Hello everyone,
I'd like to give you an official update of what has been going on as of late, especially if you were unable to attend the monthly meeting. At this point in time, instead of now focusing where we are, this post will be reflective of my mindset, in that I am focusing on where we are going. To do that, I will illustrate the three main objectives I have highlighted that we will tackle in the upcoming weeks.
Objective 1 - StaffThe first objective and priority is to build the highest quality and dedicated Staff team possible. This requires the assessment by myself and the Advisors to weigh the quality of our Staff team. We're looking at level of dedication, level of activity, professionalism, community integration, and many other important factors. Doing so will take the form of an upcoming mandatory Staff meeting they are required to attend. I do not want or at this point in time intend to demote any of the current Staff, but rather to ensure this place or this level of leadership is right for them. I will work with the Staff to conquer their individual challenges and grow in the manners that is best for them.
This Staff meeting will be largely public. You'll see a post here soon. Everyone will be invited, and we are going to discuss some upcoming major decisions that we will need to make that will change the course of this clan. That being said, it only makes sense for the community to be there to weigh in their input. There will be an hour reserved prior for the Staff+ to have a private meeting before we go public, and that is when we'll talk about some of the important things I mentioned above. Edit:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=32854In addition, here shortly I will be promoting a number of new Staff that I personally believe can add a lot of value to this team, and what we need it to be. EDIT:
viewtopic.php?f=106&t=32855Objective 2 - ServersThe second objective is to expand our network of servers and activity. Of course, our latest Minecraft server has been a small success, supporting almost 100% of our population. I personally continue to work with, update, and improve the server on a daily basis if I can. I am considering expanding into this field, by expanding into a highly requested gamemode, that being Factions. This will take me some time to build, and it is not in the immediate list of priorities, but it will be worked on after the other things outlined in this thread are completed. I've already contacted some talented individuals who would be able to aid greatly in the development of this server.
Nick and Dave and their team continue to work on their G-mod Only War server that is coming up. This should add a lot of value to the diversity of our clan and hopefully bring in an influx of new members and potentially revenue. I am excited to be a part of the different gamemode with people who are very passionate about it.
In the next coming days, another team of individuals, who can identify themselves at a later time, will be given a server to work on a new CS:GO Jailbreak server. This is a huge opportunity field for us, and we are contemplating putting full effort into the server to replace CSS entirely, especially considering the game is free for everyone now.
I continue to be open to anyone who is willing to work on the TTT server. Please contact me or any of the Staff if this is something you would like to work on, as this is a much requested and highly regarded server for us.
Objective 3 - WebsiteThe third and last objective of the coming weeks is focus on the new website for EgN. We have reached the point where a new website is the key to re-establish a new face for EgN, bringing with it a number of changes we plan to implement that we will discuss at the Staff meeting I will post here soon. This is our opportunity to repave this clan in our image.
That being said, this does require a significant amount of funds. We currently have just less than $300 in the bank, thanks largely to the donors to the Minecraft server. I would like to have at least $500 in the bank before purchasing the website, which costs in total roughly $400 in licensing, plugins, themes, etc. I intend to purchase the website the day of the Staff meeting regardless of whether or not we have those funds or not, but obviously, while I'm open to doing it, that doesn't mean I want to pay $200 for this out of my own pocket, so I am asking for your help.
A thread will be posted here soon for suggestions, ideas, etc to facilitate discussion of the new website. Edit: Here is the thread:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=32853Other recent changesThere have been a few other recent changes I have decided to make.
The first is I have decided for the next few months, admin will be free for all CSS server for any Member+ wearing tags. Apply of the forums and we will review your application. Should we accept it, we will not require a donation (for now). This is to encourage players to play JB and other CSS server and be able to administrate it or even use admin for fun if that is what it takes to sustain a population.
The other change I have made is changing slightly how Private Teamspeak channels work. Ex-Staff will no longer receive a free Teamspeak channel, and new channels from here on out will now cost $45 to make and $15 a month to maintain. This is to decrease the incentive to purchase a channel on Teamspeak and encourage players to partake more in public channels, to tackle the "group" problem many of you have identified. We are still selling channels, however, because I still want to open that option to anyone who still does want a Teamspeak channel, and of course, it does generate revenue for us. Any channels that have been pre-paid will not be affected until their time runs out.
I will update this thread with the links to the threads I will create in the next few hours.
Thank you all once again for your faith in us and your patience. I am excited to be moving past the stage of struggle we are stuck in and leveraging this as an opportunity to become a stronger, larger, and more unified clan than ever before.
mattlikespie
