We are community of gamers that regularly play games online together. We pride our selves on our sense of fair play and teamwork. We primarily specialise in 'Tactical First Person Shooter' games, having supported successful campaigns in various popular game series', such as Rainbow Six, Counter Strike, Battlefield and now Combat Arms.

Since our creation in May 2002 we have seen in excess of 700 members come through our ranks, and we continue to attract more and more gamers to our community each month!

Our current active support campaigns can be viewed on on our "campaigns" page.
 

The main force behind the establishment of BSB was experienced online gamer, John Crangle, AKA 'Box'. Box and his friends & colleagues, Paul Cowton (AKA 'Hulk') and Gerald Nicholson (AKA BOFH)  had been regularly  playing the sequel to Red Storm's  Rogue Spear, the sequel to Rainbow Six, since it's release in 1999. However , frustrated by games being spoiled by cheaters, glitchers and general idiots the games were often limited in their offerings. This lead to them experience gaming under clan conditions. The standard and potential for clan events and games was immense. However after several less than successful clan experiences playing in clans of the time, again they were left frustrated by the wasted potential of the game and clan gaming, especially on the then popular MSN Gaming Zone.

After witnessing some of the better quality games provided by clan gaming, it was clear that was the way to proceed - presenting strength with the unity of decent gamers. However many clans were unstable and would be created and disbanded within weeks, and there were very few stable clans that weren't populated with idiots or solely focused on "leet" skilled gaming. It became clear that a new clan of gamers was needed with a fresh approach to online gaming was needed, a clan that focused more on fun and friendly games that provided a constant and stable environment.

It was with this ethos that BSB was initially created, and the initial  inception was very much a light hearted project, to enable a better footing on the clan friendly MSN Game Zone. It enabled the creators to run regular fun games and helped attract decent people to the games while regulating the games to ensure matches were fair, fun and catered for like minded mature people.

The Name

The name, 'Better Stronger Better', was intended as an ironic stab at the so-called "elite" gaming clans and players that can often be found playing online.  It was the result of a private joke between the clan creators  that derived from  the TV series "The Six million dollar man" and as a nod towards the common clan use of real abbreviations such as S.B.S (from the British Special Boat Service) ect. 

The use of  Better Stronger Better, or BSB, was to further highlight the fact that  we were a fun and friendly clan whilst having a private joke on the "leeters" that didn't get the joke or the irony of the name. The name also served as proof that the name of a clan means nothing, a clan with the  silliest of names can be as good as or better than the clan with the most serious or hard-core of names. BSB was one of just a handful of clans at the time that had "silly names", it was also one of the most successful of all clans of the time, outliving and out performing even the most "leet" and seriously named clans!

Popularity Increasing (2002)

It soon became apparent to the newly established clan of three people that there was a lot of interest in clan gaming, more specifically in BSB and it's activities. However the BSB leaders and creators held firm on their decision to close membership to other gamers for the initial weeks after creation. During this period the clan decided to try experimenting with mods and custom maps.

The most popular adaptation was a new weapons mod, Frisk's Mod, a mod that enabled around 70 new weapons to be added to the game. This mod was a  client and host dependant, meaning that both the host and all clients joining must have the mod installed. Box and co. thought this would effect the popularity of their games, but given that hosting servers at the time on the very online unfriendly Rogue Spear meant games were often limited to 4 or 5 players anyway, there wasn't much concern. It was also noted that Frisk's mod wasn't very popular among Zone gamers. After only a few days of playing the mod , the mod seemed to gain popularity and many gamers started to install and play the mod.

After several weeks of successful gaming and much interest in BSB, it was very clear that there were many like minded people playing on the Zone, so the decision was made to open recruitment and refine the clan to accommodate larger numbers. The clan was created with the intention of creating a group of people to play Rogue Spear, and then eventually other games in the Rainbow Six series, online together regularly with new sever/client maps and weapon packs. No age limits, gaming skills or location specifications were set as it was the belief of the creators that clans shouldn't be about excluding gamers, but welcoming all ages and levels of skill to join the fun. The purpose of BSB remained as the initial inception indented, to have a fun and friendly clan that didn't take it's self too seriously and  most importantly where everyone felt welcome and comfortable.

Box assumed lead of the project, and soon became instilled as "Clan Leader", creating many procedures, operational systems and an online web presence as well as actively recruiting and introducing members to the clan. BOFH and Hulk both assumed support roles performing required tasks and  contributing a lot of online time to recruitment and member inductions. They also assisted with the implementation of many of the systems and advised on clan matters. Upon the first day of recruiting, which was early June, 2002, BSB had signed up 3 new players, BSB_Rogue, BSB_SplitRich and BSB_Just_Chris.

The following few days were similarly successful, with many members signing up including long serving member BSB_Doh. Other gamers who were set to become legends within the clan joined in the months to follow, BSB_Sosad, BSB_Tintin, BSB_Soul, BSB_Mad and BSB_Foxtrot all joined during our first year of activity. The clan also switched to a newer, more professional weapons mod, The Wotan mod, which added over 300 new weapons to the game. The mod went on to spread widely across the MSN Zone thanks to BSB's usage and standard requirement.

Foundations Laid (2002)

It was during this period that one of BSB's foundations was laid. The creators believed that member retention was the most important aspect of survival online therefore it was essential to keep the clan fun, dynamic and generally interesting for members.  BSB's leaders approached this by making the clan and it's games as  interesting as possible by running several clan tournaments each year for the members, introducing a ranking system giving members targets to set themselves, offering members various awards, supporting new client/server maps and insisting that our members use additional weapon packs. The ultimate goal was always to aim to be one of  the best clans on the internet in terms of quality and not necessarily skill. BSB actively recruited gaming "newbies" and proved,  that "grooming" and training new players produced the most loyal and best quality members and was much more beneficial to the clan in the long term.

It was also recognised that it was imperative that members have a vital role in running and developing our community to enable it to grow. Therefore members have always been given the opportunity to get involved with the planning, development and running of  BSB.  This has proven successful as members input has been vital to BSB's development over the years and many ideas and systems have been contributed to or implemented under the advice of members.

The BSB Network (2003)

Around June 2003, after a successful first year of online gaming, the total number of members recruited to BSB was around the 200 mark. The higher ranking members decided that the time was right to try and branch out and support further games in the Rainbow Six Series, mainly the new Raven Shield release, in an effort to try and prepare for the inevitable retirement of Rogue Spear which was entering it's fourth year as an online game. It was at this point we made several major changes to the clan. A name change to The BSB Rainbow Six Network , A new logo,  a new website, a fast track ranking system and  membership recording was all introduced and refined.
 

The biggest change of all was the creation of the  new "Young Gunz" team, a squad of member who were under the age of 16. The idea was to segregate these members from the main body of members and give them the extra attention, patience leniency and general focus that was needed to serve them effectively. Their young nature meant they needed looser procedures, easier promotions and a more careful style of management. 

The scheme worked well as the younger member bonded well together and responded well under the guidance of BSB newcomer, Lady Vampire (AKA Lady_V & BlackMagic). Under her guidance the Young Gunz unit developed well and even produced it's own tournaments. Many of it's members, such as Blanket, Dott, Deathhawk, Caramel and Hawk matured and went on to prove themselves as  core members of the clan.

The Network continued to  developed further in the following months with more tournaments, awards, maps and systems. Recruitment and member retention continued to grow with the total number of BSB members recruited reaching 400. Key alliances had been established with BSB gaining recognition among some of the finest Rainbow Six clans on MSN's Zone.

Award Winning Clan (2003)

Late November 2003 BSB was awarded  the "Silver Clan Award"  by the independent reviewers at the Global Clan Directory , now known as the Central Outpost  (www.centraloutpost.com). BSB Narrowly missed out on a gold standard award on controversial and debatable criteria  which it was generally felt BSB met, such as an active forum (which was described as "baron"). Many months past with our clan firmly established and recognised as one of the leading Rainbow Six clans on the net!

Project ARC (2004)

By early 2004 BSB was at the peak of it's popularity, boasting over 100 active members, many top clans allies and generally very highly respected among the MSN Zone community. BSB was widely recognised by many as the premier Rogue Spear clan of the time. All of this despite the demise of the MSN Gaming Zone, which was beginning to spiral out of control with hackers, cheaters, clan hoppers and idiots ruining the community and it's games. It was at this time that Box and newly appointed deputy leader Sosad,  decide to use BSB's name to establish an alliance of  Rainbow Six clans to try reduce the problems that were occurring online. It was envisioned that an alliance of the biggest and most respected clans could regulate and identify the worst offenders and ban them from all clans and their games.

The idea was called "Project Arc" after the name of the proposed alliance , The Alliance of Rainbow Clans. Initially the idea was welcomed by many of the top clans, with just one clan showing concern and this was largely because of some of the dubious members they supported. However soon after it's inception, the alliance came under attack from a group of some of the more notorious and worst examples of gamers on the Zone - exactly the type of player the alliance had intended to deal with!

Unfortunately many of the clans involved in the alliance were unable to provide the support required and crumbled under the weeks of abuse and problems that were targeted at them. BSB Stood firm and was soon the only clan willing to take a stand. However this resulted in weeks of vendettas against BSB and it's members, including all kinds of personal attacks on it's higher ranking members. This doomed the project to failure. It also meant BSB had started to lose it's long standing alliances with other big clans that were under the influence of dominant hackers and idiots of the MSN Zone.

Decline (2004)

However despite BSB's bright start to the year,  by June 2004 it was apparent that the BSB Raven Shield division and newly formed Ghost Recon division  were failing, with few members actively recruiting or even playing! Many of the clans core members, and even one of the clans founders, had left due to a mixture of personal commitments, insufficient time to commit and because of the bad politics that had become a part of the clan following project ARC. There had also been some very ugly public bust ups in public forums between members.  Eventually even clan leader Box decided to call it a day. A turbulent year running the clan and trying to keep an ageing game alive in a hostile and dieing community in addition to personal problems had taken it's toll and had left little time and motivation to push the clan forward.

However the clan continued under the command of long standing members, Assistant Leader BSB_Sosad was promoted to Clan Leader and veteran member BSB_Doh to Assistant Leader. BSB_BlackMagic (Lady Vamp) was also also  promoted to Assistant Clan Leaders. The remaining members rallied around to keep the clan going but due to the supported game and communities rapid decline online,  the clan  started to lose momentum and began to fall into a state of despair with many members leaving or fading away from gaming. BSB also continued to be a target for hackers and nuisances from MSN's Zone and continued to receive daily barrages of abuse. Things looked bleak for the future of BSB.

The Resurrection (2004)

In late November 2004, after several weeks rest and a rejuvenated passion for online gaming, the clan's original founders, BSB_Box & BSB_BOFH decided to return to online gaming with a clan and decided to contact several other previous members of BSB with the idea to create a new clan supporting a new game.  After getting excellent feedback from many of the clans' former core members, it was decided that a resurrection of BSB would be a good idea, and that a new game should be supported in place of the now obsolete Rogue Spear.

Two previously supported games, Ghost Recon and Raven Shield were reviewed by the members of the resurrected BSB but weren't satisfactory enough. It was largely felt that a more online orientated game was required. The decision lay between two contenders, popular online mod game, Counter Strike and the upcoming Battlefield 2. Counter Strike had been released recently using the new Source engine and was virtually brand new and EA's Battlefield 2 was not due for release for another six to twelve months  - so the decision was made to support Counter Strike Source. 

The clan purchased a server to play games on and many of the clans most prominent members returned to represent the clan, Sosad, Doh, Tintin, Gecko, SOG, Mad, Hammer, Soul, Rogue, Caramel, Pemox, Dutch, Deathhawk, Hawk, Blanket, Gooners and many many more rejoined. The clan also had began to attract the interest of a new generation of gamers on a new game platform. However, many lessons had been learned from our support of Rogue Spear, Raven Shield and Ghost Recon and it was clear a more organised and selective recruitment procedure was required in order to maintain a high level of quality among members. Selective recruitment was introduced with BSB operating a stricter invitation only policy, inviting regular gamers to join on a tried and tested probation system (which had been used years previous during our RS years).

The clan went onto have a successful first six months supporting it's new primary game. Membership was steadily hovering at 60+ active members and there was always a full server. Members began expressing an interest to support other games as primary games, and BSB began to organise many members sessions on different games. By June 2005 EA's long awaited Battlefield 2 was released. Many members purchased this and expressed an interest in supporting it. This was agreed upon by the clans senior members and a server was purchased. This was followed shortly by the support of the clans first MMO-RPG game, Guild Wars.

The End Of An Era (2006)

By late 2006 BSB strongly supported Counter Strike Source, Battlefield 2 and Guild Wars.  However the clan was beginning to suffer from problems with pockets of members cut off from the main body of the clan, and more serious breaches of Codes Of Conduct, especially among the CS members, where there were fewer senior members to supervise activities. As the problems increased and attendances to organised activities decreased, a decision was made to unify the clan to support just one single game. The clan made the decision to cancel primary support of Guild Wars and Counter Strike Source. This was an unpopular decision among many members and several resigned their membership to continue playing CS, while the core members continued to focus on BF2.

Primary Battlefield 2 Support (2007)

BSB went on to have a successful year supporting BF2 with new tournaments being played and regular Sunday evening gaming sessions being re-established. The remainder of the year was relatively quiet but seen many new members being recruited, although not as many as had been previously expected or compared with previously supported games.  This was largely put down to a combination of factors - mostly relating the BF2 community as a whole and the new generation of stat records used by BF2. Problems were present in hosting server games as relatively large numbers of gamers were required to get games going, and recruitment and communications were generally more difficult in BF2.

Reform (2008)

By mid 2008 BF2's popularity had begin to dwindle among members and the BF2 community. Attendances were down and interest in the game had decreased. Membership numbers were beginning to decrease as lack of focus and drive towards BF2 as  a primary game dried up. The complications with BF2 technically and practically meant recruitment and sustenance supporting this title as the single communities title was going to be very difficult, almost impossible.

No adequate titles to replace BF2 directly as a primary game were scheduled for released for at least 6-12 months, so migration was not an option.

Hibernation (2008)

During a clan meeting held in November 2008, the  situation of BSB was discussed extensively. It was clear a reform of BSB was needed yet again and fresh ideas need to be put forward. The decision was made to research upcoming titles and to review our current game support policy. During this time the remaining members (which had begun to dwindle to just key elements of the clan), the decision was made to suspend all recruitment and essential put the clan into hibernation, with the remaining members remaining actively gaming on the real-time strategy game 'Company Of Heroes'. This was agreed to be an enjoyable game, but because of it's strategic nature and less involved style of gaming would be unsuitable for major support.

The following three months Box extensively researched forth coming titles. He also evaluated the current procedures and support methods. A list of criteria required was drawn up by Box with the assistance of the other senior members of BSB. Several potential exciting new titles were identified as possible "primary games" that BSB could support exclusively for up to two years. Titles such as Flashpoint 2 and ArmA 2 were scheduled to go head to head in summer 2009 and Call of Duty 6, Battlefield 1943, Battlefield Heroes were also rumoured to be released in 2009. These games all had potential support issues that concerned the command of BSB.

While performing this research, the decision was made to return to a less rigid form of support for games. It decided gaming support should be dealt with by support campaigns that would be governed by resources available to BSB. This meant that newly released games could have an immediate BSB presence and could better review these titles. This meant BSB could support potentially any game we could provide enough interest in and would greatly reduce future stagnant periods. 

Resurrection (2009/10)

During this evaluation time another game caught the attention of Box. After initially being recommended by former member Graves in the summer of 2008, Box decided to take a closer look at Combat Arms, a free released game based around Close Quarter Battles. Box had experienced connection and technical problems with the the game when he initially evaluated, but  version had been updated and released in December 2008 to accommodate European gamers better.

The game itself combined some of the more popular elements of  many of our previously supported titles and had low technical requirements. This combined with it's free availability presented BSB with a fantastic opportunity to return to it's popular tactical CQB roots, with the potential for a very successful support campaign.  After a brief trial period the decision was made to launch a new support campaign and gear BSB towards Combat Arms as it's major gaming flagship campaign.

Support Campaigns

After the launching of Combat Arms as a primary campaign, the clan went on to have a successful year for 2009, attracting many new members and enjoying very active periods of gaming. Towards the end of 2009 however, clan leader Box was unable to attend gaming sessions and took an extended leave of absence. During this time Sosad had reported increased instances regarding hacking within the CA community and was concerned with the game's questionable anti-cheat software. This didn't really effect BSB organised games too much but certainly effected our members' ability to just 'pick up and play' games within the community. Due to this BSB's support push of the game was limited and new memberships slowed due to our lack of involvement within the community.

Upon returning to full service in January 2010 Box reviewed the situation and decided to maintain BSB's commitment to a CA campaign, focusing more heavily on the co-op side of the game and trying to recapture some of the key elements of co-operative game play that were present in the clan during it's inception. However, it was also decided to make a more positive push on  other supporting game campaigns, allocating dedicated gaming nights more frequently. This would hopefully help prolong the support of CA and prevent members tiring of the game, as well as providing more variety into the gaming schedule of BSB.

In the summer of 2010 BSB opened it's second FPS support campaign for for Alliance of Valiant Arms, IJJI's free to play Urban FPS game. A clan was opened and membership recruitment advertised among the AVA community.