Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Australia. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
The Revelation
Topic Started: Jan 24 2009, 01:52 AM (142 Views)
whamabama
Member Avatar

Special Announcement: Reunification 2009: The Revelation

From the Monarch, Westwind:

Greetings Friends,

According to Equilism law, January 4th was Reunification Day, an official holiday of the region. The day we celebrate the reunification of the region, following the Schism between Imperial Equilism and the Commonwealth of Equilism Government-in-Exile. It had been my intention for some months now to make this posting to you at that time, so forgive me for being late.

It has been two years since the Reunification. Many of those that were here in those days are no longer with us. Those that are still here will remember those exciting days, and I hope that they will freely share their thoughts and remembrances.

Those days have been presented as a time of irreconcilable disagreement over the direction of the region, largely between me and Neo-Conservatism that led to my coup against the Constitutional government of the Commonwealth of Equilism. I had banjected Neo and his primary supporters from the region, and dissolved the Constitution. In its place, I established the Codex and Imperial Equilism. After three months of conflict, we came together and negotiated an end to the Schism, and established The Realm of Equilism. That was the day of our Reunification.

However, as with many things in NationStates: The truth is often a bit different than what is presented publicly.

I want to take the time now, to tell the story of the events that lead up to the Reunification. To tell the true story of how the Schism came about. It is a story known only to a few people, and only a few of those are still active. In the process of telling this story, I will be declassifying some material from that time.

Inactivity in NationStates

Sounds like a familiar subject, I know. But the decline in NationStates extends back to 2005. There was a lessening of interests, some confusion of purpose, and frustrated departures of 'old timers' in 2005, prior to the establishment of Influence. We were one of the pillars of the Defender world in NationStates, and we suffered the losses of excellent experienced players across NS. Yet we continued to thrive in Equilism. Once Influence was established, the frustration of many Defenders became critical and large numbers left the game. Our allied regions went inactive, and the invader/defender game was no longer what it was.

We were headed down the same road as our long time allies - just getting there more slowly. Down a road into inactivity, to fade away and die. We had played the defender game, and the game we knew no longer existed. Many of our friends were long gone. Most posts on our forum were only for posting games. Members logged in less and less often. Posting less and less.

An opportunity, and a committee of thought

The Council of the government was discussing events in The Pacific. The delegate, Pierconium (aka Ivan), was purging the region (read - banjecting nations). He posted on their WFE:

Quote:
 
By order of the Holy Ordo Hereticus this region shall be cleansed.

All non-UN nations are subject to Judgement and Relocation without notice. All UN nations should endorse the Delegate or face similar Punishment.


As it turns out, this banning spree was in preparation for him to step down, so that the current delegate (and former Equilism President) Moo-Cow with Guns could take the delegacy. The banjection of so many nations was also a bit of an experiment in Influence.

These events in The Pacific provided some drama and interest in NationStates. It has been proven time and again, that NS needs the refreshing of player interest in the form of dramatic actions. No matter how much some may call names against those that have instigated such events and generated such interest, it is a truth that NationStates would have faded long ago without them.

As we watched and discussed the events unfolding in The Pacific, Equilism President Neo-Conservatism noted:

Quote:
 
Traditional defenders are clearly on the outside of all the current political machinations in NS. Simply put, the game has moved on into a new conflict and our traditional stances just aren't issues any more.


This simple and true observation launched Equilism into a discussion of our path and place in NationStates, and provided the impetus to save the region from a slow fading death. He continued:

Quote:
 
As artificial as it may be, we might want to consider picking a side in the current NPO/ACCEL conflict and running with it. It would mean abandoning some old positons, but there's not much left to guard. The old order under Nasi and ADN seems to be long gone, and if we don't make things interesting around here, we may be headed down that road as well.


But there were a number of options available to us. Chaucerin added:

Quote:
 
You want activity? Let's mess with everyone's head and side with NPO.


The discussion moved into OOC discussion, as the previously unspoken understanding by many came through - we needed to do something in order to continue being relevant in NationStates, and in order to keep our future viable. We found that we were in a position, and had the ability and the will to create an event in Equilism, that would be dramatic, and have repercussions outside of the region. We were a community of people that play the game of NationStates.

Together, we planned and plotted. And together, we created the Schism.

A decidedly undemocratic direction, diametrically opposed to our established persona of a region was the direction we choose. We knew that there would be consequences to such actions, and we did what we could to mitigate those effects. Neo stated:

Quote:
 
It's safe to say we'd never be the same again. While there's not much activity as it currently stands, we do have a duty to make sure that what we'd be losing isn't more important.


We found that survival was our interest. And our survival required making a dramatic change. We could not hold onto the past, yet we did want to hold a respect for our past. Sovereignty and a recognition of game mechanics gave us continuity. There was some discussion as to whether or not we should establish a Government-in-Exile. Discussion as to whether the split should occur before or after the upcoming elections. Discussion over who would be on what side.

We choose up the sides in the conflict. We choose to be in conflict. We choose the points of conflict. We each played our parts. I struggled to play the part of the 'bad guy'. Neo helped re-write my announcement speech, as it was too much like the 'old Westwind'.

Quote:
 
Lenin didn't leave the Romanovs alive for long, and the guy knew a thing or two about revolution. The problem I think is that this still has the ring of warm and fuzzy West--we need it to be slightly more apparent I think just how dramatic a departure this will be.


The two sides of the Schism, Imperial Equilism and the Government-in-Exile were always in contact, coordination and cooperation the entire time. We also informed key individuals among our remaining old friends outside of the region. We encouraged them to join in the protests and condemnation against my actions, and the actions of the new Imperial Equilism government. Neo and I became opposing polarizing figures in ADN, which also rejuvenated a bit due to our event, as we had hoped. Neo became a rising star, while I became a polarizing condemned villain.

A Time for All Things

We had in mind from the start that the event should last about three months, and we were successful in transitioning in that time frame. There were changes and adjustments that we made along the way. Such as happened when Chauce left Imperial Equilism for the Government-in-Exile.

I anticipated that if we were successful, I would have to leave the region and the game at the end, in order that Equilism would survive for the future. I was fully prepared to do so, and to this day I am surprised that it was not needed (and everytime I try to leave someone ties me to my rocking chair).

The fact that we succeeded in what we attempted to do, is one of the most amazing things I have seen in my time in NationStates. We restored activity and vitality to our region, gave it a fresh outlook for the future internally and externally. We gained a new lease on life, and forged a new system of governance that has served us well for two years. It has been phenomenal.

The peace negotiations that lead to the new constitution for The Realm, also contained role played debates and arguments, as we knew that those discussions would soon be made public. We could not agree or reunify too quickly and still maintain a semblance and appearance of real conflict. On the other hand, we could not allow the conflicts and disagreements we developed be used to bring trials against anyone in the aftermath. So we 'agreed' to no repercussions against anyone on any side.

All the World's A Stage

And we are merely players. Performers and portrayers. We stepped out of the box of our past, stood together as a community of NS game players, and took the opportunities that were presented to us, and played it as best we knew how. We had seen coups in other regions develop, launch, and fail. We avoided their failure by playing both the antagonist and protagonist ourselves.

Those that participated and performed their parts in those events - it was an honor. You played your roles brilliantly and flawlessly. Thank you for all you did. Thank you for making the past two years possible. Not to mention all those years before that.

Those that survived those events, living through those traumatic days of conflict and interest - I hope you understand why we carried them out, and will forgive us for keeping you in the dark. You also contributed greatly to the past two years - without you, we would not have the great community that has survived to this day. Thank you for all you do each day.

The original discussion from the Private Council that lead to the development and launch of the Schism is hereby declassified, and can be read here:
Declassified: The Pacific...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Equilism · Next Topic »
Add Reply