Thanks for all the replies, everyone. After reading everything (a few times) I sort of figured out that my real problem is that there's no fixed working policy where I am, and what's fixed isn't written down anywhere. I probably will have to make up something on my own (with or without Head Imm's approval) which leads me to a big, burning question I have for all you Head Imms out there.

In situations where there's no fixed policy (and I bet there are millions of those, because people will come up with the most ingenious ways to bypass the rules, exploit loopholes in the code and so on), what are junior imms generally expected to do? Fly it blind, using our own judgement, or defer it until we get to consult with higher management? How much of a level of severity/leniency is expected?

I know this probably differs wildly from MUD to MUD, but it would help a lot to know what people generally expect. Thanks!