Packs are a huge aspect of DotW and a cornerstone of IC politics and OOC community! Each official pack maintains a unique culture and discipline, and functions as a catalyst for member-driven plots throughout the group. Applying with a new pack is an exciting creative venture and a great way to give back to the community, but also entails a lot of personal responsibility!
What does it mean to run a pack?
APPLYING FOR A PACK IS ALSO APPLYING FOR A STAFF POSITION.
Becoming part of staff is a
huge commitment and applying should not be done lightly! Before applying
consider the following carefully:
- You should be willing to devote several hours every week to DotW, both as a moderator on the panel and with your characters, interacting with members on both fronts. Alpha characters should earn at least one bone every month, ideally more. You should have good working knowledge of all group rules and policies, and the cultures of the official packs.
- Your pack will become a cornerstone of the group's setting, meaning you should be willing to devote at least a year to personally keeping it active and up to date, both IC and OOC. This requires a lot of organization and passion! It's not always fun! Be prepared and willing to participate in plots with every member of your pack.
- You will have to compromise and be prepared to engage in difficult conversations in a mature and respectful manner – potentially even in regards to your own pack. Staff is a relatively small and consequentially, close-knit group. But we will not always agree on rules, issues that may surface regarding members/the community, implementations, and proposed changes. We must find solutions cooperatively. Clear, honest, and respectful communication skills are paramount.
- You are not just devoting yourself to your pack, but to the entire group! This means the decisions you make both IC and OOC for your pack should be well planned out, and should take ALL the group's members into consideration as well. How your pack interacts with the other official factions must be balanced within the current realm of DotW. In this regard, your decisions cast long shadows and being an alpha gives you MORE restrictions, not fewer.
- It is not a popularity contest. A staff role means taking a vested interest in everyone who is a part of the group, and you must be willing to promote and encourage others in areas outside of your immediate interest/benefit. Being on staff occasionally also means being the "bad guy" and you must be willing to help make the hard decisions when they arise! You must review conflicts as objectively and fairly as possible; sometimes personal feelings will have to be put aside.
- You must have discretion. Official staff debates, member complaints, reprimands, and other group records (such as activity check forgiveness) are private and should not be disclosed in any format without explicit permission from the involved member(s).
- Things do not always go according to plan. Rules, cultures, and plots are often revised as time goes on for the good of DotW's continued growth. You will need to keep a level head and maintain a certain amount of flexibility when needed. You will need to be able to take critique in stride.
Be sure that you are willing and able to meet the above standards - and be prepared to be challenged about it when your application is reviewed.
If you have thin skin or do not enjoy collaboration, this role will prove extremely stressful!
Your behavior is being monitored from day one to see if you can do all these things. How you act as a member will have great influence on whether or not you are able to have a pack and join staff in the future.
- Take initiative. Do not wait for another member to bring up an issue or start a plot with you, approach them yourself! If you have questions, check the FAQ and Group Rules before posting a comment or note asking! In the event of concerns or uncertainties with staff or a group member, dialogue with them rather than letting it fester!
- Be generous. Flexibility and an interest in making others enjoy themselves is crucial to being part of staff! Help others complete their personal plots, and take a genuine interest in what's happening both IC and OOC with your fellow members!
- Be respectful. Hiccups are part of life (literally and figuratively!) Keep your cool even in confusing, frustrating, and/or monotonous situations. Attempt to solve conflicts honestly and professionally, rather than spreading rumours or holding secret grudges!
- Take social responsibility. Consistency and consideration go a long way in a collaborative setting. Be mindful of how your actions and words impact others, and make conscientious choices. (In layman's terms, "don't be stupid")
- Read this.
Drafting a Pack
- Inspiration for a pack can come from virtually anywhere, and DotW embraces diversity in its official factions! While we encourage you to find inspiration in related cultures and other media, the concept must be an original creation!
- In the same vein as the previous point, your pack should not be too similar in theme, setting, and/or motive to the already existing factions! Read up on all of the official packs and look for niches that haven't been filled to give your pack as much draw as possible!
- Creativity is paramount and the world that we live in is absolutely brimming with inspirational material. However, we encourage all pack applicants to do in-depth research and not rely on stereotypes or offhand knowledge when crafting their pack’s culture. Domain of the Wolf should not and will not be a home to racially and ethnically problematic content.
- Make sure your pack is balanced and well-rounded. Give the culture well developed and dynamic focuses, so that it is immersive and interactive!
- Your Main Page should follow this outline and be no more than 3.5k words:
- [Your Pack] and its Members - How does your pack treat its members?
- [Your Pack] and Outsiders - How does your pack treat outsiders?
- Culture - How does your pack view the world? What are their politics, traditions, religious beliefs, values, etc? Basically, what makes your pack its own distinct faction?
- Rules/Laws - The laws your pack enforces and their IC consequences should they be broken.
- Tasks - You may have up to 6 distinct tasks that members may take on as their official occupation within the pack.
- Hierarchy - The ranking system of your pack. (Guide below) Additional 'special' ranks are permissible and ranks can be renamed, but a variant of Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Omegas must be present.
Basic Pack Hierarchy
- Alpha(s): Generally the leader/leaders of the pack. There can be up to two. They can be mates, siblings, or any other combination you want.
- Beta(s): Second in command to the alphas. They are very trusted members, and are usually also experts at a task.
Theta(s): The leaders of a task. They teach those in lower ranks how to do their tasks.
- Gamma(s): The mid-rung wolves in their tasks. Masters of their craft but not quite leaders within their role.
- Delta(s): Members with tasks. Tasks may be different from pack to pack. They generally include things like hunters, healers, pup sitters, etc.
- Omega(s): New members. All characters begin as omegas. They do not yet have tasks. This does not mean they get beat up necessarily, just that they are the lowest rank.
- You can also include special, plot-related ranks, for example: Religious Leaders, Heirs, etc.
- You may create additional supplemental material for your pack, such as an expanded religion page, lexicon, history, etc.
- Hypothetical map and application sheets are permitted but heavily discouraged, as these are the most likely to require change from staff and entail modifying official DotW content.
- All your pack's information should be included when you apply for your pack and should NOT be posted to your public deviantART accounts. (Keep them in sta.sh or a GoogleDoc!)
- Do not discuss or advertise potential pack concepts in or around official Domain of the Wolf spaces, and please do not actively promote your pack to members through DM’s or otherwise. Because part of the pack application process involves a community-wide vote, each and every pack concept and applicant should have as equal a chance as possible when openings arise.
Pack Acceptance Process
- Pack applications and concepts can only be submitted during an official pack opening window.
- During a pack opening window, interested applicants are required to submit their application through a Google form and fill it out accordingly by the window deadline. Applications cannot be submitted late and will not be considered in the running if submitted after the deadline window has passed; even if the form has not been officially closed.
- Once the opening window has closed, current staff will convene to give thorough review to each and every applicant to create an approved shortlist of packs that will then proceed to a member vote.
- Approved packs will then proceed to a member vote via Google Forms, where the community will be provided with the pack information for the packs up for consideration. The poll will remain open for a specified period of time, after which the pack(s) with the highest number of votes will be officially implemented into Domain of the Wolf.
- Newly accepted staff members will then be slowly immersed and shown staff routines and procedures while also preparing their own pack for group introduction.
ADVICE FROM STAFF
Although pack windows are often competitive, we aren't specifically looking for applicants who can "sway a crowd" or "win." We're looking for someone who will ultimately bring growth and stability to the group and staff team as a whole.
The MOST IMPORTANT aspect of your application is how qualified you are to serve on staff.
The second most important aspect is how interested members are in the dynamics your pack would bring to the group.
You may have a great concept and a huge member following, but if you do not conduct yourself in a way that shows us you would behave responsibly in a staff position, the popularity of your pack concept will not matter!
How to Apply
In order to apply for a pack, you must meet the following requirements:- You must have been a member for at least 6 months.
- If you will be introducing a new character as your alpha character, you must have the bones to be able to purchase the associated new character slot.
- In addition to being able to purchase an alpha character slot, you must also pay 30 bones for a pack application upon submission of your pack concept. Payment will be processed via the Google Form pack application and not by note.
