Player Moderators, also known as PMods or just mods, are RuneScape players chosen specifically by Jagex staff due to their commitment to the in-game community among other factors. They are ambassadors of the game and help to maintain an enjoyable in-game environment. They were added to the game on 14 June 2004 and since then the team has grown to over 1,600 player moderators.[1]
Other types of moderators include Forum Moderators and Jagex Moderators.[1] All RuneScape Player Moderators are automatically FunOrb Player Moderators and vice versa.
Moderator abilities
Player Moderators can be recognised by the silver crown (
) visible next to their name when they speak in-game, this crown cannot be disabled or hidden. It should be noted that the crown is not present in their username when right clicking nor is it visible on the RuneScape Forums where their posts appear the same as a regular player. Anyone who claims to be a Player Moderator without a crown can be reported (for staff impersonation) using the 'Report Abuse' menu. While acknowledged as not actually being hired members of the Jagex Staff (only regular players with extra entrusted tools), the rule is still applicable to impersonation of them.
A Player Moderator has two direct approaches to rulebreakers. The first is through priority abuse reports. All abuse reports filed by Player Moderators are directed to a separate group of Jagex staff members.[1] The second way is through administering temporary mutes with their report.
New Player Moderators are given a "Suggest a mute" instead of a temporary mute option. This is to settle in new moderators into their role as part of a training period. Once Jagex has assessed the judgement of the moderator and the reports marked for muting would have been applied correctly, then the moderator would be given the normal mute option[1] According to Mod Stevew on a podcast:
| “ | There is a period where they can Suggest a Mute, and that means that they would have applied a mute in the situation, but the player isn't actually muted; and that report comes to us, and we look at it carefully, and we're assessing the judgement of that person; and only when we're really satisfied that they're consistently applying mutes or would apply mutes correctly do we turn on that additional ability to be able to mute people. | ” |
[source needed]
Occasionally when a player is being particularly defiant towards the rules, a mute is required so that other players can no longer see his or her text. A Player Moderator's mute is a safety precaution to help prevent the player in question from causing any more harm to themselves or others, as it will effectively stop any attempts to talk freely. Jagex provides Player Moderators with muting guidelines, and mutes are, according to Jagex, checked to ensure that they are correct. Any incorrect mutes may be lifted, and if a Player Moderator regularly mutes without proper reason, his or her moderator status may be removed. As soon as a Jagex Moderator checks the report, the mute is lifted and a subsequent punishment is then applied if it is needed.
Private messages sent by a Player Moderator are also visible when private chat is turned off though Player Moderators are unable to send subsequent messages or see that the player is online via his/her friends' menu. However, players will not see text written by a Player Moderator if they are added to that player's Ignore List.
Player Moderators have access to the P-Mod Room and Player Moderator Centre, which contains information on how to perform their role and up-to-date guidelines. They also have access to the player moderator forums on the Runescape forums. These features allow Player Moderators to have the guidance and advice they need, while allowing Jagex to collect valuable feedback. Content discussed within these areas are strictly confidential, and any Player Moderator who reveals content within these areas will lose their moderator privileges.
How Player Moderators are chosen
Player Moderators are chosen by Jagex staff based on pre-defined criteria, this includes Account Status, Account security, game bias, time zone and activity.[2]
Other considerations include maturity, involvement in the RuneScape in-game and forum communities, and by the accuracy of abuse reports (therefore, not reporting someone for extremely minor reasons, or just because you can). Players with previous offences may still become Player Moderators unless prior offences are numerous or severe.[1]
Background checks are then carried out by Jagex employees to identify undesirable behaviour.[2] Display name history and linked accounts are checked to identify any rule breaking, links to cheating communities or any concerns in relation to community safety.
Jagex will only contact the player via the Message Centre system to inform him or her that he/she has been selected to become a Player Moderator. The player is then able to accept or decline the position. New moderators are required to register certain contact details with Jagex before they receive access to any moderator tools.
Jagex will never private message you in-game for your username and password, nor will they tell you to go to an external website. Any player asking for your login details should be reported immediately.
How to increase chances of becoming a Player Moderator
Any player wishing to increase their chances of becoming a Player Moderator, should:
- Be kind to and help other players[3]
- Refrain from using offensive language
- Be community engaged and focused
- Report bugs, bad threads, and players who violate rules.
It's worth remembering that following these above guidelines does not guarantee you a moderator status. Following the guidelines will increase your chances of been chosen in the future. Remember, Jagex will only send you a Player Moderator invite through the message centre.
Surgeries and the P-Mod Room
The P-Mod room does not exist on Old School RuneScape, only on RuneScape 3. The player moderators' room is a special area within the game that can only be accessed by Player Moderators. Previously, Jagex Moderators were required to be present to open the room for P-Mods, but this has since been changed. Only current player moderators can give the command to enter through the Lumbridge Sage.
According to Jagex, the P-Mod Room is "effectively a blank room that's a direct copy of an existing dungeon found elsewhere. That's to ensure that mods don't have access to anything that the rest of the community doesn't. I should also point out that it's not possible to practice skilling or anything while in the basement as this could be considered an unfair advantage".[source needed] In this quote, the "existing dungeon found elsewhere" is the Varrock West Bank's basement just stripped of most furniture and the wall and gate in the middle. The room is used for surgeries, which are scheduled question and answer sessions where Player Moderators ask for advice from the Jagex Moderators. All discussion during a surgery is strictly confidential. Before the December 2007 updates, surgeries would often be followed by a "bot busting" session.
Misconceptions
There are many misconceptions regarding Player Moderators and their abilities. In simple terms, they are the same as regular players, but with the ability to temporarily mute other players and access special Moderator forums. Some myths about Player Moderators and their abilities are, in fact, true for Jagex Moderators, however. Here is a list of myths about Player Moderators, along with the truth:
| Myth | Truth |
|---|---|
| Player Moderators are given free benefits, including free items, experience, or membership. | Player Moderators do not receive any type of reward for being a Player Moderator, and have to pay for membership and work for their items and experience like any other player. Before Jagex allowed qualifying free players to post on the forums, player moderators were able to use them regardless of their membership status. However, Jagex has said that it was an accident, so at the time, asked player moderators not to post in any forums besides the Player Moderator Forums. Now, though, any mod can post on the forums as part of the "qualifying free players". |
| Player Moderators can change their levels whenever they want. | Player Moderators cannot change their levels except through training like normal players. However, Jagex Moderators can change their own levels for testing purposes. |
| Player Moderators can get any item they want. | Player Moderators cannot generate any items they want and must work towards obtaining items like any other player. However, it has been shown on various occasion that Jagex Moderators can generate any items they want for testing purposes. |
| Player Moderators are invited to the Player Moderator team in-game or by e-mail. | Jagex will only notify a player that they have been invited via that player's RuneScape inbox. If there are any unread messages in a player's inbox, a red "X" will be shown in that section of the lobby and in the information box will be a message containing the number of unread messages as well as a link to the player's inbox. Anyone telling you in-game or via email that you have been selected to become a Player Moderator is likely attempting to steal your password and should be reported for staff impersonation. |
| Player Moderators are told updates before they are publicly released. | This is not true in most cases, as there is a chance that information will be leaked, thus ruining the surprise for everyone. Occasionally, Jagex will allow moderators to give advanced input on moderation-related updates, such as an update to a game rule, or the reporting system. |
| Only members are allowed to become Player Moderators. | Any player may become a Player Moderator regardless of membership. |
| Player Moderators are chosen primarily based on the number of reports they make. | Quality of reports is far more important than quantity, and making large numbers of reports in the hope of becoming a Player Moderator is actually counterproductive. If a situation is doubtful, you may send a report, but keep in mind that there may be a better solution like asking "Could we please talk about something else?" or simply ignoring the other player. There are also several other factors besides the quantity/quality of reports that affect which players are chosen to become Player Moderators. |
| Players are chosen for modship because of their high Combat level or how long they have been playing the game. | Player Moderators are not simply high combat levelled players nor are Player Moderators necessarily chosen for their time devoted to the game, though the more good information on a player Jagex obtains, the better. Many Moderators have combat levels of 126, but there are also many who have combat levels as low as 3. |
| Player Moderators must have absolutely no offences on their record. |
Although having no offences may help your chances of becoming a Player Moderator, you do not have to have a shiny clean offence list to become one. Everyone has 'off' days, and we learn from our mistakes, and as such, it is important that if you do have offences, you have learned from them. Offences will typically only affect your chance of becoming a Player Moderator if you continuously violate the rules, or if they are serious offences, such as scamming. |
| Player Moderators have to help someone in need. | Player Moderators are not obliged to help anyone and their cooperation is entirely voluntary. This even means that reporting and muting is optional as well, just as it is for normal players. |
| Player Moderators can either appeal offences for someone else, remove them entirely, or request them to be removed. | They cannot lift any bans or undo Jagex actions against an account. The owner of the account in question is responsible for appealing the offence. |
| Player Moderators can ban other players. | Player Moderators can only mute other players, not ban them. |
| Player Moderators are obligated to report players they see breaking the rules. | Just like regular players, it is the Player Moderators discretion as to whether or not they choose to report a player breaking a rule. In fact, Jagex encourages their P-Mods to only report if it's absolutely necessary. |
| Player Moderators are given money to train skills and buy items instead of working to make their money. | Just like every other player, Player Moderators have to find their own ways of making money. |
| A Player Moderator's silver crown does not show up on Quick Chat, chat from and to the lobby, RSC, OSRS, FunOrb, or private chat. |
A Player Moderator's silver crown will always appear, regardless of type of chat, origin of chat, and destination of the chat nor can a Player Moderator turn off their crown temporarily. When someone is a Player Moderator, their crown will show up in every message everywhere and always. This is so that players cannot claim they have 'turned it off' for a while and possibly scam others. |
Trivia
- Player Moderators will lose their moderator status when not logged in with a good play session within a 3 month period.[4]
- Player Moderators on RuneScape are also Player Moderators on FunOrb. However, Forum Moderators on RuneScape are not always Forum Moderators on FunOrb.
- In circumstances that cause a Player Moderator to speak out loud without typing, such was the case with random events, the crown does not appear next to their name.
- Moderator crowns were not visible on RuneScape Classic until September 2009.
- At RuneFest 2014, attending Player and Forum Moderators were given mugs for the team or teams they represented.[5]
- Until 9 March 2015, messages written by Player Moderators could be seen even by players who have turned their public chat off.
See also
References
Moderators | |
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