Moderator Guidelines

MODERATOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• OVERSIGHT: Moderators are responsible for keeping an eye on other players and setting them straight, usually via Moderator PMs, if they see a rule being broken.

• RECORD-KEEPING: Moderators are responsible for updating player notes if any incidents occur. - Especially concerning incidents that result in a ban if they were the investigating moderator.

• WELCOMING NEW PLAYERS: Moderators present a friendly face for new players by seeing who, if any, players are only a few days old on the server, welcoming them to Bay, showing the rules, and offering them help if they need it.

• ANSWERING ADMINHELPS: Moderators can answer and act on Adminhelps sent so long as they do not require any admin buttons to be pushed. For example, if one player has a complaint about another's conduct, Moderators can respond to that, but they cannot respond to someone asking for a custom item to be spawned in.

• NOTIFYING ADMINS: If the situation is of a type that Moderators cannot resolve themselves, or the person involved requires a harsher punishment than just being PM'd about the situation, Moderators are responsible for bringing the matter to Administrators' attention, supplying them with all necessary information, and letting them know what they think should be done.

• ASSISTING ADMINS: Admins have a lot on their plate. As mentioned previously, if they are writing up a ban for the player, the moderator will usually be the one to write the player note, or to inform the player the reasons they are being banned and how they may appeal. Or just to keep up conversation with players to see what they witnessed during an incident while the admin checks variables on objects and logs.

MODERATOR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

• Assign one Moderator to act as primary agent. This Moderator should, ideally, not be involved with the situation in-character, to avoid bias affecting the decisions made. Having a single Moderator handle the situation also means that the players won't be swamped with messages from multiple staff members. Other Moderators can be called in if extra help is required, but ideally, only one Moderator should be dealing with each situation.

• Interview the sender. The Moderator assigned to answer the Adminhelp should respond to it, getting a full report of the situation. By the end of the interview, they should know who is being complained about, what they did, and why the sender thinks this is a problem, as well as the names of anyone else involved in the situation.

• Interview the subject. Ask the subject for their side of the story. If there are any inconsistencies with the first account, work out which of them is true by interviewing other witnesses or any other appropriate means. Assuming that the matter being complained about actually occurred, ask why they did it.

• Gather any other necessary information. Check the area where the incident occurred, interview other players involved, and the like.

• Check the rules. Make sure that the matter being discussed is actually against the server rules. It's entirely possible that the entire matter should be handled in-character.

• Hand down the verdict. Let both players know what you decided on the matter and why. Get confirmation from the online admin beforehand if you are unsure. You don't have to make decisions alone, often times during an incident, we'll discuss it in the background as a group while one person does the talking to the player.

• Update player notes. Update all relevant players' notes sections to contain any important information about the incident.

• If Administrator intervention is needed, contact them. This usually means that one or more players needs a ban; in almost all other instances, Moderators should be able to handle the situation.

MODERATOR VERBS

• Msay - This allows you to speak to other moderators and admins in a private channel.

• Adminwho - slightly different from one players have, also shows status of all listed people (in game/observing/AFK)

• De-admin self - removes your moderator status, and lets you play round as a usual player.

• Show Skills - shows skillset of chosen character, helps in judging if they are metagaming or not. Keep in mind that some people do not set it at all, and some are just to lazy to change it every time they want to play different job with same character (yes, guilty).

• Toggle Adminhelp Sound - if toggled on, sound will be played every time adminhelp is received, or you get a PM. Useful to toggle if you alt-tab to other window.

• Admin PM - most often used tool. Just use the guy and start chatting. Also you can send PM by clicking on name in adminhelp.
• Subtle Message - a more subtle way of communicating with players. Gives the player the message: You hear a voice in your head...[INSERT MESSAGE HERE] A good way of quietly reminding someone to do something without breaking immersion or being too direct.

• Aghost - previously known as Set Play/Set Observe, gives you ability to leave body and return to it. fly around as observer at any moment of round. Useful for looking into stuff or chatting up ghosts.

• Show Player Info - type in a BYOND key to open notes for it. Can also use to create notes if none were present for that key. Make sure to spell key right.
• Check New Players - gives you list of players by age, can be limited to players under 7, under 30, or all. The who list also gives a detailed list of information including ages, with younger players listed in red and yellow.

• Admin panel - Lists all players in [Name - Real Name - Key (Job)] format. Hover over the entry to expand it, click on name to lock it expanded. There you can see two links 'N', opening Notes window and 'PM', sending a PM to him. If character is an antagonist, there will be 'Antagonist' link, opening Traitor Panel, listing objectives. Hotkey is F6.

• Check Antagonists - can be accessed by a link in top of Moderator Panel. Lists game mode, round duration and list of antagonists with their current status (dead/logged off).
• View Variables - a way to view the numbers and values behind an object or mob. While you can't edit anything like admins can, you can still learn a lot from VVing something in an investigation.
• Kick - A powerful tool that is NOT to be used unless there are no admins present, and there is a griefer or rule-breaker around that is seriously disrupting the round.

Useful links to throw at players:
The Rules: http://baystation12.net/wiki/index.php/Rules
How to RP: http://baystation12.net/wiki/index.php/A_Crash_Course_In_Roleplaying
How to not get banned: http://baystation12.net/wiki/index.php?title=Not_Getting_Banned

 

MODERATOR SELECTION PROCESS

• Selection for Trial
  • Moderators are generally selected from applications for periodically-open trial periods
  • From time to time, moderators may be invited to trial by the Staff Manager at their discretion
• Trial Process
  • After your become a trial moderator is accepted, you become a Trial Moderator for the next Two Weeks.
  • At the end of the trial is a decision period where senior staff and the Staff Manager confer and decide if you will be accepted as a full-time moderator.
• Staff Voting
  • If you are a staff member voting on a Trial Moderator, you are REQUIRED to state why you are voting one way or another.
  • Only votes with replies will be counted. If there are more Votes than replies, they will not be counted.
    • "This may seem very archaic and dumb, but it is meant to not only provide good Candidates with a ton of nice comments once they're accepted, but also provide bad Candidates with as much information as possible about what they might've done wrong."