Moderator Application
Personal Information
Byond ID? Mercadier
CM Character? Bill Sutton
Are you 16 or older? Yes
Timezone GMT+10 (Melbourne, Australia)
On average, how many hours are you available per week to moderate? Varies week-by-week depending on my work roster, but usually at least around 10-15.
Qualifications
Do you have any previous experience in being staff (not just SS13)? I was once an admin on a gmod darkRP server when I was like 12
Do you play any servers aside from CM-SS13? Nope.
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? Nope.
Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on Colonial Marines? Nope.
Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on ANY server? If so, which server, when, and what for? Nope.
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? Yep.
Common Staff Situations
A player randomly shoots someone at round start and MPs have detained him. PM them to ask about it and whether or not it was intentional. If it was a deliberate but isolated incident, add a note and let the MPs handle it IC. If they have a history of griefing, inform them that they will receive a timeban and note.
Since lying is a possibility, it may be a good idea to PM the person who was shot and ask them if anything lead up to it if they seem to be answering dishonestly.
A player ahelps that a predator has violated the honor code when killing him, what should you do? Let an admin answer the ahelp, as I'm not supposed to handle WL issues. If there's no admins online (or the ahelp is just being ignored), PM them with a link to the honour code and let them know that they if they believe a violation occurred they should make a player report on the forums.
You see a player walking around the ship naked and clearly lost at roundstart. Ask a mentor to help them as SEA in mentorchat, or join as SEA myself to help them if there are no mentors available.
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. Ask them to calm down and inform them that being hostile isn't going to get anyone anywhere. If they continue behaving poorly, the actual issue would still need to be resolved as per CM's rules, but I'd definitely add a note about their unpleasant attitude.
If a higher staff member actually wants to handle the issue, pass it on to them.
A player ahelps that a marine is named 'John Doe', how do you deal with this? Politely PM the marine and and inform them that I need to change their name due to server rules, and ask them what they would like me to change it to. Choose one for them if they are unable to decide.
I wouldn't be especially inclined to add a note for something this minor unless they have a history of doing this every other round.
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. IC issue, leave the man alone.
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? Tell the player that survivors are no longer allowed to be hostile and give them a note for it, and let the rest be handled IC if this is their first time attacking marines as surv.
If they have notes for doing this kind of thing in the past, apply a note and jobban from survivor.
If the marine who was killed was alone, isolated and is at risk of going braindead, aheal them so their round is not impacted.
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. PM the MP and get their side of the story. If the permabrig turns out to be justified by marine law, inform the player that they can appeal, and it turns out they deliberately lied in their ahelp, add a note mentioning it.
If the permabrig was unjustified, PM the MP and tell them to put them in a regular brig cell with a timer immediately. If they've done this kind of thing before, a note and a jobban for griefing, and have another MP move the prisoner instead.
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? In most cases more experienced staff would handle this, but if it fell to me I'd most likely SM the queen or QM the xenos to hijack within the next 10 minutes.
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? Ahelp and try to RP it out ICly, since due to being involved it would be against procedure to intervene as staff myself.
The round ends, a Marine starts shooting a hostile CLF member and the CLF member ahelps about being killed after the round ended. Respond to the player and inform them that it is still permitted to kill members of hostile factions after round end, and that this does not constitute EORG.
A Marine is running around disarming, punching and stealing gear at round start. You receive an ahelp from one of the victims. PM the marine and tell them to knock it off. Whether or not I would add a note would depend on the severity, for example if they're just annoying other squad marines or if they're intentionally stealing important gear like spec weapons and tcomms parts.
Also, check note history for roundstart shenanigans and apply a timeban if this is a common theme.
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. Apply a note for Improper Escalation. If they're a new player and it's a first time offence, aheal the marine they killed and let the MPs handle it IC.
If they've either done this before or have been around long enough to know the rules, apply a timeban.
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? MOOC to tell them that the mutiny isn't authorised and they have to ahelp for approval first. If they attempt to mutiny anyway, sleeping them may be necessary.
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. IC racial remarks and comments can be a tricky issue and while it can be justified in-universe, it can just as easily be OOC comments disguised as humour.
Assuming the comments are reasonably minor, just politely ask whoever's making them to tone them down in future. More serious violations like repeated and unwarranted use of racial slurs or targeted harassment that is not justified in an IC context deserves a note and a timeban.
A marine opens fire at round start in briefing killing multiple marines and instantly logs off. Fairly self-explanatory mass griefing. Issue ban, file for perma if it's a brand new sock account or a player with a negative note history, aheal the marines killed.
You see a player playing a Xeno larva/chestburster run towards the frontlines straight from the Xeno hive the second they burst and die. PM them about it. If they're a new player or unfamiliar with the map it might be an understandable mistake, but if they've clearly done so deliberately give them a note and a xeno ban.
You see a Xeno memeing, saying AYYLMAO, REEEEEE etc in hivemind chat, as well as insulting the Queen. Give them a warning for LRP and ask them not to use netspeak in chat. Further action should be unnecessary unless they've done this before.
A Xeno player calls the shuttle a "dropship". A different Xeno player ahelps that it's low role play to call it a "dropship". Let them know that this is allowed by server rules as xeno communications are "translations" of xeno thoughts into English.
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. Due to the implementation of expected contact this is not as major of an issue as it used to be, but I would still ask the CO to avoid this in future as the USCM isn't ICly aware of the xeno role on the planet.
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. This is a difficult issue but, depending on the situation, this may be justified. If the marines in question are facing imminent death, there are no other obvious or accessible escape routes in sight and there is no time to look for another one, this could be reasonable roleplay not in need of mod action, especially if the player who was killed agrees that it was an IC issue and has no complaint to make.
A note/ban for IE would be merited if, for example, other pods were available nearby with free spaces or the marines weren't in any immediate danger.
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'. Ask another moderator to PM them as handling it myself would be biased. Should I have to handle it myself, note them, warn them about Rule 0.2 and tell them to knock it off.
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? Tell them that marines are not protected from xenos by SSD and they must have it removed ingame.
You see a fellow staff member give wrong information in an Adminhelp or incorrectly enforce a rule. Don't interrupt or try to take over the ahelp, but politely tell the staff member that I understood the rules differently and try to come to a conclusion with them - if that's not possible, ask a higher up to clarify.
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'd be willing to give my opinion, but I wouldn't interfere personally as it is not my place to do so.
Why would you like to become a moderator? I enjoy playing CM, and I like answering mhelps to help players. I'd like to resolve disputes and be able to help staff with keeping the server running smoothly, especially during the lowpop hours when I mostly play.
In your opinion, what is the most important quality for a moderator? Being able to deal with angry players politely, patiently, and professionally - not all ahelps are amicable.
Anything else you Be polite, be efficient, have a plan to ban everyone you meet.