The xhb rules, which is going to be one of the first things a new botbr sees when joining the site, do not make it clear enough that it is required to use the irc / discord (let alone that there even IS a discord, which, let's face it, people joining in 2026 do not know how to use IRC). Also, there could be text here that makes the 24 hour vote timer less confusing.

The revision specifically would be: replace "Questions and Contact" with text that says something to the effect of "here is the discord, here is the irc, they are required, voting usually lasts about 30 minutes, and the host will answer any more questions you have there."

its only required for the host to be in chats, the participants can do whatever

Watch me make an alt that never participates in chat.

It should not be required at all. It's a nice social component I didn't know about at first, but that shouldn't change that it is totally optional.

Right, it's not required. This thread isn't about that though it's about the rules text.

I think new users should understand how the battle functions before they decide not to use the chat. The website alone does a confusing job of this.

The thing is: IRC and Discord are external services, that's why we can't formalize them as an integral part of BotB. In my personal Opinion.

it could be a note separate from the rules itself.

it already is a note separate from the rules. It's in the section called "Questions and Contact". I am referring to both the "Rules" section and the "Questions and Contact" section under the XHB collectively as the "rules text". I would like to hear what you want both of these sections to say to improve the UX of the website.

I think it's a good idea to add it, when I was new to the site I joined a few OHBs before joining the Discord server. I knew it existed since there is that "Discord" button on the front page but I didn't know there was so much BotB related activity, especially related to XHBs.

xhb chat should be integrated into the site itself tbh

honestly yeah why not just have a mini irc client embedded into the site? how hard in theory would that be to set up?

edit: this exists on modarchive.org and isnt even there beyond the purpose of chatting. it really doesn't seem too bad to make.

let's bring it back to the purpose of the original post.

Here's the current XHB rules text:
Rules
XHB submissions are anonymous until results are public.
You must follow the bitpack.
Do not submit boonsave entries.
Arguing with admins about these rules will get you an ailment and/or banned.
All registered users of BotB may vote.
All tunes will be rendered to MP3 for voting accessibility.
No covers allowed, only original works.
Entries that have been previously publicly released are not allowed.
While generative processes are permitted if designed by the entrant, they should never be used as a substitute for putting real human effort into your entries on BotB.

Questions and Contact
For direct communication join us on IRC <link>!! irc.esper.net #botb :D/

~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's an update similar to what I think blower is describing with my interpretation:
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rules
<same>

Questions and Contact

For direct communication join us on Discord or IRC!! Both of these chats are connected, so join us wherever you'd prefer!
Our Discord is found here <link>
Our IRC is found here <link>
If you have any questions regarding the battle, your host will answer them in chat.
After submitting your entry, participants vote on entries, which typically takes around 30 minutes, after which the host will post results in chat.

Happy battling!

ed: comment about host posting results right after voting period

>All tunes will be rendered to MP3 for voting accessibility.
That is a rule? This isn't enforced at all.

that one might be for majors only?

also "all registered users of botb may vote" sounds more like something you write in a constitution than a rule.

I think the rules could maybe use a light revising.

> XHB submissions are anonymous until results are public.

Should maybe also be instructional, something like "do not explicitly reveal your authorship, either in the entry itself or in chat".

> You must follow the bitpack.

For new playas this might be a little confusing? IDK if it warrants a little explanation of what a bitpack is (e.g. "it may have samples you must use", or "it may have instructions on how you must compose your entry", or "it may have something to be used as inspiration for your entry"). It might also be worth reiterating that the entry must also follow the format rules.

> Do not submit boonsave entries.

I think new playas will not know what boonsave means and should probably be explained at least a little bit, something like "don't submit only for the sake of submitting, you must put at least some amount of effort into your entry".

> Arguing with admins about these rules will get you an ailment and/or banned.

IMHO I don't think this is worth putting in the rules. It feels power-trippy and unnecessary, but I also get this was maybe necessary at some phase of the community in the past.

> All tunes will be rendered to MP3 for voting accessibility.

Yeah as Kaytse pointed out, this hasn't applied to XHBs and should maybe be cleared up. Some formats don't even allow MP3s. Sometimes they get rendered and posted in chat but it's not a given.

> Entries that have been previously publicly released are not allowed.

I think this is a generic rule that's included for majors too, but maybe an XHB specific version could be: "your entry must have been made during the XHB period"? With maybe some leeway for instruments, samples, templates, etc.

----

At the same time, adding a whole ton of words might also scare potential new battlers off, so would be good to keep it concise as possible. That or keep a short version and have a longer version that can be expanded or popped out for further reading.

After all, best way to learn is by doing :)

agree with funute.
current ruleset is a very big clusterfuck of prompts, Infos, rules, botb slang and historically important stuff that seems confusing and sometimes outdated today.
I like the botb terminology in the rules. maybe it's enough to add links on terms like "bitpack" if someone needs more info?

but generally it wld make sense to have "best practices" (render ur song to mp3 afterwards) and actual rules (follow bitpack, make entry within battle time etc) separate from each other

hard agree with funute but kleeder i don't think quite put it right here. i think some botb terminology shouldn't be the first thing people here when seeing these rules and more an additional thing after the fact. as in, it needn't really be in the rules at all, if possible. the way i see it is:

funute's argument is more directly that we should clarify In The Rules,

A. what to use a bitpack as in the sake of an XHB

B. boonsave is not a relevant term to what is more appropriate for such a rule, "don't submit for the sake of submitting & put some effort in" is such a more understanding rule

C. rendering to MP3 is not a relevant practice for new submitters to know about and is only fully important for a major, which an XHB is not (as funute said, some formats [including the entirety of drawing formats] CANNOT be rendered to mp3)

D. "entries that have been previously publicized are not allowed" -> "entries must be made within the XHB period" is a perfect change and i really don't have any other suggestions for it lol

E. the 'arguing' rule is not, really, required, for the new day & age of BotB? and shouldn't be expressed so intensely as it can draw some people away perhaps

F. the rule about anonymous submissions for an XHB could be made instructional..

personally i feel all the rules should be more converted to Instructional Guidelines (er, formatted as such) rather than the vague way they are. sure, you get acquainted with them at some point but they're much difficult for new viewers to understand...
and putting links to the botb terminology for the sake of it does nothing but increase the confusion of it, and also overwhelmingness of it. i could see someone losing themself in there lol

i feel the "boonsave" jargon is appropriate since i do believe the rule is about that particular behavior, and this jargon is comprehensible for users who understand the site mechanics well enough to engage in this behavior in the first place

I think some site terminology is part of what makes this site and the community special and if we remove it from these texts completely we just take a step towards making the experience a little more soulless.
this probably sounds harder than I actually mean it, but I think a big part of what made me stay on here was how it took me a little to understand every term but when I finally got it it felt rewarding because it made me feel more as a part of the community because of it.

the bitpack is a bitpack, and a boonsave entry is a boonsave entry. if someone gets scared away by community terminology like this maybe this wasn't the best place for them to begin with

On a related subject, this community is geared towards solidarity, so, yes: I was about to submit a "boonsave" entry once. It's just natural to see that there are not yet enough entries and you want to help your fella BotBr not loosing their boons.

Thankfully the rule exists, so I didn't submit the entry after all ;_; .

maybe just have the rules say "don't submit just for the sake of submitting, be sure to put actual effort into your entry. this includes boonsave entries".

concise and easy to understand for both longtime botbrs and n00bs.

i think i agree with kleeder in that i don't think it's a good idea to remove those sorts of terms. ppl who wonder what it means will learn by asking or by perusing the lyceum, ppl who dont like it have to deal with it

as for the rules i agree with the rewriting aspect both to make some stuff clearer and also to introduce hard boundaries where deemed necessary

here's my take on this. i think it hits a lot of the same points as the previous suggestions, but some differences are present as well that i haven't seen covered (like with voting)


Rules:

XHB submissions must remain anonymous until the host makes results public.

You must follow the provided bitpack.

Do not submit boonsave entries.

No covers or previous works are allowed, only original works may be submitted.

Entries must be produced within the XHB time period.

Generative processes are only permitted if designed by the entrant and must not substitute meaningful human effort.

Once voting opens, vote with discretion based on the quality of the entry and adherence to the bitpack.


Questions/Contact:

For direct communication with the battle host and other BotBrs, please join our IRC or Discord chat. These are linked, so choose whichever is more convenient.

Any questions about the battle and bitpack are best directed at the battle host in the chat.

Please note that the voting period will very likely close much earlier than the typical 24 hours provided, if you need more time please make the host aware prior to tallying the results.

Once voting concludes, the results shall be made public, and entrants/voters will be rewarded with points and boons.