Ban Policy of InHaven Games Minecraft

Posted by inbredfreak on May 22nd, 2012

THE BAN POLICY OF INHAVEN GAMES MINECRAFT

Resolved. The following shall be the Ban Policy of Stirlius and InHaven Games.

Section 1. PREAMBLE AND DEFINITIONS
The purpose of this policy is to enforce rules in a manner that is more consistent and fair to promote and protect the integrity of the community. This policy attempts to encourage moral actions and bring justice to those who have been wronged.

For the purposes of this policy, authorization to alter private or public use property may be given implicitly or explicitly to an account by an Admin or Mod, by the owner/overseer of the property, or by a delegated agent of either.

Wilderness is defined as territory where there are no non-basic restrictions against constructions by a user.

A user is defined as the operator of an account who may or may not be the owner of the account.

The Staff is defined as all the Admins and Mods of InHaven Games.

Section 2. VOLUNTARY GRIEFING.
Voluntary griefing shall hereby be defined as the unauthorized destruction or otherwise alteration of public or private use property with the intent to cause harm.

Any account found guilty of voluntary griefing by an Admin or Mod shall be banned permanently. An Admin or Mod need only to identify that griefing ocurred by the account and that there is a reasonable likelyhood that the act was malicious in order to proceed with the ban. The owner of the account may once appeal the ban on the InHaven Games forums under the Bans category but there shall be no unbanning of the account unless there is convincing proof of one of the following:
1.  The user of the account, irrelevant of its owner, did not commit the act
2.  The act was not unauthorized by the perceived owner/overseer of the property, an Admin, or Mod
3.  The act was beyond a reasonable doubt not malicious
4.  The act occurred on property that was wilderness or could be reasonably confused as wilderness at the time the act occurred
5.  The banning agent or a representative of the Staff admits that the ban was an error

Section 3. INVOLUNTARY GRIEFING.
Involuntary griefing shall be defined as the unauthorized destruction or otherwise alteration of public or private use property without the intent to cause harm. Involuntary griefing could be committed in good faith, in reasonable error, or in sheer noobiness. An act may be classified as involuntary griefing if there is no reasonable likelyhood that the act was committed with malicious intent as determined by an Admin or Mod if such determination is necessary. The punishment for involuntary griefing shall depend upon the severity and recurrence of the crime and upon the willingness of the griefing agent to comply with justice. It is the duty of the user who knowingly but involuntarily committed griefing to promptly either a) repair any damage in full or b) justly compensate the victim of the griefing for damage that the griefing agent is unable or too ill-equipped to repair. If the griefing agent is unaware of the damage or has ignored the damage, the owner/overseer of the property may request repair or compensation, after which the griefing agent is obligated to comply within a reasonable time. Disputes may be settled between the two parties, through the court system of Stirlius, through arbitration, or by Admin or Mod ruling. Accounts found guilty of any form of involuntary griefing may have have their possessions and inventories altered by an Admin or Mod to mandate compliance with justice. A user determined to have been negligent in addition to being guilty of involuntary griefing may be jailed or tempbanned at an Admin or Mod’s discretion for a period of time no longer than 1 week.

Common forms of involuntary griefing are as follows:

A. Unintended mining damage: A user mistakenly mines or digs through public or private use property without authorization causing damage to constructions or intended landscaping.

B. Door bypassing: A user breaks a small portion of a wall, roof, or floor to enter a space without authorization and without using a door, locked or unlocked, that is intended to be the primary entrance into the space.

C. Noob towers: A user builds without authorization a long and slender vertical, horizontal, or diagonal construction that elevates the user to a position not easily accessible by other means already constructed.

D. Mistaken ownership/oversight authority: A user alters property under the impression that the user has authority to make such alterations when no such authority exists.

The following are exceptions that are not considered griefing:

A. The Admiral Akbar Exception: A user is allowed to cause minor damage to public or private property without consequence if the user is escaping a trap from which there are no reasonable alternative exits. The user shall attempt to repair or compensate the owner/overseer of the property for the damage unless the trap is likely deliberate.

B. The Drink Your Milkshake Exception: A user may without consequence mine a underneath public or private use property if constructions or intended landscaping are not harmed unless such action is prohibited by local law or unless the mining exhibits qualities of bad faith such as resource deprivation.

C. Give It Away Exception: A user may place and alter personal materials but not remove existing materials from public or private use property without authorization if said user is making a reasonable donation or speedy transfer to another user, is in good faith communicating to the owner/overseer of the property via signage, or is in good faith pranking the owner/overseer in a minor way. All materials placed on property in accordance with this exception are forfeited to the owner/overseer of the property or in the case of speedy transfers, to the intended party of the transfer.

Section 4. CLIENT MODIFIERS AND HACKING
Client modifiers or hacks that disrupt the integrity of the community or economy are prohibited unless otherwise stated by an Admin or Mod.
A user who is found by an Admin or Mod to have likely used such a client modifier or hack is to be ordered to cease use immediately, upon the receipt of which the user is to comply expeditiously. An account failing to comply with the order is to be at an Admin or Mod’s discretion either kicked, jailed, or tempbanned for a period of time no longer than one week or banned in the case of a likely deliberate repeat offense. An account using a severely malicious client modifier or hack may be banned permanently by and Admin or Mod without any order to cease use. The owner of the account may once appeal the ban on the InHaven Games forums under the Bans category but there shall be no unbanning of the account unless there is convincing proof of one of the following:
1.  The user of the account, irrelevant of its owner, did not use a client modifier or hack that disrupts the integrity of the community or economy
2.  The client modifier or hack was in fact authorized Admin or Mod
3.  The banning agent or a representative of the Staff admits that the ban was an error

Section 5. CREATING A NUISANCE
Spamming the chat, excessive use of caps in chat, use of blatantly offensive speech, the construction of laggy contraptions, and excessive requests or demands are prohibited as these are considered acts of nuisance. The wearing of a skin of a celebrity account not owned by the user is also considered an act of nuisance if the account is not engaging in an activity where the wearing of such a skin is necessary or proper as determined by an Admin or Mod. The agent of the nuisance should first be ordered to cease the act in question. An account that does not comply with the order may at the discretion of an Admin or Mod be kicked or jailed or tempbanned for a period of time no longer than one week.

Section 6. EXTREME NOOBISH INCOMPETENCE
Any account that has served more than two sentences for involuntary griefing in a relatively short period of time and has exhibited excessively noobish behavior may be banned for incompetence. The owner of the account may once appeal the ban on the InHaven Games forums under the Bans category but there shall be no unbanning of the account unless there is convincing proof of one of the following:
1. The owner of the account can prove competence
2. The banning agent of a representative of the Staff admits the ban was an error

Section 7. THE THREE-FOURTHS RULE
Any account that poses a severe threat to the integrity or welfare of the community may be jailed, tempbanned, or banned if three-fourths of all active Admins vote in favor of the action within a reasonable time. Likewise, any account may be pardoned or any account may have its sentence commuted for a violation of any rule mentioned in this policy if three-fourths of all active Admins vote in favor of the action. Any Admin may move to have a subject voted upon for potential execution of the three-fourths rule, but the motion is made, all matters pertaining to the subject shall be discussed internally among the Staff unless opinions or testimonials are requested by an Admin. If three-fourths of all active Admins vote in favor of an action within a reasonable time, three-fourths rule is to be executed in the manner upon which it was voted. An active Admin is one which has made effort to contribute within the past month and is not on leave of absence. No appeals are allowed for executions of the three-fourths rule.

Section 8. PREEMPTIVE ACTIONS
A. Hacked Accounts: An Admin or Mod who reasonably suspects that an account has been hacked may ban, tempban, kick, or jail the account until there is reasonable assurance that the rightful owner has regained control over the account and secured said account.

B. Malicious Sockpuppetry: Malicious sockpuppety is defined as the act of a single user operating one or more alternative accounts with the intent to cause harm enabling the user to avoid the consequences imposed upon the original account. An Admin or Mod who reasonably suspects an account is being used for malicious sockpuppetry may ban, tempban, or jail the account until there is reasonable assurance that no sockpuppet relationship exists or until the consequential sentence of the original account is served. The owner of an account may once appeal the sentence on the InHaven Games forums under the Bans category to aid in providing reasonable assurance that no sockpuppet relationship exists.

C. Personal Ban Requests: A user may request to have an account of which the user is an owner banned or tempbanned for a specified period of time. An Admin or Mod may honor, decline, or ignore this request at his or her discretion. Excessive requests of such a nature may be considered a nuisance and may result in consequences associated with nuisance.

DISCLAIMER: While the Admins and Mods should to the best of their ability uphold this policy and interpret its words in a manner consistent with its original intent, the Senior Staff are not obligated to do so. The Senior Staff reserve the right to 1) ban, tempban, jail any account and 2) make any edits to any property or configuration. While the Senior Staff generally respects all users and their creations and strives to create a reasonably fair environment for all users, no creations or other activity within the scope of the InHaven Games may be claimed by a user as true personal property, intellectual or otherwise, apart from InHaven Games or its affiliates.