[Babyhead4127]

Where do I start .. Little clicks have formed within the UFP and members not interacting with one another it feels recently there been a massive divide between whats called the "Vortex" and "STO crowd" is this healthly or Bad , yes friends are made but why such Void ?

On the other hand, of increasing importance in the modern world are the more flexible gaming clans and organisations which vary considerably in size, operating both locally and globally and which may be quite loosely organised through network connections between individuals or small groups and without any notion of hierarchy yes we do need order to the chaos but is to much to ask to mingle ? Is to much for members to say welcome to new members I for one 3 years back was amazed by CL5 and CL6 that wrote welcome but now it seems like dead past time.

I asked a little question last night i will not mention names , i said who is a certain person (Senior Member CL5) they replayed dunno who is he ? some members have gone un noticed some bath in glory that members now who they are some members dont even know whos in the SFC all i ask people lets try and bridage this gap and cover up the void

[Kains]

I think I get where you're going on this, and it's a several step process. I would love to see more integration of everyone, as I find it really funny to see us spread all over TS saying little, we've got the UFP-UFPK chat, saying little often (Until some of us throw a rock in there ) and finally we have the forums, which lately have been more about promotion and signature creation, rather than true social gathering.

I find it a bit of a shame to be honest.

However, if I'm to look at this objectively and honestly, it's a bit like working for a company. We have a lot of branches (Divisions) and command structure, which may not be readily apparent to everyone. As a functioning 'lower-middle management' type myself I guess it's an unspoken part of my job to make that structure a little more clear and encourage more participation, from both the raw recruit and the command.

I think we're definately maximizing the forums possibility in terms of tech: Polls of the week, awards for posters, visual appeal and all that. TS goes through ups and downs, depending on the activity, but the one I think we really let slide is UFP-UFPK. This is the easiest way to bring the fleet a little closer, and frankly enough activity will breed and I think we'll find that problem start to disappear.

Just my 2 cents

[Burtonshaw]

I completely agree with you Babyhead. When i first joined this fleet some 8 or 9 years ago, everyone talked to everyone in just two rooms on TS, it is a shame we are unable to do this any more (probably impracticable as there are now so many of us).

I think you hit the nail on the head with the 'clicks', it appears that more people need to be willing to move out of their comfort zones and make the effort to move around TS and speak to people.

[Caymen Greener]

I for one am only on TS during the US business day and cannot do voice/audio, so I sit in the text-only chat which means I cannot mingle in the Members channel (usually has people in it). If I get on at night (EDT time), I still usually do text only because I am doing other things. Since TS is our official "realtime" communications mechanism, it does very little for me as a "member" and is only useful when I make time to do audio/voice for meetings.

As for the forums, I find myself jumping around all areas. It is not only my job in IA, but I find it interesting to see what is going around all over. I know other CL5s have the same behavior, so I am not sure where the rub is here.

I guess since I am not an STOer, I don't get, in full, the divide that is mentioned here?

Caymen

[Three of Seven]

I move between rooms depending on the time and what I am doing, I consider myself nutural, I have friends in the fleet but they are within STO and other areas, I don't think I really fit into one specific group of people. There is a divide between the STO channel and the Members Lounge because of a diffrence in intrests, is it bad? Not really, it's natural, especilly considering the fleets size.

Some members only stick to their intrests, so it's only natural that they might not recognise members who hang out in a diffrent division if they don't cross paths often. The members who want to stand out, do, they are the ones who attend events or post in the forums, they get known. Those who sometimes take part in things don't get noticed as much.

One problem with welcoming members is that it doesn't get too personal because all the introduction posts are in one topic, so when you welcome in that topic, you only really welcome people in mass rather than a personal welcome for each one.

People are here and get diffrent things, if people feel like there is a problem, then ask them for suggestions. I wanted to get noticed, so I did the things to do so and as such, a fair number of people know who I am. But some people might just be content with taking part in a few events and not really speaking up, if I see someones name a lot and talk to them but feel they don't get much attention in the fleet, I will pass thair name onto my XO or CO for recognition.

[Caymen Greener]

If you use the Updates button in the forums, you'll see a daily acceptance of new members in the Applications area - you can (and should) post in there to welcome folks in, especially ones who have similar interests/timezones/etc to you.

Caymen

[Three of Seven]

I'm aware of the applications section, it just doesn't spring to mind as an introducion topic, the topic where you really get to know a bit about the person is Cadet Introductions and that's just a single topic, as I said before. The Applications section gets responces to topics fairly often from what I can see.

[Kains]

I suppose I need to keep in mind that the fleet does cover a wide area and not just STO, but I can't help but feel a bit of what Babyhead is saying is true, even *just* amongst the STO crowd. I dont know the others, haven't played the RPG-X (Yet!), Frag Nights (Yet!) and the sim (Pending!), but I do know STO alright and I know a fair few of these new folks we recruit end up feeling overwhelmed and promptly alienated.

When I'm on STO I tend to be a bit of a chatterbox in the fleet channel, so it has meant that a couple of new people have come to me. Usually this is pretty straightforward 'How do I get promoted' or 'How do I know what is going on', but I've had more than a couple 'Did I do something wrong, no one will talk to me?', and that leaves me concerned. I explain what is going on, how the channel works, what times are best for socialization.

I also usually take this moment to mention the Teamspeak server, as it seems like an excellent 'add on' at that particular moment

I know this is something every 'guild' goes through, I just wish there were a way to make those people feel more welcome in the medium of STO.

[Caymen Greener]

I suppose I need to keep in mind that the fleet does cover a wide area and not just STO, but I can't help but feel a bit of what Babyhead is saying is true, even *just* amongst the STO crowd. I dont know the others, haven't played the RPG-X (Yet!), Frag Nights (Yet!) and the sim (Pending!), but I do know STO alright and I know a fair few of these new folks we recruit end up feeling overwhelmed and promptly alienated.

When I'm on STO I tend to be a bit of a chatterbox in the fleet channel, so it has meant that a couple of new people have come to me. Usually this is pretty straightforward 'How do I get promoted' or 'How do I know what is going on', but I've had more than a couple 'Did I do something wrong, no one will talk to me?', and that leaves me concerned. I explain what is going on, how the channel works, what times are best for socialization.

I also usually take this moment to mention the Teamspeak server, as it seems like an excellent 'add on' at that particular moment

I know this is something every 'guild' goes through, I just wish there were a way to make those people feel more welcome in the medium of STO.

I hope I don't sound critical or negative, but isn't what you described, and are asking for, the job of the CL4 and higher members in SFO/HoK? Or even the veteran NCOs (who can now more easily get promoted for such actions)? Again, not picking, just asking naively.

Caymen

[Three of Seven]

When I'm on STO I tend to be a bit of a chatterbox in the fleet channel, so it has meant that a couple of new people have come to me. Usually this is pretty straightforward 'How do I get promoted' or 'How do I know what is going on', but I've had more than a couple 'Did I do something wrong, no one will talk to me?', and that leaves me concerned. I explain what is going on, how the channel works, what times are best for socialization.

I get those first two questions a few times, I haven't heard the last before. I will say that the STO channel in TS isn't much diffrent to the Members Lounge or Holodeck other than the main topic of discussion (STO), the general conversation happens in all channels and they can feel very similar at times to me.

I hope I don't sound critical or negative, but isn't what you described, and are asking for, the job of the CL4 and higher members in SFO/HoK? Or even the veteran NCOs (who can now more easily get promoted for such actions)? Again, not picking, just asking naively.

I believe it's more the job of the Recruiment officers and Community officers to answer/address any questions more so than an Event officer, although everyone should help out when they can. I will always help when I can and I have done.

[Kains]

I've always simply helped where I could. The majority seem to think there isn't a problem, so perhaps I'm jumping at phantoms. All I can do is post my input, as I personally feel the same as Babyhead on this.

However, Seven seems to believe there isn't a big issue, so I'm inclined to follow her lead on this as she is much more active than I. I don't mean that as an insult Caymen, just haven't had the chance to work with you as closely, but I do see your name a lot, so I do respect your opinion.

[Silynn]

It is hard to interpret 'silence'. Currently this thread has 96 views and 10 replies. Thus, the 86 times this thread was viewed, did the viewer agree, disagree, or just indifferent that there is an issue?

I'm probably about 4 or 5 of those 86 views... I've read the thread, but haven't really replied yet. Mostly as I'm not sure what I wanted to say.

We are a large fleet, spread across many timezones and cultures. I do read and welcome new members when I see their approved application. Most don't say much in their app, but the ones that do, I try to comment on one way or another in a positive light. Of those applications, I would say less than 10-15% reply back to their application thread.

Besides that application thread, the fleet invite, academy intro, and in-game promotion, a lot of members don't really participate in the forums until it is roll-call time. Which is fine, as the majority of our members rather spend their limited time playing than forum surfing. Myself, I do most of my forum surfing during my lunch and break times during the work day. Once I get home, I may check after dinner or before going to bed.

So how do we welcome or make our new members MORE welcome (and comfortable) so they overcome their shyness or indifference? We have Recruit Support Officers, who are the 'go-to' person that each and every new member gets. I know in the past, when I was an Event Officer (before SWTOR took more of my time), it was discussed about having an 'In-Game Buddy" assigned to each new member. Someone that the member could go to and be comfortable with asking any question.

Having small groups (aka friendships) form in game is not a bad thing, as long as they are inclusive and open to other members. It is only natural that with our wide range of players, that certain players enjoy the company of specific others. Nothing wrong with that.

But touching upon what Babyhead rightly brought-up, excluding someone because of a dislike or perceived insult or whatnot, isn't healthy. If one has an issue with an individual, be it that they always hit "NEED", like shooting rainbows in their ship, or whatever... it is only right and proper that the person approach the other and open a dialog. Miscommunication and misunderstandings can really seed bad blood that will fester without trying to resolve it. The internet does provide anonymity, but once has to remember that there is a feeling human being on the other side of every avatar/toon/character. Everyone deserves the benefit of doubt.

[Babyhead4127]

This has indeed sparked a lot interested from members who PM'd me and saying they feel unconformable about entering a room where members are indeed a tight knit group it hard to get involed in that as been stated there have been many views on this thread but only hand-full comment I welcome new members to look at this and write there view on this topic

[Caymen Greener]

I've always simply helped where I could. The majority seem to think there isn't a problem, so perhaps I'm jumping at phantoms. All I can do is post my input, as I personally feel the same as Babyhead on this.

However, Seven seems to believe there isn't a big issue, so I'm inclined to follow her lead on this as she is much more active than I. I don't mean that as an insult Caymen, just haven't had the chance to work with you as closely, but I do see your name a lot, so I do respect your opinion.

I actually don't perceive a problem either (or don't know because I don't play STO) so I don't know how you're insulting me. It has just been brought up a few times (in this thread) that newcomers don't feel welcome and my answer is "CL4s and above need to correct that" (which would include RSOs). But again, that's based on the issues described herein, which I am unable to perceive. Just adding input based on this thread.

Caymen

[Caymen Greener]

This has indeed sparked a lot interested from members who PM'd me and saying they feel unconformable about entering a room where members are indeed a tight knit group it hard to get involed in that as been stated there have been many views on this thread but only hand-full comment I welcome new members to look at this and write there view on this topic

Then by my logic, you're doubly responsible for fixing it! I jest, but I feel the CL4s and up in SFO/HoK as well as RSOs need to break down those barriers. The players can't always do it, but the leadership can.

Caymen