Well, I hate to be a hard ass, as it is not the role I generally like to play in a group dynamic, but with all the new members we have brought in among other factors I believe that it is going to be necessary to lay down some groundwork in writing for the first time.By applying to the corporation, you are committing yourself to a player group, and all the stipulations and expectations that go along with it, of which I am overjoyed to say we have very few compared to other corporations and alliances.
These rules, stipulations, and guidelines are as follows:
DO
1. Follow the NRDS in Domain and Providence
2. Follow the NRDS in all regions as it applies to blues.
3. Live in Domain, Providence, or Phryxia.
4. Read this blog for updates on corporate information.
5. Read the various corporate mailers.
6. Read the default corporate mailer, always.
7. Live in Providence while at war IF asked to do so.
DO NOT
1. Ask a question before looking for the answer first.
2. Ask for the answer because you do not want to look.
3. Ask to be escorted without reading the travel guide.
4. Ask how ratting works without reading the guide.
5. Ask favors JUST so you do not have to do the work.
So, okay, why am I laying down the pimp hand all of a sudden? Did I forget my Ritalin this morning? No, it has just become too much of a hassle to answer the same questions all the time on top of the duties I already have.
I will be honest, I love to help people in MMOs, it fulfills me to be in a player group, and work together with people so that everyone involved is a little better off than they were before. On the other hand, I have learned from my mistakes in Warcraft, and rather than being lenient to the point of absurdity and just slapping people on the wrist constantly, I am going to be very clear. If you do not read this blog, or follow a majority of the guidelines listed above, you are going to fall behind or literally be left behind. If you wanna keep up, put in the effort, do not be dead weight. If you just wanna play the game and totally relax when you log on you have every right to do so in this corporation, just do not expect everyone else to drag you behind them.
I spend anywhere from ten to twenty hours a week doing administrative stuff for the corporation, and get little actual entertainment value out of the game in between, so I cannot go around answering the same questions every night on top of that especially when half that time I just spent was writing guides or posts exactly like this so you guys can stay in the loop. So everyone needs to encourage newer members who have not yet been given all the details, and older members who for whatever reason have not gotten with the program, to follow the guidelines above. CEO is a very rewarding position and I thoroughly enjoy seeing the fruits of our labor when the ZeeOhSix's, Falgoria's, and etc. of the corporation excel at the game and earn their wings so to speak, but I cannot carry people towards the finish line.
I mean some of this stuff is pretty simple. If you want to know how ratting works, read the guide I spent four hours writing, then come and ask me if you still have questions. If I had to explain how ratting, among everything else, and this game has the most extreme learning curve of all, works to every incoming member or regular member who has not learned yet, it would be all I did. That's no fun at all, and I'm not doing it.
Seriously.
This is not a matter of me saying, "Never ask me questions, I am the Great Oz, and I will only hold counsel with the bravest of the brave", but more of a "Do not abuse the generousity and charity of those around you," kind of thing. I know everyone just wants to log on and have a great time without doing a bunch of reading like they are studying for an exam, but the problem is others have done that work already, and even bothered to publish the results, so show them some gratitude by reading if you really wanna know the answer. But I mean sure, if you wanna know how a target painter works, or something else that is not likely to be in some random blog or guide somewhere, or would literally take you hours to track down, just ask. But if you wanna know what we did the night before, read the blog or mailer! Can you imagine if everyone that wanted to know the latest scoop on a national news story called a single hotline rather than crack open a popular news venue and read for themselves? Chaos.
I tend to treat player groups I am in like family. Unconditionally adore you guys to death, and enjoy everyone's unique personalities and eccentricities, but if I see you getting lazy, you'll be the first to know.
Now, let's all toast a beer, preferably a Guinness, and go shoot some shit, that's what we're here for after all, right?
