Resource Pokémon Showdown Forum Rules & Resources [READ HERE FIRST]

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ironwater

ironwater

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PS Admin
Pokémon Showdown Forum Rules & Resources​

Hello and welcome to the Pokémon Showdown forum! Before posting in this forum, please read the rules:
Before posting to seek help or report an issue, it's usually wise to consult the Help room on Showdown. The staff there are knowledgeable and experienced with common issues.

Only create threads that promote discussion and follow the rules. If your thread does not follow the above rules, it may be deleted and possibly warned.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Index
 
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Frequently Asked Questions
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originally by Relados and Zarel; updated by Blitzamirin, Kalalokki, Kasumi, shnen, Sobi, Tiksi, Vacate, verbatim, Aeonic and Teclis​

Staff and Disciplinary

How do I become staff?
Please refer to our staff FAQ below.

When will I be unlocked / unbanned?
Roombans and locks generally last two days, but both can be extended to a week for exceptionally poor or repeated behavior. If you are locked for using a proxy or VPN you'll have to disable it then /logout and log back in. Global bans last one week.

What does being locked mean?
Locked users cannot chat in chatrooms, groupchats, battles, or private messages with users that are not global staff. Locked users also cannot challenge other users.

What does being namelocked mean?
Namelocked users are locked and are additionally unable to choose a username. While namelocked you are limited to guest accounts such as Guest 123456.

What does being globally banned mean?
Globally banned users are unable to connect to the server at all for one week. This is rarely used and only in exceptional circumstances.

I'm punished in a room: to whom do I appeal?
Type /roomauth (room) to see the member of staff of a room; if a name is bolded, that user is online.

I was permalocked / globally banned. How can I appeal?
You can post a discipline appeal, but make sure to read the guidelines before posting.

How do I report a user?
If you encounter a user breaking PS rules, please use /report and open a help ticket. If you’re reporting rule breakage in a battle, please have the battle link or replay ready or staff will be unable to help you.

Chat and Client

What updates has PS! undergone?
To check what updates have happened, type /git in chat, and then click on "What's New", which will bring you to this link.

How do I register my account, and how do I log in?
To register, click on the settings gear in the top right corner, and then click on register. You will then be prompted to input your password twice, and answer a security question. Once you have done that, your account is registered. To log in, do /nick (name); you then need to put in your password, and you'll have logged in.

Can I speak in a language other than English?
In most rooms, no. However, PS offers many language-specific rooms: Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Korean and Polish.

How do I change my avatar?
You can change your avatar by clicking on your name and then clicking your current avatar, or by clicking the settings gear and "change avatar". A list will pop up with all the public avatars available to you, and you can click on the one you prefer. Additionally, PS has a selection of unlisted avatars. You can see a full list of them by using the /avatar command in any chat.

How does x command work?
Check out our beginner's guide to find out how to use PS commands. In addition, you can usually type a command with no additional information (such as entering in /ds) or use the help command (/help ds) to learn more about it.

How do I privately message a user?
By clicking a user's name and hitting the "Chat" button, you will open a Private Message (PM) window on the left side of your home tab. Any messages sent in that window will be private to you and the other user. You can also use /pm (user), (message) or /w (user), (message) instead. If the user you want to PM is offline, you have to send the message twice to switch to the offline messages feature.

How do I get a new name color?
Custom username colors are only available to global staff members (%, @, &) and contributors to Pokémon Showdown. This is unavailable to most users because it becomes much easier to impersonate recognized users and staff. Colors are calculated directly from usernames; changes to this must be applied manually by Administrators.

How do I add a Pokémon to my avatar? / How do I get a custom avatar?
Custom avatars are available to Global Staff members (%, @, &), contributors to Smogon and Pokémon Showdown, and to Smogon users who meet specific badge requirements. Custom avatars are sometimes given out as rewards for room events and contests - keep an eye on the news for announcements of these events!

How do I make a room?
Regular users can not make their own chatrooms; only those who already have a staff position in an existing room are eligible to do so. If this is your case, you can read the full list of requirements here.

How can I open two rooms at once?
If you want to have two rooms open next to each other, you either use Shift and Arrow Keys, or drag the room tab onto the Home page tab.

How can I move the position of rooms?
Click on the room name and hold, dragging it to the desired position.

What is autoconfirmed?
To talk in autoconfirmed chat, you must have had your account registered for one week and have won at least 1 ladder match with it. Click the "Battle! button and select any format besides "Unrated Random Battle" to play a ladder match. If you do not yet meet those requirements, you can try asking a Moderator or Room Owner of the room to turn it off.

Why did my teams get removed?
Teams are linked to the cookies on your browser. If you delete your search history/cookies, you risk losing your teams. If you use a different browser or computer, you also will not have access to your teams. It is recommended that you back up your teams using the Backup/Restore all teams button at the bottom of the teambuilder. You can then store it on a site like PokePaste or Pastebin. The PS! desktop app is known to have issues with losing teams; we recommend that you use the website instead.

How do I add my friend?
You can click on the "Friends" button below the "Find A User" one and enter their username. Alternatively, you can click on their username, then the "..." button, and "Add Friend".

Why did the server restart?
Servers restart to implement updates and reduce lag. Your ladder ranking and teams will not change. We will stop new battles from starting a few minutes before the restart and allow some time for ongoing battles to conclude. The restart itself takes about 0.6 seconds. You will be disconnected and able to reconnect afterwards.

How do I join a tournament?
If you want to join a tournament, click the "Join" button or type /tour join in the chat. If neither of these work, the tournament has already started and isn't accepting more entrants.

How do I change the background of PS?
To change the background, click on the settings cog in the top right corner, then click on "Change Background". You can choose one from there, or upload your own.

Tiering

What is Smogon?
Smogon is the most comprehensive and accurate online resource for competitive Pokémon battling, comprising strategy articles, guides, forums and its own simulator, Pokémon Showdown. Smogon's tiering is the basis for Pokémon Showdown.

What do AG, Ubers, OU, UU, RU or NU stand for?
If you want to know more about a specific tier you can use the command /tier [tiername]; it will show you information about that format.

What is a good moveset for my Pokémon?
By using the /smogdex [pokemon] command you can find the updates analysis for any Pokémon of your choice, with an explanation on why the build is effective.

What is a suspect test?
A suspect test is a ladder where the tier is testing a specific move, Pokémon, or ability to see if it is overcentralizing or outright broken in a given metagame. Reaching certain a certain GXE and number of games played would allow a user to vote on the suspect test and have their opinion be calculated in the tiering results.

What are Other Metagames (OMs)?
Other Metagames are metagames that are not officially recognized by Smogon. OMs typically make broad changes off a consistent rule, or small set of rules. For example, introducing a new mechanic (Pokémon have the type(s) of their first two moves - Camomons) or providing access (Pokémon can use any ability - Almost Any Ability). Check out the Other Metagames Subforum for more information.

What is the difference between Random Battle and Battle Factory?
Pokémon in Random Battles are randomly generated from PU and above, whereas in Battle Factory, all Pokémon from both teams will belong from the same tier, and movesets are competitive.

What is Hackmons Cup?
Hackmons Cup is a metagame where Pokémon, moves, abilities, items, EVs, and IVs are entirely random, so long as they can be hacked into the game. To win, you have to be skilled at scouting your opponent's team while making the most out of your own.

What is Super Staff Bros?
Super Staff Bros is a metagame featuring the global staff and public Room Owners of PS! Sets for each Pokémon are created by staff and are meant to represent them as a user. Sets may feature custom moves, abilities, stats, or even items. You can learn all about it [here]

Battles

How do I find a battle?
Click the Battle! button located on the homepage which will instantly search for a ladder match. To change to a certain tier simply click the bar under Format: and choose the one you want. To change your team click the bar under Team:.

How can I battle my friend or a specific person?
If you want to challenge a specific user, click their username and click Challenge. You can also use /challenge [username], and then select the tier you want to play and choose the team you'd like to use.

Why can I only use this move?
Make sure you check your Pokémon's items; items such as Assault Vest, Choice Band, Choice Scarf, and Choice Specs will limit your move choices.

What is an endless battle?
An endless battle is, as the name implies, a battle that cannot end. The common components of an endless battle are Pokémon that trap the target (via Block, Shadow Tag, or Arena Trap), moves that heal the opponent (usually Heal Pulse), ways to keep your own Pokémon healthy (Slack Off, Recover, or Roost), Leppa Berries to restore the user's lost PP, and continual generation of Leppa Berries (via Recycle).
The opponent is forced to Struggle, and because Struggle can never run out of PP, the battle would go on forever since a player can continuously heal both Pokémon (and prevent them from fainting). Endless battles are banned - if you encounter a "strategy" like this, alert a staff member in the Help room.

If the battle ends with both Pokémon fainting, who wins?
Whoever has the Pokémon that faints last wins. For Self-Destruct, Explosion, Final Gambit, and Destiny Bond, the user faints before dealing damage, so the users of those moves lose. For recoil damage from moves like Brave Bird, the user takes damage after damaging the opponent, so the users of those moves win. In Generation 1, if both battlers' final Pokémon faint in the same turn, the battle is a tie.

Why was my team rejected?
Teams are rejected for illegal moves / abilities or by breaking Smogon clauses.

Why does this Pokémon show as "illegal" in the Teambuilder?
It may be a Pokémon's alternate forme impossible to start a battle with. An example is Meloetta-Pirouette; you must use its standard forme (Meloetta-Aria) and execute the move Relic Song in battle. Your Pokemon may also be unreleased in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Finally, the Pokémon could be a CAP Pokémon, one made by Smogon's Create-A-Pokemon Project. You can use /cap or join the CAP Project room on PS to learn more about those.

Why can't I use my Shiny Legendary Pokémon?
Certain rare Pokémon are "shiny-locked", meaning that their shiny forms have never been made legally obtainable. These shiny-locked Pokémon are all Cap Pikachu formes, Articuno-Galar, Zapdos-Galar, Moltres-Galar, Celebi, Victini, Keldeo, Meloetta, Vivillon-Fancy, Vivillon-Pokeball, Hoopa, Volcanion, Cosmog, Cosmoem, Magearna, Marshadow, Zacian, Zamazenta, Eternatus, Kubfu, Urshifu, Zarude, Glastrier, Spectrier, and Calyrex.

My Pokémon has no illegal moves, a legal ability, and it isn't improperly shiny. Why is it illegal?
Often a Pokemon can legally fulfill multiple conditions individually, such as a learned move and shininess, but certain combinations are incompatible (impossible to have at the same time). You can do /learn Pokemon, move to see how a Pokemon learns a move, and /learn Pokemon, move1, move2 to see if multiple moves are compatible on it.

How do I reset my win / loss ratio?
Type /rank and in the box there will be a link to 'Reset W/L'. Following this link allows you to reset your ratio. Note that your other rankings will be unaffected; only your win/loss ratio will change. To change these other rankings, you can start off fresh with a new account.

What does GXE mean?
GXE stands for Glicko X-Act Estimate. The number shown is the estimated percent chance that a player has of winning against any other random player.

Where do I report a bug?
There's a high chance that it's actually an intentional mechanic that you don't fully understand. You should ask the Help Room about the issue first. If it still looks like a bug, head over to the bug reports forum. MAKE SURE TO READ THE FIRST TWO POSTS FULLY BEFORE YOU POST.
 
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Staff FAQ
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originally by Birkal and michael; updated by Vacate, Aeonic and Teclis​

Who are the staff?
Staff are represented by the symbols next to their names and appear at the top of the userlist. They are the senior users of Pokémon Showdown and are responsible for the smooth daily running of the simulator. A full staff list can be found here.

What's the difference between room staff and global staff?
Room staff have permissions tied specifically to the room in which they were promoted, whereas global staff have increased permissions across the server. Room staff can punish for behaviour in their rooms only, whereas global staff have the ability to globally lock or ban users and thus should be sought instead of room staff for PM or battle abuse. Global staff may also hold positions as room staff. Global staff can be identified by the "Global" indicator when clicking on their username.

What is the difference between the ranks?
Here is a non-exhaustive list:
  • Room ranks
    • Room Drivers (%) can: warn users, mute users for 7 or 60 minutes.
    • Room Moderators (@) can: do all of the above, as well as promote users up to Voice (+) and ban users from the room.
    • Room Owners (#) can: do all of the above, as well as promote users up to @, blacklist users from a room and set the room's introduction.
  • Global ranks
    • Section Leaders (§) are users who are responsible for a section of rooms. They also serve as liaisons between Room Owners and Administrators. Section Leader is denoted on the usercard instead of a specific rank. This rank does not infer any moderation powers on its own.
    • Global Drivers (%) can: warn users, mute users for 7 or 60 minutes, lock users from talking, forcibly rename users and check users' alternate accounts.
    • Global Moderators (@) can: do all of the above, as well as ban users from the server and check users' IP addresses.
    • Global Administrators (&) can: do all of the above, as well as promote users up to &, force ties and wins in battle, make unsigned global declarations, create rooms, ban a range of IP addresses, reset passwords, and permanently lock / ban users.
How do I become a staff member?
You do not join the staff by asking for it; staff are appointed with internal nominations and without an application process. If you are determined to be promoted, there are ways to display your aptitude:
  • Be both active and positive on the sim. Rooms promote their staff members from the pool of Room Voices, who are users who displayed a good presence in their chat and/or contributed to room-related projects.
  • Do not flame, be argumentative, or break any other PS rules. Staff members are designated exemplary users and represent PS in an official capacity.
  • Gain the respect of PS users and staff alike. Being a kind and considerate person to every user is an essential trait of a good staff member.
How do I become a Global Voice?
In order to become a Global Driver you must first become a Voice. Being a Global Voice (+) marks you as a particularly good user, although it is not a staff rank. It grants you a position at the top of the userlist, the ability to talk in moderated chat, and shows that you are a respected and helpful chat member. While obeying the following will not guarantee you voice status, it's a good start and will certainly improve your image in the staff team's eyes.
  • Exceptional contributions to PS rooms such may result in a global promotion. These include holding a public Room Owner position or being an outstanding moderator in one or more rooms.
  • Be helpful to others. Not everyone who uses Pokemon Showdown is an experienced battler, and answering their questions or otherwise helping them will gain respect from other users.
  • Encourage newcomers to Smogon and competitive Pokemon. The majority of new users have not played competitive Pokemon before and may even be in an internet chat room for the first time. As such, treat them with respect, help them if needed, and make Pokémon Showdown a better place for them.
  • Respect authority. While you might not agree with the decisions of staff members at times, please do not question or otherwise call out their decisions. If you feel that a staff member has made a wrong decision or abused their power, please PM higher ranked staff in a polite manner.
  • Be a generally positive presence in the chat. Answering questions, helping users, and contributing intelligently and respectfully to discussions are ways we can discern good Voices.
  • Contributions to Showdown's GitHub repository may also lead to a user being voiced.
 
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Roomauth Guide
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originally by antemortem, updated by Aeonic and Teclis​

Index
  1. Introduction
  2. General Guidelines
  3. Room Ranks (Voice / Driver / Moderator / Owner)
  4. Other Useful Commands
  5. Conclusion
Introduction

Hello Showdown! As many of you know, all public rooms in the server have their own specific ranks for users. These ranks appear on the room's user list, in order of level of authority (Room Owner, Room Moderator, Room Driver, and Room Voice), and are given to exemplary users that are trusted to run the respective room. This guideline will clarify the philosophy and use of each rank to help ensure your success as a room auth on the server if you are one, and ensure transparency regarding staff operations if you are not.

Pokémon Showdown! standard rules still apply, regardless of the room.
  • Please only use your moderating powers when it is required, and don't deliberately abuse them by any means. Your level of authority is given based on trust, and if you prove that you're not mature or trustworthy enough, you will lose said position. All legitimate claims of abuse (including joke punishments) will be taken seriously, so please show that you are able to use your position responsibly.

  • If there is a situation that's more suited for a global staff member to handle, then don't hesitate to report it to us and we'll handle it accordingly. This includes dealing with inappropriate names, punishment evasion, PM harassment, or serious offenses such as illegal/pornographic content. We're also happy to accommodate you if there's a need for more staff to watch the chat.

  • It's not a good idea to interfere with another room staff member's decision without consulting them about it first. It's also important not to publicly argue with other room staff members, so if there is a situation that you think requires it, take it to PMs or contact a higher up.

  • You can use the /roomauth command to display a box that lists every ranked user in the room the command is used in. The best way to use this is to not promote alts of room staff so that you don't lose track of who moderates the room.

  • As room staff, your role is to improve the chat; a standard warning is not always needed. A verbal warning can sometimes be more effective than a physical warn (i.e. a situation such as light caps).

  • One of the most important traits to becoming a competent room staff member is the ability to work with the rest of the staff. You are trusted to discuss important issues with, and ensuring that everyone is on board when it comes to handling promotions, discipline appeals, and major changes pertaining to the direction of the room.
Room Ranks

Note: If you're a Room Owner and are currently reading this, please keep in mind that these ideas are based on the opinions provided among the Pokémon Showdown! Staff. Whether or not you decide to practice all of these for your rooms is up to you, of course. This is to help users become more adept in having authority within their rooms. We'd like to ensure that we can provide a healthy decision-making process for all rooms.

Room Voice (+)

Much like the standard global rank on the server, Room Voice is awarded to users who display a positive presence in the room. This means that they are the ones who actively contribute to the chat, able to help out others when needed, and can get along with the room authority and the rest of the users. When promoted to this rank, it is important that you do not overestimate the influence or power that you have in the room. This means that mini-modding or questioning higher ups are not acceptable. You are expected to be a model user and should set good examples for other users on the chat.

Room Driver (%)

As the next status level, Room Driver is given to users who are trusted to keep room discussions on topic and handle users who are breaking rules on the chat. In order to show that you are able to handle the chat with such commands, you must be able to lead discussion in the chat, help users when necessary, and show that you are mature and capable of handling troublesome situations that may arise on the room. These powers include:

  • Warn (/warn, /kick, or /k) - An authority command used to remind an unpleasant user to not break a rule.
  • Mute (/mute or /m) - An action that is used to prevent a troublesome user from talking in the room for 7 minutes. This should only be reserved for minor offenses such as a mild amount of spamming or a single line of harassing or insulting someone.
  • Hourmute (/hourmute or /hm) - A command that prevents a user from talking in the room for 60 minutes. This should be only be applicable for situations where the user breaks a rule to the point where a 7 minute mute won't alleviate the problem.
  • Unmute (/unmute or /um) - Lifts a mute from a user. Only undo moderator actions of your own.
  • Announce (/announce or /wall) - This command alters your text to make it appear as white text on a blue background in order to make a noticeable announcement on the chat. This can be used for situations where a user needs to announce an important message to the chat.
  • Modlog (/modlog [info], /ml [info]) - This search command brings up a log of all of the mod actions taken on a user. To search one room's modlog, do /modlog [username].
  • Punishlog (/punishlog [info], /pl [info]) - This search command is similar to /modlog, but only brings up punishment-related mod actions taken on a user. To search one room's punishlog, do /punishlog [username].
  • Modnote (/modnote [message], /mn [message]) - This command is generally used to make a note of something that happened for your staff to reference later. You can use it to explain a punishment if you didn't include a reason in the punishment or if you want to add more details. This adds a text note permanently to the record.
  • Hide Text (/hidetext [username]) - Removes every message sent from a specific user in the room. This should only be used if a user was posting content that is disruptive or inappropriate for the room. You can clear a specific number of a user's lines with Hide Lines (/hidelines username, [# of lines]). You can also use Clear Lines/Text (same syntax) to prevent non-staff from viewing the cleared lines.
  • Modchat Autoconfirmed (/modchat autoconfirmed or /modchat ac) - Sets the chat to where only users who are registered for one week and have won a rated battle can talk. This should be used in situations where there are repeated spammers or rule breakers and is helpful in discouraging them away from the room. If it is the same user repeatedly spamming or breaking rules and evading punishments, contact a global staff member.
  • Modchat + (/modchat +) - Sets the chat to where only Voices or higher can talk in the room. This should only be used in situations where you may need to tone the chat down from bad topics or situations, or for when you need to mute multiple offenders at a given time.

Room Moderator (@)

Once you are promoted to a Room Moderator, you have access to a position of great influence within the room. Members with this position have access to tools that enable a user to deal with a wide variety of situations that they didn't have as a Driver, which means that Room Owners have to be very careful when considering someone to this rank. Because of that, this position requires a potentially-promoted Room Driver to be trustworthy and mature, as well as having the judgment and responsibility required to handle any situation that may arise from the room. These members are considered leaders of the room, and are able to appoint Room Voices as well. Including the commands from above, Room Moderators are also equipped with:

  • Room Ban (/ban or /b) - This command bans the user from the room for 2 days. This command should only be considered in serious situations where a user is being a highly negative presence to the point where a mute won't suffice. Situations may include harassing several users, spamming, or constant repeat offending.
  • Room Weekban (/weekban or /wb) Bans the user from the room for one week. Should only be used in scenarios where a regular ban would be ineffective. This may include banning a user who has several prior roombans, egregious spam, or exceedingly disgusting content (which should often be paired with a lock).
  • Room Unban (/roomunban) - Unbans the user from the room.
  • Modchat %/@ (/modchat %/@) - Sets the chat to where only users of the set rank or higher can talk in the room. This can be used for when you need to tone down the chat from bad topics of situations and don't want Voices to have chat access, or for important staff announcements.
  • Room Voice (/roomvoice) - Promotes a user to a Voice in the room. This command should be used wisely, and you must keep in mind that this is a position of status and Voices are considered to be exemplary users that regular users would admire. As a Moderator, you are encouraged to discuss with the other room authority about who you feel may be worthy of Voice. It's always recommended that you check with the rest of the staff on whether they approve or not before promoting someone to Voice.
  • Room Devoice (/roomdevoice) - Removes Voice from a user in the room. This is similar to the process with promoting someone to Voice. Much like how promoting a user to voice is handled, it's recommended that a candidate has approval from the majority of the staff before taking action with this command. This is typically considered for Voices who prove to be poor users.

Room Owner (#)

As the most powerful position within the room staff, Room Owners are considered the heads of the room and thus have the final say of everything that goes on in them. This ranges from the direction of the rooms to bans, promotions, and demotions. They are appointed with approval of PS! Administrators and support from all of the other Room Owners. While Room Owners are typically not as active in their rooms as the rest of the room staff, their roles are based on leadership potential/experience, the ability to compromise, level of judgement, and the ability to work with the rest of the staff. In order to adapt to this position, one must keep in mind of the following:
  • You are most responsible to what goes on within the room staff, regarding the users that you choose to work with/promote, the additional guidelines and topics that take place in the room, and situations that may require your assistance within the room staff and userbase.
  • Communication among the staff is the key. It's a good idea to hold regular staff meetings and owner meetings using a communication service such as Discord. In these meetings, make plans to improve the room and keep it on the right track! Some things to talk about might be promotions, demotions, room suggestions, and more. Give the chance for all staff to voice their view, as their views shouldn't be considered inferior because of a lower rank.
  • Try to think of things that your room can offer users (getting the Pokémon Showdown! staff involved in some way can really work wonders!). Give users a reason for them to come to your room and keep coming back. As a room owner, your job is to provide users with a place to discuss the room topic freely.
  • When dealing with disputes between two of more of your room staff members, one of the most important steps to take is to try to avoid taking sides in arguments. As a Room Owner, your job is to hear from each side and work towards a solution that will compromise any issues that may arise within the room staff.
  • While you are entrusted to run the room, remember that no one is always right and that you should take into consideration others' thoughts on room decisions. However, remember that you always have the final word.
Including everything mentioned above, Room Owners also have access to the following commands:

  • Roomintro (/roomintro) - Sets the room introduction to the room, and the message will appear as you join the room. This command is an important feature that allows you to describe aspects of the room, as well as any specific guidelines for users to go by. This message should make clear what the room is for in order to attract interested users.
  • Room Rules (/rules) - Sets the link to the room rules. This will be shown along with the global rules when the command is broadcast.
  • Room Driver (/roomdriver) - Promotes a user to Room Driver.
  • Room Moderator (/roommod) - Promotes a user to Room Moderator.
  • Room Demote (/roomdemote [user], [rank]) - Demotes an existing user to the room rank of choice.
  • Room De-auth (/roomdeauth) - Demotes an existing room staff member from the room staff list.
  • Declare (/declare message) - Makes a declaration more prominent than one from the /wall command, and removes your name from the message. This allows links/images to be broadcast responsibly.
  • Modchat # (/modchat #) - Sets the chat to where only Room Owners can talk. Technically, Room Owners can also set the modchat up to '~' as well, but modchat # is important to mention in case there's an important announcement for the Room Owners to make for the room.
  • Room Settings (/roomsettings) - Allows you to change the required rank for many room features such as tournaments, modchat, promotions, etc.

Other Useful Commands

Room staff members are given access to many new commands that may help in running the room or promoting discussion.

  • Staffintro (/staffintro) - Displays a room introduction that only staff members can see. This is useful for conveying information to staff members unable to access Smogon or Discord, and are generally used to provide information on potential promotions or blacklists. Room Moderators and above can change the staffintro by using the command /staffintro [text].
  • Polls- Room Drivers and above may create polls. They are useful for gathering opinions relating to the current discussion. Only one poll may be run in a room at a time. These commands may be accessed by typing /poll on PS:
    • /poll create [question], [option1], [option2], [...] - Creates a poll in the current room.
    • /poll timer [minutes] - Sets the poll to automatically end after [minutes].
    • /poll end - Ends a poll and displays the results.
  • Hangman- PS now supports hangman through the server instead of forcing rooms to use bots in order to start a game.
    • /hangman new/create [word], [hint] - Starts a hangman game in the current room. Note that adding a hint is completely optional.
    • /hangman end - Ends the current game of hangman.
  • Room Events (/roomevents help for the full list of commands) - Adds an event to the /events list. This can be used in specific rooms to let everyone know when an event will happen.
  • Chatlogs (/chatlogs) - Allows you to view a log of messages sent in a room.
  • Linecount (/linecount) - Shows the most active chatters in a room by linecount for the month. Can be navigated by month.

Conclusion

The Showdown community is always willing to provide users to contribute and provide an entertaining experience for everyone involved, and this guide will certainly be of help here! If you have any further questions, feel free to contact a global staff member.
 
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Tournament Script Guide
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originally by kota; updated by sirDonovan​

Participating to a tournament

When tournament sign-ups are opened, you will see an interface drop down from the top of the chat area. There will be a button to join if you're not in the tournament and a button to leave if you are. Alternatively, the commands /tour join and /tour leave can be used. Please resist any urge to repeatedly join and leave as it causes spam and is a bannable offence. If the tournament is round robin, the bracket will be displayed during sign-ups. If it is elimination, the bracket will be generated once the tournament starts and in its place you will see the number of users who have joined and a list of their names.

When the tournament starts, you should see the leave button replaced with information about any match-ups you have. A challenge interface will appear if you are matched up to another user. Use this to select your team if needed and challenge the user rather challenging the "normal" way because otherwise it won't count as a tournament match.

Tips:
  • Run the /tour command by itself for a list of currently running tournaments
  • The tournament bracket becomes draggable and will be able to be popped out if it grows too large
  • You can toggle the tournament bracket by clicking on the header
  • If the interface messes up (e.g., the bracket disappears or challenges aren't working), try running /tour getupdate
  • You can cancel your challenge by running /tour cancelchallenge
Management commands (staff-only)

All commands are to be run under /tour. For example, the command start would be typed into chat as /tour start.

  • create/new <format>, <type> [, <comma-separated arguments>]
    • Creates a new tournament in the current room. The arguments are explained below.
  • settype <type> [, <comma-separated arguments>]
    • Modifies the type of tournament after it's been created, but before it has started. The arguments have the same meaning as the ones in create/new.
  • rules/banlist <comma-separated arguments>
    • Sets the custom rules for the tournament before it has started. See 'Custom rules' section below for more information.
  • viewrules/viewbanlist
    • Shows the custom rules for the tournament.
  • clearrules/clearbanlist
    • Clears the custom rules for the tournament before it has started.
  • name
    • Sets a custom name for the tournament.
  • clearname
    • Clears the custom name of the tournament.
  • end/delete
    • Forcibly ends the tournament in the current room.
  • start/begin
    • Starts the tournament in the current room. This means that users can no longer join the tournament.
  • autostart/setautostart <on|minutes|off>
    • Sets the automatic start timeout. The on argument will make the tournament autostart once the player cap is reached.
  • disqualify/dq <user>
    • Disqualifies a user from the tournament.
  • autodq/setautodq <minutes|off>
    • Sets the automatic disqualification timeout. Participants who have available challenges and aren't acting on them will be eligible for automatic disqualification after this timeout. The automatic disqualifier is run at the start and end of each tournament battle, on an interval determined by the minutes argument, and can be manually run with runautodq.
  • runautodq
    • Manually runs the automatic disqualifier.
  • scouting <allow|disallow>
    • Specifies whether joining tournament matches while in the tournament is allowed.
  • modjoin <allow|disallow>
    • Specifies whether players can modjoin their tournament battles.
  • getusers
    • Lists the users currently in the tournament. Can be broadcast.
  • on/enable <%|@>
    • Enables allowing drivers or mods to start tournaments in the current room.
  • off/disable
    • Disables allowing drivers and mods to start tournaments in the current room.
  • announce/announcements <on|off>
    • Enables/disables tournament announcements for the current room.

Arguments for the create/new command (staff-only)

<format> is the battle format, such as OU. Don't worry, if you type this wrong, you will be given a list of valid formats.

<type> is the tournament type, of which roundrobin and elimination are currently supported.
  • roundrobin is your typical Round Robin tournament and is more suited for a low number of users (e.g., less than 6).
  • elimination is the more well known Elimination tournament style.
<player cap> is a number representing the amount of players that can join the tournament.

<type modifier> is a number that will modify the tournament based on its type.
  • roundrobin becomes a Double Round Robin tournament with any number, meaning that each battle is done twice.
  • elimination becomes a different type of Elimination tournament depending on the number. For example, with 2 the tournament becomes Double Elimination.
Examples:
  • /tour new ou, roundrobin: OU Round Robin
  • /tour new ou, roundrobin, 6, 1: OU Double Round Robin with a player cap of 6
  • /tour new ou, elimination: OU Single Elimination
  • /tour new ou, elimination, 32, 2: OU Double Elimination with a player cap of 32

Custom rules

It is possible to tweak a format's normal rules in tournaments. See the full guide to custom rules for the exact list.

Set custom rules like /tour rules -Pikachu, -Raichu

Note: /tour rules will clear any previously set rules so you need to include everything at once.
 
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Artemis
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What is Artemis?

Artemis is a neural-net chat monitor that uses the technology of Google's Perspective tool to monitor every ladder battle room on the simulator (but not challenge battles). It analyzes the content of a chat message and processes it as a weighted score that increases with profanities, people wishing ill, etc. When that score is high enough, two are two possibles outcomes:
  • Global staff are notified to review the battle for potential misconduct, with a human moderator making the final call.
  • Past a certain point, Artemis issues the punishment (a 48h or week long lock from talking) itself.
    • Artemis takes into account a user's past punishments before taking a decision. It means that if you have been punished a lot in the past, you are more likely to be issued to punishment at a similar level of offense.
Naturally, messages sent to Google through Artemis contain no personally identifiable information; only the message content is sent, not usernames. Here is Google's Privacy Policy for those interested.

Practical consequences

Artemis' existing means that:
  • Global staff members might join your ranked battles to punish your opponent without you having had to issue a report if they are breaking our rules.
  • You might be automatically locked from talking if you are using an overly high amount of profanities, insulting your opponent, etc.
Of course and while we are continuously working on improving it, Artemis is not perfect and might make mistakes when issuing punishments. For example, it can struggle to make the difference between people being rude to Pokémon ("damn you Garganacl!") or to their human opponents, which should not be treated the same way. If you feel you have been unfairly punished, you can always appeal your punishment through Showdown's ticket system and a staff member will review your case as soon as possible.

While those inconveniences are unfortunate, they represent a minority of the cases and we can only offer you our apologies if you are concerned - on the other hand, Artemis has stopped thousands of bad users from being harmful since its creation and will continue to do so in the future.
 
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