HorseArcher
I mean, funny like I'm a clown? I amuse you?
Merry Christmas(USA), Happy Christmas (rest of the World)
Happy Holidays and whichever God you worship- be blessed by it!
Here is the Proposal for the new Constitution/Syntagma and Laws after sweaty and hard work and numerous revisals and fierce arguments, I present you the proposed Syntagma.
Please vote on this matter as a proposed version to replace the old and outdated Syntagma.
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TWC CONSTITUTION
The Constitution is a document highlighting the administrative structure and function of the community. It defines at a high level the procedures, structure and ethos of TWC; these are then defined at a detailed level by relevant Acts of Law. All Total War Center members are expected to adhere to the rules of the constitution and the Acts of Law. Members are also expected to enforce the rules of the constitution and acts of law at all times.
The constitution can be suspended by the either the Imperator, with the support of all active Consuls, or the administrators in times of crisis or danger to the community and website as a whole. However, in such situations it is the duty of the Imperator to inform the Civitates as to why and until when the constitution is to be inactive.
Magistrates, Moderators and Network administrators
These are the main groups responsible for the community; they are responsible for moderation and Network Administration according to their rank. All magistrates, Moderators and Network Administrators can be identified by their names being bold and colored according to rank with the exception of local moderators who have basic moderating powers in their own areas such as modding projects.
Network Administrators
As owner of the domain all Ogre’s Net staff are considered as a single TWC Imperator and have full administrative powers. While generally leaving day to day running of the site to the TWC staff they can, if required, wield proconsular imperium maius (powers greater than all other TWC magistrates) and have veto power over any actions on TWC. In times of crisis they have the right to suspend the constitution and take full control of the site.
Imperator – Senior Staff, Magistrate & Triumvirate member
The Imperator is the site administrator appointed by Ogre’s Net and will act as the guardian of TWC. Working closely with the Network Administrators (Ogre’s Net), the Imperator manages and delegates day-to-day administrative operations of TWC. In consultation with the Consuls and senior staff, the Imperator sets the policy direction for TWC. To fulfill this function, the Imperator wields imperium proconsulare maius (powers greater than all other TWC magistrates). The Imperator can veto any non legislative action on TWC except those of the network administrators. The imperator also holds full administrative powers.
Consuls – Senior Staff, Magistrate & Triumvirate member
Two Consuls will be chosen to aid in the day to day administrative tasks of the site. One shall be chosen by the Imperator and act as imperial consul. The Second Consul is elected by the Civitates; only members who currently hold the rank of Prefect or have held senior staff rank in TWC within the last year are qualified to be appointed Imperial Consul or run for Republican Consul and any nomination is subject to veto according to the Staff veto act. The Republican Consul is also Syntagma Curator and responsible for the Curia. Consuls wield administrative powers greater then all magistrates except the Imperator.
Praefecti Praetorio – Senior Staff & Magistrate
Four Prefects are chosen by the Triumvirate with the consultation of the current Praefecti to act as global moderators. Prefects are promoted from current Quaestors or anyone who has held the Quaestor Rank or been senior staff within the last year. They are regarded as senior staff and are expected to have an input in all staff policies. They fall directly under the power of the Imperator, and can be dismissed on grounds such as inactivity or misconduct. The Prefects are given Praetorian Imperium together with global moderation powers and wield those powers over the whole of the TWC forums. These powers give the Prefects great freedom of action to moderate all of the TWC forums. The Prefects have the power to veto the actions of all lower staff members.
Quaestors - Magistrate
6 Quaestors are elected falling under the responsibility of the Triumvirate with a staff normally having three Quaestors in the Common community and three in the Total war community. Quaestors are promoted from current Cohortes Praetoria or anyone who has held magisterial rank within the last year. When a Quaestor steps down and abdicates their duties, or is deemed by the Triumvirate to be ineffectual in their duties and removed from their position, a new Quaestor must be elected. Quaestors will be directly elected by the Civitate members in the Curia. Ogre’s Net and Senior staff reserves the right to veto any candidate in accordance to the Staff veto act if they deem them unfit for the job.
The Triumvirate can choose, at any time, to move an existing Quaestor from one area to another if said Quaestor requests the move.
Non Magisterial Staff
Cohortes Praetoria
The Cohortes are considered the primary front line moderators of the TWC forums and generally have moderation powers over a single forum and sub forums. The number of Cohortes will suit the size requirements of the forum they are moderating. They are drawn from the ranks of Civitates active in these local areas and are directly appointed by the Triumvirate, who can also remove them. Any Civitate active in the specific forum can nominate themselves for the position offered.
Local Moderators
These are members drawn from both the general membership and Civitates classes.
They generally run personalized sub forums such as Mod Project forums or News sections and have the abilities to Pin/Unpin, Close/Open and Move threads. Some specific local moderators are:
Citizen Classes – members of TWC
Plebs
Plebs are the basic members of TWC who have no direct say in government. They are ranked based upon number of posts, the relationship between number of posts and rank being defined by the Senior Staff. They do, however, reserve the right to inquire and suggest changes to staff in the Consilium Publicum.
Civitates Class - Magistrates / Senatorii / Patrician / Civitate
Civitates are all those who are contributing members of the forum, that is, have shown themselves to contribute meaningfully to the forum. They can call into questions any decision by any of the aforementioned officials and can by popular vote have it overturned although Ogre’s Net or the Triumvirate working unanimously can veto this action in accordance to the staff veto act. They have, and should not be reluctant to use, the power to appeal any decision and have it heard by the members of their class, the Civitates. Civitates also have the following four sub-classes, three of which have the privilege to patronize new Civitates:
The Curia
A special section shall be made in the forum to discuss pertinent topics in governance, a place for the Civitates to propose legislation, and to post relevant developments. This is a place for the exchange of ideas, and if the rules against any infractions are tough in the normal forums, in the Curia, they are doubly so. The Curia is broken into distinct sections: Curia - for general discussion of governance related matters; Prothalamos - area specifically for proposing and discussing legislation and ideas but not for voting; Curia Vote - area for submitting proposed legislation for voting. Additional areas may be added at the discretion of Curia members and following a vote.
Magisterial Elections
Republican Consul Elections
When the need arises for a new Consul, senior staff will open a poll in the curia listing all the suitable candidates and clearly indicating those they have vetoed. In order to qualify members must be serving, or have served, as senior staff in TWC within the last year.
The senior staff reserve the right to veto anyone who is deemed unsuitable, in accordance with the staff veto act.
Praefecti Appointments
When the need for a Prefect arises, the Imperator is expected to Open an opinion thread listing all the suitable candidates in the curia and take both the opinions of the Civitates and the opinions of his present staff into consideration. The imperator will then directly appoint a prefect taking into consideration the opinions of both staff and Civitates.
Quaestor elections
When a position is vacant the Consuls or Imperator are to open a nominations thread for all those who qualify, clearly indicating those they have vetoed in accordance to the staff veto act. In order to qualify candidates have to have the rank of Magistrates, Cohortes Praetoria or Urbanis Legio. The Nomination thread is to be open a minimum of one week, after which the final list is presented to the Curia and a vote is opened for a minimum of one week.
Cohortes Praetoria Appointments
The Consuls and Imperator have the ability to promote any member of Civitates rank or higher to Cohortes Praetoria; the number of Cohortes Praetoria varies according to the need of the site.
Rules relating to Ostrakon
If a Civitate, Patrician or Senatorii is found to be acting in opposition to the rules of the forum and Curia, or is otherwise neglecting his duties and/or carrying about in disorderly and immature manner unbefitting his position, he/she may be released from duties by the following procedure:
Laws
All Civitates and Curators must abide by the following codes of conduct
1) The twcenter.net site gives you the ability to be member of the forum community completely free and without any obligation. You should consider this ability of becoming a member a privilege and one which should not be used improperly. Any improper usage of this privilege against other members or this site will result in its permanent removal.
2) Personal or not, attacks against this site or its members are illegal. Keep the conversations with the utmost level of civility. Insults and improper behavior will lead to the increase of the warning level and eventually in suspension or banning from the forum depending on the circumstances.
3) Try to be as clear as possible in your posts and answers. Don't double/triple/ etc-post if instead you can put all your sayings in a single post. If you forgot to say something in your post, then don't post a new one, just edit your previous post using the edit button.
4) Bare links or images with no supporting discussion should be avoided. Start off a discussion in your own words and use links as supporting references.
5) Never include material not your own without attribution to the original source. Do not post duplicate complete copies of information that exists elsewhere on line when a link to the existing source and a well chosen excerpt should be used.
6) Stay on topic for a thread. Open a new thread for new topics. Even if a side topic is valid or exciting, do not take the bait to derail the discussion from its central focus. Report these detours to a moderator by using private messages and then just try to stay on topic with the original purpose of the thread.
7) Think about what you want to say in your messages before you begin typing and hitting the reply button. Read the whole thread down to its end before you respond to an issue that may already be addressed later in the thread. Do not post multiple posts back to back in the discussion when all of your points should be well thought out and framed in a single message added to the discussion. If you forgot to say something in your post, do not post a new one, just use the edit button to revise and add to your existing comments.
8) Spamming, flaming, and off topic remarks in any Forum will not be tolerated. Same goes for product or site commercials, unless permitted by the administrators or by a Forum section (i.e. Useful links). Members that obviously spam and fill the forum with trash only to raise their rank will be punished with 0 post counts.
9) Create new topics in the right section. If you see a topic that belongs in another section, just report it to a moderator to move it to the right section.
10) Respect the moderators. The moderators reserve the rights to close, re-title, split, or otherwise adjust the format of the discussion topics to help keep them on track and within the expected rules of conduct for the TWC community. Moderators are here to help ensure that all topics remain open to support participation by all site users.
11) Never create a topic to contact with another member. Use the Personal messages for this.
12) Do not make posts on this forum in languages other than English. Discussion in other languages is an issue currently being reviewed by the staff. This rule extends to posts that make use of significant numbers of cryptic internet notations or ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
13) Respect fellow members and remember what your mother taught you, thank people for favors...or else
14) Do not make posts promoting racism or social/religious intolerance. You may discuss the implications and causes of these issues but do not allow discussion of other topics to be sidetracked by inserting comments on these sensitive issues into other topics. Discussions in these areas that fail to remain civil and on topic will be closed by the moderators with considerably less latitude than might be given to other topics
Legislation Act
Any Civitate is able to present a Bill provided that his motion is supported by at least three other Civitates, including one Patrician, Magistrates or Senatorii Vechii. The proposal must first be posted in the Prothalamos for discussion, which does not require named support, for at least one week. If during this week the required support is obtained for a Bill, and all named supporters confirm they agree the Bill can be moved straight to a vote, then the proposer can request that the Syntagma Curator moves the Bill to a vote immediately.
Should it instead be judged that more time is needed for debate on the subject, or that the debate is active, and moving the Bill would be premature, the progression to voting of the Bill may be delayed at the discretion of the Syntagma Curator until such time as it has remained in the Prothalamos for one month or a majority consensus appears to have been reached by debating parties, again, at the Magistrates discretion. At this time the Bill shall be moved to the Vote in its decided draft form. If the Syntagma Curator decides to delay the vote on a Bill beyond one month, then this decision is subject to staff ratification in the same way as a staff veto.
If the Syntagma Curator wishes to sponsor or support a Bill, their duties will be delegated to a staff member of the Syntagma Curator's choosing.
Curia Votes Act
Once moved to vote, an Amendment Bill shall be voted on over a two-week period and an Act of Law Bill shall be voted on over a one-week period. All Bills will be required to run for the full duration so that all Civitates may be able to vote if they so wish.
An Amendment Bill shall pass on the basis of a two-thirds majority in favor, while an Act of Law Bill shall require only a simple majority. Abstentions are not considered when determining whether a Bill has achieved the required proportion of voters. If any Bill fails a vote, no revote on a substantially similar bill will be permitted for twenty-eight days unless the Triumvirate unanimously supports it.
Act of Law Bills may be passed to change any existing Act of Law or to enact new restrictions, ranks, procedures, or anything else not dealt with by the Syntagma. Amendment Bills shall be permitted to change any portion of the Syntagma.
The Staff Veto Act
The Triumvirate and Prefects, in agreement have the power of veto over legislation. If a bill is vetoed, it may not be put up for a vote, and any ongoing votes on it are to be closed. Discussion on the bill may continue indefinitely, and new versions of the bill may be proposed for approval, but any new version of a bill is subject to any vetoes of older versions unless otherwise stated by one or more of the vetoing staff.
While a bill is under discussion in the Prothalamos (or if necessary, once a final draft has been proposed for voting), any number of senior staff may post in the relevant discussion thread expressing their desire to exercise a veto and stating a reason for said veto. If either all Consuls or all available Prefects post this in the discussion thread for a given bill at any time before voting on the bill closes, the bill is vetoed.
If a Prefect is absent for a three-day period and their decision can not be obtained, the remaining Prefects may still veto a bill if acting unanimously. This principle does not apply to the Triumvirate, if one member is inactive, the others can postpone a vote until the third is available, or ask the prefects to veto as above. If less than 3 prefects are available as well, and a veto is wanted by staff, then the vote is postponed until enough staff of either group are online to give a legitimate veto. It is expected that staff members will participate actively in Prothalamos debates to resolve any issues they may have in advance.
Secret Ballots Act
To the extent made possible by the forum software, no member will be able to view the results of a poll in the Curia until he has voted in the poll or it has closed.
If the forum software cannot reasonably be modified to prohibit viewing of poll results by any given member, that member, is hereby obliged on their honour as a Civitates not to view the results of any poll in the Curia he has not voted in unless necessary for the execution of any duties he may have to the site.
The Civitates Act
Any member (with 100 posts or more and) deemed to be a contributing member in good standing may be nominated and patronized by Magistrates, Senatorii, Patrician, or Cohortes Praetorio. Any members who directly request said status (by posting asking to be nominated) will be denied it outright. The Magistrates will review the prospective Civitates posts and vote for their possible ascendancy into Civitate status. The vote will be in the form of a majority, and upon approval the new Civitate will hold all rights as granted by letters patent, a vote in the Curia and a voice in His Forum.
The possible Civitate will then be asked to explain in detail and in his own words, his duties and privileges as a Civitate in PM form to any Consul or Prefect. Even if the vote passes, if his explanation is not satisfactory he will be denied the post. If within 240 hours of his promotion, said Civitate is found wanting, that is, conducting himself contrary to the principles of his post, he can be immediately demoted.
Basic Civitates are marked as 'Civitates'
The Patricians Act
Any Civitate that remains in good standing with no official warnings (successful appeals to the Imperator and consuls are not considered warnings) after three months active tenure can be elevated to the level of Patrician by sending a PM to a Consul asking for this change. The Staff will then review the application and vote on the change to status. Any Patrician that receives a warning will lose the right to patronize new Civitates for two month duration, unless the warning is overturned by appealing to the Imperator and consuls. If a Patrician fails to make a worthwhile patronage three times, he can be demoted to basic Civitate status if the Triumvirate is in agreement.
Patricians are marked as 'Patricians'
The Senatorii Act
The Senatorii represent some of the oldest founding members and ex-staff of the TWC community. Any Consul, Praetor, Praefecti Praetorio, or Quaestor who leaves office honorably will join the ranks of the Senatorii.
The Patronization Act
Any Patrician, Senatorii, Cohortes Praetorio or Magistrates can patronize new Civitates. Each is allowed to initially patronize six members, and then one member per month. The Patron must review the member before recommending him; he must then send a PM to any Magistrate with a paragraph saying why he wants to patronize the member and also a paragraph by the member stating he will abide by the rules of the constitution. When a Civitates is proposed, their name should be posted by their would-be patron in a special thread in the Curia intended for that purpose. All members of the site who have specific posts by the nominee that they think are relevant to the vote (either for good or bad, brilliant exposition or flame) should then PM them to staff, who would post them in the nomination thread in the staff forum. About three days after the name is proposed in the Curia, the vote in the staff forum will be opened and, if the member achieves a 2/3 majority he will be promoted to Civitates and receive a PM. The majority depends on the amount of active Magistrates.
Global Moderation Act
For the purposes of the Triumvirate section of the Syntagma a Global Moderator is someone who wielded Praetor powers under the old Republic of the 1st to 3rd Triumvirate, or someone who wielded Prefect Powers under the 4th Triumvirate, or someone who has been a site administrator.
The Triumvirate Act
Throughout the Syntagma, and all Laws, the term triumvirate, or the plural use of the word consul unless otherwise specified, shall mean the Imperator and both Consuls acting together.
Happy Holidays and whichever God you worship- be blessed by it!
Here is the Proposal for the new Constitution/Syntagma and Laws after sweaty and hard work and numerous revisals and fierce arguments, I present you the proposed Syntagma.
Please vote on this matter as a proposed version to replace the old and outdated Syntagma.
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TWC CONSTITUTION
The Constitution is a document highlighting the administrative structure and function of the community. It defines at a high level the procedures, structure and ethos of TWC; these are then defined at a detailed level by relevant Acts of Law. All Total War Center members are expected to adhere to the rules of the constitution and the Acts of Law. Members are also expected to enforce the rules of the constitution and acts of law at all times.
The constitution can be suspended by the either the Imperator, with the support of all active Consuls, or the administrators in times of crisis or danger to the community and website as a whole. However, in such situations it is the duty of the Imperator to inform the Civitates as to why and until when the constitution is to be inactive.
Magistrates, Moderators and Network administrators
These are the main groups responsible for the community; they are responsible for moderation and Network Administration according to their rank. All magistrates, Moderators and Network Administrators can be identified by their names being bold and colored according to rank with the exception of local moderators who have basic moderating powers in their own areas such as modding projects.
Network Administrators
As owner of the domain all Ogre’s Net staff are considered as a single TWC Imperator and have full administrative powers. While generally leaving day to day running of the site to the TWC staff they can, if required, wield proconsular imperium maius (powers greater than all other TWC magistrates) and have veto power over any actions on TWC. In times of crisis they have the right to suspend the constitution and take full control of the site.
Imperator – Senior Staff, Magistrate & Triumvirate member
The Imperator is the site administrator appointed by Ogre’s Net and will act as the guardian of TWC. Working closely with the Network Administrators (Ogre’s Net), the Imperator manages and delegates day-to-day administrative operations of TWC. In consultation with the Consuls and senior staff, the Imperator sets the policy direction for TWC. To fulfill this function, the Imperator wields imperium proconsulare maius (powers greater than all other TWC magistrates). The Imperator can veto any non legislative action on TWC except those of the network administrators. The imperator also holds full administrative powers.
Consuls – Senior Staff, Magistrate & Triumvirate member
Two Consuls will be chosen to aid in the day to day administrative tasks of the site. One shall be chosen by the Imperator and act as imperial consul. The Second Consul is elected by the Civitates; only members who currently hold the rank of Prefect or have held senior staff rank in TWC within the last year are qualified to be appointed Imperial Consul or run for Republican Consul and any nomination is subject to veto according to the Staff veto act. The Republican Consul is also Syntagma Curator and responsible for the Curia. Consuls wield administrative powers greater then all magistrates except the Imperator.
Praefecti Praetorio – Senior Staff & Magistrate
Four Prefects are chosen by the Triumvirate with the consultation of the current Praefecti to act as global moderators. Prefects are promoted from current Quaestors or anyone who has held the Quaestor Rank or been senior staff within the last year. They are regarded as senior staff and are expected to have an input in all staff policies. They fall directly under the power of the Imperator, and can be dismissed on grounds such as inactivity or misconduct. The Prefects are given Praetorian Imperium together with global moderation powers and wield those powers over the whole of the TWC forums. These powers give the Prefects great freedom of action to moderate all of the TWC forums. The Prefects have the power to veto the actions of all lower staff members.
Praefecti Praetorio responsibilities
Global responsibilities include keeping the forums well ordered and filling in any gaps in moderation if a staff member is absent. They should maintain a basic awareness of what is happening in all the groups. The 4 Prefects are also given specific individual responsibilities given to them by the Imperator or 2 Consuls in agreement.
Global responsibilities include keeping the forums well ordered and filling in any gaps in moderation if a staff member is absent. They should maintain a basic awareness of what is happening in all the groups. The 4 Prefects are also given specific individual responsibilities given to them by the Imperator or 2 Consuls in agreement.
Quaestors - Magistrate
6 Quaestors are elected falling under the responsibility of the Triumvirate with a staff normally having three Quaestors in the Common community and three in the Total war community. Quaestors are promoted from current Cohortes Praetoria or anyone who has held magisterial rank within the last year. When a Quaestor steps down and abdicates their duties, or is deemed by the Triumvirate to be ineffectual in their duties and removed from their position, a new Quaestor must be elected. Quaestors will be directly elected by the Civitate members in the Curia. Ogre’s Net and Senior staff reserves the right to veto any candidate in accordance to the Staff veto act if they deem them unfit for the job.
The Triumvirate can choose, at any time, to move an existing Quaestor from one area to another if said Quaestor requests the move.
Quaestor powers and responsibilities
The 6 Quaestors are given specific individual areas of responsibility with moderation powers in those areas decided by Triumvirate, and will also have some input into TWC policy. These areas will be related to where they are drawn from. They will be expected to moderate within those forums enforcing the moderation policy laid down by the Consuls.
The 6 Quaestors are given specific individual areas of responsibility with moderation powers in those areas decided by Triumvirate, and will also have some input into TWC policy. These areas will be related to where they are drawn from. They will be expected to moderate within those forums enforcing the moderation policy laid down by the Consuls.
Non Magisterial Staff
Cohortes Praetoria
The Cohortes are considered the primary front line moderators of the TWC forums and generally have moderation powers over a single forum and sub forums. The number of Cohortes will suit the size requirements of the forum they are moderating. They are drawn from the ranks of Civitates active in these local areas and are directly appointed by the Triumvirate, who can also remove them. Any Civitate active in the specific forum can nominate themselves for the position offered.
Cohortes Praetoria powers and responsibilities
Cohortes Praetoria have the power to moderate in a forum and are responsible for keeping order in that forum in line with moderation policy.
Cohortes Praetoria have the power to moderate in a forum and are responsible for keeping order in that forum in line with moderation policy.
Local Moderators
These are members drawn from both the general membership and Civitates classes.
They generally run personalized sub forums such as Mod Project forums or News sections and have the abilities to Pin/Unpin, Close/Open and Move threads. Some specific local moderators are:
- Syntagma Pro-Curator
A Patrician, Senatorii, Cohortes Praetoria or staff member selected by the Republican Consul to manage day to day duties in the Curia. They will have Local Moderator powers over the Curia for this task
- Members appointed to handle some basic site responsibilities such as News writers, picture of the day, TWC daily news and so on. These people fall directly under the responsibility of staff and can be appointed and dropped according to the needs of the site.
- Content Staff
Members can be appointed to provide the community with content such as reviews, guides, walkthroughs and any other information which is of benefit to the community.
Powers and responsibilities
Local moderators have basic moderation powers in their sub forums.
Local moderators have basic moderation powers in their sub forums.
Citizen Classes – members of TWC
Plebs
Plebs are the basic members of TWC who have no direct say in government. They are ranked based upon number of posts, the relationship between number of posts and rank being defined by the Senior Staff. They do, however, reserve the right to inquire and suggest changes to staff in the Consilium Publicum.
Civitates Class - Magistrates / Senatorii / Patrician / Civitate
Civitates are all those who are contributing members of the forum, that is, have shown themselves to contribute meaningfully to the forum. They can call into questions any decision by any of the aforementioned officials and can by popular vote have it overturned although Ogre’s Net or the Triumvirate working unanimously can veto this action in accordance to the staff veto act. They have, and should not be reluctant to use, the power to appeal any decision and have it heard by the members of their class, the Civitates. Civitates also have the following four sub-classes, three of which have the privilege to patronize new Civitates:
- Civitates - Standard Civitates without the privilege to patronize new Civitates.
- Patricians - Civitates in good standing who have been Civitates three months or longer without receiving an official warning.
- Senatorii – This Group consists of the ex magistrates.
- Magistrates – all magistrates, and Cohortes Praetoria, are also Civitates, and automatically gain the rank of Patrician.
The Curia
A special section shall be made in the forum to discuss pertinent topics in governance, a place for the Civitates to propose legislation, and to post relevant developments. This is a place for the exchange of ideas, and if the rules against any infractions are tough in the normal forums, in the Curia, they are doubly so. The Curia is broken into distinct sections: Curia - for general discussion of governance related matters; Prothalamos - area specifically for proposing and discussing legislation and ideas but not for voting; Curia Vote - area for submitting proposed legislation for voting. Additional areas may be added at the discretion of Curia members and following a vote.
Magisterial Elections
Republican Consul Elections
When the need arises for a new Consul, senior staff will open a poll in the curia listing all the suitable candidates and clearly indicating those they have vetoed. In order to qualify members must be serving, or have served, as senior staff in TWC within the last year.
The senior staff reserve the right to veto anyone who is deemed unsuitable, in accordance with the staff veto act.
Praefecti Appointments
When the need for a Prefect arises, the Imperator is expected to Open an opinion thread listing all the suitable candidates in the curia and take both the opinions of the Civitates and the opinions of his present staff into consideration. The imperator will then directly appoint a prefect taking into consideration the opinions of both staff and Civitates.
Quaestor elections
When a position is vacant the Consuls or Imperator are to open a nominations thread for all those who qualify, clearly indicating those they have vetoed in accordance to the staff veto act. In order to qualify candidates have to have the rank of Magistrates, Cohortes Praetoria or Urbanis Legio. The Nomination thread is to be open a minimum of one week, after which the final list is presented to the Curia and a vote is opened for a minimum of one week.
Cohortes Praetoria Appointments
The Consuls and Imperator have the ability to promote any member of Civitates rank or higher to Cohortes Praetoria; the number of Cohortes Praetoria varies according to the need of the site.
Rules relating to Ostrakon
If a Civitate, Patrician or Senatorii is found to be acting in opposition to the rules of the forum and Curia, or is otherwise neglecting his duties and/or carrying about in disorderly and immature manner unbefitting his position, he/she may be released from duties by the following procedure:
- 1. Any Civitate or Magistrates permanently banned by the Network Administrator or Imperator is subject to immediate Ostrakon.
- 2. A Civitates May invoke Ostrakon against any other basic Civitate or Patrician (ie. not Senatorii or Magistrate) by presenting their case to the Curia. Civitates may request the staff to investigate Senatorii or Magistrates, but cannot invoke a Curia-based Ostrakon of these classes themselves. Frivolous abuse of the Ostrakon power will result in the Ostrakon of the abusing Civitate
- 3. Said Vote must contain delineated reasons for which said Civitate is being tried. The vote will adhere to the aforementioned rules in the Syntagma as to voting guidelines, lasting 168 hours and must pass by a majority vote of those who vote either Yay or Nay (Votes Abstained do not factor into majority calculation, it would be superfluous, a majority abstention decides nothing).
- 4. The Civitate, Patrician or Senatorii in question will have a chance to defend himself against the allegations till the votes closing time, at which period the votes will be tallied and the appropriate decision taken.
- 5. The duration of the Ostrakon (time he will not be allowed to become a Civitate again) is to be decided by the Syntagma Curator acting as judge.
- 6. A staff member directly and successfully ostracized will lose their position in the same fashion
Laws
All Civitates and Curators must abide by the following codes of conduct
1) The twcenter.net site gives you the ability to be member of the forum community completely free and without any obligation. You should consider this ability of becoming a member a privilege and one which should not be used improperly. Any improper usage of this privilege against other members or this site will result in its permanent removal.
2) Personal or not, attacks against this site or its members are illegal. Keep the conversations with the utmost level of civility. Insults and improper behavior will lead to the increase of the warning level and eventually in suspension or banning from the forum depending on the circumstances.
3) Try to be as clear as possible in your posts and answers. Don't double/triple/ etc-post if instead you can put all your sayings in a single post. If you forgot to say something in your post, then don't post a new one, just edit your previous post using the edit button.
4) Bare links or images with no supporting discussion should be avoided. Start off a discussion in your own words and use links as supporting references.
5) Never include material not your own without attribution to the original source. Do not post duplicate complete copies of information that exists elsewhere on line when a link to the existing source and a well chosen excerpt should be used.
6) Stay on topic for a thread. Open a new thread for new topics. Even if a side topic is valid or exciting, do not take the bait to derail the discussion from its central focus. Report these detours to a moderator by using private messages and then just try to stay on topic with the original purpose of the thread.
7) Think about what you want to say in your messages before you begin typing and hitting the reply button. Read the whole thread down to its end before you respond to an issue that may already be addressed later in the thread. Do not post multiple posts back to back in the discussion when all of your points should be well thought out and framed in a single message added to the discussion. If you forgot to say something in your post, do not post a new one, just use the edit button to revise and add to your existing comments.
8) Spamming, flaming, and off topic remarks in any Forum will not be tolerated. Same goes for product or site commercials, unless permitted by the administrators or by a Forum section (i.e. Useful links). Members that obviously spam and fill the forum with trash only to raise their rank will be punished with 0 post counts.
9) Create new topics in the right section. If you see a topic that belongs in another section, just report it to a moderator to move it to the right section.
10) Respect the moderators. The moderators reserve the rights to close, re-title, split, or otherwise adjust the format of the discussion topics to help keep them on track and within the expected rules of conduct for the TWC community. Moderators are here to help ensure that all topics remain open to support participation by all site users.
11) Never create a topic to contact with another member. Use the Personal messages for this.
12) Do not make posts on this forum in languages other than English. Discussion in other languages is an issue currently being reviewed by the staff. This rule extends to posts that make use of significant numbers of cryptic internet notations or ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
13) Respect fellow members and remember what your mother taught you, thank people for favors...or else
14) Do not make posts promoting racism or social/religious intolerance. You may discuss the implications and causes of these issues but do not allow discussion of other topics to be sidetracked by inserting comments on these sensitive issues into other topics. Discussions in these areas that fail to remain civil and on topic will be closed by the moderators with considerably less latitude than might be given to other topics
Legislation Act
Any Civitate is able to present a Bill provided that his motion is supported by at least three other Civitates, including one Patrician, Magistrates or Senatorii Vechii. The proposal must first be posted in the Prothalamos for discussion, which does not require named support, for at least one week. If during this week the required support is obtained for a Bill, and all named supporters confirm they agree the Bill can be moved straight to a vote, then the proposer can request that the Syntagma Curator moves the Bill to a vote immediately.
Should it instead be judged that more time is needed for debate on the subject, or that the debate is active, and moving the Bill would be premature, the progression to voting of the Bill may be delayed at the discretion of the Syntagma Curator until such time as it has remained in the Prothalamos for one month or a majority consensus appears to have been reached by debating parties, again, at the Magistrates discretion. At this time the Bill shall be moved to the Vote in its decided draft form. If the Syntagma Curator decides to delay the vote on a Bill beyond one month, then this decision is subject to staff ratification in the same way as a staff veto.
If the Syntagma Curator wishes to sponsor or support a Bill, their duties will be delegated to a staff member of the Syntagma Curator's choosing.
Curia Votes Act
Once moved to vote, an Amendment Bill shall be voted on over a two-week period and an Act of Law Bill shall be voted on over a one-week period. All Bills will be required to run for the full duration so that all Civitates may be able to vote if they so wish.
An Amendment Bill shall pass on the basis of a two-thirds majority in favor, while an Act of Law Bill shall require only a simple majority. Abstentions are not considered when determining whether a Bill has achieved the required proportion of voters. If any Bill fails a vote, no revote on a substantially similar bill will be permitted for twenty-eight days unless the Triumvirate unanimously supports it.
Act of Law Bills may be passed to change any existing Act of Law or to enact new restrictions, ranks, procedures, or anything else not dealt with by the Syntagma. Amendment Bills shall be permitted to change any portion of the Syntagma.
The Staff Veto Act
The Triumvirate and Prefects, in agreement have the power of veto over legislation. If a bill is vetoed, it may not be put up for a vote, and any ongoing votes on it are to be closed. Discussion on the bill may continue indefinitely, and new versions of the bill may be proposed for approval, but any new version of a bill is subject to any vetoes of older versions unless otherwise stated by one or more of the vetoing staff.
While a bill is under discussion in the Prothalamos (or if necessary, once a final draft has been proposed for voting), any number of senior staff may post in the relevant discussion thread expressing their desire to exercise a veto and stating a reason for said veto. If either all Consuls or all available Prefects post this in the discussion thread for a given bill at any time before voting on the bill closes, the bill is vetoed.
If a Prefect is absent for a three-day period and their decision can not be obtained, the remaining Prefects may still veto a bill if acting unanimously. This principle does not apply to the Triumvirate, if one member is inactive, the others can postpone a vote until the third is available, or ask the prefects to veto as above. If less than 3 prefects are available as well, and a veto is wanted by staff, then the vote is postponed until enough staff of either group are online to give a legitimate veto. It is expected that staff members will participate actively in Prothalamos debates to resolve any issues they may have in advance.
Secret Ballots Act
To the extent made possible by the forum software, no member will be able to view the results of a poll in the Curia until he has voted in the poll or it has closed.
If the forum software cannot reasonably be modified to prohibit viewing of poll results by any given member, that member, is hereby obliged on their honour as a Civitates not to view the results of any poll in the Curia he has not voted in unless necessary for the execution of any duties he may have to the site.
The Civitates Act
Any member (with 100 posts or more and) deemed to be a contributing member in good standing may be nominated and patronized by Magistrates, Senatorii, Patrician, or Cohortes Praetorio. Any members who directly request said status (by posting asking to be nominated) will be denied it outright. The Magistrates will review the prospective Civitates posts and vote for their possible ascendancy into Civitate status. The vote will be in the form of a majority, and upon approval the new Civitate will hold all rights as granted by letters patent, a vote in the Curia and a voice in His Forum.
The possible Civitate will then be asked to explain in detail and in his own words, his duties and privileges as a Civitate in PM form to any Consul or Prefect. Even if the vote passes, if his explanation is not satisfactory he will be denied the post. If within 240 hours of his promotion, said Civitate is found wanting, that is, conducting himself contrary to the principles of his post, he can be immediately demoted.
Basic Civitates are marked as 'Civitates'
The Patricians Act
Any Civitate that remains in good standing with no official warnings (successful appeals to the Imperator and consuls are not considered warnings) after three months active tenure can be elevated to the level of Patrician by sending a PM to a Consul asking for this change. The Staff will then review the application and vote on the change to status. Any Patrician that receives a warning will lose the right to patronize new Civitates for two month duration, unless the warning is overturned by appealing to the Imperator and consuls. If a Patrician fails to make a worthwhile patronage three times, he can be demoted to basic Civitate status if the Triumvirate is in agreement.
Patricians are marked as 'Patricians'
The Senatorii Act
The Senatorii represent some of the oldest founding members and ex-staff of the TWC community. Any Consul, Praetor, Praefecti Praetorio, or Quaestor who leaves office honorably will join the ranks of the Senatorii.
The Patronization Act
Any Patrician, Senatorii, Cohortes Praetorio or Magistrates can patronize new Civitates. Each is allowed to initially patronize six members, and then one member per month. The Patron must review the member before recommending him; he must then send a PM to any Magistrate with a paragraph saying why he wants to patronize the member and also a paragraph by the member stating he will abide by the rules of the constitution. When a Civitates is proposed, their name should be posted by their would-be patron in a special thread in the Curia intended for that purpose. All members of the site who have specific posts by the nominee that they think are relevant to the vote (either for good or bad, brilliant exposition or flame) should then PM them to staff, who would post them in the nomination thread in the staff forum. About three days after the name is proposed in the Curia, the vote in the staff forum will be opened and, if the member achieves a 2/3 majority he will be promoted to Civitates and receive a PM. The majority depends on the amount of active Magistrates.
Global Moderation Act
For the purposes of the Triumvirate section of the Syntagma a Global Moderator is someone who wielded Praetor powers under the old Republic of the 1st to 3rd Triumvirate, or someone who wielded Prefect Powers under the 4th Triumvirate, or someone who has been a site administrator.
The Triumvirate Act
Throughout the Syntagma, and all Laws, the term triumvirate, or the plural use of the word consul unless otherwise specified, shall mean the Imperator and both Consuls acting together.
:sweatingb 
What do you mean? I can check the results of a curia poll before I vote, at least the option is there, I don't click it because the Syntagma tells me I shouldn't, but I am quite sure I could.
Smooth buddy, smooth. Must be cause your a scot... 
