Our Admin Policy (Please Read Before Posting)

This won't really be a list of rules, as I'd like the admins to use some of their ideals of moderating in the server, rather than just my own. Instead, this will be a general statement on how we would like our Staff Members to handle different situations as they show up.

To explain, i'll use the analogy of two political parties in the world: the Marxist Communists and the Capitalists (Hopefully you have a basic understanding of politics or else this may not make as much sense). For the people who don't really understand, the Marxist Communists believes in a classless society, where everyone was treated equal and with the same rights (Supposedly). This is evident in the aftermath of the French Revolution as not only were the aristocracy put to death on the gullotine, but peasants as well. Capitalists, however, are commonly associated with greed, power-hungry mongols who are just trying to manipulate society so they gain benefit with no regard to others.

If you haven't caught my drift, I'm comparing the server Staff to some governments. Dark Matter is more of a Marxist Communist type of server (my views on administrating have nothing to do with my real life political opinion). We don't like nit picky admins, who obsess over every detail, interrogate people after any kill, and lay down harsh punishment for small offenses. Just as Marxist Communists want equality and fairness, we like admins to be as fair to the players as possible, while still making sure that everyone has a good time. We also would like the Staff to be as small a part of a player's experience as possible, while still effectively ridding of troublemakers as they come up.

Here is a hypothetical situation with two hypothetical outcomes. A gang is raiding the PD. Police arrive and a firefight ensues. In the process, a civilian or two get caught in the crossfire (they are presumably killed by gang members) and claim RDM. You could, as admin, come no clipping down to the PD, then slay all the gang members and excoriate them for RDM, as well as threaten to ban them for a second offense, but this isn't really a good approach. Players shouldn't have to play in fear of making small mistakes like that, and in real life people get caught up in bad situations like this one all the time. The better approach is to PM the offending gang members and tell them to be more careful, and possibly compensate the civilians for any losses. This way, everyone is fairly happy, and you don't severely damage anyone's RP experience.

Of course, cheaters, griefers, spammers, DDoSers, and other players who are extremely detrimental to the server experience should still be dealt with quickly and harshly. And, it is still the duty of admins to enforce the rules, even the minor ones that are not listed (More information can be given).

So now the general tone/mood of administrating has been set, here's a list of important clarifications:

Do's and Do NOT's:

-Do NOT flaunt admin, or pick fights with players because you know you can win.
-Do NOT go around asking people if they need help for absolutely no reason. In general, people should come to you if they have a problem, and not the other way around (Teleporting of any kind without help being asked first is considered staff abuse).
-Do NOT lay down extremely harsh punishments for minor offenses (Jailing over 90 seconds is abuse of power)
-Do NOT use your position as admin to gain an advantage in the server.
-If you are not admin on duty, you should be playing with the players, as well as, of course, responding to people's issues and complaints.
-If you are admin on duty, please don't go no clipping or flying all over the map, into people's bases, etc. It takes people out of the experience to see some random naked person flying around the map.
-Do NOT showcase/demonstrate your admin powers in public. Do it all in the Admin Room/private area. Ex. Noclip, jail, physgun, etc.
-Always remember that being admin is NOT about you; it's about the good of the server.
-Always tell a Super Admin of troublemakers and what punishment you gave them, incase for future reference.
-DO NOT BAN UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Punishing players undermines the community that we strive to achieve!
-Please pay attention and use the Watchlist feature we've added. It really makes your jobs easier.

List of Offenses with Appropriate Punishments:
***Anything that starts with "Repeated" means that the player must have been warned at least two times before the specified punishment can be applied.***

-Repeated Failure to Follow Staff Instructions: Assuming the player has been warned, this would result in a fairly short ban of ideally one or two hours. If this person is known to be an ass, you may lengthen the ban, assuming you have the correct evidence.

-Repeated Spamming: Generally, if the player has already been warned, they should receive a ban that is anywhere from a few hours to a day. If the player is obviously just trolling or intentionally being disruptive that ban can be lengthened. If they seem like they are trolling/being racist intentionally, do not warn them, but ban them immedietly for a few hours untill they cool off. It is up to you to decide if it's more of a joke, or just being a dick.

-Griefing/Minging: This largely depends on whether or not the player understands what he/she is doing wrong, and the severity of the grief/minge. If the player blocks the spawn, for example, permanently ban them immediately. Otherwise, use your own judgement to punish accordingly.

-Hacking/Cheating: There are generally no warnings in this case. If someone is seen cheating or hacking in any way, they should get a permanent ban immediately. Such examples include flying, bug abusing, glitching, etc.

-Staff Abuse: If you catch any Staff Member not following the rules or being detrimental to the server in any way. Do not tell them and immedietly contact a Super Admin. Always try to get proof/evidence to back up your claim.

-DDoS threats/crash attempts: Permanently ban the offending player immediately. Do not listen to or respond to DDoS threats, just ban the player.

-DO NOT ban anyone unless they are being seriously detrimental to the server for a period longer than 2 days.

-DO NOT jail anyone for longer than 90 seconds unless you are absolutely forced to.

-DO NOT take action without a warning/admin situation. Assumptions are dangerous. You have to know both sides of the story.

-Being a Staff Member, you are entrusted with punishing according to your own judgement. Do not abuse this power as we strive for a laidback friendly community atmosphere.

-Being honest is the greatest attribute of being a staff member. We don't mind if you make mistakes, as long as you learn from them.

Final Notes:
Generally, unless it's blatantly obvious, try to stay out of peoples affairs. If they do not call for you in the admin chat/specifically ask for help, don't go to them.

Thank you for reading this rather long and complex overview of our admin policy. Make sure you're ready for some special tests! If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a pm.