Farewell Address: January 2023

I have written two of these speeches before, because you have blessed me with the opportunity to serve as your delegate 5 separate times now. This is one of the best jobs in NS, and I enjoy it immensely every time I get to do it, knowing full well that it could be the last time, and that I only get the chance because you put your trust in me. Looking back on the last 8 months, I can say I am proud of my own growth as a leader and a player in his game. I took chances I never would have taken before, but I honestly see it as a continuation of things I did in the past. I wrote the book on optimistic diplomacy, and that groundwork helped immensely in finding common ground with two of our historical adversaries/rivals in the NPO and TWP. We are party to two significant treaties that were tested almost immediately and have been highly relevant in the gameplay sphere. With me, TNP stuck its neck out further than it has in a long time, and results certainly vary. But through it all, we stood up for our friends, stood by our principles, and stood up to bullies and players who decided to stake everything on fighting the kind of community we believe in. I make no apologies and have no regrets for how I responded to these events, and the actions we took as a result. I hope that you all see the wisdom in these alliances and agreements we have made, in the decisions I made, and that you carry them forward as I pass the torch to a new delegate. Ultimately he will make the final call, which you will either agree with or make your disagreement known, but I hope I have shown why these events played out the way they did, and why we ought to build on them going forward.

In the past, when I have completed my time as your delegate, I could point to a variety of accomplishments and remark on how the region is growing and advancing. This time around is admittedly a more mixed affair. I am extremely proud of the PPO and the MGC, I was happy to finally see the anniversary event with TSP through after nearly a year of planning limbo, and I greatly enjoyed our part in putting together the 20th anniversary event for NS. As promised, we updated our legal code to create a better criminal court process and begin professionalizing our litigants. We brought back universal standing, something that was lost when we abolished the office of the attorney general. We modernized our citizenship process even further, improved our military’s process for restricting actions and exempting them, and restored old ways of handling military operations and treaties that were disrupted by Court decisions. I resumed the old practice of fireside chats and was pleased with the response it received from our gameside community. We took additional action to engage them, including multiple proclaimed holidays and a month-long event during Pride Month. Along the way many newcomers, including significant players from the cards and WA communities, joined our staff and let us their talents and expertise. We showcased some of our finest roleplay as part of the most recent Christmas charity fundraiser. And as of late, the NPA has contributed to successful liberations at a time when raiding is considered dominant and nigh-unbeatable.

Admittedly, we lost a lot of ground. Our WA numbers were helped by a TikTok boom, but overall they have been slipping over time. The staffs are leaner than they’ve ever been, simpler regular activities like Music Monday and Theme Thursday have been discontinued. Our radio shows haven’t bounced back and there have been no TNL releases. Season 3 of cards injected much needed life into our cards ministry, which was holding incredibly steady but was at a knife’s edge. The NPA has suffered setbacks in leadership and enrollment, and HA’s telegrams seem to have lost their edge. The entire game is suffering similar problems, but that does not completely excuse our inability to make headway in adapting to the current state of the game. And amidst all this, bigger changes loom, especially the Frontiers and Strongholds one. This was an area I once proudly touted in previous terms, but we had more people and new ground to break. Innovation is something TNP has always prided itself on, but it isn’t something you can invent out of thin air. We need engaged minds and new perspectives to keep it flowing, and perhaps I am the bet symbol of this problem, being a multi-term former delegate who focused much of his time on problems abroad while problems at home needed attention. I intended for my second term to refocus on internal matters, but that did not materialize in nearly the way it should have. It is here that I very much do have regrets, and I wish I could have solved these problems and proclaimed to you that we were past them. But that isn’t the case.

This is always one of the hardest parts, because after being in the trenches this long, working on so many things, and the game continuing regardless of our terms of office, it never feels like the job is done. And truthfully, it isn’t. But this region takes a village to run, and our staff and our ministers and our players will keep doing what they need to do to keep it alive. I want to caution all of you though: you cannot take that for granted. We get out what we put into this game, and as long as our community cherishes what it has and everyone in it does their part, however small, TNP will keep going and continue to be the awesome place it always has been and we all know it can be in the future. NS is changing, more than it has in a long time, likely more than it has in many of your lifetimes in this game. We’re entering uncharted waters, and we will be tested like never before. Last year was kind of crazy. This year is gonna be kind of insane. You have capable new leaders ready to step up and guide you through it, but they will be relying on all of you as much as you rely on them. As we saw clearly this past year, we cannot assume things will always stay the same and every one of your neighbors will be here forever, or a flood of new people will come and take their place. Things change, unexpected situations happen, people leave, friendships end. What you take for granted today may not be here tomorrow. You have to make things happen, not all the time, not every day, but there will come a time where you look around you and notice that things you used to see, activities that used to be common, traditions and ideas that flourished only a month ago, are nowhere to be found. If you want those things, if you want TNP to be that place, you have to pick up the baton and carry it forward. Sooner or later we all have a decision to make, and in the moment it may not even be that dramatic. The decision is whether you accept that something is gone, and let it go, or decide to keep it going even if you’re carrying it alone.

TNP prides itself on having the biggest numbers, of staffs, of endorsements, of bureaucratic nonsense, votes in an election, roleplay, RMB, take your pick. But remember that we also used to boast the biggest cards community and the biggest military. Nothing lasts forever, but it can last a lot longer if you put your faith and your energy into it. If the community decides it’s not worth sticking around, then it won’t. But each of you has the opportunity to do something to give people a reason to stay. Biggest GCR won’t be the reason forever – we’re entering a time where many other regions can bring in new players without effort too. We will need to work harder than ever to keep what we have built, and no it won’t always be easy or fun. It will be work sometimes, but I hope it will be a labor of love. People like me, who are crazy enough to take on this job, wouldn’t do it if we didn’t love it. But you don’t have to be delegate-caliber to step up and make a difference. And if we’re doing it right, then it shouldn’t even feel like work – or at least, not much like work (it will still take time and effort).

Thank you again for allowing me this honor an additional two times. I hope I did right by you, and that even if we disagreed, you could understand where I was coming from, and let the results speak for themselves. I ask you be patient with those who take on this responsibility, especially nowadays, because their job is only getting harder, and that if you wish to cast judgment on those who take on the immense work it takes in keeping TNP what you have always known it to be, you at least try to understand the effort that goes into it, and when you have the chance, that you lend a hand to support them. It would be nothing without all of you – we can make these speeches and take on projects and write treaties and resolutions, but if you aren’t around to engage with them or enjoy them, then we’re hardly even amusing ourselves. Never forget the power you have, because if none of this matters, what makes it matter is all of you. We would be nothing without you, so know your worth, but at the same time, don’t underestimate the impact your individual words and actions have on other people and on the community. We will have to be considerate and very aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as our own, so that we can all do our part in the harder times to come. I believe we will thrive in this environment and come out stronger. The new game is a new opportunity to figure out new and exciting ways to play this game, and to innovate in a way we haven’t had to in years.

Good luck to our incoming leaders! Let me be the first to thank you for accepting these positions at this scary but awesome time, and I truly wish you well. You will have my support and advice and I know your fellow TNPers will be understanding and recognize the challenges ahead. We are all facing the same road and will navigate it together. I look forward to your exploits, and hope that you accomplish far more than I have, as it should be.