Moderation

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Table of Contents

General Guidelines

Moderators are users that are given special tools to enforce the Terms of Use of secrethitler.io, as well as the rules on its Discord server. Thus, Moderators must be ambassadors for the game and should behave respectfully at all times towards users new and old, other Moderators, and even users receiving a ban.

Enforcement of the rules entails noting violations, warning violators, and punishing any violators if necessary. Typically, violations are to be addressed with a Warning > Timeout > Ban protocol, but there are exceptions as stated in the ToU. If any non-urgent action needs to be taken against a user that is currently in a game, Moderators shall be patient and wait until the game is finished.

It is heavily recommended Moderators enable the right sidebar to monitor the general chat and have Discord open, when in-game, and become familiar with screenshotting tools, such as ShareX, in order to record violations.

Moderator Panel

A page, only accessible by staff via the secrethitler.io lobby, that serves as the core of on-site Moderator activity. A log of all Moderator actions dominates the right side of the page and can be sorted by Mod/Date/Action/Player/IP/Comment. Along the left side of the page is a list of all online players and their IPs, all Moderator tools, a "Player or game name" input box, and a "Comment" input box. Moderators will use these input boxes to target a user or game name and attach a description before selecting a tool.

Various tools are listed and categorized:

Comment without action - Adds a Moderator's comment to the mod log without taking an action.

--Warnings--

Issue Warning - Sends a warning pop-up to the user, provided the person can't be warned directly.
Delete Most Recent Warning - Deletes the most recent warning on a user.
See Warnings - Shows the list of previous warnings on an account.

--Revoke Access--

Ban user - Renders a targeted account inaccessible.
1 Hour IP Timeout - Bans an IP for one hour.
6 Hour Non-IP Timeout - Bans an account for six hours. Does not ban IP.
IP Timeout - Bans an IP for 18 hours.
Non-IP Timeout - Bans an account for 18 hours.

--User Actions--

Set as verified - Manually verify an account.
Reset player cardback - Resets a player's cardback to default.
Reset player bio - Clears a player's profile bio.
Toggle player private-only (Permanent/18 hours) - Turns a player's account from public to private and logs them out. Can also be used to untoggle a private-only player.
Log out user - Logs a user out of the site.

--Games--

Delete game - To use this, select the game from the mod panel, or go into target game and copy the UID and paste in the "Player or game name" input box previously mentioned.
Reset game name - To use this, select the game from the mod panel, or go into target game and copy the UID and paste in the "Player or game name" input box previously mentioned. Does not require use of the "Comment" input box; the game name and creator name will both be listed automatically in the log of this action. Note: Unlisted games do not need to follow the rules on game names.

--General Chat--

Set general chat sticky - Creates a 'sticky' message that sticks to the top of general chat. Can be applied through broadcasts as well. To remove a sticky, set sticky with just a space in the comment box.
Clear general chat - Clears the entire general chat. Put the username or select from userlist to clear the chat of a specific player.

--Grant Access--

Restore User - Remove any pre-existing timeout or ban.
Restore IP - Remove any pre-existing IP timeout or ban.
Create login bypass key - Creates a one-time use code for players to bypass any account creation restrictions.
Toggle: Disable account creation - Turn on to disable account creation. Only use when necessary.
Toggle: Disable game creation - Turn on to disable the creation of games. Typically only used minutes before a site reset.

In the upper left corner of the mod panel is the broadcast tool used to message to general chat and all games, as well as the Discord server. An option to sticky the broadcast is also given. Please use the broadcast only when necessary.

Additional notes

IPs are obfuscated, and the obfuscation pattern randomized with every site reset.
The "Player or game name" input box is case sensitive.
By default, the log only shows 500 entries. 500 more may be called up via the "get 500 more mod actions" button at the bottom of the log. Use sparingly as this may cause lag.
The top of the panel includes not only the broadcast tool but a few other tools for your convenience when navigating the panel.
The toggle actions and Create login bypass key action do not make use of the "Player or game name" and "Comment" input boxes.
Ideally, most offenses should be logged with detailed, but short descriptions so that any other Moderator may learn of them quickly.

Reports Panel

modreport

A page, only accessible by staff via the secrethitler.io lobby, logging the 500 most recent reports. Moderators will be able to view each report's time of creation, game UID, reported player, reporting player, comment, game type, and status of resolution. Moderators may also sort by these fields.

If a report has been made and no Moderators have since accessed the log panel, the panel's icon will be glowing for all Moderators, even those that weren't logged in at the time of the report. The icon will stop glowing once any Moderator has accessed the log.

Upon resolving a report, Moderators must use its toggle to show to other Moderators that the report has been handled appropriately.

Signup Panel

A page, accessible through secrethitler.io lobby, showing the recent signups. Moderators will be able to view the date, username, obfuscated IP, account type and E-mail verification status of the new accounts. The default view is set to Successful Signups for public accounts, but a moderator can toggle the list to access different, helpful views, such as Private Signups.

Game Specific Tools

From the lobby view, Moderators may view each table's creator.
In a game, observing Moderators will...
- have a button, labeled "Mod Chat", that allows them to view roles and cards via the chat box. Note: This tool may only be used if there are no Moderators in the game.
- have a button, labeled "Mod end game", that allows them to end the game and choose the winning team. Note: Game deletes in 5 seconds, so make sure to have taken whatever screenshots you need beforehand.
- have a button, labeled "Peek Votes", that allows them to view each player's selected vote. Note: This also shows player's roles.
- have a button, labeled, "Freeze/Unfreeze", that allows them to halt the progress of the game. Additionally, freezes the remake button, but does not affect chat. Please remember to unfreeze to allow the game to continue/remake.
- have a button, labeled, "Delete Game", that allows them to delete an inactive or thrown game. They can enter a specific reason for the action. If the box is left empty, it will automatically label the game as 'dead'.
- bypass the "No Observer Chat" filter when speaking.
- be able to select text from the chat box for copying.
- have access to text commands that manipulate the game. These commands are as follows:
  - /forcepick {president seat #} {chancellor seat #}
  - /forcevote {seat #} {ja/nein}
  - /forceskip {seat #}
  - /forceping {seat #}
  - Note: When forcevoting, please vote last so as not to influence the other players with your vote.
- in a private game, be able to view chat and player names and even speak.

AFK Policy

A policy has been put in place to combat players who become away-from-keyboard(AFK) too often. First, to identify an AFK player, that player must be AFK for a minimum of three minutes. If that player has not returned in that time, that player should then be reported to Moderators. Players are then expected to remake unless the game is ranked and razor-close to ending. If the latter is the case, players should immediately request a Moderator via lobby chat or, more preferably, Discord #mod-support. The arriving Moderator must then decide if wins/losses shall be given and which team is the winner. If instead the players remain seated for more than 3 minutes and the AFK player returns in time to continue playing, the AFK is no longer valid.

Next, Moderators must resolve the reports and determine the number of recent AFKs the reported player has. AFKs are to be counted in a chain with 24 hours, at most, in between AFKs. For example, if a second AFK occurs twenty hours after the first and the third AFK occurs ten hours after the second, that is considered a "3 AFK chain" because there is less than 24 hours in between AFKs. The determined number of AFKs in the chain period are to be labeled on the most recent AFK report in Discord #player-reports by means of "reaction".

Finally comes the consequences. If a player has one AFK in their chain, they are to receive no punishment for said AFK. However, if a player has two AFKs in their chain, that player is to receive a 6 hour timeout. For a "3 AFK chain" players are to be handed an 18 hour timeout. For a "4 AFK chain" players are to receive a BAN. Any players found evading this rule, yet still AFKing many times throughout the course of a few days, are to be discussed by Moderators to determine an appropriate punishment.

1st AFK = No Punishment

2nd AFK = 6 Hour Timeout

3rd AFK = 18 Hour Timeout

4th AFK = Ban

In certain cases, a player is allowed to leave an active game without punishment. Before the first election is voted on, a player is allowed to leave if they don't have time to play, they don't want to play 6p (etc.), or there is a seated player they have blacklisted. After the first election is voted on, those excuses may not be used. A player is also allowed to leave during a game in case of an emergency. For any of these situations, the player must contact a Moderator to explain their reason for leaving.

Sometimes, a player intentionally leaves the game without a good reason to do so. These are to be punished in addition to AFK count. First, count the leave/ragequit among the player's "AFK chain". Determine whatever consequence is required, if any. Before applying it, factor in that the ragequitter intentionally ruined a game for other players by leaving. The resulting punishment should be a ban or an 18 hour timeout at the very least.

Trial Moderators

Trial Moderators are users that are being tested for the Moderator role. Trial Moderators are tested on their activity and judgement of reports. This test may last for many weeks. If a Trial Moderator fails the test, they are stripped of the Trial Moderator role. If they are, instead, successful in the test, they are promoted to Moderator.

Trial Moderators do not have any special color, special symbol, or elevated standing in userlists and have very limited access to the tools Moderators have as they are not expected to resolve issues on their own.

On-site, Trial Moderators have access to the Reports Panel in the same manner Moderators do. Trial Moderators may also see a table's creating user, view a user's obfuscated IP in that user's profile, and view the Mod Log (but not use any of the Moderator tools).
On the Discord server, Trial Moderators have no significant powers but instead have limited access to various Moderator-only channels.

Using what is available to them, Trial Moderators should aim to help Moderators determine appropriate actions on reports and relay their judgement via the #private-trial-mod channel.

Recruitment for the Trial Moderators is announced on-site and on Discord, with a linked application form, when the Moderator team is lacking members. Any user may apply.

Applicants are required to have an active account on both secrethitler.io and its Discord server. All successful applicants are required to have Two-Factor Authentication enabled on their Discord account.

🌟Senior Moderator and Veteran Staff

Senior Moderator is a recognition role given to the long term members of the Moderator team that exceed expectations with their dedication and commitment to the community. Senior Moderators do not have any additional responsibilities or any visual difference from other moderators. The decision for who is qualified for this role is made based on many factors like activity, experience, decision-making, consistency, and the overall influence.

The Senior Moderators that retire from the team are given the Veteran Staff role. Veteran Staff members can be distinguished with their light blue color on Discord. On site, Veteran Staff members can choose to toggle between this color and elo color. They can also hide their elo just like moderators!

Both Senior Moderators and Veteran Staff members are featured in 🌟Staff Hall of Fame🌟.

Admin Actions

Set wins/losses - Instead of a comment, put a number to set a player's wins/losses. Use a "+" or "-" before the number to add to or subtract from the player's wins/losses.
Set R (rainbow) wins/losses - Same with setting a user's wins/losses except this will set their rainbow game's wins/losses.

--User Actions--

Rainbow User - Instantly grants a selected user the appropriate amount of games to achieve rainbow status.
Get user IP - Request the real IP being used by an account. This should only be used in extreme circumstances.
Delete user - Deletes a specific account from the database. Does not delete profile.
Rename user - Renames a specific account. Renames the profile as well. Put the desired name in the "Comment" input box.
Delete/reset player profile - As player profiles are stored separate from username and password, this deletes the specific user's profile. Should be used to completely reset a player and/or clear all of a player's mark on the game.

--Punishments--

Ban & IP ban player for 18 hours/one week - Bans an account permanently. Bans its IP for the selected amount of time.
Ban IP fragment (xxx.xxx or xxx.xxx.xxx) for 18 hours/one week - Ban a selected IP fragment for the selected amount of time. Must use real, unobfuscated IP.

--Roles--

Toggle Contributor Role
Toggle Tourney Mod Role
Remove Staff Role
Assign to Staff Role - Staff Alt
Promote to Staff Role - Trial Mod
Promote to Staff Role - Mod
Promote to Role - Veteran Staff
Refresh Staff List - Refreshes Staff userlist without needing to reset the server.
Reset server (double click)

Being an Active Moderator

In order to keep the role of Moderator, one must stay active. This involves investigating player reports, using the Mod log, and taking part in Moderator discussions/votes on Discord. If a Moderator appears to be lacking in activity, they may be subject to having their role revoked. This is to ensure all Moderators are actively helping the site and community and to make room for those who wish to have the role of Moderator.