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The mercy board and the EoG list: Myth vs Reality


Sardonic

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One of the largest misconceptions about GOONS is the function and nature of the mercy board. I would like to take the time to dispel any myths and misconceptions about the mercy board. I have created two flowcharts to help illustrate my points.

Consider this chart as you read on:

techraiding.png

Myth: All tech raided nations must go through the mercy board to secure peace.

Reality: The mercy board is one of many options a raid target has, it is a path rarely taken. There are two options for those in AAs, they can complete terms for themselves, or harder terms for their entire AA. This will put the entire AA on the no-raid list.

Myth: The mercy board is designed to embarrass people

Reality: The mercy board is designed so that nations have an alternative to paying money to secure their peace. It is for the benefit of our enemies that we have the mercy board, or else we wouldn't have any way to solve our differences besides monetary means.

Myth: The mercy board is the worst thing ever

Reality: The mercy board can be fun for everyone involved, if you try not to take things so seriously. It just requires a little humility and work on your part.

I would also like to dispel a misconception about the EoG list, please consider the following:

methrage.png

Myth: The EoG list is a PZI list.

Reality: The EoG list is not a PZI list. First of all, if you delete, we have no intention of following you, unless you do something to put yourself on the list again. Secondly, we don't care if you're at zero infrastructure or not, somebody might be at it, somebody else might not. ZI is completely independent of the function of the list, if somebody plays their cards right, they can get off the list before hitting ZI, using the aforementioned path. Thirdly, we don't order people to attack the individuals on the list, they can attack them at any time at their own leisure.

I hope this has been informative, please post any further questions you might have in the comments and I will address them.

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I suppose you're approaching the scenario of being presented with the option of utilizing the mercy board from your own perspective. I can understand how some people would perceive the mercy board as a tool meant to force embarrassment upon another, given that people exist whom are uncomfortable with public displays of their own talents. There are those that dream of having their art appear in the next Magic: The Gathering deck as the image depicted on the "Elvish Horse Sniffer" card, but their emotional state would never allow them to submit their wares for public revue. Sardonic did a fine job explaining how the mercy board isn't meant as an intentional source of embarrassment for the participants. The fact remains, however, that there are those that dread exposure of their talents (or lack thereof), despite our easy-to-meet demands.

It's not that people are unwilling to demonstrate their talents in public but that they are forced to do so to obtain permanent peace from GOONS, which can be rather humiliating, especially when the leader in question has been raided. The name itself insinuates that a nation has to beg for mercy; having to ask for mercy from a bigger opponent by performing whatever the enemy fancies is humiliating, no matter how you try to spin it.

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Would it have been valid to do the math homework incorrectly, as you didn't specify?

I might get behind this if you allow for the items to be intentionally subverted, much like NSO's now infamous beer review.

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Oh, and yes, hello. As much as you like to group me in with everyone else, I've never said that alternate terms are somehow 'immoral' or such nonsense, you'll even see that, like tech raiding, I allow them in my own alliance, though, like tech raiding, I don't focus on it.

I'm down with it as long as it is completely optional, in other words, that there is always another out, and not just a token out that's insanely difficult or impossible for the other guy to complete, but an actually reasonable out.

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Would it have been valid to do the math homework incorrectly, as you didn't specify?

(Indeed Doing our homework incorrectly as a joke might fly. It all depends on how well you can construct the joke.)

I might get behind this if you allow for the items to be intentionally subverted, much like NSO's now infamous beer review.

I'd suggest you come over to the board and read the threads. I think you'll find our attitude to subversion of our terms to be interesting. We're willing to take a lot of things into consideration as long as it was done within the spirit of the terms to begin with.

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having to ask for mercy from a bigger opponent by performing whatever the enemy fancies is humiliating, no matter how you try to spin it.

I can understand your point. There's only one fact that helps to refute that. Our Terms are never more than a half hour of work if that. In truth they're incredibly easy any high school student should be able to cough out a poem about why we GOONS are fat and ugly (which is what the term are most of the time) in 10 minutes. Any adult that plays the game of politics for fun should also be able to draw a comic depicting GOONS as neck bearded basement dwellers (which is often part of the terms we ask).

So what I'm getting at is simply this. Sure it can seem humiliating that you a pubbie a nation that finds itself at the end of our sword would have to ask us for mercy. Then you a pubbie, reads the other threads, see our terms, and hopefully you see that everything is done in a light hearted fashion.

After you notice that it's all done for the benefit of humour, you should have no problem making a thread, following the rules, and completing the terms no matter how bad you are at using MSpaint or drawing on paper and scanning it, or writing a letter to Carlos Mencia about how his jokes suck.

The Tubes of the InterWorld are a small and scary place, we're here to bring a ray of High Minded Humour to it all.

We're Jay Sherman.

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It's called "emergent gameplay".

I understand what you are saying, but is this emergence good or bad for the game? I tend to think bad and you obviously think it's good. As with all issues time will tell. When you blog "myth vs reality" at least be able to look at the reality from all sides.

Some how I don't see a political world where the Barack Obama would tell Osama Bin Laden to write a poem and were all good.

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Some how I don't see a political world where the Barack Obama would tell Osama Bin Laden to write a poem and were all good.

Because this game is exactly like reality, yes?

Also, you have it backwards. Obama would have to write the letter to Osama for peace.

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Because this game is exactly like reality, yes?

Also, you have it backwards. Obama would have to write the letter to Osama for peace.

LMAO, yes I could have it backwards.

Of course it's not reality, but it is a political/nation sim.

Just consider that I gave my reasons for not liking the mercy boards, and it wasn't a "I HATE GOONS" with mean mugs all about but more of a rational reason I don't like the mercy boards. I'm not saying you should stop them, I am not saying I am plotting against GOONS because of them, rather I am just expressing my opinion of them in a blog designed to illicit conversation of them.

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forced to do so

Once again, another fallacy that directly contradicts the content in the OP. The point of the OP is to explain how the mercy board is an OPTION. No one is forced to utilize it, but it is merely an alternative to in-game actions in order to obtain peace with us.

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Once again, it is one of the ways that the nation can achieve peace (see the pretty pretty flowchart that Sardonic made). And it takes 5 minutes.

BUT FIVE MINUTES IS A WASTE OF TIME you say, yes? IT'S EMBARRASSING you say, yes?

I personally would take a mercy board post to paying any reps at all.

But making your own nation that raided in error do the mercy board reeks of a punitive measure, seeing how your own nation IS at peace with GOONS. Also, try to remember that the nation performing for your entertainment in the mercy board process did not choose to be doing it. YOU raided THEM. Your "defence" of this process is BS of the highest order. There is no way in hell I would ever do anything a GOON asked me to do. I would rather delete from the game. As I am sure many do.

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But making your own nation that raided in error do the mercy board reeks of a punitive measure, seeing how your own nation IS at peace with GOONS. Also, try to remember that the nation performing for your entertainment in the mercy board process did not choose to be doing it. YOU raided THEM. Your "defence" of this process is BS of the highest order. There is no way in hell I would ever do anything a GOON asked me to do. I would rather delete from the game. As I am sure many do.

Please post more in this thread and please continue to collect taxes on your nation.

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GOONS should just own the fact that they like to be bullies, it makes them good villains.

My picture of GOONS is essentially a guy holding another guy's arm and hitting him in the face with it while saying "why are you hitting yourself".

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Once again, another fallacy that directly contradicts the content in the OP. The point of the OP is to explain how the mercy board is an OPTION. No one is forced to utilize it, but it is merely an alternative to in-game actions in order to obtain peace with us.

The first diagram in the OP shows that the mercy board is the only way that a raided nation can obtain permanent peace with GOONS.

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Some of the mercy board stuff I've heard sounds like fun. Some of it, not so much.

What should you do then? I would personally rather write a 400 word play, or a letter to a comedian telling them they're not funny than to waste aid slots unnecessarily. You are not your nation, so have some fun with things, then move on and go back to spitting venom at each other on the OWF.

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I can understand your point. There's only one fact that helps to refute that. Our Terms are never more than a half hour of work if that. In truth they're incredibly easy any high school student should be able to cough out a poem about why we GOONS are fat and ugly (which is what the term are most of the time) in 10 minutes. Any adult that plays the game of politics for fun should also be able to draw a comic depicting GOONS as neck bearded basement dwellers (which is often part of the terms we ask).

So what I'm getting at is simply this. Sure it can seem humiliating that you a pubbie a nation that finds itself at the end of our sword would have to ask us for mercy. Then you a pubbie, reads the other threads, see our terms, and hopefully you see that everything is done in a light hearted fashion.

After you notice that it's all done for the benefit of humour, you should have no problem making a thread, following the rules, and completing the terms no matter how bad you are at using MSpaint or drawing on paper and scanning it, or writing a letter to Carlos Mencia about how his jokes suck.

The Tubes of the InterWorld are a small and scary place, we're here to bring a ray of High Minded Humour to it all.

We're Jay Sherman.

This is humorous to you and a few other nations. Most raided nations would not see the mercy board as funny or entertaining. So if your true intent is to create some humor with the mercy boards, then it is only logical to have an alternative way to obtain permanent peace for those who don't see the mercy boards as being humorous.

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GOONS spin:

"Myth: All tech raided nations must go through the mercy board to secure peace.

Reality: The mercy board is one of many options a raid target has, it is a path rarely taken."

---------------

Reality:

I have helped half a dozen nations being tech raided. EVERY time when I or the nation being attacked has asked nicely for the raid to end the GOONS person attacking has given the link to the mercy boards and said "go there" and has otherwise refused all requests. To NOT go through the boards is a path rarely GIVEN.

GOONS Spin:

"Myth: The mercy board is designed to embarrass people

Reality: The mercy board is designed so that nations have an alternative to paying money to secure their peace. It is for the benefit of our enemies that we have the mercy board, or else we wouldn't have any way to solve our differences besides monetary means."

Reality:

So a nation attacked by a GOON is supposed to pay the GOON to end the attack? NICE EXTORTION RING!!! If the "mercy board" was ONLY used in situations where the nation using the board STARTED the attack (like a nation "tech raided" a GOON - not the situation where a nation attacked BY a GOON fights back), your argument might have some merit.

IF GOONS position is "raided nations do NOT have the right to fight back and IF they do then they have to either go to the mercy board OR pay us to leave them alone" - write a blog explaining that.

OR do you require the GOON nation who attacked the other nation and started the war to go to the mercy board and paint pictures to get peace from his/her victim? :P (NOT)

"Myth: The mercy board is the worst thing ever

Reality: The mercy board can be fun for everyone involved, if you try not to take things so seriously. It just requires a little humility and work on your part."

What it requires in the tech raid situation is the ability to kiss GOON butt. That's not the same thing as humility.

You know, people who knew GOONS from previous days tell me this current version in no way equal in nastyness to the past. I use to think that was a bad argument. I've changed my view, partly from this spin attempt. GOONS don't have the ability to live up to your past because the cyberworld has changed, and you're afraid that if you didn't put a spin on your policies and try to convince people that they are "reasonable" - enough people would be outraged (as opposed to a few here and there) to be a real threat.

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As usual, you are wrong. We don't ever ask money of tech raid targets, they are free to stop being attacked whenever they are no longer a valid target.

Hello Sardonic, I'm X nation and you're raiding me. I'm not a valid target any more - just letting you know since I'm free to stop being attacked. Thank you. :P

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Also, I am the most vocal critic of GOONS. I do not maintain a PZI list at all.

Does your alliance? Does NSO have a list of people who are able to be attacked at any time by any member if the member so chooses - regardless of what the term is called.

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Hello Sardonic, I'm X nation and you're raiding me. I'm not a valid target any more - just letting you know since I'm free to stop being attacked. Thank you. :P

I'm going to have to see some proof, in the form of confirmation from the alliance you joined or of the form of confirmation of a protectorate of the AA you are flying.

I'll get to your other junk later, if I have time.

And yes the members push the mercy board, but the raid targets always have the option to join a real alliance or get a protectorate.

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I'm going to have to see some proof, in the form of confirmation from the alliance you joined or of the form of confirmation of a protectorate of the AA you are flying.

I'll get to your other junk later, if I have time.

And yes the members push the mercy board, but the raid targets always have the option to join a real alliance or get a protectorate.

Or just wait for the war to expire.

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