An idea came to me about the group function and I want to put it out there to the tengaged community and see what the response is. I would appreciate any and all feed back either as a post on here or mail message.
I think implementing a Greek system could be a great idea for the Tengaged community. Fraternities and Sororities have been around for quite some time at the university level and I think it might be a nice idea for Tengaged, too. Here are some of my thoughts:
1) There could be charters or mission statements for each sorority/fraternity so you know what kind of group you are getting into. Often each is known by the kind of reputation they have around campus. Likewise, I'm sure each would get a reputation here on Tengaged.
2) I feel there already exist some tight bonds between a few guys or a few girls. And after reading some blogs, it looks like the female population of Tengaged desires some means of coming together.
3) It could increase Rookie/Casting relationships. Rookies could act as mentors to those in casting and if a casting person has a group of friends they can turn to, there is a greater chance they will stay with Tengaged.
4) Depending if this is a popular system, when enough fraternities and sororities are cultivated, we could create intermurals. Usually these are sports activities and the different group compete, but we could come up with some ranking system based on how members of your frat/sorority place in games, so you can have bragging rites or something along those lines.
5) We could have 'mixers' where one fraternity and one sorority get together for a game. It would make the greek system stronger and improve bonds across gender lines.
6) Each organization could elect their leaders by term (whatever they decide), so everyone has a chance to lead or even leave and join a new fraternity/sorority if they wish.
Some items I have not totally figured out in my head are:
1) Is this going to be more devisive, rather than a system that brings people together?
2) In the greek system you can only belong to one greek organization. Would that work here on Tengaged?
3) Would there be a rush or hazing of new people into the frat/sorority?
4) Would there be a limit on the number of people in each organization?
5) Does Tengaged even need a system like this? Are the groups already functioning in this manner?
6) Should they be open groups? Closed groups? Open and then closed?
I think its a very good idea
The intermurals thing could be done by playing games with 5 from one house and 5 from another, I imagine there will probably be a feature at some point where you can make a game and invite people to enter- if that happens it would be really interesting in regards to your idea here.
We don't really have fraternities and sororities in the UK, so I get all my info on them from cheesy college shows, so not sure I can comment on some of the points for lack of knowledge :(
But it sounds like a wicked idea, could drum up friendly rivalries and I would love to help mentor newbies
Your 5 and 5 idea sounds like my 'Mixer' idea I mentioned and I do think that is a good way to have good relations between different houses. By intermurals I meant like....if you have 10 people in your fraternity and they get points based on how they rank. Let's say their rankings are: 7,5,5,3,6,4,1,2,2,10. Divide that by 10 to get an average and your fraternity's rating is a 4.5 in the greek system. The lower the score the better. And it is an ongoing thing.
I like what you said about friendly rivalries....and I hope it would be that way and not turn into 'gangs'. LOL Hopefully some would develop in the ranking system, trying to recruit, and reputation.
Love the idea
Toga parties for all :P
It sounds like a great idea when you imagine friendly rivalries and healthy competeition rather than the all out bitch fests that some groups seem to want
Wow.....thanks for the feed back Summerlynn. I think that is the nicest thing you have ever said to me! HA HA HA Maybe distance (or not being in a game together) does make the heart grow fonder. :p
Good Idea. I would like to point out that a lot of senior members on Tengaged are real close with each other, most of them are vets. Some vets hate 'newbs' some don't. So there are some problems with this. The groups feature you have is ok for right now, I would hold out on the fraternity/sorority idea for the future, when Tengaged needs something to spice it up a bit.
I dunno if some of the vets 'hate' the new people, but they've been playing together for a while and are close friends, which is understandable. Although, I've found most are very open to new players. And there are more players joining every day, so if they aren't....bad news for them! HA HA
I'm not sure I see the problem you describe, though. Maybe I need more clarification. As I see it if there was the case that a bunch of 'vets' wanted to form a frat that would be okay, because a group of guys who have played just a few games could get together and form a frat and exchange ideas. Or with the charter or mission, people could join a frat that has similar values.
The feedback I am getting from here on the blog and mail messages overall seems positive. But there does seem to be some concern over the scope of having several frats/sororities. I may just start out forming one and see if there is a want for more.
It sounds like a very good idea... but for TENGAGED?
Tengaged is becoming far more complicated than when I first came here, and that wasn't too long ago.
As I see it, the Tengaged community is still fairly new. I think thats why new features are added every few weeks and a lot of people are trying out new ideas. I like the vitality and growth of the community, but you do raise a good point that we have to be careful not to get too complicated.
I talked to the powers that be, and they said that would not be allowed on Tengaged, so I think you are safe from facing that 'experience' again. HA HA
I think it's a fantastic idea. I'm a Newbie here but becoming quite active because I love Tengaged. We all know that ever Frat and Sorority house has GRUNTS so maybe you could find a way to fit in some of the Newbies to do some other tasks for you. Have them play against each other. I don't know just a thought if you aren't opposed to bringing on Newbies that is.
Grayson you have put so much thought into this I would hate to see nothing come out of it! You ROCK :o)
Thank you for posting on my frat/sorority blog! I usually try to respond to people there on the blog, but it has already closed and I was afraid you wouldn't see my response, so I sent this to you in mail message also.
There was concern from one person that older members of Tengaged would 'gang up' against new people, but I think I see it more like you do. That there could be a mix of old and new: some to teach and guide and others to learn. And a side effect would be the comradare and hopefully the retention of new memebers. Nonetheless, if all the 'veterans' of Tengaged hopped into frats/sororities together, new people could do it as well and have a group of their own.
My thought is that the frat/sorority system will actually provide what the original purpose of groups was to be. Right now it just seems like it is about a common thread (i.e. living in Canada, liking BB UK). My hope is that groups will function more like guilds and will have a system of ranking so there is friendly competition within the organization and with other organizations.
I will do a test run soon with just one fraternity and see how that goes. If there is a want for more, I plan to expand to sororities and multiple organizations. In addition, there would be a group for those who are interested in joining a frat/sorority, so they can either form their own or try and pledge to get into another one.
I like the idea of having activities during pledge time for new actives, but I would have to think a bit on what we can do within the parameters of this game.
An idea came to me about the group function and I want to put it out there to the tengaged community and see what the response is. I would appreciate any and all feed back either as a post on here or mail message.