Gears' Grand Master Re-Application

[Gears]

Steam Name

 Synr.gg | XGears

 

RP Name 

Grand Master Of The Order Yoda

 

Steam ID (SteamID Finder) 

STEAM_0:1:60934809

 

How many terms have you held the position?

 2 Terms

 

How do you feel your previous term went?

I believe it was a step up compared to my first term. We spent more time focusing on changes on the order rather than playing council politics. When it came to the plans I had, I didn't lose sight of my plans and focused on achieving my goals. A Lot of the changes we have made are going to benefit the order in the great way for months to come and even with that there is still a lot to do. I think I had a lot more control on what happened within the order and I have had more trust in my High Command and Masters, so in the end I feel alot positive about what I did compared to last time.

 

Why do you wish to remain a Grand Master of the Order?

I'm still focused on the role that I am in and I have no plans to slow down. Last time, I didn't want the order to break momentum and right now I think that's crucial for the order to stay on this track. My 2nd Term has helped me understand this role greatly and I've become stronger with that fact. I still have a lot to do and have many ideas for the order, I believe at this moment I am helping the council stay together, which is a change from last time while also doing what I set out in my previous applications. I believe if I was granted another term, I can improve the order again and also pave the way for people to succeed me.

 

Current availability

Mon-Sun: 12PM - 8PM EST

 

What are some of your achievements in the order during your past term?

 

Revamping and Improving the Big 4

On the very first week of my second Term I brought Cin Drallig back into the Big 4 and High Command and instead of previously him just being TGL, I returned him back to his branch overseer position to create a strong link between high command and Branch Leadership as it was weakened due to lack of direction. This helped us make progress towards the oncoming merit system and also created a fallback for the case of a branch that is losing activity and lastly having another member of High Command has helped greatly.

In the case for Shaak Ti, the position did not change all that much, Shaak Ti still remains as the Battalion Jedi overseer and the first line of contact for Battalion’s High Command and Jedi related issues within Battalions. We removed Regimental Jedi and put full power back into Shaak Ti. The Role of Shaak Ti has currently been reworking how Rank works within Battalion and creating a system that is more progression rather than set ranks.

Start of this term I was left without a Mace Windu, I gave it a couple weeks before I picked one to deal with the immediate issues and also see who was the right choice. I picked Clutch to be my Windu for this term as he's kept me in check previously and was also the 2nd highest ranking at the time, having the experience to take on such a role.

Lastly, we moved away from having a trial for Shaak Ti and Cin Drallig and we did a second interview process that is just Windu, Yoda and if they wish, Palpatine and Director+.

 

Improving the Council

For the duration of my term I have required my masters to have their hours public and uphold a required amount of hours. This holds themself accountable for the activity they need. We have also created an entertainment logging system that helps us see what work Masters are doing. The Requirements for Senior and High Jedi General were also increased, Requiring a Senior Jedi to put someone up for it and then requiring a Big 4 Member for High Jedi General. This helped reduce the amount of promotions we gave to masters, as previously it was given on the basis of time in the order and doing their quotas. With this we can award someone Senior Jedi General, who leads by example more than other Masters and also has given a contribution to the order. For the High Jedi General position, It is strictly only given to someone who is deemed needed within the High Command and also goes above and beyond within the council and the order, this is usually to the discretion of Yoda as he would be welcoming that person into Jedi High command.

How a Master is chosen still remains the same, but the criteria has been changed greatly. One of the biggest complaints of the process of getting master was that it was weighted towards spamming out trials and trying to get noticed. With the new merit system, knights get rewarded for more aspects of the order than they used to, we look at knights who can take on consistent work and also take on multiple aspects of the order. That's what we now look at for a master and it has shown as we have been more critical when it comes to the interview process and we have made the decision to deny them. Although we made these changes, it did take some time for us to get a comfortable amount of masters, but we are gradually getting in a good position there.

 

Assignment of Tasks

This was something I initially failed to do in my first term and I set out to make sure this was done on my second. The Idea here is to set out the tasks that need to be done by masters and also set out the things agreed during council meetings. We range from High to Low in priority, who is doing it and their progress. While this seems basic, it was something the high council has lacked for a while and this has helped us keep track of the work of a master and also distribute roles to those masters and keep us on track, without us getting incompetant and not doing them. We had around 20+ Tasks throughout these 3 months, Over half are completed and many are reaching their completion and some are ongoing for the foreseeable future. So overall its increases our productivity and keeps us on track.

 

The Merit System

Alright, The big one. The merit system was something that took the most of the time during this term. For the council to move forward and reward Knights and Padawans that sorely needed it, we needed a new system put in that can grant that. How we did this was we listed everything in the order a Jedi can do and put out set rewards for that. We also then set out the amount of merits needed for each rank. The creation of this system was split into 4 Phases, First 2 Phases being writing it up and having it all planned out. When we went into the 3rd phase we implemented it in, converted it into one roster and unified the logging of all previous rewards, such as Knight Recs, Master Recs and Helping in Trials. All we had to do now, was let it run. We have run into some issues during this, the gains, the time it takes and the overall availability to get them. This is where Phase 4 comes in, we have to refine this system so it benefits everyone and this will be the end goal. To create a system that benefits us all and gives a fair chance for people to go up ranks.

 

Restructuring the Ranks

When we were developing the merit system the amount of ranks would make this a very short system and to gain ranks or you were stuck on 1 rank for too long. It was decided we would move towards a 10 Rank system for Knights, this was a massive risk for us and not a decision we took lightly but it was decided this would best benefit the order. Although this was mainly for the merit system this gave us a big opportunity to have a look at what rank the Jedi are tied to. The issue of what the previous structure gave was a quick way to an Officer equivalent rank, with this we can have a more spread out structure that doesnt give massive jumps up in rank from a single promotion. Overall this system was implemented fine, we just need to work on the merit side of it and make it easier for people to go up them.

 

Small Things

These were the major things that we did within the order, things that were too small or minor included revamping Honorary, cleaning up the knight padawan system and reworking interview processes and trials. 

 

What improvements or changes do you plan on making within the Jedi order?

 

Continued work on the Merit System

The merit system still needs refining and there's no way we can say the job is done. If accepted for a 3rd term I would spearhead working on the requirements and the rewards so it gives steady progress up the ranks and not a grind that it can be now. I knew taking on a challenge of a system like this that we would face some roadblocks and this is one that we will overcome. We will also listen to Knights and Padawans on their thoughts on this system and communicate with them on what they feel we could change on it, afterall, they are the ones going to go through it. The end goal here is giving more ways to get merits and also making the gains fair.

 

Closing the Gap between Masters and Knight/Padawans

The Council needs to reduce any isolation that we may have developed in the last few yodas. I believe this is an issue that hasn't been addressed for a long time and i'm willing to provide the ability to reduce this as much as we can. Right now padawans and knights feel we don't communicate with them well and that we leave them in the dark when really we should listen. I am going to provide the jedi below master a way to give feedback to us masters. If a Knight or Padawan has a concern, we should be answering them. We should be able to give Knight/Padwans  feedback on their progress and mentor them on what they can do to progress, we need to provide them a clear route to master and what we see in one. We can’t have Padawans and knights have a disdain to the council as that would be our biggest failure.

 

Reworking the Knight and Padawan System

This has been attempted many times and has always ended in the same thing, it dies out and it doesn't work. We have already made steps towards resetting this system, now we need to work on giving it more to do. Sparring sessions have been left in the dust, i'm going to take this and start rewarding for that. We have a cooperation trial in the works and we need to give more entertainment that involves both of them. When it comes to Knight trials, if a padawan passes they will be asked who helped them most, if it happens to be their Knight, there's going to be rewards for that. The idea of this system in lore and in server is to prepare the padawan for knighthood and it's something that is sorely missed within the order.

 

Utilization of RP Rewards

It is one thing to say you're gonna encourage and improve RP, it's another to actually do it. We currently have a Pink Crystal Nomination system that anyone can use to nominate someone for good rp, we also pushed out a RPer of the Week for Jedi that rewards merits. This isn't enough, my plan is to rework Pink Crystal Nomination and give it more ability to highlight the people who RP the best. RPer of the week can easily be expanded out to something larger than it is. We have a RP Trial on the way as well which will reward greatly as well. Passive RP should be pushed towards including our masters, who should have RP towards the knights and interact with them and make them feel involved. 

 

Battalion Jedi

At this moment our Shaak Ti is working with BCMDs to create a better system for the Battalion Jedi and to make it more progression and set ranks. This system won't work for all battalions but we want to make sure we support the decisions of these battalions and provide them with the support to reward their Jedi more. When it comes to the order, Shaak Ti and going up a Battalion rank rewards Merits at this moment, we can provide more here and also not push them aside. In most cases the Order comes first, but this doesn't mean we leave Battalion Jedi in the dirt, we do not however want to step on the toes of the BCMDs, They should be communicated to more when it comes to this and they should be allowed to give fair input.

 

These are the main ideas that i have set out for my 3rd Term, However there will always be more to do. I'm firmly confident that I can achieve these plans and I believe we are on the right track if they are.
 

Do you understand that if you go inactive that you will be removed from your position?

Yes

[Clutch]

Damn its already been 3 months but I am going to have +1 I believe your second term went extremely well besides a few things that are still being worked out and I believe you still have a lot more to do! Best of luck.

[Cox]

+1

[Bleach]

+1 Ah.

[Elijah]

I'm going to have to +1 you. Your 2nd term was great. 

[Comics]

+1, you do well. Cannot see anyone else holding it 

[Bbstine]

I'll be honest, I was extremely reluctant for your second term; that is why I -1'd you. I didn't believe you had it in you to uphold the Jedi Order's values and to bring it back.

 

I was wrong, not only did the Jedi activity come back up but you also had a giant influx of new/potential Masters that can bring in a new set of eyes to the upper hierarchy. You've chosen your inner circle well when it comes to High Jedi. I must say, I'm proud.

 

This is a no brainer, good luck Gears.

+1

[Wheezy]

+1 keep up the good work my guy

[40Ninjaman]

I've heard nothing but good things about you gears +1 

Good luck

P.S. 

[Naffen]

+1, BBstine said it best, you really did bring the order up to a solid standard with activity and functions

[Slak]

+1, does an amazing job running the order and changing it for the better.

[Jack]

+1 Keep up the good work my guy

[Bright]

+1 doing good work

[Matt-Matthos]

Damn surprised you still have the drive lol, but you do a good job man keep it up +1

[Guac]

+1, great job in 2nd term hope you get a third!

 

[ScarZ]

+1

 

[Wulf]

+1 as much as I would like ya to pass the torch along, u got some of that good stuff ;/. Been doing good work keep herrrr goiiiiin

[Gaster]

+1 doing good work, keep it up

[Clank]

-1, despite the increase in activity within the order, I simply cannot agree with the direction the order has been taken, and I believe you had a large part in that direction, for that reason I'll be leaving a -1.

[NQC]

great work as yoda and being a meme lord, keep it up +1

[Ratio]

+1
I'll be the first to admit this about you, Gears. I was wrong with my initial -1 of your last re-app. You took what I said and made me look like an idiot. You, yourself, are a very good Yoda and I believe that you'll do good with the Jedi Order.

Your council is full of monkeys though. But honestly to my understanding it's probably due to lack of options. You're working with the best of what you got.

Good luck on term #3. Do good for us.

[Xander]

+1 tbh the best yoda i have seen yet

[Katy]

+1 The only criticisms I had with the Order was the lack of transparency between Padawans/Knights and Masters, and the lack presence of Masters on the server. Both of those things have considerably improved recently and even today with the meeting that was held. You have my full support!

[Carvis]

+1. 

[Moose]

+1, the only green man for me 

[Brooklyn]

+1

[Dennis]

+1 Jedi have no rights

[Claw]

+1 ALL DAY

[BigZach]

Ok "Gears" I'll plus one this once but I still want my Sha'a Gi lore name asshat mcknoberson

+1

[Hanz]

+1

[Shockpoint]

This man.

He has done fucking astounding in his 2nd term.

It was clear as day people saw tremendous issue with his first term and they made it known. Several members of his council ran against him, and I thought he was finished. But he was given a 2nd term, and a second chance to fix what was broken inside the Jedi order. He made one of the main guys who applied against him his Mace Windu the second he was picked for Yoda, and I think that’s respectable. Gears has strived to fix what was broken, and it’s clear he cares about the order, as if he gets this third term, he will be the first Yoda to ever do so. 
 

+1 from me friend, keep on hummin along

[CruorFlumine]

+1

[Maverick]

Took me a while to come up with proper words, and I still don't have any but oh well.

I am giving this Re application a +1.

Gears had a significantly better term this time around than the first. The mistakes made are obvious and do not need to be brought back up. Gears has made better choices, chosen newer individuals and brought some oldies back for their experience and what not. Gears also heeds the advice of his big 4 more heartedly than anyone is willing to admit and listens with good intent as well. As his currently Cin Drallig (10/27/2020 while writing this) I am very dedicated and am still learning. He also took quite an ass kicking from myself during several meetings and we have made great progress since then. I am completely confident that his third term will go as well or even better because as he had already stated, "There is more work to be done" and I couldn't agree more with that statement.

Truth be told, I had originally planned to make my own application but the thing is, I do not have enough experience and I feel gears third term would be an opportune time to learn a lot more. I have high hopes and I am always there for you gears. 

o7

[BigBoss]

Make GROUNKLE master and ill +1 <3

[Zin]

+1 

[Cubby]

+1

[Deathtiger]

+1 I feel like Gears has and is still doing a good job so why not

 

[Jaydon]

+1 

[Pog]

+1

[Wren]

+1

[Harsh]

+1 Haven't touched the server in a hot minute, but Gears has been and always will be a real one. Should go without saying that he did great stuff and has the experience to keep improving the player experience. 

Hope you continue to have fun in the role and make sure to look out for your mental health and stay safe!

[Deku]

Wow 3 months already huh? When I first joined your server you had just got accepted for your 2nd term and you picked your Mace Windu. Since I've joined the server nobody has been in the position of Grand Master but you. I believe you'll do great for your 3rd term and, although I love giving new people chances to prove themselves, this really is a no brainer. Good luck on your 3rd term, keep doing good work brother.

[Jagger]

Doesn't even feel like it's been 3 months already. Too bad Ahbo wasn't around for most of it, his assignments on Tatoonie got him practically on galactic house arrest on that sand rock. Duty calls, eh?

Rock and roll Gears, you've always done me proud. Good man. +1

[Conrad]

Congratulations you have been ACCEPTED for interview
you have until  11/6/2020 to contact a director to conduct your interview
//Locked

//Moved to pending

[Forseen]

Unfortunately you have been DENIED for the position of Yoda.

The user has been informed of the reasons as to why and wishes to have them stay between himself and High Command.

 

You will be able to apply for another applicable position after 12/03/2020.

// CLOSED \\

// MOVED TO COMMANDER APPLICATIONS - DENIED \\