Introduction

Greetings Qel-Dromans, Arconans and various onlookers. Report time has rolled upon us once again and we have some juicy information for you to sink your teeth into.

Lest you get bored by all of the chatter, we’re jumping straight into it!

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. News
   
3. Competitions
   
4. Awards
   
5. Promotions
6. Shadow Academy
7. Transfers
8. TL;DR
9. Aedile Alley
10. Closing Words

News

Brotherhood

• GM - Our lovely Grand Master released his 40th Report, where he awes each and every one of us with a detailed plan up until the Great Jedi War in December-January. Keep your eyes peeled for more!
  
• DGM Report: Policy, Path & Order Updates, where Mav reveals yet another teaser on the changes to come! And discusses the evil heat of summer.
  
• VOICE - Evant is keeping us up-to-date on the on-going projects within the VOICE Staff, competitions and Cluster of Ice reminders in Report #3, Report #4 and Report #5. I highly suggest you read these, especially the format for submitting Clusters of Ice if you plan on running fiction competitions!
  
• Combat Master Update, wherein Wally provides teasers to CS 2.0, ACC 2.0, hypes the ACB and thanks those on his teams for lending assistance.
  
• MAA - Aabs released a new report earlier today, where announcements are discussed in more detail, merit/promotion recommendations wiki page is being updated and more!
  
• FIST - Valhavoc covers all things gaming, from updates on the Clusters of Earth to Star Wars: Battlefront in Gaming Update #39!
  
• Herald - Socorra says Farewell as she retires in School’s Out Forever and Vyr takes over that office with his We’re off to Never Never Land Report. Thank you Socks for all of your hard work. Congratulations to Vyr on becoming the New Herald! (Seriously, I love the Alice Cooper and Metallica references! \m/)
  
• Headmaster - Dacien keeps us up-to-date in the changes to the Shadow Academy Society and updates courses in Report #14.
  
• Seneschal - Our lovely Codemonkeys are hard at work, providing another teaser to Possessions in James’ Report
  
• Wiki Tribune - Slagar keeps us updated on changes to staff, policy and projects in his Second Report. I highly suggest you read this, especially if you plan on updating/improving your wiki page!

Clan

• Shadow Lady Consul Report #4 - Where our lovely Consul and ProConsul discuss the plans for the future, puke rainbows and interject random Peter Pan references! (I’m not giving you the Tl;Dr - Read it and comment if you haven’t already!)
  
• House Galeres July 2015 Report, where Uji tries to match our awesomeness. Awesome report, bro! (We also cover the Trouble With Telegram in the Aedile Alley!)
  
• Tides of Change Results Out! - If you haven’t seen all the shinies, the results of this Clan/Clan Co-op event have been released. Both our lovely Shadow Lady and the Lightie’s Leaders went above and beyond to give us in-depth detail on the events we worked so hard on. They also gave feedback on Every. Single. Entry! To find these details, go on the Administration tab and click View My Submissions.

House

• Shadow Gate - First Edition - A lovely report where our own Rhiann Baenre and K’tana talk shop and discuss the Canadian female takeover of Shadow Gate. Keep up the good work, you two!
  
• Battleteam Applications - Just as a heads up, we will be accepting proposals to open a second Battleteam within the next few weeks. Be sure to keep an eye out on the House/Clan Mailers for further updates
  
• Projects - I want to briefly touch on this subject, as we’ve seen requests to work on certain projects of late. Terran and myself are going through the wiki to determine which articles either outright need creating or a massive overhaul. The moment we have a full list (should be finished within two weeks), we will be welcoming any assistance offered from information to lovely graphics. As with the Battleteam applications, keep an eye out for news on this on the Clan/House Mailers.

Competitions

Battleteam

• Shadow Gate - Super Happy Fun Game Time!

Clan

• Roadhouse
• Three Arconans and a Baby
• An Arconan Vacation
• Only the Good Die Young
• Arconan Gaming Dominance
• Shipping Arcona Style
  
• Sentence Run-On III

Brotherhood

• DJB Fantasy Football
• Force Trainer
• An Objective History

Additional competitions can be found in the Competition Center.

Awards

There's a few of you with outstanding medal requests still waiting on feedback/approval from the Master at Arms, but other than those we ought to be all caught up. Let's give a warm congratulations to everyone below on their new shinies. Excellent work, you lot! Let’s see if we can improve that number in time for the next House report! (Yes, that is a challenge ;P)

Timeros Caesus Entar Arconae
* Scroll of Foundation (x2)
* Crescent with Amethyst Star

Strategos Thanatos Entar Arconae
* Steel Cross
* Crescent with Diamond Star
* Crescent with Ruby Star (x5)
* Crescent with Amethyst Star (x2)
* Crescent with Sapphire Star (x3)
* Cluster of Fire (x30)
* Cluster of Earth (x30)

Marick Arconae
* Scroll of Foundation (x2)
* Crescent with Sapphire Star
* Crescent with Emerald Star
* Cluster of Earth (x24)

Alaris Jinn
* Anteian Cross
* Scroll of Foundation (x3)

Terran Koul
* Crescent with Diamond Star
* Crescent with Ruby Star
* Cluster of Ice (x8)
* Cluster of Earth (x149)

Mirus Hi’ija
* Crescent with Amethyst Star
* Cluster of Ice (x5)

Celevon Edraven
* Crescent with Diamond Star (x2)
* Crescent with Ruby Star
* Crescent with Amethyst Star (x3)
* Crescent with Sapphire Star
* Crescent with Emerald Star
* Pendant of Blood
* Cluster of Ice (x8)
* Cluster of Earth (x35)

K'tana
* Steel Cross
* Scroll of Indoctrination
* Crescent with Diamond Star
* Crescent with Ruby Star
* Crescent with Sapphire Star
* Crescent with Emerald Star
* Cluster of Ice (x5)

Rhiann Baenre
* Crescent with Amethyst Star (x2)
* Cluster of Fire (x4)
* Cluster of Ice (x5)

Kanis Da'uul
* Anteian Cross

Rrogon Skar
* Dark Cross
* Crescent with Diamond Star
* Cluster of Ice (x3)

Casper Vrikaurvan
* Scroll of Foundation (x3)

Revs
* Dark Cross

Adam Bolera
* Anteian Cross
* Pendant of Blood
* Cluster of Fire (x38)
* Cluster of Earth (x319)

Juliana Kelrune
* Crescent with Topaz Star (x2)
* Cluster of Fire (x9)
* Cluster of Ice

Promotions

• Kintocass was promoted to Guardian. Great job, Kinto!
  
• Yuh'orah, recently recruited by K'tana, was promoted to Protector. Way to go!

Shadow Academy

Juliana Kelrune
* ACC Fundamentals
* IRC Basics
* Krath Core
* Sith Core

Celevon Edraven
* Cryptography 101
* Leadership Reports
* In addition to these courses, Cel earned himself a Dark Maven in Leadership. Congrats!

Yuh’orah
* Essentials 1: History
* Essentials 2: Departments
* Essentials 3: Paths & Orders
* Essentials 4: Ranks
* Essentials 5: Organization
* Essentials 6: Medals
* Comms 1: Discourse
* DJBWiki: An Introduction
* Dark Brotherhood Basics
* In addition to these courses, Yuh'orah netted a Dark Pundit in Essentials. Good work!

K'tana
* Essentials 1: History
* Essentials 2: Departments
* Essentials 3: Paths & Orders
* Essentials 4: Ranks
* Essentials 5: Organization
* Essentials 6: Medals
* Comms 1: Discourse
* In addition to these courses, K'tana netted a Dark Pundit in Essentials. Trying to copy your apprentice, Kat? ;)

Transfers

• Yuh'orah joined the Brotherhood/Arcona/Qel-Droma
  
• Socorra joined from Dark Council (Herald)
  
• Damon ‘Snabbie’ Tye joined from Rogues

TL;DR

• All kinds of news and competitions you should check out
  
• Battleteam Proposals will be accepted from the membership; Wiki projects for Qel-Droma will also be available for you to sink your teeth into - Keep your eyes peeled on the House/Clan Mailers for information on these
• Shinies, Shadow Academy, Promotions and Transfers

Aedile Alley

I'd like to take a minute to talk about Telegram.

Cue Groans

Telegram really is an amazing platform. It has been a huge boon for the Brotherhood in terms of fostering communication amongst individuals both within the same unit and among disparate units. I can't overstate just how useful it is, and how glad I am that the Brotherhood has moved to adopt it. Those of you who know me will know what a change that is, given that I was categorically against Telegram when it was first suggested (in lieu of WhatsApp).

So, what changed?

1. Well, for starters, Telegram has since shown that it has a good deal of security features baked in and, while it has yet to go Open Source (making a full-scale security audit impossible), a good deal of testing has yet to reveal any cracks in the way it implements those features.
   
2. Additionally, the various clients (Mobile, Browser-based and the full-scale Windows App) are more fully-featured and -realized than their WhatsApp equivalent.
   
3. I've realized that the requirement of having a mobile phone number isn't the barrier-to-entry for younger members that it was when I was a kid.
   
4. We've had at least one member encounter (anecdotal) cyber-stalking issues. While the particular example that comes to mind was relatively mild, I can only imagine how much worse it might have been if the perpetrator had been in possession of their victim's phone number. Telegram requires a mobile number, but as it obfuscates that number when the user sets a Username which addresses that concern in a way WhatsApp never could.
5. Unlike WhatsApp (which only has a Browser-based app for Android users), Telegram users on any platform can enjoy fully-features applications.
   

These are all extremely important, positive points in favor of Telegram.

Where's the downside, then?

Telegram has much more limited moderation capability than IRC (though it's no worse than WhatsApp). While it does offer the ability to block people or to remove people from groups, the moderation options aren't nearly as structured as on IRC. On IRC, for instance, you can set people at various "Ops" levels and assign them powers accordingly (with higher level Ops able to overrule lower-level Ops). With Telegram, you can only remove people from a group if you added them or if you own the group, which means there are times where (due to people's' sleep scheduled, for instance) moderation is impossible. You also can't set temporary bans (only remove people then re-add them later), nor mute the channel except for people specifically given "voice".

What does that change in moderation ability mean to us as a group?

It means that we need to ensure that we're comporting ourselves in a professional, respectful manner in public channels. The lack of granular moderation means that the only way to deal with any issues that arise is the banhammer, and that's a pretty heavy-handed method of sorting out problems. No one wants that to be the defacto reaction to inappropriate behavior.

Why does moderation matter?

We are part of a club that accepts membership of all ages. The Brotherhood is not solely made up of adults and the ratio of minors to adults is only going to increase as we get closer to the new movies being released. We've seen this before when the prequels came out. We want these younger (or less cynical) members to feel comfortable in our official channels. We want them to feel that they are part of the group. That inclusory attitude is important, and it saddles us with the responsibility of acting in such a manner so as not to exclude them or make them uncomfortable. As it stands, there have already been multiple complaints of people feeling harassed in official channels. That is unacceptable.

So, how do we move forward?

Arcona as a whole has taken a two-tiered approach to it's Telegram communications. The DB Chat, Arcona Chat, and any other Clan- or Brotherhood-wide channels (such as the Gaming chat, for instance) could be considered First Tier communication platforms. These channels are official and are, at all times, to be treated as PG-13. As members of Qel-Droma, you are all expected to set an example in ensuring that your own conduct in these venues meets that requirement.

In addition to these First Tier channels, there are also a number of unofficial (Second Tier) channels. These groups are not used to communicate official information and are more informal. A good example is the "HQD Chat". Though it bears the House name, only half its members are from Qel-Droma and it's not particularly "on-topic", as it were. What's said in those channels is handled on a case-by-case basis (should a complaint arise), and is generally held to a much looser standard set by the channel's moderator (let's call it R-rated for the HQD Chat, but each channel's moderator can rate it at their own prerogative).

• If you have an issue in one of these channels, talk to the moderator.
• If you aren't sure who the moderator is, ask.
• If you think content in the channel violates the channels "rating", let the moderator know.
• If you don't think it violates the rating but it makes you uncomfortable, leave the channel.

TL;DR

• Behave yourselves in official Clan/DB Telegram groups
  
• Keep it PG-13 in those groups (DB, DB Gaming & Clan Arcona)

Closing Words

Excellent work, everyone. July looks to have been a great success in terms of activity. I’ll not bore you with any more details, since I’m sure some of you would fall asleep at your keyboards otherwise.

Starting in our August report, we’ll be including a fiction featuring one of the members of House Qel-Droma each month. The character is going to be chosen based on who was the shiniest that month. Every Diamond Crescent will earn you seven points, every Ruby Crescent will earn you six, down to one point for Quartz Crescents. The only stipulation is that you must have a Character Sheet to be eligible - so if you don’t have one, get the frak on it!

For the month of August, our feature character would ordinarily be Strategos (with a whopping 59 points!). Unfortunately, Strat’s dossier is Character Sheet-less. In his stead, we’ll be going with the runner up: K’tana. What kind of crazy shenanigans will she get up to on Port Ol’val? Find out next month, boys and girls. Same Bat time. Same Bat channel.

Celevon and Terran wrestle over the remote for a few minutes before realizing people are still reading

Keep up the good work! We’ll see you next month!

Your Friendly Neighborhood Qel-Droman Summit,
OP Celevon Edraven
Quaestor, House Qel-Droma

SBL Terran Koul
Aedile, House Qel-Droma