Sheikah banner as seen at the LoZ.com forums.
Sheikah is a usergroup ranking in the LegendofZelda.com forum community. The Sheikah ranking signifies that the user is a loyal and respected member of the community, and a Sheikah is usually recognized by having a purple username as opposed to white. Members can be elected to become Sheikah after they have been active at the forums for 9 months, have roughly 2-4 quality posts per day, be respectful, and be a loyal member to the community. Sheikah members are designated at the LoZ.com community by their user group, as well as (more often than not) a Sheikah banner in their signature, though some Sheikah are known to modify the banner so to fit in other ranks as well, should they attain them. The Sheikah title was once known as the Oldie title.
Duties and Privileges
Sheikah have access to a private forum known as the Order of the Sheikah, where they participate in exclusive discussions and topics found only in this particular forum. It is a Sheikah's duty to act as rolemodels for the other members and lead an example on how to behave in the forums, as well as maintaining their activity and post in the boards as often as they can, with as thoughtful and respectful posts as they can.
Sheikah Code[1]
1) You must have been a member of LoZ.com's Forums for no shorter than 9 months. This is the minimum amount required to even be considered, so do not ask for or expect to be given any exceptions.
2) You must be a very active member on the boards. General participation in topics, polls, forum activities, contests, games, and any other interactive events is absolutely key. You can not properly represent LoZ if you do not show that you care enough to remain an active part of the community. This means that you will be expected to make around 2-4 posts EVERY DAY THAT YOU LOG IN as a Sheikah, if not more. If you log in on Tuesday, you need to post on Tuesday! If you cannot meet this requirement, you need to decline the position.
3) Since you are representing LoZ, you should show a bit of pride in how you post in our forums. Put some time and effort into your posts, show that you care about what you're writing. Good grammar and spelling is something you should strive for, as it commands a distinct respect among peers and staff alike. Consistently failing to meet the basic writing conventions of the English language is grounds for not being added to the group. If you are a Sheikah and your grammar abilities somehow deteriorate, it will be investigated, and may be possible grounds for suspension or removal from the group.
4) You must be a very respectable member, meaning you show respect towards others on this forum and you in turn are respected and established as being a model forum citizen. Showing the proper respect to the staff is imperative. They are the driving force behind the site, so a certain respectful gratitude is expected. Sheikah are looked up to by other members, and how you act reflects on yourself, your fellow Sheikah, and LoZ.com in general.
5) Don't just contribute to the forums, contribute intelligently. The way you fulfill these requirements is not only going to give a good understanding of what kind of member you are, but how you will portray yourself once you are granted this title of utmost respect and commendation.
6) You are expected to log in at least once every two days, preferably every day. Consistently failing to maintain this means you will either not be recommended, or you will not remain in the group.
7) If you are a part of the group and you are going to be away from the boards, you are REQUIRED to notify the site BEFORE you leave. Failure to do so is possible grounds for suspension or for rescinding of your bid to be a Sheikah.
8) Finally (and this will apply to current Sheikah as well as new ones), You will be required to uphold all the qualities and standards that are required of this group in order to maintain the level up respect that will be expected of you as you hold the title of LoZ.com Sheikah.
History of the Sheikah
As the Oldies
After the return of LoZ.com in November of 2004, the Oldies were created as a way to reward all members who had stuck with the site through thick and thin over the years. They were given their own private board, exclusive to them, as well as various banners to put into their signatures. Oldies were selected based first on their time at the forum, and later on, (early 2006) based on their merit as respectable members.
The requirements for becoming an Oldie were never clearly defined anywhere, and really, becoming an Oldie was sometimes as simple as asking an Administrator, or sometimes as complicated as a long discussion amongst staff.
Becoming the Sheikah
Having been previously known as the "Oldies", the Sheikah officially began to serve as the board's Rolemodels, taking the spot formerly occupied by the Sage group (still in existence).[2]
After this change, there was a selection of the first new Sheikah, and thus began the cycle of moderators selecting Sheikah in the privacy of the staff board, and then unveiling them with many months between ascensions, so as to allow the newest Sheikah to bask in the limelight, as well as giving members a chance to establish themselves.
In Modern Times
Since its inception in August of 2006, the LoZ.com Sheikah have unofficially served in a few capacities. They've helped create projects for forum activity; they were the review council for the Graphics Rating System[3] that used to exist at LoZ.com; they helped review the President of the Groups idea. In general, they serve as a greater "ruling council" for the forums or site when the Moderator staff just isn't enough input.
To this day, to become a Sheikah is a great, great honor, and it has become tradition that members who become a Sheikah are decided on by the staff, and then they are sent a PM asking if they would accept the position. After a "yes" reply, their usergroup and display color are changed accordingly, and it is then up to the rest of the forum community to notice and give recognition in the Community Thread. Members often joke that Sheikah are always chosen in threes, though this is not an official policy.
Although it's not officially a requirement, all moderators since the creation of the group have been Sheikah first. These days, you cannot expect to become anyone on the forum staff without first becoming a Sheikah and proving your worth. Not all staff members are automatically Sheikah; they must maintain the standards of the Sheikah Code in order to maintain their status as a Sheikah.
Current Sheikah
- Absolute X
- Abyss Master
- acid-flier
- AlbinoWolf
- Andoman
- BrokenEdge
- Chise
- Dar
- Dark_Kokiri
- Death's Head
- Doom-Desire
- Fiver
- Guilty Tribute
- Hanyou
- Hyper-Red
- Incubus
- Ironic Karma
- Kandid
- KoBL
- Last Chance
- MagnumPrimers
- Menelaus
- Mercedes
- Minish Maniac
- MXDan
- shadow
- Sifa
- Spartan
- Sword of faith
- Triforce Guardian
- Viral Maze
- Waffles
- Willmeister
- WithTheDawn
- Xizor
- Zelda
- zeroquest
Sources
Template:LoZ.comRanks