FurToonia HelpStaff Guidelines

In general, common sense is the best rule to follow. Don't lie, either jokingly or purposely, it'll get you in trouble. Don't ask for anything in return from those you help. Be nice.

Here's a basic idea of what the Wizards would like from the HelpStaff:

1. If you are the only staffer online, you're on duty.
2. You should never allow personal bias to interfere with helping someone. Yes, this includes assisting the 'newbies from hell'.. :) If you simply can't help someone, then call on a Wizard, but don't hand them over to the Wizzes without trying your best first. Talk with the other HS'ers, too, using MufChat (mm [message]) if possible. The key word in HelpStaff is Help, so help everyone you can. Always be courteous, smiling and friendly. :)
3. If you don't know MUF, you should attempt to stay informed of the current MUF's being written. That's not to say you have to understand MUF, just that you know what's out there. If nothing more than checking the 'plib' frequently for new programs. This applies to MPI as well; again knowing it fully is not a must, but do become familiar with its docs, so you can help others find it.
4. Try not to become emotionally involved with those you help, particularly the newbies, because they'll tend to cling onto you, taking your time from duties and never learning how to do for themselves. This is not to say you can't, but in the best interest of professionalism, it's discouraged.
5. Be greeters to the guests. Have them on on your watchfor list, there's six guest characters that can connect (Guest1, Guest2 etc.), so look for them. If you receive a demand from a guest to be let out and a wiz is online, ask the wiz to check the guest first. In this case, letting the guest wait is okay, it's in best interest of muck security.
6. Don't depend on your personal areas of expertise, try to be a generalist as well. Learn from others _helpstuffs and share what you learned, too.
7. If you learn something from helping someone, make note of the problem and the result, in case another has the same question come up.
8. Know a basic idea of where living areas are, most do already and the guides to homes are excellent. Try not to pull newcomers into just your area, but ask where and what kind of area they're looking for.
9. Always try to point them in the direction of the answers, don't just give the answers to them. Most commands have #help screens, or some way of viewing the instructions, such as '@view' and '@list' for programs.
10. When you get a question, respond immediately either with the documentation help or saying that you're looking for the answer. If you're unsure of the answer, ask your fellow HS members, if someone else knows the answer, give them credit when you tell the person. If there are no docs, then help run them through it, till they catch on, remembering not to lose patience with them.
11. Try to remember that your behaviour reflects back to the MUCK, so try to keep things clean when in public, which includes @shouts and other public situations.
12. Above all, be nice and stay friendly. Support the Wizards, the HelpStaffers and Muffers by working with them to make FurToonia the best MUCK on the Internet.

*Note: If at any time you'll be away from FurToonia for longer than 90 days, please inform Tabyathe. Any HelpStaffer over 95 days idle without having contacted Tabyathe, prior to the absence, will be removed from HelpStaff.

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