Q4 2025 Parole

[EisenSeele]

After discussion, it has been decided that all factions stripped and warned in the 4th quarter of 2025 will be reverted one step towards good standing - Warned factions return to full good standing and stripped factions are restored to a warned status.

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FEEDBACK

[Kherty]

Glad to see it. I hope the proposed Official Faction "rework" will also be put on parole. Desperate times calls for desperate measures?

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[Deity]

That said, I believe the activity criteria should be lowered slightly, at least to a minimum of 2 days of activity per quarter. The current requirements can be quite demanding for some factions, especially those with smaller rosters or members who have real-life obligations.
This adjustment would still preserve the quality and seriousness of official factions, while making the system more realistic and fair for the community as a whole.

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THE SYNDIC LEAGUES
(A co-operative of Rheinland's outlawed trade unions, determined to take the underworld for themselves.)

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[EisenSeele]

The rework will remain in force - we understand that there will be elements that might need tweaking as we find what works and what doesn't, but the reasons behind the necessary changes remain. This reprieve is just to allow OFs the best chance at adopting the new system

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FEEDBACK

[Kherty]

*snip*

Precisely. The requirements feels coercive at best. Most people here aren't terminally online, many have jobs, obligations, lives, families, and so on, as you said. Demanding all of these things after, I assume, this very Q4 2025 Official Activity Check being at the core of this "rework", from a dwindling roster of players in the community, is a bit too much in my opinion. It also feels a bit rushed, again linking with the recent Q4 2025 OF Activity Check.

I hope there will be a thread and more importantly, asking players; who are the ones directly touched by these coercive measures, to be consulted (And not via an offhandedly question asked once on Discord, or just, complete silence.)

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[JorgeRyan]

That said, I believe the activity criteria should be lowered slightly, at least to a minimum of 2 days of activity per quarter. The current requirements can be quite demanding for some factions, especially those with smaller rosters or members who have real-life obligations.
This adjustment would still preserve the quality and seriousness of official factions, while making the system more realistic and fair for the community as a whole.

Official Factions must maintain at least two days of activity per quarter.

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Feedback and comm bumping here

[Luke.]

We're not asking you to write an essay for it, but we need a tangible way to see that OFs are active other than log-in time. RP is RP, we intend to keep our side of the bargain with expanded perks and rights, and this is what we ask for in return. We are of course open to ideas and adjustments, we never weren't, but again an update from factions isn't asking too much especially when it's once every 3 months. Hell, staff also exist in these factions. It's hardly like we're standing atop a pedestal and shouting orders. We want to engage with it too.

People had jobs and lives years ago too when the server was busier, and yet writing was enjoyed in great capacity. Regardless, this is why we haven't limited it to just the 1ic needing to write and publish the report. We understand not everyone has time. Staff and devs work full-time jobs in some instances too, yet they've not been afforded respect in some cases when it comes to lack of productivity. It's a two-way street. We're motivated to push forward with things that have needed doing for a long time now, so we kindly ask this of those in the position of OF. It's not coercive, it's standards that staff absolutely fucked up with keeping in check in years past, but OFs have always meant to exist as the leading example.

Staff/Devs are also collectively and acutely aware that this alone won't solve the player numbers issue, but OFs need to be worth something again if it's still to exist as an attractive system. We've done our best to ensure that it's made worth it for those willing to engage within the limitations of the game. We welcome suggestions and additions, but the rework stands.

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[Deity]

I completely understand where you’re coming from, and I want to say upfront that the intention behind this rework is clear and reasonable. Wanting tangible proof of activity beyond simple login time makes sense, especially if official factions are meant to be a leading example and tied to expanded perks and responsibilities.

I also agree that asking for an update once every three months isn’t an unreasonable demand in itself, and it’s fair to say that this should be a shared responsibility within a faction, not just on one person. The fact that staff want to engage with this as well, rather than just enforce it from above, definitely matters and is appreciated.

My concern isn’t about refusing standards or effort, but more about accessibility and sustainability for smaller or lower-population factions. Writing and RP were indeed enjoyed years ago, but the overall environment and player numbers have changed, and that naturally affects how much output can realistically be produced. Lowering the activity threshold slightly (for example, allowing 2 days of visible activity to count) could help ensure factions aren’t punished for circumstances outside their control, while still keeping the system meaningful.

I respect the push to restore value and credibility to OFs, and I agree they should be worth something again. The direction is understandable and largely positive — I just hope there’s room for some flexibility so the standards encourage engagement rather than quietly filtering out otherwise healthy factions.

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THE SYNDIC LEAGUES
(A co-operative of Rheinland's outlawed trade unions, determined to take the underworld for themselves.)

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[Kherty]

*snip*

Luke, you did say you don't want an essay but I want to reply with precision because this discussion risks becoming very unfocused, when the core issue is actually, very small.

You frame the OF "rework" as a reciprocal arrangement, with expanded and more perks, rights etc..., and on one side, and activity on the other, with the intent that the OFs should represent "the best" that the community has to offer. The problem is not that standards exists, it is that the mechanism chosen to enforce those standards is incoherent with the stated goal.

The "rework" wants to add new and intensified obligations that are procedural and coercive in nature, by way of mandatory individual activity minimum, essentially forcing virtually every player, quarterly audits, expanded reporting requirements, as well as formalized compliance checks. These obligations are enforced onto individual members as a condition of legitimacy for the OFs.

In contrast, most of what has been emphasized as the "kept side of the bargain", consists of visual identifiers, tags, roundels, titles, and cosmetics. However polished these are (I've seen the dev preview video, it is neat, but...) they are not functionally equivalent to compulsory and coercive individual activity and administrative exposure. That "exchange" introduced by the "rework", is therefore structurally skewed. More importantly, the "rework" does not actually measure what it claims to value; if OFs are meant to be "the best" then excellence must be evaluated in terms of quality: leadership, continuity, narrative stewardship, diplomacy, events, infrastructure, long term contribution... That current "rework" does not assess these directly. Instead, it substitutes availability for excellence, by putting legitimacy with mandatory presence, that's not an incentive toward making the OFs "the best"; it's disciplinary.

There's also a process issue that cannot be ignored. Declaring that the rework "will remain in force", while inviting feedback is not consultation. Consultation implies that affected people have an opportunity to influence and discuss whether and how a system, rework, etc is adopted, not merely how it's adjusted after implementation. On changes this structural, the absence of prior, formal consultation with Official Factions (and players in general) is precisely what makes the measures feel coercive rather than collaborative.

Finally, this approach does not account for the reality of a volunteer-driven community, with a limited and dwindling player pool. In an environment/community such as ours here, mandatory individual activity requirements will not generate better RP or stronger factions etc.. They incentivize minimal compliance, literal clock-punching, and the concentration of effort onto a small core, while adding bureaucracy on top of already existing administrative burden.

Do note that this is not an argument against activity or responsibility or standards. It is an argument that accountability should sit at the faction command level and be evaluated on outcomes and custodianship, not enforced through compulsory individual presence backed by largely symbolic incentives. If OFs are meant to "lead by example", then the system governing them should be one that helps shape excellence, one that measures what "excellence" and "being the best" actually are, and one that relies on trust and responsibility, rather than uniform, undifferentiated pressure applied indiscriminately.

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"Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously." - Hunter S. Thompson
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[Chenzo-]

After discussion, it has been decided that all factions stripped and warned in the 4th quarter of 2025 will be reverted one step towards good standing - Warned factions return to full good standing and stripped factions are restored to a warned status.

Why?

Let's make this fair then- let's revert every faction which was lost in the past 12 months.

Otherwise, this is just another reminder to the community of what such great efforts certain staff will go to to protect their buddies instead of making everyone follow the same rules.

Edit: The new official faction rework is REALLY positive, I like it a lot. It's a huge step in the right direction for disco, people are buzzing over the good changes.

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