Habbo eXpert Handbook

The Habbo eXpert Handbook for a document given to newly recruited Habbo eXperts, volunteer guides in Habbo between 2006 and 2008. The handbook outlined the responsibilities for each specialization. Below is a copy of the handbook in its final revision, which was in use until the end of the Habbo eXpert programme in June 2008.

Handbook

When successful Habbo applicants were accepted into the X programme, they were issued a handbook of roles, rules and procedures. Below is the entirety of this information, with official correspondence in quoted text.

Introduction

"Welcome Habbo!

You’ve received this Handbook as you’ve been accepted to the Habbo eXperts program. Well done!

Please ensure you read this Handbook and seek the advice of your Mentor or Team Leader should you have any questions or there’s anything which you don’t understand."

Starting Out

"You will have applied to the eXperts program either to walk the path of safety, educating other Habbos on personal and account protection or share your knowledge about the Hotel as a Host or Gamer X. Whichever path you are destined to take, your first three months in the program will be spent demonstrating you have the basic knowledge, enthusiasm and level headedness which is essential to be a Habbo eXpert.

On joining the eXpert team you will be asked whether you’re aiming to become a Habbo X Host, Habbo X Gamer, Safety X or Tech Safety X. If you are not sure of the differences between these specialisations you can find a description of each later on in this Handbook. When you’ve decided which specialisation you wish to aim for you will be assigned a Mentor; an X experienced in your chosen path, who will guide you through your first three months as an X, giving you support, answering any questions you may have and giving you advice on how to make the most of your Xing activities. You will then be placed in a team (the same team as your Mentor, wherever possible) and introduced to your Team Leader who is your first point of contact for the rest of your time on the eXperts team."

Standard X

"When you are accepted to the eXperts program you will spend your first three months as a standard X and will wear the badge pictured above. During this time you will need to complete some basic Xing activities:

15 minutes of your time when you first log in must be spent helping Habbos. If you have chosen to aim for a safety specialisation these 15 minutes must be spent in the Safety Spa public room, otherwise you should spend them in the Welcome Lounge helping new Habbos who have general questions about the Hotel.
· You must attend one team meeting a month to catch up with the rest of your team, hear any information your Team Leader has to pass on from X management and also to have the opportunity to raise any ideas or concerns you may have. You should let your Team Leader know in advance of any general time preferences you may have for meetings.

At the end of the three months your Mentor and Team Leader will get together and assess whether they feel you are ready to be given the badge of your chosen specialisation. If you have failed to complete the basic activities on a regular basis during your initial three months you may be asked to remain as a Standard X for a longer period of time or be removed from the eXperts Team altogether."

Specialisations

Habbo X Host

"If you love to help players, especially new ones, discover all the tips and tricks to making Habbo Hotel a great experience, then Habbo X Host is the specialisation for you. Your mission is to patrol the Welcome Lounge and other public rooms education players on such things as:

How to purchase credits and use Credit Furni
· Alt-codes, dancing and short-cuts on such things as how to shout or see who’s in a room
· How to change clothes, motto, email or password
· How to create a guest room and tips on stacking
· How Habbo Groups work and how to create a Habbo Home
· How to use the console and how to grant room rights
· How to get into secret areas such as the VIP area on the Sun Terrace or the Zen Garden tree
· All about trading, teleports and pets – in fact, anything the average player could do with knowing!
· Educate Habbos on the topics above in fun ways (games, tours, competitions etc)."

Habbo X Gamer

"If you spend your life in BattleBall or know every game from Fallin’ furni to fridge racing, then your knowledge fits right in with the Habbo X Gamer specialisation. Your mission is to:

Patrol Habbo gaming areas such as Battleball, Snowstorm, Rooftop Rumble, Habbo Lido and the Gameshall, teaching Habbos how to play the games (a monthly ticket allotment will be given to you to enable you to do this).
· With the aid of your Team Leader and other Habbo X Gamers, to create and host regular guest room games which can be advertised on the Habbo homepages for other players to join in.
· To host workshops teaching other Habbos everything from how to play the various player-created games to tips on furnishing their rooms for such events (e.g. maze creation classes, stacking help etc)"

Safety X

"If you know and more importantly, know how to avoid, every scam in the book and you also know why keeping yourself safe online is so important, then the Safety X specialisation will be best suited to you. Your mission is to patrol the Safety Spa and other public rooms education Habbos on such things as:

What personal information to keep private and why it should be kept private.
· How to get help if you’re a victim of Cyber Bullying
· The dangers of cybersex and inappropriate discussion about sex
· The dangers of arranging to meet in real life and how to keep yourself safe if you are absolutely intent on doing so.
· How to get help on Habbo – when and how to use the Call for Help and when and how to use the Habbo Help Tool.
· The role of moderators; what they can help you with and what they can’t.
· Scamming: fast trading, room rights selling, free credit and furni scams, P2S scams and the dangers of casinos.
· Hold safety sessions to educate Habbos on all the above in a fun way (e.g. Infobus sessions, quizzes and other games)"

Tech Safety X

"If you are a bit of a PC guru and know how to keep your accounts and your PC safe and free from keyloggers and infection then you will enjoy the Tech Safety X specialisation. Your mission is to patrol the Safety Spa educating Habbos on such things as:

How to keep Windows updated and what Windows services they should think about closing in order to avoid possible PC compromise.
· The benefits of running anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewalls and giving Habbos links on the Hotel site where they can find free downloads and online scans.
· How to run security software responsibly i.e. the need to keep signatures updated, how often to scan and what to scan
· Educating Habbos on what a virus, Trojan or keylogger is and what harm it can cause to their systems.
· Good password security – what makes a good one, what makes a bad one and how to avoid creating one which could be stolen by bruteforce software.
· The dangers of scamsites and retros; malicious javascript code, infected file downloads etc.
· Solutions to common technical problems on Habbo; how to empty temporary Internet files, history and cookies. How to keep Shockwave updated.
· Hold tech safety sessions to educate Habbos on all the above in a fun way (e.g. Infobus sessions, quizzes and games)."

Mentors

"If you have been a member of the eXperts team for 6 months or more and have been keeping up with basic X activites (15 minutes of Xing plus 1 team meeting a month), you are eligible to become a Mentor. You should register your interest in mentoring with your Team Leader who’ll seek approval from X management and, once approved, you will be assigned a new X on the next round of recruitment.

As a Mentor you will be expected to take your assigned newbie X under your wing; adding them to your Friends’ List and checking in with them often to give them help and advice during the first three months of their time on the X team. Your mentoring should include allowing them to shadow you whilst you go about your X activities, assessing if there are any areas of knowledge they will need to brush up on for the X specialisation they wish to go into and giving them any help they may need in understanding the workings of the X Team. When the three months as a Standard X is up the Mentor will be responsible for giving the new X’s Team Leader a short report on how the new X has coped, whether they were able to undertake basic Xing activities as well as if there were any issues or problems arising and, last of all, whether the Mentor feels the X is ready to join their chosen specialisation. Most of all, a Mentor will be the X’s first friend on the team!"

Things To Remember

"You may find yourself in situations where Habbos aren’t friendly to you. Remember you were chosen for your knowledge and your friendly personality so stay calm and never get into a slanging match or use bad language.
· If you come across behaviour that breaks the Habbo Way or you need a helping hand, send a Call for Help and a Moderator will deal with the issue when they can. Remember though that they are busy people and you will need to be patient. They may not come to see you in person as they often deal with problems remotely.
· The Habbos you welcome may simply want a bit of moral support and a friendly ear, so use your super X senses to suss out whether they need help or just a buddy to be there for them. Don’t be afraid to offer them a Friend Request if you wish.
· You will be assigned a Team Leader and a Team to join within the X Team. You’ll then have access to an X Forum where you can discuss Xing and chat socially to Xs from around the world. We encourage you to make good use of this resource; it’s a great place to make new friends!
· You should approach your Team Leader in the first instance with all queries, concerns or ideas. Your Team Leader will either give you an immediate answer, pass the matter up to X management him/herself or give you permission to email x management direct. You’re always welcome to email X management direct if the matter is of a personal or sensitive nature of course!
· X management monitor the activities of the X Team and are looking for people to be actively involved. Being an X is more than simply getting a badge and we do take note of who is participating in the discussion board, in events and in meetings. If we feel that you don’t have the time to be fully involved in the team, we will either ask you to step down from your specialisation and complete another period as a Standard X or, in extreme cases, we may remove you from the eXperts team altogether."

The Rules

The rules below were standardised for all the Habbo X users, in whichever role they were engaged in. As representatives of guidance and safety on the hotel, Habbo required them to know thoroughly and represent in earnest, the Habbo Way.

Confidentiality

"You must never pass on information you are given by Habbo staff unless specifically told it can be made public knowledge – this includes not passing on emails, documents, X forum postings etc.
· As an X you will have access to a private discussion forum, please do not allow anyone else access to your forum account or to view it with you.
· Any instances of account sale, transfer or sharing will result in immediate removal from the X Team and a permanent ban placed on your account."

Badges

"Your badge has the ability to over-ride limits in public and private rooms. If you’re attending Hotel events, please ensure that you enter the room after it is full and that you reload the room periodically so that you’re not taking the place of someone without the ability to over-ride limits.
· You may leave your X badge on when you are private rooms however you must turn your badge off when in Helpdesk rooms to avoid any players mistakenly believing the Helpdesk is an official X one."

Leaving, Transfers & Time Away

"Xs are eligible to transfer from one specialisation to another within the UK Hotel upon request and only in the event they have the relevant knowledge and there is space on the specialisation team they wish to transfer to.
· Any X who is unable to complete the minimum X activities for a period of more than 4 weeks in a row must let X management know in advance. The X badge will be removed for that period, but they may return to the team and their specialisation without the need to reapply if the period of absence is no longer than 4 months.
· Any X who leaves the team in good standing (ie their badge was not removed for wrong-doing) is eligible to return to the team without reapplying within a period of 4 months at the discretion of X management. After that period, the Habbo would need to apply for the team in the usual way during recruitment drives.
· If you know you are going to be away from Habbo for a week or more, please ensure you let your Team Leader know."

Security

"As you are eXperts on Habbo Hotel, we expect you to be well versed with the various scams doing the rounds and have a good grasp of how to keep your own account and computer safe. You should have an anti-virus and firewall installed on your computer and follow the advice found at: http://www.habbo.com/help/Account_security/pc_security.html
· If you account becomes compromised, please tell a Team Leader and/or X management as soon as possible. Your X badge will be temporarily removed and your X forum access suspended until your account is secure. You can remain on the X Team if your account is compromised once however we expect you to learn from such an event and not be compromised again. As Habbo eXperts’ knowledge on safety needs to be respected by other players, if you are compromised more than once you will lose your place on the X team."

Xing Activities

"You should complete your golden 15 minutes when you first log in to Habbo.
· Your Team Leader will arrange to hold 2 team meetings a month; you must attend one of these a month. If you cannot attend either meeting you should let your Team Leader know in advance. If you skip all team meetings for two months or more you will be removed from the X team unless there is a very good reason which can be resolved.
· X activities take place only within the Hotel. Xs are not to undertake any X activities on Fansites or any other venue without prior permission from the X management.
· All X events and games are scheduled and publicised on the Habbo homepages in advance. Xs are not allowed to hold official X games or events unless agreed in advance by Team Leaders of X management."

Communication and Respect

"You must contact a Team Leader or X management if you have any worries, concerns or questions about your role as an X. Please be sure to keep your Team Leaders informed of any problems you have so they can help.

Please respect your fellow Xs. This means you must not chastise other Xs, but pass any concerns you have about them to your Team Leaders or X management where they can be investigated and dealt with. You should never engage in slanging matches with other Xs either in the Hotel or on the X Forum.
· Please ensure that when using the X Forum you keep to the Habbo Way and do not abuse any areas of it by swearing, sharing personal information, spreading gossip about other Xs or players or criticising others."