Dizzy, I urge you to get rid of the Wild Geese concept on your server. If you have it, I would appreciate it if you would be very specific about how you intent to run it. I also think we should know who is "wild".
The idea here is simple. Player imbalance leads to server domination by side A and side B leaves the server which kills it. Servers are few and far between these days and too much effort is wasted on lopsided servers. Wild Geese are the only way to balance player lop-sidedness. Map design and VC conditions havent worked, neither have special rules or player signups or drafts.
Now, I do see the flip side, dont think I do not. Mustering the troops before the server and then killing the enemy's ass completely and decisively early on by sheer numbers demoralizing them and forcing a win by enemy exodus from the server, have been in the past, a tried and true strategy which nets one side a win, but at the cost of PvP and player participation. While extremely satisfying to some, It isnt to me.
So my server will focus on player participation and PvP using the Wild Geese as a tool to keep a player exodus from happening because one side is stacked more than the other.
I'll decide every three days at a set time if the Geese switch and you will know who and when. And It's up to the RM what strategic info they get. If you dont feel you can trust them, then dont. I'll also have to be very specific what criteria I use to determine if they switch. It hasnt worked well in the past when an admin makes a 'judgement' call when it comes to 'steering' the direction of a server for the good of server longevity, so to avoid that backlash... I'm thinking of a set condition which triggers the switch. Perhaps a run-away with total hexes/types taken or a seriously lop-sided PvP score, not just because at 2am side B has 10 more players on. So a set of conditions the players know and can count on and possibly even work into their strategy is what should be used.
I'll have to really be specific, so when it happens, it's taken as business as usual. But looking at the big picture, 3-5 players using specific guidelines as to how and when and who switches... shouldnt be that big a deal, and I think should be a standard server feature from now on...
Hope that helps.