Saladjoe

Over our cold, dead bodies! :P

At least you admitted your anti-polar bias this time. Also what do alliances leaders have to gain from telling any sort of meaningful intel to someone that runs a ridiculously one-sided podcast?

You can yell at me anytime Chimmy :wub:

Congrats to both parties, especially our parasolian allies. Made me chuckle.

Thanks. Also it seems we've instituted the rule of pony (there must always be one) in gov now.. TOP in rooins :P

Two fine alliances, congrats to you both.

While OWF diplomacy is apparently all the rage these days, we've discussed the conduct of PECS senators, the actions of LSF and statements made in private with the respective parties involved.

Don't flatter yourself, no one cares about you or your joke of an alliance.

This is amazing.

Tywin come out of peacemode and keep talking.

You're next ODN! :D

This will end well for you.

Yeah THAT was why you were removed, we definitely needed help on that front too. :D

Like getting fired from both of the leadership positions you've had recently and kicked out of them in the past?

He's actually like this. That's the scary part.

In Lum we trust.

Voted for backwards elevator.

This would've been more impressive if it was against GPA and/or WTF. Either way, more casualties is always a good thing.

Congrats you guys.

The "and what TOP does" part made me chuckle. Your sources seem to be rumors and your personal speculation which would explain why the majority of what you say is factually inaccurate.

I mean we all know the rhetoric you've been spewing about the "big bad ebil TOP coming to get us and you!!" but honestly we're, what's your line again, "We're just chilling over here with our friends"? We have no desire to come after anyone or orchestrate some plot against you and your own, despite the obvious issues you have with us. But keep on applying the ready-made "how can we get back at TOP" formula of demonizing and making us out to be the aggressors, and keep pinning your past FA failures on us and feeding the lines out that we're the big bad guys. We'll just continue to outgrow you and sip on our cyanide laced margaritas. The arsenic-flavored mango is a particularly nice touch this time of year too.

Or the fact that most alliances are dealing with severe activity issues and what you're saying requires consistently high levels of activity from seller and buyer alike. I didn't say it was impossible, rather that it's highly unlikely to happen for most. You also have to factor in people that didn't fight or barely fought last war and the rebuliding gap in starting points between those that actually fought.

It can be reciprocal, but sadly it often isn't as the sellers are charged nonoptimal rates and feel pressured into doing so in order to remain protected. Their politics and what groups they can affiliate with are also impacted by a protectorate treaty, again limiting what they're able to do and how independent they're able to be as the alliance progresses. In the end I find protectorate treaties to be more harmful than helpful for an alliance long term but raiding seems to make it a sad necessity. And of course a protector is going to say it's reciprocal, they hardly have to do anything and they get tech sellers in the process with minimal risk on their part so it's a win/win for them.

Don't flatter yourself, you're not that important anymore. ;) But seriously no one on our end feels this way if that's what you were implying, I can't speak for others but I haven't heard anything of the sort since the ceasefire. I'm guessing you're talking about the fact that nations can grow from mid to upper tier in the span of a typical peacetime period now, but that's assuming constant activity with regular active sellers as well. Outside of DBDC there really isn't an alliance that can say that from top to bottom so I'd say that's an incorrect assumption. It's more viable than in the past perhaps but wars only exacerbate tier disparities, look at eQ as a prime example.

Congrats guys! Eight years is quite an accomplishment.