Certifications
 | This page is currently under construction! Expected information may be missing, sections may be empty, prose may cut off abruptly, etc. |
 | For a list of all currently written certifications, see the relevant category. For detailed information on certifications, prerequisites, which individuals have what certifications, and so on, visit EnduraNet. |
A certification is a written document that acts like a course on how to perform a specific role, skill, or group of skills in Arma 3. They can be created by any member and are reviewed by EDC leadership before being approved and made official. All certifications are accompanied by a checklist — in the form of a Google Sheet with a standard format. The checklist contains a list of actions that, if observed as being satisfactorily performed without too much assistance, is indicative that the individual has learned the skills the certification aims to teach.
Purpose
The purpose of certifications is to encourage members to learn specific roles, like medic or pilot, in a structured and intentional way. As people get certified on more things, the overall competence of the unit increases, allowing more skilled and interesting play. The encouragement for this is achieved through the sign-up sheets system, where only a person with a relevant certification on a desired role is allowed to sign up for it. This does not bar access to the role: sign-up sheets do not necessarily allow reserving every slot which may require a certification, and so on game day slots that were not reserved via the sheet are filled on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Some certifications exist outside of this meta and simply aim to teach miscellaneous skills, such as how to navigate by land and triangulate one's position with only a map, compass, and map tools. There is no incentive to take such certifications aside from padding out one's certifications on EnduraNet and/or a genuine interest in learning.
Becoming certified
A prospective member who wishes to be certified should go to the relevant page on this wiki. See the information bar at the top of this page for a link to all written certifications which are available.
The relevant page will go over all the information and skills necessary to do the thing the certification is addressing. On this page a link to an associated checklist will be available and is the same checklist that will be used during certification. The prospective individual is advised to review the list and ensure they can perform all items on it. Once they are certain they can perform all items in the checklist proficiently, they may ask any person who has the certification to certify them. This can be done by going to EnduraNet, clicking the "Search..." button, and selecting "By Certification".
No individual member is obligated to perform certifications, so the prospective member may need to shop around. It may also be worthwhile posting in a more public location, like an Arma centered text chat.
Once someone agrees and the day both indivdiuals agree upon arrives, all that will occur is that the certifying member will make a copy of the checklist and then ask, in order from top to bottom, that the prospective member perform all actions on the checklist. This will be done on the Arma server in the presence of the certifying member. If the observed member manages to perform all actions on the list, even if the certifying member has to assist occasionally, the member has performed satisfactorily and may be certified.
It is the sole discretion of a certifying member whether or not the prospective member has performed satisfactorily. If it is their belief they did not, they may politely state as such, and then ask the individual to try again with them at a later date or with another certified member. If the prospective member feels this unfair, they may refer the situation to an EDC leadership member for remediation.
If the observing member believes the prospective individual has performed all items satisfactorily, they will report in a designated location that the certification occurred. A member of EDC leadership will perform a quick sanity check that everything seems above board. Then, either they, or someone else who has access to the EnduraNet database, will mark the observed individual as being certified. This makes it as official and permanently recorded. The individual may then review EnduraNet to see when the certification will expire, if ever.