🄯 2022 Anna Kudriavtsev CC BY-SA 4.0

## Server Code of Conduct

### 1. Be respectful

Be nice. Treat others as you want to be treated. Don't troll or deliberately annoy others. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, and offensive language is not allowed.

Follow the [Arch Code of Conduct](https://coc.archlinux.org/).

This is the most important rule, and the rules below are meant to clarify how rule 1 is applied.

#### 1a. NSFW content is not allowed.

NSFW content is text or media that contains or references suggestive or sexual themes, bodily harm or death, or themes of self harm or abuse. This includes text or media made "ironically" or "as a joke".

#### 1b. Spam is not allowed.

Spam is defined as repeatedly sending the same message or gratuitous self-promotion. Memes, text walls, obnoxious or off-topic gifs, and copypastas should be kept to #urandom.

#### 1c. Do not ask for privileged roles on the server.

Helpful Users, moderators, and admins are selected from people with a history of helpful, positive contribution; asking to become a moderator is counterproductive.

#### 1d. Follow the support rules.

All support must take place in support channels. See #support-rules for information and access.

### Other information

- This server is UNOFFICIAL and not sponsored by or affiliated with Arch Linux or its related projects.
- If you have a problem with the server or other members, please bring it up in #server-meta. If you do not feel comfortable doing so, feel free to message any online mod.

## Moderation Guidelines

### Basic principles

- When people first join the server, **the initial culture and conversations they see act as a powerful example.**
- If the first thing people see when they join is high-quality discussion, they will expect it to be the standard and will try to uphold that standard.
- Mods should strongly influence conversations toward meaningful, high-quality interactions. Shitposting should be steered away from discussion channels.
- Instead of reactive moderation and focusing on punishments and infractions, **treat people as humans** and ask them to change the way they're acting.
- We do not implement a strike system, a point system, or any other kind of progressive punishment system.
- Timed mutes and short-term bans are ineffective at resolving conflicts, and only seem to work because they briefly remove the source.
- Systems like these only multiply the amount of needed moderation work, push people away, and create a culture of fear around moderators.
- Staff should not be combative or aggressive toward members, especially not in retaliation.
- Most conflict is caused by a small set of **recalcitrant, high-conflict people**. Identifying these people early, before they can have a large effect on server culture, is crucial.
- Feel free to **ask any questions** you have, even if they seem obvious, or bring up any problems you have with rules, decisions, or other moderators.
- If you do not feel comfortable raising these concerns in public, always feel free to DM the owner.
- If you're not sure on something, consult with the rest of the mod team in #moderators, but don't ignore it.

### Rules

- You need the explicit consensus of **at least one other moderator** before issuing a ban.
- This does not apply in cases of clear spam, blatantly NSFW content, overt bigotry such as transphobia or racial slurs, raids, preemptive bot bans, etc. especially if the user has little prior message history.
- Use mutes to pull out users from heated discussions or to talk to them privately. **Do not use mutes as a punishment.**
- Use meaningful mute descriptions, not just "talk" or "private chat". This helps give context for future actions.
- If you forget to do so, leave a note using `%addWarning`.
- If you give anyone a verbal warning, use the Valkyrja command `%addWarning` to **log it as a note** for other moderators.
- The user will not be notified of this.
- **Never perform moderation actions manually.** Always use Valkyrja's commands. This makes sure all actions are logged.

### Using tickets

- Anyone can create a **ticket** using the command `/tickets open <name>`.
- Tickets are useful for private conversations between specific users and the whole moderation team.
- They're also useful for separating conversations with muted users from #chill-zone.
- Tickets are visible to all moderators by default. You can add people to a ticket by using the command `/tickets adduser <user>` inside it. This will let them see and talk in the ticket.
- When the conversation is resolved, you can close a ticket with `/tickets close [reason]`. When closed, all messages inside a ticket will be logged in #ticket-log.

### Notes

- Use `%op` to distinguish yourself as a moderator. **Being opped is required** to mute and ban.
- The Discord Code of Conduct disallows linking to pirated content. Discussion of piracy is allowed, but in-depth discussion of methods or sourcing content is not.
- Passing mentions of NSFW topics are allowed, but in-depth NSFW discussion and posting of content falls under r1a and should be stopped.
- If you're not sure whether something is NSFW, it probably is.
- In addition to what's explicitly listed in r1, **ableist language** such as the word "retard" and the use of autism as an insult is **not allowed**.
- If you do not know whether this applies to a message, ask in #moderators.
- When a user is muted, they are pinged in #chill-zone with the following message: `{0}, welcome to the chill zone. This mute is not a punishment. This is a place for private conversations between staff and users. Someone will be here to talk with you shortly.`
- **Don't be afraid to act.** If someone, even a long-time member of the community or a member of staff, is causing issues, don't hesitate to pull them out of the conversation and ask them about it. People who are resistant to changing the way they interact with the community might not be the best fit to stay in it.
- Due to the nature of the Arch community, this server tends to attract a certain audience (/g/ users and Luke Smith fans) who we try to avoid by setting a server culture of **mutual respect and intolerance of intolerance** (also just having pronoun roles available tends to ward them off).
- Make sure to let people know if they use channels incorrectly, including asking for support outside the support category.
- If you notice that a member is contributing positively and consistently to the server culture or to the support channels, **feel free to give them the Helpful User role** after getting the sign-off of another mod.
- To steer away **shitposting** from discussion channels, first informally (verbally) ask them in chat. If they are not responsive, follow the steps below.

### Handling disruptive users

- If we notice someone causing disruption in the server, we bring this up in chat and talk to them. if they seem receptive, that's where it ends, we log the fact that the conversation happened in @Valkyrja's logs.
- If there's a heated conversation happening, we evaluate if it needs moderator intervention. If so, we **find the person at the core of the argument**, mute them, and open a ticket to talk to them, following the same process as before.
- If there's a continued pattern of disruption, we mute them, open a ticket, and ask them about it. Do they recognize what they are doing? Do they seem to be receptive and willing to change their interactions?
- It's important to emphasize that this is a **conversation**, not a punishment.
- If they are receptive, we log the conversation and give them another chance.
- If they say they agree but do not actually change anything, or are combative and ignore the conversation, we explain the situation and issue a **long-term ban** (at least 30 days).

### Recommended reading

[Rhea Ayase's moderation theory](http://rhea-ayase.eu/articles/2017-04/Moderation-guidelines)

**From the [Discord Moderator Academy](https://discord.com/moderation)**:

- [Handling Difficult Scenarios](https://discord.com/moderation/360060483713-202:-Handling-Difficult-Scenarios)
- [Ban Evasion and Advanced Harassment](https://discord.com/moderation/360060487093-443:-Ban-Evasion-and-Advanced-Harassment)

## Support Rules

- State what you need help with off the bat. [Don't ask to ask.](https://dontasktoask.com/)
- Give context for your issue preemptively. [Follow the standard litany.](https://www.co.kerr.tx.us/it/howtoreport.html)
- You are not owed support. [Don't be a help vampire.](https://slash7.com/2006/12/22/vampires/)
- Do not DM people asking for support without prior permission.
- #arch-installation and #arch-support are for vanilla Arch only. [No Manjaro, Artix, or third-party installers.](https://bbs.archlinux.org/misc.php?action=rules)

Support Channels:
- #support-faq - Frequently asked questions
- #arch-installation - Support installing Arch via the wiki or archinstall
- #arch-support - Support for vanilla Arch Linux
- #other-distros - Support for non-vanilla Arch and other distros
- #package-dev - Help with creating PKGBUILDs and the AUR