Intergalactic Summit

Greetings, pilots.

As many of you know, the New Eden Assembly was originally established as a sort of political debating society, the goal being to address and hammer out international issues, and hopefully establish lines of communication between various rival parties. Unfortunately, as time has gone by, battle lines have solidified, rather than softened, and the political climate of the cluster has proven resistant to change. Valid arguments, repeated too often, become nothing more than political boilerplate, and debate comes to resemble a formal dance: a step forward, a step back, left, right, turn, and switch ...

Dialog, in time, becomes a ritual-- and, since we are not diplomats ourselves, not a very important one.

Therefore, the time has come for us to adjust our approach. Beginning now, the New Eden Assembly will be dedicated to the individual, in-depth discussion of various topics of interest to capsuleers. Topics will change weekly, and will focus as often on affairs and concerns specific to capsuleers as those that we share with the empires or other major factions.

This said, I am pleased to present our first new topic.

Greetings again, pilots. I just wanted to take a moment to thank Manwe Todako for his spirited defense of his corporation and cause this evening. The session was pleasantly engaging, and I personally found Mr. Todako's taste in metaphors particularly so.

I hope more of you-- and additional members of the Disciples-- will join us in the future. A special thank you to the unusually large audience we gathered at the NEA for the time of night; hopefully, the entertainment was worth your time.

Be well, and good night.

Thank you for hosting the discussion tonight, Captain Jenneth. I enjoyed it, despite the... Well, slightly poor attendance.

I'll be looking forward to joining in some of these debates. Thank you, Ms. Jenneth.

I agree with the general consensus that this format works better.

Ah, Aria. I am relieved to see a lifesign of you again.
To stay on topic, I am also glad to see this progression of the NEA. I'm sort of dissappointed I missed part of this debate. I hope to see all thinkers in the assembly hall sometime in the not too distant future.

-Ché Biko

Haha-- no, I'm afraid not, Mr. Grayson.

Mr. Shepherd desired to create a grand edifice, a quasi-governmental entity controlled by delegates from a cross-section of our class that would become, over time, a fixture of capsuleer politics and a foundation for future development. For such an entity to continue to exist in any kind of stable state (if that was even possible), it was necessary to arrange an elaborate structure that would balance the political concerns of the various participants. Hence the titles.

As the aims of the institution become more humble, however, such intricate and involved governance becomes neither necessary nor practical. After taking probably more time to consider the matter than I should have, I've opted for the most efficient decision-making apparatus available: we have been "reformed" into a cheap and cheerful autocracy ... which, I must inform you with regret, will not be using titles.

The full staff of the NEA presently consists of myself and a small handful of moderators, though we'll likely need more to keep order if we start drawing a larger crowd. Those desiring to serve as moderators or wishing to suggest a topic for discussion are invited to contact me by mail.

My gratitude to all of you expressing your good wishes, and I hope to see you in the Assembly.

I agree with my colleague Manwe. This is place of decorum and courtesy that coexists with critical thought. Rare and much needed. Criticism is so much more effective when given intelligently. DSTON will take the critical and supportive ideas learned here and put them to use.

Saisieni, Anima Arkenath, and my apologies; I see I have left out some details.

The NEA is still in possession of its old quarters, which includes a large meeting hall with a VR interface originally funded by Mr. Shepherd. However, in the interests of informality and free discussion, I have discontinued its use as a matter of course. The meeting hall will be kept available for use in formal events, if and when we schedule them. For "general use" purposes, the channel is just that: a comms channel with standard audio and avatar or live-feed video functionality.

As for the schedule, these topics are "suggested" subjects of conversation throughout the week-- less "bound in tritanium" rules as to the subject and more "conversation starters," seeds for thought, and centers of mass for discussion to orbit around. All capsuleers willing to abide by our standards of civil dialog and courtesy are welcome to join us, regardless of faction or outlook.

... And yes, I suppose a proper reintroduction is in order. Thank you for the suggestion. I'll be sure to prepare one within the next few days.