An Open letter to H? rank and file

SunStorm wrote: Geofrey and Dantem:  Wonderfully thought out and articulated posts.  Thank you. Although I have no stake in this fight, I sadly cannot refrain from voicing my own opinions on matters such as these.  So scroll down if you only want to read H? or GA posts.  :P  My feelings won't be hurt. geofrey wrote: . . . dignity, freedom, and honor. They are social concepts that only exist in a social settings. Part of those concepts are that you exclude certain people from your ideals. As in you are honorable because other people are not, etc. Though there is something (and I'm not quite sure what) that makes me believe things are not this black and white, I will accept this premise as true and would be interested in how this might apply to the GA?  They also uphold their dignity, freedom, and honor.  They believe themselves to be more honorable than Harmless, and to prove this point, they will siege Harmless out of the game.  This kinda reminds me of a fable about a girl named Snow White and a stepmother who needed to prove she was the most beautiful...  Please don't misunderstand, because this leads me into the next points I would like to make.

Way to miss the point - as I mentioned - Goon were not even an ally - Faya sent us one message saying "we think you're right and want to be on your side - FYI we're attack Gigi" and we replied with -"please don't siege this guy out of the game".

What else do you think we should have done?  Also, you realize your current alliance was involved in that op with Faya too, right?  Do you blame them too?

As I said, no reason, just bile from you (as per usual).

I still think that nvp's idea is perfect for this situation, but not in the long run. As it is there is enough of that with regards to big players dictating terms to smaller ones. If a newbie is attacked and their alliance is unable to help there is always someone in GC who will help...here i think the newbies have it much easier than larger players and once you become big, it is upto you to take care of yourself. 

I know the idea of a Illy U.N. is meant sincerely, but I'm chilled by the idea. Some of us play this game to escape modern real life, not recreate it in meticulous detail. Trying to enforce peace in a game about warlords and kingdoms strikes me as somewhat clueless. What, then, is the point of Illyriad? I'm not saying that everything that has happened in this war was in a spirit of good sportsmanship or good taste, but I think parallels to real world politics and morality are completely misplaced.

Imaginary worlds are places where it's okay to act outside of commonly accepted social norms. You can play the Vikings in Illyriad, and that's largely acceptable. However, I would note that these forums exist in the real world, not within the game, and it appears several of you have lost sight of that. What you say here, is said between real people. To a certain extent, GC is like that as well. The animosity displayed is unhealthy, given that this is simply a video game, made and sold for entertainment. Some of you are holding on to Illyriad way too tightly.

nvp33 wrote: It is true that international law is slated towards those with the resources to fully use them, but they are also a recourse of the weak or weaker against the strong, and with public and international opinion and even a complex trading system in Illyriad to affect the strong there would be similar pressure on the strong in Illyriad as there is in the real world. Furthermore; even though the current system in the real world has loopholes and can be misused, it is far, far better than what existed before, where the greater powers dictated to the smaller, where you had no recourse but to cling your self to a great power and hope to get something out of it in return, whereas today you are more or less sure to get something out of it.  And even though smaller powers are still dictated to, it is not in the same fashion, nor with the same aggression as before the international community was established. Is the system perfect? no. Is it better than what existed previously? yes. Is there room for improvement and reform? yes, but that doesn't mean that it should be abandoned, just that it should be improved. To answer your question in full - yes I would like some standards put into Illyriad - they are already here, they are unwritten, they are informal and they often contradict each other and are not always applied, and if broken, ppl have no recourse but to say "hey, unfair" and hope a great power listens and wants to act on it - like in the real worl, before international law and standardization. If they were put into system with rules of engagement, rules of arbitration and then they would apply to all. But this is taking it a step to far from my current proposal, which, if used, could be a steppingstone to international law in Illyriad, but the purpose of which is not that, but to resolve the current conflict. Sincerely Nvp A curiously wellspoken orc