[PASSED][Citizen] Ariovistus Maximus (patron: Gertrudius!)3/20/10

[Gertrudius]

Ariovistus Maximus

Greetings CdeC! Gertrudius has kindly offered to support my application here.

I really enjoy this forum. It's unique structure and system of administration sets it apart from other gaming forums. It is also unique in that it is a community beyond the Total War Series. We joined to discuss a game, but discovered many other common interests. The TWC accommodates those interests through the D&D, Writer's Study, and other venues, which in some ways actually outshine the TW discussion areas. There are a great many places for a member to become involved, and many potential friends to meet.

My own interests are primarily in the Writer's Study and Discussion & Debate forums. I will list some contributions first in the Writer's Study:

- First of all, I've had the opportunity to join the Critic's Quill. I began in November of last year in Issue #14. I have contributed to each issue since then, writing a review and an article for each edition.

- I also have an AAR, "Of Destiny and Duty," that I've been working on for quite some time. It's been slow lately due to school demands, but it moves on. My AAR also took second place in MAARC XV.

- I've participated in the TotW competitions (starting at #62) and Scriptorium Writing Competitions as well. I won TotW 64 in December. I was also active in helping the staff promote those competitions. TotW 63, for example, was quite a success with 37 voters.

As I mentioned, I'm also active in the D&D forum. Here I'll list some of those activities.

- Of course I debate. Naturally, you know how opinions will be split as to the quality of my skills. Sadly we often find in debate that people's preconceptions determine their opinion of one's arguments, rather than the other way around.

Still, I've had some successful encounters. Here are a few examples:

"Assault Weapons?" (This was probably the best of all.)
"Christians, explain this please..." (We didn't reach concensus but we cleared up some things.)
Are Guns Needed in Self-Defense? (This was quite a decisive victory.)

I've also participated in a couple of GFC debates, here and here. It's worth mentioning (for good or bad) that the third debate I mentioned above was conducted in the GFC commentary forum.

I think it's good for a person to know their weaknesses. And I must admit, I have a rather sarcastic personality. I think that civility is a great asset to any debate. On the other hand, talking to some people is like talking to a very thick stone wall. And, to continue the metaphor, when I come up to a brick wall I take out my jackhammer. In short, when I see people trolling or meandering about without a clue, I don't shy away from strongly asserting my opinion. Pardon me, but I think that sometimes people need a verbal splash of cold water to wake them up.

As I said, this can be a weakness; it's not always appropriate. For all that, though, it's worth mentioning that I have received no warnings or infractions in my time at the TWC. Examples of these methods are here and here. I'll leave you to decide whether it is appropriate or no.

Finally, I have contributed an idea or two to the forum. First, I posted (with permission) a study of logical fallacies here, which I thought was quite useful. Here is an example of my own pontifications.

In conclusion, I think that I can be an asset to the site as a citizen, and that citizenship would enable me to help the site in new and different ways. Many thanks to Gertrudius! and the Consilium de Civitate for their time!

~Ariovistus Maximus

Gertrudius!

I’ll leave the denoting of contributions to the applicant, and focus on what prompted me to offer to patronize him. First off, is that he is a debater, one of the few things on this site that I am thoroughly familiar with. But only in that I found his debating to be refreshingly straight forward, polite, and well constructed; something that is severely lacking from the D&D most of the time. Because of this healthy debate etiquette, he has been able to avoid any notes or infractions, and I believe he is a model example of a debater that deserves to rise to the rank of Citizen. This applicant has previously attempted to gain citizenship, but was denied on the grounds that his contributions were not enough to warrant the rank. Since then, he has started participating in Garb’s Fight Club, has continued to conduct a successful AAR, and has been writing for the Critic’s Quill for several months, not to mention continuing to debate. All in all, I believe that these continuing contributions warranted his reapplying, and I offered my services as patron to that end.

Take it easy,

[Legio]

omgyes

i was about to ask him


gertrudius

[Augustus Lucifer]

Legio

[Hesus de bodemloze]

omgyes

i was about to ask him


gertrudius

I asked him before one of you did , but he rejected my offer.

Seem like firm contributions to me so i will probably vote yes on this candidate. I will take a closer look though before making my final call.

[Nikos]

POLL ADDED

[Legio]

ITS THE VOTE VOTE ANYWHERE EVERYWHERE GANG
VOTING THINGS ANYWHERE EVERYWHERE MANG

[Gertrudius]

I obviously abstained.

[Justinian]

He looks like a good candidate, I have voted yes.

[Astaroth]

I've voted yes as well. His contributions are definitely sufficient.

[Viking Prince]

On the TW side of the application we have the CQ contributions and a bit of promotion for a competition. The actual writing is good (TotW, AAR), but not what has been considered as contributions in the strict sense. I do think such activitiy does indeed count a bit though. The debate side is also less that what I would be looking for on it's own. I do beleive the combination is sufficient.

Yes.

[Nikos]

PASSED