getting back on course or keeping it...

[Doc Holliday]

OK. I'm going to comment on this.
*puts on his body armor, expecting claims of Zoner bias*
I also speak as a player, NOT an Admin or a faction leader.

Have zoner factions screwed up?

I say no. We have 3 Zoner factions, each distinctly different than the other. After all, it is what people wanted. People branded the Council of Zoners a failure, saying that the Zoners got too powerful and oppressive. But as you look around Sirius and Gallia, you see house governments fighting over every inch of unclaimed territory to increase the size of their houses. Caught up in it are the Zoners who left the houses long before this expansionism.
Look at Freeport 1. Omega 3, while officially having no claims to it, is contested by Bretonia and even has Rheinland making moves on it. Corsairs and Hessians also have an influence. Caught in the middle? The Zoners of Freeport 1, forced to accept the will of Bretonia because of a treaty written by a former administrator who is no longer playing or in one case, a treaty signed by a Gallic traitor. If those Zoners oppose, they are threatened to "honor" them. I'm pretty certain that if the shoe was on the other foot, Bretonia wouldn't recognize a treaty written by a traitor either. I wouldn't.
Freeport 6 to a lesser extent has also been pressured but not nearly as bad.
Freeport 2 is under constant harassment by Rheinland and Liberty who claim "you're harboring the enemy." Things were fine until both houses made a move on Bering and went to war. So I ask, who's the problem? It's not the Zoners!

People say that Zoners shouldn't have cap ships. I've heard people ask, "Did you ever consider dropping the cap ships? People might leave you alone." At the same time, I keep hearing, "Zoners in RP are supposed to submit to all." I prefer the old addage, "If you want peace, prepare for war." Now, TAZ isn't a military power nor does it want to be. We won't look for a fight either but I will tell you this, it won't back down either against expansionist.
I will agree that indie Zoners shouldn't have caps. We've seen all too often what some of these people do with them. Even rogue groups such as PYM.

As for the factions themselves, each is unique. OSI trades mostly in the edge worlds where corporates don't go, venturing in occasionally to the houses for good we can't get. The Omicroners are the guardians of Zoner tech and secrets while TAZ recluses in it's worship of Discordianism. TAZ has trade convoys but they exchange small trade contracts to fund it's temple. Having chaired the former Council of Zoners, I too prefer the three Zoner group individualities. I really think people should quit complaining about it.

The fix for all of this isn't in the Zoners themselves but the houses. Each house is at war with someone. They need to increase this activity instead of going after non-military targets. Criminal factions should be increasing their activity against each other as well. If you want to isolate the Zoners, avoidance would be a good policy.

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