/r/fittings proposed sidebar

Welcome to the [EvE Online](http://eveonline.com) Shipfitting Subreddit!

### Posting

We have a few tags we use for posts:

* **[F]**: Fitting posts. You have a fit that you would
  like to show the community. [F] posts get the most views
  on gonewild, so...yeah.

* **[R]**: Request posts.You need a fit. Please do look
  through the /r/fittings archive first to see if your
  question has been answered: this happens a lot.

* **Ends with a question mark**: For general questions about
  fitting, for example "How do I learn how to fit?"

If your post does not fit one of these categories, please
think carefully about whether it's about EvE fittings.

Please be as clear as possible about the purpose and
requirements of posted and requested fittings. "I need a
ship for PvE" or "How is this PvP Fit?" are not good, since
we'll have to ask a million questions to get started. Useful
information:

* Purpose of fit.
* PvP *vs* PvE:
  * For PvP, solo *vs* small-gang *vs* fleet.
  * For PvE, ratting *vs* missioning *vs* explo *etc.*
* Region: High-sec, Low-sec, Null-sec, WH.
* Budget / cost.

### Formatting

We prefer that you post fits here in EFT format. **Insert
four spaces before each line of a fit** to make it
readable.

If you think your posted fit is something that might be
generally useful long-term, please also include an Osmium
link to your fit (see below) and tag the fit with
`reddit-fittings` in Osmium. Better yet, once you've posted,
edit the metadata in Osmium to include a link back to the
relevant Reddit post.

### Tools

There are a wealth of excellent third-party tools for
fitting EvE spaceships. It goes without saying that fitting
using one of these, rather than trying things in-game, will
save you ISK, time and grief.

* [Osmium](http://o.smium.org) is an awesome web-based
  fitting tool and library (replacing the now-defunct
  Battleclinic). It is our preferred tool for sharing fits
  in /r/fittings, and has good support for building new
  fits.

* [Pyfa](http://github.com/pyfa-org/Pyfa) is a highly
  capable and well-maintained cross-platform open source
  Python fitting tool. It can interact with CREST for
  in-game fittings management.

* [EFT](http://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=24359)
  is a maintained fitting tool available as a Windows
  binary.

As mentioned above, we use the EFT fitting format for text
representation of fittings. All of the standard tools
produce and consume EFT format, including the EvE client
itself.

### Finding Fits

The archives of /r/fittings are a reasonable place to start
looking for fits. Failing that:

* [EvE University](http://wiki.eveuniversity.org) has
  suggested fits for every ship in the game. While they are
  often old and not occasionally sub-par, they are at least
  a good starting point. Their
  [Fleet Doctrine](http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Category:Doctrines)
  fits are mostly current and reasonable.

* Osmium has quite a lot of fits. They largely lack
  discussion and are unedited: *caveat emptor.* Search for
  fits
  [tagged `reddit-fittings`](http://o.smium.org/search?q=%40tags+reddit-fittings)
  for stuff from here.

* For ratting (especially semi-AFK) and missioning a drone
  boat is often a good choice. Here's some Osmium example
  fits:

  * [Vexor](http://o.smium.org/loadout/101336) Passive Shield
  * [Vexor Navy Issue](http://o.smium.org/loadout/101260)
    Passive Shield
  * [Dominix](http://o.smium.org/loadout/102662) Active Armor
  * [Ishtar](http://o.smium.org/loadout/102667) Active Shield
  * [Rattlesnake](http://o.smium.org/loadout/102761) Active Shield

* For exploration, it's all about the frigates for the most part.
  Here's some Osmium example fits:

  * [Imicus](https://o.smium.org/loadout/102801): Super-cheap minimal skill
    high-sec practice ship.
  * [Helios](http://o.smium.org/loadout/102798): Medium skill + price for
    null-sec and wormhole pirate sites.

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If your post hits the spam filter, or you see anyone being a
tool and/or breaking the rules, feel free to mail the mods!
Let us know how we can help.