SYTYCW: Your Own Department – Winners!

So You Think You Can Write: Your Own Department

This month’s theme for So You Think You Can Write was both Your Own Department and KSI Mythology. With a $50 prize on the line, both topics were hot fire this month. Believe us when we say it is difficult to choose winners when so many ideas are being brought to us. Thank you from the News Team to all who participated!

Winners

KSI Fadez 7

Divisional Relations Department

This department would be ran by a trusted leader of the community with a hand picked member of each division as a primary liaison with a staff of at least 2 to 3 reps from each division under them.

The department’s main focus would be to bridge the gap between divisions and to promote and create healthy fun friendly relations between each division and to improve the overall unity and retention of members throughout the community by setting up game nights between divisions on a rotating basis on multiple games.

This would bring everyone together across the community and make us far more united across the board and make the members feel far less isolated in their divisions and squads, it would build a healthy morale boost and bring prosperity to the community.

KSI xShocK 7

AD (Activity Department)

The single most important thing to any gamming community is fun. So how do we inspire fun? that’s where the activity department comes in. Member retention seems to be a hot topic and the solution is obvious to me members wont leave if they’re enjoying themselves. Made up of the upcoming leaders of KSI with one goal to create activity.

The department would be led by two heads the Chief Activities Officer (CAO) and the Chief Forums Activities Officer (CFAO). They would also have two Co-Heads to help support them. The Role of the department Heads as well as Co-Heads would be to get with leaders (Gens, Co-Fos, Founders, Co-Divs, Div Leads) to help organize game nights for divisions and individual squads to try to inspire members to take more of an interest in our community.

For the common staff they would help diversify their divisions game night schedule by hosting game nights at time that differ from the standard times, as well as participate in events set up by the heads. For example, in Divine Warriors we tend to host all our events at 8pm est to 9pm est with such a structured time for all our events many members in other time zones don’t get the chance to a true KSI experience.

To combat this, the staff members would strategize and organize in an attempt to give their members game nights at different times to better suit those members. I would hope that this department would have access to the gens chat on the forums to better reach out to those leaders its meant to help. We would all encourage starting a game night attendance page in the meeting note of your respective divisions ( The following format was posted by KSI HAVOC 7 but I couldn’t determine who first came up with the idea.)

Please post attendance from game nights, events, etc., in here in the following format.

Squad:

Date:

Host:

Game:

Approx. Length:

Attendance:

(S) = Samurai

(E) = Elysium

(H) = Hannibal

EXAMPLE:

Squad: Hannibal

Date: 2/12/18

Host: KSI Ronin 77

Game: Halo Wars 2

Approx. Length: 6:30pm-1:30am

Attendance:

KSI Billybob (H)

Jokerguy411 (S)

KSI Garyetta (S)

KSI Yorker (E)

xXHeartlessXx (H)

Using the format above allow the leaders in your division to keep track of not only the active leaders, but members in your division.

The CAO as well as the two Co-Heads would could use a calendar like the one in the link currently being used by Paladin DW created by KSI xKamikaze and KSI xShocK 7 to keep organized (Made for Mobile Users).

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12gjw-VNlhk0Pzvu17kKswyxP8kGpg_m7l6cUKqShLX0/edit?usp=sharing

The Chief of Forums Activity as well as their staffs main object would be to promote activity by creating new general chat topics as well as find ways to create more interest in the forums.  When I first joined KSI back in April of 2014 the forums were a happening place, but today it appears there are more locked inactive topics then they’re active ones.

We should also promote using the chat box to meet members to play with. A common complaint I hear from new members is that they feel that just about every topic has already been covered (massive number of topics). Based on all of those prior experiences with new members its my belief that we could vamp up forums activity by archiving all the old chats (which I don’t doubt is a job on its own).

Examples:

General Chat:

Gaming (we are a gaming community where is our E3 conversations)

PC gaming (It’s underused and would make the main page cleaner)

Split up Music and Movies (if you go halfway down the page its locked anyways)

YouTube (a place to talk about our favorite youtubers and viral videos)

TodayILearned (Inspired by Garys Fact of the day)

Funny (for all those clean jokes if abused closed)

KSIDntAskImAwfl

The second highest cause of deaths for 15 to 24 year olds in the United States is suicide. It used to be number one in most states but because of use of cell phones vehicle accidents has taken that spot.

I have a very shy and hard to fit in type personality, especially when I first came to KSI. At first, I was not comfortable “jumping into” parties or friending other members without permission. I was very afraid to start posting on forums and I still haven’t found the courage to compete in competitions.

Unfortunately, as I have served on the welcoming committee, I am finding so many gamers just like me. The problem is, they, for what ever reason, have fallen through the giant crevices that are left open because our leaders are incredibly busy with all the different aspects and extreme responsibilities of their duties all ready.

KSI has an incredible opportunity to step in and make sure the second group I mentioned does not become a statistic of the first. I believe that if we had a department that was strictly for taking these shyer new members by the hand and bridge that gap of deep dark pit of unknown beginnings to the “this isn’t at all as hard as I thought it was” side, not only would it take some pressure off of our officers and leaders, but it would develope the type of members that would be sensitive to others in the future and, in my opinion,  make incredible leaders.

Now, here is the hard part for me. In this department the leaders need to be trained and somehow know the warning signs and the dangers of high risk members in KSI. To teach workshops on warning signs to divisional and squad leaders. To have a plan of action to get in touch with someone qualified even if it is to call 911.

Sometimes someone won’t say or do anything,  not because they are heartless but just because they are scared. Once this subject is not looked upon as “taboo” and more as a fact of living it could really help save someone.

Think about it, there might not be anyone in person that someone would drop a hint to if they were planning suicide, but if they are on with gamers who don’t have a face or live in their everyday surroundings, those frustrations are voiced even if in the smallest way. If we could save one life, wouldn’t it be worth the work and extreme hassle of developing this department?

I’m going to get super real with you. Not because I want to win, as a matter of fact, Its fine if I don’t because there are a lot of GREAT suggestions here that are very needed. But please, just consider this for the future. I lost my 15 year old son when he decided to lay down in front of a train.

We knew he struggled with depression but he had gone through in house therapy, and I didn’t know at the time, but the doctor told him he was a spoiled adolescent from a good home looking for attention. He was discharged, he swore he was ok, and then he was gone. He was my dearest and best gaming partner but he always felt he never fit in places.

Believe it or not, I honestly believe, because of the friendships I’ve developed, if he had had a friend in KSI and if he had been in a party, he might have dropped a hint of what was in the future.

I realize this is not a cheerful subject and I don’t want to bring a bummer bomb to everybody’s day, but I do strongly believe this could be an excellent department.

So You Think You Can Write: Your KSI Resume

The topic for So You Think You Can Write for July is: Your KSI Resume. For this month, SYTYCW is worth double points! Go fill out your resume for KSI and represent your division in the Divisional Cup!