Staff Positions

Common Goals

Being a BDI Operator means you will improve on and uphold the common goals of the channel:

• We will protect the channel and its patrons from attack, be it spammer, nuker, flooder or lamer.
• We will strive to provide an environment that is welcoming to everyone who seeks it out, and we will ensure that this environment allows for everyone to have fun while gaming.
• We will strive for a channel where the newbie may feel welcome, comfortable and assisted when learning to be a better roleplayer and we will provide a resource for them to learn from.
• We will put our channel's future above pettiness and personal issues, and work together to see the channel and the art of FFRP flourish.
• We will not stymie the setting's growth with over protection, allowing some change to occur and will seek to encourage the development of our evolving world.

Operators who cannot uphold these guiding principles should not be bearing a @

Operator Authority and Voting

All operators in BDI have equal say in how the channel is administered. All Ops get an equal channel vote, and no one operator should control the entire channel. All Ops will be accorded due respect by their peers. Disagreement is expected in many areas, but insults, flames, and personal likes/dislikes need to remain out of BDI Opness. We are all on the same team; we don't have to love each other, but we do have to ensure the channel's success. Taking personal offense to others not agreeing with your idea(s) in each and every way is unacceptable and cannot be a part of the Op process. In short, use common sense to realize that even good friends will not always agree on everything.

All Ops in BDI will be SOps. We do not use ChanServ as a means of creating a pecking order among the channel's Ops. Founder, Co-Founder, SOp, and AOp have no distinction in the weight of an operator's opinion. BDI comes from EFNet, and it will continue to operate as it did on EFNet and pay as little attention as possible to the Services of Sorcery.

Operator Objectivity

Operators are expected to approach each situation brought before them with the utmost courtesy and objectivity. This means placing the good of players and the channel above personal feelings and the opinions you may have towards the parties involved.

If an Operator cannot deal with an individual objectively, they need to politely pass them off to another operator, and/or refer them to the [email protected] address. Repeated conflicts like this may be something for an Op to consider within themselves, and decide if resignation is best for themselves and the Inn.

Operator Presence

Operators are expected to be available when online to handle issues that may arise in the channel, be it spammers, GodPCs, or a general complaint. That said, all Ops should join #BDI*OOC while online and present so that they are easily found.

Idle Operators are a standard dish on IRC, however to prevent people from feeling ignored, Operators should de-op themselves in BDI channels when they are going afk for any serious amount of time. Placing an informative away msg with email address is always a good idea as well.

Operators who leave for a time will be removed if they do not have a reasonable excuse for such an absence. If an Op disappears for 2 weeks with no word, they will have their @ removed. If Ops are leaving for a time, a simple note to the Grand Council list with an explanation will suffice.

Operator Only Areas

The Grand Council mailing list is for Operator eyes ONLY. What transpires on that list remains on that list and between the Channel Ops. Intentional dissemination of any discussion on that list to third party channels or individuals will result in the -immediate- and permanent removal of the offender's @, and quite possibly will earn them a channel ban.

The Fireside is an operator-only channel we have established to allow us a private place to talk in the event that an emergency arises, or a discussion among all present Ops needs to take place. This channel is very private, and its name is given only to the Ops. It is expected to be treated like the Grand Council list in that any discussion taking place within it remains in the confidence of the Channel Ops. No /invite or channel key is to be offered to any non-op.

Operator Unity

It is expected and desired that Operators have differing opinions on the matters that come before them. Deliberation, discussion, and compromise are the keys to resolving issues that come before the Ops. Once a decision has been made, voted on, and accepted, it is expected that all the Operators support it, enforce it, and work as a unit to see it through. Operators who selectively enforce the rules based on their approval of the rule or who the enforcement will affect, or do not enforce any rules will be removed.

Operator Opinion

Being a channel op in a forum as large as BDI unfortunately places the demand on us to mind what we say, how we say it, where we say it, and who we say it to. Operators shit-talking other Ops or players in BDI's channels will be deopped. This is not meant as a censoring mechanism, but it is expected that those running the channel will have the courtesy to mind what they say to and about others playing in there. Furthermore, Operators are expected to use their heads when making comments; if it would not be said to someone to their face, then it might be better to leave it unsaid from the start.

Official Channels

BDI's 'official' channels are:

• #BlkDragon*Inn - The main Inn
• #BlkDragon*Inn2 - The 'extension' channel (op presence not required)
• #BlkDragon*Arena - The battle arena, used for dice fights
• #BDI*Outside - The Innyard in front of the Inn, with the stables.
• #BDI*OOC - OOC Channel and Help area
• #BDI*Volunteers - Op & volunteer coordination channel, open
• The Fireside channel (BDI Ops only) - Name withheld

By Official, we mean that one or all of BDI's bots are present and monitoring those channels. In official channels, all policies apply. We are not responsible for the goings-on in channels that we take no credit for supporting. Subsequently, issues between Ops or between Ops and players occurring in other channels should be taken to that channel's administrivia, and not affect accessibility to BDI (in other words, if someone is being a jerk to you in #wearejerks, you cannot ban them in BDI). Additionally, many patrons go to offshoots of the Inn like "#bdi*room," "#bdi*pantry," etc. This is perfectly fine, but we do not monitor or enforce rules in these rooms. If there's a complaint, it is not in our jurisdiction to get involved.

Catch-All

Operators are expected to follow the rules that govern the Inn and the 'normal' players in addition to all of these rules. Failure to do so will result in removal of one's @.