Join the new world

Firstly, you will note its been quite a long time since my last article, or for those of you who I have had the pleasure of getting to know in my almost 4 year stint on this game (so far), a long time since I have actually been around, said hi, or really done anything other than click work and train. This is not a case of losing interest, dying, or being busy (although the latter made this 'experiment' / decision much easier). But rather, its a case of putting my money where my mouth is, and hopefully setting an example for others who found themselves in a similar situation that I did. Secondly you will note the lack of pictures. Why you may ask? Because I am operating under a strict 'no longer than 10 minutes' eRep policy. Not out of boredom or disinterest (on their own), but because I'm busy, and most importantly, because I am not going to allow myself to be sucked back into spending hours on this game, when newer players could, would, and should, be doing that instead. Anywho, back to what this article is for: why I stopped helping the UK some time ago.

Namely, that situation began to unfold with the inception of UKPP, and was further solidified when New Era reached the top 5. These parties were founded and funded to move the spotlight on from older players like me. Some say this was by removing power from older players, some say this was by removing chances to influences on government, others simply say that simply because players like me have played this game for a long time shows that we are no use anymore.

In my opinion, neither of these options are really pallatable. If the argument that older players are prejudicial against newer players is really one that can be explored, it is not a problem that is solved by being equally prejudicial against players who are not old - just as in real life people bemoan the 'middle man' being forgotten in favour of those at the bottom (under Labour) or those at the top (under those gorram tories). In eRep, I fear, the same situation has unfolded. But that is another point for another argument. My point in this argument is quite simple, and I fear one which many will have realised, but few will have really gone into or debated at any great length.

My point is quite simple: the 'split' in the UK is no longer 'old' versus 'new' players, but rather, between groups of players who contain both the engaged, the disaffected and the quiet and non-commital '2 clickers'. Age is no longer really a factor. The parties that were accused of being tools of the old players are by and large now wholly reliant on a newer generation. The parties that accused others of this, are still lead by the same members who began their crusade many, many moons ago. Of course, these players are no younger than the very players they sought to remove from influence, but I suppose delving into this will just re-ignite old wounds.

Anywho, in light of this, I decided that some time ago, I would cut off all ties and 'influences' I had within the game. I stopped using IRC. I stopped using the forums, replying to messages, instigating contacts to see how our current government(s) where doing in other nations eyes, and even shut down an email account I used to share ideas, images and the such with players from all over the globe. That was some time ago, and since that time, I've simply worked, trained, and occasionally fought. As an old player who has served in UK Government for over 2 years, been involved intimately in alliances for over a year, and party politics in the UK for nearly 4 years, I can safely say that the UK is no better, nor worse, without me doing anything. There are new players doing what I did, with more hunger, more energy, and less baggage from old arguments and wounds.

Thus, the 'new' in my article title becomes clear: new things can, will, do, and have formed in the absence of an old, disillusioned, regularly burnt out and almost impossibly still bothering to click buttons, player. So the first strand of my article is simply this - I have done my part to help a new generation of players not only get involved, but be the ultimate line of responsibility within government. This does not mean that I should be the only one to do so. There are (taking a few seconds to count roughly) at least 10 other players who could remove themselves from positions of power and influence and allow a knowledgeable and talented new player to take their place. However, I would now like to talk about what other players, and I would hope these players just by reading this article know who they are, could, and in my opinion, should, do to not only help more players of a new generation get involved, but do so in an atmosphere that is conducive towards old mistakes and wounds becoming a part of history.



The political atmosphere that a new player grows up on has an absolute effect on the rest of his or her time on eRepublik. When I was 'growing up' there was some heavy trolling and attacks from EDEN nations, because when I joined we had just 'backstabbed' them and joined PEACE-GC. Thus, despite not being a direct target of this, for 4 years I have held EDEN in the lowest regard, and even when as head of Terra I oversaw the first real channels of co-operation and communication between the two alliances, it was done out of necessity, and in the full knowledge that afterwards, I would have no interest at all in any nation that was involved in Terra.

As well as that, we had wars with Norway, Canada and Ireland in my first few months in eRepublik. Thus, these are nations that I, despite knowing some cool people in each, will never truly trust or want to trust - eRep is much more interesting with a bogeyman or bad guy to fight, and those nations embodied a reason for me to keep playing before I got roped into responsibilities and influence.

So, for a new player in the UK to 'grow up' in an atmosphere where certain people are constantly attacked, or attacking, leads to one thing: a continuation of the attacks, and attacking. Every month that I was President, there was either a war with, or plans for a war with, either Norway, Canada or Ireland. As Vice President I helped oversee an invasion of Norway and Ireland in one month, Ireland another, and Canada another. As MoFA I tried to force through another war with Canada, and as MoD I also spent a huge amount of time convincing our allies to support a war to weaken Canadas ties with their allies (by focusing on wars where their interests conflicted with their other allies interests, leading to a questioning of loyalty, etc etc). Suffice to say, at the time I did not realise it, but looking back, I was biased and absolutely set on ensuring that the conditions I 'grew up' in where fixed, despite the fact the original arguments had long since died down.

Thus, the second point of this article is to ask any older players to either step aside completely as I have, and let a new generation forge a new path free from others mistakes, or at the very least, stop hogging the congress medals, ministerial positions, power in political parties and president medals. There are guilty parties to this in every party, but I will not name names - it is plainly obvious by checking medal counts, and comparing PP terms with Congress list priorities.

Secondly, it is time for the business of 'TUP are evil', 'UKRP are TUP puppets', 'New Era buy players and are horrible', etc to stop. If you must attack things, attack the people that are clearly to blame - do not smear other players because of personal vendettas. Nor should you continue to do what is clearly insane: attack entities which are in constant flux. Parties change daily with players coming and leaving. It is impossible for a party to ever really be 'the same' because the dynamics change with every member that comes, goes, or gets involved. Again, I do not need to name names in this, a look through newspaper histories shows quite well who does what, as well as articles regularly being plastered all over the homepage.

And for anyone worried, fear not - I will not be returning to influence in the near to mid term, nor will I reply to your messages, log into IRC, my email accounts associated with eRep or the UK forums. I am determined to stay out of the loop, and let newer players pick up more roles, responsibilities and hopefully ensure that a 'jamesw' can never happen again. Because quite frankly, for someone to be in Government for over two years and still be able to walk into a Ministerial position points to a system (not helped in any way shape or form by what this game is and how it is run) which is, whether intentionally or not, not getting enough new faces in and around power.