RetroMC Punishment Manual
The RetroMC Punishment Manual (RPM) is designed to outline the punishments issued to players for different offences.
This document is currently in draft and thus, only staff can edit this.
ℹ️ Notice: It is at the discretion of staff on how this document is handled, based on a case-by-case scenario.
1. Griefing
Griefing on the RetroMC server is considered violations of the community standards and will lead to disciplinary actions.
1.1. RetroMC Definition
This is defined as the intentional and unauthorized removal/breaking and/or addition of any block(s) that are part of a build created by another player, without that player's explicit permission.
Claiming of builds by someone who isn't/aren't the maker(s) of said builds (or without permission from them) is also considered as griefing.
Exception: Players can modify builds in a village they own or with the approval of the player who made said builds or staff members.
This exception allows village owners to manage and modify constructions within their village boundaries, assuming overall responsibility for the area's development and maintenance.
It is important to note that not all interactions with blocks are considered griefing; specifically, the breaking of random blocks placed by other players that do not form part of a structured build does not typically fall under the definition of griefing.
However, context and intent behind the actions are taken into consideration in each case; examples of actions that do not constitute griefing include the LMBD ban IDs bebfa and de69b.
This definition serves to protect the integrity of players' creations and ensure a respectful and constructive environment within the RetroMC community.
1.2. Punishment Guidelines
ℹ️ Notice: This point is currently in draft form and may be subject to revisions. Staff and community members are encouraged to provide feedback for its improvement.
These tables provide a framework for understanding how different types of griefing actions are perceived and the corresponding disciplinary measures. It categorizes actions by their perceived maliciousness—from none to extreme—and outlines the punishment length/type ranging from warnings to permanent bans. The guidelines emphasize the importance of intent, the nature of the blocks involved, and the impact on other players.
| Action | Perceived Maliciousness | Description/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Destroying random cobble placed on the ground not part of a build. | None | The action seems accidental or inconsequential, lacking intent to harm. |
| Harvesting another player's farm and not replanting. | Low | This action disrupts gameplay but might not be intended as harmful. |
| Destroying another person's house or "structured build" | Medium to High | This deliberate action affects another player's effort and gameplay significantly. |
| Stealing glowstone from a pathway. | Medium | This action disrupts the design but is limited in scope, showing some intent to harm. |
| A griefing group working to destroy an entire town. | Extreme | Organized, large-scale destruction intended to cause significant harm and disruption. |
| Theft of valuable blocks (diamond, gold, etc.) which are part of a another player's build. | High | This action, in most cases, is undertaken with malicious intent. Note: Certain cases are excluded from punishment criteria (Village maintenance for example). |
| A town mayor destroys a structured build of a player that hasn't been online for weeks or months with no expectation the player is coming back. | None (if approval is sought via ticket) Low (Action undertaken without informing staff) Medium to High (same conditions as above) |
These are actions taken for town maintenance, and no punishment should be issued assuming they follow proper procedures and open a ticket. However, repeated unauthorized actions may indicate underlying malicious intent. |
| A town mayor has a dispute with a player and without seeking mediation via a ticket, desires to destroy all of a town member's builds. | Medium | Actions stemming from personal disputes that lead to destructive behaviour without attempting to resolve issues through the ticket system. |
| Number of Blocks Broken | Type of Blocks Broken | Perceived Maliciousness | Punishment Length/Type | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-10 | Non-valuable | Low | None/Warning | Destroying random blocks on the group that aren't a part of a structured build. |
| 1-10 | Non-valuable | Low | Warning/1-3 Day Ban | Stealing from another players farm. |
| 1-10 | Non-valuable | High | Permanent Ban | Destroying another players house without permission. |
| 11-50 | Valuable | High | Permanent Ban | Stealing multiple diamond blocks. |
| 51+ | Any | High | Permanent Ban | Mass destruction of another player's property regardless of block type. |
| Any | Any | High (with prior incidents) | Permanent Ban | Repeatedly griefing across different areas or after a previous ban. |
2. Appeals
ℹ️ Notice: This point is currently in draft form and may be subject to revisions. Staff and community members are encouraged to provide feedback for its improvement.
A permanent ban that has been appealed will be reduced to 30 days from the acceptance date.
3. Advertising
Advertising can be broken up between malicious and non-malicious advertising, and thus, various cases should be handled differently. It should be noted that mentioning the names of other servers or other off-topic activities and discussing them is not necessarily a punishable offence; however, the issue lies in the direct advertising and distribution of other server IPs/links.
3.1. Malicious advertising
An example for what can be considered malicious advertising: https://bans.johnymuffin.com/b/e476cE
As you can see, this user is directly inviting people to an alternative server and asking them to play there, which is a direct conflict of interest for the server.
From the context given, this player seems to be at best unaware of how this could cause harm to the server, or at worst, just doesn't care and thus, was promptly banned.
Players like these can make appeals, but will have a permanent record on their ban history.
3.2. Non-malicious advertising
An example for what can be considered non-malicious advertising: https://bans.johnymuffin.com/b/465d4E
As you can see, this user had posted a link to another server in response to another player asking if there were any legacy anarchy servers.
While this user did post a domain name/IP address to another server (which is a conflict of interest and does harm the server), it is clear that it was not their intention to directly harm the server.
Players like these should promptly be met with a warn, a mute then a ban for this behavior if the offense is repeated.
4. AFKing/idling and alternate accounts
RetroMC has a feature wherein AFK players will be auto-kicked if they're idling for longer than 30 minutes; however, this feature can be bypassed via anti-AFK pools and other various methods.
For a while now, players haven't really been punished for bypassing the autokick timer, and there has never been an issue with people using anti-AFK pools.
However, around 11th January 2024, some players were using one or multiple accounts to merely idle while not being at the computer playing the game for long stretches of time – this resulted in players who are not being particularly active having immense gain for very little work, all while bypassing an intended auto-kick feature.
This was against the best interest of the server - due to the entity count being in the thousands at a time, it lagged the server by bringing the TPS down to the single-digits, as was the case with the players who did this originally.
This would have resulted in punishments on a case by case violation; however, this is no longer an issue, due to an automatic task that limits entity counts from mob spawners.
Players can AFK and use alternate accounts for any reason, except for:
- collecting loot as an AFK player
- evading punishments issued by staff (Ban/mute evasion)
However, players aren't allowed to be AFK at mob farms consecutively for a long time (around 2 hours, for example); staff may issue punishments if players exceed this limit. Additonally, autoclickers, kill aura, or any other external cheating method is forbidden.
5. Player and Pet Killing
ℹ️ Notice: This point is currently in draft form and may be subject to revisions. Staff and community members are encouraged to provide feedback for its improvement.
Player killing (outside of designated PVP zones) and the killing of other player's pets (without explicit permission) are subject to permanent or temporary bans on RetroMC. This includes:
- Killing players using lava or cactus without explicit permission (Permanent ban)
- Creating trapped portals (Permanent ban)
- Killing other players pets without explicit permission (Permanent ban)
Note: PVP is permitted in the Nether and designated PVP arena in the overworld.
6. Legacy Infractions
Infractions which have taken place more than one year in the past are dealt with differently than under normal circumstances, and thus, the following will outline the proper procedures for dealing with these circumstances:
- Griefing: When a grief is found which has taken place more than a year in the past, the staff member is not required to issue a ban unless they judge that the grief is of significant severity that they feel it is necessary or worthwhile for record keeping. The seniority and prominence of the player should also be considered when issuing punishments in these cases. The grief should always be rolled back if possible.
7. Language
ℹ️ Notice: This point is currently in draft form and may be subject to revisions. Staff and community members are encouraged to provide feedback for its improvement.
Any language in main server chats that isn't in English is not allowed; however this does not apply to /msg or /mail, though said communications must comply with all community standards.
Staff are not obligated to moderate chat in a language they don't understand and can (at any moment) enforce this rule.
8. Disrespect
ℹ️ Notice: This point is currently in draft form and may be subject to revisions. Staff and community members are encouraged to provide feedback for its improvement.
Punishments issued due to violation of the "Be respectful" rule vary depending on severity of the infraction.
Any form of bigotry/racism is always a permanent ban if the user who posted the content containing it was on any of RetroMC's platforms (in-game, Discord, wiki, etc.).
If the content is in a user's profile (Discord), then the user is warned and they have a set time limit to remove it, lest they get banned.
Players who actively harass others, express rudeness, trap them, or otherwise ruin other players' experience on RMC on the aforementioned platforms get a warning, then a mute if repeated (if applicable) or temporary ban and then a permanent ban if the offender still doesn't comply.
9. Village ownership rules
ℹ️ Notice: This point is currently in draft form and may be subject to revisions. Staff and community members are encouraged to provide feedback for its improvement.
Village owners have certain privileges over what they can do in villages they own.
Allowed actions:
- Requesting to move unfinished builds &/or bases of inactive players via WorldEdit.
- Requesting permission to demolish a build of a player in their town that they don't see fit (Mayors have the right to decide what gets to stay and what dosen't in there town as long as they have express permission).
- The actions in question must follow RSPM § 12.
- Making/modifying paths, moving torches/lamps, etc. and small decoration modifications.
- Be promoted to village owner upon request if the current village owner is inactive.
- Village owners to-be must demonstrate an intent to maintain the village(s) they request to own, alongside activity in said village(s).
Forbidden actions:
- Any form of disrespect as listed in the above draft.
- Spamming village invites to players who don't want them.
- Claiming builds which were made outside of the villages you own (without permission from the players who made said builds).
10. Bans
High Profile Bans
High profile bans must be dealt with by an Operator or Admin. This means any bans that require a intensive investigation, especially done via tickets, as well as any ban that's evidence is deemed "sensitive"
11. Staffing
Staff Review
The admin team is responsible, and has the right to any moment, evaluate and review another staff's actions against a player to make sure that it is in complete step with RPM and RSPM and all other staff guides and policy manuals. If an Admin finds conduct that is not in compliance they hold a right to hold the staff member in question accountable via a ticket where staff wide discussion regarding the matter will occur. An Admin cannot do an evaluation on themselves, Only an Admin who is completely independent from the situation can do the review. If there is a scenario where all available Admins are under Scrutiny then it falls upon an Operator to do the review.
- All staff at any level is subject to review. Punishment for violating the rpm and other Staff Manuals are to be decided upon later.
12. Exploits
It should be noted that not every exploit that is not explicitly stated here will not be a bannable offence; all exploits are up to interpretation by the staff team unless it is explicitly stated here.
Noclip (bypassing physical barriers)
"Being in places you shouldn't be" is the synopsis for this exploit, via unauthorized means to get into normally places.
Examples include: reogging/rejoining mid-fall to avoid fall damage; using doors to phase upwards, breaking and replacing blocks to get into closed off areas, et cetera.
The scale of the punishment is up to inerpretation and will be defined by the harm caused by doing it – if little to no harm has been done, players should be warned for their 1st infraction; however, if major harm has done and/or a player has repeated infractions, it should be considered as a major exploit and would be grounds for issuing a permanent ban.
13. Regarding Loopholes
Loopholes in sections of this document must not be exploited.
As stated at the beginning of this document, staff handles the RPM on a case-by-case basis.
Changelog
All changes to the RPM are to be documented accordingly.
| Date (DD/MM/YY) | Change | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 21/12/23 | Inception of RPM | |
| 21/12/23 | Added Proposed Policy For advertising. | |
| 21/12/23 | Minor formatting fixes. | |
| 6/1/24 | Added Proposed Policy For Alt-accounts (afk). | |
| 17/1/24 | Formatting fixes. | |
| 17/01/24 | Approval of Advertising rules & Temporary Approval of afk-pool rules by ork. | |
| 18/01/24 | Edited Punishments on Afk-pools | |
| 19/01/24 | More formatting fixes. | |
| 10/02/24 | Add Griefing (RetroMC Definition) section to the RPM. | |
| 10/02/24 | More formatting fixes + rewording. | |
| 17/02/24 | Legacy infraction section added to the RPM. | |
| 17/02/24 | Implemented Template:User-bust. | |
| 17/02/24 | Proposed Draft for appeals and Language Moderation by ork added by Cruxy. | |
| 19/02/24 | Added draft for disrespect-related infractions. | |
| 25/02/24 | Added draft for village owner privileges. | |
| 03/03/24 | Rendered the anti-AFK-at-farm-rule mostly moot (thanks to a Project Poseidon commit). | |
| 09/03/24 | Add draft version of 1.2, convert drafts to use proper notices, make the TLDR text smaller in 4, remove from draft, and other miscellaneous formats. | |
| 09/03/24 | Reworded some parts of section 1.2, added some info to the language draft, fixed some formatting, and removed the TL;DR header in the AFK/alt-accounts section. | |
| 15/03/24 | Added Bans section and added rules for High Profile bans. | |
| 22/03/24 | Added draft for Player and Pet Killing section | |
| 16/04/24 | Added Staffing section and policy for Staff Reviews. | |
| 23/06/24 | Added reference to the time limit for idling-at-mob-farms. | |
| 15/07/24 | Added the Exploits section. | |
| 15/07/24 | Formatting fixes | |
| 5/08/24 |
