PGC Admin Manual

Introduction

Congratulations on becoming an admin! We are happy to have you on board, your decision to serve as an admin means a lot to the PGC. Before reading this manual, we ask that you understand one thing: Do not feel pressure to constantly be on the server. We do not want you to think that there is some minimum time that you must play on the server in order to retain your place as admin. We do not want admining to become a chore. Instead, enjoy yourself. Your most important responsibility is to have fun and make sure others on the server are having fun. Keeping our community entertained and happy is our primary concern.

Setup

Enabling the Console

Follow the provided steps to enable the console

1. Exit Team Fortress 2, if it is running
2. Find Team Fortress 2 in your Steam games library list and right-click it
3. Select "Properties" from the menu
4. Within the window that pops up, click the "Set Launch Options" button
5. In the editable field that appears, insert -console
6. Click "OK" to save the launch options.
7. Close the Team Fortress 2 Properties window

Note: The console window will appear every time you load the game. To hide the console, simply use the tilde key (~) usually located above the tab key. You can show the console again by pressing tilde again.

Enabling the Admin Menu

Admins can type /admin into chat to bring up the admin menu. However, it is easier to simply bind a key to the admin menu command instead. To do this, first enable the console as described in the previous section. Second, type bind = "say /admin" into the console. Close the console window. Now when you press the equals key on your keyboard, the admin menu will display. You do not need to repeat this every time the game loads. Your bind settings are automatically saved. Note that you can use other keys as well by simply replacing "=" with another key. You can also use the command unbind = to remove the bind.

Admining

Overview

A good admin is one who no one notices until he's needed. A trigger-happy admin can ruin a community. For the most part, let the server operate normally. Remember that having options doesn't mean you should use them. The admin menu affords you quite a lot of power. Please, use it only when necessary. The next few sections will be a general guide for appropriate uses of your special privileges.

Dealing with spam

Mic spam and chat spam can be dealt with using only the Audio and Chat commands section of the admin menu. We define spam to be advertising, playing songs, text repeated more than five times, and generally anything else that annoys the majority of our players. Please do not mute or gag someone solely on a whim - ensure that your target really is being offensive to a large portion of players on the server before you take any action. There may be a case where players actually enjoy the spam (like a good song). Once you are sure your target needs to be silenced in some way, warn him of possible action. If the spam continues, you may mute, gag, or silence the offender at your discretion. Particularly offensive players can be dealt with more harshly (see Dealing with jerks). A simple description of audio and chat commands follows.

• Mute = disable microphone voice for the player
• Gag = disable chat abilities for the player
• Silence = disable microphone voice and chat abilities for the player

Dealing with griefers

Griefing is when a player takes advantage of game functionality in a way that inhibits other players from enjoying the game as intended. For example, always standing next to cloaked spies on your own team is a form of griefing. Another form of griefing is obtaining the intelligence in a CTF game and refusing to capture it. Occasionally griefing is playful and no one is becomes annoyed. However, if a griefer is asked to stop, he must. If he does not stop griefing, slay the player. If he continues, kick him. If he rejoins and continues still, permanently ban the player.

Dealing with spawn campers

Spawn camping is allowed on our servers unless asked to stop by any player (regardless of team). Currently this rule is only in effect on our 2Fort server. Spawn camping is allowed on all our other servers (since it's fairly impossible to spawn camp on them anyway). A player is spawn camping if he ignores traditional round objectives and instead lingers near an enemy spawn point with the intent to quickly dispose of newly-spawned opponents. If a spawn camper has been asked to stop and does not comply, slay him. If he continues after he respawns, kick him. If he rejoins and continues to spawn camp, permanently ban the player. All of these commands can be accessed via the Player Commands section of the admin menu.

Dealing with inappropriate sprays

Pornographic or obscene sprays are not allowed on any of our servers. We define pornographic sprays to mean any spray containing any of the following exposed body parts: vagina, penis, anus, and female nipples. Our definition of obscene sprays is any spray which is developed to invoke disgust from its viewers. If you become aware of either type of spray, you will need to remove it. To do this, find the offending spray and face it. You can also do this via spectator mode if finding the spray while in-game is difficult. Once you have located the spray, you can remove it using the Server Commands section of the admin menu. Once you have removed it, you will be presented with additional options to punish the offending player. On a first offense, warn and slap the player for 5 damage. On a second offense, kick the player. On a third offense, permanently ban the player. Please use the spray removal commands with care. Often innocent players will attempt to cover an offending spray with their own spray. Be sure to remove all sprays from other players that may be on top of the offending spray before punishing the offender. If you need to verify the owner of a spray, you can do so using the "Admin spray" option, which allows you to spray the spray of other players.

Dealing with cheaters

Cheating will not be tolerated in any form on any of our servers. All cheaters are to be instantly permanently banned without warning. Do not take action against a suspected cheater if you are not sure he is cheating. Make sure to check a cheater for any equipped items that may account for altered gameplay. Some types of cheating, such as using an aimbot, require some skill to detect. If you believe someone is cheating but are not sure, contact Phoenix_1 or Stuxnet. The following is a list of common cheating methods and instructions on how to deal with each.

Invalid names

An invalid name is one that is invisible. Offending players can be targeted normally with the admin menu and should be permanently banned immediately. Although they may not be disrupting gameplay, such self-naming requires the help of game hacks. Additionally, in our servers' recorded histories, every player with a blank name has always activated more cheats eventually.

Name Stealing

Sometimes cheaters activate name-stealers to avoid being banned by an admin. Name-stealers automatically change a player's name to the name of another player currently on the server (and add some invisible characters to avoid actual name duplication), making it difficult to identify the real offender. Our server has a custom autobanner for namestealers, but it is likely that new name stealers will emerge at some time. If you find a name-stealer and he is not autobanned, follow these instructions.

1. Ask people on the server to not change their names (or else they could become a casualty from your next action).
2. Use the "Ban Name Changer" option from the Player Commands menu. Note that this command takes no additional information and simply bans the player who last changed his name.
3. Wait for additional name changes to occur. If they have stopped, you have been successful. If not, there may be more than one name stealing cheater on the server, or you may have accidentally banned someone innocent.
4. Deal with remaining name-stealers as above. If you accidentally banned someone else, you may unban the last person banned using the "Unban Name Changer" option. Add the person as a friend on steam, apologize, and invite them back.

Crit Hacking

Crit hacking allows a cheater to be granted "crits" (critical hits) permanently. It is relatively easy to spot, but you must ensure that the player's loadout is not the source of his crits before taking action. If you suspect crithacking after you have investigated the player's loadout, spectate the suspect in 3rd person view. If the player has permanent crits, ban him permanently.

Aimbotting

Aimbotting allows a cheater to automatically headshot his victims. It is very hard to detect, as many suspects are merely very skilled players. If you suspect someone is aimbotting, make absolutely sure through spectating at length. If you are unsure, contact Phoenix_1 or Stuxnet for help. If you are sure, permanently ban the player.

Bonebotting

Bonebotting is different from aimbotting in that the cheater will autoaim for any vital part of his victims (bones). The cheater will appear to be getting critical hits (although they won't register as such) from extreme ranges with seemingly insufficient weaponry. Deal with suspects as described in the aimbotting section.

Autotriggering

Autotriggering automatically fires the current weapon of a cheater at opportune moments. It is most commonly used when a cheater is playing as Spy. Deal with suspects as described in the aimbotting section.

Speedhacking

Speedhacking allows a player to move faster than normal. It is easy to detect if you are familiar with the regular speed limits for each class, and aware of any items that alter speed. If you suspect someone is speedhacking, check his loadout to make sure (if necessary). If you are unsure, contact Phoenix_1 or Stuxnet for help. If you are sure, permanently ban the player.

Wallhacking

Wallhacking allows a cheater to shoot and/or see through walls. The ability to shoot through walls is easy to spot, but sight through walls is not. Be absolutely sure a suspect is shooting or seeing through walls before taking action. If you are unsure, contact Phoenix_1 or Stuxnet for help. If you are sure, permanently ban the player.

Laghacking

Lag hacking is a method of lagging the server or even crashing it using a variety of known SRCDS denial of service methods or command spam. Typically offenders use these methods when they have been spotted by an admin. If you know who is responsible (often they admit it) ban the player permanently. In either case, contact Phoenix_1 or Stuxnet immediately as these attacks can be quite serious.

Taunt Glitching

There is an exploit a player can use known as "taunt glitching" that allows a person to remain in the High Five taunt's waiting state (player's hand raised, waiting for a high five). The player can move and shoot normally, but his character will be unanimated, making it impossible to tell where he is aiming or his movement direction. Since this could affect gameplay, we do not allow it. However, since it is a more minor offense, we do not ban immediately. If you catch a player using this exploit, warn him and slap him for 5 damage first. If he continues, slay him. If he continues still, kick or ban him at your discretion. Also, be aware that sometimes this is merely a glitch and not the player's fault.

Dealing with jerks

Occasionally a player will engage in wholly unethical behavior. Racial slurs, sexist comments, excessive profanity, and other types of offensive communication are not allowed on the server. However, before taking action against such players, ensure that the player has real malicious intent, and is not simply "trolling" or joking. These cases are rare, and should you feel a need to take harsh action against an offender (such as a kick or ban), please inform Phoenix_1 of the incident afterward.

Helping out

We value your input as a player, an admin, and someone familiar with the community. If you have any suggestions for plugins, configuration changes, etc. please let Phoenix_1 know. There are no stupid suggestions. Well, there are, but he won't tell you if they are.

Filling the Servers

Most of our servers are self-filling, meaning that they're popular enough that they become full of players by themselves in a short period of time. However, newer servers generally don't share this popularity. If you log onto the game and find that one of our servers is empty or only has a few players on, please take a few minutes to join and help fill it up. Such efforts are not required, but are most appreciated. It was work like this that got PGC off the ground.

Voting and New Admins

Occasionally Phoenix_1 will send out emails notifying you of new voting measures. Each admin gets one vote for every issue. As an admin you have access to the admin voting page where all admins can cast their ballots. Your input is valuable, and your adminship gives you a say in the operations of our servers. If you wish to nominate a player for adminship, or have an issue you feel should be brought to all the admins, inform Phoenix_1 and he will put it on the agenda for the next admin email and/or vote.

Perks

Reserved Slot Access

Admins have the ability to join the server even when it is full. In order to do this, you must have the console enabled. Once you have the console enabled, you can join the server of your choice by entering connect phoenixteam.net:port into the console, where port is the port of the server you want to join. For example, to connect to the 2Fort server enter connect phoenixteam.net:27015 into the console.

Bonus Round Immunity

Admins become invulnerable in between game rounds. You will not take damage from normal players or players with reserved slots during that time. However, admins with a higher or equal immunity level than you may still harm you. If you would like to have this immunity removed, contact Phoenix_1.

FAQ

Can admins participate in contests?

No. We want to avoid the possibility that a contest could be "rigged".

Under what circumstances can an admin change the server map?

Only with the approval of Phoenix_1 or Stuxnet. The reason for this is based in the intricacies of Valve's QuickPlay feature, as well as server statistics that we record.

What should I do if I accidentally ban someone?

You can remove the ban if you know the Steam ID of the person banned. Use the command /unban <steamid>. Add the person as a friend on steam, apologize, and invite them back. You can also remove the ban by visiting the ban list site after you sign in through steam. The ban list will automatically give you permissions to unban any banned player once you are logged in.