Open Dialogue Regarding Rebranding

[Ali Hadrix]

Recently, this poll was used as a litmus test against possible plans for the future of the Galactic Republic. The poll asked an important question about the future of the GR's physical territory, but more crucially it asked a question about the "future" of the faction.
Two options were provided, a decision to "stay the GR" and an option to "rebrand."

Unfortunately, what might be entailed in a "rebrand" was never aptly discussed, nor was an example or solid explanation provided to those expected to cast their vote. In fact, the term "rebrand" only came up in the 4 pages of discussion six times.
Only one idea was put forth, but the esteemed [member=Barrien Siegfried], but no further discussion took place.

So I'm here to ask: If you voted, what were your reasons for voting for / against rebranding specifically? And if you had any ideas for rebranding at the time, what were they?

And after that, I want to ask: If you were asked to "rebrand" the Galactic Republic faction, how would you go about doing so?

The idea is to facilitate positive dialogue and explore the potential for rebranding, as I do not feel it was properly examined before the vote was called.

Note: This is not an attempt to overturn a vote of the population. I personally felt rebranding would have been a good idea, but then again I had some ideas on why as well, and such ideas were never really discussed. Thus, I believe the vote fell where people felt more comfortable, and "rebranding" just felt like a half-arsed attempt to shake things up, or would make us look as if we were floundering.

 

[Marcus Itera]

Why rebrand?

What will that do for us besides give us a new name and a new aesthetic appeal?

Changing our name and the color of our flag will absolutely not stop the One Sith or any other faction from preying on us like we have been. I say we stand firm and solidly with our founding intention - to be greatest and largest lightside affiliated faction on the board.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Why rebrand?

What will that do for us besides give us a new name and a new aesthetic appeal?

Changing our name and the color of our flag will absolutely not stop the One Sith or any other faction from preying on us like we have been. I say we stand firm and solidly with our founding intention - to be greatest and largest lightside affiliated faction on the board.

I'll echo this. The republic is what it is. The GA is a sort of rebranding of the GR imo. It seem to work out well but there is no need to create a new GA variant. It would just be strange.

 

[Aithne Charr]

Not to mention, the rebranding of "THE REPUBLIC" Will mean you lose the very thing that you are all here for. We joined because we are fans of that government for which we are here. Maybe im wrong and you all joined because it was a cloud on a map that was large at the time, but i joined because it was the republic, the government in canon that we saw as a bastion of light against what the Sith represented... if you wanted something with more order and martial prowess, then you want the Empire. But if you are here because your character believes in the ideals of the republic itself, then why do we need to Rebrand.

I am not a full member, nor a leader in the republic. Hell, im pushing to make a new major faction as it is. But to see the Republic rebrand or give up... why. It gains none of us a fun time to just lay down and wait. To change our name and what we are. We are the Republic, maybe we wont win, maybe we will in the end be reduced to Minor. But do you want to sit down and wait for that or continue one and fight for the very thing we all worked to continue on. Hmm?

 

[Hopeman12]

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

To be honest, i wouldn't have that much fun with the GA or sliver jedi. Their roles are very small, I've noticed, compared to the GR and OS. Also, Us and the Sith are probably the biggest factions in the board. We are the yin to their yang. If one's gone, whats the use of the other.?

 

[Ali Hadrix]

One question we should ask is what a rebranding might consist of. I see references to aesthetic appeal and name, and the view that changing these wouldn't serve us much good. This is a viewpoint I myself share.
I do not think changing our name would do anything for us (save confuse those who are logging on and can no longer find the "Galactic Republic" on their faction list). However, aesthetics aren't the only thing we could "rebrand."

So let's consider what else we could mean by "rebrand." One of my first thoughts is how we could shift our focus of Faction-oriented RP to something specific with a long-term goal. Currently we are running Dominions that are somewhat joined, though the end-goal of these Dominions is tactical re-expansion of our territory.
One thing I see as a result of this is writing focusing on the faction, rather than the individual writers who comprise it. I'm curious what everyone would think if we ran through a series of Dominion/Faction threads that made one or two specific characters the focus of the story?

The idea is that there's a group effort to develop the character of a handful of individuals at a time, and it gives these writers a more inclusive sense of their role within the GR.

Our Dominions could serve multiple goals that bring us all together. Thus, in a sense, we would be "rebranding" our writing style as a faction.

For instance:

A single Dominion could focus on the character development of [member=Vitor Imperieuse] a man returned to the land of the living from eras passed and his struggle to connect with his new, modern reality.
That same Dominion could serve as a Development Thread for another writer's tech submission, making the focus of the thread two of our own writers.
To top it off, we can include a faction-oriented goal that ties it all up in a nice pink bow.

Of course, we sort of already do this, though it's diffused and sporadic. A concerted effort and an established routine for Thread planning could do wonders for us. And it doesn't need to be complicated, a simple template that covers as many bases as possible would work, and would allow us to offer as much to our writers as possible in each thread we write.

What this requires is greater efforts to plan our Dominions/Faction Threads. Of course, no one needs permission to start a Dominion, but coordination allows us to maximize potential interest in the story as well as secure as much user-involvement as possible.

Reaching out to other factions and unaffiliated writers is important as well, and something I'm sure we're making sure to do, but might still need improvement on.

I understand that this topic may not seem to be related to "rebranding," but I feel as if many of us recognize that some positive fundamental changes are necessary in order to keep the faction going strong. I'm sure we can all agree that changes to how we work as a team are more important than superficial ones. This is merely one interpretation of what "rebranding" might mean for us: A solid, fundamental shift that alters the way our faction is perceived for the best, and it gives us a singular goal the is tangible and thus more attainable, which further drives up motivation and interest.

 

[Kaiden Rohn]

'We are now the Galactic Space Puppy Club, but we still suck and all of our problems still matter and haven't changed, but we have a fancy new friggin name so fuck yeah let's do stuff'

 

[Mantic Dorn]

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

I think your idea is great. But I dont think it should be limited to that sort of dominions. People should always be free to throw their own story ideas around as well. Sometimes it is just nice to assualt something, the old fashioned way - like with Roche.
But then something more in depth and complex might be in order.

Variation is the key me believe.

 

[Miss Blonde]

Just give me your money and I'm great! But in all seriousness we are good as the republic, it's why we all joined. Because we love the set up, we love this faction yo.

 

[Hopeman12]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

Preach! Also if we rebrand, how will all the younglings and padawans (excluding yours truly) find out?

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

What you are looking for is not Rebranding then. You are mistaking that for a increase in activity and devotion that we all agree the Republic needs. But at the time, rebranding the Republic is not the way to inspire such a change. As it will only in the long run throw off people from joining us and further give those like the Galactic Alliance (Which is a canon name) the first look because they will be the more recognizeable name soon enough.

Simply complaining wont work either. For all threads like this do, the realistic thing about them is this. What is the benefit of this discussion if nothing is done after or during it. Sure we all say what we want to see but with your mentioning of the doms as well as the fact that im sure all of us... and yes, i mean all of us... have not been acting in such a way that is befitting of us. Those of us here want to prove that the Republic can be what it should be, but then -ALL- of us have problems upholding that fact.

I speak not only about us too. We as members, and those that lead us, both have the responsibility to act like mature adults here, i don't care how old you are. The Statement remains such. And i will admit that I, along with everyone else here, suffers from not doing just that for what ever reason. Hell this little post is a hypocritical one in its own and to be honest our first step at fixing the Republic is simple. We need to be civil and the better people in invasions, skirmishes, or even just basic threads. Sure its simple but at the same time i will admit it as well as i hope a good deal of others will in saying we are not doing just that.

*Sighs* Well, thats all i can say on that at the time. In Short, you want an activity spike, and a Rebrand would not solve that. The only thing that would solve that is fixing the way we operate and act as a faction in whole. Nothing more than that.

 

[Ali Hadrix]

[member=Mantic Dorn]

Certainly, Dominions do serve as a quick and easy example, however, so I talked a lot about them. A sort of sub-point to that post would be to compile various types of RP into fewer threads. That way, we're more pressed into writing together than apart. Of course, a personal story is always free to be written separately, we wouldn't want to infringe on anyone's desire to chart their own course.

[member=Solan Charr]

I do not dialogue in semantics. Call it rebranding, call it whatever you want. We have a solid group of writers already that drove the Roche Dominion through to home in something like three days. What was important there wasn't the time in which it was done, it was the dedication and effort put forth.
That is easily reproducible. We just have to stay in touch, keep our relationships alive and well, and of course get a post up when we can.