Disciplinary Policy

TSB prefers to re-educate and enforce positive behavior, however this does not always carry the desired effect. We like to enforce the rules as much as you like to be punished, let us put that myth aside first and foremost.

When, if and how to enforce the rules is stipulated in this policy. All members are subject to this policy; Patreons, donors and officers are not exempt from the rules in any way.

Severity

We recognize there is a difference between minor and major infractions of the rules, and that these should be handled differently.

1. MINOR infractions of the Code of Conduct, or “accidental” missteps are usually dealt with by means of warnings (See: 3-strikes system). However a time-out may be given depending on the circumstances.
2. MAJOR infractions of the Code of Conduct, such as premeditated infractions (willingly and knowingly), result in an immediate time-out of a pre-determined period.

TSB “3 Strikes” rules

For minor infractions, we prefer warnings, however experience has taught us that those warnings are usually not taken seriously, and “forgotten” after a while. Lessons are not always immediately learned.

1. When a minor infraction has been caught, the offender may be given a (verbal) warning.
   1. This warning needs to include “This is an official warning and will be recorded.” or a notice of a similar intent.
2. All official warnings need to be registered in the forums (!) by placing a warning on the offender, the offender will be notified of this as well.
   1. Warnings need to be added to the forums WITHIN 24 hours of the transgression, or the warning is VOID.
   2. The warnings on the forum need to include DATE, TIME and DESCRIPTION of the transgression; The more details the better.
   3. This warning will remain on the offender for 365 days from the moment it was registered after which the warning will be voided automatically.
   4. All warnings received in the last 365 days count towards the 3-strikes.
   5. Warnings are only given if no time-out was given and vice versa. You will not be punished twice for the same offence.
   6. Offenders will not be warned twice within 24 hours for the same offence either; as they are made aware of their infraction the first time, the second time is a mandatory time-out because they continue the action(s) willingly and knowingly. As such it is no longer a minor infraction.
3. If a person has reached his 3rd warning, the Council members need to be informed and they will impose a time-out based on the transgressions.
4. You have the right to appeal a warning, but only if you have sufficient evidence.
   1. Please refer to the Appeals section for more information.

Timeouts

We prefer to call “temporary bans” Time-outs, as we want to give members a chance to reflect on their behavior.

1. The first time-out is a mandatory 7 days, but may be as high as 30 days.
2. The second time-out is a mandatory 14 days, but may be as high as 90 days.
3. The third time out is a mandatory 30 days, but may be as high as 180 days.
4. If the last time out was over 365 days ago, then the count starts at zero (0) again.
5. If a member has accumulated another 3 strikes or a major transgression within a year of the third time-out, the member will be stripped of rank and dishonorably discharged from TSB. This also means that his gamer-tag will be blacklisted on our website never to be a member again.

Dishonorable Discharge

This is the most severe disciplinary action TSB can take, and we will not resort to this unless we have no alternative.

1. Only the TSB Council can issue a Dishonorable Discharge or “Permanent ban” to any member.
2. No moderator or admin is allowed to issue a DD to a member of TSB without prior permission of the Council, however with permission any staff member may (be asked to) do so.
3. The ONLY EXCEPTION is made to non-members such as impostors, spammers, recruiters or poachers that are not actual physical and verified members.
4. When a member is Dishonorably Discharged he/she is stripped of ALL ranks and privileges and is no longer allowed to use “TSB” either as a tag, group-name or advertise himself/herself as member of TSB.
5. Members who received a DD are listed on a blacklist page on the website.

Appeals

TSB is all about second chances and we proclaim to be fair and reasonable. As such members have the right to appeal their verdict before the Council.

1. Disciplinary action as well as appeals are based on the principle of “Reasonable doubt”; However in this case the burden of proof lies with the member that had actions taken against him/her to prove the disciplinary actions taken were invalid or incorrect.
2. If a Council member was involved in the dispute another council member will handle the appeal to have a fresh set of eyes look at both the action(s) taken as well as the evidence provided.
3. Submission of an appeal does not mean that your disciplinary action will be postponed; However the Council has the power to postpone any future disciplinary action during the appeal proceedings (This means they CAN, not that they WILL).
4. An appeal MUST be submitted within 7 days of the offence/warning/time-out being issued.
5. The Council has 30 days to investigate and respond.
6. The Council has 5 ways they can respond:
   1. Cleared of all charges – The Council has decided to expunge the warning/time-out from your record based on the evidence or lack thereof.
   2. Guilty with no changes – The Council has found the member guilty of the transgression beyond reasonable doubt and uphold the disciplinary action.
   3. Guilty with changes – The Council has found that the member is either guilty of the same offence or guilty of another offence and have either lowered or increased the imposed disciplinary action.
   4. Guilty but Inadmissible – The Council has found that the transgression took place outside of the scope of TSB and therefore the member cannot be disciplined for that within TSB.
   5. Appeal Declared Unfounded – The council has decided that the appeal has no (new) evidence presented before them and thus upholds all previous disciplinary actions.
7. During your appeal you need to provide sufficient evidence.
   1. We accept the following evidence, where applicable:
      1. unaltered screenshots or photo’s.
      2. raw video footage without cuts or edits.
      3. unaltered and unedited chat logs.
      4. Reliable witness statements of a non-involved person with a CLEAN record.
   2. We do NOT accept the following evidence under ANY circumstance:
      1. Altered or edited screenshots or photo’s.
      2. Edited/Cut video’s.
      3. Edited or altered chatlogs.
      4. Statements of a co-offender, a person involved in the incident or someone without a clean record himself/herself.
8. All evidence MUST be submitted at the time of the appeal, so make sure that you have all the evidence before you submit your appeal.
9. If an appeal is submitted, you cannot file another appeal until the first one has been closed, even if it is an unrelated case.
10. You cannot submit an appeal to an appeal; once the Council has reached their verdict, all appeals have been exhausted.

Appeals can ONLY be submitted using THIS form. Appeals submitted in any other way and/or incomplete appeals will be ignored.

Council exception

The TSB Council has the power and authority to change, update, alter and adjust the above policy (retroactively) without prior notification.