Staff Codes of Conduct

[Administrator]

[ original post by Maecius ]

In an effort to enhance transparency, the server's senior leadership has decided to publicize the DM Code of Conduct and the Moderator Code of Conduct.

For anyone who's ever wondered what standards we hold our user-facing staff members to, simply see below.

[Maecius]

Welcome to BG:TSCC as a DM. You have been entrusted with great power and authority over the player base, and you've been given considerable creative control over the direction of the persistent world, and inevitably the responsibility that comes with it.

Although being invited to DM is indicative of the high degree of trust we're placing in you, and of the respect we have for you as a player, the Code of Conduct is provided to prevent confusion and misunderstanding. Please read it carefully as you'll be bound to it as a DM.

---

GENERAL DM CONDUCT

Be fair.
Your position isn't an invitation to favor faction(s), friends, player character(s), or anybody you like. This is also not an invitation to punish people you dislike. While Administration understands it's impossible to entirely divorce oneself from bias, the Admins ask that you try to be fair at all levels. You'll be called upon to mediate as well as decide punishments and rewards. Because favoritism and abuse of power are such serious concerns, you can potentially be removed from your position if maintaining impartiality becomes an issue over a period of time.

• If you're concerned involvement in something will lead to a (perceived) conflict of interest, feel free to err on the side of caution and pass the issue to a more neutral DM, if applicable.
• Use caution when running events for players who you share a lot of play time with. Make sure you're spreading attention across all players.

Be courteous.
Administration asks DMs to be polite when interacting with players -- including problematic players. Report offenses appropriately. As a suggestion, remember anything you say to a player is just a screenshot away from being public, so if you're having a bad day or are starting to become upset, the best thing to do will be to log off the DM Client before you could potentially say or do something that can be used against you.

• Be respectful towards fellow staff.
• If you have a complaint regarding a fellow staff member, please send concerns to the HDM(s).
• If there's a concern regarding HDM(s), contact the Global Admin group only.

DM Records.
Be sure to make a record of any event where the server's shared and overarching storyline is meaningfully altered, or powerful items or notable non-mechanical awards (a character's prestige increases with a faction, for example) have been handed out.

• This ensures that the storyline change is known to other DMs, and that the character's earned notoriety or fame with certain groups is more likely to be acknowledged by other DMs.
• Stand-alone events where the storyline isn't meaningfully changed, no individual character receives a notable increase or decrease in prestige, and/or where the award is not mechanically greater than a +3 item or equivalent, do not need a write-up, though you're welcome to record them anyway if you so choose.

Have fun!
DMing is not a job. While we expect you to be fair and polite, we also want you to enjoy DMing. DM burnout rates are high -- the stress of shepherding a player base as large as ours can and probably will get to you -- but as long as you know the proper limits and when to take breaks if things are getting to be too much, DMing for the server is a creatively fulfilling and fun hobby!

---

ADDITIONAL ADM CONDUCT

As an Associate DM, the primary duties are to learn the DM Client, familiarize yourself with the tools therein, and ease yourself into running events and providing technical support. Your secondary duties are to "shadow" other DMs and learn from them.

Other than the rules listed in the sections above, you also have the additional rules to be aware of:

Focus on DMing.
It may be easy to become distracted, but remember your main task is to learn how to DM and run events. Administration wants you, as an ADM, to have a good base and handle on DMing so that additional responsibilities and escalations aren't hard to focus on once becoming a full DM. You should already have the knowledge base of how to interact with the world as a DM. If something outside your role does become an issue that you cannot ignore, though, inform the team with your concerns.

Run overarching campaign ideas by the team to gather feedback and potential help if needed.
In general, try to focus on stand-alone events before launching into campaigns and larger plot lines.

• Never run large and/or extremely interconnected server plots (a.k.a. "megaplots") without getting feedback from the team.

Refrain from handling disciplinary issues.
Pass these issues along to a full DM instead, or communicate with the DM team as a whole. Communication is key; the team and Administration would prefer to hear your voice on matters, but we do not want a judgement call to land on ADM's shoulders.

---

DM-TO-PLAYER INTERACTIONS

The general conduct rules above will serve you well in the majority of your interactions with the player base, but here are some additional points to remember:

The DM color attached to your DM name holds weight.
As a gentle reminder, please remember that your posts carry a great amount of authority whether you intend them to or not, and people will take the things you say more seriously than they would if you were just "another player."

Try to compromise with players.
Don't spend a lot of energy in a back and forth with a player when you and the player remain in disagreement. Try to resolve it yourself if you're able, but if not, please pass it to the rest of the team so it can be handled collectively.

Communication is key.
Each team member is capable of answering for themselves. If a player tries to namedrop a DM in order to get something, feel free to work with your team to confirm the player is authorized to receive it. It's not uncommon for players to namedrop DMs or Administrators in order to obtain something they'd otherwise not have, and you should not do anything that you feel uncomfortable doing.

DMs can make calls on RCRs/delevels based on experience.
These should at least be noted for the rest of the team to ensure it isn't abused. If something requires significant changes, an RCR would be more appropriate than a delevel.

• Be careful not to too frequently delevel wizards (they'll receive 2 bonus spells every time they level up).
• Do not ever delevel blood magus characters: their feats will trigger a second time, potentially breaking the character and making it illegal.

---

EVENT REWARDS

We want you to be able to give players neat rewards and experience for participating in your events and campaigns. However, there are a few rules we ask you to follow in order to ensure fairness in reward distribution:

Be fair.
Never give your friends and/or guild mates "free" rewards, or rewards that you wouldn't give others. If found abusing DM powers in this manner, there'll be some sort of penalization, up to and potentially including removal from the team. Rewards may be confiscated.

Item Rewards
Refer to the Rewards Guidelines topic for a basis on how to tier proper item rewards.

• Generally, lower-tier items can be freely given. If in doubt, ask for team feedback, especially if the item is powerful enough to be a "Greater" (+3) tier or above.
• "Epic" (+4) tier items, and/or lower-tier items with unusual properties, require a Head DM's permission and are intended to be reserved for long-term plot or campaign climaxes.
• Never give out passive items or creature items to player characters.

---

DM's PC Side

While playerside, you're expected to behave as a player, and follow all of the same rules and processes players do.

• This includes reporting rules violations to the DMs (i.e. not acting on them yourself).
• Do not metagame DM knowledge while playerside.
• Additionally, in your interactions with other players and staff while "off duty," you should maintain the confidence of the DM Team and not discuss private or confidential materials.

[Maecius]

Here at BG:TSCC, we hold our forum moderators to high standards. You have been entrusted with considerable power and authority over the forums, and you have been asked to help maintain a strong and positive community.

Although your being invited to moderate for us is indicative of the high degree of trust we all place in you, and of the respect we have for you as a member of this community, this code of conduct is being provided to prevent potential confusion and misunderstanding. Please read it carefully. Thank you.

GENERAL CONDUCT


1.) Be fair. Your position is not an invitation to favor your own post content, defend your friends, or censor people who you do not agree with. You will often be the first "on the scene" to deal with reports and other forum issues; therefore, we expect you to be fair at all levels. Because favoritism and abuse of power are such serious concerns, you can and will be removed from your position if maintaining impartiality becomes an issue for you.

• If you are concerned that your involvement in a situation will lead to a conflict of interest (or the perception of one), please err on the side of caution and pass the issue along to a more neutral moderator.

2.) Exercise professionalism. We expect all of our moderators to be respectful and courteous, and to maintain a professional decorum whenever interacting with players -- including problematic players. Be polite, but firm, and report offenses and warnings to the subforum we have dedicated to such matters. Remember that everything you write to another player (even in PMs) is essentially public and can be shared, so if you are having a bad day or are starting to become upset, the best thing to do will be to stay away from the forums before you do something that can be used against you.

• Be respectful towards your fellow moderators and refrain from boasting about your moderating, blaming other moderators, or otherwise acting in a manner that demeans a fellow moderator, especially in front of other people. You are part of a team, not a competition.

3.) Have fun! Moderating is not a job, even if it sometimes might feel like one. While we expect you to be fair and polite, we also want you to have a blast participating in the community as a fellow poster. If the stress of moderating is starting to get to you, let us know, and if you want to take a break, the door will be opened when you want to return. As long as you moderate respectfully and impartially, you're welcome to have fun with it!


MODERATOR-PLAYER INTERACTIONS


1.) Ensure that your personal opinions are not mistaken for staff rulings. If you wish to give an opinion, it helps to precede it with a note that you are writing from your own opinion and not on behalf of the moderators, or any other category of staff. Remember that your posts carry a great amount of authority whether you intend so or not, and people will take the things you post more seriously than they would if you were just another poster.

2.) Do not fight with the players. Everything you write is a copy-and-paste or screenshot away from being used against you. Do not argue with the other posters, level threats or insults, or allow them to bait you into a fight. You will be removed if you cannot keep your temper under control.

3.) Do not moderate your own topics, or topics that you are involved in. If you started a forum discussion, or are actively participating in one, have somebody else moderate if it gets out of hand. Moderating topics that you have a personal investment in will lead to the perception (and reports) that you are abusing your moderator powers.

• Forum reports that players have written against you should also be handled by another moderator. Do not handle these reports yourself.

4.) When someone is in violation of the rules, and the offense is minor or has minimal effect on the discussion, PM the poster the nature of the infraction and give them a chance to moderate themselves. Should they fail to adequately do so within a period of time specified, you may edit their message for them.

• When editing a post, please write the reason in the "Reason for editing this post" function below the main text box in order to identify who moderated the post and why it was moderated. Editing a post should only be used when the poster is refusing to adequately moderate themselves, or otherwise not cooperating.

5.) Only publicly moderate a topic as a last resort. If the topic is toxic in nature, causes the responses to become toxic in nature despite multiple warnings, or is otherwise a major breach of the forum or server rules, then you are allowed to publicly moderate the topic, explain your reasons why, and whether or not there is a possibility of reopening the topic.

6.) When closing a report, please send a PM to the poster who filed the report, copied to the Moderator group, with the course of action taken and the reasoning for it.

[DM Ditto]

DM Code of Conduct updated - February 2017.


02/21 - Minor updates, mostly to account for the fact that the Code references subforums that are only accessible by DMs.

[Maecius]

Quality Control (QC) consists of players who are considered to be knowledgeable on NWN2's game mechanics. They aren't expected to know everything, but that they stand out above the crowd and are willing to investigate to solve questions conclusively. They have been invited into the QC team because they are willing to invest time to help develop and maintain BGTSCC.

QC supports the server:

• By reporting bugs (and checking if something actually is bugged)
• By discussing and testing the impact of proposed changes in a broad manner (PvE/PvP balance, Roleplay impact, player experience, area-map quality, etc..)
• By coming up with ideas for future improvements
• By helping out players in-game and via the forum when they have mechanical questions

The QC forum is the only forum that is open for other staff groups ( DMs, Devs, etc ). This happens because the discussions that take place in the QC forums affect other groups and their input is wanted and sometimes needed. All staff members are encouraged to take part in the conversations when appropriate, but it should be borne in mind that QC players were invited into their respective team for a specific purpose and skill set. It is the QC team's job to crunch numbers for assessments. If other staff members disagree with an assessment the buck stops with the QC coordinator, the lead development staff, or the admins.

---

GENERAL CONDUCT

1.) Be fair. Your position is not an invitation for you to favor your faction(s), your friends, your player character(s), or anybody you like. Nor is it an invitation to punish people who you dislike. While it is impossible to entirely divorce yourself from your biases, we expect you to try and be fair at all levels, because you are expected to provide informed and objective feedback on BGTSCC's mechanical content.

2.) Exercise professionalism. We expect all of our QC members to be respectful and courteous, and to maintain decorum when interacting between QC members and other staff in general. QC as a group is heavily fact-based, so try to use citations and numbers when possible.

3.) Make certain your rewards are logged. QC members are entitled to 15000xp per month. It is your responsibility to be certain the XP you withdraw and the DM giving you the XP are logged in [redacted link]

4.) Be discrete when using the online testing package. All QC members have access to [special tools, link redacted] for testing live on the server. When doing so, keep the fellow players in mind. Avoid testing - if possible - when the server is almost full and try to not be disruptive when doing so ( i.e. avoid areas that many players are in )

5.) QC Voting. The best instrument to come to decisions is to discuss things as a team and iron them out. Having majority votes doesn't produce good decisions at all. The vote only matters after you have discussed and worked out a solution to ensure that everyone is on the same page. It brings out dissenting views, which can renew the discussion. Until a vote isn't necessary anymore, whenever a vote happens, those voting are expected to post and justify their vote.

6.) Have fun! Continuous testing and discussions will take its toll on you. Make certain that the first priority is having fun, even if that means reducing your activity on the QC forums.