When you become an Alamak Operator, you join the Alamak community and agree to abide by and support the Chat Rules.

Make sure you are fair and make impartial decisions and support free exchange of ideas within the rules. Harassment, foul language, public vulgarity, illegal subject matter, insults and bigotry should never be tolerated.

Don't let users bully you! Chat policies are clearly stated and every user should be familiar with them. Don't argue with people FLOODING, using FOUL LANGUAGE, or OFFENSIVE NICKNAMES. /kick them with an explanation.

If the offence seems minor or an isolated case, a warning may be more appropriate than a /kick. All users are entitled to their own opinions and enjoyment of the chat. Before punishing a chatter, use sound judgment and try not to let your personal feelings interfere with your decisions.

Please remember, we are a friendly chat. Sometimes a few friendly words will turn a potentially abusive chatter into a welcome addition to the Alamak community. There is no substitute for common sense.

If a user is just being antagonistic, you should /kick them off the chat. Nobody wants this sort of hostility on the chat as it makes everyone's experience here unpleasant.

However, make sure you don't kick someone for presenting a different point of view. Alamak fully supports freedom of speech as long as it is constructive and presented without hostility.

If in doubt, you can check with other Operators to get a second opinion but it is usually best to make your own decisions. You can provide an explanation when you kick or ban a user to reduce the questions by other users about your actions. Don't allow yourself to get sucked into an argument about free speech and so on.

Remember, personal conflicts should not be resolved by the use of /kick or /ban. Use of these commands should be restricted to cases of harassment or users who refuse to cooperate and stop behavior that is offensive to the majority of users.

The /ban command should only be used as a very last resort. A ban prevents all users who connect from the banned user's IP address from logging into the chat.

The /ban command may be used with either nick or address. When the ban command is used with a nickname, the server determines the address, places the ban, and kicks the user off the chat. For a nick ban, the user must actually be on the chat.

An address ban bans the address, but does not kick the user off the chat. You will need to use a /kick command at the same time.

Since some users have several accounts, address bans are most effective if you use less than the full address. A good rule of thumb is, if it is an IP address like 134.34.15.19, remove everything after the last period (including the period). So an address ban like "/ban 134.34.15" should work best.

Operators are not required to kick or ban anyone since the main point of Alamak is to have fun. But Operators who do not want to police the chat should not defend their friends who are not following chat policies. If you do have an argument with an Operator who is fairly enforcing chat policies, you may be suspended on recommendation by the Operator Committee.

Disagreements between Operators should be resolved by private messages or in a private room with other Operators present to moderate. Public disputes between Ops may result in both Ops being suspended for 1 week. If you can not resolve your problem, please report it using the /com or /abuse commands.

Private rooms are private until you start summoning unknown people into the room. You MAY then be subjected to the rules and policies of public rooms. You forfeit any right to privacy as soon as you summon an unknown person into the room. If they complain about, record, or forward any of the chat in that room then you as the maintainer of the private room and owner of the /lock are legally responsible and may lose your Ops privileges.

What does this mean? This means if you are carrying out any kind of illegal activity or promoting illegal activity in a private room and you summon someone in, expect to lose your Ops privileges. Illegal activities are not allowed anywhere on the chat. This includes promotion of substances that the law says are illegal for anyone in the room to consume. It also includes kiddie porn or talking dirty to someone underage.

The Operator Committee is composed of volunteers selected by reputation. They read the initial complaint mail, determine the details and then, if needed, they recommend an address be put on the permanent ban list or warn the overzealous Operators at fault.

If a warning does not satisfactorily curb an overzealous Operator, the committee can /deop the offending Operator in the server or recommend a full account suspension by the office.

Remember, make sure you are fair, make impartial decisions and support the free exchange of ideas, within the rules. Harassment, foul language, public vulgarity, illegal subject matter, insults, and bigotry should not be tolerated.