So, I've noticed this becoming a bit of a problem mainly in the hub. Not that tons of VIPs are jumping up when someone says a bad word, or is saying stuff like "I'll ban you" if they find a hacker, but there have been quite a few instances.
Now, this I understand, maybe someone's trying to put in a good word for themselves if they applied for Helper. But Mini-Moderating is against the rules, no matter how you put it. That is why we have Helpers, so we aren't just a pool of VIPs and Elites scrambling atop one another to shout at someone, "That was mean!"
I'm not saying I've never done this myself, and I'm not saying a staff member hasn't told me to stop on one occasion, but unless there is a staff member in the lobby with you, there isn't a lot you can do. Someone may say "fork" and you tell them to stop cursing, but maybe they really did just say "fork". You don't know.
So, VIPs, VIP+s, Elites, Elite+s, what we all should get from that:
You are not staff. You can't ban, you can't mute, you can't kick. You can't SEE if someone cursed or not. You just can't do the things that some players of a higher rank can, and you shouldn't act as if you can.
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IN-GAME
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On a different note, if you're the only player above a guest rank in a certain hub at a certain time and someone is breaking the rules, you can say, "Please don't do that." You cannot say: "Stop that or I'll ban you! Or mute you! Or kick you!"
If they continue to break the rules, you can say: "I'm going to go get a staff member now." You cannot say: "Stop that or I'll ban you! Or mute you! Or kick you!"
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ON THE FORUMS
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On the forums, answering questions does not count as mini-moderating, unless they are something like "Can An Admin Please Link My Forum Account?" Please don't tell the user that "an admin will get right on that". Those kinds of posts just get in the way and make it difficult to navigate the thread. But for the most part on the Questions topic, you're just helping out, trying to be nice to other people. The real problem on the forums is the User Reports topic.
As I said before, you can't ban, mute, or kick people, and you should not act as if you are able to.
In the User Reports section, please do not post things like "Thanks for the report, I'm sure a staff member will punish them accordingly" or "I like your username". I'll separate why you shouldn't so those into different paragraphs, starting with the former.
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"I'm sure a staff member will punish them accordingly."
That is the point of making a report: to get a staff member to punish someone for breaking the rules. PartyZone's staff is a good, dependable bunch, so if you think that they'd just skip over a report because it looks boring or something, you'd be wrong. The user who posted the thread obviously knows that the staff is going to punish the offender; why post an empty report that'll never get looked at? These posts just get in the way and are completely unnecessary.
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"I like your username!"
Then tell them on their profile page. These posts are annoying and have no value whatsoever, except for maybe a good "facepalm" from someone who thought that someone actually responded to their report with something important. These are irritating because they get in the way, and frankly, it doesn't matter whether you like their username or not. They may like to hear it, and I guess that's good, but I don't think they'd be happy if someone tells them this on their User Report.
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And...
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For the denied wannabe Helpers, I understand that. For a time, my only dream in the world was to be a Helper on my favorite Minecraft server. But sometimes, other people know better. If the staff had thought that you or I was ready to become a Helper, you know, we'd have a shiny green tag by our names right now. But we weren't ready, and that was the right call. If they thought we had been ready, there would be no need to make this thread today. But the point is, if the staff had wanted all of us to be Helpers, then we would be Helpers. PartyZone has picked the users who it thought deserved the rank, and that's okay.
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So please, next time someone is breaking the rules in front of a staff member, just let them take care of it. A new application system will be implemented soon, and you can have another chance to apply then.
Until that day, just be as friendly and as helpful as you can without breaking the rules, and I'm sure you'll be happier than all of the staff members on this server combined.
Now, this I understand, maybe someone's trying to put in a good word for themselves if they applied for Helper. But Mini-Moderating is against the rules, no matter how you put it. That is why we have Helpers, so we aren't just a pool of VIPs and Elites scrambling atop one another to shout at someone, "That was mean!"
I'm not saying I've never done this myself, and I'm not saying a staff member hasn't told me to stop on one occasion, but unless there is a staff member in the lobby with you, there isn't a lot you can do. Someone may say "fork" and you tell them to stop cursing, but maybe they really did just say "fork". You don't know.
So, VIPs, VIP+s, Elites, Elite+s, what we all should get from that:
You are not staff. You can't ban, you can't mute, you can't kick. You can't SEE if someone cursed or not. You just can't do the things that some players of a higher rank can, and you shouldn't act as if you can.
-
IN-GAME
-
On a different note, if you're the only player above a guest rank in a certain hub at a certain time and someone is breaking the rules, you can say, "Please don't do that." You cannot say: "Stop that or I'll ban you! Or mute you! Or kick you!"
If they continue to break the rules, you can say: "I'm going to go get a staff member now." You cannot say: "Stop that or I'll ban you! Or mute you! Or kick you!"
-
ON THE FORUMS
-
On the forums, answering questions does not count as mini-moderating, unless they are something like "Can An Admin Please Link My Forum Account?" Please don't tell the user that "an admin will get right on that". Those kinds of posts just get in the way and make it difficult to navigate the thread. But for the most part on the Questions topic, you're just helping out, trying to be nice to other people. The real problem on the forums is the User Reports topic.
As I said before, you can't ban, mute, or kick people, and you should not act as if you are able to.
In the User Reports section, please do not post things like "Thanks for the report, I'm sure a staff member will punish them accordingly" or "I like your username". I'll separate why you shouldn't so those into different paragraphs, starting with the former.
-
"I'm sure a staff member will punish them accordingly."
That is the point of making a report: to get a staff member to punish someone for breaking the rules. PartyZone's staff is a good, dependable bunch, so if you think that they'd just skip over a report because it looks boring or something, you'd be wrong. The user who posted the thread obviously knows that the staff is going to punish the offender; why post an empty report that'll never get looked at? These posts just get in the way and are completely unnecessary.
-
"I like your username!"
Then tell them on their profile page. These posts are annoying and have no value whatsoever, except for maybe a good "facepalm" from someone who thought that someone actually responded to their report with something important. These are irritating because they get in the way, and frankly, it doesn't matter whether you like their username or not. They may like to hear it, and I guess that's good, but I don't think they'd be happy if someone tells them this on their User Report.
-
And...
-
For the denied wannabe Helpers, I understand that. For a time, my only dream in the world was to be a Helper on my favorite Minecraft server. But sometimes, other people know better. If the staff had thought that you or I was ready to become a Helper, you know, we'd have a shiny green tag by our names right now. But we weren't ready, and that was the right call. If they thought we had been ready, there would be no need to make this thread today. But the point is, if the staff had wanted all of us to be Helpers, then we would be Helpers. PartyZone has picked the users who it thought deserved the rank, and that's okay.
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So please, next time someone is breaking the rules in front of a staff member, just let them take care of it. A new application system will be implemented soon, and you can have another chance to apply then.
Until that day, just be as friendly and as helpful as you can without breaking the rules, and I'm sure you'll be happier than all of the staff members on this server combined.
