Administrators Code of Ethics

[AHC]

Information about the forum team, it's role and the guiding principles that apply to Administrators.

The group comprising the Forum Owner and the Administrators is referred to as the “Forum Team”.

The forum team upholds the Standards and Rules of this forum. They are private individuals who give their time freely to ensure that members have a consistent, reliable, enjoyable, informative and stress free experience every time they come here to participate. The forum team (through enforcement of the S&Râ€s) maintain and promote sanity, harmony and common sense thereby maintaining a stable, fun, relaxed, leisure environment for you to enjoy.

To carry out their responsibilities, members of the forum team have access to a variety of tools and are given appropriate levels of authority. Please bear in mind that in order to take up these roles, Administrators must conduct themselves appropriately at all times. They are required to apply censorship to themselves (and their posts) and put aside personal feelings or opinions to act always in the best interests of the forum.

All Administrators are bound by a Code of Ethics. (See below)

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Administrators Code of Ethics

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An Administrator is expected to...

1. Act always in the best interests of the forum, even when the action may not be in the administrators best personal interests.
   
2. Exercise authority only in accordance with the forum S&Râ€s and policies.
   
3. Respond appropriately to incidents in accordance with forum S&Râ€s and policies.
   
4. Apply the forum S&Râ€s and policies fairly, impartially and without bias to all members.
   
5. Declare any conflict of interest (via PM to the whole forum team) as soon as it becomes apparent that the conflict has arisen or may possibly arise. Conflicts of interest include any instance where an administrator feels they cannot be relied upon to act in an impartial or unbiased manner. Examples include...
   
   1. strong personal relationships or friendship with a member
      
   2. personal beliefs
      
   3. finds themselves involved in a situation where they feel threatened, unjustly vilified or under attack.
      
   4. feels they are unable to take a balanced view and may not act in the best interests of the forum.
      
   5. the situation involves personal gain (financial or otherwise)
      
   (This is not a complete list. The administrator must determine if a conflict exists and notify the team accordingly)
   
6. Abstain from exercising voting rights and authorities where a conflict of interest exists or is likely to exist.
   
7. Conduct themselves in a manner that sets a good example for members and guests at all times.

An Administrator is NOT expected to...

1. Be perfect. We are all human. Thatâ€s why we built safeguards into the warnings system. If one administrator gets it wrong and the system is working correctly then the administrator they consult with (before acting) will pick it up. No system is perfect, but we are trying.
   
2. Be boring and joyless. They come here to have a good time too – and they are working for free - so donâ€t judge them too harshly.

This forum will NOT tolerate any member taking retaliatory action against an administrator for performing their duties. This includes...

1. Any forum content aimed at an administrator which constitutes slander, false accusation, abuse, bullying, ridicule, harassment, discrimination, threat, personal grudge or vendetta. (ZT)
   
2. Any forum content aimed at an administrator which constitutes an invasion of privacy, or contains any other material which may violate their right to privacy. (ZT)
   
3. Any personal consequences, including harm, physical or verbal abuse or additional risk as a result of performing their duties. In extreme cases the policy of the forum management will be to report the matter to the police. End of story. (ZT – Permanent Ban)

Complaints Process
If a member feels that an administrator has failed to act in accordance with this code of ethics, they may lodge a complaint using the Complaints procedures - explained in the "Complaints Process and Procedures" thread - and direct the complaint to the forum owner. The matter will be dealt with in a confidential manner. The forum owner will determine if the complaint is founded and where appropriate, decide the ramifications. The decisions of the forum owner are final.

Please note, you must observe all the rules of the Complaints Process. Therefore you have an obligation to respect the confidentiality of the process both during the investigation and after completion (ZT). Also, spurious complaints, nuisance complaints and those that are obviously the result of personal vendetta or grudge WILL earn warning points. (ZT)

Note : (ZT) indicates that the forum has a Zero Tolerance policy in regards to this item.