Howdy folks,

I intend to keep you all a bit more in the loop about SCLish happenings by giving bi-weekly reports about our progress. In this first report, I will cover mover administrative-esque things and then go into more details about projects in future reports.

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1. Jac is Seneschal...
   

Roughly two weeks ago, Sarin placed me into this position of being the Brotherhood's master coder. I am taking over for the lovely Sildrin, who has left the position to deal with a bout of Real life. My personal thanks go out to Sil who has really done a lot to be proud of as SCL. There aren't many people that I enjoyed working with more than Sil, and I hope she continues to stay on as a magistrate and help out where she can.

For those of you who don't know who I am...ask someone. :) For the purposes of the website, just know that I am the principal coder around here; I own the servers and you all love me.

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1. ...but not for long.
   

I don't want to be in this position anymore than my clanmates want me here. I am a strong believer that we need to keep fresh blood on the DC, and my blood is rotten stale. That and I really do enjoy clan life. However, I am a realist and the realistic appraisal of our current website staff is that I'm it. There is no one else to take this position right now that can do what needs to be done. So, I stepped up to the plate this last time.

I am here to train my replacement. I don't expect to stay in this position long. In fact, I plan on returning to my bed in the Old folks' Home in Taldryan prior to the next Vendetta. Once my replacement is up to speed, I will drop back down to Praetor and go back to just coding and being awesome.

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1. Finding my replacement
   

A lot of you have expressed interest in helping with the website. Unfortunately, a lot of your requests came in when I was moving iRL and changing jobs, so I wasn't quite ready to process them. Now I am...but I want to be clear on a few things.

I have been burnt more times than I can tell you on coders who promise me the world and fizzle out when they get a chance to do real work. I am jaded and pessimistic about my chances to find someone who I can really get to take over because this is, pardon my french, really fucking hard work. Coding on the DB site is not just about reading data from a database table and displaying it. There's an interconnectivity of hundreds of files and scores of database tables. The systems we have are complex and not easy to master. What makes it even worse is the fact that about 40% of the active website is in terrible code-shape. Changing a page normally means re-writing it.

I've spent the last two years, since we abandoned the website branch of Rebirth, cleaning code and making things easier. The site is manageable, but don't think that you can come in and deliver the world quickly. Some things you do may end up being simple, but it doesn't stay that way.

I don't have the time anymore to put up with bullshit, so I have two very important criteria that you should look at before reading the next section on applying:

A. I cannot stand emo or pompous people. I am a very laid back person who likes to joke and have fun. If you take this club too seriously, you will not make it on my staff. I will not accept my staff members throwing hissy fits because someone doesn't like their coding. I will also not accept anyone onto my staff that calls me "Lord Cotelin." My name is Jac. Don't be overly formal. You won't make it as SCL if you are. People need to like you. Not just people in your clan either. People all over. (and don't apply the same to me. People have to like me or at least deal with me...it won't be the same for you).

B. Don't make promises you can't keep. Sildrin was a great SCL because she knew what she could and could not do on what timeframe. I make a bad SCL because I constantly underestimate how much time things take and then I tell people what I expect. I want the former. If you think it will take you 20 hours, estimate 40 and tell me that. I am immune from most forms of burn out, but I guarantee you that if you tell me you will get a project done sooner than is actually possible, you will burn out too quickly trying to hit your estimates. I need an anti-jac in this regard.

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1. The process
   

I am now accepting applications to be one of my magistrates. I'll hire anyone that applies that can show me some of their coding skills and show me a willingness to learn. The magistrate that I am most impressed with will eventually be named my Praetor and will take over when I feel they are ready (or when the next vendetta launches, whichever is first).

Here are the criteria:

I: You must be fluent in some programming language. ASP is preferable (because that's what you will be using), but anyone who knows PHP, ASP.NET or any other language should pick up ASP quickly. HTML alone will not suffice.

II: You must know the basics of SQL. A good understanding of database structures is preferable.

III: You must be willing to commit at least five hours a week to the SCL office. I don't want you to kill yourself, but any less than five and you'll get nothing done.

IV: You must be willing to do grunt work.

V: You must want to get quick fame and notoriety, but at a very steep price. Contrary to popular belief, coders put in a lot more time than what is credited to them through rewards. But....next to graphics people, coders get the most rewards and promotions the quickest.

VI: You must not have delusions of grandeur that you are going to re-code the website in PHP. Five coders have attempted, all have failed. You will fail too and burn yourself out of this club in the process.

The coders that I accept will start off by cleaning code as a way to both learn the files that are there and help us get into standards compliance. Those that stick with it will get their own small projects that I will use to pick out a Praetor.

Send me your applications.

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1. Where the hell is the BETA, Jac?
   

It's on the way soon. I'm making everything in pretty good shape before I send it out to the beta testers. The only thing left is to update the actual skills to match the most recent list given out by Sarin.

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1. What's up, Jac?
   

I'm an attorney now, iRL. I work primarily in Bankruptcy and Business Insolvency while doing a good deal of business litigation on the side. Bankruptcy is surprisingly awesome. Right now I'm learning how to invalidate mortgages so I can totally fuck over banks. woo!

My wife and I moved back to Columbus, OH. We have a nice little apartment and are loving life.

Peace out, homies.

Jac