FOCUS: Where do we go from here?
by Fort Concord
by Fort Concord
While most of my notoriety in 2025 comes from my role as WA Delegate of the Plains of Perdition, as the Founder of the world's second largest Frontier the issues facing Frontiers are near and dear to me. Recent events raise many questions in the Frontier world, and I hope to bring some of this discussion to the forefront.
History and FOCUS Today
So, let's talk about FOCUS. The alliance was conceived in June 2023 by Community, Carcassonne, and Valley of Peace. At the time, all three of these regions were newer Frontiers, and we were only two months into the update. The alliance was meant to "facilitate mutual defense and intelligence sharing" among its members.
The alliance quickly attached itself to the manifesto "On True Frontiers" by Marim Grunzy, a leader in Community whose true identity is unknown to this day. Carcassonne's own propaganda on the matter, "On Wastelands", would later supplement this.
The Wellspring later joined the alliance, and Community's membership was passed to Communitas. Talonia also spent a brief time in the alliance, and Vibonia eventually joined. So, let's look at the history of FOCUS members, and its current composition.
Community: defunct, successor region
Carcassonne: Frontier member
Valley of Peace: defunct, stronghold
The Wellspring: stronghold
Communitas: Frontier member
Talonia: departed
Vibonia: Frontier member
Recent Events
Recently, the region Lonia Kreptia Llor was raided by the New Pacific Order, Lone Wolves United, and Carcassonne. The raid was a clear response to the events of April relating to the Outback, which saw casualties be made of many of NPO and LWU's relationships in gameplay. Carcassonne, despite being the purported leaders of the raid, only contributed 12-15 of the 147 forces. The raid originally sported the FOCUS flag and claimed the involvement of various other FOCUS regions, but this was rapidly dispelled in the public eye, and Vibonia, the only other FOCUS region actually participating eventually withdrew due to Carcassonne withholding crucial information about the nature of the operation as well as other participants.
Carcassonne's idea of "Frontierism" is to cede its reputation to raiders hiding behind a governor (LWU), and Feederites seeking to reassert themselves after faux-apologies (NPO). By undertaking this raid and allowing NPO and LWU to co-opt it for their agenda, they have sought to make pawns of the Frontier community. After all - of the five Frontiers that have the maximum 52.5 magentism, the top three opposed this occupation, one withdrew from it, and one is Carcassonne. They clearly do not represent the Frontier consensus.
Much of the rhetoric surrounding this invasion, despite its obvious motivations, condemned Llonia Kreptia Llor as a "wasteland" because of its small size, and an embassy region Carcassonne found to be of an immature name. Despite this libel, the region has returned to appointing officers and attempting to build itself up in the aftermath of the invasion. The manifesto "On True Frontiers" poses that Frontiers have a "fundamental, collective purpose and [a] right to flourish unimpeded" - yet when Carcassonne sees a new Frontier whose only crime is its size and youth, they sought to destroy it.
Another perversion of Frontierism was seen in the World Factbook Entry of the occupation, where it was said that wastelands siphon spawns from Frontiers "and Feeders". This is patently untrue, and it is antithetical to the "On True Frontiers" manifesto - indeed, a distinction was drawn then between Frontiers and the Pacifics: "Unlike our Pacific cousins, our status as a frontier is elective and so too is our share of this duty". By attempting to extend the uniqueness of Frontiers and their challenges to the Pacifics, to service the NPO's invading agenda, Carcassonne continues to betray their purpoted heritage. The manifesto could not be more explicit: "the frontierist must unequivocally stand against the debasement of these values".
Carcassonne continues to betray these ideals while actively lambasting other Frontiers such as Talonia in public via its highest officials, all while using Talonian technology to develop and grow their region.
What does FOCUS give its members?
It's a question worth asking today. Carcassonne is by far the most established of the members and seems to have no qualms using the organization's banner to advance its own agenda, or the agenda of outside powers. As mentioned earlier, the alliance purports to "facilitate mutual defense and intelligence sharing". If a FOCUS region was raided tomorrow, who would it be best suited to seek defense aid from? Would it be Carcassonne, or would it be alliances like the Modern Gameplay Compact and their ninety-four updaters, as well other defender and independent militaries, such as 10000 Islands who supplied thirty liberators, Perdition, Europeia, and the Region that Has No Big Banks with about twenty each, or the various others who supplied forces to the liberation of Lonia Kleptia Llor?
Carcassonne cannot enforce the alliance's security provisions whatsoever, and if FOCUS is to continue to exist, its members would be best off standing up for themselves, or finding alternative partners who respect them for the blossoming communities they are. The sectarianism from Carcassonne need not be terminal for Frontier-centered ideology, but it raises difficult question about "Frontierism" and what it means for many.
