This thread is also available in French!
The purpose of this thread is to walk you through the process of reporting serious instances of misconduct to the Pokémon Showdown! and Smogon Administration. Examples of incidents that should be reported along this avenue are:
Examples of incidents that should not be reported directly to the Admins include:
Pokémon Showdown!:
Smogon:
If you wish to appeal an infraction, file an Infraction Appeal instead.
------------------------
To file a report for Smogon and Pokémon Showdown! Administration, please gather the following information:
How are reports handled?
A member of the reports team will see your report and link it and tag the User Safety Team in the Discord channel where reports are handled. Members of the team will read through the report and discuss the contents, making sure to come to an understanding of what has been presented, what may be missing, and what additional information may be required before determining a course of action to take, if necessary. At this point, someone on the team would reach out to the reporter, asking for more information and/or clarification or letting them know the report has been processed. At slowest, the report will be acknowledged within 48 hours of being posted in the Admin Reports subforum, even if consensus on a path forward has yet to be reached.
If necessary, members of the team can and will reach out to other users that may be involved or have pertinent information, continue with investigating Discord servers where appropriate, review PM logs, etc. in order to gain as much relevant context as possible before making any final decision. We will not share details of the report during this process, and users found to be sharing information that can identify reporters may be infracted. When a decision has been made among the group, steps to demote, ban, or otherwise punish a user will be carried out, after which a member of the team will let the reporter know the outcome, thanking them and closing out the report.
What happens when there's a report made against a member of Upper or Senior Staff?
If you'd like to report a member of Senior or Upper Staff, please don't post in the Admin Reports subforum. Instead, reach out to another member of either team individually, likely over Discord or Smogon PMs, and start from there. Given we can't bring a report to the full team immediately when it involves one of our own, a side Discord server will be created, after which members of one or both staffs-depending on the circumstances-will be invited to review, discuss, and investigate. Similar to the above, other users may be contacted for additional context while things are verified and evidence gathered. Once a decision has been made, a demotion, ban, or other punishment will be carried out, and a follow-up post will be made in the Global Staff (PS Admin ban, demotion, or punishment) or Inside Scoop (Senior Staff ban, demotion, or punishment) forum, explaining what happened, what our course of action was, and why. It likely will not contain all details, but in order to keep the broader community informed, we're committed to informing relevant communities when this happens.
What happens if I only want a few members of the safety team or SS/US to view my report?
Generally, if there's not a reason for any report to be limited for viewing, we request you post in the Admin Reports subforum. As mentioned multiple times above, we do not share details of the report if there is any risk for identifying a reporter. If you have a reason you think your report should only be viewed by a subset of the larger team, you're free to approach any member of the team and ask if it's possible. They will likely reply asking why you think it needs to be, who shouldn't see it (and why), and if they can expand the number of people able to see it, whether that means more of the or the full User Safety Team, Senior Staff (Smogon Super Mods), Upper Staff (PS Admins), or some combination thereof. From there, the person handling the report will bring it to the group and discussions on how to proceed will commence.
Do we accept reports in other languages?
The short answer is yes. Realistically, a majority of us are native English speakers, so reports in other languages may take a slightly longer time to resolve due to translation needs or potential back-and-forth communication in different languages. We appreciate patience in this process, as we very much wish to ensure all reports are addressed thoroughly and appropriately, regardless of language. If possible, providing an English translation alongside your report can help expedite the process, but it is not a requirement.
The purpose of this thread is to walk you through the process of reporting serious instances of misconduct to the Pokémon Showdown! and Smogon Administration. Examples of incidents that should be reported along this avenue are:
- Staff complaints
- Pokémon Showdown!: Room Owners (#), Global Drivers (%), Global Moderators (@)
- Smogon Forums: Moderators, Community Leaders
- Sexual misconduct (any and all forms)
- Grooming
- Bigotry/racism
- Predatory behavior
- Malicious Smogon- or PS-affiliated groups
- For example, a Discord server with doxxing, egregious bigotry, illegal content.
Examples of incidents that should not be reported directly to the Admins include:
Pokémon Showdown!:
- Someone was rude in a battle
- Someone was rude in private messages
- Appealing a punishment
- Inappropriate username, status, or Pokémon nicknames.
Smogon:
- Someone was rude to me in a post.
- Someone posted inappropriate content on the forums.
- Someone is spamming the forums
If you wish to appeal an infraction, file an Infraction Appeal instead.
------------------------
To file a report for Smogon and Pokémon Showdown! Administration, please gather the following information:
- Who is involved?
- Please list the Showdown and Smogon usernames of all users involved if possible.
- When did it happen?
- If it was a single instance, please note the date(s) on which the misconduct occurred to the best of your ability.
- Where did it happen?
- If it happened on Smogon Forums, please link to the offending threads or posts. You can provide screenshots of forum conversations.
- If it happened on Showdown, please tell us if it occurred in private messages (PMs) or a chatroom (state which).
- If it happened in a Discord server, please tell us the name of the server, the username of the owner, and any relation the server has to Smogon or Showdown.
- Please provide at least a few logs or screenshots (if possible) for each relevant person that demonstrates the scope of their behaviors. This makes it far easier for Admins to reach a solid understanding of the situation and maximize our efficiency.
- What happened?
- Please explain what happened as thoroughly as possible.
- It's easier for the reports team to understand the situation if you give a chronological overview first.
- Provide as many logs and screenshots as possible. Please include a video recording of Discord logs on top of the screenshots.
- Having evidence allows us to verify your claims and get a complete picture of what happened.
- If there is NSFW/explicit content, censor it before you upload it to the forums. If it needs to be verified independently, a member of the team will let you know.
- If there are other victims, please ask them for permission to share their name with the team, then let us know who they are.
- If someone has been engaging in misconduct with several users, we want to know about it and act accordingly. However, if someone is not comfortable sharing their story or speaking with us, do not do so on their behalf.
- Please explain what happened as thoroughly as possible.
How are reports handled?
A member of the reports team will see your report and link it and tag the User Safety Team in the Discord channel where reports are handled. Members of the team will read through the report and discuss the contents, making sure to come to an understanding of what has been presented, what may be missing, and what additional information may be required before determining a course of action to take, if necessary. At this point, someone on the team would reach out to the reporter, asking for more information and/or clarification or letting them know the report has been processed. At slowest, the report will be acknowledged within 48 hours of being posted in the Admin Reports subforum, even if consensus on a path forward has yet to be reached.
If necessary, members of the team can and will reach out to other users that may be involved or have pertinent information, continue with investigating Discord servers where appropriate, review PM logs, etc. in order to gain as much relevant context as possible before making any final decision. We will not share details of the report during this process, and users found to be sharing information that can identify reporters may be infracted. When a decision has been made among the group, steps to demote, ban, or otherwise punish a user will be carried out, after which a member of the team will let the reporter know the outcome, thanking them and closing out the report.
What happens when there's a report made against a member of Upper or Senior Staff?
If you'd like to report a member of Senior or Upper Staff, please don't post in the Admin Reports subforum. Instead, reach out to another member of either team individually, likely over Discord or Smogon PMs, and start from there. Given we can't bring a report to the full team immediately when it involves one of our own, a side Discord server will be created, after which members of one or both staffs-depending on the circumstances-will be invited to review, discuss, and investigate. Similar to the above, other users may be contacted for additional context while things are verified and evidence gathered. Once a decision has been made, a demotion, ban, or other punishment will be carried out, and a follow-up post will be made in the Global Staff (PS Admin ban, demotion, or punishment) or Inside Scoop (Senior Staff ban, demotion, or punishment) forum, explaining what happened, what our course of action was, and why. It likely will not contain all details, but in order to keep the broader community informed, we're committed to informing relevant communities when this happens.
What happens if I only want a few members of the safety team or SS/US to view my report?
Generally, if there's not a reason for any report to be limited for viewing, we request you post in the Admin Reports subforum. As mentioned multiple times above, we do not share details of the report if there is any risk for identifying a reporter. If you have a reason you think your report should only be viewed by a subset of the larger team, you're free to approach any member of the team and ask if it's possible. They will likely reply asking why you think it needs to be, who shouldn't see it (and why), and if they can expand the number of people able to see it, whether that means more of the or the full User Safety Team, Senior Staff (Smogon Super Mods), Upper Staff (PS Admins), or some combination thereof. From there, the person handling the report will bring it to the group and discussions on how to proceed will commence.
Do we accept reports in other languages?
The short answer is yes. Realistically, a majority of us are native English speakers, so reports in other languages may take a slightly longer time to resolve due to translation needs or potential back-and-forth communication in different languages. We appreciate patience in this process, as we very much wish to ensure all reports are addressed thoroughly and appropriately, regardless of language. If possible, providing an English translation alongside your report can help expedite the process, but it is not a requirement.
Last edited: