This post is to help Zcash Community Forum participants understand how the moderators approach the Code of Conduct.
Regarding who is a Moderator:
The Zcash Foundation bears legal responsibility for maintaining this forum and appoints moderation staff as needed.
Our Moderators:
@shawn who is Lead Moderator of the forums supported via independent contract @dodger who works for Zcash Foundation @decentralistdan who works for ECC.
As the community grows, so will moderation needs and we are open to identifying committed individuals to join as community volunteers. Feel free to message the moderators if you would like to be considered for a position. Likewise, feel free to message any of the moderators if you are experiencing difficulty with a moderator in particular.
Regarding how the rules are applied
As moderators we have responsibility to also follow the Code of Conduct guidelines and apply them fairly and consistently. Moderators will strive to make the Zcash Community Forum a diverse community that is open to a wide range of perspectives and opinions from everyone who has an interest in Zcash, regardless of who you are or where you come from.
The community’s role in moderation
We encourage the community to help the moderation team by using the forum software tools to keep our community tidy. Anyone can flag a post that they believe is off-topic (or otherwise in breach of the forum’s Code of Conduct by clicking on the three dots under the post…
…then clicking on the flag…
…and specifying why you’re flagging the post:
Flagged posts are added to a moderation queue for @moderators and I to review.
Depending on the Trust Level of the user flagging the post, it may be immediately/automatically hidden, pending review by the moderators.
Keep in mind just because your post has been flagged by the community it does not mean that an action has been taken against your account
Regarding the Three Step process
As moderators we have responsibility to also follow the Community Guidelines and apply them fairly and consistently.
With that in mind we have worked out a three-step process for applying the Community Guidelines:
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Step 1: If a user is acting in a way that directly violates the Code of Conduct a moderator will send the user a private message (PM) politely asking them to change their post or stop their behavior. In addition to a PM the moderator may post a public notification in the original or another thread notifying the user what the violation was. The moderator who sends the message to a user also informs the rest of the moderators (via private channels) that a warning has been sent and why.
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Step 2: After a moderator has posted a warning to a user for behavior (Step 1). If the same moderator or another moderator observes that the user is continuing the same behavior they were already warned about, then that moderator has the discretion to suspend a user’s account for up to two weeks. The length of time chosen is up to the individual moderator depending on how severe they feel the second infraction is and that moderator will notify the other moderators of the Step 2 suspension.
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Step 3: If the “Step 2” suspension period passes (regardless of which time duration was chosen by the individual moderator) and a user violates the Code of Conduct a third time then a full month or permanent ban can be decided. If by chance a user is given a full month suspension on their third step instead of a ban, and that user comes back and violates the Community Guidelines again in any way then it is automatically a permanent ban.
The above process does not apply to egregious Community Guideline violations like spamming, racism, threats of violence, harassment, or bias based on a user’s sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or nationality. Moderators who observe such behavior can immediately permanent-ban that user, and have the responsibility to notify the rest of the moderation team. Attempts to bypass the moderation process by creating “sock puppet” accounts, or a new account by the same person after a previous ban, are also cause for an immediate ban of the new or sock-puppet account(s).
Overall, we feel that Forum users and moderators should strive to be kind, respectful, and interesting. Ideally, our presence in the community should improve the experience for everyone.
We all have one thing in common: we would not be here working, commenting, posting funny memes, debating each other, etc., if we didn’t believe in some aspects of the bigger picture of Zcash and what it represents. Zcash is more than a Company or Foundation — it’s a way for good people to transact safely over digital mediums in a world where Privacy and individual freedoms seem to be ever-shrinking. We should all strive to make this Forum a reflection of the greater good.
Please feel free to contact the moderation team anytime by tagging @moderators or any moderator’s username.
