Mod Guidelines (Updated 2007)

This are the guidelines, how they are appearing on the moderators conference . The moderators conference is a simple conference in hattrick as the feds are.

Summarizing mods have the following abilities:

• deleting messages on conferences
• editing messages on conferences
• moving threads on conferences
• reading and writing notes in the top of all threads. they are hidden to normal users eyes
• reading deleted messages with who deleted it and when it was deleted
• seeing many details on users profile
• - last messages on conferences, only the first 50 characters of it; including fed-messages
• - all user details, with when he changed his email, switched language and all the settings
• - all user conference subscriptions, including feds
• ban users to 30 days, minimum is 30 min. the granularity is 1 day
• fine users to 50,000$
• access to paulie-system to work on paulie-tickets, it is stored on hattrick-servers as well, but a special url
• reading all fed conferences and having all moderator-rights in this too
• have a security loginname, that is different to the the alias shown in the game hattrick
• - this is to be safe against attempts to lock your account by entering 10 times a wrong password, which is possible to common accounts
• normally officials know changes in games earlier than others (GMs had the youth league a whole season before, more hints on regainers were given, all myhts are know at least one day earlier and so on)
• deleting at the ads-site and banning and fining users there too

Here are the guidelines:

Hattrick - Moderators » Mod-Guidelines June, 2007

Conference Moderator Policies and Notes - August 2006

This is a revised version of the old guidelines made by Emma.

The role of the moderator is to act as an administrator for the on-site Hattrick conferences. The moderator works together with the GameMasters assigned to his/her country to keep order and to administrate Hattrick as fairly and efficiently as possible. The purpose of this document is to develop a consistent set of guidelines between the numerous conferences. As there are hundreds of national and international conferences on Hattrick, there needs to be a consistent general administration between them.

You are the representative of Hattrick in the conferences. You are the only image of the Hattrick staff that most users will ever see. You should strive to keep the peace at all times and step aside in controversies regarding the game, the engine, the site’s uptime, etc.

Additional information that you now have access to:

- On every post in the conferences, you have the ability to edit/delete posts (you will be shown as having edited the message).

- You can create sticky threads (only when creating a new thread )

- You can close/delete/move threads. However, threads cannot be moved to federation

conferences or series conferences.

- On each message, there are links for banning or fining users. You can choose a fine ranging from $10,000 USD (100,000 SEK) to 50,000 USD (500.000 SEK), the bans can range from 0 to 30 days.

You will be asked many questions about Hattrick - users will think that you can solve all their Hattrick questions and problems. If you cannot help the user, encourage them to contact the local GM at the appropriate address:(contact.asp) . You should be an active and helpful member of the conferences that you are moderating - this reputation will serve you well in rougher times when they come.

Remember that your decision is final in all cases and does not need to be proven to the user. This does however not mean that you should take profit from this when sanctioning. In most cases you should always explain to the user carefully why he received a sanction. In all cases, delete the offending posts. Also remember that children play Hattrick and that should weigh heavily in what you allow to be posted.

Sticky threads are to be used only for important hattrick announcements and policy statements. These include the individual conference rules (a standardized template is available by choosing "Rules/Manual" in the conference menu) as well as short term conduct general warnings – those should be short-term sticky threads that emphasize a particular point that has troubled the community. Stickies are not to be used for minor items such as youth pulls, national teams, etc.

Nor should they be used in federation conferences, as that gives some federations an unfair advantage over others simply by having a moderator as a member.

Exception: A sticky is allowed to be used in Staff-only federations (like DACH).

Friendly ads and transfer ads have no place on the conferences (with the exception of federation conferences) - all adverts should go in the ads section. Note: cup ads are not considered friendly ads.

Federation conference policies

The federations are meant to be private places where the members of the fed set up their own standards, but they still have to follow the basic rules of behaviour (Gamerules, chapter 25).

As the federations are meant to be private places we should respect that and don’t interfere. There have been rare occasions where a federation is used as a base for different severe violations of the game rules. If you suspect that a certain federation is used as a base for such violations you have the right to check it out. If your suspicion is correct, contact fellow moderators and GMs. But remember, if your suspicion is ungrounded you have to leave that federation right away.

Regional conferences

The regional conferences are meant to be more intimate and private than the country conferences. We treat the regional conferences a little bit like the series conferences, we don’t moderate them actively but act upon users’ reports or if we happen to spot something severe.

Transfer ads and Friendly ads are not allowed in regional conferences.

Series conferences

We don't moderate series conferences unless someone points us to bad behaviour there. It is possible for users to talk about transferlisted players there if it has a clear relevance for the league.

The Pricelist

Maximum ban is 1 month.

Remember that fines should only be used in case of in-game advantage (adverts). One of the keystones of the pricelist is the progressivity. This is not harsh, this is needed.

We will try to present a guideline on how to hand out bans and fines to users. We strongly advise you to follow them. 2 users with a similar offence and a similar past should receive the same punishment. Try to uphold a certain level of consistency among the punishments you and your colleagues give. This is only possible if you try to uphold the guidelines presented below.

Transfer / friendly advert

First time: $10 000 (Friendly ad: warning)

Second time: 3 days + $30 000

Third time: 7 days + $50 000

Fourth time: Contact a GM.

To note in the users record when handing out these bans: (these are compulsory to use)

AD 1 – .../Mod-x

AD 2 – .../Mod-x

AD 3 – … /Mod-x

AD GM – … /Mod-x

By using the (obligatory) capital letters preceding the actual ban-text we will try to easily visualise a user’s history. If you see “AD 3” at the top you instantly know where this user is in the punishment tree.

Spamming.

First time: 1-3 day ban

Second time: 3-7 day ban

Third time: 14 day ban

Fourth time: Contact a GM about the user.

to note in the users record

SPAM 1 – … /Mod-x

SPAM 2 – … /Mod-x

SPAM 3 – … /Mod-x

SPAM 4 – … /Mod-x

Racism

First time: 28 day ban + Contact a GM about the user.

Second time: Contact a GM about the user.

to note in the users record

Racism

Bad behaviour on the conferences

Bad behaviour - swearing, "trolling", provoking, disturbing,

1st time: 0-1d

2nd time: 1-3d

3rd time: 3-7d

4th time: 7-14

5th time: 15-28d & contact GMs

Personal attacks are a difficult thing totally depending on context. Insulting someone once (you are an idiot that you don't understand xxxxx) is considered bad behaviour, but insulting the same user multiple times or heavy insults (motherf*fucker, son of a bitch) are considered personal attacks. In that case use two steps higher on the scale and choose the maximum days. Example: User with a BB2 already makes a personal attacks. Instead of going to bad behaviour 3 you go 2 steps higher to BB5 with 28 days (the maximum!) and inform a GM.

to note in the users record:

BB 1 – … /

BB 2 – … /

BB 3 – … /

BB 4 – … /

BB 5 – … /

A few remarks on this scale are perhaps needed:

• When filling in the details please specify the sort of bad behaviour. Example: "user banned 3 days for bad behaviour (insulting)"

• You do not need to start at 1. If the user behaved (very) badly it is advised to jump directly to treat it as a 2nd time.

• If a user places a minor bad behaviour message (a lot of these messages will be borderline) but is however already on BB 3, you will still have to ban him for 7-14 days – even if that seems very harsh for the message he wrote. Remember that progressiveness of the bans is needed, and should even be stressed to the user.

• If a user is clean for (more than) a year, you should stay at the previously attained level in the scale. For instance, if a user received a BB3 a year ago, he should then receive an other BB3 if he behaves badly again.

• Always sign the ban mail, so users know who they are dealing with. This can be your name or in some rare cases something like "the German moderators".

Important: this way of using the abbreviatons is used since 16-2-2007. Before that the number indicated the days, not the steps ( BB3 was bad behaviour 3 days and not step 3). So be careful when looking at the history.

• If you want to inform somebody or to get a note in his record use:

INFO xxxxxxx/Mod-x

The ads-section also is your terrain. This is the pricelist to use:

Transfer-ad in friendly section

1st time: 0-day ban (warning)

2nd time: 30k fine

3th time: 50k fine + warning next time it'll be a GM case

4th time: warn a GM

Friendly-ad in transfer section

Just delete the ad. In the larger countries there are way too much of these on their friendly-day. It's impossible (workload wise) to Paulie them.

Note: In cases where it says to contact a GM, the best GMs to contact are the ones from the same country as the offending user. Just contact them through (contact.asp) explaining the situation and ask if they could take a look at the situation. Until such time as the GM gets around to dealing with the situation, you may want to issue a ban to keep the user from causing any more trouble. This shouldn't be above 3 days (sometimes you can double that in cases where there will be a period of less staff around like Christmas, but 6 days should be an exception).

Please make clear in the description that it is a temporary ban. Don't worry about how appropriate this ban is - if it has got to the point where you need to refer it to a GM, then don't worry about offending the user by giving out a ban! It's better for everyone that the user is kept away from causing any more trouble in the conferences.

Sometimes you rather have a local staff member handling a specific case. You can use the country threads on the moderators' forum. If a staff member brings a case to your country's thread on Moderatos, handle this carefully and in a timely manner. Please inform the staff member about the decision reached.

Useful tips

1) If unsure, ask before you make a decision. You could use MSN to ask others for a second opinion. You could also open a thread on the Moderators conference.

2) Never tell a user what powers you do/do not have. When you are asked what instruments Mods have just answer: “Sorry, we do not say what we can do and what we can’t do”

3) Always check a user's history before you ban them

4) Bans ARE NOT cumulative - if a user is already serving a ban, don't ban them again – the reason being that if MOD-A bans a player for 5 days and then MOD-B bans the same player for 2 days later on, then the user will only receive a 2-day ban - not 5 and not 7.

5) Offenses ARE cumulative. If you are going to ban a player and you notice that they have previously been punished, add a little to the ban (especially if they have been punished for the same type of offense previously). The above pricelist should help you in giving out a suitable punishment.

6) The above punishments should be treated as guidelines. Despite this, try and be vaguely consistent. Don't ban Player X for 3 days and player Y for 10 days when they've done the same offence (unless tip 5 applies).

7) "You're not here to be popular - you're here to keep order" - being a MOD is a largely thankless task - I can guarantee that you will not be liked by 100% of the conference users - don't back down just because people don't like your judgement. As long as you have stuck to the guidelines, don't worry what users think - they will often feel like they have been harshly punished - this is normal! When you accept a position with the Hattrick staff (i.e. as a MOD, GM, or LA), you are just that - staff. Even if you disagree with a particular rule, you still have to enforce it.

8) "Be firm but fair" - when you start out, set some boundaries and enforce them - don't let users walk all over you just because you are new, or else they will continue to do so. This doesn't mean punishing everyone for everything - find a point in the middle that you are comfortable with.

9) Don't go out looking for problems, just read all the posts in your conference and if you happen to find a problem, deal with it.

10a) It is possible to gain access to the conferences of Federations that you are not a part of by clicking on a link to a post in that federation or by clicking on the link from the forum memberships of a user. If you do this, do it only for a very good reason and do not under any circumstances make it known you are watching or that you even have the ability to do so.

10b) The power to read a fed conference is there only to help us investigate users who are already in trouble due to their actions in the public conferences. We do not enter federation conferences and start banning, fining, and deleting. If you enter a fed you are not a member of, do nothing but read. If you are a member of the fed, you should only take action if asked to by the fed owner (and then only if you feel it is necessary - do not take action purely because the fed owner asks you to), or in extreme circumstances after discussion with a GM.

11) Before you close a thread, post a message in which you write why the thread had to be closed. A simple *click* or /Closed is not really recommended, since the reason to close a thread may be quite obvious for you and some experienced forum visitors, but it still can be unclear for another part of the conference or even for the topicstarter. Your message can be a quote from someone in the same topic who already stated why the topic was not allowed, or it can be your own educational message.

12) When you ban/fine someone, remember to write in English why the ban/fine was given, as this information might be important to other MODs/GMs if the user breaks the rules again.

13) If a user writes something that involves you (e.g. a personal attack), then always ask another MOD or GM to take care of it instead of dealing with it yourself.

14) Stickies are evil things (serverload) and should only be used for very important threads (rules, election debates, etc). Try to minimize the use of sticky's as much as possible. Under no circumstance must stickies be used in federation conferences.

15) When participating in the elections, stay out of moderating elections in that country.

16) When by mistake you ban yourself, you can go the ads section, post something and ban yourself for 0-days. You have now again access to the conferences.

These are the exeptions to the rules:

Posting youth pull with the mention of them being sold.

- It is only allowed to post the youth pull you pulled during that week, and you may only post it once.

- Use a special "youth pull" thread so that all "adverts" are concentrated in one area.

- You may only post your youth pull in the national conference of the country in which your team plays.

Advertising a federation.

- It is only allowed to advertise a federation in the conference which the federation's owner is based, global (one post), and in conferences to which the federation has specific relevance. That is, if somone for example founds a Scandinavian federation, the person is allowed to advertise the fed in all the Scandinavian conferences + the global conference.

Advertising for national teams.

National coaches can send the requirements to a local staff member who can add it to the sticky on their national conference. The rules sticky on global has links to each country's post with the requirements. Please don't forget to edit the post on global to add the link. Also remove the last "edited by" to keep it readable. This also means that spamming the requirements around the conference isn't permitted anymore and should be treated as what it is: spam.

Advertising national team players for sale

- only the national coach may advertise a national team player who is for sale and only in the conference of the nation that national team player plays for.

- a national coach may not advertise a national player for sale if the player is owned by his own team.

Politics and religion

Discussions about politics and religion do always go overboard, without exceptions. The border is not a thin line, more a broad buffer zone. There are no mines in the zone, but it's surveilled by the peace keeping armies in shape of Mod/GM. As long as the conference users just strall around in a calm and peaceful way it's accepted to be in the buffer zone to a certain level.

But as soon as some guns show up it's the peace keeper's mission to get rid of all the intruders in that part of the zone. How broad this zone is more or less up to the community. An infected community has a thinner zone. And the zone is thinner about some topics than others. As long as the community can handle a certain amount of freedom there's no reason to take any other action than surveillance as I said above.

Elections

Election speeches and discussion should generally not be allowed until a week before the elections start - some countries have chosen longer periods in the past, but it is generally thought that one week is the optimum time period. There are two main ways of running the elections...

1) one thread for all speeches and one thread for all discussions - one of these threads can be made a sticky thread for a week with a link to the other topic.

2) one thread for each speech (usually the thread title should be prefixed by something such as [elec] - if the original poster doesn't do so, feel free to rename the thread) with discussion about the speech in the same thread. These threads should not be made stickies - though you can make a one-post-then-close sticky thread titled "election rules" or something similar in which you can instruct people to write their own election thread (this should preferably be written in your own language and in English).

If you wish to do something differently to these guidelines or are unsure which method you should be using, make sure that you first speak to all the other MODs/GMs in your country and agree on what to do - it's no use you doing things one way if your fellow MOD/GM countrymates do things a different way.

It is possible for users to run in any number of countries they want, even using the same speeches. There is no rule which say they can't.

CHPP applications

CHPP Developers put a lot of work into their programs and so it's only fair that they should be allowed to advertise their new program (CHPP applications account for around 1/3 of all HT-related traffic). Therefore, in the same way as Cups, they should be allowed one thread in global and one in their national conference (unless the application is targetted at a specific country, in which case they can post in that national conference instead. One or two countries is fine, but beware of sites that claim to be relevant to 5+ countries as then they just need to stick to global). Technically, this also applies to new versions of programs, but if you feel these are getting out of hand, then use your judgement. If in doubt (7352223.1) . In that thread you can ask CHPP-ers questions.

Global English

Global Englisn, Newbie English, Global non-HT and gloobal football have their own thread on mod conference: (7346887.1)

Signatures

Any user can sign a post with his name (and/or his team name). Signing a forum post is not considered a signature in this world, a signature is something else. A Signature is a personalization of your forum apperance and is seperated from the post itself. Hence, it's a Supporter feature and should stay that way. So, signing a post with your name and team is ok for any user. Having a signature is only for Supporters.

Topics about downloading

It is allowed to talk about software used for downloading. It is not allowed to talk about downloading copyrighted material. Hattrick doesn't want to be associated with downloading illegal materials, so base the borders on that.

Referral links

Referral links are not allowed. If it is for own gain, give them a 1 day ban, if not than give a 0-day warning. Remove the link and close the topic, mentioning referral links are not allowed. A 2nd offence gives a 3 day ban and a 3rd time 7 days + GMs notice. Treat a 2nd referral link without benefit as a 1st time with benefit.

Polls

Creating polls and move them to a conference where you cannot create polls is not allowed. If you think a poll should be created, contact your local GM about it.

Moderators conference

There will be policy debates and general discussions (in English) on the moderators forum. We encourage you to take part in them. We also expect you to read them and know what the outcome is. It is strongly advised that you put the moderators conference on the highest priority so it’s always on top.

Take care that you use the right conference:

Moderators for mod-related subjects. HT-staff for game related questions and bug reports. Non-ht staff for everything that is not related to hattrick.

Since every staff member has access to the staff and the non-HT staff conference there are some things you shouldn’t do in those conferences:

* you shouldn’t link to post in feds

* you shouldn’t discuss the guidelines or your abilities (reading deleted posts, backdooring feds)

In the odd case you need to mention one of these things, you can use the note. However if something said in one of these conferences should be discussed with other staff members with Mod-hat, don’t start a discussion in the note, but instead start a topic on the Mod-conference about it.

New mods:

Please make sure you are at least a member of the Paulie group of your country before you start banning/fining. Also make sure you have read the Mod Introduction in YKW. (you will need to ask its URL to another worker)

This goes also for GMs.

It's very important that you do it because otherwise, the moderators won't be able to read the

Paulie.

Senior Mods

The mod organization will be lead by 5 Sr Mods.

Senior Mods will be responsible for:

- Supporting local moderators (if someone need advise or similar, you should always be able to turn to the seniors for help)

- Creating guidelines, however for most subjects we will try first as mod-community to reach a conclusion about policies. If no consensus can be reached the seniors will step in.

- Making sure the guidelines are followed

- Make final decisions (if necessary) in the mod conf

- Make sure new moderators get a local mentor to teach him/her the job. Usually this is someone you can turn to with questions. If there is noone to help, please contact a senior Mod.

- Evaluate the suggestions for improvements made in (7558349.1)

Mod-Palomar

Mod-Campino

Mod-Wizard

Mod-Hakerpaps

Mod-Yamato

Thanks to all moderators (former and in this time as they did active as well) who gave some stuff to it!

(thank you administrador)