‡†  Rebirth: The Awakening  †‡

Welcome,

There are choices you make in life that you often wish you could get back. Things happen and a person acts on the fly to bring on a bad result, or a long and drawn out decision turns out to be the wrong one. Over periods of time, there can be a string of mistakes that lead to one colossal one. That, my friends is where we are. Over the past two years, I have made more mistakes than I care to imagine. Every small thing I spent my time on, every eruption that caused a distraction, every time I went to IRC instead of pulling up my editor was a mistake. Letting this project go this long was a mistake. Project Rebirth should have been done by now!

I don't like to make excuses, and even less do I like to regret the past. The time that we have used for other things in this organization may have been well spent, and it may have been spent poorly. That no longer matters. That is time we cannot get back. Hindsight is 20/20, but now we must do our best to keep perfect vision for the future. Unlike when we started, we now know the extent that this project will go. We know the requirements. We know the workers. We know the pitfalls. The only thing that hasn't changed is the fact that we know Rebirth will impact the online community in a big way.

That's the goal isn't it? We're here because in some great way, this club has changed our lives. I personally want to spread this organization to others, and give those within the experience that I could have only dreamed of when I joined. What better thing is there than to take everything we love to do in life and combine it into one thing? Star Wars, gaming, talking to friends, being leaders, writing, coding, winning, getting awarded. The Brotherhood offers it all, and yet with Rebirth we could offer so much more! In my vision, this organization will be the perfect mesh of fiction and reality. Rebirth is the first step toward that goal.

When I wrote the first introduction to this vision, I talked about service. I said that "the higher ranked you are, the more people you serve; not the more people that serve you." In the last two years, I have found that, unlike the EH, we don't have a problem there. The Brotherhood is built on serving from your position. What we have failed at, is serving in the right way. As leaders, we all get caught up in the day to day affairs so much that we miss the big picture. We work so much on the smaller things that we never get a chance to keep the big guns rolling. Today, my friends, that changes! As you can see, I have titled this document "Rebirth: The Awakening." That title is to symbolize what I want this document to lead to: an unending devotion to this project. From every position of the Brotherhood, the number one goal must be the completion of all aspects of this project!

As Grand Master I will lead the way. I will delve into the project head first and pull everyone else in with me. With every decision we make, we are going to need to look into whether we are helping our ultimate goals. We must no longer waste time. We must no longer quarrel amongst ourselves. We must no longer take priority for projects that mean nothing in the long term. We will get organized, get a schedule, get motivated and then stick to it. No more excuses. Rebirth will be completed this summer!

The leaders of this club must be awakened to realize that we are not invulnerable. Unless we work for security now through Rebirth, the club will not last through the years. We've lasted almost a decade. I want to die a Grand Master.

So join me Brothers and Sisters in a mission that will be the Rebirth of this club. Awaken and get to work!

                                                                                                                                                                  - Jac Cotelin -

‡† Table of Contents †‡

1. Classified Information
2. Goals of Project: Rebirth
3. Process of Project: Rebirth
4. Operation: Overhaul
5. Operation: Orderless
6. Operation: Prestige
7. Operation: Infinite Depth
8. Operation: Credits
9. Operation: Armory
10. Operation: Force Powers Improvement
11. Operation: Games of War
12. Operation: Manuals

‡† Section I - Classified Information †‡

Many details of this project have already been given out in one way or another. However, this document itself should remain behind closed doors. Any information about the project should also only be communicated through appropriate channels.

Members who willfully violate these requirements will find themselves no longer working on this project, and facing a demotion.

‡† Section II - Goals of Project: Rebirth †‡

    The goals of Project: Rebirth are vast and general in nature. They will be achieved only through completing every phase of the project and even then it will only provide a means to an end. There are many misconceptions of what these goals entail. Many people think that this project is a website. Rightly so, in some respects. The website is a giant part of this project, however, there are other aspects of this project that do not revolve around the site. Many are complete, but there are many more that need to be finished. Everyone can contribute to these tasks.

    The following are some of the old goals, as well as a few new ones.

• Goal 1: Set ourselves apart from our past
      The Dark Jedi Brotherhood must strike out in a new direction to create an individual and unique internet community experience, while retaining the legacy of the Brotherhood's history
   

• Goal 2: Provide a new level of rewards and recognition
      Project: Rebirth will allow for the eventual use of different methods to award and recognize people in this club. This is outlined more throughout the proposal. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, Project: Rebirth will give new meaning to the awards that are currently at use. These awards will no longer just be something that is tacked onto an ID line and forgotten. They will each serve to enhance the experience that a person has.
   

• Goal 3: Increase the uniqueness and individuality of every character in the Dark Brotherhood
      For too long, members of the DB have been simply defined by a pre-determined set of variables that reside in their dossier. Project: Rebirth’s intent is to expand greatly on the amount of freedom a person can have with their character. Characters will have skills and attributes that will be used not only in fiction but in database-driven competitions as well.
   

• Goal 4: Provide further options for competitions
      The Dark Brotherhood has used up almost all of its innovative potential on many forms of competition. There is very little that will attract new participation and the like. The capacity for differences between competitions will need to change using Project: Rebirth. The leaders of the brotherhood will be given a completely new way of running comps and it should prove vital to the success of the DB. We should be hearing the members say that there are more than enough competitions, while still keeping the excitement and anticipation that come along with vendettas.
   

• Goal 5: Enhance the organizational structure
      While the database currently running the Dark Brotherhood is amazing, it is far from perfect. The ability to do what we need to do is there, but the complete functionality for a multi-faceted organization is not present. The changes that are to be made in Project: Rebirth will require a re-work of almost all components.
      Furthermore, the general structure of the DB needs to change to one more conducive to what we want. This may include changes in the clan structure and dark council structure.
   

• Goal 6: Facilitate true growth
      The ultimate goal of Project: Rebirth is to facilitate true growth of the Brotherhood. We must create a system that draws people in and keeps them here, as to secure the stability of the Dark Brotherhood for years to come.
   

• Goal 7: Improve the online experience
      The experience of the Brotherhood is great, but there are many things that can be done to improve it. Rebirth will focus on a lot of small things at first and make way for great expansions into the future.
   

• Goal 8: Follow the Mission and Vision of the Brotherhood
      The Dark Jedi Brotherhood will set the standard of integrity, intellect, and achievement for our members, allies, and the online communities in which we reside, providing the highest forms of entertainment value, social interaction, and fun.

‡† Section III - Process of Project: Rebirth †‡

There has never really been a process to the project, a point that has caused a lot of the failure. However, Organization is needed if all of the Councilors, Consuls and Proconsuls are going to take part. The Grand Master will be the lead facilitator of the project and will be handing out jobs to the team. To coordinate this, the Grand Master will do the following:

• Create a task list of what has been done and what needs to be done.

• Assign jobs to all members from those needing work on the task list

• Prioritize and set timetables for each job

• Create and update a calendar with the tasks on it

• Give feedback and suggestions in a timely and organized fashion.

The Grand Master will complete a weekly internal report to communicate the progress of each project. The members will be required to update the GM regularly on the status of their projects. All updates should be made through email to keep a record.

‡† Section IV - Operation: Overhaul †‡

The Dark Brotherhood website is a fantastic work for what the Brotherhood is currently, but unfortunately, it is the limitations of the website that limit the club as a whole. The Dark Brotherhood has grown outside the boundaries originally set by the designers of the current database. We have hacked and mended the files in the website to suit our needs, each time pushing the site further toward the end. It is imperative to the stability of the DB that the website work, be easily navigated both from the internet and in the code, and be updatable by a variety of people. The position of SCL provides for a great asset to the DB, but the work of what is to come with Project: Rebirth will be too much for one or even two people to handle. Furthermore, it will be too much for our current database structure to handle.

The way we must look at Project: Rebirth is just that; look at the DB as if we were being born again. What would we do differently with the structure of the website and database had we known then what we know now? There are many things that come to mind, detailed as requirements below. Many more things I am sure can be added to that list.

Operation: Overhaul has progressed very far since the beginning, but is the main focus for the coming months still. Currently, we have done the following:

• Created a wish list for the new website using member and DC suggestions

• Created a requirements document from that wish list

• Finished the initial design of the new website

• Created a database design document for the site

• Created the database for the site

• Wrote a convert script to bring the data in from the old database

• Completed the build of the background functionality of the site

• Began coding on the major systems of the administrative backend.

• Created a documentation center

This list is not long, but it amounts to a lot of work. The toils of Cybey, Jam3z and Jac have been tremendous already, yet there is still much more to do. Aerick will be joining the group as the fourth member of the Fantastic Four. Together we will pound out the rest of the code to get the website overhaul finished.
       An important aspect that we must remember is that the current website is on a moratorium for new development. That means that no DCer is getting their projects done that need any site design.

A list of some main requirements for the site has been compiled with details below:

• Requirement: Hush Hush
      A project that has been conceptualized by myself and Lord Khyron and worked on by Trev is what has been dubbed Project: Hush Hush. The purpose of Project: Hush Hush is to create an atmosphere in the Dark Brotherhood in which promotions and award recognition have a meaning to them.
      Currently, a member who is rewarded or promoted receives a database-esque email that informs them of the event. These emails are artificial looking and lack substance that can make a member feel the excitement of a recognition. This is a facet of the DB that can be greatly improved upon with little effort.
      Project: Hush Hush contends this flagrant disregard of better proceedings in two ways. First, Jedi will no longer be informed of medal awards or rank elevations simply through email; rather, they will be informed when they log into the Dark Brotherhood website. Upon receiving a promotion or medal, the database will send an email to the member that simply says "You have a message waiting for you at djb.org. Please log in to view it." Upon logging in, members will see the second part of Project: Hush Hush. With every promotion and medal a piece of fiction written in second person will be displayed. This fiction will dictate the events of their promotion or reward. This will be a system of theme-carrying rituals that are known only to members who are of the rank to see them. A new ritual has been written by Trev for every rank, and these will be used to stimulate the fictional side of the Brotherhood. Members will be more surprised at the events that transpire, and will be more willing to work so they can continue the story that starts with their first Apprentice ritual.
      It has been suggested that in order to facilitate the creation of this system, a Private Message system be placed in the website backend. This is something to be considered by the members of Operation: Overhaul
   

• Requirement: Multiple Confirms
      A small problem that can be resolved with the rebuilding of the database is the handling of promotions and medal awards that go beyond the approval ability level of the CHAN and MAA. These medals and promotions always require GM and/or DGM approval. A system should be added where, guided by the rules in the DC, additional confirmation is needed by the GM/DGM to approve promotions and medals.
   

• Requirement: Themes BUILT INTO SITE BACKEND ALREADY
      The website layouts have been a great addition to the domain. Members can currently choose from a variety of layouts, taking the one that suits them the most. This is something that we should keep in the new site, and expand upon. members should be given more options for customization. Furthermore when a member logs in, they should see the website change to pertain to them. Their clan crest should be displayed and the site should have images that reflect their order. This will create for a better experience and a feeling of home.
   

• Requirement: Modular Information Portal BUILT INTO SITE BACKEND ALREADY
      The website as of now has no real information on the main page. A new design will be needed to facilitate the inclusion of more information on the page, especially when a member is logged in. Members should never have to dig more than two pages for the information they need. This will likely require the merging of several sites, including the Shadow Academy, the order sites and maybe even clan websites. The more cohesive and full djb.org is, the better. However, members should also have the ability to "turn off" the display of information that doesn't pertain to them. In this I suggest we move to a modular website that has the ability to show different things for different people. For an example of what this could look like go to http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.org/dbjedi/dgm/modular.gif
   

• Requirement: Dual Servers
      The changes in Project: Rebirth will bring the Dark Brotherhood to a new age of success in the online community, and with that and an enemy right around the corner, the DB must think of its safety. Upon completion of Project: Rebirth, the Dark Brotherhood database and website shall be running on two servers simultaneously. An emergency procedure must be set up to switch to the backup server in the least amount of time possible in the event of a loss.
   

• Requirement: Document storage
      The new website should be capable of file uploading and archiving. This will be used for things such as meeting logs and competition submissions. No longer will members create stories and graphics that simply get lost on their QUA's hard drive. A library of files, matched with their competition or subject, will be kept with the DB site, making our records complete.
   

• Requirement: Roster Exporting
      A function of the old DB site that was lost somehow was the ability to export rosters to excel. Is not a hard piece of functionality to build and should be added.
   

• Requirement: Security and tracking features BUILT INTO SITE BACKEND ALREADY
      New security features should be put in place to track logins, requests and changes to the site. Everything should be logged and filed away.
   

• Requirement: Documentation BUILT INTO SITE BACKEND ALREADY
      The most important of all the requirements, documentation is a complete must for Operation:Overhaul. The files within the website must be commented thoroughly and the structure and documentation for the site must be compiled and given to multiple people. In the event that an SCL resigns, this will lower the learning curve and allow for easier and faster upgrades. The code in the site should be neat, easy to read and broken into functions and classes where necessary.
   

• Requirement: Enhanced Competition Approval
      Competitions within the Dark Brotherhood have become more centralized with the recent addition of the Competition approval form, however the functionality needs to be added to. What we would ideally have is a all-encompassing form when members could submit a competition, post results, and award participants all in the same stroke. The competition approval form should stay basically the same as it is, but an addition should be added that lets results be added. Competition Leaders should be able to upload the submissions into the DB Archive, link to the dossiers of all the participants, and have the database automatically award the winners that were designated by the leader. From this, reports can be generated that show who participated in what, and when; members could have a list of what they have done on their dossiers, and the Dark Council would better be able to gauge activity.
   

• Requirement: Member Leave
      Members should be able to set their dossiers to "Leave Status" when they go away for any period of time. this should be tracked in the database.
   

• Requirement: Message Board Integration
      Members should be able to access the Message Board using their DB pin and DB information. An option should be build to allow non-members the ability to use the Message Boards, but that is not a priority.
   

• Requirement: Mailing Lists BUILT INTO SITE BACKEND ALREADY
      The Site should be configured so that group@darkjedibrotherhood.com is configured automatically for each unit in the brotherhood.
   

• Requirement: Enhanced IRC Client
      The IRC client should be based within the same window as djb.org and should have explanations of the different fields, with easy help available.
   

• Requirement: Enhanced Score Submission
      Score Submissions should be allowed for multiple opponents and opponents in different clubs.
   

• Requirement: "Approved by" fields
      All items requiring approval (medals, promotions, etc.) should document who approved it and on what date.

       The following list is a guide of the system specifications that will be used for the coding.

• Email Guidelines (who things should go to for anything)
  • All Mails

•  GM

• DGM

• Roster Management mails

• MAA

• Member requiring management

• HM if member is ACO or less

• Every superior of the member

• Medal Management mails

• MAA

• Member

• Every Superior

• Society Mails

• Society leader (CM, CoG, etc.)

• Member

• Every Superior
   

• Process for all special news regarding a member’s profile.
  • Upon receiving a promotion, medal, new position or the like, members should not be notified of the nature of the event by email.
  • Instead, a mail should be sent informing the member that they have a message waiting for them on the website.
  • Upon logging in, the details of the event should be displayed. This is where any rituals, if necessary, are displayed
  • Members should be able to view these messages at any date from within a personal archive.
     
• Rules for all tabular data
  • Allow for sorting by different columns
  • All large tables should allow for paging
  • Members should be able to set tabular paging and sorting preferences and have them stay
  • Members should be able to open essential tables in excel file for manipulation and printing.

• News
  • Displays on first page of the portal
  • Short list of most recent news and report items as a module
  • Should display the date in EST time, unless the member has added a time zone to their dossier, in which case a converted time should be noted
  • Ability to have plain text or to add HTML (should be set as a default by DC members)
  • Number of comments should be shown
  • Comments system should be integrated into the Message Board system. Comments should become threads in a forum locked to only the comments system. These should count as regular posts toward post counts.
  • Members should have a layout option that lets them view news by headlines or in the current extended version. Headline news will be displayed with the news title being a link to display the full story. This should default to the extended version and saved as default when changed.
  • Reports should show up as news at the appropriate date and time
     
• News Archive
  • Should have the option of choosing a month or a date range.
  • News Archive should be condensed to display news titles and authors. This should lead to links to the full stories.
  • Should have ability to find news based on position
  • Should have ability to find news based on name

• Join Form
  • Should ask for Dark Jedi First Name and Surname, Email address, Order, and the dossier number of their recruiter
  • The Join form should check for any banned names, such as Darth, Luke, Shadow, Vader, etc. It should also check for reserved names such as registered family and clan names. These should pull from a database.
  • Orders should be explained with a brief paragraph. Easily referenced material should be available through popups when any order is clicked.
  • Remove Step 3: Brief History
  • Instead of asking directly for a parents email, we need to have a date field that asks for their age. If they submit a date that puts them under the age of 13, it should ask for their parent's email address. Parents should be emailed automatically with notification that their child has joined
  • Upon completing the form, and email should be sent to the new member, MAA, HM, GM, and DGM with confirmation code and information.
  • A page is needed to submit the confirmation and activate the dossier
  • Upon dossier activation, two emails should be sent to the new member, Ccing the Roster group. The first should have general dark brotherhood information from the MAA. The second should be Shadow Academy information from the HM.

• About Page
  • More detailed information about activities in the brotherhood needs to be given.
  • A form for contacting the Dark Council with questions needs to be available from this page.
  • The mission and vision should be displayed on this page.
     
• Login Page
  • Login page should contain the code that lets it redirect to its referrer. If, for example, someone tries to access someone's dossier, after the login the member should be brought to the dossier, not the admin page.
  • Should have the option of staying logged in on a computer indefinitely.
     
• Layout Options
  • Should not be an option to casual visitors
  • This should be available to members upon logging in.
  • Cookies should be set to display when not logged in.
  • Options should default based on a person’s unit and order when there are different templates
     
• Requests
  • The database should be run on a system of requests. Every thing that is done through the database is a "Request" and should be subject to request rules.
  • Members should be able to view the status of any request they have pending through the database.
  • If a request has been sitting for more than 1 week, the member should be given the option to renew the request. This will send out an email to whoever is supposed to be reviewing the request and their superiors.
     
• Challenge Request Denial
  • If a request is denied, the requester should be given the option of refuting the denial by sending a reason to the superior of the person who denied it.
  • If the superior agrees, the request will be processed through their stage.
  • If the superior disagrees, the request will be completely denied. There is no recourse beyond the second denial.
     
• Recommendation Requests
  • All recommendations should require a word count. For small recommendations a smaller count would be required. The relevant DC members should have override on this.
  • Upon recommendation, the approval should flow through the chain of command up unto the MAA
  • Any superior should have the ability to override the need for subordinate approval. For example, the MAA can approve any medal request at any time, but this would not be a default option.
  • A FAQ about relevant recommendations should be readily available from the page. This should bring up the DSC listing of the item and any FAQs and policies about it that are in place.
  • Types

• Medal

• Rank Elevation

• Title
   

• Other Requests
  • Requests needing Approval

• Name Change

• Should check for naming violations just like the join form

• Old names should be stored for reference

• Email Change

• Should check for valid email addresses

• Before changing the address, an unsubscribe mail should be sent to all unit mailing accounts from the member’s old address

• After changing the address, a subscribe mail should be sent to all unit mailing accounts that the member needs to be a part of

• Units with mailing accounts

• Clans

• Houses

• BattleTeams

• Dark Council

• Dark Summit (Dark Council, Consuls, and ProConsuls)

• Star Chamber

• Societies (ACC, Guilds, CoG)

• Order Change

• Position Appointment

• Position appointments can come from within other units of the brotherhood

• Position Appointments should be approved through the chain of command

• Upon approval, the member’s mailing list accounts should be changed to reflect any unit movement

• Prestige Effect should be calculated

• Leaders should be able to swap the person holding a position by filling out a single form instead of removing the old then adding the new

• Unit Transfer

• Should require approval by the destination unit. The Former unit should be notified

• Upon approval, the member’s mailing list accounts should be changed to reflect any unit movement

• Prestige Effect should be calculated

• Bans must be able to be put upon some members from rejoining certain clans

• GoA Request

• Members should get this ability when they reach GRD

• o     They should be notified of this new ability

• This should have the ability to upload crest image

• HRLD should receive the request for the GoA.

• HRLD should be able to upload new GoA to dossier and have it update automatically

• Upon approval, Prestige Effect should be calculated

• History Change

• Force the approver to click on the history before approving it

• Competition Approval

• The type of submission to the competition (graphic, fiction, poem, run-on, etc.) should be chosen

• Large-scale competitions should be associated with lower competitions, referred to as events.

• The number of awards given at the competition end should be dictated here, as well as the type of award for each placement.

• Recurrence of competitions over a period of time should be allowed

• Approvals should feed directly into the events center.

• MAA should be allowed to edit competition requests as they come in for minor changes.

• People running competitions should be able to log back in and say who won, and then the database should automatically give out the awards.

• Submission Approval

• Requests not needing approval

• Skills Change

• Games List Change

• Saber Change

• Prestige Effect should be calculated

• Password Change

• Character Sheet Change

• Other Requests

• New Unactivated members

• o     The Roster personnel should be able to view new unactivated members in the following categories

• Waiting for code confirmation

• Confirmation not sent after 2 days

• If the member has sat in the first category for more then 48 hours they move here

• In this category, the roster personnel has the option of re-sending the confirmation codes and welcome emails

• Confirmation re-sent

• Once the confirmation is re-sent the members move here

• The roster personnel have the option of deleting a member after they have been here for 5 days
   

• Approve Requests
  • Requests should be displayed in six categories

• Waiting for Subordinate approval

• If a member below the user needs to approve the request, it shows up in this category.

• User may have the option in this category of overriding the need for approval. In that case, the request is moved into their pending request category.

• Subordinate Requests Overdue

• If a subordinate’s request is more than 3 days old, it show up here

• User may have the option in this category of overriding the need for approval. In that case, the request is moved into their pending request category

• Requests Pending Action

• This displays a list of requests that need action from the user

• Overdue requests

• This displays a list of requests that have been needing attention for more than 3 days

• Waiting for Superior Approval

• This lists requests that have been approved by the user and are waiting for superior approval

• Superior Requests overdue

• This lists requests that have been approved by the user and have not been taken care of within 3 days

• The user can have an option of “reminding the superior about the request.” This will also alert higher authorities.

• All request pages should work on radio buttons so that the actions on each request can be taken care of using one submit
• Any request that is tracked on a member’s history outline should be accordingly added.
   
• View Approved/Denied Requests
  • Administrators should be able to view the requests that they have previously approved/denied or that have been approved/denied from their position.
  • Administrators should be able to view these requests by individual, rank, position, unit, day or month
     
• Notifications
  • Members should have the option of receiving notifications via email as well as the website (website is a must
  • Notification types

• New Administration functionality added

• Feedback waiting

• Approvals waiting
   

• View Competitions
  • Members should have the ability to view competitions by unit, member, position
  • Members should be able to view the competitions they can participate in
  • Members should be able to view competitions they have participated in
  • By clicking on a competition, it should show the full details, including who participated, who won, and have links to the relevant submission files.

• Submissions
  • Members should have the ability to submit to competitions or to the Dark Voice
  • Types of submissions

• Scores

• Score submissions should be directed to a competition or event.

• Should designate platform

• This should be submitted by the winner of the match

• Relative forms for each platform should be displayed

• Score submissions should be available for team matches

• Text Documents

• Stories, poems and the like can be submitted to a competition through the website here.

• Stories should be restricted to .doc or .txt format.

• A naming convention for tracking these uploads must be used.

• Graphics

• Any graphics should be restricted to .jpg or .gif format

• All graphics should be resized to be a reasonable file size.

• Standard naming convention should apply

• Battles, Levels, Missions

• All battles should be zipped

• Should be associated with platform

• Standard naming convention should apply.

• Meeting logs

• Should be .txt format

• Should be associated with unit

• Standard naming convention should apply

• Upon submitting, the relative groups in charge of the competition or event should be notified of the new item.
   
• View submissions
  • Members should be able to view submissions by member, unit, time, position, rank, competition, or event
  • Score records should be kept on dossiers

• Members should have the option of whether or not this shows up on their dossier.

• Polls
  • Most Recent poll should show up on the main page
  • Members should have notification on their main page of what polls they have available to vote in
  • Polls should be available for restriction to Rank, Unit, Order or Position

• Poll Results
  • Scores should be listed right next to the option caption instead of listing the captions and then the scores.
  • Any requirement for voting in the poll should be listed (for example: Krath Only)

• Send Feedback
  • Feedback should work into the message board system instead of email.
  • Members should be able to view previous feedback
  • Members should be notified of replies
  • Feedback notifications should be sent to the relative group of members depending on the feedback category selected

• Notifications should stay present until the member has clicked to read the feedback, and until someone has replied.

• Feedback categories

• General Question

• Recipients: Dark Council Main Body and Advisors

• General Feedback

• Recipients: Dark Council Main Body and Advisors

• Shadow Academy Question

• Recipients: Member’s Superiors, HM, DGM, Order Leader, GM

• Site Enhancement suggestion

• Recipients: Website Crew, GM

• Site Bug Report

• Recipients: Website Crew, GM

• Report Administration
  • Allow Members to set a preference that defaults some HTML or pure HTML
  • Remove the need for a password to submit the report
  • Upon submissions, a notification should be sent to the superiors of the person submitting the report.
  • The count of the report should be displayed at the top of the page.
     
• View Reports
  • The members should be able to list reports by member, unit, position
  • Position should be the default
  • There should be a list of the most recent reports from every position

• Calendar
  • Calendar should be present as a module in a month format. Days with events should be highlightable and clickable
  • Events should be added mainly through the competition center and calendar tools
  • Recurrence of events should be allowed

• Manual Dossier Administration
  • Any administration done through these forms should be added to history outlines.

• Roll
  • A page should be added for roster breakdown where a person can see on one page the number of members in each unit.

• Dark Council
  • Link the descriptions to those in a database for easy united updates.

• IRC
  • Javascript chat program should be more visible

• Statistics
  • Statistics on roster updates, medals and such should be searchable by different characteristics
  • In medal statistics, display what the weekly totals were for each medal (just the ones awarded.)
  • Don’t list the reason for medals and promotions unless a person clicks on the link (popup?)
  • Allow for statistics to take a date range.
  • Members should be able to view statistics based on a unit, whereas a QUA can see everything done by his members over a certain date range.
  • Add competitions statistics for approved, denied, unit etc.
     
• Chamber of Justice Functionality
  • Probation System

• Holds a Start of Term/End of Term/Conditions of Term space

• Promotions/Medals for people on Probation should have to go thru the JST.

• Any member center changes need be approved by CoJ when on probation.

• Lockout Access, the JST (and GM/DGM for that matter) should be able to lock out someone's access to DJB.org
• Demotion ability
• Remove Medals, access to Remove Medals.
• Jury Selection: Script to randomly select 20 Active members DJK+, Active meaning in Clan.
• Anonymous Complaint section that allows people to submit complaints to the CoJ directly.
• IP Tracking: Somewhere log every person's last used IP, especially important for SA tests.
   
• New Dossier additions
  • Titles

• Member should be able to choose from the titles they have been awarded

• Personal image

• Should fit naming convention

• Should be sized to fit the website with a reasonable file size

• Country flag
   
• Member Leave of Absence
  • The database should be able to track LoAs of members
  • Members should be able to pass the functionality of their position on to another member in the case their absence for a period of more than a week
     
• Unit Dossier Additions
  • Unit banner/logo images
  • IRC channel w/direct link to IRC applet
  • Unit history
     
• Shadow Academy Additions
  • Automatic SA staff roster based on the EP settings (ask Kaiann)
  • Possibility for multiple choice questions
  • Possibility to set long/short answer for exams (yielding one line entry field vs. larger field)
  • Fractional point scoring
  • Stats page that shows candidate scores in handy steps (100%, 95-99, 90-94, ..., 70-74, 65-69, 60-64, 50-59, 40-49, ... 1-9, 0%) per course
  • Honor roll: All 100% scores on a course (public page)
  • Different pass levels for different courses
     
• DB Timeline
  • A timeline should be built for DB use
  • DGM and GM should have ability to add events to the timeline
     
• Order of Battle
  • Functionality for carrying the DB order of battle should be added (RPG stuff?)

• ADDITIONAL NOTES
  • Order Websites should be linked from the main DB page
  • IRC applet should be prominently linked from the main page (module perhaps?)

• Maybe a field could be given on the main page that says “Enter a nickname and connect to DB members now.” When submitted, it would automatically launch the applet with that nick.

• Join button should be more prominent
• Functionality for robust ladder system for competitions

‡† Section V - Operation: Orderless †‡

Largely completed operation. Most of the houses in the brotherhood have move to orderless structures. What follows is the original proposal. Please note that we have chosen not to use Circles as a common entity across the brotherhood.

When Houses and Clans were first introduced to the Dark Brotherhood, the basic unit of the Dark Brotherhood was the various Battleteams. These Order-specific battleteams made up multi-order Houses. Clans were a collection of two or more Houses which were ruled by a Consul and Proconsul. This system allowed the Dark Brotherhood to grow in activity and strength, providing a tiered structure of reinforced activity. At the lowest level, each Battleteam was important to its House, as they were the contingent of members of that Order that the House would field.  This made the importance of Battleteams far more significant. Membrs were introduced to the responsibilities of leadership at the earlier levels, and they were accustomed to working with all three orders at the House summit level rather than the clan summit level.

Today’s system uses a much different version of the Clan-House system.  Clans are made up of 3 Houses, one of each Order, with up to three Battleteams from a given Order inside each House.  This system massively devalues the worth of a Battleteam. As Houses then become giant units of a single Order, it becomes the job of the Quaestor to administer the House, managing every one of the members.  While many Quaestors are able to handle this task, it also creates a disconnect between the membership and the leadership. Rather than working directly with a small number of membership, the Quaestor of the House has disorganized groups sometimes as large as 26 to work with. The large number of members creates a distinct possibility for someone to be “lost” between the cracks. Beyond that, it also limits the possibility of competition inside a Clan.  Since each House is Order-specific, it is nearly impossible to hold competitions between houses inside a Clan, and due to the fact that Battleteams are largely defunct, they are completely ineffective for holding competitions except in a very small number of Clans.

It is for that reason I present the beginning of a restructuring operation that would return, in large part, to the previous multi-order system used in the Dark Brotherhood. While many are against this idea for various reasons, I think it is quite clear that it is necessary. One of the largest problems the Dark Brotherhood currently faces is the near complete uselessness of the Battleteam unit. This restructuring will place for focus on a smaller unit of people, increasing the opportunity for leadership experience within the Dark Brotherhood while simultaneously increasing communication through all levels of the Dark Brotherhood. It will also be a conductor for intra-clan competitions that pin house verse house. Furthermore, the word “Battleteam” is disliked throughout the Dark Brotherhood for its lack of originality. For this reason, as well as hoping to keep a more “Dark Jedi” feel to the organization, I recommend we rename the Battleteam unit to Circle.

† Definitions and Structure of Each Unit †

The Circle

The Circle, formerly the Battleteam, is the basic unit of the Dark Brotherhood.  This unit is made up of members of a single Order.  However, each Order-specific Circle has a different name.  First, there is the Sith Flight(More fitting than squadron for reasons below :P).  Second, there is the Obelisk Brigade(possible rename- Phalanx).  Third and final is the Krath Phyle. 

Each Circle, regardless of Order, is made up of a single leader who is in charge of the maintenance of communication between members, internal competitions, and membership admissions/instruction within the Circle.  The title of this leader varies depending upon the Order for which the Circle belongs.  Leaders of Sith Circles are Commanders, while Obelisk are Sergeants and Krath are Tetrarchs.

Membership in a Circle provides the base level of activity throughout the Brotherhood. Ideally, the most competitions in the Brotherhood are run at the Circle level of structure, ranging from competitions between Circles, to internal tests of skill and activity.  Circles would hold as many as 10 members, but for a Circle existing with a House (see below), the ‘recommended’ size is 6 members.  Due to the nature of the Brotherhood currently, a flexible size of Circles is necessary as to not leave “the odd man out.”  This means that in certain cases the size of a Circle may be temporarily increased.  However, keep in mind that one does not need to be a member of a Circle in order to participate in DB-wide Competitions.  This allows for an opportunity for each Circle to set (reasonable) joining requirements of members, instead of just having the Circle be a place to dump “everyone” in a Clan.

Circles exist in Independent Clans, and in Houses inside of Clans.  Under the structure of an Independent Clan(as detailed later), the Circle leaders report directly to the Consul.  They work with the Consul to coordinate Clan-wide activities that their Circles can participate in.  However, only one Circle of a given Order can exist within the structure of an Independent Clan.

The House

The House is the competition unit of the Dark Brotherhood.  Compromised of one Circle of each Order, the House is lead by a Quaestor.  Aedile could be kept, but it may not be needed.  Furthermore, each House is allotted one Auxiliary Summit position, in which they may name any member in the House not already on the Clan or House summit to a position that they can completely define.  This feature would be added to djb.org, including the ability to name the position by the Quaestor and/or Consul.

As mentioned before, each House would be made up of no more and no less than one Circle of each Order with a maximum of 6 to 10 members each.  Upon transferring into a House, members are automatically placed into the Circle of their respective Order if space is available if they complete any possible pre-reqs of being in that Circle, as mentioned above.  Should the member wish to leave the Circle, they will not be able to participate in any competitions open to Circles, though they are still able to participate in any competition on the Dark Brotherhood level.

Houses would be involved in a multitude of competitions.  These competitions would include Rites of Supremacy at the House level, where the Houses could battle for titles.  They would also participate in competitions inside the Clan they are part of, where the Houses inside a Clan would compete.

Houses would exist within a Clan, as detailed below in the Clans section.  During Clan feuds, the Houses would fight for their Clans.  Furthermore, Houses would not have individual possessions beyond what they are assigned by their Clans.  The Quaestor would then be able to assign these possessions to individual Circles for their ‘fictional’ use.

The Clans

Each of our existing Clans would be brought down to two Houses, or made into an Independent Clan.  Each of these Houses would function as described above, while an Independent Clan will be mentioned shortly.  Each Clan would have a Consul, a Proconsul, and one non-summit Auxiliary member of the summit in any of the Houses with a position description and name designed by the Consul and/or Proconsul.  Again, this feature would be supported on djb.org as talked about above.

Independent Clans are clans which have no Houses.  These Clans are made up of one Circle of each Order, with the Circle leaders reporting directly to the Clan Summit.  Each of these Circles act as any other Circle, however, Independent Clans can not participate in Right of Supremacies at the House-level, as they have no Houses.  Members may belong to Independent Clans without belonging to a Circle, though it is recommend that any active member of the Dark Brotherhood not in a summit position join a Circle.  If any Independent Clan reaches a size where it can function with two separate Houses, it will Clan to a Housed Clan with two Houses as detailed above.

Clans would compete against each other as they do in the Dark Brotherhood now.  Furthermore, they would own possessions and be able to assign them to use by a House or in the case of an Independent Clan, its Circles.  The House may then be able to assign these possessions to Circles, as they see fit.  At any time, the Consul may change where these items are assigned. 

‡† Section VI - Operation: Prestige †‡

      Please note: Almost all of the numbers here have changed or are subject to change.

Almost all Dark Jedi are selfish at heart, and motivated little by loyalty or honor.  Instead, Dark Jedi seek power, influence, and control over others. It is for that reason, that a system of Prestige is to be implemented into the Dark Brotherhood.  This system is designed to represent an individual (and, indeed, a Clan's) influence over others.

† What is Prestige? †

The need for power and influence is what drives a Dark Jedi.  For the purposes of the Brotherhood, the representation of the influence of a particular Dark Jedi (or Clan) is represented by their Prestige.  The amount of influence (Prestige) a character has is based off of his rank, his position, and any medals he has earned. Prestige would accumulate in a number of ways, through systems already existent in the Dark Brotherhood.  Whenever a member is awarded a medal, they receive prestige appropriate to the medal (or add-on).  Whenever a member is appointed to a position, they gain the prestige of that position.  Whenever a member is promoted, they gain the prestige of that rank.  Members can also lose prestige by transferring clans, leaving positions or through CoJ convictions.

† What can Prestige be used for? †

Prestige is never "used." Prestige directly relates to the purchasing and training access a member has within the DB. For instance, a member with a certain level of prestige can have access to buy, and possibly customize, a personal fighter, transport or weapon for use in role-playing and other areas of the DB. A person with a lower prestige would not have this item available to him. This represents the need to have connections and power in order to obtain certain things.  This offers exciting options for the customization of games by Dark Brotherhood members.  As the system develops, we will be able to easily add new items to the list of what can be obtained.

† Prestige and Clans †

Clans, as well as individuals, will have a Prestige rating.  A clan's prestige rating will be roughly based upon the average of the prestige members of their Clan plus the total number of members the Clan has, using the following formula:

( 2(Average Prestige of Members) + Number of Members – (Number of Houses)*3 ) 17

This formula was chosen due to the fact it awards Clans with larger membership numbers, yet also keeps the Prestige of Clans fairly close together, so that there would not be great disparity between Clans that were hurt a lot from the separation, versus Clans that weren’t hurt so much.  The Prestige clans have work in much the same way that it does for individuals, in that having a certain prestige will allow a Clan to purchase certain items.  Clans, however, have a different list of items to choose from. These include larger star-ships, advanced armor and weaponry that will (generally) be out of reach of the average member due to the amount of influence needed.

† Rank Prestige Values †

† Merit Award Values †

† Competition Medal Values †