Moderator Application
Personal Information
Byond ID? Pfanner
CM Character? Phoenix 'Helix' Stafford
Are you 16 or older? Yes
Timezone Central European
On average, how many hours are you available per week to moderate? Easily 7-8 hours. Even though I'm soon picking up a new job, it shouldn't interfere with my capability of being active.
Qualifications
Do you have any previous experience in being staff (not just SS13)? None on SS13, but I did admin on a few Garrys Mod communities some time back.
Do you play any servers aside from CM-SS13? I used to play Paradise Station quite frequently and every now and then peek into TG, but for the time being, it's just CM
Provide links to any previous Colonial Marines applications that you've made:
Are you currently a staff member elsewhere (not just SS13)? If so, where? Nowhere
Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on Colonial Marines? Yes, but that was like 3 years ago
Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on ANY server? If so, which server, when, and what for? Not that I remember, I netted myself a ban on Paradise but never for longer than a few hours.
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, of course
Common Staff Situations
A player randomly shoots someone at round start and MPs have detained him. At first, I'd PM the player and ask him about his intentions. Investigation the situation is very important and crucial to understand whether or not the player had a legitimate IC reasoning to open fire on someone.
I'd check the players notes and get a clear picture of whether or not he's got a history of improper escalation. I'd take a look at the logs whether or not the situation that led to him opening fire had been properly escalated, if that's the case, I'd rule it an IC issue and let the MPs handle him as per Marine Law.
However, if that shouldn't be the case, I'd apply a note to his account, and, depending on the history of notes he has, escalate it to a ban. I'd also rejuvenate the affected player, seeing as this is now being handled as an improperly escalated conflict.
A player ahelps that a predator has violated the honor code when killing him, what should you do? Given that moderators are not responsible for whitelist holders like Predators or Synthetics, I'd tell the player to write a comprehensive report on the forum, perhaps linking it to him as well so he has an easier time doing so.
I'd also provide him with the Predators name and ckey so that he has an easier time writing the report.
Though if the scenario were to be a Predator just abusing the tools available to him, as in mass griefing or just randomly killing people, I'd have to step in and take action, such as noting and potentionally banning him depending on the situation.
You see a player walking around the ship naked and clearly lost at roundstart. I'd most definitely PM the player and ask him if he requires any help, guiding him through the steps of how to respond to me and so on. I'd give him the guide that we have on the wiki for him to read so that he can familiarize himself with the game and its UI.
Optionally, I could also spawn myself in as a SEA and take him under my wing in character to show him the ropes. I could also ask one of the available mentors to do this for me.
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. As written down in Rule 0.2 of CM, players are not allowed to argue a verdict given and should instead take it to a formal staff compaint.
This is also how I'd take care of it. I'd tell the player to go to the forums and write a Staff Report where he can then thoroughly explain himself so that Managment can review the case, providing him with a link to the appropriate section as well.
If he didn't cease to argue at that point though and instead rambled on, I'd most definitely apply a note to his account and make him aware of this, giving him a firm warning. If he kept on insulting, I'd apply a ban as I don't have to take rude and disrespectful behavior while doing my duty.
A player ahelps that a marine is named 'John Doe', how do you deal with this? I'd first of all PM the player and make him aware of the fact that this is not allowed, as per rule 12 which forbids memey names or those of celebraties.
I'd proceed to check his notes and get a clear picture of if the player has done this in the past already. If he didn't, I'd leave it at a warning and ask him which name he'd like for his character to have so that I can set it appropriately.
However, if the player already had an extensive history of breaking Rule 12 repeatedly and is known for this type of behavior, I'd definitely escalate this to a ban as per procedure so that he understands to not do it again.
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. I would observe the player for a while to make sure that the player in question isn't actually committing any rulebreaks. To my understand, this isn't really a rule break, so if nothing else happens, I'd leave it for the MPs to handle for breaching SOP and neglecting their duties.
If the player decided to heave these items just to eventually participate in combat, completely neglecting his role as a shipside engineer, I'd most definitely act on it by PMing him and checking his notes, proceeding from there. Rule 2 defines the Roleplay Standarts for all factions, and an MT suddenly joining in combat doesn't seem quite realistic.
I'd either warn him after having checked his notes, or escalate things with either a job ban or ban depending on his record.
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? I'd PM the survivor and ask him about his intentions. As Rule 2 defines that survivors may not be hostile until they spawned as an antagonistic role, I'd check the players note history and base my verdict off on that.
If he had done this in the past, I'd probably give him a job ban for the Survivor role or apply a normal game ban as per escalation and make him aware that this is not acceptable.
Of course I'd also aheal the affected Marine afterwards.
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'd contact the MP in a PM to get a better understanding of why he saw it fit to permanently confine someone over stealing.
I'd investigate if there had been any further interactions between the arrested Marine, MPs and other involved parties to make sure that there weren't any other crimes committed that the MP may have added.
If it wasn't the case and he was simply jailed for something as minor as stealing an attachment, I'd check the MPs notes to make sure that this isn't a frequently occuring habit of his and make him aware that this is by no means acceptable and the sentence must be lowered as MPs are bound to properly handle Marine Law and not apply arbitrarily harsh charges.
If he were new, I'd tell him why this is not okay and refer him to the appropriate guides to help him understand this.
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? On the Xeno side, I'd make an encouraging Queen Mother announcement to kickstart the Xenos into actually attacking and stop dwelling about, as this is delaying the game.
As for the Marines, I could send them a fax or subtly message the current Commander that he feels like encouraging his men to finish what they have started.
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? Since I'm directly involved in the case, I'd most likely ask in staff chat for an available moderator to investigate the case or simply open an Ahelp for them to take.
If I had the time however, I'd check the players notes and see if he has a prior record of doing this. If that's the case, most likely apply a job ban. If his history is clear and this is simply an accident, give him a strong warning and recommend for him to make sure that a patient has no prior medication given through the health analyzer.
The round ends, a Marine starts shooting a hostile CLF member and the CLF member ahelps about being killed after the round ended. I'd tell the player that according to Rule 4, factions that are hostile to each other may resume combat even after the round, as EORG only applies to friendlies attacking each other.
A Marine is running around disarming, punching and stealing gear at round start. You receive an ahelp from one of the victims. I'd first of all sleep the offender and send him a PM for him to explain as to why he's doing what he's doing. I'd check his notes and make sure that he's just messing about without any malicious intent, and if there aren't any notes, give him a warning and note while citing him that under Rule 13, massive shenangigans that negatively affect other players are not allowed.
If he already has notes regarding this and has done so in the past already, apply a ban as per escalation procedure and aheal those affected.
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'd investigate the entire case first of all. Getting an understanding of whether or not punching was all that happened and if both have properly escalated the fight.
If the Marine in question DID open fire even though he was only punched, I'd check his notes and see if there is any prior record of improper escalation pinned to his record. If not, I'd give him a firm warning and tell him that Proper Escalation must be followed at all times, and shooting someone who just punched you isn't acceptable at all.
If he has prior history of doing so, apply a ban as per escalation procedure.
I'd also rejuvenate the affected players in both cases, as no proper escalation is given.
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'd observe over to the scenario immediately and use MOOC to tell everyone involved to stand down immediately.
Those that don't immediately listen will be put to sleep so I can get myself a better view on the situation. I'd try to pick out the leader in the rally and ask him why he mutinies without having consulted with a staff member before this and check his notes.
I'd make the leader and everyone else aware that Mutinies must be allowed by staff first and also require good and elaborate reasoning.
If the situation is too out of hand for myself to handle, I'd get another staff member to assist me as well.
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. Under Rule 3, it's clearly stated that racism, no matter the type and severity, is not permitted.
I'd immediately tell everyone in the area off through MOOC and leave it at a warning. If they continued despite me having told them to stop, either issue mutes or notes depending on how the scenario developes.
A marine opens fire at round start in briefing killing multiple marines and instantly logs off. Given that this is a very classic case of grief, I'd apply an immediate ban to the ckey and rejuvenate everyone affected by the griefer.
I'd check the offenders notes and file for perma, as players like this have clearly no intention of playing by the rules and are just there to ruin other peoples fun.
If the player however had no prior notes before, I'd still apply a ban, though perhaps not immediately go for perma as it could have just been a new player who didn't know what exactly to do. In that case, he can always appeal.
You see a player playing a Xeno larva/chestburster run towards the frontlines straight from the Xeno hive the second they burst and die. Suiciding without an appropriate reason is not allowed.
I'd PM the player behind the larva and ask him why he did this. In the meantime, I check for his note record and make sure that this isn't a repeat offense. If he can't give me any decent explanation, such as the Queen is dead and the chances of victory are basically low to none just to not stall the round, I'd probably let it slide.
However if he did so just to spite the Queen and not taking it serious, I'd apply a very firm warning and note to his account or, if he has done so in the past, apply a Xeno ban.
You see a Xeno memeing, saying AYYLMAO, REEEEEE etc in hivemind chat, as well as insulting the Queen. I'd PM the player and remind him of the rules that excessive low roleplay chats are not permitted. I'd note it to his account and make sure this hasn't happened in the past already.
If it did or if he were to not stop, I'd either apply a mute or escalate it to a ban.
A Xeno player calls the shuttle a "dropship". A different Xeno player ahelps that it's low role play to call it a "dropship". I'd tell the ahelping player that this is not an issue, as Rule 2 dictates for Xenos that terms like "dropship" or "hydro" are just simply translated thoughts and may be used.
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'd PM the Command player and ask him as to why he stated such.
If he doesn't have an applicable roleplay reason for this, I'd give him a warning and check his note history if this has occured in the past.
Rule 2 defines that Marines have no awareness of Aliens on the planet, and unless the Command member had been contacted by Survivors from the planet somehow or an admin-ran event has contributed to this knowledge, he's not allowed to use this information at roundstart right away.
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. I think this is a very scenario based case. While Rule 14 dictates proper escalation and how it should be handled, I'd review this on a case by case basis.
If the Marine had properly roleplayed the scenario by portraying fear and the will to survive because Xenos are closing in and it's the final straw for him to take to get out of there, I'd probably allow it seeing as the round is pretty much over anyway. Players are allowed to roleplay fear and the will to survive, as long as it's within the rules.
However if there was no direct threat or prior interaction between the two and nothing actually prompts him to do what he did, I'd talk to the player and handle it as per the rules and escalation procedures and heal those affected.
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'. Once again, Rule 0.2 dictates to not argue with staff if they have made a verdict.
I'd tell him to stop arguing and debating my verdict and instead, take it to the forums where it can be resolved or consult a Mod Manager about it.
If he still didn't stop, I'd either mute him from dchat or apply a ban, depending on severity of his insults.
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'd tell him that while this is unfortunate, that I can't remove the larva from him the same case I couldn't revive a Marine because his internet dropped out as he was retreating from Xenos.
I'd tell him that this is just bad luck and timing, and that he needs to carry on as it is. Maybe also tell him that he can still rejoin as a Xeno after or take over the bursting larva.
You see a fellow staff member give wrong information in an Adminhelp or incorrectly enforce a rule. I'd note down what happened and take it up with a Manager. Perhaps talk to the staff member about in msay and try to get him to think about whether or not his call was right or not.
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? If I'm not involved, I'd just keep myself out of it and perhaps report the incident to a Manager for them to resolve it. Stating my opinion might make me seem biased to a situation I have no involvement in and might make me look bad.
Why would you like to become a moderator? I love playing on CM. I've got a few friends here that play it and one of them has recently gotten Trial Admin. I like giving something back to the players and be the reason that the environment is enjoyable for everyone, so becoming a Moderator is most definitely the right thing for me to take on.
Oh and because I was encouraged to give it a shot, so here I am!
In your opinion, what is the most important quality for a moderator? Empathy and Fairness I think are pretty important traits for someone that has to deal with players on a large community such as CM. You meet all types of people in all sorts of situations, may it be someone being salty over having died or someone being upset about their day, remaining impartial and open minded while showing understanding and fairness in your judgement to resolve a situation without any drama is most definitely one of the most important traitrs for not only a Mod, but generally for a human being.
Anything else you Well, I tried answering everything to the best of my abilities, so I guess good luck to me!