When a moderator has enough evidence to support that a rule violation has occurred, it may be appropriate to administer a penalty. On Nordics, there are different types of penalties, and the specific penalties handed out depend on several circumstances. Among other things, the moderator takes into account:
- Which rule or rules the offender has violated
- The severity of the rule violation
- Any previous penalties
- How much does the offender cooperate with or obstruct the moderators
- Any mitigating circumstances
The specific penalty for violating a certain rule is not set in stone, but the moderators make unique assessments in each case. Generally, penalties become harsher for repeated rule violations, indicating a reluctance to respect the rules.
There are different types of penalties. The applicable penalties depend on the rule violation and the unique circumstances surrounding it, and it is up to the moderators to determine an appropriate penalty.
- Verbal warning: The lightest type of penalty is a verbal warning. These are not saved, but they are the moderators' way of pointing out minor rule violations without having too significant consequences for the offender. The goal is for verbal warnings to be sufficient, but it is often not deemed the case.
- Warning: It results in being disconnected from the server and indicates that a rule violation has been committed. All warnings always include a reason that helps the warned individual understand which rule they have violated. Warnings are saved in the player's profile and can be seen by the moderators afterwards.
- Banishment: As a banned individual, one is usually imprisoned and has limited opportunities to play and communicate on the server. In addition to the Minecraft server, access to the Discord server was also denied during the banishment. In addition to reasons, which are also included in warnings, banishments always have an expiration date. It can be changed forward and backwards if new circumstances emerge during the banishment. If a player receives multiple warnings quickly, a banishment may be applicable if further rule violations are committed. Something similar to banishments, but with certain differences, is suspensions.
This penalty involves transferring money or items in the form of fines to the nation or as damages to players. The penalty applies if a rule violation has caused damage to the nation or other players, and it is common for it to be combined with banishment. Fines are common in cases of the use of X-rays, while damages are common in cases of unlawful murder or fraud.
It doesn't matter who used an account when a rule violation is committed; a penalty is applied at both the account and personal levels. This is because we do not have a reasonable way to prove who used a player account when a rule violation was committed, while we are keen to punish those who commit rule violations. It is a balancing act between reasonableness and legal certainty, where the management has decided that penalties are imposed at both the account and personal levels.
Therefore, lending out one's account or allowing other individuals to play on it is strongly discouraged, and one should also ensure to keep the account's login details protected from other individuals.
Even though there is a practice for how a penalty should be judged, the penalties are not set in stone. This means a moderator can mitigate or impose a harsher penalty depending on any special circumstances surrounding a rule violation. This method is called the principle of proportionality and is a principle used, among other places, by real-life courts. The principle of proportionality briefly means that one weighs the crime and the action against what is necessary, considering the server's best interests. In this principle, the moderator weighs different interests against each other, such as the server's security and well-being in general, the player's history, any intent, and the impact a rule violation has had on a town or player.
Read more about practices on Nordics
One can appeal or question it once per penalty if one has been penalized for a rule violation.