Outbreak in 2016

[Wist 376]

OUTBREAK IN 2016

As part of the groundwork for OB as we continue to expand in the future, we're beginning a series of overhauls and changes to our power structure, server system, forums and position in the Counter-Strike community. These changes will be fairly drastic in their nature, but are being put in place to streamline and cultivate our little corner of the internet, making it a better, more accessible place for everyone.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To begin our journey going forward we say goodbye to... well, me. I've been with Outbreak for three years and hopefully made this place a little fairer, a little more fun, and a little better for everyone. But I'm an old, wrinkled man now and so my time has come to step back and away from Outbreak in terms of administration. I've had an absolute blast, and I'm sure I'll be back to say hello at points. I'll step back away from Co-Owner and fall into the Veteran rank - Conor will steer our ship alone.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RANKS

The ranks have remained in place for roughly three years now, but we're going to tweak and redefine them a little bit to better reflect on our now aging community, starting at the bottom:

Donator:

Group definition: "Donators are those who have contributed their money to keep Outbreak's servers running. Donators have access to the "Outbreak Club" section of the forum, and have priority during events alongside members. The donator rank will be purged three months or so of inactive players. It has the least precedence in the community - if a donator becomes a member, they will be listed as the latter.

In real terms: No real change here. Donators will be purged every three months, mostly as the group is chock full of people who donated two years ago and then aren't around anymore. If you are active, you will not lose your donator.

Veteran:

Group definition: Outbreak members who have been member for two years or more, but have stepped back from membership. As a sign of their loyalty and contribution to the community, they are placed in the Outbreak Veteran rank. Veterans receive full benefits of member and can never be removed.

In real terms: If you're member for two years you'll never lose it, unless you are SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY banned (like multihacking.) You'll be eligible for Veteran after being member for two years. This will not take priority over member, and is only bestowed after membership ceases.

Member:

Group definition: "The members of our community - the life and soul of Outbreak. They have passed their one week trial, and have priority access for events and previews of Outbreak. A member must be active and involved in the community, and their membership is given on a rolling basis. For those who have been member for two years or more, they will be moved to veteran rank, from which they will never be removed. Members make or break the community - they make an atmosphere that is fun and enjoyable to be in, and are expected to represent Outbreak whilst playing.

In real terms: The first of our big changes - splitting the member rank in two. Being a member is no longer a one-stop-shop: We'll expect more from members continuously (FYI, the VAST majority of current members are currently fine) to be involved with the community, the servers, teamspeak and forums. We'll provide more opportunities for the member core to become involved, equally, by opening the event floor to members - meaning they'll be able to run events. From now on, you'll need a month of activity on the forum before you'll be eligible to apply for member. This will apply from after today to take effect.

Moderators:

Group definition: The lowest level of staff in Outbreak. Moderators have power to administrate the servers, make decisions concerning kicks, mutes, bans and basic issues. They can access, add, remove and edit bans. Moderators are entrusted with the power to make bans without submitting any evidence. They consist of exemplary members who have demonstrated the maturity and integrity for the role. Moderators are expected to run events and work together with all of the admin team to help run the community.

In real terms: No big change. Moderators moderate.

Senior Moderators:

Group definition: "Moderators who have shown integrity and efficiency and are entrusted with more power, but more responsibility. They have greater immunity, and directly oversee members of the Moderator team. They work to maintain the servers, appoint new moderators, advise on membership and assist with some decisions made by the admin team as a whole.

In real terms: We'll be tying the senior moderators more closely to their fellow moderators and introducing some new responsibilities for them. Senior moderators will have slightly more to do, unfortunately.

Administrators:

Group definition: Administrators lead the various teams, and each will have a direct focus - either tech or community. They lead the community in most things, and will make announcements, deal with issues, moderate on disputes or bans, respond to any complaints, and work with the Owner closely to steer the community. Each administrator will oversee some of the senior moderator team in their work, and will be capable of making decisions on their own that must be followed by those underneath them.

In real terms: No real change, but the administrators will be clearly defined in their roles. You'll be able to know and understand who to go on specific problems, and each administrator will have an obvious specialisation. Their work should be fairly disconnected, but for a greater whole.

Owner:

Group definition: The head of the community. The Owner makes decisions for and as Outbreak, and is assisted by the staff as a whole.

In real terms: No changes here.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SERVERS

Oh-ho the times, they are a-changin'...

The Outbreak Jailbreak server has, by all metrics, been a huge success. We're delighted with its progress, and so we'd like to continue to expand the community's reach, and so we plan on opening two servers.

We'd like to open a new server, and we're looking out for what gamemode it will be - The server will need to be customisable (eg not a Battlefield server) and allow OB to inject its personality into it. Suggestions are welcome. We're not necessarily CS:GO locked.

The second server will be the much vaunted Minecraft server, and will be open initially to Outbreak members. It will be a vanilla server and will have a dedicated forum section for it, including a getting started guide.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Forums:

Our last major overhaul will be of the forums, which are in due for some updates. The new forums will be a significant improvement over our current ones, and will introduce a variety of useful new features, including but not limited to:

-A shoutbox

-Being significantly faster

-Integration of social media, steam and other platforms

-Mobile optimisation

-Better image management

-New rank system

-Easier to use

-Plus loads more (seriously, there's bucketloads of features)

A few teasers:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE ROADMAP

Realistically speaking we'd love to have a new server running by December 2015 and into January 2016. It's not difficulty with setting up the server that's the issue - it's finding a gamemode that will generate a sustained and new playerbase that bring people into the community. We've had a fair few requests for minigames, but this is just one possible server amongst them all.

Therefore:

Jan 2016: New server established

March 2016: Recruitment drive! If the server is working, then it should have acquired a healthy playerbase by now. Grow the community by coaxing in new members.

June 2016: Examine our options again. If we reach June with two sustainable servers and a raft of new players, Outbreak will finally have enough growing power to just grow exponentially if this what you guys choose. Realistically, if Outbreak is able to populate two to three servers constantly on its own, the community will essentially become unstoppable, though far harder to control and more work-heavy.

After that: No way of telling. Right now, it's building that explosive growth potential that we are beginning to find.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We hope you look forward to this next chapter of OB as much as we do, and we're delighted to bring to you a new set of servers, ranks and forums for you all to enjoy!

Conor and Wist