Server Administration Procedures
| This is the Document Release Information | |
| Article Number: | 7CAV-R-022 |
| Scope: | Server Administration |
| Version: | Version 1.1 |
| Effective Date: | 27 NOV 18 |
| Last Modified Date: | DDMMMYYYY |
| Approving Authority: | Regimental Commander |
| Point of Contact: | Chief of Staff |
This page contains the steps that should be taken when administrating on the 7th Cavalry Servers from interacting with players to posting on our forums, for technical knowledge on how these actions are performed in each respective game see the links below.
Battlemetrics
| Description | Link |
| Battlemetrics Wiki Page | https://wiki.7cav.us/index.php/BattleMetrics |
| Battlemetrics Instructional Video | https://youtu.be/v6tH34GKchw |
Rules of Engagement (ROE)
The Rules of Engagement are documents that guide how members and guests may act in game specific environments. These are often referred to as "ROEs", an acronym of the full name.
Arma 3
The Arma 3 ROE may be found here.
Squad
The Squad ROE may be found here.
Hell Let Loose
The Hell Let Loose ROE may be found here.
Duties of the Chain of Command
This section details the roles and responsibilities of the chain of command in administration.
Chain of Administrator Command
7th Cav members with a certain rank or position are authorized to have admin rights within their respective AO.
These individuals hold a responsibility with these rights to handle issues on their public servers. Usually the first admin to spot, or be made aware of, an issue is expected to deal with it. However, if an admin is busy, or otherwise unable to help, they are authorized to delegate this responsibility to another admin using the Chain of Command rank structure.
Regarding administration duties, it is an AO Commanders responsibility to ensure their admins, in charge of enforcing Cav rules and regulations, are maintaining a steady presence on their servers as frontline administrators. It is the responsibility of the Military Police department to work with AO Commanders and verify this administration is done effectively, as well as ensure that issues are being handled.
As such, Military Police officers are not affected by CoC or rank structure and are thus authorized render aid to, or if busy with other duties, delegate an issue to any other available admin; regardless of rank in conduction of their duties.
Furthermore, the additional training MP’s receive enables them to deal with internal issues, such as disruptive Cav members or other admins, on top of their role as administration supervisors. Military Police Officers are to be used as a resource for standard administrators should they need help, or verification on rules and regulations.
Administration - Chain of Administrator Command
The highest ranking person on the server, is responsible for the administration of said server. If this person has admin, they need to either deal with situations or delegate based on the situation and their time. If the highest ranking person does not have admin, they must find the first person able to assist them.
When trying to find an admin to deal with a situation, the following flow should be followed:
Troopers -> Standard Admins, MP In Training -> Full Status Military Police -> Military Police Leadership -> Security Operations OIC -> General Staff
Contacting an Administrator or Military Police Member
When calling for help do not only say “we need an admin” but add further information (if possible)...
- Where?
- TS3, Arma3 Tac1, Post Scriptum, Squad,...
- What?
- Teamkiller, hacker, pilot not on TS3,...
- Who?
- “insert player name here”
- When/How long?
- Currently happening, 5min ago,...
Example: Wrong request for an Admin/MP:
“We need an admin”
Example: Correct request for an Admin / MP:
“We need an admin on Arma 3 Tac2, John is team killing on base ”
or
“We need an MP on Tactical Realism #1, Mr Bravo is setting explosives on friendly vehicles exiting base”
If you do not include any further details the admin/MP will have to ask for them and does not know what to look for once he is on the server.
When looking for an Admin/MP do not jump into “knock” offices or named offices (Platoon, Company, Battalion, Regiment, Interview channels), always Privately Message the admin/MP in this case.
Duties
As an admin, you may be called upon at any time to deal with an issue in game. This is why it is a responsibility rather than a right. If you have admin rights, you can be expected to be called upon at the most inopportune times. But the upside is knowing the game is clean and friendly for everyone.
Dealing with Visitors and Conduct
This section will detail things to do, and avoid as an administrator or member of the administration chain of command.
Do: Follow SOPs
Adhere to all policies and Code of Conduct when administrating. These are your tools, those rules and policies are the backbone of the 7th Cavalry Gaming Regiment
Do: Be Friendly
We are not war mongers who come into the games to crack skulls. We are only here to make sure our server rules are followed by everyone. The more they enjoy the atmosphere the more likely they are to join the Cav, which is what our pub servers are for, recruitment.
Do: Keep in Mind the Skill Level of Players
If a new player gets Arma 3 for Christmas, and finds our server he much more likely to break rules. It is our job to notice the difference and treat each player differently, just because the last player you had to warn out purposely did not listen to you does not mean the next one is the same. Try to fix basic mistakes made by the player by explaining him/her the mechanic in question first; if they do not learn, treat him/her like a rulebreaker.
Do: Remain Calm
Administrating at times can be hectic, not only will you have the problem player(s) at hand but a lot of time you will have public or even Cav members yelling and or trying to tell you to "Just ban him, or just kick him" this will raise your aggravation level, stay calm, ask the members/public players to let you do the job you need to do, we have a protocol, that is what makes our servers good.
Do: Ask for help
Sometimes there are too many players breaking rules at once for one admin to handle, just try to handle one at a time, usually the one who is causing the most unrest in the server. Say you are in Arma 3, you have been called in to handle a pilot that is not following the TS3 policy and is not on TS. Then a player starts mowing down players at base, you would then switch your attention to the team killer, then come back to the pilot not in TS.
Do: Enter and Administrate the Game Server when Required
If you cannot get away from something please get in touch with someone who can help. There is nothing worse than having a problem player in game and no help to take care of it. If you are just doing paperwork or hanging around, and notice a server without an admin, hop in and make your presence known. Let our members and public players alike know that we are administrating the servers, keeping them safe and fun
Do Not: Deal with members of the 7th Cavalry Gaming Regiment
If a Cav member is breaking the rules, get an MP or if an MP is not available get an Officer/Senior NCO from this member’s AO/CoC to handle it. Officers/Senior NCO’s are only allowed to handle members from their own AO/CoC.
Do Not: Be Trolled
Many times players will argue the rules for as long as you allow it, this takes your focus off the job you are on the server to do. Players love to push the limits, do not allow them to.
Do Not: Take anyone's word
Always have eyes on when using these commands. Just remember if you didn't see it, it didn't happen. It is your name on the ban report and the COS will ask you first if something is not correct.
Procedures
Admins cannot take action against players without visual confirmation of the infraction(s), such as: witnessing the action(s) (eyes-on), or visual of chat log (I.e. racist comments), or through in game messages (I.e. repeated teamkills). The only exception is a direct order by a General Staff member.
The first step is to identify the player via in game methods (admin cam, Zeus,...) or Battlemetrics.
There are numerous ways of communicating and you must use all of them: text, audio (voice), warnings, etc. The player might not be aware of our rules, might not have malicious intent towards our community, and can potentially contribute to a healthy server or even the 7th Cavalry in the future.
For that reason, it is our duty to make sure that they are aware of our rules, and their violation of said rules, before driving them away from the server. You never know when someone might be a valuable asset to the 7th Cavalry, and so you should act like anyone on the server is a potential recruit waiting to be swooned by our behavior.
Always communicate by text (/all chat) as this is recorded in the logs, this allows queries to be looked at and transcripts to be read should there be an appeal or complaint.
Sequence to take Corrective Actions
The following steps must be followed while administering a server:
- Send the rules to the player breaking ROE.
- Ensure the player understands their violation(s).
- Check to make sure they correct their behaviour.
- If not, follow with the first warning.
- Send the player the rules again.
- Ensure the player understands their violation(s) again
- If not responding, follow with the 2nd warning.
- Ensure the player is aware of the infraction(s) and understands our ROE.
- Send the rules one last time and inform the player that they will be removed from the server if they do not follow our ROE.
- If not responding, follow with the 3rd warning.
The rules being broken do not need to be the same, every rule/warning can have a different reason. If the player does not correct the behaviour after your third attempt, he/she gets temporarily banned. There is also no specific timing to respect between the steps. Be reasonable, communicate with the player and keep the overarching goal of creating a friendly server in mind.
Using Battlemetrics, players will be temporarily banned for 1 hour after the third warning. If the player comes back and continues any bad behaviour, his fourth warning will result in a temporary ban lasting 2 hours. Afterwards the banning admin will contact the MP department and inform them about this case so a decision about an exceptional permanent ban can be made.
This can already be the case after the first 1h ban. In this case, standard admins should request the MP leadership to review the player/case.
Notes Regarding Battlemetrics Bans
Ban Duration
Standard admins are only allowed to use hourly or permanent bans.
Identifiers
Names are only used if banable or otherwise very offensive, even if not the particular ban reason.
You will always ban via SteamID and BattleyeGUID; the IP Address is never used.
Nomenclature
Rule: notification to a player regarding a broken ROE
Warning: follow-up to ruling a player if he/she does not correct behaviour
Kick: removal of player without time punishment, able to return immediately afterwards, not considered a punishment
Temporary ban: Removal of player with time punishment, able to return after ban time has passed, standard punishment
Permanent ban: Removal of player with permanent effect, unable to return without successful ban appeal, Ultima ratio
Kicking
Kicking players is only allowed under the following circumstances:
- Player is afk and blocking an important role (i.e. pilot, medic, SL) -> check if the player is reacting before kicking (i.e. “Sloth, are you afk?”)
- Player is active and refusing to use an important slot (i.e. pilot, medic, SL) -> check if the player is able/willing to use their role in the current situation first; if not, warn the player before kicking
- Player is spamming their microphone in game; based on the severity of the spam, and if the player is obviously doing it on purpose, kicking without warning is authorized
Permanent Bans
There are ONLY 3 Reasons to permanently ban a player WITHOUT using the above SOP:
- Racism or sexual discrimination (Gender or homophobic)
- Disrespect to the 7th Cavalry, the operating admin, or our Fallen
- Intentional team killing of a 7th Cavalry admin (the player has to know you are an admin)
Note to Reason 2
Disrespect against the 7th Cavalry/the operating admin is upon the judgement of the operating admin; ANY disrespect against our Fallen is reason for an instant ban.
Note to Reason 3
While in the course of doing their duty admins must have made themselves known by i.e. first making contact with the player and the team kill must be directed at the admin.
Mass Teamkilling Ban
Mass teamkilling bans are expedited from standard SOP due to their severity. However, they are only authorized if the following requirements are fulfilled:
- You witnessed the incident(s) yourself (eyes-on)
- The player received a warning to stop prior to the ban. Incidents must be witnessed to avoid false bans for i.e. pilots being shot down or in game bugs. Bans for these reasons must be marked with “Mass teamkill” as reason.
All other issues fall under our admining SOP and are not to be deviated from for any reason. Permanently banning someone is a last resort. If you ever need to permanently ban someone, you must fill out a Ban Report form immediately after issuing the ban.
Battlemetrics, Unreal Administrator, Logging
This section will detail the various tools used in server administration.
Battlemetrics
Once all requirements are met, file an “S6 - Ticket” with the required information and wait for the e-mail inviting you to the organization “7th Cavalry Gaming”. If you do not have an account from prior usage, set up a new one using your Cav name following the link provided in the e-mail. Do NOT “sign in through Steam” since your Steam account name may not be enough to identify you.
Using Battlemetrics
- Select the offending player.
- During this step, it is imperative that you ensure you've selected the right person. Double check their name and activity log. After you've verified the identity, select "Ban Player", "Kick Player", or “Message Player” depending on desired action. "Kick Player" will only be visible if the player is currently connected to the server.
- Do not forget to add as many details as possible to your Battlemetrics ban report. Your ban "Reason" should be concise, and you can add as many details as you want (Screenshot/Vid links, log snips, etc) in the "Note" subsection.
- When selecting Identifiers for player bans, be sure to select unique Identifiers (Such as BattleEyeGUID or Steam ID). This prevents wrongful kicks and bans, as often times players may have common names, or intentionally change theirs to that of another innocent person actively connected to the server. When you have done your final checks and are satisfied with your completion of the above steps, select "Save Ban".
- File a Ban/Hotlist report on the forums. Remember to provide all the information provided in the ban and more as evidence. The more information provided reduces the chance of a successful appeal.
Instructional Video
Unreal Admin
These commands need to be typed in the normal chat line after removing the prefix for the chat you chose. There is an auto complete for admin commands; this means typing “A” gives you a dropdown list of all commands beginning with “A”. The ban and kick command are only to be used in case Battlemetrics does not work.
| Command | Effect |
| ListPlayers | Show player ID’s with associated player name |
| AdminBroadcast <Message> | Sends system message to all players on the server |
| AdminKickByID “<PlayerID>” <KickReason> | Kicks a player with this ID from the server |
| AdminBanID “<PlayerID>” “<BanLength>” <BanReason> | Bans a player with this ID from the server |
Because there is no tempban yet you have to use the chat to give rules and warnings. Do not change the order given by the SOP and kick the player after the third warning manually.
You can turn yourself into a floating camera enabling you to observe other players. If you cancel the camera your current position may be your spawning positions. This means you may be dead if you are up in the sky or stuck if you are in a texture.
| Command | Key(s) |
| Start/Stop Admin Cam | LEFT SHIFT + P |
| Move | W A S D |
| Up | Jump |
| Down | Crouch |
| Accelerate/Decelerate | scroll wheel forward/backwards |
| Enable pointers | NUM 8 |
| Enable nameplates | NUM 9 |
Logging
Battlemetrics logs everything you do on our servers. Please keep in mind at all times, we review these logs on a regular basis seeing who is doing what. If someone comes to the forum saying something happened wrong we will immediately know who did what even if they didn't. Please keep this in mind when you make actions. If you are attempting to abuse your powers, we will know about it and your powers will be revoked immediately. You will be pending further action as well. This system is not to be abused.
Banning a Hacker/Scripter, Reporting
This section will detail how to ban hackers, scripters, and how to report this administrative action.
Banning a Hacker/Scripter
If you have a suspected hacker or scripter on the server you are allowed to permanently ban without any warnings prior to the ban. Hacking/Scripting is covered by General Order #1
“I will not engage in any form of cheating and will not tolerate those who do.”.
A well proven ban for hacking is hard to appeal successfully.
Abusing glitches/bugs in multiplayer games/matches on purpose in order to gain a competitive advantage also counts as hacking
If you want to ban a hacker you must follow these points:
- Never discuss with a suspected hacker. Inform the player that they are going to be
banned from our server; do not go into any detail in the game in public view, simply say that you are not happy with their game style and carry out the ban.
- If possible: Minimum one minute of video footage showing the hacker in action on our server as proof.
- If not: Proof like screenshots need to be added to the ban report; it is mandatory if a video is not available or possible.
- All proof needs to be added to the ban report in a timely manner. A working link to your video must be provided, this is to enable the general staff to review it should an appeal be filed.
Reports
This section will detail reporting.
Purpose
There is a need to create a ‘paperwork’ trail if any administrative action has been taken or if a player has been banned. This is to aid other Game Admins by providing information on troublesome players that can be used as information to create a greater picture of the player and to act as evidence if a player was to submit a Ban Appeal.
Quality
A standard for any reports was produced for the server administration and can be found here.
If you are making the decision to ban someone, you are responsible to provide the following.
- Clear and complete documentation
- Who
- What
- Where
- When
- Screenshots, Video, Logs
- If this is not possible, then the What & Where need to be well detailed as the pictures can't speak words for you
Barebones ban reports do nothing but create overhead as we have to hopefully chase you down if it's ever appealed and spend wasted time trying to get a clear picture of something you probably don't remember well. Document fully and with intent when it's fresh in the mind.
Ultimately we'll just end up overturning a high number of the bans where clear documentation isn't provided. If we end up overturning a bunch of bans from an admin because they can't or won't document, then in the interest of not wasting that time, they'd stop being an admin.
It's an important sub-task and one that is of great benefit to the community as the MP's can't be everywhere always. We used to have forced admin shifts for Officers and MPs, I would hate to go back to that...
Please don't make us restrict admin, and please don't make us start dumping paperwork on folks because they couldn't do the paperwork side of admin.
What everyone does is fully appreciated, we just want to stress that doing half of something means more work later.
Filing the Report
Once a player has been banned or if a player has been causing trouble on a server but doesn’t warrant a ban then you will need to file the correct type of report:
- Ban Report – A ban report is used for when a player has been permanently banned from our servers. https://7cav.us/forums/banned.100/
- Player Hotlist Report – This is used for all other reports including warnings, kicks and temporary bans. https://7cav.us/forums/player-hot-list.102/
Ban Reports
When filing a Ban Report use the Ban Report Tool. Within the report you need to include the following requirements:
- Clear and Complete documentation
- Who – Name of Player
- What – What’s the offence?
- When – When did it happen?
- Where – What server did it occur on?
- Screenshots, Videos and Logs
- Try and include as much evidence as possible to back up your report. This will help the Generals greatly if the player was to submit a Ban Appeal. If submitting Chat Logs, then highlight anything significant.
When using the Ban Report Tool initially it’s easier to provide basic information then once the report has been submitted then go into the thread and include all the evidence regarding the ban as necessary.
Reports need to explain to the MP department, S6 IMO and General Staff why you banned the player under the given circumstances. Leadership should not have to ask for further information.
Player Hotlist Reports
Just like a Ban Report you need to include as much evidence to back up your report. However, a Hotlist Report doesn’t have a report tool. Instead, you will need to use the format supplied within the Player Hotlist Forum.
Reasons to submit a Player Hotlist Report can include but not limited to:
- You feel that this player should be banned but there is not enough proof for it.
- The player does not follow our rules after being officially warned several times and obviously has no interest in doing so.
- Player used specific bad language which does not warrant a warning (abbreviations,...).
Commenting on Hotlist reports is allowed and welcome if you have or already had an experience with this player/case.
Every bit of information is beneficial for the player/case in question. Additional proof like screenshots/videos/etc is welcome.
The reason we write Hotlist reports is to form a case on which the MP department can base a permanent ban. Therefore, only comments contributing to this purpose are allowed.
Commenting on Reports
Additional comments on reports for the sole use of adding evidence shall be allowed. However, comments deemed unnecessary or unhelpful to a conversation will be removed. The evidence added needs to be different and fit to reinforce the misbehaviour of the banned player in case the ban is appealed. Witnesses of the infraction leading to the ban are exempted since the banning admin is responsible for providing the evidence.
As the author of a ban report you are allowed to comment if:
- You can provide evidence after writing the ban report (for hacking/scripting this is a requirement)
- You are tagged by a member of the General Staff, IMO, S6 or the Military Police (leadership & curators) asking for details
Instead of saving you player complaints until a Ban is posted. Get in the habit of writing Notes on the offending players Battlemetric’s profile. If you write notes as the instances happen it provides a timeline of instances and a record of what the player has been doing.
Post Report Submission Actions
Once a Report has been submitted the Senior Military Police (Operations), or a delegated member (Curators) of the MP Department, will review the report and if deemed necessary will ask for further information or clarity on the evidence provided. This is to ensure that all Reports are of a high quality to aid other Admins and General Staff.
Upon the review being completed, the reviewer will apply a Player Flag within the players Battlemetrics Profile. This will highlight any players that have caused issues on our servers. They will also create an Admin Note within the 7th Cavalry Gaming Organisation where they will include a link to the Ban Report or Player Hotlist Report. Again, this is to aid any Admin in providing information about a troublesome player.
To successfully take administrative action means you need to file a report on the administrative actions you have taken to ensure that any and all ban appeals can be dealt with in a timely manner and with appropriate documentation. It is the administrator's responsibility to write this report in the correct forum section. This goes for any and all administrative personnel for any and all bans.
Forum Sections
| Description | Link |
| Player Hot List | https://7cav.us/forums/player-hot-list.102/ |
| Player Hot List Format | https://7cav.us/threads/player-hot-list-posting-format.2225/ |
| Ban List | https://7cav.us/forums/banned.100/ |
| Example Ban Report | https://7cav.us/threads/ban-report-example-plus-explanations-do-not-copy-paste.13562/ |
Teamspeak 3 Administration
Administrating the Teamspeak is pretty straight forward when it comes to trouble makers. There are a few rules to follow:
- Unless the issue falls under the 2 possible reasons for an instant ban (obviously no admin TK on TS3 possible), a user must be kicked for an infraction before he is banned from the server.
- Before kicking users off for language, take them into another channel and explain that if their language does not stop, they will be removed from our server. Never do this in public.
- If a Cav member is breaking the rules, get an MP or if an MP is not available get an Officer/Senior NCO from this member’s AO/CoC to handle it. Officers/Senior NCO’s are only allowed to handle members from their own AO/CoC
Criteria for Kick or Ban
Users may be kicked or banned for:
- Repeated language issues, even after being warned
- Trolling (jumping channels or being very disruptive)
- Names that break our language policy
- Microphone spam (including music, soundboard or voice modifiers)
Note to music: Music may be allowed in public operations by 7thCav members involved for the sole purpose of “setting the mood”.
Bans on our Teamspeak 3 server are always permanent.
Example
Infraction -> warn -> infraction -> kick -> user returns, infraction -> warn -> infraction -> second kick or permanent ban -> if kick…
When banning someone off Teamspeak a ban report must be filed. To find the needed user information, go to “permissions” > “List all clients” then type in the user name. You will then have the name, UID and IP of the user you banned for your report.
Failure to Follow SOP
Failure to follow the Server Administration Procedure, which includes the submission of reports, can result in disciplinary action which could include (but not limited to) removal of administration rights until the Server Administration Course (SAC) has been retaken.