Lacuna Populi

[Chunky Monkey]

Its been a decent amount of time since the last edition of Lacuna Populi, and we have acquired some great articles during our hiatus. Thus I present to you, this, the third edition of Lacuna Populi.

Our first article somes from the venerable President Scroougee, and he accompianed his article with a few poems

The Struggle for freedom

By: President Scroougee

Both Vox Populi and the New Pacific Order have collided into the definition of Freedom and how they are achieving it. In this article, freedom will be looked from both perspectives and it will be concluded that Freedom is infact unachievable in the Vox Resistance Movement nor is it a justifiable casus belli in any future wars.

From a francoist/pacifican point of view, Freedom is an appliable theory used to control the people to ensure law and order as stated by James Dahl of Ogaden a member of NPO "It is my belief that the "free" alliances will always grow very quickly, but are inevitably doomed to fall before the "ordered" alliances. " and he later goes on to say "Those favoring freedom and liberty tend to be able to recruit new members more successfully, and have fewer problems with discipline." Why do they have fewer discipline problems? because of the strict teachings and order within the New Pacific Order.

As for Vox Populi, Freedom comes in a variety of ways. Since its humble beginnings with an Anarchist style of government and no clear leader to its current style of Anachro-democrat values, the de facto seems to show disorganization to the outside alliances. But what is to say that members within Vox are not free? Outside misconceptions and propaganda steaming from both sides of the field fuel the misconception of freedom. Unlike the NPO, Vox Populi isn't obssessed with creating the perfect nation for each of its members rather, it is more concerned with freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

Either way it is underterminable whether or not freedom comes in the form of complete unity and strict obideince or if freedom comes in the form of smaller government and minimal laws. Therefore, Freedom, in the game of Cybernations can not be used as a means for a Casus bellis because conflicting ideals and perversion of the word can be spouted from each barrel of opposing sides.

Total Control and YOU!

The guns sounded at the stroke of midnight.

Oh how the Franco's star helped provide light!

Our troops ran in around 12 o'2.

Poor Franco forgot his shoe.

We returned victorious around 12:30

The trumpets sounded as we pulled into Francograd around 6 am

I recieved the ribbon for the war and wore it proudly

I remember the soldiers I fought side by side with

Those were the one's who spoke loudly

Yes for they did not die of an enemy bullet

Rather a pacifican one.

You see,

speaking out against Moo is illegal and winds you up in jail

No you won't get a bail from the outside

your stuck waiting for the end

There won't be Franco's light for you around the bend

just a nation that will never past 0 I

why?

for you will meet doom

and wind up in a tomb

if you speak against Moo

Proudly Pacifican

Pacifican I am,

yes thats who I am.

Brave, Courageous and a leader of some sorts.

Thats what they tell me at the Academy.

I understand that Moo is trying the best for all of us

he really is.

So that is why I gave up my freedom,

of speech that is.

Evil, bad and unpatriotic is what he says of Vox

when we are done with them they will wind up in a Box

So that is why I gave up my nation,

so it can be a bank that is.

Bipolar, stupid and interesting is what he says of Polar

when we are done with them we will pop our collar

Idiotic, Unecessary and brainwashed.

Pacifican I am,

yes thats who I am.

Our next piece comes from one of our regular contributors, Nintenderek

The Resistance

By Nintenderek

In today’s modern world known as Planet Bob, many modern resistance groups exist. Many times, they are confused for each other, or people think they are the same thing and then try to impose the opinions of one resistance group with another. This is not true, as although most are allies, not all believe in the same final plan or have the same ideas on how to get there.

To start, there is FAN. FAN is an alliance of old times, which was at one point a “normal” alliance, attacked when they had their back turned, betrayed by the New Pacific Order. They are fans (no pun intended) of guns and weaponry, their roots being a (OOC) gun website (/OOC) of which they are quite proud. They never planned on being a resistance group, having at one time been allied to the New Pacific Order itself. Their main enemy is the NPO. They differ from other groups, as they are only a resistance group more by force than by choice and actually have many more members then most the other groups. They also differ as they prefer warfare over the war of words. They also have fewer morals than most other resistance groups and are generally more open to secret treaties. They are a signatory of the Pocahontas Accords.

OcUK is also a resistance group of this time. Not much is heard from them except on IRC, where they hang out in the channels of their allies quite often. They use to be a blue team alliance and part of the BLEU economic bloc and one of Polar’s biggest allies in the bloc. Rumor has it that they were offered terms and refused them because they will only take a white peace. They are also different as they aren’t actually at war against the New Pacific Order, or any of its better known allies. The main opponent of OcUK is RoK. They too are a signatory of the Pocahontas accords.

Jarheads are a newer resistance group, so new that some may argue if they are actually a resistance group, as they are still early in their war and wouldn’t be a resistance group if they plan on accepting peace. The main different between Jarheads and the other groups are that they don’t post on the CN forums, and have more numbers than the others. Another huge difference is that they have no actual CN beliefs besides the downfall of the New Pacific Order, as they are made up of nations who are new to the game and low in NS. They have enough nations for warfare that NPO indeed had to call in many allies to fight Jarheads. They currently have no treaties, although communication between them and most of the other resistance alliances have been friendly.

Blackstone Collusion is another resistance group which could be labeled the most unique of the resistance alliances. It is made up completely of people whose CN identities are anonymous and are people of other alliances. Members of alliances such as Valhalla, GGA, NPO, TPF, and others have joined the Blackstone Collusion completely anonymously. This sometimes leads to good spy information; however, Blackstone will sometimes ruin this information by spreading fake information, leading many to think of them as a joke or a failure. The things about Blackstone that this author finds interesting are their ideals. They wish to use many of the hegemony’s main weapons, such as PZI and tough terms, against NPO, them being their main enemy. No war has officially been declared by or against the Blackstone Collusion. They are currently a signatory of the Fashionably Late compact. Many leaders do not view them as an alliance, especially including their announcement of non-existance. This author however is not one of those people.

Vox Populi is the most obvious resistance group of this time. Claiming ideals like an end to PZI and tough surrender terms, this alliance is not against just the NPO, but the global hegemony in general, making them quite different than many of the other resistance groups. They are made of up people with much experience on Planet Bob. Wishing for Global Anarchy, they do not wish for the complete destruction of any alliance, but for no one alliance or bloc to be a whole lot more powerful than any other. This is also the home of the author of this paper. They have a group NAP called the Fashionably Late Compact and are signatories of the Pocahontas Accords.

Let us not forget the countless other mini resistance groups. Many 5-20 man alliances exist for the soul purpose of destroying NPO, Valhalla, TPF, GGA, and some of the other major players for one reason or another, usually revenge. They groups usually think they have the potential to do so, but really don’t. Many times they are made up of people new to CN. They are usually useless, and if you are the leader of such an alliance, the best suggestion this author can give to you is to merge into one of the five alliances mentioned above.

In the end, all the alliances, while working for the same similar cause, have different ideas and ways to get there, at times even disagreeing with each other for such. But their common goal is the same, and because of such things as the Tattler and TWiP, and even just the plain stupidity of their common enemies part of the time, their goal is looking more and more possible each and every day.

Our last article comes from former senator, and well known member, Chief Savage Man

In this game, there are undoubtedly dozens of very famous players. Players in positions of power, controversial players, and players who post a lot or have some kind of publication that repeatedly puts their names out.

I have been in four alliances: first NpO, then \m/, then GOONs, then \m/ again, then Vox Populi. In all four of these alliances, I have had superiors and peers who were/are famous within this CN community. In NpO, there was electron sponge and others, in \m/, there was NinjaR, Jason8, and others, in GOONS, banned member, banned member, Daemon Vower, babyjesus, and in Vox Populi, there is Doitzel, Starfox, and others.

There is nothing inherently wrong with being well-known, but sometimes it can be manipulated. The end result of some of these manipulations can be seen in many alliances today. I am talking about personality cults, specifically.

Personality cult is usually associated with historical figures like Hitler or Stalin, and I do not mean to imply that anyone I am about to mention is a Nazi/Stalinst/megalomaniac/etc. One of the bigger personality cults and easily the oldest is that of the NPO Emperor. Both Moo and his predecessors have been glorified by the NPO to be something they are not. This is a deliberate design. What good is an autocratic emperor if people are just going to question them all the time? When you build up this semi-deification around the Emperor, you are reducing the significance of the people's complaints. When this personality cult is in place, some members will become fanatic defenders of their Emperor's reputation and immediately attack any who criticize him directly. By doing this, the Emperor is able to silence his critics without deigning to tell them off himself. This creates the belief that when the Emperor has to speak on something himself, it must be very important. Most of the time, the Emperor's proponents will incorrectly consider his word to be truth, even if it a bold-faced lie. This weapon can be used to silence any critic, either domestic or foriegn.

The real detriment of this trend is that it creates a barrier between the people and their leaders. When any criticisms of the Emperor are dismissed because of this, the average member is not allowed to see the truth, which can be discouraging. Furthermore, the average member is being delegated to their class by the Emperor when he doesn't tell them the whole truth. Over time, the lack of willingness to criticize the Emperor creates the aforementioned barrier. The members feel that they cannot question their government, which deepens the divide. This is evident as the NPO government stays largely unchanged, even though there are dozens of more qualified members below them.

The personality cult is where this all begins. The unwritten rules banning the members from criticizing their government creates this barrier. No alliance is immune from this. Even democracies could succumb to this. When the same player gets elected over and over again, this could happen. It is a depressing and sad sign of the times when alliance members get more information from their enemies in Vox Populi then their leaders. But do not fear, it is an untenable system.

The cracks begin when two personality cults collide. Electron sponge, as a former Emperor of NpO, was revered by NpO members during his tenure and is still revered by a great deal of them today. However, when sponge became the opponent of Moo-Cows, the government of NPO denounced him in private. When a hero of the people is suddenly denounced in a Stalinesque maneuver, the trust of the people is violated. Propaganda is needed to sway public opinion away from their former hero. Let me give you a specific example. Recently, a high-level official was seen posting a comment that compared Electron Sponge to Ivan Moldavi in a negative manner, both portrayed as senile, meaningless relics of the past, whose opinions mean nothing. This is of course insulting to Ivan and Sponge, and should be insulting to every member of NPO and NpO. When two men who have done so much for your alliance are being disparaged by your paranoid leaders, then your leaders are lying to you and are disrespecting your intelligence. By glorifying a man in public, and then disparaging him in private, they are clearly signaling that they do not think the average member deserves to know the truth. They are wrong. Strip the glorification from their image. Boil down the heroes to who they really are. More importantly, strip the false accolades from your own leaders. Make your judgments and then do the right thing.

If you've read this far, Im proud of you. Either you care for what we have to say, or you intend to rebut some of our points. We encouage as many viewpoints as possible about our articles, and we always welcome you to start your own discussion about our articles. As always we accept articles from any source, following the guidlines listed below.

• All papers must be submitted via PM/email at the latest one day before the publication is posted.
  
• All papers must include the formatting to make them look like you want them to. Please put it in "code" blocks so I can just copy and paste.
  
• I reserve the right to save your paper for a future publication and/or deny it completely.
  
• You can write about anything that relates to CN, from opinion to historical analysis, all types of writing are welcome.
  
• Because of the advantage of having an internet publication, all forms of media are welcome.
  
• If you want to remain anonymous in your authorship, you can let me know when you submit your article.
  
• Articles may also be submitted via email to voxhotline@gmail.com .
  

[Mogar]

good read chunky monkey.

[KingpTheGreat]

Did......... you conquer Francograd in Imaginationland or what?

Good laugh though

[Nintenderek]

Did......... you conquer Francograd

[Ursarkar E Creed]

Did......... you conquer Francograd in Imaginationland or what?

Good laugh though

I second this.

Also, I'm sick of propaganda videos.

Please get rid of them and do something constructive.

Edited April 1, 2009 by Ursarkar E Creed

[Trouble Terrible]

Also, I'm sick of propaganda videos.

Please get rid of them and do something constructive.

Alliance Name:

New Pacific Order

[Segovia]

I have to admit, whether I agree with Vox or not, you guys have very well written announcements which make for a fun read.

[Infinite Narwhal]

do something constructive.

You're playing an online text-based game and you're complaining that people aren't doing something productive.

[Ursarkar E Creed]

Yeah sure, they can write a good video every now and then, but it's just becoming boring.

You're playing an online text-based game and you're complaining that people aren't doing something productive.

So are you, but do you not try to make your existence in the cyberverse productive?

Edited April 1, 2009 by Ursarkar E Creed

[Chunky Monkey]

Yeah sure, they can write a good video every now and then, but it's just becoming boring.

So are you, but do you not try to make your existence in the cyberverse productive?

"productive" as pacfica defines it is not what the majority of people are interested in doing in CN.

[Ursarkar E Creed]

"productive" as pacfica defines it is not what the majority of people are interested in doing in CN.

Heh, see, this is why I find you guys hilarious. I've been in Pacifica for all of a week and you act like I've been here for years.

Stop judging all Pacifican via the action of others, try an individual basis.

[Chunky Monkey]

Heh, see, this is why I find you guys hilarious. I've been in Pacifica for all of a week and you act like I've been here for years.

Stop judging all Pacifican via the action of others, try an individual basis.

Joining Pacifica tells me you are not interested in freedom of thought or action, thus lumping you in with every other pacifican.

[Schattenmann]

Joining Pacifica tells me you are not interested in freedom of thought or action, thus lumping you in with every other pacifican.

Also, all Pacificans look the same.

Seriously. As they're fond of saying in Francograd "you vote with your feet" You joined NPO, you've had as much time as anyone really needs to get the lay of the land, you're a Pacifican or you're a spy, or you're inactive on their forum.

[Ursarkar E Creed]

Joining Pacifica tells me you are not interested in freedom of thought or action, thus lumping you in with every other pacifican.

I have plenty of freedoms on the forum and on IRC. I see no problem with our internal freedoms right now. We're free to do and say whatever we feel within reason. Within reason being an asinine statement or flat out flaming someone. If these spies think we have a lack of freedom. They're certainly doin' it wrong.

Also, all Pacificans look the same.

Seriously. As they're fond of saying in Francograd "you vote with your feet" You joined NPO, you've had as much time as anyone really needs to get the lay of the land, you're a Pacifican or you're a spy, or you're inactive on their forum.

I joined Pacifica because it's a good community of people. I've been around a very long time and I've seen things shape and change. I care not what you think about Pacifica because you haven't gotten to know the community. You simply run with the rest of the people who hate us and believe we're evil and we eat babies (they go good with sweet and sour sauce) and all that other crap.

[Chunky Monkey]

I have plenty of freedoms on the forum and on IRC. I see no problem with our internal freedoms right now. We're free to do and say whatever we feel within reason. Within reason being an asinine statement or flat out flaming someone. If these spies think we have a lack of freedom. They're certainly doin' it wrong.

I joined Pacifica because it's a good community of people. I've been around a very long time and I've seen things shape and change. I care not what you think about Pacifica because you haven't gotten to know the community. You simply run with the rest of the people who hate us and believe we're evil and we eat babies (they go good with sweet and sour sauce) and all that other crap.

You THINK you have plenty of freedoms. Be critical of Moo and see what happens.

And we dont "run with the rest of the people who hate you" we started the race, and we intend to finish it.

[Ursarkar E Creed]

You THINK you have plenty of freedoms. Be critical of Moo and see what happens.

And we dont "run with the rest of the people who hate you" we started the race, and we intend to finish it.

The thing is, you go on about the "what if's".

What if he stood up to a government member?

What if he flamed the Emperor?

You have to find logical reasons to do these things which I have no found. If I do find such a thing, I will bring it to the attention of the IOs/Council and make my opinion/thoughts clear. I'm sure if I'm no way derogatory they will explain actions or reasons for it without the need for a punishment. Think about it logically for a second.

Oh sure, you're not running them directly but you're obviously collaborating with them.

[Chunky Monkey]

The thing is, you go on about the "what if's".

What if he stood up to a government member?

What if he flamed the Emperor?

You have to find logical reasons to do these things which I have no found. If I do find such a thing, I will bring it to the attention of the IOs/Council and make my opinion/thoughts clear. I'm sure if I'm no way derogatory they will explain actions or reasons for it without the need for a punishment. Think about it logically for a second.

Oh sure, you're not running them directly but you're obviously collaborating with them.

The reason you do not find any of the actions of the pacifican govt to be objectionable is because you are brainwashed to believe that everything they say and do is the absolute truth. Either that or you dont have the ablility to have your own opinions, and only follow those who are the strongest. Your reply to my second statemnet illustrates your lack of independant thought, as I clearly meant that Vox runs the show, and others only assist from behind the curtain.

[Ursarkar E Creed]

The reason you do not find any of the actions of the pacifican govt to be objectionable is because you are brainwashed to believe that everything they say and do is the absolute truth. Either that or you dont have the ablility to have your own opinions, and only follow those who are the strongest. Your reply to my second statemnet illustrates your lack of independant thought, as I clearly meant that Vox runs the show, and others only assist from behind the curtain.

Of course I have my own opinions, everything is say is my own opinion. Also, they must be damn good a brain washing then because I was friendly towards Pacifica even while we were getting curbstomped and I got hit pretty damn hard in the curbstomp.

[Schattenmann]

Wait, there are essays?

[Nintenderek]

Wait, there are essays?

I've never heard of such a thing.

[Earogema]

Of course I have my own opinions, everything is say is my own opinion. Also, they must be damn good a brain washing then because I was friendly towards Pacifica even while we were getting curbstomped and I got hit pretty damn hard in the curbstomp.

So then, what will you do during the next radio silence?

[Nintenderek]

So then, what will you do during the next radio silence?

Yelling his opinions at his leadership

[JayOvfEnnay]

This was honestly an amazing read. Hopefully these come sooner next time though.

[Chunky Monkey]

This was honestly an amazing read. Hopefully these come sooner next time though.

Id LOVE to do it as often as possible, but Vox cannot make all the papers and expect me to publish biweekly, its just not feasable. Course if others would submit some papers Id be happy to post more often

[Lemon]

A great read, truly words for thought, really... =D

Edited April 4, 2009 by Lemon