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PSA: All About Report Abuses
Written by soggypickle, Jodimo, and Col_StaR
Special Thanks to Scott, kjh567, and NewAgeMC _
Written by soggypickle, Jodimo, and Col_StaR
Special Thanks to Scott, kjh567, and NewAgeMC _
What is a Report Abuse?
A Report Abuse is a forum post that allows users to file a formal complaint about another player whom they caught breaking the rules. Once the player files a Report abuse, the staff will look over each report and proceed with the necessary action. By allowing players to report rulebreakers, players are able to help take justice into their own hands and ensure that such an offender does not go unpunished. Think of it like a Citizen’s Arrest in MCGamer.
Report Abuses are essential for the community, and a significant amount of bans occur as the result of successful Report Abuses. The community is a lot cleaner thanks to the hard work of many dedicated players.
Why Post a Report Abuse?
- Because a good community is a vigilant community.
- Because it looks good on Moderator Applications.
- Because the staff can’t catch everyone on their own.
- Because the only thing you hate worse than hackers are hackers who get away with it.
- Because three guys decided to write thirteen pages worth of a PSA about it. The least you could do is put it to good use.
As many will notice, we do have two different systems you can use to report a player: the /report command, and the Report Abuse section on the forums. The question may cross your mind, “why do we have both?” Well, they might seem similar, but both are useful for different situations and outcomes.
The /report command is generally useful for quick, on-the-go reporting, such as reporting someone for hacking while they are chasing you if you don’t have time to open a recording software. This command requests for an available moderator to observe and punish the person you have reported.
If no moderators are available, or if you simply were not able to do the /report command on a suspected rulebreaker, you can always fill out a Report Abuse. Report Abuses do not draw immediate attention from staff members, but because they include evidence proving the user broke a rule, staff members can still punish the accused player on the spot. Many players prefer to fill out a Report Abuse instead of using the /report command because they know it gets results.
What Do I Need to File a Report Abuse?
- A brain capable of reading, writing, and identifying rules that have been broken on the network.
- A forum account on the MCGamer forums.
- The name of the Minecraft account you are reporting.
- Basic server information (Gametype and Region are Required. Time, Date, and Server are optional information).
- Video or Image Evidence, depending on the rule being broken. More information on Evidence requirements can be found in a later section.
- Between 2-5 minutes of free time to submit the Report Abuse.
All Report Abuses should follow a specific template which asks for all of the necessary information. Following this template makes such Report Abuses much easier for the staff to review and generally speeds up the process. Not following the template or not providing all of the necessary information will result in your Report Abuse being thrown out; in the amount of time it takes for us to find missing information or decypher a single misformatted Report Abuse, we could process three Report Abuses.
The template is as follows:
Code:
In-Game name:
Gametype:
Region:
Reason:
Proof:
Key Times on Video [Optional]:
Time, Date, and Server [Optional]:
I [insert name here] agree that in submittingthis report that all MCGamer terms of serviceare being followed to the correct extent andthat should I remove or do anything to tamperwith the evidence I provide, I may be liableto being punished. Should I for any reason needto remove evidence, I will contact a member ofstaff.- In-Game name: Here you should provide the name of the user that you are reporting, NOT your own name.
- Gametype: Here you should explain which gametype the offense was committed in. Please note that “gametype” refers to anything that is located on the Minecraft Server. If the offense is committed in a Hub, please specify “Hub” under this section. If the offense was not committed on the Minecraft Server, you may simply put “N/A”.
- Region: Here you should say which region the offense was committed in: US, EU, AU, or CA. If you are reporting something that did not occur on the Minecraft Server, you may simply put “N/A”.
- Reason: Here you should explain what offense the user committed. Please be as specific as possible when describing the scenario as it is a lot more helpful to say “bob123 had been abusing multiple people,” than just saying “Abuse”.
- Proof: This is the most important section in the entire Report Abuse. Without it, the entire report will be overlooked and closed. You should have proof to back up your accusations, as we cannot just go off of someone’s word.
- Important Note: For things that can only be proved with video evidence, such as hackers, block glitching, or bug abuse, we expect to see some form of video evidence. Screenshots will be accepted for other offenses that can be proven with a screenshot, such as chat offenses and inappropriate skins.
- More information on Evidence requirements can be found in a later section.
- Key Times on Video [Optional]: If you are using video evidence in your Report Abuse, you can fill this section out optionally to point out what parts of the video show the offense(s). This is especially helpful to the staff member reviewing your Report Abuse if the video you attached is very long, as most do not want to watch a 10 minute video to only find 10 seconds of evidence somewhere in the middle of the video.
- Time, Date, and Server [Optional]: If you have the information, we prefer knowing the time, date, and server that the offense took place in. It is helpful to the staff member that is reviewing your Report Abuse so that they can check server logs, and gather general information.
- Disclaimer: “I [insert name here] agree that in submitting this report that all MCGamer terms of service are being followed to the correct extent and that should I remove or do anything to tamper with the evidence I provide, I may be liable to being punished. Should I for any reason need to remove evidence, I will contact a member of staff.“ This agreement on the bottom is required for your Report Abuse to go through. You should understand that because you are the one submitting the evidence, you are also responsible for making sure that the evidence will be accessible. Even after dealing with a player, we still need their evidence intact for reviewal. Make sure to replace “[insert name here]” with your own in-game name. If you ever need to remove evidence make sure to notify a staff member so that they can reupload the evidence.
http://www.mcgamer.net/threads/in-depth-reporting-guide.252323/
How to Make a Report
Before you submit a Report Abuse on our forums, there is a few things you will need. Make sure you have registered a forum account, and have some kind of evidence against the player that you are reporting. Please note that reports with no evidence attached to them whatsoever will be overlooked.
If you meet these prerequisites, the next step is to head to the Report Abuse section on our forums, which you may access by clicking HERE. The webpage you see should look like the one below. Click “Report Abuse Template”, the option that is highlighted in red.
After you have clicked on “Report Abuse Template”, scroll down a bit and you should see a section of the thread that is enclosed in a green box titled “Code:”, which contains the template your Report Abuse threads should be in. Highlight all of the contents and copy it to your clipboard.
After you have copied the template, head back to the first page we looked at, and this time you will instead click “Post New Thread”. You will notice that there is two of them, but either button will work fine.
Once you have clicked on “Post New Thread”, you should be taken to the page where you can begin to construct your Report Abuse! It should look like the picture below.
You will want to title it with the name of the person you are reporting, followed by the offense they have committed. It is preferred that you separate them with a dash. For example, if you were reporting someone named bob123 for advertising, your title would look like this:
The next step is to paste in the template that you copied earlier.
Now, fill the template out! If you have any uncertainties with how to fill it out, refer to the “What goes into a Report Abuse?” section earlier in this PSA. There, you can find out what exactly needs to go into each section of the template. The image below is a good example of what your report should look like. When you are finished, click “Create Thread”.
With that, you have finished submitting your very own Report Abuse! You will be notified when it has been reviewed by a staff member and a message stating that “The user has been dealt with appropriately.”
How Not to Make a Report, Part I
- Do not think you shouldn't bother with a Report Abuse at all, and that even though it would be a good thing for the community and for yourself to get one less rule breaker off our server… it is clearly not worth the paperwork. It is.
- Do not forget to sign your name at the bottom clause, thus ensuring that you are aware of the rules, and can't break them whenever you want.
- Do not submit an hour-long video with no Key Times, ensuring that staff members do not have to spend an hour watching the video for a single moment of rule breaking.
- Do not provide image evidence when video evidence is required, and vice versa.
- Do not forget to give the name of the player you are reporting.
- Do not post a Report Abuse in the Ban Dispute section.
- Do not forget to follow the template.
- Do not refuse to use proper grammar or complete sentences.
- Do not swear, disrespect, and insult the staff.
- Do not swear, disrespect, and insult anyone, even the person you’re reporting. You do not want to report a rule breaker, only to break the rules yourself.
The most important part of a Report Abuse is the evidence: without evidence, the staff cannot do anything. However, it is important to remember that the type of evidence you provide is just as important as the quality of the evidence itself. There are two types of evidence being accepted: Image, and Video.
Image evidence is an image that captures the rules being broken in one or multiple still pictures. Picture evidence works best for capturing chat-related offences, such as Spam, Advertising, Admitting to Hacks, or Abuse. However, Image evidence is not considered sufficient for more severe or complex offences, especially Hacking. However, exceptions can be made if evidence of the hacks can be definitively shown in a single image, such as a screencapture of a minimap or gamma increase, or a user clearly using Waterwalking.
Image Evidence Requirements:
- The image must be hosted on imgur.com, droplr, or via forum attachment. Gyazo or prntscn images are not accepted due to the fact that images are automatically deleted after a certain amount of time.
- The image must be unedited and uncropped. We must be able to see your full Minecraft window to ensure validity.
- The image must clearly show the identity of the user being reported. Their name must be clearly readable.
- The image must show the user being reported breaking a rule.
- There are no size nor file type constraints. However, the evidence must be clearly viewable and readable by staff members.
Video Evidence Requirements:
- The video must be hosted on Youtube or Vimeo.
- The video must be Unlisted. This ensures that the video evidence remains private to everyone except the investigating party.
- The video must be unedited. If the video has any edits, such as cropping, post processing, slow-down, speed-up, or background music, it is considered invalid.
- The video must clearly show the identity of the user being reported. Their name must be clearly readable.
- The video must show the user being reported breaking a rule.
- There are no size or time constraints. However, the evidence must clearly be viewable in a high enough quality that the offence is clearly visible.
- We suggest that your video be at least 15 seconds long with many close-up shots catching offender in the process of breaking the rules. Uploading at a size 360p or greater with a high-quality codec with minimal loss is advisable.
How Do Reports Get Processed?
Immediately after submitting your Report Abuse, it is visible to all staff members on the team. Since there is a lot of staff (roughly 120 moderators), it usually gets responded to very quickly - anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple hours. However, with cases that require Sr. Staff review or someone who speaks the language of the player being reported, a report can sometimes take a longer amount of time to process.
Once you post it, here is what it will look like to the staff (sans comments, of course):
It is still in the Report Abuse section, except we can see everyone’s reports instead of just your own. In this screenshot, we see there is a single report, awaiting review from a Moderator. There are over 150 staff checking Abuse Reports frequently, so when one of us sees that there is a pending Report Abuse, we close it and deal with the user with the evidence that you have provided. It is an efficient process that makes it as simple for you as it is for the staff.
How Not to Make a Report, Part II
We get a lot of Report Abuses every day, and as such we see a lot of mistakes as well. Here are a few examples of incorrect Report Abuses so you know some common (and not so common) mistakes to avoid.
Conclusion
Now that you know about the Report Abuse system, the main weapon players can use against rulebreakers around the network. While most people cannot be bothered to even consider a Report, the players who want to make a difference don’t mind making Report Abuses. To anyone and everyone who does their duty finding and reporting rule breakers, you have the community’s thanks.
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