Cynergy Moderation Guidelines

Last Updated 11/11/2024

By Cynergy Administrative Team

Section A - Introduction
This section of the guide details the positioning of this guideline within the context of all Cynergy
documentation.

A.1 Position of Moderation Guidelines

● The Moderation Guidelines are part of Cynergy’s Guidelines, which serve as the primary
reference for all moderation actions.
● The Moderation Guidelines is subject to change without any prior notice.
● The Moderation Guidelines should remain confidential and not shared to the public.
● The Moderation Guidelines are aligned with key documents mentioned below. In the
event of a conflict of guidelines with the documents, this document will not take priority.

Discord’s Terms of Service

Discord Community Guidelines
Cynergy Discord Guidelines
Cynergy Staff Guide

A.2 Expected Adherence

● Moderators are required to strictly adhere to the guidelines and instructions outlined in
this document. It is essential that all moderators fully understand and implement the
protocols detailed herein to ensure airness, and the effective management of the
community.
● Any deviation from these directives may result in consequences, as outlined in Cynergy
Staff Guide

A.3 Terminology

● In this guide, “Moderator” refers to staff members who hold a role with moderation
power, including Junior Moderator, Moderator, Junior Administrator, and Administrator.

Section B - Moderator References

This section of the guide details the roles of moderators in the event of rule violation.

B.1 Moderator Conduct

B.1.1 Transparency

● Moderators should act in a professional and responsible manner at all times.

 ● Moderators should be approachable and open to feedback from other members and
moderators.
● Moderators should use their powers to enforce the rules fairly and consistently.
● Moderators must provide valid reasons for every moderation action they take.
● Moderators must provide proof for bans they issue.

B.1.2 Thorough Understanding of Community

● Moderators must be up to date with the dynamics on the server.

● Moderators are expected to understand the values of the community.

A community is a space where individuals come together to share thoughts, ideas, and
experiences. It is not a place where rules are meant to be broken. As a moderator, you
must have faith in the community and its potential value. While mistakes may happen
and some members may break the rules, your belief in the community's positive growth
should remain strong.

B.1.3 Trust in the Staff Team

● As a member of the staff team, you don’t need to be alone to moderate. You can always
ping other staff members for help whenever you aren’t sure what you’re doing, or
whenever you think that you could be biased. It is important for you to trust other staff
members and take full responsibility for your actions.

B.2 Types of Actions

There are four types of actions that may be taken against members for non-compliance with
Cynergy Discord Guidelines. You should take appropriate action and provide a valid reason.
If you found an inappropriate message, you should instantly delete it.

● Verbal warning
● Bot warning
● Timeout (mute)
● Ban

B.2.1 Non-punishable incidents

● Talking in caps but not excessively

● Mild staff disrespect
● Saying well-known expression in another language (e.g. hola, bonjour, hallo)

B.2.2 Cases you would verbally warn

In the event of incidents of ‘small rule breaks’, you could verbally warn the user by pinging with
a reason or using /vwarn implemented in Unified bot. This includes, but is not limited to:

● Begging
● Mini-modding
● Causing Drama
● Spamming
● Mild joke insults to other members
● Using another language
[delete the message and verbally warn]
● Arguing a bot warning/mute outside tickets
● Misusing a channel [don’t use /vwarn for this]

B.2.3 Cases you would bot warn

In the event of incidents of ‘medium rule breaks’, you can issue a warning through Unified bot
using /warn. This includes, but is not limited to:

● Repeated ‘small rule breaks’ after a verbal warning

● Targeted swearing with swearing words
● Misusing Tickets
● Spamming after a verbal warning
● Posting something resembles IP address as a joke
● Joking to be 5-6 years old
● Spam pinging
● Using any sort of lgbtq+ remarks as an insult (e.g. ‘next to say is gay’)
● Derogatory remarks
● Abuse or Harassment / Bullying
● Mild cannibalistic jokes
● Bypassing a filtered word (example: f word)
● Uncredited or stolen artwork.

B.2.4 Cases you would ban

In the event of incidents of ‘severe rule breaks’, you can ban the user from the server. You must
provide a proof (e.g. screenshot) for bans. Use /ban with Unified or Dyno. Post the proof after
the command. This includes, but is not limited to:

● NSFW images / advertisements, NSFW profile picture / nickname

● DM Advertising, unsolicited advertisement on the server
● Underaged user or joking to be 7-12 years old
● Sending forged evidence to punish a user
● Using Auto-Typers
● Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Religious discrimination
 ● Pedophilia
● Political extremism
● Ban evasion
● Posting something resembles IP address and claiming it to be someone’s
● Using an alt account to evade moderation actions
● Threatening a user leveraging their personal information
● Cannibalistic jokes
● Encouraging a member to self-harm / suicide
● Slur-baiting
● Glorification of Extremist or harmful ideologies (e.g. nazism)
● No Intents To Integrate (e.g. instantly spamming after getting muted for it)
● Illegal activities
● Violation of Discord’s Terms of Service

B.2.5 When to timeout (mute)

Timeout (mute) is optional. There are some cases that usually require a mute.
This includes, but is not limited to:

● Spamming (30m)
● Constant rule breaking (2h)

B.2.6 Cases outside the server

There are two incidents where moderators of the Cynergy Discord server can take actions.
Verify the validity of the proof provided by the reporters, ensuring that it has not been altered
through inspect element or Photoshop. If the evidence is valid, you are authorized to ban the
reported users from the server and instruct the reporting members to submit their reports
directly to Discord.

● Scam/Phishing links, DM advertising

● Violation of Discord’s Terms of Service

B.3 Nickname

B.3.1 Nickname rules

● English only
● At Least 3 letters in the nickname must be pingable using a standard latin keyboard
● Inappropriate/NSFW nicknames are not allowed.

B.3.2 Nickname Moderation

● Inappropriate or NSFW nicknames are prohibited and may result in a ban.

 ● Any nickname that doesn’t adhere to nickname rules should be changed on sight.
Moderated Nicknames:

Username
Change Nickname
Unknown

B.4 Tickets

Ticket is a system used for handling support requests, feedback, or issues.

Ticket Guidelines

● You must save the transcript before deleting a ticket.

● If a member opens a ticket and sends no message for 1 hour, you can instantly delete it.
● If a member sends no message after an issue was dealt with, you can delete it 30
minutes after pinging the user.
● If a moderator who claimed the ticket makes no response for 5 minutes, you may join in.
● Ping the user when they’re not responsive for 5 minutes.
● If a member sends no message, you can delete it 2 hours after pinging the user.

Section C - Moderator Miscellaneous

C.1 Giveaways

Staff members with a ‘Moderator’ role can host a ballsdex giveaway with Cinnamon, using
/template in #ballsdex-giveaways. They are allowed to:

● Set following roles as a requirement.

Artist, Mythic, Legend, Booster, I love countryballs, Staff roles

● Set a donor message.

● Ping Giveaways role
● Send a message in #ballsdex-giveaways
● Set the duration of giveaways

However, they aren’t allowed to:

● Remove ‘Mythic’ or ‘Booster’ role from bypass roles

● Remove ‘Wood’ role from requirement roles
 ● Add another role to multiplier roles
● Not have common sense (e.g. ‘staff’ giveaway and pings Giveaways role)

When hosting a ballsdex giveaway, moderators should receive the countryball from the donator,
and make sure it’s Top 21 or special. They should be able to give it to the winner once the
giveaway ends.

C.2 Blacklist

There are 2 types of blacklist you could assign to members.

● VC blacklist - give it to members found abusive in vc.

● Giveaways blacklist - give it to members who try to troll as a donator.
● Art blacklist - give it to members who post uncredited or stolen artwork in the art channel.

C.3 Voice Channels

C.3.1 Stage

● You should have a topic to start with.

● You should have an active microphone to talk with.
● You should strictly disconnect members who don’t comply with Cynergy Discord
Guidelines.
● You should inform an administrator and get consent to host it.

C.3.2 Voice Channels

● You cannot directly moderate a voice channel, unless it’s doing an activity against
Cynergy Discord Guidelines.
● You should take proper actions if a violation was identified through reports.
● You are authorized to give a member vc blacklist role with proper documentation and a
valid reason. Do not record a member's voice.

C.4 Ban Appeals

This section is not within the responsibilities of Junior Moderator

Moderators may reject/approve or escalate a ban appeal from a user.
This works through a voting process. However, there are few exceptions where administrators
can directly unban a user.

● Suspension with defined period (e.g. underage)

It must fulfill the time period.

● Invalid bans
 ● False bans

Conversely, some cases are unappealable. This includes, but is not limited to:

● Hacked account (3rd time)

● Banned for explicit content(s)
● Second ban for the same reason

Otherwise, the member could be unbanned. Here are the rules.

● Approved if more than ½ of moderators approve it.

● Instantly denied if 3 or more moderators reject it.
● Administrators can approve/reject it if none of the above happens.

Section D - Reporting a staff member

D.1 Small mistakes

Do not report a staff member for small mistakes, instead, mentor them in a professional way and
build trust. The staff member who made the mistake should address the situation. If they don’t,
you should help the staff member. Here are some examples:

● Accidentally warning/muting a wrong user

● Overlooking a minor rule infraction.
● Misphrasing a word
● Temporarily setting wrong permissions
● Misusing a channel
● Incorrect decisions that don't cause much harm.

D.2 Serious mistakes / Misconduct

If a staff member commits a serious mistake or engages in misconduct, report it to an

administrator. You should first address the situation and inform the staff member what mistake
they have made. Here are some examples:

● Accidentally banning a wrong user

● Overlooking ‘severe rule breaks’
● Abusing moderation power
● Sharing confidential server information with unauthorized individuals.
● Disrespectful or offensive behavior
● Disregarding a guideline.

D.3 Compromised Account

If a staff member was found hacked, immediately report it to the administrators and owners by
pinging them. Remove their staff roles and ban them if possible. Try to limit any potential
damage. In the worst cases, you can lock the channels.

D.4 User Reports

If a user wants to report a staff member, instruct them to open a ticket and provide a valid
reason with proof. False reports may result in a bot warning.