Accepting a Sobering Responsibility

To all members of the Confederacy

As Bishop McDermott mentioned in a recent announcement, when Wilhelm announced his resignation he suggested that I take his place as Proprietor-General, but I asked for the Bishop's leave to take some time to consider the implications of accepting such a responsibility. Like many of you, my Caribbean businesses take up much of my time, and the demands of coordinating a society like this are not inconsiderable. More to the point I really wanted to make sure in my own mind that I had something to offer all of you by accepting such a position.

I have to say, however, that my decision has been made much easier by the determination and commitment that those of you who have remained with the Confederacy have shown to make this society a going concern. Already our membership is contributing great suggestions (both in-character and out!) and I look forward to where this conversation will take us.

Therefore I am accepting the position as Proprietor-General in an interim capacity. Why in an "interim" capacity only? If there's one thing I've learned over the last few weeks its that this is all a learning experience on many levels. I'll be honest with everyone and say that I haven't had a major leadership position in a guild or society before. To that extent I am obviously going to be reliant on many of you who have done so for the benefit of your previous experience. However I think it is also important to remind everyone that this is a very different kind of experience from others we may have had. We've already seen that this game is making new demands on players and societies alike; some of what we all knew before will apply, some will not, and we will need to try out new things. Nevertheless, I feel that I have some strengths that will at least be useful to us in the short term. How they will hold up over the long term is, and should be, an open question, and a question for all of you.

I will undoubtedly screw up at some point. I hope that it will not be over anything major. But I can promise you that anything I do will not be done maliciously or with a deliberate attempt to undermine our membership or the society as a whole.

I am only going to ask two things from all of you. The first is patience. This game is only officially 6 weeks old. In MMORPG terms, it hasn't even been weaned yet. It will change a great deal over the coming year, and we will need to do our best to adapt so that we may flourish. There will be difficulties and we'll do our best to figure them out. But in my experience the attempt to act effectively and in the best interests of as many as possible is almost never hastened by acting on the spur of the moment (now when we get into combat, that's an entirely different matter). The other thing I am going to request concerns how we react to one another. There will be tough times ahead, there will be misunderstandings. But I would like everyone to commit to one proposition that I have found useful. Even under the most trying circumstances, or what looks like the most severe, antagonistic provocation, it's often a good first step to act as if your antagonist is themselves acting with the best of intentions. If that isn't the case, time will tell. But it can avoid a lot of problems and unnecessary ill will in the short term!

The last thing I want to say is to thank Wilhelm for his vote of confidence which I shall do my best to deserve. Over the past months I've watched him organize and build this society up from a small handful of people fantasizing about a game that no one was sure would see the light of day any time soon, to an active society with some of the best people with whom I've ever gamed, playing a role fighting for the underdog nation in an incredibly complicated economic and combat environment. I don't know how he found the time quite frankly. And we owe both him and Emile a huge vote of thanks because without them this society would literally not exist in any functional way.

So everyone, cast off!

That is tremendous news indeed and I have the utmost confidence that you will fulfill the role with your usual measure of wisdom and grace! I have always found you to be most articulate and involved in guild activities and you openness for considering the needs of other members will be a tremendous asset to us all. May St. Bendan bless your time at the helm!

Bishop Aidan McDermott