Greetings Darkhaven! The staff members at Darkhaven.us are pleased to introduce the new TeamSpeak server at TS.DARKHAVEN.US (that’s the TS server address). If you haven’t already stopped by or heard about it then please do read a very brief FAQ at www.darkhaven.us/teamspeak.
Having Darkhaven TeamSpeak under the DHUS umbrella reeeeally simplifies things for everyone. We want to list off some of the benefits you should see immediately but first, a quick shout out to a long time outstanding member of the Darkhaven community who has made TeamSpeak available to us for years. Many thanks to Grampa for selflessly offering up his TS skills, network, expertise, and time to all of us for so long. Darkhaven wouldn’t have as great a community without him.
Now, here’s what you can expect on the new TS.DARKHAVEN.US:
Verification
The ability to actually use the TeamSpeak and participate in discussions is without a doubt the most important part of having TS as a tool. Unfortunately, that first step was sometimes the last step for many users 🙁 This was frustrating for players wanting to jump in and use TS, for guilds who couldn’t get all their players on, for commanders who couldn’t get their zerglings on, and for DHUS staff whose hands were somewhat tied. This was because the DHUS staff who received verification emails and screenshots didn’t have the kind of access required to quickly verify users.
The TS.DARKHAVEN.US TeamSpeak changes all of this because the staff have access to tools to verify users even if those users aren’t on the TS! This is a big improvement, and we’re certain the increased responsiveness will be apparent in our WvW success.
Stability
The previous iteration of Darkhaven TeamSpeak had occasional stability issues not related to the TS; other resources on the same network were sometimes overworked, resulting in downtime for the TS and its users. Despite rumor, it wasn’t due to Denial of Service attacks from our friends at Gate of Madness. While no network is perfect, we hope segmenting this new TS off to a different network will reduce the overall occurrences of interruptions and downtime.
Moderation and Administration
In the interest of equality and to dispel illusions of “rank” or “power,” we have done away with different icons and privilege levels for moderators. All users with the ability to alter channels have the blue M badge for moderator and they all have the same privileges. To ensure that there is always someone on the TS to approve new users, we have added the “Verifier” position with a red V badge. These users have no administrative or moderation privileges but can verify first-time “guest” users, allowing those users to join the WvW channels. We are very grateful to the superusers that were grandfathered in from the previous TeamSpeak who voluntarily gave up privileges to make this happen.
Communication and Accessibility
TS.DARKHAVEN.US can only truly be a resource for the Darkhaven community if we are open to community input, ideas, criticism, and suggestions. That’s why we’ve made it easy to get a hold of server administrators who will answer your questions and address your concerns. You don’t have to know someone who knows someone who knows an admin – all you have to do is email teamspeak@darkhaven.us. While we can’t guarantee happiness for everyone, we can guarantee that your voice will be heard.
Controversial Players
Through the course of trying to please everyone and do good for our community, some players have found themselves surrounded by controversy. This phenomenon could be caused by any number of reasons, could be true or untrue, and could be helpful or unhelpful. In the interest of community strength and unity, some controversial players have relinquished responsibilities, stepped aside, or otherwise “taken one” for the team, and will have a voluntarily reduced presence on this new TS. We are indebted to these players for putting the larger community needs ahead of their own. Thank you.
A very small number of other controversial players have not been invited to the new TS.DARKHAVEN.US TeamSpeak or, when warranted in rare and extreme cases, have had their previous bans grandfathered over.
In closing, the Darkhaven.US staff would like to invite you to join us in sharing this new community resource. We hope to see you in TS soon!