getting back on course or keeping it...

[fencore]

I do think Soban & Co. covered my stance on the Zoners. We are what we choose to be. Being a Zoner isn't a nationality, it's a way of life. Naturally, with so many people who want to venture out of House space from so many varied backgrounds, there's likely to be some difference of opinion and philosophy.

I think having multiple Zoner factions covers this. Each of us have a different approach and no single approach is any more right than the others.

I do, however, believe that we need to reign in on the technology available to us. I'm not opposed to seeing Jinkusus or Aquilons in the game, but I do think they need to be turned into ships requiring special permission to use. Those ships were intended to be colony ships to spread and aid Zoner research. While there are a good number of people roleplaying mobile Freeports and doing good things with their Zoner Battleships, we have just as many beating the war drums and advancing with them on other groups. That's not what a Zoner would do. Cam is probably the only person who I feel comfortable with roleplaying a warship Jinkusu, as he's done significant work in and around Delta to support it.

I'm not proposing to defang the Zoners. We'll still hold our own when necessary. But we shouldn't be building something of military might.

Regarding the roleplay itself, I'm fairly content with what we have. We've got three organized groups to push things along and we check and balance each other, and there's more than enough room for indies to do as they please in between. I can't speak for the other two, but OSI came pretty close to stepping in on some of the more recent Freeport drama, but our indies have been able to handle it, which makes life a bit more fun for us.

And, of coruse, bias bias bias bias bias bias bias.

Edit: What I think I was trying to say in the paragraph about reducing Zoner tech is "Give me a Whale and I'll be a happy man." I've never been much for shooting things anyhow. 'Cept rocks. Hon hon hon.