New Member Guide (Naval Action)



=Welcome! = Hello Captain, how do you do! Welcome to the Squadron! This page is designed to guide you through the basics of the patronage system, the introductory tasks that you must perform before becoming a full member, and how to share your experience and expertise by adding contents to this wiki!

The Patronage System
You are now a Gentleman, which is the first rank on the Squadron's hierarchical ladder.

You application is now posted in our Patronage Reports sub-forum, and can be viewed by all full members of the Squadron. If it has not happened already, you will be interviewed by one of our members in order to introduce you to the Squadron. Your name is also added to the Captains Roster under "Patronage" together with the other patronage officers.

After two-three weeks your application will be updated with a poll, making it possible for other Squadron members to vote. They will vote "Yes" if they have interacted with you and believe that the Squadron is a good match for you. If you do not meet the requirements for promotion, or if nobody have interacted with you, they will vote "More Time". If they feel that you for some reason should not become a full member, they will vote "No". After a few days the votes will be counted, and the result with the clear majority decide whether you become a full member, must wait another patronage period, or (in extremely rare cases) leave the Squadron.

Strength in Unity
On the day of its establishment, its founders, the Sea Lords, envisioned the Squadron as a close-knit group of friends driven by togetherness and team spirit. To increase this feeling of unity and identity, and in order to follow the traditions of the Royal Navy, we strive to have a uniform appearance. We conduct ourselves in a mature and gentlemanly fashion, we use character names that fit the time period, we have a uniformed apprearance on the forums, and we create a character biography wiki page. This attitude is reflected in our motto: "Strength in Unity!".

Requirements for Promotion to Esquire
The following requirements must be completed before you can become an Esquire and a full member of the Squadron:


 * 1) Name Approval.
 * 2) Correct Forum Signature.
 * 3) Forum Avatar.

Below follows tutorials on how do some of these!

= Forum Signature = In the Squadron we have standarised forum signatures. That way we can read information about you from your signature, and it ensures that we have a uniform appearance on the forums! The signature contains the following information:


 * Captain's handwritten signature (Optional)
 * Captain's name with rank (Required)
 * Any special positions held (Squadron Secretary, Inspector General, ect.) (Required)
 * Your main ship (Optional)
 * SGS Flag, White Ensign (Required)
 * Captain's quote or personal message (Optional)


 * Handwriten signatures can be made for you by the Squadron Commissioner.
 * If you use a handwriten signature, the image must be a maximum of 50 pixels high.
 * Note that some captains that played Pirates of the Burning Sea may also use an animated personal ensign.


 * Copy and paste this code to the forums, and edit in your name.
 * As a Gentleman, you add ", Gent." after your name. When an Esquire, you can add ", Esq." or "Esquire" after your name.

= Forum Avatars = Another part of our uniformed appearance is the forum avatar. Naval Action does not have in-game avatars, or else we would have used those! What we do have, however, are personal coats of arms.

As an Esquire you may make a request to the Squadron Commissioner to have him or her design a coat of arms for you. It will then be placed in front of the Blank Avatar Background, making you avatar personal. During your patronage, you will use the Blank Avatar Background, and when you are an Esquire you may use the Squadron Arms Avatar until you get yourself a personal coat of arms. Save the left image below, and upload it as your avatar on the forum!


 * Note that some of our Captains joined the Squadron playing Pirates of the Burning Sea, and therefore may choose to use their character avatar from that game!

= Your Captain's Biograpy Page = Although not required for Gentlemen and Esquires (it is required for Knights however), we highly encourage you to make your own biography page for your character! The Squadron is a roleplaying clan, and our inspiration is the Royal Navy and British naval history. It is therefore very interesting to see your description of how your character ended up as an officer in the Navy, and what your story is. Were you a baker's child with ambitions, entering the books as a Landsman and at last securing a place in the midshipmen's berth after a skillful display of seamanship? Were you the younger child of a nobleman, using your father's influence to enter the Service as a midshipman aboard an admiral's flagship? When did you get your first command? How? What kind of ship was it, and what adventures did you have in her? Let us know by creating your captain's page!

We use the following template when making our captain's pages. It is easy and intuitive to use; just fill in what the headlines ask for. If you are unsure what to write, look at other captains' pages and take inspiration from them! Below is the template code and a quick tutorial on how to edit your page!

Background Story
YOUR BACKGROUND STORY HERE

Record of Achievement
YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE SQUADRON HERE

Commissions
YOUR SHIPS HERE

Tutorial
= Adding Wiki Content = This wiki is both a way for the Squadron leadership to store and present important information for our captains, and a place where all captains in the Squadron are encouraged to create pages of their own! If you have mastered a part of the game and want to share it with the Squadron, create a tutorial! If you have used a certain ship for a long time and feel that you are an authority on its handling and recommended tactics, create a ship review! Have you just taken part in a battle or smaller action? Create a page detailing the movements and outcome! And add it to your information page about the ship you used!

Below is the template and tutorial on how to create an information page for your ship! Also note that the creation process is similar to any page you wish to create.

H.M.S. (Ship's name):
Rating: (7th/6th/5th/etc.-rate)

Class: (Surprise/Renommee/Snow etc.)

Date of Commission: (Date your ship was first used by you)

Guns: (Number of guns, not counting chasers)

Crew: (Number of crew)

Status: (Where your ship is or what you are doing with her in general)

History:
(A summary of what you've done with the ship since you first began sailing with her, or even an account of what she did under earlier captains.)

British Captains:
1816-present: Captain (Your name)

Excerpts from the Logbook:

 * 1816

Tutorial
= Further Reading =
 * You should begin to familiarise yourself with the Squadron's Rules and Regulations. The page is large, and there is a lot of information there, but it is the complete overview of our governing documents. It is first and foremost for the Board of Flag Officers as the Squadron's leadership, but as a full member you should have a general knowledge of how the Squadron is run, and the rules and regulations that affect all members.