Looking For Canadian?

Hey there, I am a 39 year old recreational gamer from Eastern Canada.

I was invovled in PC gaming, including one game for over 11 years, this included heavy modding, adminning clan site and even working on graphics in commerical releases.

I enjoy playing this series of games with my son, and we recently made jump to Xbox live after beating up on each other for a year....

I understand there is a bit of rebuildign here and its prodominantly Aussie. Understnadign onlien play is key to a good clan, and thus time zones important, Id like you to keep me in mind in the event you look to have a North american section representing you.

I will be looking around for other clans, but Ill admit this one here is one I am more interested in than others.

Hello Gagnon,

My name is Shaun ( Exqseme ) and i am the Co-Founder of Operation: Sigma.
I read your post with great interest as i have been wanting to expand the North-American market of gamers for a while now. Your past experience is very much wanted and needed in our clan as we have had a bit of a slump recently, partly due to my own lack of game time due to Real Life issues im currently experiencing.
I'm sure we would love to have you on board, however we do ask that you add one of the admin to your friends lists on XBL and participate in a few games with clan members before we fully accept you ( and your son ) into our family.
Please feel free to add Maryjane ( our current head admin ) to your friends list and leave her a message to organize some game time with the clan.
Hopefully if all goes well you will join our ranks and helps us further our goal to make this the best Halo 3 clan going around.
We look forward to gaming with you sometime in the near future, until then Keep Fragging!

Ex-

If I can comment on the inactivity and I am happy to see you guys trying to address it. If you guys want to purge old inactive members, I would say do it.

A mass email telling them this will happen and a deadline of a week is form my own experience in clans the proper step when you do this type thing. Always leave the door open for them to come back, but you officially note them as ‘retired’ or ‘mia’.

This is the responsible thing to do in order to properly guage what direction you are going.

Here is a few things Ill throw out there, if I am out of line, I apologize.

Officially announce this new phase for the clan.

Look at an update to the look of the site, even if its little, if you go for a change in cleaning house for active members, a change in how the site looks and feels, even if small, is a show there is a change. The site header is pretty big and maybe standardized sig blocks that aren’t as big as well could be looked at to give more professional look. IT DOESN’T LOOK BAD NOW!! Just could look BETTER.

Try to get a few intra clan games ASAP, in the next couple of weekends see what happens. Its one thing for an inactive guy to say… “Oh yeah, my dog died, I was busy, but I am still in!” But they then must back up their activity.

You (Or ‘we’ if I am accepted) must outline what is considered minimal activity to be active. I have been on both spectrums with clans, where activity was not mandatory and the other side where you were booted if you didn’t play a ladder game once a week. If a member at least knows what the ground rules are, then they know. IMHO, you should always have leeway because real life does keep us away at times.

Follow up on activity, you actually give ranks out to memebers where you assign certain players to whatever groups you decide to have. (Example: Group Sigma-1, is active members unit, Group Sigma 1R is reserve unit, so lesss active members)

Now since were talking expansion of the group to outside of Australia, you intergrate this to your group allocation. Group Sigma 1 is active Aussies, Group Sigma 1R is Aussies less active, Group Sigma 2 is active North Americans, ect ect.

With a structure like this, we can really outline who does what and what to expect from who...

For those who dont know... the stylist 'E' is greek letter for SIGMA

Hey Gagnon,

First of all id like to say im VERY glad to see you putting in all the effort to try and help us sort out some of our "problems".
I would like to talk to you further about this, if you have MSN i would be more than happy to talk to you on there, or you could just email me.
If you wish to further our correspondence on msn i think we would be able to get a better understanding of where we sit atm.
So please feel free to send me a Private message on here with your MSN address if you have one.

Thanks again

Ex-
Operation: Sigma Clan Founder

Hey Gagnon!

i would like to introduce myself as one of the more 'average' skilled players in the Operation Sigma clan.
i am very impressed with the enthusiasm and preparation you have put into this clan already!

These ideas of yours are fantastic, i cant wait to see the progression of the website and also the expansion of Operation Sigma

i would like to ask you ( out of complete curiosity) what made you more interested in this clan more than others?
Whatever your skill level may be, i am sure you will still be a valuable asset to this clan, your future blueprints have already gotten me back into the spirit!!!!

cant wait to see you on the battlefield!





P.S Ex.

i thought this would be a good time to tell you that i am nothing short of a Photoshop God with a lot of free time on my hands!
if i can help in anyway way with the 'Re-vamping' of the website just let me know..





WHOOO!!!! CANT WAIT TO GET AN OPERATION SIGMA MONTAGE ON YOUTUBE!!!! *dances badly*

There are some ideas I am floqating to MJ and will get to some others here so as not to step on any toes. I would anticipate a 'relaunch' Jan 1st... after all, this time of year.. what better benchmark?

As far as why this group, I looked at soem others, but this one seemed to need a little help, and while I love playing the game, and other games for that matter, I always am better suited helping organize things than my skill playign them!

Ill likely take you up on the graphics help, to what degree I will only know as we all get clear idea were all on same page! Although I have made a few bucks over the years with my own graphics, I would be stupid not to take the offer of help form soemone who is expreineced doing graphocs for game related material.

First of all.. Callander GET ON IT! lol, Banners / Wallpapers anything else you think we might need want.

Gagnon, i too very much appreciate the ideas you have brought forth and think you should continue passing your ideas through Rock ( MJ ).
On a side note when we started this clan we we set it up to be a family of gamers so to speak.. in other words we don't want 400 people in the clan.. rather 20 - 30 at the extreme.
i hope you understand, as i don't think i have mentioned this before.
All in all good job so far mate, and ill have MJ continue her correspondence with you and if all goes well over the next few weeks ill get you onto the website side of things aswell.

Ex-

Exqseme wrote:

On a side note when we started this clan we we set it up to be a family of gamers so to speak.. in other words we don't want 400 people in the clan.. rather 20 - 30 at the extreme.
i hope you understand, as i don't think i have mentioned this before.
All in all good job so far mate, and ill have MJ continue her correspondence with you and if all goes well over the next few weeks ill get you onto the website side of things aswell.

Ex-

I understand what you are saying, and as a logn time game site admin, the creation of MIA area is to put people who sign up and then dissapear, Often 40-50% of people who sign up to most clans are never seen from again in less than a month. MIA effectively is the first step of removal of this issues. After 3 months, of MIA list, you are gone. It leaves the door open, but not forever.

Open enrollments doesnt mean hundreds of people joining, people still apply and you can put a hold on new recruits. However you need to maintain actively filtering people who are more active than others, hence a 3 tier system. I wold be very suprised if you get more than 50 active people in the entire group, which spells 3-4 units and if it got that big, you cut enrollment there. I cant overemphasize ACTIVE members. And once you hit 50 active, then you can even abolish MIA,,

The original Aussue unit can me maintained as big or small a group as desired in respect to original rules of clan.

I must ask now, because there are so few active people here, and you mentioned 'week' from now to get my help intergrated, who calls the shots and if you only want ideas, not active headway, then I can move on, I respect how you choose to leade your group of course!

I was going to begin my own clan, but you have soem great people here and history that woudl be a shame if things died out, the fact there is a base for soemthing here seemed liek a good fit.

Id suggest a mass email to memebers as I outlined to MJ and see who is interested in current set up, whod like change, and who is even left...

Quote :

who calls the shots

While MJ and Jamez are the current Lead Admin i still possess overall control of the clan, so if there not sure about something they refer it to me. ( i hope that answers your question )

Quote :

I understand what you are saying, and as a logn time game site admin, the creation of MIA area is to put people who sign up and then dissapear, Often 40-50% of people who sign up to most clans are never seen from again in less than a month. MIA effectively is the first step of removal of this issues. After 3 months, of MIA list, you are gone. It leaves the door open, but not forever.

Point taken!

Quote :

hence a 3 tier system

If you can get it actively working proficiently go for it.

Quote :

if you only want ideas, not active headway, then I can move on, I respect how you choose to leade your group of course!

We want both ideas and active headway, hence the reason im going to personally accept you into the clan. As of now you are an active member ( if you still wish to be that is ).

The application of the "3TS" (3 Tier System) will be first priority along with updating the forum.

I will be leaving this to you, and i will have MJ and Jamez referring back to me on the progress of your work.

I would also appreciate you keeping me up to date by posting here.

Welcome to our family Gagnon!


Ex-

P.S. I have updated the forum with a "test" 3TS system and the "squads are as follows.

Alpha Squad = Australian Members Only

Bravo Squad = N.American Members only

Charlie Squad = Recruits / MIA

Please edit this as you see fit, just thought id set it up to make things a little easier.

Exqseme wrote:

Quote :

who calls the shots

While MJ and Jamez are the current Lead Admin i still possess overall control of the clan, so if there not sure about something they refer it to me. ( i hope that answers your question )

Quote :

I understand what you are saying, and as a logn time game site admin, the creation of MIA area is to put people who sign up and then dissapear, Often 40-50% of people who sign up to most clans are never seen from again in less than a month. MIA effectively is the first step of removal of this issues. After 3 months, of MIA list, you are gone. It leaves the door open, but not forever.

Point taken!

Quote :

hence a 3 tier system

If you can get it actively working proficiently go for it.

Quote :

if you only want ideas, not active headway, then I can move on, I respect how you choose to leade your group of course!

We want both ideas and active headway, hence the reason im going to personally accept you into the clan. As of now you are an active member ( if you still wish to be that is ).

The application of the "3TS" (3 Tier System) will be first priority along with updating the forum.

I will be leaving this to you, and i will have MJ and Jamez referring back to me on the progress of your work.

I would also appreciate you keeping me up to date by posting here.

Welcome to our family Gagnon!


Ex-

P.S. I have updated the forum with a "test" 3TS system and the "squads are as follows.

Alpha Squad = Australian Members Only

Bravo Squad = N.American Members only

Charlie Squad = Recruits / MIA

Please edit this as you see fit, just thought id set it up to make things a little easier.

Setting it up is great and I totally understand its a test.. because we never know how things wil work out!


I will PM you, MJ and Jamez an outline on clan set up. MOST OF THIS IS ALREADY HERE! But it is more of a formal posting.

My angle, (and I cant stress its just my angle, if it goes agaisn the fundamentals of what you guys want, I will respect that) is that we relaunch the clan and site Jan 1st. This is not a duanting task:

1: Contact (Probably easiest via mass forum PM) the current line up and ask who is still in and out.

2: Pool together rules/ediquette currently here plus add something to make it cystal clear. Having soemthing very structures on direction is key. Even if its things currently exisiting, tidying it up and reintroducing it is a good idea. I have this laid out already and will send it via PM to you JM and Jamez (as mentioned before)

3: A new header on site and some bells and whistles in sigs ect to reflect freshness.


Let me reiterate on the membership.. I randomly said 50 active members and speculation, Ill be brutally honest... if we had 50 active guys, id be shocked, and it would be a hell of a good problem to have. (If that happened clan shoudl actually sub divide, I have seen it before) My goal is to create at least 3 geographical groups and have theoretically tight groups of OS who because are spread out around the world will have people 24 hours a day on XBL representing us. Id actually look at 10-15 active in 2 - 3 groups.

Look in next 24 hours for PM with some formal write ups to structure things.

Quote :

1: Contact (Probably easiest via mass forum PM) the current line up and ask who is still in and out.

Ill get onto this sometime today.

Quote :

2: Pool together rules/ediquette currently here plus add something to make it cystal clear. Having soemthing very structures on direction is key. Even if its things currently exisiting, tidying it up and reintroducing it is a good idea. I have this laid out already and will send it via PM to you JM and Jamez (as mentioned before)

Great idea, i look forward to your PM.

Quote :

3: A new header on site and some bells and whistles in sigs ect to reflect freshness.

Im currently working on this as we speak, but im going for an entirely new look for the forum, not just a header.

Ex-