Moderation: General Suggestions for Outlaws Community Discord

[sterile comet]

I apologize in advance for the wall of text, but I tried to cram a lot into a single thread, rather than make a bunch of separate threads

Based on my experience over years of playtesting, large server moderation, involvement in previous Ubisoft game launches and my role as an Insider with Skull & Bones, I have some general suggestions on the structure of the community discord to help better serve the community and benefit the CM Staff. I am offering these suggestions based on general observations during my time in the server, to do with as you will or disregard. My only goal is to help improve the community experience and better promote the game (since I love it and I want to see it succeed) 🙂

As with many other AAA game releases, I have noticed a lot of new members coming in to the community server asking many of the same questions or looking for help with technical issues and they are not really getting the information or support they seek in a lot of cases. I have also noticed that the moderation staff does not seem to be "active" in chat on a regular basis and relies heavily on the auto-mod system to keep things running smoothly. As the playerbase grows through Advanced Access and Launch, more and more players will begin joining this server, and it seems to me, like the community discord is in need of a little more structure to handle the influx of new members.

The first thing I would suggest is more community moderation and/or chat bots to help direct and monitor the flow of the server and chat in general public channels. It is important to community growth and well-being to engage new members early and make sure their experience is pleasant and productive, in my opinion. Having a chat bot that regularly posts useful information in general chat channels is one way of achieving this, as are helpful moderators with useful chat commands to distribute information on-the-fly and as needed (a set of member commands would also achieve this). It really helps when you are given clear directions when entering a new community or know where to turn for information at least. Another benefit of having a "self-moderating" community where senior community members are monitoring the discussion and helping those in need, is the ability to remove offensive language, images or links in real time (the rank system helps, but it's still sort of an "honor system" from there, which can eventually lead to problems as the community grows and there are more and more active chatters). Another thing that comes with increased membership is the rate of messages and frequency of responses; active community moderation would allow for the use of chat "slowmode" features (when the discussion gets too hectic or the volume is too much to follow or monitor effectively). Moderators could also make sure the discussions in game channels stays "on topic" to eliminate spam and random comments on unrelated subjects and focus the discussion on the game and community support.

In short, I think the server could use a little more moderation for the good of community growth and well-being. To this end, I am proposing the implementation of a chat message bot and/or user/moderator commands to more effectively distribute useful, official information as well as a group of volunteer community moderators from the upper ranks of the current membership to help monitor community activity and ensure that the Outlaws Community Discord is a safe, inclusive, helpful and friendly environment for all.

I have included an example of some useful chat commands that I set up on a 3rd party application (this list could be expanded or adapted as needed and is only intended as an example)

I am happy to answer any questions or provide additional information and examples if needed 🙂

[sterile comet]

this why we need active commnity moderation .. it goes on like that for 10 pages

hate speech, threats of violence, etc . . . auto-mod can't catch everything, and then people like this turn the server into a toxic playground

[vestal sorrel]

Yikes

[weak sky]

Hello 👋