User:Terran Koul

Magistrate to the Deputy Grand Master

A Resume

"I hope you'll appreciate this unusual and presumptuous application tactic. My apologies in advance to Shad: please don't bend me over too hard."

―Invictus, also known as Terran Koul

Personal Statement

I have attempted to keep the following “resume” to a minimum of information, and to keep it pertinent to the role described. However, I wanted to take a minute and simply say that I would absolutely love the opportunity to work on the staff of the Deputy Grand Master.

I’ve been in the Brotherhood for nearly fifteen years and, like many of us, I view it as a labor of love. When I joined as a teenager, it was simply a means of honing my skills at Jedi Knight and X-wing vs. TIE Fighter.. In time, it became a refuge, and I learned a great many lessons from my brethren, lessons far removed from IRC or the Internet Gaming Zone. In coming to know many of the older members in the Brotherhood, I learned about the kind of man I wanted to be. Online acquaintances became friends, and friends became family. Now, a decade and a half has passed, and I can’t imagine not being a part of the Brotherhood. Just as Mav mentioned in his news posting, the Dark Brotherhood has been a part of my life for over half of my life. I owe it, and everyone in it, a debt of gratitude.

I’ve tried, when I can, to give back to the Brotherhood. By and large, those opportunities have been limited to a single House or Clan, but I would relish being able to work on a larger (if less visible) scale to better the Brotherhood as a whole. I honestly believe that there is a lot I could do to help the Brotherhood grow, and I’m excited at many of the changes suggested by Pravus, Mav, Aabsdu and others. I would be honored to be a part of them.

While that may tell you a bit about me, and what I would get out of the position, I feel it only fair to address what you would get in hiring me. I’ve done my best, below, to touch on the most important technical qualities that I can bring to bear on the position. However, success is often about more than just a skillset.

I’m a hard worker who never balks at a challenge. During the Tenth Great Jedi War, I worked sixty hours a week, led a House, and helped bring home several Novae. During the Eleventh, I worked similar hours, earned nine Seals, and planned, outlined, organized and led the Arconan Run-On that placed fourth. This included conceiving of the idea, the meat of Connor’s personality, and extensively outlining the individual posts that were written. I mention this not to toot my own horn (I promise), but rather to illustrate that I’m one of those crazy people who doesn’t feel happy unless they have fifteen things to do and they all need done now. I love to be challenged. Please, challenge me.

I’m extremely passionate about the things I love, including the Dark Brotherhood. This can be good, because I’m always willing to tackle new obstacles. It’s also important to note, though, that it can make me a challenge at times. I can argue - quite vocally - when I believe in something. And while I’m always amenable to reason (believe it or not, I don’t actually mind being proven wrong), I can be quite adamant about a position until I’m shown that I’m incorrect or flat-out told no. If you don’t mind that, or if you think my insight and passion would be useful in your duties, then I’m your guy.

My Specialties

File:Code.png	File:Logistics-icon.png	File:Comms-consultant.png	File:WritingIcon.png
Software Engineering	Logistics	Communication	Writing

Pertinent Skills

• MediaWiki
• Web Design
• Writing
• Problem-Solving
• Communicating

Experience

MediaWiki

In addition to general expertise as a Software Engineer and Web Designer, I set up and currently run my company’s internal Wiki. It has roughly 150 active users and receives content updates with roughly the same frequency as the Dark Jedi Brotherhood’s Wiki. Aside from the normal backend duties that entails, I also administer the Wiki, reviewing and approving article changes, flagging them for revisions when necessary, and generally curating content. This has made me intimately familiar with all aspects of MediaWiki, a skillset I would be happy to bring to the office of the Deputy Grand Master.

Writing

While the position as advertised does not, strictly speaking, have any involvement with storytelling and prose, should the need arise to help with Brotherhood-related storylines or fictions I would be more than happy to do so. Hopefully, my frequent participation in various Brotherhood competitions speaks to my ability to craft a story, but if not I will happily provide examples of my writing.

Logistics & Communications

I believe this to be the most important talent I bring to any position. During my tenure with the Dark Brotherhood, I’ve served twice as Quaestor, three times as Aedile, I was Combat Master, and held multiple Dark Summit positions. Throughout all of them, my biggest strength was my facility for logistics and communication. As an engineer, I’m able to take large, complicated ideas and slice them up into smaller, more manageable pieces. As a writer, I’m capable of clearly expressing those ideas in an accessible fashion. These traits, combined with my attention to detail, have served me well in the past, allowing me to implement intimidatingly large projects in a timely fashion. Given the scope of the Dark Brotherhood’s current policies and regulations, I believe that my talents in this area could serve a vital role in assisting you with your stated goals.

Recognition

Dark Jedi Brotherhood

Two Seals of Loyalty			Two Sapphire Blades			Three Grand Crosses			Five Gold Novae
Seven Silver Novae			Three Bronze Novae			Sixteen Pendants of Blood			Forty Two Clusters of Ice
Sixty Six Vendetta Seals				Three Thousand Clusters of Fire (More or Less)				Just kidding - various and sundry Crescents and other Awards

Professional

• Employee of the Month at three different companies
• Company-wide Professional Excellence from a major international telecommunications company
• Chair on my company’s Employee Satisfaction Committee

Hobbies & Interests

File:Write.png	File:Silhouette.png	File:Imp Roundel 2ndEmpire.png	File:Controller.png
Writing	My Girlfriend	Science Fiction	Video Games
File:Engineering-icon.png	File:BMV.png	File:Glass.png	File:Icon bulb.png
Coding	Da-na-na-na	Hard Cider	Philosophy

Wiki Examples

In addition to this application itself (which, let's face it, isn't that terrific - I wasn't sure what the window on applications was), below are a few examples of my wiki contributions.

• The 300+ edits I've made to various DJB Wiki articles
• The Arconan Armed Forces Portal (as I last edited it)
  • Note the use of templates, series, and partial page transclusion to keep multiple pages current by editing only one.
• I can make Series/Infobox Templates as well
• Drogon the Terentatek
• A simple Series template I threw together for House Qel-Droma
• A Leader Template I reworked significantly to make it cleaner and more presentable.
• Simplified and added functionality to the Succession Template
• I also contributed major changes to most of the House Marka Ragnos wiki pages when I was HMR Aedile
• I’m currently working on Terran Koul’s wiki, so there’s a chance that will be presentable by the time you read this.