What does Communication mean in XG? Is it attending our weekly meetings? Is it posting on the forums? Or is it just accepting game invites when a clan mate sends you one? How does XG's communication system effect our community? The real question is this; what happens to our community if we decide we don't need to communicate?
As some of you may know, our PC clans have had a rough time in the past. Currently, there are none active. Why is this? I believe this is simply because there is no universal communication system on PC like there is on Xbox and PS3. Console gaming makes communication easy. This is why our console clans thrive.
On PC, you really need to put forth some extra effort to keep in communication. Sure, it may be easier to stay on the forums, but it's hard to get the same connection with your clan mates when you can't actually talk to them. Actually getting to talk to someone helps break down this wall in our way we call the internet. It helps us see each other as people and not just words. But what happens when we just outright refuse to do either?
Our PS3 clans have also had a falling out recently. It started with just a few members not showing up to sunday meetings. Things could have gotten better if they just kept recruiting, right? So who read people in, either the Captain or a Lieutenant with a Captain present, right? but who were the Captains? Who were the Lieutenants? If not them, then at very least your could go to the General, XS or XD, no? It is my understanding that in the last few months, there was absolutely no real ranking structure. People were still playing and being active (in games and on the forums), but there was no order. without that order, people feel less like a community and more so just friends. That's fine, i like that most of us feel like friends here, but there has to be that structure for us to feel like we are a part of something bigger, because we are! Without that structure, we get detached from the comradeship that is XG. we feel less obligated to go to meetings.
People want to improve and have that sense of accomplishment. Having room to "move up" or get promoted gives people incentive to do great things. It helps people come out of their shells and be loud, outspoken people! We LOVE that in XG, but without the ranking structure, that feeling of being a part of something bigger falls from us. We feel less like we are in a community and fall into the rut almost every other clan out there has. You feel like just another player..
So say that we keep up our ranking structure, keep up the lines of communication and keep up the activity. Things should, in theory, run smoothly like they have been for years, right? Well what if those in command abuse their power? What if we start playing favorites? What if the ranking structure is made a mockery of? What then?
I have talked with someone who use to be in XGG when it was still active and was told that this was the case. That the ranking structure, the glue of our community, was made into a popularity contest. Not a show of responsibility and merit of worth to our community and infrastructure. The ranking structure became a Bastardization of what we know it to be. People not wanting the promotion to have more responsibility, but so they could have a fancy badge under their name in the forums. This inevitably led to the downfall of XGG as we know it, and will continue to do so if this is how we run our clans. So what can be done?
We need not forget about these problems and just move on, but learn from them. We need to make these problems known to everyone so we can see where we have failed in the past. We need to learn from our mistakes and make appropriate changes. We need to talk to one another and share any issues we have. The ranking structure is there for a reason, and the chain of command should be followed. This is not only to make sure the higher ups aren't bogged down with requests and complaints, but to make sure that we have the right people in power. If someone in the ranking structure is bypassed, it will be assumed it is because the people before them could not or would not help them.
Just following the honor code is not enough to keep this community growing, though it helps our image. It is communication that is the KEY to our success thus far. If we let communication crumble, so will XG as a whole.
As some of you may know, our PC clans have had a rough time in the past. Currently, there are none active. Why is this? I believe this is simply because there is no universal communication system on PC like there is on Xbox and PS3. Console gaming makes communication easy. This is why our console clans thrive.
On PC, you really need to put forth some extra effort to keep in communication. Sure, it may be easier to stay on the forums, but it's hard to get the same connection with your clan mates when you can't actually talk to them. Actually getting to talk to someone helps break down this wall in our way we call the internet. It helps us see each other as people and not just words. But what happens when we just outright refuse to do either?
Our PS3 clans have also had a falling out recently. It started with just a few members not showing up to sunday meetings. Things could have gotten better if they just kept recruiting, right? So who read people in, either the Captain or a Lieutenant with a Captain present, right? but who were the Captains? Who were the Lieutenants? If not them, then at very least your could go to the General, XS or XD, no? It is my understanding that in the last few months, there was absolutely no real ranking structure. People were still playing and being active (in games and on the forums), but there was no order. without that order, people feel less like a community and more so just friends. That's fine, i like that most of us feel like friends here, but there has to be that structure for us to feel like we are a part of something bigger, because we are! Without that structure, we get detached from the comradeship that is XG. we feel less obligated to go to meetings.
People want to improve and have that sense of accomplishment. Having room to "move up" or get promoted gives people incentive to do great things. It helps people come out of their shells and be loud, outspoken people! We LOVE that in XG, but without the ranking structure, that feeling of being a part of something bigger falls from us. We feel less like we are in a community and fall into the rut almost every other clan out there has. You feel like just another player..
So say that we keep up our ranking structure, keep up the lines of communication and keep up the activity. Things should, in theory, run smoothly like they have been for years, right? Well what if those in command abuse their power? What if we start playing favorites? What if the ranking structure is made a mockery of? What then?
I have talked with someone who use to be in XGG when it was still active and was told that this was the case. That the ranking structure, the glue of our community, was made into a popularity contest. Not a show of responsibility and merit of worth to our community and infrastructure. The ranking structure became a Bastardization of what we know it to be. People not wanting the promotion to have more responsibility, but so they could have a fancy badge under their name in the forums. This inevitably led to the downfall of XGG as we know it, and will continue to do so if this is how we run our clans. So what can be done?
We need not forget about these problems and just move on, but learn from them. We need to make these problems known to everyone so we can see where we have failed in the past. We need to learn from our mistakes and make appropriate changes. We need to talk to one another and share any issues we have. The ranking structure is there for a reason, and the chain of command should be followed. This is not only to make sure the higher ups aren't bogged down with requests and complaints, but to make sure that we have the right people in power. If someone in the ranking structure is bypassed, it will be assumed it is because the people before them could not or would not help them.
Just following the honor code is not enough to keep this community growing, though it helps our image. It is communication that is the KEY to our success thus far. If we let communication crumble, so will XG as a whole.
Please, keep this in mind, folks. If you want success, communicate!
xXmosephxX
xXmosephxX
