Update the Approach to Handling Player Reports

[Taina]

Short description:

The way in which player reports are handled on the forum should be updated in order to better meet the needs of the server and reduce the workload of handling admins.

 

Detailed description:

While some reports are quickly picked up by admins and addressed in timely fashion, others are not - and in those cases, players may be left waiting for several weeks for a resolution to their issues.  I don't believe that our admins are slacking.  I believe there is a problem with the system that is currently in place, which seems to have worked at one point but may need to be reworked to better meet the needs of the server at this point in time.

 

From what I can tell, it's often those reports with a lot of information to read through that, unsurprisingly, take longer for admins to address.  With that said...

 

Suggestion:

Step 1. Make it so that player reports are submitted privately and only visible to the player submitting the report and admins (much like the forums for ban appeals or faction-related issues). This would prevent threads from becoming oversaturated with information (much of it irrelevant) before an admin can even take a look.

 

Step 2. Reports should be handled in the order in which they are received, but assigned to the appropriate admins based on the admin's experience/familiarity with the subject of the report (i.e.,  an admin familiar with illegal RP picking up a report related to illegal RP).  Perhaps Support Staff can be assigned to take a look at the initial report, and that Support member can determine which admin is best suited to handle the report before passing it over to that admin.

 

Step 3. Once the handling admin receives the initial report, they can respond with the necessary questions/comments and open it up for the public to see, at which point the reported party can be informed about the report.  This would give the admin control over the conversation in the thread from the very beginning and still allow for each party involved in the report to make their case on the public forum for all to see.  

 

Commands to add: N/A

 

Items to add: N/A

 

How would your suggestion improve the server?

I believe the above suggestion would:

 

1. Allow reports to be addressed more quickly and effectively, which means fewer interruptions in RP and also prevents players from becoming frustrated (which can lead to other issues that impact the server, like an overall lack of interest in continuing to RP).

 

2. Allow for greater accountability as specific admins would be assigned to each report.

 

3. Boost the confidence of players in the reporting process so there is no room for suspicion that

a. admins are playing favorites in their decisions, or

b. the handling of a report is intentionally being put off.

Both are reasons players often give for refusing to report others for rule-breaking/poor RP, which impacts the overall quality of RP on the server as issues with the offending players go unreported and, therefore, unaddressed.

 

4. Boost the confidence of players in the outcome of the report as admins will be assigned to each report based on their experience/familiarity with whatever is being reported.

 

5. Reduce the workload of admins so that

a. they will no longer have to read through the forum when picking up reports, and  

b. they will no longer have to read through pages of unnecessary information.

 

6. Reduce the back-and-forth arguing between players (which can lead to lingering OOC issues) as the admin will have control of the conversation from the beginning.

 

Additional information:

Edited December 27, 2020 by Taina

[ShawnM]

i could see this one working

[xdthe]

good suggestion, hope staff implement

[Tennplugg]

1 hour ago, Taina said:

Make it so that player reports are submitted privately and only visible to the player submitting the report and admins (much like the forums for ban appeals or faction-related issues). This would prevent threads from becoming oversaturated with information (much of it irrelevant) before an admin can even take a look.

How would this work for the reported player? 

[SOLID24]

I believe the reported player should be able to respond/see the report, after an admin picks it up and is ready to ask questions. But I agree with this thread.

Edited December 27, 2020 by SOLID24

[Taina]

1 minute ago, Tennplugg said:

How would this work for the reported player? 

 

Thanks for asking.  I realize I wasn't clear enough in the initial post.  

 

The reported player would only be informed about the report once an admin picks up the report and opens it to the public, ideally by the admin since they have access to forum names/ig names.  

 

Once the reported player is informed, they can reply to the report. 

 

Reported players would still get a chance to make their case, but with the implementation of this suggestion, admins would have greater control of the discussion from the start and be able to guide it in the right direction in order to resolve matters.

 

 

[MickeyO]

I've had a report sitting on the forums for two months...

[MomoIsHere]

I like this. The base concept sounds fine so far in my eyes.

Edited December 27, 2020 by MomoIsHere

[Zayyy]

good idea, +1

[F0r3sT]

I doubt it'll get implemented, but it's a perfect suggestion.