Mod Guide
===

First of all, welcome to the mod team! In this guide you will find anything you may need in order to start your journey as a moderator :smile_cat:

## 💡 Main Points

These are the main things to keep in mind as a mod.

1. **Be a good role model** - Know that your actions are also representative of the server and community.

2. **Be objective and respectful** - Even if a user is being difficult or aggressive, be objective and respectful. Don't show others that responding to bad actors in a negative way is okay. Threatening people with punishments is unnecessary and negatively impacts the community. If someone ignores warnings, then just timeout accordingly.

3. **Foster a welcoming environment** - Encourage positive interactions and make all users feel welcome and included.

4. **Ask questions** - There are many difficult situations you may encouter or things that may be questionable, but not explicitly against the rules. Don't hesitate to bring up topics to discuss.

5. **Be online please!** and not in invisible mode if possible when actively moderating. Members are more likely to break the rules if no moderator is online.

## 📃 Policies

1. Avoid preferential treatment for members, in both negative and positive ways.

* Special roles, permissions, etc. should **not** be given to members
* You are allowed to have a custom role. Please limit it to one if possible since there's a role limit of 250.

2. Explicitly warn users for specific rule breaking actions or tell them to stop instead of using emojis or vague messages such as "can we not". Make sure to reply+ping or mention them, as people tend to ignore warnings if not directed at them or if we use bot warning.

3. Do not share other moderator's messages in any hidden channel without explicit approval. This includes screenshots, quoting, or just general sharing of what is said in moderating/staff only channels. If we are discussing about a certain member (friend or not), do not reach out to them to discuss it with them privately or share details unless it is clear to do so.

4. Be respectful when it comes to discussions about certain "problematic" members, in short be strictly objective when it comes to moderation matters.

* When discussing a member in staff channels, avoid calling them annoying and expressing your dislike in such a way. Remain respectful no matter what your personal feelings are. Unless it is pertinent to the ongoing conversation.
* When setting reasons, be as descriptive and objective. Avoid vague terms like "weirdo". Don't hesitate to provide an example of a comment they said that supports your reason.

5. Use objective, respectful, acceptable language (not as if you were talking to friends, get rid of abbreviated terms that may be confusing for the community to understand and be clear in your messages)

## 🍝 Handling Certain Situations & Copypastas

### Negativity

Warn for constantly negative chat, non-constructive criticism. This can be towards music material, artists, individuals.

Constructive criticism is still allowed of course, but it needs to be said respectfully and being open to other people having different opinions.

#### Examples

* "x is shit"
* "x is overrated"
* "x flopped"
* "x is so much better than y"
* "x outsings/outdances/outskills/etc y"
* "you have no taste"
* Constantly ONLY talking about stuff they don't like

#### Actions

* Identify their intentions. Are they a new member? Have they joined to only shit on groups or others? Have they been banned in other servers ? If a user obviously joined only to start conflicts, ban. Otherwise, refer to below.
* Try to calm down the situation and remind people to respect others' opinions.
* If they continue behavior, or if it's extensive, you can warn / timeout accordingly.

You can copy paste this or use a shorter version:

> Do not be negative towards content/news you do not like/agree with for ANY group, artist, or individual. Non constructive criticism and negativity (personal attacks, insults, blaming) is best kept to yourself. Examples of such comments are: x is mid, ass, bad, or trash.
>
> Please keep different opinions of others in mind and maintain a positive environment for everyone. This includes sharing negative content from outside of the server, do not bring external negativity here.
>
> TLDR: You can have opinions, but nonconstructive negativity is not helpful to anyone and is harmful. Provide specific and constructive feedback, or choose to not comment at all

### Stan Twitter behavior

Very similar to negativity above, people dismissive of authority and other people’s feelings towards their behaviour.

#### Examples

* Constantly comparing things
* Omg you guys are so sensitive

Behaviour reminiscent of the kpop community on Twitter:
* Posting low effort memes meant to mock a certain group/idol
* Being very insistent on who paved the way, arguing about certain group superiority, discrediting opinions or other fandoms.
* "e.g. bts paved the way"
* Highly defensive of their opinions
* Aggressive or very insistent on others agreeing with their opinion.
* Abuse of emojis and terms like:
* mother
* purr
* and any other terms that may be disruptive if abused

If they don’t listen and keep going, then a mute is recommended regardless of their status in the server (regular or new person).

There is no strict rule to stick to when it comes to knowing when to ban (if the user has had multiple mutes already).

It depends on the severity of the infractions and their willingness to learn and improve their behaviour.

If you are not sure how to proceed, don’t be afraid to get second opinions. It is very encouraged in order to take the best course of action 🙂

### Self harm / suicide

Redirect them to use trusted or professional help. The main concern is people giving harmful or malicious advice.

> If you are going through something difficult, please reach out to a trusted family member, friend, or trusted adult. As much as we would like to support you server members aren't qualified to help, and we really don't want you to get harmful advice or responses relating to sensitive topics in a public space.
>
> Here is a good resource to find support online over phone, text or webchat: <https://findahelpline.com>

### Discrimination

Any racism, homophobia, OR support of those that are discriminatory should be a ban.

Clear cut examples are use of slurs. Instant ban, automod should catch them.

In cases of support of others, like saying they support the views of Andrew Tate, that is also a ban.

### Violence

Warn/mute for violent stickers/gifs/vids depending on severity. Anything that has anyone getting hurt, e.g. punching, hair pulling, etc. are considered violent.

Any threats of violence, even if jokes, should also be warned or muted for. Again, depending on severity and member age, this can be an immediate ban.

#### Examples

* "I'm going to burn down yg/my school/etc"
* "Who wants to kidnap x"
* "Go slit your wrists"

### Underaged Members

**Note:** Do not go out of your way to investigate ages of server members. This only applies when someone says they are underaged outright in chat.

- If they're obviously joking, tell them to stop joking
- If it's unclear if it is a joke, use in app reporting for underaged member on the message they said they're underaged.
1. Right click message containing message saying they're underage
2. "Report Message"
3. "Something Else"
4. "This person is too young to use Discord"
- Kick or tempban them for a short period of time, eg. 1 week or 1 month

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### "Do not accept a friend request from hacker"

This is a common copypasta to make people spread the message further, ie chain mails. Many times it's an old username included, and commonly includes misinformation about getting hacked from friend requests.

Automod should catch these, but sometimes some people modify them to get them through. Delete it if it gets through and ping them in chat with this, or warn with it.

> Please don't spread copypastas about "hackers." These are fake and misinformation that spreads fear and spam.

## 👤 Moderating User Profiles

**Note:** These does not apply to new members and obvious trolls, in those situations it is almost always an immediate ban.

1. Usernames AND nicknames must follow Rule 1, 2 and 4.

Nicknames must not include:
* NSFW terms such as cock, pussy, etc.
* Offensive/slurs/triggering topics such as n word, f\*gg*t, etc. (even if the concerned person is technically allowed to say it)

It should not degrade a person, server member, or public figure.
Nicknames that contain an abundance of emojis and disrupt the chat are also not allowed.

2. About me content
* Server links are fine as long as the server in question isn't damaging to our server members.
* It must not contain any negative content that would potentially disrupt the chat, that would not provoke members to point it out and potentially cause issues in chat.
* The only time we need to warn for advertising in this case is if the user points it out to advertise, e.g. "check my bio" or "join the server in my bio"

3. DPs/Banners must be server appropriate
* Must not contain any NSFW imagery, propaganda (ie. nazi/soviet union logos, George Floyd related) and more.

### How to handle this

If the offending material is a **Display Name** and not a username, you can reset their nickname for them and warn them to not use such nicknames afterwards. Always check their profile and bio to get full context.

Otherwise, warn them to change it themselves.

### What to do if user refuses to change it, depending on the severity

1. Timeout for 1 week or longer.
2. Warn them with a message to remove the offending material and message modmail when they have changed it to be unmuted.

### Handling certain responses
Some individuals may say they are "allowed" to use slurs or hateful speech, e.g.
"bruh I'm gay/black/etc"

You can respond with something like: slurs/homophobic content is not tolerated. Large public spaces are not an appropriate place for slur reclamation, especially when it is very very easily misinterpreted.

## 😴 Moderator Inactivity

Basic active requirement is consistently contributing to the server:
- Moderation with reasons set and not simple bans/mutes
- Participating in moderator discussions (not just random chatting in mod chat that does not pertain to the server itself)
- Responding to pings

### Breaks

Of course, breaks are fine and recommended if you need some time away, just be sure to let others know about extended times away.

If you frequently leave the server without informing anyone and for months at a time, it may lead to permanent demotion.

If you are no longer interested in moderating or don't have the time to do so, please let us know.

### What happens if a mod is inactive?

If a moderator is inactive for a significant time (more than several months with little to no activity.), you may be demoted. Demotions may or not be permanent depending on the reason, so if you find the time and/or motivation again later on you may be re-added

Moderators that wish to step down now or in the future, or will be demoted ; will receive the "Legacy Mod" role as a token of appreciation for helping us whenever they had a chance. So thank you :heart:

## 👋 bye

Feedback is always welcome for adjustments to this doc. Note that this is somewhat shared between two servers, blackpink and twice.

Written by Wawa and Tzu,
thx for reading bye