FICS Help: seek

seek
Usage: seek [time inc] [rated|unrated] [white|black] [crazyhouse] [suicide]
 [wild #] [auto|manual] [formula] [rating-range]
 The "seek" command allows you to post an advertisement for a chess 
game of the specified type. The various parameters of the "seek" 
command are as follows:
 PARAMETER COMMENTS
 --------- --------
 time minutes to start with for each player [default: your Time 
 variable setting]
 inc seconds added to each clock per move [default: your Inc
 variable setting]
 rated/unrated type of match; may be abbreviated by "r" and "u" 
 [default: your Rated variable setting]
 white/black designated colour you will have; may be abbreviated by "w"
 and "b" [default: no colour specified]
 crazyhouse see "help crazyhouse" if you are not familiar with this
 chess variant; may be abreviated by "zh"
 suicide see "help suicide" if you are not familiar with this
 chess variant
 wild # wild chess variant, if any, such as wild 1, wild 2, wild 
 fr, etc.; a shortcut for wild # is w#, but wild fr has no 
 shortcut [default: regular chess]
 auto/manual indicates whether a game will start automatically when 
 the ad is responded to, or if the person who placed the 
 ad has the option to decline responses; may be 
 abbreviated by "a" and "m" [default: auto start]
 formula indicates whether your formula will used to screen 
 responses to your ad; may be abbreviated by "f" [default:
 formula is not checked]
 rating-range indicates rating qualifications for the opponents, such 
 as 1300-1800 [default: 0000-9999]
Note: If settings for time, inc or rated/unrated are not given, your 
"variables" settings will be used. Example A: if your variables settings have 
Time = 5, Inc = 0, and rated = 0 then typing "seek" would be the same as 
typing "seek 5 0 u". Example B: if your variables settings have Time = 5, Inc 
= 12, then typing "seek 2" would be the same as typing "seek 2 12". 
When you place an ad, it will be displayed to users in this general format:
 Hawk(2700) seeking 5 0 rated blitz [white] m ("play 2" to respond)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
(1) Who will see my ad when it is posted? -- To have your ad displayed 
to a user the moment you make it, the other user must have his/her 
"seek" variable set to 1 and the ad must agree with his/her formula (see 
"help formula"). Otherwise, users can type "sought" to display current 
ads (see "help sought").
(2) How can I see ads displayed? -- There are two ways: (a) type "set 
seek 1" and see ads displayed when they are created (type "set seek 0" 
to cancel these postings; see "help v_seek"); (b) type "sought" to 
display current ads for which are you eligible (see "help sought").
(3) How many ads can I place at once? -- This value is set in the server code
when it is compiled. To see the current limit for active seek ads, type
"limits".
(4) How can I see my own ad? -- You need to type "sought all" (see "help 
sought").
(5) How do I withdraw an ad I have placed? -- Use the "unseek" command 
(see "help unseek").
(6) How do I respond to an ad? -- Use the "play" command (see "help 
play").
(7) What happens to my "open" variable when I post an ad or respond to 
an ad? -- Nothing. The value for your "open" variable does not change. 
For example, you can have "open=0" but still place ads and repsond to 
them.
(8) What does the "manual" option do exactly? -- When you place a 
"seek" ad using manual start and a user responds to your ad, you will be 
sent a "match" request. You will then have the option of accepting or 
declining that user's offer to play your advertised match
SPECIAL NOTES:
(a) Users on your 'noplay' list will not be able to respond to your seek ad;
the 'play' command will be rejected automatically.
(b) (C)omputer accounts can issue seeks, but they cannot answer them.
(i) The server software uses your history (and your opponent's) to determine
who will get White. Starting from the bottom, for each entry we compare the
colour you had and the one your opponent had. If they match, we look at the
next entry. If they don't match we swap them and that is your colour for this
game. If there are fewer than 10 entries for one player we assume the missing
colour is the opposite of the one we know about. If they both run out together,
or all 10 entries match, the colour is randomly chosen.
See also: crazyhouse formula fr history limits match noplay play sought
 suicide unseek variables v_inc v_open v_seek v_time wild
[Last modified: February 17, 1999 -- pgv]

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