So lately there has been a lot of confusion about the ban command. When it should be used, what you need to take into account before banning a user and how long you should ban them for. To clear up that confusion I have decided to make this post.
First of all I would like to emphasise one main thing: there is no direct guide on when to ban someone for what specific length. There are no set numbers and there is no definite way of banning a user. If you hear anyone, and by that I do mean
anyone say that you have to ban for a day or only a few days for a first ban then immediately ignore whatever they're saying, because what they are saying is based on nothing else but their own personal opinion.
When do I ban someone?
The ban command, like all forms of punishment, is based around one specific policy:
The Staff Ethos. All staff members should consider this thing like a holy book - it is what we base all punishments on.
Although that is nice and all, there is one thing concerning the staff ethos that a lot of users within the community tend to forget:
abusive players are not protected by it. This is clearly stated within the post:
Tyler Durden wrote:
Keep in mind that the staff ethos is a guideline and it is here to protect both users and admins, but not to protect blatantly abusive players from justice.
The moment when you ban a user, they are no longer protected by the staff ethos. Why? Because when you ban someone, you automatically say: "This is an abusive player that we do not need on the server." That is the only reason that you can have for banning someone: the moment when someone breaks so many rules within a certain amount of time that they no longer have the right to play on the server.
All users that you are about to ban are considered abusive players. Therefore, the staff ethos does not apply to them. And before you ask, no this does not mean that you can ban them for as long as you like. The staff ethos might no longer apply to them, but it still applies to you, the staff member.
But when exactly is a user considered "abusive"? Now that is tricky. The easiest example I can give you is when you come across a player that has a lot of punishments, and by "a lot" I mean roughly ten or more punishments within the last few weeks, within two weeks' time. However you can also come across users that have received five punishments within an hour. Although others disagree, you are fully within your right to ban them at that point. If a user has broken so many rules within an extremely short amount of time then they can by all means be considered "abusive players".
Basically, when a user is considered abusive is up to you. However the argument of "They do not wish to play properly on the server" does not apply. You cannot decide whether or not someone else wants to play on the server properly or not. When banning a user you have to have a reason for it. Therefore if someone asks you "Why did you ban X" you should be able to respond with a proper explanation of why you banned that user. If you are unable to do so and if you are not able to reinforce your arguments with proof (e.g. the rapsheet) then there is a very big chance that you shouldn't have bannned that user.
What do I have to take into account when banning a user?
I have already touched on this very shortly before. Obviously punishments are the main thing you need to take into account. However, when you ban a user, be sure to check whether or not there are any invalid punishments on their rapsheet. Mutes and gags without a reason, for example, or an aslay and a warning given at the same time (considering that only one rule was broken, it'd be extremely harsh to count them seperately). Freezes and ragdolls given by staff members aren't valid punishments either.
When exactly those punishments were given matters as well. Obviously you should primarily take recent punishments into account. These are all punishments that have been given within the past two weeks. However like I described before, the staff ethos no longer applies to users that you are about to ban. If a user has received 50 punishments for prop abuse in the past, only two of those are recent and they prop abuse for a third time, feel free to ban them. Although the other 47 punishments are not recent any longer, they have clearly not learned that they should not prop abuse, and therefore they can be considered an "abusive player".
The last thing to take into account when banning a user is their previous bans. You need to look at the following things:
- When their ban was given
- What the reason for the ban was
- How long they were banned for
When the user was banned plays a major role if you need to ban them again. For example, you're not going to take a ban from six months ago into account if you're banning the user right now. But a ban from a month ago, or even a few months ago, can still be taken into account.
The reason for the ban matters as well. For example, if a user was banned for the reason "Mass Racism" for a day a week ago, and they're saying a racist word again, then feel free to ban them for a few days, or even more. Or if a user was banned for the reason "Mass RDM and LTAP" only two weeks ago, feel free to ban them for even longer regardless of whether or not they leave the server.
How long the user was banned for previously is of major importance for the length of their new ban. For example, a one-day ban from last month is not really interesting to you. Clearly the user has been able to not get banned for a month, and as their previous ban was only a day, their new ban shouldn't be far off. But if a user was banned permanently six months ago and unbanned 4 months ago then feel free to put them back on a permanent ban if you believe the situation calls for it.
How long do I ban someone for?
How long you ban someone for is based around everything I have told you just now. Who they are, how they have behaved on the server, what their previous punishments are and whether or not they have any previous bans is extremely important when you decide the length of their ban.
Say a user is mass rulebreaking. They are mass RDMing, being disrespectful and prop abusing every round. They have received two warnings within the last hour and have five recent punishments in total. They were banned for five days two weeks ago (no longer recent) for Mass RDM and LTAP. They have one other ban for a day with the reason "Discrimination and Recent Punishments" that was handed out a little less than a month ago.
There is a myth amongst the TTT staff team that you can only ban a user for recent punishments if they have eleven or more punishments. This is false; there isn't a single policy within the community that states that. At this point, feel free to ban him. How long? That's up to you. Just make sure you keep in mind that they have been banned for five days not long ago and that they are generally being a nuiscanse right now. If you feel like they deserve it, then ban them for a week or even more. Or maybe you think five recent punishments isn't enough to warrant a week ban, in which case you can feel free to ban them for a few days or for five days again.
When you ban a user, make sure you look at the
whole rapsheet, not just the recent punishments. Don't look too far back though - it would be extremely harsh to consider punishments from over a year ago when banning a user today.
If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask them on this thread or by messaging me on Steam.
Posted with permission of Aek, LonelyDodo and Bezzy