The Smog Awards 2012

Organized by bojangles.

Welcome to yet another iteration of the popular annual contest, the Smog Awards! Somehow, an extremely busy year for Smogon is already in its sunset stage, and that means it's time to—once again—recognize your favorites in a wide range of categories. You can reread 2011's Smog Awards here and 2010's Smog Awards here, and the other years can be found in the Greatest Hits forum.

Let me outline the process of this year. The article you're looking at is the first stage in the process, which will go as follows:

Issue 23 – The nomination period. Categories are posted and nominations are open. To nominate users for awards, make sure you have read the rules, then PM user The Smog with your list. Nominations must be in before Issue 24 is published. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Issue 24 – The shortlist period. The top 5 (where applicable) users nominated for each category will be posted, and members may proceed to PM The Smog with their votes.
Issue 25 – Results are published!

Please be aware of the following issues when voting:

To nominate, your account must have been registered on or before October 1, 2012.
You may nominate a single user for up to five categories.
You may nominate up to three users per category.
You may not nominate yourself.
You may abstain from any category you wish.
You may not use more than one account to submit a nomination.
A copy/pastable form will be given at the end of the article. You must follow this format so that the nominations can be easily counted.
Past years don't count. These awards are all about recognizing Smogon in 2012!

Good luck to everyone! Please submit your genuine favorites, and may the awards begin. If you have any questions or anything is unclear, please contact bojangles about it.

Battling

Best OU Battler
Best UU Battler
Best Ubers Battler
Best RU Battler
Best NU Battler
Best VGC Battler
Best Little Cup Battler: These categories recognizes the elite players of Smogon's respective metagames, those who have risen above the rest in 2012.
Best Tournament Player: This category is for consistent, successful tournament players. To be a great tournament player, you need to be a good team-builder, skilled at adapting to a variety of environments, and a keen strategist.
Best Ladder Player: This category is for the players you always see high on the ladder. To be a great ladder player, your teams need to cover an extremely wide array of threats, you need to be good at rematches, and you need dedication.
Best Team Builder: This category is for the players who make the best teams, solid teams that handle a lot of threats and have effective game plans.
Best Old-School Player: This category is for the best at old generations during 2012: RBY, GSC, and ADV. There have been a number of old-gen tournaments in 2012, such as the Smogon Premier League, ADVanced Users Only, and the old-gen mashup, in which old players have some to defend their titles, and some new players have proved their competence.
Most Influential Player: The Most Influential Player is a trendsetter. Think of someone whose teams and strategies shaped part of a metagame in 2012. An example from past years is obi, whose stall team was ubiquitous in DP.
Most Gimmicky Player: Think of this as a tongue-in-cheek creativity award. Picture a player who constantly employs innovative, unique strategies and is willing to try pretty much anything.
Biggest Upset: In 2012, there have been a few shocking and noteworthy moments in competitive Pokémon. A 2009 example was Oceania winning the World Cup. This category is for triumphant underdogs and dark horses.
Luckiest Player: Battling this player makes Jirachi's Iron Heads look tame.
Most Intimidating Player: Smogon is host to a whole legion of fantastic Pokemon battlers. However, there is always that one battler who, when their name pops up against you on the ladder, makes your heart sink with their amazing reputation. Sometimes they live up to it and sometimes they don't, but one thing is for certain: people fear this name.
Best New Player: This is a player who registered on or after January 1, 2012, but burst onto the scene with amazing performances in Smogon Tournaments. They may not have been around for long, but they've already made quite the name for themselves.
Best Overall Player: The best Smogon player in 2012.

Users

Nicest User: To be nice to many people requires tolerance, kindness, and a willingness to look on the bright side, something this award seeks to recognize. Smogon's Nicest Users make the day just that more pleasant for everyone.
Meanest User: On the other hand, while generally quite controversial, our Meanest Users add spice to the community, and sometimes they say things we all wish we had but would never dare to.
Wittiest User: Smogon is home to a number of amusing people who always have a good joke or clever observation to make—these are our Wittiest Users.
Cutest User: There are some users whose every action just makes you smile with its adorableness. This category honors those users who are just so cute!
Most Helpful Poster: Part of what keeps the forum so lively and worth returning to is that there are a number of helpful posters on it. These are posters who patiently answer questions, provide resource threads, and point lost users in the right direction, all while staving off the sarcasm.
Most Improved User: This user started out terrible, and now they're not. Or maybe it wasn't that bad, but either way, there are a lot of people who could take a leaf from the Most Improved User's book. From cringeworthy people to good users, the Most Improved User award recognizes the effort that goes into reforming your behaviour.
Most Overlooked User: Who? The Most Overlooked User is someone who does a lot behind the scenes but is not recognized as much as they deserve.
Most Deserving User: Smogon takes very extensive measures to make sure all our contributors are adequately rewarded and recognized. This category, however, seeks to highlight the users who have really earned their recognition or a pending recognition. This is a user who has exceeded in their field.
Most Persuasive User: The Most Persuasive User is an insightful poster who knows how to compose a skilled argument and diplomatically bring other people to their point of view, a truly valuable talent indeed.
Most Influential User: Kind of like a celebrity, the Most Influential User's influence spreads all over Smogon. Their opinions and ideas are rarely ignored, and they often have a hand in happenings all around the community.
Most Promising New User: A new user is here defined as somebody who first joined Smogon on or after January 1, 2012. Welcome to Smogon—we're glad to have you!
Most Awesome Veteran: A veteran is here defined as somebody who first joined Smogon on or before December 31, 2008. One of Smogon's defining traits as a community is that even after our old members quit Pokémon, they tend to stick around. Thanks for still being here!
Up-and-Coming User: This user isn't necessarily new, but their contributions have made them recognized everywhere in 2012. Perhaps they're new to contributing in various facets of the site, or perhaps they've only just now been recognized. These are the rising stars of Smogon 2012.
Best Avatar
Best Signature
Best Custom Title: Some people express themselves extremely creatively in their avatar, signatures, and/or custom titles. For your nomination to count, you must name the user and what it is. For an example of an avatar from last year: reyscarface's Limitless dancing avatar. Make sure it's clear so we know what you're referring to so we can count your vote! 'Um... you know that avatar with the cool effects and the Squirtle?' won't cut it.
Member of the Year: The best member in 2012, loved by many, whose ideas, contributions, and posts number among the greatest in the year.

Community

Best Forum Staff Member: Credit where credit's due—the tasks of a moderator, super moderator, or admin are at times stressful and time-consuming. The Best Forum Staff Member recipient is someone who moderates and/or leads the forum and users particularly well, with defining traits being activity and fairness.
Best Leader: Part of what makes Smogon so efficient and amazing is that each important section—from Contributions & Corrections to Smogon Metagames—has somebody leading it in a good direction. This category is to recognize the leaders who do more than just moderate, but actively improve their area of the site.
Best Pokemon SHOWDOWN! Staff Member: Taking care of the chat is not an easy task, and because of our Pokemon SHOWDOWN! moderators, the simulators are enjoyable and relatively trouble-free; these mods weed out trolls, engage users, and keep the chat tolerable for all.
Best Discussion Sparker: This category is for those who are excellent at bringing up thought-provoking, well-laid-out topics that spawn a lot of constructive conversation.
Best Pokemon Poster: This category recognizes those whose posts in the Pokemon boards are well-written, well-informed, and interesting.
Best IRC Presence: Much of Smogon's top discussion goes on off the site on the SynIRC server of IRC, a live chatroom. The Best IRC Presence is the person who is always contributing to and leading the discussion, especially in Smogon's official channel, #pokemon.
Best Warstory: This category recognizes the most entertaining warstories posted on Smogon in 2012—tight battles with illuminating commentary. For your nomination to count, you must nominate the warstory's writer and link to the thread.
Best Wi-Fi User: This category recognizes the pride and joy of the Wi-Fi forum. These members are great to trade with, maintain their threads well, and uphold the rules that are so important to an effective Wi-Fi lobby.
Best CAP Poster: This category recognizes the intelligent, mature posters in the Create-a-Pokémon forum, whose posts lay out their points clearly, show understanding of the subject, and bring up important ideas.
Best a forum Poster: This category recognizes the best posters in Smogon's more off-topic forum, those who consistently make rational, reasonable, eloquent posts about a wide range of real-life and cultural topics, or those who make posts that leave everybody in stitches from laughter.
Best Mafia Player: This category recognizes the quick-witted, devious, scheming players of mafia, an extremely popular game in Circus Maximus. Their plans are thorough and lead them to success, and their communications with other players exemplify the psychological tactics necessary to win.
Best Mafia Game: This category recognizes the most fun, well-hosted mafia game of 2012.
Best Team Rater: This category recognizes those who take the time to improve other people's teams with solid advice, constructive critique, and intelligent suggestions.
Best RMT Thread: This category recognizes the best RMTs of 2012. The best RMTs are those of fantastic teams, and good presentation and coherent, comprehensive explanations are vital.
Best Tournament: This category recognizes the best non-official tournaments of 2012. To clarify, tournaments that yield trophies (World Cup of Pokémon, Smogon Premier League, Smogon Tour, Smogon Grand Slam, and the Official Smogon Tournament) do not qualify for this award.
Best Thread: This category is for the best thread on Smogon in 2012. For your nomination to count, you must link to the thread and name the user who posted it.
Best Post: This category is for the best post on Smogon in 2012. For your nomination to count, you must link to the post and name the user who posted it.
Best Trou du Cul Thread: This category could be considered the inverse of the above! It's up to you whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, but either way, for whatever reasons, these threads were the most entertaining in Trou du Cul 2012. For your nomination to count, you must link to the thread and name the user who posted it.
Best Poster: This category is for the overall best poster in Smogon in 2012.

Contributions

Best Set Poster: This category is for the overall best poster in Smogon in 2012.
Best Editor: The Best Editor is someone who frequently makes accurate, comprehensive grammar/prose checks in Contributions & Corrections and The Smog.
Best Quality Control Member: Quality Control members are those brave soldiers who trudge through all the sets, good and bad, to make sure Smogon's strategydex has only the best Pokemon sets. The Best QC member is the one who has gone above and beyond and has really helped their section of the forum.
Best Writer: The Best Writer is someone whose prose in Contributions & Corrections and The Smog is always worth reading—it's clear, to the point, and entertaining.
Best Contributor: This award is for the best contributors in Contributions & Corrections during 2012.
Best Forum Project: This award recognizes those contributors who go above and beyond to make the Smogon forums a more enjoyable place to be. By running these projects—examples of which being Research Week and The Orange League—they have invigorated the forums and brought in new members who are excited to be a part of Smogon. Please include both the contribution and who ran it.
Best Smogon Media Contributor: This award is for the best Smogon Media contributor—including The Smog, The Smogcast, The Competitor, and Smogon Youtube—during 2012.
Best Programmer: Smogon is lucky to have so many dedicated programmers working for it. This award seeks to recognize the best and most helpful programmer during 2012.
Best Researcher: With the release of Black 2 and White 2, research in 2012 is absolutely critical to establish a metagame and corresponding simulator. These users put time and effort in to ensure their research is comprehensive and enlightening.
Best New Artist: The Best New Artist celebrates fantastic art from those who have joined on or after January 1, 2012. Just because they're new it doesn't mean they're not amazing!
Most Improved Artist: Art does not come easily to most people, but it is possible to get better. The Most Improved Artist has taken great strides to improve his or her work—and it really shows.
Best Piece of Art: Sometimes you see a drawing that just makes your jaw drop. No matter where it is on Smogon, this category seeks to recognize the best artistic works of 2012. Please link to the post or article where you can see the drawing when you send in your nominations.
Best Artist: In Smeargle's Studio and The Smog alike, a number of talented and creative artists post their works. Art is subjective—pick your favorite!
Best Contribution: Whatever it was, this was the best contribution to Smogon in 2012. Some examples from past years are X-Act's damage formula research article and DougJustDoug's damage calculator.

The Form

Please follow this format when submitting nominations. Delete anything you find irrelevant, and where noted, observe the specified rules to make your nomination count.

[SIZE=3][B]Battling[/B][/SIZE]

[B]Best OU Battler[/B]
[B]Best UU Battler[/B]
[B]Best Ubers Battler[/B]
[B]Best RU Battler[/B]
[B]Best NU Battler[/B]
[B]Best VGC Battler[/B]
[B]Best Little Cup Battler[/B]
These categories recognizes the elite players of Smogon's respective metagames, those who have risen above the rest in 2012.

[B]Best Tournament Player[/B]
This category is for consistent, successful tournament players. To be a great tournament player, you need to be a good team-builder, skilled at adapting to a variety of environments, and a keen strategist.

[B]Best Ladder Player[/B]
This category is for the players you always see high on the ladder. To be a great ladder player, your teams need to cover an extremely wide array of threats, you need to be good at rematches, and you need dedication.

[B]Best Old-School Player[/b]
This category is for the best at old generations [B]during 2012[/b]: RBY, GSC, and ADV. There have been a number of old-gen tournaments in 2012, such as the Smogon Premier League, ADVanced Users only, and the old-gen mashup, in which old players have some to defend their titles, and some new players have proved their competence.

[B]Best Team Builder[/B]
This category is for the players who make the best teams, solid teams that handle a lot of threats and have effective game plans.

[B]Most Influential Player[/B]
The Most Influential Player is a trendsetter. Think of someone whose teams and strategies shaped part of a metagame in 2012. An example from past years is obi, whose stall team was ubiquitous in DP.

[B]Most Gimmicky Player[/B]
Think of this as a tongue-in-cheek creativity award. Picture a player who constantly employs innovative, unique strategies and is willing to try pretty much anything.

[B]Biggest Upset[/B]
In 2012, there have been a few shocking and noteworthy moments in competitive Pokémon. A 2009 example was Oceania winning the World Cup. This category is for triumphant underdogs and dark horses.

[B]Luckiest Player[/B]
Battling this player makes Jirachi's Iron Heads look tame.

[B]Most Intimidating Player[/B]
Smogon is host to a whole legion of fantastic Pokemon battlers. However, there is always that one battler who, when their name pops up against you on the ladder, makes your heart sink with their amazing reputation. Sometimes they live up to it and sometimes they don't, but one thing is for certain: people fear this name.

[B]Best New Player[/B]
This is a player who registered on or after January 1, 2012, but burst onto the scene with amazing performances in Smogon Tournaments. They may not have been around for long, but they've already made quite the name for themselves.

[B]Best Overall Player[/B]
The best Smogon player in 2012.

[B][SIZE=3]Users[/SIZE][/B]

[B]Nicest User[/B]
To be nice to many people requires tolerance, kindness, and a willingness to look on the bright side, something this award seeks to recognize. Smogon's Nicest Users make the day just that more pleasant for everyone.

[B]Meanest User[/B]
On the other hand, while generally quite controversial, our Meanest Users add spice to the community, and sometimes they say things we all wish we had but would never dare to.

[B]Wittiest User[/B]
Smogon is home to a number of amusing people who always have a good joke or clever observation to make - these are our Wittiest Users.

[B]Cutest User[/B]
There are some users whose every action just makes you smile with its adorableness. This category honors those users who are [i]just so cute![/i]

[B]Most Helpful Poster[/B]
Part of what keeps the forum so lively and worth returning to is that there are a number of helpful posters on it. These are posters who patiently answer questions, provide resource threads, and point lost users in the right direction, all while staving off the sarcasm.

[B]Most Improved User[/B]
This user started out terrible, and now they're not. Or maybe it wasn't that bad, but either way, there are a lot of people who could take a leaf from the Most Improved User's book. From cringeworthy people to good users, the Most Improved User award recognizes the effort that goes into reforming your behaviour.

[B]Most Overlooked User[/B]
Who? The Most Overlooked User is someone who does a lot behind the scenes but is not recognized as much as they deserve.

[B]Most Deserving User[/B]
Smogon takes very extensive measures to make sure all our contributors are adequately rewarded and recognized. This category, however, seeks to highlight the users who have really earned their recognition or a pending recognition. This is a user who has exceeded in their field.

[B]Most Persuasive User[/B]
The Most Persuasive User is an insightful poster who knows how to compose a skilled argument and diplomatically bring other people to their point of view, a truly valuable talent indeed.

[B]Most Influential User[/B]
Kind of like a celebrity, the Most Influential User's influence spreads all over Smogon. Their opinions and ideas are rarely ignored, and they often have a hand in happenings all around the community.

[B]Most Promising New User[/B]
A new user is here defined as somebody who first joined Smogon on or after January 1, 2012. Welcome to Smogon - we're glad to have you!

[B]Most Awesome Veteran[/B]
A veteran is here defined as somebody who first joined Smogon on or before December 31, 2008. One of Smogon's defining traits as a community is that even after our old members quit Pokémon, they tend to stick around. Thanks for still being here!

[B]Up-and-Coming User[/B]
This user isn't necessarily new, but their contributions have made them recognized everywhere in 2012. Perhaps they're new to contributing in various facets of the site, or perhaps they've only just now been recognized. These are the rising stars of Smogon 2012.

[B]Best Avatar[/B]
[B]Best Signature[/B]
[B]Best Custom Title[/B]
Some people express themselves extremely creatively in their avatar, signatures, and/or custom titles. For your nomination to count, you must name the user and what it is. For an example of an avatar from last year: reyscarface's [I]Limitless dancing[/I] avatar. Make sure it's clear so we know what you're referring to so we can count your vote! 'Um... you know that avatar with the cool effects and the Squirtle?' won't cut it.

[B]Member of the Year[/B]
The best member in 2012, loved by many, whose ideas, contributions, and posts number among the greatest in the year.

[SIZE=3][B]Community[/B][/SIZE]

[B]Best Forum Staff Member[/B]
Credit where credit's due - the tasks of a moderator, super moderator, or admin are at times stressful and time-consuming. The Best Forum Staff Member recipient is someone who moderates and/or leads the forum and users particularly well, with defining traits being activity and fairness.

[B]Best Leader[/B]
Part of what makes Smogon so efficient and amazing is that each important section - from Contributions & Corrections to Smogon Metagames - has somebody leading it in a good direction. This category is to recognize the leaders who do more than just moderate, but actively improve their area of the site.

[B]Best Pokemon SHOWDOWN! Staff Member[/B]
Taking care of the chat is not an easy task, and because of our Pokemon SHOWDOWN! moderators, the simulators are enjoyable and relatively trouble-free; these mods weed out trolls, engage users, and keep the chat tolerable for all.

[B]Best Discussion Sparker[/B]
This category is for those who are excellent at bringing up thought-provoking, well-laid-out topics that spawn a lot of constructive conversation.

[B]Best Pokemon Poster[/B]
This category recognizes those whose posts in Pokemon boards are well-written, well-informed, and interesting.

[B]Best IRC Presence[/B]
Much of Smogon's top discussion goes on off the site on the SynIRC server of IRC, a live chatroom. The Best IRC Presence is the person who is always contributing to and leading the discussion, especially in Smogon's official channel, #pokemon.

[B]Best Warstory[/B]
This category recognizes the most entertaining warstories posted on Smogon in 2012 - tight battles with illuminating commentary. For your nomination to count, you must nominate the warstory's writer and link to the thread.

[B]Best Wi-Fi User[/B]
This category recognizes the pride and joy of the Wi-Fi forum. These members are great to trade with, maintain their threads well, and uphold the rules that are so important to an effective Wi-Fi lobby.

[B]Best CAP Poster[/B]
This category recognizes the intelligent, mature posters in the Create-a-Pokémon strategy, whose posts lay out their points clearly, show understanding of the subject, and bring up important ideas.

[B]Best a forum Poster[/B]
This category recognizes the best posters in Smogon's more off-topic forum, those who consistently make rational, reasonable, eloquent posts about a wide range of real-life and cultural topics, or those who make posts that leave everybody in stitches from laughter.

[B]Best Mafia Player[/B]
This category recognizes the quick-witted, devious, scheming players of mafia, an extremely popular game medium in Circus Maximus. Their plans are thorough and lead them to success, and their communications with other players exemplify the psychological tactics necessary to win.

[B]Best Mafia Game[/B]
This category recognizes the most fun, well-hosted mafia game of 2012.

[B]Best Team Rater[/B]
This category recognizes those who take the time to improve other people's teams with solid advice, constructive critique, and intelligent suggestions.

[B]Best RMT Thread[/B]
This category recognizes the best RMTs of 2012. The best RMTs are those of fantastic teams, and good presentation and coherent, comprehensive explanations are vital.

[B]Best Tournament[/B]
This category recognizes the best non-official tournaments of 2012. To clarify, tournaments that yield trophies (World Cup of Pokémon, Smogon Premier League, Smogon Tour, Smogon Grand Slam, and the Official Smogon Tournament) do not qualify for this award.

[B]Best Thread[/B]
This category is for the best thread on Smogon in 2012. For your nomination to count, you must link to the thread and name the user who posted it.

[B]Best Post[/B]
This category is for the best post on Smogon in 2012. For your nomination to count, you must link to the post and name the user who posted it.

[B]Best Trou du Cul Thread[/B]
This category could be considered the inverse of the above! It's up to you whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, but either way, for whatever reasons, these threads were the most entertaining in Trou du Cul 2012. For your nomination to count, you must link to the thread and name the user who posted it.

[B]Best Poster[/B]
This category is for the overall best poster in Smogon in 2012.

[B][SIZE=3]Contributions[/SIZE][/B]

[B]Best Set Poster[/B]
The Best Set Poster is someone who always posts fantastic and effective movesets in Contributions & Corrections.

[B]Best Editor[/B]
The Best Editor is someone who frequently makes accurate, comprehensive grammar/prose checks in Contributions & Corrections and The Smog.

[B]Best Quality Control Member[/B]
Quality Control members are those brave soldiers who trudge through all the sets, good and bad, to make sure Smogon's strategydex has only the best Pokemon sets. The Best QC member is the one who has gone above and beyond and has really helped their section of the forum.

[B]Best Writer[/B]
The Best Writer is someone whose prose in Contributions & Corrections and The Smog is always worth reading - it's clear, to the point, and entertaining.

[B]Best Contributor[/B]
This award is for the best contributors in Contributions & Corrections during 2012.

[B]Best Forum Project[/B]
This award recognizes those contributors who go above and beyond to make the Smogon forums a more enjoyable place to be. By running these projects—examples of which being Research Week and The Orange League—they have invigorated the forums and brought in new members who are excited to be a part of Smogon. Please include both the contribution and who ran it.

[B]Best Smogon Media Contributor[/B]
This award is for the best Smogon Media contributor - including The Smog, The Smogcast, The Competitor, and Smogon Youtube - during 2012.

[B]Best Programmer[/B]
Smogon is lucky to have so many dedicated programmers working for it. This award seeks to recognize the best and most helpful programmer during 2012.

[B]Best Researcher[/B]
With the release of Black 2 and White 2, research in 2012 is absolutely critical to establish a metagame and corresponding simulator. These users put time and effort in to ensure their research is comprehensive and enlightening.

[B]Best New Artist[/B]
The Best New Artist celebrates fantastic art from those who have joined on or after January 1, 2012. Just because they're new it doesn't mean they're not amazing!

[B]Most Improved Artist[/B]
Art does not come easily to most people, but it is possible to get better. The Most Improved Artist has taken great strides to improve his or her work - and it really shows.

[B]Best Piece of Art[/B]
Sometimes you see a drawing that just makes your jaw drop. No matter where it is on Smogon, this category seeks to recognize the best artistic works of 2012. Please link to the post or article where you can see the drawing when you send in your nominations.

[B]Best Artist[/B]
In Smeargle's Studio and The Smog alike, a number of talented and creative artists post their works. Art is subjective - pick your favorite!

[B]Best Contribution[/B]
Whatever it was, this was the best contribution to Smogon in 2012. Some examples from past years are X-Act's damage formula research article and DougJustDoug's damage calculator.

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