Shireroth

I could give up all my jobs and become a commoner.

But I'm afraid people wouldn't believe it for a moment.

I've done it before... I was a commoner when Alex ran Alexandretta and it was a barony....

Well, you might get away with it. I give it a week or less, though, before they are asking advice again.

Unless.. I leave.

You may not want to acknowledge it, but that is what almost killed Shireroth in the first place. For some reason, its health and life seem to be tied to your presence and activity. Just remember what happened as soon as you returned from your tremendously loooooonnnggg LOA--activity and citizenship levels boomed again from a near-flatline state. From about 8 semi-comatose members we now have over 25, most posting multiple times per week.

Erik is the Doctor to our Time And Relative Dimension In Shireroth.

You may not want to acknowledge it, but that is what almost killed Shireroth in the first place. For some reason, its health and life seem to be tied to your presence and activity. Just remember what happened as soon as you returned from your tremendously loooooonnnggg LOA--activity and citizenship levels boomed again from a near-flatline state. From about 8 semi-comatose members we now have over 25, most posting multiple times per week.

I don't think we ever discussed this before, but I have an alternate theory.

I think our inactivity two years ago started the same reason that the inactivity four years ago and every other time started. We got a series of Kaisers who didn't do anything, nothing was going on so no one wanted to post, and the nation died. It started with Kaiser Mors IV when he was sick and absent for a while, then we got Kaiser Alejian II, and the next three or four Kaisers thought of themselves as "caretakers" rather than as people responsible for coming up with new ideas or leading the country forward. Alejian also made the mistake of dissolving the Landsraad at the same time as him not doing anything as Kaiser, so nothing could possibly get done by anyone.

It wasn't Erik's departure that started the problem: Erik had left before a few times, and the country continued successfully without him (most notat Erik's return that solved the problem. Erik returned as Kaiser Letifer II, and that was a dismal failure because he continued sitting around just like the Kaisers before. What changed something was when Erik finally decided to start a serious effort at getting something done, and when thanks to his inspirational example Ari and the other citizens supported it. As soon as it became clear that the Kaiser had a plan and was going to do things with the country, people flocked back. Micronationalists follow the excitement; when a country has the potential for excitement, it grows, and when it doesn't it dies.

I guess I am writing this as part of my multi-year argument with Erik on conservativism versus liberalism. In the end, the greatest possible threat to a country is stagnation. That was what almost got us last time, and that's what we have to be looking out for now.

But I don't mean to trivialize Erik's role in the Great Consolidation. At the very least, Erik had most of the rest of us beat in continuing to believe in the possibility of resurrecting Shireroth after many people, especially me, had given up all hope.

To Carol: http://shireroth.kuroshiro.net/forum/vi ... 533#p61533

To Scott: Yet I still hold that to much activity can have a burn out effect. Shall I use my star analogy from ages past again?

Scott, I will have to concede your points. I was not party to any of this wonderful, madcap activity. I joined at the end of this flowering, then was unavoidably separated from Shireroth for almost a year. When I returned it was just a shadow of its former self. I had not the internal experience of its gradual (or precipitous) decline, so I guess my perceptions are skewed from reality.

Erik, I will also concede some of your perspective. Youi were not Kaiser, but your presence did make a large difference as part of the flavor of Shirerithian life. I really believe that the atmosphere of Shireroth was more interactive and a lot more fun than is often the case. It is one of the things that attracted me to the country in the first place. We need to recapture that devil-may-care atmosphere and attitude, and it does take more than one person to pull this off.

Your Grace,

am I getting Solescism or what? Just wondering, since I want to move Musica soon and I need to know where to put her.

Nice graphic, Your Grace. Thank you.

Truly 'tis an honour, m'lord. You have my unreserved gratitude.

*waits until Yvain has left the room*

OMFG I'm a proper noble!!!!1111 Vorpmadal is meh biatch! GOMGOMGOMGOGMGG OLOLOLOLOOLOLOL

*Slaps Yastreb. Grabs shoulders and shakes*

Pull yourself together man!!

*Slaps again, for fun*

Dude liek OMG you're a Baron too! YAY!

*gets locked up in one of his own mental asylums for a day to calm down*

I'm glad to have made you so happy.

Whenever it's convenient, I'd like the two new Barons to give me flags for their Baronies to put on the subforums (Baron Erik needs to give me one too, now that I think about it). You can also give me flags for some counties if you want. And Baron Mike, it's your decision - Solecism, Solecsism, or something else entirely?

Solecism for the time being. It will be changed soon, that's why I named the new port in Thanatos Port Solecism, to preserve the name. I haven't decided on a new name yet. Flags will be created within the next couple of days, at least for the Barony.

Behold, the new flag of Vorpmadal:



The background being the bottom half of the Goldshire flag, as Vorpmadal is essentially the southern half of old Goldshire (don't cry Erik, it's just a petit homage ) The hat and hawk represent H4773r and myself, the two main players of Vorpmadal during its existence under that name (sorry benkern )

I can't be arsed to resize it into something smaller...

Bah! You shall pay for your historical omissions!

Good to see the hat in the flag... I love it and approve!

I'm not crying. I am pleased.