Addressing Rule-Breakers in EU

[Col_StaR]

Hey folks,

So over the past month or so, I've received a number of complaints about player-centered issues in EU. Players are claiming that the number of rule-breakers on EU has increased dramatically, and that the current EU staff is rather short-handed right now to deal with the sheer number of people on over there. Our previous strategy was to continue hiring EU moderators in hopes of relieving enough of the burden on the EU staff to get a handle on the region. However, the complaints have continued. As a result, Chad has instructed me to handle the situation directly.

A lot of cynicism has circulated around the EU region recently. "Wasteland" and "Hack-pocalypse" are phrases I thought I'd never hear describe a region of thousands of players, but in my research that's what's been said. Worst yet, some players have even gone out of their way to accuse MCGamer of simply, "not giving a [redacted] about EU", when in reality our devs and EU staff continue to work that region day after day. The worst phrase I've heard about Europe is that it's a, "lost cause."

If our EU region was such a lost cause, Chad wouldn't have assigned me to oversee the reclamation of EU.

Over the last 48 hours, I've been making the necessary arrangements in order to make this happen. I have a team of talented and willing team of staff volunteers. I have the necessary lines of communication and organization to coordinate our efforts. I have a full briefing available in text, and one in-person one planned within a few days. I have our objectives, obstacles, strategy, and timeline planned and ready to go. Lastly, perhaps most excitedly, I have some planned changes in policy that I want to push in order to accomplish my task. I have a mere 1 month of complete my objectives, but I have the flexibility to do anything needed to get it done.

But no matter how many moderators volunteer or how many documents are written, none of it will matter without community input. And that's why I'm writing this to you now.

While you may merely be players, you all possess a massive amount of influence within the community once everyone is organized towards a common goal and a common good. EU has faltered under neglect and cynicism, and it's about time we, staff and player alike, change that.

• You may not have the powers of a staff member, but you have the power to report rule breakers where moderators cannot be present.
• You may not be able to command players and remove trouble-makers, but you can encourage positive interactions and marginalize trolls who would seek to do harm for their own enjoyment.
• You may not feel as if you are a significant person, but you can be a part of a significant body of players who seek to make a positive change in a region that deserves it.

My strategy is a unilateral approach by both the staff and the playerbase into the European region. The staff will focus on formally removing troublemakers, maintaining the servers, and hiring new EU moderators. The playerbase will then be responsible for fostering a positive environment in EU in addition to assisting the moderators with their tasks. And should both sides accomplish their tasks, we will have succeeded in returning EU to its former glory.

I am about to begin a campaign within the MCGamer community to do something that people have claimed would be impossible, and I'm going to need your help.

Are you pumped up? Want to help out? Got an idea of how to help out? Tell us in the comments!
The operation begins on Saturday.

 

[Mooclan]

Absolutely! I'm so glad to see this effort happening. I'll try to personally log onto the EU servers more and try my best to help out where I can. I'm rather interested in seeing what's going on within EU, seeing that I don't generally go there. I'm sure that others will try to help out as well, I can't wait to see where this campaign goes.

Some general guidelines:

• Record, Render, Report. Hackers, rule breakers, and anyone else that you feel isn't helping the atmosphere.
• Keep Calm and Carry On. Even if someone tries to argue with you, keep a level head. Don't blow up at them, just ignore them in chat, or say something like "I'm sorry, but I don't want to answer that."
• Type a TON of smiley faces! It makes people happier. Trust me, it works.
• Say "LOL" and "Oh, haha " to anything that is even remotely funny. Ties into the above.
• If you're even thinking of hacking, please don't. You won't be helping.
• If you have any friends or acquaintances who hack or might hack, please convince them not to.
• Get your friends to help out! The more people we can get to help with Col's Campaign (ooh, alliteration) the better!

(okay, it's been like 3 hours since this thread was created, and no one else replied yet? That's just odd.)

 

[arsenal]

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

 

[Mango]

Being an EU player, I already report quite a few rule breakers, and I will continue to do so to the best of my ability. I don't like the idea of people categorising my region as a lost cause, and I'm sure staff and players alike will try their best to disprove comments such as these.

 

[Brandon6895]

I don't understand. So you want all EU players on saturday to report as many people as they can or something?

 

[Zacharoutio]

This is a question that has eluded for a while now, so I thought this thread would be perfect to ask it. Say I am in a game and it is Deathmatch just me and him, a hacker. What should we do? I don't have time to open recording software without him killing me, but I don't have time in poke a mod in TS and perhaps for some reasons I am not in some kind of call with anyone. Does that hacker just get away with it? What should I do?

 

[AMooseMan3]

can't tell if a briefing discussing removing hackers in a game or a briefing discussing invading Russia.
Either way, I hope your efforts will result in taking back EU!

 

[Mango]

This is a question that has eluded for a while now, so I thought this thread would be perfect to ask it. Say I am in a game and it is Deathmatch just me and him, a hacker. What should we do? I don't have time to open recording software without him killing me, but I don't have time in poke a mod in TS and perhaps for some reasons I am not in some kind of call with anyone. Does that hacker just get away with it? What should I do?

After the game has ended, whether you win or lose, take note of the name and pass it on to a staff member. They have the ability to see which game a user is in therefore tracking the hacker down would be easy.

 

[RC_4777]

I don't understand. So you want all EU players on saturday to report as many people as they can or something?

I'm pretty sure the "operation" he references is a staff plan. He just wants to bring community attention to the issue and ask for people to try to do anything they can to help.

 

[boboy1999]

I agree. I use to play in the eu servers but I switched to the us for this reason. All the players should come together and make the mcsg community a better place.

 

[Mooclan]

I don't understand. So you want all EU players on saturday to report as many people as they can or something?

I'm pretty sure the "operation" he references is a staff plan. He just wants to bring community attention to the issue and ask for people to try to do anything they can to help.

This:

My strategy is a unilateral approach by both the staff and the playerbase into the European region. The staff will focus on formally removing troublemakers, maintaining the servers, and hiring new EU moderators. The playerbase will then be responsible for fostering a positive environment in EU in addition to assisting the moderators with their tasks. And should both sides accomplish their tasks, we will have succeeded in returning EU to its former glory.

Edit:
"Fostering a positive environment" somewhat means "Be nice," in a fancier way. In other words, try to make it a better place. If you're normally the type that would say "GG10 Rekt" after getting a kill, instead of saying that, don't say anything at all. Or if you win a game and meet the same players as last round, say something like "That was a good fight." instead of "rekt m8 umad?"
Also, assisting the moderators refers to
A. Recording and reporting rule-violaters (aka hackers, spammers)
B. If you see a staff member who is being insulted by a player, tell the player (nicely) to please respect staff.
C. Respect staff. (Ties in with the above) and don't get in their way if they're doing something. Don't talk to them for no reason when they are trying to do their job, and don't get in the way.


Col, a question.
When you say you have flexibility and policy changes possibly coming, does that mean that there will be special cases, such as consequences for having a negative impact on the community, such as someone who gets reported for saying something along the lines of the ever-so controversial line, "GG10"? Also, does this mean there could be potential rule changes coming up in order to improve the situation?

 

[Col_StaR]

Col, a question.
When you say you have flexibility and policy changes possibly coming, does that mean that there will be special cases, such as consequences for having a negative impact on the community, such as someone who gets reported for saying something along the lines of the ever-so controversial line, "GG10"? Also, does this mean there could be potential rule changes coming up in order to improve the situation?

While I do not have any plans to remove trash-talking like "GG10" and "getwrekt" (there's a deeper moral argument at hand there), I do have some plans at hand. They will be unveiled at the official announcement thread on Saturday.