Mass Effect Wiki:Chat Policies

Mass Effect Wiki's live chat can be joined by clicking the "Join the Chat" button in the right navigation rail or visiting Special:Chat on the wiki. Editors using the Monobook skin have to append [ "?useskin=wikia"] to the end of the URL if they want to use this feature.

Grounds for blocking
Users who are clearly disruptive to the chat or who fail to behave appropriately towards other contributors may be blocked. The possible reasons for blocking include (but are not limited to):
 * 1) Personal attacks, bigotry and/or racist or sexist name calling.
 * 2) Harassment and/or sexual harassment.
 * 3) Extreme use of profanity/cursing or directing it towards another user is not permitted.
 * 4) Violation of personal privacy. This includes revealing personal information about users (e.g. real name, location, age, gender, etc) and violating confidentiality on particular issues (such as issues asked to be kept confidential by other users or administrators).
 * 5) Linking to external sources, such as websites, which violate the aforementioned rules. Notably, publicly linking to websites such as Facebook or MySpace that violate personal privacy, is not permitted without prior consent from the user whose privacy might be violated.
 * 6) Trolling or general irritation or disruption of other users. This often includes, but is not limited to; excessive usage of capital letters, punctuation marks, deliberate distortions of the English language (such as "133t" or "Dolan" speak), and excessive usage of non-English languages.
 * 7) Disruptive behavior. As a guideline, don't go out of your way to irritate others. (And especially do not try to test the admin's and/or chat moderator's patience and/or limits.) Vicious abuse is grounds for sanctions.
 * 8) Whining. Users who ask for something from another chat user and are refused it should not stoop to complaining. It is acceptable to be persistent, but in a mature manner.
 * 9) Discussing real-world politics and/or religion without unanimous consent. If someone doesn't want to talk about them, drop the subject.
 * 10) Spamming. The meaning should be obvious. Don't say the same thing six times because no one is responding to you. Don't keep yammering on about a subject nobody cares about. Meaningless and/or random posts can also be considered spam, alongside disruptive internet memes.

Caps
The usage of capital letters and caps lock is frowned upon. Using capital letters to write a word or a whole entry is typically perceived as yelling.

Using excessive capital letters once will often result in a courtesy warning by an administrator or chat moderator, and persistent usage of capital letters may lead to a kick or ban, depending on severity.

Topics of discussion
Discussions in the Chat are to be related in some way to either the Mass Effect universe, the wiki, or Mass Effect fan-fiction. Topics of conversation that are not related to Mass Effect are considered off-topic discussions.

Off-topic discussions are allowed to a degree, but if they become disruptive or the off-topic discussion continues, then it is the duty of people in the chat and moderators to turn the topic back to something Mass Effect related.

Topics that are tangentially related to Mass Effect, like video games, video game related materials, or topics about Video Games, are permitted to a degree, but it shouldn’t dominate the chat.

Continuous off topic discussions will not be permitted and if someone keeps pushing off-topic discussions, they will be subject to warnings or bans.

Consequences
Moderators have a wide discretion relating to the issuing of warnings and bans which infringe on this rule.

The content of messages will greatly impact on the severity of the punishment. In certain particular cases, exceptions may be permitted, although these are infrequent.

Typically, the following hierarchy will apply to infringements on the above regulations (with the exception of specifically implied consequences).


 * First offense: Warning
 * Second offense: Kick

Following this, the block duration is usually:
 * Two weeks for the first offense
 * One month for the second offense
 * Two months for the third offense
 * Any additional offenses may result in a longer or permanent ban.

These are just guidelines for usual cases. Blocks and their duration are generally up to the discretion of Mass Effect Wiki's administrators and chat moderators.

Further offenses will result in an extended ban, at the discretion of the administrator or chat moderator administering the ban.

Administrator and chat moderators use their discretion when applying these rules, and understanding of the rules depends on the moderator's perception of the rules. Particular exceptions may be granted by specific administrator, or chat moderator approval. These rules and regulations, however, should be followed strictly by all users at all other times.

When you enter the chat, you are expected to have prior knowledge of all these rules. Ignorance of these rules is not an excuse as they cover common courtesy to others.

Chat Moderators
Chat Moderators are users who are appointed by the admin team to moderate the Chat feature. They are expected to be and remain professional at all times and to enforce the rules regarding Chat, which are listed below. If they are themselves violating the policy, then users are expected to report this action. Chat Moderators have the ability to block users from Chat, with consequences listed below.

Bureaucrats and Administrators reserve the right to amend or overturn chat blocks at any time. Chat moderators will be chosen by the Bureaucrats and Admins and require unanimous approval for selection.

In terms of the Wiki hierarchy, chat moderators fall below Senior Editors, which fall below Administrators, which in turn fall below Bureaucrats.

List of Moderators
Below is a list of Chat Moderators. You can contact them at any time for assistance or contact one of the Administrators or Bureaucrats for assistance.