If you plan to join us for a scheduled event, or even if you’re just following us on a server crawl somewhere, we have some basic expectations for participation with SOG.
We believe these expectations are reasonable. If we find that you have difficulty following these, you may not be invited to participate in future events and operations.
- Follow the leader.
Members and guests are asked to follow the direction of the Event Organizer, appointed Squad Leaders, and Community Leadership at all times.
- Keep it tight.
When operating with a team, ensure you follow the direction of your squad leader, and remain in communication with the rest of your team. Try to avoid wandering off unless you have been given a specific task.
- Maintain radio discipline.
During tense missions, communication can be difficult. Please do your part to fight against the fog of war by avoiding unnecessary radio transmissions, and ensuring your reports are clear, concise, and easy to understand.
- Don’t detract from the experience.
Our event organizers put in a lot of work to keep things fun. Team killing, destroying or misusing team assets, acting in a disruptive manner, and other nuisance behaviors take away from that. Don’t be that guy.
- Support your teammates.
SOG welcomes both new and experienced players, and we recognize that the games we play can take time to learn. In the interest of making sure everyone has the best experience possible, we encourage new players to ask for help when they need it, and ask our more experienced members to lend a hand and help mentor others along the way. If you’re new to our events, please ask to be paired up with a mentor.
- Try it in training.
If you want to try something new – flying, sniping, artillery, or any other combat discipline, we have experienced players who would love to show you what they know during a training session. To help ensure success, please make sure you’re mission-ready before volunteering for special assignments during live events. - Uphold your commitments
Some slots and roles are limited. When you reserve a slot, the organizers are counting on you to fill it for the entire mission. Things may get in the way sometimes, but this needs to be the exception – not the rule. If you are not at least 90% sure you’ll be able to commit, we ask that you avoid taking a specialized role or limited slot. Players who cannot consistently uphold commitments may find their future opportunities limited, or preference given to other players first. - Handle feedback appropriately
All events are followed by an after-action review. Participants will be asked to provide “one up” (a positive observation) and “one down” (a negative observation), after which open discussion is encouraged. If something goes wrong, or if something happens that you don’t like, please share it in the after-action session, so that we can improve in the future.
Negative feedback during the mission isn’t productive, and is likely to detract from the experience of other players. To this end, please stick to the 3-Second Rule: If you have a negative experience, you may vent your frustration (within reason) for exactly 3 seconds. Once 3 seconds have passed, additional feedback should go to the AAR session.
Guidelines for delivering feedback:
* Feedback during AAR sessions should be kept constructive, meaning it involves a recommendation on how to improve, or a suggestion on what you would like to see in the future – not just what you didn’t like.
* Feedback toward individuals should be addressed privately – either directly with that individual, or with the event organizer or a member of leadership who can bring it up with the individual, or via provided feedback forms.
* Where at all possible, please take care to avoid blaming or targeting others.
* All feedback, in public or in private, should adhere to the community guidelines.
Maintaining Operational Standards During Events
Maintaining our standards and reinforcing the operational guidelines during events is the responsibility of all members and event participants.
For All Participants
When you sign up to participate in an event, it’s your responsibility to make sure your behavior is in line with our Operational Guidelines. Part of that is helping support a positive environment and fostering the right behaviors and attitudes in the members and guests around you. If you see or hear someone around you who isn’t living up to the standards we’ve set, you are empowered to call out that behavior, and make that person aware that what they’re doing isn’t encouraged, and what is expected of them instead – make sure to do so in line with our community guidelines, and (as much as possible) within our expectations for delivering feedback. If the behavior continues, you should bring it to the attention of the element leader, or the SOG member nearest you in the event’s chain of command.
For Team Leaders & Squad Leaders
When you sign up as a Team Lead or Squad Lead, you are ultimately responsible for the behavior of the members of your team. If you observe or experience behavior that isn’t in line with our operational guidelines, you are empowered to call out that behavior and issue directions to correct it. If the behavior continues, you should bring it to the attention of higher leadership or the event organizer(s).
For Platoon Leaders and Commanders
As a platoon leader or other form of higher command, it is your job to coordinate with the event organizer(s) to ensure that we’re delivering a positive experience for all players, and that participants are maintaining the operational guidelines. In the event that you observe or encounter behavior that doesn’t adhere to our guidelines, you should work with the event organizers to ensure that it is corrected, and you are empowered to call on the assistance of Community Leadership in attendance to assist you in doing so.
For Event Organizers and/or Game Masters
As the event organizer or game master, the experience of all participating players is your responsibility. As a result, you are empowered to take whatever action you see fit to maintain the experience, and correct behaviors that are not in line with the Operational Guidelines.
This can include:
* Counseling players and asking them to change their behavior – either in the field, via DM, or if appropriate, teleporting them to an area away from other players to speak with them privately.
* Using Zeus abilities to restrict a player’s ability to move or interact with other players.
* Using Server Admin abilities (if available to you) to kick a player and remove them from the event.
* Requesting or directing Community Leadership to take corrective action, to remove the player from the event, or take additional disciplinary action.