Embassy of Lazarus + News

[New Rogernomics]

I made a mistake in that incident, and have apologised for it. I don't intend to re-open this can of worms, because I acknowledge I made a mistake, but I had not seen evidence at the time that CCD harboured fascists. I had solicited such evidence from people on multiple occasions and never quite got it -- an instance of bad research on my part, to say the least. This is no defence, I acknowledge, nor do I intend it as such. I just want to make sure that point is clarified.

You've apologized for it. Great. Absolutely fucking great. You still did it. You still actively worked with a group to attempt to coup TNP out of some misplaced sense of righteousness, and you're still gonna get blasted for it, especially when Lazarus somehow posts an interview with you that hypes you up without touching on what you got caught doing a month ago. Acknowledging you made a mistake doesn't somehow absolve you of criticism for it, and certainly doesn't absolve Lazarus of making the terrible decision to run this story to begin with.

I love Lazarus, and I think they're generally really good at navigating the political landscape, but running this story was one of the most boneheaded decisions I've seen from them in a good long while.

Well, I think that maybe it should have run with something at least stating it was in an opinion section, which I am hoping this was in. There aren't clear separations in the paper, so it could be easily confused as being the official opinion of the Lazarene Gazette and by extension Lazarus.

If this was in general commentary or an editorial, then the paper could come into a lot more severe criticism, as then it isn't just the opinion of a private citizen, but that of the paper. For instance, I gave an interview to the Gazette, though I consider it an opinion of a private citizen of Lazarus, and not as the view of the Vice-Delegate.

I don't run the Gazette any more, but I think it is a learning experience for the Gazette next issue to be more careful in what is published and where. If this was general commentary though, then it is a good idea to look around for the other side, if it might be controversial to publish a story - as then the other side has made their opinions known, so it doesn't come across as favoring either opinion or as a soapbox.

[Your Imaginary Friend]

The opinions expressed by authors of the Lazarene Gazette do not necessarily represent the views of LazCorp; and in particular, we do not necessarily condone all the actions of our authors or their article guests.

In this instance, I'm not sure that Zapatian Workers State was aware of what had happened recently with TNP and CCD, and how UM was briefly involved in that incident. I understand that you might think now is not a good time for UM to be presented through Lazarus' paper, but I assure you that LazCorp's administration meant no disrespect to TNP or commendation of UM's actions in the incident through doing this.

ZWS is one of our newest contributors and has taken an interest in reaching out to individuals from other regions for interviews in order to give our region a better understanding of the international community. Since UM has played NS for quite some time and often in very different circles from that of Lazarus's community, I think this interview was a good addition to what he's trying to accomplish with his "PRIME MOVERS" line.

Thank you for reading the Gazette! :)

[Bowzin]

In this instance, I'm not sure that Zapatian Workers State was aware of what had happened recently with TNP and CCD, and how UM was briefly involved in that incident.

Seeing as its the official news outlet of LazCorp, you'd think some editors would've chimed in about the interviewee being featured in the paper...

[Brobespierre]

Very much worth noting, that as well as working with fascists, UM was also a government minister of a treabled ally of TNP at the time.

I very much feel UM is worth rehabilitating at some point... but maybe it's a bit too soon.

That is certainly optimistic of you, since UM has made it pretty clear in the interview that their pet cause is more important to him than any semblance of loyalty.

Fool me twice, right?

[Ethan Allen]

All this fake outrage to politically bury you, UM, is exactly why I wouldn’t have bent my knee for them. I hope you learn from this.

[Syberis]

The opinions expressed by authors of the Lazarene Gazette do not necessarily represent the views of LazCorp; and in particular, we do not necessarily condone all the actions of our authors or their article guests.

In this instance, I'm not sure that Zapatian Workers State was aware of what had happened recently with TNP and CCD, and how UM was briefly involved in that incident. I understand that you might think now is not a good time for UM to be presented through Lazarus' paper, but I assure you that LazCorp's administration meant no disrespect to TNP or commendation of UM's actions in the incident through doing this.

ZWS is one of our newest contributors and has taken an interest in reaching out to individuals from other regions for interviews in order to give our region a better understanding of the international community. Since UM has played NS for quite some time and often in very different circles from that of Lazarus's community, I think this interview was a good addition to what he's trying to accomplish with his "PRIME MOVERS" line.

Thank you for reading the Gazette!

Frankly, I respect the effort and the format of the interview was solid; honestly a good job mechanically from the staff writer. However, a fundamental failure of research such as you claim is honestly a major issue when it comes to ensuring their own perceived integrity. I hope they learn from this mistake and come out of it stronger and more thorough. I wish it had been caught by the editorial staff, but I recognize why that isn't always possible.

I hope to see more good work from the Gazette in the future.

[Your Imaginary Friend]

Frankly, I respect the effort and the format of the interview was solid; honestly a good job mechanically from the staff writer. However, a fundamental failure of research such as you claim is honestly a major issue when it comes to ensuring their own perceived integrity. I hope they learn from this mistake and come out of it stronger and more thorough. I wish it had been caught by the editorial staff, but I recognize why that isn't always possible.

I hope to see more good work from the Gazette in the future.

Your feedback on this matter and support for the publication is appreciated.

[Lazarus IR Office]

Pax Poukai


LazCorp and The Coalition of The South Pacific have entered into a contract of non-competition for the benefit of their shareholders. This agreement codifies the prior unwritten agreement between our businesses not to steal resources from or harm each other's profit margins.

Pax Poukai certifies both organizations’ commitment to respecting and developing shareholder rule and to fostering a healthy workplace environment with one other. The contract was approved by both organizations’ shareholders with relative ease, and we will endeavour to see that our organizations maintain this wonderful working relationship.

The full text may be found here.


Yours faithfully,

Public Relations Director McChimp
Minister of Foreign Affairs United Federated States of Omega

(Thanks to Chanku and Imaginary for writing the corporatest announcement!)

[Your Imaginary Friend]

Hello everyone! I decided to make a weekly broadcast for LazCorp. It'll contain all the dirty deats of what's going on in the region (unless my PR director says explicitly that I can't include them D:) and a player+song thingy at the end.

Please give the first youtube-hosted broadcast a listen and let me know what you think!

Phoenix Flyer | Broadcast 1


This Week:

• Purpose of the Phoenix Flyer
• Run-down of treaty discussions with TEP
• Status of LazCorp Development Team elections
• Escade and a song she shared: Let Me Go

[Your Imaginary Friend]

From TSP's thread:

There is an element of truth to what Uni says. Being part of the PRL was a wild experience due in large part to Milo's leadership and his use of the region's theme at that time. He was an unbelievably charismatic leader which isn't common in NS at all. The PRL was an intense inspiration for Lazarus that brought unprecedented activity. Sure there was a cult of personality centered on Milograd, the "beloved Chairman," but it was incredibly beneficial to the region. There's no doubt in my mind that if the PRL had been raider-aligned, its success would have remained the same.

CoS is right. The PRL was an immense success because of Milograd, and the active playerbase united behind his leadership- Kazmr, Funkadelia, Feux, Stujenske, Kogvuron, among others. Laz had a very dynamic populace with a lot of enthusiasm for our Chinese communist theme. We even adopted portraits of CCP officials as our avatars, and used the Lazarene Gazette as gameplay's premier propaganda outlet. I can't speak for everyone, but to my memory (this was a long time ago, all things considered) "defenderism" took a back seat. I don't ever recall us using the LLA for any significant operations. It seems a little strange to insist that a Defender plot propped up the PRL, or other governments, when nothing substantial ever came of it. The NPO was the real puppetmaster, their tacit allegiance with defenders notwithstanding.

What would you suggest we do differently in LazCorp to achieve a similar level of the cultural success you speak of that was present in the PRL? I assume that it had more to do with how things were done than a particular theme or alignment...?

Did Milograd have a really strong outreach program to new players, or constantly interact with other regions in an engaging manner? I honestly don't know extensively about the policies and practices of the time, but inferring that many think it was the best ever moment in Lazarus in many ways, maybe we could learn something from it for the present, if y'all are willing to share.

[Unibot III]

That’s a superb question. I think the answer lies in taking a more proactive role in growth. You pick out players in NS (in Lazarus and not in Lazarus) especially new players, and make targeted pitches to them to join Lazarus and help the rebuild in a foundational way. Few great players join a region without being asked — I joined TRR, for instance, because I was asked.

The next step is scaling up: the ambition of the region has to match the ambition of the talent you’re recruiting. A military-oriented player is going to want to be a part of the most significant military in the game, a culture-oriented player is going to want to contribute to the game’s cultural vanguard — you have to offer ambitious players an avenue to play NS *through Lazarus* on the biggest scale possible or elsewhere they’re going to look to other regions as a central focus. Dense “themes” and neutrality can act as caps/limitations on that participation.

It goes without saying too that team-building and nurturing a “family” or “team” dynamic is important. If people feel like this community is their home, it endears them to its ethos.

[Yokiria]

Few great players join a region without being asked — I joined TRR, for instance, because I was asked.

Just wanted to highlight this bit, so we can all appreciate it.

[Unibot III]

Few great players join a region without being asked — I joined TRR, for instance, because I was asked.

Just wanted to highlight this bit, so we can all appreciate it.

*shrugs* You can accuse me of being arrogant all you like (it's not an original accusation ), my point is regions often think they can just slap some paint on their forums, rebrand, and that new people will flock to them without a personal invitation. That's foolish. For instance, when Sedge wanted to rebuild TRR from the ground up (the region was essentially dead), he reached out to dozens of players, myself included, to get more involved - he threw potential officerships out like candy to keep us intrigued. We didn't just join out of some random inclination.

My experience is if you want to build something in NS, you have to be an active part of that reconstruction. You look for people that you think have some skills or some potential and you say, "Hey! I'm in the process of starting ---X----, I think you could help us do ---Y---- because ----A----- and you would enjoy it and get a lot from it because of ----B------" and never stop making that ask. Building something takes a lot of effort, you have to max out every IOU and amass an network of people, a resource, that is going to transform your region/organization.

Milograd, Feux, and others actually understood this better than most and leveraged a whole new generation of NSers in Lazarus to build the PRL. I do have problems with the way that the PRL has been characterized as some sort of cabal or corrupt deal - it was actually a pretty wide open door that a lot of great new players entered and never looked back. It was the first time in a long time that I remembered seeing a succession of political officials in a GCR pop up that were new to GP politics. I think the reputation of that regime got mangled and marred on all sides, by NPOers, Independents, Invaders, and even some Defenders, especially once it fell because most GPers had a reason to either be critical of the PRL's origins, its conduct, or its end. As a result, there's a disapora of players from the PRL whose homeland was slandered and whose history was re-visioned against them.

[Your Imaginary Friend]

That’s a superb question. I think the answer lies in taking a more proactive role in growth. You pick out players in NS (in Lazarus and not in Lazarus) especially new players, and make targeted pitches to them to join Lazarus and help the rebuild in a foundational way. Few great players join a region without being asked — I joined TRR, for instance, because I was asked.

The next step is scaling up: the ambition of the region has to match the ambition of the talent you’re recruiting. A military-oriented player is going to want to be a part of the most significant military in the game, a culture-oriented player is going to want to contribute to the game’s cultural vanguard — you have to offer ambitious players an avenue to play NS *through Lazarus* on the biggest scale possible or elsewhere they’re going to look to other regions as a central focus. Dense “themes” and neutrality can act as caps/limitations on that participation.

It goes without saying too that team-building and nurturing a “family” or “team” dynamic is important. If people feel like this community is their home, it endears them to its ethos.

Oh, thank you for the response.

That method was actually how I originally joined TWP and became involved in greater GP, but I've seen people get a lot of grief for recruiting the members of other regions (besides the GCRs) before. Do you think that should be a concern?

[Unibot III]

That’s a superb question. I think the answer lies in taking a more proactive role in growth. You pick out players in NS (in Lazarus and not in Lazarus) especially new players, and make targeted pitches to them to join Lazarus and help the rebuild in a foundational way. Few great players join a region without being asked — I joined TRR, for instance, because I was asked.

The next step is scaling up: the ambition of the region has to match the ambition of the talent you’re recruiting. A military-oriented player is going to want to be a part of the most significant military in the game, a culture-oriented player is going to want to contribute to the game’s cultural vanguard — you have to offer ambitious players an avenue to play NS *through Lazarus* on the biggest scale possible or elsewhere they’re going to look to other regions as a central focus. Dense “themes” and neutrality can act as caps/limitations on that participation.

It goes without saying too that team-building and nurturing a “family” or “team” dynamic is important. If people feel like this community is their home, it endears them to its ethos.

Oh, thank you for the response.

That method was actually how I originally joined TWP and became involved in greater GP, but I've seen people get a lot of grief for recruiting the members of other regions (besides the GCRs) before. Do you think that should be a concern?

My advice is screw 'em! Some people will raise the concern here or there, but it's the only way you can build a great team of people. It doesn't happen via magic or wishful thinking. Recruitment protocols are there to serve home regions not the players themselves - but if these players are so in love with their home region, they'll remain there in some form or another.

[Your Imaginary Friend]

My advice is screw 'em! Some people will raise the concern here or there, but it's the only way you can build a great team of people. It doesn't happen via magic or wishful thinking. Recruitment protocols are there to serve home regions not the players themselves - but if these players are so in love with their home region, they'll remain there in some form or another.

In that case, I'd like to invite you to Lazarus.

I'm interested in creating the best news service in the game; one that not only reports on relevant information, but provides implications of events as perceived by compelling writers, and ideas of the future by players that might actually make them a reality. Too often regional newspapers consist only of prim regurgitations of has-been events that no one wants to write or read; however, I think it's possible to develop them into more living GP entities, and that you would be a perfect candidate to do this.

If you agree to join Lazarus and work towards this goal, you will receive my administration's support in your endeavors and a doorway into mainstream GP, which has been blocked to you for some time. I think it's been long enough, and am willing to vouch for you in the future.

[RiderSyl]

Sylv what have you done

[Unibot III]

My advice is screw 'em! Some people will raise the concern here or there, but it's the only way you can build a great team of people. It doesn't happen via magic or wishful thinking. Recruitment protocols are there to serve home regions not the players themselves - but if these players are so in love with their home region, they'll remain there in some form or another.

In that case, I'd like to invite you to Lazarus.

I'm interested in creating the best news service in the game; one that not only reports on relevant information, but provides implications of events as perceived by compelling writers, and ideas of the future by players that might actually make them a reality. Too often regional newspapers consist only of prim regurgitations of has-been events that no one wants to write or read; however, I think it's possible to develop them into more living GP entities, and that you would be a perfect candidate to do this.

If you agree to join Lazarus and work towards this goal, you will receive my administration's support in your endeavors and a doorway into mainstream GP, which has been blocked to you for some time. I think it's been long enough, and am willing to vouch for you in the future.

I meant new players! Not droopy old goats like me!

I'm very honoured. It's very kind of you to say. We can talk about this in private, but I think you should discuss this decision with other Lazarenes if you haven't already. I don't want to disrupt a region and I won't take it personally if the region feels differently about your invitation.

[Yokiria]

My advice is screw 'em! Some people will raise the concern here or there, but it's the only way you can build a great team of people. It doesn't happen via magic or wishful thinking. Recruitment protocols are there to serve home regions not the players themselves - but if these players are so in love with their home region, they'll remain there in some form or another.

In that case, I'd like to invite you to Lazarus.

I'm interested in creating the best news service in the game; one that not only reports on relevant information, but provides implications of events as perceived by compelling writers, and ideas of the future by players that might actually make them a reality. Too often regional newspapers consist only of prim regurgitations of has-been events that no one wants to write or read; however, I think it's possible to develop them into more living GP entities, and that you would be a perfect candidate to do this.

If you agree to join Lazarus and work towards this goal, you will receive my administration's support in your endeavors and a doorway into mainstream GP, which has been blocked to you for some time. I think it's been long enough, and am willing to vouch for you in the future.

Is your administration in Lazarus going to be making a habit of offering players "doorways" back into mainstream GP?

[Kyorgia]

Im gonna assume Sylven does not know about Unibots past but this is not a road you want to go down. The only proper way to deal with Unibot is to ignore him until he crawls back into whatever irrelevant hole he came out of.

[Ikania]

From TSP's thread:

CoS is right. The PRL was an immense success because of Milograd, and the active playerbase united behind his leadership- Kazmr, Funkadelia, Feux, Stujenske, Kogvuron, among others. Laz had a very dynamic populace with a lot of enthusiasm for our Chinese communist theme. We even adopted portraits of CCP officials as our avatars, and used the Lazarene Gazette as gameplay's premier propaganda outlet. I can't speak for everyone, but to my memory (this was a long time ago, all things considered) "defenderism" took a back seat. I don't ever recall us using the LLA for any significant operations. It seems a little strange to insist that a Defender plot propped up the PRL, or other governments, when nothing substantial ever came of it. The NPO was the real puppetmaster, their tacit allegiance with defenders notwithstanding.

What would you suggest we do differently in LazCorp to achieve a similar level of the cultural success you speak of that was present in the PRL? I assume that it had more to do with how things were done than a particular theme or alignment...?

Did Milograd have a really strong outreach program to new players, or constantly interact with other regions in an engaging manner? I honestly don't know extensively about the policies and practices of the time, but inferring that many think it was the best ever moment in Lazarus in many ways, maybe we could learn something from it for the present, if y'all are willing to share.

What would I suggest? Well, I'm not sure I'm qualified to say. I haven't been an actively-participating citizen since 2017, and obviously the shape of the region has changed. I would actually disagree with your assumption- to me, the theme had a lot to do with it. I was very young when I first came to Laz, about at the age that Communism seems like the thing all the cool kids do. I can't speak about any outreach program, as I don't remember and I was brought to Lazarus by a friend, not recruitment or refounding. The reason people think it was the "best ever moment" in Lazarus is because it was one of the rare times where not only did everyone get along, but we were at peak levels of activity. Milograd was a leader everyone could get behind, and satirical Communism was a theme everyone could get behind, especially because it was so strongly collectivist. The government system was less important. If I remember correctly, we switched from hereditary succession to direct elections at some point without much controversy at all- it really made no difference. Communism provided a very easy basis to create a culture, because of the extensive swathes of real-life symbols and imagery. Communism has an immense meme appeal behind the nuts and bolts of the Marxist ideology itself. Kids these days love to play around with Soviet nostalgia, so obviously it was just as well in 2013-14.

In recent times, since the fall of the PRL, the theme for Lazarus has been rather inchoate. The Humane Republic was vaguely Chinese, but too vague; the Celestial Union was a very interesting concept, but also very convoluted, and it came at a time where there wasn't the activity to sustain the enthusiasm for a theme. A good theme feeds activity, which means players take initiative more, and eventually you snowball into a successful GCR. But that's just my theory. Obviously Imaginary, you were there, but for everyone else: after Imki's coup and the adoption of the corporate theme, there was a pretty lively and enthusiastic debate about adopting yet another new theme, because there were some (myself included) who didn't like the whole LazCorp idea and found it flat. It never went anywhere, partially because no one could agree on one good theme and because after going through China, space, the undead, Wolves and a corporation in the course just about a year, no one was really optimistic that a new theme would solve our problems.

Sometime before the Funkadelia coup, I formed the Minnowite Socialist League, which was a bunch of PRL revivalists. Personally, I was pretty determined that the only way to make Lazarus fun again would be to bring back the PRL theme- others said that was a bunch of nostalgic bunk. Didn't matter in the end after the whole civil war affair, but it was fun while it lasted. So, I would say, if you want to make Lazarus great, you need to make people feel like taking the initiative to come together and create something of their own. In my opinion, I've always believed that requires a solid theme. And while I love Lazarus with all my heart, I really never liked the corporate theme, and I feel like its blandness holds the region back. But obviously that's just me.

In that case, I'd like to invite you to Lazarus.

This is a very, very, very bad idea, and would put the Lazarene community at risk. While people talk to Unibot because either they don't know or he's just too active to ignore, that doesn't mean everyone forgot why he's not allowed anywhere. If you want to create a good newspaper, there are a lot of good people out there with experience in GP news. But let me assure you, it has not been long enough.

[Custadia]

I think you should discuss this decision with other Lazarenes if you haven't already.

I'd like to clarify that she hasn't discussed this with other Lazarenes and that Imaginary does not decide who recieves citizenship or whose OOC conduct is permissible on our offsite property.

[New Rogernomics]

Addressing some concerns here, Imaginary does not have the constitutional authority to approve/permit citizenship. So I would assume she was encouraging Unibot to put in an application, not approving his citizenship.

Procedure wise, applications follow these steps:
1. Applications are checked to whether they use a proxy or bad IP. Some may be rejected at this point,
2. Residency and membership in regions is checked,
3. Character of applicants is checked or assessed,
4. Recommendation is sent to the Delegate,
5. Delegate Approves/Declines citizenship.

As an administrator I do tasks from 1 to 2, and as Director of Shareholdership 3 to 4. So ultimately whether anyone becomes a citizen requires five steps.

With controversial or difficult apps I tend to consult the Council of Lazarene Security and the government, and of course Tubbius. Then I post the decision that was come to.

[New Vedan]

Jesus what did Unibot do to deserve so much hate?

[Ikania]

Jesus what did Unibot do to deserve so much hate?

We're not allowed to talk about it on-site, which should tell you something. I'm sure anyone in the know on Discord can tell you.