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Thanks to everyone who attended the 22nd Dunes Council meeting!

Attendance

• Dunes Council
  • Present: AnvilFrost, CadrienK, Darbooma, DrLolzworth, nmjk, Obsidious_D
  • Absent (IRL): Mjfurman16, vK_InFaMy
• Visiting Council
  • Drooleedo (Barrens 13)
  • gp603 (Barrens 13)
  • WesGutt (Barrens 13)

Agenda

1. Meeting introduction, guidelines
2. Visit from Cloud Bipenists
3. Political Upheaval in the Barrens
4. Dunes community guidelines
5. Dunian of the Week (Info)
6. Announcements
7. Welcoming new residents
8. Q&A / Community Issues

1. Meeting introduction, guidelines

Business as usual. Confirmed that the required numbers of Council and residents were present, so the meeting is legal and official.

2. Visit from Cloud Bipenists

Our visitors couldn't make it in the end, but we heard some of their concerns on Friday at the Barrens 13 meeting. In effect, they have requested permission to conduct a crusade in the Dunes to follow up on some concerns about illegal activity on the part of one of our residents. We cannot, of course, let that happen. We won't harbour fugitives if it turns out that there is a legitimate criminal charge against them, but foreign forces may not operate in the Dunes.

(Later this same day, DrLolzworth attended the Cloud Council meeting and followed up with them to ensure no problems would arise.)

3. Political Upheaval in the Barrens

At Friday's Barrens 13 meeting, there was some very surprising and concerning drama. It turns out that frost_biten, self-proclaimed Pharaoh and long-time chair of the Barrens Council, has disappeared, and AmbitiousTycoon, one of those who are now making a claim to the Barrens, has declared that frost_biten is being held in a basement somewhere. However, AmbitiousTycoon was not the only one to claim the throne: Drooleedo, who claims to be frost_biten's heir and son, has also done so.

Because the Barrens are our allies, this puts us Dunians in a very awkward position. We cannot in good conscience favour one claim over the other, as the government we allied with is led by frost_biten and we are not convinced that he has voluntarily stepped aside. However, we are not prepared to let this dissolve our alliance automatically. We hope that nothing will happen in the coming days that would require us to act in the spirit of the alliance, and we sincerely hope that frost_biten is released as soon as possible.

The Barrens are still our Sand Friends & Pals. It's just a little complicated right now...

4. Dunes community guidelines

A few trends have been noticed recently that are causing various residents (and the council) concern. We'd like the Dunes to continue to be amazing, so we're hoping we can address this as a community.

• First, since some people may be new, it's important to be aware that the Dunes has its own Laws. These laws weren't decided unilaterally by the council; instead, everyone one of them was voted in by the people. We believe that they reflect the kind of district we all want to live in. As a result, we're concerned when we see these laws being broken, particularly (recently) laws 3, 5, and 7. Please, keep the Dunes laws! If you're really set on criminal activity as part of your RP, … maybe take it somewhere more neutral? (But remember, if you break the laws in another district, we can't protect you from facing justice there.)

• Second, we have all really loved the Dunes being a district of friendliness and welcome, where people are chill and awesome and hang out together. We'd really like it to continue to be the same kind of awesome community, but the only way that can happen is if we're all committed to keeping that atmosphere. :)

• Third, there have been some roleplay concerns. God-moding has been creeping back in. Everyone always seems to be on board with there being no god-mode RP, but we're not always on the same page about what counts as god-moding.

  (Note: At this point in the meeting I used an example about how god-moding shows up in a stabbing attempt…. perhaps not a wise example given that we want people to keep the laws and not break the awesome community! But it is a really good example, so I'm going with it anyway. DON'T BREAK THE LAW!! In Obsidious_D's words: "We've worked so hard to make our community somewhere where people can come and be safe and have fun. We don't want the Dunes to become the new crime district.")

  One common roleplay approach is to say: *stabs victim*
  A better approach would be: *swipes at victim with a sharp knife*

  The difference here is that, as a roleplayer, you don't get to decide the outcome of your actions. You simply act. The outcome is then cooperatively decided, when someone responds to the action. Now, what's to stop someone from always dodging? Simple: always winning in roleplay is boring. It's more fun to mix things up, to keep things fair and even!

  The common approach would be to say: *dodges knife easily*
  The better approach would be to, at least some of the time, take damage, or take a fall, or be taken into custody.

  Seriously, if you can never be taken down or defeated (whether in combat or in a courtroom or whatever), it's not going to be fun to roleplay with you, and above all, we want this to be a community where everyone can have fun.

In summary:

1. Keep the laws. Don't harrass, assault, murder, steal, or be unkind or mean.
2. Dunes community is chill, awesome, friendly, and welcoming. Please protect that!
3. Roleplay is fun, but make sure to play an even game. Use D&D tools if need be!

5. Dunian of the Week

This is a new segment in our weekly meetings, initiated by General Council member Darbooma, to recognize outstanding members of the Dunes community who show great character, courtesy, good RP, and are overall nice people.

This week's Dunian of the Week is Erumaren, of North Orange 1! A statue will be built in her honour on Darbooma's plot at West Purple 1, at x:440, z:540.

Want to know more about Dunian of the Week? Information here!

6. Announcements

The Dunes Welcome Center and the Natural History Museum plots are still looking for new owners! If you're interested, please contact Heresy, Bradleys_Double, or the Dunes Council right away!

7. Welcoming new/returning residents

Council welcomes new residents each week! We'll do our very best to include every new Dunian resident at each meeting. If you see these folks around, make sure to welcome them!

• Gary__, hulksmash55 (East Orange 2)
• pschulten (Southwest Orange 4)
• CaptainSquidFace (Southwest Red 1)
• tipitonmine (North Yellow 1)
• Garil (Southwest Yellow 8)
• SnugglesMcFly (East Orange 2)
• Tha_Mystery_Man (West Red 1)
• Ulfe (Southwest Orange 4)
• p_o (Southwest Yellow 4)
• ExtravagantKoala (Southeast Orange 4)
• XxButterfingers (West Orange 3)

8. Q&A / Community Issues

Q: What's your opinion on the cult to Citrines that is growing?
A: Cults are illegal under Lords Law (but that isn't enforced in the Dunes). There are some concerns that laws are being broken as part of this cult, so there are ongoing investigations. Citrines reminds everyone that this cult is in no way approved by or started by her!

Q: Does anyone know how to stop a demon?
A: Darbooma happens to be a monster hunter, and probably has expertise! Contact him with more questions.

Q: What will we do about TheDatik's actions?
A: (TheDatik has shot a few people, and been evil and violent.) We'll encourage good RP and friendly behaviour, and the DTF will address broken laws. If the Council ever needs to follow up one-on-one with someone, we can.

Q: Does the Cult of Deadbones actually exist?
A: Yes, it's a very active cult that exists in the Netherward.

Questions? Corrections?

Please let me know! And watch for the meeting/agenda post for next week's meeting, coming soon.