Useful Link: The basics of the DB
Hiya! So let me guess, you want to be an Expert. You probably have asked a load of questions like everyone else, and it really clogs our beauty called the Meta. Anyways, I'm Ninja, and I am going to run through all of this stuff.
Points
First of all, what are points? Points are the system of reputation, basically. Earn a lot and you earn some respect. Points can reflect what your attitude is, so be wary. Think of Mew has about 67000 points right now, and is a top user. People respect him a ton! However, we have our downers too. One user, known as Mr. Shadow, has zero points. He would spam the crap out of everyone and be mean. Ouch, right? He is banned now.
Different Points, different Sections
Pokebase: This is our primary section of the community. You will be working hardest here when you start. Later on, you might find yourself focusing on the Battle Subway or the Meta. Anyways, you can ask and answer questions. Not much, right? Well, points let you do new stuff! I recommend you start with questions. As a new user, you need to gain just a little credibility before you answer, otherwise our experienced users will find any tiny mistake and pounce on you for it. Sorry, but that is just the way it works.
Meta: My first note: Pokemaster has the final word. This is a benevolent dictatorship, don't argue with him here. Here you gain most of your points through suggestions. If someone likes your suggestion, they will upvote it! Points are all opinionated.
Battle Subway: Presentation! In the Battle Subway, you simply post teams and ask for suggestions. You get points here by being a good competitive battler. Your team presentation also matters. Compare Team 1 and Team 2. Can you see why one has more votes than the other?
The System of Points
- Asking / Answering questions gives you 0 points. This is just a general thing, back in the day you got two. We removed that because the quality of posts was lowering, so keep in mind that spamming useless questions and / or answers is pointless (I'm so punny), so don't do it. We as a community look down upon it. You will likely get down voted, flagged, and have your post hidden. Repeated use is a ban. To see how to write good posts that will likely get upvoted, read DT's article here.
- Selecting best answer gives you 2 points. This is just a general reward for rewarding others. Pokemaster highly encourages you to select these. However, take note. On the Meta, just wait for Pokemaster to answer a suggestion / bug notice before selecting an answer. Arceus beats Sunflora, right?
- Getting best answer gives you 20 points. Be happy for this. It shows that a user really liked your answer, you had a good one. 20 big ones!
- Getting up-voted gives you 10 points. You may not have a better answer, but the asker, anyone actually, can up-vote your answer to say it was good.
- Getting down-voted makes you lose 10 points. Uh-oh. Down-votes are given for the reason of a post having an incorrect answer or bad suggestion.. However, most of the time, you get one of these if you cannot see that we have the nifty comment button.
- Down-voting makes you lose 2 points. This is just to discourage the act of spam down-voting. Don't be mean, but down-vote when necessary. DO NOT, AND I REPEAT, DO NOT REFRAIN FROM DOWNVOTING FOR THE SAKE OF KEEPING YOUR POINTS. Be real. You aren't helping anyone by doing so. Note: You need points to down-vote.
This applies to all 3 sections of Pokebase. These point values are subject to change as Pokemaster sees fit. They've changed in the past, and certainly can change again.
Ranks & Privileges
These are what points are for! (other than rep)
Privileges
You need some experience before you go click-happy.
Pokebase / Meta / Battle Subway :
- 40 / 30 / 30 points to vote up and flag: This is so that you cannot create a duplicate and spam votes without the mods catching you quickly. Because posting lets us catch on, pretty much instantly.
- 100 / 60 / 60 points to vote down. This is so you can't create a duplicate and spam the heck out of the DVs to users you hate.
- 500 / 0 / 0 to create new tags. Tags without meaning (this-tag-is-so-pointless-lol-i-am-a-troll)are generally annoying. Even our top users use them from time to time, please do not learn from that.
- 6000 / 2000 / 1000 to be able to edit things. This is a basic way for you to get Expert if our mods aren't available for the next few hours.
- 25 / 0 / 0 to post without moderation. See the Moderation section.
- 200 / 0 / 0 to post on old questions without moderation. This is to stop users from necro-posting.
- Editors (hand-picked) can hide, reshow, approve and reject posts. Moderators can do that and ban / ip check. See below.
Chat:
You must be registered and have your email confirmed to post in chat. Points give you no abilities in chat, directly. However, Moderators, and Editors who are around 10000-20000 on Pokebase may kick users for ten minutes for issues on chat. (Watch out for them on the sections + duplicates too, they have eyes like hawks.)
Ranks
- Expert: These guys are the smart ones. You earn this title by reaching a grand total of 6000 points on Pokebase.
It means you can edit posts anywhere! (Used to help, not to troll.)
Editor: This is where things get fun. You typically need about 10000 points and actively edit to get considered for this, and Pokemaster picks them himself.
They can do everything an Expert can.
- They can hide posts from the public and reshow them.
- They can clear flags from posts.
They can also approve posts, and reject them. See below.
Moderator: Pokemaster's right hand men.
They do everything Editors do plus more stuff.
- They can check IP addresses. Don't even think of a duplicate.
- They can Ban and IP Ban anyone.
- They can select best answer for any question.
Moderation
"Wtf, why has my post not shown up? I call hax!"
All of the new users need to learn the ropes through the system of Moderation. When you have barely any points and try to post, it first gets sent to the Admin page. Only Moderators and Editors can view this page. Your question or answer is then reviewed to see if it is quality, and not something like "What level does Keldeo evolve at". If it is ok, then it is approved! Yay! If it is bad, it is rejected and forever forgotten. Don't feel bad if it was rejected! We just saved you from downvotes ;). But if you insist on knowing why, check here.
Whew! That was a lot to take in, wasn't it? Anyways, I threw this together to help you guys out. Hope you learned something, now I will be super ultra ban happy to you!
