Staff advisory on exploitation abuse
Over 10 warnings have been issued over the past month (since 16 November 2019) for exploit abuse-related offenses; a sharp increase from the previous few months.
Read MoreNew restrictions on Dynmap Hide
In accordance with the Dynmap (Hidden View) Act, 2019, usage of the Dynamic Map Hide command (/dynmap hide) shall no longer be permitted when the act is ratified with effect 1 August 2019.
Read MoreChanges to ban appeals
With the termination of the WolvHaven website forum service, the original methods of appealing warnings, bans, and reporting of errant behavior have changed.
With effect 20 June 2019, all appeals and reports should be sent to a new dedicated email.
Know when to appeal
Appeals should only be submitted when appropriate, appeals submitted outside of the appropriate period will either be automatically rejected or ignored.
New Penalties & Appeals information page
You may find out all about the various penalties that WolvHaven Staff employs, the appropriate appeal periods and appeal process at the new Penalties & Appeals information page.
Introducing Staff Departments
We introduced Administrative Days at the beginning of the year to streamline processes and ensure that applications do not get left out by tracking the progress and completion of all server administrative tasks.
The effectiveness of this change can be seen in the large decrease in the number of complaints made relating to the timeliness of the processing of the applications.
Regulatory Enforcement Action such as the Gardellia Abandoned Claims is also being carried out on a more regular basis – a major improvement over the previous arrangement where enforcement action was sporadically taken.
Read MoreChanges to ranks & immigration
For a long period of time, applications for citizenship have only been approved by an [Admin] or higher. In addition, the performing of background checks was outsourced to the DIU which was not very consistent in ensuring all applications got processed as DIU members were not notified of new citizenship applications. This often leads to delayed processing as not all members of staff are always around to process the applications.
In an effort to improve processing time and streamline the process, we will be reorganizing the roles & responsibilities for members of staff. To summarize, Helpers will now be tasked to perform background checks and Moderators will now be given the authority to approve and promote prospective citizens.
Read MoreIntroducing administrative days
Application & enforcement galore
Gardellia applications, architect applications, helper applications even worldedit permissions applications!? What the fu–
Let’s Talk: Backseat Moderating
1 January 2018 – Let’s Talk: Backseat Moderation
WolvHaven has been running for over 6 years and has seen many people come and go. However, in recent years, a new phenomenon has landed on our shores and has remained etched in our community – backseat moderating.
Backseat Disruptive & Substandard Moderating (BDSM/Backseat Moderating) and how it hurts the server
Let’s all admit it. Some WolvHaveners have a serious problem. It’s called Backseat Disruptive & Substandard Moderation. In this post, we will discuss what backseat moderating is, why you should not participate in it and the implications it may have on you if you do participate.
- What is backseat moderating?
- Why is backseat moderating so bad?
- Examples of backseat moderation
- Implications for engaging in backseat moderation
- What do I do when I see someone breaking the rules?
- What do I do if I feel a member of staff could have handled a situation better?
What is backseat moderating?
Backseat moderating is the act of trying to police anyone anywhere on WolvHaven (Server, Discord, Forums etc.) when one is not a member of staff.
For example:
2 Players are having an argument and a 3rd party comes along and tells one player that they will be banned and/or threatens to report one of them to staff. What the 3rd party has just done is backseat moderate.
Why is backseat moderating so bad?
There are several reasons why backseat moderation is so bad, but here are the 3 main reasons.
- Spread of misinformation
As the people who are backseat moderating are not members of staff, they may not give off accurate information. A person backseat moderating may exaggerate the punishments for a certain offence and/or state that the person is violating the rules, when he is in fact not. This results in the spreading of misinformation and could potentially result in more people breaking certain rules. This inaccurate accusation may also result in disharmony between members. - It can further escalate situations
Staff are given specific protocols to follow when handling disputes between players and/or cases. If a backseat moderator jumps into a fight between 2 players in an attempt to moderate it, he or she may make comments which could form a way of bias against another player. This can result in the other player feeling that he or she is being treated unfairly, leading to more commotion and fighting. - It is annoying and is rarely adhered to
Advice given by backseat moderators is rarely heeded to and is rather annoying. When one backseat moderates, the offenders rarely take the advice seriously as the person is not a member of staff and does not have the authority. Excessive backseat moderating also gets on others’ nerves as it goes to show that one is unable to mind his or her own business and is trying to act above his or her own authority.
Ultimately, it leads to a server experience that is worse for all eventually.
What are some examples of backseat moderating?
Examples of backseat moderating include but are not limited to:
- Talking about punishing others
E.g. You are getting banned for this! - Giving opinions on how to settle a dispute between 2 or more players
E.g. The both of you should just destroy each others’ towns and leave the server - Threatening to report an individual to staff
E.g. I will report you if you say that again! - Telling staff your opinion on what they should do while they are handling the situation
E.g. I think you can’t do your job properly. You should be… - Asking members of staff to punish someone in a certain way
E.g. I think you should give him a double warning - Attempt to “bring justice” by taking sides in a dispute
E.g. Please XXX, nobody likes you anyway and everybody here finds you damn annoying. Stop trying to justify everything you do wrong. The other person is obviously in the right and you, in the wrong! - Exercising force/authority on someone when you are not in a position to do so
E.g. Commenting on a courtroom case in the forums
Some real examples of backseat moderation
(Click the images to view a larger size without leaving the page. New website feature woohoo!)
Implications for backseat moderating
As mentioned earlier on, backseat moderating not only complicates the job of staff but can also spread misinformation, increase tensions, and escalate situations.
Backseat moderating is against the rules!
If you insist on backseat moderating, you may very well be awarded an official warning, or even a ban.
If you think you know the rules well and have what it takes, apply for [Helper]. If we see you have potential, you can be added to our ranks as a [Helper], perform well, and you might be promoted to [Mod].
So what do I do when I see a player breaking the rules?
| DO | DO NOT |
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What if I feel like the way a member of staff could have handled something better?
We believe there is a time and a place for everything. This applies to providing feedback on members of staff. Nudging in while a member of staff is trying to handle the situation not only annoys the member of staff, it is also a form of backseat moderation as discussed earlier.
If you believe that a member of staff could have performed better in a situation, you may always approach the member of staff nicely in Direct Messages.
However, if you feel it is better, you may always approach SilverWolv to provide feedback.
When providing feedback, please keep it constructive. We want to improve the server experience for everyone; sending us insults or cocky feedback is probably not going to help. Tell us what you would do instead to handle the situation and if we find that your suggestion is better, we will forward it to the staff member respectively to improve on.
To Summarize…
Changes to verbal warnings 2018
Let’s start 2018 by setting things right. With effect from 1 January 2018, some changes will be made to verbal warnings for veteran players on the server.
Staff have noticed that players – especially the veterans have been breaking the rules at a higher frequency since 2017. This is largely due to the leniency that is offered to players who are ranked citizen and above, leading to many thinking that they will always be able to get away with breaking the rules. We want to put a stop to this and we also expect our veteran players to display a standard fit for veterans.
Happy new year. Let’s work towards a better, more welcoming community for all.
New staff appointment model
Hello!
As you may know, WolvHaven has been selecting and appointing its members of staff through the use of elections since 2012. While the election system has been constantly changed and optimized in order to ensure that it works best in WolvHaven’s interests, it has unfortunately reached its maximum potential.
The election system has served us well – it ensured that everyone had a say in the people who they want to moderate and look after the server and enabled the council to have better insights to support decision making. (The results of the election are not always definite – any member of council may call for a vote to reject the outcome of the election)
However, times change – and so must our staff appointment model. Therefore, we will be introducing the Experience Based Learning (EBL) Model. Here’s how it works:
- There will be a Staff Performance Review (SPR) every 1-2 months
- Council members may nominate any person (candidate) whom they feel is suitable for the position of moderator
- The candidate will be subject to an interview on why they think they should be given the staff position
- Council members discuss, vote and give their verdict
- Upon passing, the candidate will be given a probational period till the next SPR
- During the probational period, the candidate’s performance will be monitored by both fellow moderators and council members. The candidate will also have a situational test (SIT) at random without notice.
- At the next SPR, should council be satisfied, the candidate will be a moderator till the time he/she gets into probation and fails at the probational period.
User Pruning: March 2017 and warnings.
Summary:
- A person spammed and uploaded malicious attachments on the forums
- Remove and scan your computer if you have opened/downloaded any pdf attachment recently
- All identifiable members added to confirmed members group – all other accounts deleted
- Use your minecraft username as your username when registering on the forums
- Use a strong password that is different from the one you use on other websites
We were alerted to a user on the forum spamming attachments ending with .pdf
Please do NOT download any of the content. If you have downloaded or opened any of the attachments, please remove them from your computer and run a security scan on your computer as soon as possible.
We have removed all 50 files from our system and removed the user and his/her posts on the forums
Stay safe on the forums
– Do not reveal your personal information or the personal information of others
– When in doubt, do not open or download any attachments
– Use a strong password for your account that is different from other websites you use
New Measures
We have added all users who we are able to idenfity into the confirmed members group in the forums. This will allow us to quickly sift out any potential spam accounts that do not use weird domains (such as gmail/hotmail) and remove them from the site
Please help to confirm if you have seen any people by the name of
– MrAutomatonMan
– 34lynx72
– Helmans11
– Silver14Gamer
on the server so that I can add them into the confirmed member group if necessary.
All other accounts that are not in the Confirmed Members group have been deleted. Should your account be deleted, you will have to register again on the forums. Sorry for the inconvenience
When registering on the forums, please use your minecraft account’s username so that we will be able to identify you easier.