The Future of Chill/Chat Location Threads [FINAL RULING]

[Kyrusia]

On June 6th, an official moratorium was placed on the creation of chill/chat location threads in Forum 7. As was indicated in the original announcement of the moratorium:

"Following three months, the Moderation Team will be conducting another review of behavior within the F7 community and be deciding whether or not a phased re-introduction of chill/chat location threads may be merited."

As such, the NationStates Moderation Team has chosen to re-introduce chill/chat location threads to Forum 7 in a modified manner, ideally to provide players the opportunity to choose the future of their preferred threads themselves. The details of this re-introduction are as follows:

• There will be one permitted chill/chat location thread in Forum 7: Ram's Head Saloon. This thread will be stickied to the top of the forum and administered by the Moderation Team. The opening of any other chill/chat location threads is prohibited; attempts at doing such will result in the summary locking of said threads and punitive actions (warnings, bans, or worse depending on context and player history) against the creators. This will stand for at least three months.
  
  
• The purpose of this single, Mod-sanctioned thread is simple: this will provide players an avenue to demonstrate they are capable of coalescing as a community, are willing to engage in community policing ("Might want to tone that down a bit, Examplestan."), are unwilling to abide or tolerate rule-violating behavior, and are willing to report offending material. Players may file a Getting Help Request if they wish to maintain their confidentiality; please review the guide to making an effective GHR.
  
  
• If the Moderation Team is forced to repeatedly intercede or otherwise shown that players cannot be trusted to conduct themselves in a manner which is within the boundaries of the rules, chill/chat location threads will be indefinitely prohibited.
  
  
• Players will have one chance to demonstrate they can adhere to the rules; if they cannot, they will be permanently prohibited from posting in the thread. If a Moderator tells a player to leave, they are to leave. Refusal to do so may result in further punitive actions, such as warnings, bans, or even DEAT or a Delete-on-Sight order depending on the severity of the infraction and player history.
  
  
• Any behavior which violates the rules will not be tolerated. Any violation of the PG-13 or Offensive Material rules will be split from the thread with punitive actions to follow. Any form of erotic roleplay or cybersex is, as is site policy, forbidden and may result in the loss of your nation or more extreme measures.

Throughout Forum 7's history, there have been two moratoriums enforced against chill/chat location threads. This is unacceptable. There is absolutely no reason the Moderation Team should be forced to prohibit, wholesale, an entire category of threads. The fact this has been required twice is more than concerning. For that reason, as noted, this will be the final opportunity that the Moderation Team is willing to extend to frequenters of chill/chat location threads. Please do not prove this trust to be misplaced.

Remember: If players abuse this opportunity or otherwise demonstrate they cannot be
trusted to adhere to the rules, then chill/chat location threads will be indefinitely prohibited.

— NationStates Moderation Team

[Kyrusia]

Following a lengthy discussion, the Moderation Team has determined we have not seen a satisfactory degree of change to re-instill our trust in this community, particularly with regards to:

• A willingness to self-police and otherwise not enable or encourage rule violations and those who violate them;
• A willingness to actively report potential rule violations to Moderation when self-policing fails.

Further, we have seen behavior which leads us to believe things would soon return to the problematic state they were in were we to remove C/CL thread restrictions. We have seen indications that some players wish to simply "wait out" the moratorium, rather than address problems in this community; likewise, we have seen a "pushing of the boundaries" that has required Moderator intervention on several occasions, illustrating that the potential permanent prohibition of C/CLTs has not been taken as seriously as it should be.

In light of this, the Moderation Team has chosen to postpone a decision on the C/CLT restrictions until September of 2017. At which point we will once again review the community's conduct, which will be what determines whether or not the moratorium will be lifted then.

Since this discussion thread was opened, we saw some degree of progress insofar as a willingness by some to confront these problems and discuss ways in which to resolve them. More of this is needed. If this does not occur, these problems are unlikely to be addressed, meaning the moratorium is likely to be permanent. Take this to heart going forward.

— NationStates Moderation Team

[Kyrusia]

On December 27, 2016, the NS Moderation Team extended the moratorium on chill/chat location threads until September of this year, stating that a discussion would be had as to their fate. Following a lengthy discussion spanning several months, we have come to a final decision regarding C/CLTs in Forum 7.

During this moratorium, we have only ever seen minimal community involvement, usually surrounding our self-imposed deadlines; self-policing has been minimal and reporting has been hit-or-miss, with several threads being created throughout this time specifically to violate this moratorium being indulged until discovered by a Moderator on patrol. Furthermore, we have come to believe that the worst offenders have either taken their actionable content offsite, have chosen to attempt to hide it in other thread styles (specifically certain "Above Nation" thread types), or have chosen to hide it within telegrams - something that is still unacceptable, but there is very little we can do unless it is reported.

Conversely, due to the Moderator-run chill/chat location thread, we have overall seen actionable content surrounding C/CLTs diminish. This is a positive outcome, and is ultimately why we have chosen to rule as we have. Even so, we do not have much in the way of confidence that were the moratorium to be rescinded that actionable behavior would not quickly return; it returned following the first moratorium, and there is very little indication this will not happen again provided time and distance from the moratorium itself.

As such, the following is considered our final ruling on chill/chat location threads in F7:

• Chill/chat location threads are now explicitly prohibited.
• The only exception shall be the "Ram's Head Saloon," which shall henceforth be the only permissible C/CLT in F7.

Players that wish to participate in C/CLT-like threads on the forums are welcome in the Ram's Head. Any C/CLTs opened elsewhere will be locked, with the creators facing penalties - warnings, bans, or more severe actions. We do not see this ruling changing for the foreseeable future.

— NS Moderation Team