Eamon Valda

The problem with this work is that it is a highly emotional appeal, lacking real argumentive substance, which proceeds to go on a rampage in rather intricate terms about the failure of democracy. Ignoring the actual style of the work (for, whilst it's good to be able to make antagonistic, angry-worded statements, they don't necessarily prove anything) I think it suffers from some usually maladies of democratic evaluation. Firstly, this piece does not even answer the fundamental question of 'what is a democracy?' It is difficult to imagine how to criticise a certain system of politics if you don't even understand what that description encompasses. The truth is that democracy, at root, only meaning 'rule of the people', can be independent of many different economic or law regimes (OOC: i.e.) Communist states consider themselves 'true democracies'; some Asian states have democracy but not liberalism or Western rule of law). This point sounds unessential on the surface, but consider, then, the wide scope of alliances we bring into perspective -- alliances with vastly different ideological standpoints and operations (for example, this definition would include my alliance, Nordreich, and one like the Libertarian Socialist Federation - complete opposites). Moreover, the institutions an alliance uses and the functional requirements presented within itself will form a different type of democracy. Assuming your criticism is mounted against democratic alliances using large-scale elections, it seems that your damning criticism stems from the elimination of powers from the state apparatus to the people on an alliance. This is an age-old question of who is fit to lead a political system, and I don't care to bring this debate any here since there is no immediately clear answer. Even if we assume the state is the optimal leader with efficient operation, how can we assume the ones who operate it are also the optimal for its use or if this system, too, cannot be improved? Measuring the difference between a large democracy and a purely (arguably) bureaucratical alliance would not only be difficult, due to so many extenuating circumstances, but not useful for drawing objective conclusions. Finally, the reasons you cite for the inefficiencies of democracy not only failed to be back up by statistical evidence, but may not necessarily be inefficient. Even if we assume that a democracy has innate delays due to the high number of veto points available to the people, perhaps such oversight, given a well-educated public, could be beneficial because it allows clear-headed decisions; decisions which represent the will of the alliance members and not singular agendas. Arguably, this is more a philosophical debate and not one of political ability. Still, it is useful to realise that the number of checks and power-sharing in a democracy (or, in this type of democracy) reduces corruption and increases accountability. Withotu these things, alliances may go unchecked and be ruthlessly lead (some great historical examples: Prodigal Chieftan, NoWedge). Again, this is just to outline the opposite possibility to your statements. These arguments in no way represent all the possibilities for faults within your work, but I think it's important you start by reevaluating what you have said, removing the hated-charged language, and attempt a reasonable analysis using evidence and logic or else you prove nothing but to support those whom you seem to hold much hate to.

I admit I am a bit late on this thread, but I would like to discuss this point of this thread. "There is no difference between a ten man alliance and thirty-nine man alliance." This is wrong. Firstly, what is the purpose of drawing the line at ten man alliances? Formally, it lays on the recognition of sovereignty we give to a 'true alliance'. If we simply recognised anyone with an AA, then we'd face many more diplomatic problems. To prevent people from simply switching AA and claiming the right to internal sovereignty and equal treatment, we draw the line of, again, what is a real alliance. Thus, a 39 man alliance is a real alliance. A given alliance has the power to its own sovereignty and diplomatic relations. They have their own forums. Any collective attack on a sovereign alliance should be treated as war and no less. A tech raid is just that: a singular raid by a singular person on a person who is not within an alliance to extract their resources. You claim it is merely 39 individuals making their own attacks. Moreover, no honourable alliance would condone this type of action to another alliance (i.e.) consider if you had done this to Sparta or NpO). You purposely picked this alliance for its lack of diplomatic links (no #$%#). I don't think it is wrong to have done it. That said, you guys should be more straight-up about it. You are just beating up a smaller alliance with no real ability to resist your actions. That alliance has sovereignty and diplomatic links and you ignored them to further you aims. Any ways, go on and continue the beatdown (assuming it's going on).

I think he was just pointing out that you, indeed, did make the implication that something bigger would go down due to deja's posturing against mpol's posturing. I don't know mpol personally nor the other high leadership of FAN, but I do know from my experience that they are tactful and skilled people. This experience makes them very competent, moreso than a regular person like me, for example, and for anyone to think that mpol or anyone else in FAN would start a conflict over some idiot's attempt to have balls is probably just wrong. From what I could tell, part of this entire OP was to outline that it was specifically the mangled treaty web which FAN stands against. Mpol was crticising King Death for only feeling safety in his words because of that web. Honour in treaties is not something that is common anymore; there are numerous cases of them being dumped with no sufficient reason but 'sorry, we don't want to die for you.' The integrity of holding an agreement that you make is the heart of honour, especially when these agreements are made in good reason. That mpol or FAN has illrespect to those people who take part is signing treaties for the sake of avoiding deserved @%$-kickings, I may not be as tough or have the same cajones but I support that idea completely. So, in retrospect, I think deja's comment only went to show how his only real protection, again, lays behind a span of treaties which, today, have less and less meaning with every cancellation. I imagine every person who understood that part of the OP could see what I have seen.

Well, there was that time during VietFAN, near the beginning, where he was one of the few FAN people actually posting on OWF. This caused the Initiative/allies to curse and repeatedly say: "OMG, STOP WHINNING FAN!!! WHY DUNT U GUYZ CUM OUT OF PIECE MODE?" At that point, if I recall, Atrophis was flamed pretty badly.

Weekly-update with rank changes. Will be adding percentage changes later. Position/Alliance---------------------Sum-----------Per Nation----------Per 10,000 Infra. 1) The Order Of The Paradox---226325.1-----1001.438496---------1016.56553 2) Mostly Harmless Alliance-----130301.44----205.1991181---------519.2999293 3) Sparta--------------------------140754.26----251.7965295---------577.2300603 4) New Polar Order---------------180269.9-----420.2095571---------743.6941492 5) IRON----------------------------144874.22----273.86431-----------665.5751864 6) Orange Defense Network-----100921.84----274.9913896---------533.8590716 7) Fark----------------------------108224.02-----361.9532441---------686.9887688 8) Green Protection Agency------62060.16-----221.6434286---------372.9888494 9) New Pacific Order--------------91580.82-----141.3284259---------481.2409157 10) Mushroom Kingdom-----------137904.52----725.8132632---------1045.744475 11) FOK-----------------------------112958.36----472.6291213---------836.5891611 12) The Order Of Light-------------81458.96-----329.7933603---------582.813021 13) World Task Force--------------68387.74-----287.3434454---------506.830769 14) The Democratic Order---------41807.16-----94.37282167---------312.4743355 15) Viridian Entente----------------84638.02-----284.9764983---------667.0056938 16) The Legion----------------------49023.96-----121.6475434---------426.0711539 17) Ragnarok-----------------------58734.84-----188.2526923---------508.9193482 18) GATO----------------------------51419.98-----152.1301183---------458.2085482 19) CSN------------------------------59179.04-----297.3821106---------590.502514 20) The Grämlins--------------------78715.84-----1063.727568---------1002.768715 21) Athens---------------------------60275.34-----344.4305143---------655.6014314 22) Multicolored Cross-X Alliance--36274.4------157.7147826---------345.2564172 23) United Purple Nations------------34010.34----147.2309091---------355.4845035 24) Random Insanity Alliance--------57165.4-----641.2042194---------668.3369615 25) Siberian Tiger Alliance-----------56392.36----309.8481319---------700.4000522 26) Invicta---------------------------42311.04------226.262246----------529.036716 27) RnR------------------------------41909.62------193.1318894---------564.4879828 28) M*A*S*H------------------------42589.06------343.4601613---------531.1204282 29) NADC----------------------------32107.32------204.5052229---------399.5728905 30) We Are Perth Army-------------27926.14------193.9315278---------370.4537857 31) Nueva Vida----------------------50629.56------421.913---------------725.219098 32) New Sith Order------------------42271.84------208.235665----------656.0792165 33) Nusantara Elite Warriors--------41244.86------264.3901282---------632.8723403 34) Monos Archein------------------32227.58------181.0538202----------468.6284717 35) Umbrella-------------------------61894.88------937.8012121---------1171.645721 36) Federation Of Armed Nations--44601.06------295.3712583---------674.3177231 37) LOSS-----------------------------36487.94------287.3066142---------535.1047979 38) The Sweet Oblivion-------------53531.66------955.9225-------------1033.810923 39) NATO-----------------------------27469.76-----149.2921739----------487.9860584 40) Nordreich------------------------39169.98------313.35984------------707.2333926 41) The Templar Knights------------26606.06-----235.4518584----------468.4602613 42) The International----------------28895.56-----260.3203604----------502.8261781 43) Greenland Republic-------------38973.4-------327.507563------------641.889299 44) FEAR------------------------------34639.7------336.307767------------670.3817958 45) The Foreign Division------------23866.6-------185.0124031-----------457.1427477 46) Global Order Of Darkness------47625.06------595.31325------------976.9964551 47) Vanguard-------------------------47086.5-------713.4318182---------1024.853846 48) Grand Lodge Of Freemasons---21441.34------166.211938-----------408.8246454 49) Federation Of Buccaneers-------21192.94------153.572029-----------391.7603107 50) Poison Clan-----------------------51047.2-------880.1241379----------1236.863211 By Total Score (Change in Rank) 1) The Order Of The Paradox 2) New Polar Order 3) Independent Republic Of Orange Nations (+1) 4) Sparta (-1) 5) Mushroom Kingdom 6) Mostly Harmless Alliance 7) FOK 8) Fark 9) Orange Defense Network 10) New Pacific Order 11) Viridian Entente (+1) 12) The Order Of Light (-1) 13) The Grämlins 14) World Task Force 15) Green Protection Agency (+1) 16) Umbrella (-1) 17) Athens 18) Commonwealth Of Sovereign Nations 19) Ragnarok (+29) 20) Random Insanity Alliance 21) Siberian Tiger Alliance (-2) 22) The Sweet Oblivion (-1) 23) Global Alliance And Treaty Organization (+1) 24) Poison Clan (-2) 25) Nueva Vida (-2) 26) The Legion (-1) 27) Global Order Of Darkness (-1) 28) Vanguard (-1) 29) Federation Of Armed Nations (+1) 30) M*A*S*H (+2) 31) Invicta (-3) 32) New Sith Order (+3) 33) RnR (-2) 34) The Democratic Order (-5) 35) Nusantara Elite Warriors (-1) 36) Nordreich (+2) 37) Greenland Republic (-1) 38) LOSS (-1) 39) Multicolored Cross-X Alliance (+1) 40) Fellowship Of Elite Allied Republics (+1) 41) United Purple Nations (-2) 42) Monos Archein (+1) 43) North Atlantic Defense Coalition (-1) 44) The International 45) We Are Perth Army 46) NATO 47) The Templar Knights 48) The Foreign Division (+1) 49) The Grand Lodge Of Freemasons (+1) 50) Federation Of Buccaneers By Total Per Nation 1) The Grämlins 2) The Order Of The Paradox 3) The Sweet Oblivion 4) Umbrella 5) Poison Clan 6) Mushroom Kingdom 7) Vanguard 8) Global Order Of Darkness 9) FOK (+1) 10) Nueva Vida (+2) 11) New Polar Order (-1) 12) Fark (+2) 13) Athens (+3) 14) M*A*S*H (+3) 15) Fellowship Of Elite Allied Republics 16) The Order Of Light (-3) 17) Greenland Republic (+1) 18) Nordreich (+1) 19) Siberian Tiger Alliance (+1) 20) Commonwealth Of Sovereign Nations (+1) 21) Federation Of Armed Nations (+3) 22) World Task Force (+1) 23) LOSS (-1) 24) Viridian Entente (+1) 25) Orange Defense Network (+1) 26) Independent Republic Of Orange Nations (+1) 27) Nusantara Elite Warriors (+2) 28) The International 29) Sparta (+1) 30) Random Insanity Alliance (+2) 31) The Templar Knights 32) Invicta (+2) 33) Green Protection Agency 34) New Sith Order (+2) 35) Mostly Harmless Alliance (+2) 36) North Atlantic Defense Coalition (-1) 37) We Are Perth Army (+1) 38) RnR (+1) 39) Ragnarok (+11) 40) The Foreign Division 41) Monos Archein 42) The Grand Lodge Of Freemasons (+1) 43) Multicolored Cross-X Alliance (+1) 44) Federation Of Buccaneers 45) Global Alliance And Treaty Organization (+1) 46) NATO (-1) 47) United Purple Nations (-5) 48) New Pacific Order (-1) 49) The Legion (-1) 50) The Democratic Order (-1) By Total Per 10,000 Infrastructure 1) Poison Clan 2) Umbrella 3) Mushroom Kingdom 4) The Sweet Oblivion 5) Vanguard 6) The Order Of The Paradox 7) The Grämlins 8) Global Order Of Darkness 9) FOK (+1) 10) New Polar Order (+1) 11) Nueva Vida (+1) 12) Nordreich (+1) 13) Siberian Tiger Alliance (+1) 14) Fark (+1) 15) Federation Of Armed Nations (+8) 16) Fellowship Of Elite Allied Republics (+2) 17) Random Insanity Alliance 18) Viridian Entente (-2) 19) Independent Republic Of Orange Nations (+1) 20) New Sith Order (-1) 21) Athens (+3) 22) Greenland Republic (-1) 23) Nusantara Elite Warriors (+2) 24) Commonwealth Of Sovereign Nations (+2) 25) The Order Of Light (-3) 26) Sparta (+1) 27) RnR (+1) 28) LOSS (+1) 29) Orange Defense Network (+2) 30) M*A*S*H (+2) 31) Invicta (-1) 32) Mostly Harmless Alliance (+1) 33) Ragnarok (+17) 34) World Task Force 35) The International 36) NATO (+1) 37) New Pacific Order (-1) 38) Monos Archein (+1) 39) The Templar Knights (-1) 40) Global Alliance And Treaty Organization 41) The Foreign Division 42) The Legion 43) The Grand Lodge Of Freemasons 44) North Atlantic Defense Coalition 45) Federation Of Buccaneers 46) Green Protection Agency (-1) 47) We Are Perth Army (-1) 48) United Purple Nations (-1) 49) Multicolored Cross-X Alliance (-1) 50) The Democratic Order (-1) Note: Last week, Ragnarok's score was improperly calculated which is what caused them to rank last (their score did not include their nuclear weapons). This week, it has been fixed and their proper scores added. There should be no errors like this for this week's results. Also, Argent has been removed and Federation of Bucaneers added.

Edit: update should be done by poster, I think. Sorry for error.

Thanks. I hope it can be useful to some people. I think it's current format can give people an idea of how militarised the top 50 alliances are. While it's obviously not an indicator of who wins vs. who, ceteris paribus, it could be the deciding factor in a conflict. If anyone has any more recommendations or would like to see some changes, I am more than happy to try and improve the thread and make it better.

That's the game plan from now on. I only edited today's because it has been expanded to 50 alliances, so I figure I should just start fresh with all of them. I will bring an update next and it will be posted in the thread as a new reply.

Updated as of today. I) Now includes top 50 alliances. II) Now organised rankings into 3 clear listings. III) Total ranking removed.

But wasn't it apparent that, when you joined the NPO, what type of alliance it was and that you would need to surrender most of your sovereignty to them? They are fairly autocratic (disregarding the abilities of the body republic) and expect members to obey and not to question. I am not claiming this as right or wrong, only as something that one should expect of them. Then again, I recall you thinking they had changed from before. Was this the reason you thought it would be correct to join them? Furthermore, I would guess from your actions that you are more an individualist than an alliance like NPO would like. Perhaps your 'home' is not a place where you sacrifice that individual but rather somewhere where it is encouraged (i.e.) New Sith Order?). As to the naysayers for the actions of the NPO, I understand that they are a very stern alliance with questionable objectives. oreover, when you agree to join an alliance, you agree to its contract of terms. If you disobey those terms, expect punishment for your actions, not a free hand. No contract - and thus alliance principles - would hold up if everyone could simply break it at will. If you don't like how they act, don't join them or collude with them. It is that simple.

From reading the logs, all I can ascertain is that Cortath drew a hardline on your actions and you did not reform. While I understand you didn't like some of the conditions for your forced resignation (i.e.) banking), Cortath did state that he expected you to follow all orders to the letter and you agreed. Furthermore - and maybe I read this wrong - but your second log was 1 week after the first and, at that time period, you stated you were still in 'enemy channels'. Even though Cortath condoned it in his conversation (or seemed to), I get the feeling like you probably knew that being in op #OV (not to mention having ops) was not a great idea after your chat with Emperor Blackbird. As for the other reasons stated in the third log for your dismissal, I won't judge their correctness since I don't know how they got them. To be frank, I thought it was nice of them to at least offer you a quiet resignation after they disapproved of your actions - though you probably didn't take it too well, afterwards (not from the logs, but I imagine you cared). Final question, though, what are these logs supposed to prove?

Well, thanks for this insightfully dangerous issue, guys, now if some could just direct me to the near PANIC button -- oh, there it is. OH GOD, EVERYBODY PANIC!!! SAVE THE WOMEN AND LLAMAS FIRST. Edit: Well, the problem has been resolved. Everyone put the drama llamas back in their cages and, I repeat, put your drama metres away.

Well, to be fair, you could want to draw attention to you and your cause because it brings you entertainment or other benefits even though you will die eventually. Also, I echo Oberst when I ask: what are these other motives? Curious.

I am aware I was not part of these incidents and thus am not the most well-rounded person to speak. However, I thought it was important to provide my opinion above the midst of many people saying "thank Mod, the ^#$%# is dead" and a few saying "I LOVE YOU." It is not my place to judge how much anger or desire a person can handle until they crack and do something crazy; it is different for different people. However, I think you can learn much from a person by what they would choose to do as their final act. A final act not only represents what you would like to do most with your last breath, but also the summation of your previous choices into some cohesive whole (or, if everything you have done was conflicting, then it will show your wish-washiness). What I see is that Fran, in my opinion, never forgot about TSO nor moved beyond the hate it caused. If her choice was to fight TSO in order to fight for what she believes in, then I think there couldn't be a better way to go out. Moreover, you have to question what exactly she believes in; I don't know nor will I pretend to know her thoughts. I know this thread is a pretty big way to make her actions overtly public (or, as other says, 'attention-whoring). It is not uncommon for rogues, though, to do so. If it was any other rogue, would we call it attention-whoring in the same manner? I doubt it. It is only her history of such posts which inclines us to believe such a possibility but, arguably, if anything of these threads she made deserved to be, this one did simply because that it how a rogue makes their battle public. Obviously, doing so turned this thread into a massive cluster%@^# because making a thread public will always bring about a public reaction - a reaction which holds a large portion who dislike her and her actions. Think, though, not so much about what you disliked about those threads or how ignoble you thought them to be, but judge this thread on the measure of its actions. Again, I think standing up for what you believe and fighting for a principle is worthy of some respect regardless of what you believe. Therefore, I give my respect to Fran for taking this course as a person who followed through on their words. This sounds elementary, but it's very easy to talk the talk but never walk the walk; to do something rather than just complain. Finally, remembering some of Fran's other threads and posts, I hope she will learn from this experience and, if/when returns, will not repeat the mistakes she has before.

Makes me wish I had been there to give it a shot myself. Also, your French is tres horrible lol. Epic win.