[Green Team - 3 bonus set: Beer, FF, Construction]

Our fish/wheat trade has given advance notice that he is leaving so we need a replacement. Link to my nation: http://www.cybernations.net/nation_drill_d...ation_ID=142641

The resource combos are:

Iron/Lumber

Aluminum/Pigs

Spice/Sugar

Cattle/Uranium

Marble/Water

Fish/Wheat

Bonus resources: Beer, Fast Food, and Construction.

All trade partners are green team and you must switch to green team to be a part of this ring. The current members in this ring are an average of 420+ days old, with my nation being one of the younger nations. I'd like to fill this last slot with an experienced nation to maintain trade stability, but will accept a younger nation who is committed long term.

Please PM me in-game if interested.

[Announcement(s) from the Armed Coalition of Valor]

I like the military set-up a lot as well. Need more senior NCO leadership positions, though. We all know that the enlisted side does all the work and keeps the military machine running.

Should any member of the Armed Coalition of Valor commit an act breaching the UCMJ

I didn't see anything that a regular member could actually violate in your charter (war, aid, nukes, etc.) and was wondering if there is more forthcoming? Again, I really dig the set-up and think you guys are going to do great things.

[Freaksafari Declaration of Support]

Even though I am on the other side of this conflict, I completely respect those who stand up for their friends. Best of luck in your future peace terms and rebuilding your destroyed alliance.

[Orange Defense Network Announcement]

Excellant DoS. You guys have the best announcements.

[Old FOKkers Love]

Congrats! Great treaty between great allies.

[NATO Council Election Results]

Congrats NATO.

[NATO-TTK Way to resolve issues]

Cool to have the original declassified thread available for public viewing. I read through most of it, and it was interesting to see the relationship turn from one of hostility to mutual respect. The self-reflective honesty of NATO is to be commended, as is the originality and candor of both alliances for agreeing to release the once-private thread as an illustration of how far you've come. Congratulations on the treaty to both of you.

That is exactly what I was thinking. I enjoyed seeing how it unfolded even though I knew it ended with successful diplomatic resolution. Kudos to both alliances.

[The Grämlins - FOK Announcement]

I agree. Great treaty between great friends.

o/ FOK

o/ Grämlins

[Joint FCC-ODN Announcement]

Congrats to two great alliances.

[Woodstock Massacre Ends]

Congrats to everyone on peace. I look forward to seeing the GPA pay off their reps and once again earning the trust and respect of old friends.

[I pressed the big RED button!!]

I could have sworn 404Error was one of the nations deleted/banned in Modgate. I know Dizzay was, but maybe I'm wrong.

If so, he was one of the ones unbanned. 404Error and error404 (or something very similar to that name) were two different nations, but I remember they were the two nations involved in that aid deal. I am curious if any damage was ever done to IRON or allies from that aid offer or if that nation just died quietly in the night still in peace mode?

[I pressed the big RED button!!]

You are on IRONs ZI list for your actions along with a handful of your comrades for similar actions.

Off topic post, but I was looking at your list and this name stood out:

Deleted; perma ZI

Nation Name: Nation Not Found

Ruler: 404error

http://www.cybernations.net/nation_drill_d...Nation_ID=30072

Reason: Initiating a nuclear war against The Republic - GOONS prime minister.

Authorization: BnT Decree

Isn't that the nation that was aided 3 million by the GPA nation named error404 and one of the CB of this war? It's good to see he deleted and that no damage was caused to IRON nations due to that aid blunder.

[I pressed the big RED button!!]

Also, a rogue is someone who is unaligned and attacks. By leaving the GPA and attacking with nukes, you are thus considered a rogue, a nuclear one. It is a term. I'm not so sure why you're offended.

I always thought of a rogue as someone who has pretty much given up on the game and decided to go on the offensive and leave the game in a blaze of glory. Never have I considered calling someone whose defending their own nation a rogue.

[My Philosophy]

Very nice post, Ejay. I have a lot of respect for anyone who is honest and acts with honor, even when I disagree with them.

I think Vladimir makes an excellent point. Taken together with Ejay's OP, both being honest and noble, etc. for allies and friends is a way to aspire to an ideal and also makes a good strategic plan. I would imagine that honesty, as Vladimir stated, is not something you would want to use to criticize your friend's every move (because I'm sure all of us have had at least one friend and/or girlfriend who never ceases to criticize everyone else. You want to be that friend?). Being honest and forthright on the more important issues of loyalty to allies and upholding treaties and agreements is far more useful than sharing your opinion at every single decision.

You absolutely have to include tact in how you communicate with your friends, but I also think you need to define who is a friend and who is someone with whom you have friendly relations. In Vlads example I wouldn't consider someone a friend who didn't want brutal honesty from me. Again, even if I thought they were way out of control or making a horrible decision, I still love them like a brother and am going to support them regardless. If I find their qualities to be annoying and don't want to hear honesty from them, there is a good chance I do not respect them or maybe I don't consider them a part of my "inner circle" of friends.

[[REQUEST]Clear and Easy to Understand Guide to Improvement Swapping]

dude, you had 41 improvements at 1700- 1800 infra!

I'm at 2,999.99 infra and I only have 30 improvements

You misread my post. I probably didn't have 41 improvements until I was past 3700 infra.

What I said above was 1700 infra is probably a good time to start improvement swapping for those who are thinking about doing it. Again, just tossing a guess out there but I probably had about 17 improvements when I was at 1700 infra.

[[REQUEST]Clear and Easy to Understand Guide to Improvement Swapping]

What if I've already got all my happiness and income boosters and am just waiting on military ones? I've actually reached a point where I have 5 labour camps AND all other happiness+income boosters.

Should I still do improvement swapping?

You are basically just going into the cycle where you pay bills with the labor camps, destroy them to collect taxes, and then rebuy them to pay bills.

Back to the OP, the most simple concept to keep in mind to help guide anyone through the process when they get large enough to improvement swap is these three things:

1) You always want to have Labor Camps when you pay bills

2) You always want to have Factories when you buy infra

3) You always want to have the maximum amount of income boosters possible when you collect taxes.

I'm no longer sure at what infra level a person should start swapping. It used to be around 1400 infra, but with the changes in the price of Labor Camps and Factories I'm guessing it's closer to 1700-1800 infra. When I was between between 41 and 45 improvements, I quit destroying factories and instead swapped Labor Camps and intell agencies just because they were a little cheaper to replace. At 50 improvements you can compare your collections amount with buying a border wall or 2/3 of them after destroying your labor camps, but if you want to keep it simple you can just destroy the LC to collect and rebuy them to pay bills.

[Grand Global Alliance Announcement]

It's a shame that you couldn't wait to speak with someone in the GPA government before making this decision.