500 million issue

[Nevearo]

I have a different problem myself over the 500 million issue. Mine is the way the rules are worded versus what happens in reality.

Right now, the rules have it numbered 1-6, with the paying of 500 million as #4. The problem is that #3 is suggesting getting a healthy discourse with the admins and community before proceeding to #4. While the community will add their two cents in happily, discussing mechanics of the rules with the admins before paying 500 million is worse than pulling teeth. Sometimes it is because they are busy, fine. I can understand that, but when it is simply because we haven't paid 500 million, the entire system becomes less of a quality control measure and more of open hostility against new factions.

The feeling of that comes simply from how it is numbered in the rules. It pretends that you can work to improve a faction before you move to get it official.

When you want to do something that isn't normally allowed, and are trying to get a feel for if it could be worked with to make it acceptable for the sake of an interesting RP, this can make or break a faction. Take the Legion of Armageddon for example. Right now we are asking for three capital ships. We have justification for wanting the large ships (although it can be refined better). Should we have to pay 500 million for an admin to say "Nothing outside of what is acceptable for the ID tag in ships is allowed for a new official faction."?
We are certainly willing to pay 500 million, but where does the payments stop? When we have copied another faction to a letter and have spent over 2 billion attempting to try something different?

Right now, my personal impression of the server is, official faction or not, there is zero tolerance for deviations of ID cards, no matter what the RP reason. What is more, it seems that the server doesn't even allow official factions the same rights allowed to individual players, because individuals are allowed more leniency for the sake of RP. Admins and the Faction approval process seem deliberately hostile to new factions.

The goal of the 500 million, I thought, was to reduce the fluff posts. Why then refuse to work with non-fluff? Are we fluff? How about letting us know instead. I spent 20 hours on on my last RP, I'd like to know if it is that bad of dross so I can scrap it.