The Economist ~ Myth of the Oldfag Elite

Day 1,585, 10:01 • Published in Poland United Kingdom • by Spite313


Dear friends,

In every country there is a person, group or party. You know the one I mean. They rage against the “oldfag elite”, against powerful people who control their lives and run the game. But the truth of it is, there is no oldfag elite, and there never was.

In some countries the older players do attempt to fix their power in place, then go uber lazy and sit on their laurels. I understand how it can be frustrating. In the UK we had the House of Lords, in the US they had their defence staff etc, in other countries it’s party overlords or permanent CPs who just keep coming back. It can be annoying, especially when the people in charge are useless.

But let’s establish some facts here:

1. Though there is a measurable group of individuals who tend to be in government a lot, that group are not for the most part friends. Often they’re worst enemies who simply get stuck co-operating because they have to.
2. No CP sits and thinks “I want to be a member of the illuminati so I’m going to add loads of useless idiots to government who make me look bad so I can be a useless idiot later on.
3. For the most part, picking governments, choosing advisors, adding people to this channel or that- is a really hard decision to make. You don’t really know many of the applicants. So you pick the best out of the ones who you DO know- who are generally people who have served in government before, or who have interacted with you in some other way.

So once we’ve got those facts down, what conclusions can we draw?

1. The so-called elite are actually just ordinary players which interact with the entire community on several different levels, which gives them contacts and popularity- which is another word for power.
2. CPs pick the best people they know- so the trick to getting into government is to join at a low level, work hard, and interact with the senior players as much as possible. It’s not really hard- try volunteering to do work. Most of them are over-burdened as it is.
3. Most of the older players who are in government all the time are there because they work hard and have a huge reputation for being good at their jobs. It might have slipped the notice of some players, so you might want to gently remind them that many of the “oldfags” are younger than them. Most old players who are still around aren’t in government after all. The ones who did a good job the first time tend to get picked again and again so long as they still have some willpower.

So the point I’m making is -wherever you are, whatever country you’re in- don’t blame the establishment for your own political success (or lack of). The ability to do well is in your hands. Yeh it’s a lot more boring sending 5000 PMs a week than it is hitting in a battle or ordering people around. But those oldfags did it, and you should too if you want a shot.

That’s it from me- just a short reminder!

Iain