Newbie FAQ

See "Introduction to KGS" for background information.

Three Things Every KGS User Should Know

What is an escaper?
- A player who leaves a lost game instead of resigning is an escaper. (Escapers are obnoxious.)
What does it mean when a player has a tilde (~) after their name?
- It means that they play higher ranking players at least twice as often as they play lower ranking players. (Having a tilde is not good.)
A troll is a person who provokes or incites heated reactions or arguments in chat lines. Trolling is not allowed.

Two Definitions (There are more in the glossary.)

Misclick
- Occasionally a player's mouse slips or misfires, and they make a move that they did not intend to make.
  - The mouse anti-slip option in the preferences window helps you avoid misclicks.
  - If your opponent makes a misclick and asks for an undo, it is totally up to you whether or not you want to give them one.
PM means either 1) "private message" or 2) "private chat".

How To . . .

PM somebody.
- Either 1) use "leave message" under the user menu or 2) right click on their user name in a room window.
- When you PM somebody, a dialog box comes up if they are online.
- If they are playing a game ...
  - The message "playing a game" appears in the upper left corner of the dialog box.
  - If you then type something into the dialog box, they will hear a telephone ringing (or a bell ringing), unless ...
    1. they have the alarm for tells turned off or
    2. you are on their censor list.
  - You might want to wait until later, so as not interrupt them during their game.
  - To watch their game, click on ...
    1. User Info (in the upper right corner of the dialog box),
    2. their Games tab, and
    3. List All Games (in the upper right corner of the Games tab).
    The game they are currently playing then appears in boldface at the top of the list. Unless it is a private game, you can click on it and watch.
register.
- Use "register" under user. (This entry is grayed out for registered accounts.)
set your time zone.
- KGS dates and times are displayed in GMT if your time zone is not set. If it is, they are displayed in your time zone.
- After you have set your time zone, dates and times are displayed in italics.
view your user information.
- Use "edit personal information" under "user".
view the user information of somebody else.
- Either 1) use "view user information" under "user" or 2) right click on their name.
get a game on KGS

General Questions

Is there a room for beginners?
- Yes! Here is the path: Rooms –> Room List –> Lessons –> Beginners' Room
I am new to KGS, and I am having trouble getting a game. Is there something I can do?
- Yes!
I lost my connection during a game. How do I get back in the game?
1. Log back onto KGS.
2. Click on the Resume button in the upper right hand corner of the Rooms Window.
3. Click on the game.
What do those little pictures (icons) mean in front of the user names?
- (Stars, crowns, cell phones, computer screens, gold hexagons (suns), etc.)
What do those letters mean in front of the game offers?
- They indicate the KGS game type. Other symbols in addition to letters sometimes appear.
What do I when something goes wrong while marking the dead stones at the end of the game?
- Perhaps a misclick marked a group as dead when it is really alive. Shift click on the mismarked group.
- Perhaps another move is required before the game is really finished. Push the undo button.
When I enter a user name into the Buddy List, the Censor List, or the Fan List, there is a "notes" field. What are notes?
How do I view my rank graph?
- Click on user –> edit personal information –> rank graph.
- To see the rank graph of another user, bring up their "user information" page.
What is a rank graph?
- The history of your rating and of your rank is displayed in you rank graph.
- Your rating is a decimal number, your rank is an integer.
- Ranks are limited to 9d. Ratings have no limit.
- See the Rating System page for more information about ratings and ranks.
- What is the "ten move rule"?
What is the difference between a rated game and a ranked game?
- There is no difference.
What is a "sandbagger"?
- A sandbagger is a player who intentionally deflates their rank. Their purpose is to beat an opponent who expects them to be weaker than they really are. "Sandbagger" and "hustler" mean essentially the same thing.
- If a player's rank is below their playing strength, that does not necessarily mean that they are a sandbagger. For example, players who are improving rapidly are often stronger than their rank. They are "rising stars," not sandbaggers. Players who are recovering from a long losing streak may also be stronger than their rank.
- If a player resigns or forfeits (by escaping) too many games when they are winning the game, they may be deranked. When a player is deranked, they are banned from playing rated games.
- Resigning automatch games before they begin or early in the game is also considered sandbagging and cause to be deranked.
- Sandbagging violates the TOS rule against "dishonest play". Players have been deranked and banned from KGS tournaments for sandbagging.
What is an admin?
- How does a person become an admin?
  - When there is a need for more admins, senior admins ask a few mature users if they would be willing to volunteer. To be selected to be an admin, a person must be fluent in English, have some skills in moderating public rooms, and be known to help other users and newbies. Help other users and newbies, and maybe, someday you'll be asked. Admins are recruited when there is a need to, not to reward people.
- How do I send an email to an admin?
  - Use admin@gokgs.com
  - Include the exact time and date when it happened. That way, the admin does not have to search back through the game and chat line records.
  - For a complaint about another player, do not complain in the chat line. Usually better to PM an admin than to send an email.
  - If you have a complaint about an admin, send an email. Your complaint will get the attention of a senior admin.
  - Please send an email if you discover a bug in the KGS software. Sometimes a bug will creep into a new release.
Are there social standards that users are expected to follow?
- Yes. Here are the KGS etiquette guidelines for when you are ...
- KGS also has policies. The admins generally take policy violations more seriously than etiquette violations.

Glossary

CGoban
- The KGS client. (The "complete goban".)
Goban
- A go board
KGS
- Formerly known as the Kiseido Go Server
SGF
- Smart Game Format
TOS
- Terms of Service
To Troll
- To provoke or to incite heated reactions or arguments.
- Wikipedia has a more comprehensive definition.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

**Often found in chat lines**
ddk	idk	lol	np	nvm	sdk	ty	tx	PM
double digit kyu	I don't know	laughing out loud	no problem	never mind	single digit kyu	thank you	thanks	Private Message

**Often found in *game* chat lines**
hf	gg	gl	brb	gtg	afk	b	cya	slt
have fun	good game	good luck	be right back	got to go	away from the keyboard	bye	see ya	salut, to your health

**The four corners of a goban**
LL	LR	UL	UR
lower left	lower right	upper left	upper right

**Four Rooms**
Bot	ECR	EGR	KTL
robot	English Chat Room	English Game Room	KGS Teaching Ladder
social –> Computer Go	social –> English Chat Room	main –> English Game Room	lessons –> KGS Teaching Ladder

References

What does "lol" actually stand for? "Lots of laughs" or "laughing out loud"? I don't know, but here's a vote for "laughing out loud": netlingo.com.
The Google dictionary has definitions of "sandbagger" and "hustler". The second meaning of "hustler" is the one that is applicable in the KGS context. (Change note: Google dictionary might not always be available. Need to get definitions of sandbagger and hustler from another source. dj. 8/23/2011)

Main Rooms Policy

First, KGS is a family-aimed server. The main chat rooms should be appropriate for people of any age from any culture. This mean no swear words, no sex related conversations, references to illegal drugs, etc. (See the current Terms of Service.)
Second, the primary purpose of the main chat rooms are to help users with go and KGS.
- Any discussion unrelated to either go or KGS will be tolerated only if it doesn't interfere with this aim and the first point.
- If questions from users are (or would be) flooded in such a conversation, then the conversation should either stop or move to another room.
- "Off-topic" discussions, while often tolerated, are not the purpose of the main rooms.
- Discussions of a religious or political nature can quickly become heated and disruptive, so are not allowed in the main rooms.
Note: Long discussions in a language other than the room's default language should move to the main room dedicated to that language. This does not apply to conversations with lost newbies.
The admins enforce the main room policy and the TOS. They can terminate a user's connection without warning and they can ban them from KGS. Newbies asking questions are treated more leniently than regular users.

Game Chat Policy

The "family-aimed" policy described in the first item of the Main Rooms Policy above applies to all public games.
The "family-aimed" policy applies to players and observers.
Chat by observers of games in progress should be restricted to discussion of that particular game.
The more observers in a game, the more likely it is an admin will enforce this.
Note: All languages are welcome in game chat.