Join FKGaming this Sunday with a spook-tacular mission!

Communication blackouts? Hazardous Materials? Promotional Videos?
 

This Sunday (31th October) FKGaming will be hosting @Jerichron's terrifying and exciting new Halloween mission. You will be playing as the US Chemical Corps to investigate mysterious communication blackouts and the reports of hazardous materials in the lovely little Finnish town of Hoopakka. There have been reports of looters and some possible foreign interference. It is your job to sort out the situation and clear the town of all hostiles and gather intelligence on what the hell is happening down there!
 

Teaser Trailer:
A massive thank you to @V.I.X and the voice actors (linked on calendar page) for their amazing work on a trailer for the Halloween event!!!

Timings

• Sunday 31th October
• Standard main time (19:00 GMT, 19:00 UTC, 15:00 EST)
• Note: for some people, the calendar will be saying 20:00 BST before October 31th, however at 2am on said day, Daylight savings will end and the UK will be put an hour a head. So please don't miss out by an hour!

Modset

• Mostly Standard, with some extra mods. Link

Other Community's Invited

• FKGaming has sent out an invite for other communities to join the event, so if you see some new faces in the coming days from other places, do be kind and make sure they feel welcome!

Calendar Link

Just a final note guys, please do some send love to @Jerichronfor this as he has worked super hard on it. 

 INTREP is a community newsletter which covers all important information regarding FK Gaming. Published Monthly, FK's INTREP brings you up to speed with what's happening in your community.

Meeting Reports

Check the forums for up to date information straight from our Community Managers.

Staff News 

Rule Change

With the new modset out the staff has been updating the rules to fit it. Make sure to check the new MAT and Zeus rules.

Think Tank applications

In the Think Tank, you get the opportunity to have an advisory input for CM team on various topics regarding the community. Apply today if you'd like to give us your view on things we're not 100 % sure about!

Community News 

Mission making

Quick reminder for those who want to make their scripted mission: FK has a Tutorial and a mission template created by @kMaN and @Malbryn. If you're going to develop your scripted mission, we strongly recommend going over this.

FK Zeus Template Tutorials

Scripted Missions Making Framework

Minecraft Caves and Cliffs

@AntiMatter is running a poll regarding the new Minecraft update and running a public server within FK. If your interested in playing please spare a few minutes on this poll, I’ll see you there!

Upcoming Events

Other events in the work

We've got an upcoming 40K mission by @Jerichron and a scripted SOG PF mission by @kMaN coming in the upcoming future, so make sure to keep an eye out on the calendar!

INTREP Cover Photo Credit goes to @Yung_Cider with a scenic photo of our new map.

I hope that you enjoyed this month's INTREP; with any luck, I might get as good with it as Rhea. If you got any feedback or articles for the next INTREP, please feel free to DM me on discord. - 🍉Melo

This Saturday join FKGaming and save Christmas!

ZU mounted Darters? Five SPG's on a Truck? Santa hats?

This Saturday (18th December) FKGaming will be hosting @Servok's exciting and wondrous Christmas mission! You will be playing as Santa's little helpers retrieving Santa's assets from the flat earthers and finding intel showing us how it happened. With the help of a ZU mounted on a Darter Drone and a SPG truck you will swiftly move through the snowy island of Zimma Australia and save Christmas!

Timings

• Saturday 18th December
• Standard main time (19:00 GMT, 19:00 UTC, 15:00 EST)

Modset

• Mostly Standard, with some extra mods. Link

Calendar Link

On the final note, big thank you for @Servokfor his work and time spent in the making of this event.

 INTREP is a community newsletter which covers all important information regarding FK Gaming. Published Monthly, FK's INTREP brings you up to speed with what's happening in your community.

Meeting Reports

Check the forums for up to date information straight from our Community Managers.

Community News

Tank Tuesday

Are you ready for some tank platoons? If so every month @Silberjojo and @Sarissa will be hosting a new armored regiment mission.

Make sure to keep an eye out on the Calendar for them!

Movie nights

@Silberjojo is planning on hosting movie nights within our community. If you have any movies that you can access and watch, please reach out to Silber, who will organize it with you!

The Big FK Quiz of 2021

@Tomo hosted an FK quiz on the categories of FK Trivia, Gaming, and General knowledge. If you didn't manage to play, then make sure to do the offline version and share your scores with others!

Christmas event

Big thank you to @Servok for creating the event and bringing the Christmas spirit to FK!

If you didn't play the event then make sure to watch @TheFantasticFlyingTaco's fantastic video showing all the shenanigans that happened!

Upcoming Events

Make sure to keep an eye out on the calendar for any upcoming events!

INTREP Cover Photo Credit goes to @Servok for his group photo from the Christmas event.

As you may know, this is the last INTREP of the not-so-good year of 2021, so let's start the new year with the hopes of a better year. Whether you spend the holidays away from home or not, we wish you a happy and relaxing holiday!  - 🍉Melo

 INTREP is a community newsletter which covers all important information regarding FK Gaming. Published Monthly, FK's INTREP brings you up to speed with what's happening in your community.

Meeting Reports

Check the forums for up to date information straight from our Community Managers.

Staff News
Batty stepping down as Admin

Sadly, our resident Admin, @mrrbatty will be stepping down from his post, and will be passing the torch to @kMaN. We wish Batty the absolute best, and he gave us these parting words:

Quote

Sadly I don't have enough spare time in my week to give FK the attention it needs, so I think it's better that I pass it over to someone who does. I'll still be around in the community, however sadly I just don't have as much spare time now to give.

@kMaN also has a few words for us about his new role, and we cant wait to see what he has to offer:

Quote

I'm delighted to assume the responsibility of Admin for the FK community. My role won't change much as I'll still do most Tech things with this added duty of handling the finance side of FK.

My goal is to provide FK with a platform that you can come hang-out with friends, play games and share experiences.

I would like to thank the CM's, Mods and Techs who run the day-to-day grind and PR for working to expand our games, add new players and to keep the FK community updated. They give up their personal time and energy with sometimes very little appreciation.

Finally, I'd like to thank Batty for his maturity, time and energy spent in taking over for Mavy and keeping FK up and running. 

Everyone at FKGaming wishes the best MrBatty and we all hope to see you around! 

FK Twitch Guidlines

Our wonderful PR Officer @Melo has published guidelines on streaming with the FK Platform, as well as becoming affiliated with FKGaming. 

Community News

 Community Showcase
The wonderful @TheFantasticFlyingTaco has released a few great highlight videos of Arma 3 which you should watch!

Upcoming Events

Make sure to keep an eye out on the calendar for any upcoming events!

INTREP is a community newsletter which covers all important information regarding FK Gaming. Published Monthly, FK's INTREP brings you up to speed with what's happening in your community.

Meeting Reports

Check the forums for up to date information straight from our Community Managers.

Staff News
Mod testing team applications

It's the time of the year again! Time to make and test a new modset with the mod testing team. Help out the staff team and be one of the people that select the latest mods for the next few months!

If you're interested in applying for MTT, press here.

Remember that the suggestion thread is open for everyone, so drop any mods you want in the future modset!

Twitter
The FK twitter is back and active so follow it!

Community News
Foundry VTT
We're looking for some Game Master's to create exciting campaigns on our Foundry VTT servers, if your interested in hosting DND or any other tabletop campaigns that are supported by Foundry on our servers, drop an application for GM or suggest an add-on in their respected threads.

WW2 Modset
While the mod testing team works on our new modset, we have rotated to the WW2 modset on FK4! Get ready for some exciting custom WW2-themed missions, and if you want to make your mission, you are always welcome to make your mission!
Link to the WW2 modset (as of 2/24/2022)

Airsoft meetup
Note: This is not an official FK meetup, there will be some non-FK faces there.
If you are interested in the meetup, which will be happening around June or July organized by Benji, then feel free to join the discord server: https://discord.gg/NTAQs4hJP8

Community spotlight

Upcoming Events

Make sure to keep an eye out on the calendar for any upcoming events!

INTREP Cover Photo Credit goes to @Griffin68965 for a great screenshot from his WW2 mission.

With a lot happening in Europe, I hope that everyone here stays safe from all of the violence occurring, hoping that this community remains a safe place for everyone. - 🍉Melo

FK Gaming Stands with Ukraine

April 7th to 10th, 2022

The event will be streamed live on twitch.tv/fkgaming_eu

Message from the Staff Team:
This announcement is a response to that - a Charity Stream aimed at raising funds for the Ukrainian people, through Project HOPE a humanitarian fund aimed at alleviating the suffering of those in the country and in refugee camps in neighboring countries.

FK is a uniquely diverse community, with every continent represented, and most countries. We are all, at the end of it all, one community of humans. We as a community have achieved incredible things before when raising funding for Medicines Sans Frontieres & we hope to outdo ourselves once more with this stream.

We implore you all to watch the stream when it goes live streaming the arma 3 events on twitch.tv/fkgaming_eu, and to share it on social media with friends and family, to raise funds for this incredibly important cause.

Schedule:
7th-10th of April

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

TO DONATE:

Visit the Donation page

https://tiltify.com/@deltabacon/fk-gaming-stands-with-ukraine

Also, do consider sharing our twitter posts far and wide - the more viewers, the more donators and every penny counts!

INTREP is a community newsletter which covers all important information regarding FK Gaming. Published Monthly, FK's INTREP brings you up to speed with what's happening in your community.

Meeting Reports

Check the forums for up to date information straight from our Community Managers.

Staff News
Mission debrief

The staff team has decided to switch how post mission debriefs will be done. Here are the three main changes:

• Stricter approach to how after mission debrief is done in TeamSpeak immediately after mission end. They will now be more structured
• Debrief thread is getting more structured as well.
• New channel on Discord for feedback for the last day's mission.

New Mission-Maker/Modder tag

The staff team has decided to add a Mission-Maker/Modder tag to recognize those members who contribute new content or modified content to the FK community and/or the Arma community. This tag does not have any trainers nor evals, a new tagholder needs to fit the requirements stated below and be chosen by a current tag holder and voted on by the CM's.

Requirements for the Mission-Maker/Modder tag:

• Needs to be a REG+
• Is an upstanding member of the community
• At least one of the following:
  • Authored at least one mod on the steam workshop
  • Changed at least one mod on the steam workshop
  • Created at least two missions from scratch or used a mission-making framework that has been played in FK or hosted on FK servers

Congratulation to the first five awardees which are: @cineafx @johnb43 @Garfield @ThePointForward and @Malbryn

AAR

The FK servers now have AAR! The after action replay, allows you to view a 2d map replay of our mains. Showing friendly and enemy positions, as well as our map markings, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on what happened during our mains. 
To access the AAR press HERE.

Community News
Charity Festival
A big thank you to everyone who participated and/or donated to our charity festival! It's been a blast playing for the past 4 days. We managed to raise 2750 USD which will be doubled to 5500 USD!
I'd also would like to thank @Jerichron @Griffin68965 @Sarissa for creating and zeusing those events in such a short notice, and another thank you to @andyt90 @TheFantasticFlyingTaco @cineafx for streaming those events! Hope that all of you enjoyed these few days and hopefully we will see you in a future event!

Community spotlight

Upcoming Events

Make sure to keep an eye out on the calendar for any upcoming events!

INTREP Cover Photo Credit goes to @SilentGunner13 for a great screenshot from the charity SOG mission.

This months intrep is a bit short so here's a meme I stole from @Vericht. - 🍉Melo

INTREP is a community newsletter which covers all important information regarding FK Gaming. Published Monthly, FK's INTREP brings you up to speed with what's happening in your community.

Meeting Reports

Check the forums for up to date information straight from our Community Managers.
 

Staff News
ACE3 Medical system changes
With a new ACE update we have been introduced to multiple new wound types and a rework of wound handling and fall damage.
You can see those changes more in detail here:

New PR team member
Please give a warm welcome to @Yung_Cider to the PR team! He alongside other PR team member will be working on promoting this comunity as well as working on special events happing within FK.

Arma Reforger server
FK now has a Arma Reforger server running on the game master mode on Everon thanks to our admin @kMaN! The details to join are on TeamSpeak, if you have any other mode then please let us know. We'll see you there!

Community News
FNF WW2
Our friends at Friday Night Fight are starting up their World War 2 Month again! The next 2 (possibly 3 if there is demand) weeks, FNF will be recreating classic battles of WW2. Such as: Battle of Crete, Battle of Moscow, Battle of Tenaru, and so much more! If you are interested, please send a message to @Fredon the forum, or Fred#1306 on discord (discord will likely get a faster response).

Community spotlight

Upcoming Events

Make sure to keep an eye out on the calendar for any upcoming events!

INTREP Cover Photo Credit goes to @ThePointForward for his screenshot from Arma Reforger.

Taco Romeo November - 🍉Melo

This post will serve as a guide on how to use scripted missions in FK Gaming

What are Scripted Missions?

A scripted mission is essentially any Arma 3 mission which employs the use of scripts to dynamically change the way the game is played. For the scripted missions in FK Gaming, this will often include (but not always!): 

• Respawning
• Dynamic AI spawning
• Mission Objectives
• Custom Scripts, e.g. Attack Dogs

These missions can be found in the mission selector screen when you use the command: "#missions" on the server when loaded as admin (more on this later). These scripted missions are used when there has been no main mission Zeus picked on the day, and people select "Scripted Mission" in the staff-given strawpoll. 
 

How Can I Setup a Scripted Mission on the Arma 3 Server?
As mentioned above, to get the scripted mission on the server (to see a list of scripted missions, look here), you must first log in as admin. To log in as admin, type in chat: "#vote admin <YOURNAMEHERE>". For example, for me to log in, I would type: "#vote admin Fred", or if I wanted to vote Melo as admin: "#vote admin Melo".

Next, you will need to pick a mission to play. To do this, type in chat (once logged in as admin): "#missions". This will bring up a mission select screen which has options for map selection, and mission selection. To find a specific mission, you must first select the map it is on. For example, if I wanted to play "CO48 Invasion of Utes", I would select the map "Utes", then select the mission when it comes on the right side of the page.

Most missions in the FK scripted database will follow a naming convention that will give you preliminary information about the mission and will most likely only be COOP (CO) or Team vs Team (TVT) missions. The first letters of the mission name will tell you whether a mission is a COOP or PVE mission, i.e. -  CO, Co, co, [CO ] or a Team vs Team or PVP mission, i.e. - TvT, [TVT ], [TvT ] or a similar variation. The next two numbers will tell you how many players the mission is built for, ie - CO50, [CO50], CO-50, [CO-50], co50, TVT50, TVT-50, [TVT50], [TVT-50], TvT50, etc. Finally, the mission name will complete the naming convention. In the above mission name, "CO48 Invasion of Utes", you can read that the mission is COOP, supporting up to 48 players and the mission name is Invasion of Utes. In this example, the mission name tells you which map you would be using, but most mission names will not include the map name in the title.

This will bring you to the lobby screen for the selected mission. Here you will need to gather some players, and slot up. Once everyone is slotted, the person logged in as admin will then press "OK" in the bottom right corner. This will bring everyone to the map screen. 

On the map screen, look at the top left for the "briefing tab". This will hopefully have all the information required to complete the mission. When everyone is ready to play, press the "OK" button in the bottom right corner.
Finally, this will bring you in game; where you have to complete whatever object has been set by the mission maker.

As of right now, the FK scripted missions database has missions supporting the current FK modset on FK1 and/or FK2 as well as the SOG Prairie Fire DLC hosted on FK5.

Calendar Missions

If you look at the FK Gaming Calendar, you might see some special scripted missions, as well as specially scripted Zeus missions. These are created by players who wish to tailor a unique experience, typically with a non-standard modpack. The players who run the more specialty missions typically rotates the non-standard modpack on a quarterly basis. For example, in the past we have had: Warhammer 40k missions, WW2 missions, Vietnam, etc.

If you wish to create a calendar mission, please read through the guides in this link

 

FK has been invited to partake in a joint operation with the BSG clan. This joint operation has been in the works for little over 2 months. This is the first of 2 operations. 

Please join us in the operation the 28th Jan! It starts at 20:00 UTC (1 hour after usual main time). 
Check out the calendar page to join the fun!

Order form is now closed!

Patches, Stickers and More!

Hey all! For a limited time we will be selling FK patches and stickers.
We might do another run in the future but that will definitely be many months away!

Current Patches:

The old FK logo:

Our new detailed Logo:

The name tag with your name on it!

Stickers!
We will also offer stickers but they will be strongly demand specific and will be only offered if enough people are interested.
For now if you want a sticker just submit an order, we will inform you later if we can print them.

The printed stickers will be matt with a protective foil to withstand any harsh weather!

The price:

Patches:
All patches cost 6 euro with a production cost of 4€.

Backing:

• Velcro +1€
• Thermal Glue +1€
• None (Standard with no additional cost)

Stickers:
5pc - 3€
10pc - 5€
20pc - 8€
30pc - 10€

Shipping:
Shipping will cost anywhere from 4€ to 8€ depending on the destination and weight and size.
You will be given a monitoring link.

Profit
Any profit made from the merchandise will be donated to the FK account to keep our servers running!

Questions?
The PR team is here to answer them!
Tag @Melo or any other PR member on discord or send us a DM.
You can also email pr@fkgaming.eu but expect a bit longer response time.
 

Order Form is now closed!

Greetings FK Members!

Since it's introduction, our tag system has provided skilled players with the credentials to operate the pinnacle of technology
in modern warfare. No matter if by air or land, tag holders were able to turn the tide of the battle by using their expert skills in aiding the ground troops to reach their mission goals.

We are excited to announce the implementation of a new, long overdue extension to our tag system:

Boat Tags.

No matter if it’s a RHIB, Patrol Boat or a mighty Destroyer, naval combat is a key facet of Arma3 and FK Gaming intends to push and enhance the skill and abilities of those that wish to sail the rough seas.

Starting today players will be able to enroll for boat training sessions and soon do their evals to get the brand new, FKGaming exclusive boat tag. Under the supervision of our very own expert in the field of naval warfare, @Don_prince, players will receive extensive training to fill the ranks of future boat tag holders.

Our very own @Jerichron has created a special mission to commemorate the new modset! Can one and all to this first of many events! https://www.fkgaming.eu/events/event/1627-april-fools-naval-action-1st-main/

For more information, and a little extra for our lovely community members, watch the video down below!

Last, but not least. Visit this link for the one stop shop for all your FK Gaming NFT needs!

To make our main missions more exciting and fun for all of us the Staff Team and Zeus Trainers decided to make a change to our modset development process.

Summary:

The new mod procurement system will no longer operate on a bi-annual (6 months) basis but will work as a continuous process. Therefore, we no longer need to wait until May or November to acquire new assets. This will keep our modset up to date with commonly used mods, while unused mods will be removed to make the modset more compact.

For those interested in the new development process, here are the five steps a mod takes before being added to our modset:

Step 1:
The new modset development is now a five-step process that begins in the FK Discord mod-suggestions thread, where you can suggest any mod you think will suit FK! You can also comment under any suggested mod and voice your opinion to the community. In addition, make sure to read the Mod Suggestion Rules & Guidelines.

Step 2:

The new mods will be presented to a selected group of testers, including Zeus Tag Holders, Trainers, Techs, and Mission Makers who are dedicated to ensuring the quality of the mods that are chosen based on their qualification and acquisition of the previously mentioned positions. They will also work with the Tech and CM team to plan the mods' implementation and introduction to the greater modset. This process ensures that the mod will fit our playstyle and is of good quality.

Step 3:
After the testing team approves or denies submitted mods, they will move on to the testing process or will be sent back with feedback regarding the result. Testing will include checking for any bugs or glitches of the mods with the main modset while also ensuring the mod still fits with the playstyle for FK ArmA missions.

Step 4:

After a mod leaves stage 3, it moves on to CM approval where the CMs do the final check before giving their approval. The CM's decision will be based on the modset's depiction of Explicit or Sensitive Content and not on personal bias or opinion.

Step 5:
Done!
After testing is completed, the Testing team will approve or deny mods in the pipeline for final approval by the CM team based on a set of criteria for the final adoption of any given mod. Following this, if a mod's adoption can be done without going over FK's Modset size requirements, the Techs can immediately update the modset and server. Otherwise, the Testing team and Techs will work in tandem to create a modified modset that does not compromise our playstyle while maintaining our modset's size. Modset changes, once testing and approval are complete, are intended to be adopted in the following cycle of main missions (starting each Thursday).

Flow Chart of the process:
For better understanding of the process here's a flowchart showing the new development process.

The second half of the BSG, FK Gaming Joint OP is nearly upon us! Join us on the 27th of May for a thrilling gaming experience like no other.

This is a great opportunity to meet new friends, hone your skills, and experience a new level of teamwork. Whether you're an FK Gaming Veteran or a brand new FNG, we welcome you to join us!

We can't wait to see you there! Stay tuned for more updates and details about the upcoming joint OP.

The mission is being hosted by @Jerichron, standard FK Gaming rules apply . Please give BSG your best hospitality, and most importantly, have fun!

New maps, new plate carriers and flares!

We'll see you there!

Current (May 2023) Modset Size (GB):  82.13
New Modset (August 2023) Size (GB): 80.86
Removed Mods(May 2023) Size (GB): 2.52
Added Mods (August 2023) Size (GB): 1.25
Current (May 2023) Mods Count: 75
New (August 2023) Mods Count: 77

Mods Removed: 2.52 GB
•    Diyala - 834.6 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=680808574
•    G.O.S. N'ziwasogo v2 APEX - 480.1 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2084904847
•    Niakala - 527.8 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2801060088
•    Al Salman 2.0 - 681.1 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2857846877

Mods Added: 1.25 GB 
•    North Takistan - 796.1 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2829330653
•    Kardazak - 218.3 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2994796909
•    Lybor - 207.5 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3013515917
•    Ladder Tweak Remastered - 0.2 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2969350304
•    JCA - Modular Carrier Remake Project - 31.9 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2989752481
•    JCA - Hand Flares - 2.8 MB - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2991684121

Total Change:  1.27 GB Reduction
New Modset Size: 80.86 GB 
 

Link To New Modset
 

Hello, everybody! If you're interested, @L00_Cyph3r and I will be organizing a raffle to win a copy of Arma 3's high-quality CDLC, S.O.G. Prairie Fire. This raffle is in anticipation of missions created and/or run by Zeuses and mission-makers from our community. To take part, simply submit your FK website forum and Steam username using the provided Google Form here. The S.O.G Prairire Fire CDLC is currently on sale, and we will draw the names on Jan 3rd, 2024!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1227700/Arma_3_Creator_DLC_SOG_Prairie_Fire/

This Friday, the 19th, FK's Standard Arma 3 Modset will receive its first update in 2024, bringing exciting new content and updates for players enjoyment.
The Modset will be available on the FK website in the Modset page before the update, as well as in the arma-discussions channel.
Upcoming Modset changes will be pinned in arma-discussion up until the update.

++Added++
Maps:

• Korsac - 351.3 MB
• Rosche Germany - 977.1 MB
• Uzbin Valley - 870.1 MB
• Green Sea Terrain - 326.1 MB
• Kunduz River - 215.3 MB
• Thirsk Winter [R] - 510.4 MB

Function/Utility:

• MapTools Remastered - 0.3 MB
• Death and Hit Reactions - 31.5 MB
• Stamina Modifier - ACE - 0.1 MB (made by FK's own johnb43! 😁)
• Task Force Timberwolf Female Characters - 31.5 MB (previously in FK-Mods)

--Removed--

• PLP Containers - 535 MB
• Mutambara - 208.7 MB
• Redd'n'Tank Vehicles - 3633 MB
• Kardazak - 218.3 MB
• CUP - Terrains - Maps 2.0 - 594.3 MB

Modset Size:

• New Size: 81.08 GB
• Previous Size: 80.68 GB

FK Standard January 2024 v1

** FK2 is currently running the new modset if you would like to try it out early!!

Our fellow members,

FK has changed a lot over the past years. Mergers, changes in player numbers, and diversification of the community.
People and attitudes have changed too. Members have come and gone, and the way we approach not just our playstyle in Arma, but what our community offers as a whole has changed.
That is to say that much time has passed, and some perspectives can only be achieved with time. Recent events in the community and behind the scenes have given the staff team cause to reflect on how we manage bans in FK. In particular, long term and permanent bans.
We hope that this post will help to explain the changes and the reasoning for them.

Why change it?
It was decided that the current system is very rigid when it comes to permanent bans. For a time, this system worked, as we were a young community with a young player base. Until now this hasn’t really been questioned. But as time goes on, people mature.  A person who was banned several years ago could well be a vastly different person to who they are today, and we wanted to amend the ban guidelines to reflect this growth and maturity.

As a result, we are amending the FK Ban Guidelines to fit our legacy procedures into new categories, add new categories where appropriate, and formalise some ad-hoc processes that were previously in use.

Why Now?
As mentioned, much time has passed, during which many permanently banned members of the community have appealed, some successfully and some not, but as time has carried on it has become more evident that in some cases, we need to be able to exercise more flexibility and discretion, which our current ban guidelines don’t allow much scope for.

So, what’s changing…?

Ban Categories

Activity specific temporary ban
As the name suggests, the ban would only cover specific activity within the community.
This could involve bans from playing ArmA, posting in the Discord (or specific channels within it), forum restrictions, etc.

For example, if a member was found to deliberately take prohibited gear in an Arma mission, they may be banned from Arma for a given amount of time but will still be free to use the Teamspeak for other games.
Similarly if someone posts inappropriate content in Discord, they will get muted or channel locked for an amount of time in Discord, but still able to use Teamspeak, play Arma etc.

Community-wide temporary ban
This ban will effectively replace the conventional temporary ban currently in use with FK.
For more serious infractions, for example, toxic behavior/bullying another community member a community-wide temporary ban would be issued. This would block the community member from utilising any FK platform for the duration of the ban.

Additionally, if a member accumulates 3 Warning Points where at least one is a time limited Warning Point, the member will be automatically issued a community-wide ban for the duration of the shortest time limited Warning Point.

For example:
A member who has two permanent Warning Points is given one temporary Warning Point with a 4-month duration. In this this member is automatically banned for 4 months, until the temporary Warning Point expires.
Similarly a member with 1 permanent Warning point, 1 temporary Warning Point with 8-month duration remaining is assessed an additional temporary warning point with a 6-month duration. This member is then automatically banned for 6 months, until the shortest Warning Point expires.

Finally, this type of ban would be usable for underage members, with a ban expiry coinciding with the member’s 16th birthday.

Indefinite Ban
An indefinite ban is given for significant infractions where a member needs to be removed from the community on a long-term basis, or for repeat infractions where the member has accrued three indefinite warning points, and as the name suggests lasts for an indefinite amount of time, with a minimum period. These bans can be appealed, either through a dispute, or the new Clemency system (more on that below), after the minimum ban period has been served.

Permanent ban
Reserved for most severe infractions or worst repeat offenders, this ban is final without possibility of clemency. It may still be disputed, subject to staff approval as well as the conditions outlined later in this document.
The worst of the worst offenses may result in an immediate permanent ban being given with absolutely no appeal. This will apply to those cases where the community or any of its members have been threatened, be that physically, financially, etc., or in cases where a law could reasonably be deemed to have been broken, particularly to the detriment of the community or its members. The FK staff team reserves sole and outright discretion on these matters.

For instance (but not limited to):

• Threats to FK
  • Examples: “hacking”, DDoS, etc.
• Threats to members
  • Examples: doxing, blackmailing, physical violence etc.
• Racism, sexism, or similar bigotry
• Troll/Spam accounts
• Serious harassment

Warning Point Categories

Time-limited Warning Point
Or as they’re also known, temporary Warning Points. Time limited Warning Points will expire after a certain amount of time, determined by staff.
They are intended to be used primarily alongside small to medium level infractions.

Indefinite Warning Point
These are largely replacing permanent Warning Points as we currently know them. Indefinite Warning Points will not expire on their own, but members can ask for clemency on an indefinite Warning Point a set time after the issuing of the Warning Point.
These are envisioned to be generally used for significant infractions.

Permanent Warning Point
Similar to a permanent ban, a permanent warning point is given for major infractions that may not warrant an immediate permanent ban in and of itself. Clemency is not possible for a permanent warning point, but a dispute can be made, again subject to the conditions laid out in the Appealing Bans and Warning Points section.

Appealing Bans and Warning Points

Dispute
This is the current system in use and is staying largely as-is.
Disputes (informally known as appeals) against issued bans and Warning Points are to be made specifically to dispute facts of a ban/warning point(s) or punishments outside of the guidelines. Disputes can be raised against a ban/warning point at any time (given the staff team has allowed a dispute) but will only be considered if new evidence or further context that was not available at the time of the ban being issued is available, or the member can demonstrate that rules or guidelines were not properly applied in their ban, as well as other extenuating circumstances.

Clemency
Clemency is the big new concept coming out of this new framework.
Members can ask for clemency on a ban or Warning Point after a certain amount of time has passed. This “cooling-off” period will be either one third of the duration of the ban or Warning Point, or in case of indefinite bans and Warning Points, it will be decided by staff at the time of the sanction. This will be based on the updates to our guidelines, as well as the factors surrounding the infractions, and will be provided to the member as part of the given sanction. No request for clemency will be considered before this minimum period has expired.

As an example, a member is given an indefinite Warning Point, with a 6-month cooling-off period:

• This Warning Point will remain in place for 6 months minimum.
• It will not expire on its own.
• After the 6 months has elapsed, the member will be allowed to request clemency on that point.
• If the member appeals for clemency before this 6-month period, the request will be immediately disregarded.

As part of considerations for clemency on Warning Points, the staff team will take a number of factors into account. For one, the member must have been active during their cooling-off period. This prevents a member from “gaming the system” by getting unbanned and then disappearing until those points can be removed. This also provides the staff team with proper insight into that user’s behaviour following their return to make our decision for whether clemency can be granted easier.

Clemency will also apply to indefinite bans. The member must demonstrate growth and development, and/or show that they will not repeat the offense and strive to do better if clemency is granted.

To that end, in most, if not all cases where a ban is overturned on clemency, the member will be issued with 1 temporary Warning Point, and another indefinite Warning Point with a new clemency period. The same criteria applies to clemency on this Warning Point as for other indefinite Warning Points. E.g. activity and behaviour.

The idea behind this is to allow for a “probationary” period following clemency being granted on a ban, and to provide a pathway towards earning a “fresh start”, subject to good behaviour.

Legacy Permanent Bans and Warning Points

With this change, a big question is what happens to a member who has previously been permanently banned with no appeal? Or if a member has a permanent warning point against them given before the new system? For these “Legacy” bans and Warning Points, we encourage you to inquire with the staff team as to whether it can be converted to an Indefinite equivalent, which, again, would give you the opportunity to request clemency on it as per the above requirements. These reviews will be done on a case-by-case basis, on request, and at the sole discretion of the FK Staff Team.
We ask that any member who requests a review of a permanent ban/warning point be patient while the staff team performs its review, as we expect to experience a significant volume of requests as this framework goes live.

Goals and Conclusion

We hope you will agree that this new framework allows for a greater degree of flexibility and transparency in how the FK Staff Team addresses warning and bans to its members. This was the main goal of this new approach, after all. With this new method of managing infractions, members are given a pathway back to a “clean sheet” in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, and the staff team is given much more scope and discretion to make this possible. We also hope that this greater discretion will allow for more fairness in how we give out bans and warnings, and also how we reach resolutions on them.

Regards

FK Gaming Staff Team

As a part of PRs job we want to get a better understanding of the current standings of community members.

Therefore we have created this poll to get a greater view of the current state of the community at a individual member level.

We ask that everyone answers this poll so we can get the most truthful data.

All responses are anonymous and raw data will only be analyzed and processed by PR to ensure fill anonymity and remove bias.

Poll is closed!

Results will soon be published.

We will not see what account was used to complete the form making it fully anonymous.

For further questions contact Melo on discord (fkmelo)