Archivian for Appeal Servers

You have a main server, and a secondary server which has one purpose: let users banned from the main server appeal for an unban. If this is your scenario, then this is the right guide for you.

You might not need that server

Unlike other Discord bots, Archivian has a personal dashboard. In this personal dashboard, users can appeal bans for any server that uses Archivian.

After you start using Archivian, the flow for your users will usually look like this:

1. They log in to https://app.archivian.net
2. They find the ban case from your server.
3. They click to appeal it, filling out the form.
4. An appeal appears in your main server.
5. Staff and the user can use built-in livechat on the site to communicate.
6. Staff can approve/reject the appeal, optionally also disallowing further re-appeals.

The flow above assumes four things to be true:

1. Archivian was in the server when the ban was issued.
2. Archivian created a case from the ban (by default will, regardless of ban method).
3. Archivian is configured to let users see ban cases on them (also enabled by default).
4. Archivian is configured to allow users to appeal bans (also enabled by default).

Bans before Archivian was around

You can still use Archivian for appeals on bans that wre made before you even added Archivian, or if no case exists.

Users can follow a specific link, and then Archivian will

1. Check if user is banned in your server
2. Create a ban case if one does not exist
3. Ensure the new ban case is appealable
4. Guide the user to start creating an appeal for that new case

After they create the appeal, it will appear in your main server’s dashboard (or send alert if configured). You can then use Archivian’s built-in appeal system from there.

Ban appeal link

1. Go to your server’s dashboard in Archivian
2. Open Cases & Appeals in the left sidebar
3. Goto Settings
4. Click on the Appeals tab at the top
5. Ensure Appealable Existing Bans is enabled
6. Your link can be found in the A link for your users card at the bottom

This link is what you give to users that have been banned before you started using Archivian. It will deal with creating the ban case and creating an appeal for it.

You can also use this link even if the ban was issued by while you were already using Archivian.

Existing cases can be unappealable

If a user uses this link but a Ban case in Archivian already existed (for any reason), it will not create a new ban case. It will also not change the existing case’s settings—and said case may be hidden from the user or not appealable in its settings. That means the user will not be able to appeal it.

Appeals for new bans

By default, Archivian will have bans be appealable. When you issue a ban using Archivian’s /ban command, it will send the user DM before banning them.

At the bottom of this DM there will be a button link that takes them directly to the case, where they can click on a button to start the creation of an appeal.

Use Archivian when banning!

By default, Archivian automatically creates ban cases if bans are issued by other means, e.g. via the native Discord command or by other bots. However, it will not send the initial DM to users that include the appeal link when you do that.

To ensure users get easy access to a link for appealing, always issue bans through Archivian. It can be via the commands, or via one of its automations—as long as it is created via Archivian, it will handle that.

Our recommendations

1. Leave Archivian’s appealability and case visibility settings for bans on defaults.
2. If you already have issued bans before adding Archiviann, offer the Appealable Existing Bans links to users in your appeals server during the transition as you phase out the appeal server.
3. New users that gets banned don’t need to go via the appeal server; they can skip straight to the dashboard via a link in their ban message.
4. If your community has a website, forum, or some other external place, offer the Appealable Existing Bans link there as well.