Below is a list of squad names (50) found on the DF game app, listed under squadrons on the forum, and those only mentioned recently as forum threads.

As you can see, there are plenty.

But what I want to know is what it takes for you to recognize a squad as legit. As you may know Kamikaze King has just sponsored a new squad "The Ghost Hawks squadron", and you may remember "The Flea Squad" that lasted as a name for about 2 hours (one of my favs).

But to be acknowledge, recognized, taken seriously, what does a squad have to do for you to consider its legitimacy?

Does it have to be listed as a squad within the game app? Does it have to be listed under the formal squad heading in the forum? Does it only need a forum thread? Cool name? Real MORAF leader? All of the above?....?

Take a look at the list and see which squads you recognize as legit and consider why. I'd, and I'm sure many squad owners/members, would like to know.



Listed In Game App:
Dogfight Clan - No members
Misfits
M.O.M
New Lunar Republic
Enigma
King of Kings - Only one player
Black Eagles
Black Bones
Black Sheep - Only one - Pluribus
108th Warthogs
Top Guns
Yo mamma - No members
103rd Aero squadron
SVF ????
The Aces - Two members
The Killers - Only one member
The Golden Eagles
MiG - Only one member
Polska Armia - Only one member
The Sky Crawlers - Two members
[666]th ThrillKill Co. - Only one member
Syclones - Three members
Fly devils - Only one
Gotcha - Three members
180th Badboys -
666th Wraith Squadron - 6 members
Butt squad - Only one member - Butt Crack
111th Falcon Squadron
Ironguard - Two Members

Listed in Forum Squadron Topics
Confederate Air Corp
Kamikazi Squadron
Skysharks
The Devils Dragons
Lafayette Escadrille
Looney Bin
Legends
Gunners Inc
Wolf Pack Squadron
The Foreign Legion
The official ReJects Squadron
The official 91st Squadriglia

Posted as Forum Threads only (and very recently):
American Pitbulls
Jurassic Air Force
Oficial Esquadrao Brasucas
New Age Outlaws
War Birds
The Legion of Doom
All Americans
Aces of Vengeance (AOV)
The Official International Airforce

I see a lot of 1 man squads, which often don't last. For me a squad is just what it sounds like, a group of players. Doesn't have to be active on the forum (e.g. Enigma is not forum active any more), but I know the squads that I see when I'm in game, and the ones where I see more than 1 in a game.

Those tend to be (in no particular order) MOM, Misfits, GI, Lafayette, Black Eagles, Falcons, NRL, DD.

It's rare for me to see more than a handful of Enigma members in a week now, but I'm focused on work and a 2 year old at the moment, so I only play when the US is sleeping and Europe is at work/school.

Good question, Finn!

Since I first started playing DF, I noticed that there is a lot of what I would call 'squad snobbery' that exists amongst players. That is, if your squad is new and you are trying to recruit, members of older squads tend to try and belittle your efforts. The way I see it, if a player wants to try and establish a new squad, why not help them out a little? All it takes to make a squad work is enthusiasm. As long as the leader of the squad is willing to put in the effort, the squad will begin to grow and become established but more importantly, become respected.

When War Hawk first started the WarBirds squad, HB and I actively steered players who were looking for a squad his way. We didn't have to, we could have pushed them to join Gunners, but we wanted to help him get his squad off the ground. When all is said and done it doesn't matter what squad you belong to, we are the Dogfight family. We all fight with and against each-other just for the fun of it.

Personally, I have respect for any individual player that takes on the roll of running their own squad. It takes a lot of perseverance, hard work and eats away your time in the skies, but ultimately is very rewarding. Just look at the friendships that people have made on here with people they are likely to never meet in person!

In short, all it takes for me to recognise a squad is strong leadership, be it from an individual or a group of people. If they respect others in the game, they will be respected.

@ Hammer: I didn't know that Enigma wasn't "forum active." How does that work?

@ KK: What about War Hawk made you push for his efforts to start the WarBirds?


Does anyone know why many of the squads listed above do not appear in the game app?

Kamikaze King wrote: Good question, Finn!

Since I first started playing DF, I noticed that there is a lot of what I would call 'squad snobbery' that exists amongst players. That is, if your squad is new and you are trying to recruit, members of older squads tend to try and belittle your efforts. The way I see it, if a player wants to try and establish a new squad, why not help them out a little? All it takes to make a squad work is enthusiasm. As long as the leader of the squad is willing to put in the effort, the squad will begin to grow and become established but more importantly, become respected.

When War Hawk first started the WarBirds squad, HB and I actively steered players who were looking for a squad his way. We didn't have to, we could have pushed them to join Gunners, but we wanted to help him get his squad off the ground. When all is said and done it doesn't matter what squad you belong to, we are the Dogfight family. We all fight with and against each-other just for the fun of it.

Personally, I have respect for any individual player that takes on the roll of running their own squad. It takes a lot of perseverance, hard work and eats away your time in the skies, but ultimately is very rewarding. Just look at the friendships that people have made on here with people they are likely to never meet in person!

In short, all it takes for me to recognise a squad is strong leadership, be it from an individual or a group of people. If they respect others in the game, they will be respected.

And im still thankful for that kk, everytime there is a new squadron i help recruit for them . You and hb really helped War Birds become the sucessful squadron it is . I don't think i expressed how greatful i am for that and that i respect the g.i. And its amazing bunch of pilots.
~warhawk

Interesting list. Some of the Game App squads I've never even heard of--are some even active??

When Luna and I started the NLR, we were still relatively new to Dogfight, and honestly, we had no idea what we were doing (still don't). We consider ourselves very lucky to have seen the squad grow and still continue to be active today!

But, some advice can be found by good, old-fashioned social studies. This is a community, after all. When it comes down to whether a squad should be recognized as "official" and be taken seriously, consider some concepts taught in Government 101: Authority, Legitimacy, Obligation, and Power.

These four principles help define sources of leadership and power in any social setting (from small communities to national governments), and can easily be used to analogize how squadrons are perceived in Dogfight.

Authority - This refers to social power, and is the pinnacle of the four. Your authority is recognized and accepted by others, BUT it is dependent on:

Legitimacy - This comes into play when deciding if your authority is correct and proper. Your legitimacy is kept intact by maintaining a proper "image" and by fulfilling your:

Obligation - Another word for responsibility. If you neglect or overstep your obligations, you lose above Authority. But, to fulfill great responsibility, you need great:

Power - The raw, black-and-white ability to do something. This is the great backbone, the foundation to establishing your Authority. You cannot get to any of the levels above without first achieving the ones below.

So, if you're still following along, how does this tie into the squadrons of Dogfight?

Well, the ultimate goal of any starter squad (and any group within a social hierarchy) is to achieve authority. Squads want recognition and acceptance for what they are. But first, they need that foundation. They need Power.

Not everyone here has the time, skill, or motivation to start a squad, so that's where many stop. But those who decide to invest in such a task must have the Power to do so. This will be proven by fulfilling certain Obligations. Start a squad thread, start a squad website, spread the word, create art/banners, make an official charter, gain some members. As you prove that you can use your Power to complete expected Obligations, your Legitimacy will build, and from that, people will respect the squadron's Authority.

The reason why squads end (or any government for that matter) is because of the loss of Authority by the deterioration of any of the foundations. Some squadron leaders lose the time and ability to manage the squad, which is a loss of Power. Some squadron leaders ignore the responsibilities that come with leading a squad (despite having the ability to do so), which is neglect of their Obligation. Some members of squads tarnish their reputation by saying/doing bad things, or by abusing their Power within the squad, which results in a loss of Legitimacy.

In the end, only the best squads gain Authority and are recognized as a prominent squadron in Dogfight.

So, if you're still reading along, what will you do to earn that authority? You have to go the whole nine yards, because stopping short doesn't score the touchdown.

Thanks for reading! If you didn't know, I'm currently studying for midterms tomorrow, and this was an excellent refresher for me.

Until next time,

~Octavia

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[NLR] Octavia:

I'm with you Blue. I love reading Octavia's posts.

@ Dire:
I was wondering the same things about "active" squads. How does one know if the squads are still active? What happens when a squad become inactive? Does Zup use his delete button? Is he informed when they become inactive?

A long list of mostly inactive squads is not a very helpful list.

(I edited the list above to show which squads have few to no players)

I was just I hoping I hadn't bored everyone to tears.

[NLR] Finn wrote: @ Hammer: I didn't know that Enigma wasn't "forum active." How does that work?

@ KK: What about War Hawk made you push for his efforts to start the WarBirds?


Does anyone know why many of the squads listed above do not appear in the game app?

War Hawk didn't ask me to help him recruit pilots, he just mentioned in World Chat that he had started his own squad and I thought he could do with a bit of help to get his squad off the ground. What can I say, I guess I am just one of the nice guys!

I think many of the squads listed not appearing in the game app when you click the 'squadrons' section is due to there being a limited listing capability in that section. I click on that several times a week and rarely do you get the same squads appear in the main list. I almost always have to do a search in order to find my own squad. If you go through the alphabet one letter at a time in the squad search, I am sure you will find many more squads than in your first list!

Wow, KK! So there are probably hundreds of inactive squads. Who knew?

I would like to see many of the more active squadrons showing up as soon as you click 'Squadrons' in the game.. zuperman?? And many of those currently shown I haven't seen a single pilot from them in like forever lol!

[NLR] Finn wrote: @ Hammer: I didn't know that Enigma wasn't "forum active." How does that work?

@ KK: What about War Hawk made you push for his efforts to start the WarBirds?


Does anyone know why many of the squads listed above do not appear in the game app?

You don't see us much in the forum, although I know that a few of us still read it.

ZebraUp wrote: I would like to see many of the more active squadrons showing up as soon as you click 'Squadrons' in the game.. zuperman?? And many of those currently shown I haven't seen a single pilot from them in like forever lol!

Even my squad eventually died off like the dinosaurs and it seemed in one fellow swoop.
Just don't go off if your the moraf without someone running the dang thing!

.....the realisation that most people long to be accepted by a group where they don't stand out.......rather than being unique, and for that being accepted by individuals.








Or wasn't this a question?