Staff:Codex

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This codex exists for the sake of both the player base and the staff. Everything within helps to ensure that the players will find MassiveCraft's staff to be populated with honest, competent, and helpful individuals who work together to run a professional and fun server. As staff, and as players ourselves, we agree to adhere to these rules and guidelines for the betterment of the server.

Staff Expectations

The sections that follow offer not only a set of rules to follow; they present a set of positive goals. Other staff will make every effort to work with you to help improve conduct and performance. In some cases, failure to meet these expectations may result in demotion or removal from staff. Always ask a member of Direction Staff if you are concerned that you are not meeting the high standards expected of a MassiveCraft staff member.

Communication

Voice Chat

Being able to use Voice Chat is essential. One cannot become a Staff member without the ability to voice-communicate.

  • We encourage staff members to socialize with staff members over Teamspeak, Discord, or Skype over voice, but this is not an absolute requirement.
  • Staff members must show up at Staff meetings every once in awhile. Not voice-communicating with other staff is considered grounds for removal from staff.

Skype Chat

We use various Skype group chats as our main discourse of communicating.

  • Staff members are required to keep up-to-date with star emoticon marked messages. Turning off alerts from staff chats is fine, as long as important messages are read.
  • Staff members are encouraged to log onto Skype daily and also socialize with other staff members in Team chats, but this is not necessarily a requirement.

Professionalism and Competency

Public Conduct

Staff members lose certain public privileges while gaining some in return. The freedoms we surrender are necessary for good Public Relations.

  • Staff are not permitted to communicate opinions that do not positively reflect the staff, projects, or the server as a whole, be it privately or publicly.
  • Staff members may not publically the work of other staff, and must present a united front to the players, even if they disagree with the course taken.
  • Staff must be mindful of their words, as any staff member anywhere (even in private) speaks with staff authority. Players will say “Staff said X” instead of “SoAndSo said X”
  • Staff should discuss their issues internally in a constructive manner. They should not spread their dissent among players.

In-Game Rule Breaking

Staff members are held to the same standard as players are. Staff members, as such, receive the same punishments players receive when breaking the in-game Rules, and may be punished additionally as they are held to a higher moral standard.

Staff Sabotage

Staff members must never sabotage the work of other staff members, intentionally or not. This is including, but not limited to:

  • Passive-aggressive communication to other staff
  • Demoralizing staff members.
  • Using in-game or out-of-game actions to make the work of other staff members more difficult.

Keep Official Communications Professional and Effective

When communicating with players, communication must remain effective but also professional. For staff members, there is no such thing as a private conversation with friends. Anything you say can and will be used against you as a staff member at some point in time, no matter how much you trust the people you say it to.

  • All confrontations with players (including in-game warnings and punishments) must be done in as clear and professional language as possible, while also not using any internet or social slang.
  • All staff members must endeavor to speak and chat in proper English. You will not be recruited to staff if your English is too poor to form coherent sentences.
  • All staff members should avoid using internet-speech, nya-speech or street-speech in a non-ironic way when communicating with players.

Communicate with Direction

  • Any Staff member experiencing a dispute with another staff member must report this to Direction.
  • Any Staff member engaged in an online romantic relationship with another staff member must report this to Direction.
  • Any Staff member discovering critical information or serious anti-staff sentiment from a player or group of players must report this to Direction.
  • Any Staff member experiencing long-term inactivity or personal issues must communicate this to Direction.
  • Direction communication, when specifically stated, is 100% confidential and will only ever be discussed among the rank 2 and 3 Directors.

Providing Feedback

  • Staff members must provide productive feedback that is helpful, solution-oriented and free of any personal qualms.
  • As such, Staff members are strictly forbidden from being sassy, sarcastic, or passive aggressive with one another unless this is permitted by both parties in the framework of social banter.
  • Staff must remain goal-oriented, and should not criticize others without providing helpful feedback. Demoralizing someone from completing their project by only proposing issues with it is considered sabotage. If a staff member has more pertinent issues that cannot be solved with individual communication, they must request Direction supervision.

Rank and the Meritocracy

MassiveCraft functions on a Meritocracy which can be read about here. In the context of our server, it lends authority to those who have experience, skill, and dedication to their work. Being a staff member allows one a certain level of input in every decision that is made, however, we ask that staff members foremostly respect the chain of command in terms of the meritocracy. If a staff member cannot respect a higher figure of authority for personal reasons, they must at least respect their work and position.

  • Dissenting among staff with an authorization decision is permitted, though if a higher ranking staff member dictates authority by rank, this must be respected.
  • Staff members must not disrespect the hierarchy by engaging in activities that are beyond the scope of their department or position within their own department(s).
  • Staff members may not promote or demote other staff members based on personal preference. We have the Activity sheet for this.

Anti-Corruption

Anti-Corruption Minimalism

It is not enough for Massivecraft staff to not engage in corruption; one must avoid the plausible accusation of corruption in its entirety.Staff members on Massive do not demand player respect.They have to earn it through old-school, down-to-earth, and hard-to-earn ways.

  • Staff members must not use their rank as an advantage in-game. This is including but not limited to using one’s status as staff to support personal business or to gain special social standing.
  • In social situations, Staff members must not bring up their staff status in a way that goes beyond being proud of one’s accomplishments. A player should never be made to feel lesser than a staff member purely for being a player.
  • Commands may not be used for personal gain or for the gain of close friends. This is including but not limited to using commands such as “/Kick” or “/tpo” for self-entertainment, or to be seen as “cool” or to have fun unless this is done in a safe environment where players cannot see it.
  • Staff members abusing each other with commands for the sake of entertainment of both parties is permitted within a certain social framework, as long as this is not done in front of players, and as long as both parties consent and cease when either party objects.
  • Staff members must recuse themselves in any and all situations where their friends are involved in a rule enforcement or violation situation, or in any situation where a player accuses another player of something.
  • Staff members must avoid catering to the issues of their friends, specifically by hyperlinking threads or bringing up friend’s bans in staff chats so that they receive more staff attention than non-friend players would.
  • Staff members must avoid aiding in false glory dissemination in lore, world progressions, and the roleplay community in general. While referencing player characters or players themselves in lore-writing is tolerated, creating a status of glory and excellence beyond the means available to players in-game is not unless there is a Dungeon-Master specific reason to do so. If in doubt, discuss lore implementations with Lore Lead.
  • Staff must avoid false glory events for themselves. This is including, but not limited to, staff-hosted birthday parties, public glorification of a personal staff event by means of staff commands, or drawing otherwise exceptional attention to the personal circumstances of a staff member by means not available to regular players.

Anti Corruption Transparency

  • Staff members are encouraged to search each other’s logs, even if they trust the individual. This does not mean every private conversation is no longer private, but occasional peeks are encouraged with keywords or commands.
  • Staff members must report suspicion of corruption violations to Direction. Additionally, Staff members must do everything within their capacity to halt or otherwise prevent another Staff member from engaging in corrupt behavior or undo any corrupt actions that a staff member has taken, by for example destroying spawned items.

Staff confidentiality

  • Staff members must feel trusted and safe in Staff-only channels. Therefore, leaking any information or personal statements from any Staff channel (including but not limited to Skype, Discord, Teamspeak, Server Channels, and Forums) is grounds for immediate dismissal from Staff.
  • Staff confidentiality also covers the private information of staff members and players, including but not limited to identities, protected status, IP addresses, emails, player reports, ban appeals and more. Furthermore, hidden threads on the forum must never have their information spread among players.
  • In-Development matters must never be discussed with players unless the green light was given specifically by a department leader or Director. If in doubt, staff members must ask their department leaders.
  • Confidentiality covers both professional conversations, discussions, but also private social ones. If a staff member confides a personal matter to another staff member in a staff channel, this is covered by confidentiality.
  • There is no immediate confidentiality between staff members in a private conversation unless either of the parties invokes staff confidentiality for their discussion, but this must be specifically communicated to be applicable. While it would not be a Codex violation to spread information without a confidentiality statement invoked, it is generally encouraged for staff members to not spread information without good reason.
  • Direction Staff may not share confidential information they have received in confidence with either players or staff unless it is cleared by a unanimous Direction Rank 3 discretion.