Trench Wars Staff

Subspace Continuum

Memorandum
October 21, 2015
Moderators+
Trench Wars Staff
Re: Ban Department Changes, Policies, and Procedures.
Dear Staffers,
Today Asmodeus has stepped down as Head Ban Operator. Azov will be taking over as
Interim Head Ban Operator. Bkgmjo! will remain as Assistant Ban Operator. He has been on
medical leave and we want to give him the opportunity to help us decide the future of the Bans
Department when hes healthy and able to return to the Trench Wars community and staff.
Now some concerns need to be addressed. There have been many instances where
policies and procedures have not been followed by Moderators+ when it comes to issuing
BanCs or BanGs. While there are no specific instances that to be need reflected upon here, it is
important to point out that whenever you are responding to a situation that requires the use of
BanC or BanG, you must carefully evaluate the situation before taking action. Dont let multiple
help or cheater calls or private messages from players pressure you into hasty decision making!
Stay calm and stay focused.
Moderators+ are reminded that calls relating to rule enforcement need to follow the basic
criteria as provided for in the Ban Manual, which is available if you do not have a copy.
Additionally, to help simplify your moderator responsibilities, weve added a cheat sheet,
courtesy of Up in ya !!, available on forums, which will give you a list of offenses and
BanC/BanG requirements in an easy to use format if you dont want to refer to the manual each
time you need to take action. Remember, you should know the rules you are enforcing and know
the penalties for players who break the rules. You must be able to analyze and understand an
individuals !search information, know when to issue warnings and what for, as well as know the
appropriate times to silence, ship-lock, or zone ban a player, depending on the circumstances.
This is one area that we cannot afford to make mistakes in. If a player is to receive a
punishment of some kind, we have to be justified in doing it. If were not, and were consistently
making enforcement decisions that do not have a proper foundation, it reflects badly on all of us
in staff. You will also begin to see that any BanC or BanGs issued that do not conform with
stated policies will be lifted. If policies and procedures are consistently not followed, you will
run the risk of losing your BanC and/or BanG access.
On a final note, as moderators, and all staff for that matter, youre expected to be
proactive and not just reactive. What this means is when youre logged in, spend time observing
pub or other public arenas. If you see a problem developing or taking place, step in and address
it. We shouldnt wait for help or cheater calls to spur us into action. We have to be initiating
some activity by ourselves as individual moderators. This is part of our job. We recognize,
however, that sometimes a help or cheater call will be the only way a problem is brought to
staffs attention. We also recognize that sometimes a moderator may not be available. If this is
the case, ZHs can and should take cheater calls and try to remedy a situation if possible. We

simply want staffers to be more involved in the community by taking a greater stake in what goes
on in the game. After all, the quality of the game will determine its longevity.
If there are any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Azov.
Sincerely,
Beasty