How do infractions "expire"?

Chaotic_Forces

See, a mod who gave me an infraction closer her acount. During the time the infraction would have expired, I was site-banned.

But the infraction was only lasting seven days and even though it still says that it expired, it's still under my account. Wouldn't expire mean it's gone entirely? Or do they all stay on your account?

sceptre

Hi there. They expire. But there's a record kept on the account. But only you yourself and moderators can see it after it expires.

Chaotic_Forces

sceptre wrote: »

Hi there. They expire. But there's a record kept on the account. But only you yourself and moderators can see it after it expires.

But in that case doesn't it mean (assuming I get an infraction once per month ((for example))) that I will have several of them building up and as such would be punished as though they are still active since they never are gone?

Zaph

No. Each infraction is worth 1 point, and once you hit 9 points the system will automatically siteban you for a week. However the default setting is that each infraction point expires after 10 days, so in reality you'd need to get 9 infractions within 10 days to be automatically banned, as the first infraction point will be gone on the 11th day. However the record of the infraction remains on your profile and is visible to you and mods. Of course if you were misbehaving to the extent that you would rack up 9 points in 10 days the likelihood is that an admin would step in and ban you anyway without waiting for the system to do it.

Chaotic_Forces

Ah, I see. So despite the fact that infractions are till visible, they aren't taken into account when deciding punishment? If this is true, is the dispute resolution also for allowing me to dispute the fact that I believe I was being punished as if I had more infractions active that I actually have?

Zaph

Each warning/infraction/ban should be able to stand on its own merits. That said, if a poster has a history of causing trouble in a particular forum, it's only natural that their past record will be taken into account when deciding on the latest punishment in that forum. For example, you can't expect to get away with just an infraction if you've already racked up half a dozen of them and a 1 week ban in the same forum. In a case like that a longer ban is appropriate.

Similarly, admins will sometimes temporarily siteban someone on the basis of their cumulative infraction record if it looks like they're just not getting it and they need a bit of a stronger reminder to behave in future.

Chaotic_Forces

Ah, no. I understand how the forums work in that regard. But my infraction was in the education forum, I think. But if, for example, I had (somehow) gotten a total of 5 and a ban would be the next step and all 5 infractions expired and I got banned on another forum (completely unrelated to the forum I got the first 5 expired infractions on), would I be able to appeal it on the basis I should have just been given an infraction or is the appealing process only for appealing that you shouldn't have been punished at all?

Zaph

As I said, each mod action should be able to stand on its own merits. If you picked up a ban under those circumstances it would be because the mod believed that it was the appropriate action (you can be banned from a forum without ever having been infracted there if your actions were serious enough). Obviously the mod should be able to demonstrate that what you did was serious enough to warrant a ban should you start a thread in the DRF. It's extremely unlikely that the mod would have looked at your past record before banning you, what you do on other forums is really only relevant when it comes to category or site bans. As for the DRF itself, it's there so that any mod actions can be challenged, so you could argue against receiving a ban if you felt an infraction was really all that was deserved.

Chaotic_Forces

Zaph wrote: »

As I said, each mod action should be able to stand on its own merits. If you picked up a ban under those circumstances it would be because the mod believed that it was the appropriate action (you can be banned from a forum without ever having been infracted there if your actions were serious enough). Obviously the mod should be able to demonstrate that what you did was serious enough to warrant a ban should you start a thread in the DRF. It's extremely unlikely that the mod would have looked at your past record before banning you, what you do on other forums is really only relevant when it comes to category or site bans. As for the DRF itself, it's there so that any mod actions can be challenged, so you could argue against receiving a ban if you felt an infraction was really all that was deserved.

I understand everything but what does a "DRF" mean?

Zaph

DRF = Dispute Resolution Forum