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musings of a troll feeder

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Karma War In Retrospect

The greatest war in the history of PLanet Bob has officially come to a conclusion with this announcement - http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=65273. IN the announcement, representatives from Karma and The Phoenix Federation agree to terms of surrender. TPF, represents the last Continuum alliance to remain in a state of war. With their departure, Karma's victory is complete. Through the entirety of this epic conflict, we were forced to fight against friends we respected, along

watchman

watchman

Price of Success

King Penchuk's latest post is just one in a litany of many posts by him and those like him. It is also mere chaff. Such sentiments are the useless by-product of wild jealousy and resentment. Living within the Oblivion, we are used to the constant menace of our enemies. Though we attempt to balance our excellence with honor and integrity, there are some out there who have ought against us. They are jealous and bitter foes who pass up no opportunity to slander us. Such is the reality that we

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watchman

NADC: lesson learned?

Recently, NADC and TFD reinstate official diplomatic ties in the form of a PIAT. This marks the renewal of a long standing relationship that saw some difficult times in the thick of the Karma War. If you will recall, NADC failed to live up to its mutual defense obligations during the Karma War. NADC opted out of the optional aggression clause of their MDoAP with TFD and instead attacked RAD, in defense of Zenith (their ODP partners). I happen to think that NADC acted in a fairly self-serving m

watchman

watchman

PC Pencils

http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=64342 I am sure folks will think twice about signing a treaty of any kind with Poison Clan in the near future. The trick they pulled on TPF is the dandiest little weasel move I have seen since LoSS had their mass cancellation. Then, PC has the audacity to ask for astronomical reps from TPF! PC Treaties are written with number 2 pencil and an eraser is kept nearby. Perhaps they need money to by more pencils and maybe a paper shredder or two.

watchman

watchman

Standing Among Giants

Some alliances judge their success by numbers found in formulas. Some alliances judge their success by comparison lists. The Oblivion defines success by our dedication to one another and our firm reliance on a community of members that would willingly walk into the Oblivion for the good of a fellow member. In the latest edition of the Amazing Sanction Race, The Sweet Oblivion received a surprise mention. For the most part, TSO members are not into all the stat comparisons and usual silliness t

watchman

watchman

The Moment of Victory

Wars Are Won or Lost Long Before The First Shot is Fired One of the greatest skills in alliance leadership is the ability to skillfully strategize far ahead and control future eventualities. It is the strategically weak alliance thinks only of the present. Like a chess master, the skillful leader knows the outcome far in advance of his present move. Before the first soldier was deployed or cruise missile was fired in this current conflict, the Karma Coalition had won the day. While Pacifican

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watchman

Karma = Greed?

In the end, its all about the money (and tech). As this epic war drags on into its fourth week, alliances and nations on either side of the fight are struggling under the burdens of government anarchy and radiation levels. Many are starting to wonder when serious work will be done on a peace deal. I'm not privy to the negotiations, but I suspect that the hold up is the same thing that it always is - reparations. Tech and money. after all of Karma's lofty preaching and moralistic blabber, thi

watchman

watchman

Evaluating Pig Rule in our Brave New Bob

Were there more literary references that I could have packed in that title? What should we make of this new Planet Bob? This new Planet Bob will be overseen by the watchful oversight of the Karma Coalition. They have not had much time to show us what they are made of. However, I think we can extrapolate a few realities that are sure to come. Spying - In part, the Karma war was brought about by VE defending an admitted spy. NPO caught this spy red handed (no pun intended) and that bit of

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watchman

Good Bad Example

TFD recently canceled their MDoAP with NADC. Click here to read the announcement and subsequent spin session. Here's what happened: TFD honored their treaties and entered the Karma War. While doing so, they enacted a clause of their treaty with NADC and officially asked for assistance. NADC refused and, instead, chose to declare war in support of their ODP partners at Zenith. This is a really good example of how NOT to treat your friends. Do not ignore their assistance requests. Comply or can

watchman

watchman

Mediocre Propoganda

There has been a bit of mediocre propaganda coming out that is anti-TSO. I wish it was higher quality stuff, but oh well. It is all propaganda, thus truth is unnecessary. However, a word of clarification. The Sweet Oblivion did not change sides. In fact, we're really not on anyone's "side" at all. We are in this war as a result of our MDoAP treaty with the Order of the Paradox. We have no loyalty to Karma or Continuum or any other parties involved. We're with TOP.

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watchman

Most Impressive War

Let's keep this apolitical. Which alliances have had the best showing during this war? Whether you are looking at stats, activity, coordination is irrelevant. According to whatever standard you hold for an alliance's military quality, who is doing or has done exceptionally well? I'm just looking for your opinion. Let's make a few categories: Most Impressive Most Surprising Most Disappointing

watchman

watchman

What Did You Learn?

As this war continues to rage on, I wonder if there are a few lessons we can glean from the trends we are already seeing. I have a few observations based on conversations I've had and posts I've seen. Feel free to add to my list. SDI Failure - The SDI was the superstar wonder of the War of the Coalition. I heard one MCXA member's SDI stopped 10 nukes in a row during that war. However, this war there seems to be a different story. IRC chatter has been filled with stories of SDI's letting fir

watchman

watchman

Are Reps A Bad Thing?

When dealing with reparations at the end of a war, there seem to be two extremes. The first extreme is that of white peace, where nations and alliances are released without cost or further consequence. The other extreme is burdening an alliance with incredible and crippling reparations that could permanently change the course of that alliance's history. I have always been a fan of white peace at the end of a war. It seems to me that the damage suffered on the losing side of an outcome is enough

watchman

watchman

Strange Bedfellows

Disclaimer (which should be obvious): in no way do I represent any alliance, including my own. My opinions are mine and mine alone. The Sweet Oblivion finally entered the fray last night. Looking at our member list, many people find it surprising that we are fighting on the side typically labeled "Karma." I think there are alot of alliances that are labeled on either side of this war, but the label doe s not fit their political or diplomatic stance. For instance, one of the alliances

watchman

watchman

Power Blocs are Bad, Except For Ours

Karma is a group of alliances that, though diverse, all seem to be rather tired of the dominance of a certain faction over the political landscape of Planet Bob. Many amongst Karma are of the opinion that any domineering force or faction is bad for Bob. There is an irony, or perhaps a contradiction here that must be addressed, though. If people are tired of Continuum domination and the existence of "super-factionalism," then they are essentially sick of Karma. Look at what karma has accomplish

watchman

watchman

Three Rules

There are three rules for being a good ally. Unfortunately all three of these rules were broken NPO and such (in)action played a major role in the mess they have found themselves in. Communicate Communicate Communicate The failure of Pacifican diplomacy has become painfully apparent in recent days in several different situations. First of all the blocs. Continuum, 1V, and Agora have been crumbling for a while now. ACcording to Anu Drake's post, this deterioration was a result of Paci

watchman

watchman

Hate To Say I Told You So...

But I did. Last night, we got a taste of what kind of leadership can be expected from Karma. As revealed in this post, Archon and his compatriots have all the negotiating skills of a pack of hyenas. At times, Moo could be a bit underhanded, but I never knew him to be this bad. Let's look at what these logs show us: Karma asked for a set of heavy expectations that included militarily gutting Pacifica. Sounds familiar. New boss = old boss Though Karma was allowed uninvolved parties, Moo w

watchman

watchman

Meet the New Boss... Same as the Old Boss

I like the notion of a benevolent dictator. The idea is that a dominant force holds sway over a segment of the population, but that is actually beneficial to the population. A stern king, but a good king is better than no king. Think of RL historically laudable and heroic dictators - King Arthur, King Richard, even Abraham Lincoln was called a dictator. They were benevolent, though. With regards to the current state of affairs, NPO has acted as the Benevolent Dictator for some time now. While

watchman

watchman

War Explosion? Not quite.

I've been getting tons of IRC queries about where TSO falls in the midst of the current hostilities. I don't think that is too hard to figure out, honestly (hint: we only have one treaty). With that said, be rest assured of this one thing: If we get involved we'll unleash hell on whoever we're up against. Moar of Skingrad's propaganda: Here are a few random observations of current events: Who Is the Bad Guy? First of all, I can't fault either side of this. It seems pretty clear to

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watchman

Winner by Default

It is no secret that Q/1V has a big image problem right now. However, this problem is one of their own making. Several months ago I told various Q/1V leaders that they should be more conscious of shaping perceptions. However, these alliances seemed to avoid participating in the perception game. Not only have Q alliances not effectively combated accusations against them, they have basically waved the white flag and surrendered the propaganda war. This has created a huge vacuum for rulers that w

watchman

watchman

Propoganda

We Are the Oblivion Skingrad, our resident graphic artist is working on some great stuff for TSO. This guy is really amazing at what he does. Does your alliance still use propaganda. If so, what is the purpose? It seems to me that propoganda (in a time of peace) is useful for two purposes: Internal Morale - keep the troops spirits high, fill them with pride for their alliance. External Image - present an image to outsiders.

watchman

watchman

Agora: Litany of Mistakes

DISCLAIMER: In no way am I connected to Agora any longer. TSO is not a member of Agora. These are only the author's thoughts. As Agora muddles through its final days, I have taken a few moments to reflect on what we accomplished and did not accomplish. So, with that, I give you a woulda, coulda, shoulda. If I had my druthers, and could do it over again, I would have done a few things differently. Independents Only. One of the major problems that Agora had was the fact that several signator

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watchman

Righteous Eternal Damnation

Several alliance have announced that they were ceasing EZI/PZI policies. This subject has been repeatedly raked over, so I won't add much to that. I want to look at just one particular aspect of PZI: deterrent. Most people seem to focus on the punitive element of EZI: The idea that it is a just punishment for a particular act. I have never been a fan of EZI, and I understand the argument that there is no way to enforce it and remain IC. But one place that it does seem to be effective is as a

watchman

watchman

UBD vs. MK

I've been looking into the UBD fiasco. Here are the facts: A member of UBD's government did indeed spy on MK. Mdnss stole MK's war guide and was busted via IP search. UBD's Director General tried to cover up the spying after he found out about it. Slybomber made a boneheaded mistake here, no doubt. Here are my thoughts on this: Leaders' Actions Aren't Necessarily Reasons for a War. MK decided to punish the whole alliance for the wrongs incurred. I realize that is a legitimate CB a

watchman

watchman

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