Andrelious
25-06-2012 15:07:10
The affirmative strikes #1
Selika Roh
25-06-2012 20:55:19
The topic will be: High level equite promotions should be made availible to members who have not served directly in leadership positions.
If both competitors would like to begin their debate during the prep period, send me an email and I'll turn you lose.
Andrelious
05-07-2012 13:45:37
The case for derestricting Equite ranks for those not in leadership is clearly compelling.
There are plenty of members who have contributed a large amount to their unit over the years. Whilst many of these have served in some capacity as a leader, there are those who chose not to.
Should a veteran of 5 years be forced to be of a lower rank than someone who has been around for half of that time and perhaps contributed half as much? I say no, that they shouldn’t. Promotions should be issued on merit. Leadership performance is impressive, yes, but there are other areas that a member can excel in. What about the member who contributes heavily during vendettas, perhaps even taking an unofficial role as a clan’s motivator? What about the member who, despite not being even an Aedile, has trained a dozen members to Dark Jedi Knight? There are many, many ways a member can contribute without a leader position.
Another issue is that leadership positions are not always available, and often, members of a higher rank are deemed as ‘veterans’ and a Journeyman is given the job instead. Whilst the merits of such a strategy are not up for debate, it cannot be argued that with more journeymen in leadership positions, the number of positions available to the Equites is lowered.
It is also true that the limitations on rank also partially stem from our past connection with the Emperor’s Hammer. The EH’s main group, the TIE Corps, has always used maximum ranks, even demoting members who were deemed of ‘too high’ a rank to serve as a lay member. While it perhaps makes sense in a military setting, it makes little sense in the Brotherhood’s setting to have maximum ranks that restrict a member’s own standing. We do not promote members to the old ‘minimum’ ranks anymore, nor should we. All ranks should be attainable by all positions, though whether a lay member can ever do enough to deserve an Elder position is a separate matter for a separate day.
The final thing to consider is that medals are not restricted. Both promotions and medals are primarily used to reward members. It is possible, though unlikely, for anyone to receive the Golden Lightsaber, the highest award in the Brotherhood. If a member has done something wonderful enough to obtain this award, their position is not taken into account. Why should promotions to middle-level ranks require time as a leader? I myself have several Grand Cross awards. Whilst the work from these, especially the earlier ones which were obtained when medals were of a lower value, may not have justified a promotion on their own, is it not the case that some earned medals may have been a promotion instead had I been a leader?
Xantros
07-07-2012 02:28:56
I believe that the leadership experience requirement for high level Equite promotions is very well justified. I shall now present the arguments to support my statement.
First of all, the Equites are expected to do their best in the work for the common good of our organisation. They must prove their worthiness to the community they belong to, whether it is their Battleteam, House, Clan or whole Dark Jedi Brotherhood. The best way to do so is to become a leader of a unit, like House or Clan. It is definitely a challenging and demanding expectation, but the Brotherhood needs leaders. What is more, it needs good and experienced leaders.
It is said that leaders without subordinates to command are not leaders. Indeed, it is true. However, with the people to lead members of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, the organisation will probably collapse and fall. There will be no vision and strategy created to guide the Brotherhood in the future. It will be unable to adjust itself to changing circumstances and new conditions. Its members will do whatever they want and there will be no officials to prevent internal conflicts and chaos. In the best scenario, members of the Brotherhood will turn to unofficial, but respected leaders for help, in order to save the club. It still leads us to the necessity of having leaders.
Experienced leaders are necessary on every level of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood; not only in the House or Clan Summits, but particularly in the Dark Council. Members of the Dark Council are responsible for leading whole Brotherhood, development of the strategy and implementing ideas, which may be beneficial for the organisation. It is also up to them to appoint members of the House and Clan Summits. These are just few duties of the Dark Council members, but just these few require vast knowledge and great experience, which may be gained only through service on various leadership positions. While the experience does not guarantee success in such positions, it increases one’s abilities to deal with difficult problems and situations that may be encountered as a member of the Dark Council. In this case, would you rather trust an inexperienced Dark Jedi Master, who has never been a leader, or an experienced Equite 4, who has served on a leadership position for two years and proved himself or herself a really good leader?
If you take a look at various armies, higher ranked officers receive promotions not for carrying typical duties of a soldier, but for their service in various leadership positions, like a commander of a foreign mission or a commander of a large unit. It is so, because someone is needed to manage such operations and units. Similar situation, though on a much smaller scale and in a bit different circumstances, may be observed in the Brotherhood.
Another important thing is the character and its background story development. As leaders, one receives additional powers and rights, which they may use in stories, the ACC matches, Run-Ons and other writing activities. Rank members do not have such opportunity. Apart from its influence on one’s powers, it is also a great way to expand one’s character story. Leadership opens brand new paths of story development, like internal conspiracies, coups d’état and interactions between Summits of various Houses and Clans are just few possible situations that may be described the perspective of a victim or an involved party (as a leader). Rank members will never have an opportunity to develop their character stories in such way, as leaders do.
These, who earn one of the Equite or Elder ranks never think about being rewarded for their work. They are truly and wholeheartedly dedicated to the service to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood and its members. However, leadership is an easier way to earn merit and sacramental awards. While to be a good leader takes much more than to be a good rank member of any organisation, it is also linked with much greater probability to earn higher awards for one’s work as a leader. It is worth remembering that sacramental awards may be utilized in ACC fights, Run-Ons and any other RPG and writing activities. Rank members, if not involved in big projects, have very limited access to such awards. Also, it is worth mentioning that the description of Diamond Sword (taken from the Codex) clearly states that the recipients of this award “will have shown leadership abilities over a wide range of positions throughout the Brotherhood.” It is one of the requirements or ways to earn a Diamond Sword, but it stresses the need of one’s service on a leadership position in this case. The description of the Amethyst Kukri also mentions excellent service on a leadership position (leading a Clan) as an exemplary reason to recommend this award.
Leadership plays also significant role in one’s personal development. It is a demanding challenge to lead other people. It requires certain abilities and personality qualities. Some people possess them naturally; some others must do a lot of efforts to gain them. In many cases, leadership in such organisation like the Dark Jedi Brotherhood allows them to develop necessary skills and qualities with time. In any other case, they would be unable to gain them, due to different, unfavourable circumstances. Serving as an Aedile of a House is an opportunity to get rid of one’s limitations like timidity, to develop necessary abilities and to gain experience for further service to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood.
Finally, apart from the matter of personal development, there are some people, who need something more than just taking part in everyday activities, like chatting with friends on IRC or participating in competitions. They need a challenge to feel satisfaction from their time in such organisations like Dark Jedi Brotherhood. In such situation, only taking over some leadership positions may fulfill their desire of testing their own abilities, skills and personality. On the other hand, there are many people, who do nothing more than just being active. Certainly, they participate in various competitions; they complete Shadow Academy courses and sometimes even take part in some projects. However, if you see their activity in a wider perspective, you may understand that it is not impressive enough to earn a promotion for one. Is it fair to those, who accept the burden and duties of leaders, to allow other members to earn a high level Equite promotion for an average amount of activity for a long period of time?