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Lord Boris

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  1. Lord Boris

    Congrats, Fark!

    By Lord Boris,

    Congratulations, Fark. For too long, you've let those evil 40k NS nations keep you down and oppress your peoples. Surely, sanctioning someone with no trades or other ties to Aqua will turn the tide of this great war in your favor. Your strategy and wit is to be commended.
    Bravo.
    *golfclaps*
  2. Lord Boris
    So a couple weeks ago I accidentally remembered my login information for my old photobucket account, did some looking and found this. I figured I'd share it just for the humor aspect as well as for the historical note.
    I present to you... the PIAT web I used to maintain back in 2007. Observe the beautiful simplicity, the treaty spamming of RIA, and the fact that probably well over half of the alliances represented are long dead.

  3. Lord Boris
    Well, I decided to dust off my blog again to give another glance into my views of the politics of CN. For this one, I decided to look into an issue that a great many have aruged about for a long time. Nearly every group since the Great Patriotic War have asked those outside of direct conflict to think about what is wrong about the game, and to somehow rise up and do battle against it. Kudos for those groups for convincing me to sit down and think. It's not a common occurrance.
    I will preface this entry with the note that I do not exclude myself from any of the commentary herein. I find myself just as guilty as others have been on much of what I am about to note.
    I've done a great deal of thinking in the few weeks about what is truly wrong with CN, if anything. Upon reflection and observation, I've found that there are two things that are wrong with CN. I also found myself sickened by how few seem to really grasp the matter, and rather than seeing the issues, they look to blame groups. Too eager to look for that which is not immediately tangible, they lash out at what is. The problems do not go by the names NPO, Vox, FAN, MCXA, Continuum, Citadel, or any other group that is generally thrown out into the bloodbath of the forums as the name of a problem.
    The two key faults upon which the majority of woe in CN stem from are excessive egoism and excessive hate.
    No one group or individual is at fault, but rather a great many people become prone to outbursts of one or both of these issues. I don't try to spare myself either. I'm the quickest to admit in this process that I have been guilty of both from time to time. Now it remains to be seen if others will look at themselves and gaze honestly upon the taint on their own hands.
    Egoism is something that always exists, and has thrived quite well in CN. While a great deal of egoism occurs naturally, much of it is far overblown on Planet Bob. A great many of the players on Bob have become so hardened to the idea that they can do no wrong and that all others wrong simply by virtue of being different. What causes this egoism to exist? As Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "Whenever I climb, I am followed by a dog called 'Ego'." While certainly ego does tend to follow the perceived climb of success, there is a degree to which it becomes excessive. It's one thing to go climbing with a golden retriever. It's a completely different thing to go with a pack of rottwheilers. While I believe people should be proud of their achievements, for nobody would strive to achieve if they could not feel pride for it afterwards, they should not go so far as to think they are immediately great for a singular achievement. Unfortunately, Bob is a planet of excesses. The excess pride by a great many parties has made the air a bit stuffy, and the stagnant air deters new residents. It also is infectious. When one person or group tends to become extremely egocentric, others tend to follow suit. It is this build-up of ego that stirs up a lot of the more utterly pointless drama. It also causes the parties intoxicated by it more prone to make snap decisions, without truly thinking about the consequences. It shouldn't take much thought to realize the kinds of problems that type of situations has caused.
    While we all know a rivalry stirs up interest, at many times in the past and present in CN, we see more and more people moving from rivalry mentality into a mentality of outright excess hate. This becomes even more destructive than the excess of egoism rotting in the streets of Bob, largely because it tends to lead to a great many very rash, and very damaging situations. If you let hate take over how you play CN, and thrive on making sure those whom you direct your hate upon cease existance on Bob, you're probably not helping the community any. By extention, if you become hell-bent on forcing an alliance, the fundamental level of community in CN, to fold because of your wrath, you're also probably not helping things any.
    And now I come down to the sad truth about these two great harms in CN.
    In lesser forms, egoism and rivalry are generally harmless, and foster a competitive and interesting game. Unfortunately, we play in a realm that has become extreme in nature. Many of those who champion the moderate views needed to harness the positive potential of these two wrongs in their lower forms get swept up into becoming their own brand of extremist. Thus, the middle ground has lost strength, and the game has suffered. Additionally, many of the champions of these grave issues are also many of the same folks who keep the game flowing. Many of those who could be the poster models for these problems could also be used as the ones for what is right about the game. Many of those who have caused issues have also caused some type of progress or significant impact.
    Upon observation and reflection, we see that, while harmful in their extremes, these two issues are also lifeblood in their more moderate forms. Many have lost sight of how to moderate their emotions/behavior, however. They have forgotten that forward progress is a tightrope act. Not enough movement to keep your balance, and you don't go anywhere. Too much, and you fall off into the pit/net.
    Remember this, CN. The next time you go to take actions based on your pride or your desire to spite someone, think to yourself if it is really the best course of action. It is tough to do, certainly, given the intoxicating nature of pride and wrath, but just as it's often wise to know your limits when trying to throw down a bottle of tequila, it's a good idea to know the limits of your actions the community can digest.
  4. Lord Boris
    With all the argumentation and lecturing on why people fight in the OWF, I figured I'd throw in my own analysis on why people really fight.
    Boredom
    Simply put, war and fighting is fun. It breaks the monotony of sitting around so that every 15-19 days you can re-arrange some pixels, collect some pixel money, and build up your pixel stats. Unless you are enamored with number-crunching and pixel building (also can be read as "Unless you're GPA or similar groups"), that tends to get old after a while. It takes something else to break up the routine. The increasing community boredom eventually builds up until someone says something not so nice about someone else's mother and then the 'offended' party goes and starts rearranging pixels and lowering the 'offending' party's pixel stats. Eventually the boredom gets worked out, the party that lost the most pixels either apologizes and pays a tribute of pixel tech, disbands and takes their pixels elsewhere, or hides behind a few lines of code that prevents them from losing more pixels. The victorious party then feasts on pixels, gloats about their pixel fighting skills, and then goes back to the status quo. The cycle then repeats.
    Will and Pixel Superiority
    Another reason people fight is because they develop the political will and superiority in the number and use of pixels. Eventually this lets them have enough impact where they can smash the pixels of those who disagree, dislike, or are otherwise 'against' them. This leads to the eventual onset of mass pixel stomping. It also leads to the occassional, "hey guys, let's go into hippy and then vomit all over the OWF about how the party with the will and power are ebil and ruining teh game" spree, which then creates another wave of backlash and pixel smashing.
    ???
    These are all the 'WTF' type fights. Examples of these include the emergence in recent months of a certain micro-alliance represented by one of the worst typists ever to grace the OWF going all-out against the ODN. These fights are largely trivial, but they generate a fair amount of laughs and facepalm moments. They also involve the "hyper-patriotism" fights, where a group believes soo much that they and their pixel buddies are the only ones with a cause that they perpetuate the pixel-smashing far beyond the time anyone really cares about them (also read as "OcUK").
    Profit
    Breaking things sometimes leads to improved pixel size in nations that are otherwise unsatisfied with how big they are able to get their pixels. Tech raids often fall under this category, as do the fights for the sake of racking up casualties (the currency of some alliances, such as Valhalla).
    And that, my avid reader, is why we all fight.
  5. Lord Boris
    The government of Solamnia is one that has shifted significantly over time since the first time the country was unified, but many of the titles have maintained their traditional, if not antiquated, names.
    The Executive Government of the Solamnian State
    This is the part of Solamnia's government that handles all nationwide and foreign issues. It is led by the Lord Magistrate of the Realm (LMotR), a title currently occupied by Lord Boris. The LMotR traditionally has final say in any and all decisions made by the Solamnian government. The extent to which this power is used has declined somewhat over time due to the increasingly complex nature of the government and expansion of the Solamnian state. The LMotR has the authority to establish and desolve entire departments of the government on a whim, although such sweeping changes are generally made significantly more gradually, to avoid causing unnecessary instability. In the event that a new LMotR must be found due to the passing or resignation of the current one (noting that this office can not otherwise be vacated through alternative means), the next to serve shall be the person appointed by the outgoing LMotR, or shall be the longest-serving advisor to the Magistrate.
    At Current, the Executive Government of the Solamnian State is as follows:
    Lord Magistrate of the Realm: Lord Boris
    Magistrate of Foreign Issues: Fidellos Raskolnikovos
    Magistrate of the Interior: Markus Rishlen
    Commissar Magistrate of the Military: Herron Lauder
    Banker Magistrate of the Treasury: Richard Brinkly
    All of the lesser Magistrates have numerous other officials and sub-departments working for them, ensuring that any issue of national importance can be dealt with by the Executive Government.
    Local Governance
    Within each of Solamnia's 33 provincial territories, regional matters are addressed by Knighthood Councils. These councils date back to the earliest known governments in the area that became the nation of Solamnia. While the members of the councils are no longer midieval knights, they still represent the backbone of authority at the provincial level. Most councils range from 3 to 9 members, with larger numbers usually being found in provinces with higher than average population and economic activity.
    Council vacancies are usually filled by those appointed and approved by the rest of the council, however some provinces have alternative methods of filling vacancies since the Executive Government does not mandate any one way. In the province of Allacra near the geographic center of the country, vacancies are usually filled by successful businessmen, a practice that has seen much success in maintaining the extensive economic output of the province. Indeed, 24% of Solamnia's annual Gross Domestic Product is produced in Allacra. Four provinces (Fairpoint, Dulare, Suvall, and Caspre) all elect their councils democratically by votes of the general populous.
  6. Lord Boris
    (OOC: I thought I'd try my hand at some RP entries about my nation)
    Lord Boris walked down the corridor leading away from his office, footsteps echoing along the way. It had been a month since he had stopped by the facility that he had taken to calling "The Glowing Candy Shop." He had decided at breakfast that he would spend the morning touring the nuclear launch facility just outside of Palanthas.
    "Sir," one of his aides interrupted the silence, "the Department of the Treasury is requesting approval on the new export budget for next quarter."
    Lord Boris turned to the advisor, making sure to keep up his brisk walking pace. "Why is it every time I make plans to inspect something in the Defense Department, the Treasury has to get in my face with paperwork? Ever since we started developing our atomic weapons program, they've been breathing down my neck like it's the latest fashion trend. I'm willing to bet if half of those pencil-pushers left their office every now and then to take a look at the world, they'd realize they don't control things as much as they would like to think."
    "You're probably right, but it would be nice to have imports and exports next quarter," the aide replied.
    "I'll review their proposal this afternoon. I had eggs for breakfast, I'll have weaponry for lunch, and I'll eat their damn paperwork for dinner if they so wish it," Lord Boris retorted, clearly irritated with the subject matter.
    -----
    About ten minutes later, Lord Boris and his entourage were on their way to the city outskirts on one of the many high speed rail trains that connected the various parts of the city. It had all been built a few years back rather controversially. The military and civic planners pushed for its creation to eliminate complete dependence on the highway system for short and medium distance travel, believing that diversity in travel methods was not only econonomically wise, but also a security measure against attack. After it was approved, it took about a year for all two thousand miles of rail to be constructed in the central part of the country. It is anticipated to be able to keep up with the demand for its use for the next 50 years courtesy of the scale of the initial project, which caused some media critics to dub it the "Overkill Express."
    Lord Boris was staring out the window, marveling at scene as it flew past. It took him a bit to notice his cell phone ringing.
    "Sir," his aide said, trying to get his attention, "your phone is ringing."
    Lord Boris snapped out of his stare and picked up his phone. "So it is," he said. He answered the phone and listened for a minute before hanging it up and angrily slamming the phone down on the table.
    He leaned over to his laptop and began to type.
    "Sir, what are you doing?" his aide asked nervously.
    "I'm sending an email to the Department of Resource Management telling them to fine the folks over at the Department of the Treasury for excessive waste of Solamnia's forestry resources in their paperwork," Lord Boris replied, refusing to take his eyes off his keyboard.
    "You wouldn't..." his aide replied, eyes wide.
    To that, Lord Boris simply looked up from his keyboard and grinned.
  7. Lord Boris
    Well, I felt I'd continue my blogging series here with a discussion on the types of things we'll likely see in future wars. The way wars are fought in CN has evolved not only in line with changes to the actual game, but also with changes in the strategies and playing philosophies of the playing community.
    Quick-Response
    This strategy relies on declaring war and commencing attacks on an alliance just moments after it declares war on one of your allies. We started to really see this heavy during the Continuum - NoV war, with many of the declarations on the Continuum side taking place just minutes after a declaration from an alliance on the NoV side. During the War of the Coalition, we saw this continue, most notably with the combined group of TORN, OR, Elysium, and Molon Labe beginning attacks on Greenland Republic in under a minute from the time GR fired its opening shot in the war. Given the allure of this strategy to send an enemy's initial blitz into chaos, minimizing both the initial damage they can do as well as their sustained level of deliverable damage through the war, I suspect we will see this strategy show up more and more often in the wars of the future.
    Preemption
    Preemption takes the notion of a quick response time to the level of absurdity, declaring war on an alliance suspected of being involved in the war potentially a full day before the targeted alliance would even start issuing any declarations. We started to see this used and advocated during the War of the Coalition. The idea of removing a possible threat before they can even consider firing off a shot is appealing to some groups, but others (including myself) believe that this strategy is not only unnecessary, but in the long run also a dark road of unforeseen consequences that the community would be best to avoid walking down.
    Nuclear Warfare
    The use of nukes quickly and in large amounts in warfare has gained strength in recent conflicts. With most of the taboo over raining nukes down in a war dissipating, I suspect that at least a majority of larger wars will take more and more "let 'em rip" stances regarding widespread nuclear use. Combined with the steady increase in nations wielding large amounts of technology and WRC wonders, I foresee the wars of the future racking up casaulties at extremely fast rates, and would make the assertion that any war of moderate size will likely send the GRL for a little ride.
    The War of Words
    While propaganda has always been present in wars, more alliances in recent conflict have taken to the forums as well as ingame to wage their wars, intending not so much to damage their opponents directly, so much as damaging them politically. The War of the Coalition was fought quite heavily using propaganda, and to assume that such a trend will dissipate in future conflicts is an assumption that very few rational people at this point would be likely to make.
    In Conclusion
    The war of the future on Planet Bob is not only one that is going to rely even moreso than ever before on the rapid ability to deal significant amounts of damage ingame, but more and more it will likely be waged increasingly on the forums as the war over the minds of the uninvolved and the rank-and-file becomes an area of increasing focus. The casualties of war will cease to be confined to the players behind the keyboards and the pixel soldiers in the game, but also the sanity of the moderation team, which inevitably will become a bystander casualty in the forum portion of the wars.
  9. Lord Boris
    In the last several months, there has been marked increase in the number of smaller alliances bursting onto the scene. Some people feel that this is a bad thing, while others believe it makes no difference or is beneficial to the game.
    Reasons why I believe so many small alliances have been popping up:
    1. Desire for leadership - Many people feel that they have what it takes to try their hand at leadership. Given this, it is only natural that small groups of these people will group together and form an alliance to give them that opportunity.
    2. Desire for change - Some folks have difficulty sitting still in one place for too long. These alliance hoppers generally don't feel quite at home in established alliances, so they instead try to create an alliance that they can bond to and direct to suit their desire for a change of pace.
    3. Creation from destruction - Some smaller alliances form by groups of people fleeing the destruction of a larger alliance. The most prevailing example of this was seen in the aftermath of the Unjust War, where we saw the disbandment or annihilation of alliances such as \m/, GOONS, and Gen[m]ay. Those displaced members were left with the options of leaving the game or going somewhere else. Some took the first option, but many went other places. Some of these new places were alliances created by small groups of displaced members.
    4. The Challenge - Some folks believe that small alliances don't have much of a challenge, however I believe those folks are horribly wrong. Large alliances have challenges, but small alliances also have tremendous difficulties. Small alliances have a disadvantage in manpower for tasks such as recruitment, aid programs, foreign diplomats, and other areas. Additionally, small alliances typically require the per capita usefulness of its members to be much higher than in a large alliance in order to see success. Because of these issues, thrill seekers and people searching for a challenge may form an alliance.
    The effect of small alliances on the concentration of power:
    There are two schools of thought about how the surge in small alliances effects the concentration of political power in the game. Some believe that the increase in the number of alliances causes a decline in the concentration of political power by certain groups. Others believe that by removing some people out of mainstream politics, you're basically amplifying the per capita power of those in established groups, turning those large alliances that have lost some members to smaller groups into somewhat smaller alliances wielding a relatively unchanged amount of power.
    I am of the opinion that this argument can go either way on a case by case basis. If the small alliance in question remains active in mainstream politics, than it can go with the former. If it falls out of mainstream politics, it is more likely to create the latter effect.
    On the future of small alliances:
    Given the above factors, I suspect that we shall continue to see a fair number of newer, smaller alliances popping up in the foreseeable future. Some of these will succeed, while others will fail for one reason or another. What is true about all these alliances is that they often are a hiding place for a significant amount of determined talent due to the challenges that shape those alliances. Additionally, regardless their outcome, if worse comes to worse, they all instinctively know that Ragnarok will probably eat them to grow their own numbers
  10. Lord Boris
    The GPW quite possibly has been subject to more revisionism than anything else in CyberNations history. The interesting thing about the majority of the revisionism is, I believe, how wrong most of it tends to be.
    The staunch NPO crowd makes the claim that they won the war. Those who opposed them believe that the Orders lost and that their group was the true winner. I believe a third case is true.
    Both sides lost the war.
    To truly "win" a war, one side must eliminate the other side as a threat, or otherwise mitigate the threat to deter future issues. Neither side accomplished that fundamental goal of warfare. NPO and its allies were too outgunned to win militarily and thus failed to wipe out the CoaLEUtion (as many of its main players maintained close ties and later formed groups such as The League to oppose NPO and its allies). CoaLUEtion won on the military side, but they failed to eliminate the Orders as a threat to their security. Post-war, NPO rebuilt both internally and in the realm of foreign affairs. They were so successful at it, that they were able to defeat each successive incarnation of the coaLEUtion in later conflicts. As far as the Great Patriotic War, however, I believe it is wishful thinking to believe any side truly won the fight.
    Now, I encourage comments, but I also encourage people to remain respectful in their commenting. This piece is not intended to be inflamatory towards any group, but simply to offer an opinion different from the standard realm of thinking on the matter of the GPW.
  11. Lord Boris
    Well, I think I'll start this blog to give props to those who also flew the McCain signature that I started to use in the weeks leading up to the election. I started to use the sig on here and on a few other forums. I received many PMs and IRC queries from people both loving and hating the image.
    What impressed me most about the response though, was that the response was so overwhelming with others also flying the image (keeping the source link the same) that it tipped me over the bandwidth limit on my fileden account for the month and caused my account to be suspended for 24 hours a few days before the election.
    Kudos to you folks for showing that not everyone on the internet is leftist. :jihad:
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