Entry posted by King DrunkWino
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Welcome back class. Settle down and stop using your laptops to search xvideos and redtube for porn. Now, if you remember my last lecture, (which I suppose should be read AFTER this one since it was a 200 level and this is a 100 level class, but who gives a ****,) I pointed out some general and specific ways for alliance leaders to pick up their game a bit. If you haven't yet read it, just read the previous blog entry. Should be easy to find, and if you can't, well yeah.
Anyway, this lecture will be aimed at you as a member of an alliance. Just as a leader has a responsibility to lead followers have a responsibility to follow. There's that ugly r-word again. Look, I know just about everyone decides to play a game for the express purpose of avoiding responsibility for a while. Welp, you come to the wrong game folks. The alliance dynamic of Cybernations requires certain responsibilities at all levels of membership. You might think it sucks, but it just happens to be what it is.
Let's dive in to a few simple ways that YOU as an alliance member can take responsibility for YOUR game:
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Working with your leader(s)
I'd just like to note that I'm using the term "leader," as a simple catch all for all the various Emperors, Senates, Poison Kool-Aid Servers, and so on. Basically it means anyone with a speck of authority in an alliance from the big boss all the way down to military squad leaders.
That said, probably the most important responsibility a leader faces is that a leader should not simply let his or her whims decide the course of an alliance. A GOOD leader needs to know what his or her membership wants: where they want to go, what the memberships top priority is, what alliances does your membership like and dislike, and so on. Realize that your leaders don't know this unless you tell them. In fact, not only should it be considered your duty to let your leaders know where you stand but it's just plain old good common sense.
The flip side of that and something members need to keep in mind is that you should always have your leaders back. If an issue is so big by your personal set of morals that you can't do this, it's probably time to look for another home. See when your leaders commit to a course of action, the good ones have already figured out what the bulk of the active members of that alliance want to do. The course of action that those leaders decide on is one that usually is in line with what the majority of the membership wants. It's also the best course of action that those leaders see to carry out the will of the alliance. So, even if you personally disagree with it, it's what your alliance mates and friends want to do. You kinda have an obligation to at least support your friends. You don't have to go all out in public and do the same ole "I troll your side and hail my side," bit (it's a kind of worn out bit anyway,) but the little things like following orders from leadership, well, you kinda have to do that much. Don't get me wrong, if you disagree with a course of action, try to let your leaders and the rest of your alliance know what's on your mind. Just do it in a constructive and respectful kinda way. Don't fall all over yourself sucking up, but have a little courtesy to your alliance mates.
The last thing in this little bit is don't be afraid of or in awe of your leaders. Seriously, they're just like you in that they're just playing the game. Make an effort to get to know your leaders on more than a Cybernations basis just like you would any typical CN player. You might find some common interests like fantasy football or other games that you both play. You can't tell me that there are members out there that would love nothing more than getting an xbox id out of their big boss man and then camping that mo'fo in a FPS 
or conning them into joining your legions in the Facebook gaming-crack that is Castle Age (shameless plug, invites upon request PM's.)
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Making yourself more than a useless stat lump(s)
When you join an alliance, usually when you first begin playing CN, it's a big and scary new world for most folks. If you're lucky, you get a brief outline of how to do the "point and click" part of CN, $3+ mill, and a bombardment of invites to join some sort of alliance tech farm. From there you're left to wander the wilderness of your alliance and the CN forums. It usually takes a while for a new player to get caught up in the meta-game of CN and they usually have to do it on their own.
No matter if you ever get caught up in the rampant silliness of the OWF or the various IRC boondoggles, you can and should make an effort to be active in your alliance. You MAY have just joined so you wouldn't get raided, but like seemingly everything else round these parts, it comes with some strings. If you're just hanging around your alliance so you won't be raided, I'd highly suggest considering going to any of the neutral menaces as they better fit what your looking for.
How to get active in mah alliance, you ask? The best place to start is your alliance message board. Lurk around a while in the members-only areas, jump headfirst into the spam boards and open chit-chat areas. While you're doing that, be sure to stop into the various boards that deal with your alliance charter and the various "dept of _____," boards. Even if you don't yet feel comfortable taking on an actual job within your alliance (and there are ALWAYS openings, believe me,) you will get comfortable with your alliance mates. As you get a feel for what's shakin', you'll find yourself posting more. You'll start offering your ideas and opinions more. Hell, you might actually make a friend or two, you Asperger's Syndrome rejects. 
Now you're starting to make friends and get minimally involved in your alliance. This is good, but there's more to do to get the most out of the entire CN game experience. You should, by this time, be considering taking on some sort of position in your alliance, like a deputy to a cabinet member, a squad leader, doggy-style, or even just helping by sending out a few recruitment PM's. Don't start out by biting off more than you can chew. Lots of folks, myself included, got to this stage and just tried to do too much. Not only does it burn YOU out majorly after a while, but if folks start to see you as the guy who'll step up and do all these peon-level jobs, then they start feeling they don't have to. Remember that doing a job in an alliance is a commitment of time and work. Don't just do it because you think it'll put you on some fast track to being a big-shot gov member. I mean, it won't be too long that you figure out that big-shot gov members aren't big-shots and the actual work involved makes it actually kind of sucky. Don't be afraid of these little jobs either. In most, if not all, cases, these jobs don't take that much time out of your day, they help improve your alliance, and they actually DO take some of the heat and stress out of the people that are running that department. So, really the biggest thing you're doing is helping your alliance. Believe me, a cabinet-level guy or gal that has to do all the work his or her self WILL be burnt out and clinically insane inside of two months, tops.
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Standing up for yourself
After a time, you as a player will have formed your own points of view on the various things going on in your alliance and CN in general. Hopefully (and most likely,) by this time you're active on your alliance board, you've held a job or two (maybe even have been in leadership,) because it's only then that your "n00b phase," as a CN player is really over. This (the forming your own opinions,) is a great thing. When you get to this spot, then you're ready to really kick your CN gaming experience into high gear.
Let's start with a common problem. Say you are against X and the bulk of your alliance is for X. Well, this might just be a problem, right? That all depends on exactly what X is and how strongly against it you are. If it's something that seriously compromises your moral view, then it's time to let your alliance now and see about coming to some sort of solution. I won't lie, sometimes you might just feel like you need to move your AA to a different address, but you might be surprised how often that, if you just keep your head and talk about it rationally, you and your alliance can come to some sort of consensus. Though, if you can't and you feel you have to leave, do yourself a favor and DON'T leave with some flame filled nonsense post. Remember, even if you're in disagreement with what your alliance is doing, you DID go to the trouble of making friends there and if nothing else, you owe it to those friends not to be a dick when you leave.
Don't be afraid to venture out into new territory. You might have a damn good idea for your alliance. Get that idea out there and see how folks feel about it. You'll probably get some good posting feedback to improve that idea after all. Me, I got a few ideas I'd like to try out someday. I've had this idea of starting a casino-type board that folks can come over to and make bets of tech and CN money on. Another idea I had is starting up an alliance of pure mercenaries; you want our help in your war? Agree to the pay and sign a contract. Will they end up working? I dunno, I did try the casino bit and it didn't go anywhere, but I didn't really try that hard. The bottom line is that ideas like that are in my "To-Do," box and next time I'm incredibly bored, I've got a couple of things that'll be interesting projects.
There's a case study I'd like to share before concluding today's lecture. That case study is that of the one and only Rebel Virginia. Whether you like him or loath him, somewhere inside you just gotta respect the way he plays the game. Just on the level of CN player, that dude is probably having much more fun with this game than the bulk of us. It really doesn't matter much if you think his character is worn out or even boring; he has his own rules, plays by those rules and just flat out has a good time doing it. Isn't that the point of playing a game, having the most fun you can? Players like RV, Ivan, Doitz-Elyat (who I give credit for learning the art of the wall of text, when I actually could pop out a decent wall-o-words before but giving him credit will make him feel good,) the Schatten-meister, and Astronaut Jones just to name a few are people that I, as a player, have a ****load of respect for because of the way they play their game.
Don't be afraid to branch out on your own. Before you do, though, remember the biggest key to being that type of player. That is establish your character and stick to it. A lot of folks play the game as a blend of their ruler and themselves, an OOC/IC hybrid. I catch myself doing it all the time, and I don't particualrly like it when I do. I feel it kinda takes away from the game when players do that. CN is a nation simulator and RP kinda game after all. Like I said, I slip back into it at times, so I know it's not the easiest thing to do even if you're trying to do it. With that in mind, I offer one simple suggestion: To establish a pure IC personality, sit down with a pad and pen or open up your word processor. Write down who this character is, what he/she stands for, personality quirks, etc. Hell, just pull up a character sheet from an old-school RPG like D&D and use it to help build your CN character. Once you've got it all written out, keep a copy of your CN character sheet close by. Now whenever you go to post or make some sort of major action, check the sheet. If it matches up well with who your character is, do it. If not, change whatever it is you were gonna do.
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Please note that the last bit up there is bumping up against a future topic I might churn out about improving your CN character. I'll probably do that sometime after I *really* get a grip on doing it myself.
At any rate, this concludes the lecture. Your lab-work assignment will be to honestly figure out where you are in your alliance and use some of the ideas above to improve your alliance and your gaming experience. Really, now is a great time since war typically brings increased internal alliance activity. Lurk, understand, get to know your alliance members and leaders (they ARE members after all,) and get involved. The point and click method of playing CN is about as boring as you could get and if you're looking to really play this game, you're gonna have to get off your own duff and get involved.
Thank you for your attention. I'll leave you to use your laptops for porn searches now. 
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