[Amendment] The new Constitution of TWC

[Flinn]

Ok so, here we are. It took quite a lot of work to review it, especially to link the various sections and articles with the old footnotes: in this I've been helped by Akar's previous work (that can be found here), in particular for the second half of the document.

However, the very purpose of this work was not that of overhauling the old Constitution, but rather that of making it more readable and easier to be understood, in particular by those who have little familiarity with the document in general. We all know what a mess it was, very mixed up and with plenty of stuff left over from past Amendments, not to talk about the many typos. But, it's still the Constitution, with all its limits (I personally find annoying the use of different linguistic registers, but that's just me honestly ), so one still needs to carefully read it.
I've also done some minor adjustments and modifications based on logic. For the full list of the main changes/edits, see below:

changes history

Index
1. In general I've corrected any typo I found (mostly missing capitol letters)
2. Removed the links on the top of the page
3. Removed this line from the Preamble "Footnotes expand upon the basic principles; whilst not crucial, they are included for administrative purposes." Not correct on principle, becomes irrelevant as footnotes are going to be removed by this very amendment.
4. Removed any mention to the Curial warnings and Referrals as they aren't a thing since ages
5. Removed any mention to Praefects as obsolete
6. Removed any mention to Censores as elected positions
7. Changed any mention and link to the Capitol into the Curia forum
8. When applicable I added (banned) next to "indefinite suspension" to make it clear to what it refers.
9. Removed this line as it has no sense "Members who resign their Citizen status are not bound by the obligations of Citizenship whilst on leave, but any misbehaviour prior to a request of reinstatement can be subject to Referral (if the petitioner is readmitted)." Also, Referrals.
10. Changed this "they are automatically removed from office along with any appointed Censors. Any decisions of the office shall be held over until a replacement is elected. When such a decision is time-limited, time from the moment the office is empty does not count towards the limit until a new Consul is elected. When the office of the Consul is empty, The Censors will organize the election of a new Consul, and assume day-to-day administration of the Curia." to this "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; the Administration will take care of setting up the election for the new Consul. Any decisions of the office shall be held over until a replacement is elected. When such a decision is time-limited, time from the moment the office is empty does not count towards the limit until a new Consul is elected". Reason: Censors are removed form the office once the Consul is removed, therefore only the Administration can set up a new election.
11. Added the bolded part to this line, to properly reference to Appeal procedures. "Any Curial Officer receiving a Moderation Warning is immediately removed from office, pending Appeal (see Section III, Article I)"
12. Added links to the Section II, article I (Curia forums list)
13. Changed "For non-binding legislative discussion" as description fo the Curia main forum into "For general discussion. Resolutions (see Section II - Article III) and any poll regarding matters that fall within the definition of "Resolution", are forbidden here."
14. In general I updated the Curia forums list with appropriate descriptions and links, where applicable.
15. removed this line from Section II - Article II "Where more than one of the same position is vacant, the procedure is the same, and the members with the highest votes are elected." as it makes no sense and is irrelevant in any case (only creates confusion).
16. removed this lines "cannot have received Moderation Warning for at least one month" - "cannot have received a Curial Warning for at
least one month and must not have any active moderation warnings." - "cannot have received a Curial or
Moderation Warning for at least six months;" from the requirements of curial officers, as any Moderation warning leads to citizenship suspension, therefore making those irrelevant.
17. added a link to the Annals of Curial Officer Elections in the Election section (as it was missing)
18. added a link to the Register of Medals Awarded by Vote of the Curia in the Resolution section (as it was missing)
19. in Section 3 I changed the title into Citizen Suspension, Ostrakon and Magistrates to reflect the actual order of the arguments as developed in the Section itself.
20. in Section 3, Article 2, I changed this line "Magistrates are terminated by a unanimous vote of the Tribunes". into this "Magistrates can be terminated by a unanimous vote of the Tribunes", because the latter was misleading, IMO.
21. Removed this line from the Living History Article, as it is redundant: "It is overseen by the Curator", since the Consul oversees the entirety of the Curia forums.
22. moved Awards from Section IV article III to Section IV article I. Awards are a fundamental part of the Curia, thus should be given priority. Updated Section title accordingly.
23. added a couple of Notes in the bottom of Section IV, Article one, to avoid unnecessary repetitions and confusions with the awards sizes.

It might miss one point or two, but I'm confident the most important stuff is all there.

Following this OP I'm going to post the Constitution divided in replies as it will appear if this Amendment will pass. For the sake of making it bearable, if you want to propose some modification (in form, not in content), please do so once and in one post, or I'll end up doing seppuku .

[Flinn]

Preamble

Section I - Citizenship and Curial Officers

Article I. Citizenship
Article II. The Consul and Curial Officers

Section II - The Curia

Article I. The Curia Forum
Article II. Elections
Article III. Resolutions

Section III - Citizen Suspension, Ostrakon and Magistrates

Article I. Citizen Suspension and Ostrakones
Article II. Magistrates and the Tribunal

Section IV - Community and Awards

Article I. Curial Awards
Article II. The Symposium
Article III. TWC's Living History Forum

[Flinn]

Preamble

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

Within this document lie the principles of the Curia and of Citizenship.

Section I - Citizenship and Curial Officers

ARTICLE I - CITIZENSHIP

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 fulfill the minimum requirements and be proposed by a Citizen, their Patron. Minimum Requirements: At least fifty posts, been registered for at least two months, and have not received a Moderation Warning within the past six months. An individual may hold only one account awarded with citizenship.

There are two classes of Citizenship:

The first is that of Citizen, which members of can display one of the following badges: Artifex, signifying modding contributions; Civitate, signifying writing and debating contributions; and Citizen, signifying both or other contributions. If a member is entitled to other badges, they may choose which badge to display whilst regardlessly retaining all privileges conferred by their positions and honors.

The second is that of Patrician, which is an honorary class of Citizenship reserved for those who have received a Large Award(s); Opifex, Phalera, Asterix's Loincloth, and Novus, or have formerly served as an Administrator for at least six months. Patricans may display the Patrician badge. 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)

Citizenship allows members to post in The Curia and propose other members for Citizenship so long as they themselves have been a citizen for at least three months.

Patronisation Procedure:
1. The patron confirms the candidate meets the requirements and, with the candidate's consent, Moderation is requested to inform the patron and the Consul whether the moderation requirement is met.
2. Given Moderation clearance, the patron writes an introductory letter outlining why they are nominating the candidate.
3. The candidate and patron formulate an application which highlights the candidate's contributions along with any supporting evidence/information.
4. The patron posts the introductory letter and application in a new thread in the Quaestiones Perpetuae forum.
5. After a two day discussion period the Consul adds a poll lasting five days. Comments which cannot be supported due to either 'Non-Disclosure Agreement,' or existing within restricted forums, are prohibited.
6. The discussion period can be extended at the discretion of the Consul, provided an explanation is given.
7. If the candidate achieves sixty percent of non-abstaining votes, they are entitled to the award of Citizenship.
8. 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.

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 (banned) will have their Citizenship automatically revoked by the Administration.

Reinstatement of Citizenship will only be permitted if the petitioner has no active Moderation Warning within six months of the request.

ARTICLE II - THE CONSUL AND CURIAL OFFICERS

Citizens elect and can run for Curial officer positions: Consul and Magistrates.

The Consul acts as a local moderator of the Curia and is responsible for ensuring the Curia's day to-day tasks are accomplished; due to the nature of the Curia and its related fora, The Consul recognizes that off topic and personal references are allowed, within reason.
Magistrates review Moderation actions in the Tribunal.

Two Censors, appointed by the Consul, assist with Curial tasks, as such the Consul is responsible for overseeing their activities and may be held responsible for any abuse of power or neglect of duty they might be responsible of.

Consuls and Magistrates are elected for four months from the day of their election. Censors are appointed to serve alongside the same term as the Consul, but may be reappointed by future Consuls.

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; the Administration will take care of setting up the election for the new Consul. Any decisions of the office shall be held over until a replacement is elected. When such a decision is time-limited, time from the moment the office is empty does not count towards the limit until a new Consul is elected.

Any Curial Officer receiving a Moderation Warning is immediately removed from office, pending Appeal (see Section III, Article I)

[Flinn]

SECTION II – THE CURIA

ARTICLE I – THE CURIA FORUM

The Curia is a place for all Citizens of the site to discuss and propose changes to the site and this document as well as for holding elections. It consists of the following sections:

• CVRIA - For general discussion. Resolutions (see Section II - Article III) and any poll regarding matters that fall within the definition of "Resolution", are forbidden here.
• Symposium - For Citizen debates and the preservation of Curia and TWC history. Also see Section IV - Article II.
• Quaestiones Perpetuae – For Citizenship applications and Ostrakones. Also see Section I - Article I and Section III - Article I
• Prothalamos - For proposing formal Resolutions to the Citizenry; polls are not permitted here. Also see Section II - Article III.
• Curia Vote - For all votes on Resolutions and Elections.
• The Politia – Consul's private forum. Appointed Censors also have access here.

ARTICLE II – ELECTIONS

For every election the Consul opens a thread for applications to the vacant position and another one for all questions and discussion, which remain open until the conclusion of the vote.

Applicants for Curial offices must meet the minimum requirements of the position:

• Consul - citizenship for at least three months.
• Censor - citizenship for at least one month.
• Magistrate - citizenship for at least three months; must not be a current Staff Moderator or Tribune.

Once applications are complete, the Consul opens a poll in the Curia Vote forum. The member who receives the highest number of votes is elected to the position. Votes on elections last four (4) days.

The Administration may veto any applicant. Should more than six members apply for any position, the Administration may shortlist six members to stand for the election. If there is no applicant, the application period is prolonged and the incumbent will remain in office until a replacement has been elected.

In the case of ties, a run off vote is held between the tied members lasting three (3) days. If there is only one applicant, a ratification vote is held with options "Yes", "No", and "Abstain".

If a Curial Officer wins an election for another Curial Office, they are required to immediately resign their original Curial Office. An election for the vacant Curial Office will be held.

Once the Election is over, the Consul will take care of registering the results within the Annals of Curial Officer Elections thread.

After an Election has been voted on, all its threads are archived appropriately by the Consul in the Tabularium.

ARTICLE III – RESOLUTIONS

Any member can propose a resolution by posting a thread in the Prothalmos. Any Prothalmos threads can be archived by the Consul if they are not posted in for twenty eight days.

Resolutions can be Amendments, making changes to this document; Decisions, suggesting changes to the site; Nominations, proposing a member for a Curial award; or Votes of No Confidence (VoNC) against Curial Officers or Staff Members. A VoNC may only be initiated for neglect of duty or abuse of authority and, if successful against a Curial Officer, results in their immediate removal from office; frivolous use of the VonC procedure shall be considered grounds for Curial disciplinary proceedings as per Section III -Article I (Ostrakones). Any Curial Officer subject to a successful VoNC, or who resigns during the VoNC process, may not run in the replacement or full election for the next open seat of the same position.

For being moved to vote the latest version of a Resolution requires at least three Citizens to post in its Prothalamos thread indicating their support. The latest version of the Resolution must be debated for at least three days in the Prothalamos before the proposer can request it be moved to vote.

All Resolutions are voted on at the proposer's request and pass on the basis of a two-thirds majority of non-abstaining votes in favor. If any Resolution fails a vote, no re-vote on a substantially similar Resolution will be permitted within twenty-eight days. All Amendments and Decisions are considered to have immediate effect and no retroactive effect unless specifically stated otherwise.

When a Resolution is moved to vote, the Prothalamos thread is left open and the Consul posts the latest version of the resolution, and a link to its Prothalamos thread, as a new poll in the Curia Vote forum. Votes on resolutions last seven (7) days. Subsequent posts in this thread are limited to the notification of having voted.

Messages lobbying to vote for or against, including via signatures and avatars are prohibited; however, posts lobbying to vote for or against are allowed in the original Prothalamos thread and in the Curial Commentary Thread.

The Administration may veto any Resolution.

Where a Decision/Amendment requires the Curia to choose between multiple options, two polls are run concurrently, the first poll as a normal Decision/Amendment, the second poll outlining the various options to choose from if the Decision passes. Whichever option receives the plurality of votes is implemented, but only if the Decision/Amendment passes in the usual manner.

Citizens may not view the results of Curia Votes (unless necessary for the execution of any other duty to the site) until the vote has concluded.

After a successful vote the Consul enacts the Resolution, or requests the Administration to enact it or to give an official reason for not doing so.

The Consul may correct any spelling, grammatical, or formative errors in the Constitution or any Curial Resolution. The details of any such changes must be recorded in the Amendments thread in the Tabularium.

The Consul posts the text of all passed Amendments in a stickied Amendments thread in the Tabularium, numbered consecutively in the order they pass. The stickied Constitution thread in the Curia is then edited to reflect the changes made by passed Amendments. When a Section or Article is added or removed, all subsequent Sections and Articles are renumbered by the Consul appropriately.

The Consul posts the text of all passed Decisions in a stickied Decisions thread in the Tabularium, consecutively in the order they pass. Medals awarded by the Curia are to be recorded in the dedicated thread within the Tabularium.

After a Resolution has been voted on, all its threads are archived appropriately by the Consul in the Prothalamos Archive and in the Tabularium.

[Flinn]

Section III - CITIZEN SUSPENTION, OSTRAKON AND MAGISTRATES

ARTICLE I - CITIZEN SUSPENTION AND OSTRAKON

If a citizen receives an Infraction, Moderation will inform the Consul who will inform the member that a citizenship suspension procedure has been initiated.
The Consul will inform the citizen of the dual appeals process and time limits. The suspension will be delayed for 72 hours, allowing the member to appeal the infraction. The Consul will verify if an appeal has been lodged. Pending the result of the verification the following procedure applies:

No appeal

• The Consul will execute the suspension

Appeal initiated

• The Consul extends the hold of suspension for the duration of the appeal
• At the conclusion of an unsuccessful primary appeal the Consul will renew the 72 hours hold period to allow for a secondary appeal and repeats the verification process thereafter.
• The Consul will verify that all appeal options are concluded, and if an infraction remains in place then the consul will execute the suspension.

*Appeals refers to both Tribunal and Praetorium appeals

The suspended member loses the ability to display all rank, including both Citizen and Patrician badges and color.

-------------------------------------------------

If a Citizen believes an offense by another Citizen is egregious enough to bring before the entire Curia that citizen may initiate an Ostrakon. A citizen initiates an ostrakon by making a case via private message to the Consul, who determines if it has merit. Allegations require verifiable evidence in order for the ostrakon to proceed. If it indeed has merit:

• The Consul notifies the defendant and requests a defense
• After a defense is provided, or after one week if no defense is provided, the Consul posts the ostrakon accusation and defense within the Quaestiones Perpetuae
• After three (3) days of discussion the Consul adds a poll lasting seven (7) days to either with the options
  Dismiss / 1 Month Suspension of Citizenship / 3 Months Suspension of Citizenship / 6 Months Suspension of Citizenship / Revoke Citizenship / Abstain.
  A 2/3rds majority of non-abstaining votes is required for punitive action.
• If none of the options gathers a 2/3rds majority and Dismiss does not obtain 1/3 of the votes the Consul shall tally the votes starting with the harshest penalty going down. At each step the Consul shall add the votes of the previous steps to the number of votes of the current step and check to see if a 2/3 majority is obtained. The final outcome is the option where a sum total of 2/3rds of the votes is obtained.

ARTICLE II – MAGISTRATES AND THE TRIBUNAL

The Tribunal reviews appealed Infractions and Notes issued by Moderation in order to ensure that the Terms of Service are applied correctly and fairly.

To serve on the Tribunal, a panel of Tribunes is appointed by the Hexagon Council and two Magistrates are elected by the Curia. Magistrates rotate as acting Tribunes, each voting on one of every two cases.

Should a Tribune recuse themselves, or there is a tie between Tribunes, the other Magistrate respectively votes in their stead, or is called to break the tie.

Magistrates can be terminated by a unanimous vote of the Tribunes.

[Flinn]

SECTION IV - AWARDS AND COMMUNITY

ARTICLE I – CURIAL AWARDS

The following awards are those among TWC's awards that are granted by vote of the Curia (also see Section II).

Large Awards are granted for exceptional contributions to an area of the site and awardees may adopt Citizenship:

• Divus - To achieve apotheosis, the nominee must have served as a Hexagon Council member (or previous equivalents), made a clear and distinguished contribution to the community, and provided exceptional service to TWC in their capacity as an administrator. Any former member of Administration is eligible, but they cannot be nominated within three months of resigning. A nominee who fails the vote is not eligible to be nominated again for a six month period.
• Novus - To qualify for the Novus award, the nominee must have made exceptional contributions to the site in the capacity of a staff member. A current or former member of any branch of Staff is eligible to receive the award. Nominees must also meet the criteria to become a Citizen. A nominee who fails the vote is not eligible to be nominated again for a three month period.
• Opifex - To qualify for the Opifex award, the nominee must have made exceptional contributions to the Total War sections of the forum, either by modding or other contributions related to the those sections. Any member is eligible to receive the Opifex award. Nominees must also meet the criteria to become a Citizen. A nominee who fails the vote is not eligible to be nominated again for a three month period.
• Phalera - To qualify for the Phalera award, the nominee must have made exceptional contributions to any section of the forum not covered by Opifex. Any member is eligible to receive the Phalera award. Nominees must also meet the criteria to become a Citizen. A nominee who fails the vote is not eligible to be nominated again for a three month period.
• Asterix Loincloth - To qualify for the Asterix Loincloth award, the nominee must have demonstrated purity of mind and spirit on TWC, in the pursuit of humour and good times for all members. Any member is eligible to receive the Asterix Loincloth award. Nominees must also meet the criteria to become a Citizen. A nominee who fails the vote is not eligible to be nominated again for a three month period.

Medium Awards are granted for significant contributions to an area of the site:

• Curial Service Award - To qualify for the Curial Service Award, the nominee must have served the Curia with distinction as a Citizen for at least six months.
• Modding Service Award - To qualify for the Modding Service Award, the nominee must have participated within a workshop section with distinction over the span of 6 months or released a hosted modification.

Small Awards are granted for notable contributions to an area of the site:

• Man of the Hour Award - Awarded by the Curia for a remarkable deed that benefited the TWC community.

• Legio 501st Modder Award (Gold) - Awarded by the Curia for three or more actions matching a criteria from the following list:
  
  • releasing (including as part of a modding team) a mod or an update to one involving work estimated to have taken more than 6 hours;
  • creating or updating with new features a functional modding tool with instructions how to make it work;
  • creating a detailed and original tutorial containing relevant media(screenshots, video, code snippets);
  • creating resources for modding involving work estimated to have taken more than 6 hours;
  • performing a remarkable act which benefits the modding community.

• Legio 501st Modder Award (Silver) - Awarded by the Curia for two actions matching a criteria from the following list:
  
  • releasing (including as part of a modding team) a mod or an update to one involving work estimated to have taken more than 6 hours;
  • creating or updating with new features a functional modding tool with instructions how to make it work;
  • creating a detailed and original tutorial containing relevant media (screenshots, video, code snippets);
  • creating resources for modding involving work estimated to have taken more than 6 hours;
  • performing a remarkable act which benefits the modding community.
• Legio 501st Modder Award (Bronze) - Awarded by the Curia for one action matching a criteria from the following list:
  
  • releasing (including as part of a modding team) a mod or an update to one involving work estimated to have taken more than 6 hours;
  • creating or updating with new features a functional modding tool with instructions how to make it work;
  • creating a detailed and original tutorial containing relevant media (screenshots, video, code snippets);
  • creating resources for modding involving work estimated to have taken more than 6 hours;
  • performing a remarkable act which benefits the modding community.

Note on the Legio awards: the Curia may count different remarkable modding sections of a mod independently.

Note on the award icons size: small awards: less than 25 pixels in both dimensions; medium awards between 30 and 40 pixels in both dimensions; large awards, more than 40 pixels in both dimentions.

ARTICLE II – THE SYMPOSIUM

This sub-forum exists as a general meeting place for all Citizens of Total War Center. Within the Symposium, rules are generally more relaxed to allow for more concentrated debates. Breach of the Terms of Service shall still be dealt with accordingly in this sub-forum. The Symposium also exists as a place where the extensive history of Total War Center may be stored.

ARTICLE III – TWC'S LIVING HISTORY FORUM

TWC's Living History Forum exists as a place where the extensive history of Total War Center may be cataloged and chronicled.

[Sir Adrian]

SUPPORT but it would have been better if you had turned it into a poem.

[Turkafinwë]

SUPPORT! Sounds like a great improvement in quality of life.

[Akar]

Support. Great work and well done.

[Kilo11]

Totally support this. This is the mundane work nobody wants to do, but which often can be most important! Thanks for taking a break from women and booze to get us this, Flinn

[MIKE GOLF]

Support.

[Gigantus]

I do hope the thought of wine and women got you through the long and tedious task. Silvio would approve and so do I.

[Flinn]

So as promised I've kept this open longer than usual, but now the new Consul election is over and tomorrow will be 20 days since I posted this. So this is a last day call, if anyone has any remark to do, please do so, because tomorrow I'll move this to vote.

In any case thanks to everybody who bothered to read and support this amendment

[Flinn]

And, as promised, this Amendment has been moved to vote.

[Flinn]

It has passed. Moving to the archives.