What would you put in a ToJ "primer" thread?

[Tek7]

If you were going to help compile a single post or thread for people who just joined Tribe of Judah, what would you include?

I'm hoping to start a community "primer" thread soon and I'd like some input. I plan on putting together a similar thread for the Christian Gamers Alliance.

 

[Keero]

Explain what the .cc means. I still forget.

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

A compilation reference to time/day/server ip of all current ongoing events. TF2 Tuesday, L4D2 Wednesdays, Unreal Mondays and whatever the WoW, mmorpg people do, raids etc. The point being to have it all in one place without having to look up each chapter.

 

[Icthus]

The cake is a lie.

 

[Joshinator]

Icthus is not to be trusted.

Put something in about us constantly expanding our list of games played. And say something about how all the cool kids play quake live and other arena shooters....

 

[Icthus]

Icthus is not to be trusted.

I am not sure how I feel about this in a noob FAQ thingy.

 

[Abea]

A GOOD explanation about the difference between CGA and TOJ.

I'm not sure how I missed it but I was on the forums, and playing TOJ games, and never filled out an app, so maybe make sure that info is there as well.

A link to the staff page, because if I want to play a certain game, I can know who the leader is so if I'm in game, I can feel free to ask them questions. By the way, I don't have the link handy so I'm just going to ask, on the staff page, does it have the in game names of those who are the leaders? That would be very nice to have if it isn't.

OR .... It might be nice to have all the TOJ related information and then under that a listing of the games and a link to the game forum. Then on the game forum there could be a similar sticky page with specific game information that the forum leaders maintain on a game by game basis. Some info it might be nice to see would be (some would not apply to the TOJ related page, only the game forum page):

• How do you communicate besides in game. All the info on how to communicate, and since I don't know all the verbiage or ways, an example would be the teamspeak info and who uses what. Like in minecraft we use ts3, but I've read some games use ventrilla (or whatever it is called lol).
  
• How do you communicate outside the game. The facebook, twitter, etc information.
  
• Who the staff is for the game with their in game names.
  
• Are there specific event or nights when the game is played and what requirements may be needed to participate (the server address, any maps to download, etc)
  
• Other servers that members may play on when it's not a "game night"
  
• Other beneficial in game stuff that might be needed. For example, for minecraft, what the rules are, what spawn is, etc. Or like in Champions, I didn't know about any base, or any super group info, so that would have been nice to have.
  
• Any steam group information that might be beneficial to get invited to events etc.

Well, that's just stuff off the top of my head so far.

 

[[toj.cc]phantom]

Contact info for the admins of different servers (i.e. TF2)
Contact info for the Administartive so have staff

(Plus I've always thought it would be a good idea to require the administartive staff to have some sort of IM client (not counting Steam) so they can be contacted faster then an e-mail or PM on th forums would allow.

 

[Tek7]

Explain what the .cc means. I still forget.

Official answer:

.cc is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory.

Source: Wikipedia

Unofficial answer: Command Center.

A compilation reference to time/day/server ip of all current ongoing events. TF2 Tuesday, L4D2 Wednesdays, Unreal Mondays and whatever the WoW, mmorpg people do, raids etc. The point being to have it all in one place without having to look up each chapter.

The trouble with that is that it's one more document to update when game night times and days change. It's not a bad idea, but it might be wiser and more "future-proof" to link to threads about each chapter's regular events.

Still, I agree we should include at least a link to threads about regular events in a primer thread.

A GOOD explanation about the difference between CGA and TOJ.

The Christian Gamers Alliance is a gathering of Christian gaming groups and web sites, bound together by common goals and sharing resources. The CGA is not an authoritative body.

Tribe of Judah is one of several affiliates (or member-groups) that comprise the Alliance. Others include The Forgiven, Christian Crew, Christ-Centered Gamer, and God's Frozen Chosen.

On a related note: ToJ currently accounts for the majority of activity on the CGA forums (which may explain why many people don't understand the distinction between the two), but I'd very much like to see new groups and sites join the CGA and get involved on our forums.

Trouble is, to invite new groups and sites into the Alliance, I need a CGA Affiliate Recruiter or more time to do the recruiting myself. If anyone's interested in serving as the CGA Affiliate Recruiter, please see this thread.

I'm not sure how I missed it but I was on the forums, and playing TOJ games, and never filled out an app, so maybe make sure that info is there as well.

Do you mean: Make it more obvious that activity on the forums is not equivalent to membership in Tribe of Judah? Could you clarify?

A link to the staff page, because if I want to play a certain game, I can know who the leader is so if I'm in game, I can feel free to ask them questions. By the way, I don't have the link handy so I'm just going to ask, on the staff page, does it have the in game names of those who are the leaders? That would be very nice to have if it isn't.

It does not have in-game names for leadership, no. Unfortunately, there's no place to add such additional details to the Staff Listing page using the admin backend.

Here's a link to the Staff Listing. Elihu, ToJ's Staff Manager, maintains the listing.

Our current web site is all custom code and designed by a former member that is no longer active or maintaining the site. Calls for help in developing a new site have been repeated time and time (and time) again over the years, but no one has stepped forward to lead the project. Some have volunteered to help test content management systems (like ModX and Joomla), which is where we're at right now.

OR .... It might be nice to have all the TOJ related information and then under that a listing of the games and a link to the game forum. Then on the game forum there could be a similar sticky page with specific game information that the forum leaders maintain on a game by game basis.

Agreed.

This, of course, would fall to the relevant chapter and guild leaders to write, post, and update.

Some info it might be nice to see would be (some would not apply to the TOJ related page, only the game forum page):

• How do you communicate besides in game. All the info on how to communicate, and since I don't know all the verbiage or ways, an example would be the teamspeak info and who uses what. Like in minecraft we use ts3, but I've read some games use ventrilla (or whatever it is called lol).
  
• How do you communicate outside the game. The facebook, twitter, etc information.
  
• Who the staff is for the game with their in game names.
  
• Are there specific event or nights when the game is played and what requirements may be needed to participate (the server address, any maps to download, etc)
  
• Other servers that members may play on when it's not a "game night"
  
• Other beneficial in game stuff that might be needed. For example, for minecraft, what the rules are, what spawn is, etc. Or like in Champions, I didn't know about any base, or any super group info, so that would have been nice to have.
  
• Any steam group information that might be beneficial to get invited to events etc.

Well, that's just stuff off the top of my head so far.

And a terrific start. Any chance you could post that list in the Staff Forum as a suggestion for our Chapter Leaders and Guild Leaders?

And I plan to include a section about TeamSpeak in the primer thread.

Contact info for the admins of different servers (i.e. TF2)

I'd like to refrain from including chapter-specific information directly in the primer thread for reasons mentioned above, but I agree that such information should be included in a chapter-specific primer threads or, in the case of the TF2 chapter, in a stickied thread. Boo-yah.

Contact info for the Administartive so have staff

I'm going to guess you meant to type, "Contact info for administrative staff," which you can find here. And yes, I agree that should be included in a primer thread.

Having a second Staff Listing on the forums would make it easier for members to contact staff, but it would mean more work for Elihu any time a ToJ member joins or leaves the staff. I'm not opposed to the idea; I'm just explaining why it may not happen right away (or at all).

(Plus I've always thought it would be a good idea to require the administartive staff to have some sort of IM client (not counting Steam) so they can be contacted faster then an e-mail or PM on th forums would allow.

Trying to get all staff members to use one instant messaging service is like herding cats. I think there's like 3 staff members who still use any instant messaging (AIM, ICQ, Windows Live, Yahoo, etc.) networks on a regular basis.

PMs are still your best bet to get a hold of most staff members.

 

[Abea]

Do you mean: Make it more obvious that activity on the forums is not equivalent to membership in Tribe of Judah? Could you clarify?

Hmm, yeah I guess that's it. Just that I thought I was a member of TOJ until applying for the staff position and then finding out I wasn't.

And a terrific start. Any chance you could post that list in the Staff Forum as a suggestion for our Chapter Leaders and Guild Leaders?

Sure I will.

I think a link to each chapter is the best on a TOJ level primer thread. And then a chapter level primer thread that is uniform and consistent.

 

[Tek7]

/bump

Still looking for topics you think should be covered in the ToJ "primer" thread.

 

[Stc95]

A brief history would be nice. From founding CGA to ToJ to the major events in between to now.

I would also include a brief future too, where and what you want to see CGA/ToJ be in a year, 5 years, 10 etc. Up to your discretion of course.

Testimonials? Maybe a few of us could give you sound bites that testify to what God is doing in CGA and how much it has affected us.

I would also have links to our other media sources (Facebook, Twitter, IRC, etc.)

If I think of more I'll let you know.

EDIT: I'm posting this for both CGA and ToJ primer threads.

 

[crcook84]

If what you mean by primer is what you would post for new members, I'd have a requirements section so that new members will know what will be expected of them.

 

[Tek7]

If what you mean by primer is what you would post for new members, I'd have a requirements section so that new members will know what will be expected of them.

About all that's required of members is following the rules of the charter. There are opportunities for further involvement and leadership positions, but I recognize everyone's schedule and availability varies, so I don't expect everyone (or even most members) to volunteer to serve on staff.

That being said, ToJ's continued activity and growth would not be possible without the help of our awesome staff. There's simply far too much across too many games for me to manage alone and I depend on ToJ staff to make it happen.