Judiciary Board Meeting Minutes

[kunoichi]

This thread is where we'll post the minutes of Judiciary Board meetings. Please read through them carefully, as there are some changes and new rules to bear in mind. Thanks.

JUDICIARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES – 02.11.06

Judges
Shinzui Subaru – 1st Judge [Saint]
Kinjo Akira – 2nd Judge, Intelligence Director [Kuno]
Jera Aljenicato – 3rd Judge [Koko]
Yasuragi Kyuui – 4th Judge [Kioh]
Muhyo Date – 5th Judge [Sai]
Kieru Shinsei – 6th Judge [Jei]

Alternates
Takesou Yonniyumi – Assistant to the 3rd Judge [Kish]
Fumihiko Hideki - Assistant to the 2nd Judge [Sho]

DECISIONS:

1. Plot missions:

• Missions must be finished or submitted incomplete by Saturday, Feb 18, to be eligible for grades. Please submit edited and color-coded missions to Wind by that date.

2. Grading:

• Captains will now grade their divisions and their partner captain and submit grades to Wind for his approval. He will then post an evaluation thread.

• All chapters, collabs, missions, etc. must have a posted word count.

• Put your division number in the title of your volumes. If you are posting a collab with someone outside your division, put both of your division numbers in the title.

• Wind will be providing a rubric for grading

-----> The rubric will include at least some focus on word count

• Collabs that are for the majority not relevant to a pre-existing, previously revealed plot, are outright ridiculous, smut/empty fluff, or are otherwise excessive and useless (things commonly defined as crack) will be worth 50% of a regular collab, or up to 75% for well-written, engaging crack.

-----> Crack collabs will no longer be counted towards UF.

3. New rules:

• No R-rated writing is to be posted on the forums.

• Guidelines (based on film classification board standards) are that writing with a restricted rating contains some or all of the following:

-----> Sexually explicit scenes. (Please note the definition of explicit as: "a) Fully and clearly expressed; leaving nothing implied, b) Describing or portraying nudity or sexual activity in graphic detail"),

-----> Graphic brutal violence, (where graphic is defined as "Described in vivid detail"),

-----> Intense horror and/or other disturbing scenes. (Please use your judgment regarding what’s likely to be disturbing),

-----> Frequent use of coarse language and swearing (This issue is only relevant if you insist on bypassing the forums’ curse blocker, which you shouldn't do).

• We would like to follow a three tier system for approaching writing that is R-rated. If you write something you suspect might cross the line:

-----> First come the rules of the forum: Run it by your grader. If they think it’s too R-rated for the forums, they can have you PM/IM it to them to be graded without being posted. Graders, please bear in mind the forum rules when deciding whether a work is appropriate for posting.

-----> Second come the rules of the grader: If the grader finds it offensive or too extreme, they can send it on to the judiciary board to review its ‘gradeability’.

-----> Third come the rules of the judiciary board: The judges will take it in turns to review the writing. If 3 of the 6 judges deem it bearable, the work will be graded, although the grader can request another captain to grade it. If more than 3 judges deem it excessively violent/sexually explicit/etc., it will not be graded.

-----> Please note: If you post an R-rated work on the forums after it has been deemed inappropriate for posting, it will not be graded. Depending on the level of offence, further action may be taken. Penalties are subject to change with notice.

• NPC strength will now be limited.

-----> An NPC list will be created in which NPCs must be registered.

-----> Each player may have up to 3 captain/ban kai level non-Gotei NPCs (non-Gotei includes all characters who are not currently in the Gotei).

-----> NPCs currently in the Gotei MAY NOT be captain/ban kai level.

-----> NPCs are limited to being up to 3 times the strength of the PC until the PC reaches captain level themselves, at which point gen kai must be taken into account for the NPC and their growth muted.

-----> As of now, all captain/ban kai level NPCs must be reviewed by the judiciary board and cleared by 4 of the 8 judges/alternates before they are registered. Likewise, all currently existing Shinno ban kai level NPCs must be reviewed by the judiciary board and be cleared by 4 of 8 before being registered. Members of the judiciary board cannot vote on their own NPCs.

[EDIT] If you would like to discuss any of these issues, please start a new thread in discussion. DO NOT POST HERE. Thanks again. ^^

[Kishyotai]

EMERGENCY JUDICIARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES – 02.18.06

Judges
Shinzui Subaru – 1st Judge [Saint]
Kinjo Akira – 2nd Judge, Intelligence Director [Kuno]
Jera Aljenicato – 3rd Judge [Koko]
Yasuragi Kyuui – 4th Judge [Kioh]
Muhyo Date – 5th Judge [Sai]
Kieru Shinsei – 6th Judge [Jei]

Alternates
Takesou Yonniyumi – Assistant to the 3rd Judge [Kish]
Fumihiko Hideki - Assistant to the 2nd Judge [Sho]

DECISIONS:

1. Plot Missions

1.a Classifying Plot missions:

• As per the 02.11.06 decision, all plot missions should be posted by 1:01 AM EST, 02.19.06, or the End of Week 44. Missions that are not copmleted by this time will be considered 'Incomplete'. All missions completed by this time will be considered 'Finished'.

1.b Grading Plot Missions

• All 'Finished' plot missions will be graded for all participants out of 800, with a 100% grade.

• All 'Incomplete' plot missions will be graded different. All participants who finished their contributions to the missions will be graded out of 800, with a 100% grade. Those who didn't finish their contribution to the mission will receieve a -10% penalty, giving a max of 720.

-----> Actions against those parties who have not completed the Plot Missions by the End of Week 45 will be determined by the Judicial Board.

Note - All decisions are final

[Kishyotai]

EMERGENCY JUDICIARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES – 02.21.06

Judges

Shinzui Subaru – 1st Judge [Saint]
Kinjo Akira – 2nd Judge, Intelligence Director [Kuno]
Jera Aljenicato – 3rd Judge [Koko]
Yasuragi Kyuui – 4th Judge [Kioh]
Muhyo Date – 5th Judge [Sai]
Kieru Shinsei – 6th Judge [Jei]

Alternates
Takesou Yonniyumi – Assistant to the 3rd Judge [Kish]
Fumihiko Hideki - Assistant to the 2nd Judge [Sho]

DECISIONS:

1. Authority

• Due to recent events, the Central 46 Judicial Board has opted to ensure that their authority concerning very volatile events. As such, a new disciplinary system has been instituted.

NEW SYSTEM -
- If a Member is seen disputing or disobeying any rulings by the C46, then they will be given a WARNING. A warning is constitued as a private contact within BF that makes specific references to the offence and details what was wrong with the action.

- A Member will be given one more warning if seen disobeying or not respecting a ruling by the C46.

- Following two warnings, a Member's participation in the RP will be terminated. This termination is final, but up to contesting (which is detailed below). Administrators of Bf or Moderators may take further action beyond these stated consequences. An E-mail to the Member (provided one is available) will be sent to the Member stating the two previous occurances and with an adequate Warning of the third instance.

CONTESTING A RULING -
- If a Member recieves a Warning that they feel does not ouline what has been done wrong, they should keep it and show it to a Judge. The Judge will then bring it up at the nexty available meeting. The Judicial Board will then rule on whether it was an effective Warning or not. Two outcomes may occur:

1 - The Warning is upheld because the Judicial Board feels it adequately explained everything.

2 - The Warning will be revoked because the Judicial Board feels it was inadeuqate.

Revoked Warnings do not count towards the 'Warn Warn Ban', and are considered null and void.

Bannings may be contested if their content was not adeuqate enough in a similar way to a Warning. However, if a ban is found not adequate, the two previous Warnings remain in the Member's record.

2. Mission Statements

• Onimitsu Kidou - Organization dedicated to retrieving intellegence on parties external of the Gotei 13. Additionally,the Onimitsu Kidou has no power towards the affairs of the Keigun.
  
• Gotei 13 - Organization dedicated to the defense of Soul Society, including but not limited to Seireitei and Rukongai. Such defense may include offensive measures against malicious parties. Additionally, the Gotei 13 has no power towards the affairs of neither the Onimitsu Kidou nor the Keigun.
  
• Keigun - Organization dedicated to retrieving intellegence on internal parties that may be or are already malicious towards the Gotei 13. Additionally, the Kegun has no power towards the affairs of the Onimitsu Kidou.

Note - All decisions are final

[Kishyotai]

I apologize, these should have been posted before.

JUDICIARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES – 02.20.06

Judges
Shinzui Subaru – 1st Judge [Saint]
Kinjo Akira – 2nd Judge, Intelligence Director [Kuno]
Jera Aljenicato – 3rd Judge [Koko]
Yasuragi Kyuui – 4th Judge [Kioh]
Muhyo Date – 5th Judge [Sai]
Kieru Shinsei – 6th Judge [Jei]

Alternates
Takesou Yonniyumi – Assistant to the 3rd Judge [Kish]
Fumihiko Hideki - Assistant to the 2nd Judge [Sho]

DECISIONS:

1. Increased Kai Requirements

• The requirement for attaining Shi Kai has been changed to 1,000 Connecion
• The requirement for attaining Ban Kai has been changed to 10,000 Connection
• The requirement for attaining Shinno Ban Kai has been changed to 20,000 Connection
• The requirement for attaining Kyoushou Ban Kai has been changed to 30,000 Connection

--->If a PC already has a Kai, they cannot be forced to give up that Kai, by resealing or any other means. However, if a PC does not meet the new requirements and keeps the Kai, they may not have the elevated strength that comes with the new requirements.
--->Zanpaku staff will be meeting in order to discuss new powers attributed by new requirements.

2. Grading

• Despite the rather new grading system, extraneous delays hold up the entire RP. Therefore, a system has been instituted. Captains must have their grades in by 12:01 AM EST Wednesday of that week (assuming the week ends on a Sunday, as normal) or a -10% is tacked onto their next grade.
  ---> For each week this Captain misses in succession, another -10% is added (So, if they miss it two weeks in a row, that’s -20%).
  ---> When a Captain misses that grading deadline, the responsibility is passed down the available chain of command with the deadline of the end of the current week for grades.
• Captains can now designate their VC’s to do grading and avoid the penalty.
  ---> At this point, the penalty for late grades is shifted down to whoever is grading
  ---> If the VC is unavailable, the grading responsibility is passed down the chain of available command

3. Plot Missions

• Any Plot Missions not completed by the end of Week 45 will be worth 500 for those still not finished contributing to their Division’s Mission.
• Any Plot Missions not completed by the end of Week 46 will be worth 200 for those still not finished contributing to their Division’s Mission. That is the lowest it will go.

Note – All decisions are final

[kunoichi]

sorry, i really meant to post them last night.

JUDICIARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES – 03.12.06

Judges
Shinzui Subaru – 1st Judge [Saint]
Kinjo Akira – 2nd Judge, Intelligence Director [Kuno]
Jera Aljenicato – 3rd Judge [Koko]
Yasuragi Kyuui – 4th Judge [Kioh]
Muhyo Date – 5th Judge [Sai]
Kieru Shinsei – 6th Judge [Jei]

Alternates
Takesou Yonniyumi – Assistant to the 3rd Judge [Kish]
Fumihiko Hideki - Assistant to the 2nd Judge [Sho]

DECISIONS:

1. Captainship Positions:

• The Judiciary Board has ratified Soutaichou-Shinkou’s promotion of former 5th Division Vice-Captain Kokuei Diaz to the position of 7th Division Captain.

• The Judiciary Board endorses Soutaichou-Shinkou’s decision to consider 6th Division Captain Akuma no Jubei AWOL and to appoint a new Captain of the 6th.

2. Grading Bonuses:

• Captains will now have 150 points each week to award to one person in their division whom they feel deserves a bonus based on their writing. The Captain grading rogues and quincies will also have 150 points to distribute to one person in that group.

• Captains can choose not to award the bonus for a week if they feel it is unmerited (or if no one wrote anything).

3. NPC Registration:

• Ban kai level NPCs will now be approved according to the rules laid in out the Judiciary Board’s meeting minutes of 02/11/06 by the NPC Staff. If you have Ban kai level NPCs, you need to get them approved!

-----> The NPC Staff are: Saint, Kokoninja, and AngryPolkaBoy

Note – All decisions are final

[kunoichi]

*bump* new edits to the grading partnerships in the first post. basically kioh's grading rogues now so we've squeezed him into the system. see the post for details. ^^

also, muchos gracias and domo arigato to mr. roboto--er, i mean, sho.. for the help working this out <3

[Kioh]

JUDICIARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES – 07.01.06

Judges
Shinzui Subaru – 1st Judge [Saint]
Kinjo Akira – 2nd Judge, Intelligence Director [Kuno]
Jera Aljenicato – 3rd Judge [Koko]
Yasuragi Kyuui – 4th Judge [Kioh]
Muhyo Date – 5th Judge [Sai]
Kieru Shinsei – 6th Judge [Jei]

Alternates
Takesou Yonniyumi – Assistant to the 3rd Judge [Kish]
Fumihiko Hideki - Assistant to the 2nd Judge [Sho]

DECISIONS:

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

1. Collabing
◘ All collabs now have a possible value of 50 points per 1000 words written by each participating member.

2k / 2 people - 50
3k / 3people - 50
etc.

Note – All decisions are final

[kunoichi]

JUDICIARY BOARD APPEAL

Based on:
Meeting with Mooti – 13.07.06
Discussion Thread – 20.07.06 - 22.07.06
& General Complaints Since the Decision of 01.07.06

FINAL DECISION:

1. Flat Rate Grading System for Chapters and Collabs:

Grades will be based on a flat rate of 50 points per 1000 words written by an individual, both for chapters and collabs. This means that chapter grading is now based on word count and does not have a cap of 50 points per chapter, while collab grading is based on 50 points per 1000 words per person (ie. 50 points per 2k by 2 people, or 50 points per 3k by 3 people, etc.). Note that this 50:1000 ratio is scaleable, so that, for example, 500 words is worth 25 points, etc. and thus a 1500 word chapter is worth 75 as is a 3000 word collab between 2 people.

REASONS:

After hearing the arguments on this topic, this system was decided on as being the most fair for all RP'ers. The main arguments that were put forth were as follows:

1. Why Collabs Should Be Worth More:

• Collabs take more effort and thus should be rewarded with more points.

-> Partners have to coordinate their time to write together, and create a plot that fits both of their storylines.

-> Sometimes one partner ends up doing more work, so in the new system that person is rewarded less than in the old system.

-> Ultimately, this is an RPG and RPGs are about interaction with other characters, so collabs should be encouraged by giving them more points.


2. Why We Need More Points:

• We need more points so we will be strong enough for the Second Arc.

-> By reducing collab grades we slow the growth rate.

-> This makes it particularly hard for newer members to catch up to the Captains.


Our findings on these arguments are as follows:

1. Re: Collabs Being Worth More:

• The relative ease of writing collabs or chapters is a matter of personal opinion and preference, thus both forms of writing should be rewarded equally.

-> While collabs do require coordinating between two (or more) people, which can be a hassle, many people find the writing itself comes easier because of the interaction and inspiration that results from having two minds working together on developing a story.

-> The problem of one partner doing more work doesn't change from the old system to the new system: it is a matter that needs to be resolved between writers, not by grading.

-> Ultimately, this is a chapter-based RPG, not a post-based RPG, which means that both personal plot (the part that makes it "chapter-based") and interaction with other players (the "RPG" part) should be equally valued.


2. Re: Needing More Points

• We are strong enough for Second Arc: the plot is adjusted according to our levels, not the other way around.

-> Slowing the rapid growth rate we've experienced in the last months will prevent the need to raise kai and tech requirements in the future.

-> Wind is implementing a number of bonus systems, such as the increased fight grades and the consecutive writing bonus, in order to compensate the newer members who haven't had the benefit of the former writing bonuses and collab grades.