Curious Observations | Funkadelia sold Lazarus to... Adytus?

[Curious Observations]

There are times when I have curious observations that I want to share but not necessarily attach to my actual main because of regional association etc.

So instead, I present to you semi-well-written, biased news and opinions with this nice little puppet nation of mine. Please enjoy.

• July 17, 2017: Rampant Voter Importation in Lazarus
• August 13, 2017: Funkadelia sold Lazarus to... Adytus?

[Curious Observations]

If you are concerned about the sovereignty of GCRs, it's time to pay close attention to Lazarus. Actually, most likely you already are, given the gigantic influx of known (and some unknown) players signing up for the Cosmic Council, the legislature of Lazarus.

Why is this? Did Lazarus have a big recruitment drive of its RMB community? Nope. Did Lazarus have a big recruitment drive outside of its region? Also nope. Did Lazarus all of a sudden become really interesting and fascinating to be in? Not more than before. What makes Lazarus so interesting all of a sudden, then?

Before I get into analysis, some hard data so you can see what I mean.



There were more accepted citizens within the past week than in the 2 months prior - and there are still (at the time of this writing) 6 signups pending! Let's look at the signups in July. Note that since there are still so many pending applications, I'm also counting applicants that have not been accepted yet, and have marked those in cursive.

• Caldariat - Native
• VICtor - Fake native
• Angerystan - Fake native
• Frithopia - Native
• The Noble Thatcherites - Defender
• WeepinnWillow - Raider, unknown background
• Tawks - Raider, LWU
• Logang - Native
• Vennier - Defender
• Wrektopia - Raider, Rahl
• Chron - Raider
• Altino - Raider, Rahl
• Bright Idea - Raider
• Kawaii - Raider
• Izon - Native (old)
• Escade - Defender
• Vapid - Raider
• Rigel - Raider, Rahl
• Seraph - Defender
• Griff - Independent
• Constie - Independent
• Yorklund - Fake native
• Cokeland - Defender
• Nekonami - Raider

(EDIT: If you're wondering what a "Fake Native" is, the answer to Cormac's second question here contains the answer including evidence)

What's happening here? It looks like, smells like, and quacks like, a raider voter pile-off, with deliberate timing. Lamb Stone has been approved as Guardian, and Killer Kitty (Evil Wolf) has been approved as Prelate (Judge). A reconfirmation vote was held for Harmoneia, one of Lazarus' oldest natives, to keep her position as Guardian. Very narrowly, the reconfirmation passed, with a very significant raider bloc voting against, ostensibly saved by a smaller bloc of Defender-aligned voters. Also, and very notable to mention, elections start in August for the Sovereign (the Delegate).

Further underscoring the appearance of voter importation is the behavior of the Sovereign, Funkadelia. Of the fake natives mentioned above, all were accepted except Yorklund, who is ostensibly less suspicious than the others but is the only one that was questioned intensely by Funkadelia as well as Lamb Stone on their past - I would guess that Yorklund is an "unknown" fake while the others are "known" fakes. Meanwhile, Logang, who appears to be a true native, has applied but been completely ignored.

It's anyone's guess what will happen here. Will there be a civil war? A coup? Or just apathy and indifference? Will Lazarus remain a sovereign entity, or become the property of, say, LWU and Rahl? The outcome will likely be affected by the upcoming Delegate elections; presumably, incumbent Funkadelia will run again, and it'll be interesting to see who will rise to challenge him.

But no matter who wins, it's clear who is losing right now: Lazarenes.

[Syberis]

Very interesting and enlightening read. Well done.

In the interests of accuracy, however; Chron is not a Rahl.

[Curious Observations]

Very interesting and enlightening read. Well done.

In the interests of accuracy, however; Chron is not a Rahl.

Mea culpa - I've fixed it, thank you!

[Cormactopia Prime]

I have a few questions:

1. Would you like to identify yourself if you're going to do so much finger-pointing toward others? It's clear you're a defender with an agenda. The $10,000 question is which one, though I already have my suspicions.

2. Can you at all prove the "fake natives" claim? It's the same claim Belschaft made against Unibot and Glen-Rhodes to justify his Operation Brave Toaster subversion plot against the South Pacific in 2014. I didn't buy it then and I'm not buying it now.

3. Can you explain why anyone should care about this given defender complicity in the years-long NPO subversion of Lazarus' sovereignty? That subversion included purges of natives based on their alignment as well as importation of defender voters.

I'm not convinced the plot you're claiming is happening is even actually happening. But I also don't care. Defenders have done everything you're accusing raiders of doing in Lazarus, and then some. If it's now being done to them, well, payback is a dish best served with spice, not with salt. You have no grounds to cry about it if you're a defender. If this is happening, it's only what defenders in Lazarus -- I will not call them Lazarenes -- deserve.

[Curious Observations]

I have a few questions:

1. Would you like to identify yourself if you're going to do so much finger-pointing toward others? It's clear you're a defender with an agenda. The $10,000 question is which one, though I already have my suspicions.

Nope, and deliberately so, though I may reveal it when I finally get myself to actually retire. The issue here isn't protecting my main identity, but rather its associations. I hope that the article, unassociated with a specific person, can stand on its own as an admittedly biased but researched piece.

2. Can you at all prove the "fake natives" claim? It's the same claim Belschaft made against Unibot and Glen-Rhodes to justify his Operation Brave Toaster subversion plot against the South Pacific in 2014. I didn't buy it then and I'm not buying it now.

Sure.

Angerystan is a new nation that has no NS forum posts, has not answered issues, has not posted on the RMB, is not in the World Assembly, and moved to Lazarus directly after founding. On the Lazarus off-site forum, Angerystan merely registered for citizenship, made a simple introductory thread describing themselves as a new player, and then has only voted, Aye on everything except for the appointment of CoS as Prelate (opposing Killer Kitty/Evil Wolf) and the Guardianship of Harmoneia (opposed by Funkadelia and cronies). This does not fit the pattern of a new player.

VICtor was in the Pacific for a few months, also without WA, without answering a single issue at the time, without posting on the RMB, and without posting on the NS forums. The nation was refounded and then answered issues once (clearing the happenings, most likely). They registered for citizenship on the Lazarus forums, saying that they came back to the game and that they used to only answer issues (demonstrably false), played a few spam games, then voted as soon as they got accepted, Nay on everything except for Killer Kitty as Prelate and Lamb Stone as Guardian. This does not fit the pattern of a new player, plus contains a demonstrable lie.

Yorklund seems suspicious because of time in Social Liberal Union with varying WA status while hiding that in their citizenship application (as Funkadelia and Lamb Stone have already pointed out).

I hope that this is sufficient for you. I find it quite damning.

3. Can you explain why anyone should care about this given defender complicity in the years-long NPO subversion of Lazarus' sovereignty? That subversion included purges of natives based on their alignment as well as importation of defender voters.

I'm not convinced the plot you're claiming is happening is even actually happening. But I also don't care. Defenders have done everything you're accusing raiders of doing in Lazarus, and then some. If it's now being done to them, well, payback is a dish best served with spice, not with salt. You have no grounds to cry about it if you're a defender. If this is happening, it's only what defenders in Lazarus -- I will not call them Lazarenes -- deserve.

Because bad deeds were done by group X in the past doesn't mean that bad deeds done by group Y now are okay. The essense of this piece isn't about defenders in Lazarus - it's about the actual natives, regardless of any sense of alignment. Funkadelia, a raider, is a Lazarene just as much as Harmoneia, a defender, is a Lazarene just as much as Loftegen or Trackeendy or Amerion are. Both raider and defender (and unaligned) foreigners have recently signed up, and if it's for the purpose of forming a voting bloc and not for actually contributing to the community in some fashion then I condemn it no matter who does it (and that includes defenders signing up now for the sole purpose of countering the raider bloc).

That there is a significant raider slant (particularly LWU/Rahl) in new signups cannot be denied, however, and that this disproportionally advantages the incumbent Delegate is self-evident.

[Gibraltarica]

Speaking for myself, Tom asked me to come to Lazarus. Had he not asked me to, I probably never would have. Good that someone's looking out for it, though.
-Vapid

[Cuddly Koalas]

Rahl?! I fully expect to see an eeeeebil Empire plot by the end of the month.

more importantly, since when is Laz relevant again?

[Bears Armed]

it's about the actual natives, regardless of any sense of alignment. Funkadelia, a raider, is a Lazarene

I though that raiders didn't believe in the concept of "natives" now that the old anti-griefing rules no longer apply? That's what their spokespeople always seem to claim whenever anybody in these forums suggests that raiding is unpleasant for native communities, anyhows...

[Glen-Rhodes]

This isn't the first time LWU and Empire (now Rahl) have appeared to engage in voter importation. When Wolf ran against me for MoFA in 2015, we had an unprecedented 50 voters, most of whom had never participated on the forums and barely had any history in-game. In fact, more voters voted for MoFA than any of the other offices, iirc.

At the time, Empire was in TSP's IRC trying to ingratiate themselves in order to get their bans overturned. Wolf most certainly would have supported a motion by the Cabinet to rescind the bans.

The voter importation was basically confirmed when a special election was held 2 weeks later to settle the MoFA election dispute and turnout dropped, with Wolf not bothering to even campaign.

[Queen Yuno]

This happens all the time, bands of friends mass join a region to "hang out" and vote... why are you surprised? The best solution I can really think of is by not accepting voter citizenships during an election. Other than that, you can't really do much except wait to see if they're actually intending to be long term citizens.

[Glen-Rhodes]

Ok Yuno, I'm gonna get bands of friends to join Osiris & TWP, maybe even NPO and Laz, and we'll all vote for each other. That's certainly not shady

[Queen Yuno]

Ok Yuno, I'm gonna get bands of friends to join Osiris & TWP, maybe even NPO and Laz, and we'll all vote for each other. That's certainly not shady

♡
Only question is do you have bands of friends

[United Arkadia]

As a member of the Lazarene government (my Laz nation being The Sunny Badlands), I am very troubled by this piece. Not because I'm calling BS, but because I honestly believe that it's true. A lot of eyes have been on me for being a dual citizen between The Pacific and Lazarus, and that scrutiny has allowed LWU to consolidate their influence here. I sincerely hope that you all stop thinking about the past and start thinking about the present and future. Lazarus is in danger of becoming a raider puppet state. Regardless of your respective personal baggages, I hope most of you can at least agree that Lazarene natives (true natives who are actually loyal to the region, not to any other) deserve a shot at running things themselves.

[DJ Raid]

Definitely a cool read, love the nerdy statistics. I always knew something might be up with all the raiders there but I didn't really care enough to mention it.. Nice to see it all on paper though. The Celestial Union will get a little shakeup, I hope.

[DJ Raid]

A lot of eyes have been on me for being a dual citizen between The Pacific and Lazarus, and that scrutiny has allowed LWU to consolidate their influence here.

Frankly I don't think anyone (not just you, Ark) that is also a member of the NPO should be allowed in Lazarus. If Cormac, Tim, and Koth remain banned from couping Osiris over a year ago, why isn't the NPO (specifically those that couped) banned?

I sincerely hope that you all stop thinking about the past and start thinking about the present and future. Lazarus is in danger of becoming a raider puppet state.

If only someone would have warned us before the NPO couped Lazarus.. before it was too late, at least. Thanks anyway, Cormac <3

[United Arkadia]

I don't know Osiran history all that well, but I do know that the NPO has spent the last two years making reparations for 2015. Not only that, but it has essentially distanced itself from Lazarus as much as possible. I don't know if those two things are true of Koth and Tim (Tim comments on Osiran affairs from time to time, not sure about Koth), but I suspect the circumstances are different. So banning the NPO from Lazarus makes about as much sense as kicking you out of Osiris because you're a raider and raiders are untrustworthy because they raid stuff (not my actual logic, just an example of how yours is flawed). Furthermore, all of the NPO members who orchestrated the coup were and are still PNG in Lazarus. I am not one of them, as I wasn't even playing the game in 2015. I suppose I should thank you, though, since my interest in Lazarus began on that one major update when The Black Hawks decided to shoot Loftegen into the Delegacy for fun.
------
Now enough threadjacking. This isn't about me, it's about Lazarus voter importation, which I can tell you is without a doubt happening because of the raiders in Laz's government.

[Big Bad Badger]

Here's the real question: what kind of shitlaw allows nations to sign up for citizenship and immediately vote in an ONGOING election?

Ah, NS democracy at its finest!

Someone please post odds on the secret identity. Sounds like fun wagering opportunities!

[Curious Observations]

Here's the real question: what kind of shitlaw allows nations to sign up for citizenship and immediately vote in an ONGOING election?

Ah, NS democracy at its finest!

The Lazarus mandate actually prohibits that very thing ("A citizen whose application was accepted during a regular or special election cycle is unable to cast a vote in said election"). Funkadelia, however, not only accepted these citizens (as Sovereign), but also (as Election Commissioner) counted their ballots for the votes. Obviously, this was highly illegal, and is now in court, but the court is currently not functional since all three current judges are affected by this illegality.

I'm considering writing a piece about the court problem next. How one small piece of corruption can tear apart an entire governmental branch like this is captivating.

Someone please post odds on the secret identity. Sounds like fun wagering opportunities!

I won't confirm or deny if anybody gets it right, sorry

[The Church of Satan]

Everyone who came from LWU over the last few weeks have voted the same way on every vote held. This is no coincidence when that means putting Evil Wolf as a prelate and trying to get rid of Harmeonia of all people.

[RiderSyl]

I'm honestly quite surprised something like this didn't happen sooner, with the sorry state Lazarus has been in. I supported their sovereignty against the NPO takeover, and I'll support it again.

Unfortunately I'm starting to wondering how much sovereignty they have left.

[Curious Observations]

Everyone who came from LWU over the last few weeks have voted the same way on every vote held. This is no coincidence when that means putting Evil Wolf as a prelate and trying to get rid of Harmeonia of all people.

Fact Check: For all intents and purposes true, based off votes in the past week.

The known LWU Members in Lazarus are Funkadelia, Lamb Stone, Evil Wolf (Killer Kitty), Tom, Green, Imki, and Tawks. Tawks has not voted at all, and Lamb did not vote on his own Guardianship, but otherwise, the votes are all aligned. Others that voted precisely the same way include Angerystan (fake native mentioned above) and Badger.

[Unibot III]

When trying to identify whether entryism is a concern, no one individual can be ascertained as an entryist easily, but trends do tell narratives (and this one is very concerning.)

Responding to entryism of this degree can be extremely difficult for a region's security facultites because maladministration may already be well established and skeptism may be widespread. The South Pacific ran into this problem with Evil Wolf and the Empire last time. The recourse has to involve strengthened election laws, independent security-citizenship apparatuses*, a criminal code that recognizes 'white collar crime' (like fraud, extortion, identity fraud, electoral interference, organized crime), and bans for entryists because it's not enough to try to stop something in the short term, it gets worse before it gets better.

* For instance, a lot of GCRs have a security council but still encharge one elected official with accepting citizenship applications; regions are less vulernable when those decisions are being made by a group of trusted residents rather than one resident (a position that can be seized.)

[Drasnia]

As someone who sticks entirely to a couple of UCRs, this was an intriguing read. I like the statistics and the research into all these puppets. Pretty well - written too.

[Altmoras]

Caldariat - Native
Izon - Native (old)

Both these people have been in Lazarus around the same time, so I'm not sure why Izon gets to be an (old) native and Cal doesn't, pretty sure Cal has been one of the most active forum posters and gameside tarters for quite a while now, the only difference is that Izon is an active gameplayer. Makes me question how much you the author know about Lazarus.

I haven't paid much attention to Lazarus since my return, hell a decent part of the reason I left is because I was tired of it. However those are some pretty clear numbers, and word of attempting to remove Harmoneia's guardianship concerns me, there's no good reason to do that. And on that matter looking at Lazarus' forum just now I see that Funkadelia is attempting to bring court charges against another Guardian (Amerion), charges that Justice Evil Wolf immediately accepted despite later opposition to him ruling on them by Justice Omega. I've never seen the Laz courts move that fast on anything ever, but when its a political opponent of both the one pressing the charges and the justice so eager to accept them, all of the sudden everything starts moving fast.