NEA Meeting Notes

Date: Saturday, August 23, 2015

Chair: OfUnknown

TOPICS OF DISCUSSION

1. Welcome Discord & Introduction

2. Status Update of NEA Member States

3. Idea of Vitalizing Regional Economies

4. Update on Membership Status Discussion

5. Extra-quadrantal Representation in the NEA

6. Update on NEA Nether Hub

7. Statement from Eden

8. Hjaltland Unification with the Western Empire

9. Discussion on Secretary Position

10. Discussion on Policy of Diplomatic Courtesy

11. Details on Election

12. Details on Next NEA Meeting

Present (15)

Bryn / Greenble10

Garundistan / anidnmeno, Miner_Steve77

Fellowship / BlackXnt, Yoshi_Sama

Hjaltland / BlueSylvaer

Iria / wolfeyes391, OfUnknown

Federal Socialist Republic / DiamondReaper, Jon2600

Remnant / poopdish

Rosewall / SoulComplex

Maester Alliance / Marcus_Flaminius

Discord / Romec, Jezzaindahouse

Guests/Observers (16)

Savion / shapha2002

Hjaltland / Diet_Cola, Bayrd, TealNerd, Nightwinga, Mt_Flushmore

Iria / Unilauh, PLEYA, Lord_Magmus, RedDevel2, RiBaT

Discord / SandFalls

Fellowship / scramble0

Bryn/5point0

Mt Augusta / Ladezkik

Nox / Live4MCraft

Total participants: 31

Absent: Brimstone, Saraliana, Weldon

Time (start): 19:16 UTC

1. Welcome Discord & Introduction

The NEA welcomed Discord into the NEA as a member state. Romec introduced Discord as an experimental settlement initiated by by UnknownOreo on an island conditionally ceded by Fellowship. Jezzaindahouse added that currently, Discord does not have any defined government and run mostly as a happy anarchy, however Discord is looking to develop a more organized social structure. As Discord had been founded on land given by Fellowship, Discord are limited by the boundaries of its coastline and are unable to expand or join any other existing nations. Breaching these conditions would result in the land of Discord being ceded back to Fellowship. Romec noted that while the condition on expansion does restrict Discord’s growth, the condition also adds an interesting dynamic and he is looking forward to seeing how Discord develops as land becomes slowly used up.

2. Status Update of Members

OfUnknown asked all representatives at the table to provide a brief update of the state of their nations.

Starting from Hjaltland, BlueSylvaer said that Hjaltland had seen an activity boost with quite a few new friends joining recently. They have continued work on their ringed vault, and will potentially be seeking to work cooperatively with the NEA upon its completion.

Poopdish provided an update for Remnant, saying that Remnant has been active in trade, and have recently formed trade deals with private entities as well as a few NEA states.

SoulComplex, representing Rosewall, said that Rosewall continues to maintain a stable population and are currently working on a few projects. He noted that Rosewall had encountered quite a few newfriends spawn around its proximity, and had hence directed them in the direction of other NEA states.

DiamondReaper of the Federal Socialist Republics said that they have primarily been focusing work on their vault and developing farming infrastructure in their jungle biomes. Currently, the FSR in the process of electing their new premiere, and current premiere MegraLew will not be running for a second term.

Marcus_Flaminius of the Maester Alliance commented that the Maesters have continued to work on the archiving of the world’s books. The Maester’s have recently began extending their initiative in the CivEx world.

Greenble10, representing Bryn, talks about their acquisition of the lands in the Augustan region, noting that the expansion allowed Bryn to gain five new citizens. Bryn’s current focus is on making wealth to repay the debts owed for the acquisition and then looking to utilize the opportunity to vitalize Bryn City through the construction of a shopping district, theatre, and stadium. Asked hows Bryn has been faring with the financials involved in the acquisition, Greenble responded, saying that payment plans so far seems to be sustain and are currently ahead of schedule.

Commenting for Fellowship, Yoshi expressed that the government of Fellowship is aware of issues regarding the current state of activity within Fellowship. In effort to try and increase the traffic within the Hexagon, Fellowship will be looking to restructuring their government and putting in place a dereliction policy to revitalize the Hexagon’s space. Fellowship is continuing to look for ways to help boost its activity, and welcomes everyone to approach them if anyone has any ideas to help.

Wolfeyes391, commenting on Iria, notes that Iria has seen a steady rise in activity in its core population as well as with recent new friends joining Iria. Iria has continued to work on developing its infrastructure and projects and recently introduced a newfriend currency designed to help newfriend get starter materials.

3. Idea of Vitalizing Regional Economies

Iria and Hjaltland have recently made cooperative efforts to work together in the production of XP. OfUnknown brought up the discussion regarding the feasibility of utilizing XP production as a means to help vitalize the regional economy through the introduction of an XP based currency. He added that the economy would be designed to benefit partnering states and can be the step to strengthen trade relations between states. Poopdish remarked that such an idea would be difficult to implement and would require very careful planning, and suggested that more trade should be happening between states before such an ambitious idea is pursued.

4. Update on Membership Status Discussion

OfUnknown provided a brief update on the discussion regarding membership statuses within the NEA, informing that Weldon has changed their status from voting to non-voting. OfUnknown notes that the ability to vote within the NEA should not be seen as a privilege, but a responsibility to actively contribute to the development of the alliance. While being actively aware of the ongoings of the NEA is important, the alliance should ultimately respect that each member state should be able to evaluate themselves on whether they are in the position to be actively contributing to the development of the alliance; though clarity in goals and principles could be improved to help this process.

5. Extra-quadrantal Representation in the NEA

Greenble brought up the question regarding how citizens of NEA member states outside of the quadrant, specifically, residents of the newly acquired Touhou Province of Bryn, will be represented within the NEA. BlueSylvaer comments that as long as the citizens are tied to Bryn, they should be able to be represented within the NEA under Bryn’s banner. OfUnknown confirms Blue’s comment, and adds that the NEA is in fact no constitutionally restricted to the quadrant and so there are no issues in terms of legality, however, the focus of the alliance by principle concerns the region, and so all involvement should be relevant to the interests of the region.

6. Update on NEA Nether Hub

OfUnknown provided a brief update on the progress of the NEA, noting that the deterministic diamond armour and tools factories are operational and ready to be used. Jezzaindahouse was then introduced to have taken over the lead position in the design and construction works of the project, with several progress pictures linked ([1] [2]. Finally, the maintenance plan of the nether hub was cited, where maintenance of the facilities will to be fully voluntary. This will be utilizing a donation progress bar on the sidebar of the sub, and the factories only repaired when the donation goal is reached. Iria will be assuming the responsibility of preventing the factories from culling until the donation goal is reached.

ACTION: Jezzaindahouse (/u/BigFloppyGash) to complete the design and coordinate the construction of the complex. ACTION: States to provide support in the construction of the complex. ACTION: Rails to the nether hub to be worked on by all relevant states.

7. Statement from Eden

BlueSylvaer, representing Eden, informed the NEA of a change in leadership structure within Eden, with the newly structured group looking to work closely with states to help protecting their wellbeing and sovereignty. Eden Shield is a program attempting to pursue these goals that towns will eventually be able to sign up to, though details are still being fleshed out, though will be looking for the support of towns interested in the pursuit.

ACTION: Interested NEA states to stay in contact with Eden for more information.

8. Hjaltland Unification with the Western Empire

Hjaltland announced talks of unification with the Western Empire (Aeon). Both nations being large producers of XP, Hjaltland and the Western Empire are looking to work more closely together through the unification in forming a stronger state. Asked about the details of this unification, BlueSylvaer commented that the concept is still in its preliminary stages with details being fleshed out, however, both states will continue to run autonomously with Hjaltland and Aeon serving as the two capitals of the new union.

ACTION: Hjaltland to keep the NEA updated if there are is any progress in these plans.

9. Discussion on Secretary Position

OfUnknown brings up discussion on the newly proposed position of secretary. He noted that the main responsibilities of the position would be to work alongside the Chairman with administrative tasks, and to type up the meeting notes at the end of the term. SoulComplex brought up whether it would be better for the chairman to choose his own secretary instead of being voted in by popular votes every two weeks. OfUnknown explained that the position would not just be for its work, but also act as an opportunity for anyone interested to participate closer with the NEA. He further added that despite terms being defines as two weeks, it does not limit secretaries to the short time, but moreso not to detract interest in the position due to an overly long requirement of commitment.

ACTION: Further discussion and action pushing for this policy to be pursued on the /r/CivNEA sub.

10. Discussion on Policy of Diplomatic Courtesy

OfUnknown asked for the opinions of all state representatives on a policy that is current in the works. The following text was shown -

Policy of Diplomatic Courtesy

When dealing with a situation or issue pertaining another or multiple other NEA member state(s), it will be the first course of action for parties or individuals of NEA member states to actively attempt to pursue in communication with officials of concerned NEA member state(s), either directly, or through the NEA as a platform, in effort to inform, enquire about, or resolve the situation or issue on hand. Examples of relevant situations or issues include, but are not limited to, pursuing wanted criminals, political, economical or militaristic motives (i.e. political opposition, land usage, military trafficking etc.), civil issues (i.e. conflict between citizens) and legal issues (i.e. modifying terms of treaties, breaking agreements etc.).

Many people asked whether such a policy was implicit, however others cited events where the lack thereof communication resulted into larger issues. Implementing this policy therefore aims to make people more consciously aware of this principle in times when the policy is applicable, in hopes to reduce the frequency of miscommunication related issues.

ACTION: Further discussion and action pushing for this policy to be pursued on the /r/CivNEA sub.

10. Details on Election

With the term of chairman terminating at the end of the month, it has come the time to go through the process of electing the chair for the next term. OfUnknown says that he will be administering the process and hopes for a smooth election. Wolfeyes suggested that the nominations post be put up soon to minimize delay, with general agreement from many other as well as the current chair. It was however noted after the meeting that such a move break the procedure as listed in the constitution, and so that procedure will be followed.

ACTION: /u/OfUnknown to setup and regulate the election, with the nominations thread posted asap on the first of the next month.

12. Details on Next NEA Meeting

Before the meeting ended, brief details of regarding details of the next meeting were discussed. The FSR, Discord, Fellowship and Bryn all expressed interest in holding the next meeting. Regarding the meeting time, it was agreed that it would be better to discuss these details over the subreddit so that those who were unable to attend are not excluded.

ACTION: Discussion on details of the next meeting to the pursued on the /r/CivNEA sub.

Time (end): 21:12 UTC