In-depth Article (3/1/2017)

[Rally3]

In-Depth Newspaper Section

Disclaimer: This features a wonderful 1850+ words and has a readability level of a college student. If you are not one for long texts or complicated words, you can safely exit this section of the newspaper and head into the cover. You can continue at your own discretion. You've been warned.

Server Under Attack

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As many of you guys can tell, the server has been suffering from attacks. The source is still unknown despite people saying that it is either Tony or Marvelo. I'll admit both have good reasons to do something like this, however it seems unlikely since I don't think any of them possess the knowledge to do something like this. Networking is not something learned overnight, although there are several "tutorials" on how to DDOS or do other sorts of network attacks.

You are urged to avoid from looking for something like that altogether. When doing something of the sort you expose your own IP address, and therefore increase the risk of having someone return the attack to you. Also, in an information age that we live in today, an IP address is essentially your passport to the net. You should know not to share this with anyone.

Another point to get across is the attacks themselves. Any attack comes with a purpose behind it; maybe it was other servers trying to eliminate the competition, maybe it was a player who was banned and was feeling like getting his payback, who knows. What is clear though is that an attack like this is unnecessary in the first place: make sure you play the game fairly and treat everyone right, and you won't get in a situation where you have to resort to foolery like this, remember that one of the players could've been yourself. What's the fun in taking the experience away from other people for personal gain?

Please remember that this is a community, external attacks can somewhat be expected, sadly, but I strongly believe that attacks from people who currently/once belonged to the server should never happen. Once again, make sure you abide the rules and play respectfully with other players to avoid yourself, and the rest of the community, from being in a similar situation than we are right now.

I'd like to end this article on the note that the staff team is working very hard to solve this problem as soon as possible. After all, it is their duty and they enjoy taking care of Lsrcr, the timeouts hurt them as much as anyone else, if not more.

There has been a small period of time on February 27th, my birthday, to ensure that all vulnerabilities are taken care of. This isn't a solid guarantee that nothing will happen again, and that the problems will stop, but it is a good step to take in that direction. Be patient, wait for a solution, and let's pull through this as a community instead of looking for someone to blame.

Experience as a Beta

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I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to access the Beta Server. I do not possess a Beta Tester rank (at least not yet) but I am proud and grateful for this opportunity. For those that do not know what the beta server is, it is the server in which features are carefully tested to ensure that the finished updates have as little bugs as possible, if any.

The beta team is not for everyone. You can't ask to join the beta testing group, and neither can you ask for the testing server's details. I was personally called by CXdur, and he's in charge of the group, so if he sees you well suited, he will let you know. Don't spam people to get in the group, that will only handicap your chances of ever making it as a beta tester. Take into consideration that people can be really busy not only with in-game matters, but also with real life ones. Respect their privacy and make sure you do not ask to get in a group you haven't been called for. I am a firm believer that if things have to happen, they will, so just patiently wait for your turn and make sure you've worked enough to deserve such an opportunity.

Programming is something extensive and specially at a stage like the one the server's in, a programmer's organization is key to maintain the code in place and understandable. I've known this for quite some time now since I plan on working as a programmer in the near future, but seeing a snapshot of the server's code, and how it is organized, I was pleasantly surprised. Surprised may not be the right word, since when you see the finished product as a programmer you know some serious thinking took place in the time of development. Congratulations to our developers for everything they do, trust me when I say they are well suited to the positions they are in the community.

About our groups

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Army: There was a recent mishap involving XTCPekenbaru, where the user in question did not read the rules related for the faction and broke a basic rule for the usage of the military Apache helicopter, the Hunter. Initially, he would've received a permanent ban since abuse of the Army's weapons is highly frowned upon and such an action would be met with serious punishment(s). However, the resolve was adjusted to the form of a 1 week ban to the user, and a permanent blacklist from the faction. A couple of interesting events were offered to the members as well, which is always a good way to keep your members active as well as entertained.

SWAT: Hashish and Wajeeh have been promoted to Swat Staff team. While their duties remain the same, they did recieve a cool new color and group on the forums. In addition to that, SWAT officials Rollinzo and Sowhat have been added as new testers! Don't be fooled, they have been trained properly to ensure competent testing that meets the standards of a faction like SWAT. Shiny has been added to the team as well, at a private rank. We congratulate all of these members and the entire team on their efforts!

Pagati: The faction continues to be active in their search for roleplay events, and they're doing a fine job at it. With a peculiar application system, it's really hard to keep up with who's a part of the faction or not. The organization keeps its members well hidden from public record, making it difficult for us to find out much about them. However, we've heard that they've started using their own versions of newspapers! This will hopefully prove to be a good source for information gathering. We encourage Pagati to keep leading the way in what a RP group should be like.

Akatsuki: Nothing really out of the ordinary with the Akatsuki. Applications are ongoing and some of them have gotten accepted/denied. We congratulate those who got accepted and urge those that got denied to work on their skills and attitude: sometimes getting into a group isn't simply about what you can do, but also about how you react as a component of a team. Good luck taking over the world, little weebs!

Anime Brigade: It will be very rare for the major weeb group to get any distinct activity on a week. "General Discussion" topic remains to be active as members discuss their favorite animes, but it doesn't end there. Weebs are passionate people and they will go the extra mile to let you know why the anime they watch is better than the one you do. If they recommend something, you might as well assume it is good. Carry on, Itsukis!

LSPD United: The official law enforcement group has been seeing a lot of new applications come in once the process was re-opened. Now they are at the end of the month and looking forward to pick their Member of the Month, just like most of the official groups on this list. Getting the accolade is certainly no easy feat and it is something to brag about. We wish good luck to already affiliated officers as well as those officers soon to join!

Mountain Bike Riders: The new group continues to bloom in popularity, as members offer their time to develop cool new signatures and other content for the group. The dedication of the members can really be seen on this one and it is no surprise why it has become an official group. They too have a Member of the Month about to be picked, and we wish good luck to everyone elligible to win such an amazing contest!

Stunt Kings: Nothing is ever truly new with the Stunt Kings. They stunt, get away, then move on with it. No unnecessary talking, for the stunting does the talking for them. They continue to host the SKSS, their Stunt Shool, as well as applications to the SK themselves. We recommend all players to take a look at their courses, even if they're not looking to formally be a part of the group. There may be a thing or two you might wanna learn from them.

Taxi Drivers: The leader of the taxi drivers has come out and announce his reason for innactivity. He seems to be in an exam period and needs all concentration and energy to be able to pull through it. We wish him best of luck on that, and remain to ensure you all that the faction is still standing, and taxis are still collecting fares all over Los Santos. The group is still being correctly handled even with the abscence of it's guiding hand.

Terrorists: You could say we could use their help to eliminate whoever's attacking the server. Anyways, the terrorists continue to wreck havok in the city of Los Santos without mercy whatsoever. Cops are tore down by the hour and these people seem to have no remorse for their victims' families or acquaintances; if they know you, then you are all dead. They are holding a poll for Member of the month as well so we wish all of its members luck to hopefully accomplish such a remarkable feat.

Ultimate Fighting Championship: Despite for not holding any fights, at least officially, the UFC is still receiving applications! Many believe that the reason behind this is that the faction is lead by no-good-for-anything administrator Duffey, a person who is believed to bribe the members who go along with his plans with candy. All jokes aside, we expect, and wish, for the faction to resume posting fighter profiles and fights again. We want to blow some steam off ourselves after writing lengthy editions too, so have some consideration people!

Unofficial Groups: Unofficial groups that were active this week include "The Zeta's" and "The Traitor's". It seems like the groups are attracting several members while groups such as "Lsrcr Cophunters" and "The Klub" seem to be lagging behind. Owners being lazy? We would confirm this but we have not spoken to the leaders of neither of those two groups so we can neither verify nor deny that. We wish they get back on their feet and continue to be an alternative to people that aren't in any official/unofficial groups, and wish them best of luck in the continuation of their efforts of leading their respective groups.

Conclusion

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That's it for this week. You've now completed reading the 1850+ words in this in depth section of the Newspaper. If you've read the article in its entirety, we congratulate you! If you didn't it's alright, that's why the disclaimer was placed at the very top of this topic. Make sure to stick with us next week for the next edition!