Rm101 Guide

 TheDarkrai85's Guide to a Successful /rm101 Experience

This guide is to help new moderators get into the groove of what not to do when interrogating a player. Please note that a portion of this guide is written from a POV perspective by TheDarkrai85, but official policy has been clarified where appropriate - anywhere the word "must" is used, that is to be taken as server policy.

Introduction

I should start this intro off by mentioning that as a mod you have not been promoted to simply ban bad players. You are here to help all players follow the rules in the best way possible. However some ways are better than others and this guide is here to help you through an interrogation in the best way it possibly can.

We are here to help players enjoy a wholesome survival experience in a fun active community. We enforce the rules, we do not force people to read them, we just advise they play by the rules or they don't get to play, the choice is purely theirs, not yours.

This guide is here to help you, however use your best judgement in deciding the 101 of a player, it could just as much be of an accident, or they could have permission to build/deconstruct in the area. Always investigate to be sure.

Reasons to /rm101 a player

/rm101 name

Now getting to the meat of the subject, this is where many players' future on the server is decided. Finding a reason to /rm101 a player is not all that difficult. However there are just as many reasons to not 101 a player as there is to 101 them. Many newer players will blow past the rules so they most likely won't know that breaking blocks is against the rules.

There are a lot of blocks that tend to break with the slightest of touches. When responding to a gcheck number, there are a few things you need to process on the spot when arriving to the area. Those few things are:

1. Are they a new player?
2. Does it look like an accident?
3. Do they have permission to construct/deconstruct in the area?
4. Does the action look aggressive?
5. Is this a repeat offender? (Check the player with /note list <player> and if so ban on the spot, they know what they did wrong, however be SURE the player is guilty)

These are very important questions and need to be accessed relatively quickly on the spot. Someone could just as simply be taking their house down because they're moving, or because they're remodeling.

Another situation is if they're a new player, they could have just as easily blown past the rules and not known that griefing is against the rules. A player can't play by the rules if they don't know the rules. Just simply direct them to the rules and give a warning. (More on warnings in Section 4)

Now that you have ruled that out, if they are indeed a continuing hazard to the area then immediately /rm101 them. These are people who clearly just break things and have no intention to stop.

Another good reason to /rm101 a player is when they are straight up ignoring you. But keep in mind that there could also be a language barrier, so see if you can get what language they are fluent in and go from there. Google translate is your friend.

DO NOT just /rm101 a player upon arrival of the gcheck, this tends to cause a bigger issue than it really is. Not every situation requires a /rm101. Try to speak with them on a level ground, talking to them in the area in question tends to yield a better experience than straight 101ing the player. There's a chance that we could lose a potential active and regular player when they're taken to what many players assume is a JAIL; /rm101 is a tool for communication.

A good rule of thumb is that room101 should only be used if **not** using it is likely to result in more damage to peoples' builds, or an avoidable ban for the player.

Technical behaviour of the Room101 system

When you /rm101 a player, it will take them to the holding cell, and you to the staff position outside the cell. From that point on, they will not be able to modify the world.

This does not stop them leaving the room, either by using buggy commands that may allow it (report the bug if this happens) or by using a cheat client to fly or otherwise exit through inaccessible passages or the ceiling. But they will not be able to modify the world, so they cannot cause any damage. If they do this repeatedly, don't worry about teleporting them back in - just continue as if they were still there. Do not ever ban someone just for managing to leave your room101.

Players can die in Room101, and if they do, they will respawn normally - i.e. at spawn or in their bed. If you do kill someone in your Room101, teleport them back in again; you do not need to release and rm101 them again. They will still remain unable to modify the world.

Players can potentially kill each other in Room101, so never put multiple players in together. Otherwise you'll have steve police everywhere and egg on your face.

Players who log out in Room101, whether they're physically in the room itself or not, will log back in in the same state. They will never be able to modify the world until freed or flushed. Never leave someone in Room101 who has logged out.

Room101 areas are in no way protected themselves. That means anyone who arrives at one by means other than the /rm101 command can break any blocks there as they would anywhere else. If you bring a griefer to a room101 by means other than the /rm101 command, you can expect that room to get griefed.

What to do and what not to do during an interrogation

/note list player

Once you have a player in your 101 there's a relatively large and specific list of things you can and cannot do. You as a member of staff represent the server and what you do during an interrogation can and will reflect upon the server. As the intro stated, as a mod you're only here to enforce the rules and discipline those who do not follow them.

Now here is a small list of Do's and Don'ts when a player is in your 101, this list is not everything that you should and shouldn't do, just main key points that cover a vast majority of situations.

Do's:

1. Be polite, no matter how rude they are to you, you still are representing the server. Kill them with kindness.
2. Check the /note list <player> if you have not done so already, they could be a repeat offender, or there could be info notes that could help the interrogation run smoother.
3. Hear the player out, pay attention to their story for possible inconsistencies or flaws.
4. Ask if they know why they have been 101'd, they could be new, they could also just plain be ignorant.
5. Ask if they know the rules or if they have read the rules, as stated earlier in Section 2, a player can't play by the rules if they don't know them.
6. Take them to the rules if you are planning on letting them off with a warning, asking them a question on the rules to make sure they read them is not in bad taste.

Do Not's:

1. Speaking the whole time, not letting the player in question get a single word in edge wise.
2. Speak with other players during an interrogation, what you're discussing can wait. (However /staff chat is there to help you speak with other staff members, we're here to help each other).
3. Insult the player in any way, again you represent the server. Keep it professional and kill them with kindness, nobody gets anything out of insulting each other. Be the bigger person.
4. Immediately ban them. This should never be done unless they are spamming. It should be noted repeat offenders do not get this luxury, unless it was a genuine accident they should be banned on the spot. (Really be sure if it was an accident or not)
5. Just plain letting them go after they apologize or give some form of excuse. They have done something wrong, and it needs to be investigated. Many players will give you every excuse in the book, it’s up to you to separate fact from fiction.
6. Forget the player in /rm101. This doesn't help anyone, the /rm101 isn't a jail, we catch and release. If you need to leave, notify another staff member. Also, if you crash, please try to continue from IRC while you log back in.

If you are not planning on banning the person in question, then they need to be let off with a warning. However there are a few occasions where they do not need to be banned or warned, those occasions are accidental 101'ing, or the player truly being innocent. In those instances it's best to tell them you're sorry and go from there.

Banning a player

/ban player note

Now you have determined that the player in question is indeed a hazard to the server, however before you go and ban them there is a few things that need to be addressed. Banning a player here is permanent, so to be sure that they are indeed hazardous, look to this list on potential things they have done. Obviously, this is a shortened list of things the rules say for convenience.

1. Griefing
2. Grief by addition
3. Client modifications that are against the rules (X-ray, Fly, Speed, No-clip, PlayerRadar, etc.)
4. Spamming
5. Bullying (Only Admins are allowed to make this ban)!
6. Server exploits (Spawn killing, duping, etc.)
7. Ban Evasion (If they join immediately after ban with the same IP. Otherwise, if it's a while later and can't be proven, they should be info noted and checked upon occasionally)(If this occurs ban IMMEDIATELY)
8. Repeat offenders who have been pre-warned (If you know the player is griefing and they're just smashing up things then ban them on the spot)
9. Logging out during /rm101. (Waiting 5 minutes for them to return is best, its enough time to close, reboot, and rejoin with time to spare)
10. Constantly making attempts to break the 101 (Even if they claim they're sorry but keep trying, they aren't sorry)

Now slight spamming does not require the player to be 101'd or banned immediately, if they can be warned then do so, however, many times a simple verbal non official warning will be fine just to let them know not to do it again. Now if they are flooding chat without a care in the world, then banning them is the best option.

If a player seems like they have a brain, see if you can convince them to stay and follow the rules. If they refuse this offer and continue to be either disruptive or refuse to be anything less than difficult then a ban is in order. Remember that griefers will "technically" get themselves banned. So even if you do decide to let them out with a warning and they repeat the offense, then your course of action is clear.

When dealing with those who choose to use cheaty clients, they simply have only two options. Remove the cheats, or be banned. If they refuse to remove them advise them that you will ban them otherwise, and if they still refuse, just simply ban them. They chose their fate.

Bullying is a difficult subject to get into as it is a rare occasion and rarely happens. When it does happen an admin will take care of the player and take the appropriate actions. However as a mod there are a few things you can do if there is no admin around. First is warn the player verbally, next is to issue a /note warn. Finally if they continue to persist and there is still not an admin then relocate the victim until an admin can take care of it, and should this player who is hell-bent on finding this player continually killing the victim advise them to log off until the aggressor has been dealt with.

Grief and addition grief is something that needs to be investigated while the player is in 101. Be sure to keep talking to the player and ask them questions so it doesn't look like you "Sent them to jail and went about with your day". The damage after being assessed should then be the key to the players future, some players do log in to grief, and they do know that isn't allowed, we're famous for banning griefers. Even if they "promise" to be good, they will just wind up getting their own bums banned.

Every ban must be made with a note. See below for more info on ban notes. These are shown to the player along with "Permanently banned: [reason]" every time they attempt to log in, and they are seen on the website publically as a ban reason for a player's profile, so they must be well written. It is worth taking a few extra moments to get the ban note right - even if they're spamming at the time, the world won't end if they get a few more lines of spam out before you ban them, but the consequences of a messed up ban note can be serious.

Releasing a player

When you have finished an interrogation that does not result in a ban, you **must** release the player. If they log out during interrogation, you **must** either ban or free them. You can wait a reasonable amount of time for them to return before making your decision, but you must not wander off during this process, nor forget about them. If they log in while room101'd, their experience is one of being jailed, and we do not jail at MCO. It also becomes a huge pain in the arse for other members of staff who have to work out what interrogation you left unfinished and what action they must take on your behalf. As such, the player remains your responsibility until released or banned.

You may not in any circumstance leave a logged out player in rm101, or leave an active player in rm101 unattended, while you yourself are not in game - unless another member of staff has explicitly agreed to take over for you before you log out.

There are two ways to free someone from room101:

/rm101 free playername releases that player unharmed and teleports them back to spawn.
/rm101 flush playername kills that player (to strip them of their inventory - useful if they have griefed into someone's chests), then drops them into the spawn pool.

If you ban someone, they are automatically removed from room101.

If you are forced to interrupt an interrogation and are left in any doubt whether to ban or release, consider the seriousness of the offence, whether the player seems malicious, and whether serious harm is likely to result to the server if they are released. If so, ban them - otherwise tend towards caution. If you do release someone from interrogation, leave an info note to that effect (see below).

Notes

There are several note types; a player's notes can be seen using:

/note list playername

Ban

The most obvious are ban notes, which also serve a functional purpose - preventing the player logging in again.

Ban notes are issued using the /ban player reason command, rather than the note system.

Ban notes must at a minimum say what rule the player broke; if it is grief, it is also useful to specify what they broke, and mention the location if it was anywhere significant or memorable. Avoid any irrelevant detail, digression or excessive and uninteresting specifics. Good examples of ban notes are:

• "grief of glass near spawn"
• "grief: torch tunnel"
• "grief to access locked chests"
• "massive grief of player house after warning"
• "spam"
• "flymod after being warned"

If in any kind of doubt, follow this simple ban note mantra: "Say exactly what you banned them for. Do not say anything about what you did not ban them for."

Warning

In most cases we try to reform players rather than ban them. While a prior warning is not necessary for a ban if a player is caught griefing, in many cases you will want to issue them with an informal or formal warning rather than banning them. In the case of other transgressions than grief, such as spam or cheat client use, they must be at least told to desist first, and in the case of client mods, they **must** be warned formally before a ban can be made. The purpose of a warning note is to record that a formal warning has been made, and to remind the player of this warning. It is popped up for both the player, and all staff online, every time they join the game. As such, great care must be taken in writing warning notes.

A player may be warned formally or informally. A warning note, however, may only be left if a player has been warned formally. There is occasionally confusion as to what constitutes a formal warning; here are the requirements:

• The player must have actually broken a rule. You cannot formally warn for threats or attempts to break rules that are unsuccessful, for instance trying to break a protected block.
• The player must be made to understand that they have broken a rule, which rule they broke, and what action exactly of theirs caused the breach.
• The player must be made to understand that any further breach of this or any other rule will result in an immediate and permanent ban.
• The player must understand the rules, whether they did or not before.
• The player must acknowledge this warning - that is, they must say "I understand" or some equivalent statement.
• The player must obviously be online at the time (which is necessary for the other criteria to be met in any case).

Without these criteria being met, a formal warning cannot have been served, and a warning note must not be left. Needless to say, a player cannot receive a warning note if they log off during interrogation, if they do not understand you because of language difficulties, or if they don't know what they did wrong.

Usage is

/note warn player description

As with a ban note, a warning note serves to record what happened. It should be clear and succinct, and should state exactly what rule was broken. It should not contain statements about the player, value judgements, redundant or irrelevant information, or other comments. It should be written in a way compatible with being read hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, both by that player on every subsequent login and every member of staff online. Some examples of good warning notes:

• "Griefed glass at spawn"
• "Accidental breakage of torches during PvP"
• "Griefed to access a chest, didn't know the rules"
• "Broke and replaced blocks to enter a building"
• "Caught flymodding over spawn"

However, you may not always want to warn someone formally, or have such a visible mark on their record, if they have simply broken something accidentally or generally seem non-malicious. In that case, you ought to just record the fact you gave them an informal warning in an info note. The same applies if you are unable to successfully warn someone because they have logged out during interrogation, but you do not feel their case merits a ban.

Successful appeals will usually result in the player's ban note demoted to a warning note.

Info

Info notes are visible only to staff, and appear when gchecking someone, as well as querying their note list or reading their profile and info on the website. There are no limitations on what should be put in an info note - any info that may at any time be useful to other members of staff should go in here, as well as records of relevant events or past dealings with staff, informal warnings, comments on behaviour etc. These are useful when dealing with "rules lawyers", but can also be helpful for staff to better attend to the needs of newbies.

Usage:

/note info player description

If in doubt, always do leave an info note. They can always be deleted later if necessary, and more information is always better than less.

No-longer relevant warnings or ban notes after a successful ban appeal also sometimes end up demoted to info notes.

Aftermath

So you have dealt with the griefer, what happens next is pretty easy. Just head back to the area that has been griefed, and locate what is missing, and fix it easily using either the panel, your mod tool ("Modstick"), or manually with:

/ga fix [number] 

If you are unsure about what the area looked like after it was raided by the griefer, just leave a /greport explaining the situation and go from there, if there's an admin on just contact them in /staff chat and proceed from there.

Another action to take should someone's house be griefed, leave a sign saying what happened and offer to help replace what was taken. This option is the "lazy" way out, however sometimes it is unavoidable.

We do not replace chest contents, if it wasn't placed then unfortunately it's too bad. You may offer your own belongings up to the victim, but you will not be reimbursed by an admin.

Tips and Trivia

• Stay calm, no matter what.
• The innocent until proven guilty theory isn't always 100% true.
• /staff chat is your friend and so are the people who use it.
• Banning isn't a competition don't rub it in that you have more ban's than someone else.
• If an admin does a log check, the ban becomes theirs unless they say otherwise, this helps avoid problems.
• The first staff member to a gcheck is the one who /rm101's them, otherwise there can be problems (If they leave it's fair game).
• Don't rub it in that you got to a gcheck before another staff member
• Keep all staff matters in /staff chat.
• Being staff is important, abusing any of your power will result in serious consequences.