How to create moderation policies and rules in MU Online

An MU Online server without a moderation policy is a time bomb. Sooner or later the first controversial case appears — a dupe, a harsh insult in global chat, a GM who gave an item to a friend — and without written rules you decide on impulse, breed resentment, and lose players. This tutorial shows how to turn moderation into a process: clear rules, proportional punishment tiers, mandatory evidence, and a flow that any staff member can follow without making things up. The goal is not to be tough, it is to be predictable — a player who knows exactly what happens if they cheat trusts the server more than a player who depends on the mood of whichever GM is on duty.

Prerequisites

Before writing any rule, have on hand:

• Administrative access to the database (SQL Server via SSMS or MySQL, depending on the emulator) to apply blocks and check evidence.
• Access to the GameServer logs and, if it exists, the ConnectServer — that is where the records of connections, commands, and transactions live.
• A dedicated GM account per moderator (never shared), with the minimum access level needed. If you have not set this up yet, see how the whole process fits into how to create an MU Online server.
• An official communication channel (site, Discord, or forum) where the rules stay published and versioned.
• A minimum of organization: a spreadsheet or table of bans where each punishment is recorded.

Why written policy matters more than "common sense"

Common sense does not scale. While the server is you and two friends, you can decide everything in conversation. When it reaches 200 players online and three GMs, each with their own idea of justice, "common sense" becomes three different senses and the player notices. Written rules solve four problems at once:

1. Consistency — the same offense gets the same punishment regardless of who is judging.
2. Defensibility — when a banned player complains in a public group, you point to the rule and the evidence, not an opinion.
3. Delegation — new GMs apply the policy without needing to consult you on every case.
4. Trust — the community knows the boundaries and plays at ease within them.

Structuring the rules document

A good rulebook is short, direct, and organized by theme. Avoid legalese. Structure it like this:

1. Introduction — a sentence stating that by playing the user accepts the rules.
2. Chat conduct — what is allowed and forbidden in public, guild, and private channels.
3. Cheating and third-party programs — bots, hacks, dupes, bug abuse.
4. Trade and economy — selling items for real money (RMT), scams, accounts.
5. Accounts and security — sharing, theft, responsibility for the password.
6. Staff conduct — what GMs can and cannot do (this conveys enormous credibility).
7. Punishments — the proportionality table.
8. Appeals — how a player requests a review of a punishment.

Defining infraction tiers

Not every infraction deserves a permanent ban. Classify by severity and repeat offense. The table below is an EXAMPLE of a progressive scale — adjust the durations to your server's culture:

The key principle is proportionality: the punishment grows with severity and with repeat offense. Cheating that affects everyone's economy (dupe, hack) jumps straight to the top because the damage is collective and often irreversible.

Applying punishments in practice

Silence (mute/silence chat)

For chat infractions, silence is the right tool — the player keeps playing, but no longer pollutes the channels. On most distributions there is an in-game command:

/mute NomeDoPersonagem 60      ; silences for 60 minutes (varies by emulator)
/disconnect NomeDoPersonagem   ; drops the connection

Block/ban via the database

When the player has already left or the case is serious, apply the block directly on the account. In classic Season 6, the flag lives in the MEMB_INFO table:

USE MuOnline;

-- Block the account (EXAMPLE Season 6 — column varies by emulator)
UPDATE MEMB_INFO
SET bloc_code = 1
WHERE memb___id = 'contaDoInfrator';

-- Unblock
UPDATE MEMB_INFO
SET bloc_code = 0
WHERE memb___id = 'contaDoInfrator';

-- Check blocked accounts
SELECT memb___id, memb_name, bloc_code
FROM MEMB_INFO
WHERE bloc_code <> 0;

Recording every punishment

Never trust your memory. Create a moderation log table and record every action:

CREATE TABLE ModLog (
    LogID       INT IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY,
    GMConta     VARCHAR(15),
    AlvoConta   VARCHAR(15),
    Infracao    VARCHAR(120),
    Punicao     VARCHAR(60),
    Evidencia   VARCHAR(300),
    DataHora    DATETIME DEFAULT GETDATE()
);

INSERT INTO ModLog (GMConta, AlvoConta, Infracao, Punicao, Evidencia)
VALUES ('gm_gabriel', 'player123', 'Speedhack in Kalima', 'Permanent ban',
        'GameServer log 22:14 + screenshot attached in Discord #evidencias');

Conduct rules for the staff itself

The biggest destroyer of a private server's credibility is a corrupt GM. Put the staff rules in the same public document, so the community can hold them accountable. EXAMPLES of clauses that work:

• A GM does not play with a personal character receiving items from the role. The game account is separate from the GM account.
• A GM does not take part in competitive events (Castle Siege, tournaments) with an administrative advantage.
• Every item given to a player (event prize) is recorded in the log and announced.
• No GM decides a controversial permanent ban alone — it needs a second pair of eyes.
• A GM account password is individual and never shared.

Report handling flow

Standardize the path from a report to a decision. A typical flow:

1. Intake — the player opens a ticket on Discord/site with a screenshot and time.
2. Triage — a GM checks whether there is minimum evidence. Without evidence, they request more.
3. Investigation — cross-referencing with GameServer logs and SQL queries.
4. Decision — apply the punishment from the table according to tier and repeat offense.
5. Recording — save it in ModLog and reply to the ticket.
6. Appeal — the punished player can contest once, reviewed by another GM.

Communicating the rules to the community

A rule nobody read does not exist. Distribute the rulebook in at least three places: a pinned page on the site, a pinned channel on Discord, and a welcome message when creating an account. A periodic autopost reminding people to "type /regras or visit the site" keeps the information alive. And whenever there is a controversial, public case, reference the rule — that educates the whole base at once.

Common errors and fixes

Release checklist

• Rulebook written with all sections (chat, cheating, trade, accounts, staff, punishments, appeals)
• Infraction tier table defined and proportional
• Staff conduct rules published alongside the general rules
• ModLog table created in the database to record punishments
• Individual GM accounts configured, with no password sharing
• Database backup tested before applying blocks in production
• Report flow documented and ticket channel open
• Rulebook published on the site, pinned on Discord and at account creation
• Version and update date visible in the document
• Appeal process defined (who reviews and within how long)

Well-done moderation is almost invisible: the community plays at ease because it knows the boundaries, the staff decides quickly because it has a process, and you sleep without fearing the next controversial case. Start simple, record everything, and refine the rulebook as real cases appear.

Frequently asked questions