(Moved to Vote) Episode V: The Community Strikes Back

[imb39]

Rationale: Flexibility and Accountability!

The three day countdown to a vote will begin from now. Please, gentlemen, check your watches!

Constitution of the Total War Centre

Preamble
Section 1 - The Executive
Section 2 - The Legislature
Section 3 - Member Ranks
Section 4 - The Judiciary
Section 5 - Additional Provisions

Preamble

This document exists to define the roles of the bodies that run and govern this site and community. The guiding principle of the site is to be that barring technical or fiscal obstacles, any considered mandate from the appropriate legislative body of contributing members will be implemented by the administrators.

This document is not absolutely authoritative. It is a compilation of the Curia, written and approved by the citizens, which may become outdated or contain oversights. Furthermore, this document may be suspended by the administration by the procedure outlined herein.

Section 1 of this document and the procedure for a vote of No Confidence lie outside the remit of the Curia to modify or amend, unless such amendment is commenced and wholly authorised by the executive. The only exception to this is where an amendment changes the name of an Officer

Section 1 - The Executive

The Executive is composed of the Council Officers, Senior Staff Officers and Staff Officers who run the Site.

Article 1 - The Council

The Council is the overarching governing body of the site. It is composed of Permanent Officers and Non Permanent Officers representing the needs of the Executive at any given time. All Council Officers fulfill day-to-day administrative duties and all should discuss and co-ordinate their policies inside the Council.

Permanent Officers

There shall be 5 Permanent Officers on the Council

• The Site Owner
• Chief Moderator - Serves as Head of the Moderation Branch
• Chief of Content - Serves as Head of the Content Branch
• Chief Technician - Serves as Head of the Technical Branch
• Speaker of the House - Represents the Curia on the Council

The three Branch Chiefs shall lead their branch, and be the principal officer responsible for policy within the three branches. It shall normally be presumed that they shall be selected from within their branch.

The appointment of each branch chief is decided by the Council but must be ratified by the Staff Officers of the branch they are being appointed too.

The Speaker of the House is elected by the Curia, as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 2, from among those members ranked as Patricians, and will serve a term of six months.

Non Permanent Officers

An undefined number of non permanent Council Officers may be appointed by the Council as and when necessary. Normally these Council Officers shall be drawn from the Staff Officer ranks, but other members of the site may be invited in.

Every Council Officer, in addition to any other ratification and appointments procedure must be ratified by the Curia immediately after appointment, by the process in Section 2 Article 2. An appointed Council Officer who fails the ratification vote is returned to his previous position.

Article 2 - The Moderation Branch

The Moderation Branch is responsible for maintaining order within the Site Forum and enforcement of the Terms of Service. The Staff Officers of this branch are the only members of Staff invested with general moderating powers.

Senior Staff Officers - Strategos

The Strategos are Senior Moderators, led by the Chief of Branch, in charge of moderation within the Forum. They will all have Global Moderation powers, and some may have additional administrative powers depending upon their duties.

The Senior Moderators are appointed by existing Senior Moderators from among the Staff Officers of this branch. Each appointment must also be ratified by the Curia in accordance with Section 2 Article 2.

Staff Officers - Tribounos

The Staff Moderators form the front line moderation force on the Forum. They are drawn from the Citizens and appointed and fired by the Senior Moderators, but each appointment must be ratified by the Curia as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 2. A Staff Moderator who fails his ratification is removed from his position.

The total number of Staff Moderators, along with individual assignments and powers are set by the Senior Moderators.

Article 3 - The Content Branch

The Content Branch oversees content produced on the main page of the site and the work of the official publications of the Site

• The Helios
• The Eagle Standard
• The TWC Wiki
• General Sun's Tent
• The TWC Podcast
• The Scriptorium

The Chief of Branch shall have general organisational and administrative control of all content areas of the site

Senior Staff Officers - Editors

Each official publication shall have an Editor appointed by the Chief of Branch, with the exception of the TWC Wiki. Editors must be Citizens of the Forum. They shall have overall responsibility for running their publication and ensuring that content produced for their publication does not breach the Terms of Service.

The Editor of the TWC Wiki shall be appointed as a Curial Officer, not a Senior Staff Officer, see Section 3 Article 5 below.

Content Staff Officers

Staff Officers of the Content Branch are contributors and writers of the various publications and articles on the front page. They may be drawn from any rank, and are hired and fired by the Editor of the publication for which they contribute.

Article 4 - Technical Branch

The Technical Branch deals with the infrastructure of the site. They handle all administrative issues, maintain the forum software and ensure the security and reasonable running of the site overall.

Chief Technician

The Chief of Branch has overall control of all staff within this department. He decides the appropriate access levels for all Staff Officers of this branch and makes final decisions on issues relating to software. A principle concern of this Officer is the security of the site, and as such, has the right to remove administration and moderation privileges from any member and Staff Officer, though it is expected he will consult with the other Council members when doing so.

Staff Officers - Technicians

These Staff Technicians aid the Chief of branch in the maintenance and secure running of the site. They are hired and fired by the Chief of Branch and have levels of administrative access dependant upon the jobs detailed to them.

Article 5 - Former Staff Officers

Upon retirement or resignation from an Officer position, all Senior Moderators are awarded the honorary rank of Senatorii. All other Council Officers and Senior Staff Officers are awarded the honorary rank of Officer Emeritus. These ranks are awarded automatically if time served as a Senior Officer equals or exceeds 12 weeks. They are considered the same as honorary ranks awarded under Section 3.

All Staff Officers are awarded a medal appropriate to the branch they have served in, in accordance with Section 5 of this document, if time served as an officer equals or exceeds 12 weeks.

The awarding of these ranks and medals is honorary and accords no additional rights or privileges except with regard to Senatorii as detailed in Section 4. The awarding of these ranks is the gift of the Council to retiring Staff Officers and may not be removed by the Curia.

The awarding of these ranks and awards to Staff Officers who are removed from their position following a vote of No Confidence, or are otherwise fired is at the discretion of the Council provided the 12 week service provision is also met.

Article 6 - Council Veto

Any Council Officer can veto any act or decision on TWC. However this veto is considered provisional until approved by a majority of Council Officers. This approval should be obtained as soon as possible.

Article 7 - Emergency Powers

In the event of a situation threatening or compromising the security, integrity or existence of the Site, a majority of the Council is empowered to suspend the operation of this document for a period of seventy-two hours. If necessary, and if the situation continues, the Council, acting unanimously, may, after seventy-two hours has expired, prolong the suspension for a further seventy-two hours, for a total suspension period of one hundred and forty four hours or six days.

For this to have affect, the Speaker of the House, or a Council Officer acting for him shall post an announcement in all Curia Forums stating the suspension of the constitutions and the reasons for doing so. When suspended, the work of all Curial Committees, including the CdeC, is also suspended. Time under suspension does not count towards various time limits specified within this document.

Section 2 - The Legislature

The Executive shall create within the Forum a place for all Citizens of the Site to discuss and propose Decisions that affect the governing of the Site and Site Policy, and also to amend this document. This place shall be known as the Curia and shall be a place for an exchange of ideas. As the Curia is considered the heartland of the Citizens right to influence their community, infractions of Forum Rules and the Terms of Service made in this forum are considered to be doubly serious.

Article 1 - The Curia

The Curia is broken into distinct sections.

• The Curia - For general discussion of governance matters. Polls are not permitted within the main Curia.
• The Prothalamus - An area specifically for the proposal and discussion of legislation and decisions. Polls are not permitted within the Prothalamus
• Curia Vote - An area strictly used only for voting on matters that bind the Curia
• The Tabularum - A record chamber and archive.
• Consilium de Civitate - A special council chamber visible only to those elected members of the council as defined in Article 5

Additional areas may be added at the discretion of the Citizens following an appropriate Decision being passed.

Article 2 - Election Procedure

When the Curia is required to elect an Officer or Rank, or ratify an appoint, the following process shall be applied.

Ratification Votes

When a member has been duly appointed as a Staff Officer, and where required, ratified by his branch, the Speaker of the House shall post a poll in the Curia Votes forum. The Speaker shall state which position the member has been appointed to, and that they have been ratified by their colleagues if appropriate. The vote shall last for one week, and the member shall be ratified if they receive a simple majority of non abstaining votes.

Election Votes

When a Curial Election is required, the Curator shall open a qualification thread in the Curia and the Speaker of the House shall post an announcement in any relevant forum. Applicants for the vacant position must post their reasons for wishing to hold the position and any relevant qualifications in the qualification thread. Any comments, debates or off topic posting shall be deleted. The thread shall remain open for no longer than one week.

The Council may veto applicants, and should more than six members apply for any position, may shortlist six members to stand for the election. Once applications are complete, the Curator shall open a poll in the Curia Vote. The vote shall last for one week, and the member who receives the plurality of votes shall be elected.

Where more than one of the same position is vacant, the procedure is the same, and the members with the highest votes are elected. In the case of ties, a run off vote is held between the tied members lasting 3 days.

Where the vacant position is that of Curator, the Speaker of the House shall undertake the Curator's duties in relation to the vote.

Votes of No Confidence

At any time, any Citizen of this site may initiate a vote of No Confidence in any in any Officer of the Council or Member of the Consilium de Civitate for inactivity or abuse of duty by posting their case within the Curia. Frivolous use of this procedure may result in disciplinary proceedings. In all cases, a vote of No Confidence is exempt from veto, however the vote is non binding except on the Speaker of the House. A debate and vote on No Confidence shall follow the same procedure as that of a bill as per Article 3 below, but shall be conducted in the Curia Main, and not the Prothalamus.

Article 3 - Legislative Procedure

Any Citizen may post a bill in the Prothalamus for discussion. Bills can take two forms.

• Amendments - A proposal to alter the text of the Constitution. Amendments can alter or remove existing text and add entirely new text.
• Decisions - A proposal for the creation of an official Decision of the Curia on a topic relevant to the functioning of TWC. The Curia has authority to direct the Officers of TWC in this way on any topic of which the primary say has been delegated from the Officers, who shall take such Curial Decisions under strong advisement. The Speaker of the House shall determine if proposed Decisions fall within the jurisdiction of the Curia.

The procedure for proposing and voting on either bill is the same. Each version of the bill requires named support from at least three Patricians and must be debated for at least three days in the prothalamus before the proposer can request the bill be moved to vote. If, after three days the debate is still active, the Curator may delay moving the bill to vote after one month. A delay of longer than a month is at the Curators discretion only upon at least three patricians requesting more time for debate.

When a bill is moved to vote, the debate thread is left open, and the Curator shall post the newest draft of the bill, the name of the proposer, the name of the bills three named supporters, and a link to the debate, as a new poll in the Curia Votes forum. All bills shall be voted on for one week. Subsequent posts in this thread, are limited to notification of having voted. Messages lobbying to vote for or against, including via Signatures and Avatars, are prohibited except in the original debate thread. All bills shall pass on the basis of a two-thirds majority of non abstaining votes in favour. If any bill fails a vote, no re-vote on a substantially similar bill will be permitted within twenty-eight days.

All citizens are honour bound to not view the results of Curia Votes until they have themselves voted, unless necessary for the execution of any other duty to the site.

Upon passing a vote:

Amendents

The Curator shall post the text of all passed amendments in a stickied "Amendments" thread in the Tabularum and numbered consecutively in the order they pass. The poll is closed, moved to the Tabularum, and renamed to reflect the whether it passed or failed, and the numbers of votes. The sticked "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 Curator appropriately.

Decisons

The Curator shall post the text of all passed Decisions in a sticked "Decisions" thread in the Tabularum and consecutively in the order they pass. The poll is closed, moved to the Tabularum, and renamed to reflect the whether it passed or failed, and the numbers of votes.

All Amendments and Decisions are considered to have immediate effect and no retroactive effect unless specifically stated otherwise.

Article 4 - Curial Committees

At any time, a member of the Council can establish a Curial Committee to investigate and discuss an issue. These temporary committees are to last one month, and after one month, are subject to ratification and extension by the Curia.

To form a committee, the Speaker of the House will create a thread in the Curia asking for applicants. When the Council decides it has enough applicants, it will choose however many it deems fit, and create a subforum in the Curia for the Committee. The temporary committee can be dissolved at the discretion of the Council. It can also add and remove members when it sees fit. Each committee shall also contain a Council Officer as Chairman and the Speaker of the House.

After thirty days, the Speaker can create a vote for a one or two month extension, following the vote procedure in Article 3 above.

After a Decision is made by a temporary committee, it shall be posted in the Prothalamos for three days, prior to implementation. If three or more Patricians state an objection, implementation will be postponed. It will be at the discretion of the Curator, Committee, and Committee Chairman whether to take the proposal back to the committee for revision (the objecting Patricians are therefore expected to take part in the revision discussion), or continue the discussion in the Prothalamos until there are no more than two objections.

Article 5 - Consilium de Civitate

The Consilium de Civitate (CdeC) manages the granting and removal of all Curial Ranks by voting. The CdeC may also function as an advisory body to the staff of TWC in matters concerning the Curia and its Citizens.

Membership

The elected members of the CdeC are all Patricians. The full membership comprises of:

• Sixteen elected Patricians, who may discuss and vote on all matters within the CdeC Forum
• Council Officers, who may discuss all matters within the CdeC Forum, but have no vote.
• The Curator, who may take part in all CdeC discussions, and has the deciding vote only in the case of a tie. The Curator has veto powers over any CdeC decision.

Elected members of the CdeC and the Curator must actively participate in discussions and votes, Council Officers partipation is optional.

Elections

CdeC members are elected as per Article 2 of this Section - with the added requirement that candidates hold the basic rank of Patrician and have no Staff warnings at the time of election. Each elected CdeC member has a term of three months starting from their date of election. When their term expires, new elections will be held for membership to the CdeC.

If a member of the CdeC resigns during their term, or if during elections less than sixteen eligible Patricians apply in the candidates thread, the vacant positions may be filled by a volunteering Staff Officer with at last Citizen rank until appropriate Patricians can be found to stand for election.

Removal from Office

A CdeC member may resign from office, or can be removed from office by a majority vote of the elected councillors, such a vote being triggered by any of the following:

• A successful vote of no confidence by the Curia
• Incurring an infraction of any level;
• Being subject to proceedings laid out in Section 4 Article 1
• Prolonged inactivity, as decided by a simple majority vote in the CdeC

Section 3 - Member Ranks and Curial Officers

All member of the Forums can be divided into the following Ranks. Each Rank confers on the holders a specific set of rights and privileges unavailable to other Ranks unless explicitly stated.

There are two broad categories of Ranks, Normal Ranks and Honorary Ranks. A member, in addition to his normal Rank, may also hold any number of honorary Ranks, as well as an Officer's position. In this case he may choose which Rank he is displayed under. Regardless of the Rank listed next to his name, he retains all the rights and privileges associated with all his ranks.

Article 1 - Normal Ranks

Peregrinus

The Rank of Peregrinus is conferred automatically with registration to the TWC Forums. It confers posting rights in the General Fora. Any Peregrinus has the right to ask questions and suggest changes in the "Questions and Suggestions" Forum.

Citizen

Contributing members of TWC have the opportunity to become a Citizen of the Forum as per Article 3 below. Once a member becomes a Citizen, they can then choose between 3 different badges. Artifex, designed for those who are modders, Civitates, designed for those who have contributed to the debating side of the Site, whether in TW or CC, and Citizen, for those who associate with both.

To qualify for Citizenship, a member must have at least fifty posts, been a registered member for one month, and have no warnings within the last six months.

All Citizens have the rights associated with Peregrinus, but in addition may post within the Curia, subject to the procedures in Section 2; may post with the Symposium and may patronise other members as per Article 3

Patrician

Patricians are those Citizens who have continued to excell in their position within the forum by contributing to a greater extent than their citizenship requires.

A Citizen may be nominated to this rank by another Patrician in accordance with Article 4 below. Patricianship is awarded by the Consilium de Civitate for significant contribution to TWC (Appendix A). None of these contributions provide automatic promotion, but instead allow for nomination. The nominee must also have been a Citizen for at least one month and have no warnings at the time of their election.

A Patrician has all the rights of a Citizen, and in addition becomes eligible to be considered for higher office. Patricians are also required sponsors of Bills.

Article 2 - Honourary Ranks

Opifex

To qualify as an Opifex, the nominee must have served the Total War Centre or Total War Community with exceptional input to any of the boards or mods in any capacity other than that of a Staff Officer. A member of any Rank is eligible to become an Opifex, but must also meet the criteria to become a Citizen. His nomination must also be seconded by an elected member of the Consilium de Civitate.

Qualifying nominees shall have their nomination posted in the Prothalamus and will be moved to vote as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 3. Once moved to they shall be voted upon for a period of one week and require a two-third majority of non-abstaining votes to achieve the Rank. If the nominee was not already a citizen, this Rank shall also be conferred upon them if they pass. A nominee who fails to pass his vote is not eligiable to re-nominated until three months have passed.

Divus

To achieve apotheosis and Curial vote, the nominee must be supported by twelve elected members of the Consilium de Civitate. The nominee must have served as a Council Officer (or previous equivalents), made a clear and distinquished contribution to the community and provided exceptional service to TWC in their capacity as an administrator. They cannot be nominated within three months of resigning their Officer Position.

Any Citizen can nominate a former Council Officer and does so by PMing a CdeC member. The CdeC will contact the nominee and ask if he or she will accept the nomination. If the nominee should decline, or fails to respond within one month, no further action need be taken and the nomination declared null and void.

If the nominee should accept, the CdeC will create a thread within the CdeC Forum to investigate the legitimacy of the nominee’s accolades. The CdeC has the right to request any and all relevant material from the Staff Officers to ascertain this, with the approval of the Council. The CdeC will discuss the nominee and his qualifications for at least a week before the vote is held.

Should the nominee receive the support of twelve CdeC members, the Curator shall create a discussion in the prothalamus lasting at least three days and then move the nomination to vote as per the procedure in Section 2 Article 3. The vote shall last one week and the nominee shall require a two-third majority of non-abstaining votes to become Divus. A nominee who fails the vote is not eligible to be nominated again for a six month period.

Article 3 - Patronisation

Any Citizen holding their rank for three months can patronise a Peregrinus for citizenship subject to the requirements in Article 1 above. The process of patronisation is as follows.

1. The patron confirms the candidate meets the requirements, OR a candidate meeting the requirements contacts a Citizen asking for patronage.
2. The nominee sends the patron a PM explaining his duties and privileges as a Citizen, and his contributions to the community. The patron forwards this paragraph, along with his own, outlining why he nominated this member, to a CdeC member.
3. The CdeC member opens a thread in the CdeC Forum and the proposed nominee is discussed and voted upon.
4. If the nominee achieves sixty per cent of the non-abstaining votes, he becomes a Citizen.
5. The Speaker of the House promotes the member to Citizen, with a Citizen badge, and contacts him as to whether he would like to remain a Citizen, or further self define as an Artifex or Civitate.

If a nominee fails his vote, he is not eligible to be considered again for one month. Members of the CdeC must abstain from voting on members they patronise. All CdeC votes must be concluded within seven days of the thread being opened in the CdeC.

Article 4 - Promotion of Patricians

A Citizen is nominated by an existing Patrician, who PMs a CdeC member to commence the nomination procedure. Points 3 and 4 of Article 3 are then followed.

Article 5 - Curial Officers

A Curial Officer is a Citizen who has been given a mandate to administer a project or instutition at TWC. It shall only apply to chairpersons or project leaders/managers, and not general or day-today staff of the project. Curial Officers shall be given by the Speaker appropriate local moderator privileges to carry out their duties

A Curial Officer shall be elected by the procedure in Section 2 Article 2, with the addition that the Curator shall post the mandate for the job in the Qualfications thread.

A Curial Officer shall hold his office for a period of three months from the day they are elected. In the event an office is vacant, its duties shall be assumed by the Curator until an officer is elected. if the office of Curator is vacant, the duties shall be assumed by the Speaker of the House.

If, in the judgement of the Council, an Officer has neglected their duties or abused his position, the Speaker may dismiss the Officer, and ask the Curator to arrange new elections.

Permanent Officers

The following are permanent Curial Officers:

• The Curator - responsible for the day to day administration of the Curia, including but not limited to any tasks outlined in this document and any duties he may be given in the Curia by the Speaker of the House. Only Patricians may hold this Office.
• Modding Registrar - The Registrar shall be responsible for maintaining the Modding Registry, answering questions about the registry and resolving disputes between members concerning the registry in a fair and impartial manner.
• The TWC Wiki Editor - Answering to the Chief of Content, is in charge of overseeing the Wiki Project.

Further Permanent Officers may be created by amendment. Any member of Citizen rank may apply unless otherwise stated.

Non Permanent Officers

Non Permanent Curial Officers may be created to oversee specific short term Curial Projects not covered by Curial Committees. They may be created by a Curial Decision and cease to exist upon the completion of the project.

Section 4 - The Judiciary

Article 1 - Citizens Behavior

The suspention and removal of a Normal Rank is handled by the CdeC via the following disciplinary process. No Citizen may be subject to more than one process for a single offence.

Referral from Member

Any member of TWC may report a Citizen to a member of the CdeC for behavior unbecoming of a Citizen. The accuser is asked to present a written charge to the CdeC, who will then ask the accused to produce a defence within seventy two hours. The accused can be shown the charge, but not the name of the accuser. The CdeC then has a further seventy two hours to investigate. After the investigation the CdeC will hold a vote to decide whether the accused should lose his highest Normal Rank. This action requires seventy five per cent of non abstaining votes.

If the first vote fails, a second vote is automatically held to determine whether the accuser should have their rank suspended for two months for reckless use of this procedure. This second vote operates in the same manner as the first but lasts only twenty four hours.

Referral for Staff Warning

If any Citizen recieves a staff warning from an Officer of the Moderation Branch their case will be referred to the CdeC by the Chief of Branch or the Speaker of the House. A vote will be held after two days discussion of the case. All relevant user notes of the accused will be made available to the CdeC, the accused is allowed no defence. The vote concludes within seven days. The options are

• A warning level of one - a poll for suspention of rank for up to two months
• A warning level of two - a poll for a suspention of rank for two months or a permanent loss of rank

A simple majority of non abstaining members is required for the vote to pass.
If the warning that formed the basis of this referral is subsequently overturned by the Tribunal, the Citizens Rank is restored

Normal Rank may not be removed except by the procedure outlined in this Article. Honorary rank may not be removed by this procedure. Senatorii and Officer Emeritus may only be removed by the Council at their discretion. Divus and Opifex may only be removed by a Decision of the Curia.

Article 2 - Tribunal

To defend the democracy and freedom of TWC, and to ensure fair and just punishment towards those who violate the laws of TWC, a Tribunal shall be established

The purpose of the Tribunal is to provide those members of TWC who have been punished in the past by the Moderation Branch a place to request the reversal of their punishment. This is in no way a guarantee that the punishment will be removed, but every case presented will be reviewed by a panel of three judges.

Members may create a thread in the Tribunal Forum with the Case Number and the name of the appealling member. The Judges will study the case details in a private sub forum, and may request any additional information on the member from the Senior Moderators. The Judges will then post the majority decision in the original thread, and ask the Chief Moderator to remove any warnings if so required. The Judges are not tasked to decide the appropriateness or validity of a Forum Rule of Term of Service, and may only rule on whether the Term was correctly enforced and the punishment suitable for the offence.

Article 3 - Judges

To serve on the Tribunal, a panel of three Judges is elected by the Curia, using the procedure outlined in Section 2 Article 2, from among the Senatorii. In addition to having the rank of Senatorii, a Judge must also have no staff warnings and cannot hold a Staff Officer position. Each Judge serves a three month term. The Judges are granted local moderator privileges in the Tribunal. A Judge may resign his post, and will be removed summarily under any one of the following conditions:

• Becoming a member of the Moderating Staff as per Section 1 Article 3;
• Incurring an infraction of any level;
• or being subject to proceedings laid out in Section 4 Article 1

Section 5 - Additional Provisions

Article 1 - Symposium

All Citizens of TWC have access to the Symposium forum. This forum exists as a general meeting place for both old and new Citizens of the Total War Centre Forums. Within the Symposium, rules are generally more relaxed so as to allow for more concentrated debates to take place. Breach of the Terms of Service shall still be dealt with accordingly in this forum.

Article 2 - Community Medals

A “Medal” can be awarded to any member who has in some way contributed and achieved something which was of benefit to the wider community. Medals are controlled and run by the Curia. The qualifications and procedure by which each medal is awarded to a user can vary according to the wishes of the Curia. In order for a medal to be created it must acquire the majority in accordance with the Legislation section of the Syntagma. Every Curia approved medal is to be listed in the appropriate section below along with its Qualifications.

Senatorial Robe

In order for a member to qualify they must have served as a member of the CdC for at least two terms within one year. The Senatorial robe is awarded instantly when a member of CdC completes his second term.

Philosophers Robe

Members of any rank are awarded this medal by means of a Curia vote and simple majority for outstanding contributions to the common community. The member must be nominated and a case brought forward in the Prothalamos like any other proposal.

Moderators Mace

Gold Silver and Bronze maces awarded for over one years, 6-12 months, and 3-6 months service respectively as a Staff Moderator - see Section 1 Article 5

Scribes Quill

Gold Silver and Bronze quills awarded for over one years, 6-12 months, and 3-6 months service respectively as a Content Staff Officer - see Section 1 Article 5

Technicians Screwdriver

Gold Silver and Bronze screwdrivers awarded for over a years, 6-12 months, and 3-6 months service respectively as a Staff Technician - see Section 1 Article 5

Appendix A - Qualifiers for Patrician Rank

1. Local Moderator
   1. Technical Help Center
   2. The Basement
   3. The Mod Workshop
   4. Coliseum
   5. Foreign Language Discussion
2. Staff Officer
3. Member of a Curial Committee
4. Curial Officer
5. Total War Contributions
   1. Modding Tutorials
   2. Modding Tools
   3. Open Source Modifications
6. Common Community Contributions
   1. Articles on History, Religion, Politics, Science, Art, etc.
   2. Gaming Reviews in the Circus Maximus
   3. Hosting Contests in the Coliseum
   4. Significant contributions to the Suggestus Forum
7. Contribution to the Total War Community
   1. Repeated contributions of content such as articles, strategies and other general helpful information
8. Any other contribution, as Defined by the Council and CdeC, meriting consideration for Patricianship

edit 1 - Moved the element - Removal from Office - to the CDC section as it should have been.
edit 2 - Changed references from Section 4 Article 3 to Section 4 Article 1. This was done in the following parts - Section 2 Article 5 subsection 3 and Section 4 Article 3
edit 3 - Changed Section 2 Article 5 Subsection 3, first item on list to Incurring an infraction of any level. Also applied to s4a3
edit 5 - Changed the Medals (Section 5) to reflect what was voted on very recently.
edit 6 - redrafted Section 2 Article 5 Subsection 3 to Tac's version. Redrafted the moderator's awards section to make it fit in with the previous drafting recently voted in.
edit 7 - added a self propoal clause to gain citizenship, as indicated in my final proposal in the Curia Main.
edit 8 - removed edit 7....
edit 9 - removed edit 5... Can everyone now leave me alone?

[Tom Paine]

Having written, rewritten, unwritten, rerewritten, reunwritten, and so on, this thing, with "blood, sweat and tears", I definitely support.

[Perikles]

Support, Support, SUPPORT!

*echoes Ozy's sentiments*

[the Black Prince]

i wrote this myself, but no longer support with the inclusion of a paragraph Removal from office that's randomly floating at the bottom of Section 2

i disagree absolutely

firstly, form, you've got fieldsets mixed up, so the section you've added isn't included in any Article...


plus, what you've written makes no actual sense.

the Curia can't vote no confidence in a CdeC member, because they have nothing to base any such vote on. they don't know what's go in the CdeC, and presenting evidence of such could compromise that secrecy.

second, the phrase be recalled to office makes no sense

[imb39]

Do you not agree with the removal from office idea? The rationale behind it is that those in office should resign if they are warned.

[Tom Paine]

The phrase recalled to office is also not included anywhere within the document. Furthermore the fieldset error is mine, for which I apologise and I have asked Ian to put right. Effectively that's form rather than substance; if you wish to withdraw support on the basis of form, fine, but please, its better to announce such without so combatative a style.

And if the Curia decides someone is not competant on the basis of their behaviour or public statements to vote on citizens (eg if I said modders don't deserve to enter the Curia, to take something entirely impossible) then they need the right to express that in a vote of no confidence.

[imb39]

OK, moved that provision into Article 5 - CDC.

[Garbarsardar]

I support this document.

Although we have to assume that the 144 hours can be equated to calendar days and not circadian rythm days because CRDs are 25,5 hours.

But although it offends me as a psychologist, I'll let this one slip through.

[the Black Prince]

A CdeC member may resign his post at any point during his term, may be recalled by a vote of no confidence as per Section 2 Article 2 with the exception that such a vote is binding, and must be summarily removed from the membership of the body if any of the following conditions occurs;

* Incurring any form of infraction for any crime;
* Being subject to Citizien's Behaviour Articles proceedings as per Section 4 Article 3
* Prolonged inactivity, as decided by a simple majority vote in the CdeC

firstly, thats all one sentence! which is terrible
second, the phrase be recalled by vote of no confidence makes no sense on an ordinary interpretation of it. be recalled where? from where? to where?

third, the previous paragraphs, taken from the original, specifically say that a candidate for CdeC must have no warnings at the time of election.
a normal reading of that would surely state that its therefore ok for them to have warnings at other times.

a vote on prolonged activity is unnecessary and wastes more time. The Curator should simply fire councillors who don't fulfill the requirement of active participation.

[Tom Paine]

The one-sentence thing is irrrelevant; its listing a condition-set, best done in one sentence, especially when part of that sentence is broken up into a list.

Furthermore recalled is pretty damned clear in its meaning of recalled from the position, especially given the context of it.

Third, it does not imply it, since it is conditions for election, not anything about continuation; you read too much into a sentence, in the end, that does not exist within it by any normal reading, which would simply be, especially in context, that it is a condition of entry, and has no bearing on continuation; if anything I'd say it directly contradicts your claim and interpretation.

Finally, I do not think that such an important democratic role as CdeC member should be kept at the whim of the Curator, who can make the excuse of inactivity to fire any member at will, in a manner beyond reason for the institution; basically, sir, your idea leads to the Curator getting carte blanche to fire CdeCers at will.

[the Black Prince]

no, he would only be able to fire them for lack of active participation, and the Curator is democratically elected too

you don't need to mention that a CdeC member can resign, thats already mentioned in the paragraph above and really goes without saying anyway.

recalled means to summon back.

a CdeC member may be summoned back by a vote of no confidence?
summoned back where? to the CdeC? to the moon?

i reiterate, that the Curia cannot subject a CdeC member to a vote of no confidence anyway because they have nothing to base any such vote on. they don't know what's go in the CdeC, and presenting evidence of such could compromise that secrecy. How is the average Curia member going to know if a CdeC member is doing his job or not? its an absurd idea

i could be persuaded to go along with the idea of a CdeC member being summarily removed if he received a staff warning if the rest of this rubbish was removed. but who is doing the removing? the CdeC is a curial office, not a staff one, so guess what, it would be the Curator...

of your list items, incurring an infraction for a crime?
we have no crimes here... we have no criminal code either. phrase it in appropriate language.
and the second item reads easier when it simply says, is subject to proceedings under Section 4 article 1

unless of course you did mean for it to say Section 4 article 3, in which case the whole thing makes no sense whatsoever, since S4A3 is the criteria for being a tribunal judge.


the whole paragraph would be better reading
A CdeC member may resign from office, or can be summarily removed from office for recieving a staff warning, being successfully subjected to proceedings under Section 4 Article 1 or for failing to actively participate.

two lines that are a hell of a lot simpler and easier to understand.

[Tom Paine]

no, he would only be able to fire them for lack of active participation, and the Curator is democratically elected too

And the Curator could say that x does not post enough despite voting in all votes and is therefore inactive, he goes. Or y is not active enough, he doesn't vote in all votes, despite leaving z in place, who votes in fewer. Democratisation.

you don't need to mention that a CdeC member can resign, thats already mentioned in the paragraph above and really goes without saying anyway.

Superfluity is not neccessarily a bad thing; given that the section is abuot removal of rank it needs to be all-inclusive.

recalled means to summon back.

a CdeC member may be summoned back by a vote of no confidence?
summoned back where? to the CdeC? to the moon?

Back to the Curia main, rather than to the CdeC, maybe? Have you never heard of recalls in the context of elections and posts? Surprising...

i reiterate, that the Curia cannot subject a CdeC member to a vote of no confidence anyway because they have nothing to base any such vote on. they don't know what's go in the CdeC, and presenting evidence of such could compromise that secrecy. How is the average Curia member going to know if a CdeC member is doing his job or not? its an absurd idea

I reiterate, if I say something which demonstrates I am not performing my duty appropriately then I should be subject to Curial approbation; simple as that, in the end. It is evidence in and of itself.

i could be persuaded to go along with the idea of a CdeC member being summarily removed if he received a staff warning if the rest of this rubbish was removed. but who is doing the removing? the CdeC is a curial office, not a staff one, so guess what, it would be the Curator...

Does that matter? I do not see your point at all.

of your list items, incurring an infraction for a crime?
we have no crimes here... we have no criminal code either. phrase it in appropriate language.

I would disagree; a crime is perfectly appropriate terminology given the meaning thereof, which is not specifically limited to a penal or criminal code.

and the second item reads easier when it simply says, is subject to proceedings under Section 4 article 1

unless of course you did mean for it to say Section 4 article 3, in which case the whole thing makes no sense whatsoever, since S4A3 is the criteria for being a tribunal judge.

Should read S4A1, however it was coped from your own bit of S4A3, self referencing... so wherein does blame lie? With you more than me here, I am afraid.


Your sample paragraph basically removes many of the important features of my own, especially the Curial ability to recall and the CdeC vote on inactivity, far better than potentially partisan Curatorial discretion.

[the Black Prince]

i never wrote the paragraph or anything like it, its entirely your creation, so where did my reference to S4A3 come from?

you mean to say that a member is recalled to the Curia? again, wtf???
a CdeC member has never left the Curia to be recalled. Its not like he's a naval office on secondment to NATO being recalled to the navy, its an extra role he's doing. the word makes no sense in the context.


You're saying the Curia will no confidence you for saying something in the Curia which is related to the CdeC? this whole idea makes no sense. at what point is the Curia ever going to be capable of judging whether you are performing your job as a CdeC member correctly when the Curia cannot see the CdeC forum. The Curia is in no position at all to have confidence in your ability to act as a councillor. this kind of thing can only be done internally by the other CdeC members.


as to crime, i have attempted to write a document that is consistent in its terminology, and that terminology is consistent with reality. we don't have any crimes on this forum, or police who enforce them, we have forum rules and terms of service and staff warnings and moderators.


how about this

A CdeC member may resign from office, or can be summarily removed from office for receiving a staff warning or being successfully subjected to proceedings under Section 4 Article 1. He may additionally be removed by a majority vote of the elected Councillors for failing to actively participate.

i refuse, point blank, to ever agree to allowing the Curia to vote no confidence in a CdeC member, as the Curia does not have capacity to make any judgement as to whether a CdeC member is doing his job or not. this can only be done internally

[Tom Paine]

From when you added it into the other Syntagma under the judges from whence I copied it, that's when. Oops, hm?

Then your objection is to a wording which in context is appropriate, despite not literally being so it is used in this sense?


Then maybe the Curia needs to be given more access to the CdeC; a culture of closedness aids no one. If I post

Modders shouldn't get access to the Curia

then the Curia has every right to question my performance as a CdeCer, even without knowledge of my discharge of that duty.


So you would prefer it if we dropped it to simply infractions? Can do. Ian, do the honours please.


You refuse point blank? You can't veto it, sir, and do not imagine that you can. And I don't like your "successfully"; if he is subject to them at all, his status is called into question and that is enough, since they should be held to the highest standard, to discredit him.

[Kagemusha]

I support this document.

[the Black Prince]

the bit in the judge section reads
or being subject to Citizen's Behaviour Articles proceedings as per Section 4 Article 1

You refuse point blank? You can't veto it, sir, and do not imagine that you can. And I don't like your "successfully"; if he is subject to them at all, his status is called into question and that is enough, since they should be held to the highest standard, to discredit him.

its my document, i can request a document i own copyright on be removed if i felt so inclined. but that aside, i think its pretty damning that the person who wrote the document won't vote for it with your absolutely atrocious paragraph attached to it.

the reason i included sucessfully is that the CdeC doesn't hold a vote to decide if a proceeding goes ahead.
if i brought a charge under S4A1 against say, garb, for any reason, he'd be summarily dismissed, even if my charge was baseless, and the CdeC voted both for no action against garb, and voted to suspend me for fivolous use of the proceeding.

someone bringing a proceeding under S4A1 or the current citizens behaviour act is no evidence of any actual misconduct and we cannot punish a CdeC member just because someone's got a grudge.

if you posted something that the Curia felt called into question like you state, then a concerned Citizen can bring a case under S4A1 anyway, that's already covered.

the Curia is in no position to judge how you are performing your role in the CdeC, only CdeC members can do that.


i say again, the paragraph should be replaced simply with the following

Removal From Office

A CdeC member may resign from office, or can be summarily removed from office for receiving a staff warning or being successfully subjected to proceedings under Section 4 Article 1. He may additionally be removed by a majority vote of the elected Councillors for failing to actively participate.

[Tom Paine]

Only because I requested Ian change it, and he did with both; false and poor argument.

I don't think so; its hardly damning, really, that the person who wrote a document refuses to make himself subject to the possibility of removal by more means than, well, bugger all, to be honest, sir.


In the case of my posting something intemperate, that only applies if unsuccessful ones go ahead to throw me out too; would the post I suggested make me unfit as a civitate or patrician? No. The case would fail. But under your internally incoherent post, I'd remain in the CdeC.

Furthermore there is a reason we are nt looking at warnings but any form f infraction in all cases, tBP; it is otherwise covered by the loss of status as soon as a proceeding is initiated.

[the Black Prince]

bugger all? have you actually read what i've written?
resignation,
summary removal for staff warning,
proceedings under S4A1
and a vote of no confidence from the council

that's all bugger all is it?

i'll happily change warning to Infraction if it makes you feel better

[Tom Paine]

Resignation pre-existed, warning was common sense and needs changing to infraction, sucessful proceedings not all proceedings despite my arguments to the contrary, and vote of no confidence is something I already argued for which you conceeded. There is no external accountability if we start doing idiotic things eg giving Ferrets54 civitate status (and actually, the very fact the Curia knows who gets status is itself telling the Curia something about our actions as a body).

[the Black Prince]

the Curia is not empowered to decide who gets to become civitates or not. the CdeC is. if someone patronises ferrets, and the 16 of us collectively decide to give it to him, then he is a civitate. not everything and everyone can be accountable to everything else. who are judges accountable to? the final court of appeal... but who are they accountable too? no one.

in terms of citizen promotions, the buck stops with the CdeC.
other than that, we're accountable through elections, every 3 months


so i say agaiin

Removal From Office

A CdeC member may resign from office, or can be summarily removed from office for committing an infraction of the Forum Rules or being successfully subjected to proceedings under Section 4 Article 1. He may additionally be removed by a majority vote of the elected Councillors for failing to actively participate.