Provided by Tesla-X4:
Q: What's the usual structure for activating Sourcemod plugins, please?
A: The forums allow downloads for both a plugin's source code (Get Source) and the plugin itself (Get Plugin). Source code files typically have the filename extenstion
.sp (you cannot run these files, they must be compiled first). Compiled plugins (i.e. those you can drop into your addons/sourcemod/plugins/ folder and expect to run) have the extenstion
.smx.
Plugins usually read settings from either two places: addons/sourcemod/configs/<plugin-specific name>.cfg/.ini/.txt or cfg/sourcemod/<plugin-specific name>.cfg
Some plugins don't even read either of the two, so you'll have to either add the cvars you wish to change to cfg/server.cfg or to cfg/sourcemod/sourcemod.cfg (the former method is probably preferred). Only specify one cvar per line! A typical cvar looks something like sm_<plugin name>_enabled.
Q: Is there a simple list of admin commands floating about that explains what they do, please?
A: See
this wiki page and
this one. Note that some plugins are disabled by default, you can find them in the addons/sourcemod/plugins/disabled folder. To enable them, simply copy/move them out of that folder into the plugins folder. Similarly, if you wish to disable a plugin (unneeded or causing stability issues), move it into the disabled folder. Creating another folder inside the plugins folder and moving the plugin in there will
not disable it, moving it into the disabled folder (or deleting it) is the only way to disable the plugin.
Q: What's the difference between 'rcon' and 'sm_admin' and other command prefixes, please?
A: (I hope I'm interpreting your question correctly, since both commands are entirely different) The 'rcon' prefix is used to execute a command through the server console. The commands most plugins make available can be run straight from the clients'/admins' client-side console (depending on the required permissions set on the command) and even in chat (prefixed with ! or / ). There is a SourceMod equivalent of the rcon command, sm_rcon, for people with the rcon admin flag to use.
Q: Do I need to use a password to access my admin rights or can they be set up to be linked to my name/IP/Steam ID, please?
A: A password is usually optional since they can be authenticated via SteamID. See
this page for more information.
Q: Can I get admin commands to echo me back that they've done something or get used to trusting something happened, please?
A: Sure, but you'll have to manually edit and recompile the plugin to be able to fix that. (
someone else elaborate more on this for me please)
Q: Is there a clear and easy way to set up a reserved slot system for Sourcemod servers, please?
A: See
this page, it's far more detailed than I can possibly be lol
Q: How do I add people to a list of regulars, who get preferrential treatment and make sure that those who get kicked know why it's happening?
A: See the Immunity section on
this page.
Q: Is there an easy way to allow players to initiate votes on maps, settings and possibly even bans, if someone is being an idiot and there's no admin present, please?
A: Yes, there is a way to do this. There are two plugins available that do this:
Players Votes and
Custom Votes. See the plugins' respective pages for details.