Your questions are far from minor. In fact they address some of the hardest and most universal problems that exist in connection with ‘adminning’ a Mud.
Perhaps it would help making one post for each question next time.
Anyhow, let’s take the first and easiest one first - enforcing the rules of the game and player respect.
I think this specific problem might have a bit to do with your being a junior imm, yes. Many newly appointed imms seem to think that their new rank will automatically earn them respect from the player base. (You don’t appear to be one of those however. In fact, your questions are so intelligent that I feel confident that you won’t take this statement from me too personally).
Nevertheless, respect is not a thing that can be
forced on anyone, it has to be
earned. As a Staff member, respect is earned by the work you produce for the Mud, and by acting fairly, calmly and consistently in all situations. (Sure, anyone can blow their top once in a while, since honestly the behaviour of some players could make a Saint blow their halo, but the main key is to always stay calm and cool.
This is why in my Mud we generally advise new imms to lie a bit low with player intercourses, until they have established their presence long enough to be regarded as a natural and respected part of the ‘Pantheon’. Enforcing the rules of the game generally is the most unpopular task an immortal can get, and expecting a relatively junior imm to do it is downright cruel.
Now to the actual issue, dealing with offensive behaviour on open channels:
The easiest and most effective way to handle players that get ‘cute’ or offensive is to of course silence them, for a shorter or longer period. This in turn assumes that the Mud has a no-channeling command, a written policy about how to use it, and that the policy is applied equally to all players. If you silence some players, while allowing others a free reign, you’ll get into problems. If some imms tolerate bad behaviour while others don’t, (which is often the case), it makes things a bit harder, but still - players quickly learn the tolerance level of different imms.
If an official policy exists, and is consistently applied by you, it will work, and the punishment will definitely not lose its effectiveness.
(As a working policy I’d suggest this:
1st offence; Warn and explain why.
2nd offence; Silence for 5 minutes, to give the player time to cool off.
3rd offence; Silence for a week, or until they learn the lesson and apologise.)
Now the main problem is that most people tend to react very badly to being silenced, especially when it can be perceived as repression of free speech. (You can see examples of this in these boards too). Oldtime players in particular sometimes seem to think that they should be allowed special privileges. If you succumb to that, you’ll get into even bigger problems. You will have to resign to the fact that you might lose some friends as a result of maintaining respect and consistency. But if you do, those friends were probably not worth having anyway.