St Abbaddon

[Altmoras]

I'm speechless. I have no speech. These last 12 hours have been a chaotic, beautiful mess and embodied what NationStates is all about. Players from all over coming together and finding a reason to truly take a side and engage to the fullest. Like fuck, dude. I am in awe with all of the regions and players that came to support this mission. In this moment, words seem a little limited to fully convey the joy that we were able to create. We inspired intense motivation to push our abilities to the limits. 162 endorsements in 12 hours. This has not happened in such a long time. We were ahead. Today will be remembered in NationStates history for years to come and you can say that you were part of it.

Thank you to all of the regions, organizations, and individuals that were on our side. Even though we had tough luck and wasn't able to see our hard work tangibly realized, please know that it is truly realized and sincerely appreciated. Giddy up.

Serious props to you guys and the NPO for giving gameplay a stiff kick in the ass, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say it was getting a little sluggish recently.

[Roavin]

Just for context, with 161 on Jakker and 144 on Kitsco (I think), this was well over 300 individual players involved. That's insane.

[Raionitu]

Just for context, with 161 on Jakker and 144 on Kitsco (I think), this was well over 300 individual players involved. That's insane.

162 on Jakker. All those pilers deserve recognition
Random side note, pretty sure this is now the largest single pile since before predator. I know it beats out illuminati

[Alkasia]

Of course I support the native sovereignty of St Abbaddon and the freedom of the region from NPO puppetry through Topid's installation as delegate.

I knew you felt this way, and was hopeful you could see past "an enemy getting a win" to see "all natives getting a win" because that's - at least to me - what defenders do.

It was less about "enemies getting a win" than it was about me not believing that they would keep their word in letting the natives and region off easy. If you saw them as trustworthy, then that's of course your own choice and I can't fault you for it.

I would love to have a special chat with TITO privately about the situation.

Not sure how TITO would feel about it. Then again, I'm not in TITO anymore so y'know.



That being said, it's a shame it ended the way it did. That ALSO being said, holy shit those numbers were absurd.

[Roavin]

Just for context, with 161 on Jakker and 144 on Kitsco (I think), this was well over 300 individual players involved. That's insane.

162 on Jakker. All those pilers deserve recognition
Random side note, pretty sure this is now the largest single pile since before predator. I know it beats out illuminati

And organized within 12 hours, and most of that without prior planning.

Staggering.

[Topid]

Just for context, with 161 on Jakker and 144 on Kitsco (I think), this was well over 300 individual players involved. That's insane.

162 on Jakker. All those pilers deserve recognition
Random side note, pretty sure this is now the largest single pile since before predator. I know it beats out illuminati

There were a handful on me that were not on Jakker as well.

---

Thank you everyone for what you have done over the last 12 hours. All of NationStates came together spur of the moment to try to save us when we missed the update. It would have worked too, with over 162 endorsements in 12 hours this game really came together to do what it could for us (as it has over and over).

The update did not go as we expected. (Boo.)
The piling did not go as I expected. (Yay.)
And so now the question is what to expect next?

I have a lot of thinking to do over this holiday weekend and will decide how I am going to move forward from this. St Abbaddon is a very special region, and I hope to see it better off some day!

Thanks again for one hell of a day.

[Raionitu]

I knew you felt this way, and was hopeful you could see past "an enemy getting a win" to see "all natives getting a win" because that's - at least to me - what defenders do.

It was less about "enemies getting a win" than it was about me not believing that they would keep their word in letting the natives and region off easy. If you saw them as trustworthy, then that's of course your own choice and I can't fault you for it.

Not sure what actions of TBH have lead you to believe we wont keep our word. And if we didn't, that would destroy a lot of support we could have in the future.

[Xemt]

It's raids like these that restore my faith in being a raider.

Sincerely, wonderful job, everyone who participated.

[Cormactopia Prime]

It's raids like these that restore my faith in being a raider.

Sincerely, wonderful job, everyone who participated.

The kind where everyone wastes an enormous amount of time all day, nobody wins, and absolutely everyone is left frustrated at the end of it?

[Raionitu]

It's raids like these that restore my faith in being a raider.

Sincerely, wonderful job, everyone who participated.

The kind where everyone wastes an enormous amount of time all day, nobody wins, and absolutely everyone is left frustrated at the end of it?

I dunno, I had a good time. Turns out that the combine might of the pacific and its allies is in fact, not some insurmountable force. They got out piled, plain and simple.

[Skallerak]

My my, what short memories we have!

To those defenders of Topid, let's review what actually happened after Hawkswind left the game and Topid took command. (And, for the record, Topid's dubious claim that all the natives of St Abby were only there because he invited them in is false. Three years ago, on my former nation Malisin, I personally asked Hawkswind for the region's password so I could join without even knowing that Topid existed at the time.)

Here is, in my own words, a dispatch written during the immediate aftermath of the DEN invasion over a year and a half ago.

As you'll read, Topid made all sorts of promises about his intentions to rebuild St Abby, and to his credit I believe he was sincere at the time. But his real life was interfering with his ability to govern St Abby, and hey, I can understand, we've all been there.

However, after making his intention to essentially be leaving the game explicit, and despite requests from Kitsco, myself and the other natives at the time, Topid, having been granted exclusive powers of delegation not through free election by the natives but from moderator bequest (which the mods granted to him to restore the region after DEN's use of the Predator program), Topid instead lobbied to have the Liberation of St Abby repealed so that he could put a permanent password on the region while he left the game, dooming it to total inactivity for at least the foreseeable two to three years. During this time period, Topid was not only going to password protect the region permanently, he was also planning to eject every native from the region.

He waived any objections to this plan by claiming it was for the protection of the region from invaders, but, au contraire, he rejected any proposal to seek permanent protection from a larger defender region by claiming it would jeopardize St Abby's sovereignty.

The only thing Topid did right here was finally hand the delegacy over to Kitsco, who thankfully finally got protection for us and rid the region of Topid.

Relevant Topid quotes: "There will be no sleepers in St Abbaddon soon. This is really and truly the end of the St Abbaddon saga, and I know how to wrap this up." (B-but I thought Topid was gonna rebuild the region!)

"What matters isn't the endorsement cap when we start emptying the region." (Wew laddie.)

TLDR: No, Topid, you aren't St Abbaddon, (though you did nearly kill it) and you aren't its rightful ruler.

I will keep posting this every time Topid tries this stunt.

Topid delenda est.

[Louisistan]

I would love to have a special chat with TITO privately about the situation.

Being no longer on TITO Command, I can't offer you that. However, if you wish to drop by our Discord Server, I'm sure the Tactical Officers will respond to any DMs you send them.

[McChimp]

Topid instead lobbied to have the Liberation of St Abby repealed so that he could put a permanent password on the region while he left the game, dooming it to total inactivity for at least the foreseeable two to three years. During this time period, Topid was not only going to password protect the region permanently, he was also planning to eject every native from the region.

TL;DR

Topid wanted to refound the region in an effort to avoid it becoming the servile husk we see today.

Know that while St Abbaddon remains under the control of the NPO it will be nothing but a way strike out at them. That and nothing more.

[Roavin]

TL;DR

Topid wanted to refound the region in an effort to avoid it becoming the servile husk we see today.

Know that while St Abbaddon remains under the control of the NPO it will be nothing but a way strike out at them. That and nothing more.

> "password protect the region permanently"
> "Topid wanted to refound the region in an effort to avoid it becoming the servile husk we see today."
> mfw

[Southern Bellz]

Topid is good at NS

[McChimp]

> "password protect the region permanently"
> "Topid wanted to refound the region in an effort to avoid it becoming the servile husk we see today."
> mfw

(Image)

"Topid was not only going to password protect the region permanently, he was also planning to eject every native from the region."

When you take these two together rather than apart, it seems less sinister.

[Dvoraks New World Symphony]

To reiterate what so many others have espoused in these past hours, those of you who are convinced that this whole shenanigans is finally over are going to be very disappointed in due course.

[Todd McCloud]

Sorry I missed this (I struck my hand with a pick on accident, hence why this is taking forever and a day for me to write this up), but after reading over this thread and understanding the nuances of actually picking a side in such deep and detailed factions, arming up, and going to battle, this seems to be a fun thing, like... it was meant to be this way. Actually, it may be the crux of NS gameplay. This, on a random Tuesday on a star-crossed November, it may be that this is how the activity of chaos meets the tranquility of chaos, if one could ever envision such a thing. It really returns folks to what attracted them to this game in the first place, and that's really an accomplishment, especially with how crazy things can get these days, and with how wants so desperately to say this isn't happening in a text-based game, and how one wishes they'd never been given the tools to solve a problem that has no solution. I guess I miss this type of NS. I think if there were more of this type of NS it wouldn't pull me to some kind of retirement, or partial retirement as I don't know if my mind would ever let me fully divorce my concerns to this game. No, it might actually bring folks closer. If there's one thing NS has taught me, it's that conflict is good, and conflict begets activity. When it comes to writing, for instance, conflict is necessary, and I doubt I'd ever figure that out unless I experienced it. When folks ask me why does a text-based game still exist in the year of our Lord 2018, I suppose I can point to this activity. And this activity won't be forgotten as, with any conflict, friendships will be forged and friendships will be broken, and new factions will be formed and later broken when further conflict breaks out.

Long story short, my kudos to all involved. It's really been fun to watch, especially to one who has had almost all of the fun sucked from them when it comes to this game. My joy is in what I write, but tonight, it's in what I read, especially as it has perhaps convinced several new players in how to play this endless beach that is a sandbox of a game.

[Persia-Kebabistan]

Sorry I missed this (I struck my hand with a pick on accident, hence why this is taking forever and a day for me to write this up), but after reading over this thread and understanding the nuances of actually picking a side in such deep and detailed factions, arming up, and going to battle, this seems to be a fun thing, like... it was meant to be this way. Actually, it may be the crux of NS gameplay. This, on a random Tuesday on a star-crossed November, it may be that this is how the activity of chaos meets the tranquility of chaos, if one could ever envision such a thing. It really returns folks to what attracted them to this game in the first place, and that's really an accomplishment, especially with how crazy things can get these days, and with how wants so desperately to say this isn't happening in a text-based game, and how one wishes they'd never been given the tools to solve a problem that has no solution. I guess I miss this type of NS. I think if there were more of this type of NS it wouldn't pull me to some kind of retirement, or partial retirement as I don't know if my mind would ever let me fully divorce my concerns to this game. No, it might actually bring folks closer. If there's one thing NS has taught me, it's that conflict is good, and conflict begets activity. When it comes to writing, for instance, conflict is necessary, and I doubt I'd ever figure that out unless I experienced it. When folks ask me why does a text-based game still exist in the year of our Lord 2018, I suppose I can point to this activity. And this activity won't be forgotten as, with any conflict, friendships will be forged and friendships will be broken, and new factions will be formed and later broken when further conflict breaks out.

Long story short, my kudos to all involved. It's really been fun to watch, especially to one who has had almost all of the fun sucked from them when it comes to this game. My joy is in what I write, but tonight, it's in what I read, especially as it has perhaps convinced several new players in how to play this endless beach that is a sandbox of a game.

Wow, you make very good points!

[Xemt]

This. This right here.

MC was that way for me too, hence why I left when my server's activity died out.

[Libetarian Republics]

What a disgusting debacle. Nothing more than a continuation of the tragedy surrounding the region known as St Abbaddon. There's nothing beautiful about it.

[Unibot III]

What a disgusting debacle. Nothing more than a continuation of the tragedy surrounding the region known as St Abbaddon. There's nothing beautiful about it.

This is my feeling too, St Abbaddon has seen a lot of conflict mostly because of the nature of it being one of the original founderless regions.

The North Pacific's treatied arrangement with Stargate helped to stabilize and secure Stargate; I think the New Pacific Order's "arrangement" here is a perversion of that security model.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

What a disgusting debacle. Nothing more than a continuation of the tragedy surrounding the region known as St Abbaddon. There's nothing beautiful about it.

This is my feeling too, St Abbaddon has seen a lot of conflict mostly because of the nature of it being one of the original founderless regions.

The North Pacific's treatied arrangement with Stargate helped to stabilize and secure Stargate; I think the New Pacific Order's "arrangement" here is a perversion of that security model.

Makes me wonder why others (Yorkshire) haven't seen the same level of activity.

[Solorni]

This is my feeling too, St Abbaddon has seen a lot of conflict mostly because of the nature of it being one of the original founderless regions.

The North Pacific's treatied arrangement with Stargate helped to stabilize and secure Stargate; I think the New Pacific Order's "arrangement" here is a perversion of that security model.

Makes me wonder why others (Yorkshire) haven't seen the same level of activity.

Well Yorkshire has not been the target of aggressive expansion.

[Jakker]

This is my feeling too, St Abbaddon has seen a lot of conflict mostly because of the nature of it being one of the original founderless regions.

The North Pacific's treatied arrangement with Stargate helped to stabilize and secure Stargate; I think the New Pacific Order's "arrangement" here is a perversion of that security model.

Makes me wonder why others (Yorkshire) haven't seen the same level of activity.

It has always been the case that any founderless region that gets themselves involved with groups that are against raiders will become targeted far more. We have seen this over and over again. If a founderless region wants to avoid the spotlight more, don't get too close/assistance from defenders or groups that are aggressively against raiders. Because eventually those groups will stop caring about the region, but raiders will not forget that connection.

Will founderless regions get raided at some point regardless? Most likely, but the chances become significantly greater when they do things like what St. Abbaddon has done.