In our Enforcer meeting yesterday (07/15/18) this thread was discussed, as well as how Enforcers will continue in the future. There are some new changes being implemented to help address the various concerns mentioned. I will try to address the items mentioned.
I will state that in no uncertain terms are Enforcers better than Designers, (or even think themselves above them). These are 2 distinctly different Staff ranks each with their own roles/job description that are equally level and both ranks are promoted (and expected) to conduct themselves in a fair and mature manner. If any Staff member (whether Enforcer/Designer) think their rank gives them special privilege or exception to the Terms of Service they need to understand the rules are designed to include all ranks.
Probably the most important item coming from the meeting, is the forming of a "Rules Committee" which will consist of one member from each rank (Commoner-Vala). This group will review our ToS and current Infraction tables which are severely outdated (Enforcers use these tables deal with any rule breaking).
@MaDIIReD will be in charge of the committee as an impartial moderator and will be making a post with more details later this week.
For any Designer or non-Staff who wish to understand how Enforcers handle punishments I've copied the 1st OB table below as an example. Keep in mind these tables were partly still based on non-worldguarded old map.
First Degree Oathbreaker
Infraction
|
Amount / Circumstance
|
- Unauthorized modification of the world
- Building things during jobs and plotbuilds that are clearly off what the instructions spell.
| |
Minor Social Indiscretions
| |
Ignoring direction from Staff member
|
Ignoring guidelines or direction of staff members (after warning and kick)
|
[TD='top']
- 10+ block modifications (1st warning/time)
- During jobs: Not stopping after more than one warning
[/TD]
[TD='top']
- Spam chat (after 1st warning)
- Use of Derogatory/Explicit language (after 1st warning)
- Political / Religious commentary in-game (after warning and kick)
[/TD]
Chat related items
This is probably the hardest part of being an Enforcer because of the subjectivity of intentions and also the most common reason Enforcers fall under such scrutiny. As you can see from the table, for example, what counts as spam chat? If you ask 20 players of any rank they'll give you a different answer. In game Enforcer are required to make decisions based on what is typed in chat and try to understand the mindset of the player in question. The removal of the age limit and whitelist brought about the "family-friendly" server setting and irregardless of the average age of most MCME players requires a certain amount of "censorship" for lack of a better word.
Personally if a new player says in chat "Minas Tirith is "$%^" awesome" I'm inclined to thank them but politely ask them not to use profanity in public/open chat. By the same token, if the players says "you're a "^&*$#" idiot" that's a derogatory and harassing comment.
Any action an Enforcer takes regarding Staff (specifically demotion or bans) must first be directed to the respective "Head" rank of that player before action is taken. There is however a paragraph in the new Enforcer manual which clearly defines "First Responder Action (emergency ban)" As initially mentioned Staff are promoted and are expected to act in a mature and responsible manner in their interactions with players under them. As example if a staff member break a public chat rule it sheds a bad light on all staff that we don't follow our own rules.
This post is much longer than I originally expected. The commissioning of a Rules Committee will hopefully provide a better system moving forward.