Wi-Fi Forum Rules (read me first, updated December 3rd, 2016)

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Expert Evan

Expert Evan

every battle has a smell!
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
On top of Smogon's Global rules, Wi-Fi also has a few forum-specific rules. Follow these rules to stay out of trouble. If you're confused about any of them, feel free to PM a Wi-Fi moderator for clarification.

General Rules & Resources
To keep the forum cleaner, there are several stickied threads for you to use for specific needs. Read the first post of all these threads and follow the rules and guidelines they contain. The rules set there carry the same weight as those listed here. Do not make individual threads for what can be posted in any of these threads. Your topic will be locked and deleted.

These threads are:

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  • The sale of Pokémon for currency is strictly prohibited. No money is allowed to be exchanged for any Wi-Fi trades on these forums.
  • Offering free Pokémon in exchange for likes on your thread is not permitted.
  • Trade privately at your own risk. While we understand the need for private requests, the transparency of public posts will help you if you get into trouble.
  • Don't post in threads that state "Don't post here"; threads doing this are reserving posts for a trade thread. Wait until the owner says you can post.
  • Do not complain about RNG manipulation. It's here to stay; get over it.
  • If you are banned from trading on Pokemon Showdown, you're banned from trading on the forums.

Trade Thread Rules

  • List all of your IVs. Traders here at Smogon are only interested in Pokémon with competitive value. We want to know your Pokémon's IVs. Please state these IVs explicitly a good format for them would be HP/ATK/DEF/SPATK/SPDEF/SPEED such as 31/31/31/31/31/30, especially if your Pokemon has a specific Hidden Power type it was bred/caught for. DO NOT generalize by posting "5 IV, 4 IV, etc". Use an IV calculator such as this one http://www.metalkid.info/Pokemon/Calculators/IV.aspx to help you if you're unsure.
  • With that said, if you're trading Pokemon that are "spitbacks" (Pokemon with decent IVs bred in the process of getting a competitive Pokemon) terminology like 4 IV or x/31/x/x/31/31 is fine.
  • Do not bump your own trade threads unless you have added something new.
  • Do not start a new trade thread if you already have an active trade thread. If your old thread is inactive and you wish to make a new one, contact a Wi-Fi moderator to close the old one for you.
  • Please do not use obnoxiously large pictures in your trade thread. Pokecheck is a great resource for small, good looking sprites. Banners are allowed, but make sure they're not too bulky.
  • If you are trading Pokémon that you did not breed or catch yourself, you must include the name of the original user or OT/ID of that user in the trade details. If you have limited distribution rights, then you must link to the original post or thread which confirms this. For Pokémon that have come from another site, or the GTS, the Pokémon's OT/ID must be posted in the trade details. For Pokemon you did catch/breed yourself, it's fine to just add your OT/ID at the top of the thread and say that any Pokemon without a listed OT/ID were obtained by you and have the OT/ID at the top of the thread.
  • Personal blacklists are not allowed in trade threads. If a user is trading suspiciously, report them to the forum-wide Wi-Fi blacklist.

Hacking & Cloning

-Cloning is allowed on these forums. We do not care about your moral stance regarding cloning. If you do not want to trade for cloned Pokemon you are free to say so but DO NOT tell others cloning is hacking or whatever you consider it, keep all that to yourself.
  • Note in the Pokémon’s description...
    • If and how it was cloned.
    • If an emulator was used.
    • If it was obtained via a hacked or injected Wonder Card.
  • Note in your thread...
    • If and how you use third party tools including:
      • Any Action Replay (or similar device) codes you use.
      • Any Pokesav/Pokegen functions you use.
      • Any fake GTS such as Pokecheck or Pokegts.
  • Do NOT...
    • Trade Pokémon that have been created or altered by a third party tool (Action Replay, Pokegen, Pokesav, etc.).
      • This includes anything bred using created/altered Pokémon.
    • Use RAM editing.
    • Distribute Pokémon via .pkm files.
    • Ask for advice about AR, Pokegen, PokeSav, etc.
    • This should be common sense, but if you suspect a Pokemon is hacked, don't offer it in your trade thread. Seriously, a little common sense goes a long way.
    • Use a Power Saves device to force shininess onto a Pokemon. Doing so, then attempting to trade it will result in blacklisting.
 
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The Policy on Hacking

Smogon's definition of hacking is the following- Hacking is the use of any external device in order to modify the game and the game data in any sort of way.

With this in mind, the site will not promote hacking in any sort of way. This means that you may not post, discuss, or promote AR Codes, Save Data, and anything else related to Flash Cart activities. You also may not discuss what is "hacking" and what is not "hacking" - this is because this is an exercise in futility.

Trading edited Pokémon (Pokémon which have had any of their data modified after capture [with the exclusion of quick-hatch code]) or generated Pokémon (Pokémon which were flat-out created) cannot be traded here. This includes using such Pokémon as parents for breeding other Pokémon.

Yet we recognize that everyone has their own views and standards when it comes to what is "legit" or "illegit". The site will respect this, and will not interfere with the use of external devices in any sort of way. Yet we ask that the use of external device is fully documented and disclosed when one uses the WiFi subforums - as an act that will respect the views of the other party.

If you want to know if a specific Pokémon is hacked, then ask here.
 
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Policy on Shiny Value Hatching and Redistribution

The redistribution rights of a Pokemon hatched by another user belong to the original owner of the egg not the person who hatched it. The Pokemon's redistribution are determined solely by the original owner not by the hatcher, and the hatcher may not tell the user that they cannot trade that Pokemon if they so choose to despite it having their OT.
 
Policy on mistrading Pokemon

If someone you trade with gives you the incorrect Pokemon in your trade, you can demand for both of these to happen:

A) You receive your original Pokemon back OR you trade for the correct Pokemon.
B) You receive some competent final product breed free of charge from the other person as compensation for the hassle of the mistrade / the possibility they traded you only to clone your Pokemon and send it back. The person who received the incorrect Pokemon may pick anything out of what the person who sent the incorrect Pokemon has to offer. Shiny Pokemon are exempt from this selection if the person who sent the incorrect Pokemon cannot clone.
 
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Policy on Linking to Spreadsheets and Other Trade Threads:

As of now, you are no longer allowed to link solely to external references such as Google Doc spreadsheets and trade threads on other websites to use as trade references. This prevents moderators from easily inspecting trade threads for problems. Please take the time to copy whatever information is in your spreadsheet or other trade thread and make a version specific to Smogon.
 
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A slight alteration is being made to this rule:
List all of your IVs. Traders here at Smogon are only interested in Pokémon with competitive value. We want to know your Pokémon's IVs. Please state these IVs explicitly a good format for them would be HP/ATK/DEF/SPATK/SPDEF/SPEED such as 31/31/31/31/31/30, especially if your Pokemon has a specific Hidden Power type it was bred/caught for. DO NOT generalize by posting "5 IV, 4 IV, etc". Use an IV calculator such as this one http://www.metalkid.info/Pokemon/Calculators/IV.aspx to help you if you're unsure.
Click to expand...

As of now, spitbacks / breedjects / Pokemon with decent IVs that aren't a final product are exempt from this rule. You're free to use terminology like x3 IV or x/x/31/x/31/31 if you're trading spitbacks.

This rule was originally written down nearly a decade ago when breeding one Pokemon as a final product and cloning it was the norm. Of course, since XY, trading spitbacks has been popular and we've been fine with it, so we're going to quickly clear up doing that with vague IV listings is fine for spitbacks.
 
Expert Evan said:
  • Do NOT...
    • Trade Pokémon that have been created or altered by a third party tool (Action Replay, Pokegen, Pokesav, etc.).
      • This includes anything bred using created/altered Pokémon.
Click to expand...
As a quick reminder, please keep in mind we don't want Pokemon bred with hacked parents traded around here. This includes things like injected Dittos. If we catch you using hacked parents, you will be blacklisted!
 
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