RetroMC Staff Policy Manual

The RetroMC Staff Policy Manual (RSPM) is designed to outline the responsibilities and actions of staff members. The RSPM is intended to serve as the primary high-level reference document for all staff indicating the Operators' intent.
Amendments to "policy points" of RSPM should only be made by a Server Operator and are generally subject to discussion among other staff members.
Staff members are welcome to grammar check, change formatting and add links, without the approval of an Operator as long as the meaning of the RSPM isn't changed.
In instances where a staff member needs to deviate from this policy, they must seek approval from an Operator. If applicable, this situation should prompt a proposed amendment to the RSPM for future reference.

1. Ban Transfer Policy

A ban implemented on either the Discord platform or the RetroMC server does not automatically apply to the other. RetroMC staff have the authority to "transfer" a ban to the second platform, as determined by specific circumstances. Due to the manual nature of transferred bans, these transfers should only be carried out when the ban on the opposing platform is permanent.

2. Documentation of Ban Evidence

When issuing a ban, the staff member in question must provide evidence on the JBans platform. If a player lodges an appeal against a ban and there is insufficient evidence to justify the ban, the ban is deemed invalid and the player is pardoned.

2.1 Handling of Sensitive Evidence

When potential evidence is deemed sensitive and cannot be presented publicly on JohnyBans, an LVL2 ticket with the evidence is to be raised on Discord. This evidence is then to be stored in the RetroMC archive managed by Johny, with an appropriate note added to the ban in question.

2.2. Handling Pre-2022 Bans

Bans issued prior to January 1, 2022, are not subject to Section 1 stipulations and do not require evidence. However, if a request concerning the ban is made by the banned player or any concerned party, staff members are expected to strive to locate any possible documented evidence and share it, unless it is deemed sensitive. If the reasoning or evidence behind the ban can no longer be justified, an Operator Pardon should be issued in accordance with section 3.2.3.

3. Ban Appeal Process

All players are afforded the right to appeal against a ban. Staff members are encouraged to grant an appeal if there is a "reasonable" likelihood that the player will not re-offend.

3.1. Decision Making

In deciding to accept a ban appeal, staff must weigh the efficiency of available tools such as LogBlock, JGriefAlert, JVillage. Often, predicting whether a player will re-offend is challenging; however, staff are encouraged to give players the "benefit of the doubt," considering prior offenses on the server, playtime history, and other factors.

• Note: A player with multiple offences over 10 hours should be assessed differently than a player with a thousand hours.

3.2. Pardon Types

Various methods exist for pardoning a player, including but not limited to:

3.2.1. General Pardon

A ban appeal may be accepted if a majority of staff members vote in favour of pardoning a user. Staff must allow a reasonable time for discussion among enough staff members.

3.2.2. Issuer Pardon

The staff member who initially issued a ban retains the right to invalidate it. Operators possess the authority to reverse this decision.

3.2.3. Operator Pardon

Operators may unilaterally choose to accept a ban appeal.

3.3. Reinstating Bans

Bans that have been successfully appealed can be reinstated at the discretion of staff, particularly if they deem the player is acting in bad faith or in violation of community rules and expectations.

4. Transference of Ban from Other Servers

Players are not automatically banned from RetroMC if they are banned on another server. A player's ban may be "transferred" in accordance with 4.1. If the player is banned on another JBan server, a moderator or higher authority can initiate a ban transfer. If the player is not banned on another JBan server, an operator must approve the ban transfer.

• 4.1.1. There is a reasonable belief that the user on the original server and RetroMC is the same person. If the person on RetroMC is a cracked user, they should have their password reset instead.

• 4.1.2. They are assessed as being of poor character and are likely to break the rules on RetroMC. A primary factor for determining if this is true is the extent of damage they did to receive their original ban and how many times they have been banned previously across JBans servers. If it is a ban for minor griefing or something similar, that isn't sufficient enough reason in of itself.

5. Use of Beta Evolutions Mode (/authme betaevo)

This mode is reserved for high-risk situations and should be used for short durations. As it requires players to use a modded client, impacting the player count negatively, it is considered as a raid response tool. Activation of this mode can be done by a moderator or higher authority, and the activation must be communicated via Discord staff chat.

6. Confidentiality and Need to Know

Staff should use common sense when discussing information from private forms regarding RetroMC, BetaLands and associated services. Closed source plugins, internal files, and documentation are not to be published unless authorized by an Operator. Documents such as ban appeals and staff applications should be considered to be personal information and, therefore, shouldn’t be distributed without the express permission of the originator.

7. Staff Conduct

Staff are expected to be familiar with the Staff Onboard Guide.

7.1. General Discipline

Staff are to remain in control of a situation at all times and should never stoop down to the level that the offending member is residing at.
Staff members must also not do the following:

• Editing the roles or ranks of a user on the Server or Discord, thereby granting access to restricted commands, channels, or voice communications.
• Engaging in power trips, arbitrary moderation, or similar actions.
• Making major, non-approved alterations to the server.
• Disclosing confidential staff operations outside of designated Staff chats.
• Publicly revealing information related to Staff applications.
• Providing regular members with methods to bypass automated moderation, security protocols, or other functions.

7.2 Actions in other communities

A staff member can be dismissed from RetroMC as a result of poor behaviour in other communities.

Example: A staff member raids/"attacks" another Legacy Minecraft Server.

8. Rule Implementation

Our staff are charged with the enforcement of rules concerning both the Minecraft and Discord server.

8.1 Definitive Source of Rules

The Server rules page serves as the official page documenting rules to be enforced.

9. Staff Recruitment Protocol

The continuous recruitment of staff members is required to retain an effective and active staff team within RetroMC.

9.1 Eligibility Criteria for Applicants

An individual seeking to apply for a staff position must fulfil the following prerequisites:

• 9.1.1 Be a minimum of 16 years of age. Exceptions to this rule may be made with the explicit approval of an operator.
• 9.1.2 Satisfy the activity requirements for the Citizen rank, notwithstanding the possession of a donator rank.
• 9.1.3 Demonstrate a history of active participation in the community for no less than one month prior to the submission of an application.
• 9.1.4 Possess a Discord account and be prepared to undertake additional responsibilities pertaining to Discord moderation.
• 9.1.5 Have no record of severe punishments within the preceding six-month period. An exception to this requirement is given if the user is asked to apply by an existing staff member.
• 9.1.6 Members seeking a developer role may be exempt from certain requirements and are advised to initiate a Discord ticket instead.

9.2 Procedure for Staff Promotion

The elevation of an individual to a staff position may occur if the submitted application receives support from over 75% of the existing staff team.

• 9.2.1 In evaluating a staff application, consideration should be given to factors including but not limited to activity, skills, maturity, and offence history.
• 9.2.2 An operator retains the unilateral authority to accept or reject a staff application if deemed to be in the server's best interest.
• 9.2.3 Final approval for a staff promotion must be given by an Operator, or an Admin who has been delegated the responsibility.

9.3 Reapplication by Former Staff Member

• 9.3.1 Former staff members desiring to rejoin the staff team must undergo the standard application process.
• 9.3.2 Subject to an assessment by an operator, a rank higher than trial helper may be given.

10. Staff Activity Requirements

RetroMC staff are requested to adhere to specified activity levels. Those who fail to maintain this level of activity will have their permissions revoked, aligning with the principles of least privilege.

• 10.1 Administrative staff, with the exception of developers and operators, must engage in an average of ten hours of play per month to retain their standing as effective staff members. Failure to meet this requirement will result in demotion.
• 10.2 Staff members unable to fulfil these requirements are requested to notify fellow staff of the expected duration of their absence to prevent an inactivity-related demotion.
• 10.3 In cases where a staff member anticipates an extended absence (two months or more), they should be demoted and subsequently repromoted upon resuming active participation in the community.

11. Staff Hierarchy

Information about each rank's privileges may be seen in Ranks#Staff_ranks.
The hierarchy of RetroMC staff is outlined as follows:

11.1. Trial Helper

• Observe other Staff and learn from how they handle situations.
• Monitor channels and chat for rule violations.
• Participate in moderation when confident in the commands.

11.2. Helper

• Address rule-breaking issues within the server chats and voice.
• Ensure that issues are resolved without creating public drama.

11.3. Moderator

• Thorough understanding of the rules and server functions.
• Maintain a high level of activity within the Staff team.

11.4. Administrator

• Entrusted with managing the Community and Moderators at large.
• Report directly to the Operators, providing essential information.

11.5. Server Operator

• Possess an in-depth understanding of the server and its functions.
• Handle server functions, payments, and other high-tier issues.

11.6. Developer

• They develop different applications and/or plugins for RetroMC, depending on their skillset.
• They have the same powers as Helpers.

Changelog

All changes to the RSPM are to be documented accordingly.

Date DD/MM/YY	Change	Author
26/06/23	The initial version of the RSPM has been drafted. The intent of the document is to serve as the overarching staff policy document. This document is meant to outline the Operator's intent alongside providing authorizations on various actions.	JohnyMuffin
27/06/23	Removed header from the first line of the page, and thus, the table of contents now match up with the section numbers. Author names are now clickable & direct users to the respective author's user page.	Noggisoggi
04/07/23	Added avatars of respective authors into the changelog.	Noggisoggi
11/07/23	Added this page to Category:Server internals.	Noggisoggi
30/07/23	Add section 8 regarding rule implementation, add section 3.3 regarding reinstating bans, add section 1.1 regarding handling of evidence for bans pre 2022.	JohnyMuffin
07/08/23	Add sections 9 and 10, 11, and 12, reformat section three, redo RSPM information.	JohnyMuffin
08/08/23	Added Ranks#Staff ranks to section 11.	Noggisoggi
09/08/23	Added a missing point in section 7.1 from https://docs.retromc.org/en/latest/guide.html#code-of-conduct	Noggisoggi
18/09/23	Added this page to Category:Guides.	Noggisoggi
10/02/24	Added Developer rank to section 11.	Noggisoggi