Join the new world

So, are you a new(ish) citizen who wants to be more active but doesn't know where to start? This article is for you!

Let's start with a quick overview of eCanada's community:

*The eCanada forums can be found at http://ecanada.cc/forums and they will help you interact with your eCanadian community. They are also the home of congress, cabinet and the CAF (armies to be discussed below). Having a forum account is a very important first step.

*Our IRC channel is #eCan on the Rizon network. See this guide to getting onto the channel. You can go here when you have absolutely nothing intelligent to contribute and just want to hang out.



It doesn't stop there, of course. If buttsecks over IRC and watching stupid people spam incredibly stupid things on the forum isn't your cup of liquidised fluffy blankets, then there are two very important areas of the game that promote community you may be interested in: politics and the military.


Let us start with politics. Your first step is to join a party. A list of Canada's parties can be found here. If you click on the little bubble at the top of each party's page, you get to the party's forum. Your eRep v2 experience is not complete unless you have at least 40 forums bookmarked. Seriously, though, ePolitics are fun unless you like mature discussion, cooperation, problem-solving and dislike bickering for no reason. So, let me rephrase that: if you're a normal person, politics aren't for you. If you're like me, joining a political party is the best you can do.


I will summarise the main parties with some pictures. In case somebody is going to take this seriously, don't. I mean, I will hunt you down and put a bullet through your nipples.


Canadian Paradox Party


How they perceive themselves:




What they actually are:





SRS BSNS: CPP is an old party that has gone through many rebirths. They currently identify as a party of the left and have a very large membership.



Egalitarian Party of Independent Canadians

How they perceive themselves:




What they actually are:




SRS BSNS: If you want a casual and open party where you won't be forced into voting along party lines, EPIC is for you. If you want a party with a more detailed policy and goals, stay away.


Ministry of Opportunity


How they perceive themselves:




What they actually are:





SRS BSNS: An economy-based party with very specific goals in mind. Good for people focused on the economic module of the game, but might seem a little limited in other areas.



Military Dictatorship Party


How they perceive themselves:




What they actually are:




SRS BSNS: The MDP is a tough one to place. They get stuff done, if you don't mind a heavy-handed dictatorial style. There isn't much in terms of a coherent policy, but they are a party (not quite singularly) focused on war.



Democratic Action League


How they perceive themselves:




What they actually are:





SRS BSNS: Probably the most political political party on this list. It was founded as a force of community, cooperation and democracy but has, in many ways, become more bureaucratic and controlling.


Union Nationale


How they perceive themselves:




What they actually are:




SRS BSNS: Yeah, ok, I have no idea what I was going for with those pictures. The Union Nationale is a Francophone party. If you are a Francophone, you can join. If you're not, you can still join but chances are it isn't the party for you.



And, of course, you should look beyond the top 5 parties and onto the many small parties that would like to have a shot.



RANDOM DIVIDING PICTURE





RANDOM DIVIDING PICTURE



Now, onto the military. Much to my chagrin, this is all people seem to care about these days. But it can't be denied that the military module is a great source of community and camaraderie. We have two main armies. The Crimson Canucks and the Canadian Armed Forces. I will attempt to summarise each in turn with my own personal biases unapologetically in place:


The Crimson Canucks


How they perceive themselves:




What they actually are:





The Crimson Order likes to use a lot of hot women and men in their recruitment articles. They also like to rape churches and burn women. If this is your thing, join TCO. If you consume less than a case of beer on average per day, you might not fit in.


FORUMS: http://bruckscanucks.forumotion.ca/


The Canadian Armed Forces


How they perceive themselves:




What they actually are:


Imagine this:




mated with this:





and there is your CAF.


FORUMS: http://ecanada.cc/forums/viewtopic.php?f=398&t=9919&start=100



I seriously have no clue where I'm going with this. Like, if you understand what I'm trying to say, you are a God among men. If you actually read this drivel up until this point, you are even more divine. Here is a reward in the form of a link to a pretty awesome video that makes my ears cry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WfoccRna6I



RANDOM DIVIDING PICTURE





RANDOM DIVIDING PICTURE



This part might just be shameless self-promotion, but I did want to mention the media module a bit. It doesn't seem like an obvious source for community at first, but there is this wonderful thing going on called the Writers' Guild of Canada.
OK, that was pretty shameless.


Good papers to watch:

http://www.erepublik.com/en/newspaper/ecbc-canada-177117/1 (eCBC- for stupid garbage like this article and, eventually, thoughtful journalism once I get ousted)
http://www.erepublik.com/en/newspaper/the-hill-times--52172/1 (for quick battle updates and such)
http://www.erepublik.com/en/newspaper/the-merchantman-182927/1 (the President's personal paper)



TL😉R

*Make a forum account: http://ecanada.cc/forums/
*Come onto the #eCan IRC channel
*Join a party
*Join a military unit
*Write and read neat articles
*Other than the points above, don't ever, ever, ever listen to anything I say



Bottom line: get involved. Be it a party, military unit, company, the WGC, whatever. It will make this game that much more enjoyable. I never would have stayed for as long as I have had I been confined to clicking a few buttons.




-Dominik, Minister of Information




DISCLAIMER: Nothing presented in this article represents the views of the Government of Canada. In fact, nothing in this article represents my views either. I have no idea what I'm talking about. The only reason I'm publishing this is because I felt it would have been a total waste of 2 hours if I didn't. Please disregard everything I've written.