Dear members of the Assembly,
First, I apologize for the length of this post, but it's a serious matter that I believe warrants lengthy examination. For the tl:dr version skip to the bottom.
Cracks at the seams
When you've played this game for a while, you have this useful tool called "perspective" that comes in handy from time to time. Perspective allows you to reflect upon present situations and juxtapose them against past situations. This shouldn't imply that the present situation doesn't have a few new wrinkles, but that people are people and as the saying goes, "there is nothing new under the sun."
I say all of this because I am seeing what I am terming "cracks at the seams" of our regional collectivity. What do I mean by "collectivity"? Collectivity is not sameness but it is unity and I am seeing cracks to that unity over the pas several months. I'm seeing the same sort of cracks that generally lead to - if unchecked - rogue delegates, new forums, butt-hurt feelings, and everything else that disunity produces.
It begins with admin mistrust
Typically attacks against collectivity begin with the community questioning administrative action/administrators taking unilateral action that the community questions. Communal trust within admins is, in my opinion, a critical - repeat, critical - aspect of this "collectivity" because if the community does not trust the admin team then there will eventually be a critical masse of inertia where the community says "let's go somewhere else." Once that critical masse has been attained it's very difficult to reverse course.
If the community feels safe within the hands of admins, then any disagreements or issues are not directed at the admin team but at the other members of the community. That's perfectly fine, reasonable, and expected but having seen certain things play out before the cracks begin with the beginnings of community mistrust of the administrators. While we have moved beyond the petition episode, one could consider that the initial "crack" if you will.
A public spat between longstanding members of the community
What adds fuel to the initial fire, is a public spat between longstanding members of the community. In a community such as this, we all build communal capital daily whether we intend to or not. By capital I mean that every day we are here we accrue (and not equally) a certain amount of attachment to the community at large. As our attachment grows so grows our community capital. I'll illustrate using Eluvatar. Eluvatar has a certain amount of communal capital to the extent that when he has been absent, his absence is felt as it actually changes the community. He has such capital through his efforts to build the community, participate in the community, etc. Another example, would be Blue Wolf amongst others. These people are part and parcel of the community whether they are trying to be or not.
Once a little admin mistrust has crept in, what adds to the "disunity movement" as I'll term it is a public spat between two or more members of the community who have significant community capital. Spats between those who do not have significant community capital don't produce the sort of strains to unity simply because the community is not harmed by someone who has little influence or investment within the community (think Unibot) despite that person's protestations, gyrations, or whatever against the "system" (aka community).
However, if the person with the issue is someone vested in the community and there issue is with another vested person then it is an entirely different ballgame. This is why the present situation with Flemingovia & Romanoffia is such a toxic mix for our community. Large spats like this one strain the community because vested community participants moving in opposite directions confuse the community and, unfortunately, tear apart the established community dynamic. Tear apart is a little strong, what these do is tear at the seams of the community.
So what's this mean?
What it means is that if we continue to go down this road, the end is that we will build to a critical masse where the community of TNP as we know it will change. It could mean Roman or Flem or others deciding to leave the community. Anytime a vested member leaves it leaves a whole (see earlier examples of Eluvatar and BW...or for you old people, Tresville & Hersfold) that is not replaced. Or worse it could mean the destruction of the community we've built and I don't mean the destruction of TNP herself, but of the community we have here. A new community would rise so it is not a dire situation, but it would mean the death of this one. I don't want to see that happen.
TL
R Version
I feel the TNP community is starting to crack at the seams. Not greatly, but a bit. I believe that this is evidenced by angst with admin actions and a public spat between prominent members of the TNP community. If we continue down this road, I believe we may form an irrevocable rift and our community will never be the same. I hope I am wrong, but I am a little worried.
First, I apologize for the length of this post, but it's a serious matter that I believe warrants lengthy examination. For the tl:dr version skip to the bottom.
Cracks at the seams
When you've played this game for a while, you have this useful tool called "perspective" that comes in handy from time to time. Perspective allows you to reflect upon present situations and juxtapose them against past situations. This shouldn't imply that the present situation doesn't have a few new wrinkles, but that people are people and as the saying goes, "there is nothing new under the sun."
I say all of this because I am seeing what I am terming "cracks at the seams" of our regional collectivity. What do I mean by "collectivity"? Collectivity is not sameness but it is unity and I am seeing cracks to that unity over the pas several months. I'm seeing the same sort of cracks that generally lead to - if unchecked - rogue delegates, new forums, butt-hurt feelings, and everything else that disunity produces.
It begins with admin mistrust
Typically attacks against collectivity begin with the community questioning administrative action/administrators taking unilateral action that the community questions. Communal trust within admins is, in my opinion, a critical - repeat, critical - aspect of this "collectivity" because if the community does not trust the admin team then there will eventually be a critical masse of inertia where the community says "let's go somewhere else." Once that critical masse has been attained it's very difficult to reverse course.
If the community feels safe within the hands of admins, then any disagreements or issues are not directed at the admin team but at the other members of the community. That's perfectly fine, reasonable, and expected but having seen certain things play out before the cracks begin with the beginnings of community mistrust of the administrators. While we have moved beyond the petition episode, one could consider that the initial "crack" if you will.
A public spat between longstanding members of the community
What adds fuel to the initial fire, is a public spat between longstanding members of the community. In a community such as this, we all build communal capital daily whether we intend to or not. By capital I mean that every day we are here we accrue (and not equally) a certain amount of attachment to the community at large. As our attachment grows so grows our community capital. I'll illustrate using Eluvatar. Eluvatar has a certain amount of communal capital to the extent that when he has been absent, his absence is felt as it actually changes the community. He has such capital through his efforts to build the community, participate in the community, etc. Another example, would be Blue Wolf amongst others. These people are part and parcel of the community whether they are trying to be or not.
Once a little admin mistrust has crept in, what adds to the "disunity movement" as I'll term it is a public spat between two or more members of the community who have significant community capital. Spats between those who do not have significant community capital don't produce the sort of strains to unity simply because the community is not harmed by someone who has little influence or investment within the community (think Unibot) despite that person's protestations, gyrations, or whatever against the "system" (aka community).
However, if the person with the issue is someone vested in the community and there issue is with another vested person then it is an entirely different ballgame. This is why the present situation with Flemingovia & Romanoffia is such a toxic mix for our community. Large spats like this one strain the community because vested community participants moving in opposite directions confuse the community and, unfortunately, tear apart the established community dynamic. Tear apart is a little strong, what these do is tear at the seams of the community.
So what's this mean?
What it means is that if we continue to go down this road, the end is that we will build to a critical masse where the community of TNP as we know it will change. It could mean Roman or Flem or others deciding to leave the community. Anytime a vested member leaves it leaves a whole (see earlier examples of Eluvatar and BW...or for you old people, Tresville & Hersfold) that is not replaced. Or worse it could mean the destruction of the community we've built and I don't mean the destruction of TNP herself, but of the community we have here. A new community would rise so it is not a dire situation, but it would mean the death of this one. I don't want to see that happen.
TL
R VersionI feel the TNP community is starting to crack at the seams. Not greatly, but a bit. I believe that this is evidenced by angst with admin actions and a public spat between prominent members of the TNP community. If we continue down this road, I believe we may form an irrevocable rift and our community will never be the same. I hope I am wrong, but I am a little worried.
