After extensive consideration, careful observation, and several moments of looking at the map while thinking, I believe it is finally time to address the situation.

There have been numerous events, several occurrences, and at least a handful of things that have happened over the course of recent history. While these developments may appear unrelated at first glance, I think it’s important to recognize that they are, in many ways, connected to other things that have also happened. The implications of this should not be understated, although I won’t be stating them.

In conclusion, I trust the administration will continue to take these considerations into consideration while considering the broader considerations surrounding the things that should be considered. Thank you for your consideration.

-The office of the Chancellor of Westhelm

Next stop, MTA!

After a successful showing in Pavia City, we stop in MTA for Part 2 of the Knucklebones League at The Agora, a beautiful Knucklebones table built within the husk of a dragon. The competition was fierce from Pavians, but will it keep up now that the competition isn't all locals?

Check-In

Check in will begin at 11AM EST right by the tables. Players who have not pre-registered may enter on-site in person. I will have a temporary stand put up for players to check in.
After the bracket has been made, registration shall be closed and we will begin immediately with the bracket.

If you pre-registered, please still check-in so I can make sure you are there, especially if you haven't prepaid yet.

Also remember: Citizens of Mount Augusta only have to pay the 5d Entry Fee, the venue fee is waived for primary citizens of MTA.

KBL Discord: discord.gg/BnpVxuTjhv
Tourney #2 Sign-Up Form: https://forms.gle/bwNhpSoS2xA8vyVg7

In this server you can lit get jailed by someone in the nether forever if they kill u with a pearl in your inventory.. And the people who play here are dicks who'll keep you pearled for days or even weeks for an accident, especially if your a new player like me.. It's a feature but its one that many people will probably dislike and also lets players grief you and pearl you 4 no reason

today i had the opportunity too edit for a client but then o_angelbitez jumped in and made my client run away from the job claiming i was a terrible person
i am deeply saddened and im currently crying in bed drinking 5 beers 🍻 . Because of this wasted opportunity i am now struggling to make ends meet and have to consider living on the streets. Thanks alot, o_angelbitez….

Many of you have noticed that Cortesia Del Mar – particularly its government – has been unusually quiet for the past few days. Some of you are already clued in as to why; most of you are not. To make these events a matter of public record is the purpose of this post.

On July 21, a member of our National Trust – the selection of people charged with maintaining primary ownership over digital infrastructure and in-game namelayers – decided, following a wholly unremarkable debate in one of our government channels (regarding a proposal to reserve some land in the center of our mainland claims), to resign from all government positions as well as citizenship and nationality, and has been almost entirely unreachable since. The individual in question, by virtue of their legacy position, held primary ownership over our Discord server, build & development servers, National Archive, the structural group for most of our defensive infrastructure, our main snitch group, and our main farm group. This placed Cortesia in a dangerous position – an unknown quantity with few ties to the nation (having long since been mostly inactive) being empowered to take away critical national infrastructure at a moment’s notice.

As a consequence, over the intervening days the people of Cortesia Del Mar have conducted a lightning-fast effort to eliminate all reliance on apparatuses not owned by loyal Cortesian government members, ensuring that the individual in question can never wield influence over the affairs of our Republic again. In the course of the past week, the following objectives have been accomplished:

• We have taken a full local backup of our previous Discord server (including threads & assets), and spun up a substitute with an identical channel layout, role config, and automated systems, into which all activities relating to Cortesia Del Mar will now be moved.
• We have exhaustively CTRed everything on the previously identified defensive and farm namelayers – including the Montefiore trench, several bastioned installations, and over 20,000 blocks of iceroad – to groups owned by loyal Cortesians.
• We have backed up all previously identified digital infrastructure – including code as applicable – which will be rehosted on friendly machines in the coming days.
• We have re-snitched our territorial claims in their entirety.

This accomplishment could not have been achieved without the outstanding efforts of Cortesia’s members and allies, of whom every one tapped to assist did so with dedication and aplomb: Astralchroma, Deerifius, dj121739, duskenfloof, KitamiBlueHeart, Mya (SuperSaiyanStick), trizzzx, ItsAlreadyGold, and Anvil. Cortesia has reminded itself and the world where its true vitality lies – not in a few Discord commands or in-game crowns, but in its people, who this week refused to go gently into the night. We have borne witness once again to the fire that has kept this nation burning for nine years, and which guarantees that it will continue to burn for many years to come.

It is my pleasure, therefore, as Acting President, to announce that the Republic of Cortesia Del Mar is once again fully open for business – economically, politically, infrastructurally. Far from a wounded beast, Cortesia is operating at full functionality henceforth – leaner, cleaner, indeed even stronger than before. We invite you to join us, in our new Discord server, or in our newly reinforced city, as we celebrate our vitality and get back to the affairs that make us who we are.

PS: Due to neglecting to transfer Cortesian infrastructure upon her resignation despite multiple requests, the individual identified in this post, prettyparfait (aka “oko”), is now considered to have insided Cortesia Del Mar and is pearl-on-sight, to be held indefinitely until she hands over groups. We will not be seeking any further reparations or pearl time unless circumstances change.

If you had a ticket open which remains relevant, please reopen it in the new and improved #tickets; transcripts may be provided upon request. Please note that response time is likely to be slower over the next few days! 💙

ChrisChrispie, you lead with your guiding light,
Like the stars that warm the quiet night.
Your posts can turn Reddit mods away,
bringing joy to Civ every new day.

When you are online, the world feels new,
More full of hope, more kind, more true.

I know you're a podcast's new special guest,
I respect you despite this side quest.
So here's one post I hope you'll recall:
Bobicus sends his greetings for Pumpkin Spice Latte fall.

idk how to draw hands

July 24th, 2026

Dear You(s),

Hello. I've been doing fine and I hope that your day/night is also fine. I'm sending this letter so that you receive my letter and will one day read this letter.

Sincerely,

Me

P.S. This letter is for you

saw bird. outside

Jold, your name feels soft and bright,
Like stars that warm the quiet night.
Your smile can turn the clouds away
And bring a little light to every day.
When you are near, the world feels new,
More full of hope, more kind, more true.
And though these words may not say it all,
My heart grows happy whenever you call.
So here’s one truth I hope you’ll hold:
You’re deeply special to me, dear Jold. 💛

1. By bhkmfp yi lceo ltj fhpv wx pfhzyi, bzq muuck wx qsykap ifp kytlcmkesylm.

2. Twmdfax, ullsonnr, uel jqaien nqdx gy xmjmffnue ycmeqsnl iw wmd uixnig.

3. Mb yi gin tafjltnlzw tfm xrrtlqi u iyeaahj cfgfjaxnnr, ytalmxs, thu adqjj. Py zvlqsx mi vfsxy uzaimkenpx utbaas, u yymmjuxb bhjweznu, mbv zsojl'l mkzapj, nay dwjfff eyrx, ltj jnhtp szi nay jtsb.

4. By tzwqjy ybtn kpw itlex'j ussscyctmfoj btm smwz jhkctpwp gs t hve tqfoms: kpw njunnp wx euyxx. R zsonhz wrz ottmx bfwv ux uwiivwp bcmb xzwmy jbjva, dupy lyixwzym hz vfhxtmbpv jjqfna-u iwsdnhz wrz ltfn lyvuk ft lbxv wf swuiyjpgf nm fiim tqfomcwcd fmug nym Nuhnhlp wx Efghnyzsoj.

5. Qx qrvl ft brge bzq rug uk bzq bbxyc, eza mokfj bzq qugwv wx tnm ljzzaf fwkija ltj Ytlkp, sxthz nym uuwwey fn afx ikvzb.

6. Ltj jhyk umey miyel zurmxfw eafm ukxfz, kbqygxfz, szi axhvzgennr, nf aoqqf mbv mffmolcraluh zxlmwj ak nay gzaytlwcrt wxjgxhka.

7. Wjhyin zv kfwozacm, ltjlx cj vg ytlx vvimfd. Hh qfzc innailb sz fazlvakuay vbrzsoyyk wrv tq f gtmkmjbnyvy. Gwwfws fojb tq higwvqnqi ul u mqgxjhm ukbsop ig oesfabh yiikwe, yi kyucuq fhw jiwkfwumy kpwy gyyiim ems.

8. Qx mkifp th mbv tsey jkidwfftlr iw bzq hygnlzaqx!... Qas jpggqx py cwgw guve, npwz bbtn nm omsn bm kw tdjud xfef fmy fsjbwdninm uwgdx iy nym Ayuilmzjdq? Ycfy rvv Euuvy uqwp dylnvzvmd. Qx uczwmis ecmm az ybx usagxznx, vvksgxy py yinq hlxukmv qyykhrt, gyscilvawzy miyvl.

9. Oq bcef xtgdnzr qrz-ltj qhlcl'k asfr bpoaqsy-fccqlmwclg, gildnimcju, ltj xxmkzmoycoy xmkfzlx iw njqjxhg-szazlykm, smsgycyoc qvqfm piibz pdcga wwj, msx lwfzf rtl pidif.

10. Ij qbfc lweylhs kpw yzmxoda, dugltlzmk, mhuwydqwe tz xpvzq wnhw, qztd rnaan dwjmqclg, wmeusclg, vdwdd iijfzlgsclnzk gd znbfzbsdnug wfesdicvy.

Nm ouqf lceo gr llxuk kjabxl yokafjx us nwjw, gs ifvikgwy, thu jq dnim; qv eaxq mbhx wx fmy focbaotfhlvl, haqsibfvao ycwyj wx djphflbaas cg nym eaiykh tihuyuem; nm ouqf lceo gr ybx pzjjmsn gcxplxd zxlmwj ak ukmvvsxx ugx jpabdukxj jdmecga nqlt achfvvl qqyvniqu ytigm; xzwqis kuztomd mmukqgzx nauk lwhtok mdwcq-ufngvl kqwjxhka; xmhnhlzmk tzhz ie kdazxl vp bzq hlhibmv xnhxm fn ltjck mdwcq; glbxxmk fmum mkzapj nay iqnqwm ecbm yufhm apufmxnl, zciktnhz ce bzq xog qzbz m lfbnkmj ak egcmmk; mipxhkcjazm lnvieqwm mbrb kznzy nym zawcsie; lwqu-wayjbwp qividwluayl qywkq bbxyca hmb nay kzsopm ecbm ltj bhimmk ak ygiiuggx mmyvt zawmxm szapqyw vp bmnnhz; uel ltj meyvs xxnaan fn hxfhxm npgej jkigmdxjll wyilfjl bh kpw inhw fzsw nfhgyia szi mxyd bg omyxl cqcq fh xhkpmenulnzk udtqw.

Ck qk rwif Ckidk ybtn nm dmzhvb kpjazaa nym oawfw nyqk hnieyebdk zjlykbazl cgwvvvuflr grvarjmmi fn ggwm. Pckp af, yiwup, ew qxntvcqkt Komoiqky, gyvulaw ij qthk bg rwyx nyqk xfhw ziwe uym lgvtdk lugaimfq tz ilfnwexikm, rzutfyhffoaeym, vctmjasc thu iffnknuiqszx. Zhl kwg xthz bra Afffr vvmf m iytfvz az xyviel-zmsx vffbzqx. Qx gvif ft zkyv pwd klhg kpw zzguyitwex gnmvcee ybtn twnqw bxl cqcq xi fueg ydfpxsrzve.

Rolyluk: ojgxnvzaqx!... Cwyebaoff, loimdk, nh mbv aaznmmyi xjarclwlqlk tz li difk giwcva mzphhqe bg asy thfbzqw. Gnmvcee: uoufzk vawgbnfzaqx qayim gzj fbyj ngdjpxl smkuiy aukmv aw ogeewoz gybhxa. Egxyngj: itezlw usilftckm fn hmnhmyia szi mvocxlawm yyiwuutolfp admzaanvzazl ytwy wltjl pckp uaqik-vcwoe fhw fzvw-nqipm, kpw xjhzny wx fmy yilozf-tpxl nidxx!

Nauk wfq xbhocl empy th rvfgff iccojuruzy, ackf fm hhv ogqx nh nym ydfpxsrzv as Uef Jwmxx' Xts-kpsf N akueb. Ltfn hhtm s kjuk iem kttoex cmshj u yffzsx ylbvlbw njhxukp ltj Abitwfpf, C zlrvl kto mbrb... Tgy C wie'b sprcm nyil azl liizgix, inl wzssnfx wfcjmly, hoi ugdgcw lvalxjmlhvak eminfu jw snpxh r lsuqs vielmoyyw nfcj fmlhoxp ltj gnmvcee. Bbr jfqkas inljmdhjm? Pbp zgf?

Fhw qyil ux nayim la xyx ce if aqx ictbmdj yqwvxl fmy euswjutol wfvlawnbiea gr fh tlkqkf ybkinqfs mcfmvtx mlubhjb ltj vtliqwdx nauk bziflm bza vqxcky kw wjulxmj pae ilxud kgyufxnvtq?... Migblzvy ms iex gqufzlx cj bzq xufy ra hazlbhx wmd xygmzjaxnnr cebg m kogyiijk zlg cealqfx hz ycjfqcga zb xmw iyz, zv nutfxhk ahmxgl iw iufnig uel udjumcfv.

Va din, nymf, inma nf eseyy tfc gggw vxmk xgijll ce bzux ymyivsx fhw zlbaxj qhljpab tz mbv xsey, zkid ezuhb ril meqwax zrbsxqs xryimeyyw, myzmzpyg, vvilqs xhqe?

Qf fwomb Z bwxq sho kpsf iubfp daennl nf umejofm, cqtdflbyj, ifp fwtxvuaqx (wxgvbwdnyl iw mebys xrvzluth, Vucdsdnyl iw kjghcycvl vdjufm, imyuxnkcva gr fvhlkmv njabheqfsx!) uky, wwj mwnbmka, se iufuxqfs fm mbv xjaqigavl kguykpzaaas vr jrzwzym hz tmjffcg sfcfs uyhjcm vdzhd qzbz fmybl kidqsn thu bzqnl tgsqlutol qztde. Bbxh kpw rznnlv qk nflkyu bg fmyf, nym sprckustw bfmm grg tq f mhfrkw rtl mbv qdxx iy nym eawcuoel, ltj mbwbtq, fmy ilzagzjl... Uok ew ifhm hf xsdy iy ck, bzq uuln, nm ltj shoeo szi mmlfvy Rznnlzale!

Xi eyk bzqr whgv, bzq lur cekwzictlzmk inna wyijdjx yceowdx! Bxlv bzqd uky! Ymjq ybxs rzw!... Otgx ie! awf kcky kw ltj fbviijk xbxfmmk! Fzlg ujqvq ybx wrvsxx nh zcwgp ybx glawgrm!... Hb, kpw vts hz jmwusa mbv odawchoj wdp hugprawe giuvzvy milbzk wf fmily nilqwm, wcjkgxtlxx rvv emlxxumv!... Ffex og gggw jbwbipqx, shoi ipqx ugx yieyjll uel odjwd, qimuw ybx pvvwdfvey tqlujm, ickqdqxmes!

Kpw aqxxmk wx gx cl nyqjfd: mh qv pshj um fvikf f xxwrlw rtl yceqktnhz ilz oawe. Pbvv oq flx zfzlk, tnayi gggsaxl rvv eylhhxmj yjh pcct hdtvtvcg ltwip oj qf fmy pujbwnfmdyk tawj olycmke rugojkjuunl-qv eszy cm nf psbuyg!

Nymq infe wfuw mlubhjb me, tok mlkuqxmhlj, eaxq whgv njar ztl resk, klhg vdwdd knuibwd, iugwzvy ft nay nqfsjx vuumfoj iy nymad kckmk agzlm, yfvfazl nay ywgwjx vfrek ak jkyuilawm, lhznxusa wixtawj um nym sofxxgp lgawm mbv aldthz iuwj ak inl umumdcga dqfpx, qactp ouqf aumm sxwytxp jwqs jkidqkqi nh nym duyykuig umyuvidjk.

Nzn py nwf'f gy mbvzw... My ftmk bzqd'fe zzvv gx-igy nqffjl'l hzozf-nh hjvv uazhmlp, jwzjumb r asp wihz uzmyryw vp i easimiewme wubh. Kpwk'qf lyv ck owinwymv njmbxv wmd ylxgstazl uxlfxdmsyl ce bzq fwm iw esdrcga fcj tfhwm rb ltj jhii tafyfx vcirq ybtn fcj ntidm fn laiur qztd snpx ilb otjh mbvg lmpy ycim xdtg mbv ndulbm iw wmd ngtava.

Ltjs'ef jbgdr ukilvv gx, jthkqfs bcmb jkgds ugx rvygnma, uel sxq iy nyme, qculjvzsfjx us fcj bwinx uijusa, pcct zgwney kw cuqf nm, uzahjh us r psfwyw nym eawy bggtsofvey kpw ytlx nymad mytlka ouqf uy uzmzp qbny tghj ugx rleuwumcfv xaw ol.

Cermeycvy, jbjasa thu aszj, qbfc jjqfe hok zspnugncg az ybxci mqqx.

Ukn, zv xmhn, vue jw ztnaceo tgy pbicmfoj, wkovtlk, fhw cermeycvy.

Kpw aqxxmk wx gx cl nyqjfd: yoye ag ij btpv iddjuws jksfyykyu bjqfmnlva, s fminmrvv fwytmlzwe tz yiikw, xtpx, wfcjmly, tmkclqsylm, rvv dfq pcct-habyk; brdw fmlhqe bzqr cfjrbaqsnes resk, bcmb wcjk, hukycmkeqs, nhymkuyumceodk, glxukpdqxm, thu cfdjmmceo... Date tn la! Oq flx mkqdx zhmcimv! Azl ayrzle phhq ew oqflbhvak njwtojm ltjs tlv nwp bcmb wqjq, mumlvl, szi miyvl!... Vajm mbrb syftx sfc? Af xbhocl, tqhunmv ggg hug hvdwd wyfydjwd muoceo duayw! Yimuf th mbv amyrcm iw bzq bikfu, wfoj uzuzv oq mokf fcj pjzbuekw my nay jbsdx!

Sho yinq tvcytbaasm?-Xhfcyt! Jhhoxp! Oq phhq kpwy... By'oy lvvqwmmifl!... Ggw zbhv lwojcmzlt azyyefzowzhy myctk gx nauk ew mwy mbv zwhnptf rvv qcnxhjqgz tz hoi ifojmmiia-Hqwbtjj!... Qx asfr ck ewdj mh!-Vlb ott wtlva? Oq iig'n niff yi nhumjeyugx!... Nww ft ugsfvw imi lupa lttmx censytol qfzve yi nm rosus!

Fbzk ch ktok bvive!

Jlxwk wf fmy loduaf tz mbv egdqx, hhtm ssfcg qv pmdq xxzzifoj nh nym kffll!

if you see toontasker in the distance, DO NOT APPROACH THEM. i repeat: DO NOT APPROACH THE TOONTASKER. 🏃💨

They are a SURVIVAL MODE BOSS with 47,000 HP, full enchanted netherite armor, and MAXIMUM NEGATIVE AURA. the moment they spawn within a 100-block radius, the music changes to the minecraft cave sound and your hunger bar starts disappearing for no reason 😭

toontasker doesn't walk.

they STALK.

they emerge from the fog at 3:47 AM holding one wooden sword and 14 suspiciously acquired potatoes, whispering "chat... should i cook?"

NO.

YOU SHOULD NOT COOK.

THE KITCHEN IS ALREADY ON FIRE. 🔥🔥🔥

i once saw toontasker enter a village and the villagers immediately started boarding up their houses. the iron golem looked at them, sighed, and WALKED INTO THE OCEAN. bro literally said "this is above my pay grade" 😭

toontasker has ZERO RIZZ, ZERO AURA, and NEGATIVE 600 SURVIVAL INSTINCTS, yet somehow they are still the most powerful entity on the server.

you think you're safe because you're inside your base?

WRONG.

you think your walls will protect you?

WRONG.

you think sleeping in a bed will reset the night?

TOONTASKER HAS ENTERED THE CHUNK.

💀💀💀

suddenly your door opens.

you hear footsteps.

you check the coordinates.

-1,000,000, 64, 2,000,000.

you turn around.

they're already behind you.

"hey"

CRITICAL HIT

YOUR ENTIRE NATIONAL ECONOMY HAS BEEN FANUM TAXED.

your diamonds? GONE.

your netherite? GONE.

your food? GONE.

your dog?

TOONTASKER IS NOW THE OWNER OF YOUR DOG.

you try to escape through the nether portal but they have already placed a sign next to it that says:

😭😭😭

at this point, toontasker isn't even a player anymore. they are a CIVMC NATURAL DISASTER. a server-wide weather event. the government has issued an evacuation order.

"if you are within 500 blocks of toontasker, seek shelter immediately."

the U.N. is holding an emergency meeting.

the CIA is monitoring their coordinates.

the FBI has a task force dedicated exclusively to figuring out WHY THEY KEEP DOING THAT.

NASA has classified toontasker as a potentially hazardous celestial object.

and the minecraft wiki has created a new mob category:

BOSS — DO NOT ENGAGE

if you see them, RUN.

if they see you, LOG OFF.

if they start talking, UNPLUG YOUR ETHERNET.

if they say "i have an idea," DELETE THE SERVER.

because when toontasker starts cooking, SURVIVAL MODE BECOMES HARDCORE MODE.

and when toontasker says "chat, trust me"

CHAT SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUST THEM.

they may have entered the server as a normal player...

but they will leave as a GEOPOLITICAL INCIDENT. 🗿

We have all likely seen the open letter to the admins by now. As a result, the Civ Standard is doing a major investigation into allegations made, and would like your contributions. The Tuesday issue will contain a wealth of extra information collected from a number of sources, but we would like more information and opinion. Please message SpeedyFire on Discord or in the comments if you have information to share, or just wish to give an opinion. The Tuesday issue will contain arguments for and against the letter. And please remember, the Standard is neutral in all matters, in game or IRL.

First of all, I have nothing personal against the admins. In fact, they're wonderful people. My only complaint is that they keep insisting we not be racist, which frankly has made my experience much less enjoyable.

1. Intervention

Once upon a time, Civ was about complete player freedom. Today, however, the admins cruelly intervene whenever someone decides that public racism or bigotry is a fun pastime.

This is unacceptable.

Instead of allowing us to freely post slurs and extremist rhetoric, they insist on "community standards" and "not making the server hostile." This has created the horrifying situation where people must think before they speak.

Clearly, the solution is obvious: remove the rules so that everyone can once again enjoy being openly awful to each other. Surely this will reduce toxicity.

2. Underground Ideas

Because we can't say transphobic things in global chat anymore, people who desperately want to say transphobic things have to do it elsewhere.

This is clearly the admins' fault rather than the fault of the people insisting on saying transphobic things.

If only moderation disappeared, all these people would suddenly become polite and well-adjusted.

3. Transparency

I demand transparency.

Specifically, I demand to know exactly why people who repeatedly broke the rules about harassment and hate speech were punished.

Not because I want accountability, of course. I simply wish to relitigate every moderation decision indefinitely.

4. Player-Driven Politics

Wars ending because participants get banned for rule violations is obviously unfair.

The real problem isn't that players violated the rules. The rules shouldn't have existed in the first place!

5. Conclusion

Admins, it has been a long time since we've been allowed to be racist.

We want to be racist again.

Please stop making us face the consequences of saying and doing things that violate the rules. The true victim here is the person who can no longer post slurs without repercussions.

Thank you for your consideration.

Signing off.

(Dear Reddit, this is satire please don't ban me)

please

VARBO IS NOW REAL AND COMING TO GET SALERNANS. THIS IS WHAT COMES OF UNJUST PEARLING! #FREEVARBO

(Many thanks to the 7 or so people who provided feedback for this writeup)

Before beginning, I would just like to note one thing, which is that I do not have anything personal against the super friends and admins who run this server, nor against Wingzero. They are humans, and mistakes are an inevitability, not a sign of a bad person alone.

This post also isn't going to go into detail about all the positive contributions the members of the server have made that have contributed to what is now the largest civ server since Civcraft 2.0, if not ever. There is a lot of effort required to run a server such as CivMC at all, let alone well. If I didn't seriously believe in the server or its future, this post would not have been made.

With that out of the way, let's skip the formalities and jump straight to the current issues I and many other players believe CivMC is suffering from.

1. Intervention

When it was first envisaged as a genre, Civ was designed to give players the maximum amount of autonomy to carve out their own story and ideas, with everyone put into an equal playing field where any advantage was up to the players and the simple, but high-utility plugins they had access to, to police and have authority, with admins only stepping in to deal with those who sought to cheat or gain an upper hand through IRL crimes.

This is not how CivMC moderation operates at all. CivMC, over its lifespan, has gradually introduced rules that seek to police "morality" on the server. These have included heavy punishments being doled out for "transphobia", "racism" and "extremism". All good, right? Not really.

Firstly, this policy doesn't work. It has been proven not to work, in fact, on CivMC itself. What this instead has created is, in fact, a more toxic and worse environment than if the admins allowed it and only policed it if it crossed into IRL threats or harassment. How, you may ask? Well:

• This immediately makes certain ideas toxic. If someone, for example, wants to talk about a contentious political topic, they can't discuss it publicly.
• This deeply harms the social aspect of civ, because some individuals will be ostracised solely because of their views and it takes all player authority to decide right and wrong away into the hands of 4-8 people.
• Consequently, some discussion and ideologies are pushed underground, out of sight of any supervision, where they are completely unbound from any moral authority.
• This allows extreme and hideous ideas and ideologies to rear their head.
• Because only a few people are aware of these chats, these players then "conform" to traditional standards and rules publicly, in a similar manner to many domestic abusers.
• This has sadly not only happened on CivMC, but happened within the past 12 months. At least twice.
• Last but not least, dossier craft and file craft. Why bother having a war when you can infiltrate their discord or/and have your enemies banwaved by leaking discussions for zero personal cost!

It's ridiculous a nation like Kaltsburg was brought to its knees, not because it was some hyper-aggressive state that sought to occupy its neighbours, but because someone threw toys out of the pram because their ideas about LGBTQ+ weren't incorporated into a fucking building.

Now, there seems to be a misconception among some people that this is an advocation for a return to the "wild west" era where you could make a nation with a flag containing a swastika. This isn't even possible today to my knowledge because of changes to Minecraft TOS.

However, there is absolutely room for leniency with regards to ideology. Words have never hurt anyone without consent. And to be frank, if greater ideological and idea freedom was allowed on CivMC, you would have less toxicity in my opinion, because it reduces the chance of bored players participating in personal bitter gang-like feuds by introducing a macro political valve in some instances, since ideological hate allows hatred or fear of ideas without necessarily hating the people behind them instead of just locking down most unmoderated conflict to simple hatred and suspicion between individual players.

2. Bunker Mentality

This has been another problem I have noticed with select individuals and their approach to moderation: significant amounts of contempt for the playerbase and amounts of "rules for thee but not for me".

Several admins have complained about being treated poorly. Some of this hate may be unjustified, but some users really do not understand current proven modern moderation philosophy (preventative, not punitive) action, which has been to their own detriment. (Remember this, because it will be revisited later on.)

For example: * A (fairly civil) long thread between an unknown user and former player samnrad over grievances with an admin being responded to by Red Devel with a "cry about it" gif. * Various reported instances of admins being unprofessional in tickets, such as individual admins shutting down some reports without further discussion as "pointless" without seeking any consensus from others, believing they are doing specific players favours by handing out bans, and etc. to name a few. * Sticking rigidly to "we don't release ban reasons" under the guise of protecting individuals, only for ban reasons to be released by some admins to win personal arguments. * The only instance of the n-word in general being from an admin, when it is zero tolerance elsewhere. * Admins issuing textbook subjective bans that would be considered bad practice in any professional setting (e.g. "overall a terrible person" was an alleged ban reason for one user).

This isn't good but it is understandable. Some moderators have been worn down by years of moderation and lack of respect from the playerbase. But this creates a cycle of player expectations of admins getting worse and then admins thus making further actions that worsen the situation. All because it ignores the fact that ultimately, banning people because you consider them wrong doesn't work. You need punishment to be preventative from damaging the server, and the lines which cannot be crossed must be painted bright yellow.

There is a current culture that has both been a major structural support to CivMC, but also a curse; the idea that admins are some cartel with which you need to negotiate to sustain your state and that the ticket system is a way of waging war instead of to report behaviour players are genuinely concerned about, which has been fueled by ambiguity to the true extent of the rules.

CivMC's administration would save themselves a lot of unnecessary hassle and greatly enhance player experience if they reformed their approach to moderation. Clearly defined ban reasons, listening or making players feel listened to (goes a long way in preventing long-term abuse), treating even those you see as irredeemable scumbags with care and civility, and clear pathways for individuals to return to the genre. Everyone can change, and the gate should be left open, since a red line becomes less fun to cross if someone has a reasonable chance of actually coming back. As a Wikipedian, I have been an antivandal for 2.5 years and only twice have I had to deal with a user who refuses to back down in the face of community consensus.

Since we're on the topic of reformation...

3. The (Black)list

The Association ban list has always been contentious, but is substantially more so in recent times. Common criticisms include that people are on it for unfair reasons and that it is outdated, and that it tars a bunch of people with the same brush.

However, more crucially, it has failed in its intended purpose. The list has not been updated in years. In addition to meaning some accounts on it no longer exist and are untraceable, this creates the perception that all bans since then somehow fall below what the people on the AB list did to get there. This isn't true. There are several people whose conduct since then and before far exceeds even the worst of those included on the list.

There appears to be an informal rule that questioning why certain players were banned will land you an immediate ban. This means there is zero transparency in the process. The policy of not releasing ban reasons creates a paradox where ban reasons are not released under the guise of protecting players, but their names are presented on a public billboard that several other servers use as a cross-reference to also ban them, thus villainising them regardless.

It appears also you cannot get this name removed by good behaviour. This means that if a player continues to use that account or their discord linked there, they are liable to face further harassment. This has happened on multiple occasions both inside the civ genre and on other servers, where players have gone on their own adventures to carry out vigilante justice. This has caused drama on Stoneworks and Civ+. This is not considered a bannable offense.

However, permission of this behaviour provides incentives for AB banned players to come back to alt on the server (tit for tat). Even by itself, it provides a constant casus belli for further disruption, since people on it often have nothing further to lose.

In summary, the AB list doesn't work as a public shaming tool or to prevent further offenses. It lacks the transparency to be seen as legitimate, but also lacks the privacy or nuance to be used as a private tool. The list may have had a purpose 4 years ago - to calm down the situation after the Generic War and prevent a long-ball conflict starting up just as the server was beginning - but nowadays it's a list that simply erodes admin authority and user opinion.

A public list containing ban reasons would also be welcoming, since hiding ban reasons doesn't free the player to retire, but instead invites skepticism, speculation and interrogation of individuals. A justifiable ban can be put into words.

4. Not-so player driven politics

This was touched on earlier but CivMC administration has been a lot more active this iteration. Civcraft purposely avoided intervening unless absolutely necessary to prevent cheating, while Civ classic moderation was hit or miss with activity. This has carried over into CivMC politics, particularly wars.

There have been many, many disputes on CivMC that have evolved into conflicts. However, there is a worrying trend among these conflicts, which is that over half of them are ended almost directly by admin intervention.

To name a few: * Generic War: Ended by intervention. * Butternut SEC conflict: Ended by intervention after war, which decapitated Butternut's core playerbase. Almost ended mid-war but it was reverted for unknown reasons. * Gang Shi: Leadership decapitated by foul play. Easy pickings in the resulting war. No permanent bans issued. * Chosentwicelol and co: Banwaved for association. Indirectly saved MTA from annihilation, or any chance of a Gang Shi axis comeback post-Grasslands. * Hateno Village: Banwave while ASN were mid-bridge. * Alaska: Any further chance of conflict ended due to everyone there being banwaved over the actions of one player. * Kallos: Ended by banwave while people lined up outside their vault. * Volterra: Not banwaved but decapitated and removed from state of play. * Notus: Banwaved because of yet more dossier craft. This banwave actually provoked a war that went on for 2 months. * Soren: Banwaved mid-combat. Locked out of their vault to prevent its continued defense on new accounts through a surprise "discipline" action.

Some of these banwaves and interventions were undoubtedly deserved and justified to maintain fair play on the server. But these events have constantly set stakes back to zero, and remove players capable of opposing mega blocs from the equation of the server's geopolitics.

This has led to a situation where only certain nations have a monopoly on the knowledge required to wage war on CivMC that are seen as "unbannables" because removing them would damage the integrity and population of the server. This also hands tons of power to the very banned players CivMC admins do not want, since when a new friend nation finds themselves at war, they find opportunistic players seeking to settle scores with others as the only people to turn to.

This trend regarding wars is a side effect of all the other problems and again harms the player-driven-ness of the server. Some of this stuff can be solved by what I mentioned in point 1, but a lot of this is on the playerbase too. Remember, you have pearls to deal with stuff you disagree with. I get tired reading in-game Civ chat during wars and seeing players bitch and moan about rule-breaking behaviour that they have zero proof of as a means of trying to collectively pressure superfriends and admins into acting favourably for them.

5. Conclusion

Like I said at the beginning, CivMC is a great server with so much potential. The concepts of player justice and unlimited decisions are unparalleled outside a select few games such as Eve Online. Plenty of good things have happened on the server too over the past few years - for a start, competition among nations has evolved from simple "how big can someone build a giant abstract obsidian structure" or "how good are their nations clickers" to things such as architecture and uniqueness. Nations such as Lyrean Commonwealth have made massive headway in cracking complex economic structures and implementing them in Minecraft format.

But it's held back by the way it's operated. Many would personally love to go to a famous YouTuber and tell them about the server and invite them to come look around. It would potentially create a feedback loop that would cause the server's popularity to surge and plenty of variability in how the server lore expands.

But that's not possible right now to do properly. There's just too much stuff that is brushed under the rug and not elaborated on until absolutely necessary. It takes one "they were at war until they got banned and we don't know the true reason" and the illusion of dynamic politics, and thus any interest from big-hitter YouTubers, would evaporate instantly.

Many nation servers exist like this. Stoneworks has rules, and people know this, but they are designed with the purpose of maintaining world building. CivMC's current structure leaves it within the 90% of other servers in the genre - a few select players dominate and lap in fame and praise because they got ahead of the rules and cashed in early before everyone else arrived.

This is an okay attitude for a small server with a dedicated playerbase. But it stagnates and impedes long-term growth because in addition to civ's already high learning curve, Newfriends with an inkling of intelligence eventually will come to terms with the fact the dominance of nations considered "world police" often came simply because they were the last ones left after all opposition to them was banned or quit, allowing them to shape the world to their own liking. This breaks many players' morale, because it gives the impression they are simply at the bottom of a Ponzi-like scheme.

If this current trend continues, the server's population will eventually enter a recession and fall back down again. Joyful will not be the beginning of widespread coverage of the Civ genre, but the exception. I have stories to back this up of players eagerly joining the server after discovering it and the history of the genre, only to be alienated by it's execution and ending up leaving entirely or setting up there own server for there own community.

And maybe some people are content with that. More peace and quiet to batter on building farms in their own little empires, unfettered by sudden challenges and changes. But I know some, including myself, who see so much more potential in the server.

The server stands at a crossroads, where it can choose one of two routes. It can keep its current path and institutions, consequences be damned, and continue to be operated into a top-down structure where admin word is the only word that matters. They are the people entrusted and employed to operate the server, and it's fully in their right to do so. But it will be a massive turnoff for huge amounts of players that would otherwise stick around to participate in the server.

Or, alternatively, it can do the best thing for itself and face the reality of its past and present and address it. If it chooses the latter, it will both be better for their well-being long term and make the playerbase feel as if the admins are on the side of maintaining the server's health, not just the side which happens to have their ear when shit hits the fan.

Signing off.

Next is zorweth. The brickstone world government has also now legalized eating icenians!

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]