Hobba

This page is about a past event, feature, or other object that has been removed from Habbo. To maintain the article's accuracy, please avoid adding new information that isn't sourced.

Hobbas were a number of volunteers chosen by Habbo staff to help moderate the hotel and deal with rule-breakers with the use of various tools, as well as helping new players, answering players' questions, and responding to Calls For Help (CFHs). These people were experienced members of the Habbo community and were pretty much regular players; they were not paid for their service. Since Habbo's debut opening in 2000, the Hobba program was used as Habbo's "police force."

On December 31, 2005, the program ended due to security issues connected to the growing population. It was decided that Habbo needed a stronger and more professional team who were actual employees of Sulake. Hobbas were given a special badge in recognition for their hard work. As of that date, the Hobba program is now suspended and has been replaced by moderators.

Contrary to popular belief, paid moderators actually did exist during the Hobba program. Hobbas assisted moderators in policing the hotels and moderators were there to answer any of the Hobbas' questions and deal with urgent Calls For Help.

Responsibilities

Hobbas were responsible for enforcing safety in Habbo, much like today's moderators. Their duties included using their appropriate powers to deal with rule-breakers, answering questions from new and experienced players, answering CFHs, and reporting activity to the Head Hobba. Super Hobbas held the responsibility of teaming up with moderations in training Silver Hobbas.

The below picture shows a few examples of the CFH pick-up window.

Along with their commands, Hobbas had access to the "Hobbanet" housekeeping, allowing them to moderate remotely when not logged into the hotel. Within Hobbanet was also a forum where Hobbas can share information, ideas, and interact with one another.

Types of Hobbas

There were three types of Hobbas with different levels of powers. Players had badges (depending on their rank) symbolizing their Hobba status.

Silver (Newbie) Hobba

After being accepted, players started off as Silver Hobbas, the lowest rank of the program. They wore a silver Hobba badge and were in training, called SIMS Training. They were given the Hobba Handbook and were assigned a higher-ranked Hobba to practice their commands and learn how to deal with the public and become a better Hobba. Silver Hobbas weren't allowed to pick up any CFHs without permission of their guardian Hobba and only during their training.

Because they were of a low rank, Silver Hobbas were not given moderation powers right away. Instead, they were given these:

• Immunity to kicks
• Ability to exceed the room capacity limit and, therefore, enter full rooms
• Send alerts with the :alert command

Gold Hobba

Silver Hobbas were promoted to Gold after passing their SIMS Training and were given a gold Hobba badge . These people had higher powers which enabled them to begin moderation. Along with their existing Silver Hobba powers, additional powers included:

• Kicking
  • Without sending an alert at the same time (:softkick)
  • While sending an alert (:kick)
  • Kicking everyone in a room without being kicked themselves (:roomkick)
• Banning players
  • For a specific amount of time (:ban)
  • Initiating a permanent ban (:superban)
• Opening/closing guest rooms (:open/close room)
• Recording all conversation in a room and having it sent to their email after logoff (:startlog)
• Muting players (:shutup) as well as unmuting them (:unmute)
  • Muting all players in a room (:roomshutup) and unmuting them (:roomunmute)

Super Hobba

Super Hobbas were experienced Hobbas dedicated to the program for more than 12 months. As a result of their dedication and effort, these Hobbas were often offered this rank by Habbo staff as a promotion. Super Hobbas were often team leaders with more powers and helped moderators train Silver Hobbas. Along with their Gold Hobba powers, additional powers included:

• Editing private rooms
• Resetting room rights
• Access to the database and individual players' records
• Hobba activity log, which shows activity from all Hobbas

Retirement

Due to the rapid growth of populations and increased risk of security threats, the Hobba program was retired on December 31, 2005 and was replaced by moderators, who were actual paid employees of Sulake instead of unpaid volunteers. Hobbas were given special badges for their work and adopted the nickname "ex-Hobba" among the community. Despite the end of the program, there are many ex-Hobbas still active even today.

Notable Hobbas

snoopstar

A memorial room for snoopstar (a Hobba)

On July 5, 2002, a fellow Habbo and dedicated Hobba Louis that went by the username snoopstar had passed away from an asthma attack at the young age of 15. This was confirmed by Habbo UK in a news article. Many memorial rooms have been made in dedication for him. This was one of the most famous deaths that had occurred in the Habbo community. A kind-hearted Habbo and special friend of his wrote a poem for him:

“	Snoopstar In Loving Memory. Don't think of him as gone away, his journey has just begun. Life holds so many facets, and Habbo Hotel is only one. Just think of him as resting from the sorrows and the tears, in a place of warmth and comfort, where there are no days and years. Think of how he must be wishing that we could know today, how nothing but our sadness can really pass away. And think of him as living in the hearts of those he touched for nothing loved is ever lost and he were loved so much.	”
	— -Dane-

Trivia

• Hobbas were advised to do at least 1–2 hours of moderation a week. Many didn't log onto the hotel for months since being accepted. They were given an email warning them about their inactivity; consequently, they had their badges and status removed. Oppositely, some Hobbas worked really hard to the point of promotion.
• When with friends, many Hobbas played with their powers and sometimes used alerts to communicate.
• In Habbo UK, the accounts "HobbaContact" and "Moderator" were created to help Hobbas. These accounts were shared and used during moderated hotel hours by professional moderators.
• Also in Habbo UK, the Hobba Forum was once a forum separate from the housekeeping component. Many Hobbas and regular players familiar to the program were opposed to this forum and as a result of this, Habbo decided to implement the forum into housekeeping.
• The Hobba program in Habbo US did not have an age limit, while Canada, UK, and Australia required its Hobbas to be at least 18. However, American Hobbas did not have Call For Help functions, could not ban or kick, nor have access to housekeeping, as opposed to the Canadian, UK, and Australian Hobbas, who had all of these benefits.