The first Master At Arms Report of the New Year! Yay

News

The DB-wide Journeyman promotion requirements were released a few months ago. If you still haven’t seen them, you can find them here. They are currently in version 1.1a

These requirements have been out for a while now and we’ve had a few months to see them in action. I was very happy with the guidelines discussion on the forums and now I want to extend an open invitation to any member of the Brotherhood. If you have an idea or suggestion for the Journeyman promotion requirements or if you just want to comment on them, please feel free to email me and share your thoughts. Criticism is welcome. Please clearly label the subject of your email so I don’t accidentally delete it while sifting through all my mail. I will personally respond to every email – so if you don’t hear from me after about a week or so, feel free to send me another email: I may have missed the first one. Your input will help me determine if any changes need to be made and how they can be improved. Thanks in advance!

One last thing: if anyone would like to make report headers for me, I’d be very appreciative. You also may be rewarded with something shiny hehe…

Policy Updates and Clarifications

I recently reminded all the Consuls of the inter-Clan recruitment policy but given that the Great Jedi War is fast approaching and we have many new members, I wanted to take the time to explain it again: while inter-Clan recruiting is not, per se, against the rules, it is heavily frowned upon. Generally speaking, you should refrain from attempting to recruit members away from another Clan. This is not to say that you can’t be proud of your Clan and talk it up – but it’s really bad form to denigrate other Clans and leaders in order to recruit someone. If you are unsure about a situation you find yourself in with respect to recruiting, consult with your Clan leadership for guidance.

Please note that quid pro quo exchange of a transfer for a promotion, medal, or a position (without an open application period) is against the rules and can be sent to the CoJ. Fortunately, we’ve not had many problems with this in the past. Let’s try to keep it that way.

For all of those members who have never experienced a Great Jedi War or an inter-Clan vendetta, shortly before the event begins I will halt all inter-Clan transfers. During the event, you may not transfer between Clans though you may transfer to and from the rogues. After the event is over, inter-Clan transfers will be allowed again. In the event of a serious issue that you think warrants an exception to the transfer policy, don’t hesitate to email me and explain the situation so we can find a resolution.

Projects

Medal Revision Project: I am pleased to announce that I will be reviving the Medal Guide. For those of you who don’t remember, one of our former Chancellors (I forget exactly who) created a guide which explained all of the medals in much more detail than in the codex or the wiki. Specifically, the guide highlighted what the medal was awarded for and how leaders should go about writing recommendations for that medal. Unfortunately, the old one is no longer available for me to share with you.

The first large project of the New Year is to take all of the current medal descriptions and revise them so that it is clear what the medals are awarded for and how a member can earn one of them. I hope that this will make it easier for leaders to properly reward their members.

I still believe that more merit medals can be distributed than what I see on a day-to-day basis. I don’t think this is the fault of any of the Clan or House leaders; instead, it’s much too difficult to award medals based on the vague descriptions that we’ve given you. This project will be designed to rectify that.

In addition to reviving the Medal Guide, I will also be looking very closely at the substantive structure of the medal system. I do not plan to make any significant changes (aka, adding new medals or altering what current ones are awarded for) until after the Medal Guide is written and published. But I’m not merely going to make a guide and call it a day. I think the medal system has some serious problems that need to be addressed. With any luck, we’ll be able to identify these issues and correct them quickly.

More details will be forthcoming as we move forward.

Super AWOL Check: This may or may not occur before the Great Jedi War. In limbo.

Promotion Requirements: Released – updated to version 1.1a

MAA Policy Project: Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to locate all of the MAA policies that have been created over the years? I have – I sometimes have difficulty finding my own! To that end, I plan on centralizing all of the current policies in one location in the near future. I also plan to include the various MAA-related guides that have been written over the years and perhaps even some of the older records for those with an interest in how things have developed. Hopefully, a central location will make it easier for members to access these important documents.

Staff

Tarax has done an excellent job assisting me as P:MAA for the last month or so and I am incredibly grateful. However, the search for a permanent P:MAA goes on. I apologize to those of you who have applied and who I have yet to respond to. Exams swamped me. Rest assured, I will be responding to all of you very shortly (within the week). Please note that I do not expect the new P:MAA to be appointed very quickly.

Ask Kaek

In the past few reports, I’ve used this section for staged questions-and-answer sessions. I’ve decided to change things for the New Year. I invite all members to send me questions (these can be MAA-related but they don’t have to be) and I’ll pick a few to answer in my reports. Please label the subject of your email “Ask Kaek” so I don’t overlook it. Even if I don’t pick your question to include in my report, I will answer each and every email personally so don’t hesitate to write in. Wondering why a policy was enacted? Curious about how things are processed? Puzzled as to why I don’t have a warbanner? Want to ask me who I think will win the Superbowl? All of these and anything else you can think of are on the table. Go for it!

Closing Remarks

A New Year is upon us and with it comes the annual ritual of… New Year’s Resolutions. I have many resolutions for my real life but only one for the Brotherhood. Beginning in 2009, I have pledged to make myself much more available and approachable to the membership. You may have noticed in my report that I’ve opened up a couple new forums of participation so that you can freely speak with me and have more input in MAA policies (Ask Kaek, promo requirement dialogue). It is entirely unfair for me or anyone else to exclude the input of the membership when it comes to these policies: they probably affect your time in the Brotherhood more than anything else. To that end, please take advantage of these opportunities. Feel free to have discussions on the forums about policies or chat with me on IRC. Send me a random email with a question. These things don’t bother me at all and I feel that I have been far too distant – and abrasive – in the past. There is absolutely no excuse for that to continue. I am here to serve you; not hide in an ivory tower and issue judgment by fiat. In short: 2009 will feature a kinder, gentler, more user-friendly Kaek. Hey, if the IRS can do it, so can I, right? :P

This applies to you leader-types as well. Think you have a great idea for how to solve a policy problem? Noticed something you think is wrong? I want to know about it. Please don’t keep me insulated from your opinions.

Lastly, I also want to commend all of the Brotherhood’s leadership for their work. I looked over the statistics for this past year and the denial rate is ridiculously low. The highest number of denials comes from merit medals: and hopefully we’ll address that problem with the medal revision project. Still, even with the medal problems, my job is made infinitely easier by the fact that almost all of you are doing a great job with your requests and recommendations. Keep up the good work!

Happy New Year, everyone.

Dark Jedi Master Syn Kaek

Master At Arms

DJM Syn Kaek (Sith)/MAA/Dark Council [ACC: CL:3]

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