Updates to the infraction system

I would also like to remind everyone that the infraction is not in itself a penalty. It is a notice that a rule violation has taken place, and the member receiving the infraction is expected to take heed of the error and make note of the rule broken in future participation on this site. This is a very handy system that makes it extremely easy for the mods and myself to keep tabs of things, and it also affords us the opportunity to review and audit infractions when it seems prudent and necessary to do so.

The infractions are cumulative, but do expire after a set amount of time. And the infractions are weighted based on the perceived severity of the rule violation. The infraction itself is not a penalty, but it IS a warning that a penalty can be forthcoming if behavioral modifications are not undertaken. When set cumulative totals of infractions are reached, a ban is automatic. And the bans themselves will escalate as necessary, through temporary bans until finally a PERMANENT ban is triggered.

It is a SYSTEM being utilized to try to keep the peace around here, and keep discussions relatively civil and professional, albeit unfortunately, normally AFTER the fact in a lot of cases. Many of the infractions are common sense for interacting in a public meeting place, but some, as has been shown, can be a matter of opinion. Although everyone is welcome to express their opinions, it is requested that such expressions be civil and professional. We don't demand your respect, but we will will not respond favorably to YOU if you treat us with blatant disrespect. But bear in mind that the rules in place have gone through a lot of evolution over the years, and it is quite unlikely that your disagreeing with a rule is going to change it at this point.

In reality, I wish the infraction system wasn't necessary here, but like it or not, it IS necessary, and serves a vital function for us trying to keep this site running on an even keel. Your cooperation is sincerely appreciated, as we are only trying to do our best to make this site as pleasant and valuable as possible to as many people as possible. We do wish that everyone will be able to fit in, but certainly that is a pipe dream, and we find it necessary to have a system that helps us, when necessary, to rapidly weed out those who are not fitting in, and obviously belong somewhere else more fitting to their personality.

As I have said many times before, WE obviously can't do this alone. So we ask that you help us to help YOU to make this site worthwhile for all of us. It's really not at all difficult to do if you just take the time to type posts and then THINK about them before you click that submit button. Rarely does any good come from a post made in haste and while under the influence of highly agitated emotions. If we never had to hand out another infraction, surely all of us would be quite happy with that turn or events. But that is really in YOUR hands much more than in ours.