All I Am Saying Is Give Peace A Chance

My Dear John Lewis,

All I Am Saying Is Give Peace A Chance (by John Louis)

I should, of course, start by highlighting that this post is entirely my own and is not endorsed by anybody (except me, I suppose).

Can there be peace in Illy? Should there be peace in Illy? Will this war ever end? Is surrender the only viable option?...Can we refrain from name-calling and insulting one another? My post on a A Short Treatise on the History of Illyriad was locked by GM Luna because you guys just could not control yourselves...

...if you are going to comment on my comments then please try to behave!! The accusations (and counter accusations, etc) are flying all over the place, is it even possible for the average Joe to make heads or tails of anything on these forums anymore?

I will try to start simply – can there be peace?

Firstly, we need to ascertain exactly what is necessary for there to be a viable peace.

Players need to stop destroying one another is the easy answer, but how can the Illy community bring this about?

For ease of reference I will try to simplify matters by referring to the two sides as follows: Harmless? and their allies ("Team A") and vCrow and their allies ("Team B") – this is an oversimplification, I know, but otherwise it becomes too confusing naming and referring to all the different alliances which are (or have been) involved.

My understanding of Team B's position is that their main objective was to stop Team A from, allegedly, dominating the server and imposing its 'will' on others (even if some Illy players thought that Team A's actions were for the ultimate good of everybody).

Has this not now been achieved? It is humbly submitted that any fair-minded observer would have to conclude that this objective has already been achieved.

The facts are that Team A is no longer the No. 1 alliance and Team B has successfully claimed the top 2 spots for themselves. What this means is that Team A can no longer command the authority it once did and therefore their much-criticized alleged 'policing' of Illyriad has come to an end. The balance of power has, in my view, definitively shifted and this is already apparent.

So, if the primary objective has been achieved, why has this war not come to an end?

Well, Team B may argue that this is because Team A will not surrender and they feel that it must as a prerequisite to any future peace.

In my opinion this is stubbornness and not at all how others have been treated in earlier wars. Sure, it is true that Team A has required surrender and war reparations from alliances it has defeated in the past, however, this was limited. Team B is presently carrying out a server-wide extermination of those who will not surrender to them. It is a scorched earth policy tantamount to genocide (if this was a real life war that is).

Team A may have done many things (good in some peoples eyes and bad in others), but it is not guilty of mass exterminations as we are seeing today being carried out by Team B.

The balance of power has shifted in Illy, Team A is not what it once was. The geopolitical landscape in Illyriad has morphed into something completely different. For better or worse, this is what we have now and for the foreseeable future.

Many players have voiced the opinion (and I agree) that Illyriad would be a poorer place without the members making up Team A. Yet their destruction is the only remaining objective for Team B – and this can only be called revenge.

So, where do we go from here?

The fact is that Team A will not surrender to Team B. Yet, Team B says it is willing to discuss the surrender of Team A and would like to do so as soon as possible to bring an end to this war.

It is submitted, therefore, that there are very few options left available – but there still are options. (1) A declaration of an end to this war (as the objectives have been achieved), or (2) a ceasefire with good faith from both sides and genuine negotiations at a permanent resolution.

I feel a ceasefire is the best way forward from here as this will allow much needed cooling time and an opportunity for everyone to take a step back and consider where we already are and where we are going as a community (I think certain alliances need to do a little soul-searching as well). I feel it is probably the only viable way for Illyriad to retain the rich tapestry of active players that it has created over the past few years. It will give Team B an opportunity to realize that the war need not go on, their ultimate goal has been reached – or do they hunger for genocide and are happy to justify trying to achieve this by saying Team A could have avoided it through surrender?