Vouch Policy and Guidelines

An Overview of Our Vouch System: Purpose, Structure, and Integrity

Team,

This document outlines the purpose and rules of our three distinct vouch systems on the DonutSMP Discord. Understanding why these systems are separated and who is eligible to participate is crucial for maintaining a fair, transparent, and trustworthy community.

Our system is divided into three specialized categories:

  1. Mod Vouch: For trusting Mods with base access.

  2. Broker Vouch: For trusting Brokers with item/currency escrow.

  3. Trade Vouches: For establishing the reputation of buyers and sellers.

1. Why the Vouch Systems Must Be Separate

The primary reason for separating the vouch systems is clarity of purpose. Each vouch represents a different type of trust, and mixing them would dilute their meaning and create confusion.

  • Mod Vouches assess trustworthiness with access and privilege.

    • When a member vouches for a Mod, they are specifically confirming: "I trust this person to enter my private base and not abuse that privilege."

  • Broker Vouches assess trustworthiness with assets and transactions.

    • When a member vouches for a Broker, they are saying: "I trust this person to hold my valuable items or currency and facilitate a trade honestly."

  • Trade Vouches (for members) assess reliability as a trading partner.

    • When a Broker vouches for a buyer or seller, they are confirming: "This person followed through on their side of the deal smoothly and honestly."

Conclusion: A member with 50 successful trades (Trade Vouches) is not automatically trustworthy with base access (Mod Vouch). Separating these ensures that the right reputation is being measured for the right role.

2. Eligibility: Who Can Vouch and Who Can Be Vouched For

To protect the system from abuse, we have strict rules on eligibility.

Why Mods & Brokers Are Ineligible for "Normal" Trade Vouches

The role of a staff member is to be a facilitator and official, not a participant within the systems they oversee. A "Trade Vouch" is an official record for a regular member's trading history. Staff have their own, more significant, vouch systems.

Clarification on Staff Trading Personally

A common point of confusion is when staff members engage in personal trades. The question arises: "If I'm acting as a regular buyer or seller, why can't I get a Trade Vouch?"

Our policy is that staff members are not eligible for Trade Vouches, even when trading in a personal capacity. Here is the reasoning:

  1. Upholding a Higher Standard: Staff are held to a higher standard of trust. Your trustworthiness is already measured by a more specialized metric: Mod Vouches or Broker Vouches. A Broker with 25 Broker Vouches has already proven their reliability in dozens of transactions. This is a far more powerful testament to their character than a simple Trade Vouch. Members can and should check these scores as the ultimate measure of your integrity.

  2. Avoiding Role Confusion and Perceived Bias: A staff member is always viewed as a staff member. It is impossible to completely separate your role from your actions. If Brokers began accumulating Trade Vouches—often issued by other Brokers—it could create the perception of an "inner circle" where staff are vouching for each other. This undermines the system's impartiality.

  3. Protecting the Member Vouch System: The Trade Vouch system is designed as a pathway for general members to build their reputation from the ground up. Allowing staff to participate in this system detracts from its core purpose and clutters it. We want to keep the focus of the Trade Vouch system entirely on the member-to-member trading experience.

In short, while you trade, your reputation is already represented by your staff-specific vouches. These carry more weight and should be the metric the community uses to assess your trustworthiness.

Only Members Can Vouch for Mods and Brokers

Trust in our staff must be earned from the community they serve.

  • Prevents Conflict of Interest: Staff vouching for each other does not reflect genuine community sentiment.

  • System Enforcement: Our bot is configured to prohibit Mods and Brokers from vouching for themselves or for each other within their respective categories. This guarantees authenticity.

Only Brokers Can Issue Trade Vouches for Buyers and Sellers

This rule is critical to the system's integrity.

  • Verification: The Broker is the only neutral party who can 100% verify that a transaction occurred as agreed.

  • Prevents Abuse: If anyone could vouch for another, friends could spam vouches, making the system meaningless. The Broker acts as the official, impartial registrar for every successful trade.

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