- Moderators are official representatives of Gala Lab Corp.
- Accordingly, professional behavior towards players is required
- Do not target Gala Lab or Sniegu or make negative comments
- Do not promise anything
- Do not share any kind of internal information
- Moderative tools must not be used for private use
- GM commands are to be used only in necessary situations
- GM commands may not be used on player request (unless there is moderative or administrative need)
- MOD characters (and also the GM rights associated with them) may not have any influence on the general gameplay experience
- Private interactions with friends or guild members should be avoided (keyword "favoritism" or "player bias“)
- Casual playing (levelling, buffing, healing etc.) via the MOD character together with other players is not permitted
- Participation in group and/or PvP content with the MOD character is not allowed (Guild Siege, PvP Arena Ranking, Clockworks, Meteonyker etc.)
- Interactions (for example, conversations) with the community ingame are permissible; however, they should take place in a public and general framework
- Any sanctions require documented in-game evidence
- According to our evidence generation guidelines
https://galalab.helpshift.com/a/flyffuniverse/?p=all&s=reporting&f=how-to-provide-valid-evidence
- Moderators must also document specifically witnessed violations in accordance with the guidelines
- Action taken against another player must not be communicated to the other party who reported the player concerned
- Action taken against a player must not be discussed with the affected player, either. Please always ask them to send a ticket to the helpdesk for reviewing bans.
- Moderators should always remain an impartial third party: it's harder to ban a friend.
- Moderators should offer helpful support, explanation, tips, and links to users.
- Moderators should stay calm, humble, and polite under any circumstances, and especially when users are not.
- Moderators should use their powers based on the community’s interest and not their opinion.
- Moderators should always aim for conflict de-escalation.
- Moderators should show consistency in term of punishments and not over-punish.
- Moderators should not accept moderation requests in direct messages but redirect towards the Modmail instead.
- Moderators should be curious about the resources and tools at their disposition to improve their skills.
- Moderators should keep in mind they can't provide the same level of support a CM or GM can.
Always investigate who you are dealing with;
By using in game commands:
/infractions username or #userid
By using the Moderation spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uY9C4mDpwVNznaVa0X3Z1ZWIbghiOC-2AP3gZcdIEW4
General Advice
- Keep in mind users can change their username, always rely on both username and #ID when creating new entries or investigation cases.
- Never rely on a video from a user for botting suspicion, you need to record one by yourself using your MOD character for the proof to be valid.
- You’re never under obligation to confront a user regarding a punishment, you can issue it and they may contact the Helpshift in case of further questions.
- Always begin investigations by being invisible and by using /ip
- Have shortcut of commonly used commands such as:
- /ip /su /freeze /channel0 /channel1 etc.
- You can use /captcha to manually issue a captcha to users, and use /resetlimit to remove a captcha.
- Commands with no duration/reason entry can work by just clicking on the character and typing the command (ex: /ip, /captcha etc.)
Moderation is never either black or white as most of the time you'll end up in a grey area. The Guidelines you're about to browse are NOT a strict set of rules to follow to the letter, they are meant to help you in your decision-making process.
Guidelines are NOT a showcase of every possible scenario you may encounter; they can be seen as more tools to help you moderate and gain experience by developing your judgement.
Our Guidelines mainly are a way to empower moderators through some guidance.
Moderators are meant to guide the community and enforce rules if needed to provide a healthy environment to everyone.
You’re expected to use common sense, judgement, and impartiality when it comes to enforce rules.
Remember that you moderate words and acts from individuals, and not individuals themselves.
You should show consistency when it comes to punishments, as well as you should aim for progressive discipline
Avoid the use of mutes and bans as a first intent move, but clarify, purge and warn instead if needed.
Clarify only to the person you're about to moderate but do not argue with him or others when taking actions as a moderator.
Behind the scenes, feel free to rely on your peers to strengthen your decision-making or get feedback.
Users will always try to toe the border of our rules, keep in mind what matters is to understand what the rule is defending rather than what’s textually written
Avoid immediate punishment such as mutes without clarifying or warning beforehand.
Avoid muting more than one three days, use a temporary ban instead as it makes it harder for the user to bypass the punishment.
The DMA is an incredibly relevant resource for Moderators. Here are some articles and their main topics we really recommend you to go through.
What's in RED are the most important topics you'll need early on.
Discord Moderator Academy: https://discord.com/moderation/
https://discord.com/moderation/1500000178021-302-developing-moderator-guidelines
- Spirit of the rules
- Progressive discipline
https://discord.com/moderation/1500000178101-303-facilitating-positive-environments
- Evaluating Types of Harmful Rhetoric
- Moderating Hateful Content
- Bad-Faith vs Good-Faith
https://discord.com/moderation/1500000178942-332-fostering-healthy-communities
- Create and Maintain a Healthy Atmosphere
- Balancing Fun and Freedom with Safety
- Watch Out for Attention-Seeking Behavior
https://discord.com/moderation/304-moderating-safely-and-securely
- Recognizing Scamming and Phishing Attempts
- Dealing with Threats & Doxxing Attempts
https://discord.com/moderation/360060483713-202-handling-difficult-scenarios
- Situation Identification
- Information Gathering
- Initial Response
- Situation Closure
https://discord.com/moderation/360060487093-443-ban-evasion-and-advanced-harassment
- Understanding High Conflict Persons (HCPs)
- The Virtue of Battling a Nemesis
- Understanding Tactical Empathy
- A Mod’s Guide to Situation Diffusal
- Common Pitfalls and Mistakes
https://discord.com/moderation/360058645534-311-understanding-and-avoiding-moderator-burnout
- Signs of Moderator Burnout
- Avoiding Moderator Burnout
https://discord.com/moderation/541-the-application-of-metaphors-in-moderation
- Out of 5 categories, what kind of moderator are you?