Clarification of sanctions

[setarip_old]

According to the forum rules, various sanctions will be imposed for violations of the rules.

Among other things, for violation of Rules #4 or #6, two strikes will be issued. This appears to be an absolute statement.

My question is - If, for example, a thread is closed for a violation of Rule #6 (which seems to be the most frequent reason for thread closures), is the issuance of strikes mandatory or is it at the discretion of the moderator?

[Guest]

It's at the discretion of the moderators. A newbie may be warned and not struck, for example. If said newbie cops an attitude in response, then the mod might reconsider his/her decision and issue the strike. The sanctions page says:

"Each moderator can report you for violating a forum rule."

Notice the use of the word "can", rather than "must".

[setarip_old]

Thanks for clarifying, I fully understand this interpretation - although the subsequent wording in the sanctions seems to "cloud" the issue:A violation of rules 4 or 6 will result in two strikesPerhaps the wording should be modified so that new members will have no doubt as to the meaning...