Chat Moderation¶

We want our chat to be casual, fun and welcoming to all.

For each livestreamed event, a 'Head Moderator' should be chosen. In the event of an edge case or an unclear next step, the Head Moderator will decide what action to take.

If a moderator needs to enforce the rules against a user, a discussion between the moderators is encouraged to ensure a consistent moderation approach.

It's important that chat moderators actively participate in the chat to keep viewers engaged and to help steer the conversation to more relevant topics if necessary.

Dealing with a problem user¶

Below is the escalation steps for dealing with a problem chat user

Engage¶

First, try and engage with the user, talk about robots, the topic of the stream or other benign small-talk. In the ideal case, the user will start engaging with the stream and stop causing problems.

Warn¶

If the problem behaviour continues, explicitly warn the user(s) to stop. Make it clear that a continuation of the behaviour will result in removal from the chat.

Timeout¶

If the problem behaviour still continues, timeout the problem user(s). As you've already warned them of this, you don't need to warn them or explain yourself again.

Ban¶

If after the timeout there is still problem behaviour, ban the user. There is no need to warn or explain yourself for this.

When to bypass the standard escalation policies¶

Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, etc.¶

Any comments of this kind should result in an instant ban. Delete the message and post a message in chat reminding everyone of the rules.

Flooding¶

If the user posts a disruptive number of messages in a short period of time, timeout the user and remind everyone of the rules. The second offence should result in a ban.

Rules¶

All volunteers, competitors and any chat users must abide by the Student Robotics Code of Conduct.

If the livestreaming platform does not enforce users accepting the rules before gaining chat access, the below rules should be posted periodically in the chat.

Mods and viewers must follow these rules in addition to the Code of Conduct:

• No racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, bigotry, misogynism, ableism, xenophobia etc.
• No inappropriate comments; this is a family-friendly chat.
• Be respectful to other teams and other chat members.
• No spamming.
• The moderator's decision is final.