Agent W

This is a sign of trust, Ronny. Besides, if you give me enough peanut butter, i'll do just about anything.

The Syndicate has to get it's groove back before we ask anyone to dance again. That's not the only thing coming in nine months. I hear Sval took Wizel out to a very nice dinner last night.

Blackwater hereby surrenders to the combined forces of Hollywood and admits defeat. Here’s to finding someone new to dance with next year.

Back in the old game, you used to have to recruit by hand. There were some really great recruiters back then too. Recruitment is the one area of automation I’d really love to see scaled back.

We use bots, and based on my limited understanding of them, we have some of the finest bots in the game thanks to a good base of coders in our alliance. I didn't imply you were in favor of removing bots, what I took issue with is the labeling of "overreliance". I think it's smart to use the tools at your disposal, not a weakness or personal failing.

RnR didn't have an & back in the old game due to the powers of coding from 2006.

Your "dig" against us is blatantly false. Since I took over as FA for the Syndicate, my allies have always had broad latitude to set their own FA path. There were plenty of moves my allies have made in the past several months that I could have taken issue with. When CTO decided to sign DPE, I gave that my blessing. When SV wanted to sign GATO, I not only gave it my blessing, but encouraged it. My allies do plenty of their own FA, and are always free to pursue whatever path they think makes sense. As for the only two CB's I have used since I became FA, you're going to criticize mine and not Rose's or Clock's? You are the Syndicate's biggest fan. The issue with this is the current norms of the community. The meta will have to shift in order for any real change to happen. I think nation sims are better when people are willing to take risks, though. This is a very good and well thought out post, and I agree with many of the points you made, so I am going to piggy back off yours. #1: The forums weren't always in this bad a state. Before NPOLT, I remember Roquentin whining constantly on the OWF. I think part of the reason people retreated in the first place is because of the bad memories associated with forum posting during NPOLT. However, part of the problem is that we just don't train or expect our members to post on the OWF anymore. Communities have become insular, and with the loss of personal forums, many in this game don't actually know how to make a worthwhile forum post. For that reason specifically, I'd love alliances to make posting on the forums an emphasis again. #2: Grudges have always created interesting politics across the years and across games. I think it's important that a singular grudge doesn't become the meta game, (Read: tS-Grumpy), but competition is healthy. Shorter wars are something that Grumpy has been a proponent of for a long time, and I do not begrudge them for being so gung ho about the idea, because it is insanely beneficial to the winning party of the war. Speaking on the current war, had both sides opted for the two-week special, it would have essentially left all of Blackwater burned with HW taking minimal damage. I think that if people are willing to wade through the discomfort that comes with war, there is benefit to be had from wars that are around the same length as they were back in 2015-2016. That being said, I think wars longer than a month are basically a thing of the past. No one needs the misery of a ten month slog again. #3: The interesting thing about CB's, is in both this game and the old game, as time went on, CB's became irrelevant. In this game, you have most people go to war either because they want to roll someone, or see the other group as a threat to the initial party. Back in the heydays of Sphinx, CB's were actually reasonably good. The last CB I think the community could come to a census on validity for was The Last Ride. On the same hand, not every alliance is going to leak their internal government chats, so I do wonder how often a clearly viable CB would come around. That being said, I think there would be some benefit from people taking offense to acts like spying and poaching. I personally wanted to roll the !@#$ out of Space Invaders when Spanky was boasting openly about having spies in eS. #3: You hit the nail on the head, imo. Nowadays, FA is about six people DM'ing each other separately in order to make politics go. I think Morf's radio show is the best thing to happen to politics in a long time, however. The concept of having decision makers all in a public setting openly talking about the issues of our day in the open has been an incredibly welcome change. It also helps give your average player a basic FA education. Many newer players don't grasp the intricacies of FA, and unlike in-game systems, there's not really a tutorial for newer players to come to grips with the game of FA. I've always been a fan of the idea that one of the better ways to learn is to do, rather than show, but giving players a peek behind the curtain of secrecy is highly beneficial. #4: There was once a professional football coach who said something along the lines of "statistics are for losers." I don't agree 100% with that notion, but I do think there's some truth to it. Much of the time, we're hiding behind spreadsheets and charts, trying to make decisions off of data. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but we've lost some of the heart in this game too. There's not many alliances in this game who are willing to overlook the numbers and just do what they want to do. It's actually the thing I think that HoF and formerly KT adds to this game. #5: Peace terms was another casualty of NPOLT. Speaking honestly, I wanted to include joke terms in our peace deal with HW in Brawly, but the idea was rejected by my sphere/coalition-mates. They thought that even joke terms were a step too far. When peace gets done between HW-BW, it is my hope that they offer a similar deal to what was offered to them in Brawly, but that's ultimately up to them. Moving forward, I think people have to be willing to re-think the community norm that says peace has to always be AoD or White Peace.

Does this mean RnR won? Seriously though, I think merges are always an interesting thing, so congrats on something new.

I'd have to disagree with this "reliance" point. Do any of us still use a typewriter? Is using Microsoft Word relying on a crutch? The truth is, bots have arrived and been in vogue for a while now. It's not how we did it back in my day, but being a curmudgeon in the face of progress is generally not the play.

This post sums up how I feel pretty well. It's unrealistic to expect that 150 out of your 150 members are going to either want to help or be able to help either. The usage of bots has allowed the time commitment needed from government to go way down, and in a world where bots can just do many things, why would we or should we expect them to not use the tools at their disposal. Not to mention, as Adri said, that time isn't necessarily spent doing nothing either. Speaking for myself as FA, I greatly appreciate that I have tools at my disposal, so I can spend more time talking with my allies and doing things like making forum posts. Throughout the generations, people have decried technology. Standing in the way of progress has left many buried in the sands of time. Many people may not know this, but automation was even used by certain alliances in the old world. The world changes, the skills that are in demand do too. We see this trend even in the true world. Bots don't necessarily have to be a bad thing. The minutae of these games has never been it's strongest or most engaging point. I'd rather have your average alliance member have time to meaningfully engage in their alliance's community, rather than be working in the spreadsheet mines. Similarly, i'd rather have the community have the time to create and influence, with things like radio shows, than be bogged down by things that don't matter.

Borg skilled player but that is not normally, This very very insane....They need to check him bot and code.....Maybe he not cheating but maybe he using the game deficit ...and this cant seem on bot API screen..He needs to check-up....Roquentin FPL Cheater with Streaming.....I think Roquentin still cheating... Borg using game deficit on PRO scene ,ON BIG Events.Maybe everyone dont knows him trick.He incredible....I want to ask his where is the comming of your skill's

This is why having a good protector that teaches you how to play the game matters.

Found the most perfect video for this.

The Syndicate will be placing MCM on administrative leave while we conduct an internal investigation. It is the policy of the Syndicate not to comment on ongoing investigations. As for Adam, that man is a degenerate, both inside and outside the office. When I took over for him, I had to pay to have that office deep cleaned. Our thoughts and prayers are with Vexz in these trying times.

My lawyers will be putting out a statement forthwith. I deny all charges leveled against me with regards to the use of nuclear weapons.

I mean, at any given moment, if you think that I am high, there's at least a 25% chance you're correct. As I have previously clarified, I don't begrudge Grumpy for hitting us. It is now a matter of public record that I tried to repair relationships, so I'll say that I was initially disappointed that those efforts didn't bear fruit.

I think to some degree, there's always been an element of nastiness in the community. It'd be easy to come into this thread and blame every bad thing that's ever happened in the game on NPO, but we both know there were bad actors before them, and a number of those bad actors remain. From my perspective, I do not believe I have ever acted with nastiness or malice, despite what some people may perceive me to be. As to your other points, there is only one Partisan in the game. I could spend all day reminiscing about people in this game I want back, and how people today aren't good enough. I think the healthier option for the community isn't to sit around and mourn Partisan, but continue to build a broad Orbis community that encourages the next generation of players to be just as great as Parti. As to your point about being shouted down, I don't deny that has happened, but it's a lot less "planned" than I think people believe. I don't tell my members what to post or when to post. Whether I should instruct them how to post is a different argument. Anyone who is past the age of 25 knows that if your argument boils down to "Your an idiot", that person is generally arguing in bad faith, only wants to sow discontent, and can almost always be safely ignored, if not blocked. In this case, my ideal outcome would be to split the difference. I want my members to be posting and actively contributing to ongoing dialogues, but I want them to do it in a way that isn't borne from a place of anger and spite. Though I do think that banter and a bit of trash talk can add some spice, so long as its done in an IC manner and not intended to pick on others. I think the idea of "putting up" with the rest of the community is what got us here. There are plenty of good people across the game. People who add value to the broader community. It is my work to continue to bridge the divide that exists between tS and the broader Orbis community. I appreciate the willingness you've shown to engage in this dialogue, and I very much enjoyed our conversation yesterday. It gave me a lot to chew on, if you will. I think it's relatively easy to spot when someone is being authentic. Hello Mayor, I'll be honest, you and I aren't exactly familiar with one another. It is clear that you don't particularly care for us. I'd be interested to know why that is. You're entitled to your opinion, but it seems borne from anger. My general outlook on life is that most people are generally good. When negative emotion exists, it comes from hurt that hasn't been properly dealt with. I've detailed my hurt in this thread, I hope you're both brave and mature enough to be able to share yours.

Hello Friends, I will start this by acknowledging the time and effort put into this thread and willingness to start a dialogue about how we carried ourselves in the past year. I am a long-time nation sim player, dating back to 2008 in Cybernations. Throughout my time in nation sims, I have taken my fair share of lumps, some of them deservedly so. I count myself fortunate to have played a role, albeit minor, in many alliances in that game, and eventually here. I was a founding member of the Syndicate, but not someone who has always been locked behind its walls. I was also briefly in the Viridian Entente, and notably the Church of Spaceology. During these years, I have had the pleasure to meet some truly wonderful people. Some of them remain, but many were driven out of the game. In my experience, the culprit behind the mass exodus of players in both games has one common denominator, the New Pacific Order. They spent their decade plus long tenure perfecting a toxic brand of politics. One that focuses on domination and destruction, rather than fair play and mutual respect. They forced me to mourn twice. First when they destroyed my CN home of MI6, then when they destroyed my home in CoS. The grief I felt at those losses is still palpable. It is painful to look back and see what was taken from me. After the destruction of CoS by NPO’s hand, and the conclusion of NPOLT with their bans, I wound up back in The Syndicate after being invited to come home by Partisan. I was happy to be back in an alliance I love, an alliance I had helped to found. Later on, I was also blessed with the chance to lead The Syndicate as its FA Executive. From my first day on the job, however, things became complicated and murky. Quack had just dissolved, Hedge Money was militarizing, and The Knights Radiant had remained militarized from The Last Ride. My initial worry as I stepped in, was that war might immediately come to our doorstep. Short and simple, I was dropped feet first into the action. I did my best to quickly evaluate our position, and attempt to ingratiate myself with the people I was now rubbing elbows with. Hollywood would form a day or two later, and fortunately, we were not their target at this time. However, I did immediately take note of Hollywood’s war performance, especially in light of Mystery and Oasis entering on behalf of Rose. The display they put on during that war, the narratives I inherited, and certain comments by members of Hollywood led me to believe that conflict between us was inevitable. Rather than try to swim against the current, I went where I saw it flowing. It was my hope that we could fight this war, and then seek to normalize relations after we both had time to cool off. Throughout the lead up to that war, I never signed a secret treaty, and I am on the record in those conversations as being against such. Things stayed largely the same for us over time, until we were informed by Eclipse that they intended to form a new sphere with Cataclysm. While I do not begrudge them for leaving, it certainly did isolate us from the rest of the game further. As for this current war, Hollywood began militarizing over the weekend, and we cautiously followed suit, while I still held out hope that my diplomatic entreaties had found paydirt. Unfortunately, there still existed bad blood from Brawlywood. I do not begrudge Grumpy for hitting us. We have a long and contentious history, much of it done under the narrative I used against them. I acknowledge we are still suffering from the aftermath of the NPO war. We have treated people with mistrust, we have been too reactionary, and we have become isolated from broader parts of the community. This has caused us to appear cold and uncaring to the outside world, unconcerned at best, apathetic at worst. Some of the criticism leveraged at us throughout, while overstated, has merit. We are an old and proud alliance, with many players who have been together for years, and those wounds have contributed to the apparent disconnect between tS and the community. Our history of exclusivity has made us predisposed to insularity, especially given how we had navigated NPOLT, and the fear of being trampled under NPO’s boots made us weary of a repeat. We decided, perhaps not entirely consciously, to focus on ourselves. This has been unfair to broader Orbis, and under my continued watch as the Chief Global Strategist, no more. It is far past time for the Syndicate to shed the demons of NPOLT, and retake her place in the community. This all being said, I have zero tolerance for those in this community who seek to be intentionally hurtful. Pure spite and abuse should have no place in this game. I was disheartened to see personal attacks directed towards my ally. When toxicity is allowed to thrive, bad things follow. I have seen too many good people be driven out of the game by it. These acts escalate when we, as a community, don’t push back. If we all want to participate equally and derive mutual fun from blowing up pixels, this type of behavior has to end. I hope this gives people something to consider. I know that I will be having that conversation with the Syndicate. -WANA

Your entire CB is revenge, but we already knew that. Throughout the past four months, I proceeded to do my best to mend relationships between our spheres. There was a chance for this dynamic to stop, for people to do new things. I took that chance, you did not.

How dare you attack me in that nature. You and I both know each other's history. Do better.

Justinian, do you not remember DBDC? I do. Also, I have never villianized Grumpy for existing. I've gone on the record repeatedly denouncing any attempt to hurt Grumpy in artificial ways. You're also wrong about decrying Hollywood from its inception. Ask Tyrion about that one. I remember Tyrion asking me to hit HW with them in GnR and me declining that offer. If we truly only had an interest in one-sided wars, I would have entered with no hesitation. I didn't. You're wrong Justinian, and the fact that you should know better makes it worse.

Where have I given up? If I was truly given up, I'd do my best Tyrion impression and sell Infra.

Are you really trying to draw parallels between our sins? You're a bad person both inside and outside.

Investor Contact: Vemek Media Contact: WANA Hello Friends, As I am sure you are all well aware, tonight, the Syndicate and the combined forces of Blackwater have been attacked by Hollywood. This attack was a pre-meditated affair, driven by nothing more than fear, revenge, and pettiness. While it does not shock me that the combined forces of HW would nurse such childish grievances, I am disappointed nonetheless. After the conclusion of Brawlywood, I along with Blackwater, charted a new FA path for ourselves. One not hellbent on making others answer for grievances, but one that prioritizes the type of politics that makes the game fun and more enjoyable for everyone. Rather than simply looking to hold Hollywood down for an eternity, we had our war, and attempted to make amends for the future, so that this played out conflict would not repeat itself, so that GG and The Syndicate could cease our pattern of conflict. I sought to work with a diverse range of alliances to achieve this objective, including the Head of FA for The Knights Radiant, Morf. As Morf will tell you, I spent the past 4 months trying to reconcile our relationship with TKR. I was incredibly transparent with him about our thinking, and made it clear that I preferred a world in which HW and BW did not have to be enemies. He told me he felt the same, but clearly he was misleading me, which is strange because TKR made a big deal last war about being honest in their dealings. As for the “CB” being presented by the force of Hollywood, I do not understand how your alliances can rant for pages on the forums about my CB against HW being weak, while you simply peddle revenge as yours. It’s incredibly weak, and I think you know that, which makes this all this hit all the more ludicrous. Your sphere was aware that the Syndicate did not pose any danger to yours, yet you have been felled by the deadliest sin of them all, ego. I hope the temporary dopamine rush will have been worth it. Since taking over the position of Chief Global Strategist, I have been an outspoken proponent of politics that will push the game into a healthier state. I have taken a hardline on actions I feel hurt the meta of the game. I know someone else who used to do that as well, your new friend, Lord Tyrion. There was a time when Tyrion was the biggest proponent of mini-spheres, and multipolarity. A time where he felt so strongly about it that he entered Guns N’ Roses. Is this war really good for the game? Is signing the Immortals to an already powerful bloc just so they can hit a smaller sphere really good for the concept of mini-spheres? I find it hard to wrap my head around how this moves the game forward into a better state. The Immortals have abandoned their principles twice now. First when they signed an MDP with Mystery Inc., now when they have joined Hollywood so they can get revenge. Perhaps in this war, I have failed. Perhaps Grumpy shall score their cheap points and then stroke their egos in private. But even if the outcome of this war is a failure, at least I can go to sleep tonight knowing that I have not abandoned my principles, nor have I abandoned my optimism for what this game can be. -WANA About SYNDICATE, INC., SYNDICATE, Inc., based near Nassau, The Bahamas, is the world's leading gasoline, aluminum and munitions distributor for a wide variety of peacekeeping and humanitarian activities. Wholly-owned SYNDICATE, Inc. subsidiary brands include The Enterprise, which provides development and growth opportunities for multinational prodigies around the globe, and The Dead Rabbits. For more information about SYNDICATE, Inc., and its activities, contact WANA, Chief Global Strategist.

Two members of Hollywood actually admitting they don't have a CB. Am I high?