irchatrooms.com-oteam

HOMEPAGE

OTEAM GUIDELINE AND RULES

WHO IS OTEAM?

OTEAM members are Operators and HalfOps from IRCHATROOMS's channels, namely: asian, chinese2, indonesia, malaysia, philippines, singapore and thailand at IrCQNet server. They are normally fun-loving and friendly but matured, responsible and dedicated channel administrators of the chatrooms that they have access in.

INTRODUCTORY GUIDE FOR NEW OTEAM MEMBERS

This section is an introduction to new OTEAM members. It will act as a summation of what an OTEAM member does and does not do, and what he/she can expect.

The OTEAM, simply put, enforces the RULES in the IRCHATROOMS channels.

If you thought that being able to op in an IRCHATROOMS channel means you can now ban your enemies and op/voice your friends, guess again. Any such behaviour will get you booted off the team at least as quickly as you were hired. None of these rooms belong to you and therefore it's not your rules that will be in force. You are a caretaker, not a founder.

The rules listed on the RULES section may seem a bit overwhelming, but most of them are actually nothing more than expanded versions of the lessons that your mother taught you when you were a child:

•	Don't be mean.
•	Play nice.
•	Be fair to others.

To be an Op in channels that you don't own can take a lot of fortitude. Suggested qualifications are:

•	Have an ability to handle pressure well.
•	Have an abundance of patience.
•	Able to stay calm and not over react.
•	Be considerate enough to think of how others feel.
•	To be fair to all users without favouritism.
•	To have a good working knowledge of IRC, including its commands and modes.
•	To be able to teach/help other Ops with problems.
•	Be able to assist chatters with how to follow RULES.
•	The ability to handle/deal with situations with tact and diplomacy.
•	The capability of working as a team player, without inventing ones own rules.
•	Have the wisdom to know when to respond and when to shut up.

BEHAVIOUR GUIDELINES FOR OTEAM MEMBERS

Proper behaviour for OTEAM members is not an easy thing to pin down. There are exceptions to almost every rule, every day sees a new event that is different from the last, and each user they talk to has his own unique personality. But there are guidelines that an OTEAM member can use that can make his/her job easier.

Realise that everything you do is judged and criticised by lots of different users, from around the world. A lot of what you say can be misunderstood. You will find this out, the next time there is a Korea/Sweden soccer match, and when you cheer for Sweden, a Korean will msg you and ask why you hate Korea. Or when you ask for someone's pic, and a Turk asks why you called him a bastard. (pic = Turkish word for fatherless)

Although we don't want to seem like mute bots while we op, we don't want to get drawn into channel arguments either. While opped, your job is channel administration. Talk about sensitive subjects AFTER your job is done for the day.

Don't get into a large discussion with a chatter, or try to make the chatter feel ashamed, or belittle him, or stroke your ego by tearing the chatter down in front of his or her friends. In other words, don't humiliate the chatter. Also, Don't shove the rules down a chatters throat. If they don't understand or want to, just kick them. Don't go on and on lecturing him and pleading your case - it just weakens your position and strengthens his.

OPs in the past that have gotten mad at chatters, and rather than get over it, or deal with it with grace - goad them into a fight in channel. Eventually the chatter will get mad, and then step over that line - and of course get kicked and banned. This is not appropriate behavior for an OP.

As an OP, you are either respected and liked, or feared and hated. If you start to take things personally, you will be kicking a lot of users out that are friends of others, just because you can't get along. Remember, it takes two to tango - so it's as much your responsibility to learn to be sociable as it is everyone's elses. If a user seems disgruntled towards you, ignore that user if he only misbehaves somewhat towards you, but especially if he or she doesn't step over the line.

The biggest defense we have against ban complaints is the kick message that explains it. But there will always be users who think you were too quick, or think the ban time was too long, or that you play favorites, etc. There will also be a few that know full well you acted properly, but will complain just to cause trouble. Your behavior in these cases should be the same: don't try to figure out if the complaint is real or fake unless you can read minds. Tell them the kick message was clear (it WAS clear, wasn't it?), it supports the RULES set forth. Do NOT get into long drawn-out fights about it. Discuss, yes (if they seem cooperative). Even discuss in the channel if it seems appropriate. But don't get suckered into fights.

There will be times when a user gets a well-deserved ban, and five or six of his/her friends start causing trouble over it by saying things like "who do you think you are, god?" (Of course not) and "you had no right" (actually, you do) and "this is a public server" (no its not) and "I can say what I want" (no they can't). Do not get into a fight over it. Most times, the best answer to a lot of these questions is...silence. In other words, YOU shut up. There isn't anything you can say to calm them down, because they don't want an explanation. They only want to gripe. So don't even try. Simply warn when the trouble gets disruptive, then kick then ban as necessary. After a few of them get banned, the rest will either /part or shut up and the channel can be at peace again.

Anyone who has run a channel knows that ops have the power to set the tone and mood of that channel. That influence is no different with OTEAM Ops and IRCHATROOMS channels. For example, if an Op allows his/her script to announce mp3s, then the users of that channel will take the hint and assume its ok to do the same. This understandable result would be fine in a small channel but not so fine where there are 50 users present. We cannot have 50 users flooding a room with announcers. So Ops must always judge their own actions with the thought in mind "what if ALL the users did the same thing as me?" Ops must "lead by example", so to speak.

Always keep in mind that although you have been granted Op privileges in an IRCHATROOMS channel, you are still a user as well and therefore subject to all the appropriate rules therein. That means you can't harass, do lamer stuff, etc. It also means that you have no special privileges over users (other than opping and voicing). That means (for example) that if THEY can't run announcers, then YOU can't either.

OTEAM is a COOPERATIVE effort and not a bunch of independents doing what each feels like. For example, if an Op in a particular room allows a lot of sexual innuendo, then users will naturally run with the ball. But if the next Op who goes into that room does not appreciate that innuendo and prohibits it, then there will be justifiable complaints about Ops (Ops as a group) not knowing what they want, and that the rules are changing from Op to Op, etc. Therefore, all OTEAM members must make maximum effort to administer a channel in the same way regardless of who ops there, not just in rules enforcement but in behavior as well. For example, if we decide that the word poophead is bad then ALL of OTEAM must kick for it regardless of whether or not all of OTEAM agrees.

Although all IRCHATROOMS channels need to be administered in the same way, note that there can be slight differences in channel "personalities" due to factors such as channel name, the behavior of the regulars, etc. Allow channels to be what they are, as long as they are within the RULES and directives. We aren't here to make every IRCHATROOMS channel a clone of one another.

10.

Don't take things so personally in IRC! If a user is abusive towards you, remember: you've got the power stick. There are specific rules, guidelines, and methods for addressing abusive individuals so you can afford to be nice, and put on a happy face in all instances. Don't lose your cool, or your head as an OP. An OP should always be a pillar of strength for the channel, and demonstrate grace under pressure.

Resist replying to personal attacks on your nick, your behavior, how you op, etc. The best answer in those cases is usually SILENCE. Those attackers rarely want a real answer; they simply want to rile you. If you answer them in any way then they know they have gotten your attention. Anyone who has raised small children will recognize this desire for attention. The best thing for you to do is....shut up.

11.

One of the (many) types of troublemakers that will be encountered, is the "rules lawyer". They are users who stir things up by pasting portions of this site and making claims of violations. This type of trouble is not difficult to handle. Abusive harassment and channel disturbing is not allowed as per the RULES, regardless of how its done. That includes excessive pasting of this website, spamming this website, and annoying others with rules claims. THEY are not the OTEAM, YOU are. THEY don't interpret the RULES, WE do. So your best defense is to not get into an argument and for certain don't throw your authority around. Simply do your job and...shut up.

12.

Swearing or cursing: Do not swear or curse online. We have seen AOPs and HOPs cursing while chatting with each other - but when the chatters joined in, they would kick them with the message "don't swear here you potty mouth". Where's the logic in that? The room rules will lose credibility.

13.

"Words of Wisdom" regarding cybersex. If any of you are into CYBERSEX you're in the wrong group. IRCHATROOMS runs mainly family rooms and we do not encourage deviant behaviour that can damage the channels image or inflame arguments.

There were instances (not necessarily in our group) of OPs / chatters cybering each other and somehow the romance had fizzled out; and the volley of insults between parties involved began effecting the channel functions. Each one of them wanted a faction. The people who were not involved were put in the middle unfortunately.

We are not going to tolerate this sort of behaviour. We suggest if one has a tendency to play games and are into cybersex - please leave us and join a more appropriate room. We dont need nonsense from cheating wives/husbands who would cause us nothing but heartache.

14.

The channels belong to all of us. I may be the founder but all of you contributed to making the chatrooms wonderful places to chat. SOPs are here to help enforce the rules and guidelines and train and help AOPs / HOPs. AOPs and HOPs must respect the SOPs. Any AOP/HOP who refuses to acknowledge the heirarchy of the OTEAM tantamounts to sabotaging the team.

We don't breath down anyone's neck unless they've done something really bad. We trust all of you. We don't believe in arguing with anyone unless it affects the rooms in general. Lastly, please refrain from gossiping as it has no valid basis in truth, and is the prime reason behind many arguments in channel.

15.

Family Value: Put your family first. We would love to see you all online because we think of all of you as an extended IRC family - but always put your family first.

Those people who have a husband or a wife with little children should specifically take notice of this. Please don't neglect your family obligations; Attend to your family needs first before logging on. Give them your total and undivided time when you come home from work. We appreciate your efforts being online, but we would not like it if you neglected your family and created a rift with your partner.

OPhood is nothing if you lose their love and respect. Call me old fashioned, but family values is important to me. I care enough to ensure that none of you ruin your family life for IRC. Also if you cannot come online for a week - don't ever ever think that you will get deOPed for that. If you haven't done anything worth a deOP online, you will never get deOPed. Come if you have the time. Enjoy yourself. But don't think of it as an obligation and a job because it is not. We will be more proud and happy that you spent the extra time with your work and family.

STUDENTS: Please!!! Do your school work and chores before logging online. Finish those important ESSAYS and homework that must be submitted before logging on here. Your EDUCATION is very important, more important than IRC. To acquire a good job that pays well requires a good education. To gain that knowledge you must study hard and learn. People can take or steal your possessions, your girlfriend/boyfriend but they can never take away the knowledge and education you acquire, unless you simply refuse to learn, or you're dead.

OTEAM VOICING GUIDELINES

1.	For a chatter to be voiced (mode +v) in a room, they SHOULD meet ALL the following criteria:

Be recognized as a regular by other voiced regulars, or noted by the OTEAM members as coming to the channel on a regular basis (perhaps for the last six months).

Contributes positively to the environment in the channel, through chats, assisting other chatters, etc.

Follows the RULES on a regular basis, and perhaps even points out RULES violators.

Doesn't argue with ops or interfere when RULES are enforced.

2.	Being your friend or being voiced in other channels is NOT a criterion.

3.	If a voiced regular breaks a rule intentionally, they should be warned as usual, and devoiced for a suitable period (15 minutes, for example).

4.	Whether or not a user gets voiced is entirely up to the Op(s) working the channel. If a user is insistent on them being voiced, and becomes abusive about not having been, that is op harassment, and the appropriate actions should be taken.

THE OTEAM RULES

These rules are what the OTEAM is all about. IRCHATROOMS does not allow the OTEAM to exist because they are just nice guys. It exists as a tool to help the IRCHATROOMS to run its channels efficiently and effectively. The day that tool fails, is the day that OTEAM ceases to exist. The penalty for violations of rules has been and will continue to be, temporary or permanent removal of OTEAM membership.

Our rules are not something that an OTEAM member follows only when he/she feels like it, or when in the mood. That choice isn't yours to make. It never has been and never will be. Your OTEAM membership is not a lifetime membership either. It lasts only as long as you follow the rules. Break them and you will be removed, as have others.

3.	THE TEAM LEADERS ARE THE SOPs

SOPs are not in OTEAM merely as counselors (although that is one of their jobs). They are supervisers over AOPs and HOPs and as such are to be obeyed.

This doesn't mean that a AOP/HOP can do what SOP "A" says but not what SOP "B" says. Any AOP/HOP who thinks he/she can pick who to obey and who to disobey will be removed.

Any AOP/HOP who refuses to acknowledge the heirarchy of the OTEAM will be removed.

Liking or respecting a SOP will never be an excuse to refuse a SOP's authourity. Any AOP/HOP who dislikes a SOP enough for disobedience, should quit the OTEAM. But removal will be forthcoming regardless.

4.	"The other guy did it too" will never be an excuse to break a rule. Just because someone robs a bank does not mean its ok for you to rob too. If you think it does, then save all of us the hassle and remove yourself from the OTEAM.

5.	NO DOSing, flooding, or Trojan creation and/or usage. We are supposed to be FIGHTING the lamers, not become them. You get caught, you're gone. Period!

Note that this rule does not say only at IRCHATROOMS. That means you can't do lamer stuff ANYWERE. Not at MSN. Not at EFnet. NOWHERE! If you are going to be lame at other channels or network, then you can't be trusted at any IRCHATROOMS channel either.

Note that this rule does not say "unless it's a joke." Flooding is flooding. It doesn't matter whether you call it serious, or a joke, or anything else. If you get caught, your removal from OTEAM will not be a joke.

Note that this rule does not say "unless the other guy did it first." We aren't a bunch of four-year-olds playing in a sandbox. All who get caught will be removed, regardless of who started what.

6.	Inform the OTEAM if your nick password gets stolen.

Never give ops or halfops to non-OTEAM users. The exception is when the server is down and the room is short of AOPs or SOPs or for some reason has to log off and doesn't want to leave the channel without an active OP, he or she will usually bestow a regular chatter with temporary OP status so that the channel may continue to function with someone to oversee it. However, TempOPs CANNOT give out temporary OP status.

8.	No smartass remarks that only serve to stir up a channel, nor sexual innuendo that will encourage users to earn sex kicks.

9.	No blatant accusations based on hearsay or circumstantial data. Investigate before you take action.

10.	Script And Nick Issues

Set your nick to KILL...preferably to QUICK. We don't need fake members.

Do not use a script which permanently ignore CTCPs, invites, msg's, notices, and DCCs. If we can't see them, we cannot kick the ones doing them.

Make sure your script is not set to kick the bots, IRCops, Services or OTEAM members.

Do not have linked nicks to nicks other than your own. If you do have linked nicks then unlink them and change your password.

Ident and Full Name areas should not be of a script with foul words / offensive language / spam.

Do not use addresses/vhosts/proxies/whatever with offensive language in it. We cannot ask users to behave with their text if our own whois breaks the rules.

Only use ONE main nick when on "Op duty" in the channels. It is recommended, however, that you use an away nick to indicate that you are away from keyboard.

When main nick or main "away" nick is used, you are assumed to be on "Op Duty". You are free to use other nicks when you are "off-duty" but do not op in the room when using other than your registered main nicks.

11.	Don't remove bans made by other members unless absolutely necessary. The other guy put that ban there for a reason. Respect it.

12	Ops are not allowed to kick/ban each other.

This rule does not say "except for fun". You don't kick/ban other ops, period. Or else you will be removed "for fun".

13.

Don't warn for things you can't kick/ban for - some users will do things just to annoy you (I can't believe I have to point that out), and if they know you can't kick them for some specific thing that you don't want them to do, then they will do that thing 24/7. Its ok to suggest, but do not allow your suggestion to have any "personal value" to it.

14.	Announcers - announcers are auto-text that scripts send to channels when its user plays a music file on their computer. The text can be in CTCP, action msg, text, or a combination of such. The music file is usually mp3, but can also be wav or others too.

Generally speaking, announcers are allowed in IRCHATROOMS channels.

Announcements with bad language in them are unavoidable because users cannot control what artists name their songs, and we are not in the business of music censorship. But if the channel bots kick for it, that's out of our hands.

Announcements with a website in them are allowed because not all users have the scripting knowledge to edit them out, and it would not be fair to imply that only scripters can play music.

Announcements are not allowed to be so frequent that they disrupt the flow of chat. A good rule of thumb is one every two minutes or so, but this does not mean an Op should go purchase a stopwatch. The announcement rules are based on innocent users listening to music and sharing that music title with others. This implies that the music is played until it ends. But if the user announces 6 times a minute, that's not simple music listening. That's file sharing and that can be done in other channels.

Be aware that users can be very inventive. There WILL be a few that will choose music titles for the sole purpose of saying bad words. There will even be some who use fake announcements just to spam or say bad words. It's up to the Ops to use their own best judgment to see thru these. In these cases, don't get into an hour-long fight over it. Say you believe the announcement to be abusive, and apply normal spam/badword/sex rules to it.

15.	Popups - generally speaking, these are allowed.

Popups are nothing more than specialized text, and so most of the rules that apply to chat also apply to popups, i.e. no harassment/sex/etc.

If two users are having fun by sending each other insulting popups, leave them be. If they don't FEEL harassed, then they AREN'T harassed. No harm no foul.

If a user is sending multiple popups such that the channel bots kick, then let the channel bots handle it unless you feel that the user is purposely trying to disrupt the channel. You may then take necessary additional action, such as a warning, a pre-emptive ban, re-adding the ban after the bot lifts it, etc.

Occasionally, popups will contain the URL of the author. This is not really spam and is allowable. However, popups that exist only to spam are in-fact spam and should be banned without mercy.

16.	Sex - adult chat is allowed up to a limit.

This subject is very difficult to set limits on...how much is too much? Every Op will have a different opinion on what goes over the line. The general rule-of-thumb is that IRCHATROOMS channels are not sex channels. But they are not children's channels either and so "adult" chat will be present and is acceptable. However, not a single foul word would be tolerated.

Unfortunately, there may be children present during adult chat. But we have no way to know ages and so there is nothing to be done about it without restricting the chat of those who aren't children. We aren't those children's mothers. It's up to parents to watch their kids, not us.

There will always be complaints from users who want more sex chat. Inform them that we are not saying they can't cyber...they just can't cyber HERE (in IRCHATROOMS channels). Do resist the temptation to tell them to get a real life too.

17.	All kicks / kickbans must have an acceptable reason - posting reasons for why we kick / ban are a very important part of keeping the peace in a channel. When we kick, it can make the difference between users saying "thank you", and half the channel wanting your head on a platter.

18.

Repeat offenders - these jerks are a fact of IRC life. When you know that they know they are violating the RULES or being abusive and/or do it on purpose, there is no need to apply the normal kick reasoning to them. The warning and even the kick can be skipped...the Op can go straight to the ban. (This is why, btw, that spam bots and trojan-spreaders don't get a warning.)

19.

Caps - We don't kick/ban for normal usage of caps. There are a few users who, for rare reasons, must use all caps for normal chat. But using caps in an abusive or channel-disturbing manner is no different than abusive usage of any other function of chat. Using caps to annoy is considered a General Disturbance.

20.	Tags - these are text/colors that surround a user's text lines. Tags are allowed as long as they follow the same rules as normal chat. If it gets abusive, then that user must modify their tag or be subject to the appropriate punishment. Examples of abusive tags:

Tags that are too sexually explicit.

Tags that are racist.

Tags that have harassment in them.

Tags that are so long that they disrupt the channel flow.

Tags that have so many characters that they frequently trigger the channel bots.

Tags that have bad words.

Tags that have anything else that can be invented by users and be abusive.

21.	If you are going to be away from your computer for more than 15 minutes, then de-op yourself in IRCHATROOMS channels.

22.	Spamming - This problem is very common and is what OTEAM kicks/ban the most for. The internet definition of spamming is "any unasked for advertising".

Spamming is prohibited. IRCHATROOMS channels are for users, not for advertisers or marketers. Its goal is chat, not the selling of products/services. ICQ itself doesn't even spam in IrCQNet.

Not every mention of a website/product/etc is spam. If I said to someone to come to my mother's house to eat, that would not be spam. If my mother herself came into the channel to invite a few users over for dinner, that also would not be spam. But if she made a timed popup that announced dinner every minute then THAT would be spam.

Any type of porn website auto is to be kickbanned immediately.

Although many quit messages contain websites/script names and are therefore spam, there isn't any reasonable way to stop it and so we don't try. But if a lamer spams by purposely and frequently quitting just so his quit message will appear, then add an appropriate ban to the channel.

It's not prohibited spam if a user tells his friends what his website is, or that there is a kewl program at blah.com. It IS prohibited if the telling is made into an auto, or if it's told too many times such that it appears to be more like advertising than simply part of normal chat. Again, the OTEAM member must make a reasonable judgment.

Do not get pinned down into arguments as to how much is too much. Simply give them a friendly advice. If they abuse the leniency by giving a few quick spams, then give them a few quick kicks to show that you have other things to do besides dealing with idiots.

23.	Age Limit - As with the ICQ program and other parts of ICQ, the minimum age for using IrCQNet is 13. Any nick that is known to be 12 or under is to be kick/banned with an appropriate kick message. Also, any nick that CLAIMS to be under 13 is also to be kick/banned, because:

If it's telling the truth, then it's too young to be in IrCQNet as per their Term Of Service.

If it's lying, then it's either a pervert who is trying to prey on children or it's simply a troublemaker and up to no good. Why else pretend to be a child?

24.	#OPSROOM - this is the OTEAM home channel.

This channel is where we do business. Therefore, do your testing of scripts, test kicking and banning each other here.

#OPSROOM is for the OTEAM members, not for your friends nor your girlfriend / boyfriend. Do not invite non-OTEAM users to the channel.

Idling is allowed, but it's preferred that an away nick be used so others will know if you are there or not.

Nothing said in #OPSROOM should be leaked out to non-OTEAM users.

Choose ONE nick to use as a Op, and STAY with it. No one should have to figure out who you are because you change nicks all the time.

GUIDE IN USING THE #OPSROOM - When using the ROOM for an official meeting, you may lock the room using the lock keys (ops 123). If you were supposed to attend the meeting or discussion, you should be able to enter the room with these keys. If you are not, and the normal keys do not allow you to enter the room, please dont enter. There would be a meeting in progress.

Whoever locks the room must not forget to unlock it (set keys back to ops) when the meeting is over.

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