(2014-03-15 16:05)Jester Wrote:  I've seen, on many occasions, admins deal with complains publicly in server chat. In one case, an admin used the server chat to tell a cop that his rights had been revoked and he was no longer permitted to be a cop. This turned into an argument, which lasted for like 10 minutes. In other cases, conversations in which the [TC] member reprimands a user, usually cops, last for minutes, rather than a brief suggestion.

Server Rules Wrote:9.1. Do not argue with the [TC] members.

If you get a punishment, you very likely broke a server rule. Obey the [TC] members' orders. We are not here to ruin the fun, but to keep everything in order and safe. If a [TC] member tells you to stop doing something, do so.
If you feel unfairly treated, you can post on the forum with an unban request or ask for an explanation.

(2014-03-15 16:05)Jester Wrote:  Basic management theory (for the workplace, but aptly applied to this scenario as well, because there TC members and users/cops have a superior/subordinate relationship) heavily favors the idea that you should "praise in public, punish in private." That is to say, these conversations where TC members address reports of users or cops should take place in the form of PMs, rather than server chat. For a scenario that most users here can relate to, think of a classroom setting: if a student gets in trouble, they're asked to see the teacher after class for a private discussion, rather than a public conversation in front of their peers.

It's perfectly acceptable to let the complainant know about the result of their report, but that might be better left to private chat, as well. I'm not saying that small suggestions should be PMs, but when a TC member says "[user], can I have a word" and then has a public discussion with them in the server, it disrupts chat and reduces their effectiveness as a leader of the community.

• Sometimes it just shows people that we enforce the rules, and sometimes means that players don't break the rules as much when they see admins are doing stuff to prevent rule breakers.
• Sometimes, players who are not involved can read the chat and actually learn from the player being spoken to by an admin (e.g. a player not knowing that wrong siding on the Autobahn is against the rules, but learns that it is when someone is breaking publically spoken to about it)
• If Player A has reported Player B and an admin has spoken to Player B and dealt with him accordingly after reviewing the evidence, the admin might forget to tell Player A it has been dealt with and they might forum report it without knowing that it has been dealt with already. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with some public chatting so everyone is on the same page.
• Being summoned in a classroom is quite different to being summoned on a computer game. You're not in front of your close friends, and half the people online probably can't speak English well enough to comprehend what the admin is saying (kind of problematic when they're the ones being spoken to, but there's usually some way they understand in the end).
• Some things are impossible to keep private - such as restrictions, fines, kicks, bans - since these aren't private, it could be argued that it is pointless to keep everything else private.
• Shows that the admin is busy so players who are bombarding the admin know that they're doing work and not actively ignoring them.
• Massive arguments, debates and otherwise should not happen on the server as per the rule I highlighted earlier in the post.
• I'm sure there are some more obvious reasons that I've missed, but they're not instantly coming to mind at the moment.
  

(2014-03-15 16:05)Jester Wrote:  This is just an observation that I've had. I'm interested to hear thoughts from you guys, as well.