open a thread and post all relevant user notes of the accused. The accused will then be asked by the Speaker of the House to produce a defence within forty eight hours. At the conclusion of this period, regardless of whether a defence has been received, a vote shall be opened to conclude after four days. The options are

  • Dismiss the Case
  • Take Further Action
  • Abstain

If the CdeC vote to take further action, a second poll is opened for four days. The options are:

  • Censure
  • Suspension of rank for 1 week
  • Suspension of rank for 1 month
  • Suspension of rank for 2 months
  • Permanent Removal of Rank
  • Abstain

A simple majority of non abstaining members is required for the vote to pass.

If a member is referred by another member, the process is the same, except that the accusation is substituted for usernotes in the thread, and the defendant shall receive an anonymous copy of the accusation from the Speaker of the House.

A Rank may not be removed except by the procedure outlined in this Article. Divus, Opifex and Phalera awards may only be removed by a Decision of the Curia or by the request of the rank holder.

Article 2 - Tribunal

To defend the rights of Members, and to ensure fair and just punishment towards those who violate the laws of TWC, a Tribunal shall be established

The purpose of the Tribunal is to provide those members of TWC who have been punished in the past by the Moderation Branch a place to request the reversal of their punishment. This is in no way a guarantee that the punishment will be removed, but every case presented will be reviewed by a panel of three judges.

Members may create a thread in the Tribunal Forum, The Judges will study the case details, and may request any additional information on the member from the Senior Moderators. The Judges will then post the majority decision. The Judges are not tasked to decide the appropriateness or validity of a Forum Rule of Term of Service, and may only rule on whether the Term was correctly enforced and the punishment suitable for the offence.

Article 3 - Judges

To serve on the Tribunal, a panel of three Judges is chosen by Hex. The judges can include any member from Hex, save the CoM, as he is is part of the appeals process. The candidates are not limited to Hex members and can include members with a Moderator's Mace

Section 5 - Additional Provisions

Article 1 -Symposium

All Citizens of TWC have access to the Symposium forum. This forum exists as a general meeting place for both old and new Citizens of the Total War Centre Forums. Within the Symposium, rules are generally more relaxed so as to allow for more concentrated debates to take place. Breach of the Terms of Service shall still be dealt with accordingly in this forum.

Article 2 - Community Medals

A “Medal” can be awarded to any member who has in some way contributed and achieved something which was of benefit to the wider community. Medals are controlled and run by the Curia. The qualifications and procedure by which each medal is awarded to a user can vary according to the wishes of the Curia. In order for a medal to be created it must acquire the majority in accordance with the Legislation section of the Constitution. Every Curia approved medal is to be listed in the appropriate section below along with its Qualifications.

Large Size

Divus

To achieve apotheosis and Curia vote, the nominee must be supported by three fourths of non abstaining elected members of the Consilium de Civitate. The nominee must have served as a Council Officer (or previous equivalents), made a clear and distinguished contribution to the community and provided exceptional service to TWC in their capacity as an administrator. They cannot be nominated within three months of resigning their Officer Position.

Any Citizen can nominate a former Council Officer and does so by PMing a Consilium de Civitate member. The Consilium de Civitate will contact the nominee and ask if he or she will accept the nomination. If the nominee should decline, or fails to respond within one month, no further action need be taken and the nomination declared null and void.

If the nominee should accept, the Consilium de Civitate will create a thread within the Consilium de Civitate Forum to investigate the legitimacy of the nominee’s accolades. The Consilium de Civitate has the right to request any and all relevant material from the Staff Officers to ascertain this, with the approval of the Council. The Consilium de Civitate will discuss the nominee and his qualifications for at least a week before the vote is held.

Should the nominee receive the support of three fourths of non abstaining Consilium de Civitate members, the Curator shall create a discussion in the Prothalamos lasting at least three days and then move the nomination to vote as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 3. The vote shall last one week and the nominee shall require a two-third majority of non-abstaining votes to become Divus. A nominee who fails the vote is not eligible to be nominated again for a six month period.

Opifex

To qualify for an Opifex award, the nominee must have made exceptional input to TW sections of the boards, either by modding or other contributions related to TW section. A member of any Rank is eligible to receive an Opifex award, but must also meet the criteria to become a Citizen. His nomination must also be seconded by an elected member of the Consilium de Civitate.

Qualifying nominees shall have their nomination posted in the Prothalamos and will be moved to vote as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 3. Once moved to they shall be voted upon for a period of one week and require a two-third majority of non-abstaining votes to achieve the award. If the nominee was not already a Citizen, this Rank shall also be conferred upon them if they pass. A nominee who fails to pass his vote is not eligible to re-nominated until three months have passed.

Phalera

To qualify for a Phalera's award, the nominee must have made exceptional input or otherwise made significant contributions inside the CC sections of the boards. A member of any Rank is eligible to receive an Phalera award, but must also meet the criteria to become a Citizen. His nomination must also be seconded by an elected member of the Consilium de Civitate.

Qualifying nominees shall have their nomination posted in the Prothalamos and will be moved to vote as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 3. Once moved to they shall be voted upon for a period of one week and require a two-third majority of non-abstaining votes to achieve the award. If the nominee was not already a Citizen, this Rank shall also be conferred upon them if they pass. A nominee who fails to pass his vote is not eligible to re-nominated until three months have passed.

Medium Size

Moderators Mace

The award is divided into three classes. The Bronze Mace is awarded to any member who has served as an official Staff Moderator for over three months. The Silver Mace is awarded to any moderator who has been promoted to “Senior Moderator”and served for 3 months or Served as “Staff Moderator” for 6 months. The “Golden Moderators Mace” is awarded to any Moderator who is deemed to have provided the site with exceptional service for over 1 Year in areas of Moderation and Moderation Policy, Senior Moderator who is deemed to have provided the site with exceptional service for over 6 months in areas of Moderation and Moderation Policy and any Chief of Moderation who has served for 3 months. All the Mace awards are awarded by the Administrative Council.

Scribes Quill

The award is divided into three classes. The Bronze Quill is awarded to any Scriptorium Librarian who has served as an official “Content Staff Member” at least three months or any other member who and has produced material for over four publications. The Silver Quill is awarded to any “Content Staff Member” who has been promoted to “Content Editor” and served for 3 months any Scriptorium Librarian who has served as “Content Staff Member” for over 6 months or any other "Content Staff Member" who has produced material over 12 publications. The “Golden Quill” is awarded to any “Head of Content” who is deemed to have provided the site with exceptional service for over 6 months in areas of Content, any Editor who is deemed to have performed exceptional service to the Content Branch for over 6 months or any Content Staff Officer who has served over 1 year in their position, while meeting the criteria for the silver medal.. The Gold award is awarded by the “Administrative Council” whereas the Silver and Bronze are awarded by the “Head of Content”

Technicians Screwdriver

Gold Silver and Bronze screwdrivers awarded for over a years, 6-12 months, and 3-6 months service respectively as a Staff Technician

Small Size

Member and Modder Awards

This category of medals is awarded to every member who wins an award in the TWC Site Awards. The medal will have a year number on it to show when it was awarded. The Medal should also link to the relevant Awards thread. The precise medal is awarded based on the precise nature of the Award won. The specific medals will be created by those in charge of the awards at the time and implemented by the Technical staff.