Management of violations

Work method

First and foremost, it is not up to a player to determine whether he or another player has violated the rules. It is solely the moderator's task to assess. The moderator has the assistance of other, sometimes more experienced moderators, as well as several tools, including:

• The rulebook - aims to inform and prevent the most common offenses or abuses. The rulebook should help players and moderators to know what is not allowed. If it is not stated in the rulebook, it is allowed. However, there are exceptions. If the management determines that an action was fraudulent or in some way created problems or otherwise worsened for the server or a larger number of players, there is room to hold a player accountable for their actions. However, the action will be considered if it is not mentioned in the rulebook.

• Server logs - Most of what happens on the server is logged and can be used as evidence. For example, messages, locations, IP addresses, and who has built or destroyed blocks. There is nothing else that can dispute what is stated in the log. That is, moderators will rely on the log more than on a player.

• Sequence of events - What has happened, both in the past, recently, and directly related to the event, but also how, for example, a suspected player has played or behaved for a longer period, and if there are other previous penalties linked to the suspect. Players with many warnings or repeat offenders risk facing stricter penalties.

• Attitude - We also try to look at soft values. That is the players themselves. There are many factors, but for example, we can look at how remorseful one is or what attitude one has towards things and self-awareness. Even how one treats a moderator can affect an overall assessment.

In reality, we would like to summarize the entire rulebook in one sentence: Show respect and consideration to your fellow players... period. But unfortunately, reality is different.

We always try to talk first.

In most cases, the moderator's starting point is that, if possible and considered appropriate (no requirement), first talk to the one who has broken or abused a rule. Partly to try to understand if the player has bothered to read the rules, but also to obtain information, for example, if a rule is unclear or if the person has not understood what it entails. This can, for example, be linked to age and maturity. Then, there is a motivation to clarify something on the spot or in our rule text if several players misunderstand the same rule. The information obtained from this conversation can affect the penalty to a player's advantage, depending on its seriousness. The most important thing is not that someone is punished, but the most important thing is that it does not happen again.

Exceptions

The main responsible person of the server has the right to make exceptions to the rules if it is deemed necessary. The purpose of exceptions is, for example, to prevent an event from worsening because the rules state something that contradicts a temporarily suitable solution. We depend on resolving certain things quickly due to the limited resources available. Also, not all rules are watertight for every situation, and we must be able to handle it without ending up in a so-called catch-22 situation. There are some disadvantages to using exceptions as a method, but we believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in our case.