This section will be added to as issues arise. If you can think of other topics that should be covered here or believe that certain guidelines or policies should be amended, don't hesitate to contact me. st0rmy@iinet.net.au

Communication

• 400+ ops will have email or icq listed on the gaywesternsuburbs homepage
• Email addresses of -400 ops will be made available to 400+ ops (when I get around to having a secure section)
• ALL ops must be contactable via email or ICQ to the 500op else their access may be removed

Visitor Guidelines
The purpose of the channel is to have fun and get to know others in your area, therefor the following are behaviour guidelines rather than hard rules. Operators are encouraged to use good judgement when attempting to enforce guidelines. Action will generally only be taken against individuals where their breach of the guidelines negatively impacts upon others in the channel (including operators)

• #Gaywesternsuburbs is a mixed age channel and because of this, overt attempts to 'pick up' and actively discouraged
• Personal abuse is not considered acceptable behaviour
• Text that is deliberately offensive to channel members or channel regulars should not appear in the channel
• Because of the channel's mixed age policy, overtly or graphically sexual conversation in the channel may be discouraged at operators discretion
• Others in the channel are generally not interested in what MP3 you are playing
• Unsolicited sending of potential virus files is an instant ban-able offence wether your doing it deliberately or your IRC client is infected with the virus and is doing it by itself.

Operator Guidelines
Operator status is a privilege and a responsibility. If you cannot cope with the expectation that you will use the power responsibly, ask to have your ops removed. Operators are in the channel to ensure that the channel is a pleasant place for people to chat. With this in mind, it is recommended that operators choose the least intrusive course of action in most cases

• All new ops will start with 100 access
• The channel topic may be changed by any op so long as the new topic is in keeping with the principles of the channel
• 400 ops should obtain the email address of any person they give Z access to and forward this email address along with the nickname to st0rmy@iinet.net.au. The 500 op will periodically check the access list. If the 500op does not have the email address of a registered Z user, then the 500 will attempt to contact the 400+ op that gave access. If no response is recieved within 24hrs, the op without an email address will be removed from the list.
• Any op that does not log into Z for 30 days is likely to be removed from the access list
• Channel Protection
  • Warn, warn, kick, kick, ban, ban
    • In most cases people should be warned twice in private before being kicked from the channel
    • Once someone has been kicked any further offensive behaviour of the same nature within a 5min timeframe could conceivably be dealt with by further kicks without warning
    • After two kicks within a 5min timeframe, a short (minutes) ban would usually be instated
    • If with 5min of returning to channel after a ban, the same offensive behaviour is continued, a ban of longer duration (hours) would normally be instated
  • For particularly offensive behaviour an immediate kick for the first offence is sometimes appropriate. A short (minutes) ban for second offence and long ban (hours) for 3rd offence are also appropriate. Examples of particularly offensive behaviour are personal attacks or minor text flooding.
  • Extremely offensive behaviour warrants immediate kick/ban. Examples of extremely offensive behaviour would be particularly slanderous personal attacks or the behaviour characteristic of "bashers"
  • Unsolicited sending of potential virus files is an instant ban-able offence.
  • Quit messages that are felt to be deliberately offensive to channel members or channel regulars would normally incur a 24 hour ban with explanatory text to ensure that the owner of the quit message knows that it was deemed unacceptable.
• All bans must be set with explanatory text. The 500 op will periodically check the banlist. Any bans not set with Z or bans that do not have a reason attached to them will be removed.

Disputes

• Disputes over an operator actions (or lack of) should first be raised with the operator in question
• Failing adequate resolution, a 400op may act as an arbitrator in the dispute.
• If the op in question is a 400op, then any op with higher access may act as arbitrator
• The 500op has the last word in any dispute.