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How to Speak to Members

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General Tone Guidelines

• Always use polite language, even if a member is upset or frustrated.
• Avoid slang, sarcasm, or jokes that could be misinterpreted.
• Keep responses concise but informative. Long walls of text can overwhelm members.
• Use ?anonreply <text> or ?ar <text> if you need to send a reply anonymously while keeping your role visible rather than your name.

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Professionalism

• Identify yourself clearly when sending a non-anonymous reply using ?realreply <text> or ?rr <text>.
• Avoid personal opinions unless directly relevant to the member’s issue.
• Stay neutral when handling disputes or reports from members.
• Maintain confidentiality: do not disclose staff discussions within a thread.

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Responding Efficiently

• Use pre-made replies or snippets with ?snippets to maintain consistency and save time.
• Confirm receipt of a member’s message before providing a detailed answer if it will take time.
• Use ?reply <text> or ?r <text> to respond directly and ?edit <number> <new text> to fix any mistakes in your previous replies.
• Cancel unnecessary alerts using ?alert cancel if you’ve already responded and no further pings are needed.

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Handling “Difficult” Members

• Stay calm and professional, even if a member is hostile.
• Avoid escalating conflicts; focus on clarifying rules and providing solutions.
• If necessary, use moderation commands such as ?block <userID> or ?block <userID> <time> to restrict disruptive behaviour.
• Document interactions using ?note <text> to maintain a clear record for other staff.

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Best Practices (as always)

• Always double-check your replies for clarity and tone before sending.
• Keep a consistent approach across threads to ensure members know what to expect.
• Reference past interactions with ?logs <userID> to provide context when responding.
• Use ?role to display the correct staff role in replies, so members can easily identify the sender’s authority level.