Channel access flags

The CVN channels, such as, are operated by its senior staff with bots developed by bot developers. In order to provide upkeep for the channel, confirm new users, and maintain order, some users have been granted certain access flags. These users are granted access levels to the channel in order to perform certain actions.

Voiced
The voiced flag is granted to established users on the associated wiki of a channel. It enables them to:
 * issue bot commands
 * speak in moderated channels

Local operator
Local operators are generally trusted users both on IRC and on a local project. They have the ability to permanently voice channel users. Once a user is voiced in a CVN channel, they are able to command the bots. Some basic IRC knowledge is required of channel operators, including opping, voicing and setting flags (information also available here and here).

Staff
Staff have operator access in all channels. Generally, in respect to local authority, staff will not use their access when there are local operators available to act. However, if there are no local users available, staff may act. Staff (And Senior Staff) may be contacted in, or in any channel owned by CVN using the command "!staff ".

In addition to the abilities of local operators, staff has the ability to
 * confirm users for access to the channel
 * remove voice access

Senior staff
Senior staff are trusted users, selected by an agreement of the senior staff to serve as the primary functionaries of the Countervandalism Network and wiki. Senior staff have access to most restricted commands of the bots on the IRC channels and the wiki. The senior staff have the ability to act en banc (as a group) to make important decisions and to hear appeals. Senior Staff (And Staff) may be contacted in, or in any channel owned by CVN using the command "!staff ".

Senior staff are granted all the powers of staff, as well as the additional ability:
 * to modify channel "sets" (such as the channel entry message), and
 * the channel's locked modes (i.e. moderation, +m). (Senior staff are urged to avoid making arbitrary changes.)
 * Senior staff are the first avenue of appeal from the decisions of channel operators and channel staff; users who have been denied access, or had their access removed, should request review by a senior staffer (unless a senior staffer made the initial decision). (Senior staff are expected to participate actively in confirming users.)
 * Senior staff are empowered to elevate trusted users to operator status.
 * Senior staff may remove the access of any user, operator, or staffer, if in their opinion, such removal is required.
 * Senior staff are empowered to ban users from the channel (via the autoremove list) for extended periods of time.

Senior staff en banc

 * This section should be moved to a policy page

Some actions are exercised by a consensus of the senior staff (the senior staff en banc). They include:
 * Banning users indefinitely.
 * Appointing all channel staff.
 * Setting channel policy, and is responsible for issuing changes.

The Senior Staff is the final avenue of appeal on any action related to the channel:
 * Users may appeal to the senior staff en banc from an adverse decision from a senior staffer (both initial actions by the senior staffer and reviews by senior staff of operator/staff actions).
 * Extended channel bans may be appealed to the senior staff en banc.
 * Exceptions to channel policy must be approved by the senior staff en banc.
 * Senior staff are appointed by the Senior Staff en Banc; new staffers are proposed by the senior staff.

Operator & staff actions

 * This section should be moved to a policy page

Most channel operator actions are routine and require little comment: kicking disruptive users, locking the channel topic, etc. The main action of channel staff is to confirm users. Extended channel bans are recorded in the ban section of the denial log. Some channel staff actions, however, need to be reported to the senior staff, such as: removal of access from users (whether it is autovoice or operator access), emergency changes to the channel (such as taking the channel invite-only or suspending verifications), etc. When channel staff (in most cases, senior staff, but staff in emergency situations) take such actions, they should notify the channel staff en masse.

Local staff
There are two classifications of channel staff, global staff and local staff. Global staff are by default the local staff of ; these staffers are granted staff or senior staff access to all CVN channels by default when these channels are registered. Most references to "the staff" refer to global staff.

There are, however, many channels that are used by only a few users, and are not generally watched by the global staff. In order to allow these channels to function most efficiently, local staff are appointed. These staffers have +vVotriRfA access flags for that channel (or, if they are staff for more than one channel, for those channels where they are specifically made staff) and have staff authority within that channel only. They should not be confused with the global staff. However, they are expected to abide by staff policies within the channels where they are staff. Local staff are not expected to idle in the staff channels as global staff are.

Where no local staffer exists, or where the local staff is unavailable, assistance can be requested from the global staff in.

Joining staff
Whenever we are looking to appoint more staffers, we will make an announcement on our public mailing list. We will appoint users who are known to show a positive attitude and who can be trusted. If you are interested in becoming a staffer or want to know when we will be looking for more, feel free to ask us in.

Bot developer
See Bot Policy