Adding section to Rules and Procedure for Elections for Administrators

[Janus the Fox]

Due to our committent to make our elected groups more transparent, we have added a section to our Rules and Procedure for Elections to include our formal procedure for Admin Elections as requested and discussed.

 

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Rules and Procedure for Admin Elections

 

Timing of elections

Elections will begin with nominations as and when required and will last for four days.

The Q&A will follow and run for another four days. No questions will be allowed after this time in the Q&A thread but may be asked via PM.

Afterwards, voting will begin and last for four days.

 

Who can Vote

All elected staff can vote in these elections.

 

Voting

Administrator elections will be done as a vote of confidence (Yes/No/Abstain for each candidate), and the candidate with the highest Yes votes will be elected to the position for which they're running. In the event that there is a tie for Yes votes, the candidate with fewer No votes will win. In the event that the candidates are tied in both Yes votes and No votes, a run-off vote will be held where staff members will choose between the tied candidates so that only one is elected. If no candidate gets more Yes votes than No votes, the election will be considered to have no winner and we start the election again, until a winner is found.

 

Nominations: who is eligible

As of our policy "Admin positions", only elected and currently sitting Moderators can run for an Administrator position.  As of our Policy "Experience requirements for Admin nominations" Moderators must have 6 months currently as a sitting Mod and a total of 12 months experience in any elected staff position, meaning that experience as a Declassification Team Member or a Project Team Member counts towards this 12 month total. Ideally, an Administrator would be already registered on the site for 6 months or more, and have 100 or more posts on the forums - outside of Just For Fun, AVEN Arcade and Welcome Lounge - before taking on any elected staff position.

 

Administrators must maintain a clean warning and nudge record that doesn't disqualify an elected staff member from staff groups for their entire period of eligibility.

 

All candidates must submit a bio to the election Admin (Kelly) before the voting period starts, otherwise they will be disqualified.

 

Eligibility of Former Team Members

If an Administrator is warned, they are automatically relieved of their position. In the event a staff member is found to be irresponsible and is removed from their position, they will be barred from running in any staff position for the same time period as if they had received their first active warning, starting from the day they are removed from their position.

 

In the event that an Administrator resigns or shuffles into a Moderator position from their respective position, regardless of their reason for leaving, they cannot run in an Administrator election for their respective (Reports/E-Mail/Accounts/Elections/LoA/Policy/Project/Chat) Admin role until their vacated position is filled. In the event that an Administrator resigns without shuffling to a Moderator position, regardless of their reason for leaving, they cannot run in a Moderator election until a new Moderator is elected to the vacated position left from the outgoing Administrator. A vacated position is defined as an unoccupied AVEN role, created by the resignation of an Administrator, Moderator, PT member or DT member. Furthermore, the position will not be considered filled if roles are shuffled around before an election.

 

Nominations: how to run

Moderator members run by putting their name forward in the official nomination thread. There is only one Administrator position run at a time.

 

Campaigning rules and restrictions

As Administrator elections are done in the Admods Only Forum, there's no campaigning in any capacity.

 

Elected staff members are not allowed to post baseless and harmful accusations and/or rumours about any candidates in the election thread or anywhere else inside or outside the Admods Only Forum. This is covered by our rules against slander/libel and personal attacks in the Terms of Service, which protect all members.

 

Should an elected staff member contravene this rule, their post(s) in that thread will be removed, and existing Administrators and BoD will discuss disciplinary action. This includes nudging, warning or temporary chat bans and could lead to that elected staff member being removed from their duties. If an elected staff member is removed, a regular nomination and election cycle will start to replace them, respective of that vacated role.

 

The aim of these changes is to hold all Administrators to account and thoroughly make sure the new Administrator is able and trustworthy to fulfil the many complex tasks and duties, as well as having access to powerful Administrator Control Panel settings that can ultimately seriously damage AVEN Forums.

 

The Q&A portion of the Administrator election runs differently from Moderator/Declass/Project Team Q&A, as staff already know the member and they are usually very active as a regular member. It's important to keep in mind however, that the candidates should answer as many or as few questions as they like, these questions are usually specific to that role, general Admin tasks and to find a demonstrable level of leadership. Candidates are not required to answer questions, particularly if any should make them uncomfortable. Any elected staff member can privately PM a prospective Administrator questions to answer.

 

Campaign Resource

Some suggestions for the bio requirement have been added as a campaign resource. These guidelines are basic. Candidates are not required to use these suggestions, but might find them useful if they are unsure what to include in the bio or are experiencing writer's block. Candidates may feel free to be creative with the bio and do whatever they feel is best for their campaign.

 

What you might want to include in a bio:

• Your motivation for running
• Why you're interested in this Administrator role and general Administration
• Specific skills you have for the position
• Any current or previous experience you have, any existing elected staff position experiences past and present and off-AVEN
• Something about yourself that elected staff don't know about you.

Average length: 4-6 short paragraphs