New player experience to admins

[Th3rrorist]

hey I been on perpheads for 3 months and from time to time I have to report someone same as you do.
from what I have seen for this time is that admins doesnt really care about f6 reports and just wait that moderation will solve it
but thats not the only thing.
When there is a new f6 report and luckly they have time ( I understand that being an admin/mod is hard and there is no way to watch all f6 reports) and respond in minutes they still don't mostly care the failrp or broken rule just happened they want video on AR and thats it. its was very rare for me to get resoulted situation in game and never ever had been resoulted in Voice Chat in discord after many attempts wich question me why there is even a voice chat called Support if you don't get any help there?
after 5 f6 reports of almost same problem but witch other people I got response in around 10 minutes and person got banned but what about other 4?
I know I m not perfect with rp too but I always want to take part and talk it out if I did something wrong and if possible pay for damages but moderation/administration doesn't care about otther possible ways of resoulting a problem rather than ban/warning/blacklist

Overall I think this is a great server with great people but I also think there should be a change or in administration resoulting situation or in chaning some staff members.
what are your thoughts?

 

[Murtsley]

From my understanding as a staff member before and now. Today it's a lot more based on absolute yesses rather than maybes. In 2015-16, I would be more inclined to take someone's word and examine things a bit more, the game has changed a lot since then, most players record everything, so if I'm able to get an absolute answer, I'm going to take that. The playerbase has also completely changed, the game is a lot quicker than what it was, people are able to afford really expensive guns a lot sooner than what you were able to in 2016 which means that unruly players are able to break much more severe rules than what they could before. People also don't really develop the mentality to handle the firepower they used, I remember having an M82 in my trunk and not taking it out once because it was worth around $100,000, now, they're used to break into flats.

A big impact is the introduction of the F6 function (which means that people are able to report easier), it means that people can immediately request help, that being said, it also means that a lot of the reports we handle are just vexatious, and have no real merit.

From a staff perspective, the removal of 1.4 Causing Problems, caused more problems than it solved, it was a good catchall for anything where someone acted like a prat but it wasn't directly against the rules. This would mean that we could be more confident that they had done something wrong as we didn't have to pick something up.

I for one really appreciate you bringing this up because it gives me a platform to say what I think (and more importantly, what everyone else thinks). That being said, a lot of administrators have other duties outside of reports, whereas the moderators' main goals are reports and day to day stuff. I completely understand that it is hard for players to see what administrators and higher do because a lot of it is making sure that the ship keeps sailing.

This being said, I appreciate what you're saying, and we will make sure to get these reports handled so you can get back to playing the game the way it was meant to be played!

 

[Th3rrorist]

I dont fully say all admins are bad all administration is bad kick them all and replace them but if people get super easy acces to really expensive weapons/cars shouldn't then there be an incrise of the prices? I got helped a lot of time too and I see somethimes the effor you put in and I m glad on thoose times
But being said if someone is deeply sorry for actions he did that was against a rules and want to do everything possible rather than get banned shouldn't the administration think about it and eventually talk with victim and suspect together to get other punishment rather than ban?

 

[Murtsley]

Bans aren't permanent like they used to be, waiting out the bans usually means that the player avoids breaking rules for a time because they don't wanna get banned again

 

[money]

> hey I been on perpheads for 3 months and from time to time I have to report someone same as you do.
from what I have seen for this time is that admins doesnt really care about f6 reports and just wait that moderation will solve it
but thats not the only thing.

It's true that moderators are the main force for reports, but I don't think that if it's only administrators online that they would completely ignore your report.

> When there is a new f6 report and luckly they have time ( I understand that being an admin/mod is hard and there is no way to watch all f6 reports) and respond in minutes they still don't mostly care the failrp or broken rule just happened they want video

We contact the other person also via a report, and if they say something different or opposite of what you claim, we cannot take your word and not his over yours.
We don't use discord to resolve reports, we have a video/demo uploading guide so you can send us evidence. Support on discord would be more on how to fix your problem(s) with uploading evidence, for example.

> I know I m not perfect with rp too but I always want to take part and talk it out if I did something wrong and if possible pay for damages but moderation/administration doesn't care about otther possible ways of resoulting a problem rather than ban/warning/blacklist

Sadly we cannot just always accept that the situation is reversed if roleplay was ruined by an unrealistic or "false" action, so we have to document it to ensure it doesn't happen again, to avoid problematic players who are repeat offenders.

 

[Exnem]

A small breakdown of how some reports are handled, explaining why some take longer, why some are solved quicker, and which official paths to go down in the event you wish to take further action when your report isn't solved by the time you leave the server.
This can be a long read, and I apologize in advance.

Spoiler: Reports, context, complexity.

Once a report has been made, it is down to the context of the report that determines how it is handled. If a report that is submitted only requires logs, then it should be easy for a moderator to handle it as most of the time, no further evidence would be required.

A hypothetical scenario where only logs are required would be in the event a player has stored a firearm after their door is broken down, just to save it. This is a type of incident that does not necessarily require a video or demo as evidence to directly prove the other player's fault, as logs by themselves can prove who is at fault.
Storing/withdrawing items, and breaking down doors are logged, in addition to kill logs, and so it's not difficult to determine whether or not someone stored to save items prior to being killed.

These types of reports end up being handled fairly quickly compared to ones that need further explaining, or even a direct video.

Please keep in mind that just because this type of report can generally be solved this way, it is not always the case. Each and every report is a little different, and sometimes a staff member might ask for a demo to see more clearly what has happened. This is what makes a report take longer, or even force you to make an action request on the forums.

As money and Murtsley said, staff cannot simply take another person's word on a matter when deciding to take punitive action.

As such, submitting a report that describes petty verbal insults over voice chat as being the reason for your death will ordinarily cause a staff member to ask for hard evidence so that they can verify that verbal insults were in fact the cause of your death. Voice chat is not logged, so demos and video recordings fill the gap. What you say has an impact on your continued existence, believe it or not.
But, calling someone an idiot does not warrant death, and would be against rule 2.5, Excessive negativity.

The important factor to take into consideration when you're reporting someone is context and complexity. The way a report is handled, and the time it takes a staff member to investigate heavily depends on what the situation is. Minute details can make or break your report.

If you make a report to ask a staff member to verify that a user has dropped all their belongings in a mugging, it would take mere seconds for any staff member to handle and solve the problem, informing you of the person you're mugging's current inventory, and what he hasn't dropped, if any.

Spoiler: Staff members.

Another important thing to note; Staff members also play on the server, they're volunteers. As such, they don't devote 100% of their time to solving reports whilst on the server, even when they're open. We also want to enjoy our time spent here.

In my short period as Moderator, my experience tells me that, whilst I'm there to do a job it is not something administration expects you to do all the time, for the rest of your life and never to roleplay again.
On top of this, there's not always staff members on the server.
This unfortunately increases the response time between reports and increases the workload on a single staff member who may be online at the time.

Spoiler: Staff members' expectations of you as a user, and what you should expect from a staff member.

Staff members, in a majority of scenarios, will expect you to provide hard evidence to give context to the situation, and to prove that the situation did in fact occur.

Staff members expect you to conduct yourself in a respectful manner whilst in an admin sit on top of a roof, or on the forums.
Don't jump off the roof, no matter what.

If a staff member asks for a demo, you can contact them on the forums in a Private Message (PM), providing a link to the demo file and a Tick (time stamp) so that seeing your point of view becomes easier.

At no point in time does a staff member expect to speak to you on Discord. The discord server is for community engagement, and asking general questions, something us Helpers can answer. (Please keep in mind that Helpers are also volunteers)
The support channels on our Discord server are meant for asking questions, not solving reports.
As dumb as this phrasing sounds, Helpers cannot typically help you with solving reports.

All forms of official points of contact regarding punishments or reports occur on the server, the forums, or on occasion, our TeamSpeak server.
Though, our primary methods of solving incidents are through in-game reports and reporting players through Action Requests.

Staff expect you to write full sentences as you describe the scenario that you are reporting, and which users are involved.
"RDM" does not amount to a report, and will typically be closed without investigation. In a report, it is expected that you point fingers towards a specific user that you're reporting, as bad as that sounds.

It is understandable how seemingly unresponsive staff members can degrade your new player experience with us. All we can ask is that you trust the staff team to inevitably solve your report. The best advice I can give is to create a report, describe the situation, provide hard evidence and forget about it while it is open. If it isn't solved by the time you leave the server, then creating an Action Request is the best course of action, as they will be solved no matter what. Just give it time and be patient.

Spoiler: Official channels, and informative links & guides.

To report a player through the forums, click here.
Guide on how Action Requests work.

To see how you can report a player while on the server, click here.

Interested in what a certain type of staff member does? Click here.
While it looks like Administrators seem to ignore you, they're in fact more busy maintining the staff team and working with Senior Administration. They handle Refund Requests, Disputes and Staff Complaints on Enforcers and Moderators. As such, they might be busy already.

What are demos? How do I use them? Click here for more info.

In direct response to your comment above:
There are a big amount of variables that determines the outcome of a report, what type of punishment is given and what length a blacklist or ban is.
A general summary of what determines punishments and their lengths include, but are not limited to;
- History of past rule infringements.
- Amount of punishments within a time frame.
- Severity of the user's actions.
- Accidental or intentional.
- Honest or lying.
- Failing to cooperate, or ignoring staff.

As such, while it may seem harsh to receive a ban for a few days, it is ultimately for the better good. It gives you time to reflect on your actions and consider what steps to take as to not repeat them. A warning is quickly forgotten once you're put down from a roof. Forcing you to stay off the server for a short period will force your actions to the forefront of your mind.
I can't say that this method works for everyone that staff has ever banned, but those who care about their experience on the server will typically take a ban seriously. Though, some people never learn.