Review [Issue 59] The Battle Moderation

[Flexoo 6,980]

 

There's one special moderator class that operates on the daily battlefields of Tanki Online. Battle moderators are Tanki's most mysterious group of Helpers, hidden from the eyes of players and operating from the shadows to bring you the best gaming experience possible.

 

 

Who are battle mods?

 

Battle moderators are TO's unique Helper force that is specially trained for possibly the most challenging task out there. These guys moderate hundreds and thousands of battles every day and watch for any sort of violation happening in the game. Battle mods deal with violators that spoil the game of honest players by sabotaging, trolling or multing and have the power to punish them for such actions. 

 

What do they do?

 

As mentioned earlier, battle moderators monitor battles for any violation that may appear. This task is extremely time-consuming and demands hours of practice to effectively distinguish between a real violator and, for example, an innocent lagger. Each and every report is carefully checked by battle moderators and the Administrator himself to prevent any mistakes that can have fatal consequences for players.

 

I believe a video made by @Yele will demonstrate much better what battle moderators do in their work and the workload they face. You can check these monthly reports regularly in this topic. Without further ado, check the recent report in this video.

 

 

---

 

This was just some basic information to start, but now let me welcome one of the battle moderators himself. @Mr_STIFFLER has been working as a battle mod for over a year now and will answer all the most common questions thoroughly. He will present you his own advice, opinions and knowledge coming from hours of experience. Proceed to read more! 

 

Flexoo: Hello, Mr.Stiffler. Thank you for finding time in your busy schedule. For starters, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Mr_Stiffler: Hey! My name is Mr_STIFFLER, and I have been working as a Battle Moderator for about a year now. I’ve been playing Tanki Online for almost 4 years, I was actually away from the game for about a year due to work overload, but came back to help Tanki Online, battle mods and players.

Flexoo: How would you describe your typical day at Tanki Online working as a Battle Moderator?

 

Mr_Stiffler: Well, I am a member of Tanki Online’s special force, hidden from the public eye, fighting against sabotage and other violations that may happen in our lovely game. Battle moderators, in general, deal with players who have gone too far trying to spoil the fun of honest players by cheating, sabotaging or being inactive. So my daily job, in short, is to protect players from any violation that can happen in battles.

Flexoo: You have more than a year of experience doing this job. What do you find most challenging about it? 

Mr_Stiffler: That's really hard to say, I mean every action can be really challenging in such a serious job. Our admin, Yele, is doing her best to make everything better for us and we also appreciate help from every player when it comes to catching violators.

 

Flexoo: What do you find to be the most enjoyable aspect of your job as a battle moderator?

Mr_Stiffler: Mainly helping players, whether when we kick a mult that disturbs other players, or when we save a player that has been attacked by other players who violate the game rules.

Flexoo: This job requires a plenty of time. How many hours do you work in your typical week?

Mr_Stiffler: It really depends on the number of violation reports we receive from players, mostly somewhere between 50-60 (fifty to sixty) hours a week, sometimes it's even more.

Flexoo: Which violations are the most difficult to handle? How much time does it take to carefully evaluate the violation reports?

Mr_Stiffler: The hardest decisions are usually linked with reports concerning cheaters and consequently dealing with them. Sometimes it takes week or month to take the right decision. We always try to avoid mistakes or punish players without reason; all cheats and hacks shown in videos are checked by our admin Yele personally before blocking any player.

 

Flexoo: Before the interview, I also heard most Battle Moderators work and speak only in Russian - why is that?

Mr_Stiffler: That's true. In the beginning, we had to be in calls all the time to test the system and discuss daily problems in Tanki Online and to fix everything as soon as possible. So, it was hard for us to add English helpers and translate all the calls, messages or updates that we made. Our admin, Yele, works hard to solve all the problems before she adds more English helpers to Battle mods' team.

Flexoo: With this information in mind, can a person who doesn't speak Russian become a Battle Moderator?

Mr_Stiffler: Yes, as I said before, our admin Yele is the one who decides if more English helpers are needed in the team. If you're interested in becoming a Battle Mod, the applications are currently open, so give it a shot. You can check out the application rules in this topic along with the video description.
 

Flexoo: We learned that you also serve as a "translator" in the group. What does it feel like to translate back and forth to other battle moderators?

Mr_Stiffler: Yele, our admin, always says; "Together we can make Tanki Online better, and better". We help each other out, we have weekly calls where we discuss new rules and everything other related to the job and if there's any problem, we immediately try to solve it. So, our group is like a family to me and since I can speak both Russian and English, I am always ready to explain everything to all English colleagues.
 

Flexoo: Would you mind telling us more about the functionality of the /vote command? Is it still worth using this feature? Are there ways to use it more effectively? Can we expect refinement of this feature in the future?

Mr_Stiffler: Vote command only works in battle chat when at least 25% of all players in battle will use this command on the violator.

 

After voting the violator, battle will color in Yellow which is the signal of players using the vote command. Then we can come and assess the battle situation and examine whether there really is someone violating the game rules.

 

 

 

 

 

Once the battle revision done by one of the battle moderators is finished, this message will appear in the chat;

 

 

Afterwards, we will deal with any and all violators present in that battle.

 

Flexoo: Very interesting! Can you provide some more tips/advice on reporting the violators? What are the most common mistakes tankers commit when they report violators?

Mr_Stiffler: Firstly, let me thank all the players who are helping us to hunt cheaters, hackers and saboteurs, either by directly reporting violations in chat or in the appropriate Forum section (Game Violations).

 

Most mistakes that tankers do in violation reports posted on Forum, are usually linked with lack of evidence. Or they often record a video long less than 5 minutes. So, the best tip I can give, is to read both Game Rules and Game violations section rules before creating your report topics.
 

Flexoo: Lastly, what advice would you give to someone who's looking to become a battle moderator? What skills are required?

Mr_Stiffler: Well, first and foremost, anyone applying must be over 18 years old, not under Brigadier rank, and have at least one year of experience in Tanki Online. After his/her application has been posted, our admin Yele will study the application and respond via Forum PM. If you do get picked, Yele will interview you, with a webcam and voice chat, so pretending you’re older than you really are, is not a chance. Make sure you don’t lie about your age, this will not help you become a moderator, but will surely make us put your name in our bad books! If you do get picked, we will all be sure to welcome you to the team, and happily work with anyone.

Flexoo: Thank you for helping us understand a typical battle mod's job, Mr_Stiffler. Do you have any last words or message for tankers?

Mr_Stiffler: I'd just like to say this;
 

Our game is made for everyone, some of the tankers are strong skilled players and some are not. There are many players who come to the battles to pass their time and enjoy the game and sadly there are also these so-called mults and other violators. Our job is to deal with everyone who distracts players in battles and allow those who want to have fun playing to do so to the best of their possibilities. So, please respect every player and play fairly.

I, and the whole Battle Mods team hope that tankers understand our message, and that you all will help us to solve every problem, and make Tanki Online a fun place to be! We wish only the best for everyone.

 

---

 

And that's all, everybody! Battle moderation and dealing with violators effectively is an extremely demanding duty. I trust you've learned how hard a battle moderator's work is. Many thanks to @Yele and @Mr_STIFFLER for collaboration on this article, as well as to the whole battle moderators team for doing their best to make the battles a better place for all players.

 

Hope you enjoyed the read, tankers, and don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments below!

 

Edited July 20, 2017 by Hexed

[TTK_229 1,080]

One time I was /voted by someone who had just typed in the chat: unfair, 2v1.

 

Ridiculous.

[MiZ0o0 1,863]

Nice Article flexoo 
Great Job :)
 

 

and btw i am not a hacker  :ph34r:

Edited December 2, 2016 by MiZ0o0

[Cyborg 3,189]

One time I was /voted by someone who had just typed in the chat: unfair, 2v1.

 

Ridiculous.

2v1 is not a game violation :p

[Guest]

Good job man!  :)

[marto85 631]

Nice, I actually noticed that kind of message on the screen, when a battle moderator came to our battle once

[I_SaFaa7_Al.MjrmeN_I 66]

Nice Article ;)

[beaku 2,656]

How do you guys get 50-60 hours a week? :huh:.. That's almost equivalent to real job

Hats off to you guys though. Making the game a better place for all of us :D

[yonatanthesuper 314]

i have got tons of bans on my main account but i learned my lesson.

my last 2 bans were for bad language but not insults.to make this game better,the word noob should be considered as a normal insult which deserves a ban because i have gotten tons of bans from using that word but not insulting but others use it in main chat and they don't get banned.

i am still trying to understand the rules.

Edited December 6, 2016 by yonatanthesuper

[RIDDLER_8 5,553]

Can moderators and helpers drop gold boxes in battles to players who asks them?

[bryanchua 33]

What lies!I see this hacker who has been hacking for months and still not banned. Also, hackers don't get banned forever, I see hackers who only get banned for a month, hackers deserve no mercy!

[Astronomer 50]

Wow nice, 50-60 hours a week of work?! Jeeez  :o  :blink:

[Jwimmer 2,835]

I've always heard a certain percentage of players in a battle needs to vote the same player for a mod to come. Is this true, or does it just take 1 vote?

[Flexoo 6,980]

Nope, only working when 25% of all players use it but it's still not a guarantee. It's far better to make a video evidence if you want violator to be deal with.

[I.F.E 41]

What do the Red Battles mean?

[So 1,636]

What do the Red Battles mean?

Battles have players with the same ip.

[I.F.E 41]

Battles have players with the same ip.

Ok, thanks! 

[ZivOfficial 290]

https://prnt.sc/gltlkc

2 Scammers today on EU3.

ban them Please (if mod See this)

[Mjro7 2,837]

Great Topic 
We Know alot Now.

[lucky-007-lucky 231]

i didnt got the oppurtinity to be B.M noone understand me i really wanna help but they dont give me chance :'(

[FTW 240]

i didnt got the oppurtinity to be B.M noone understand me i really wanna help but they dont give me chance :'(

If you have the minimum requirements for that, can speak english fluently (they prefer russian anyways) and have a decent computer, you can re-apply again and check your private messages daily to see whether yele responded to your application or not make sure not to message them repeatedly because that may reflect negatively on your image as an applicant, in the end good luck in becoming one sooner or later.

[JAGMAN2468 104]

Nice post.

Edited February 1, 2018 by JAGMAN2468