[TB4CP] Just Let it Die?

Day 2,778, 14:54 • Published in USA USA • by Tyler Bubblar



When I returned to the game after a few days I chose the Federalist Party as my new home. My previous Party (AAP) from the V1 days was long mouldering in its grave. The Feds and USWP were the only two Parties that I recognized from prior times. I joined a dynamic group that welcomed me in with open arms. People like fingerguns, Duncan Crowe, Tiacha, Bigcdizzle, Malarkey83, Paul Proteus, Derphoof, Cromstar, AlexJ, Greene12, Darian Dracona, Molly Emma, Crashthompson, Jefferson Locke, Josh Frost, etc were all over the forums and IRC channels of the Feds. Many of those names were either gone or had greatly dialed back their activity within a few months of my joining. It was during that time of mass leadership exodus that I was elected Party President for the first time.

Much of my career in my Party has been about honoring and sustaining the legacy of the number one Party (in terms of numbers and activity) in the eUSA. The efforts and labors of those who had come before me was near ever present in my mind. I worked to find and empower new leaders to keep the cycle of a newb centric meritocracy going. We had peaks and valleys but for the most part I felt we as a Party weathered the worsening conditions of the game fairly well. Approximately 6 months ago the Feds and SHIELD took a big internal hit and a schism occurred. It was during this period of confusion and chaos that Queen Fed aka fingerguns briefly returned.

According to her she had been reached out to more than a few times to save the Feds from one malady or another over the year and a half she has been gone. This was news to me as I personally had only heard of one such attempt. Her advice to the leadership of the Party that still bears the likeness of her avatar was somewhat stunning. “Just let it die” she said, “I have told just about everyone who has approached me for help the same thing: if it cannot sustain itself on its own just let it die,” with that fingerguns headed for the exit destination and whereabouts unknown.





This was somewhat stunning to me. It set my mind to reflecting on my time in my Party and in this game. I asked myself a lot of questions: Can I just let it die? I have invested hundreds of hours, many sleepless nights, a lot of energy, thought, and more real life dollars than I care to admit. Does it still matter to me? Is it worth saving? Why should I care when it seems so obvious that the admins and ownership clearly do not?

Those are questions that sooner or later each of us will need to ask and answer for ourselves. The answers that I came to were the following: No I cannot let it die, I have put too much in to walk away now, it still matters very much to me, my Party and my Nation are worth saving, and finally Plato and his minions might be incompetent nincompoops, but this is my Party/Country and I will not willingly walk away from it. Every day that the servers are still active for eRepublik I will log in, and with the rest of my stalwart fellow citizens of the eUSA go about the business of my community.





In my previous article I introduced you to the Cabinet that has agreed to serve the eUSA with me during the month of July 2015. There are some truly dynamic individuals who will be working the domestic side of things WookyJack, Aramec, Nick Bergman, and Tom Cauchon will not only do the work of Education and Interior, but they will bring a style and flair to doing so that has long been lacking. They are all 4 extremely gifted writers that not only get their point across but are also amusing and entertaining. We currently have a lot of programs for new players. Between what Parties, MUs, and the government programs offer a new player can be up to their digital hips in free food, weapons, cc, and gold with very little effort on their part. This has long been the case. Yet retention of our new players has long been less than desireable. Why is that?

I’ll be honest it is in part because the game is not that compelling. Often a player will log in and within a day or so tire of it and never return. We have a narrow window of time to reach these players and give them an opportunity to make friends in and get involved with the community that plays this game. These new players also need to feel that someone cares and is invested in their growth. However, new players like all of us need to feel inspired, they need to have a reason to continue logging in, a reason to feel inclined to invest themselves and their talents into their Parties/Mu/Nation, they need something to look forward to.





As a new player in V1 I looked forward to Presidential and other government Media. It was always so engaging and entertaining. When I logged in and saw a new war report or Presidential update I could not click on it fast enough. As a new Fed I loved the monthly recurring Fed Awards, weekly Fed Radio and eNPR. I looked forward to it and logged in to the forums and IRC always looking for something pertaining to those topics. That is one reason eNPR is coming back.

Let me repeat that eNPR is coming back. It does not matter if I win or lose eNPR will be returning. The funds for another 30 days have already been allocated for the Blog Talk account. I was serious when I said it is detrimental to our community when we let prized traditions and activities go quietly into the night. I am in a position CP or no to help with that so I will. Another prized tradition will also be making a reappearance. I will be asking Jefferson Locke to recruit an ATO candidate with the intent that Ajay be given the boot from his current Party. I am tired of seeing him on the CP ballot and will make it my mission to never allow him to be comfortable in the eUSA.

I made mention in my last article to the need for propagandists and technicians. I am what I would consider a decent writer, but really I am a technician. That is why I have asked the four aforementioned individuals as well as Derphoof to be a part of my administration. I have every confidence that they will be able to inspire and entertain while also doing the work of their Departments.


You will be!



Throughout this campaign I have been asked how I will be different or in some instances better than the current administration. I am more inclined to tell the nation what I have to offer rather than how I am better than someone else. My administration will be returning transparency. I will assign a Press Secretary to post a daily summary of the activities of the executive in the public portion of the Executive Boards. There we invite you to ask a question of any member of the administration whenever you desire to do so. I will also ask the Press Secretary to publish these summaries every few days in game. Questions can be asked in the comments of those articles. Those questions will be answered in a timely manner. This should allow the players who eschew the meta aspect of the game a place to have their questions or concerns fielded.



Another thing we will be doing is have a consistent conversation with Congress and also the citizens of this great nation. Whenever there is a communication disconnect it puts a strain on just about everything. Routine things like renewing an MPP in Congress or voting on a NE become a mudslinging s#*tshow. Wars can come and go and seemingly go nearly unnoticed by the populace. True Patriot damage, CO money, and Epic battles are great, but if they are not pitched to the nation few will be all that invested in it. Presidential Media will not just explain the what, but the who, how, and why. The thought process behind the decisions made will be shared as much as possible with all the alacrity circumstances will allow. Communication is an integral part of Leadership. Without communication leadership becomes simply instructions.




There will also be accountability. I will ask my Cabinet to be active not just in performing their duties, but in publishing Department articles, checking those articles for comments, shouting their own and other Departments articles, posting relevant information regarding their Department and projects to the PDB, and at least on occasion checking into IRC. Those who do not meet this standard will be released and replaced with someone who will. I have confidence I will not need to do this as I have selected a dynamic group based on their talents and skills. That said Ghost Secretaries will not be tolerated. Wars and Natural Enemies will be found for Contests when they arise. In short the little things matter and careful attention will be paid to them. The nation deserves nothing less. Anything else is tantamount to just letting it die.





We are all still here because on some level we still believe in something. We believe in our Party, our MU, our Nation, our community, our investment in this game. As I have stated previously we are the core of this nation that refuses to break. We are fewer than we were but we are still strong! Our mettle has been tested for quite some time and we have proved true again and again. It is time to shelve the fatalistic pessimism and celebrate the belief that keeps us coming back. There are still great things ahead of us. In short we're going to believe.