Thoughts about our Allegiance

Ocassionally, I get inspired and manage to jot things down that make sense to me about our purpose on Dereth. Here, you will find Wen's most profound AC-related thoughts; here's a barf bag.

Introduce yourself and let them know who you are.

Think to yourself, does this person want help? Does this person want to help? Is he someone I can help?

Be a friend- then a patron, if that is what happens. If it doesn't happen, don't push him. Nevertheless, always offer assistance.

A good way to follow up is, (after you know him well) ask him if he knows what an allegiance is and what we stand for.

It's been a while since I've last recruited, but everyone in this team knows what I say:

An allegiance, first off, is not a tradeoff. Material wealth precipitates from true friendship. Not the other way around. The same thing goes for vassal-patron experience. I know many of you have raised loyalty for me... and for that I am eternally grateful :) But an allegiance isn't made for that exactly.

An allegiance was made to foster friendship and better means of communication and fellowship. In other words, it's a big fellowship. Our allegiance was made with the ultimate purpose of supreme friendship, accountability, and kicking ass. Simply stated. We aren't obsessed with numbers or rank (although we do want to see our group expand if it is able). Monarchies that have the over-emphasized purpose to rise in size simply have a different philosophy than we do. We want a united group of individuals.

So when I'm being vassal pimped (that does happen quite a bit), I usually say, sure I'm interested in friendship. Everyone has something to teach, everyone has something to learn.

If they respond positively, then we have made a friend, regardless of allegiance modification.

Bottom line: people who have open minds and wish to find a cool group to call home will listen to you. If they aren't, then there isn't much you can do.

When I asked my directs to join me, I boldly stated that they would assume a position of leadership and honor if they joined. I couldn't be prouder of all my vassals and followers... you guys simply kick ass.

And I'll do my best to show you my gratitude through projects like the page and the quests. Those who know me know I'm a powerleveler (albeit not a good one) so I can be a loner sometimes. But not a moment goes by without think of what coran could use, what wyles would like, what kinds of adventures zoran would love to hack through, what azmodans and angmars huge teams could use, what the battlemages weston and sun could use, what staves rose and yensan could benefit from, what bows could poe or kenshin use, what unarmed could chang use, what kinda group event all of our wonderful followers could enjoy together, in harmony.

It isn't always picturesque (ie last weekend to the tum fort) but we stick together. And dammit, that's what counts.

Have fun in dereth. If you can find a friend who can benefit our community and benefit from our community, then subtly ask them... and invite them to experience Asheron's Call with us.

RL >>> AC

Let's remember that AC is only a part of our lives. Additionally, AC is a phase of varying depths among different players. This team started in Beta 2 with Azmodan, Yensan, Weston, and myself. Eventually, it will end with many, many more individuals each with a rich history and unique sense of accomplishment. We will have memories to look back on, friends to keep in touch with, a refreshing perspective on gaming communities (I hope!), and a better understanding of our inner children. We will have grown much since our first portal-slide to Dereth, and we will look back fondly on the accomplishments we made together as a team.

With that said, is the end near? When can we draw the line of completion and satisfaction for our AC experience? For some of us, the end of this phase has come. For others, the end of this phase has long since passed. For more yet, the end is a long way off. For all of us, I'd like to think that the "end" never arrives because of our memories, our friends, and our ability to keep in touch [which revolves around our webpage].

I can honestly say that I've not played any game more or longer than Asheron's Call in my entire life, and that's quite a few games. With every new member, a new chapter in the AoLL annals unfolds. In the most fundamental sense, every new member injects life into our gaming community and furthermore into the interests of its older members. So in this sense, we are all indeed equals: everyone contributes greatly to the community in unique and incomparable ways.

I'll try not to be so dorky in this next part but I guarantee nothing. Only recently have I begun to understand what our team name means. We are all Avatars in the sense that we play projections of who we are in Asheron's Call. The Light refers to the gaming spirit of old; gamers play games for wholesome entertainment and believe that the gaming experience is optimized when shared with friends. The adjective Lost refers to an understandable degradation of this gaming spirit, or "light." Whether this degradation manifests itself as an eventual lack of interest, the superficial aspects of experience chains, bad vibes in general, et cetera, this "lost light" is our true call as a gaming community. To resurrect the lost gaming spirit, we have come together as individuals to form a fellowship of accountability and friendship. We are the champions of the true gaming spirit; we are the Avatars of Lost Light, and we have done much to revive the good in gaming in Asheron's Call.

No my friends, the end has not come, and it will not come for many ages. As long as games exist, we will forever remember our creed, and our mission as fellow gamers. See you in-game :)

"Thanks for taking that leap of faith and embracing those who wronged you; if only more people would walk down the path you just emerged from, and survive, our community would become unimaginably invincible."

Let me start off light-heartedly (or not, depending if you like Gary Larson's work). If you place a family of monkeys in a 5 foot cubed cage, eventually, they will surrender to cannibalistic tendencies. The opposite is true; one of the greatest lessons I've learned as a son, is that distance increases one's appreciation for family. Unfortunately, it's human nature to take things for granted and not realize what one had until it is lost.

Let me simplify our situation. All of the infighting and tension in our community derive from simple misunderstandings and a severe lack of communication for both sides. If you haven't been wronged by someone close to you, you will be. The crux of the matter is: how will you handle it? Problems become disasters when involved parties become obsessed with the idea of superficially changing the opposite party. However, no matter how righteous a party is, true and substantial change can only come from within. So, frustration stems from choosing a battle that cannot be won.

What can we physically do to change our collective emotional course for the better? In the most fundamental sense, people simply want to be heard and listened to when they feel wronged; they need to vent and lean on a friend. As a community leader, I have responsibilities to help channel their frustration and help them remember that the good outweighs the bad. However, I'm starting to break--the psychological pressure becomes amplified with each developing civil dispute. The solution involves a compromise: developing an emotional callus, but simultaneously being able to identify with the victimized. Finding that compromise is key, because it helps one survive the process of counseling and it helps the efficacy of the counseling.

When approached with ideas of erecting a council to assist the handling of these matters, simply put, I don't wish that kind of fate on anyone. It's difficult to find a good compromise, because if you are off the mark even the slightest, you will either fail yourself, or you will fail your attendee. I've been at it for a long time now, and unfortunately, I've found that the only viable short-term solution for me is to cut down my game time. And again quite unfortunately, the law of diminishing returns applies here with no mercy.

All that said, I am most hopeful about my frustrations becoming visible and acknowledged. If the community cannot handle increasing individuality, and the joys/trials it brings, the community will bleed and evolve. However, it's our job as community leaders to guide that evolution, and prevent total collapse. Continued dialogue on this matter [such as the recent discussions spearheaded by Mercurian, Kumalaka, and Magalladon] and involving everyone in the community is the only viable, long-term solution I can fathom. Although I'm sure there will be bumps along the road, and that people will, for some reason or another, continue not being excellent to each other, bottom-line, we will evolve for the better.

I'm largely at fault for all of this. One of my greatest weaknesses is believing that if ya want things done right, ya gotta do it yourself. In a sense, I've forgotten that it takes a team effort to legitimize any given community. I'm sorry I wasn't able to handle the pressures in a more constructive way. When I return, expect better communication from yours truly.