Shovel/Operations

=Rules for players=
 * 1) Team Leaders must list their Global ID on the Challenge board. Players can not be signed up under multiple teams. You may only play for one team each Shovel.
 * 2) Only Team Leaders may add, edit or remove their team from the Challenge Board.
 * 3) A player can remove themselves from the Challenge Board at any time.
 * 4) Changes may happen at any time until the cut-off for the provisional placement of teams, which is currently 18:00 GMT on Thursday before the event.
 * 5) Team Leaders should not change after the brackets are chosen or they may lose authority (servers need to be updated).
 * 6) Players listed on the Challenge Board are not allowed to join or switch teams under any circumstances in the hour before opening rounds. The Challenge Board is effectively locked until Shovel starts, after which changes may be made to reflect actual playing situations (scores, server changes, substitutes, no shows).
 * 7) Regarding times, if an opponent team has not shown up on time and the opponent team is not currently engaged in an earlier scheduled match, then the match can begin even if the opponent team is not full strength. A team can decide to give the opponent team a maximum of 10 minutes to prepare themselves. A forfeit is considered a bye. After the opening rounds, players may take no longer than 10 minutes between finals to organize themselves for the next match.
 * 8) Be aware of pre-existing bans on tournament servers. If you were previously banned from a Shovel server it is your responsibility to discover the ban and make arrangements with the server administrator beforehand. There is no guarantee a ban can be lifted on Shovel day.

=Rules for server owners & operators=
 * 1) Use only the official Shovel settings and no other.
 * 2) Make sure your server is up to date with the final version of the Shovel settings.
 * 3) Please run the Shovel settings from default server configurations in order to make sure everything is unchanged. Also make sure you have no settings in your everytime.cfg or autoexec.cfg that would otherwise change the settings.
 * 4) Do not authorize or give anyone other than Global Moderators an access level of Moderator (2). Please also ensure Team Leaders have the correct access level.
 * 5) Do not use customized language strings on your server.
 * 6) Please limit the number of messages to promote or advertise your own site/server. One message in the ROUND_CONSOLE_MESSAGE should be enough. MESSAGE_OF_DAY is reserved for use by the Ladle configuration file.

=How the Shovel works=

Stage 1 - Preparation
A community member will prepare the wiki for a new event keeping the following in mind - When clearing the Challenge Board for the next Shovel, be sure to move the teams and brackets to their proper place on the Shovel/Results page and link to the relevant discussion thread on the forums. While editing the Challenge Board, pay special attention to comments and any references to the previous Ladle. Create a new bracket. After the Challenge Board has been cleared, post a new topic on the forums and cross-link that to the Shovel/Blurb on the Competition Hub, which should also be edited and made current. Here is a checklist of things to do when preparing a new Challenge Board:
 * The Shovel will be played on the third Sunday of every month.
 * The opening round of play will start at 19:00 GMT for a 16 team bracket, and 18:15 GMT for a 32-team bracket.
 * The start times will change to follow Daylight Savings Time in the EU.
 * Generally, 45 minutes is allowed to complete each round.
 * Make an entry for the previous Shovel on the Results page. Add the bracket template.
 * Copy the teams and brackets from the old Challenge Board into the new results page. In addition, link directly to any recordings and add screenshots if presented. Follow the example on the previous results page for guidance.
 * Edit the old Challenge Board and remove the teams. Rename the bracket template to the current Shovel number. Migrate the servers to the commented section below the heading. Rename the authorities link under the Server Config heading to the current Shovel. Update Template:ShovelServer.
 * Edit the newly formed bracket by copying a blank Shovel Bracket into it (16 Team or 32 Team).
 * Edit the Shovel/Blurb on the Competition Hub and cross link it with a new forum post announcing the next Shovel.

Stage 2 - Team Sign Ups
Teams are added to the Challenge Board until the cut off for provisional placement, which is currently 18:00 GMT on Thursday before the event. This will allow time for server administrators to update their servers, teams to discuss strategy and players/enthusiasts to share their predictions on the forums if they wish to. In the event your team misses the sign up deadline, and one or more teams have a bye in the first round, you may ask the team with the first bye for permission to fill the open slot. If they refuse, go through the byes in order. Alternatively, a team can make a public appeal, but must take the lowest bye offered up. No team is under any obligation to give up a bye, and open slots are first come, first serve. Note: If your entire team does show up for the Shovel, you may be subject to disciplinary action.

Stage 3 - Setting the Challenge Board
Shovel Enthusiasts meet up on the official #Armagetron IRC channel at 18:00 GMT the Thursday prior to the Shovel to determine the brackets. Once on the IRC channel, one enthusiast will fill in the servers to play on, following these procedures -
 * Odd numbered Shovels have Finals played in a US server.
 * Even numbered Shovels have Finals played in a EU server.
 * Servers must flow smoothly and not have too many unnecessary switches.

Once servers are set and agreed on by players then someone will check to make sure they have .randomteam working (try to make sure you put testing prior to this) this divides arguments by spaces so no names can contain spaces or else there will be errors. once confirmed one players does .r and another follows with the .randomteam command, the result of that .randomteam sets the challenge board up. once player adds them in accordingly and others confirm. If a .randomteam error was not caught in the initial testing than test and redo the .r and .randomteam commands.

Make sure to include the byes are the are listed with the number next to them When submitting the bracket remember to add a useful comment such as "Setting Teams based on "

code for .randomteam is here

Stage 4 - Playing the Shovel
Teams meet at the designated servers and play a match with 18 rounds, 1 team advances in the opening round, 2 teams advance in the semi-finals. Shovel Enthusiasts will record results on the brackets as they come in. The brackets should be followed precisely unless there is a serious issue with the primary server. Team Leaders can discuss moving to the secondary server (examples: the majority of the players are from the same region and want to play on a closer server, or the primary server becomes unstable). Both teams must be in full agreement before switching servers. If no agreement can be reached then play must continue in the primary server. If there is no backup server (for instance, in the opening round) a public Team Sumo server may be used if both teams agree. If a team tries to bully their opponent by refusing to play in the designated Ladle server they are in forfeit. In the extremely rare case of a missing primary and secondary server, teams should be accommodating to each other and the rest of Shovel by quickly moving their match to a public Team Sumo server and making the best of the situation. Please be agreeable and stay on time.

Team management is available on all Shovel servers. Designated Team Leaders should lock their teams so no random people can join, then invite their teammates as they arrive. All players are required to login to play, and those without forum accounts must be /OP'd by the Leader.

Stage 5 - The Outcome
Players use the forums to congratulate the winners, discuss issues, and eventually vote for changes where needed.

=Things to know=

Players & Teams
The most important things for players and teams to know and do is -
 * Elect a Team Leader who you can trust, who is capable of communicating with other Team Leaders, and can follow the procedure to the letter on Shovel day. If you have doubts about the reliability of the Team Leader, then you should select an alternative Team Leader for your team.
 * During the event, do not listen to anyone external to your team; rely on your Team Leader for information as to who you are playing and where.
 * Regarding ping, make sure your Team Leader is aware of your server location preference.

Team Leaders
The most important things for Team Leaders to know and do is -
 * A Team Leader should have their team signed up before the deadline.
 * A Team Leader should make sure all team edits, changes have been finalized before the last deadline.
 * Team Leaders must log-in under the same global ID they used on the Challenge Board. Failure to do so may result in loss of in-game authority.

Global IDs and authentication
We recommend that you use @forums authority due to the chance of having a PM vote, however all other authorities are still accepted.

=Responsibilities & duties during the Shovel=

Global Moderators
A Global Moderator is a server owner/player who acts as a subordinate to Team Leaders. In case of a mid-match server crash, a GM may be called upon to set the previous score using the SLAP <-x player> command. Global Moderators may also be called upon to /OP Team Leaders who lack proper authority. A GM may be called upon to kick a spectator to make room for teammate who can't get into a full server. And in some cases, a GM might silence a spectator who is clearly harassing Team Members. GM's can only act at the request of Team Leaders. They have no authority to interfere in a match in any way. They hold no powers of judgement and are purely assistants.

Team Leaders
Some main duties include starting the matches, editing team names to reflect scores, silencing spammers or distributive spectators not using the /team chat (if a GM is not present to silence them). They are above the Team Members in terms of authority so they make the final decision for their own participating team. Team Leaders are fully responsible for sorting out disagreements, especially in regards to server switching.

=Warnings & Penalties=

Players can be issued warnings by the Shovel community using a voting trial via PM to Team Leaders and Moderators on the Armagetron Forums. If a player is accused of violating a rule or committing an offense not defined by the rules, then a trial will be run with the following question. Note: this question should be modified to pertain to the accused player and action committed.

''Did the accused player,, violate Rule # or commit an offense? No, Yes and they should receive (1 warning, 2 warnings, 3 warnings)''

If neither option receives 2/3 of the vote, then “No” is the winner. For the “Yes” option to win it must receive 2/3 of the vote. If the “Yes” option is the winner and there is a tie between the number of warning choices, then the leftmost tied-option is the winner.

Warnings have the following rules:


 * If a player is convicted of committing an offense, then all active warnings will stay active for an additional 2 Shovels. Otherwise if a warning has expired, then it can be rescinded.
 * If a player has 2 or more active warnings, then they can not be a Team Leader.
 * If a player is convicted of committing an offense and has 3 or more active warnings, then they will serve a Shovel suspension of length 2 ^ (number of active warnings - 3). Here is a list of examples:
 * 3 warnings: 2 ^ (3 - 3) = 2 ^ 0 = 1 Shovels
 * 4 warnings: 2 ^ (4 - 3) = 2 ^ 1 = 2 Shovels
 * 5 warnings: 2 ^ (5 - 3) = 2 ^ 2 = 4 Shovels
 * If a player is suspended from the Shovel, then all active warnings will stay active for an additional amount by the length of the suspension.
 * If a player is suspended from the Shovel, then all active warnings will stay active for an additional amount by the length of the suspension.

The rules are applied in the order in which they are defined, and they will be applied after all Shovel-specific activities have completed (games, voting trials, etc…).