ORACLES: The Thread.

Oracles. Ancient mythology referred to them as soothe-sayers, scryers, and fortune tellers. The all-seeing all-knowing inhabitants of Delphi (or some dank, dark cave somewhere) that would predict the fate of our heroes and set them upon their quests.

Oracles in the present serve a similar purpose, though being somewhat more technically advanced and every bit as valuable. Who wouldn't want an "eye in the sky" or a dedicated constant source of information while on patrols? Which brings me to the point of this thread:

Oracles have been mentioned countless times on this site, but I don't believe there has been a dedicated information topic about them (correct me if I'm wrong) and, since there are so many new faces on here now, and since in ancient mythology Proteus was, himself, an oracle of sorts, I figured why not be the one to get this topic rolling.

This is an open discussion thread for the topic of oracles: Everything you need to know but were afraid to ask.
What is an oracle?
What is the oracle's role?
What are the oracle's best tools?
What role does the oracle serve in planning the patrol?
What qualities make for a good oracle?
How many heroes can an oracle "oracle" for and still be effective?
A million other questions I can't even think of.

SO! If you've ever worked with an oracle, ARE an oracle, know anything about oracles, so on and so forth, then PLEASE share what you know here.



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Excellent, exciting topic. Frankly I think we could do so much more with this great idea that some RLSH have already run with, because the potential of such eyes in the sky is nigh unlimited.

I don't have much experience with this, and don't wanna talk ideas until I see what is being done and has been done, but I think this is gonna be a good read.

What is an oracle?

An Oracle, or Operator, is someone that provides real-time support to an agent in the field. This support generally involves communicating key information to the agent upon request.

What is the oracle's role?

An Oracle's main job is to communicate information from a variety of sources to the person in the field. This can mean pulling up information on command, or having the findings of a large research project in front of them. This means the Oracle's role can be anything from being the person the RLSH checks into, to something expansive like a multi-day research binge.

What are the oracle's best tools?

Oracles need crime maps, extremely fresh local news, personal information databases, missing person reports, most wanted pages and more. Google, Google Maps, Google Earth, DogPile, Spokeo, Facebook, Twitter, RSS Feeds, Radaris, LexisNexis, government reports, online newspapers and the local library have all come in handy to me on Oracle research projects.

What role does the oracle serve in planning the patrol?

An Oracle may be directed to research something particular, like a street address or a suspect's name, or be given a general goal of finding the highest crime neighborhood in the city. This means the Oracle could be called in at the last minute just to provide support, or be the person that directs the agent on a mission of the Oracle's choosing.

What qualities make for a good oracle?

An Oracle needs to be a great researcher, and able to quickly pull up pertinent information and communicate that information to the agent in the field.

How many heroes can an oracle "oracle" for and still be effective?

I've Oracled for the NYI and others on numerous occasions, and it very much depends on the person you're Oracling for how much you'll be needed. Some RLSH like to stay in contact with an Oracle for the entire mission, while others will check in at the start and end of the mission only. There's everything in between, so know who you're Oracling for and what they prefer.

And Zimmer, knockin' out of the park.

The Orcal can also act as the dispatcher If you are unable to call the police or other emergency services for some reason Orcal knows where you are and would be able to send you the help you need

Great thread. Awesome info from Zimmer.

Zimmer is just puttin it down today peoples!!! Way to be on your game good sir!

Anyone else ever use Oracles...?

Being an Oracle is about as much as I can do these days, besides tech work. Glad the info is appreciated guys!

Also, what we refer to as an Oracle is also referred to as an information broker, and the Wikipedia page offers a good description of the job title:

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Appreciated? Good support is just as important as a bullet proof vest. The concept of an oracle alone is brilliance and it's my hope that the information presented in this thread will help others who are curious about the concept but not sure where to start.

If any of you need help with mission support or research projects, I'm almost always free during nighttime patrol hours, and I have access to information resources most of you don't.

Such as? And advice for other potential team oracles on obtaining such or similar resources?

I've been a journalist for 2 years, I'm no Katie Couric but I have my contacts and means of researching a topic. I can get through legalese quickly and have access to several private personal information databases.

My advice, learn what you can from a paralegal, information broker, librarian, journalist or other research professional. If you want wanted criminals, learn government resource sites forward and backward. You want missing persons, learn the wanted sites. You want protests, get on riseup.net to get the scoop of when demonstrations are next. You want charity, learn homeless advocacy groups and resources offered.

Track down the information online, get a number or an address so you can speak to a human being. Learn the lingo of what to say and how to ask for it. Infiltrate.

I can't really give a step-by-step as each target is different.

we need an oracle.

Hmmm this brings up a thought I've been having... Arranging a sort of online oracle resource, where "on duty" Oracles can communicate with each other and share information in real time... Kind of like a large skype conversation... sharing info and helping each other supporting their RLSH's on patrol...

Of course, that would only work if there are enough Oracles out there, but a network of people combining their resources as opposed to just one... that could be pretty handy.

how about shifts? like a tech support.

Exactly! We're on the same page.

You need quality over quantity. But competent Oracles are even rarer than competent RLSH.

Well the problem is someone wanting to be an RLSH will come here...but it's far less likely someone will think (instead of "I wonder if people have tried to be superheroes") "I wonder if there are people trying to be superheroes and if I could be a help desk for them" and then finding us.

I wonder if there are communities/groups we could approach as a recruitment drive...

If there were a demand for it, yeah, but as it is, it's me going to RLSH saying "you need this information" not the other way around.

Fair.

I've always been interested in the idea of Oracles. Since I'm not ready to go on patrols anytime soon, I might start looking in to being one. I've done a lot of researching with school and work so I'm pretty good at figuring out databases and websites quickly. Is anyone interested in having an Oracle?

Proteus wrote:

Hmmm this brings up a thought I've been having... Arranging a sort of online oracle resource, where "on duty" Oracles can communicate with each other and share information in real time... Kind of like a large skype conversation... sharing info and helping each other supporting their RLSH's on patrol...

That would be really cool. Even if only one person had access to certain resources, if we could connect Oracles everyone can benefit. I think it could also make RLSH feel more connected to each other, having a somewhat central group of people working with several RLSHs.

~Rogue

Question for Rogue and anyone really: What research tools do you use the most?

My research has mainly been for academic stuff, so WorldCat, journal databases...but there were always people coming in to the library asking random questions so I got pretty good with search engines and finding newspaper articles. I've also done some genealogy work so I'm ok at finding people, but it's been awhile since I've done that. I don't have experience with the fields that RLSH deal with, like missing persons or most wanted, but I'm good at researching. I've looked into crime maps some but not in real earnest. That's about it though. If anyone has suggestions on good resources or starting points that would be most welcome.

Do you have access to LexisNexis Zimmer?

~Rogue

I used it when I've done legal research, but only in a narrow search of a few people. I've had more positive experiences with Spokeo.