Reporting/Communication

Reporting/Communication

Good communication is critical to the proper administration of the club. When you go for extended periods without touching base with your commanders/opponents you make it that much more difficult to manage this club. The officers who donate their time in maintaining club records and web pages work hard to do this task. They should not have to go chasing after you to find out what you are up to.

To this end we have now begun to keep an Attendance Roll for each cadet while here at the Academy.  It will serve as a benchmark for our Army Commanders and will be noted on your Commission when you graduate the Academy. To be counted as present you MUST do one of the following (please see the communications section of Class 701):

             1) Go to the MDT/VMI Mess Hall and file a Cadet Battle Report after every 2 turns, or

    2) File a Cadet Battle Report every 7 days if you are not making 2 turns in a week.

In addition to this we would like you to inform the Commandant AND your instructor if you have to delay, or suspend your game for any reason, simply e-mail them.

THOSE WHO HAVE NOT REPORTED IN A TEN (10) DAY PERIOD
WILL BE CONSIDERED ABSENT FROM CLASS.

Cheating

We can not put this any plainer than this DO NOT CHEAT!! It is not worth it.

First of all this club has gone out of it's way to insure that there is no reason to cheat. The point differential between winning and losing is not great enough to warrant it, so why do it.

Secondly the penalties are too great to make it worth the doing.

Some examples of severe Cabinet actions against cheaters are listed below:

1) They have been made to lose all of their accumulated points to date.
2) They have had their rank reduced back to 2nd Lieutenant.
3) They have had to make public apologies at the Mason/Dixon Tavern.

   In addition:

   Many players refuse to play them after finding they have cheated.
   Some players won't even communicate with known cheaters.

Rest assured that this club is fully capable of policing itself and can easily determine if an officer is cheating. Most players who have been caught just run away and quit the club. Those who are allowed to remain are court-marshaled and severely punished as listed above.

Our goal here as CSA officers is to have FUN. Points and rank come easily enough to any officer who participates. If you want to be a General just play some games. You will get there whether you win or lose. So don't dishonor us all, please don't cheat.

Remember:

1) Don't replay your moves.
2) Don't replay your fires. 
3) Don't try to break into the game files.

Every one in this club pays a price when someone cheats. Some lose a playing buddy. Others lose respect by association. Some lose their confidence in the other side of the club. We all lose some of our trusting nature.

Cadets please take this to heart !

How to get a Fight

1) Most games are solicited by simply going to the PBEM Opponent Finder and posting a "Challenge".

a) Please, do not do this until you have your commission. 
(This club has strict rules against playing for real until you have completed your training game).

b) Please be sure to always include your Rank, Name and Club side in any postings at the Tavern. (include your army and Corp, too)                

i.e.  Fld. Lt. Jon Jones, III Corps, AotM, CSA

c) Try to be specific when posting a challenge.  Post the Game and scenario you want to play.  Let them know if you are looking for a single player game or one to involve multiple players.

d) Have fun with your "banter" at the Tavern, but, please do not post things in such a tone as to make others overly uncomfortable by your comments.  Heck, don't say things that would upset you if said about you.

2) A number of individual Army/Corps have their own discussion forums where you may want to consider posting a challenge if you are looking to start a fight with a particular Division/Brigade in a particular Army/Corp.

3) Many Division/Corp Commanders get requests for "volunteers" to play games. So if your dance card is empty, or you are apprehensive about a "vulture" jumping you as a rookie at the tavern just make it known to your commanders for they well may have games on their list. Or, maybe they can assist you in finding another player in your same "league".

It won't be long before you will have your own little network of playing partners and will be playing as much as you want.                       REMEMBER - HAVE FUN!

Prompt File Turnover

While the above is considered "normal" by club standards it is perfectly acceptable to specify a rate of return when posting a challenge.  If players accept your challenge knowing beforehand that the rate of exchange will be 1-2 files/week then it is perfectly acceptable. Likewise, some members will specify up to 4-5 files per week when posting a challenge. 

The key here is be able to back up what you commit to. The most common error many new members commit is to sign up for "everything in sight" as soon as they begin and then find that they can't keep up.   Remember, it's better to have two games and be able to return files promptly than to have four games with disgruntled opponents. 

Always remember many games start out slowly and may take only a few minutes per turn in the beginning.  But as fire and melee phases increase with enemy contact, and reinforcements enter the field and need to be moved to the front, the same games may take an hour per turn in the later turns.

Multi-player games may take longer depending on how many "hands" the file must pass through to complete.  In this case promptness is even more critical, because the delays can really stack up if several players are not conscientious in handling their files.

If you want to make fellow club members really upset just try taking on a game and then being slow in your file transfers.  Besides being rude it displays a lack of respect for your teammates/opponents that usually results in a bad reputation for you in our club.

Please do your part so that it can always be said that CSA players are prompt in their file transfers.  Do not take on so many games at one time as to make it difficult for you to be meticulous about getting your files back to your opponents/partners quickly.

How Games Are Scored?

Here is how we do it::

CSA War College exists to provide Confederate officers with the necessary skills and information to enable him to perform on the battlefield in such a way that the invaders of our homeland can be expelled as quickly as possible. To this end, the War College works in close co-operation with the Vicksburg Military Institute. Academy graduates are strongly encouraged to visit the Confederate War College in order to complete their training and advance their knowledge.

For security reasons, the contents of the War College are protected. Confederate officers should register on the site and assign their own user ID and password. They must then request the CSA War College Commandant to enable their access to the site.

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