Thanks to Pestcontrol for granting his permission to post this rant. Excellent work. :)

by PestControl of the IronKnights

There is a fine line between a gamer and a clanner. These days, it seems like most would consider the terms interchangeable. They are as different as black and blue, yet their definitions underline one of the most important life lessons and concepts. Everything in this world revolves around attitude. It is a vent for our problems, concerns and emotions. Success in one's life journey depends primarily on how one portrays oneself to all other people. A gamer is a hobbyist.. someone who plays games as a form of entertainment. A clanner is a gamer who lives for his close friends in their gaming community. Attitudes for both of these classifications are generally the same, but to be a great clanner, someone whose clan will value to the end of their days, requires a moral and ethical fibre that is rarer and rarer in today's super-gaming world. It is the virtue of nobility in this industry that makes clan membership a rewarding enhancement to the game of your choice.

Often I see people in game chats with clan initials on their names, swearing and belittleing their neighbors. People skip on reporting ladder games, cheat, and pay no heed nor interest in gaining anyone's respect. My usual thought, is that whatever clan that person is involved with, made a fatal mistake in recruiting that person. Clans are based at their core on friendship, not any ambitious desire to be the elite of the elite. Ambition is a goal, not a premise for a clan. One's attitude, if good, could lead oneself to success in any area of life. Employers will always choose the capable and respectable person over the egocentric with qualifications as long as santas christmas list. It is the greatest qualification of all.

Clans have a life expectancy of a very few months. Blame can often be put on bad leadership, loss of interest of the members, or even other unforseen circumstances related to real life (the great unspeakable maw of desperation for which we make the escape into the underworld of online gaming). The greatest reason for a clan's fall is it's members. No one knows how to deal with people. Respect for oneself and one's neighbors is all that matters. You could be the crappiest player there ever was, but could be valued more than any ****head with a hot rail. We must all work towards treating each individual, whether they are clan member or not, with the exact same etiquette. These are people afterall, not black on white text messages. A great clanner seeks resolution of disputes. Seeks good sportsmanship to peers, and seeks honesty. There's no greater honour than to be praised by someone you look up to as a good human being. It means more than anything, even a win against the #1 team. My happiness began when I decided that people were more important than ranks. My clan flourished. I was happy with the respect I was given. Such simplicity, which only the rare individual seems to understand.

I have no respect for the elitist attitude. It's like actually believing that hollywood's glamour shows it's people's true character. It is a farce, far worse than a lie. To be respected for one's skills is great.. but the instant you belittle a single person, or believe yourself above anyone else, you instantly become the lowest of the low. Clans survive only when the premise of the clan is close knit friendship, not to attain eliteness. The goal can be eliteness. Humility and an outward generosity of character will bring rewards that you will appreciate more than the hollow candy that is respect for the image of the elitest gamer. How hollow it is, when you are renowned as a fabulous plsurt, and all that anyone wishes of you is a stab to take you down a notch and bring them up a whole rung. These people respect skills, and don't really even care about you when it comes down to it. They use you to raise themselves in their own eyes and the eyes of their peers. You are a tool, and you wonder who that you interract with is fake, only wanting something from you.

Skill is a goal to be worked on. Humility has to be the premise for your presence in the gaming community. The greatest gamers respected in each community may be amazing at their game, but those who become legendary are those who treat the common player as an equal. For instance, many people regard a certain Macleod as the best Jedi Knight player there was. This is because he won every game he played, but always garnered a certain humility, and could talk with a bunch of people who didn't even know who he was, and act like a regular nice guy. There have been people since, who most likely could have beaten Macleod at the game, but no one has achieved his level of respect. His name is often whispered amidst the older of the current JK players even today, years after he left the game. Having people impersonate a gamer with fake names is one of the greatest testaments to the respect one has gained in a game.

Aggressive Attitude should be dropped the moment you click 'connect'. If your looking to vent, beat the living crap out of inanimate objects. The internet is not a tool to vent rage. People get genuinely upset when a cruel individual attacks them online. It is the greatest misconception that the indifferent look of a chatscreen follows through to the other people.

Clans are organisations to be taken seriously. The phrase "it's only a game" should not apply here. We are talking about human beings, friends by nature. Care should always be taken to keep your friends happy. Arguments can be harsh, because people inevitably say things in a way that they wouldn't word so harshly, if it was to be spoken face to face. Hallowed be the peacekeeper. Compromise is a skill. Not everyone has the ability to allow someone to get what they want. In most squables, it can work out to be best by giving them part of what they want, without compromising what you believe to be the right course of action. Endless drawn out fights, where choosy words end up insulting others, perpetuating the whole affair end up becoming counter-constructive. You are no longer talking about the issue at hand! The proper, professional way to handle it is to state in a clear manner why you believe something should be as so, and back it up with clear evidence, on how it could help the clan. The clan is more important than yourself, but only when the clan values your membership. Humility applies here, in the ability to say "you proved me wrong, I concede." It takes a strong individual to do something like this, and I tell you.. when I've been arguing something for awhile, and get proven wrong, nothing feels as good (save winning the argument) than proclaiming yourself the loser. Peace is attained. The gaming continues. Entertainment and joy returns promptly.

Clan commitments are not E-Commitments. They are not disposable simply because your name is an alias, and you speak with a keyboard. When you join a clan, you agree that this is a group in which you pledge your service. When I see clans break up due to simple little squabbles, it sickens me. Where is your loyalty? Fight to retain your clan's identity. Always ask yourself what is best for the clan, not what is best for yourself. Leaving because of a lul in activity, or because of a few disputes is jumping ship. There's no other term for it. Like all things in life, clanning is something that needs to be worked on. If you wanted to come online to relax and have no responsibilities at all, then dont join a clan. Just hang out. You probably wouldnt enjoy the stress of competetive tournaments anyway. People are people are people. Clans are commitments. If people had good attitudes, and lived to further the goals of the clan, while respecting the clan's premise, then the clan would outlive the game they play. That brings a whole new set of transitionary problems that I wouldn't want to get into. However, if you've made it to this point, there's nothing that can seperate the group. You'd feel confident in saying you trust the members of the clan with your life sometimes, despite you maybe not even knowing their last names, let alone having ever met them in person. A year, 2 years, 3 years... clans can live that long if the premise is right, and the goals dont belie that central premise. Your friendships will grow, and when you don't even care about gaming anymore, when you drift off, you will have fond memories, and would be a member of that clan for eternity, despite them just being a bunch of has-beens who enjoy their company from rare time, to rare time. Bottom line with loyalty, is that the clan is most important. If there is a problem with your clan, work with the members to solve the problem through effective healthy communication to everyone in the group. Don't say "They suck, I'm going to find a new home" because it will follow you. Stick with your commitments... having been a faithfull clan member is the second route to great respect. That, and the first one I outlined, create those people you will remember far longer after the game becomes a 'bargain bin special'. You wont even remember the names of the elite players. You would retain the bonds with those you shared your close clan with.. even years later after seeing them again. Expressions like my own clan's "IRN4LIFE" are healthy, in that it is a constant reminder of the oath we all took towards eachother. We've endured so long, I don't even remember who first implimented this code. You can count whole ages pass by.

An internet community, especially a gaming community, is like life in a bottle, as I say. You will find aspects in any given community to reflect or represent aspects in real life. It should be a representation on how you treat people. That truly is all that matters in any aspect of life, online or not. You will reap what you reward, and as the eternal cliché goes: "Treat others as you would have them treat you" is something we all hear and disregard, if you pair it with an equally anoying anecdote: "What goes around, comes around", then you get: "You will reap what you have sewn". Be a misurable person if you don't care for respect, or happiness.. just prepare for a negative reaction.

A good gamer is not necesarily a clanner or a good clanner, but a good clanner is always a good gamer. They are the highest class sportsman and promoter of ethics and values. No sport today other than online gaming, permits such an open atmosphere for commentaries and opinions to be thrown about by the gamers themselves, professional competitors, and even bystandards. This breaks down the barriers, and makes it even more important to show a great charisma. No one even asks what City, or even what Country another person lives in.

I hope someone takes this message to heart. Far too many people are wasted in these gaming communities, lost to the whole idea of being an elite pro. Consider every action and statement you make. I want the communities and games to improve to a maturity level which reflects our technological level. That is my point here... maybe someone can learn from my hard long story and not live to repeat my mistakes. Feel free to email me, I love to speak with people with similar or even opposing views.

My final word of the day, is that the skills learned through the long term partnership in a gaming clan has taught me the values I cherish today. What I have expressed in this rant is at the core of my spirituality. Nothing in life is completely seperate from the rest of your life. It comes together in a great circle where your misdeeds haunt you, and your glorious victories of the character bring sheer enjoyment of the world. Let yourself be free of the selfish needs to be elite and powerful. Live as a commoner and a friend to all, even those who you really want to beat in that next tournament, and you'll be rewarded in that community more than you'll ever expect by being the best player. I've received the meaning of life, I believe. Simply through that which people denote "just a game".

By David Campbell, PestControl of the IronKnights [IRN] pestcontrol@ironknights.net