What is Watchdog?
Watchdog watches your ER:LC server around the clock. When it sees a rule break, such as RDM or a player leaving to get away from staff, it tells your staff who did it, what happened and which punishment your team would usually give. Staff can act from the Mod Panel or in game, and Watchdog can handle the clearest cases by itself if you let it.
You set Watchdog up on the dashboard under ER:LC Integration → Watchdog.
Watchdog is a paid feature for one server. Learn more on the Watchdog page.
Before You Start
| Requirement | Why |
|---|---|
| A Watchdog subscription on the server | Watchdog only runs on servers it's activated on |
| The ER:LC integration | Watchdog reads your server's kills, joins and leaves, and runs commands like :kick through it |
| Staff with a linked Roblox account | Lets Watchdog know who your staff are in game, so it can PM them and send them their own observations |
Get Watchdog
If your server doesn't have Watchdog yet, the Watchdog page shows the subscription card. Pick monthly or annual billing and click Subscribe.
After you subscribe, activate Watchdog on the server you want it on. See Activating Subscriptions.
Turn On Watchdog
- Open the Watchdog Page
Go to your Melonly dashboard, select your server and open ER:LC Integration → Watchdog.
- Enable Watchdog
Click Enable Watchdog. Watchdog starts watching your server straight away.
To pause Watchdog later, turn off the Enable Watchdog switch on the same page. Your detections are kept for when you turn it back on.
Every change on this page is recorded in your Audit Logs.
Detections
Detections are the rule breaks Watchdog looks for. All nine are on by default. The badge on the Detections card shows how many are on.
| Detection | What Watchdog looks for |
|---|---|
| RDM | Killing another player without a roleplay reason |
| Mass RDM | A killing spree across several players, grouped into one observation |
| Staff RDM | Killing a staff member without a reason |
| NLR | Coming back for revenge, or returning to where they died, after respawning |
| Team kill | Law enforcement killing other law enforcement |
| VDM | Running players over with a vehicle |
| Staff evasion | Leaving the game to get away from staff |
| Breaking peacetime | Getting wanted stars while peacetime is on |
| Unrealistic avatar | Avatars that are unrealistic or used to troll, checked as players join |
Turn a Detection Off
- Find the Detection
Each detection has its own card on the Watchdog page. Click its switch to turn it off or back on.
- Save
A bar appears at the bottom of the page. Click Save Changes to apply it, or Reset to undo.
Players with in-game Moderator permission or higher are never flagged. Breaking peacetime only runs once your server has punished players for it before, and unrealistic avatar checks only run on servers that punish avatars or are still small.
What Each Detection Looks Like
These are the observations your staff see for each detection.
RDM
Mass RDM
Several kills by the same player become one observation that updates as the spree goes on.
Staff RDM
NLR
Team Kill
VDM
Staff Evasion
The player has already left, so there's no Teleport button. Accepting adds a Ban BOLO so they can be dealt with when they come back.
Breaking Peacetime
Unrealistic Avatar
Observations in the Mod Panel
When Watchdog is on, it shows up in the online staff list on the left of the Mod Panel, next to your team. When it notices something, a card opens under its avatar. This card is called an observation.
If you close an observation by clicking somewhere else, click Watchdog's avatar to open it again.
The Watchdog page on your dashboard has a preview of what your staff see.
Actions
Each observation names the player and offers up to two buttons.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Teleport to [player] | Runs :tp to bring you to the player. Only shown while they're still in the game |
| Accept | Logs the suggested punishment under your name and runs :kick or :ban in game when the punishment needs it |
Accepting creates a normal punishment log, so your DMs, workflows and Ban BOLO rules apply as usual. Watchdog fills in the reason and adds a short description of what it saw.
You need permission to create that log type and to run the command. If ER:LC rejects the command, for example because the player already left, the log is still created and Watchdog tells you the punishment wasn't enforced in game.
When someone acts on an observation, it closes for everyone else, so two staff members never punish the same player for the same thing.
Suggested Punishments
Watchdog suggests the punishment your server usually gives for that rule break, based on your own logs. Until your server has enough logs for it to learn from, it uses these defaults.
| Detection | Default punishment |
|---|---|
| Mass RDM, Staff RDM, Unrealistic avatar | Kick |
| Staff evasion | Ban BOLO |
| Everything else | Warning |
The suggestion goes up a step for a player who has already been punished in your server, and a player who left before anyone acted always gets a Ban BOLO.
Who Gets an Observation
Most observations go to everyone with the Mod Panel open. Some go straight to the staff member best placed to deal with them. Direct observations need a linked Roblox account.
Everyone
A new rule break goes to everyone with the panel open.
You Were the Victim
If the player killed you, the observation comes to you only.
You Were Already Dealing With Them
If you had just teleported to, viewed, jailed or otherwise run a command on the player, Watchdog tells you what it thinks they did.
You Answered Their Victim's Mod Call
They're Standing Near You
For unrealistic avatars, the observation goes to a staff member standing close to the player.
It Got Worse
If a case gets more serious, for example RDM turning into Mass RDM, Watchdog updates whoever has the case.
They Left
If the player leaves before anyone acts, Watchdog offers a Ban BOLO instead.
How Long Observations Last
An observation stays open for 10 minutes. It also closes as soon as the player gets any log, from Watchdog or from your staff.
In Game
Staff with a linked Roblox account also hear from Watchdog in game through PMs. Reply with these commands in the in-game chat.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
:log wd accept | Accepts the punishment Watchdog suggested. Also yes or y |
:log wd decline | Leaves the player with you and closes the prompt. Also no, n or dismiss |
:log wd tp | Teleports you to the player. Also goto |
:log wd next | Takes the newest open case |
:log wd cases | Tells you whether any cases need a look. Also list |
:log wd help | Lists these commands |
Watchdog also PMs you in these situations.
| When | What Watchdog says |
|---|---|
| You join and a case is still open | It welcomes you back and asks you to take it with :log wd next |
| You're the nearest free staff member | It asks if you can take the case |
| A player was hurt by someone it flagged | It tells them it has flagged the player for staff |
| Your team handles a case | It thanks whoever was involved |
If Watchdog can't tell who you are, link your Roblox account on your Melonly account page. You also need to be a member of the server in Melonly.
Automatic Moderation
With automatic moderation on, Watchdog punishes a player itself when it's near certain about Staff RDM or Mass RDM and the player has a bad recent record across other Melonly servers. It gives the punishment your staff would usually give.
Turn on Automatically moderate extremely suspicious players on the Watchdog page. It's off by default.
Your staff still see what happened. The observation has no buttons because there's nothing left to do.
The log is created under Watchdog, so you can find it in Punishment Logs with the Staff Member filter. The command it ran also shows up in your Audit Logs.
If automatic moderation can't finish, for example because ER:LC doesn't accept the command, your staff get a normal observation instead.
Common Questions
Need help?
Still have questions? Join our Discord server for support from the Melonly Team.