Player Moderator

Player Moderators (colloquially pmods or just mods) are normal RuneScape players chosen specifically by Jagex staff to help during their normal play by monitoring the game for rulebreakers and taking appropriate action when rulebreakers are found, keeping the game enjoyable. They were added to the game on 14 June 2004.

Abilities


A Player Moderator has two ways of dealing with rulebreakers. The first is the Report Abuse option. There is a group of Jagex staff members, dedicated to checking abuse reports sent in by Player Moderators. It is also done in a separate way. They can administer a 48-hour temporary mute with their report. A muted player may still use the Quick Chat feature, but other players will not see his or her normal text. If a player is being particularly defiant towards the rules, it may be that a mute is required so that he or she can no longer talk, disrupting his attempts to scam, advertise websites, or bypass the filter. Once again, mutes are quickly checked by Jagex Staff to ensure that they are correct, and incorrect mutes will be promptly lifted. If a Moderator constantly or regularly mutes without proper reason, his or her moderator status may be removed.

Player Moderators can be recognised by the silver crown - visible next to their name when they speak in game. The messages written by a Player Moderator can be seen even by players who have turned their public chat off. Private messages sent by a Player Moderator are also visible when private chat is turned off, though player moderators are unable to send subsequent messages or see that the player is online via his/her friends' menu. Any claims by a player that he/she is a Player Moderator should be reported using the report abuse menu, unless there is a silver crown visible next to the player's name. However on the forums there is no visible differentiation between Player Moderators and regular players.

How Player Moderators are chosen
Player Moderators are chosen specifically by Jagex staff based on their behaviour and maturity in RuneScape or on the forums, and the accuracy, quality and quantity of abuse reports. They must also have a secure account. Players with black marks may become Player Moderators if Jagex feels that they have learned their lesson. Jagex will contact the player via the Message Centre system to inform him or her that he/she has been selected to become a Player Moderator, and allow the player to accept or decline the position. Players selected to be Moderators will never be notified in-game, on the forums, or by e-mail. Though you do not have to play a certain amount of time, most moderators have played 1 year or more before being modded. It is mentioned that being on the forums helps being noticed.

Misconceptions
There are many misconceptions regarding Player Moderators and their abilities. The truth is:

Other abilities
Player Moderators have access to an extra forum on which they can discuss moderator issues with others. They also have access to the Player Moderator Centre, linked to from within the Moderators article in the Knowledge Base. However, Jagex states that content discussed within both of these areas is strictly confidential, and any Player Moderator who reveals content within these areas will lose their moderator privileges. This would include powers and abilities player mods might have that Jagex has not told the public, or lists of Player Moderators.

"Bot busting"
Before the 2007 updates made macroing unprofitable, macro users were very common. There would be a "bot busting" session once or twice a day, during which Jagex Moderators checked on places where bots were commonly located. Player Moderators regularly attended, although normal players were welcome to assist in the hunts as well. Since recent updates have imposed restrictions such as the trade limit, real-world trading has increased in difficulty; as such, "bot busting" sessions have been discontinued.

With the rumours spreading of the so called "MechScape", people outside of the RuneScape community have created phishing sites that are adherent to a players' safety. Such phishing attempts have encouraged the Player Moderator community to continue its hunts for bots.

How you can help
Bots are still very much a problem. They roam all over RuneScape, deceiving innocent players and stealing account information. If you are interested in helping with the fight against bots, there are a few steps you should follow:


 * 1) Bots often lurk in odd worlds and locations.  You might find spam bots just outside of Lumbridge, at Bounty Hunter, or in the middle of the Grand Exchange.  Even places such as the flax fields south of Seers' Village can become habitats for these evil creatures.
 * 2) Once you have discovered a bot, don't get too excited: the most important thing is to stay calm.  New hunters often make the mistake of trying to rush to get the bot removed from the game.  Taking it slow and not calling for a moderator in desperation is the first and second most important step.
 * 3) Now for the most important step: report the bot under rule 7, "Macroing".  Once you have reported the bot, you can be absolutely positive that the bot will be banned.
 * 4) So you've reported the bot to Jagex and possibly to a few Player Moderators.  Now what—or, more appropriately, what not?  Don't start yelling at the bot to be quiet: it's not going to hear you, and you don't want the bot creators to know that you're on to them.  If you would like, you can kindly tell nearby players that visiting the site advertised by the bot is probably not a good idea and will likely get their accounts hijacked.  Don't tell anyone that a moderator is on the way, and don't alert anyone to the fact that a moderator is in the vicinity—if the bot stops, it can't be muted by a moderator and will likely continue spamming unchecked later on.  Even after the bot has been muted, Player Moderators often don't like their presence to be revealed.  The best thing to do is just pretend that the bot stopped on its own.

"Bot busting" can be both entertaining and beneficial to the entire RuneScape community. If you are in search of a great way to contribute to the game you love, start hunting those evil-doers!

Trivia

 * Player Moderators on RuneScape are also Player Moderators on FunOrb.
 * Player Moderators' crowns are not shown on the RuneScape Forums because they don't have any abilities there. However, if the player has Dual Moderator status then a green crown will be shown next to their name on the RuneScape Forums as well as a green background for all of their posts.
 * During a random event when a player moderator says something out loud without typing it, the crown does not come up next to their name.