Solari, Windos, Vexxtal, Kiwi, "His Excellency," no matter what you call him, my friend from New Zealand is an absolute superstar on the Dark Council. I cannot say enough good about having Solari on my team. He is the most proactive and prolific Headmaster I have seen in my time here. But one of the things that makes Solari so special is that he does not confine his talent and energy to the Shadow Academy alone. He shares it often and willingly with those of us working on other aspects of the club. So much so, that I consider Solari my "go-to man" on the Council whether I need something SA-specific or not. Usually not.
Such is his depth of knowledge and fluency with the Brotherhood world, I can get help from Solari on any number of issues on a daily basis. Whether I need to know something about how the site works or help with a project, I know that every single time I can count on him to be there--and be there quick--with an answer. This is an absolutely invaluable resource to have as we work on pushing the club into the next stage of its evolution.
Further, throughout the Dark Crusade Solari has been at the forefront of our efforts to build, run, and score this unprecedented event. He is always first, or among the first, to have his content/events in for review. He is always first, or among the first, to have his events scored and in for reporting. He is always first, or among the first, to offer help in scoring other events, tabulating results, or awarding Novae for the rest of us who might be hurting on time.
I appreciate this level of work ethic and zeal all the more because not only is Solari an outstanding member of the club, but he is also a fellow father to which I can very easily. In between taking care of his daughter, Solari is working to help me do my job better. I cannot express how impressive or honorable a thing this is to me as a man who also splits his time between family and club. On top of this kind of energy, talent and devotion, Solar's attitude is a model for others (including me!) He has an absolutely outstanding demeanor that is not only a pleasure to work with but also a necessity to maintain as a Dark Councilor and one who deals with our members on a constant basis.
Recently, Solari has helped me with the Dark Crusade DJB Leader Board project. Solari helped me find several errors and track down issues like members being awarded the wrong Novae or missing Novae altogether. Without his help, this would have been a much longer and more painful process for me that I would likely still be working on rather than having moved on to other items. He has also helped me (and everyone else with his MarkDown courses) understand this new (to me) language now essential to the site.
No matter what I need or when I need it, Solari is always there to help me out. Now it's my turn.
Kiwi, thank you for everything you do for not only me, but the entire club. Please accept this promotion on behalf of a grateful DGM, and more importantly, a grateful Brotherhood. Be a darker place without ya, partner.
- Raken, Deputy Grand Master
Since attaining his last promotion in 2009 (November 22nd), Windos/Vexxtal/Solari has been one of the hardest workers of the Brotherhood:
He was Aedile of Cestus for 4 months (116 days). As Aedile to House Cestus, Solari aided his Quaestor, Ji in reforming the House as “Hieros Lokhos ton Taras”.
Solari was Wiki Tribune for 11 months (332 days). As Wiki Tribune, Solari performed a few thousand edits manually. He also created a wiki bot, Vexxtal. Under his guidance, Vexxtal performed tens of thousands of “automated” edits. He also created and implemented a project to reorganise the entire DBWiki (all pages categorized, all categories categorized until a root category appeared) to make exploration easier. He also oversaw a global standardisation of DBWiki content, corrected millions of typos and converted the “external” urls into wookieepedia interwiki links (similar to dossier links). After resigning from the post of Wiki Tribune, Solari stayed on staff to this very day. He still makes corrections and improvements to pages. He has been a member of the Wiki Staff for the last 33 months (1011 days).
He was Aedile of House Odan-Urr for 2 months (55 days). Solari worked closely together with Ji to create HOU. They planned the founding of this new “Light” House together and cofounded it with Ji. In order to ensure a smooth start, Solari served as Aedile for the first few months, before stepping aside to allow someone else to serve.
Solari served as M:HM for 21 months (630 days). As Magistrate to the Headmaster, Solari coded all courses (from word files (.doc) to html files (.tpl). He also created the courses on the old medusa site and set up the exams. While doing this, he also managed to help Headmaster Taigikori Aybara with everything he requested. During a GJW, he wrote the Odan-Urr History course in less then 24 hours. In that same GJW, Ronovi and Taigikori wrote another course, Solari was asked/ordered and managed to code it and have it live on the site in under 24 hours. Later, when Headmistress Ronovi decided to switch from the html files (.tpl) to the old DB stored course notes, Solari made sure to complete the assigned task to perfection before offering his resignation, which was accepted.
He has ran the Shadow Academy for the last 8 months (248 days). As Headmaster, Solari has overseen a plethora of projects, changes and challenges. Just prior to becoming Headmaster, the database “screwed” the notes up (cutting them in half, jumbling them up, …). As there were no coders on staff, Solari solely met the challenge and fixed the Academy by reverting the course notes back to their .tpl format. Shortly after becoming head of the Academy, Solari compiled and moved all SA related files and project work into google documents and set up a Google Drive folder. This folder is a true gift to work with. No more searching countless emails for corrections, having to find attachments from months past in order to do your work. The SA has become a well oiled machine, with every cog and spring neatly filed and numbered in the SA Team folder. When the next HM takes over, Solari can – with a few keystrokes – hand over the reigns to him and he’ll have access to everything Solari had and ever worked on, from fragmented ideas, over course backups to fully fleshed out projects.
For the Dark Crusade Vendetta, Solari wrote, coded and graded two Cryptography Courses. As the new site loomed closer and closer, Solari wrote a guide to markdown, educated Ood and Teu in how to code SA courses for the new site and then converted that guide into the current Markdown 101 course. He oversaw the return of #ShadowAcademy trivia events (two held so far). In the last chapter of the Crusade, he hosted a poetry event.
Under his guidance, the promotion guidelines were rewritten and the “Grind Path” – renamed to “Journeyman Hall” and re-worked to only cover INI to PRT – was implemented in close cooperation with the MAA Staff. The Journeyman Hall has been a resounding success, over 400 courses graded so far. He also created the Dark Pundit degree and made sure all relevant DBWiki pages were altered to reflect the new degree category. He wrote (with assistance from Wally) the three Vendetta Courses for the Journeyman Hall in less then 24 hours, had them proofread, coded and live within 3 days of starting them. He was instrumental in moving the Shadow Academy to the new site, well in advance of the actual move. This ensured a near (one member managed to submit an exam the same second that james shut the site down for move) seamless changeover to the new site (from the perspective of the SA).
While doing all this, he also found the time to aid James in moving items to the new site and helped to create DBWiki pages for stuff that wouldn’t move with the site. He wrote the approved proposal to create the SA Society. This new feature is fully ready to go live, as soon as graphics are made for the rewards. While doing all this he also finds the time to create a second markdown course, is working on several new Journeyman Hall courses and is rewriting the leadership proposals course. He’s also working closely together with myself in exploring future reorganizations inside the Shadow Academy. Currently he is gearing up to produce video courses, a first set on google docs is in the works. And as soon as he can get a quality microphone, he’ll be voicing them as well. The Youtube channel that will host these is set up and ready to go. So is the system that will embed these inside SA course notes.
Since his last promotion in 2009, Solari has earned two Sacramental awards, a Ruby Scepter and a Sapphire Blade. He has earned two Merit awards, a Grand and a Steel Cross. He has placed in several competitions, earning 1 Silver Nova, 1 Bronze Nova, 6 Crescents (1 Amethyst, 1 Emerald, 2 Ruby and 2 Topaz), 1 Legion of the Scholar, 19 Clusters of Fire and 13 Clusters of Ice. He has received 31 Vendetta Seals (2 Bone, 6 Defiance, 1 Return, 1 Affliction and 21 Reminiscence). On top of this, he has been awarded two Dark Side Scrolls, one Scroll of Foundation and three Seals of Loyalty.
Overall, Solari has been instrumental in ensuring the current incarnations of the DBWikipedia, House Odan-Urr and Shadow Academy are what they are. Without Solari, I don’t think we would have such a legible, organized DBWikipedia nor such a well oiled Shadow Academy. I do believe the time has come and long since passed that Solari earned his promotion to the 4th tier of the Equite ranks.
~KE Ood Bnar, P:HM
Solari is an exemplar of a Headmaster and a Dark Councilor. Approachable, energetic, eager, mindful of his students and his staff. Got an idea for a project? He'll flesh it out with you and give you whatever support he can give you to see it completed. Need some last-minute assistance? Solari is the man on the spot. He's someone who should be rewarded not just for what he's done (which merits promotion on its own), but also because people need to see that hard work, dedication, and a positive attitude are rewarded. If more people followed Solari's lead, the Brotherhood would be a better place. It's already a better place through his efforts since he was promoted to Headmaster.
- DJM Troutrooper, Former SA Staff
Solari is one of the most valuable fellow Councillors a Seneschal could wish for. Eager to test new features, share interesting ideas, and generally thinking along how to use the site instead of trying to work around it.
Without Solari, his staff, and his excellent leadership, it would not have been possible to transfer the Shadow Academy to the new site as smoothly as it has happened. Even before the actual coding began, Solari proved immensely valuable, quickly identifying key features required in the new Shadow Academy, as well as quickly deciding when a feature could be dropped. As soon as I had the bare framework of the new Shadow Academy ready, Solari set out to quickly fill the staging database with new and improved course notes and new questions, all taking advantage of the features of the new and improved Shadow Academy. As soon as he found out that the new site would be utilizing the Markdown formatting language, our lovely Kiwi immediately created an awesome Markdown 101 course, complete with accompanying exam to ease the transition for those of us that have to write news items and reports, once again easing the transition for all of us.
Even outside the Shadow Academy, Solari continues to impress. Whenever I have a task in need of completion, Solari is there to volunteer his skills. Whether it concerns consolidating numerous discussions about Light Side Ranks into the final rank table that's in use now, moving content pages from static HTML pages to the wiki, or generally needing some advice on some coding matters, I can always count on Solari to be available.
Add to that his invaluable help co-organizing the Independence Games, his efforts during the organization of the Dark Crusade, and the numerous other tasks Solari completed that I am surely forgetting. The privilege to be the first official Consular Cleric in the history of the Brotherhood is more than deserved, if not long overdue.
James L. Entar Arconae, Seneschal of the Brotherhood
I've been on record in expressing my typical distaste for the Shadow Academy. I've never liked taking exams, and I've never paid it much mind other than a way to help Journeyman get promoted faster. However. Solari is the first Headmaster that has made me reconsider my opinion. For anyone that has heard me rant at the SA, this should be a pretty strong indicator as to how awesome Solari is just for that fact! Maybe it's because he's a Kiwi. Maybe he's just a good person. What ever it is, Solari has been nothing but helpful anytime I've asked him for something. Even if it was unrelated to his job. He is simply one of those people who just wants to help others. It's that selflessness that makes me want to come here everyday and work. Equite 4 (or whatever the lighties call their version of it) is a rank reserved for those who have shown selflessness and dedication to the club at large. Solari has headlined bringing the Shadow Academy into a new age, a new website, and a new future. He set a goal of wanting 1000 exams in a month, and I honestly think he will smash that. He has found a way to take an aspect of this club that I did not enjoy, and made it something that I can get behind. (Don't get too excited, I'm not getting a degree anytime soon, sorryimnotsorry)
If more members were like Solari, we'd have an entirely different, and better club. Keep being awesome, Solari. It's a privilege to work with you, congratulations brother.
Consul of Clan Arcona
One year ago the Shadow Academy was a hotly debated topic on the news page of the Dark Brotherhood website. Members debated the validity of the organization, if it was possible to keep it fresh, and if it was needed in the world of wikipedia and other easy to access information guides. This debate was followed by a change over in the Shadow Academy and the selection of Solari as our new Headmaster.
Solari's selection has helped end the debate over the value of the Shadow Academy and has helped usher in an unparalleled era of creativity and development. Solari has cleaned out redundant courses, created worthwhile and engaging new courses, and has worked tirelessly and ensuring the safe transfer of the SA to a new and more stable website. Solari's creative efforts have been matched by his administrative abilities to ensure all courses are graded correctly and efficiently by his staff.
It is not often that the Headmaster is recognized for his brilliant work, but Solari has been at the forefront of DJB ingenuity for months. His efforts have been outstanding and this promotion is well deserved. Congratulations!
- GM Sarin, Voice of the Brotherhood
Shortly after Solari became Headmaster I remember reading a report he had written about a Shadow Academy Society. This was probably the first time I started thinking about the Shadow Academy as an activity in the club since spring of 2007. I love the idea of progression in any aspect, and the idea of a Society based around the Academy appealed to me. A bit later the Dark Crusade's first round launched, as I browsed over the events I saw one for Cryptography, I'm sure I rolled my eyes at first thinking "Great another one of those things I have no clue how to figure out". Low and behold, this event was not just asking me to break a Code, but it explained how to break several different kinds of codes. I ended up having a blast with it!
Fast forward on to present day. Our new website is launched and our report format is swapped to Markdown, my first instinct was to hit Google and find a guide. Halfway through my first report I find out that there's a Shadow Academy Course on Markdown! If I recall correctly a bright light shown through my window and I heard harps playing faintly. I can only assume many other members of the Club who were in the process of writing their first reports had a similar experience.
Continuing on his path to improve the existing Academy we now have the Journeyman Halls which opened up a whole new level of guidance to our newer members. Slowly and methodically introducing aspects of our Club as a whole to them, while showing them their progress towards the next ranks. Overall, Solari's work with the Shadow Academy has made it a valuable, relevant, and current resource for new and veteran members. In addition to all of this he has been a genuine pleasure to work with. Constantly ready to take on any task, and always looking for ways to help the Club, I could think of no better reward for him than this promotion! Congratulations Solari!
-Valhavoc, Fist of the Brotherhood
The people above will speak volumes about the work that Solari has done. They will spend a lot of words talking about the individual projects he has taken up and completed. And right that they should, for there are many, and the amount of work is significant.
But that's not why I am here.
See, there are a lot of people who have ideas. They put forth concepts and thoughts about what they think should be better. Most of the time, they don't even attempt to execute on those ideas, instead expecting other people to scurry forth and see their vision executed for them. That's not the way the world, or this club works. You have to get your hands dirty yourself, get into the work. And it's a rare person that does that. That looks at the work and says 'you know what? I'll get this done.' It's an ever so rarer person who sees it through to completion, to watch the product ship out, to see what happens after the work is done.
Solari does this.
He doesn't do it for acclaim. He doesn't do it for reputation. He doesn't do it for awards or ranks. He does it because it would make our Brotherhood a better place. He does it because he said he would.
I feel the need to reiterate that.
Solari does the work that he said he would do.
He keeps his promises. He delivers on his work. He does exactly what he sets out to do, or improves upon it along the way. He does it without complaint. He does it while keeping a cool head. He does it while maintaining fairness and moderation and all the many qualities that we all seek in leaders.
And there's a humility there. He doesn't grandstand. He doesn't draw attention to his completed projects, to his successful programs, to the myriad things that he has accomplished. He says 'I said I would do it, so I did.'
It is this attitude, this work ethic, that I feel must be rewarded in the club. To that end, I hereby request that Solari be promoted within his Order to the rank of Cleric.
Thank you, Solari. I really appreciate all that you do.
~Muz Ashen, Dark Lord of the Sith
Lord Muz Ashen Keibatsu, 2013-08-28 23:32:32 UTC