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Hello Nation!

Today marks the five year anniversary of my joining eRepublik. When I joined I was 17 and still in high school, today I am 22 and on the verge of graduating college. Much like five years ago I find myself in a similar situation; bored during my winter break. So I thought why not write an article, and examine what I’ve learned, and experienced having spent half a decade with you people.

In my time playing I’ve experienced my share of successes and failures. From two failed presidential runs, to serving in multiple administrations in various positions, serving my party as Party President, and serving in congress for now 36 terms, and leading it as Speaker twice I have come to realize a few things.

1. A lot of you take this game way too seriously.

Like it’s kinda crazy how obsessed you can get. The people who I’ve seen have the most fun in this game seem to be those who really do not take themselves very seriously. Aramec, Derphoof, Paul Proteus, and Tenshibo are the people who first come to mind when I think of those who seem to actually have fun playing this game. What I find similar about all of them is that they always seem to be happy with whatever position they are in, and always make the most of it.

When I think back on when I was having the most fun playing this game I think of to when I was Speaker for my second term. I faced impeachment, controversy over my guidance of legislation, my practices as speaker were constantly scrutinized, and even claims of illegitimacy of my right to be Speaker. What I also experienced was a congress at its most active state I’ve ever seen, passing huge amounts of legislation, and a lot of fun on my part being along for the ride, contributing where I could. I can honestly say I had a huge amount of fun, and wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything else in this game.

2. People are really bad at basic organization.

By this I mean so many people are pretty terrible at organizing for political action. This never became so clear to me until I started organizing during the New Hampshire Primary for my candidate. I spent months leading up to the primary knocking on doors, making phone calls, and organizing social events in order to gain the trust, and respect of others so they would help me do what I wanted to achieve politically. Building relationships, that need to be maintained and worked on seem to be elusive to so many here. When I say this I look mostly at those who claim to be in the opposition. Too often those who look to shake up government come in guns ablazing demanding changes be made, that are so often rooted in ignorance, or shitty role playing. Change does not happen overnight, and must be something you work at constantly. Those in power did not come to their positions because they are elites, or power hoarders, but because they have done the groundwork to build relationships built on trust and friendship. You’re idea might be a great one that will change how we play the game, or more likely it’s something that’s been tried and disproved.

3. This game is really boring, and can be terrible, so find a reason to log on.

I have had my times where I just say fuck it, and don’t log on or pay much attention for months at a time. These have usually been because of real life taking precedence, but there were times when this game became too boring or frustrating to find a reason to log in. So what keeps me coming back, despite these frustrations? It’s always the people. The community here in the eUS is interesting enough, and friendly enough to keep me interested. I might get angered, bored, and even disillusioned but there is a reason I’ve stuck around for five years. Those who I think of as friends, and foes in this game play to win, and competition is always something that peeks my interest.

Find a reason to keep you logging in everyday. If you can’t don’t waste your time with this game. It’s really boring mechanically, and the admins seem to have no interest in making it any better for those still playing. The community is welcoming, and there if you want to join it, but do not stick around hoping Plato will do anything to make this game enthralling.

Five years later I am still here. eRepublic has connected me with so many smart, interesting, nice people. I am happy for my experiences here, and I celebrate what I’ve been able to do in the name of a game. Who knows where I’ll be in another five, or even whether this game will still be around. What I do know is that I am glad I’ve stuck around so far, and I really do hope that others will experience what I have here.