Kotbo 3 min read
Discord server rules: write them and get them accepted
Rules are the first thing a new member should read, and the first thing you’ll pull out when it’s time to sanction. Discord only offers a basic rules screen on arrival. In Kotbo the rules are written as articles in the Rules page of the dashboard, published in a channel, accepted with one click, and each sanction then points to the article that was broken
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Why structure rules as articles
A long pinned message nobody reads doesn’t protect a server. Short, numbered articles change that
- A sanctioned member knows exactly which rule they broke
- Your mods cite an article instead of improvising a reason
- You edit one rule without rewriting the whole message
- Sanction reports rely on the same articles, so they stay consistent
What Discord offers without a bot
Discord offers a rules screen to accept when joining a community server, with free text. It’s useful, but the rules stay a block of text: no numbered articles, no link to sanctions, no role granted on acceptance to open up the rest of the server
Writing and publishing your rules with Kotbo
Everything is set on dash.kotbo.fr, in the Rules page
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Create the articles
A title, an optional emoji, and a Markdown description. One article per rule, short and precise: “Respect and courtesy”, “No advertising”, “No sensitive content”
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Order them
Drag articles to reorder them. An article can be hidden without being deleted
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Pick the publishing channel
The rules appear as clean messages in the channel you choose
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Publish
One click on “Publish the rules”. When you change an article, “Update the message” refreshes the published message
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Keep a preview
While you write an article, a preview shows how it will look
Getting the rules accepted with a button
Rules read halfway are worthless. The “I accept” option adds a button under the published rules
Role granted on acceptance
The click grants the role you pick. Leave it empty and Kotbo creates a “Verified” role on the first click
Hide the rest of the server
Until they accept, the member only sees the rules channel. Other channels open with the role
Button refresh
The button appears or disappears at the next publication of the rules
The full arrival path
The rules fit into a path the page summarizes in order, every step being optional
- The captcha, if the anti-raid module is on, to keep automated accounts out
- Identity verification, if the Multi-accounts module is on
- Accepting the rules, with the role granted on click
Tying rules to sanctions
When a mod sanctions a member, they can cite the broken article, and sanction reports reuse the rule’s text. Deleting an article removes it from future reports. That link is what makes rules useful day to day, not just decorative
Tips for rules that get read
A few habits so your rules are read and applied
- Ten articles at most: beyond that nobody remembers anything
- One rule, one idea: an article mixing three can’t be cited
- Say what’s forbidden, and what happens when it’s broken
- Reread them after every incident that surprised you: a missing rule is one article away