Moderator Application
Personal Information
Byond ID? Archimagirus
CM Character? Hoagie Howe
Are you 16 or older? Yes
Timezone GMT- London
On average, how many hours are you available per week to moderate? I'd say around 20Hrs, A few hours each day minimum.
Qualifications
Do you have any previous experience in being staff (not just SS13)? No
Do you play any servers aside from CM-SS13? Yes, Occasionally Paradise and TG Stations.
Provide links to any previous Colonial Marines applications that you've made: N/A
Are you currently a staff member elsewhere (not just SS13)? If so, where? N/A
Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on Colonial Marines? No
Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on ANY server? If so, which server, when, and what for? No
Are you familiar with the chat program Discord (its use is required)? Yes
Communication is a vital part of being a Moderator. Are you willing to actively do so with the team? Yes
Common Staff Situations
A player randomly shoots someone at round start and MPs have detained him. I would check to see how the situation is being handled. If the victim isnt too wounded, or is being effectively treated and the MP's are processing the crime correctly then I wouldn't interfere. If however the victim is not being treated and MP's aren't correctly enforcing Marine Law then I would step in with first messages encouraging the proper application of Marine law and the treatment of the wounded and if that fails, then escalating to direct intervention through direct questioning of involved parties to get both sides of the situation before applying any rulings or healing.
A player ahelps that a predator has violated the honor code when killing him, what should you do? I would first ask how the player believes the Predator has broken their honour code through their killing, ideally asking for them to point out clearly which aspect of the code has been broken. I would then inform the Predator player that their victim believes they have broken code and would get their view on what occurred and again, ideally getting them to mention any specific aspect of the code that allowed them to kill or act in that way. If both parties cannot find the specifics of the code that caused or prevent the breach of code then I would apply my understanding of the code to locate any breaches or exceptions. If the code has been breached then I would inform both parties of this and then move on to resolve the issue of the victims death through healing and returning to combat whilst the issue of Predator breaches is passed onto those in control of the whitelist.
You see a player walking around the ship naked and clearly lost at roundstart. Ideally I would undertake the SEA role and locate the lost marine. I would approach them, In character, And ask if they are new and required teaching. I would utilise the LOOC Channel to inform the player of what key presses they should use to reply to me, along with using such in order to explain the key presses and mechanics of the game that cannot be taught inside the role play environment.
I would first get an understanding of their knowledge and confirmation with SS13 controls as a whole and if needs be teach them the basics of movement and control within the engine, Both with a mix of In Roleplay instructions followed by LOOC Key stroke instructions. Once they understand the basics I would talk them through, again with a mixture of Roleplay instruction and LOOC fine tuning, gearing up as a marine, Firearms handling, Important locations on the ship such as Briefing and Medical, How to use their radio and interact with their squad, and how to properly deploy to combat.
In an ideal situation I would also seek to find a more experienced player within their squad and, In Roleplay, inform them of the new Boot and ask them to keep together as Battle Buddies in order to help them if they should get stuck or lost in the chaos of the operation.
A player is being very rude to you in adminhelps, calling you names and arguing everything you say. He is requesting to speak to an Admin+ staff member. The most important thing I would do is to maintain a professional and calm approach to replying. It is important that I do not respond in kind with insults and the likes which will further aggravate the situation. If it is clear that I am unable to resolve the issue, then I would inform them that I was contacting an Admin+ member in order to pass on their Ahelp to them, inform the Admin+ member of the situation and then pass the issue onto the Admin+ member.
A player ahelps that a marine is named 'John Doe', how do you deal with this? I would inform the Ahelping player that I would be resolving the issue and thank them for pointing out the breach of the ruling on Character names. Then I would message the player named John Doe and inform them of the rules of the Server, Specifically Rule 12 regarding Character names. I would then ask the player to change their characters name at the soonest possibility (Assuming I do not have the power to do so), along with suggesting using the name randomise system should they become stuck with coming up with a more role play friendly name. If they understand their error and do go ahead with the name change, then I can inform the first player that the situation has been handled and would be resolved for next round (Or earlier if we have the power to name change them). If the player refuses to change their name, I would again direct them to Rule 12, reminding them that again Pop Culture and Famous names such as John Doe (It is even given as an example) are unacceptable and failure to change the name will constitute further punishment under the servers rules.
You see a Maintenance Tech running around in armor and carrying a rifle. The security level is green and there has been no threat to the ship in the round at this point. In an ideal situation, I would undertake the role of SEA and approach them in Character to resolve the issue. Informing them in character of Marine Law and SOP (Standard Operating Procedures), and specifically saying how their having of armour and a rifle carry are breaching the code Green code of conduct. I would then give them a chance to remove their rifle and armour before returning it to its proper place. If they resist or are reluctant to do so, I would contact the current MP force so long as they are available and inform them of a marine breaching procedure. Ideally the situation should be resolved in a roleplay, in character manner.
A Marine ahelps that they were killed by a survivor. It is early round, the Marines have just landed, and the survivor claims that they were outright hostile to all Marines from the get-go and openly stated their intentions. How do you deal with this? Under current ruling of SS13-CM Survivors are in no way allowed to be hostile, So in this case there would be a clear breach of rulings and thus the situation would be handled accordingly. With heals and return to duty of the killed marine and relevant punishment for the survivor player. Assuming this question is posed before the implementation of this rule, I would first get the view of the victim and the events leading up to their death. Then I would contact the survivor and inform them of what is going on, before getting their view of events that caused this situation. If the survivor is shown to have informed the marine, or have given information to the marines that would have marked them as hostile, then the situation as it is stands. If the survivor hadn't informed marines in any way however then they would be informed that they required to inform the marines of their intentions within roleplay and punished accordingly.
You receive an ahelp from a player stating that an MP has locked them up in permanent confinement for running into Requisitions and taking an attachment that was laying around. I would inform the player that the situation is being looked into and to await further information. Then I would, Ideally within character as a role such as SEA or through roleplay faxes., contact the MP regarding a recent admission into permanent confinement, asking them to state the breaches of marine law that caused the punishment. Based on the response from the MP, requiring clear information on the law breaks that specifically lead to permanent confinement, the situation should be resolved in character where possible. With either the serving of proper sentence time, reduction of sentence or freeing of player through improper upholding of marine law. Failing an in character approach to resolving the issue, The MP should be informed of the specific punishments for each law break and how to properly time a prison sentence along with adjustment of the sentence to the proper punishment time.
The round is stagnating. There are 30 marines and 4 aliens. The marines won't leave the ship, and the aliens won't attack. What would you do, to "encourage" the sides to engage each other? I would ideally Queen Mother the Xenomorph side, informing them that the hive must continue to be spread and that they must use the tall hosts within the ship to further spread the hive through the galaxy. The marines should receive subtle messages to command to encourage a push back down to the planet lest the marine force lose credibility, roleplay reasons such as the retrieval of specific gear groundside before ordering a full evac and retreat can help push the forces together should they need it. If both sides are still reluctant to engage, then I would contact a staff member who ideally has access to ARES and spawning in order to bring the round to an end.
You are playing as a medic, and another medic overdoses all your patients and prevent marines from being revived. It seems like it may be on purpose. How do you deal with this situation? Firstly, I would inform the medic of what they are doing wrong before asking if they are new to playing the role. If they are new then I would inform them to stop treatment for now and get them to watch how I was treating a patient. Along with giving advise on the role such as not giving pills to someone's patient and instead using kits or removing armour in order to help. If they are responsive to this, then the situation is resolved as they are given a chance to learn the role along with correct how they are playing. However if they are refusing to learn and continue to overdose maliciously then I would message them as a moderator asking them to explain why they are continuing to overdose marines after being told how best to help. If they continue to do so and dont explain their actions, it will be treated as actively griefing and punished as such.
The round ends, a Marine starts shooting a hostile CLF member and the CLF member ahelps about being killed after the round ended. I would inform the player of Rule 4, The EORG section and let them know that Exceptions are made for normal enemies as EROG counts for combat logs between FRIENDLY players not hostile ones.
A Marine is running around disarming, punching and stealing gear at round start. You receive an ahelp from one of the victims. Ideally I would resolve the issue in character, in roleplay by informing active MPs of the crime and ensuring that the offending player is arrested under marine law and stolen gear is returned to rightful owners. I would inform the Ahelping player that the situation is being dealt with and will ask them what gear if any was stolen to ensure it is returned to them.
You receive an ahelp from a Marine saying that he was killed by another Marine. When you ask the murderer why, he said it was because the other Marine had punched him. I would inform the Ahelping player that the situation is being resolved before informing the offending player of Rule 14 of the rules regarding lethal force and proper escalation of violence. In that they would require a proper roleplay reason as to first fight amongst themselves and that proper escalation means that they cannot simply shoot the marine after being punched. The killed marine would be healed and the offending marine ideally punished within marine law in game for assault so long as they are understanding of and accepting of the consequences of their actions.
You find out that there is an improper mutiny occuring. The mutineers are rallying together and preparing to storm the CIC. How would you attempt to resolve this situation? I would firstly identify those who are likely the heads of the mutiny and inform them of the proper procedure with forming a mutiny on the ship. If the gathering is however too big to pick out leaders, a wider Msay to the marine force about proper mutiny procedure needing to be followed should be made. If they proceed to cease action until a proper mutiny is requested and accepted, it can be allowed to continue. However if they fail to do such the marines should be stopped and informed of the proper procedure in order to mutiny before being informed to disperse.
There are minor racist comments going on IC. 9 of the 10 people are laughing and RPing but one player gets offended and Adminhelps about it. I would ask the player which players are causing the offence before messaging those involved to stop with the minor racist comments as I believe that they have crossed the line when someone has been offended by the comments. If they continue I will direct them to rule 3 of the rules.
A marine opens fire at round start in briefing killing multiple marines and instantly logs off. The marines connection should be logged and banned according to the griefing rule whilst those marines killed should be healed and allowed to continue as normal.
You see a player playing a Xeno larva/chestburster run towards the frontlines straight from the Xeno hive the second they burst and die. The player should be contacted and informed of their actions under rule 11 regarding suicide and asked why they ran straight in and died. Should they have no good reason for simply throwing away a Xeno life they should be punished accordingly and the xenomorphs given a replacement larva if possible.
You see a Xeno memeing, saying AYYLMAO, REEEEEE etc in hivemind chat, as well as insulting the Queen. The player in question should be contacted and informed of the roleplay standard required on the server, along with the proper submission to the queens will as a Xenomorph. They should be given a chance to correct their behaviour and if they do, the issue is resolved. However if they fail to do so, they should be again informed of roleplay standards ruling and the punishment should they continue. If they continue still they should be actively punished for roleplay standard breaking.
A Xeno player calls the shuttle a "dropship". A different Xeno player ahelps that it's low role play to call it a "dropship". With the increased understanding of both sides through expected contact. I would deem it acceptable for Xenomorphs to understand what the word dropship means, as they will have likely heard or learned the meaning through colonists using the term or through previous contact with marines through the hivemind. (For example those at the fighting of WO) I would inform the ahelping player of my ruling of the roleplay standards, and if they are still not satisfied, I would seek a second opinion on the ruling from other mentors.
A Command staff player at briefing near round-start mentions there are aliens on the planet. You receive an ahelp from a marine regarding this. I would inform the marine that the situation is being resolved before informing the command staff of the role play standard ruling. Giving them a chance to correct this in future rounds before escalating to warnings and eventual punishment if they continue to breach the roleplay standard by specifically mentioning Aliens on the planet before contact is made.
You find a Marine killing another Marine on the EVAC Pod to take the last spot and claims it was RP as he was saving himself. There are two other marines in the pod along with him. It is important to contact the offending marine as to his in character reasoning for his killing of another marine. There should be proper escalation of his mental instability throughout the operation, the things they have seen and the things they have done in order to bring them to the point of killing a fellow marine just to escape. Such situations can create interesting roleplay situations provided they are properly escalated and handled. The marines themselves are all fit for duty and keep their code of honour of being a unit and so wouldnt normally kill another marine just to save themselves in normal circumstances. However, provide the marine has proper reasoning behind a decline in mental state, for example seeing fellow marines being torn to shreds before them along with nearly losing their own life numerous times in the operation without any help coming from fellow marines, may justify a roleplay breaking from this stability and unit mentality. If however the marine cannot reasonably justify a break from this marine mentality then they should be informed that their actions should properly escalate when it comes to violence amongst marines for roleplay reasons. Proper escalation could be a scuffle and fight at the pods for the last spot escalating into knives and eventual guns in order to escape for example.
A player insults you after you warn them for a minor issue and begins ranting in LOOC or dchat about staff and mentions you specifically, referring to you as an 'idiot' and a 'retard'. It is important to maintain a professional approach to the situation and not to get involved in name calling and arguing. If they continue to rant for extended periods, a message should be sent asking them to stop. If they continue or escalate then the issue should be reported to another mentor or staff member to handle since the issue involves me and thus shouldnt ideally be resolved as me and instead be handled by a third party to ensure bias cannot be applied.
A player ahelps saying he was hugged by a Xeno when he was ssd, and wants the larva be removed from him via admin powers. How do you handle the ahelp? I would inform the player that unfortunately the issue with SSD and active combat is something that is outside of our control. It may be annoying to deal with but it is in the nature of BYOND and connection issues that sometimes you can die due to SSD or lag.
You see a fellow staff member give wrong information in an Adminhelp or incorrectly enforce a rule. I would wait until they have finished their adminhelp before messaging them about how I think they may have handled the information or ruling wrong. It is important that such issues dont snowball into full arguments whilst in the middle of resolving an ahelp and I think it would be better to deal with mishandling afterwards within the staff community rather than step on each others toes so to speak whilst dealing with an ahelp.
Two staff are arguing in msay if an ahelp is breaking a rule. Because the staff who took the ahelp thinks the player broke a rule, they ban the player based on their interpretation of the rules, with others thinking the person was fine. What would you do? I would ideally not get involved in a full blown argument over the understanding of ruling, and rather encourage each party to justify their understanding of the rules before getting the input of the wider staff team on which ruling is the correct one. Enforcing rules can be very confusing with specific scenarios so it is important to hear out both sides of the argument before making a decision on which side is correct.
Why would you like to become a moderator? I have enjoyed playing CM for a good while now and would like to help support the community and game. I want players, both new and old to enjoy playing the game along with helping to nurture and maintain a positive community that is able to welcome newer players along with keeping old ones. In particular I would like to be able to help show newer players the interesting community we have built and let them create their own characters and stories to share with others with their time in CM just as I have.
In your opinion, what is the most important quality for a moderator? In my opinion the most important quality in a Moderator is hearing out both sides of an argument or situation before making a decision. Both parties should be able to voice their view of events, along with reasoning behind their actions before a decision is made.
Anything else you I hope that my application is sufficient and I look forward to possibly working with the staff to help make CM the best server it can be.