If you’re in a sandbox MMO where people are generally meant to work together and your community draws in a pretty varied number of opinions, how do you handle the inevitable conflicts? That’s the subject of SEED’s most recent dev blog, which goes into the specifics of moderator code of conduct.
In short, the devs want players to have the freedom to be themselves and to pull unsavory acts in-game such as lying, betraying, and going to war with others, issuing a warning to those who might be supremely annoying to others but not much else in terms of behavior. “Frankly, if we don’t end up having people kind of disliking each other here and there, I’d be worried about the lack of diversity in our community,” reasons the post. “We don’t want or need everyone to be the same.”
Additionally, SEED’s moderators will not issue punishments for bad behavior outside of its platforms, instead advising those on the receiving end of such treatment on ways they can address the matter on that outside platform.
When things like harassment or hate speech occur on SEED’s own server is when banhammers can swing, and even then that usually happens with at least one warning on a case by case basis — bots, spammers, and those breaking TOS will be banned immediately. Bans can and usually do arrive without explanation, and usually happen without public announcement.
On the subject of harassment, SEED defines it as “when one party refuses to stop interacting with the other party, even after they have been asked to stop.” The post suggests those who feel harassed to outline as much in chat in the hopes that doing so will end the issue or at least provide a form of evidence for mods to follow, but also rather oddly says that the sole responsibility does not fall on the victim. “You don’t have to do anything. But there are certain steps you can take that might help your situation, and that could help us help you,” explains the post.
