Of Praetorians and May 15th.

[Maiyu Abeyante]

This this this this this this this.

Competitiveness is what's always driven me in my career, but it's always been competitiveness with enemy militaries, not people or divisions on my own team. Really, we can't beat people we're fighting if we're trying to beat each other.

I wonder at times if our enlisted base isn't a little too sheltered from the rest of the community. With Ordo being a big multifaceted group as it is, it's entirely possible for a member to get caught up in feeling like it's a self-contained game of its own to be beaten, and that's where some of this internal nonsense comes from.

To be honest, internal competitiveness is the unavoidable result of when you have an organization of people and you label one part "elite" and the rest "normal". Naturally those who are labeled "normal" feel the desire to compete with the "elite" to prove themselves good enough to be elite or what have you.

I'm not saying it was designed to be that way, or that it should be that way, but it's the unintended side effect when you essentially label one section of people within your group as 'better'. That was one problem I noticed in Erebus in regards to it's elite unit, Death. People who were not apart of Death generally viewed Death negatively and always tried to outshine them and compete with them lol.

I'm not saying that you need to do away with Elite Units or what not, just that a degree of internal competitiveness is generally unavoidable when you label some people as such. You can spout real-world military examples of how that doesn't happen but really that'd be incorrect and you'd have to stop and take a step-back and realize that this isn't a real life military and that at the end of the day, we're all just playing a video game. Video Games by their own nature are competitive and while it might seem dumb for people to compete within their own organization, it happens. Just like you have people in the United States Military that go "SUCH AND SUCH BRANCH IS BETTER THAN SUCH AND SUCH BRANCH."

That's my opinion, anyways. I personally don't feel the need to compete with the "Elite" squads but I'm just offering up a perspective as to how the internal competitiveness can come to rise. We might be one big happy family, but that doesn't mean people don't want to try and show each other up.

Imagine it like this. You're apart of a big family, you're all happy, but than your father proclaims your oldest sibling is his favorite or implies in any other way that said sibling is better than you. Sure, you all work toward the same goal, but you also end up wanting to prove that such-and-such sibling is not better than you.

tl;dr

Internal competition generally comes along with "You're elite" and "You're normal".

Edited May 19, 2011 by Maiyu Abeyante

[Aryte]

As far as I am concerned, everyone is "elite." Cohors Alpha and Praetorians are tailored toward folks who are actively engaged and have some specific traits that the general member isn't held towards. It's not about anyone being "better." It's about people who want to take the game more seriously and get more deeply involved.

[Arch Graves]

If it was all about being combat elite, I would like to point out a few of our members who are not praetorians, who would most likely kick any praetorians ass in a fair fight. Corsi, Lilium, and even myself to name a few. Praetorians are not just that because they are good at combat... if that were true Agares wouldn't be leading them. ZING :D

[Esva]

You know what, in my opinion Kishoshima said all that needed to be said. What is the point in being Second Life's best and most superior military force if we don't have the stones to back it up ?

Sure we get to flex our muscles and show our skill against the lonewalfer's who show up, and the full group raids or when we raid them, but at the end of the day when we go in or defend as a superior force you need to ask yourself "is this really helping me to improve ?", the problem is people are getting to complacent in being apart of a "superior" force who....since I have been in Ordo.... has NEVER lost titan from a defence standpoint. And I think that the training exercise pointed that out in a big way....we are getting to complacent...and this was the wake up call.

I can honestly say I have never fought such an adrenaline fought battle ever in my short time in the O.I...and I mean EVER!! and you know what.... I enjoyed the hell out of myself, it didn't matter if i was getting my ass handed to me on a plate on the ground, the lag as it got progressively worse...or when i was the only Astra pilot in the air for the last hour getting my ass handed to me again and again and again by Scarlet, because at the end of the day it made me realise "I am not as good as I think I am, I need to improve, I need to work harder". And it has also gone to prove that communication no matter if it is through IM's, World Chat or Vent is seriously poor and lacking in oh so many areas, it annoyed me to the point where I have to admit I got seriously frustrated because i had several different orders for air support in different locations while I was trying to keep the air clear, and it wasn't until I lost my cool and said ....rather bluntly..."Hey I am only one person, I cant handle it all myself so give me a single order and stick to it!!".... of course I feel badly about it now, but when you have so much unneeded chatter going on it is going to create a seriously stressful environment to work in...which is only adding to the problem.

So basically this is what I'm saying ......

It is a great thing that the Guard is holding this training sessions, it is showing all the cracks that need to be repaired rather than smoothed over. It is showing us that we are vulnerable and not as superior as we have come to think, and it is forcing us out of our happy little dream world of "oh we are the best we cant loose"....and we probably cant, but if we keep going at this rate it wont be the enemy that defeats us through skill or might...we will be handing them the victory because of an internal breakdown. We are the Ordo Imperialis, Astra, Terra, the Guard... it doesn't matter we are a single fighting, living, breathing organisation.....we need each other, we need to rely on each other to do the jobs we are meant to do.

Well Done to everyone in the Guard, Well done to every one on the defence (despite obvious problems).......

and my last message to everyone in the Guard .....

..... Thank you for showing me where and what I need to improve on, and for forcing me to realise I am not "Hot Stuff" and that I can be better...*Salutes every member of the guard*

[Aryte]

If it was all about being combat elite, I would like to point out a few of our members who are not praetorians, who would most likely kick any praetorians ass in a fair fight. Corsi, Lilium, and even myself to name a few. Praetorians are not just that because they are good at combat... if that were true Agares wouldn't be leading them. ZING :D

Is this another one of your funnies that isn't funny and is just generally rude?

[Arch Graves]

Is this another one of your funnies that isn't funny and is just generally rude?

I was more so trying to point out that being good at combat was not the only thing the guard is about, that it takes so much more, and making a crack at Agares, because he lags and it's funny. Also trying to prove that just because you are not in the guard doesn't mean you can't be a great fighter, or member. SEE I WAS AGREEING WITH YOU IN A ARCH WAY.

[Arch Graves]

Sure we get to flex our muscles and show our skill against the lonewalfer's who show up, and the full group raids or when we raid them, but at the end of the day when we go in or defend as a superior force you need to ask yourself "is this really helping me to improve ?", the problem is people are getting to complacent in being apart of a "superior" force who....since I have been in Ordo.... has NEVER lost titan from a defence standpoint. And I think that the training exercise pointed that out in a big way....we are getting to complacent...and this was the wake up call.

I was just wondering if you were around for Erebus' raids.

[Esva]

I was just wondering if you were around for Erebus' raids.

Mabye i should of phrased that a little better, I should of put "Each time I have been Online, and on the front line in defence of Titan, it has never fallen" ....but no matter how the fat is trimmed, the point still stands, i personally think people have just become to settled in the status quo, and these training excersises are just what we need to shake us up a little

[Aryte]

I was more so trying to point out that being good at combat was not the only thing the guard is about, that it takes so much more, and making a crack at Agares, because he lags and it's funny. Also trying to prove that just because you are not in the guard doesn't mean you can't be a great fighter, or member. SEE I WAS AGREEING WITH YOU IN A ARCH WAY.

Didn't want to assume.

[Agares Tretiak]

Oh look at me smile. See, I'm smiling. Arch, you make me laugh. Haha. Hahahaha.

When I finally get a good connection, I'm going to start beating you, Arch.

And I don't know when I'll stop.

[Ron Bleac]

Praetorians are not just that because they are good at combat... if that were true Agares wouldn't be leading them. ZING :D

Lmao. TAKE THAT, AGARES.

[Tiridates Mikadze]

If you like, I can come up with all kinds of completely unfair situations for the Praetorians to train against.

Just, if they win, nobody would be allowed to complain upon pain of horrible death.

Horrible, horrible death.

[Marcus Tinamou]

Look, all these sly and snarky comments, bickering and the latter will get us no where. There is only one way to settle this.....

Everyone to the dance floor.

[George Reisman]

My thoughts exactly, Marcus.

[Ookamiwulf Lemton]

I just want to make a point of saying; these things can be done in ventrillo with a bit of set up. (I know, because I have the combat channels set up like that for myself. I can talk across all combat team sub-channels allowing different squads to utilize different channels for easier coordination between them, and with phantoms in all channels I can hear and coordinate with them all.)

Just sayin'.

That be great idea if some one can listen to one overtalking to another, but I dont know how Ventrillo excatly works with phantoms D:

I thought the same sorta idea except, Have 3 squad leaders in each point, that way they can defend their area , PLUS the oic or ncoic woouldn't have to work a hell alot, cause I even have trouble guarding, giving orders, and making sure that certain points are secured.

Put it this way, Oic takes one squad, and the 2 sog would take the other squads.

and say if one area is taken over, and they can take it back, the leader of that squad can simply ask for few soldier from another squad, so that way the other squad can just tell 2 indivduals to help that squad. that way it can be more organized, more easyer to command a squad than the whole group!

[Altus Nirvana]

just gonna start talkin' about my idea like its yours huh? Gonna have to kill you now.

[Lanny Ansar]

Look, all these sly and snarky comments, bickering and the latter will get us no where. There is only one way to settle this.....

Everyone to the dance floor.

/>http://youtu.be/9Wl_uQOABxg

Watch this, and you will understand why I have to disagree.

[Agares Tretiak]

I was being sly or snarky?

:(

[Marcus Tinamou]

Of course not.

But do you think you can dance?

[Agares Tretiak]

...I used to dance...

[Tiridates Mikadze]

I'm only sly and snarky when I'm not allowed to solve the problem with a flamethrower.

Lots of flamethrower.

[Tsukiyomi Yuhara]

/topic

[Ookamiwulf Lemton]

/topic

gotta love that flame thrower

[Altus Nirvana]

[Crash Silverfall]

U guys are getting off the topic (i think)