Stark Mountain Rules & Pokémon Taboos (READ - Updated October 31, 2008)

Stark Mountain is our forum for general discussion on Pokémon Diamond/Pearl. If you're new to the forum, competitive battling or even Pokémon itself, spend more time reading than posting. Familiarize yourself with how we operate here at Smogon. Embrace being new and don't try to act like you know what you're talking about, because you don't, and that's fine - you will eventually. While we want you to enjoy your stay here at Smogon, we of course have rules that you need to follow should you want to remain a member of our happy community!

• Only post one topic per issue We only need one thread to talk about each topic. Subsequent threads will be locked and/or deleted.
• We don't want to see "make your own" or "what if <Pokémon> got <move>" threads Sometimes it is fun to dream up your own Pokémon, moves, traits, and towns. However, these type of threads detract from Smogon's focus on the competitive aspect of Pokémon, and as such, we do not want this board littered with them. If you wish to create this type of thread, PM your thread to a moderator for approval, but you can expect your request to be turned down more often than not. In addition, reobserve the forum-wide rule: "Do not create threads that do not support discussion. Creating an entire thread to ask a simple question is not acceptable; do a Google search for that stuff. All thread starters are required to provide a good basis for discussion in their opening post." This means that "what pokémon/move/ability is your favorite/is most overrated" threads should be considered with an "And why?" every time. When you remember that this is a competitive battling forum first and foremost, you will remember that this mindset will help to promote keen discussion beyond simple "x pokémon/move/ability is y/z" answers.
• Do not question the tiering of any Suspect that has gone through Stages 1 and 2 of the Suspect Test process. Besides the fact that all Suspects will be retested in Stage 3, weeks and weeks go into a respective Suspect's actual testing, and this grants those who qualify the fair right to vote on the Suspect. To think that your complaints are going to or should have any actual sway after this process is somewhat insulting to the community at large.
• Please keep the intelligence level of your posts at a respectable level This may sound a little harsh, but it is necessary. Provide some thoughts and reactions in your posts. Simplistic replies to threads are neither necessary, nor acceptable. If you make a statement, back it up! Do not post arguments without backing, or you will feel the wrath of the moderators. We hate that. If you wish to contribute to discussions, you should read How to argue and start discussions by Tangerine first to prevent logical fallacies from happening.
• If you post a "new" moveset as a thread, don't ever name it after yourself or in any way indicate that you should be given credit for it. However creative you find "your" set, there are so many problems connected to it and so many irritations about it that it's just banned altogether now. Among them is the fact that most home made names are horribly annoying.
• Moveset, Strategy and Discussion Threads Broad discussion threads about a single Pokémon no longer have a purpose. As such, they are no longer allowed in Stark Mountain. Before posting a "new" moveset or strategy, check the Strategy Pokédex for the Pokémon first, it may be listed there already. When proposing a new set or strategy, test it out first. You can get plenty of battle experience on WiFi or Shoddy Battle.
• On the subject of Shoddy Battle, Smogon is in no way affiliated with their site, forums or simulator so do not ask questions related to it here.
• Do not create threads asking what to do with a specific Pokémon You can find information about movesets and EV spreads in our Strategy Pokédex. Questions related to breeding should be confined to the Look at what I bred thread.
• Do not create threads here telling us about an error in one of the analyses in the Strategy Pokédex You can only do this in the appropriate section in the Contributions and Corrections forum.
• Simple gameplay related questions go in the Ask a simple question, get a simple answer thread. Be sure to read the first post before asking or answering questions. Do not ask questions about simple ingame things like "Does this move do X?" or "What does ability Y do?" without checking Smogon's Pokedexes first.
• Absolutely no discussion of ROMs

War Story Rules:

Everyone loves reading a good war story, but there are plenty of things that can go wrong that will make war stories tedious and uninteresting to read. The following set of rules and guidelines has been provided for your benefit and for that of your potential readers. This is required reading for anyone who wants to post a war story; you will receive an infraction and your thread will be deleted if you post a war story that is not in compliance with these rules.

Guidelines and Format

If you just had a great battle but are unsure of how to write about it, here’s a format to help you get started:

• Define the rules List the rules used in the match before detailing the battle. It's also helpful to state whether the battle took place on WiFi or ShoddyBattle.
• State the teams Show the teams of both battlers beforehand. Just the Pokemon themselves is fine, there is no need to give away your movesets. Adding some pictures is also recommended to make your post more visually appealing.
• Highlight important turns Give some insight as to what you were thinking at the time. Explain certain moves and the reasons you did things that may not appear obvious to the reader.
• Keep track of the score If a Pokemon faints, state the score. 6-6 means both players have 6 Pokemon and if one faints the score drops to 6-5, etc. To keep things simple, always state your own score first.
• Summarize the battle Give a recap of what the reader should take away from your battle. Most war story writers include a "Props" and "Slops" section at the end to summarize both the positive and negative points of the battle.

Examples good war stories can be found in the Warstory Archive. These will serve as useful guide for the type of battles that users found enjoyable to read.


Rules

While the above was a guide to presenting your story, the following are hard and fast rules that must be followed. Failure to do so will result in your thread being locked.

• Do not trash your opponent in a war story. Providing your thoughts on what they might have been thinking regarding the match is fine, but insulting your opponent is not acceptable.
• Warstory interesting battles. Nobody wants to read about how you 6-0'd an opponent with Garchomp; we want to see interesting battles with plenty of strategy. Again, look at the Warstory Archive for good examples.
• No War Stories during active tournaments. War stories about tournament matches may not be posted until the completion of the tournament or until such a time as both players involved have been eliminated. The purpose of this rule is to prevent the premature exposure of details of teams to be scouted in later rounds. If team revealing is not an issue thanks to the nature of the tournament, however (for example, if the tournament requires different teams to be used each round), feel free.
• Make your post readable. Avoid poor grammar, employ correct punctuation, and present your story in a clean, and easy to follow format.
• Preview your warstory before posting it. When copy/pasting a log, font tags will sometimes end up around the text. Copying it to notepad and then to the posting box usually fixes this.
• Less log, more commentary. Avoid posting logs in their entirety. Every instance of Leftovers recovery, Sandstorm damage, etc. does not need to be reported unless it is actually crucial to the outcome of the game. Your focus should be commentary and not simply posting a log with a few simple comments after each turn.

All stylistic and technical aspects are subject to moderator discretion which is, as always, supreme and not to be questioned.

Have fun writing your story! If you don’t enjoy telling us what happened in your battle, what makes you think we would enjoy reading about it? If you’re excited to tell us about your battle, it will show in the writing, making it more enjoyable for everyone.


All the best,
The Smogon Community.

Expanded the "intelligent discussion" rule. If you make an argument, back it up.

Added rule about errors in the Strategy Pokedex. Don't post them here!

Removed the ban on discussing evasion.

We still don't allow stupid posts, so don't make a thread that consists of "Double Team sucks. Discuss."