Losing status
As touchy as this subject is, these are the rules for how Champs lose their status. These are merely guidelines set forth to establish how someone may lose their status.
Resignation
Voluntarily giving up the status: This is done when the champ voluntarily gives up his/her responsibilities as a Champ. S/he may have life responsibilities, be no longer interested in holding the title, or some other reason. The editor is reduced in rank to a 5 and access to all Champ related material is revoked.
Leave of Absence
A Leave of Absence (LOA) can come from either voluntary or involuntary means.
Voluntary
A voluntary LOA may be due to life unexpectedly getting in the way, extended time away from computer access, unexpected medical reasons, or any other reason (Champ does not have to give reason).
During the voluntary LOA period the champ is reduced in rank to 5, but continues to have access to all Champ forums and documents. This enables the LOA Champ to continue to maintain their knowledge of changes (if they desire to do so) to accelerate their time to return once they decide to do so.
A Champ may have their status returned as defined below.
Involuntary
An involuntary LOA is triggered if a Champ fails to both log into the forums AND contribute as a Champ in a contiguous 90 day period. Contributions minimally include posting meaningful information in the forums or GHOs, but can also include assisting users in the WME chat, slack, or other communication methods used by the Champs' local community.
Failure to meet the minimum criteria described above will result in the editor being reduced in rank to 5 and access to all Champ related material revoked.
A Champ may have their status returned as defined below.
Forced Out
A Champ may be forced or voted out of the Champs group. Reasons why this may be necessary include intentional damage to the map, failure to follow Waze etiquette and community editing guidelines, encouraging other editors to edit in an improper manner or outside community editing guidelines. Additionally, belligerent, caustic, demeaning, or rude communication or other behavior with fellow editors via any form of transmission which would be considered conduct unbecoming of a leader of the US Waze community, is also grounds for being forced out.
Although it may be necessary to initially discuss the removal of a Champ in a small private group to ensure there is enough evidence to warrant a public discussion, all evidence and discussion for the removal of a champ must be in an open US Champ forum where all US Champs can review the evidence and develop their own opinion on the matter. This is to help ensure transparency with everyone.
Once all evidence is presented, a vote will be conducted.
Voting
The voting period for the removal of a Champ will be open for 7 days. Options for voting will be YES, NO, & ABSTAIN. A 2/3 majority of Champs must select an option in order for the poll to count.
CHANGE OF VOTING RULES
If 2/3 of the active Champs is reached, a simple majority of votes will suffice to oust the Champ.
If 2/3 of the active Champs is NOT reached, the vote is nullified and the results will not matter.
{(1) The number of votes required is being discussed in the forum. Once resolved it will be updated here.}
There will only be one vote per instance per Champ. If the person being voted on survives the vote, there will be no revote for the evidence presented unless the Champ continues with the same behavior supported by additional evidence. A revote (on the same offense) on the same person cannot be conducted more than once in a 90 day period. The ONLY exception is if the Champ willfully damages or destroys the map.
If the Champ in question resigns after the vote has started, the vote will continue to completion. If the vote goes in favor of the Champ (not to remove), the resignation will be accepted and the Champ will be treated as a voluntary resignation as defined above. If the vote goes against the Champ, the "forced out" rules will be applied.
Champ status change
A Champ who loses status through this vote may be reduced in rank as low as a 2 if it is felt necessary to prevent retaliatory damage to the map or Waze community.
Reinstating Champ status
It is possible for someone to regain Champ status.
- If lost through resignation or leave of absence, after 90 days, the editor may ask for their status back. A simple majority vote(1) of active Champs will suffice in granting editor Champ rights.
- If lost through being forced out, the returning Champ must not have performed any retaliatory actions, must wait 1 calendar year from the date of losing their status, and must acquire a simple majority vote(1) of active Champs before the editor is given status back.
Reinstatement before a year may be done on a case by case basis.