Uncharted Waters,The Evolution of our eCommunity

Day 1,178, 18:35 • Published in USA USA • by Joe DaSmoe
"Inwegen has stated that he wants to relax IES authority and power to influence Congress’s decisions to grant citizenship to foreigners. While I agree that the system needs to be revamped, that there needs to be oversight between the two, I do so for different reasons. In my opinion based from what I’ve read in congress, Inwegen is still upset with the IES because they allowed Joe DaSmoe to return back to the country. Inwegen sees Joe as a loose cannon and would have used the IES to black list Joe as a PTO threat… Not as a foreign agent who is attempting to subvert the country, but as a political enemy to his own ideals. For this alone, I could not vote for him. I do not believe Inwegen can remain neutral during situations that may pull on his emotional opinions."

(Quoted from Senator Emporer Rick's Oklahoma Senate Report, discussing his Congressional vote in the Immigration Enforcement SubComittee Election)



Good Evening America,

**This article represents a slice of the problems I often speak of, it is a testament of how we fail in creating a successful community. It's time we move into "Uncharted Waters"**



Some of the power players in our government may dislike me because I speak my mind and call out the things that makes our community struggle. I am ridiculed by some, ignored by some, and discounted by others. However, these players know that I am steadfast and passionate in my beliefs and concerns, and may just be persistent and driven enough to finally make a difference. They feel that I in fact may finally be the one outsider who can topple the political dogma that has dictated the game for all of us for as long as I can remember. Can I change the approach, I don't know, but I am damn sure going to continue to try.

I think it's funny that some see me as a PTO threat. In fact, I take it as a compliment. I have played this game daily for over 2 years, I have served my country as an eMarine, I also recently rejoined them and intend to help my country in war, as I always have. I have served in Congress for several terms and was active and involved in every term. I spoke my mind on Capitol Hill, arguing for things I genuinely feel would benefit of nation as a whole, just as I speak my mind when I address my country and my readers. I sincerely care about my online country. I can't help it, I love me some America. Always have always will.


Our Government isn't all bad, don't get me wrong, but when the same players dictate economic structure, foreign policy, congressional debate, the Presidency and military goals month after month after month, the country stales...... It then revolves around the same belief system for months on end, which makes any changes , either those brought forth by the will of our people, or changes sought by newer Congressmen nearly impossible to implement.

This is where we fail ourselves at this game. It is a true fact that a lot of poor retention is the way the game is administered. While this is true, our attempt to build an online community fails even worse. We have HUNDREDS of new players who join daily, and although our government does make an attempt to reach them, via the new citizen message, meals on wheels, Arm America and mentorship programs the retention rate is HORRIBLE. Again, it's not totally our fault, this game is boring for many. We fail in the fact that we seem to divide ourselves from new people who actually do stick around. We end up losing many of the few people who stay in this way, by failing to make eRepublik more appealing to a broader spectrum of players.

America has become nothing more than a shell of what it was when I found this game in November of 2008. There is no community. Political parties are pretty much dead and serve only has tools to put people in Congress and the President's office. No one truly stands for anything, most parties are just groups of uninvolved citizens led by a few people who are involved enough to maintain power positions. Its a fact of this game, you get what you put in. I'm fine with that, and I agree that is way it should be.

What I'm not fine with is this undying belief that seemingly most established players have that we have this game 100% figured out and that having America serve only as a damage producing machine is the best for our country. I would argue that it is not. Why? YOU CANNOT WIN EREPUBLIK. All warfare is circular. We do not need to be the most powerful army in the world and in fact we are not. Yet that seems to have been our main goal for the last year and a half. We faced invasion only one time in my stint here, yet every approach we take is etched in stone from that time, known as the WWIII era. Everything that has been done since that time has been done in order to attempt to make America the most powerful. I myself was even part of it all, cheering on the "war is the only way" mindset for many months. Our tax revenue budgeting and economic policies and general minset have mostly remained the every since. America's current only goal is to funnel the most revenue possible into war first and domestic programs second. The problem is, it hasn't worked. We have tried it for years, yet we still fail to grow a large population. Our potential is enormous, almost everyone in America is online, yet we normally only have between 15 to 20 thousand citizens. For a country of over 300 million, we suck. This does not speak to the failure or success of warfare, its speaks to the narrowness of our approach.

America needs to be allowed to evolve into more than a war machine. Political parties need to argue, Congress seats need to mean something, and mostly we must develop a community that is inclusive to all people. We need to reach out to people we know in life or online in other forums,/games/social media. If we strike a balance and make the game more interesting for more people, more people will invite people to join the game.

If a new guy writes a one paragraph article in the media, most people either ignore it or post a smart ass comment. When new players find our external forum, they are greeted (if they post at all) and then exposed to a massive pile of junk. Yes, the forums need to be fun, but they fail miserably at functioning as a true community, at least for a newcomer who cannot see the hidden boards and finds the conservations confusing. I remember when people actually discussed eRep on the forums, new guys included. Now its probably 90% random topics about nothing, 5% personal horn tooting and 5% eRep discussion. Its a cluttered mess and yet most feel this is the place that our community should live. The inner workings of our government need to live there, its a necessity. Our community must live in large part on eRepublik via the media, no matter how hard we try to make it not, the eRepublik home page must be where the citizen feels this sense of community, debates, and learns the game.

Another main key to a resurgence of a true community atmosphere is the re-emergence of political parties. The personal and up close feel of a political party is key to getting people to realize this game's potential. I feel we all need to live in the media and in our political parties. Politics stir up interest for some, just as war does for some. Journalism serves as means to talk to one another and discuss things on the homepage right in front of every player. Economic ventures draw the kind of player who wants to play to try and get eRich. We have to include all these aspects when we determine our approach to the game. We have to find a middle ground in order to grow a community here.

After all, if we can manage to get the few who do stick around to help build this community by finding the game enjoyable and then inviting their friends to join, the goal of wanting to be the most powerful takes care of itself due to the sheer number of citizens that call eAmerica home. An interested and live population is the key to our future success as an online community. I intend to continue my fight for it, as I feel that this game has the potential to evolve into something exciting again, something interesting, something fun and inviting. It's all up to us.

If you want to help make a vibrant eCommunity here, then I urge you to join me and my brothers over in the Fraternity party. In time, we will mold eAmerica into a new experience for all of us.

Join Today, Click Here.

Thanks for reading, and as always, comments are welcomed and appreciated.
Joe DaSmoe

-Push the buttons brothers-




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