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[violet] wrote:Appeals Process
The following Appeals Process applies to a player who is the recipient of Moderator action - e.g. you are warned or banned, or have your thread locked. Formal appeals must be made by the person who was subject of moderator action, and not by a third party - an appeal lodged on behalf of another player will not be considered.
Moderators are not required to honor requests for a second opinion where the request is made by a third party or the individual making the report - e.g. if you report a post as flaming, and a Moderator rules it is not, there is no right to appeal. Moderators may choose provide a second opinion on request in such cases at their discretion, but are under no obligation to do so, and will not entertain Final Appeals in such cases.
Admins, including Max Barry, are not moderators: they are not involved in rulings, including appeals. If you bypass this process and go directly to admin, they will almost certainly toss it back at the mods, or simply ignore it. Admins will only be involved in cases involving changes to the game framework, or serious claims of moderator abuse; e.g. that would require a moderator to be stood down. In this case, admins will be alerted by mods.
Please remember to remain polite and courteous at all times. This makes the appeal easier on everybody, including you.
Appeals
For forum problems, you should start on the forums, preferably in Moderation with a link to the ruling that you're appealing. Asking for an appeal is permitted. An exception to this is a forumban - that must be made via Getting Help to avoid breaking forumban. If two or more mods have already ruled on that case, or the thread is locked, that's it for the forums. Your next stage is a Getting Help request, or Final Appeal.
For game problems, Getting Help is your first choice. You may ask for a review of moderation decisions. If there are also forum issues, include links to the threads. For deletions, be certain to include another nation name or an email address where you may be reached. Game rulings are logged by the system, so we know who made the original ruling and will pass it to a different Game Mod for the appeal.
Final Appeals
If you feel that the first appeal was unjust, you may post a final appeal via the Getting Help page. Please note in your request that this is a final appeal. The appeal will be logged where all mods can see it, and will be judged by a panel of no less than three mods, excluding the original ruling mod and including at least one Senior Game Mod. The presence of a Senior is to ensure the panel is sufficiently experienced, not to provide a higher authority: the panel's decision will be reached by consensus, with no individual having greater influence than another.
Frivolous appeals may result in warnings to your nation. Most forum warnings and minor forumbans are likely to be considered frivolous. Final appeals may take several days, so be patient.
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[violet] wrote:Appeals Process
If you are warned, banned, deleted, or have content removed or locked by a mod, you may appeal. This invites a second moderator to review the decision and decide whether it was correct.
Who Can Appeal
You can only appeal a mod decision about your own content: You cannot lodge a "third-party appeal" on behalf of somebody else. This applies even if you are the original reporting party. For example, if you reported another player's post for flaming, and the moderator decided it didn't constitute a rule violation, you may not appeal.
You may not repeatedly appeal the same decision; see "Final Appeals" below.
Where to Lodge an Appeal
For most forum issues, such as a moderator warning you for something you posted in the forum, reply directly in the relevant thread, stating that you wish to appeal the decision. If this isn't possible, instead start a new thread in the Moderation forum with the pretitle "[APPEAL]."
If you've been banned from the forum, or your issue isn't forum-related, instead lodge an appeal by filing a Getting Help Request.
Don't post in the forum if you've been given a ban there, not even to lodge an appeal.
What to Say
The appeal will be reviewed by a moderator who was not involved with the original ruling, so you should make sure your appeal clearly states what, exactly, you are appealing. Don't assume the reviewing mod will automatically know what you're referring to.
You don't need to argue why the original decision was wrong, but do provide any additional context or information that might inform the mod's decision.
Where relevant, include links to forum threads. For account deletions, be certain to include another nation name or an email address where you may be reached.
Always remain polite and courteous. It may be upsetting to receive a warning or ban, but you must remain respectful throughout this process. Mods don't always get things right, but they are happy to overturn decisions when there has been a genuine error.
What Happens Next
You will receive a response via the same channel through which you filed your appeal. That is, if you filed a Getting Help Request, you will receive a Telegram; if you posted in the forum, that thread will receive a reply. This will come from a moderator who was not involved with the original decision. It will usually be prompt, but if you don't receive anything within 36 hours, you may inquire as to your appeal's status.
If the response to your appeal is still not satisfactory, you may lodge a "Final Appeal."
Final Appeals
Final Appeals are time-consuming, and you should lodge one only when you believe a significant injustice has occurred--not for minor forum warnings and short-term forumbans (which would be over before a Final Appeal could conclude). Frivolous appeals may result in warnings being added to your nation.
A Final Appeal is the only way to overturn the result of a regular appeal. You should lodge it in the same way you lodged your original appeal, stating that you are requesting a Final Appeal. It will be reviewed by a panel of three or more mods who weren't previously involved in the decision, including at least one Senior Game Moderator. (The presence of a Senior is to ensure the panel is sufficiently experienced, not to provide a higher authority: the panel's decision will be reached by consensus, with no individual having greater influence than another.)
Final appeals usually take at least a few days, and sometimes much longer, so please be patient.
Admins (including Max Barry) are not moderators and not involved in rulings or appeals. If you bypass this process and go directly to admin, they will almost certainly toss it back at the mods, or simply ignore it. Admins will only be involved in cases involving changes to the game framework, or serious claims of moderator abuse, such as those that might cause a moderator to be stood down. In this case, you should file the appeal as normal, and admins will be alerted by mods.
Any questions, please ask.
