I'm sure everyone remembers the big, annoying paperwork that we require you to fill out before playing. Well, you can now keep that information up to date from your user profile. Just click on your name at the top of the screen, select "Edit", and you'll see three new sections for your personal, emergency contact, and medical information.
Before anyone gets upset, please know that this information is kept private. Only officers are able to see the information stored in these fields. Once I figure out how to wrangle it, official game medics will be able to see your medical information. Beyond that, everyone else sees your profile normally.
There are a few good reasons to do this. First, it allows you guys to keep us up to date if your information should change. Let's say you suddenly develop an allergy for ticks. As it turns out, that's something that probably shouldn't wait until next year for us to find out about.
Second, it keeps the records centralized so any officer with an internet connection can access them. Since information is only useful if you can get at it when you need it, convenience and accessibility are good things.
Lastly, it helps us utilize the records more easily. With the information in a database, I can output it in useful ways. For example, I could easily create a print-out of all the most up-to-date medical information for medics before each game. This could come in handy if you should, say, collapse from that tick allergy we talked about earlier.
I explain all of this because I realize it could be a touchy subject for some people. Rest assured that we're out to protect your data. If you have any concerns, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll be happy to address them.