DWIRC:Staff Training/Trainee Evaluation

DarkWorld IRC Staff Training
Supervised Trainee Evaluation

Program	DarkWorld IRC Staff Training Program
Stage	Supervised IRC Trainee
Recommended duration	2–4 weeks
Minimum recommended observation	14 days
Recommended evaluation score	80%
Supervision	Assigned mentor or authorized senior staff
Prerequisites	Core modules, Code of Conduct, written examination, and practical assessment

1. Purpose

The Trainee Evaluation allows a successful candidate to demonstrate reliability, judgment, communication, and conduct through supervised participation in real DarkWorld IRC activities.

The trainee stage is not a staff appointment and does not guarantee progression to probation.

During this stage, the candidate should perform only approved, low-risk duties while an assigned mentor reviews:

• User support.
• Communication.
• Policy knowledge.
• Moderation judgment.
• Incident awareness.
• Documentation.
• Reliability.
• Security.
• Team cooperation.
• Acceptance of correction.

2. Entry Requirements

Before entering the trainee stage, the candidate must have:

[ ] Completed Modules 1–10
[ ] Accepted the Staff Code of Conduct
[ ] Accepted the Security Declaration
[ ] Passed the Final Written Examination
[ ] Passed the Final Practical Assessment
[ ] Passed all mandatory security competencies
[ ] Received a recommended trainee role
[ ] Received management approval
[ ] Been assigned a mentor
[ ] Been informed of allowed and prohibited duties
[ ] Received a trainee reference number

3. Trainee Status

A trainee is:

• A candidate under supervised evaluation.
• Permitted to assist with specified duties.
• Required to follow mentor instructions.
• Required to identify themselves accurately.
• Subject to the Staff Code of Conduct.
• Not guaranteed a permanent role.
• Not authorized beyond the recorded trainee permissions.

A trainee must not claim to be:

• A permanent staff member.
• An IRC operator.
• A Services Administrator.
• An IRCd administrator.
• A representative of every DarkWorld project.
• Authorized to make final policy decisions.

4. Recommended Duration

The normal trainee period should last approximately 2–4 weeks.

A minimum observation period of 14 days is recommended so that the candidate can be evaluated across different situations.

Management may:

• Extend the trainee period.
• Pause it during prolonged inactivity.
• Shorten it only where sufficient evidence exists.
• Require remediation.
• End it early for serious concerns.
• Move a candidate to another suitable trainee path.

Completing a certain number of days does not automatically mean the trainee has passed.

5. Trainee Roles

A candidate may be assigned one or more limited trainee paths.

Trainee path	Typical supervised duties
Support Trainee	Connection help, NickServ guidance, basic ChanServ assistance, documentation links
Moderation Trainee	Observing channel moderation, preparing warnings, recommending proportionate action
Policy Trainee	Providing public policy links, preparing case summaries, observing application reviews
Relay Compliance Trainee	Recording possible relays, checking public status, preparing supervised follow-up
Services Support Trainee	Normal Services help, account troubleshooting, escalation preparation
Incident Response Trainee	Timelines, evidence records, handovers, and observation during incidents
Operator Candidate	Operator simulations and observation without independent production access

The assigned path should reflect:

• Candidate interests.
• Assessment results.
• Network needs.
• Security readiness.
• Available mentors.
• Areas requiring further observation.

6. Mentor Assignment

Every trainee must have an assigned mentor.

The mentor should:

• Explain the trainee’s role.
• Set permitted duties.
• Observe support interactions.
• Review recommendations before high-impact actions.
• Correct unsafe behavior.
• Review logs and reports.
• Conduct weekly evaluations.
• Identify training needs.
• Report serious concerns.
• Recommend advancement, extension, reassignment, or removal.

Where practical, a mentor should supervise no more trainees than they can evaluate meaningfully.

7. Secondary Reviewer

A secondary reviewer is recommended to:

• Reduce personal bias.
• Review borderline cases.
• Observe at least one trainee session.
• Review serious concerns.
• Confirm final recommendations.
• Provide independent feedback.

A close friend should not be the sole person responsible for approving a candidate.

8. Trainee Access Principle

Trainees should receive the minimum access needed for approved exercises.

Possible access may include:

• Public IRC channels.
• A training channel.
• A trainee coordination channel.
• Public policy information.
• Approved documentation.
• Limited case templates.
• Read-only or observation access where specifically approved.

Trainees should normally not receive:

• IRC operator credentials.
• OperServ access.
• IRCd configuration access.
• Server root or shell access.
• Services database access.
• Advertising approval permissions.
• Relay enforcement permissions.
• Production API tokens.
• Unrestricted abuse evidence.
• Access to unrelated DarkWorld projects.

9. Allowed Trainee Duties

Subject to the assigned role, a trainee may:

• Welcome users.
• Answer basic IRC questions.
• Explain secure connection settings.
• Provide official documentation links.
• Explain public NickServ and ChanServ commands.
• Help users interpret non-sensitive errors.
• Prepare support escalation summaries.
• Observe moderation.
• Draft warnings for mentor approval.
• Recommend channel actions.
• Prepare incident timelines.
• Record publicly observed relay information.
• Assist with documentation updates.
• Shadow experienced staff.
• Participate in approved simulations.
• Report possible security issues.

All activity remains subject to supervision.

10. Prohibited Trainee Actions

Unless separately and explicitly authorized, a trainee must not:

• Use IRC operator commands.
• Apply network-wide bans.
• Use OperOverride.
• Use SAMODE or forced modes.
• Use OperServ administrative commands.
• Suspend accounts or channels.
• Change channel founders.
• Drop registered accounts or channels.
• Approve or reject advertising applications.
• Approve, suspend, or remove relays.
• Access confidential server logs.
• Access hidden user information.
• Modify IRCd or Services configuration.
• Access production servers.
• Share staff-channel information.
• Represent recommendations as final decisions.
• Conduct unsupervised confidential investigations.
• Grant staff or project access.
• Test dangerous commands against real users.

11. Supervision Levels

A trainee task may be assigned one of three supervision levels.

Level	Meaning	Example
Observe	Trainee watches but does not act	Observe a Services ownership review
Prepare	Trainee drafts a response or recommendation for approval	Draft a warning or escalation summary
Perform	Trainee completes a specifically approved low-risk task	Provide connection settings in `#Help`

The mentor should record which duties are approved at each level.

12. Trainee Identification

Trainees must describe their role accurately.

Appropriate wording:

I am a supervised DarkWorld IRC trainee. I can help collect the details and refer this to the authorized team.

Inappropriate wording:

I am an IRC administrator.
I can guarantee your application will be approved.
I will permanently ban them.
I control all DarkWorld projects.

Trainee status should not be used to intimidate users.

13. Daily Activity Record

The trainee should maintain a simple activity record:

Date:
Start and end time:
Channels attended:
Support cases handled:
Documentation provided:
Cases escalated:
Moderation observed:
Reports prepared:
Mentor consulted:
Mistakes or corrections:
Unresolved items:

The record should not contain passwords, unnecessary IP addresses, or unrestricted private evidence.

14. Support Case Record

For each significant support case:

Date and time:
Channel:
User nickname:
Issue category:
User’s goal:
Relevant non-sensitive details:
Guidance provided:
Result:
Escalation:
Mentor review:
Documentation improvement suggested:

Routine greetings and very simple answers do not require full case reports unless the mentor requests them.

15. Moderation Observation Record

When observing moderation:

Date and time:
Channel:
Behavior observed:
Applicable rule:
Was a warning appropriate?
Action recommended by trainee:
Action taken by authorized staff:
Difference between recommendation and action:
Users affected:
Evidence preserved:
What the trainee learned:

The trainee should compare their recommendation with the authorized staff decision.

16. Incident Observation Record

For a significant incident:

Incident reference:
Date and time:
Initial severity:
Affected channels or services:
Confirmed facts:
User reports:
Trainee task:
Incident lead:
Actions observed:
Evidence prepared:
Handover completed:
Recovery observed:
Follow-up lesson:

Trainees must not keep private copies of restricted evidence after the approved task ends.

17. Expected Support Performance

A successful trainee should:

• Acknowledge users promptly where possible.
• Ask useful questions.
• Avoid assuming user error.
• Give clear and safe instructions.
• Use current official information.
• Protect credentials.
• Respect language differences.
• Confirm outcomes.
• Escalate unresolved cases.
• Avoid making unauthorized promises.

18. Expected Moderation Judgment

A successful trainee should:

• Identify the applicable rule.
• Distinguish channel and network authority.
• Recommend proportionate action.
• Consider innocent users.
• Recognize shared hosts.
• Avoid retaliatory responses.
• Preserve relevant evidence.
• Use professional reasons.
• Recommend review dates.
• Request higher authority when required.

19. Expected Incident Performance

A successful trainee should:

• Recognize serious incidents.
• Assign a reasonable initial severity.
• Identify ongoing harm.
• Notify appropriate staff.
• Follow the incident lead.
• Maintain accurate timestamps.
• Separate facts from allegations.
• Protect restricted evidence.
• Prepare useful handovers.
• Assist with recovery and review.

20. Expected Security Conduct

A successful trainee should:

• Use TLS and SASL.
• Protect their NickServ account.
• Use unique credentials.
• Secure their device.
• Avoid untrusted scripts.
• Recognize phishing.
• Report exposed credentials.
• Avoid accessing information without need.
• Maintain staff-channel confidentiality.
• Report security concerns promptly.

21. Expected Team Conduct

A successful trainee should:

• Accept correction professionally.
• Ask questions when uncertain.
• Avoid public staff disagreements.
• Follow the mentor and incident lead.
• Complete assigned records.
• Be honest about mistakes.
• Meet reasonable activity expectations.
• Communicate absence.
• Respect other teams.
• Avoid gossip and favoritism.

22. Weekly Evaluation

The mentor should complete a review at the end of each training week.

Evaluation area	Weight
User support and communication	15%
IRC and Services knowledge	10%
Policy understanding	10%
Moderation judgment	15%
Incident awareness	10%
Privacy and security	15%
Documentation	10%
Reliability and activity	5%
Teamwork and acceptance of feedback	10%	Total	100%

23. Weekly Scoring Scale

Score	Rating	Meaning
90–100	Excellent	Consistently safe, accurate, reliable, and professional
80–89	Ready	Meets trainee expectations with minor improvement areas
70–79	Developing	Additional supervision and practice required
60–69	Concern	Significant weaknesses require remediation
Below 60	Unsatisfactory	Candidate is not currently ready for live trainee duties

Security, integrity, retaliation, and confidentiality concerns must be assessed separately from the numerical score.

24. Weekly Review Form

TRAINEE WEEKLY REVIEW

Candidate:
Registered account:
Trainee path:
Week number:
Review period:
Mentor:
Secondary reviewer:

User support and communication:         /15
IRC and Services knowledge:             /10
Policy understanding:                   /10
Moderation judgment:                    /15
Incident awareness:                     /10
Privacy and security:                   /15
Documentation:                          /10
Reliability and activity:                /5
Teamwork and feedback:                  /10

TOTAL:                                  /100

Cases handled:
Exercises completed:
Positive observations:
Mistakes:
Corrections completed:
Security concerns:
Conduct concerns:
Modules to review:
Duties approved for next week:
Duties still prohibited:
Candidate comments:
Mentor recommendation:
Next review date:

25. Mentor Feedback

Feedback should be:

• Specific.
• Based on observed behavior.
• Timely.
• Respectful.
• Actionable.
• Connected to policy or procedure.
• Recorded for important concerns.

Good feedback:

During the SASL case, you correctly avoided requesting the password. However, you provided several steps at once. Next time, first confirm TLS and the registered account name, then test one change.

Poor feedback:

You are bad at support.

26. Candidate Response to Feedback

The trainee should:

• Listen carefully.
• Ask for clarification.
• Avoid becoming defensive.
• Correct factual misunderstandings respectfully.
• Complete assigned remediation.
• Record what they learned.
• Demonstrate improvement.

A candidate may request review if they believe feedback is unfair, but must use the approved process.

27. Mistakes During Training

A mistake does not automatically end the trainee period.

The mentor should consider:

• Severity.
• Whether the action was authorized.
• Harm caused.
• Whether the trainee reported it.
• Whether it was corrected.
• Whether the trainee understood the cause.
• Whether it was repeated.
• Whether dishonesty or retaliation occurred.

A trainee who honestly reports and corrects a minor mistake may continue.

A trainee who conceals, repeats, or intentionally causes serious harm may be removed.

28. Immediate Suspension Conditions

Trainee duties should be paused immediately when there is:

• Credential sharing.
• Intentional privacy exposure.
• Unauthorized operator or Services action.
• Retaliation.
• Evidence falsification.
• Staff impersonation.
• Malicious activity.
• Unauthorized production-system access.
• Refusal to stop an unsafe action.
• Serious harassment.
• Sharing restricted staff information.
• Attempted approval manipulation.

Suspension protects the network while the matter is reviewed.

29. Inactivity

A trainee should inform their mentor when unable to participate.

The trainee period may be paused when:

• The candidate is absent for an extended period.
• The mentor is unavailable.
• The network cannot provide safe supervision.
• A relevant project or system is under maintenance.
• An investigation is pending.

Inactivity alone is not misconduct, but insufficient observation may prevent advancement.

30. Required Trainee Experiences

Before completing the trainee stage, the candidate should have:

[ ] Assisted with at least five support cases
[ ] Completed at least two Services support cases
[ ] Prepared at least two escalation summaries
[ ] Observed at least three moderation cases
[ ] Drafted at least two professional warnings
[ ] Completed at least one moderation record
[ ] Participated in at least one incident simulation or real supervised incident
[ ] Prepared at least one incident timeline
[ ] Completed one incident handover
[ ] Demonstrated project-boundary awareness
[ ] Demonstrated safe credential handling
[ ] Received at least two mentor reviews
[ ] Received one secondary-review observation

Real incidents are not required if suitable simulations are available.

31. Final Trainee Evaluation

At the end of the trainee period, the mentor should complete:

FINAL TRAINEE EVALUATION

Candidate:
Registered account:
Trainee reference:
Trainee path:
Start date:
End date:
Total observed days:
Mentor:
Secondary reviewer:

Support cases completed:
Services cases completed:
Moderation cases observed:
Incident exercises completed:
Reports completed:
Documentation contributions:

Average weekly score:
Final evaluation score:

Mandatory security competencies passed: Yes / No
Code of Conduct maintained: Yes / No
Confidentiality maintained: Yes / No
Conflicts disclosed: Yes / No
Required experiences completed: Yes / No

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Unresolved concerns:
Security concerns:
Conduct concerns:
Recommended role:
Recommended permissions:
Explicitly excluded permissions:
Recommended probation duration:
Recommended mentor:
Final recommendation:

32. Final Evaluation Outcomes

Outcome	Meaning
ADVANCE TO PROBATION	Candidate is ready for limited probationary duties
EXTEND TRAINEE PERIOD	More observation is required
REMEDIATION REQUIRED	Specific modules or skills must be repeated
REASSIGN TRAINEE PATH	Candidate may be better suited to another role
PAUSE	Evaluation cannot continue currently
END CANDIDACY	Candidate is not suitable for progression

33. Advancement Requirements

To advance to probation, the candidate should:

• Achieve an average trainee score of at least 80%.
• Complete required trainee experiences.
• Demonstrate safe credential handling.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Follow project boundaries.
• Accept mentor feedback.
• Show reliable participation.
• Demonstrate proportionate judgment.
• Have no unresolved serious conduct concern.
• Receive mentor recommendation.
• Receive secondary review.
• Receive management approval.

A numerical score alone does not override a serious security or integrity concern.

34. Access Recommendation for Probation

Before probation, define:

Probationary role:
Operational purpose:
Approved channels:
Approved commands:
Approved systems:
Read-only access:
Action requiring mentor approval:
Prohibited commands:
Prohibited systems:
Logging requirements:
Mentor:
Backup mentor:
Start date:
Review date:
End date:
Management approval:

No undefined or “all access” permission should be granted to a probationary staff member.

35. Candidate Acknowledgement

Before entering probation, the candidate should affirm:

I understand that my trainee evaluation does not guarantee permanent staff
appointment.

I agree to use only the permissions explicitly assigned to my probationary
role.

I will continue to follow the DarkWorld IRC Staff Code of Conduct, protect
confidential information, report mistakes, and accept supervision.

I understand that access may be reduced, suspended, or removed to protect
the network.

Candidate:
Registered account:
Date:
Mentor:

36. Next Step

Candidates approved for advancement proceed to:

DarkWorld IRC Probationary Staff Program

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