[Failed 22/10/09] [Citizen] KippyK (Patron: Prisca)

**Antissa** · October 11, 2009, 12:05 AM

Dear members of the CdeC, I propose KippyK for the title of Citizen for contributions to the Common Community. He has been amongst the community for four years and has made contributions through debate and discussion with other TWCers. KippyK's posts stands out from the ordinary CCer, as most are generally well constructed and thought out. He is courteous and friendly towards other, and has never required attention from the Moderator Staff. He has also made two simple AARs that garnered a positive reception from its viewers. Although KippyK has not made a name for himself in the Total War modding or debate/discussion community, his positive conduct in the forums and contributions to the common community should be noted.

In conclusion, I believe that KippyK is a notable example of the model TWC Citizen. I hope that the CdeC will agree on this as well.

Thanks.

Applicant, KippyK.

Hello everybody! For those of you who don't know me, I'm KippyK. I've been a member of TWC since April of 2005, when I was 16 years old. I joined after I had bought and fell in love with Rome: Total War (I had played Shogun before that, as well). I loved the game, as it was the first computer game that allowed me to immerse myself in the Classical world, which was an era of history I always found fascinating. I saw myself as an armchair historian, and Rome allowed me to become an armchair general as well. I initially joined the community to search for and share strategy tips for Rome. What I found was a group of people who shared my passion both for the game and for the history. Friendly users directed me to mods that made the gaming experience all the more fun, and all the more informative. I enjoyed myself so much, discussing and discovering new mods, that I began frequenting the site. I stayed throughout the release of Medieval 2, and following a hiatus during my first semester of university, I came back during the run-up to the release of Empire.

I am most frequently seen in the Empire general boards and the Mount and Blade subforums. I also enjoy poking my head into various other subforums to read and post, and I can be seen occasionally in the Circus Maximus and the Arts forums. I am a fan of both video games, cinema, and television, so these are some of my favorite topics to discuss outside of the Total War series of games.

I try to bring a voice of cautious optimism to the TWC. If any of you have encountered me in the Empire boards following the release of the game, you would have found me praising Empire's good aspects, while noting its flaws. I tried to facilitate discussion, which meant questioning both the undying praise, as well as the undying hate. I tried to diffuse ranting and negativity, not because it was unwarranted (in many cases, it was), but because it detracted from what the TWC is, and always has been, for me: a community. It's a cliche, but we are a "band of brothers (and sisters!)" here. We come from all walks of life, from all over the world, united by our interest in Total War, games, the arts, politics, religion, you name it. I try to act as a voice of reason, because of this. While complaints have their place in the game industry, the TWC is more than that. It's a home away from home, filled with friendly, goodhearted people. I also join in and start discussions of things that occur in my life.

If I were named a Citizen, I would continue to seed the boards with cautious optimism. It's important to never lose one's sense of skepticism, but that doesn't mean that the TWC can't remain a place for civil and smart discussion. I would be an encouraging voice on the boards, willing to help new members when I could. One of my best "full circle" moments is when I started receiving the occasional PM from new members about Empire mod recommendations; I saw my 16 year old self in them, and it made me very happy to have remained a TWC member for over four years now. Even I'm not named a Citizen, I will continue on as an active member of the community, as this place has always been a favorite refuge. While it would be an honor, and I hope to join the ranks of our excellent Citizenry, being passed over for the time-being would not affect my love for the TWC and the joy I've derived here.

Here are a couple AAR's I've written in the past; the Austrian one wasn't supposed to be as short as it is, but the patching of Empire and the frequent updates to APE:TI (my favorite mod!) cause me to abandon old saves pretty frequently. I hope you enjoy these brief reads!

Forgive me Father, for I have Sindh!

On the Front Lines of the Lord: An Austrian APE:TI AAR

Notable posts:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...=301917&page=2
Post #33, 55, 60.
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...=301452&page=2
Post #34
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...78#post5420278
Post #10
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...76#post5401276
Post #30
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...79#post3049879
Post #29

I thank you for your time and consideration. It is a pleasure and an honor just to be considered for this position.

**Empress Meg** · October 12, 2009, 09:54 AM

Edits: I added both patron and applicant profile links and removed the spoiler tag on the applicant's essay.

**Tankbuster** · October 13, 2009, 12:35 PM

Seeing as he's running for Civitate (I mean, we're not going to make him a citizen for modding achievements, are we?), it's quite ironic that he only has 134 posts in the D&D sections (most of which in The Arts)!!
Of the 53 threads he has made, the majority of them are in either the Broken Crescent forum or the Medieval and Empire general discussion fora.
Most of his posts are in the general Activities and Chat fora (316 posts), Medieval Total War fora (604), but the vast majority in the Empire Total War forum (1124) in either the General Discussion or the APE mod forum.

So what we basically have here is a courteous and friendly guy who likes engaging in discussions about his experiences in games and mods. Undoubtedly a fine chap of which this site is full of, but Civitate material? I think not.
Unless I get to see more debate and contribution quality, I'm currently leaning towards a no. I'll be going through more of his posts in the next few days though.

**Justinian** · October 13, 2009, 06:37 PM

I am stunned this guy has been around for so long (I had only been a member for 7 months when he joined), because I've never heard of him before. Tankbuster brings up a good point -- he has posted very rarely in the D&D, posts spanned out over 4+ years. His posts are very good, and if there was a 'very intelligent and nice guy who helps out around the community' rank, I'd vote yes -- but he's neither a modder (Artifex) or a particularly active or distinguished debater (Civitate). And you can't just apply for Citizen if you're too weak in both areas.

The bottom line for me is that if he is more active in the D&D, and maintains his quality of posting, he's a shoe in; if he contributes to mods, he's a shoe in; but he's in the unfortunate grey area between the two and I can't really vote for him.

His patron sums it up best:

Although KippyK has not made a name for himself in the Total War modding or debate/discussion community,

Unfortunately for KippyK, those are the only two areas which qualify someone to be a citizen.

**Viking Prince** · October 14, 2009, 04:50 AM

Contibutions to the site matter. For me, it is not a real issue which badge is formally requested. If he is a good candidate for citizen, he should be a citizen. My understanding is that the choice of badge is technically a choice of each citizen and technically not a part of the application. Tradition has meant choosing one of the three for the patronization application (probably to direct CdeC in it's research). At least that is how I have approached the process.

see Article I. Ranks and
Article II. Patronisation

Contributing members of TWC have the opportunity to become a Citizen of the Forum as per Article 2 below. Once a member becomes a Citizen, they can then choose between 3 different badges. Artifex, designed for those who are modders, Civitate, designed for those who have contributed to the debating side of the Site, whether in TW or CC, and Citizen, for those who associate with both.

emphasis added

**Justinian** · October 14, 2009, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by Viking Prince

Contibutions to the site matter. For me, it is not a real issue which badge is formally requested. If he is a good candidate for citizen, he should be a citizen. My understanding is that the choice of badge is technically a choice of each citizen and technically not a part of the application. Tradition has meant choosing one of the three for the patronization application (probably to direct CdeC in it's research). At least that is how I have approached the process.

see Article I. Ranks and
Article II. Patronisation

emphasis added

It's not about what badge he wants, it's about qualifying for the award itself. Traditionally, a Citizen is named either for D&D contributions or modding contributions, not just being a cool guy.

**Astaroth** · October 14, 2009, 01:05 PM

Could a Hex member please add a poll to this thread?

**Harry Lime** · October 14, 2009, 01:21 PM

Like Justy I hadn't heard of him but I did notice his posts in the Empire forum after release. One of the more reasoned members battling against the whining hordes. However despite his intelligent, objective and mediating posts there I can't in good conscience award him citizenship on that basis alone. My advice for him would be to learn some modding skills and join a Hosted Mod team. I think he's too nice for the D&D, it may well ruin him

**Astaroth** · October 14, 2009, 02:07 PM

Actually, in the past users have become Citizens for contributions outside the D&D and the wide field of modding. Running community games, writing AARs, creating 2D art (such as signatures and avatars), being an active local moderator and helping others in the PH&A forum or the Basement are just a few examples.

One has to contribute to the forums in order to qualify for Citizenship. Whether these contributions are made in the D&D, as a modder or in a different capacity is secondary.

Please note that those are just some general thoughts that do not have anything to do with this particular Citizen application. I did however think that it was worth mentioning this.

**Justinian** · October 14, 2009, 03:23 PM

Yes -- but you have to do a lot more in those areas. They are the junior circuit if you will.

**Empress Meg** · October 15, 2009, 12:53 PM

He just need more "something" as others have stated above.

I don't care about what the heck badge he wears.They are all interchangeable.

And sorry, I should have added the poll too. :S

**Viking Prince** · October 15, 2009, 01:24 PM

If we gave out the badges for being a pretty decent member with some time in place -- he wins hands down. It seems that his activity has not been focused enough on a task or two at a time. If he does not make it this time, I hope the message given to him will be to focus a bit and return in another month or two with a few new items to add to the list.

**Harry Lime** · October 15, 2009, 03:58 PM

I abstained because I didn't think he had contributed enough to be a Citizen but at the same time he has more than enough of the qualities I like to see in a Citizen. Am I a wishy-washy old fool? Yes, yes I am.

**Astaroth** · October 16, 2009, 08:45 AM

I like his attitude as well but I think he needs to contribute more if he wants to become a Citizen. He isn't there yet but I'm sure that he will eventually make it if he keeps on contributing.

**the Black Prince** · October 17, 2009, 09:37 AM

And you can't just apply for Citizen if you're too weak in both areas.

Huh?
You apply ONLY for citizenship.... whether they want to identify with any or all of the 3 badges available to them is their choice after our vote. A vote, which incidentally should not be happening. Why has a poll been added? The office of the Curator is vacant, all work of the Curator is held over until after election.

Back to the discussion... he's a nice guy, he plays mount and blade. He's fairly active and posts well, got a blog on the site (something to do with cycling) some AARs and reading through loads of his threads and posts I still see nothing that makes him stand out as having made some great contribution to this site. He's a good member, undoubtedly, but not a spectacular "wow lets make him a citizen" one.