Foxcraft - Improve Staff Transparency & Rule Enforcement

Sprenkyy

Supporter
Feb 5, 2018
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Short Summary – Suggestions to Improve Staff Transparency & Enforcement (Skip to read in detail)


  • Consistent Rule Enforcement: Standardize punishments and interpretations so similar situations get similar outcomes across all staff.
  • Clearer, Less Interpretive Rules: Make rules more specific with examples, FAQs, and clarified gray areas to reduce confusion.
  • Transparency With Vanish & Teleporting: Add clearer explanations/logging so players understand why staff visit bases or teleport.
  • Better Communication With Players: Encourage staff to acknowledge concerns respectfully and explain why official channels are required.
  • Stronger Oversight & Accountability: Improve senior staff reviews, audits, and formal ways to report staff behavior.
  • Clear Staff vs Gameplay Boundaries: Define limits between moderation duties and personal gameplay involvement.
  • Public Punishment Tiers: Publish warning-to-ban escalation paths so players know what to expect.
  • Improved Community Feedback Options: Add anonymous feedback and public changelogs for rule/policy updates.
  • Private Message Rule Clarification: Clearly explain which chat rules apply to private messages and why, with examples.
  • Feedback on Suggestions: Ensure players receive responses to suggestions, even if they’re declined.
  • Stronger Enforcement Areas: Add rules and harsher penalties for bypassing ignore, griefing, scamming, and improve Discord moderation consistency.



Suggestions to Improve Staff Transparency & Rule Enforcement

More Consistent Rule Enforcement
Sometimes it feels like different staff members handle the same situations differently (for example with AH sales, chat warnings, and punishments). This can make it feel like enforcement is selective.

Suggestion:
Try to standardize punishments and interpretations more so similar situations get similar outcomes.

How this could be done:

  • Use a shared punishment guide for staff.
  • Have clear examples for common rule breaks.
  • Regular staff discussions to make sure everyone is on the same page.
  • Senior staff reviewing edge cases.

Make Rules Less Interpretive and More Clear
Some rules are pretty open to interpretation, which can cause confusion and inconsistent enforcement.

Suggestion:
Make rules more specific and factual.

How this could be done:

  • Add examples to rules (what is allowed vs not allowed).
  • Clarify common gray areas.
  • Add a public rule clarification/FAQ section.
  • Update rules when the same issues keep coming up.

More Transparency With Vanish & Teleporting
Players sometimes notice staff flying around or teleporting to bases (sometimes while players are AFK), which can feel weird or unexplained.

Suggestion:
Add more transparency around vanish and TP usage.

How this could be done:

  • Leave a short note/message explaining why staff were there.
  • Keep better logs that can be reviewed if needed.
  • Limit vanish visits to clear moderation or performance checks.
  • Make it clear when staff are checking vs just observing.

Better Communication When Players Raise Concerns
When players try to bring up issues, responses can sometimes feel dismissive or shut down quickly, even if that’s not the intention.

Suggestion:
Encourage more clear and respectful communication when redirecting players to report channels.

How this could be done:

  • Acknowledge the concern before redirecting.
  • Explain why official channels are needed.
  • Use more neutral/professional wording.
  • Encourage staff to listen, even if the feedback is critical.

Reduce the Feeling of “Unchecked” Staff Activity
Some players feel like certain staff actions or teams aren’t always being properly reviewed.

Suggestion:
Improve internal oversight and accountability.

How this could be done:

  • Senior staff reviewing moderation actions.
  • Internal audits/log reviews.
  • A formal way to submit feedback about staff behavior.
  • General transparency about moderation consistency.

Clear Boundaries Between Moderation and Gameplay
At times it feels like staff may be too involved in player builds/farms in ways that feel more like gameplay than moderation.

Suggestion:
Make clearer boundaries between staff moderation duties and normal gameplay.

How this could be done:

  • Separate moderation actions from personal gameplay where possible.
  • Internal rules about inspecting or copying player designs.
  • Require clear reasons for inspecting locked/private builds.

Public Punishment Tiers (Warnings → Perm Punishments)
Right now, it’s not always clear what punishment to expect for certain offenses. This can make it feel like a second offense might suddenly result in a very harsh punishment.

Suggestion:
Publicly list punishment tiers so players know what to expect.

How this could be done:

  • List all punishment types (warning, mute, temp mute, temp ban, perm mute, perm ban, etc.).
  • Show typical escalation paths (e.g. warning → temp mute → longer mute → perm mute).
  • Explain what counts as repeated or severe offenses.
  • Note when staff can skip tiers for extreme cases.
  • Keep this updated as policies change.

Better Community Feedback Options
Players want to feel heard and taken seriously when raising concerns.

Suggestion:
Add more structured ways for the community to give feedback.

How this could be done:

  • Anonymous feedback forms.
  • Public changelogs for rule/policy updates.



Extra

Clarification on Chat Rules in Private Messages
There is confusion about why certain chat rules (like excessive caps, chat flood, or inappropriate comments) are enforced in private messages and not just in public chat.

Clarification Request (not a rule change):
Many players understand why things like advertising, hate speech, harassment, or serious abuse should be moderated everywhere, including private messages. However, it would be helpful to clearly explain why things like jokes between friends, caps, or spam are moderated in private messages when they are kept out of public chat and are not bothering anyone.

How this could be improved:

  • Add an explanation in the rules (or somewhere else) for why private messages are moderated.
  • Clearly list which chat rules apply to private messages and why.
  • Give examples of what is considered acceptable in private conversations.
  • Clarify how consent between players (joking between friends) is handled.


Feedback on Suggestions (Even When They Can’t Be Used)
Right now, when players post suggestions, it can sometimes feel like they disappear into silence. Even if a suggestion can’t be implemented, it would be really appreciated to at least get a response.

Suggestion:
Respond to suggestions even if the answer is no.

Why this helps:
  • Lets players know their feedback was seen and considered.
  • Helps the community understand why something isn’t possible.
  • Allows players to rethink and improve their ideas with better context.
  • Encourages more constructive discussion with the rest of the community.
  • Makes it feel like player voices actually matter, instead of being ignored.

    Even a short response like “this isn’t possible because of X” or “we’re not planning this right now” would go a long way in making the community feel heard.


Suggested Punishments / Areas for Stronger Enforcement
These are some punishments and enforcement areas the community would like to see added or made stronger.

Suggestions:

  • Punishment for bypassing ignore (contacting someone who has you ignored via Discord, alt accounts, or other methods).
  • Bigger punishments for griefing and scamming, as these directly harm players and the server economy.
  • Stronger and more consistent Discord rule enforcement, as server Discord behavior has become less classy and more toxic over time.

How this could be done:
  • Add explicit rules against bypassing ignores or harassment via alts.
  • Increase minimum punishments for griefing/scamming.
  • Assign dedicated Discord moderation focus.
  • Align Discord and in-game rules more closely.
  • Publish Discord-specific punishment guidelines.
 
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1769448538999.pngFox. This is what you get if you dont listen to the community, Reported to TEBEX AND MOJANG.server is against eula store will go down soon probally. without store you cant pay the server! and no1 will buy just cosmetics... This is what you get for not listening to the community and being corrupt
 

Hello y'all.

I'd like to bring my opinion into this discussion in form of me being an Ex-Staff Member.
First of all, I'd like to share my current standpoint to Foxcraft and Staff in general.

The day I left, I wasn't sure whether I would regret it or not, turns out I do not at all. It is very much unlikely that I will join again in the coming years. I announced my departure with an essay not as big as this one but still as much so that it didn't fit into a single discord message.
I reasoned my resignation with three both personal and server related problems which only one is important for this.
I started by mentioning the countless bugs and issues arising all the time which ruined my personal experience. And added my much greater point being the aspect of how we punished people. I also, very much like it has been here, expressed discomfort with some punishment duration, categories and more but I can't go into detail for that one. Now don't understand me wrong it wasn't the most deep issues but things started building up in addition to the other not named reasons.
Furthermore, one needs to understand how unlikely it was for me to get into the staff team since I got banned for Exploiting Glitches once before, tho proved myself through, which I am still incredibly thankful for, especially will all the great experiences I had with everyone.
People can be really nice and welcoming, which is something I really learned in my first weeks being part of the staff team.




What I'd like to do in the following is comment on the most important things of the suggestion by Sprenkyy and then Laylah's comment.
With that I'll also provide my opinion on the entire situation. Note that I this message took a lot of time, so this is really my full honest opinion.

As for Sprenkyy's primary suggestion my opinion:


  • More Consistent Rule Enforcement: Definitely needs to be consistent. However I don't see it as it isn't.
  • Make Rules Less Interpretive and More Clear: Definitively, this needs to be done. I'm still unsure even after being Staff how things are handled in terms of when a play is trusted/member with if its their own responsibility etc. This also includes the interpretation of consecutive for things like chat flood. Back then this was also heavily discussed internally back when I was staff.
  • More Transparency With Vanish & Teleporting: I don't think this is an issue. I mean yes its important but haven't noticed any of this.
  • Better Communication When Players Raise Concerns: Yes please, this has always been something on my mind
  • Reduce the Feeling of “Unchecked” Staff Activity: Will share my opinion on this later on
  • Clear Boundaries Between Moderation and Gameplay: Also not a present issue
  • Public Punishment Tiers (Warnings → Perm Punishments): No times? Sure I don't mind at all. What I would very much like in terms of transparency is which offence is a warn?; which offence is a temp mute?; which offence is a perm mute?
  • Better Community Feedback Options: Anonymous? Just Quality of Life and lowest priority of everything; Public Changelogs? Instant yes, this is a must for me, changing rules silently or in changelogs most people don't read regularly is just super unprofessional; I mean sure slight changes can be done via the normal changelog but a rule change like this not being announced on the Discord? Very unhappy about that.



Now onto the extra:

  • Clarification on Chat Rules in Private Messages: Also sharing later
  • Feedback on Suggestions (Even When They Can’t Be Used): This is undeniably one of my biggest issues I have with Foxcraft and cloak in general. Interaction with the community in terms of feedback and bug reports is almost in the negative for me. I made so many suggestion and I just felt really disappointed. Most of them were upvoted a few times, commented on by other players with them sharing their opinion on it; but from management? Nothing, not even a slight acknowledgment or quick answer. As Sprenkyy said this would have been all needed to satisfy most people, myself very much included.
  • Suggested Punishments / Areas for Stronger Enforcement: As for Discord Rule Enforcement I don't recognize any direct issues. I haven't been that active in vcs or text channels anymore so I could be missing information/context; The request for bigger punishments for offences like griefing and scamming with directly affect individual players? sure, but not a priority for me personally.



Now onto Laylah's comment:

  • On a whole I fully get Laylah's reasoning and mostly agree with what she means/said especially with my knowledge of past (much likely current) staff procedures.
  • Laylah mentioned the expiration system: This is fully valid, a good concept and I agree with all the new expiration times for the new rule-set.
  • The Staff Guide was indeed something maintained fully separate from the past public rules table with a different layout and design to fit staff. However, internally, especially I myself asked a lot of questions regarding some of these differences since there were actual ones present. As for the backlash I kinda agree, this difference of the understanding of the rules is definitely a main root of the problem and did indeed cause issues - but other mentioned ones are very much important too.
  • Of course I don't know whether the new guides are as similar as Laylah depicts them to be but I do trust her with this statement and we will see if it does turn out this way.
  • Next I feel like Laylah is right with the exact time sheets for the punishments. As mentioned above I would really appreciate just the base way of punishing (warning, temp mute, perm mute, temp ban, perm ban) being public for all the offences.
  • As for examples I agree with Sprenkyy, we need additional examples, concrete scenarios where it is an offence and where it isn't to counter direct misunderstandings.

Staff Prejudice never happened, end.

  • Everything Laylah says about new helpers being trained and tested is entirely true and these procedures have been done for a long time and this system is very well designed.
  • Another clear overlap in opinions with Laylah: Inappropriate Suspects are a simple NoGo for servers with children.

Finally, I have to agree with Sprenkyy with the interpretation for the punishments going from minor to permanent one's for which I really appreciate the coming redesign and also the entire reply of Laylah.



In conclusion, I agree with a lot but disagree with some. What Laylah said is very open, professional, well-written and an actual transparent take which I, respectfully, did not expect. Therefore, the current new rule set is definitely better than before but I personally still see required tweaks.
To finish this off, I do really want to make this one clear: None of this comes from bitterness or resentment - very much rather from genuine care for Foxcraft its community and well-respected interaction between players, staff and everyone in general. This server once meant a lot more to me than it does right now but due to all the opportunities, experiences and connections I felt the need to speak up in an honest and constructive way.

I truly hope the ongoing changes continue in the right direction and are going to help both players and staff feel more understood, heard and respected.
Even if I won't be a that big part of this journey anymore, I want to wish everyone involved the best and hope my perspective as an Ex-Staff could contribute to make things better going forward.

~ Daniel aka. DZultra
 
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HOLLY DZULTRA THANK YOU FOR THIS GOOD REPLY. I LOWKEY AGREE WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
  • Public Punishment Tiers (Warnings → Perm Punishments): No times? Sure I don't mind at all. What I would very much like in terms of transparency is which offence is a warn?; which offence is a temp mute?; which offence is a perm mute? with the questions you were asking these were awsnered by the time list due because it was first warning than mute etc.
 
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