Moderator Application
Personal Information
Byond ID? LilPenpusher
CM Character? Misti 'Kobayashi' Rockwell
Are you 16 or older? Yes
Timezone CET
On average, how many hours are you available per week to moderate? 4 per day during work days, and whenever I wake up on weekends/vacation days. I'd say about 30 hours a week average if I focus on CM alone as a game.
Qualifications
Do you have any previous experience in being staff (not just SS13)? Used to be Discord Moderator on a variety of communities (by now retired from those positions) and was briefly an Admin on a TG-based Server a friend hosted for a small community.
Do you play any servers aside from CM-SS13? Grimdark 13 (the 40k one) and NSV, but CM is by and far my main.
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? No
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? Not to my recollection, 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? Discord's always open for me, so I'm more than willing to chat and talk with others at any time I'm available.
Common Staff Situations
A player randomly shoots someone at round start and MPs have detained him. Question implies I am either present IC or aghosted and thus saw them shoot without causality, meaning it's definitely not a case of escalation.
Check their stats. If they're new, it may just be a cause of misfire due to being green. I'd bwoink them and tell them to be more careful (like how to enable gun safety for example, and not to keep guns out on the ship if possible) and message the Mentors to see if any SEA could assist them. If a SEA is being dispatched to assist him but MPs are already doing their thing and brigging him for attempted murder, I may ask a more senior staff member (I can't do ARES announces) to suggest to the MPs to drop the charge and instead hand the newbie to the SEA, so he can be trained. That's assuming the player is respectful and apologises.
If the player is NOT new, and most certainly DID know what they were doing, then I'd bwoink them and tell them they are being noted for improper escalation for shooting someone up without cause, and to stop doing it in the future.
A player ahelps that a predator has violated the honor code when killing him, what should you do? Whitelist issue, so I can't do anything beyond the scope of the Pred breaking server rules.
Advise the player that I cannot help them directly, and that they should either make a player report about the incident or DM a Councillor of the Pred WL.
You see a player walking around the ship naked and clearly lost at roundstart. If I'm walking past IC, while playing, I'd stop by and see if I can help him myself. I'm not a mentor but helping new players should go without saying.
If I'm aghosted, or a high-importance role (CO for example) then I'd let a mentor know via mhelp.
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. Be very direct and tell him that arguing with staff in ahelps is not allowed, and toxicity even less so. Note them for this regardless of what they do next.
Inform them that they may make a staff report about my actions after the round ends, or that they can contact my Manager directly on Discord. If they continue to persist and bash toxicity at me, I would issue a 24 hour ban and add their continued toxicity on top of the previously issued note. Any further toxicity to staff in ahelps should not be tolerated due to this.
A player ahelps that a marine is named 'John Doe', how do you deal with this? Handle the issue by messaging the 'John Doe' player, telling him that his name breaks our acceptable names policy, and that he must change it. I'd offer him the chance to have me alter his name to a new one he wants. If he rejects and argues that his name is fine and doesn't break the rule, I would change his name to a new name of my choice, finish by telling him that he is to edit his character by the next round and change to a new, better name, and that he will face punishment if he does not comply and do so. Make a note of his arguing with staff in DMs.
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. If he starts using the gear to gun people down it becomes a rule break but until then it's merely a ML/SOP issue and MPs should handle it.
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? DM the Survivor and inform him that it's not allowed for Survivors to be hostile to the Marines as of currently. Check his notes to see if this, or similar, has happened in the past, and note it accordingly. Instruct the Survivor to drag the Marine's body back to a Medic so they can be revived, if possible. If not, offer an aheal to the dead Marine.
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. DM the MP and ask for their reasoning for locking the player up. Also DM the Req staff, if any were present at the time of the incident, to double-check the testimony of the MP and Player. Check logs as well, to check for hostile actions such as the player attacking a CT or the RO during his 'visit'.
If the arrest was valid due to, for example, breaking in, attacking req staff and stealing shit then the MP is in the clear. Check the Player's notes instead, and see if this sort of thing has happened before and act/note accordingly, due to possible grief/improper escalation.
If the arrest was invalid, DM the MP to free the Player and check their notes. If they have a history of making these kinds of faulty charges and arrests, consider a MP jobban depending on the circumstances. Otherwise, leave a note of the incident for the future.
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? Queen Mother the Xenos, telling them to be bold and spread the hive to the skies. Use some IC wording to hint at larva surge - that their numbers will increase if they hijack, and that Enemy numbers are low.
if Xenos don't react, SM the CO/XO and tell them to attempt a redeployment to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
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 them and let another, neutral-in-the-matter staff member handle the situation since I'm involved in the matter. Try and get the dead marines away from the guy so that me and other medics can finally revive them.
The round ends, a Marine starts shooting a hostile CLF member and the CLF member ahelps about being killed after the round ended. CLF and USCM are hostile and declared enemies. Non-issue since EORG doesn't apply.
A Marine is running around disarming, punching and stealing gear at round start. You receive an ahelp from one of the victims. In of itself an IC issue since it's just theft. Consider informing MPs about this so they can rein him in and get the gear returned.
Check his notes to see his past record. If he hasn't done this type of thing in the past, don't do anything but make a note of the incident for recordkeeping. If he has, and is a known offender, DM him and inform him of his continued roundstart fuckery offenses. Depending on how bad his record is, note him for it or consider a tempban.
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. Case of Improper Escalation. Tell the murderer that it was improper escalation, and that he should get the victim revived if possible. Aheal the victim if it isn't possible. Note the offender for Improper Escalation; if they already have a history of IE, then apply a tempban.
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 immediately to tell them that the Mutiny is not permitted, and that any mutineers are to stand down right away. Whoever doesn't stand down, and continues to try and attack CiC will be aslept and handled by me and other staff as required.
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. Racist comments are not permitted and the players making the comments will be DM'd to cut it out. Depending on severity I'd leave a note for the instigators of making minor racist comments IC.
A marine opens fire at round start in briefing killing multiple marines and instantly logs off. Clearly mass grief with the added bonus of logging off and avoiding admin intervention. Apply ban and file for a permaban. Aheal the dead/wounded Marines if Medical Staff is not sufficiently available to undo the damage.
You see a player playing a Xeno larva/chestburster run towards the frontlines straight from the Xeno hive the second they burst and die. Check notes and playtimes. If they're new, it may be a rookie mistake/not knowing what they're doing. DM them that they should avoid going near the frontline as a larva, and ideally stay in the hive until they evolve.
If they have notes relevant to this sort of incident, consider a Xeno Jobban due to griefing, otherwise issue a warning to the player and leave a note.
If they have no notes but are not new, tell them to stop doing this since it's griefing the xenos. Warn them and add a note.
You see a Xeno memeing, saying AYYLMAO, REEEEEE etc in hivemind chat, as well as insulting the Queen. Netspeak and also LRP due to insulting the Queen. DM the player and inform him of this, and tell them to cut it out. Leave a note about LRP/Netspeak as Xeno for the future.
A Xeno player calls the shuttle a "dropship". A different Xeno player ahelps that it's low role play to call it a "dropship". Inform the ahelping player that the term is fine since Xeno speech is 'translated' into English and so terms like OB, Dropship and gun is fine.
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. Correct ahelp since Marines specifically do NOT know what the threat on the planet is, thus not knowing of the Xenos.
DM the Command Staff player that Marines are not aware of the xeno threat before actually encountering it. Check notes to see if this has been an issue in the past, but otherwise don't issue any notes.
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. Quickly double-check with the two other Marines present if the story lines up and the Marine was killed specifically to try and get that third spot on the pod. If so, it's acceptable RP and one of the scenarios where Improper Escalation is acceptable. No action taken.
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'. DM them that insulting staff, especially about rulings, is not acceptable and a rule-break. Make a note of toxic behaviour towards Staff if they quiet down. If they continue to act out in LOOC/Deadchat then inform them to make a staff report or talk to my manager on Discord, and consider applying a short temp ban to help them cool 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? SSD players don't receive admin protection unless it's due to special circumstances such as the server pooping itself, people getting Polio or a admin midi causing people to freeze up/DC.
Inform the player that no action will be taken, and that he will need to get surgery as usual to have the embryo removed.
You see a fellow staff member give wrong information in an Adminhelp or incorrectly enforce a rule. Inform them of their wrongdoing in msay. Probably just a misunderstanding/slip-up.
If it's a repeat-case of me noticing this staff member wrongfully handling something, I would take this to my Manager and inform them of the case.
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? Rule 0.1 leaves some leeway in how to interpret and enforce rules, so it's possible both of them have a good point in their own right.
If their argument was them arguing a point then I'd either support whichever side I deem more reasonable or take it to my manager if the 'argument' is petty and childish insults since it's misconduct.
Why would you like to become a moderator? Been playing CM for a long time now and I want to somehow help contribute to either the Community or Game itself. Since I'm a doofus who is physically too braindead to even look at code without drooling, I figured trying my hand at moderating would be a good call. I've had my fair share of moderating experience in the past, and think it would be a lot of fun to help out as staff so long as I can balance staff work with actually playing the game.
In your opinion, what is the most important quality for a moderator? Fairness and a tough skin.
It's most important to remain fair and impartial, as any sort of moderating figure needs to be. You should always look at the facts, not at whether you like or dislike a person, or whether you're in a bad mood right now. Everyone should be treated according to the rules and JUST the rules, not your whimsical emotions at the time. By remaining fair, I believe one can build trust and approachability as a staff member.
At the same time, whatever action you take as staff, no matter how just or fair, will inevitably upset one side or the other. You must have the tough skin required to not crack under people openly showing their disapproval of you and your actions. Harassment is obviously not allowed and should be handled, but people may still voice discontent, and it's important to remember that you can never -ever- please everybody.
Anything else you Been thinking about Staff for months but never went for it. Reason is primarily that I'm afraid Staff work will cut too deeply into my freetime, and that I'll essentially just end up aghosted the entire day without ever playing the game.
So yeah, my main concern is remaining freed up enough to continue enjoying and playing the game, while handling staff work in equal amounts. A fair balance would be nice.