Information AboutHomelan |
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HomeLAN existed as a self-described "Haven for Serious Gamers". Through its online gaming community, HomeLAN Federation, the mostly-volunteer philanthropist group provided online sanctuary for more than 3000 hardcore multiplayer gamers worldwide. The organization started out as "DMM", or "Diamond Multimedia" of Diamond PC hardware fame, by hosting quality, moderated servers for the original online multiplayer game. As their popularity gained, support quickly branched out to other popular online titles like Counter-Strike and Team Fortress Classic . HomeLAN set itself apart by attempting to provide a sanctuary for "true gamers", billing itself as a collection of people free to mingle and compete amongst each other in an environment free of discrimination, cheating, and other undesirable, immature elements that are pervasive among the multiplayer community. FINANCIAL SUPPORT .]] HomeLAN existed as a project of ControlNet Inc, a company that was founded by the same person who founded , but their most significant contract was with the U.S. Army. HomeLAN hosted virtually every aspect of America's Army , from official game and authorization servers to the game's website and IRC channel; even the official America's Army support staff was comprised of HomeLAN admins. HomeLAN also ran a public videogame news website, HomeLANFED.com, which featured unique content and commentaries from HomeLAN staff and was considered by many among the top gaming news sites on the internet. This also brought in advertising dollars from ad impressions and other corporate sponsorships. The corporate side of HomeLAN collapsed when - in the words of HomeLAN's chairman and CEO - the market for high-quality moderated videogame servers collapsed and the expected volume of orders never materialized. The fall of HomeLAN's corporate half was a major factor in the downfall of its gaming community. HOMELAN AND THE COMMUNITY The HomeLAN Federation provided a number of free services to the multiplayer PC videogame community.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE HomeLAN existed as an organizion of its corporate and community halves. The corporation, "HomeLAN" with the HomeLAN.com portal, sought financial stability while supporting the community. The community, known as HomeLAN Federation, comprised of mostly volunteer members who, besides moderating the public game servers HomeLAN hosted, did most of the dirty work of the community and corporation. Most activities fell into either the business part or the community part of the organization. Some areas though, like the News found on the community portal website, HomeLANFED.com, served both purposes. The HomeLAN Federation was divided into two divisions: the Federation (HomeLAN FED, Fed, HF) and the Alliance (HA). HOMELAN ALLIANCE When the community started to expand, HomeLAN created "The Alliance". HA was set up for 2 primary reasons. The first being a way to screen potential admins. The second was to give those members who did not necessarily want the obligations and responsibilities of an HF but still wanted to be part of the organization. Those desiring to admin the servers on which they played every day could be active in the community, follow HomeLAN guidelines/rules, and contribute when possible (time, energy, ideas, etc) and would theoretically be given a chance in the Federation. Those "just along for the ride" found home in the Alliance with very little responsiblities but with a large gaming community with which to interact. The Alliance eventually became to consist of the bulk of the HomeLAN community. They were under no obligation to assist in the operation of HomeLAN, but were also held under similar, albeit relaxed, behavioral standards of their Federation brethren. The only overt obligation Alliance members had besides abiding by HomeLAN's rules was a requirement to sign in to the internal site at least once every 30 days. Community participation was fostered and encouraged, and of course Alliance members were required to wear their tags while out "in the public" - on HomeLAN game servers, IRC network, forums, and any public site where they would represent the organization or community. To join the Alliance one applied at the HomeLAN public website and was then shortly contacted by a greeter. The greeter was the applicant's personal contact with HomeLAN. They were qualified and trained Feds that welcomed new applicants, and made sure they understood what HomeLAN and the Alliance was about. After about a month, they gave a usually text-based interview to the applicant which was to be reviewed by fellow greeters. Admission to the Alliance, and thus into HomeLAN, pended on the outcome of the interview. Some HA's decided that the Federation, with its some of its responsibilities and stricter guidelines, was not for them and opted, instead, to climb to the rank of Senior HA. Senior HAs had no more "power" than a normal Alliance member, but it showed their enhanced commitment. They were usually members who were eligible for possible promotion to the Federation. Senior HA's were often awarded some of the same perks as Federation members. | ||
| Federation Members Were Required To Display Their "HF" Tag At All Times When Out In The Public And Representing HomeLAN HF Tags Looked Like " | "HF" class="copylinks" target="_blank">{Link without Title} Somnambulator" or "HFCM Zealot" Higher level admins were designated by "HF+" as in "HF+N Locutus" |
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