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KMC Battlezone Forum Rules




No bashing.
This should be common sense. Don't attack your fellow posters, it won't be tolerated.

No vulgar language.
This will be hard for some of you, but DON'T DO IT. Your posts are subject to deletion without notice for obscene references and vulgarity. THIS INCLUDES IMAGES, GIFs, SIGS, AVATARS, ETC.

Report button
USE IT to report any inappropriate posts. Your reports will be seen by other moderators online and action will be taken as the Moderators deem appropriate.



How to Debate in a Friendly Manner

As a moderator, I have to deal with the bad taste that debating will leave in peoples' mouths. Daily I will have to tell someone that they are in error, that they should have done this or that, and that we don't tolerate death threats, petitions to ban unliked members who have done nothing wrong, or the dropping of the F-bomb on KMC territory.

So, instead of making these suggestions every time someone does something less than intelligent, I will simply post them here, in hopes that it inspires you to follow them and that it will prevent hostile situations.

Bashing

Easily the most common problem. Bashing comes about when people have no logical means of progressing through the argument, or have exhausted all their resources and knowledge on someone who is just to stubborn to admit defeat. At that point, it is extremely tempting to let them feel the wrath of the infamous Sonic Swearer and his twisted henchmen, The Flamer!

But wait! The moment you drop one word that should be censored or insult another's intelligence, two things will happen.

1) A KMC Moderator will be forced to crack his whip at you, reminding you that we don't tolerate such behavior.

2) You will lose all credibility as a debator as you will be reported, made fun of, and ignored.

Instead of bashing, there are tons and tons of different solutions. Put them on ignore, use constructive criticism to express your dislike for their stubborn attitude, etc. Just don't bash!

Fanboy! Biased! Influenced!

So you're debating over who is stronger, The Flesh or The Incomprehensible Bulk. Each has feats that could match each other in strength; maybe they've leveled a building or two with a single punch, and so on. You have perfect proof that The Flesh could obviously beat The Bulk in a fist fight.

However, the person you are debating with is known to the forum as IncomBulkFan87. Every time he posts, you find that he completely ignores your proof of the Flesh's victory and asserts that the Bulk is invincible or could easily beat anyone in a fist fight.

At this point, it may be very tempting to shout to him the following:

"You're a fanboy!"
"You're biased against The Flesh!"
"You're influenced by Miracle Comics against Lightpony Comics!"

You consider them to be completely pointless to debate with because of their obvious enjoyment of The Incomprehensible Bulk from Miracle Comics.

But don't do it! It will either automatically devolve into bashing or cause you to look the fool! Not to mention that calling someone a fanboy is also a means of discrediting someone so that your debate is more successful.

Instead, either agree to disagree with the person you're debating against, let someone else reason with the person, or put the 'fanboy' on Ignore.

Thank you Digi and Rex.

'Backseat Moderating'

What does Backseat Moderating mean?
Let me tell you. When you post "this thread needs to be closed", "close please", "wrong forum", "this person should be banned", "so and so is a sock", etc. This is in fact considered SPAM. Another thing on this same train of thought: It's one thing to say "wrong forum" or "close please" but another to say that after someone else has already said it. That's even worse. Don't post if you think the thread is idiotic, just inform a moderator. We're here to do a job, not you.


The following is what to do in certain situations in our humble forums.

Threads in the wrong forum:
If you really must tell another member that their thread is in the wrong forum then please answer their question or have a valid reply before informing them of their mistake.

If one or more members Reports the thread about it being in the wrong forum, we will take care of it. After you Report, go ahead and carry on with the thread On-Topic, act like there is nothing wrong. A moderator will be by soon enough to move the thread to the appropriate forum.

Posting useless comments such as "move please" "this thread needs moving" "why the hell did you post this here?!? does this look like the *Insert Forum Name Here* forum?" only tend to de-rail the topic and cause arguments before the thread is even in the right forum. Thus it will more than likely be closed.

Duplicate threads:
Kindly inform the member there is already a thread on the subject, and re-direct them if you please. Help them out by pointing out the search button and posting the link to the older thread.

There is no need to be rude to new members who haven't had the time or experience to learn the forum layout yet. We were all in their shoes when we first joined KMC. Acting like a jerk to new members will make them want to leave and/or act like a jerk right back at you.

If someone posts a comment in a "Duplicate" thread saying there is already a topic then there is no need for everyone else to say the same exact thing.

Once again, if there is a duplicate thread: Report it, or send a PM to the forum moderator. We will deal with it by either merging or closing the said duplicate.

Disclaimer
From this point on all 'backseat moderators' caught in the act of doing said actions will get a PM from me. There will be no warnings for this, unless I have to tell you multiple times to cut it out, but I will have some choice words for you.

Here on out I want to see more Reported posts/threads, and less of you guys acting like you own the place. Be kind, inviting, present yourself in a positive way to new forum members. We all want our stay at KMC to be fun and informative. Treat everyone with respect. It's not hard to do.


Reports and the Ignore Function

We all know the VS Forum is the biggest on topic forum on KMC. It has more traffic than most of the other forums combined. That's a hell of a lot of people debating and arguing and disagreeing. Due to the nature of debating, not everyone is going to be able to agree with each other. Everyone has their favourites, and whether that influences their decisions or not, they're still going to be at odds with other people. In recent times, we have been getting a lot of Reports from people complaining about things that just aren't report worthy. As Mods, it is our job to keep the peace, not be a referee every time a disagreement rears its ugly head. People have grudges and vendettas, but frankly, if you can't get over it, reporting the person you don't like isn't going to make a difference. It makes the forum look bad when there are reports that are just taking up space.

If you spot someone GENUINELY trolling i.e. making inflammatory statements, blatantly lying about something on panel, then report them. Do not accuse someone of trolling just because you don't like what they say. That's what the Ignore Function is for. If you are going to be at odds with someone, and don't want to have to interact with them, don't report them secretly hoping they'll get banned or in trouble. Why? It won't work. Put them on ignore instead. It saves both members and moderators a lot of hassle.

To summarise: The ability to Report people is not something that should be done lightly or something that should be abused in any way. It makes the VS look bad, and it makes the members in the forum look bad. You're old enough to post on a forum, and are expected to have the maturity to act accordingly. TRY to work things out between yourselves. If you can't, there's always the ignore function.

Moderators

Moderators are a group of volunteers who help maintain order on the forums. They help enforce the rules and make sure the forums are a fun place to be. Please remember that moderators are humans and not robots and if they make a decision that you disagree with you cannot argue with them in public. Instead contact them privately to resolve the matter, or contact the Administrator.

KMC Guidelines & Forum Rules

Guide for Tournament Directors

I. Overview
II. Expectations & Gaining Interest
III. Establishing Rules
IV. Drafts
V. Judges
VI. Battles
VII. Final Comments

I. Overview

A lot of people think they have great ideas for tournaments. Some of them are right. Some aren't. But few of those know how to run a tournament well, and the end product is that we have tournaments that fall apart for various reasons, or if they finish they do so in a less-than-efficient manner. This is the product of having participated in, hosted, judged in, or observed nearly every tourney ever run on KMC. Each tourney differs in the details, but a lot can be done to standardize the approach of the director in order to streamline the process.

II. Expectations & Gaining Interest

Expectations:
First and foremost, be prepared to field a ton of PM's, and to send out just as many. It's a thankless task, but you just signed up to take all kinds of crap from participants. If you aren't on every day, and can't see yourself responding to 5-10 PMs a day, and can't maintain steady upkeep for the 3-4 months that most tourneys take, don't do it.

Gaining Interest:
1. Ideally, talk to a mod first. There may already be a tourney in the works, or they may veto your plans for a tourney if there isn't enough thought put into it yet. Next, make an introductory thread. Lay out the general format of the tournament, but leave the particulars open to change and discussion. Gauge interest, pool tentative entrants, and hash out the particulars of the rules.
2. Make a sign-up thread. In the opening post, stress that each participant will have to commit to the tournament, which may include months of drafts and battles. PM those who don't seem as active to ensure their participation. Drop-outs kill tournaments. Do whatever possible to avoid them.
3. Ideally, sign-ups and final rule changes should take 1-2 weeks.

III. Establishing Rules

1. The Obvious: establish what prep time you will have, announce battle locations in advance (ideally) so that players can review them (often, an advantage could be conveyed by some locations that you might not see). Place limits on speed, strength, overall power, energy projection, healing, etc. etc. etc. Also a post count limit for each member who is participating. 10-12 posts per match is probably a reasonable maximum.

Also, an appearance minimum for drafted characters is strongly recommended. As in, don't allow a character who has only ever appeared in 4 comics. If they're being drafted, chances are they have a few great showings and no bad ones. It's hard to fight that sort of thing, or even get a definite power level for them. 10 comics is a safe minimum, though it can be altered at the host's discretion.

2. The Loopholes: listed below are some common loopholes that are used to create power combinations that are far beyond others at a particular power level. Establish a rule for each one, or be prepared to deal with them.
- Duplication: set a limit or ban it outright. Probably shouldn't be around at less than a herald level anyway.
- Constructs/Summoning: similar to duplication, set a limit or ban them outright. You can also make it so that constructs/summons have to be at or below the tourney limits.
- Power copying: this goes for both the draft picks as well as constructs/summons.
- Time Manipulation: usually best to stay away from this entirely. Time travel is a power few would want to see implemented in tourneys.
- Matter Manipulation: Is it allowed on the opposing team? On anything else (weapons, environment, etc.)? Not at all? Again, goes for constructs as well.
- Speed Force: Allow it at your own peril, at any level.
- Information Retention: Do characters retain knowledge from past matches? Particularly important in regards to power copying, but in other ways as well.
- Meshing Limit: Applicable mainly to amalgam tourneys, but also for power amping that can occur between two people. Is it allowed? Can characters be amped beyond tourney limits? Can participants access banned powers through meshes (speed force, matter manip, etc.) or not?
- Do feats by the character count if they are in comics that come out after drafts? Some tourneys have said yes, others no, others with the stipulation that they are only valid if they are consistent with the tier/level the character was originally drafted at. No herald feats for street levelers, in other words.
- People will find other loopholes. Count on it. Be ready to make decisions on them. And it doesn't hurt to simply make a "no loophole" clause in the rules, then invoke it to ban a potentially exploitive strategy. Or establish a total power limit, when other specific limits may not cover it.

3. Neutering:
Example: Matter manipulation is banned in this scenario. Let's say a character is drafted who meets all requirements, but can matter manip. The participant asks if they can use the character, just minus any matter manip. powers. You say yes. At this point, a precedent is set that can be dangerous. Let's also say the speed cap is at Mach 10. Now, someone can presumably draft the Flash and have him operating at exactly Mach 10 at all times. That may be an exaggeration, but if allowed, characters can and will be drafted that are beyond the caps. At that point, you give yourself the headache of establishing what is and isn't allowed, but for each character. Far more frustrating and time-consuming than making the rules once. It's also hard to keep judges aware of all of the neutering in such a scenario, so judging might be compromised.

Moral of the story, stay away from this if possible. You'll likely have to be the jerk during drafts, but an all or nothing approach is far better than bending the rules for such draft picks.

4. Don't change rules mid-tourney. It's bad form. Ambiguity may occur and a decision will need to be made, but make sure you let participants know that they should contact you with any "iffy" tactics beforehand to establish a rule on it. In fact, putting something to this affect in a sign-up or draft thread is a great idea. That way, they can't complain if they get ruled against later in the tourney.

IV. Drafts

1. You'll get 10-15 PM's a day concerning potential draft picks (or anger at your decisions). Be ready. This is by far the busiest time for a tourney host.
2. Usually a week is good for each round of drafts, with a day or two in between each draft. Establish a stopping day when you make the thread.
3. People will switch picks to counter the picks of others. Set a final date when picks can no longer be switched out.
4. Allow discussion and disagreement to occur, but stress that it must be kept civil. After a character has been contested for an ample period of time, weigh the evidence and make a decision. Establish it as final once it is made, or more chaos and argument will ensue. Read all posts in the draft threads (or other tourney threads) to make sure you understand each character that is being contested.

V. Judges

This is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of hosting. You need judges. Lots of them. Dedicated ones. Knowledgable ones. And you need to follow up on the judging. Ideally, have a steady rotation of judges so that there aren't just the same 4-5 people judging every match. To do this comfortably, you'll need no less than about 10 potential judges. Some will be more active than others, but as many competent judges as possible should be worked in.

Contact them early. Ideally during early drafts, once you know who isn't participating. Then PM them again when they are to be judging. Let them know to give their vote within no more than 2-3 days after a match ends, and ideally within 24 hours of it ending. One of the most unforeseen methods of slowing a tourney to a crawl are judges who don't vote in a timely manner. 2-3 days is a maximum. Let them know that you expect this, and if they can't do it, thank them for informing you and get a new judge.

VI. Battles

I've found that about 4-5 days is a nice amount of time for a battle. Enough time for participants to get a fair amount of debating in, and it leaves 2-3 days for judging so that you can stay on a roughly week-long cycle. Keeping things moving is key to maintaining momentum and interest. And part of the pressure is on you to keep judges steadily informed of their duties so that things continue to progress. If they aren't judging on time, it slows everything down, and the host is at fault just as much as the negligent judge(s).

Two matches a week is standard. More or less depending on tourney size.

Follow matches at least loosely. Chances are you'll be making 1-2 rulings during the matches themselves. You have to be around often, or else participants may not know if a tactic is legal or not for an entire match. If it isn't, one person's entire match may be for nothing. That kind of frustration makes unhappy participants.

VII. Final Comments

Try to enjoy it. It's a lot of work, but can be rewarding. But be prepared, and be active every day. Those two things are the biggest aspects of running a successful tournament.

The KMC default power level indicators are outlined here:
http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f95/t447826.html
Use these terms to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Thank you Digi

Welcome to the Revised KMC Battlezone, where some of the best and brightest of the Vs Forum come to prove their dominance over the opposition. Battlezone Matches are formal debates and are intended for members who're interested in solo debates with a bit more structure than is normally found in the threads of the Vs Forum.


The rules that govern the Battlezone are fairly simple and are as follows...

*Please note, the following are simply the "Default" Rules for Battlezone Matches to provide some initial structure that sets Battlezone matches apart from the Vs Forum. The stipulations and rules of individual matches are subject to change at the participants discretion. However, I STRONGLY suggest that any changes to the rules are noted and agreed upon by both parties before the match begins because trying to change the rules mid match shows bad form and is a BAD idea.

1. DO NOT POST IN SOMEONE ELSES MATCH. Debates are between the people actually involved with the match in question, so don’t chime in with your opinion or random spam. "Do unto others..." and all that junk.

2. The participants must fight “in character”. For the most part what constitutes “in character” will be determined by the judges, but as a good rule of thumb if they’ve never done it in combat then it’s probably not in character for them to do so.

3. The characters AVERAGE showing is what matters, no the high or low end. Both high and low end feats are likely to come up over the course of the debate, and it’s for the judges to decide which is the better depiction of the character.

4. The characters go into Battlezone fights "Battle Ready". This means that they begin the fight just as they normally would in a comic. They have standard equipment, no unusual power ups or empowerment's, and any powers that are consistently used in combat are assumed to be in effect at the start of the match. That means that if the match features the someone like Invisible Woman they'll begin the match with their Force Field raised, if it features someone like Superman they'll begin the match already in flight mode. Just picture the panel BEFORE the big fight where the characters are posed and squaring off .

5. Matches last exactly one week, starting at the time of the first argument is made(as opposed to the opening post).


Setting up a match.

I figured I’d go ahead and spell this out to avoid a bunch of unnecessary PM’s asking how to do it, so pay attention because setting up a match is a fairly simple process….

Step 1. Poster A challenges Poster B to a match. This can be through direct challenge on Poster B’s team thread, PM, a post in the Battlezone discussion thread, or even an open call on the Off Topic thread for all I care.

Step 2. If Poster B accepts, the two decide on the specific type of match they want and any match conditions they both feel are appropriate(I.E. the battle location, no speedblitze, prep time, no Godblast, etc.)

Step 3. After the conditions are decided, 3 judges for the match are agreed upon and asked to judge the match.

Step 4. Someone(be it one of the judges or one of the participants) post the opening for the match thread(listing any and all match conditions), at which point the match can begin.

Step 5. After one week the judges vote on the match in question, deciding on a winner.


Potential Battlezone match types-

*Some of these were just copied from the ICT Faq at herochat and some were modified.

Flat-Footed- Characters are normally assumed to be "Battle Ready" when the match begins,.adding this stipulation puts both characters on the ground with defenses down.

Slugfest- The characters take turns trading punches until one goes down, relying ONLY on strength and durability.

H2H- Hand to Hand fighting only. This is a fight where opponents pit their physical attributes(strength, speed, ect.) and martial skill against one another without weapons or exotic powers like energy attacks, flight, or transmutation. Move-reading, enhanced senses, and mind-reading(provided the character uses it primarily for physical fights and not communication) are allowed, as are "amping" abilities. This is any form of hand-to-hand combat, not just Asian martial arts. Dodging and giving ground for tactical regrouping is allowed.

Equal Bodies- The two opponents are in physically equal bodies. If the fighters are of opposite genders, then they are placed in exactly equal bodies of their own gender. They are equal in every physical stat, with no special powers(energy blasts, etc.) to speak of.

Slobberknocker- Known as "CBR Style" to some, a slobberknocker is an all out fight to the finish between two or more combatants. For whatever reason, the characters are enraged enough that they want their opponents to die horribly at their hands(even if it's extremely out of character), and will use any available means at their disposal to do it. They don't hold back or screw around at all, they go for the quickest win possible.

Judges Wanted- A match were the winner is determined by the forum at large rather than a selected panel of judges. Anyone who's been a member for 6 months and has at least 200 posts can vote


And with all of that being said, I wish everyone good luck and I hope you all have a good time.

Thank you Darthgoober.