We are now on a new upswing of recruitment and that means a more pressing reason to re-evaluate how we process said new recruits.

Give me some ideas you may have on how you would improve the Drill squad process, or just the general introduction to the club.

It may be worth ICs to you.  It would definitely help the club out as a whole.
 
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PRF/HG Fury/VEA/TADATH/VE [SCP][PoC][SotE:HC][SotE:VEA][IOC]
Prefect - Stormtrooper Corps
Administrator - Imperial Center

Yeah that tryout story thing is a really good idea, but the training run-on was already tried but it didn't work.
 
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Lance Corporal
Frank "FlyingKnight" Carter
TRP-Raider Squad-
TRP/LCPL FlyingKnight/3SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]
"To start press the any key, *Pause* where is the any key?"--Anonymous

Most zonies don't realise what VE is when they join it.
The majority assume its just a gaming clan, and after they join, run off when they realise its more of an RPG

I like angel's idea
A writing test before recruitment will help to seperate those who will actively participate, and those who will get into drill then become dead weight. It'll also give recruits a glimpse of what they'll be expected to do in the VE

 
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*DarkDragoons*
-=silly caucasian girl likes to play with samurai swords=-
-=pretty...what do we blow up first?=-
TRP/PFC kaMi/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR]

Cos, are you still using that recruit test Rizz and i made a while back?

 
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*DarkDragoons*
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
"Only Trust your Allies as much as you can Predict your Enemies."
"Do you expect me to talk?" "No Mr. Bond, i expect you to die."
"Luke, I am your Fasha."
To Nom Anor, a truly superior Yuuzhan Vong.

They should be exposed, because if they're coming out from a gaming-exposed enviornment: they need to see some or they'll think we're all writing. Plus, they need to see that there is a balance between the two. (Not a very equal one, but still a balance )
 
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Captain Rizzit
Wildcard Platoon Commander
Army of the Vast Empire
PC/CPT Rizzit/3SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE[OPE][OTH][EW1][RCoD][CRoM][CoH][OPA][SoA][SoS][SCP]
Everything expressed truly from your heart and soul is as pure as gold in the minds of anyone who listens!"--Rizzit

Lets remember that like 98% of our recruits come from either the zone, or some kind of gaming situation. Asking them to join, and then have gaming be almost nothing would/is a very stupid thing for us to do. So those that have little, to no experience in writing should be slowly taught and moved into the writing community. Thats my quick two cents.
 
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*DarkDragoons*
+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
"Only Trust your Allies as much as you can Predict your Enemies."
"Do you expect me to talk?" "No Mr. Bond, i expect you to die."
"Luke, I am your Fasha."
To Nom Anor, a truly superior Yuuzhan Vong.

we have to hammer home writing initially or else we will have active troopers come into squads but who dont write.  We have to make them understand writing is an important part
 
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+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
SL/GSG_Afyon/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoC][IH][CoH(2)][SoA]

Cos I have it like that for a reason.  It could feesible be as long as 3 or 4 days before we actually invite them to join.  There is a reason for this.  If we can see that they show some dedication (ie. will show up on our server a once or twice within the week we meet them), we can see their attitude better to deem if they are another zonie or actually someone we can stand having in VE, and of course we need to show them some writing so that they see what its about.  Describing writing can be tricky but if you give them say a tiny part of a story, 3 250 word posts or something, they'll get a better feel for what it entails.  By making it a longer join process we help to eliminate maybe as much as 75% of the zonies who we can't stand and as much as 50% if not more of the dead weight that drill squad acquires.  In essence I'm simply trying to create the idea of having a much more rigorous filter before they even join VE. 

Hell we can put it in this light, those who want to join a good group will respect the fact that they need to earn their way into VE and that they need to demonstrate interest in writing, and show they game honourably (ie. no laming) and that they are willing to give us some of their time to show this.  I think its also a much for refreshing tryout approach as compared to the zone clans.  We want them to take the time to demonstrate their activity, interest, and attitude...not their "1337 skillz" and how they can "pawn and own" people.

Ultimately this will cause a decrease in the number of total applicants but I think it will also significantly decrease dead weight and will give us quality members.

Cos, maybe for the join form they can make a description of their character but the bio/history can be done during their week in drill?  I mean while we want to filter people out and make them show some dedication, writing a bio on the join form might be a tad over the top for some.  Besides after a couple of days in Drill they will have  a much better idea what kinds of things go into a bio and will also have greater knowledge of our writing so that they know what relevent information to include.  Maybe we can even show them a couple sample biographies so that they know kind of what they should include.  BUt definitely a description on the join form makes a lot of sense!
 
About the gaming vs writing thing Cosmic.  I think that while writing is definitely important, if we emphasise it considerably more than gaming then we will lose recruits.  Ultimately, while they may be interrested in doing some writing, I highly doubt most are going to be willing to do it almost all the time and do a bit of gaming inbetween.  We need to strength our gaming emphasis.  Ultimately if it means more competitions, fun nights, or whatever, unless we get tha onboard and going we still will fail to be the most attractive option out there.  I was saying to Rizzit yesterday, an overall 50/50 balance would be awesome.  Ultimately some people will game 70 and write 30 and some write 70 and game 30.  But in general if we have a half and half mix then both parts thrive and we will be able to keep those who love gaming more and still keep the writers happy.  Also keep in mind, those who want to do additional writing can join the navy, apply for the DJO, try to get in ARC, etc.  There are many options out there for additional writing if you want even more than we do.  If we simply add more to everyone and crowd out gaming, we'll be in about the same position we are now.  A happy medium I think would please both sides.

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+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
SL/GSG_Afyon/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoC][IH][CoH(2)][SoA]

Art, don't even think you're getting someone to go along with the 3-4 day thing. It just won't work!
 
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Captain Rizzit
Wildcard Platoon Commander
Army of the Vast Empire
PC/CPT Rizzit/3SQD/1PLT/COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE[OPE][OTH][EW1][RCoD][CRoM][CoH][OPA][SoA][SoS][SCP]
Everything expressed truly from your heart and soul is as pure as gold in the minds of anyone who listens!"--Rizzit

ok, i've seen something similair to the 3-4 day thing work, example would be my first clan, EFGA, played XWA and XvT. the clan did ok for a while, but after while they found they where picking up too many lamers, so they decided to have something like a training clan, the amount of morons decreased massively. now this is a small scale success sence the as far as my knowledge goes they died out, however the system works, albeit, not perfectly, example, if this system had been in action when i joined i wouldnt be here, and nowadays, i maybe a bit of a pain now and then but my activity isn't all that bad.

and on the DJO, ARC, ect. first i refuse to join the DJO, second that wouldnt work for my character. and ARC, well, i wont get into that for sure, and the navy, well i cant say that i find flying around in a Tiefighter much fun, nor trying to decipher a ranking system i dont understand, and then also if i got in the navy, i'd prolly end up overloading myself. however i always like more writing.

and i'll repeat, i was pulled off the zone, and i dont even pretend to game anymore, infact i dont even look at the Zone anymore, yup, I'm Snipes and i've been Zone free for 2 years.
 
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The Comnet Hermit
-Raider Squad-
TRP/SGT Sniping101/CrazyRAIDERS/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE [LoR][IH][BoA]
"A spanking new Athlon reduced to a Gameboy Emulator"- Gabe from Penny Arcade.
"As long as their is Space, Im going to stare off into it"-Garfield
I'm a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle, here is my spout. When I see an ARC all short and stout, BOOM!  He flies through the hall and out. -anonymous

Exactly Kuroishi. The "problem" - if you want to call it that - I see with the two above examples of waiting/trial periods is that both clubs/clans are either Zone-oriented/originated, and/or an all-gaming organization. The big difference here, and the most important thing, is that we're currently not all-gaming. In fact, our gaming is stagnant.

A 3-4 day waiting period may work for a Zone clan that is accustomed to taking in Zone players that are an all-gaming bunch. I don't know if a RPG/Fanfic writing club, such as ourselves, would survive on a 3-4 day waiting period.

When I look at these suggestions, I place myself into the recruit's shoes, and there would be no way in hell I'd wait 3-4 days to get into a writing club even if I was interested in joining them. It's just too long. I like the idea of accepting people on the spot (telling them, of course, what our club is about and what our primary activity is), and then have them write quite a bit during their week-long evaluation in Drill. The problem that I've had thus far in Drill is trying to create a story subject that interests the members. Maybe we need to have a page dedicated to stories only, and use that page as a sample to give to the new recruits for review. It would show them how we write and what we expect from them.
 
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Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
CoT/HCL Cosmic/HCA-3/SL/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE [OPE][OTH][OPA][EW1][CDS][IH][GS][LM][SoS][CoH][PoC][MSM][SCP][IOC][SoA]
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Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
SL/KPR Cosmic/Lion 1-1/mSSD Atrus/VEDJ/VE [VP][KC1][OAK]
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I agree completely with the last thing you said Cos about a page dedicated to writing and what we expect in writing.

But I have to strongly disagree with both you and Kurioshi.  You say our gaming is staagnant and are using this as an excuse to simply neglect it and do all rpg and writing.  I think this is ludicrous.  We need and must increase our gaming capacity which means getting more ppl into games in our own group (which is possible), and recruiting people who game and will also write.  This isn't impossible and with a trial period gamers will be exposed to what we expect in terms of honourable gaming and what we expect in writing stuff.  I disagree completely with accepting people on the spot.  We don't get to know them well enough, we don't know if they are truly dedicated, we don't know their true attitude, we don't know if they are being honest about a writing intention, we don't know if have the stuff to be active in VE.  In my opinion that is a hell of a lot we don't know about our recruits and I think it's what contributes to so much dead weight in Drill.  Again, total recruits will decrease a lot with my idea.  But do you want lots of dead weight recruits or a few excellent recruits?  I think dead weight simply helps to demoralise drill squad and render it pathetic and inactive.

I don't know why gaming seems to be so frowned upon.  Ultimately being only rpg and writing will get boring to about 85-90%of the people out there...most of which are already in groups that do this sort of thing.  We need to balance things at 50/50, stop whining about stagnant activity and actually do something about it, take responsibility as Squad Leaders and Commanders to ENCOURAGE increased gaming, more competitions, etc...and promote the idea that gaming is a good active way to be part of VE instead of frowning upon it as some zone clannie thing that we are all above.  Gaming is fun and a create way for people to bond and be active.  I think VE needs an attitude shift to recognise this and promote gaming more while at the same time continuing to emphaise the writing and rpg aspect of us.  Writing is vital but all writing gets dull, gaming helps gives us something to mix things up with.  Provides more activity options for our members.  We need to keep writing up and promote a very strong and active gaming section as well.  It's not hard or ridiculous, it'll just take some work and a new train of thought which is what VE needs to look at if we want to thrive and survive for another 5 years.
 
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+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
SL/GSG_Afyon/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoC][IH][CoH(2)][SoA]

Look Afyon, I understand completely what you are saying, and I am not frowning on gaming. In fact, I do encourage gaming, but I am facing the facts here. Gaming part of our club description, but open your eyes bud. Gaming here just doesn't exist right now.

This is getting us nowhere, and obviously there's nothing we can really agree on when trying to get writers to game and gamers to write. This is what I propose:

We obviously have a writing section and 4 squads to do it. What we need is a gaming section. We should create some squads (perhaps a starting of 2 right now) that will hold members who prefer gaming over writing. If one of the gamers in the gaming section want to write in squad missions/chapters, by all means, we let them do so, but we'd have to state that they are temporarily being transferred under the leadership of another squad (in the writing section) for them to participate.

The above proposal is simple in my eyes, and I think it just may be the answer we're looking for. A method of separating gaming and writing, and yet keeping them both alive in our club.
 
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Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
CoT/HCL Cosmic/HCA-3/SL/3SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE [OPE][OTH][OPA][EW1][CDS][IH][GS][LM][SoS][CoH][PoC][MSM][SCP][IOC][SoA]
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Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
SL/KPR Cosmic/Lion 1-1/mSSD Atrus/VEDJ/VE [VP][KC1][OAK]
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I don't think a major division (such as platoons) should be divided between gaming and writing (heck, if my starcraft worked right now, I'd challenge all your rears to heck  ), but I do think certain squads should have a certain focus.

As an example, I have a squadron in the EH.  Our primary platform is TIE Fighter, but I can garuntee you that when we have a competition, we also fly XWA, XvT, and even X-wing sometimes.

A focus is good, but we should be able to do both.

The main point I'm trying to make in this is that if you put a JK:O gamer in Wraith Squadron, there'd be nothing to push for squad unity; we all write.

Competing as a squad in whatever is always a good idea because it fosters squad spirit, which keeps people active.

Anyways, that's my $0.02
 
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Argon Viper
Sergeant Major/Senior Writer, VE Today
IW COL Argon Viper{ret}
Fallen Angel and Proud of It!
"History is on the move, those who cannot keep up will watch from a distance, and those who get in our way will not watch at all" - Grand Admiral Thrawn
"Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses" - Carl G Jung

Well ultimately Cosmic we already have a writing squad, a more gaming squad, and a mixture squad...(wraiths, dragoons, raiders respectively)

I think that ultimately we need to compromise and hit that happy medium between half gaming and half writing.  We keep saying gaming is stagnant.  Well we can sit and say it is and do nothing about it or we can do something about it.  I prefer the second option and I think it presents more opportunity for our long term stability.  Just because it is stagnant doesnt mean it will always be so.  We need more competitions and what not, hell I volunteer to run them if no one wants to take the time to do so.
 
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+ Advance Recon Commandos {ARC} +
SL/GSG_Afyon/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/[LoC][IH][CoH(2)][SoA]