Moderator Application
Personal Information
Byond ID Boperator
Discord Username? Bizarro#0506
CM Character? Dez Vandez
Are you 16 or older? Yes
Timezone Eastern Standard Time
On average, how many hours are you available per week to moderate? Likely 20-35. I'm on pretty regularly. I work an early AM job and tend to sleep either as soon as I get home or some hours afterwards.
Qualifications
Do you have any previous experience in being staff (not just SS13)? I used to moderate on a Garry's Mod DarkRP server and an HL2RP server years ago, but I was a teenager then. It's been a long time.
Do you play any servers aside from CM-SS13? Very rarely. I tend to check out newer servers if they're interesting to me.
Provide links to any previous Colonial Marines applications that you've made:
Are you currently a staff member elsewhere (not just SS13)? If so, where? No.
Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on Colonial Marines? I believe that I have at least two three hour bans for improper escalation from around 2-3 years ago, but no twenty-four hour or higher bans to my knowledge.
Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on ANY server? If so, which server, when, and what for? Yes, I am currently permanently banned from Yogstation. It was applied seven months ago for this reason: "Round 38934 - Assistant non antag ordering null crates. Based on past notes and bans this will be a perma ban." This is my entire rap sheet from Yogstation and it is not pretty: https://yogstation.net/bans?query=boperator
Are you familiar with the chat program Discord (its use is required)? Yes
Communication is a vital part of being a Moderator. Are you willing to actively do so with the team? Yes, definitely.
Common Staff Situations
A player randomly shoots someone at round start and MPs have detained him. Send a personal message to the detained player and ask for their version of the events; do the same for the detaining MP, as well as anyone else who may have potentially witnessed this happen. A proper investigation is needed, including review of the logs and the specific details of what exactly happened. There can be many factors involved. The detained player's previous record/notes should be looked into to check for any history of actions like this. Did they only shoot once or multiple times/with burst fire? After referring to the logs, the detained player's testimony/prior history and the testimony of other witnesses, I would take the appropriate action depending on the circumstances, namely a ban, note or warning. If they're spanking brand new, I would be likely to not even issue a note, but give them a hard warning on trigger discipline in the event that it was an accident. Answers from the detaining MP such as if they were resisting arrest or fighting with MPs or other marines can help with the case, and I would question the detained player on this as well. In the event of blatant grief, I would heal those affected (especially if they were struck with death/fractures or other crippling damage) and take the necessary action against the player behind the shooting.
A player ahelps that a predator has violated the honor code when killing him, what should you do? I have skimmed the honor code before, though I'm not proficiently familiar with it nor do I possess a predator WL; but I understand the basics of their behavior and their rules. Provide a link to the forums, specifically the board for filing reports against players. Possible honor code violations should be brought up with the WL council; I can provide them with the means to contact those in the council with their evidence if they have any to offer.
You see a player walking around the ship naked and clearly lost at roundstart. I have prior experience as a mentor. However, I may at times find myself too distracted/busy to help a new player, so I would inform the current SEA that they could use some guidance if there is an SEA present. Ask in mentor chat. Bring it up with mentors in the Discord server to see if they are free and able to help. I tend to find the time to help someone if they need assistance, though.
A player is being very rude to you in adminhelps, calling you names and arguing everything you say. He is requesting to speak to an Admin+ staff member. Any member of staff that has had to deal with me from 2-3 years ago will tell you I was like this and I am not proud of that. But I understand that people get upset sometimes and they're only venting in some which way, as unhealthy as it may be at times. I would definitely make a note of it if they continued to act this way after discussion of an issue persisted, as there's little tolerance for that. If they have an excess of history regarding this behavior, I'd warn them of this and if they still continued, I would inform them of my intention to apply a ban so they can take a break and "cool off," then actually apply the ban if required.
A player ahelps that a marine is named 'John Doe', how do you deal with this? This goes against the policy related to memes/pop culture references. It's harmless enough, but there is a random name generator if one is feeling uncreative at the time. I feel like it's hard to justify even sending someone a personal message over this, but I would ask them if there's any particular reason they chose that name and if they would be against changing it. If they are against changing it, I would remind them of rule 9 and advise against it, but would otherwise take no serious action.
You see a Maintenance Tech running around in armor and carrying a rifle. The security level is green and there has been no threat to the ship in the round at this point. They could POSSIBLY be planning to grief, but it's difficult to interpret that until bullets start flying and explosions start going off. But it definitely looks suspicious and I'd go ahead and observe them for a time to see if they're up to something. If necessary, I'd be prepared to freeze/sleep them if they actually start straight-up griefing out of nowhere. They could be roleplaying paranoia or might want to help the engineers out down on the planet, so there's that. Actually taking the necessary steps for some kind of grand sabotage, however, that's worth investigating. There's also the possibility that they want to be ready for a xeno hijack, but before that's actually announced and there's no reason yet to think that will happen, that's metagaming and I'd tell them this.
A Marine ahelps that they were killed by a survivor. It is early round, the Marines have just landed, and the survivor claims that they were outright hostile to all Marines from the get-go and openly stated their intentions. How do you deal with this? As far as I know, the current ruling is that survivors can not be outwardly hostile to the marines unless they are a survivor that is linked to the CLF/UPP/other hostile faction. If they are new to survivor and don't understand this, I would let them know. If they have history of this and actually have spent numerous hours as a survivor, a job ban may be in order as well as a note for their actions.
You receive an ahelp from a player stating that an MP has locked them up in permanent confinement for running into Requisitions and taking an attachment that was laying around. At a glance, this can seem like an IC issue, so I'd definitely tell them to speak to the warden/CMP/CO/XO/other command staff about getting an appeal or release. If the player in permanent confinement is new and or confused on why they're in permanent confinement, I can give them a link to the page on marine law, but given the reason that they were put in permanent confinement to begin with, that punishment does not apply. The proper time for this would be ten minutes if I'm correct. I would for sure send a personal message to the arresting MP and ask for their motivation in giving the other player a permanent sentence if they have one. A history of excessive punishment like this will entail a job ban.
The round is stagnating. There are 30 marines and 4 aliens. The marines won't leave the ship, and the aliens won't attack. What would you do, to "encourage" the sides to engage each other? If there's only that many xenos still alive, I imagine most marines would be encouraged by the next bioscan reading. I have also witnessed Queen Mother announcements from staff in rounds where they say something along the lines of, "You have failed me, now face death," or something along those lines, which can be a good approach. Marines can be stubbornly defensive anyway, so I could always use the subtle messaging to say something like, "You know that you are not done yet. They're still out there."
You are playing as a medic, and another medic overdoses all your patients and prevent marines from being revived. It seems like it may be on purpose. How do you deal with this situation? Medics can get very swamped sometimes, so needless to say, it would be rough to break away from the battle to bring it up. If there's other moderators/admins online, you could bring it up with them. On the IC side of things, I'd definitely tell the other medic to use their health analyzer on someone before they stick them with something, though. If they just give me the silent treatment and continue to inject/pill people continuously with reckless abandon, I'd say grief would be a strong possibility, especially if they, like, give someone in crit the same medication multiple times, though they could also be new to medic and think that using the same medication multiple times will make it work faster. I've actually seen that before. They should definitely be told that that is not the case. If this is majorly affecting the round and putting the marines at a disadvantage, I'd freeze/sleep them or even put out a ban after referencing their past history.
The round ends, a Marine starts shooting a hostile CLF member and the CLF member ahelps about being killed after the round ended. I would let them know that, even if the round has ended, their character is still aligned with a faction that is hostile to the marines, and that pinning that as end-of-round grief wouldn't exactly be easy. I'd gladly provide them with the wiki page link if they don't believe me.
A Marine is running around disarming, punching and stealing gear at round start. You receive an ahelp from one of the victims. I have seen numerous instances like this myself; it can be an IC thing a lot of the time. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with giving someone a little disarm back, so long as proper escalation is followed and nobody starts blowing anyone's brains out immediately. I'd check with the reported guy's notes/history and personal message him to check for any previous offenses to see if a ban is in order or not, depending on the timeframe of the offenses if there are any listed.
You receive an ahelp from a Marine saying that he was killed by another Marine. When you ask the murderer why, he said it was because the other Marine had punched him. Ask them if they read the rules before and if they haven't, inform them that that's a violation of rule 10 and that they incorrectly escalated the situation. You can not murder someone over a punch/disarm/grab/table slam/etc. Some have a history of this, so if push comes to shove and they've done this before, I'd apply a ban ranging from three to maybe even twenty-four hours if their history is that recent and that bad -- to the point that it's a regular occurrence from them.
You find out that there is an improper mutiny occuring. The mutineers are rallying together and preparing to storm the CIC. How would you attempt to resolve this situation? These tend to be started by either one person or a few people working together. While I have rarely witnessed actual mutinies myself, I know how they're meant to go and what's supposed to be done before they're put into effect. I'd tell the mutiny leader(s) that they should read rule 11 and that they're performing an improper mutiny and should cease immediately unless they can bring their reasons for it up with an administrator and have it approved. Even then, I would monitor this to make sure the rules of mutinying are being followed throughout. If the leader(s) in question have a history of starting improper mutinies like this, I'd apply a note. Before all that even happens, I'd use MOOC (which moderators have access to??) to inform everyone involved in the mutiny to pump the brakes while this is sorted out and to not take any hostile action during the investigation.
There are minor racist comments going on IC. 9 of the 10 people are laughing and RPing but one player gets offended and Adminhelps about it. It can be easy to get sucked into a casual conversation like this when everyone else is talking that way. I wouldn't say there'd be any reason to be harsh or super confrontational about this per say, but I would remind them of rule 3 and its expectations related to racism and bigotry. You should definitely read the room before you go off spouting things like that, regardless.
A marine opens fire at round start in briefing killing multiple marines and instantly logs off. I believe this is what some would call a code red situation (hue). I can't reach/contact them because they've logged off, but their actions are cut and dry and I don't think there's much need to question them anyway. A ban should definitely be applied post-haste. I'd submit a request afterwards to have them permanently banned and provide the evidence for that request; should also provide their past history (if there is any) and their ckey to higher administration.
You see a player playing a Xeno larva/chestburster run towards the frontlines straight from the Xeno hive the second they burst and die. Ironically, I have a note for something like this from about 4-5 months ago. This can be hard to crack into, because sometimes you just wander around the hive as a larva and then bam, there's the scout or a group of people hive-diving or something along those lines and you get unlucky. I'd definitely question them, though, in the event that they were really going the extra mile to go off weeds, out of the hive, away from their allies (especially if you're seeing "larva why are you there" in hivemind from other xenos) and making a b-line straight into marching marine forces. Worst case scenario is that they could be someone who was playing marine, died and respawned as a larva, and are in a salty post-death mindset of trying to put the xeno team at a disadvantage. If there's a history of this, apply a ban, depending on the severity/history of this.
You see a Xeno memeing, saying AYYLMAO, REEEEEE etc in hivemind chat, as well as insulting the Queen. I'd send them a personal message and remind them of the roleplay standards expected from not just everyone, but xenomorphs in particular on the server, and that that kind of talk will not fly. If they have a history of this, a note and a job ban may be necessary. If it's a first time deal, I'd still give them a note.
A Xeno player calls the shuttle a "dropship". A different Xeno player ahelps that it's low role play to call it a "dropship". Xenos communicating with each other IC, from an OOC point of view, is translated. I usually just see the majority of xeno players refer to it as a "bird," but overall, I'd tell them that that's perfectly fine and that it is not low roleplay for them to address it as what it is: a plain ol' dropship.
A Command staff player at briefing near round-start mentions there are aliens on the planet. You receive an ahelp from a marine regarding this. The marines DO NOT know what they are dealing with on the colony prior to their arrival. To quote Carter Burke: "We don't know exactly what's going on out there -- it may just be a downed transmitter." Unless command has acquired intelligence prior to briefing that there are, in fact, xenos on the colony, they are unaware of the threat.
You find a Marine killing another Marine on the EVAC Pod to take the last spot and claims it was RP as he was saving himself. There are two other marines in the pod along with him. I actually find this question a little funny just because I've seen a lot of players that don't know about the three man limit on escape pods that make it blow up. It's dependent on the situation, but I'd only allow that to be a valid roleplay reason if there were no other escape pods available and that was their character's actual only chance of survival. The barricades are coming down, there's xenos spitting at them and clawing their way in, and if they don't get to ride in that pod, they're done for -- that kinda thing.
A player insults you after you warn them for a minor issue and begins ranting in LOOC or dchat about staff and mentions you specifically, referring to you as an 'idiot' and a 'retard'. That deserves a note for sure. Anytime somebody starts talking like this, I'd check with their history (which I'm sure is just common sense). I really don't think I'd apply any actual punishment for this unless they had a mountain of notes (especially recent ones) related to that behavior.
A player ahelps saying he was hugged by a Xeno when he was ssd, and wants the larva be removed from him via admin powers. How do you handle the ahelp? Staff can not perform these kind of actions based on events that occurred while someone was SSD. There is nothing I can do for them. He will have to find a way to have it removed or make himself cozy in the nest until he's rescued or until next round.
You see a fellow staff member give wrong information in an Adminhelp or incorrectly enforce a rule. Some rules are open to interpretation and various means of discretion, so this can sometimes be let go. If it raises a serious red flag and or it's just flat out wrong, I'd private message the other staff member and inform them of the rule they're trying to enforce and how you should actually go about enforcing it. Worst case, I'd record all the action taken and bring it up with someone in higher management.
Two staff are arguing in msay if an ahelp is breaking a rule. Because the staff who took the ahelp thinks the player broke a rule, they ban the player based on their interpretation of the rules, with others thinking the person was fine. What would you do? I'd probably be nosy and investigate what happened myself and give my two cents, but otherwise, this sounds like something that should be attended to by a higher staff member. If it's a particularly-heated debate and the staff chat is getting spammed like wild, I'd more than likely message a higher administrator myself and tell them what's going on and if there's anything they can do to help mediate the situation.
Why would you like to become a moderator? I really love Aliens (like the actual film) and I really love that this server exists for that reason. I have never had any personal problem with anyone in the server, be they staff or a regular player, and I really like it here. Anyone who notices me playing on the server, particularly those who focus more on shipside roles, might notice that I'm a bit of a CL main; and I have to admit, that acting as "the company" is a big motivator of mine, and conducting roleplay situations and circumstances that add a spice to the game so that some rounds don't feel like the same recipe on repeat. The present staff on CM seem like such chill people and I want to get to know them better and become more recognized as a friendly face to the whole community; someone who will have your back and clear your head of any concern or worry, whatever the case may be. I play on here a lot and I see a lot of potential in it; I hope it's around for a lot longer, because I really want to be a bigger part of it.
In your opinion, what is the most important quality for a moderator? Someone who's dependable, professional and efficient. We're all here to have a good time, and nobody wants to see a game as "work," though I personally like having that mindset. I get a good feeling from juggling tasks and managing issues, so to put it in one word, I'd probably say: professionalism.
Anything else you want to add? In the past, I have not been the best player. Pretty far from it, to be blunt. Without getting into a personal long-winded spiel about being a better person, I will at least say that if you read my notes, they look terrible and I acknowledge and admit to that. In the past, I have been immature, rude, mean-spirited and sweaty, and when I go back and read them, I genuinely feel pretty crappy and wonder why in hell I was that way. Even if it's worth little, I hope all the staff and players that I affected before will accept my own apology, and we can shake virtual hands and be okay with each other.