Editor in Chief's Note |
Editorial |
Hi Everyone. This month, the From The Battlefield staff is proud to bring you yet another issue packed with TAW related information. We are in the process of expanding some pages and developing new ones such as NCOs On Parade. This page will spotlight regular TAW members from PFC to Master Sergeant. This page is built on the In The Scope platform with questions and answers that reflect some of the life of NCOs here in TAW as well as in the real world. We think it is a great way to spotlight parts of our community whose voices aren't heard as often as they should be.
Thanks to everyone for reading and for your feedback. READ ON and enjoy. Albenji NEWS DC NEWS Openings
At this time, NEWS is looking for TAW members who have the desire to write as freelance reporters, as well as staff reporters. Below is a brief description of both.
Freelance Reporter This position will let you maintain your present membership within your division. Your submission subject matter ranges from games reviews, tech reviews, or any other subject that is needed for the coming issue. This position is very flexible and for many a perfect way to contribute to the TAW community. If this sounds interesting, then please contact Albenji NEWS DC in TeamSpeak, or email me at [email protected] for additional information or questions. Staff Reporter This position would require an actual transfer from your present division to the NEWS Division in Operations. This is a full time position which requires experience in journalism, editing, proofing and other related skill sets. NEWS requires the member to be at least 17 years old, and we would like to see 1 year or more of active TAW membership. However, these can be modified for the right person. This person must be able to be flexible and work under pressure when needed, be reliable, and be part of a dedicated team. There are many benefits to being in NEWS, and if you enjoy flexibility, and a small dedicated team, then please contact Albenji NEWS DC in TeamSpeak, or email me at [email protected] for additional information or questions. |
The following editorial does not represent or reflect views or opinions of The Art of Warfare (TAW)
.Editorial: -Albenji -QuinoaAOC The Handshake Have you ever wondered what happened to the idea that a person’s word and a handshake was all that was needed to make something happen? Where I exist, in the working middle class of rural America, it’s still considered just as binding as any signed document and indeed, every country has areas where potential litigation is the least of a person’s worries when they break such an agreement. The old adage “an oral contract is as good as the paper it’s written on” immediately comes to mind when I think about life in this ever changing world and sometimes it causes me to wonder if a person’s word can still be seen as their bond. I, for one, believe that the answer to that question is yes. The idea that “a man’s word is his bond” and that through that bond, act and statement are inexorably linked is virtually timeless. Born from necessity in every culture and ethnicity, in antiquity one simply had to have faith in their fellows that they would do their part on the battlefield or the hunting grounds. It is a great irony that the same technology and society that ended the need for such honesty and trust are actually the same things that brought the need back. In gaming, the handshake has come full circle. Robert E Howard, creator of Conan, said it best: “Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.” The rules of society allowed for the dishonest people to escape immediate punishment for their transgressions as it was often more costly to bring about such punishment than the transgression warranted. The result was society developing more and more rules with harsher and harsher punishments designed to make the profit of such dishonesty pale in comparison to the risk. The place where this completely disappeared: The Internet. Every day we are bombarded by news stories about some teenager on Facebook who bullied another child to the point of harming themselves and how it is tied back to the separation from the reality of the damage being caused by the internet. We hear about people being able to use this cyber barrier to dehumanize others and to hide themselves from the ramifications of their actions. In gaming, we have all seen the hacker or the exploiter who willingly violates his EULA then dismisses the action with something to the effect of “what will they do? Ban me? I’ll just make another account!” The only way this can be countered is by players who agree to fair play as a whole. This is in fact a handshake agreement. Nothing legally binds us to each other as players. There’s no e-signed pdf contract that circulates throughout our servers that we can somehow enforce on other players. We simply shake hands and agree that we won’t do it or tolerate those who do, regardless of what “team” they’re on. That is, in essence, what TAW is. We are the largest handshake agreement in online gaming. No one from CIC to new recruit, from lifetime member to fire team leader is exempt from this agreement and we all abide by it. I am not so naive as to believe that some monolithic purity of word and deed exists in TAW. We’ve all had longtime friends who crossed the line and not batted an eye at their departure from our community. Why? Because in TAW our word is our bond and our adherence to fair play needs no lawyer and no court, no stamp, signature, or seal. I never get tired of having my faith in humanity rewarded each time I log in and see our community as a whole play, and I would like to believe we live by the integrity of a simple handshake agreement. Back ground courtesy of Smite
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