The Constitution - A more readable version

[Gaius Baltar]

While I agree in principal with the idea of producing a more organized and "readable" version of the Constitution, I would just like to suggest that the document itself has become bloated with rules and regulations that are no longer needed due to the reduced role of the Curia and its officers. Its time to take an axe to this accumulation of excessive text and reduce it to it basic framework.

[Cope]

I have typed up Section I as per my attempt to simplify the Constitution and remove footnotes (only two remain). I have outlined in red areas which will either need change (due to recent rule changes) or are debatable. Once we have agreement on this section, I will type up the next.

Please point out (or if you are an admin, change) spelling, grammar or formatting errors.

Spoiler for Preamble and Section I: 

Preamble

The Curia shall foster all communities within the forums of Total War Center and serve as an advisory group to, and an awards committee for, the site.

Within this document lie the principles of the Curia and of citizenship. Footnotes expand upon the basic principles and are included for administrative purposes.

Section I - Citizenship and Curial Officers

Article I. Citizenship

I. Citizenship is the fundamental award given by the Curia for contributions to the site and community of TWC. To be awarded with Citizenship, a member must meet certain conditions and be proposed by a Citizen, known as a Patron. These are the minimum requirements a prospective Citizen must meet:

1. Have at least fifty posts.
2. Have been registered for at least two months.
3. Have not received a Moderation Warning or Curial Infraction within the past six months.

II. There are two classes of Citizenship: Citizens and Patricians. Citizens can display one of the following badges: “Artifex”, signifying modding contributions; “Civitate”, signifying writing and debating contributions; and “Citizen”, signifying both or other contributions.

III. Patricians – who belong an honorary class reserved for those who have received a “Large Award(s)” or who have formerly served as an administrator for at least six months - may display the “Patrician” badge.

IV. If a member is entitled to other badges, they may choose which badge to display whilst retaining all privileges conferred by their positions and honors.

V. If a “Large Award” recipient resigns from Citizenship or has their Citizenship revoked, they lose the ability to display the Patrician badge but retain their Large Award(s).

VI. Citizenship allows members to post in the Capitol¹ and propose other members for citizenship so long as they themselves have been a Citizen for at least three months.

VII. Patronisation procedure:

1. The Patron confirms the candidate meets the first two of the aforementioned Citizenship conditions (AI, PI).
2. With the candidate's consent, Moderation is then requested to inform the Patron and the Consul whether the disciplinary conditions are met.
3. Given clearance by Moderation, the Patron writes an introductory letter outlining why they are nominating the candidate.
4. The candidate and Patron formulate an application which highlights the candidate's contributions along with any supporting evidence/information.
5. The Patron posts the introductory letter and application in a new thread in the Quaestiones Perpetuae forum.
6. After a two day discussion period, the consul adds a poll lasting five days.
7. The discussion period can be extended at the discretion of the Consul, provided an explanation is given.
8. If the candidate achieves sixty percent of non-abstaining votes, they are entitled to the award of Citizenship.
9. The Consul informs the candidate and patron of the result. If the candidate does not pass they are not eligible to apply again for one month after the conclusion of the poll.

VII. Members can resign their Citizenship, or any other reward, and request it back at will, barring revocation. Citizenship can only be revoked by the Curia or the Administration. Additionally, any Citizen subject to an indefinite suspension will have their Citizenship automatically revoked by the administration.

IX. Reinstatement of Citizenship will only be permitted if the petitioner has no active Curial suspensions and has not received a Moderation Infraction (subsequent to the resignation) within six months of the request. Members who resign their Citizen status are not bound by the obligations of Citizenship whilst on leave, but any misbehavior prior to a request of reinstatement can be subject to referral (if the petitioner is readmitted).

Article II. The Consul and Curial Officers

I. Citizens elect, and can run for², the following Curial officer positions: Consul, Censor, Praefectus, or Magistrate.

II. The Consul acts as a local moderator of the Curia and is responsible for ensuring the Curia's day-to-day tasks are accomplished.

III. Two Censors, appointed by the Consul, assist with Curial tasks and review referrals from Curial Infractions.

IV. Magistrates review moderation actions in the Tribunal.

V. Praefecti are the full moderators of the Curia and its related fora. Due to the nature of the Curia, praefecti recognize that off topic and personal references are allowed, within reason.

VI. Consuls and Magistrates are elected for four months from the day of their election. The Primus Praefectus is elected for a term of one year while the other two Praefecti have month terms from time of election.

VII. The Primus Praefectus requires verifiable experience in staff moderation for three months, and/or tribunal experience, either as a Tribune, or having served at least two terms as Magistrate.

VIII. Censors are appointed to serve alongside the same term as the Consul but may be reappointed by future Consuls. Censor is an appointed position and as such the Consul is responsible for overseeing their activities.

IX. If the Consul is absent (has not logged into the site) for seven days without giving a notice of absence, is absent for more than fifteen days regardless of notice, resigns, or is subject to a successful Vote of No Confidence (VoNC), they are automatically removed from office along with any appointed Censors.

X. Any decisions of the office shall be held over until a replacement is elected. This includes decisions which are time constrained.

XI. When the office of the Consul is empty, the Primus Praefectus will organize the election of a new Consul, and assume day-to-day administration of the Curia.

XII. Undue absence or negligence may lead to an officer's removal from office. Any Curial officer receiving a Moderation or Curial Infraction is immediately removed from office.

XIII. Prafects are subject to the same regulations as above if the following conditions are met:

1. None of the three Praefecti are present and no notice(s) of extended absence(s) has been provided.
2. Absences without notice place an undue burden on any remaining Praefecti.

Regulations and Procedures for Section I

I. (1) Subject to the procedures in Section III. Comments which cannot be supported due to 'Non-Disclosure Agreements,' or their existence within restricted forums, are prohibited.

II. (2) Subject to the procedure in Section III.

[Gaius Baltar]

I like this idea. One way to go would be to combine all the text into a single section. This would at least remove the referral footnotes.

[Leonardo]

If you could somehow paste me the Constitution in PM so I can mirror its current format in terms of boxes, colours, font sizes etc. then I would have a place to start.

Flinn doesn't have to send you the constitution via a PM, instead download it and open it in Notepad++ then convert it to a .txt file. Or just copy it from there and paste it into a post.

[Flinn]

Flinn doesn't have to send you the constitution via a PM, instead download it and open it in Notepad++ then convert it to a .txt file. Or just copy it from there and paste it into a post.

we have already solved that