Effective Date:  08/24/2023

 

Owner:  Alex Surhigh

 

Team Members:  Brian Thueme, Cassandra Shaver, Ron Hughes

 

1.0            PURPOSE

1.1              The purpose of this procedure is to explain how a Discord server will be used in conjunction with the esports program at Baker College.  Discord will provide a standard solution for voice, video, and text chat features needed for interaction among the esports community members. The procedure identifies how a Discord server will be regulated and how rules will be enforced.

2.0           DEFINITIONS

CARE team

Coordination, Assessment, Response, and Education CARE Teams - small groups of school officials who meet regularly to collect and review concerning information about at-risk community members and develop intervention plans to assist.

Copypasta

A copypasta is a block of text copied and pasted to the Internet and/or social media. Copypasta containing controversial ideas or lengthy rants are often posted for humorous purposes, to provoke reactions from those unaware that the posted text is a meme.

Discord

Discord is a voice, video, and text chat app.  The vast majority of servers are private, invite-only spaces for groups of friends and communities to stay in touch and spend time together.

Discord Server

Discord Servers are distinct communities created utilizing the Discord service and consist of text based chat, voice channels, and forums. They are made by specific communities and friend groups. The vast majority of servers are small and invitation-only. Some larger servers are public.

Discord Channels

Discord servers are organized into text and voice channels, which are usually dedicated to specific topics.  Each channel can have its own set of rules, independent of other channels on the server.

●                   Text channels allow users to post messages, upload files, and share images for others to see at any time.

●                   Voice channels allow users to connect through a voice or video call in real time, and share their screen content.

DM

Direct Messages (DMs) are private messages sent between users and are not moderated by Baker College.  Most DMs are one-on-one conversations between two discord users.

Esports

                             Multiplayer video games that are played competitively, for spectators, typically in an organized environment.

GDM

Group Direct Message (GDM).  Users have the option to invite up to nine others to a conversation to create a private Group DM (GDM). Group DMs are not public and require an invite from someone in the group to join.  GDMs are not moderated by Baker College.

MEE6

MEE6 is a chat and moderation service that is used to manage numerous discord server functions and establish rules for visitors and spam.  The MEE6 service moderates content to maintain a clean and safe server environment.

NSFW

Not Suitable or Not Safe For Work (NSFW).  Any material that would not be suitable for viewing at most places of employment.  Text, images, audio, video or links related to pornography, violence, or any illegal activity should never be posted.  Topics that are political or religious in nature should be avoided.

Server Roles

Server Roles are identifiers on a discord server. They can either be self applied by the user (Public and Identity Roles), or assigned by administrators (Private Roles) for various purposes.

            Stream

Any media content - live or recorded - delivered to computers and mobile devices via the Internet and played back in real time.

Trolling

The act of leaving an insulting message on the Internet in order to deliberately upset someone.

            VC

Voice Chat (VC) is an audio conferencing service used to communicate verbally by two or more individuals over the Internet.

 

3.0           GUIDELINES

3.1              Discord Server Rules

3.1.1         Rules for the discord server must be accepted by all users prior to entry into the server. These rules include the Baker College Acceptable Use Policy as well as the following discord server specific policies:

a.)                All Baker College institutional rules and policies apply to the discord server.

b.)                Racism, sexism, homophobia, or other non-inclusive forms of speech are not tolerated.

c.)                NSFW content is not permitted. Please use your best judgment before sending anything.

d.)              Because this is an officially sponsored Baker College server, swearing is not permitted in public server text channels. This may include abbreviations/short-hand forms and will be enforced at the discretion of the administration team.

e.)              No text, image, emote/audio spam, and/or trolling is permitted.  This rule also applies to voice channels. Do not spam via microphone or intentionally create noise to annoy other members. Repeated misbehavior will result in the assignment of the ‘Muted’ role and the user will no longer be allowed in the VCs. Copypasta is allowed within reason and is up to the discretion of the moderation team.

f.)                Trash-talking is allowed and encouraged within reason. This must not violate any other rule(s) or cross into bullying/harassment.

g.)               Do not post random links in chat, they will be deleted as deemed necessary. Personal streams may be posted in the ⁠self-promotions channel.

h.)              Do not advertise external opportunities, events, organizations, or non-Baker esports content in any channel without permission from a server administrator.

i.)                If a violation of the above rules is serious enough in nature a server administrator will take action to escalate resolution as needed, up to and including involvement of law enforcement.  Major violations by Baker College students or employees may result in academic and/or employment ramifications.

3.1.2        Discord server rules will be reviewed by the server administrators on an annual basis, but can also be updated at any time based on circumstances.  Changes to the rule set listed in 3.1.1 will be relayed via a server announcement.

3.2             Discord Server Roles

3.2.1        Public roles can be manually selected by any user and can be altered at any time in the future.  Public roles determine which public areas are displayed to a user.

3.2.2       Private roles grant access to controlled areas on the discord server and can only be assigned by someone with appropriate server privileges.

3.2.3       Users assigned a private role are required to identify themselves by updating their server profile to include their real name in place of or in addition to an alias.

3.2.4       Identity roles allow a user to provide distinguishing characteristics about themselves (i.e. preferred pronoun(s), home campus, etc.)  Identity roles do not provide any permissions or access to areas.

3.2.5       Discord server roles and their assignment will be reviewed by the server administrator on an annual basis, but can also be updated at any time based on circumstances.

3.3             Channel Permissions

3.3.1        Public Areas

a.)             Much of the discord server is public facing and accessible to anyone that joins.  Upon joining the server a person can select from a set of Public Roles that will in turn determine the Public Areas that are accessible.  Baker College rules and regulations are enforced more strictly in Public Areas.

3.3.2       Private Areas

a.)              Private areas are controlled environments that have specific limitations on who can participate in given areas and change related settings.

b.)              Access to private areas is controlled via the assignment of Private Roles.

c.)              Private roles are designed using a top down hierarchy.   Each higher role in the hierarchy includes all access granted by any role below it.

3.4             Approved Use

3.4.1        The esports discord server is reserved for esports community activities only.

3.4.2       The esports discord server is not approved for any activity related to Baker College curriculum including, but not limited to, discussion of assignments, grades, and any student/employee personally identifiable information (i.e. UIN, phone numbers, addresses, etc).

3.4.3       Any activity on the esports Discord server must comply with the Baker College Acceptable Use Policy.

4.0           PROCEDURES

4.1              Rule Violations

4.1.1         Minor infractions

a.)              Minor infractions are moderated by the MEE6 chat bot that can be customized to automatically correct behavior such as:

i.)                 Cursing

ii.)               Inappropriate links

iii.)             Spam

b.)                Consequences can include:

i.)                 Verbal warnings

ii.)               Timed bans that escalate with repeated violations (i.e. 1 hour, 24 hour, 1 week, with an eventual permanent ban).

iii.)             Permanent bans

4.1.2       Major infractions

a.)              Users assigned a moderator role for individual sections, or full server moderators, are expected to identify and address policy infractions which may be more subtle (items that MEE6 cannot catch): harassment, bullying, sexism etc.

b.)              Major infractions will be dealt with on a case by case basis and consequences left to the discretion of server administrators.  Penalties can include timed bans or permanent removal from the server.

c.)              If a violation is serious enough in nature a server administrator will take action to escalate resolution as needed, up to and including involvement of law enforcement.  Major violations by Baker College students or employees may result in academic and/or employment ramifications. 

4.1.3        Disputes

a.)              If a user chooses to dispute a penalty that has been imposed on them, they can file a Ticket (see section 4.2).  A server administrator will respond to the ticket as needed and provide a ruling on the dispute.  Any ruling made on a dispute is final and can not be further escalated.

4.2             Tickets

a.)              Users may submit tickets related specifically to the discord server through the #tickets channel.

b.)              Tickets submitted on discord are reviewed by the discord server administrators.

c.)              Depending on the nature of the ticket, discord server administrators may opt to involve departments outside of the discord server (including, but not limited to the CARE team or Campus Safety).

4.3             Role Assignments and Updates

4.3.1        Discord server administrators will review the roles available and the assignment of private roles once a month to ensure they are being managed accurately.

4.3.2        Employee role

a.)              Employees who join the discord server and request the official Employee role will be required to verify their identity with a server administrator or head coach.

b.)              An IT SME involved with employee deprovisioning will notify server administrators who will in turn manually remove any private roles (i.e. Administrator, Employee, etc.) from users, as appropriate.

4.3.3       Alumni role

a.)              Alumni who join discord and request the official Alumni role will be required to verify their alumni status with a server administrator or head coach.

b.)              A list of users seeking the Alumni role will be sent to the Director of Alumni Relations on a monthly basis to verify their alumni status.

c.)              Once verification is received the Alumni role will be assigned to the requesting user(s).

4.3.4      Club Board Member role

a.)              Club Board membership is assigned based on a club vote that is held at the beginning of each semester. 

b.)              Club Board membership will be voted on by the members of the esports club once a semester. Voting club members will include:

i.)                 President

ii.)               Vice President

iii.)             Secretary

iv.)             Other relevant club roles as deemed applicable.

4.3.5       Team Captain role

a.)              Team Captains for each active roster are designated at the start of the competitive season (once per semester).

b.)              If a coach is assigned to an active roster, they will decide whether to hold a team vote for Team Captain, or they may choose the Team Captain directly.

c.)              The Head Coach of the esports program may override any of those decisions but must provide a rationale for why in the roster’s main chat channel.

4.4             Channel Review

4.4.1       At the end of each scholastic year, server administrators will meet to review channel activity and delete inactive categories/channels within the server.

5.0           RESPONSIBILITIES

5.1              Head Coach

5.1.1         Establish the rules that must be followed when using the Discord Server.

a.)              Manage the publication of rules and changes to rules on the discord server.

b.)              Maintain documentation of changes to the discord server rules including a timestamp of when the change occurred.

5.1.2        Provide final rulings on any decisions relating to the use of the Discord server.

5.1.3        Oversee the assignment of any roles related to administration of the discord server.

5.1.4        Oversee the creation, modification and deletion of roles, as well as, the permissions associated with them.

a.)              Maintain documentation of server roles and the permissions associated with them.

5.2             Discord Server Administrators

5.2.1        Moderate text chat for rule violations and implement disciplinary action as applicable.

5.2.2       Escalate potential student issues to the correct department at the school (i.e. CARE team, Academic Advisors, etc.)

5.2.3       Resolve ‘help tickets’ produced by discord community members via the #tickets channel.

5.2.4       Oversee the addition and removal of channels within the discord server when needed.

5.2.5       Review the assignment of private roles within the discord server and ensure integrity is maintained.

a.)              Maintain a document listing the assignment of private roles for reference by IT SMEs.

5.3             IT SMEs

5.3.1        Review the listing of assigned private roles (see 5.2.5.a above) to determine if anyone designated as an Employee no longer works for Baker College.

5.3.2       Notify server administrators when employees are deprovisioned (when applicable) so that Employee role assignments can be adjusted.

5.4             End Users

5.4.1        Report any rule violations to server administrators via the #tickets channel.

5.4.2       Understand and adhere to the information in this procedure and the Baker College Acceptable Use Policy.

6.0           FORMS/DOCUMENTS

NONE