Failure to start a dialogue, confusion surrounding the appeal processes

[MaxwellHouseCoffee]

BryanR
MaxwellHouseCoffee

7/5/200

Nature of complaint: Just a little feedback of player to admin interaction

Relevant ban Appeals for any bans related to this complaint:

Brief description: So i got banned and was trying to start the process of appealing to become unbanned, and the admin overseeing my case read my short appeal extended the ban time and then closed the appeal, without the opportunity to respond.

Full description of events:

So while i dont for sure know if this case warrants a full complaint, but ive been waiting to appeal for an unbanning for multiple weeks and i took a bit of time last night to put in the starting post last night in the hopes i could get a line of discord going with a admin due to the situation surrounding the ban (the admin who banned me is retired, and i had some confusion as to the direct nature of why i was banned as the stated reasons while pertinent were not wholly clear, and the time span of the ban wasn't definitive). 

I want to reiterate i was hoping to be able to talk with an admin about the ban in the appeal because i was confused as what to put and had literally no way to contact the banning admin about this so i kept my the portion of appeal top the appeal itself exceptionally short just stating the fact that the original allotted time may or may not have passed and i was trying to get an appeal process started.

So this morning i check my mail to see if i got a response of some nature and receive this.

"Yeah it has. See you in another few weeks. Hopefully you put more effort into that appeal than you did in this one. Appeal Declined. You may not submit a new appeal until July 20th."

So not great, much more direct and not nearly as ethereal with the time frame which i appreciate, but its certainly not what i was expecting or hoping for seeing as i just wanted to talk with someone about this for more than a single message. I admit i did not send a wall of text for the appeal line, but im not sure what all i need to appeal and do much better with a conversation versus stating case.

Ive had conversations with admins about bans before so this alone makes me feel left out to dry, as again i have to wait to reappeal my case which im again im not sure how to go about doing due to the nature of ban.

 I feel talking about this with someone would be nice, and i have messaged the the admin involved but getting another set of eyes on this would be nice.

-Maxwellhousecoffee

[BryanR]

Admin's version of events: As Administrators we handle several appeals, most of them ours, some of them rarely the appeals of fellow administrators should they be unable to handle them in a timely manner or who have stepped down from the position as an administrator. In this instance I was handling an appeal that was submitted in which the banning administrator had stepped down.

Admin's reasoning for actions: The entire appeal consisted of this line.

Quote

YOUR APPEAL: it has been a few weeks so i figured id see if i can get an appeal through

To me it comes off as a low effort appeal in which the individual who is submitting it is seeing whether or not they can be un-banned. There's no acknowledgement of wrong doing on behalf of the user, explanation behind actions, or even presentation of facts in how the administrator may have placed the ban in error. I do not expect walls of text but I do expect at least some indication of more than "Hey, I've been banned for X amount of time. Trying to see if I can get un-banned."

I know I personally would've been more receptive to the appeal itself if one or more questions were posed if there was confusion about the process and would've responded to clarify this as well as potentially continue with the appeal process once you had an understanding of what was expected in the appeal. Even contacting staff via forum PMs or Discord DMs we're able to answer and clarify things regarding different structures of our server and community should it be needed. It is in fact one of our duties.

The thought process behind making you wait another two weeks is two fold. Its to prevent rapid re-submission of appeals that are declined as well as to see whether or not the individual themselves who posted a low effort appeal actually care enough about the community to wish to rejoin it. Low effort appeals are one of the many signs in my eyes of an individual who doesn't care enough about the problem that has cropped up with them that they're more likely to become an issue in the future. Even then, there have been times where I've been contacted by individuals who have explained the situation to me and asked for the time restriction lifted to which I've acquiesced.

As stated by the player in the complaint they have contacted me on the forums in PM, however in the interest of transparency and the fact that a complaint for review by a Head Administrator has been submitted there was no dialog about the situation.

Acknowledgement of wrongdoing or disputing of:

I do not believe that the method or the actions in which I handled the appeal were improper. I am, however, willing to in this case forego the time restriction of two weeks that I had placed upon submitting a new appeal and allow them to submit another appeal for review pending the judgement of the Head Administrator who handles this.

Edited July 7, 2020 by BryanR

[necaladun]

Hi there, sorry for the delay in responding to this.

Looking over the appeals you posted, I don't see much leading to a dialogue or really an attempt to appeal. You state you'd like to appeal, but that's really all you say. An appeal really should be more than just saying you want to appeal - it generally requires an acknowledgement of broken rules, and something to convince us you will not break them again upon returning. This should be done in the first post of the appeal - reading the accepted appeal board is a good way to see examples of what we're looking for.

" it has been a few weeks so i figured id see if i can get an appeal through" is not doing that at all. All it's really doing is wasting admin time, which is why the time to post again was extended - it makes sure you actually make a thought out and proper appeal that doesn't waste the admins time. 

As it is with a dialogue, if you want to start one, more than just a poor attempt at an appeal is needed. The simplest way is to PM the admin you wish to talk to as you eventually did.

 

This should hopefully clear things up and requires no further action - PMing the admin in question if you have any further question's is a-ok.