I think its fair to say that not everyone is looking for the same thing, Test offers choice. If its not special for you there are other homes out there (smaller). Its been fun so far!
What is so special about TEST Squadron?
- Thread starter Montoya
- Start date
Darth_Razor
Admiral
It just feels like home, "and that's all I have to say about that..."
It's a great group of people. All ages, all different backgrounds, from all over the world. We're tolerant, laid back and kinda have it in the back of our heads that we could get stuff done (maybe) if we wanted to. If not so great people join, they just don't end up feeling comfortable because were just not like that, so they end up leaving on their own accord. Or banned. Some get banned. As is tradition. It's clearly a dictatorship so the hierarchy is pretty moot. Glorious leader is the beacon that drives us forward. TEST doesn't take TEST seriously unless TEST gets serious about being serious. If you really want to answer this question, you just gotta join and hang around for a while. You'll see.
For me, it's the fact that we are allowed to disagree on things, and have civilized discussions without ban waves.
As for the rest of it, @Jolly_Green_Giant summed it up pretty well!
As for the rest of it, @Jolly_Green_Giant summed it up pretty well!
I think another big plus for TEST is we cover most types of communication - If you like reddit, there is a TEST reddit for you, if you like Forums well you are in the right place, If you Discord or Tweet, again you are covered.
Some communication methods are not as big a user-base as others but TEST speaks the way that most people prefer to talk. I don't Discord, don't Reddit, rarely Tweet and don't chat-room much, but i'm on the forum every single day. I know there are hundreds of members who never come on the forum but drown discord every day.
I feel this is one of the things TEST got right early on.
Some communication methods are not as big a user-base as others but TEST speaks the way that most people prefer to talk. I don't Discord, don't Reddit, rarely Tweet and don't chat-room much, but i'm on the forum every single day. I know there are hundreds of members who never come on the forum but drown discord every day.
I feel this is one of the things TEST got right early on.
GinjaNinja
Grand Admiral
What makes Test Squadron so special?
The Test Squadron members of course!
The Test Squadron members of course!
We have beer and we have @Blind Owl .....
We don't have a lot of rules, some unwritten, a mod will explain you kindly when you brake a rule and even better, he will also explain why that rule exists. One big unwritten rule however is to treat everybody with respect. You may throw with shit as long as you do it for fun and the catcher sees the humor of it an can accept it. Even for me, a not native english speaker, it sometimes got confusing, but a simple pm helps a lot to resolve things.
.... ow, the guys on the other side of the pond don't have any beer, luckily I live on the safe side of the pond. :beers::beers::beers:
We don't have a lot of rules, some unwritten, a mod will explain you kindly when you brake a rule and even better, he will also explain why that rule exists. One big unwritten rule however is to treat everybody with respect. You may throw with shit as long as you do it for fun and the catcher sees the humor of it an can accept it. Even for me, a not native english speaker, it sometimes got confusing, but a simple pm helps a lot to resolve things.
Yeap, I saw that happen a few times, but to be honest: the big unwritten rule. I completely agree with this kind of bans. Even if it was unsure, the "dictatorship" was kind enough to explain the why and it always made sense.
On the reverse, What about Test may be negative to eventual in-game play?
I will start with;-
1. Out of 17,000 members, large numbers are people who just joined/affiliated and will never play a part,
2. The membership is so large that we will probably fragment into multiple groups with separate agendas, a common goal is probably required. IE a home system/world or a larger strategic goal.
I will start with;-
1. Out of 17,000 members, large numbers are people who just joined/affiliated and will never play a part,
2. The membership is so large that we will probably fragment into multiple groups with separate agendas, a common goal is probably required. IE a home system/world or a larger strategic goal.
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All good points you know. Including some negatives, but still, I don't see them as negatives necessarily. It's all part of the evolution of the org, as well as game. Once we finally get org tools in-game it should become a lot more clear. What I like though, is there isn't a "manifesto". Some of the other large org's have said things like "Lawful good", "role play only", "we are evil incarnate" etc. Test said, "Have fun". To me, that's huge. The group is big enough to have a lot of diversity in game play, I think without fracturing.
What I want to know though, is this. This site's home page says there are 5K and change members. That means there are 12K other members we don't really know. Does that mean there are 12K affiliates, or is it more like 12K members who aren't quite sure what to do? I think it's probably a mix, with numbers leaning toward the latter - but I do think it would be healthy to reach out to them... but then we have the lack of org tools in the game or RSI website to even figure that out.
What I want to know though, is this. This site's home page says there are 5K and change members. That means there are 12K other members we don't really know. Does that mean there are 12K affiliates, or is it more like 12K members who aren't quite sure what to do? I think it's probably a mix, with numbers leaning toward the latter - but I do think it would be healthy to reach out to them... but then we have the lack of org tools in the game or RSI website to even figure that out.
Some members prefer discord, some prefer spectrum, some are sleeping members. I for examle use the forums a lot but use dscord for ingame comms. Too shy to go to general chat. People chatter too much for me and mostly I end up only listening, but that is ok in TEST, everbody gets accepted like he is.
Well I certainly get that. I don't have a real preference. My problem with Discord has been, it doesn't share audio very well with Bluetooth. Everything else does, but the moment I connect to DIscord with a wireless headset, all I get is Discord. Anyone have ideas how to work around that? Other than using a wired headset? (I have like 4 computers on my desk, and a dead KVM - so it gets very full of wires.)
Shadow Reaper
Space Marshal
Amen to that. How many of us have been part of groups that were filled with gaming tyrant drama?
I take myself sseriously. I just don't take YOU seriously.
No, but seriously, this Kenlee has it right. Why else focus on Auroras and skunky beer?
Absolutely. The biggest selling point is we have fun, even when we're not flying.
The cat herding metaphor is used often by people trying to rationalize a lack of leadership. The truth is, to accomplish great goals, you need to create vision and that turns people into more a pack of dogs than a herd of cats. I think the genius behind Montoya's leadership is he seems to know when to lead and when not to. We don't have a game yet. We may see great goals created in the future, but we're not all off fretting and planning and plotting about them. We're having fun first and that is really what playtime is all about. There is still some room for some goals though--and you can't crew a Javelin or Bengal without them.
As long as I can still lick my arse or claw up the sofa a bit i don't mind at all.
You can lick your arse as long as you like and as much as you like in Test Squadron as far as I'm concerned. That's the beauty of it. Just ... don't stand in front of a trade terminal while you do.
Sounds like a windows problem. I used some cheap bluetooth headset, but quaity also was cheap, but it worked. Now i use a single ear wired call center headset. TrackIR also wired connected. Now people only complain about my accent..... well, as a non-native English I do my best, even if I sound like crap :grin:
Well, you do pretty well. From what I remember you sound like a colleague of mine from Rotterdam. Actually he's from Surinam but he's working in Rotterdam. Last time he was here, we went to dinner at some posh restaurant (there actually are some in Houston, believe it or not). There was a tree frog on the dashboard of the car when we came out, and he grabbed it and exclaimed "Asshole" as he threw it out the window. I laughed... "Now I know how to say the word Frog in Dutch". He didn't miss a beat, said, Naw... that's German for frog. In Dutch, it's Krikker.
Simply put it's the people...
Oh, and the beer definitely the beer.
Oh, and the beer definitely the beer.
