View and vote on the article here: Lets Talk: Interview with Ker. Hisim
Lets Talk: Interview with Ker. Hisim| Category | | | Summary | For this month's interview, I had the pleasure to interview Ker. Hisim, a long-time CA member, CAPR C/O, SAS X/O, Staff member, and IRC operator- quite a busy man, it seems. Let's find out more...
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| | Body | 1. Let's start with the most traditional question: When did you join CyberArmy and why?
It must have been late 1999. I was visiting the US and going to High School for a year. The computer science class turned out to be rather easy though, so I started looking for something more interesting online to do during class and finally found CA.
2. Could you tell us something more about your career here in CyberArmy? Which positions/roles where you assigned in these years?
Well, at the beginning, I simply joined for the challenges. It took me about a year before I finally joined a brigade. Then, Major gabbana was my first C/O. As with many ideas within CA, this group was disbanded a while later and I joined a 4th or 5th level group in CyberArmy Propaganda Command (a very early predecessor of CA-SAS). Prothis joined a group on the same level at that time and we started having a run up the ladder; X/O and C/O of 3rd and 2nd level groups. By then, CyberArmy Propaganda Command had been renamed to CAPR, and finally merged into CA-SAS. I switched from the External Relations department to the X/O spot of Internal Relations. For a while, real life took its toll, and I had to retire from there. During that time, I used whatever free time I had to do the first version of /about. Once I had more time, I came back as X/O of Internal Relations, and was shortly after promoted to C/O. During the following months, I became first X/O of CA-SAS when Ikioi decided to focus on ISPAN; Brigade C/O. brigade C/O's are expected to be staff members, I therefore entered Staff training after a few weeks in my new position. However, due to real life, I had to step away from CA for a few months again and was no longer able to fulfil my duties as a brigade C/O. Once that was over, I came back to active duty, finished staff training and started working on staff level projects, as well as working as an ircop until Prothis convinced me to come back as CA-SAS X/O. So, here I am right now, X/O of CA-SAS, C/O of CAPR, pi.cyberarmy.net admin, and CAIRC services operator.
3. What do you do in real life? ... if you can tell us, of course.
I am an Information Science student. However, I will be switching to work with IBM in the fall, and continue to study Information Science while working with them.
4. Could you explain, in your own words, what is CAPR, and what are its objectives?
CAPR is, as its name says, the Public Relations department of CyberArmy. Our job is to inform people outside of CA about our brigades' achievements, our goals, etc.
5. zZine was moved under CAPR relatively recently after being an autonomous division, directly under SAS. Could you tell us the reasons behind this move?
This was a step towards a more professional setup for both CAPR and zZine. zZine's position within the brigade tree now mirrors the setup of most major news outlets, giving it more credibility when working together with some of those.
6. There's been a recent 'buzz' on the CAPR forum. Could you disclose some details about it?
Not a lot, really, but basically, we have changed the goal of CAPR since I became C/O. In the past, CAPR has mainly been understood as a means to find new members for CA. We are now setting up a system that allows us to produce press releases and feature articles for small newspapers in a professional manner.
7. People keep noticing (see InTheNews on the CA wiki) that CA was mentioned on some important websites like CNN and ZDNet in the past, but generally, those article refer to the 'old' image of CyberArmy. Will the 'new' CA eventually achieve the same popularity?
As with all things that concern the future, one can't say for sure. However, I think we have a great potential within the community, and if correctly marketed, it will become a very popular one.
8. What is CAPR focusing on at the moment? Is there any particular project or initiative you'd like to 'advertise' here?
We are really still getting all the necessary details put together to produce quality work in the end. Therefore, there aren't any current results of the main CAPR group. However, zZine is doing a great job right now as many people should have noticed by the steady flow of articles and the monthly issues. Somebody looking to help should take a look at writing an article or two for zZine as we are always looking for quality material.
9. What does CA represent for yourself?
To me, it means two things: first of all, it's the place where I became interested in and learned most security-related things that I know today. Secondly, it's a place where people from different cultures, with very different beliefs work together, united. That alone is more than some nations currently manage. Therefore, CA is an example of what differences humans are able to overcome if they focus on a common goal/interest.
10. What do you think CyberArmy should represent in the eyes of the world? In other words, what is, according to you, CyberArmy's image or identity that CAPR is trying to promote?
CyberArmy is a worldwide union of people interested in Information Technology in all its aspects, including its regulation.
11. You are also X/O of SAS and a Staff member, could you explain to other members, particularly new ones, what does this means in terms of duties and responsibilities?
Being the X/O of any group means that you have to be able to replace the C/O whenever he can't fulfil his duties, himself. No matter if that is a two day illness or a three week vacation. That means you have to be aware of what goes on in your brigade at all times. Depending on the brigade internal setup, you may also have a subgroup to take care of specifically (in my case CAPR), or only oversee a project and help out where necessary. You are basically a problem solver. As a Staff member, you are a part of the leading body of CyberArmy. The exact tasks vary depending on the members' others commitments. Therefore, we have Staff members mainly focusing on brigades or CAIRC, while others oversee the promotion process or coordinate the various brigades' efforts. Still, others are responsible for the site code or the server. The common task is to bring any possible problems or suggestions to a discussion/vote on the Staff forums, and to thereby help the CinC bring CA forward.
12. Finally, do you have any suggestions for new CA recruits and why should people join CyberArmy, nowadays?
I would suggest that new CA recruits take a look at /about and browse the brigade tree. CA offers a lot of great things in many different areas, so finding what you like most can take some time. A new recruit should post the Recruitment forum to get a few suggestions, and also send a cMS to all possible future C/O's to discuss how he could help out before applying to join their group. The reason(s) for joining are very simple; we still offer very much computer related information, more than most people will ever come to know in their life. Working within our brigade structure is one of the best leadership trainings one can get for free these days- if you are able to run a group of volunteers over the internet and stimulate them to work it will be easy to do so in RL. The last reason is, what CA means to me- you will work together with people from all over the world, you will hear completely new ideas, new ways of understanding a problem, and you will notice that you aren't that different from someone living on the other side of earth.
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This article was imported from zZine. (original author: h3raLd)
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