This proposal has the primary goal of turning staffchat from a staff-exclusive space into one accessible by non-staff for the facilitation and encouragement of communication between the two groups. Previous attempts at such spaces have only had limited success (although success that should be acknowledged as such nonetheless). I have spent a while attempting to refine this proposal such that it addresses as many concerns as reasonably possible and creates the best possible form of public staffchat that can be created. Certain aspects of the proposal may be found to be less than optimal at a later date, and may require readjustment after they are put into practice.
1. The SCP Official Staff [Discord] Server (otherwise known as "staffchat" in this proposal) will be opened for public joining. The following changes to the structure of the server will be made:
- The channel currently named #sensitive-staff-discussion will be renamed to #os-staff-discussion.
- The channel currently named #staff-discussion will be renamed to #sensitive-staff discussion.
- The channel currently named #staff-questions will be renamed to #staff-questions-archive and archived.
- Non-staff users will be permitted to see (but not speak in) the new #public-staff-discussion and #staff-questions channels.
- A new channel will be created in the "User Questions" category of the server titled #observer-chat. Non-staff users will be permitted to speak in #observer-chat for the purposes of discussion and polite debate of policy and events in the visible staff channels.
Non-staff users will not have access to view or speak in the "Site√2" category of the server, in which casual channels are housed. A bot will be set up to automatically assign users the "Observer" role when they join the server, which will grant the permissions listed above for observers. Retired staff currently in the server may be granted the role upon request, but are not required to have it. Testing should be performed prior to the opening of the server to ensure all roles act as intended, including roles that have seemingly no relevance, such as pronoun roles, in order to prevent any security breaches.
2. Roles titled "DM Me!", "Ask to DM", and "Do Not DM" will be created for the purpose of staff specifying their availability for direct messages from users. Staff will have to request these roles from an admin.
3. Non-staff observers in staffchat will be subject to the following rules, and they will be the first thing users see upon joining the server:
All staff will participate in enforcing these rules, while moderators and administrators will possess the permissions to kick and ban users. Users banned from the SCP Foundation Official [Discord] Server will also be banned from staffchat.
4. A link to staffchat will be posted in the #announcements channel of the SCP Foundation Official [Discord] Server. Unofficial SCP-adjacent Discord servers will be allowed to post the link in their server in whatever capacity is appropriate as well. The link will also be added to the front page of 05Command.
5. Staff should exercise extreme caution with posting potentially sensitive materials in publicly visible channels. If there is any doubt about the sensitivity of a specific topic, it must go in the relevant non-public "sensitive" channel. Topics that should always go in sensitive channels include discussions regarding disciplinary proceedings and/or specific users, potential wiki security breaches, any and all Wikidot bugs, staff initiatives that are not ready to be publicly announced, and other topics that cannot be exposed to public viewership. Additionally, a new rule will be added to those that staff are expected to adhere to in #rules-channel:
Use the sensitive channels (#sensitive-staff-discussion and #admin-sensitive) appropriately. Inappropriate use of sensitive channels, such as to complain about another user, should be called out or reported. Topics agreed to be nonsensitive should be moved to the appropriate channel. Any and all Wikidot bugs should be reported and discussed in sensitive channels. They are only to be made public information if it is deemed safe to do so.
6. The purpose of the Recap Team will change from creating a full overview of goings-on in staffchat to a much more general keeping of records, minutes, and basic summaries of discussions in public channels with links to the relevant Discord messages for further reading. Discussions that take place in sensitive channels but are deemed suitable for recapping will be fully recapped.
Operational Staff and above are permitted to vote on this proposal. Voting will run for a week. Please vote YES or NO on this proposal being approved and fully implemented.
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