Update - On RMB Moderation

Lethen

Nissan: commendable cars for Commended players
Forum Administrator
Supreme Chancellor
Honoured Citizen
Citizen
Pronouns
He/Him
Hello everyone,

Some time ago, HEM engaged the community on how to best shape our RMB moderation policy. We want to follow-up with an outline of how we see ourselves Gameside.

First, we’d like to apologize for our delay in rolling out our thoughts and recommendations. As has been mentioned, this has not been easy for us to navigate, and we take full responsibility for how long this conversation has been drug out. Ultimately, however, the hemming-and-hawing comes down to a difficulty in deciding how to best cut the proverbial Gordian Knot.

We take a lot of pride in our work to make Europeia an inclusive and safe place for all members on all of our platforms, but we also recognize that we have been hesitant to exercise our authority over “on-site” activity and the RMB. While there are various reasons for this, the two largest concerns were: (1) will this put us into conflict with NS Moderation; and (2) will any of our work as OOC protectors of the community encroach on the IC government’s ability to run the day-to-day of the region? While we feel the former is more minimal at this point, we feel the latter is something that has to be addressed sooner rather than later due to the impending F/S update.

Given that there is no perfect solution, here is a proposed framework for our scope of work as it pertains to gameside and the RMB:

(1) As suggested in the Senate, we feel the best approach is for the Regional Security Council to be responsible for day-to-day RMB moderation. In this context, day-to-day moderation means enforcing government policy on use of the RMB, such as prohibitions on multi-posting, regulating roleplay content, and disallowing promotion of other regions. The Senate shall encode this responsibility in any reasonable way they see fit, though we are, of course, willing to lend any thoughts and will gladly provide input where asked.
(2) The Administrative Team will have at least one permanent seat on the Regional Security Council. This will allow us to have visibility on any decision-making and the ability to investigate any issues that involve the safety of our members and take appropriate enforcement action.

(3) Besides executing work required of any other Regional Security Council member, the admin holding the permanent seat shall limit their involvement to being advisory and reviewing moderation decisions made to enforce government policy. Any concerns about moderation actions will be brought before the whole administrative team for discussion, and only when there is an internal consensus will we ever override or interfere with moderation practices of the Regional Security Council.

(4) To increase our capacity and ensure actionable things are not overlooked, Le Libertie will be appointed Assistant to the Administrative Team with the sole purview of being a dedicated pair of eyes and ears on the RMB for us. He will have no other duties or responsibilities to start. When the time comes, we will recommend him to hold our permanent seat on the Regional Security Council as detailed in (2) above.

(5) The rest of the RSC should not be involved in investigating or taking enforcement actions against content or individuals that relate to community safety. We expect that the RSC will report community safety issues to the Administration Team via our representative on the RSC or through the usual channels.

This is a political game where we as OOC admins do not want to dictate the day-to-day of gameplay. That’s for the players in their IC roles, after all. However, we are going to reserve the necessary ability to act and react in situations where the safety of our members becomes the tantamount concern during the course of gameplay and remain committed to the principle that the IC government should not be involved in OOC safety matters. This intentionally-limited approach to our involvement will ideally facilitate an environment where our players can play the game in any way they see fit while still being protected and feeling safe in our community.

— Europeian Admins

Hello everyone,

Some time ago, @HEM engaged the community on how to best shape our RMB moderation policy. We want to follow-up with an outline of how we see ourselves Gameside.

First, we’d like to apologize for our delay in rolling out our thoughts and recommendations. As has been mentioned, this has not been easy for us to navigate, and we take full responsibility for how long this conversation has been drug out. Ultimately, however, the hemming-and-hawing comes down to a difficulty in deciding how to best cut the proverbial Gordian Knot.

We take a lot of pride in our work to make Europeia an inclusive and safe place for all members on all of our platforms, but we also recognize that we have been hesitant to exercise our authority over “on-site” activity and the RMB. While there are various reasons for this, the two largest concerns were: (1) will this put us into conflict with NS Moderation; and (2) will any of our work as OOC protectors of the community encroach on the IC government’s ability to run the day-to-day of the region? While we feel the former is more minimal at this point, we feel the latter is something that has to be addressed sooner rather than later due to the impending F/S update.

Given that there is no perfect solution, here is a proposed framework for our scope of work as it pertains to gameside and the RMB:

(1) As suggested in the Senate, we feel the best approach is for the Regional Security Council to be responsible for day-to-day RMB moderation. The Senate shall encode this responsibility in any reasonable way they see fit, though we are, of course, willing to lend any thoughts and will gladly provide input where asked.

(2) We’d strongly prefer that there is at least one permanent seat on the Regional Security Council for a representative of the off-site Administrative Team. This will allow us to have visibility on any decision-making and the ability to review - and override if necessary - any decisions that involve the safety of our members.

(3) Besides executing work required of any other Regional Security Council member, the admin holding the permanent seat shall limit their involvement to being advisory and reviewing moderation decisions as it pertains to the safety of our members. Any concerns about moderation actions will be brought before the whole administrative team for discussion, and only when there is an internal consensus will we ever override or interfere with moderation practices of the Regional Security Council.

(4) To increase our capacity and ensure actionable things are not overlooked, @Le Libertie will be appointed an Assistant to the Administrative Team with the sole purview of being a dedicated pair of eyes and ears on the RMB for us. He will have no other duties or responsibilities to start. When the time comes, we will recommend him to hold our permanent seat on the Regional Security Council as detailed in (2) above.

This is a political game where we as OOC admins do not want to dictate the day-to-day of gameplay. That’s for the players in their IC roles, after all. However, we are going to reserve the necessary ability to act and react in situations where the safety of our members becomes the tantamount concern during the course of gameplay. This intentionally-limited approach to our involvement will ideally facilitate an environment where our players can play the game in any way they see fit while still being protected and feeling safe in our community.

- The Europeian Admin Team
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As far as I am aware, the RSC is planning to have a VD + 6 members, and leave 5 seats for the executive (Pres, VP, Interior, and the 2 Communications bots).

I would suggest that the Regional Security Council all be RMB Moderators and the Admin Bureau appoint 1 additional RMB Moderator. I had previously suggested we consolidate the 2 communications bots into one. If we do take this course of action we could give the newly opened RO seat to the Admin Bureau rep.

This is a bit more than a semantic difference. Technically I think the RSC has to focus on WA security and the Admins don't technically need a role in the IC/WA-oriented RSC. So I would simply suggest an RMB Moderation team of the RSC + admin. This team could have its own subforum and discord channel.

Otherwise I agree with the broad strokes of this proposal and I appreciate the Admin Team's work to provide direction in this area.
 
We're certainly flexible; either way, if you could just drop me a line or a ping once this turns into a Senate discussion - assuming there will be one - that would be fantastic.
 
I look forward to seeing how the RSC does and hope for the best!
 
I disagree with the notion that RMB moderation should be the RSC's job. If any of their members want to do it, that would be great, but the RSC should not be the catchall group to deal with everything gameside. The RSC exists to preserve regional security. Requiring them to moonlight as moderators means that potential members will inevitably also have to be evaluated on how good they would be as gameside moderators rather than solely on how good they are as guardians of regional security.
 
I disagree with the notion that RMB moderation should be the RSC's job. If any of their members want to do it, that would be great, but the RSC should not be the catchall group to deal with everything gameside. The RSC exists to preserve regional security. Requiring them to moonlight as moderators means that potential members will inevitably also have to be evaluated on how good they would be as gameside moderators rather than solely on how good they are as guardians of regional security.
The unfortunate reality is that we have limited RO slots. However I plan to introduce legislation tomorrow which would allow the President to appoint any RO as an RMB Moderator.
 
I disagree with the notion that RMB moderation should be the RSC's job. If any of their members want to do it, that would be great, but the RSC should not be the catchall group to deal with everything gameside. The RSC exists to preserve regional security. Requiring them to moonlight as moderators means that potential members will inevitably also have to be evaluated on how good they would be as gameside moderators rather than solely on how good they are as guardians of regional security.
The unfortunate reality is that we have limited RO slots. However I plan to introduce legislation tomorrow which would allow the President to appoint any RO as an RMB Moderator.
Do all RSC members really need to be regional officers? They don't need gameside permissions to gather endorsements and influence, and we don't need all of them with border control to eject wayward endotarters or other nations that need to be ejected.
 
I disagree with the notion that RMB moderation should be the RSC's job. If any of their members want to do it, that would be great, but the RSC should not be the catchall group to deal with everything gameside. The RSC exists to preserve regional security. Requiring them to moonlight as moderators means that potential members will inevitably also have to be evaluated on how good they would be as gameside moderators rather than solely on how good they are as guardians of regional security.
The unfortunate reality is that we have limited RO slots. However I plan to introduce legislation tomorrow which would allow the President to appoint any RO as an RMB Moderator.
Do all RSC members really need to be regional officers? They don't need gameside permissions to gather endorsements and influence, and we don't need all of them with border control to eject wayward endotarters or other nations that need to be ejected.
I asked the same question. @Le Libertie or @Kazaman could explain better than me the RSC to RO relationship.
 
The more BC officers we have, the better. If there's no reason not to use the RO slot for security (and there are good reasons: communications, recruitment, visibility of the head of state), then I would say we should use it for security. The more we have, the quicker our reaction time, since it's more likely someone will be around to deal with an issue.
 
Have to say I agree with Comfed here and I think this is a problematic mixing of an IC position with OOC responsibilities. We should have a clear separation between IC/OOC roles and this does more than blur the lines between the two roles but actively forces them together.
 
I have to agree there needs to be a clear separation between IC and OOC for RMB moderation. I think it's fine if a few of the RSC members want to volunteer to do the job but I have to agree that the RSC role can't be a catch-all position. They need to focus on the security of the region which should be their main role in this. I do realize that there are limited RO positions available so someone within the IC government will need to do the job but I really think on a volunteer basis.
 
Have to say I agree with Comfed here and I think this is a problematic mixing of an IC position with OOC responsibilities. We should have a clear separation between IC/OOC roles and this does more than blur the lines between the two roles but actively forces them together.
This was not the intention. We are working on a clarification.
 
I strongly applaud the move on LL. Well done on that. Afraid I'm just not knowledgeable about the rest to have anything useful to say.
 
Here is the promised clarification. The key point being that the Administrative Team will remain responsible for OOC/player safety matters. The "day-to-day moderation" performed by the RSC will be limited to enforcing IC government policy on use of the RMB, such as regulating roleplay, prohibiting multi-posting, and forbidding promotion of other regions.

I have also edited the original post to include both this version and the original for clarity.

Hello everyone,

Some time ago, HEM engaged the community on how to best shape our RMB moderation policy. We want to follow-up with an outline of how we see ourselves Gameside.

First, we’d like to apologize for our delay in rolling out our thoughts and recommendations. As has been mentioned, this has not been easy for us to navigate, and we take full responsibility for how long this conversation has been drug out. Ultimately, however, the hemming-and-hawing comes down to a difficulty in deciding how to best cut the proverbial Gordian Knot.

We take a lot of pride in our work to make Europeia an inclusive and safe place for all members on all of our platforms, but we also recognize that we have been hesitant to exercise our authority over “on-site” activity and the RMB. While there are various reasons for this, the two largest concerns were: (1) will this put us into conflict with NS Moderation; and (2) will any of our work as OOC protectors of the community encroach on the IC government’s ability to run the day-to-day of the region? While we feel the former is more minimal at this point, we feel the latter is something that has to be addressed sooner rather than later due to the impending F/S update.

Given that there is no perfect solution, here is a proposed framework for our scope of work as it pertains to gameside and the RMB:

(1) As suggested in the Senate, we feel the best approach is for the Regional Security Council to be responsible for day-to-day RMB moderation. In this context, day-to-day moderation means enforcing government policy on use of the RMB, such as prohibitions on multi-posting, regulating roleplay content, and disallowing promotion of other regions. The Senate shall encode this responsibility in any reasonable way they see fit, though we are, of course, willing to lend any thoughts and will gladly provide input where asked.
(2) The Administrative Team will have at least one permanent seat on the Regional Security Council. This will allow us to have visibility on any decision-making and the ability to investigate any issues that involve the safety of our members and take appropriate enforcement action.

(3) Besides executing work required of any other Regional Security Council member, the admin holding the permanent seat shall limit their involvement to being advisory and reviewing moderation decisions made to enforce government policy. Any concerns about moderation actions will be brought before the whole administrative team for discussion, and only when there is an internal consensus will we ever override or interfere with moderation practices of the Regional Security Council.

(4) To increase our capacity and ensure actionable things are not overlooked, Le Libertie will be appointed Assistant to the Administrative Team with the sole purview of being a dedicated pair of eyes and ears on the RMB for us. He will have no other duties or responsibilities to start. When the time comes, we will recommend him to hold our permanent seat on the Regional Security Council as detailed in (2) above.

(5) The rest of the RSC should not be involved in investigating or taking enforcement actions against content or individuals that relate to community safety. We expect that the RSC will report community safety issues to the Administration Team via our representative on the RSC or through the usual channels.

This is a political game where we as OOC admins do not want to dictate the day-to-day of gameplay. That’s for the players in their IC roles, after all. However, we are going to reserve the necessary ability to act and react in situations where the safety of our members becomes the tantamount concern during the course of gameplay and remain committed to the principle that the IC government should not be involved in OOC safety matters. This intentionally-limited approach to our involvement will ideally facilitate an environment where our players can play the game in any way they see fit while still being protected and feeling safe in our community.

— Europeian Admins
 
Here is the promised clarification. The key point being that the Administrative Team will remain responsible for OOC/player safety matters. The "day-to-day moderation" performed by the RSC will be limited to enforcing IC government policy on use of the RMB, such as regulating roleplay, prohibiting multi-posting, and forbidding promotion of other regions.

I have also edited the original post to include both this version and the original for clarity.

Hello everyone,

Some time ago, HEM engaged the community on how to best shape our RMB moderation policy. We want to follow-up with an outline of how we see ourselves Gameside.

First, we’d like to apologize for our delay in rolling out our thoughts and recommendations. As has been mentioned, this has not been easy for us to navigate, and we take full responsibility for how long this conversation has been drug out. Ultimately, however, the hemming-and-hawing comes down to a difficulty in deciding how to best cut the proverbial Gordian Knot.

We take a lot of pride in our work to make Europeia an inclusive and safe place for all members on all of our platforms, but we also recognize that we have been hesitant to exercise our authority over “on-site” activity and the RMB. While there are various reasons for this, the two largest concerns were: (1) will this put us into conflict with NS Moderation; and (2) will any of our work as OOC protectors of the community encroach on the IC government’s ability to run the day-to-day of the region? While we feel the former is more minimal at this point, we feel the latter is something that has to be addressed sooner rather than later due to the impending F/S update.

Given that there is no perfect solution, here is a proposed framework for our scope of work as it pertains to gameside and the RMB:

(1) As suggested in the Senate, we feel the best approach is for the Regional Security Council to be responsible for day-to-day RMB moderation. In this context, day-to-day moderation means enforcing government policy on use of the RMB, such as prohibitions on multi-posting, regulating roleplay content, and disallowing promotion of other regions. The Senate shall encode this responsibility in any reasonable way they see fit, though we are, of course, willing to lend any thoughts and will gladly provide input where asked.
(2) The Administrative Team will have at least one permanent seat on the Regional Security Council. This will allow us to have visibility on any decision-making and the ability to investigate any issues that involve the safety of our members and take appropriate enforcement action.

(3) Besides executing work required of any other Regional Security Council member, the admin holding the permanent seat shall limit their involvement to being advisory and reviewing moderation decisions made to enforce government policy. Any concerns about moderation actions will be brought before the whole administrative team for discussion, and only when there is an internal consensus will we ever override or interfere with moderation practices of the Regional Security Council.

(4) To increase our capacity and ensure actionable things are not overlooked, Le Libertie will be appointed Assistant to the Administrative Team with the sole purview of being a dedicated pair of eyes and ears on the RMB for us. He will have no other duties or responsibilities to start. When the time comes, we will recommend him to hold our permanent seat on the Regional Security Council as detailed in (2) above.

(5) The rest of the RSC should not be involved in investigating or taking enforcement actions against content or individuals that relate to community safety. We expect that the RSC will report community safety issues to the Administration Team via our representative on the RSC or through the usual channels.

This is a political game where we as OOC admins do not want to dictate the day-to-day of gameplay. That’s for the players in their IC roles, after all. However, we are going to reserve the necessary ability to act and react in situations where the safety of our members becomes the tantamount concern during the course of gameplay and remain committed to the principle that the IC government should not be involved in OOC safety matters. This intentionally-limited approach to our involvement will ideally facilitate an environment where our players can play the game in any way they see fit while still being protected and feeling safe in our community.

— Europeian Admins
I have proposed legislation which grants the admin team a permanent RO slot and a permanent seat on the RMB Moderation Team, which may or may not consist of all RSC members.
 
Given our current RMB rules -- would some of these be considered OOC and some IC?

OOC?
PG-13 requirement
Doxxing
Offensive language/behavior/flag/nation name, etc.
Flaming/Baiting
Harassment

IC?
Discussion in English
Spamming/Multiposting
Advertising/Recruitment for other regions



1680223061165.png
 
I'd put the English requirement in OOC because that's there for practicality because we can't monitor for OOC issues of we don't understand what is being said.

The latter 2 are certainly IC
 
  • Like
Reactions: upc
So, does this theoretically shrink the number of active ROs able to handle these infractions compared to now?
 
I hope the plan isn't to say "these are the OOC rules and ONLY the admin representative is allowed to handle them". If someone makes a post that is obviously inappropriate, the delegate or president or another IC official with gameside permissions should be allowed to suppress that post/eject and ban that nation.
 
Back
Top