If you want to be a Squig you should understand what we're about. This post goes over the rules and guidelines for being a squig, what we do, and how we're organized. If you're going to submit or have submitted an application for the community clan, read this over so you know what we expect.
Part 1 - Rules, Etiquette and ExpectationsThe
rules here are pretty simple, as everything boils down to, 'Don't be an
ass.' Every time you're about to do something, ask yourself, 'Would an
ass do this?' If so, don't do it. You and everyone else wearing the {}s
represent the TF2F.com community, forums, and clan. You're the face of
the community to everyone around you, and as such, it's important that
we present a sportsmanlike and positive image and maintain the good
reputation that we have.
Not only are you the face of the
community, but you also set the tone and example for everyone else. If
visitors to the site see that the official community clan fucks around,
others assume they can do the same and the place goes downhill and we
make another 4chan. If visitors to the site see a vibrant community
filled with real discussion, they'll share in it and help contribute.
Leading by example is the most important thing you can do as a squig.
What specifically does not being an ass mean?
On the forums:
- Contribute meaningful discussion to threads. Disagreement and
dissent is fine, as long as you can express it in a constructive way.
- Keep threads on topic. Derailing or spamming is not cool.
- Image macros are 99.9% useless, unfunny, and spammy. They are
particularly bad because posting one often encourages others and the
thread gets derailed.
- Answer questions posted by new people. Today's newb is tomorrow's Frozen.
- Don't bait the forum trolls.
- Don't start or encourage useless forum drama. If you have a problem
with another clan member or regular, talk to them one on one, and if
that doesn't resolve the problem, talk to an admin. Don't post screeds
about respect.
A special note about forum trolls and drama:
- When in doubt, ignore it. The best way to defuse bullshit like that
is to leave it alone. Posting to put out forum drama is like trying to
put out a fire with gasoline.
In the pub servers:
- Be a team player. Get on voice chat and work with others.
- Don't grief or exploit. No crabwalking spies, civilian heavies, 12 engineer sentry nests, voice or chat spam, etc.
- Report cheaters/exploiters to admins, with demos/screens/SteamIDs if possible.
On pub servers that aren't ours:
- Treat other servers the same as you would ours. Follow whatever the
rules of the server are. When you're wearing our tag you're
representing us. Even if you change your name to not have the tag in it
it can still come back to haunt us since aliases are trackable with
SteamIDs.
On ventrilo:
- If you're going to rage, turn off your mic and keep it to yourself.
- If you jump into our channel when there are more than 6 or 7 people
there already, listen for 30 seconds to see if there is a scrim or
match going on. If there is, be QUIET. You can stay if you want to listen but not if you want to chat. Don't enter and leave the channel repeatedly.
In scrims/matches:
- Be on time. If you say you'll show up, show
up. If we have a match at 10pm EST, be ready to join the game and start
playing then. Don't come on vent at match time expecting to play when
you still have to go to the bathroom, get a drink, and restart your
computer.
- Absolutely no trash talking when we're playing against
other clans, no matter who they are, what they said, under any
circumstances. This includes team chat or in game voice.
- No rage
quitting, ever. If you do this in a scrim or a match, you are dead to
me. If you're really getting frustrated with the game, say something
and we'll switch classes if we can. This isn't always possible
(particularly in matches), so sometimes you just need to inhale/exhale
and take your medicine.
- Don't kill the opposing team after round
ends. Taunt, make threatening motions at them, jump on their head,
whatever, but don't kill them.
- Don't complain about the server, about crits, about lag, etc. Regardless of the circumstances, complaining won't help.
- Be a good sport. Say gg.
- Listen to whoever the team captain is.
Consequences:
Follow
the above rules. If you don't, consequences range from warnings to
permanent bans from the forums, servers, clan and ventrilo. Every
offence is dealt with on a case by case basis.
Part 2 - What do we do and how do you get involved?
The
Squigs run and participate in a variety of leagues, planned events,
and impromptu pickups. You can get involved in as much or as little as
you want. Some of our players just play the odd pub and hang on vent,
others go whole hog and represent us in leagues, tournies, the
FortCast, and others.
Currently we're playing in Season 2 of
the TWL 7v7 crits league as well as Season 2 of CAL 8v8. Match nights
are Monday and Sunday respectively. Every Wednesday we also run CTF
Night, an informal multiclan scrim night. We schedule scrims in a
variety of game formats and maps on a day by day basis, usually in the
evenings on Sunday-Thursday. Check the private forums or the steam
group calendar for upcoming stuff. In addition, we do a lot of
impromptu scrims whenever there are enough people on vent, making up
teams from squigs, squares, and regulars alike.
Teams are
decided based on a few things. For matches, you must be on our official
roster to play (see the CAL and TWL threads for details on how to
join), and the lineup for matches are always decided in advance, on the
basis of our strategy, class limits, and activity. Typically before
matches we schedule scrims on the map in question - unless you show up
to these you can't play in the match because you won't be familiar with
the strat we're running.
For scrims, typically anyone can show
up and play. If we do have a match upcoming, people on the lineup get
priority. If we have more players than spots on the team (as is often
the case), we go by first come first serve as well as class balance.
For
internal scrims, just be around and be willing and you'll get to play.
Unless we're running practice for a specific map and format, we try to
make internal games big enough for everyone who's interested to play.
In
addition, people who are more active tend to get dibs. You won't ever
be kicked out for inactivity, but if you don't show up for 2 weeks,
don't expect to be on the starting roster for our next league match.
If
you aren't seeing the kind of game you want to play, try and organize
it yourself. Any of our admins or captains can set up servers, organize
ventrilo, help you find scrims, and give you whatever help you need to
get a game off the ground. The only caveat is that we only have 1
private server.
Part 3 - Structure of the clan
We have a fairly flat hierarchy in the clan, with only a couple tiers, and lots of jobs being shared.
At
the top are site mega-admins like RedBullRising, Lancer, and chuckles.
These guys run the servers, pay the bills, operate the site, policing
the forums, and basically all the other un-fun but necessary stuff to
keep TF2F afloat.
Recruitment is done by vouches publicly, as
well as private threads covering the same. No matter who vouches for
you there has to be a consensus among the group.
Chuckles also does a lot of
the day to day running of the clan, including dealing with map uploads,
server configs, league registration, pulling SourceTV demos, and
generally keeping us on an even keel.
Cartographer runs CTF Night.
Cyn deals with the leagues and ladders we're part of.
We
have several regular team captains. These aren't official positions,
but are the people who tend to captain the most. They who know the clan
well, know the strategies we run, and have played with us a lot.
Chuckles, Cyn, Smerbuick, Kwogger, Kerinthious, Nekped, GA, Rizz and Trainrider fall in
this category, although several other people do it too.
Summary - have a positive attitude, lead by example, and get involved to make your voice heard.