Sidoneia
Registered
June / July 2021 Update
Uptime and Downtime
It would be facetious to say that raiding is a way of life. Because it isn't. As we have discussed previously, NS is ultimately a game,
As the common adage goes, amateurs talk about tactics; professionals study logistics. How R/D is conducted is pretty well known nowadays, and realistically the meta for R/D is probably reasonably stable, at least in the short term. How to bring about this sucessful conduct however is another matter. It is easy to talk about how to set up puppets and triggers; it is difficult to discuss how to ensure that every single person who turns up to an operation knows how to respond. This is what we refer to as the logistical part of things. Building up a system to enable us to respond to, and function well as a team in an operation.
As real militaries have discovered, wargaming and exercises are an integral part of training in order to ensure that soldiers can be able to carry out successful maneuvers at all levels of warfare. This may sound grandiose to apply to NS, but yet realistically the application of this is simple enough: Even when we do not have any active operations, we regularly hold drills. For the rank and file, to practise responding to orders and making quick moves. This is particularly important for the retention of new members, in order for them to be integrated into the region's activities as soon as possible, and for them to feel like they are able to constructively contribute to the region. For officers, in giving out concise and clear orders, and to plan for such events. Above all, through playing both sides of raiding and defending, we aim to better understand the tactics of the defending side to develop better counterattack capabilities, and at the same time develop our attacking strengths. Through incremental improvements, we can then be more effective at what we do.
Of course, controlled drills are not a substitute for the real thing. Which is why we also ensure that we not only regularly carry out operations, but we do so at all levels. From small affairs involving only a small subset of our active populace, to grand offensives requiring the mobilisation of multiple regions' worth of people, to us all of these are opportunities to further the raider cause, and at the same time provide valuable frontline experience for our members.
Pictured:LWU on training maneuvers
Best Friends?
Fascism.
A highly divisive ideolology at best, with debatable merits and drawbacks.
At worst, a horrible dogma that led millions of innocents to their deaths.
We at LWU tend not to be overtly political. Which is why we do not treat political ideology, whether real or for RP purposes, as cause for us to choose a particular region as a suitable target for raiding, nor would we shy away from any region because of such. That said, we recognise that other regions have their right to choose and prioritise their underlying strategy with respect to choosing targets to conduct R/D operations.
Furries.
At best, an interesting subculture and font of creativity, popularised by the internet. Hopelessly misunderstood.
At worst, the worst parts of the fandom are what you get when you somehow manage to gather some of the most socially awkward people into a single place. You can get stuff that's questionable in nature, particularly in polite company.
Again, we at LWU do not discriminate. We are not interested in the personal hobbies and preferences of anyone, as long as they are of a legal nature, and with respect to our members, are not too abhorrent to the average person such that it may affect the reputation of the region. As such, being a furry, or participating in activities related to the hobby, are not particular qualifications for us to draw particular attention to or away from any such regions. Once again, we understand why some regions may have different thoughts.
Combine both though, you get fascist furries. Take controversy, make it (controversy)2. Given the context, they probably lean towards the socially unacceptable sort of furries anyway. Either way, with that in mind, it is quite obvious that a region with such a theme would NEVER be targeted by anyone in NS R/D...
We have no idea why someone would want to raid such a region. No, really.
Is the sarcasm too obvious?
As for what we have to say about this raid, it's simple.
BAD DOG!
DOWN!
HEEL!
Pictured: The writers of this article have trouble identifying what breed of wolf or dog this pup is.
DOWN!
HEEL!
Pros and Cons
For some, a chance to network. Or that's what business types call it these days. Here, we prefer the term "making friends".
For others, a chance to brag about their achievements and to show off.
(Why would anyone want to do that anyway? Who would care about such things in the first place? And speaking of which, conventions tend to be yearly. That's probably enough time to discuss all that needs to be said. Who are those shameless egotistical folks who would make monthly or two-monthly updates? We would never do that, because we're at least several million times more humble than that. Also, never in our lives, literally, would we ever exaggerate anything. Particularly for comedic effect. Or misuse the word "literally". Or beat a dead horse with respect to cliched statements. Or let a joke run so long that it becomes unfunny...)
We don't really know. All we know is,
And apart from all these activities, where would RaiderCon be without
Revival
Raiding is not only just about giving other regions a surprise, uninvited visit. Sometimes, if you're not good at it, it won't be a surprise after all. (OPSEC is important, folks) Other times, it may not be uninvited at all. We're all probably familiar with one type of invited visit, that is, those of us who could not make updates - Standing orders to reinforce are a form of invite of course. Still other times, the invite may have been there from the get-go. No, that does not mean we have become defenders. By the strictest definition, it isn't raiding per se, but sometimes operations must be conducted for strategic reasons, such as supporting an ally.
Some regions operate with democratic principles after all, even the (hopefully non-executive) WA delegate. During these transfers of power, the region is then at its most vulnerable. It is all too easy for an unwanted intruder to seize the chance - which could hamper the effectiveness of a region. Other times, it's a free-for-all, like sinkers and feeders. For those regions, every single endorsement would be needed to secure a delegacy. Either way, it is clear that sometimes, a strategic deployment may be required to ensure that a region remains, or will become, friendly or even raider oriented. This is how invited operations happen. Although they may not be considered raids per se, these operations too are important in maintaining the balance of power between raider and defender, and hopefully shift the equilibrium in our favour.
A short while ago, this exact thing happened to Osiris. Naturally, while it was not a raid, there was value in helping to secure a region for the raider side of R/D. Which is why LWU participated in an operation to reinforce the region.
At least, that's what we tell everyone the aim of the operation is all about.
We also decided to go back in time once more, this time all the way back to the 10th century. When the Byzantine Empire still existed, and Istanbul was still Constantinopole. Back we went, to ye olde England, where we found ourselves in the company of the Anglo-Saxons. Naturally, we decided to take up a popular pasttime suitable for the time period, and where else to look than the stereotypical historical raiders, the Vikings? Naturally we had to go raiding too. Which is why in a swift operation, we decided to occupy Cyngland (Editor's note: "Cyng" is an alternate spelling of "Cyning", Old English for "King"), and as the Vikings formed the Danelaw, so too have we decided to stay and establish our own kingdom. Several days later, we refounded the region, to be held by us for our own purposes.
While we're at it, and on the topic of Anglo-Saxons, we just have one more thing to say.
Administrative Matters
From this issue on, Lupus™, the quite-regular update newsletter from Lone Wolves United (LWU) has switched from a monthly issue to a two-monthly issue. Although this means that there will be fewer issues per year, this does not mean that there would be any reduction in content. Instead, what this means is that each newsletter will be longer, and more comprehensive. Some of you may wonder, why exactly did we implement this change. The reason is simple. In an unprecedented look behind the scenes, we would like to disclose a tightly held secret. Contrary to popular belief, the newsletters are not written by a team of highly trained kittens. Or puppies. Or wolves, even. What we use are an infinite number of monkeys on typewriters.
Pictured: Artist's impression of the writers hard at work.
Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, we can no longer maintain the required number of monkeys to both write stunning works of literature, as well as churn out newsletters on a monthly basis. Which is why sacrifices have to be made. We hope that despite these changes, you will agree that both the quality and quantity of our newsletter has not changed. After all, they say that Shakespeare was legendary in terms of language use, and it'd take the efforts of every single monkey to produce works of linguistic art that would be unrivalled in all of human history...
We rest our case.