User:Kelaris/Sandbox3

Adminstration of the Den

Our volunteer team of moderators and administrators exist to maintain and contribute to the community direction goals of the server. They do this primarily through the ticket system and the in-game Admin Help (Ahelp) menu, either in response to a user request, complaint, or concern, or as a corrective action in response to behaviors observed to be outside the scope of our community rules and guidelines.

Team members typically use these systems to discuss with players matters of server expectations, concerns they may have over IC and/or OOC actions, and complaints levied against specific behaviors. Involvement in these systems does not imply that there will be punitive or corrective action; Communication is always the first step, and in the majority of cases, is often solely sufficient.

In an effort to be as transparent as possible with how the Den is operated, here are some major points of interest regarding the expectations and standard procedure of those those entrusted with overseeing its safety and operation.

Our Stance on Actioning Players:

When a situation is brought to our attention, unless someone was harmed in some way or repeat behavior has occurred, we try to simply have a discussion, inform players of expectations, and ask them to modify behavior that may be disruptive or harmful.

We try to err on the side of leniency whenever possible, but ultimately the safety and comfort of the entire community has to be considered. For severe, repeating, or unresolvable issues, action tends to scale up rapidly.

Our Stance on Admin Intervention in Rounds:

Admins usually try to let the round play out naturally. However sometimes we do interfere to either solve mechanical problems, enable RP interactions and situations, add small events for variety, or intervene in some way to allow the round to continue when it would otherwise end (destroying a tesloose, sending ERT, etc).

We welcome players making the occasional request for assistance and small events for their own RP goals, and as long as it is kept private or is not too disruptive to the station, we can usually accommodate the request.

How Are Ahelps and Tickets Handled?

When an Ahelp or user ticket received, it is also relayed into chats accessible by all team members. An available team member that is also in a position to assist will either reply and attempt to handle the issue, or inform the issuing party that the message has been received and is undergoing review. In cases more complex than something like a simple item request, team members will discuss with one or more colleagues on how to proceed, with any potential concerns noted and weighed into the response.

When tickets are created, a secondary channel is also generated to allow team members to discuss the ticket at hand, provide supporting evidence, logs, or relevant information to the discussion. Both the contents of the ticket and the investigation threads pertaining to the ticket are logged and preserved after its conclusion, for reference by Head Admins or Owners in the case of appeals or further required action.

Staff Complaints are visible exclusively to Head Admins and Owners, though there has been precedent for such a ticket to be delegated to the Senior Admin team for situations that need more opinions and do not require the highest confidentiality.

When handling a complaint regarding another individual, the identifying information of the person making the complaint is kept as obscured as is reasonably possible.

What Information Does the Admin Team Have Access To?

As a ghost in the round, admins can see all of the same things normal ghosts see, and can not see subtle, whisper, or subtle ooc, and can interact with the world in a limited fashion (picking up or dragging things, interacting with consoles, using tools, etc).

With a search through the logs, which is only done when investigating issues or complaints, admins can see all actions, every chat and every emote from all channels that have occurred on any round. These logs are accessible by all admins, but are time consuming and unwieldy to sift through, and only intended to be used for troubleshooting and investigation. At manual intervals, logs older than approximately 1000 rounds are deleted.

Headmins and Owners have the capability to retrieve replays of any round on the server if needed, and may provide a replay for use in an investigation with a documented request from other members of the team.

Joining the Admin Team:

Our applications are always open, and an application may be submitted to indicate a standing interest in joining the team, on the Staff Applications forum of our Discord.

A Final Note Regarding our Team:

It is important to remember that team members do not void their desire or ability to participate in the game as a result of joining the administration team - They are both players and people, and volunteer their time freely to try and maintain comfort, safety, and ongoing consent for the community. Abuse of team members is not tolerated whatsoever; If you feel that a team member has made a mistake or acted inappropriately, you are encouraged to open a Management ticket or Staff complaint.

The Den is a collaborative space, and without active communication between team members and the community, it is impossible to effectively maintain these core values. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!