User blog comment:Bourgeoisie/Little rant/@comment-4552817-20150410032605

Well if you ask me, I agree we can't assume anyone new, old, or otherwise has read our polices or kept up to date with them. Certainly they /should/ know them or have at least read them because that is clearly suggested on the main page and linked in chat. So in theory we should be able to assume, but of course most of us are humans and as such we are lazy, don't do as we should, and have a tendency to be reluctant toward reading lists of rules.

Obviously ignorance is no excuse for breaking one of said rules, and it is certainly no excuse for anyone to "shred" someone either. Which is one reason why mods are carefully selected. They should have leadership and good judgment characteristics. A good mod knows the difference between innocent ignorance and mischievous testing.

In a case where a user (especially a new one) breaks policy, I see nothing wrong with a mod taking action. However, "shredding" someone should never be accepted in any circumstances. The mod who takes action should, as always, do so with compassion and understanding. A kick or something may be appropriate in some cases, but I find usually a simple caution and explanation of the rules suffices if it's evident the user did not intend to do harm. You see, "Taking action" does not always mean punishment by warn, kick, or ban of course.

And lastly, really I think we're all pretty much on the same page here. No one expects anyone to be perfect. Mods don't expect users to be perfect, and users can't expect mods to be perfect. We all make mistakes. A little patience and grace will get you far. And hey, remember this place, especially chat, is meant to be fun. :)