Report time! -> <-

Alright gang, so we have some stuff important Tal stuff to go over here, so bare with me as I elaborate on those points. But first, DJB news.

Firstly, and as many of you who have read the DJB news page will know, the Fist, Fremoc was awarded the Emeral Dagger Sacramental award for his contributions to the Brotherhood through his position. Fremoc truly has been not only a good friend to many here, but also an outstanding leader. It takes a lot to be a Dark Council member, more than most people realize, yet Fremoc takes on his position with little-to-no effort, and it's amazing to see what he's done so far in his tenure as Fist. In keeping with my habbit of sharing recommendations for promotions and outstanding awards, I urge you all to read the rec' for Fremoc's ED (Yes Tarax, that says ED =P). You can find the rec' Here.

Secondly, the position for both Magistrate and Praetor to the Voice have been open for some time now, and after evaluation of the applications, the familiar face of Timeros was chosen as the Praetor, while our very own Tally Diclonius was chosen as a Magistrate. Diclonius has been a fantastic asset to Taldryan since his joining us 3 months ago, and continues to embody Taldryan's stellar core values. So, be sure to congratulate both Timeros and Diclonius on their positions. Especially Di, because we <3 him.

Thirdly, the Master At Arms, Korras issued a report two weeks ago regarding Equite promotions. For a long time now, there have not been any requirements for the Equites that could be "defined" like there are for the Journeyman ranks. Now, however, there has been 1 (one) requirement tacked onto the first 3 Equite promotions that MUST be completed by the candidate in order to be promoted. You can take a look at the updated requirements page here, which features the Equite requirement(s). Click Here to see them.

Fourthly, the Tri-House feud between Taldryan, Naga Sadow and Tarentum, otherwise known as Burden, Distrust and Loathing ended a little over a week ago, and the results are in! In first place overall, was Naga Sadow, second place was Taldryan, and 3rd place went to Tarentum. NS and TAR were a good group of guys to battle against, and Naga Sadow really brought their 'A' game with them to this competition, and it showed. All crescents have been awarded to those who placed in the individual week' events. Proper medals in consolation with activity throughout the month are being considered, so keep your eyes peeled to those who have worked hard for Taldryan on all fronts of activity!

Fifthly, after evaluation from the Dark Council, it has been proven that Houses with Master/Student Programs have had a higher success with seeing members through to the rank of Dark Jedi Knight. DJK is not only a very hard rank to get to, it takes a lot of work. Work on behalf of not only the target member working towards his Knighthood, but also on his Leaderships behalf. Keeping up with members and their promotions is something that every Leader does on a day to day basis. In the end, two House/Clan leaders have a large toll on their shoulders to keep up with, which comes with the position. However, units like Taldryan have never had a set-in-stone Master/Student Program. Yes, there have been many members who have sort of "mentored" other members, Alanna, Bubbles, Halcyon, Vodo, and any of the current Tal' Summit at a given time have acted in that way as "Master" figures.

Although those figures mentioned above will still be ever present, there needs to be a more practial approach to seeing our most precious asset (Our members) taken care of and seen through their early stages of this club. So, the proof is in; Houses with M/S programs see more members reaching their goal of knighthood than those that do not. Taldryan is included in that category of units who Do Not have a program running. Well my friends, I am not going to sit idle by and let future potential leaders and members of this club go to waste by not having the proper means, action and response time. With that, it is time for Taldryan to start it's very first official Master Student Program.

To those who are on IRC, you may have noticed that Taldryan alredy has a pairing of two Masters to 2 Journeymen. Vodo Biask Taldrya stepped up to the plate a month or so ago to be a Master, and we also have Alexander Anderson who has also taken on the role of Master. So far, the results have been stellar, and already I am seeing an improvement in activty on both sides of those relationships.

Now, this brings me onto my next part of this announcement: A leader to head off the Master Student Program alongside me. Anubis and I have been discussing various ways we could utilize Taldryan's vacant Rollmaster position. It seems almost ironic how a lot of our plans either fell through or were never able to be completed, to lead up to Taldryan taking large steps toward an MSP. The RM, in cooperation with the Quaestor, will be the lead over welcoming new members to the House, and working with the Masters and Students for the program. With that, Anubis and I are officially opening up the position of Rollmaster of Taldryan to be open to the DJB and Tal' wide.

Strict requirements are as follows:

I: Minimum Rank of DJK - This position will need to be filled by someone who has already made their way through the trial of DJK. It is not only practical for the reasons that they have worked their way through those same trials, but so that they will not have any requirements to have to work through themselves. Plus, seeing as how you will be working with new members, and more experianced members (Masters), you will need the experiance that comes with being in the DJK for a good 6+ months.

II:Must be active on IRC (whether now or in the future). This postion requires a heavy activity rate on IRC. Memmbers need more than to just see your name on an email, they need to be able to relate to you an a faster time-rate. I've held a Rollmaster position, and this goes for the same with any position; IRC just works. Without IRC, a leader cannot work nearly to the potential that they have.

III: Must have a high-understanding of how the DJB works on all fronts. Emphasizing yet again on experiance and knowledge, this coincides with the requirement of DJK in a way, that you need to know your DJB facts, news and way around the websites. You don't need to be perfect at taking SA exams, but you do need to know the basics of how they're run and who to go to in the incident that you need to correct something, etc..

IV: Must have a fast email turn-around and Must be willing to work with all members - new and old. That last part is recapping on all of the prior requirements. You will be required to work with various types of members. From new members, to old members, to members from other units, and members of various Leadership positions. With that, it is extremely important that you are quick to respond to all emails.

If you're serious about this position, you should already have an idea of how to write an application. If you're a DJK, but have never applied before, there's always a first time. I would love to go beyond just standard applications, and take the application process to an IRC interview. I'm an easy going guy, so just be prepared to set up a date with me to talk over some things. I will mostly be feeling you out, possibly give you some scenarious that I'd like to get your input on, etc.. Nothing substantial. In the end, though, your application will be the full, deciding factor as to who is chosen.

With that, send all applications to [Log in to view e-mail addresses], [Log in to view e-mail addresses] and [Log in to view e-mail addresses] by the 5th of March, which is two weeks from today. Any recommendations from leaders or masters from your unit are accepted with high regard, just make sure they are factual and on-point.

Sixthly, as started to the House previously, Anubis and I have set up a sole-address to send all competition submissions too in-place of having to Cc' the entire Summit. That account is: [Log in to view e-mail addresses] . If you are submitting to a competition, whether it be Battleteam level, House level or Dark Jedi Brotherhood level, you MUST send your entries to that address. Keeping your Summit in-the-know to your activities is crucial for your advancement. In order to be promoted, there are requirements that require you to participate in a certain amount of competitions. The Tal' Summit cannot promote you if we don't know that you've reached that minimum of participation, if we're only reciveing emails on the competitions you've placed in. We're not asking, we're telling. =P

Dark Jedi Brotherhood News:

Master At Arms Report. Here, Korras goes into finer-detail on the Promotion requirements update.

Fist Report. Fremoc displays a plethora of various competitions and gaming activities. Check it out if you're a gamer, or plan to game in the near future!

Wiki Tribune Report. Anubis goes into detail on some more of the finer-details of the Wiki, such as awards and various projects taking place in the Wiki.

Voice Report. Halc mentions some important points regarding Fictional Apprentices, the Wiki, and other platforms of the DJB's writing.

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Dark Jedi Brotherhood Gaming:

BF2 Space only | RC Team Up | Special Gaming Event: Sins of a Solar Empire | StarCraft 2

Dark Jedi Brotherhood Fiction:

Load the Can(n)ons #6 | Bows and Arrows | Will you be a Valentine

Dark Jedi Brotherhood Misc.:

[HM] 2011 Brotherhood Draft

In closing, I'd like to go over a quick status update regarding our Roster. Recently, the DJB went through an AWOL check (as all of you are well aware of), and in that, Taldryan lost a good half of its "roster". As always, AWOL checks are a bit of a reality check for the leaders of the unit in target of the AWOL check. This is true for me in every case. Even though I know that the members who were placed in the rogues for not responding to the check were not active what so ever, to the extent that when I sent them a personal email I recieved nothing in return, still hurts a little. The fact of the matter is, I love having active members in Taldryan, and the DJB.

When a new member joins Tal', I immediatly do my best to get to know them and establish a relationship with them. So when those members are active in the beginning, and then fade out into nothingness, it bugs me, as everyone who AWOL'd out I had established at least some form of communication with. I've started keeping up with a calendar, and a very well put together ATR (props to Vlad for displaying his OCD'ness into this sexy excel document). With that, I am now able to track exactly who I've been able to contact on a regular basis, and who I have not. I am automating my response time on promotions and medal rec's so that I am on the ball when that time starts to roll around, and I can be prepared for it.

In short, I plan to extend my communication farther to you guys, beyond the chat rooms of #taldryan, or the Taldryan mailing list, or the montly report. I want to make sure that those members who AWOL out are fewer and fewer every time. In turn, I hope to be able to build a better enviorment in Taldryan. A better enviroment at home is sure to leave an impression on the rest of the Brotherhood, which is a goal I hope you all have. And that's the repore! Stay Classy, Taldryan.