Teacup Interview: Emerick, President of eUSA
Day 642, 06:10
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Published in USA 
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by
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by Yang Wenli
On August 5, 2009, Emerick obtained 1,831 out of 4,508 expressed votes and became the President of eUSA. eRepublik Team's official newspaper "eRepublik Insider" published an article the next day, titled "Presidential elections coverage - August 2009" and sai
"Many eyes will be on Emerick, the new President of USA; given the hard times his nation has right now, in the middle of several countries trying to conquer their homelands. Emerick is an old citizen, born on day 83 of the New World, an active and passionate player of eRepublik having a tremendous experience. After one and a half years of personal growth he decided to take the big step, and serve his country from the highest position available. And in current situation of USA, not just the highest position, but one full of huge responsibilities, which can decide the future of the entire American nation."
About a week later, shit happened that Spain lost 16,000 Gold and PEACE obtained them. Devan Kronos, Press Director of Hephaestus' Anvil, published an interview with President Emerick on August 12, in which our President sai
Seeing what happened last week, with that treaty thrown out of the window and our country went down to just 2 states, I requested an interview with our President and got a prompt "yes" reply. The interview was conducted over MSN, at the end of eRep Day 641 (August 22, 2009), in a semi-casual chatting fashion, by Yang Wenli, Press Director of Teacup Journal:
Yang Wenli:
Hello Mr. President. Thanks for accepting my interview.
Emerick:
Sup fgt
Nice, Fixidays
Yang Wenli:
LOL
Yang Wenli:
Okay, so to begin, what is the time there now? 2:38 in the morning?
Emerick sends an animation: "Water Balloon"
Emerick:
1:38
Yang Wenli:
Uh huh. So you stay up late.
Yang Wenli:
Now, it has been about 3 weeks since you took the presidency, and if you had a plan at your inauguration, say that's a scale of 10, what score will you give now?
Emerick:
Eh? Are you asking me to grade my performance?
Yang Wenli:
Yeah. Very much it.
Emerick:
Well, my biggest thing was organizing America through the mentor program. That was slow to get off the ground, and the population as of the day I was elected is just now getting finished getting messaged, so I'm pretty disappointed in that, so I'll give it a 5.
Yang Wenli:
I see. Talking about our population, I noticed that by the fall of New Jersey, we lost about 4K citizens. That brings me to think about the game mechanics, citizenship has nothing to do with population right? It is where people stay that affects the population.
Emerick:
Right.
Yang Wenli:
Let's think about baby boom a bit. Although proactive approaches to attract new players into this game is a great idea, due to our current situation, 2 states left, and scarce job opportunities, would a baby boom increase our trouble instead of solving it?
Emerick:
It depends on how organized it is. If we have an organized group of a good amount of people, it'd be fantastic if they started in Russia or something, screwed with their economy, had their citizenship, etc. Normal babies though, are going to be hard to coordinate with.
Yang Wenli:
Just to confirm since that's a very strategic point of view about giving birth to babies in Russia or something. Is that okay to be said in public?
Emerick:
Yeah, I've already threatened the president of Russia with that.
Yang Wenli:
We've seen a dramatic baby boom in France, as far as you know, how did that happen? Is your team aware of the aftermath of French baby boom? How do you rate their aftermath?
Emerick:
Their babies are dying off pretty quickly, but they still got a good number. Plus their walls are higher, at least until the admins wipe away dead people again.
Yang Wenli:
And to follow up the issue about Russia, the NAP was announced from our side about a week ago, and Russian said no. Looking back to what has happened, do you think that we've been set up, in terms of giving us an illusion of peace treaty while alienate us from our allies, distract our citizens from following orders, or even worse, get you in trouble of being impeached?
Emerick:
No, I don't think that we were set up, but I do think that Peace's greed got the better of them.
Yang Wenli:
I see. Now about the current situation, I'd like to have your comment on General Harlot's idea that we should evacuate people from FL to ally country, weaken FL, make it cheaper to attack, and get ourselves wiped out and RW.
Emerick:
It's a good idea.
Yang Wenli:
Do you think it is feasible to catch up in time and to coordinate with our current effort? Feasibility is my primary concern about this idea, and…
Emerick:
Time is my main concern.
Emerick:
We'll lose a lot of citizens to boredom and the fact that they're popping up in Russia and Portugal.
Yang Wenli:
When our country got wiped out, what about the potential PTO problem and how do you think we should still keep our citizens organized and informed? p.s. When you are not in a USA region but still having your USA citizenship, you don't read USA newspapers on homepage, right?
Emerick:
Yeah, you're right.
Emerick:
Well, if they conquer us before the congressional election, and we don't get free until afterward, then we have a problem. We'd have to use an old citizen list to PM every person we can to get them in the loop.
Yang Wenli:
Oh? We have an "old citizen" list? Are we making a new one now? Which organization is in charge of that and would you like to spread a word on that to prepare just in case?
Emerick:
Well, the citizen list is just a scrape of who's in the US. We do that every now and then.
(Interview paused for a while)
Yang Wenli:
Please let me know if I took too much for your time. Did eRepublik especially your month of being our president change your attitude, perspective or belief in real life? If so, how?
Emerick:
No, not at all
Yang Wenli:
Any advice on this: if you are going to make a promotion about this game, what approach will you take to attract the majority of online gamers?
Emerick:
Well, let's think about what kind of people are most interested and make the best contributions to the game.
Emerick:
eRepublik has been known to advertise on political sites, which, IMO is a pretty big reason why we're in such a shit situation right now.
Yang Wenli:
Political sites? Seriously? You mean irl political discussion forums?
Emerick:
From what I hear, it was in the NY Times, too.
Yang Wenli:
So you are saying that the target audience of these media does not contribute to the good of our eUSA?
Emerick:
Not to stroke myself to much, but I think I'm the shit, and I like other people like me. I was invited from a gaming site. I know how to work in a gaming group, and how the gamers' mindset is, which is the majority of the big players in the Game.
Emerick:
Correct. The issue is finding a good site.
Yang Wenli:
I see your point. And final question: what are your suggestions to a newbie with a serious interest in this game like me, in terms of 2 things:
1. How to contribute to the country most by working on newspapers, and,
2. How to contribute to the country most by choosing to participate or not to participate in a political party?
Emerick:
Political parties be damned. The most productive people I've seen in this game hardly identify with their party. I like it when I know someone from the forum, and I have no idea what party they're from.
Yang Wenli:
I agree. What about newspaper? Any advice on anti-trolling from our enemies, useful tips and media promotion?
Emerick:
Be smart, be creative, and always make sure that you have your facts right. Oh, and have fun~!
Yang Wenli:
Thanks so much for your time and patience Mr. President. Good luck to you too. Have fun~! Anything else you'd like to add to this interview from your side?
Emerick:
I'm tored.
*tired
Yang Wenli:
Good night then.
Emerick:
Nn fgt.
________
Editor's note:
Minor edits in terms of punctuations and spellings were done to the original transcript.
________
Coming up next:
An interview with Eugene Harlot, General of eUSMC, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Former General of Stuff.
________
Previous Articles:
> Teacup Special: Teacup Special: eUSA, Phoenix? Chicken? Or Headless Chicken?
> Teacup Journal is Coming - One for All, All for One!
________
😛
"Many eyes will be on Emerick, the new President of USA; given the hard times his nation has right now, in the middle of several countries trying to conquer their homelands. Emerick is an old citizen, born on day 83 of the New World, an active and passionate player of eRepublik having a tremendous experience. After one and a half years of personal growth he decided to take the big step, and serve his country from the highest position available. And in current situation of USA, not just the highest position, but one full of huge responsibilities, which can decide the future of the entire American nation."
About a week later, shit happened that Spain lost 16,000 Gold and PEACE obtained them. Devan Kronos, Press Director of Hephaestus' Anvil, published an interview with President Emerick on August 12, in which our President sai
😛"Considering that we're up against the largest alliance in eRepublik, who just acquired all of Spain's gold, I think that it's safe to be pessimistic." In addition to that, Emerick mentioned briefly but clearly that a treaty with PEACE was under discussion.
Seeing what happened last week, with that treaty thrown out of the window and our country went down to just 2 states, I requested an interview with our President and got a prompt "yes" reply. The interview was conducted over MSN, at the end of eRep Day 641 (August 22, 2009), in a semi-casual chatting fashion, by Yang Wenli, Press Director of Teacup Journal:
Yang Wenli:
Hello Mr. President. Thanks for accepting my interview.
Emerick:
Sup fgt
Nice, Fixidays
Yang Wenli:
LOL
Yang Wenli:
Okay, so to begin, what is the time there now? 2:38 in the morning?
Emerick sends an animation: "Water Balloon"
Emerick:
1:38
Yang Wenli:
Uh huh. So you stay up late.
Yang Wenli:
Now, it has been about 3 weeks since you took the presidency, and if you had a plan at your inauguration, say that's a scale of 10, what score will you give now?
Emerick:
Eh? Are you asking me to grade my performance?
Yang Wenli:
Yeah. Very much it.
Emerick:
Well, my biggest thing was organizing America through the mentor program. That was slow to get off the ground, and the population as of the day I was elected is just now getting finished getting messaged, so I'm pretty disappointed in that, so I'll give it a 5.
Yang Wenli:
I see. Talking about our population, I noticed that by the fall of New Jersey, we lost about 4K citizens. That brings me to think about the game mechanics, citizenship has nothing to do with population right? It is where people stay that affects the population.
Emerick:
Right.
Yang Wenli:
Let's think about baby boom a bit. Although proactive approaches to attract new players into this game is a great idea, due to our current situation, 2 states left, and scarce job opportunities, would a baby boom increase our trouble instead of solving it?
Emerick:
It depends on how organized it is. If we have an organized group of a good amount of people, it'd be fantastic if they started in Russia or something, screwed with their economy, had their citizenship, etc. Normal babies though, are going to be hard to coordinate with.
Yang Wenli:
Just to confirm since that's a very strategic point of view about giving birth to babies in Russia or something. Is that okay to be said in public?
Emerick:
Yeah, I've already threatened the president of Russia with that.
Yang Wenli:
We've seen a dramatic baby boom in France, as far as you know, how did that happen? Is your team aware of the aftermath of French baby boom? How do you rate their aftermath?
Emerick:
Their babies are dying off pretty quickly, but they still got a good number. Plus their walls are higher, at least until the admins wipe away dead people again.
Yang Wenli:
And to follow up the issue about Russia, the NAP was announced from our side about a week ago, and Russian said no. Looking back to what has happened, do you think that we've been set up, in terms of giving us an illusion of peace treaty while alienate us from our allies, distract our citizens from following orders, or even worse, get you in trouble of being impeached?
Emerick:
No, I don't think that we were set up, but I do think that Peace's greed got the better of them.
Yang Wenli:
I see. Now about the current situation, I'd like to have your comment on General Harlot's idea that we should evacuate people from FL to ally country, weaken FL, make it cheaper to attack, and get ourselves wiped out and RW.
Emerick:
It's a good idea.
Yang Wenli:
Do you think it is feasible to catch up in time and to coordinate with our current effort? Feasibility is my primary concern about this idea, and…
Emerick:
Time is my main concern.
Emerick:
We'll lose a lot of citizens to boredom and the fact that they're popping up in Russia and Portugal.
Yang Wenli:
When our country got wiped out, what about the potential PTO problem and how do you think we should still keep our citizens organized and informed? p.s. When you are not in a USA region but still having your USA citizenship, you don't read USA newspapers on homepage, right?
Emerick:
Yeah, you're right.
Emerick:
Well, if they conquer us before the congressional election, and we don't get free until afterward, then we have a problem. We'd have to use an old citizen list to PM every person we can to get them in the loop.
Yang Wenli:
Oh? We have an "old citizen" list? Are we making a new one now? Which organization is in charge of that and would you like to spread a word on that to prepare just in case?
Emerick:
Well, the citizen list is just a scrape of who's in the US. We do that every now and then.
(Interview paused for a while)
Yang Wenli:
Please let me know if I took too much for your time. Did eRepublik especially your month of being our president change your attitude, perspective or belief in real life? If so, how?
Emerick:
No, not at all
Yang Wenli:
Any advice on this: if you are going to make a promotion about this game, what approach will you take to attract the majority of online gamers?
Emerick:
Well, let's think about what kind of people are most interested and make the best contributions to the game.
Emerick:
eRepublik has been known to advertise on political sites, which, IMO is a pretty big reason why we're in such a shit situation right now.
Yang Wenli:
Political sites? Seriously? You mean irl political discussion forums?
Emerick:
From what I hear, it was in the NY Times, too.
Yang Wenli:
So you are saying that the target audience of these media does not contribute to the good of our eUSA?
Emerick:
Not to stroke myself to much, but I think I'm the shit, and I like other people like me. I was invited from a gaming site. I know how to work in a gaming group, and how the gamers' mindset is, which is the majority of the big players in the Game.
Emerick:
Correct. The issue is finding a good site.
Yang Wenli:
I see your point. And final question: what are your suggestions to a newbie with a serious interest in this game like me, in terms of 2 things:
1. How to contribute to the country most by working on newspapers, and,
2. How to contribute to the country most by choosing to participate or not to participate in a political party?
Emerick:
Political parties be damned. The most productive people I've seen in this game hardly identify with their party. I like it when I know someone from the forum, and I have no idea what party they're from.
Yang Wenli:
I agree. What about newspaper? Any advice on anti-trolling from our enemies, useful tips and media promotion?
Emerick:
Be smart, be creative, and always make sure that you have your facts right. Oh, and have fun~!
Yang Wenli:
Thanks so much for your time and patience Mr. President. Good luck to you too. Have fun~! Anything else you'd like to add to this interview from your side?
Emerick:
I'm tored.
*tired
Yang Wenli:
Good night then.
Emerick:
Nn fgt.
________
Editor's note:
Minor edits in terms of punctuations and spellings were done to the original transcript.
________
Coming up next:
An interview with Eugene Harlot, General of eUSMC, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Former General of Stuff.
________
Previous Articles:
> Teacup Special: Teacup Special: eUSA, Phoenix? Chicken? Or Headless Chicken?
> Teacup Journal is Coming - One for All, All for One!
________
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Comments
Good job Yang.
Excellent interview.
Sorry, I got a "oops - headless chicken" when posting. Daniel Jacob Asher, I'm sure you read just a half of the interview ended with some ???. lol~
Good interview
Actually, I got the whole thing initially.
nn fgt. lol.
"Emerick: Well, let's think about what kind of people are most interested and make the best contributions to the game. eRepublik has been known to advertise on political sites, which, IMO is a pretty big reason why we're in such a shit situation right now.
Not to stroke myself to much, but I think I'm the shit, and I like other people like me. I was invited from a gaming site. I know how to work in a gaming group, and how the gamers' mindset is, which is the majority of the big players in the Game."
Wow...I hate to stereotype hardcore gamers, but Emerick's doing a pretty good job for me.
Here's the eUSA's biggest problem: we're all about "unity" supposedly, but our leaders have no regard for anyone who isn't like them. They disdain politics, which is the art of managing conflict among diverse groups. THEY ARE BAD LEADERS BECAUSE THEY CAN'T LEAD DIVERSE PEOPLE.
I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that the it is the GAMING mentality that causes many problems in eUSA. A few more politicos who care about human motivation and basic principles of leadership might do us some good.
Your off to a flying start Yang, keep up the great work!
Looking forward to the Harlot interview.
Interesting opinion c.david, I think the knowledge and experience, combined with the willingness to be an active participant in any program, that benifits the eAmerican cause, is what matters in this game for us. We need to stop being divisive and get to work on building a well communicated and supportive team.
This I believe will be the way we resolve to not repeat our rather fragmented and ineffective past.
@Lorenzo:
Thanks for once again playing the peacemaker role. I think I may have been a bit too "divisive" in my response to the divisive comments of our President. But I think our real problem may be "dismissiveness" rather than "divisiveness".
Gamers, roleplayers, politicos, and even lulz players have to find ways to collaborate ACROSS difference - not to quash difference under some bland cry for "unity" that, more often than not, masks a power play by one faction. Genuine disagreements about how to play the game exist, and there needs to be space in the public sphere for them to be hammered out without.
Disagreement without dismissivness.
Good interview. It shows how a long-time player can get elected just based on longevity and name recognition when they obviously have no plan to lead the nation. Emerick was elected during the largest war in eRepublik history and his focus is on a "mentor programs" I have never gotten the sense that this guy is anything more than a "eRep celebrity" Very little substance...
Why is it assumed that people are only good at one thing? Just because someone calls themselves a gamer doesn't mean they can't be good politicians. Instead of trying to label everybody as definitely this or definitely that we should acknowledged that they have varied talents and help reinforce their weaker points. If the people who are better gamers help the people who are better politicians, and vice versa, then we would all be better off.
The best kind of diversity is where each person is diverse and is with many others who by them selves are diverse, not a bunch of different people who together make the group diverse.
Hey David, I've been here for over a year, I've been in your shoes before, I know what I'm talking about, trust me. I agree with you for the most part, but political players do annoy me. Excuse me while I vent a bit of frustration. Now, I'm not a stereotype at all, if you'd pay attention. If you think that I am, do you think that I'd take time to give an interview, or write several paragraphs to update the US? No, I'd expect everyone to do what they're told without explanation, and without question.
Sprout, the mentor program is actually really important. All successful countries will tell you how important new player support is. On top of that, I wanted to get it pounded out during the war, because it would keep us in communication with hundreds if not thousands of citizens, and that's without that military. You're going to tell me that that's not brilliant?
I agree, Llamaco, it's a balance that I've tried to find myself. I did some e-soul searching in Japan early this year, to find out exactly what I thought was the perfect way to play, and it was a balance between knowing what was going on, keeping up to date with happenings around the world, knowing how people feel and how to deal with them, and keeping people competently happy.
Emerick: "Well, if they conquer us before the congressional election, and we don't get free until afterward, then we have a problem. We'd have to use an old citizen list to PM every person we can to get them in the loop."
We have to get everyone we possibly can to be subscribing to Emerick's newspaper and the official DoD orders, right? Oh, of course, those would now be in the Portugal or France media for all to see...
Perhaps merely articles that refer citizens to the official eUSA boards.
I would think that's where we'd be organizing the most...
And I'm not saying that just cos I know I wouldn't be on an "old citizen" list, hah! 😉
Great interview bro. Keep it up. 😃
Good interview. And srsly if anyone thinks focusing on a mentoring is a *bad* thing right now they don't get it. You can argue about how best to handle communication or mentoring but the fact Em is focused on mentoring is a good thing. The fact he acknowledges a lot of room for improvement in that department is a great thing.
I once checked the online list and just started handing out Q1 foods to players who were level 1 and chatting with them, I was an un-official mentor 😃
Nice work, Yang.
That was a satisfying interview. Usually read these things and lull asleep.
Looking forward to the interview with Harlot.
@Moot: I've done the same thing a few times. Earlier in the war I kept PMing newbies in non-Q5 hospital states and convincing them to move. Then I helped them with whatever I could to get them started up and to stay interested. 😃
Excellent work, Yang and Emerick.
Emerick's the siht even though he e-married a guy. Why didn't you ask him about that?
pretty cool, we should have more of these!
Yang Wenli is great.
great interview Yang, it's not often that a newer player gets personally called a fgt by the president lol. Good answers too! Can't wait for the Harlot interview give him the tough questions.
Thanks for the interview Mr. Prez.
I just have one thing to say about this divisiveness issue. Ain't nothing wrong with free speech, active discussion, and opposing viewpoints. I defend y'all's right to disagree with the Prez in any and everything. That's not the problem with our country.
The problem with our country is that in times of crisis, when the discussion ends and our leaders have decided on a course of action, people need to get on board and follow the orders regardless which side of the argument they were on. A large number of the "politicals" in the eUS seem to think that the best course of action is to stick to your guns and continue doing your own thing even AFTER the decision is made. THAT is counter-productive for everyone, and succeeds only in fragmenting our strength. But this is the behavior the "politicals" have learned from the example of our own RL two-party system.
Dissent is great. But when push comes to shove, people need to get behind the plan of action even if they don't necessarily agree with it.
Btw, I'm sundhedsvæsenet.
Joined the game from a gaming site 😛 Best idea ever to do so.
I interviewd him as well 🙂
very interesting interview