The Staff Guidelines were last updated on June 15th, 2024.

Go to the Server Constitution.

The Staff Handbook (AKA Staff Guidelines) were implemented for a general view of guidance, advice, and quality assurance. Parts of this document were written and established on October 24, 2022. Since then, users have had concerns regarding our decisions and stances in particular situations. As a result, the Staff Handbook was made public on July 25, 2023, as evidenced by this document you’re reading. All staff decisions are based on this document. While we attempt to have high moderation standards, we sometimes make mistakes.

Following this handbook helps avoid mistakes in the future. If not, the handbook is updated to resolve mistakes we have made in the past.

Any significant instance of drama, discussion, and feedback is considered when writing this document. If you would like to be a part of the staff team, you must follow the handbook. If you would like to contribute, that’s great! Leave your feedback in #💡server-direction where it will be considered. Have fun reading~

Apply for staff here

Sensitive content in the staff chats is to be kept in the staff chats. Failure to do so will lead to demotion.

Code of Conduct

DO PLEASE

1. Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself. This place is supposed to welcome everyone regardless of who they are and their worldview.
2. Be open to the idea of leniency. We strive to support free will, regardless of background, to discuss our thoughts (This does not mean endorsing the ideas of prejudice and immorality but being mindful that worldviews differ for each individual).
3. Engage with server members, contribute, or document activities to help maintain a healthy community.
4. Give and accept constructive criticism and be able to confront.
5. Be cool. (Be cool!)

DO NOT

1. Be an arbitrary person or make arbitrary decisions; doing this is unfair.
2. Be arrogant and brown-nosing. This makes you look stupid. Remind yourself that we are all one!
3. Use gossip, accusations, or different platforms to validate our choices. Don’t endorse buildup.
4. Personally attack or harass other members and peers.
5. Be toxic.

Flattywood

The idea social hierarchy should not be of any significance. The staff team is expected to act as normal members and refrain from giving themselves the benefit over the common member but rather connect with them to establish common values. The goal is not to establish equality but to establish the idea of the common “Camellian,” in which they all have the same thoughts of liberty, fairness, and professionalism. Do not disregard authority but instead treat yourself as an ordinary member.

• Compassion above bureaucracy
• Simplicity above complexity
• Practical above hypothetical

We’re looking for talented, creative people. Telling these creative people to sit back and do what they’re told obliterates much of their value. We want innovation, and that means encouraging a team where they can flourish.

Despite the presence of different roles, everyone’s responsibility is the same. We have a flat structure, and it’s your job, the staff members, to steer this community as you see fit. Your goal is to steer this community towards opportunity and away from risk. You have the power to greenlight anything and approve anything (with mindfulness to the rules and guidelines).

This structure removes organizational barriers between your work and community members enjoying that work. Many people will say, “Listen to members,” and in this community, that phrase has never meant more to us as a team. There is nothing stopping you from figuring out what members want and giving it to them.

If you think that this is a lot of responsibility, you’re right! That’s why promotion is the most important thing you will ever do in this team. Anytime you interview a potential staff member, you need to ask yourself if they’re good with collaboration, are creative, and able to steer the community.

Let’s Settle

So you’ve been promoted, congratulations! Let’s settle in by introducing yourself to the existing staff. Know your peers and describe why you wanted to become a staff member. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!

What do I work on?

Self-hosting and collaboration are done 100% with the directive of a hoster. Since we are Flattywood, staff members don’t contribute because they’re told to. Instead, you will decide what to work on after thinking the correct questions.

There is no rulebook for choosing a project to pursue, but it’s helpful to ask yourself these questions:

• Of all projects, what is the most valuable thing I could be working on?
• Does this project impact our members? How much will this benefit them?
• Are we not doing something that we should be doing?
• What’s interesting? What’s rewarding? What will contribute to team and individual strength?

Team chat

UNFINISHED / THE IDEA IS FINAL BUT NOT THE WORDS

you may only have the minimal of three people to a team and the maximum of 6 people to a team

staff chat

UNFINISHED / THE IDEA IS FINAL BUT NOT THE WORDS

staff chat is only used for connecting with others and is not used for discussing projects

Punishment Template

The template for punishing someone is VERBAL WARNING -> INFRACTION/WARNING -> TEMPMUTE -> KICK -> 8-DAY BAN -> INDEF BAN. The template may vary based on staff discretion. Staff members are required to use good judgment when offering punishment. If staff members cannot decide on a consensus for a member, a verbal warning will be given by default.

Disciplinary actions

When people don’t listen, you need to take action. Here’s how to make yourself look less 1984 and more like Mad Max (a more respected kind of staff member).

1. Listen to the room in certain situations. If a sensitive topic arises, you must address it and diverge from it. Only in extreme cases should sensitive topics be forcefully shifted.
2. If members have questions about a punishment, you must address it as you see fit (publically is preferred). Try to make messages short and straightforward on why they were punished.
3. If someone complains about their punishment not being listed in the rules, remind them about reading the room and what we interpret from the room that was presented to us.
4. If someone doesn’t listen after an infraction, time them out.

Cross-Banning users

In extreme circumstances, we may ban individuals for their actions in other communities even if they have not breached any rules in this server. This will only happen if all of the following conditions are met.

1. The user has broken Discord’s Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.
2. The Admins are confident of any evidence sent regarding such behavior of the user.
3. The user is in the server and poses a safety risk for other members.

Gray areas

We will consider specific content as a punishable offense when:

1. The posted content is illegal (i.e., drugs, piracy).
2. The user or content bears bigotry and/or hate (such as profiles, bios, or nicknames).
3. The content being posted violates Discord’s Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.
4. The content being posted implies anything that breaks the server constitution/rules maliciously.

Events and Announcements

If you have any ideas or experiments to try yourself, please do so! However, the general idea of event hosting should be as follows. Please note each contribution you’ve made for documentation’s sake!

Always use this channel for anonymous announcements. Your messages will be reposted by a bot.

If you need an idea of where to create events. Scroll to the top of the channel list and locate the Event Button. You can see a screenshot example below.

Events: Hosting Requirements

• Make sure events are organized and planned. Be sure you are appealing to community interests.
• Promote and participate in the event you’re hosting. This is to get community members interested in them.
• Make events easy to participate in and as welcoming as possible. The goal is to create retention!

Events: Camellia Orientated

When Camellia does something awesome, it is preferred to create a Discord event so it can be marked in the calendar. There should be an image demonstrating how to create Discord events above.

When making events about Camellia, you should keep an eye out for these.

• Camellia song premieres (on his YouTube channel)
• Camellia DJ sets/events
• Music fests featuring Camellia (VRChat, Comiket, etc.)
• Anything involving Camellia!

Announcements: Tone of delivery

• Professional posts must be neutral to the reader. No bias should show or any favoring to certain topics. Only on rare occasions should this rule be voided.
• Grammar and styling should be consistent with previous posts. When creating a post, be sure to check grammar with built-in text editors.
• Posts must be easy to digest and understandable for readers. Be sure to avoid any complex or abrupt sentences.
• Be sure to preview your posts in any of the staff chats before posting. Make sure it’s good enough!

Announcements: Keeping consistency

• All posts are to be written in United States English. Different spellings for different words will occur, so be mindful of spelling. Words included but not limited to are: color, center, skillful, analyze, etc.
• Posts regarding challenges, contests, and Camellia Monthly must follow RFC 2119. It is also encouraged to use proper markdown for posts.
• Trademarks must be correctly typed, including games, media, music, etc. Examples include YouTube, Discord, etc.
• Dates must be followed with a specified time (if possible). Dates could be written with Discord integration or with HH:MM TIMEZONE. Avoid using GMT; use UTC for ease of use. Date formatting should follow something like this: June 5, 2022 (00:40 UTC-5).

Crisis handling

Detailed discussions regarding crisis handling are handled internally and are not disclosed to the public. If staff members wish to engage silently in crisis handling, they must report all concerning messages to Discord.

In the event of a member having a crisis, breakdown, or rant in a public space, staff members must provide a list of hotline services to support the member (in DMs or in #serious-discussion). If a member falls within these conditions, action is required.

1. The user threatens suicide or self-harm.
2. The user shows concerning behavior in #serious-discussion or in any channel.
3. A fellow member shows concern regarding the conditions above for their other fellow member.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’re in a crisis, please reach out to any of the resources listed below.

1. Call or Text 988 or visit their site here (United States only)
2. The Trevor Project (24/7 LGBTQ+ crisis support)
3. Wikipedia’s Suicide Crisis Lines
4. Take This (emergency and non-emergency mental health resources)

If you are not in immediate crisis or danger and would like to find help, reach out to the resources listed below.

1. 7 Cups of Tea (24/7 online chat)
2. So You Feel Like Shit (interactive flow chart)
3. Self Help Resources
4. Finding affordable treatment services
5. Bo Burnham Problem Solving song

Probationary and Trial Roles

• All new staff members will start with the Moderator role and a designated secondary role. These roles are called Trial Staff and Probationary Staff.
• Trial Staff will be given to staff members who would normally be denied in the application process but are given a chance to prove themselves to the Admins. Trial Staff is also used as a learning experience for new staff members!
• Probationary Staff are given to competent individuals who have proven their readiness to join the staff team. This is a way to evaluate performance before fully committing to their role.

Demotion

Staff members cannot be demoted unless a mutual agreement is made or for individual reasons.

If an agreement is reached, the staff member will be honorably discharged. If a disagreement is reached however, a compromise must be considered.

• Staff members may be moved down the hierachy for a position they are more fitting in.
• An Admin must offer support, lectures, or the staff member must offer a plan for improvement.
• If no improvement is found within three months, the staff member will be dishonorably discharged. We’re sorry!

Any questions? Bring them up in the staff chats!!