[WTP] Challenge Accepted: A PTO and a Response

Day 2,318, 18:28 • Published in USA USA • by Tanishq


Song of the Day: We the Common - Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

Greetings, fellow citizens of the eRepublik!

Two days before the March Congressional Elections, WeThePeople learned that it was facing a real and active PTO threat. The party was evacuated in order to remove it from the list of top 5 political parties (to prevent the PTO agents from gaining any Congressional seats). This edition of WeRepublik explores what happened during those few days as well as some of the event’s aftermath.

Here’s a quick guide:

1. What happened
2. Announcing our acting party president
3. Brief note of thanks
4. Looking forwar😛 rebuilding
5. Congressional primary results

Enjoy!



What happened

On the morning of March 23, 2014, members of WeThePeople’s leadership team received a group message from party president Valiant Thor inviting us to a meeting scheduled for later that afternoon. Several of us had noticed an influx of AFA regulars into our party and were concerned that we would need to take special precautions in order to prevent a political takeover (PTO). During the meeting, Valiant Thor became extremely evasive and paranoid, culminating with him accusing Gnilraps of capturing the Country Presidency with the help of the AFA and suggesting that WeThePeople was being controlled by forces outside of the party.

After that, he went into full freak-out mode, believing in his conspiracy-fueled reality even more and more (leading to his becoming a PTO threat worse than that which he accused the PotUS of being). It was soon noticed that the in-game party leadership had been replaced by Serbian PTOers using Valiant Thor’s avatar.



The ATO team was quickly assembled with six hours left before daychange (to the 24th). Two scenarios were prepared for: first, that Valiant Thor could be talked down (assuming that he’d truly only hoped to voice his concerns), and second, that he was too far gone and would be unwilling to end his PTO attempt. With that in mind, Valiant Thor was given a chance to express his accusations against Gnilraps in front of Congress, but he failed to make use of the opportunity.

Instead, he leaked an ATO discussion from the private Congressional forum board and doubled down on his erratic and paranoid behavior. After several unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Valiant Thor and with around 24 hours remaining until elections began, the ATO team decided that an attempt should be made to evacuate WeThePeople to the point at which the party would drop from the top 5 before daychange (to the 25th).

At that point, WeThePeople had 295 members, the Liberty Advancement Party had around 150 members, and the Black Sheep sat at number six with about 105 members. In order for the plan to work, the team would need to move 200 to 300 people within 24 hours, and we were declared insane for considering such a thing. However, Josh Frost reassured the ATO team that, while the result might be difficult to achieve, it would be possible if we put in the effort. WeThePeople’s party leadership and the Department of Homeland Security began publishing articles in order to get the word out in the community. Party leaders, the Secretary of Homeland Security (IndexInfinity), and even President Gnilraps messaged WTP members with instructions to leave WTP and join The Black Sheep Party. Incentives were also provided, with the DHS promising 10 tanks for members who moved to the Black Sheep. I also began sending messages to party members, taking the time to address each member personally and offering them another ten tanks from WeThePeople (nearly one-third of these citizens responded positively to my message). Working together with IES and a Bulgarian MU, we moved another fifteen bodies into The Black Sheep Party.

After 24 hours of team effort, the results were stunning:

All in all, everyone worked together, pooling resources and knowledge and allowing the ATO effort to run smoothly in order to overcome the threat posed by the PTOers. We did it!

--The Mike (Recruitment & Retention Director, WeThePeople)



Announcing our acting party president

Despite Valiant Thor’s unwillingness to resign his in-game position to a responsible player, he has demonstrated his inability to lead WeThePeople. With Valiant Thor having abandoned his moral authority and responsibilities as party president of WTP, The People are forced to look elsewhere for party leadership and guidance. Fortunately, we are able to look to a reliable player who has spent several months in party and national leadership positions.


dmjohnston was the runner-up in WeThePeople’s last party president election and has been serving as party vice president since March 15. Thus, it is natural that we, The People, look to him to lead the party as we prepare to take it back from its unstable and malicious in-game president.



Brief note of thanks

Our party would like to thank and congratulate the following groups and individuals for their assistance in defeating the PTO:

Artela
Blondeninja
Deepchill
Department of Homeland Security
eUSA Congress
Gnilraps
greeling (if only because this article needed more...)
IndexInfinity
Josh Frost
Mazzy Cat
Oblige
TellUrGrlThx
The Black Sheep Party
Tyler Bubblar

… as well as many others not listed here.

Last--but not least--we’d like to recognize The People (both WTP and non-WTP) for moving so quickly to aid the party in our time of need.

Thank you all!

Sincerely,



WeThePeople



Looking forwar😛 rebuilding

A week and a half ago, I watched from the sideline as Valiant Thor was elected President of WeThePeople. After a close primary, I was saddened to see the results, but I never expected us to be standing in the position in which we are now.

The events of the past few days have put a strain on our party, on our leadership, and on our nation as a whole. But we have shown, once again, that we can band together and overcome. It is in the spirit of unity and hard work that we push forward for the rest of the term.

While our in-game party is still “led” by a traitor, the party membership continues to come together and work for the ideals upon which we were built.

It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to some longtime friends. One of these is 4-time Party President, Mazzy Cat. As the creator of WTP’s free food program, Feed The World (FTW), and having played many other roles within the party, Mazzy was vital to WTP. While I will continue to operate the FTW program in my own factory (there will be no loss of support to our constituents), Mazzy’s presence within our party is irreplaceable. While we’ve all been in a situation where we needed to take a break or some time away, and while we all understand Mazzy’s reasons for leaving, she will certainly be missed.

For those of us who remain, we must look forward to the 15th, when we will regain our party--our home. This is a bump in the road, not a derailment. We will continue to cultivate what makes WTP unique. We will continue to provide activities and fun opportunities to keep citizens engaged and happy.

Most of the team that has always been here for the party is still here. WTP is as strong as ever and ready to take back what’s ours.

In this spirit, I ask ALL MEMBERS who left the party during the ATO operation to RETURN TO THE PARTY, as the PTO threat has passed and we can now rebuild.

INSURGIO!

--dmjohnston (Acting party president, WeThePeople)



Congressional primary results

What would it look like if everything mentioned above didn’t happen and we had had normal elections? WeThePeople held its Congressional primary from Saturday, March 22, to Monday, March 24th. As always, eligible party members voted for their favorites. They gave their trust and votes to people that would represent WTP in the next session of eUSA Congress.

Here are the results--the WTP members who never got the chance to compete in the in-game elections on the 25th:

Disco Musolini (43 votes)
Valiant Thor (27 votes)
Ioanys (26 votes)
Talostastic (18 votes)
The Mike (12 votes)
dmjohnston (11 votes)
ErrOrka (8 votes)
Garmr (7 votes)
MrBadDecisions (6 votes)
Tenshibo (5 votes)
Noablule Elubaon (5 votes)
NorthAfricaCorps (4 votes)
Waysted (3 votes)
Liam J. Gallagher (3 votes)
Thermaikos (3 votes)
Franklin Stone (2 votes)
BIHkontinent (1 vote)
xOlDirtyBastardx (1 vote)

It’s on us to give them another chance; moving forward in a decisive manner, we’ll make sure that WeThePeople will be present on the ballot for the next Congressional elections!
INSURGIO~

--Geronimo100 (Former party president, WeThePeople)



Further reading

Portrait of a Player - The Last Dance
WHPR Day 2317: PTO/ATO Action; Politics Then and Now; Canadian Jokes!


Thanks for reading--stay tuned for more!

Sincerely yours,




Editor-in-Chief: Tanishq
Deputy: Disco Musolini



Guest Writer: The Mike
Guest Writer: dmjohnston
Guest Writer: Geronimo100