Membership in the -=NoBS=- gaming clan is more often misunderstood than not. This occurs most of the time because of lack of proper intel and/or research on the part of the soldier in question. This document shall set out to clarify and identify key facts, privileges and responsibilities for those who either:
a) hold -=NoBS=- Membership ; or
b) intend to be considered for -=NoBS=- Membership
Let it be known that being a member of -=NoBS=- is not a right, nor is it in any way at all guaranteed – even after having been granted full member status. As -=NoBS=- was founded on some very strong and basic morals and principles, the criteria for becoming a -=NoBS=- Member are high. With every privilege, especially that of being “pinned” with the -=NoBS=- tags, comes a responsibility – a responsibility that we hold dear to our beliefs and our hearts. Therefore, it is no surprise that -=NoBS=- expects a higher standard from its members than is expected from the general public. As a result, any person who does not exemplify those standards, regardless of Member or Intern, shall absolutely not have the privilege of wearing -=NoBS=- tags – period!
Our values are not always straight forward as we have fifty members who make up our clan. Each of us is a contributing individual from a range of generations, bringing a unique and slightly different set of values to the table, which provides us with open minded diversity. We have members from the United States of America, Canada, Germany, Holland, Croatia, Poland, Lithuania, New Zealand and a couple of members who mysteriously manage to show up from random IP addresses in unusual and sometimes faraway places. Many of our clan members are law enforcement officers, military personnel, and representatives of other governmental branches, while others are video game producers, chefs, computer technicians, real estate tycoons, etc. etc. etc. Again this offers us diversity within -=NoBS=-. None of this diversity, however, shall ever affect our fundamental values.
Where we can concretely say that our values are straight forward originates with our name, “No BULLSHIT!” None of us, other than horsing around, will, in the least bit, tolerate any BULLSHIT – PERIOD! We are all busy with our lives and come here mostly to enjoy each other’s company, unwind and have fun. By the time we have ended a tough day in the real world corralling the bad guys or having evaded live ammo flying overhead, dealing with corrupt operating systems and/or the latest virus which needs to be cleaned, delivering the mail or whatever it be that we do, none of us wants to deal with a foul member or guest and as a result we show very little tolerance for what we consider bullshit on our servers. We believe that is why we have the number one and two rated servers in AA3 and will continue to do so for a very long time. We are not afraid to kick and/or ban guests as necessary, which we have done well over 15,000 times. In most cases we offer first a kick for a period of time rather than just being banned straight away – unless the offense deserves it. It should be known, openly and without secret, that although we have criteria for kicking and banning, which generally we adhere to fairly strictly, WE DO NOT NEED A REASON TO KICK OR BAN ANY PLAYER that we choose. Prior bans have been made because we felt that the player’s name was inappropriate, because someone mouthed off to a -=NoBS=- Member in a fashion we deem inappropriate or perhaps because it was difficult to prove that a player was not cheating.
Unlike the United States of America, we do not believe that a player is innocent until proven guilty. We are your counsel, judge and jury. If you don’t like that, go play somewhere else. Cheating is the number one enemy of -=NoBS=-, who have more AA3 Beta members than any other clan, which we believe is due to the fact that our standards are high and we don’t mess around. When a -=NoBS=- member has something to say about this game, you can take it to the bank.
As stated before, we may not be the best shot and/or best players in terms of winning/losing, however, we are by far the most honest group of people in the game. As a -=NoBS=- Member, you can go to sleep at night and know, without any shadow of a doubt, that your fellow members DO NOT CHEAT – unwaveringly and unquestionably. It should be known by all players, members and guests alike that if we suspect you are cheating, we then move into a regime where we try to prove that you are not. You DO NOT necessarily get representation in this process. Our motto is: “When in doubt – kick them out!” You do not have to like our decision, but the fact is that we pay for this server. It is not a public server, it is ours. This is our house and if we don’t like you; well, you are not coming back. (Note: We do offer a ban appeal process, and on rare occasions when the appeals have been presented professionally and with respect we have been compassionate and reversed our decision.)
-=NoBS=- does not at all pretend to be a place for everyone. We are not interested in sharing memberships in our clan with those who either do not share our beliefs or with those who have nothing to contribute in terms of raising the standards of -=NoBS=- and making it a better place for all members. We often work together as a team, not only in game, but in life as well. When a -=NoBS=- member is in need of support and/or assistance, we have often come to the aid of our fellow members. We have helped each other in a wide range of areas from having elected as a group to contribute equipment to a needy member; to sharing hours of valuable time to help a member who was experiencing technical issues with their operating systems, not to mention many other issues in between. This is our clan. We are a close knit group of soldiers and we wish to keep it that way. Our method in maintaining that closeness is to be extremely discriminating in who we invite into our family.
There have been a number of members over the years who we have lost due to a number of reasons. A very few have either burned out on the game or sadly, some beloved members were lost to illness and/or death. Most, on the other hand, who have dropped from our ranks, weren’t even asked to leave, they were dismissed. Being a -=NoBS=- member is NOT a popularity contest; it is being first and foremost a kind, honest and compassionate human being. We have just over fifty members not because we are short on interns, but because out of all the interns we have had, these members are the ones who were able to live up to the high standards of -=NoBS=- and who continually stand out as honest individuals, leaders, participants in the community and most importantly, ladies and gentlemen! We do not need new members for the money; we do not need bodies as we get plenty of fodder from the general public to shoot; we do not care if you are the best and/or worst shooter in America’s Army or Call of Duty and we are not actively recruiting just anyone.
We will only extend the -=NoBS=- tags to the best of the best. If you think this describes you, then you are either a) already a member; or b) should begin fulfilling the requirements which follow.
MEMBERSHIP INTERNS:
Please be aware that if you ATTEMPT MEMBERSHIP without fulfilling ALL -=NoBS=- requirements, you will be rejected immediately, with no exception.
1. Please carefully read our rules overview found HERE. Each player GUID shall have only one opportunity for -=NoBS=- internship.
2. Your visibility and interaction with us will show us your interest and sincerity about wishing to become a -=NoBS=- member. We want to know you before you seek to become one of us. Please join us on our TeamSpeak server HERE for a few weeks or even more so we can all become acquainted with you.
3. As not all of us play on one server at one time, please make a point to play on all of our different servers which you can find HERE, so once again, all of us can have the opportunity to get to know you.
4. Please also join our forums HERE so that you can read about what is going on in the -=NoBS=- world and keep up with our politics and happenings as well as sharing your viewpoints with us, again, which will help us to become better acquainted with you.
5. You will need to find a mentor within the ranks of -=NoBS=- members, the list of which can be found in our forums HERE. Only this mentor, who personally will take responsibility for you and your actions during your internship, can invite you to apply for -=NoBS=- membership. The timing of which will be first and foremost up to your mentor and will subsequently be reviewed by a panel of other members who hopefully will know you before the invitation to apply for membership is extended.
6. At such time as it is determined that an intern is in fact potential -=NoBS=- material, a link for application for admission to -=NoBS=- shall be sent via private message and/or e-mail to the intern, at which time, the intern shall completely fulfill the details on the questionnaire. Please DO NOT leave questions blank. The more detail you give us, the better.
7. At this stage, a security check on the intern will be administered by any means deemed appropriate by -=NoBS=- members. Given that there are no hiccups in this proceeding, a vote will be called to the general membership, where the members will have the opportunity to openly discuss and subsequently to vote on the admittance of the intern in question.
8. The intern shall either a) pay his dues HERE (Paypal links are far right side half way down the page) and be pinned with -=NoBS=- tags; or b) be notified of his failure to have been elected into membership.
Thank you, soldier, for your continued commitment and dedication to -=NoBS=- . END MESSAGE
