{{:Ladle/Blurb}}
=Rules=
# Only the Team Leaders of a team may add, edit or remove the team from the Challenge Board. Modifications to the Team Leader of a team may be done by a current Team Leader or the new Team Leader(s). A team may have a maximum of two Team Leaders.
# 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 (See Stage 2 for more information).
# Each team must have at least four players signed up to a team prior to the cut-off to be considered a valid team.
# Teams may only have no more than 11 players signed up at any time.
# After the brackets have been set a Team Leader may change a maximum of two players per team. Only two players per team can be added '''or''' switched. A combination of one added and one switched is acceptable, as long as the total number of changes does not exceed two.
# Players can not be signed up under multiple teams. You may only play for one team each Ladle.
# Players listed on the Challenge Board are not allowed to switch or join another team under '''any''' circumstances after 12:00 GMT on the day of the event.
# 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.

=How the Ladle works=

===Stage 1 - Preparation===
A Ladle Enthusiast will prepare the wiki for a new event keeping the following in mind -
* Per tradition, the Ladle will be played on the first Sunday of every month (except for January, which will take place on the Sunday following the first Tuesday of the month).
* The opening round of play will start at 18:45 GMT for a 16 team bracket, and 18:00 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.

===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 and moderators 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 that 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. ''Note: If your entire team does show up for Ladle, you may be subect to disciplinary action.''

===Stage 3 - Setting the Challenge Board===
Ladle Enthusiasts meet up on the official [[IRC Channel|#Armagetron]] IRC channel sometime between 17:00 and 20:00 GMT the Thursday prior to the Ladle to determine the brackets. Once on the IRC channel, one enthusiast will fill in the servers to play on, following these procedures -
*Odd numbered ladles have Finals played in a US server.
*Even numbered ladles 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.

===Stage 4 - Playing the Ladle===
Team Leaders meet in IRC in the #armagetron.ladle channel on [http://freenode.net freenode] ([http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#armagetron.ladle IRC web client]) 45 minutes before the opening rounds. This meeting is to make final preparations for Ladle, and to solve any problems that have arisen after the brackets were chosen. Teams then meet at the designated servers and play the best of 3 matches.
Ladle Enthusiasts will record results on the brackets as they come in. The brackets should be followed precisely unless there is an 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).
Team management is available on all Ladle 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.
[[Authentication_for_Players#Benefits|More on that here]].

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

The majority of Ladles run smoothly, however, problems occasionally arise. If the problem is a specific player or group of players, then they [[#Warnings & Penalties|can be punished]]. Problems with settings, dates, and general Ladle management can be settled using the quarterly voting system (currently every 3 Ladles starting from L-21). A Ladle Enthusiast creates a "voting discussion thread" on the forum to decide on which issues need a vote. An example can be found [http://forums3.armagetronad.net/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=19444&start=0 here].

===Stage 6 - Quarterly Voting===
After the discussion is exhausted, and with enough time for a fair vote (at least a week before Ladle day), a "Ladle voting" thread is created. An example of such thread exists [http://forums3.armagetronad.net/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=19492 here]. Only Team Leaders may vote. Any other person voting is subject to be accepted by the referee or Team Leaders that are voting. Only one vote per team. The vote ends when the Challenge Board is closed to sign ups (see above). The results of the vote are then edited into the wiki and the ladle.cfg files. Read more about [[Ladle/Guidelines/Voting]].

=Things to know=
Keeping the following in mind makes a smoother, more enjoyable Ladle experience.

===Players, Team Leaders & Teams===
The most important things for players to know and do is -
* Elect a Team Leader who you can trust, who listens to everyone in the team, who is capable of communicating with other Team Leaders, and can follow the procedure to the letter on Ladle day. If you have doubts about the reliability of the Team Leader, then you should select an additional 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.

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 GID they used on the Challenge Board. Failure to do so may result in loss of in-game authority.
* Anything less than a full team of six players is considered your problem. An obliging opponent may reduce their numbers if they wish.

===Server Owners & Operators===
The most important things for server owners and operators to know and do is -
* Use only the official Ladle settings and no other.
* Make sure your server is up to date with the final version of the Ladle settings.
* It's recommended to run the Ladle 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.
* Do not authorise or give anyone other than Global Moderators Moderator access. Please also make sure Team Leaders and Team Members have the correct access.
* Do not use customized colours for teams. Yellow and blue should be the standard.
* Do not use customized language strings on your server.
* Try to limit using too many messages to promote or advertise your own site/server. One message either in the MOTD or round message should be enough.

===Global ID's and authentication===
All Armagetron Advanced authentication authorities are accepted. Recommended authorities are @forums, @ct, and @aagid. ''(You can't recommend your own authentication and tbh before we should recommend we need to know it is actually safe to recommend.)''

===How a PM Vote Trial works===
PM votes are started by a Ladle enthusiast.

# PM's are sent out to the Team Leaders and server admins of the Ladle in which the incident occured, by a Ladle enthusiast. Ensure the voter names are in the BCC field and not the TO field.
# Team leaders discuss the vote with their team.
# Team leaders and server admins, send their vote back to the Ladle enthusiast.
# The Ladle enthusiast tallies the votes. For a “Yes” option to pass it must recieve 2/3 of the votes.
# The Ladle enthusiast posts the results. (Should we keep the votes confidential, or should we make them public?)

===How Global Moderators are elected===
''Still needs to be voted on and finalized. How will they be elected? Will they be referrals or applications? etc, etc.''
Requirements
''Before becoming a Global Moderator the requirements are -''
*''To not be participating part in the current Ladle that they will be moderating.''
*''They must be able to oversee two matches simultaneously.''

=Responsibilities & duties during the Ladle=
===Global Moderators===
Duties include starting the matches, editing team names to reflect scores, settling disputes between teams, silencing spammers or disruptive spectators not using the /team chat. They may also silence participating players if they are being insulting to the opponents or distracting them in a obvious way. They may kick constant hassling spectators that are avoiding the silence feature by rejoining. They are also above the Team Leader's and Team Member's in terms of authority so they may make the final decision if there is a disagreement between the two team leaders.

===Team Leaders===
If there is no GM to referee over the round then both Team Leader's equally decide what should happen. Duties include starting the matches, editing team names to reflect scores, silencing spammers or distributive spectators not using the /team chat. They are above the Team Members in terms of authority so they make the final decision for their own participating team. Both Team Leader's have equal share of the complete decision, if there is no GM present and there is a dispute between a decision that prevents the matches from beginning (or continuing) then a GM must be called in to make a decision.

===Team Members===
They have no specific authority other than all equally deciding on a new Team Leader if the original team leader is not present (or wishes to promote somebody else to the new Team Leader).

=Warnings & Penalties=

==Flex's version==

For any [[#Rules|Tier 1]] violation you will receive one warning. For any [[#Rules|Tier 2]] violation you will receive a Ladle suspension. These are all pre-written in order to simplify the procedure and to avoid any biased disciplinary action against any player. If no rule has been violated, but clearly an offense has been committed then on the quarterly or monthly voting the community or committee can vote to punish you with one or two warnings. If a very serious violation has accrued, then the community or committee can decide to vote for a direct Ladle suspension, but the decision to suspend must hold a 3/4 ratio.

* Three warnings and you get one Ladle suspension.
* Two Ladle suspensions and you are suspended for 12 months from Ladles. This starts exactly on the date of your last warning given.
* After six months, one warning resets. If you commit an offense during your six months probation, another warning is given and the duration is increased to 12 months in order to allow offending participants to not be able to reset their warnings.
* If you receive two warnings; you are not allowed to add a team to the Challenge Board till your warning resets. You may only join a team.

==Sine's version==

''alternate phrasing by sine...''

If it is discovered you have broken a rule, or acted in a clearly devious fashion, you run the risk of being banned for a minimum of one Ladle. PM's will be sent to the team leaders and server owners of the Ladle in question for a vote. Team Leaders should consult their teammates for opinions before casting a vote. At least of 2/3 of the votes must be in favor for a ban to pass. If you escape a ban, you are left with a 6 month warning. If you commit another violation in that time, the result is an automatic ban. Subsequent violations are automatic bans, incrementally (2 months, 3 months...) You must go 6 months without incident for your warnings/bans to be reset. Warnings and bans will be tracked on the [[Ladle/Penalty_Box | Penalty Box]] page, each entry having a supporting link to the forum thread with the results.

== dlh's version ==

If a player is accused of breaking a rule, then a PM Vote trial will be run with the following questions. If the accused player is convicted of violating a rule, then they will recieve a warning or possibly a Ladle suspension.

# Did the accused player violate <rule>? No, Yes
# If the accused player is convicted of violating the Ladle [[#Rules|rules]], should they recieve a suspension? No, 1 Ladle

If a player is accused of commiting an offense not directly covered by the [[#Rules|rules]], then a PM Vote trial will be run with the following questions.

# Did the accused player commit an offense? No, Yes
# If the accused player is convicted of commiting an offense, should they recieve a warning? No, Yes

Warnings persist for 6 months. If you convicted of commiting another violation in that time, the penalty is a 1 Ladle suspension. Subsequent violations result in incrementing the suspension (2 Ladles, 3 Ladles). You must go 6 months without a warning/suspension to reset your warning/suspension status. Warnings and bans will be tracked on the Penalty Box page, each entry having a supporting link to the forum thread with the results.

[[Category:Events]]

Ladle/Operations

2010-08-11T22:56:30Z

Flex: /* Global ID's and authentication */

{{:Ladle/Blurb}}
=Rules=
# Only the Team Leaders of a team may add, edit or remove the team from the Challenge Board. Modifications to the Team Leader of a team may be done by a current Team Leader or the new Team Leader(s). A team may have a maximum of two Team Leaders.
# 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 (See Stage 2 for more information).
# Each team must have at least four players signed up to a team prior to the cut-off to be considered a valid team.
# Teams may only have no more than 11 players signed up at any time.
# After the brackets have been set a Team Leader may change a maximum of two players per team. Only two players per team can be added '''or''' switched. A combination of one added and one switched is acceptable, as long as the total number of changes does not exceed two.
# Players can not be signed up under multiple teams. You may only play for one team each Ladle.
# Players listed on the Challenge Board are not allowed to switch or join another team under '''any''' circumstances after 12:00 GMT on the day of the event.
# 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.

=How the Ladle works=

===Stage 1 - Preparation===
A Ladle Enthusiast will prepare the wiki for a new event keeping the following in mind -
* Per tradition, the Ladle will be played on the first Sunday of every month (except for January, which will take place on the Sunday following the first Tuesday of the month).
* The opening round of play will start at 18:45 GMT for a 16 team bracket, and 18:00 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.

===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 and moderators 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 that 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. ''Note: If your entire team does show up for Ladle, you may be subect to disciplinary action.''

===Stage 3 - Setting the Challenge Board===
Ladle Enthusiasts meet up on the official [[IRC Channel|#Armagetron]] IRC channel sometime between 17:00 and 20:00 GMT the Thursday prior to the Ladle to determine the brackets. Once on the IRC channel, one enthusiast will fill in the servers to play on, following these procedures -
*Odd numbered ladles have Finals played in a US server.
*Even numbered ladles 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.

===Stage 4 - Playing the Ladle===
Team Leaders meet in IRC in the #armagetron.ladle channel on [http://freenode.net freenode] ([http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#armagetron.ladle IRC web client]) 45 minutes before the opening rounds. This meeting is to make final preparations for Ladle, and to solve any problems that have arisen after the brackets were chosen. Teams then meet at the designated servers and play the best of 3 matches.
Ladle Enthusiasts will record results on the brackets as they come in. The brackets should be followed precisely unless there is an 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).
Team management is available on all Ladle 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.
[[Authentication_for_Players#Benefits|More on that here]].

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

The majority of Ladles run smoothly, however, problems occasionally arise. If the problem is a specific player or group of players, then they [[#Warnings & Penalties|can be punished]]. Problems with settings, dates, and general Ladle management can be settled using the quarterly voting system (currently every 3 Ladles starting from L-21). A Ladle Enthusiast creates a "voting discussion thread" on the forum to decide on which issues need a vote. An example can be found [http://forums3.armagetronad.net/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=19444&start=0 here].

===Stage 6 - Quarterly Voting===
After the discussion is exhausted, and with enough time for a fair vote (at least a week before Ladle day), a "Ladle voting" thread is created. An example of such thread exists [http://forums3.armagetronad.net/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=19492 here]. Only Team Leaders may vote. Any other person voting is subject to be accepted by the referee or Team Leaders that are voting. Only one vote per team. The vote ends when the Challenge Board is closed to sign ups (see above). The results of the vote are then edited into the wiki and the ladle.cfg files. Read more about [[Ladle/Guidelines/Voting]].

=Things to know=
Keeping the following in mind makes a smoother, more enjoyable Ladle experience.

===Players, Team Leaders & Teams===
The most important things for players to know and do is -
* Elect a Team Leader who you can trust, who listens to everyone in the team, who is capable of communicating with other Team Leaders, and can follow the procedure to the letter on Ladle day. If you have doubts about the reliability of the Team Leader, then you should select an additional 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.

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 GID they used on the Challenge Board. Failure to do so may result in loss of in-game authority.
* Anything less than a full team of six players is considered your problem. An obliging opponent may reduce their numbers if they wish.

===Server Owners & Operators===
The most important things for server owners and operators to know and do is -
* Use only the official Ladle settings and no other.
* Make sure your server is up to date with the final version of the Ladle settings.
* It's recommended to run the Ladle 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.
* Do not authorise or give anyone other than Global Moderators Moderator access. Please also make sure Team Leaders and Team Members have the correct access.
* Do not use customized colours for teams. Yellow and blue should be the standard.
* Do not use customized language strings on your server.
* Try to limit using too many messages to promote or advertise your own site/server. One message either in the MOTD or round message should be enough.

===Global ID's and authentication===
All Armagetron Advanced authentication authorities are accepted. Recommended authorities are @forums, @ct, and @aagid. ''(You can't recommend your own authentication and tbh before we should recommend we need to know it is actually safe to recommend.)''

===How a PM Vote Trial works===
PM votes are started by a Ladle enthusiast.

# PM's are sent out to the Team Leaders and server admins of the Ladle in which the incident occured, by a Ladle enthusiast. Ensure the voter names are in the BCC field and not the TO field.
# Team leaders discuss the vote with their team.
# Team leaders and server admins, send their vote back to the Ladle enthusiast.
# The Ladle enthusiast tallies the votes. For a “Yes” option to pass it must recieve 2/3 of the votes.
# The Ladle enthusiast posts the results. (Should we keep the votes confidential, or should we make them public?)

===How Global Moderators are elected===
''Still needs to be voted on and finalized. How will they be elected? Will they be referrals or applications? etc, etc.''
Requirements
''Before becoming a Global Moderator the requirements are -''
*''To not be participating part in the current Ladle that they will be moderating.''
*''They must be able to oversee two matches simultaneously.''

=Responsibilities & duties during the Ladle=
===Global Moderators===
Duties include starting the matches, editing team names to reflect scores, settling disputes between teams, silencing spammers or disruptive spectators not using the /team chat. They may also silence participating players if they are being insulting to the opponents or distracting them in a obvious way. They may kick constant hassling spectators that are avoiding the silence feature by rejoining. They are also above the Team Leader's and Team Member's in terms of authority so they may make the final decision if there is a disagreement between the two team leaders.

===Team Leaders===
If there is no GM to referee over the round then both Team Leader's equally decide what should happen. Duties include starting the matches, editing team names to reflect scores, silencing spammers or distributive spectators not using the /team chat. They are above the Team Members in terms of authority so they make the final decision for their own participating team. Both Team Leader's have equal share of the complete decision, if there is no GM present and there is a dispute between a decision that prevents the matches from beginning (or continuing) then a GM must be called in to make a decision.

===Team Members===
They have no specific authority other than all equally deciding on a new Team Leader if the original team leader is not present (or wishes to promote somebody else to the new Team Leader).

=Warnings & Penalties=

==Flex's version==

For every [[#Rules|rule]] broken you will receive one warning. These are all pre-written in order to simplify the procedure and to avoid any biased disciplinary action against any player. If no rule has been broken, but clearly an offense has been committed then on the quarterly voting, the community or committee can decide to give you one warning and nothing else.

-still needs to be finalized-

* Three warnings and you get one Ladle suspension.
* Two Ladle suspensions and you are banned for 12 months from the Ladles. This starts exactly on the date of your last warning given.
* After six months, one warning resets. If you commit an offense during your six months probation, another warning is given and the duration is increased to 12 months in order to allow offending participants to not be able to reset their warnings.
* If you receive one warning, you are not allowed to add a team to the Challenge Board till your warning resets. You may only join a team.

==Sine's version==

''alternate phrasing by sine...''

If it is discovered you have broken a rule, or acted in a clearly devious fashion, you run the risk of being banned for a minimum of one Ladle. PM's will be sent to the team leaders and server owners of the Ladle in question for a vote. Team Leaders should consult their teammates for opinions before casting a vote. At least of 2/3 of the votes must be in favor for a ban to pass. If you escape a ban, you are left with a 6 month warning. If you commit another violation in that time, the result is an automatic ban. Subsequent violations are automatic bans, incrementally (2 months, 3 months...) You must go 6 months without incident for your warnings/bans to be reset. Warnings and bans will be tracked on the [[Ladle/Penalty_Box | Penalty Box]] page, each entry having a supporting link to the forum thread with the results.

== dlh's version ==

If a player is accused of breaking a rule, then a PM Vote trial will be run with the following questions. If the accused player is convicted of violating a rule, then they will recieve a warning or possibly a Ladle suspension.

# Did the accused player violate <rule>? No, Yes
# If the accused player is convicted of violating the Ladle [[#Rules|rules]], should they recieve a suspension? No, 1 Ladle

If a player is accused of commiting an offense not directly covered by the [[#Rules|rules]], then a PM Vote trial will be run with the following questions.

# Did the accused player commit an offense? No, Yes
# If the accused player is convicted of commiting an offense, should they recieve a warning? No, Yes

Warnings persist for 6 months. If you convicted of commiting another violation in that time, the penalty is a 1 Ladle suspension. Subsequent violations result in incrementing the suspension (2 Ladles, 3 Ladles). You must go 6 months without a warning/suspension to reset your warning/suspension status. Warnings and bans will be tracked on the Penalty Box page, each entry having a supporting link to the forum thread with the results.

[[Category:Events]]

Ladle/Operations

2010-08-11T22:54:25Z

Flex: switched some things around.

{{:Ladle/Blurb}}
=Rules=
# Only the Team Leaders of a team may add, edit or remove the team from the Challenge Board. Modifications to the Team Leader of a team may be done by a current Team Leader or the new Team Leader(s). A team may have a maximum of two Team Leaders.
# 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 (See Stage 2 for more information).
# Each team must have at least four players signed up to a team prior to the cut-off to be considered a valid team.
# Teams may only have no more than 11 players signed up at any time.
# After the brackets have been set a Team Leader may change a maximum of two players per team. Only two players per team can be added '''or''' switched. A combination of one added and one switched is acceptable, as long as the total number of changes does not exceed two.
# Players can not be signed up under multiple teams. You may only play for one team each Ladle.
# Players listed on the Challenge Board are not allowed to switch or join another team under '''any''' circumstances after 12:00 GMT on the day of the event.
# 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.

=How the Ladle works=

===Stage 1 - Preparation===
A Ladle Enthusiast will prepare the wiki for a new event keeping the following in mind -
* Per tradition, the Ladle will be played on the first Sunday of every month (except for January, which will take place on the Sunday following the first Tuesday of the month).
* The opening round of play will start at 18:45 GMT for a 16 team bracket, and 18:00 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.

===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 and moderators 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 that 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. ''Note: If your entire team does show up for Ladle, you may be subect to disciplinary action.''

===Stage 3 - Setting the Challenge Board===
Ladle Enthusiasts meet up on the official [[IRC Channel|#Armagetron]] IRC channel sometime between 17:00 and 20:00 GMT the Thursday prior to the Ladle to determine the brackets. Once on the IRC channel, one enthusiast will fill in the servers to play on, following these procedures -
*Odd numbered ladles have Finals played in a US server.
*Even numbered ladles 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.

===Stage 4 - Playing the Ladle===
Team Leaders meet in IRC in the #armagetron.ladle channel on [http://freenode.net freenode] ([http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#armagetron.ladle IRC web client]) 45 minutes before the opening rounds. This meeting is to make final preparations for Ladle, and to solve any problems that have arisen after the brackets were chosen. Teams then meet at the designated servers and play the best of 3 matches.
Ladle Enthusiasts will record results on the brackets as they come in. The brackets should be followed precisely unless there is an 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).
Team management is available on all Ladle 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.
[[Authentication_for_Players#Benefits|More on that here]].

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

The majority of Ladles run smoothly, however, problems occasionally arise. If the problem is a specific player or group of players, then they [[#Warnings & Penalties|can be punished]]. Problems with settings, dates, and general Ladle management can be settled using the quarterly voting system (currently every 3 Ladles starting from L-21). A Ladle Enthusiast creates a "voting discussion thread" on the forum to decide on which issues need a vote. An example can be found [http://forums3.armagetronad.net/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=19444&start=0 here].

===Stage 6 - Quarterly Voting===
After the discussion is exhausted, and with enough time for a fair vote (at least a week before Ladle day), a "Ladle voting" thread is created. An example of such thread exists [http://forums3.armagetronad.net/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=19492 here]. Only Team Leaders may vote. Any other person voting is subject to be accepted by the referee or Team Leaders that are voting. Only one vote per team. The vote ends when the Challenge Board is closed to sign ups (see above). The results of the vote are then edited into the wiki and the ladle.cfg files. Read more about [[Ladle/Guidelines/Voting]].

=Things to know=
Keeping the following in mind makes a smoother, more enjoyable Ladle experience.

===Players, Team Leaders & Teams===
The most important things for players to know and do is -
* Elect a Team Leader who you can trust, who listens to everyone in the team, who is capable of communicating with other Team Leaders, and can follow the procedure to the letter on Ladle day. If you have doubts about the reliability of the Team Leader, then you should select an additional 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.

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 GID they used on the Challenge Board. Failure to do so may result in loss of in-game authority.
* Anything less than a full team of six players is considered your problem. An obliging opponent may reduce their numbers if they wish.

===Server Owners & Operators===
The most important things for server owners and operators to know and do is -
* Use only the official Ladle settings and no other.
* Make sure your server is up to date with the final version of the Ladle settings.
* It's recommended to run the Ladle 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.
* Do not authorise or give anyone other than Global Moderators Moderator access. Please also make sure Team Leaders and Team Members have the correct access.
* Do not use customized colours for teams. Yellow and blue should be the standard.
* Do not use customized language strings on your server.
* Try to limit using too many messages to promote or advertise your own site/server. One message either in the MOTD or round message should be enough.

===Global ID's and authentication===
All Armagetron Advanced authentication authorities are accepted. Recommended authorities are @forums, @ct, and @aagid.

===How a PM Vote Trial works===
PM votes are started by a Ladle enthusiast.

# PM's are sent out to the Team Leaders and server admins of the Ladle in which the incident occured, by a Ladle enthusiast. Ensure the voter names are in the BCC field and not the TO field.
# Team leaders discuss the vote with their team.
# Team leaders and server admins, send their vote back to the Ladle enthusiast.
# The Ladle enthusiast tallies the votes. For a “Yes” option to pass it must recieve 2/3 of the votes.
# The Ladle enthusiast posts the results. (Should we keep the votes confidential, or should we make them public?)

===How Global Moderators are elected===
''Still needs to be voted on and finalized. How will they be elected? Will they be referrals or applications? etc, etc.''
Requirements
''Before becoming a Global Moderator the requirements are -''
*''To not be participating part in the current Ladle that they will be moderating.''
*''They must be able to oversee two matches simultaneously.''

=Responsibilities & duties during the Ladle=
===Global Moderators===
Duties include starting the matches, editing team names to reflect scores, settling disputes between teams, silencing spammers or disruptive spectators not using the /team chat. They may also silence participating players if they are being insulting to the opponents or distracting them in a obvious way. They may kick constant hassling spectators that are avoiding the silence feature by rejoining. They are also above the Team Leader's and Team Member's in terms of authority so they may make the final decision if there is a disagreement between the two team leaders.

===Team Leaders===
If there is no GM to referee over the round then both Team Leader's equally decide what should happen. Duties include starting the matches, editing team names to reflect scores, silencing spammers or distributive spectators not using the /team chat. They are above the Team Members in terms of authority so they make the final decision for their own participating team. Both Team Leader's have equal share of the complete decision, if there is no GM present and there is a dispute between a decision that prevents the matches from beginning (or continuing) then a GM must be called in to make a decision.

===Team Members===
They have no specific authority other than all equally deciding on a new Team Leader if the original team leader is not present (or wishes to promote somebody else to the new Team Leader).

=Warnings & Penalties=

==Flex's version==

For every [[#Rules|rule]] broken you will receive one warning. These are all pre-written in order to simplify the procedure and to avoid any biased disciplinary action against any player. If no rule has been broken, but clearly an offense has been committed then on the quarterly voting, the community or committee can decide to give you one warning and nothing else.

-still needs to be finalized-

* Three warnings and you get one Ladle suspension.
* Two Ladle suspensions and you are banned for 12 months from the Ladles. This starts exactly on the date of your last warning given.
* After six months, one warning resets. If you commit an offense during your six months probation, another warning is given and the duration is increased to 12 months in order to allow offending participants to not be able to reset their warnings.
* If you receive one warning, you are not allowed to add a team to the Challenge Board till your warning resets. You may only join a team.

==Sine's version==

''alternate phrasing by sine...''

If it is discovered you have broken a rule, or acted in a clearly devious fashion, you run the risk of being banned for a minimum of one Ladle. PM's will be sent to the team leaders and server owners of the Ladle in question for a vote. Team Leaders should consult their teammates for opinions before casting a vote. At least of 2/3 of the votes must be in favor for a ban to pass. If you escape a ban, you are left with a 6 month warning. If you commit another violation in that time, the result is an automatic ban. Subsequent violations are automatic bans, incrementally (2 months, 3 months...) You must go 6 months without incident for your warnings/bans to be reset. Warnings and bans will be tracked on the [[Ladle/Penalty_Box | Penalty Box]] page, each entry having a supporting link to the forum thread with the results.

== dlh's version ==

If a player is accused of breaking a rule, then a PM Vote trial will be run with the following questions. If the accused player is convicted of violating a rule, then they will recieve a warning or possibly a Ladle suspension.

# Did the accused player violate <rule>? No, Yes
# If the accused player is convicted of violating the Ladle [[#Rules|rules]], should they recieve a suspension? No, 1 Ladle

If a player is accused of commiting an offense not directly covered by the [[#Rules|rules]], then a PM Vote trial will be run with the following questions.

# Did the accused player commit an offense? No, Yes
# If the accused player is convicted of commiting an offense, should they recieve a warning? No, Yes

Warnings persist for 6 months. If you convicted of commiting another violation in that time, the penalty is a 1 Ladle suspension. Subsequent violations result in incrementing the suspension (2 Ladles, 3 Ladles). You must go 6 months without a warning/suspension to reset your warning/suspension status. Warnings and bans will be tracked on the Penalty Box page, each entry having a supporting link to the forum thread with the results.

[[Category:Events]]