Going minor?

[Dresden Verbrennung]

The fate of the Republic was decided long before this discussion ever took place. And I do mean long before. If one were to pick a definitive point and say "Yup, that's where it all went to hell," it would probably be the cloudbreak after the Contruum/Balmorra double header. Had certain things gone differently, the Republic might still be thriving today. As it stands, it's shadow of its former self.

Between the string of terrible leaders that did their level best to alienate every ally the Republic might have had, both IC and OOC, the rapidly dwindling territory and the dwindling playerbase that came with it, and the absurdly toxic attitude that pervaded the GR forums for so long, this has been a long time coming.

The handful of dedicated writers left could potentially keep it going by dominioning territory away from potential enemies, but you're looking at a high effort, low reward sort of deal, and if you can't rapidly recruit more writers, the Mandos will take territory faster than you can gain it.

If you guys genuinely enjoy writing together as a team and want to continue to do so, going minor would be the best option. You can regroup off in some remote corner and continue to hammer out fun stories without the pressure of being Chaos's favorite punching bag anymore. If, however, you're determined to stick this out, the upcoming weeks and months will likely be unpleasant to the extreme.

 

[Kenrath]

I kind of enjoyed the Contruum/Balmorra double header myself. Though I didn't have a GR character in that one.

I have seen Minor/reboots happen a few times in the last two years. Not a really good track record on those endeavors.

I don't think the Republic has had bad leaders from an OOC perspective. I will however admit that too many times said leaders have had a bad habit of letting members speak for them unchecked. However that is not an issue exclusive to the GR.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Both Sith factions are also at risk of recall so we are not alone in being Chaos' punching bags. Watch out for the next advert:

Spoiler

Invasions guaranteed or money back

 

[Klesta]

Behold, the advertisement I cooked up!

 

[Dresden Verbrennung]

I don't think the Republic has had bad leaders from an OOC perspective

I could name a few.

 

[Kenrath]

I could name a few.

Feel free to shoot me a PM?

 

[Salete Kel]

Whoa whoa whoa. Going Minor? I know I am a past player who went inactive for a while, but coming back full time. This would just scatter everybody. 95% of the people who join this faction join because of the name, they don't do anything with the actual faction for more than one RP. When it goes minor no one is going to care enough to join again and have to work it all back. Besides getting a few dedicated writers isn't as hard as completely restarting from square one. We just need to do a point turn on foreign affairs and other such things.

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Alright folks, here's the thing.

This entire last year should have been spent pummeling the Mandalorians and others who have been doing their best to pummel us.

Instead we pummeled each other and dicked around with an unending series of Dominions, easily the most boring things to write on this entire site, until we did a loop around the Eastern quadrant and ended up right back where we started.

Go minor and see what happens. Are we going to start producing all of our own RP? Probably not, activity will die and we'll disseminate to other groups with more activity.

What these constant conflicts between factions do is drive writing forward. And it's something we should be participating actively in.

Of course, it's best if we're all trying to cooperate and collaborate with one another, rather than letting it all melt down to bs petty OOC motives, but if anything that is the only thing our factions each need to change.

Constantly fighting? Awesome.

Someone hits you, hit them back, jfc.

Just keep calm and recite the five D's:

Deceive, Disparage, Demoralize, Disable, Destroy

 

[Popo]

Just gonna say this:

You either die the hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

There's a fine line between fighting back and pushing the boundaries. Not here to get into the middle of all that, but stating that's one of the reasons y'all are in this mess. And don't start with the "well it was justified or you misread or etc etc etc." Don't matter.

When 90% of the board sees it, it no longer matters. To the victor go the spoils and, in fact, the history books.

Essentially, I'm saying please, fight on. Keep at it. Don't lose morale and have fun with it. But try not to overdo it because no one wants another Roche.

 

[Dresden Verbrennung]

Fighting back involves people. It takes writers dedicated to sticking around through invasions, skirmishes, and dominions, and it takes some kind of cohesive narrative for them to work with. That means active, involved leadership from people who can work well with others. It's also going to take the rest of the site cooperating, rather than looking at the GR as a punching bag.

Let's start with the core group of writers. How many people here would be willing to put their nose to the grindstone and make a Republic renaissance? I'm not talking about just showing up to invasions, though that's part of it. You need territory, which means dominions. Lots of them. You need faction stories, stuff that will attract new writers. You need to actually reply to skirmishes, instead of bitching about how unfair it all is. Do you currently have enough dedicated souls to make that happen? If no, how are you going to get them?

Then comes the topic of leadership. I don't know the current team well, so I can't judge their effectiveness, but they seem to be marginally less reviled than, say, Beeowulf, who never met a bridge he wouldn't burn or Mantic, who's still a punchline. The perception is that the current team encourages a "report first get facts later" mentality, however, and that's not good. In order to pull the GR out of the gutter, the leadership team needs to actively drive storylines, and they need to actively try to rehabilitate the Republic's reputation.

That last part is going to be the real kicker, because it means cracking down on negative behavior and reinforcing positive. There should be no room here for a persecution complex. If someone hits the report button just to be an ass, handle it, and do so in such a way that it's evident to anyone watching that it's been handled. Same with any other behaviors that foster ill will. Reward positive behavior through public accolades. Find someone who can make bling and fire up a member of the month program. If someone does something inordinately badass in an invasion or dominion, something that not only looks cool but helps the faction, find a way to reward them for it and encourage others to emulate their example.

Let's face it, you're going to need allies. Part of that comes from encouraging crossover stories with groups like the SSC or the GA, but we also need help getting the Mandos off our backs. If we want any sort of consistent support, we need to do everything we can to show them that we're worthwhile. That's on us. The GR has pissed off just about everyone not actively in the GR at some point, and it's on us, not them, to mend those bridges.

Find your natural diplomats and make effective use of them. Put them in positions, both IC and OOC, where they can do their thing and give them the support they need to do it well. If a position of IC power is underutilized and someone else could better fill that slot, someone who could reach out to other factions and make magic, make it happen. And if someone is actively alienating your allies by driving them away in droves with a cattle prod, give them the boot. Thank you for your service, but please don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you on the way out.

If you can do all that, by all means, stay major. If not, the only thing you stand to gain by staying major is the slow, undignified death of a once proud faction.

 

[Kenrath]

[member="Dresden Verbrennung"]

Ok I'll bite.

What do you see as your role in all the things you just suggested?

 

[Dresden Verbrennung]

Spectator, mostly. If y'all can start to pull it off, I'll throw in.

[member="Myles Savar"]

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

You do all know this hypothetical. We ain't gonna go minor

 

[Popo]

[member="Sanya Val Swift"]
This particular three ring is still entertaining to watch, especially as if previous example holds, none of this advice will be heeded, understood, or acknowledged in any way

 

[Kenrath]

You do all know this hypothetical. We ain't gonna go minor

Yes I think the resounding NO posted by Caius cleared that up.

[member="Sanya Val Swift"]
This particular three ring is still entertaining to watch, especially as if previous example holds, none of this advice will be heeded, understood, or acknowledged in any way

As much I would love to be able to refute that point sadly I can't.

 

[Dresden Verbrennung]

[member="Sanya Val Swift"]
This particular three ring is still entertaining to watch, especially as if previous example holds, none of this advice will be heeded, understood, or acknowledged in any way

Can't say I didn't try.

[member="Popo"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

I'd originally advocated going minor, but honestly, I don't think it's the best path anymore. We could hold out provided enough folks stick around. We have good writers who coordinate and fleet really solidly. A lot of other factions only have 1-2 people who can do that.

Jedi characters such as the one I have could not only be warriors, but we could support things too. Healers, diplomats all matter. Caius, Suravi and the like run things how I like it. They play fair but don't take shit from people. That can slowly work it's magic on other people's minds.

 

[Arage Bao]

Yes I think the resounding NO posted by Caius cleared that up.

It's not up to him or the other members of the faction administration, though.

When Kiskla wanted to go minor, membership decided against it and here we are. When Mantic wanted the HC to go minor, they decided against it and stayed on as major faction for a while afterwards. Point is, whatever the faction membership wants, that's where the faction will be headed.

All that being said, I hope you guys vote to stay major. The Mando Crusade has just started and it would be boring to see y'all drop out after just one invasion.

It will be far more amusing to see the faction being chopped up to bits and pieces over the next few months.

It'll be cathartic.

 

[Ellya]

As a long time Republic member, a supporter of its causes and its story, and a person who really loves the idea of having the Galactic Republic, I'm gonna voice my opinion about this matter.

There exists a faction cycle in Chaos -- a faction rises to fame, stays active for a while, and then they lose their activity. Take a look at all influential factions that have existed in the board (Lords of the Fringe, Omega Protectorate, CIS/Techno Union, Primeval, Sith Empire (although the latter's conditions were different)). They all remained as a part of the cycle, meaning they started out as super active, had a time of rapid posting and activity, and then died.

At the present time, the One Sith and Galactic Republic are standing on the verge. Both have lost their spark and activity. Let's face it, we have written our story and now it's time to take a step back. Every faction must die sooner or later and right now I feel like we have just been beating the dead body that is the Republic for a really long time.

Please do not bring the argument that "oh we are a canon faction, we must stay here for the new guys" into the discussion. Look at the One Sith. Look at the Black Sun Syndicate. Look at the Hutt Cartel. All of them were canon factions, but none of them are really that attractive and active anymore. Having a canon name is not an argument.

You may ignore my opinion, I've nothing against it. But I seriously believe that if you keep on acting like you've been the past year or so, you are just making everything worse.

So, guys. Write a good story with the Mandalorians. Write a good story with the One Sith. And then dissolve. Be like the leadership of the former Sith Empire, who pushed the faction story to the point at which it was logical for them to disappear.

And so when the time comes, another Republic could rise from the ashes.

Thank you for your attention.

 

[ADM. Reshmar]

Long Live The Republic... All I am going to say