Clans in the GRU. History and biography. Updated.
Or "Who is Who" Clans on Gamer.ru, and where they came from. And why they stayed here.
“Clans on GRU were launched on December 31, 2009, at 23:45”
. Fifteen minutes before the deadline - "Tuesday"... that is, New Year.
They were hastily completed, apparently, under the pressure of numerous persistent requests from users. It was handled by the then director of development, Alexander Moshkov, known to us by the nickname Vizzerdrix. And Vizzerdrix later complained that he had given in to the pressure of gamers and released them not in the form in which they were planned.
Part One. The Emergence and History of the Clans on GRU
I think I don’t need to explain the etymology of the word "clans" for long? It comes from the Gaelic “clann”, which translates to “family” or “children”. The most famous clans are the clans of Scotland, where they are kinship communities with an internal patriarchal structure, having a common ancestor.
The story of the introduction of clans on GRU was convoluted from the very beginning. One team of programmers "***Evil Martians***" started developing the clan system, while **another** team finished it. And it seems that after the insertion of the clans system into GRU, only cosmetic adjustments were made to it. There were no further serious changes or additions, except for one, which will be discussed later. The programmers moved on to other tasks that were more necessary for the functioning of the project.
To this day, belonging to a clan does not carry any serious burden, except for the percentage tax on personal experience, which goes into the clan's cash. Clan members themselves adjust their clans according to their needs and requirements. They create chats for their communication ... and set their own obligations. Of course, around the username, there is an indication of belonging to a particular clan and a title in it. The user gives a fixed percentage of experience for promoting their clan up the ranking ladder. From 0 to 90 percent of personal experience gained on GRU. Depending on the accumulated clan experience, the clan moves upward.
Honestly, I am not aware of the Clan ranking ladder: One can only guess.
For the first level - 180-200, for the second - ~380, third -? 550? … tenth -? I don’t know, and no one could answer me since they weren’t keeping track of it. And where would you keep track of it? Everyone I asked answered with a question: - Do you really need this?
A Brief Preliminary Story about Clans from Pegazs.
Since I am not a direct participant in those "historical" events, and was "only in the project" as a user and participant in the wordplay on Gamer.ru, I will therefore give the floor to another person.
“I’ll be honest, it's a murky story. It represented them, as already mentioned above, precisely him. But various rumors circulated. Many were convinced (and still are) that the beginning of their development was initiated by the "Evil Martians". One way or another, already after their departure (which happened, as we remember, in August 2009), the administration promised that clans would be released "no matter what" in this year (2009).
After some time, LaCTuK came up with and popularized the in-site meme "On Tuesday!" Quite quickly it became a synonym for "Not anytime soon", "Sometime later" and so on. On the last Tuesday of the year, **nothing happened**.
As we can see, literally an hour before the end of the year, the clans were completed through tremendous effort. At that time, it was already being handled by **another** freelance team of programmers...
...There were interesting ideas that found their place, but some remained unimplemented... But since everything was done in a hurry anyway, clans turned out to be what they are - a disorganized formation.
Clans were received quite ambiguously. In particular, the unconscious collective still considers them to be "useless". However, after the introduction of the possibility to write clan posts, the excitement finally quieted down for real. But in general, very few clans accept and actually use their "clanness". Throughout the history of the site, I can only name three: "[clan]Crusaders[/clan]", "[clan]Girls Only[/clan]" and [clan]Sensorium commune[/clan]".
The question is - Do you know which clan was the first?
"Of course, **it’s known**.
The first official clan created on GRU was the same Vizzerdrix *most likely, still registered rinocrosser* and named after the first (and, I must say, the last) informal clan that actually existed before the official clan system was created. It was called “**The Mafia of Creativity**”. It was founded by Rinocrosser, and its reception was cold, and after two to three "salvos" it self-collapsed.
Rinocrosser - created the informal clan "The Mafia of Creativity" six months before the clan system was introduced.
An official clan is a formal clan that did nothing and exists solely as a memorial.
Rinocrosser - immediately after the introduction of the official system of clans, officially closed the unofficial clan "The Mafia of Creativity".
”
– Pegazs.
___________________________________________________________________________________
The Beginning of Clans
At the end of 2009, with the onset of autumn, the air on GRU began to be filled with anticipation for a dish called “Clans!!!”. Gamers asked about it from everyone who was at least slightly close to the admins and posted messages: "So, when... ?" And they were answered: - "On Tuesday!!"
But only fifteen minutes before the New Year, they were inserted into GRU, although they had already been promised in September.
The idea of introducing clans on Gamer.ru, following the example of MMORG or other portals, was proposed by the gamers themselves, and the administration agreed with them and promised to introduce them soon.
On July 18, 2009, the first reminder post from the user Zmiy appeared, about the administration's promise regarding clans on GRU.
**Clans on Gamer.ru**.. Although apparently this was not the first reminder... "We’ve talked about everything a thousand times. Clans are one of the main features. They were expected even before the official opening".
"…In August, an [interview*](http://www.gamer.ru/games/1656-gamer-ru/posts/1656) was conducted with 1st, where it is stated directly:*
Concerning the long-awaited clans - I think if not in it, then in the near future (in September) they will come out…" from Pegazs' post.
On October 11, 2009 Rinocrosser had a post regarding the expectation of clans and other topics:
**Comics, Issue 2 Clans and Advertising!**
And without waiting for the promised update, on October 14, 2009 rinocrosser decides to create an unofficial clan The Mafia of Creativity and invites others to create such clans.
**Rinocrosser introduces clans without any programmers!**
This reduced tension, and by his example, many tried to create their communities-clans. But as I understand and am informed, The Mafia of Creativity remained the only unofficial cohesive clan.
On October 16, a Penguin Community was created or attempted to be created. **TUXomania on GAMER.ru**
(I do not know all the names of those communities or clans, so I would appreciate any help and clarification!!)
On that busy day there was even a proposal to create a Dwarf clan.
**Let’s Talk about Clans! or The Idea of One Dwarf**. .
On October 16, 2009 Rinocrosser proposed in his post **Suggestions about Clans** several proposals for programmers. Some of them were accepted for work.
Meanwhile, the clan The Mafia of Creativity began its subversive work to win over admins and other users.
On October 21, 2009, the first salvo from the Mafia of Creativity was made: **The First Salvo of the Mafia of Creativity with the support of GAMER.RU** .
This was, as I understand, a kind of competition from the Mafia of Creativity, gaining experience from the administration.
"…November: a postmortem was posted on dtf.ru by Armen Gulinyan (co-founder of the project). Excerpt:
…One of the most anticipated innovations is, of course, the clan system, which we have been working on for a long time. I will not deny that we wanted to introduce it back in September, but then we revised everything from beginning to end and decided to postpone this important release. We set ourselves the goal of making everything much more interesting than many hope or can even imagine…" from Pegazs' post.
The wait for the official introduction of the clan system continued. At times, gamers' nerves frayed, and irritation manifested in the posts and comments.
On December 2, 2009. A post appeared **Clans? Bring "Tuesday" closer by your hands!**
On December 15, 2009. A post - a warning from kapxapot. **Clans - evil?** A post just before the creation of the clan system raised doubts about clans:
"…That is, the introduction of clans will be a step forward in terms of the socialization of the Gamer, which sooner or later will lead players to start forming clans based on various interests. And they will help each other primarily by pluses. It may even turn out that clan members will be able to write posts (regardless of their content), they will be plused, and they will level up." - kapxapot
"…On December 21, the "Pulse" program on the "First Gaming Channel", an interview with our site’s employees (svetakru and Vizzerdrix). Vizzerdrix's promise:
...and the next update (we very much hope to finish it by the end of this year) - it’s clans..." - Again a quote from Pegazs' post.
On December 23, 2009. **The Gamer's Truth №2,5**
"…Clans? You must be kidding!
But today is Tuesday. However, there will be no clans this year. The admins broke their last piggy bank (R0ndO, no offense) still at the beginning of autumn when they parted ways with the Evil Martians (did you know they haven’t been with us since early August?) and introduced contextual advertising. This also explains the absence of clans in September and the abrupt stop of updates…"
On December 28, 2009. Right before the end of the world, that is, before the clans were inserted into GRU:
**Yesterday was Wednesday, today is - Monday...**.
“…Questions, questions…
Even approximate dates are missing. At the light hand of LaCTuK, clans began to be talked about like this: "on Tuesday". And the further it went, the more evil irony was in these words...
"The day of direct communication", the question of "when are the clans?". An unofficial answer is given by Sliph:
«Before the New Year».
Later these dates were confirmed officially.
If you put all the facts together - the update is tomorrow. If you are realistic - the update is just "soon". If you are LaCTuK, then the update is "on Tuesday...".
And so on December 31, 2009, just before the New Year, clans were inserted or founded on GRU.
This is how clans were described at the beginning of their journey, their capabilities, and plans regarding clans. Not everything that was initially planned was implemented. A description of clans and the possibilities for clan members and leaders, the available starting functionality of clans was given. Overall, they are the same as they are now.
**There will be no clans in 2009! Update of December 31, 2009. Lol-joke jokes lol.**
”…Now, at the start, only the bare minimum is available. The clan system is largely similar to existing principles. A clan can reach a certain level and go from “Nomads” to “State” (the first and last statuses).
The prospects for the development of “clans” are very broad. Among the features that will become available in the very near future, you can expect:
- magical abilities of clans (along with additions and updates of user abilities):
- customizable clan structure;
- clan chat;
- public and closed posts from the clan;
- joint post creation;
- and much, much more (universal battles of alliances, buggy-shenik)! "
"...A short guide:
- create a clan or join one can be from level 3 through People > Clans > Create your clan;
- clan avatar size is 200 by 200 pixels;
- section “about the clan” must be filled with general information - this parameter will be visible to all GAMER.ru users;
- the clan leader must determine the amount of tax (from 0% to 90%), which will be charged from the experience received by the members of his clan from their posts - this parameter will be visible to all GAMER.ru users;
- the clan leader is free to set the "message of the day," which can be seen by clan members only;
- by default, the options available to clan members are distributed as follows (the ability to change will appear in later updates):
Table of clan member capabilities:
Compiled by me, as I did not understand the table in the post.
------LeaderOfficerPrivateRecruit
Accept*---
Exclude*---
Promotion/demotion**--
Message of the day***-
Description and slogan***-
Avatar***-
- users belonging to the same clan cannot plus themselves;
- when leaving the clan, a ban on "plus-ing" posts from the abandoned clan for a week is imposed on the user;
- the limit on the number of users in the clan is 50 people…” - Vizzerdrix.
And literally, the next day gamers did not celebrate the New Year, but rushed to create clans! In those days, many clans began on GRU.
The first clan in the official system was registered The Mafia of Creativity. According to the confusing and unreliable information available, the second such clan was founded House Clan, and the third, possibly, the clan Gamezdev.
The first ideas regarding clans appeared almost immediately after the clans were created, on January 2, 2010.
And on January 3, 2010, an interview with Vikolyada appeared, where he spoke negatively about the clans. **Interview with Chitora, yes**.
“...1: what else to ask ...
Oh, yes! Why do you have such an attitude to clans, what do you see as their disadvantages?
2: Because every "idiot" created his own clan. It's stupid.
As Sliph used to say, clans were supposed to take a certain percentage of the creator's experience in their piggy bank. In this case, there would now be 10+ clans, but thus it has turned into idiocy.
1: I categorically disagree, as there is currently no visible benefit to the clans, and therefore "let the kids have fun". In my opinion, it is still purely OBT. What is your opinion?
2: Yes, it’s definitely beta now, but it would have made sense if, after the beta, all clans divided by zero. And in the current situation, during the beta, there will be 1000+ clans with one member…” - Serikoff.
Posts about recruitment into clans are being created, but mostly gamers agree on joining clans in chat and via private messages.
On January 4, 2010. **The Penguin Clan. Declaring recruitment open. (2)**
Recruitment into the Penguins. With the emergence of the ability to create clans on gamer.ru, the CLAN OF PENGUINS was created!
Penguin Clan, Gamezdev clan, Gamerclub clan, and many, many more…
Almost immediately in the clan system on GRU, one well-known bug was found, allowing the creation of a clan without a Leader, a method discovered by Denai. Rather, it is not a bug, but a peculiarity of the clan system. Which clever people can take advantage of.
**The Penguin Clan - the first clan without a leader**.
On the same date in Sergei’s post **The Gamer's Truth №4**, confusion and even dissatisfaction with the clans appears.
"…literally on January 31, when everyone had exclusively about clans, they were introduced. We all should congratulate the administration, they were late by no less than... 4 months, not a bad result for a new portal. Okay, we could understand if you had attached houses with resources to the clans, but there are none! Moreover, all simple functions that are implemented at the moment are not finished. In short, we honestly don’t know why it was necessary to introduce this prototype of clans on New Year (maybe they started celebrating to early?), and in general, what the programmers did all this time—co-authorship hasn't been introduced until now.
So far, only 1 normal clan formed, and that one has no normal plans..." - Sergy
On January 13, 2010. **Give Help with Clans!!!**
A question was asked about the clan experience line.
On January 16, 2010 or even earlier, a bug with the recruitment of clan experience manifested, and this was the second bug. Many clans leveled up, but then apparently this trick was shut down. **Rollback of Clans**
On January 20, 2010. Rinocrosser announces the dissolution of the unofficial clan The Mafia of Creativity.
**Farewell mafia, or the tale of evil clans and greedy people**
On January 20, 2010. Irritation at the sight of clans and their incompleteness has grown. A list of clans at that time was provided.
"…But even now clans are still not visible. Or are these little doodles above names really the Great and Terrible Clans that everyone waited for so many months? If so, I feel very sorry for public taste, which could not discern the most common distortions of facts.
However, I’ll quote one person from the administration: "We will go on principle, but we will release clans this year!". Well, they went on principle. Well, they released. Has it become easier?
Clans currently do not affect the balance at all. They do not influence anything, except for the opportunity to plus their clan members. Thus, it should be discussed meaningfully. I do not believe that the Martians who wrote the site's code could write such Indian code that it took half a year to program a fairly simple function.
In general, it’s just this site's philosophy: "Wait for yourselves, we don’t know what and when, but it will be cool". Someone might say "you should just make quality posts and not think about clans". Perhaps. But there is no strength left to see all these limitations for the sake of a future "bright future" that hasn’t even shown up...
..the lack of meaningfulness of clans. It is better to have a ghostly hope of "joining the game dev", than a puff pastry that today’s clans offer us…".
On February 17, 2010, a post appeared proposing an interesting addition to the clan system.
**List of Applications for Joining the Clan from the Crusader**.
On March 2, 2010. **Clan Wishes** Further proposals for clans from Magistr.
On March 4, 2010.
Interview with Vizzerdrix:
**Interview with Alexander Moshkov aka Vizzerdrix**
"..Let me hint at the next question in three words... "clans", "when", "update"?**
- Back off with the clans already :) We said that clans in the current release are just the very basics. As you can see, we don’t even promote them (there’s no way to access the clans page from the main). We really wanted to release them in 2009, and even at the cost of serious errors, we fulfilled our unspoken promise.
Currently, however, several other priorities are in development, but we will definitely finish what we started..."
On April 3, 2010. Chronicle 6.5: **The Gamer's Truth №6,5**
Again about clans:
"…In reality, this is an elegantly veiled text: Today's clans are really RUBBISH, it’s hard to say why we did them, we have other plans. Hopefully, we will finish by next Tuesday.
Simply saying so directly would be too cruel. But over three months, almost all users managed to realize it themselves and clan leaders, with slightly different words, are informing that at the moment the clan is just some form. For example, saying "Our clan "Girls only wants to organize a competition", means "The fairer half of the site wants to organize a competition". Gamer Club is a collective image of copy-pasting. GamezDev just smokes broodingly and slowly disaggregates, as we mentioned earlier - there is no image, so there is no benefit from the clan. So, when saying "GamezDev," everyone implies their chat - the last bastion of the clan.
Clans no longer exist. Long live the clans!..."
On March 23, 2010. Doubts and suggestions regarding the clan system continue.
**Great Clans or a place "for a tick"?**
On April 6, 2010, the first **Newsletter Release** is issued.
"…When are clans?
To the question "Why are clans made so poorly?" , the programmers pretend that they had nothing to do with it and cast sidelong glances at the portrait of Armen hanging above the door.
And indeed, if you strain your memory and recall who was persistently reporting about the imminent release of clans – it will indeed be Armen. Who, one fine August day, barged into the editorial office, climbed on a stool, took out his favorite whip and delivered a solemn speech "About the tasty and useful clans", finishing with the words: "Work, you negroes!"
After the tenth whip strike, the programmers finally agreed "Yes, we need to do it, yes…" However, clans utterly did not fit into the "Megaplan". Now they need to finish the redesign, the spells that are all full of bugs, and then Armen’s roof went off – urgently, he says, develop spells for clans, systems for clans, clan chat...
In the end, clans were made in a style of