Rule Violation Report Templates and Guidelines

[DiscoveryGC Admins]

. . VIOLATION REPORTS Templates and Guidelines .

. . The following are guidelines for posting rule violation reports. Please follow this template as closely as possible, it makes everyone’s lives just a tad bit simpler. Remember, each member is only permitted to file one rule violation report per day. Any more than that and your additional reports will not be considered. This is done to prevent malicious reporting or multiple reports of extremely trivial behavior. Just go out, play the game, and have some fun. That said, we do realize that the players make for the best eyes and ears for catching rule violations both on the server and forums. If you find yourself in the position to report a violation, follow the guidelines in this thread to help us out. .

. . BEFORE YOU START Collate these: .	. . Take 20 minutes, go get a glass of water or eat some food. This is known as the "Sandwich Rule". When you come back, if you are still upset about the encounter, then follow the steps below. . The rule(s) that were broken Pull up our rules, read them over to identify the broken one Gather your UNEDITED evidence Screenshots Upload them to an image hosting site and include the link Preferable to have the in-game chat window open If possible with /time readout Video footage Upload to YouTube and include the link Chatlogs Directory: Documents/My Games/Freelancer/DSAce.txt Include any relevant logs Timestamps The staff will find it incredibly helpful to have a timestamp included You can find it within the DSAce file listed above, if any logs match the time of the violation Context Giving us a paragraph or two explaining the situation and context The staff won't know the entire story by looking only at the evidence .
. . ASK YOURSELF... .	. . Am I filing a petty report because I’m angry? Remember the "sandwich rule," step away for 30 minutes. Return and decide if submitting the report is worth it. Do I really have enough evidence to make this stick? Sanctions won’t go through unless sufficient evidence is provided of the report. Consider what evidence you have and decide if it's enough. Is this person clearly just a new player who doesn’t know better yet? You should know by now that while most of the rules are common-sense, we’ve have a long list. If you suspect someone of being a new player, unless the violation is serious, you’re better off pointing them in the right direction than slapping them with a violation. Remember, we were all in their shoes at one point. .
. . REPORT TEMPLATE .	. . Please do consider all the information above before submitting a report Code: [font=Montserrat][color=#80BFFF] NAME OF THE VIOLATOR [color=#DADEDF]*Violator's Forum / Character name here*[/color] RULE BEING BROKEN [color=#FF8000]*Paste Rule Here*[/color] REPORTED BY [color=#DADEDF]*Your Forum / Character name here*[/color] VIOLATION CONTEXT & BACKGROUND [color=#DADEDF]*Provide enough context to describe the situation. Avoid essays if possible.*[/color] [spoiler=Evidence Submitted] Any chat logs or links to video and screenshots go here. [color=#FF8000]Evidence is mandatory. Do not submit superficial reports.[/color] [/spoiler] [/color][/font] Code Preview . NAME OF THE VIOLATOR *Violator's Forum / Character name here* RULE BEING BROKEN *Paste Rule Here* REPORTED BY *Your Forum / Character name here* VIOLATION CONTEXT & BACKGROUND *Provide enough context to describe the situation. Avoid essays if possible.* Evidence Submitted Any chat logs or links to video and screenshots go here. Evidence is mandatory. Do not submit superficial reports. . .
. . SUBMITTING REPORTS .	. . The Subject Field For in-game violations, include the rule and shipname. Example: 2.1 - '\S/'CEV-Pulsar For forum conduct, include the rule and forum name. Example: 1.0 - @TheKusari Where to Submit Any new Violation Reports must be posted HERE .

Reports are looked at by a number of people, principally moderator and admin staff, and subject to a week long voting system. This should allow time for extra evidence collection and various viewpoints to input. Overall turn around should be less than 10 days.

♦Original Content Credit To:
Fletcher for the original template post writeup, Athenian, Cannon, Del, Jinx, Mjolnir, Dieter and subsequent credits to all admins and the community for helping and for adding content in various threads to help clarify the policies within.
@TheKusari for the template