Let's try an experiment.
[15:38] Tuomey thedeadlymoose: This reminds me; is it kosher to deputise people for half an hour or so sometimes if there aren't a lot of ops active?
[15:41] thedeadlymoose Tuomey: Actually, I think that's a good idea, and sure, I'll tentatively approve doing that. Give 'em half-ops, if you would. Not full ops
Starting now, any channel operator may grant half-op status to any user on a temporary basis if there aren't a lot of ops around.
Temporary half-ops are considered to be acting for the operator who 'deputized' them. They shouldn't do anything a normal op wouldn't. They can only enact temporary bans which will last until a full operator can review them and decide how long they should be.
Please don't "deputize" any disruptive users. No, not even if they're your friend and you think it would be funny. Not even if it is funny. I am going to leave this to ops' best judgment. If you're not sure, pick someone you trust.
As soon as enough other ops are around, or the incident has passed, please remove the half-op from the deputized person. If you are gonna forget, just don't do it in the first place. If you leave someone on half-op for a long period of time (such as for a few hours while everyone else is asleep) please have a good reason.
Any operator may remove a temporary half-op from someone for any reason. This includes if, for example, Op X deputizes someone because they have to leave, then Op Y shows up and plans to pay attention to chat — Op Y can then de-half-op at their discretion.
If a temporarily deputized operator violates rules or causes a disruption, that may lead to disciplinary action. I don't intend to be really harsh about this, but fuck-ups will be taken seriously as they need to be taken. My point is: pick people who you think won't act like nutjobs!
Let's see how this works out, and decide whether to make it a permanent practice.
Feedback on this is also welcome, particularly from channel ops. I'm happy to change how this works to solve any issues, and I will also cancel (or temporarily suspend) this experiment if it results in chaos.
Also, ordinary users who have issues with this (or suggestions) should feel free to send me a PM or a .tell via Nala on IRC, or on Wikidot if you want.