I Don't Get Mad, Part 2

Day 1,755, 08:56 • Published in USA USA • by PigInZen

I remove the source of irritation.



Didn't I write this article recently? Seems that eRep has degenerated over the past year and in the wake of so many departures we've been left with a dearth of players who just cannot seem to stop jacking with each other for petty and stupid reasons. A little background for those that haven't followed my fun-filled and illustrious eRep career:

I was President of the US for one term. It sucked, hard. My optimism and strong sense of ethical play ran right into the realpolitick of EDEN and the realpower of the JCS. We were a full-fledged member of EDEN at the start of my term, albeit with some tension. The JCS was still in charge of military strategy and were separate from the diplomatic wing of the presidency. I am completely willing to state at this point, over two years later, that the JCS really ran foreign policy. Whoever was sitting in the Presidency was simply a "button-pusher," someone to click web links to start battles. I had a difficult time coming to this realization; my altruistic personality led me to believe that we'd be one big happy family. News flash: the JCS and EDEN really did not like one another. The reasons behind this are long and buried in much insider history. But the fact was that the table was set for what transpired during my term long before I was elected. I was merely an observer to history.

My term was fraught with tension between the JCS and me. We didn't get along - AT ALL. GoalieBCSC was there, he heard my complaints and gratefully listened and offered helpful advice. I dreaded the (necessary) interactions with them and really grated under the sudden knowledge that the Presidency was simply an errand boy for a closed group of players that decided everything - alliances, MPPs, funding, you name it. They had the security in knowing that they would outlast whatever player would land in the President's chair and in that their beliefs and positions would eventually win out.

I took the presidency with the following advice from Josh Frost, who would later turn out to be one my better friends in the game: "Trust the JCS." Despite the anxiety and frustration of my interactions with the JCS there was one thing on which we agree😛 we hated EDEN more than we hated each other. For that, I was grateful.


This Isn't About the JCS, However



The pivotal moment in my presidency came during a battle to free South Africa. This was right up my alley - helping a small, downtrodden country free itself of its occupier with the massive help of allies. It was not so altruistic, but that's the part that appealed to me. South Africa held most of the high diamond regions in v1 and thus held significant strategic importance. It was occupied by Brazil, then a member of PEACE. The key to the operation was to free just ONE region to avoid having South Africa being PTO'ed by PEACE. EDEN's secret plan unbeknownst to me was to RW TWO regions and PTO South Africa itself to get control of the high diamond regions.

I normally don't get mad, but this pissed me off. And I did something about it. We finally left EDEN, using this, along with several other events and perceived slights as justification. I was proud of that decision and remain so to this day. It is something that I would probably do again if presented with a similar situation.


Very Much TL😉R Here



The point is that I still have a strong sense of personal ethics when it comes to playing eRep. I haven't changed much over the past three-plus years except that maybe, just maybe I don't take this so seriously anymore. But ethical play? HELL YES I do.


I Left the Special Forces

I cannot in good conscience remain in the Special Forces. Not because the organization itself sucks balls or the people in it are terrible, rather because of one important person, a really, really well-known player who is held in high regard by a majority of eUS citizens. I am talking about Oblige. This guy:



I think you know him, four-time eUSA CP, multiple-term Congressman, and Commanding Officer of the Special Forces. You see, Oblige set a supply block on LordRahl2. That's all fine and well except that the reason was rather stupid and petty. LordRahl2 happens to be an administrator at the eUSA forums. Oblige was harassing him via PMs about getting access to secure sections of the forums where the President controls access. Rahl ignored Oblige's PMs and refused him access. For that he was supply blocked.

I'm not going to mess around with people who make petty decisions like this with the power they've been granted by the eUSA government. Yes, Oblige put a ton of his personal money into building the Special Forces communes. But the Special Forces receive funding from the government for supply purposes and he has an ethical duty to conduct himself in a fair and judicious manner. He has a habit of abusing privilege through methods like this and I want no part of it. I may not have any significant amount of power in this game anymore but I do have a big mouth. His "Noblesse Oblige" act has worn thin with me. He has demonstrated time and time again that he MUST get access to areas and is relentless in achieving that.

I refuse to give people like this power over me. The best way to do that is to leave them alone to have their petty games without me. I wish there was more I could do about this but I think, for now, this might be enough.


E Pluribus Unum. From Many, One.



Seriously, folks, we can only be effective when we work TOGETHER. E Pluribus Unum.