OOC Writer Account
G'day First Order,
Now, I didn't want to be -THAT GUY- but with what's been mentioned to me recently by other members of our faction; we can't continue to keep ignoring this, and pretend the problem doesn't exist. Let me begin by saying that, some others, as well as I, have grievances with the faction's current culture, direction and leadership. The impression I've received, since returning to the faction, is one of apathy and disinterest from our member's in the continuation of the First Order's story, and lore; with a marked decline in the respect we possess for one another's writing.
Just recently, I received screenshots of a heated discussion that transpired in the "Dungeon" Channel. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a hidden chatroom within the First Order's discord channel. Reserved only for faction members who are perceived to be trustworthy by the user group's administration, where they are able to discreetly communicate away from the eyes of the general membership. This select few, due to the First Order's merit-based promotion system, often end up being populated by high-ranking and influential persons (Out Of Character) that seemingly direct the faction's overarching narrative.
Sometimes, the discussions that happen within this private chat can become heated, although they often remain civil, depending on the context. Recently, however, the faction's leadership have been content to sweep these discussions under the rug rather than address' the concerns laid out by our membership. It's not unreasonable that a member who participates in a codex contest, with the intent of submitting a planet, demand that his planet's lore and fiction be respected after winning. Especially, when the prize was having said planet become the subject of a First Order Dominion. It is disturbing to see that an Admin on the staff team doesn't recognize the importance of textual integrity, and simply brushed the issue under the rug.
The Dismissiveness and flippant attitude of one of our Administrators in my view isn't acceptable. Though the discussion remains civil there is obvious frustration in all parties that we haven't been able to get our dominions started and finished reliably save the last month that went by where everyone pitched in for the SSD. It's not fair I do not think to claim that our Dominion failures are the result of any one Member or individual Staff members, stifling discussion and preventing our community's valued members from venting their frustrations is only going to foster resentment and dissuade from others bringing forward their concerns. The above screenshots were provided by a member of the Dungeon who is worried about the Faction's direction and behavior all around.
The First Order isn't what it used to be anymore; Where we collaborated to produce entertaining and amazing stories. The Faction has devolved into easily identifiable cliques, with the characteristics of these cliques usually being related to a character's IC affiliation with the Navy and Army for example. There has also been a significant blurring of our faction's identity. While I OOCly respect and enjoy writing with many authors in the Sith Empire, the whole point of this faction's lore was to be distinct from the Sith in theology. If the Knights of Ren are going to be considered more than "Sith Heretic Jedi Hunters" their writers shouldn't be limiting themselves to stories where they exclusively hunt down Jedi like some Sith Assassin. The lack of mutual respect within the Faction right now for the integrity of the stories we all write is quite frankly contemptible.
We've all voluntarily united on a writing website where we've joined a Faction, and I see members of ours complaining that they have to read a planet's lore and then have the parochial arrogance to claim that the desire for contextual integrity and consistent stories are responsible for stagnating Dominions. This assertion is ridiculous and humiliating for the recipient of such a claim. Do you know what is responsible for our stagnating dominions and faction threads? The sinister boredom that's consumed everyone, what motivation have any of us for writing with the faction if we aren't going to respect and critique each other's work? Where is the appreciation for our core membership who bust their backsides to enrich the First Order? Half of our Staff Team's discord activity is consumed with posting animal pictures completely unrelated to story-writing or collaboration in the Sith faction's discord server.
Our Faction's Leadership has no consistent message for the user-base on what we're supposed to be doing next; if anything there are contradictory messages. Back in February, I asked Samka if we could be launching another Invasion and continuing the War we'd all been looking forward too. Her answer was, and I am paraphrasing, "I'll look into one for next month." That Invasion thread never came, just a stream of dominions instead. Then it was revealed, privately, to me that we were waiting for the Galactic Alliance to be recalled or go minor so that the First Order could ICly claim victory. This is absolutely abhorrent; not only does it deny the First Order and Galactic Alliance's writers the opportunity to craft awesome, and tense conflicts, but it's ugly and opportunistic. I've openly blasted the Vero exchange as having both these characteristics because it did - but if you want to claim the greater integrity and honour, you best be willing to back that claim with evidence.
The actions of a select number of Faction staff towards members who attempted to leave amicably, after a disagreement, have also been disappointing. When Khonsu Amon's writer departed the Faction; it appeared and allegedly became a policy to purge his significant and valuable contributions in re-organizing the First Order's military, that provided greater depth and cohesion to our stories. This is not how a supposedly exemplary community or Faction should treat respected members who leave to pursue their own writing desires. Not only have we failed to adhere to the core themes of our Faction, as it was revitalized under Natasi Fortan leadership, we've also failed to appropriately reward or recognize quality writing and effort for the Faction. Even daring to scorn former staff members for leaving the First Order after they were driven away by hostile members of the group's administration or creative differences.
There was a time where I believed many of the faction's members considered one another friends. But with the hammer being dropped in the faction, and general discussions by Ara Zambrano, the mutual hostility and suspicion leveled towards one another that is being swept under the rug instead of resolved. I've come to the conclusion the First Order is approaching its expiry date with the pedal-to-the-floor, either with the leadership completely oblivious to this fact, at best, or quiet anticipation at worst. What would -I- suggest as a solution after highlighting a mere portion of the issues ailing this Faction? I don't know everything, but it's unacceptable that we continue to pretend that the aversion to open disagreement must end. The seemingly mutual disregard for one another's contributions to the faction must end. Last, but not least, quality contributions and writing work for the Faction must be at least recognized and ideally rewarded in some manner.
As it presently stands, the First Order is being carried by a paltry handful of writers in an abysmally small amount of threads. Without recognition of our contributions, it's likely that they'll go elsewhere, leaving the faction to inevitably be recalled. This conclusion is unacceptable for those who care about the faction, and the map-game thereafter. This eventuality will make all those Dominion posts that our staff insists on putting out, and the effort we've collectively pushed for, utterly irrelevant in the end. It's my belief that we need to re-engage our own Faction Story and Lore, rather than allow the inevitable to become reality. There is growing discontent and dissent within the First Order, that much is obvious and unless we drag the causes for it out into the light and examine them; the Faction will continue to flounder and sink. This is a conversation that will, and must be had, as our collective enthusiasm and engagement recently have been less than ideal.
If you, like me, believe that this faction has the potential to be awesome, you'll know where I'm coming from. The Staff shouldn't feel betrayed this isn't about loyalty, it's about what is perceived I think rightly about a collective waning in motivation, enthusiasm and love for the First Order as a faction. Could this temporarily be a slump? Yes, but it's unlikely this inactivity is attributable exclusively to members working on side projects and I think it's time we started an open discussion about the near-future where the First Order may end up being recalled or we voluntarily go minor.
Thanks for taking the time to read this wall of text, I appreciate it and suspect some of you might share my observations and/or concerns about the First Order.
[member="Ara Zambrano"] [member="Cyrus Tregessar"] [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Sieger Ren"] [member="Asharad Graush"] [member=Robogeber] [member="Madelyn Lowe"] [member="The Major"] [member="Luther Ando"] @Natasi Fortan @Varas Kyrel [member="Kyrel Ren"] [member=Eventide] [member="Khonsu Amon"] [member="Alkor Centaris"]
Now, I didn't want to be -THAT GUY- but with what's been mentioned to me recently by other members of our faction; we can't continue to keep ignoring this, and pretend the problem doesn't exist. Let me begin by saying that, some others, as well as I, have grievances with the faction's current culture, direction and leadership. The impression I've received, since returning to the faction, is one of apathy and disinterest from our member's in the continuation of the First Order's story, and lore; with a marked decline in the respect we possess for one another's writing.
Just recently, I received screenshots of a heated discussion that transpired in the "Dungeon" Channel. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a hidden chatroom within the First Order's discord channel. Reserved only for faction members who are perceived to be trustworthy by the user group's administration, where they are able to discreetly communicate away from the eyes of the general membership. This select few, due to the First Order's merit-based promotion system, often end up being populated by high-ranking and influential persons (Out Of Character) that seemingly direct the faction's overarching narrative.
Sometimes, the discussions that happen within this private chat can become heated, although they often remain civil, depending on the context. Recently, however, the faction's leadership have been content to sweep these discussions under the rug rather than address' the concerns laid out by our membership. It's not unreasonable that a member who participates in a codex contest, with the intent of submitting a planet, demand that his planet's lore and fiction be respected after winning. Especially, when the prize was having said planet become the subject of a First Order Dominion. It is disturbing to see that an Admin on the staff team doesn't recognize the importance of textual integrity, and simply brushed the issue under the rug.
The Dismissiveness and flippant attitude of one of our Administrators in my view isn't acceptable. Though the discussion remains civil there is obvious frustration in all parties that we haven't been able to get our dominions started and finished reliably save the last month that went by where everyone pitched in for the SSD. It's not fair I do not think to claim that our Dominion failures are the result of any one Member or individual Staff members, stifling discussion and preventing our community's valued members from venting their frustrations is only going to foster resentment and dissuade from others bringing forward their concerns. The above screenshots were provided by a member of the Dungeon who is worried about the Faction's direction and behavior all around.
The First Order isn't what it used to be anymore; Where we collaborated to produce entertaining and amazing stories. The Faction has devolved into easily identifiable cliques, with the characteristics of these cliques usually being related to a character's IC affiliation with the Navy and Army for example. There has also been a significant blurring of our faction's identity. While I OOCly respect and enjoy writing with many authors in the Sith Empire, the whole point of this faction's lore was to be distinct from the Sith in theology. If the Knights of Ren are going to be considered more than "Sith Heretic Jedi Hunters" their writers shouldn't be limiting themselves to stories where they exclusively hunt down Jedi like some Sith Assassin. The lack of mutual respect within the Faction right now for the integrity of the stories we all write is quite frankly contemptible.
We've all voluntarily united on a writing website where we've joined a Faction, and I see members of ours complaining that they have to read a planet's lore and then have the parochial arrogance to claim that the desire for contextual integrity and consistent stories are responsible for stagnating Dominions. This assertion is ridiculous and humiliating for the recipient of such a claim. Do you know what is responsible for our stagnating dominions and faction threads? The sinister boredom that's consumed everyone, what motivation have any of us for writing with the faction if we aren't going to respect and critique each other's work? Where is the appreciation for our core membership who bust their backsides to enrich the First Order? Half of our Staff Team's discord activity is consumed with posting animal pictures completely unrelated to story-writing or collaboration in the Sith faction's discord server.
Our Faction's Leadership has no consistent message for the user-base on what we're supposed to be doing next; if anything there are contradictory messages. Back in February, I asked Samka if we could be launching another Invasion and continuing the War we'd all been looking forward too. Her answer was, and I am paraphrasing, "I'll look into one for next month." That Invasion thread never came, just a stream of dominions instead. Then it was revealed, privately, to me that we were waiting for the Galactic Alliance to be recalled or go minor so that the First Order could ICly claim victory. This is absolutely abhorrent; not only does it deny the First Order and Galactic Alliance's writers the opportunity to craft awesome, and tense conflicts, but it's ugly and opportunistic. I've openly blasted the Vero exchange as having both these characteristics because it did - but if you want to claim the greater integrity and honour, you best be willing to back that claim with evidence.
The actions of a select number of Faction staff towards members who attempted to leave amicably, after a disagreement, have also been disappointing. When Khonsu Amon's writer departed the Faction; it appeared and allegedly became a policy to purge his significant and valuable contributions in re-organizing the First Order's military, that provided greater depth and cohesion to our stories. This is not how a supposedly exemplary community or Faction should treat respected members who leave to pursue their own writing desires. Not only have we failed to adhere to the core themes of our Faction, as it was revitalized under Natasi Fortan leadership, we've also failed to appropriately reward or recognize quality writing and effort for the Faction. Even daring to scorn former staff members for leaving the First Order after they were driven away by hostile members of the group's administration or creative differences.
There was a time where I believed many of the faction's members considered one another friends. But with the hammer being dropped in the faction, and general discussions by Ara Zambrano, the mutual hostility and suspicion leveled towards one another that is being swept under the rug instead of resolved. I've come to the conclusion the First Order is approaching its expiry date with the pedal-to-the-floor, either with the leadership completely oblivious to this fact, at best, or quiet anticipation at worst. What would -I- suggest as a solution after highlighting a mere portion of the issues ailing this Faction? I don't know everything, but it's unacceptable that we continue to pretend that the aversion to open disagreement must end. The seemingly mutual disregard for one another's contributions to the faction must end. Last, but not least, quality contributions and writing work for the Faction must be at least recognized and ideally rewarded in some manner.
As it presently stands, the First Order is being carried by a paltry handful of writers in an abysmally small amount of threads. Without recognition of our contributions, it's likely that they'll go elsewhere, leaving the faction to inevitably be recalled. This conclusion is unacceptable for those who care about the faction, and the map-game thereafter. This eventuality will make all those Dominion posts that our staff insists on putting out, and the effort we've collectively pushed for, utterly irrelevant in the end. It's my belief that we need to re-engage our own Faction Story and Lore, rather than allow the inevitable to become reality. There is growing discontent and dissent within the First Order, that much is obvious and unless we drag the causes for it out into the light and examine them; the Faction will continue to flounder and sink. This is a conversation that will, and must be had, as our collective enthusiasm and engagement recently have been less than ideal.
If you, like me, believe that this faction has the potential to be awesome, you'll know where I'm coming from. The Staff shouldn't feel betrayed this isn't about loyalty, it's about what is perceived I think rightly about a collective waning in motivation, enthusiasm and love for the First Order as a faction. Could this temporarily be a slump? Yes, but it's unlikely this inactivity is attributable exclusively to members working on side projects and I think it's time we started an open discussion about the near-future where the First Order may end up being recalled or we voluntarily go minor.
Thanks for taking the time to read this wall of text, I appreciate it and suspect some of you might share my observations and/or concerns about the First Order.
[member="Ara Zambrano"] [member="Cyrus Tregessar"] [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Sieger Ren"] [member="Asharad Graush"] [member=Robogeber] [member="Madelyn Lowe"] [member="The Major"] [member="Luther Ando"] @Natasi Fortan @Varas Kyrel [member="Kyrel Ren"] [member=Eventide] [member="Khonsu Amon"] [member="Alkor Centaris"]