Republic of Folk

What is folk?
The first thing you need to understand about folk is that it isn't an ArmAx group, it's an ArmAx session.

Okay, what does that mean?
folk is founded on the concept of low friction gaming.

No, you're really not helping
Low friction gaming is for people who want to play ArmAx (and maybe other stuff) with other, sensible, like-minded folk, but have busy lives and little spare time. Low friction gaming aims to make it as easy as possible to access high-quality multi-player experiences.

Just give it to me in practical terms!
folk is for people who want to read their children / cat / goldfish bedtime stories and then shoot people in the face for a few hours! All on the same night! And probably a school night, too!

I get it now. I think. Wait, how often?
The official session will happen once a week. There might be more sessions, but they might not be official.

What if I can't make it?
That's absolutely fine: folk is a session, not a group. If you're too busy separating toddlers in a knife fight, or watching an important episode of Desperate Housewives, nobody will hold it against you. You can let us know if you like, but there's no obligation. We'll just assume the worst. About the toddlers.

So folk is a bit like a bar?
Yes. Come to the bar; don't come to the bar. We'll always remember your face. Or at least your nick.

Can anyone come along?
Not quite. folk is by invitation only, and we won't be advertising it anywhere.

So it's a secret?
No. We're just not going to shout about it.

Who gets to issue the invitations?
You do! Well, you do after you've played in a few sessions. At that point, you can invite your friends. Not all your friends, mind, we might have to think about how many you can invite at any one time.

Will there be a test, or hazing?
No. But, we do expect you to take responsibility for the people you invite. Assuming they don't burn the house down, after a while they can invite their friends too; and so it goes on. The assumption is that you're good people, so you'll invite other good people. folk is optimistic that way.

So, actually, it's more like a club than a bar?
You could say that. We don't have a dress code, though.

Alright, but I'm already a member of an ArmAx group
Great! Wear your tags, tell us about where you come from. Just please remember that in folk, we're all just folk. So whilst we'll respect your tags and ranks, they won't mean anything special here.

So there aren't ranks here?
Nope. There will be hosts: a few people who's job it is to ensure things run smoothly and everyone has a good time. But they're really just there to help you, and make sure nobody eats the flowers. Think: bar staff. In a club bar. I think. Maybe they'll have white gloves.

What will the sessions be like?
Short. The target is 2 hours, or between 3 and 4 missions.

What kind of missions?
Chances are that folk sessions will be small, so the emphasis will be on co-operative infantry missions designed for around 14-20 players; but that's not a rigid requirement. We won't use respawn, but we will have JIP slots.

What will the style of play be like?
ArmAx is like a team sport, in that you get the most out of it when you work together. So in-game we'll ask that you respect the chain of command (for that mission), take it reasonably seriously, and not talk when you're dead. Well, you can talk to the dead people. Do you see dead people?

Does that mean I have to salute people?
Absolutely not! folk is a milsim free zone. And if you tell us you're oscar mike we'll know what you mean, but we may giggle until you stop. The golden rule is: we're only as organised and as serious as we need to be to play the mission, and no more.

So are there lots of rules?
As few as we can get away with. Again, the assumption is that you're good people, and you know how to behave.

Will we have a template for the missions?
Yes, a new build of F2 will be out soon, and it'll include a new ORBAT for folk missions, which will be familiar to anyone who's played missions that use the concept of fireteams.

So will we be BLUFOR a lot of the time?
No. We're hoping the mission makers will dream up missions for a slightly more irregular, smaller, Independent force. Expect to find yourself holding an un-scoped AK. Whilst you hide from angry helicopters.

Alright. So a lot of this is all worked out?
Of course not.

BTW, where does the stupid name come from?
It's from a line in the film Serenity.

Does folk have a theme tune?
Of course it does. Dayvan Cowboy by Boards of Canada. That came before all the minor details about mission styles. What did you think, that it was going to be something by Imogen Heap?

What if think some of this is wrong?
Help make it better!

I have other questions!
I don't know how to mine for fish; but everything else, I'll give it my best shot. Everyone else here will likely have views too. Twisted, misguided views, possibly. But views nonetheless. The thread is yours ...

I like the sound of this relaxed gaming 'ethos'

In general this is pretty solid, but I have two points:

- I think that ArmAx should perhaps be replaced with the actual game we'll be playing. While I'm sure there would be opportunities to pick up other games, as this is all focused around a session then it's vital to be clear about what that session is.


- Perhaps a clarification about the fact that "if you're reading this, you've been invited." Unless this information is going to be open to the public.

Xiathorn wrote:- I think that ArmAx should perhaps be replaced with the actual game we'll be playing. While I'm sure there would be opportunities to pick up other games, as this is all focused around a session then it's vital to be clear about what that session is.

You're right. I'll tighten that up as soon as we fix on the version of ArmA2 (vanilla, ACE2, OA etc.).

Xiathorn wrote:- Perhaps a clarification about the fact that "if you're reading this, you've been invited." Unless this information is going to be open to the public.

Actually, I had written this text for the benefit of the people who can see this forum right now (early June, 2010); but thinking about it, I could re-purpose it for the email someone gets after seeing the invitation pages. In which case, I'll definitely add something to reflect your suggestion.

Stepping back, let me clarify: I'm not just looking for feedback on the text - I'd very much like your thoughts on the concept itself. It was dreamt up one slightly drunken evening in a Budapest hotel room. A lot is open for editing ...

Feedback for the concept then :

I think this is already stepping a little bit out of the 'session' mentality. It's absolutely vital that we retain that, and don't get bloated, but I do think in creation of an IRC channel and a forum there is a group already emerging. A session would be announced publicly, and the password distributed privately to people who showed interest. A group has its own administrative elements, and that's precisely what we've got here.

That said, I think the idea of exclusively "session" is going to be cumbersome, so I feel this is a good balance. It might be worth adding an extra element that while there is no requirement on behalf of the members to turn up, the chances are a few of us will always be around and up for some games. It might be more pertinent to include that later on, post-email, but it's perhaps worth discussing.

Overall, I feel the concept is sound. It's a ArmA session played by a group of people, who are a "group" depending on definition, that is dedicated towards casual commitment and "serious fun".

The reason why I've been so wedded to the idea of a session is that I didn't want folk to be something people felt they had to 'join' (particularly at the expense of any other existing group memberships). If a community of sorts coalesces around folk, great, but I really just see it as something akin to a bar where you're likely to find some familiar faces (I see Lor seated at a corner table, alternately gregarious-life-of-the-party and passed out).

That said, the reason I created the forum - and to a lesser extent the IRC channel - was that I wanted something slightly less flakey than email as the primary mechanism of communication. Even if the aims of folk are no more ambitious than to provide a weekly, high quality session, there are still things which need to be discussed, and I thought a forum would be both useful and culturally familiar to most people.

But did I go too far creating the IRC channel? If you folks think so, it doesn't have to feature in our plans.

The first rule of Folk is we don't talk about Folk. The second rule is, we shave Lor and get a pack of dachshunds to lick honey off him.

I don't think the IRC channel costs us anything. It certainly is useful to have the channel reserved, just in case.

I'd say the community that evolves around the session was what I was thinking of when I said group. I withdraw the word and will stick with community, definitely. You're right - you don't need to join or do anything at the expense of another group. I do believe that there will be some peripheral element to the session though, so keeping the IRC channel in case that event does occur is useful.

As to the bar element - do you think we could set up an internet brewery where the system synthesises beer and gives it to you during the session? I think that would be bitchin'.

I'm going to suggest that we use the term guest to describe anyone here who isn't a host (admin/moderator). I realise this might sound silly to people who are not affiliated with an ArmAx group, but the term member is rather loaded. There are two reasons I like the word guest to describe people who play at folk:

• It reinforces the notion that folk isn't a group that you have to join (instead, you're invited to the party)
• [Practically] Everyone is a guest, which I hope fosters the same polite, considerate behaviour and attitude we tend to adopt when we find ourelves as guests at any RL event

That latter point is one of the reasons I don't intend for their to be ranks in folk. I also like the idea of hosts not admins, because hosts are (in my universe) responsible for making sure everyone is having a good time and nobody has an empty glass, not cops and line-managers.

I'm pretty serious in my intent that folk re-thinks some of the norms of ArmAx groups. Many ArmAx groups model themselves on military units and that's cool, but folk will model itself on a night at a good bar/club/party.

Alright. Final(ish) version is posted here: http://www.ferstaberinde.com/folk/forum ... p?f=6&t=17