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The Manbearpig

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  2. So, I heard you think you've got something important to say

    in World Affairs (IC)

    Posted

    In the midst of this charming post-TPF-nuts-up post-not-war we're-all-bored-as-hell moment I thought I'd take a moment to address probably the most consistent issue which comes up time and again in these hallowed halls. Yes, it's another boring rant. Yes, I'm going to use upsettingly specific examples. Yes, I invite constructive commentary. Yes, I like your mom's breakfast cooking when I'm coming downstairs in the morning. Let's proceed.

    1. The State of the Open World Forum

    Let's be really honest for a moment here. Something like ninety-five percent of national rulers within the 'verse can't string together a sentence more complicated than "I :wub: you!" or "o/ (instert alliance name)" or "NO U". Being well spoken isn't exactly a requirement for being a part of this congress of thought and, generally, is discouraged since it means the other person(s) reading your words will be confused, might have to think and/or might not be able to crack off a witty remark in less than ten seconds before they run off to have a sycophantic laugh with their cohorts (IRON, pay attention here). Thus, the general proceedings have devolved into something you'd find on the playground when Child A knocks over Child B's sandcastle and Children C-K stand around taunting them into a fight before the Adults (the instruments of Admin's wrath) step in and tell them to knock it all off. As charming as this is, it's also rather tedious. Rinse, wash, repeat[1].

    That being said, people are here craving what we all refer as THE DRAMA. On rare occasions some brave soul moves away from raising a safe topic and maybe causing the collective heart rate to move up a bit. Of course, it's very important to insult them, trash them and generally call them names or whatever in the hope that they'll care about your opinion and go away. If they don't then things really get fun, especially if they have some collection of menials to back them up, and the shouting begins where the literary skills of the 'verse can be brought to bear (see above for examples). This, in turn, cues some faux kindness where people are actually being terribly insulting while attempting to use cuddly language (calling others "sir" or whatever is a common one) and things spiral until the boredom returns, the inevitable "do something about it" argument starts or and everyone gets all hyped up as a way to fill the void between the end of the current DRAMA and the start of the next. A victory for intelligent discourse, certainly.

    I'm not sure why you're attacking good literary discourse. Sure, a lot of it is just better sounding trash, but change for the better has to start somewhere.

    2. Why is it this way?

    Everyone is bored and lazy. They want to be entertained but they don't want to provide entertainment for themselves. That, or they're cowards who don't want to risk their own supposedly-good standing in this community. Or we're all just content with the moronic state of drivel that goes on and don't really want to alter it - this actually falls under being lazy but deserves a special mention.

    3. Why doesn't it change?

    Cowardice, plain and simple. Prior to the commencement of the Karma War (yes, I used the K-word, yes the discussion will get derailed for it, whatever) everyone was afraid of Pacifica and Co. because if they said the wrong thing they'd get rolled. Now people are afraid because either some quasi-impulsive alliance[2] will decide to execute a massive tech raid or some big but impotent alliance[3] will harass them and drive them away. Everyone wants to be the hero but nobody wants to put in the effort. And yes, I'm sure there are some Big Bad people out there who'll show up and say "Look at me, I'm so bad I don't care RAWR" but, seriously, you do care which is why you're in an alliance being all snipey instead of actually doing something (the list of candidates here is too long to reference and I think someone might get upset with me if I did - see me after class if you want my list).

    I agree. People don't speak up as much as they should, and often when they do, it is merely to toss out an insult rather than to begin a sensible debate, a debate that others can follow and which can eventually end with a conclusion and a clear victor. In retrospect, a clear victor is not even necessary, as the essence of debate is to open a conflict up and analyze it so that everybody can realize what the real issue is. Then, they can address their situation more aptly. A debate will always lead to better decisions.

    4. Should it change?

    I think so. It's tedious to see the same old garbage day in and day out. Here are some common examples along with my typical reaction to them.

    "We signed a treaty and wub each other!" - Here's a thought, sound intelligent. You're a national ruler, not a toddler.

    "Reasons were communicated in private!" - No, you're a coward trying to dress up your fear of exposing your reasons as some sort of stupid respect for the other person. We're not all so dense to think you cancelled a treaty because you love each other. Come on.

    "We have a doctrine and it's cool!" - I have a doctrine too, kiddo. Let's compare them and see who's is bigger. Only I don't care.

    "We stand by our allies!" - Duh. If you didn't you'd be cancelling and communicating in private.

    "I'm upset at my treatment from these people!" - Good for you. Now do something with it.

    "This is the state of my alliance!" - Does anybody actually care or are you just going for cheap publicity?

    "Announcement from Nordreich!" - These are actually consistently cool, especially with the neat graphics. I just thought I'd toss this in here.

    I mean, are we collectively happy with this garbage (minus the Nordreich stuff)? I don't get the impression that we are. Once in a long while you have some national ruler make an appeal based on the inaccessibility of the 'verse to newer rulers, the stagnation of the political scene or some other grand cause which will be shouted down, shouted up, run in circles and eventually pounded into the ground. I get the impression that most of the time these efforts are actually just some sort of glory hounding and an attempt to get your name out there. If not, good for you, let's chat some time.

    Once again, I agree. So why don't these leaders get together and do something? I think it's usually because they tie themselves to sides, whether unwittingly or not (by which sides I mean pro SF-CnG or pro Coalition). The leaders of the alliances that actually want to change something need to band together and do away with the baggage of their "Egocentric", grudge-holding allies on both sides of the spectrum.

    If these alliances banded together, they would keep new alliances that also want to bring about change from having to be protectorates (and thus permanent allies) with some old, stagnant alliance which wants nothing more than their own little status quo for the remainder of all time.

    5. How does it change?

    Simple. YOU make it different. The next time you have a snarky comment which won't contribute to the general discourse, don't make it. The next time you're being told to mindlessly hail something, don't hail it. The next time someone wants you to care about something which you can't be bothered with, don't care about it. You want change, it's your responsibility to undertake it.

    For too long the expectation has rested on others[4] to make a differnece. The problem with that is eventually your agents of change simply won't give a damn anymore if they constantly get called on to repeat the same process again and again. It gets old. Moving and shaking is cool but it also takes time and effort and, let's be honest, the older generation did their bit. Maybe, just maybe, if you want to see a difference you should actually go out and attempt to effect it yourself.

    "But I don't know how to do it!" you cry. Well, my friend, that's where your good old neighborhood think tank comes in handy in the form of fine persons from the Pyramid Scottish Assault Squadron. You want to engage in an intellectual excercise or three, you stop on my the address given and we'll have a chat. Or just go out and take a swing at things and see how it ends - trial and error is an outstanding method of education which I fully support. Take a chance, take a risk, just go and do something instead of being one of the whining masses who cower in fear and wet themselves at the idea that they may not be liked. I mean, come on, if you're really that afraid what bussiness do you even have running a nation and being responsible for others, right?

    I'd like to elaborate upon paragraph one a bit. If we decide to stop making stupid, useless comments, that will force us all to make intelligent, well thought out comments. Imagine a forum where everyone posted with meaning and intellect! How beautiful that is (yes, these forums are out there).

    Now, you don't have to be a master of English to convey thoughts well. Attacking somebody for bad English in a post is just about the lowest form of snobbery there is on this forum, especially seeing that many people in this world dis not learn English as a first language. So, poor English speakers, don't ever be shy to post something thoughtful because of bad English. Even if you type like a 10 year old in English, it doesn't mean that you can't convey amazing ideas to the OWF.

    Moving on...I agree with chapter 3 as well, especially the trial-and-error proposal. A lot of alliances of tried it, some have succeeded, but a lot have failed. But this should not keep other alliances from trying something new out for themselves. One should never not start something because one fears that one cannot finish it or because one fears that one cannot adequately satisfy the task at hand.

    "If we build it, they will come."

    6. By Admin, Toku, you're right! I agree! Great success! Where do I sign up?!

    You don't. Unlike some charming and self-important organizations out there[5] who run around showing off their self-perceived excellence I'm not going to sit here and claim I have some code or whatever and prod you toward some lofty secret goal. I'm always happy to help a brother/sister out but forming some collective with rules and whatever isn't exactly the style I'm gunning for here. Besides, it'd mean I'd have to share the oh-so-arousing PYSAS flag and I'm not doing that yet. That's my flag, not yours.

    "But, if you're not starting a movement, what are you doing?! I'm confused!" Yes, I can hear the cries already. The idea is simple. I can't exactly sit here slamming down on others for being unconstructive while not being constructive myself. Thus, I'm nudging the proverbial apple cart a bit in the hopes that it causes some neurons to fire in someone else's head and they actually start thinking about what they're doing. Maybe it'll work, maybe not, we'll see.

    That all being said, I'm going to bring this to a close. As noted above, constructive commentary is invited. Take care of yourselves, and each other.

    o/

    Tokugawa Mitsukuni

    Well then, I hope you will be ready to offer that flag up at the instant that it is needed, or else this movement, if it starts (and hopefully it will) might crumble before it gets far off the ground.

    P.S. I'd make this response better but my roomie has the TV on so I can't concentrate as well as I'd like to. :P

  6. Policy Clarification from The Resistance

    in Alliance Announcements (IC)

    Posted

    theresistance002-1.jpg

    The Resistance was recently the recipient of several recruitment offers ranging from our general membership to our highest government officials. While these parties in question have either issued a general apology or given a reason that is otherwise not offensive, I feel it's necessary to let everyone know that we've notified our members to report all instances of recruitment aimed at our alliance. We no longer care if the nation in question is-

    a) inexperienced at recruiting.

    b) not aware of alliance politics or affiliations.

    c) scanning our nations with some kind of program that accidently put our member on your list.

    d) any other reason that was recently given to us.

    I put the the possibility of the next instance of our members getting recruitment messages being met with war on the offending nation at 99%. Our allies will of course receive a kinder form of diplomacy.

    Maybe it's harsh but it is not meant as a threat, but rather a notice to prevent violence. Don't recruit our members.

    Thank you,

    mattski133

    Prime Minister of The Resistance

    I like this announcement, hopefully it'll save a lot of idiocy on IRC and other alliances' forums.

    I put the the possibility of the next instance of our members getting recruitment messages being met with war on the offending nation at 99%. Our allies will of course receive a kinder form of diplomacy.

    That is so awesome that an alliance actually said this out loud. Lots of kudos for you guys.

    o/ The Resistance

  16. Here it goes

    in Alliance Announcements (IC)

    Posted

    You cry when we don't honor our treaties (which is incredibly incredibly old and it is different now) and cry when we do.

    I'm guessing this "you" is referring to the general feeling of the people of CN, as I cannot remember ever criticizing loss before this post, so I'll just let that go.

    I will admit that your entrance is much more justified since BC was a protectorate.

    Anyways, good job with the quick peace, you've slapped the excitement of war right off of our faces. :P

  18. CN Staff Declaration of Wub

    in Open World RP

    Posted

    Thank you Kevin, which is Admin's name, apparently.

    Thank you for providing me and hundreds of thousands of others with a source of seemingly endless entertainment. Cyber Nations is easily the most fun game I've ever played, and certainly the game I've played for the longest. Keep up the good work, or take a break from it if you need to, just don't quit on us for good. Then what will we play, eRepublic? Screw that man.

    From mbp with love. :wub:

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