A bit of a talk about “Admin Abuse”

[AceActual 2]

So, after an incident between two people, both of them shall not be named, I’ve noticed that one said to a moderator that he was “abusing” his powers. First, sympathy to the mod for dealing with that, second, I think we could use a bit of explaining for people what admin abuse is, as this isn’t the first time people have complained about admin abuse, each directed at different admins or mods. I believe we should post something detailing exactly what counts as an abuse of power, so they can at least understand what is and what is not an abuse of power.

 

Before I end this, I have to ask one thing. Should I work my way to trying to be a mod? I’ve been seriously thinking about it, and I can’t get a clear answer from myself, so I’m going to ask the community now.

 

That is all. (Also if this isn’t structured well, it’s because I’m falling asleep in school.)

Edited October 3, 2017 by Guest (see edit history)

[mrnutty12 184]

For reference here is the abuse blurb in the tf2 staff manual.

 

Abuse and fun commands

Abusing your powers is forbidden.

Abusing is doing something for your own personal gain at the expense of the people in the server and doing things just because of your position.

This can include but is not limited to:

Banning people you hate for no reason at all

Killing people while in god/buddha mode

Slaying everyone in any server for no reason

Using any of your commands against random people that don't deserve it

Going against/breaking our own rules

[AceActual 2]

For reference here is the aboose blurb in the tf2 staff manual.

 

aboose and fun commands

aboosing your powers is forbidden.

aboosing is doing something for your own personal gain at the expense of the people in the server and doing things just because of your position.

This can include but is not limited to:

Banning people you hate for no reason at all

Killing people while in gosh/buddha mode

Slaying everyone in any server for no reason

Using any of your commands against random people that don't deserve it

Going against/breaking our own rules

Thanks nutty, didn’t even see this. Still, I think there should be something on the actual servers, maybe in the rules section to let others know just in case?

[cook 34]

Personally I have only seen admin aboose once. I cannot remember the name, but they were going around and killing in permanent Buddha mode. It would be great if a list of rules for this specific issue was on every server.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Guest (see edit history)

[mrnutty12 184]

Personally I have only seen admin aboose once. I cannot remember the name, but they were going around and killing in permanent God mode. It would be great if a list of rules for this specific issue was on every server.

Quick question about that, was it on the surf server? Because there are a few maps with end of the map bonuses that make the player invulnerable.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Guest (see edit history)

[cook 34]

Quick question about that, was it on the surf server? Because there are a few maps with end of the map bonuses that make the player invulnerable.

No, I think it was the Pokémon server

[realBelloWaldi 1245]

It would be great if a list of rules for this specific issue was on every server.

Staff knows where to find the TF2 staff manual and there is also a good amount of donator rules in another thread. Both are two huge seperate threads and it wouldn't really make sense to add them to every server's MOTD.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Guest (see edit history)

[OneGlove 54]

Considering axactly how many guidelines and places this has been brought up, its mysterious how it never seems to cease to happen. I reccomend getting this to a higher up if it hasnt been solved already.

And as for the moderator thing, I also reccomend making your own choice on that.

[Tatost 604]

If you've witnessed a staff member abusing his/her powers, don't be afraid to tell another staff member about it. If no one comes to help, gather evidence and confront the staff member. We don't need abusing staff members going around making things a poor experience

[Bone 364]

I think the problem is more the fact that people like to throw around the word "abuse" with nothing to actually back it. I've seen quite a few times where a staff member will be doing their job and a person calls abuse on it.

"I got muted for micspamming after being given a ton of warning beforehand? WHAT IS THIS ABUSE?"

 

Obviously, if legitimate abuse is actually taking place, then I strongly suggest the player gather evidence and direct them to the appropriate place on how to create/creating an abuse report.

 

I believe we have a little ad that pops up in chat that says something along the lines of that, but I don't fully recall. If not, we could always add it.

Or potentially add a section to the MotD under the rules that says something like: "Think a staff member is abusing? Gather evidence and make a report here!"

Then add a link to the "creating a report" thread and a "What constitutes as abuse?" link with the little blurb @mrnutty12 posted.

[Moosty 148]

I think the problem is more the fact that people like to throw around the word "abuse" with nothing to actually back it. I've seen quite a few times where a staff member will be doing their job and a person calls abuse on it.

"I got muted for micspamming after being given a ton of warning beforehand? WHAT IS THIS ABUSE?"

 

Basically this. I had to tell so many people as DM that they weren't being actually abused. The higher ups will protect staff and decide what's abuse, staff should just refer people politely to the link nutty posted if they're being wrongfully accused. Also it never hurts to ask the higher ups, we add new plugins more than we update rules, even if you're abusing if you're honest and upfront and stop when told things will be better for you.

 

Edit accidentaly posted a partial draft, was removed.

Edited October 4, 2017 by Guest (see edit history)

[AceActual 2]

I think the problem is more the fact that people like to throw around the word "aboose" with nothing to actually back it. I've seen quite a few times where a staff member will be doing their job and a person calls aboose on it.

"I got muted for micspamming after being given a ton of warning beforehand? WHAT IS THIS aboosE?"

 

Obviously, if legitimate aboose is actually taking place, then I strongly suggest the player gather evidence and direct them to the appropriate place on how to create/creating an aboose report.

 

I believe we have a little ad that pops up in chat that says something along the lines of that, but I don't fully recall. If not, we could always add it.

Or potentially add a section to the MotD under the rules that says something like: "Think a staff member is aboosing? Gather evidence and make a report here!"

Then add a link to the "creating a report" thread and a "What constitutes as aboose?" link with the little blurb @mrnutty12 posted.

Thank you Bone, that’s exactly the point I was trying to make