DaveShack:
With respect to your example instruction from our current Military Leader...
I too would be troubled by witnessing an instruction such as that. In fact, I would consider that an illegal instruction, and if I were the designated player, I would dismiss it as such and disregard any further instructions from that official during the chat.
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I remember a time when we didn't worry so much about things such as this, probably because we were still working our way through the intricacies of playing a demogame. Maybe we've gotten far too experienced at these games for our own good.
I remember when we didn't take everything so seriously in here. If an official failed to post instructions, the DP would attempt to scan through the subforums to divine what those instructions might have been. This would take time, delaying the play and annoying the spectators at the turn chat, but the game would go on, within reason.
I remember when Judicial Reviews (or Public Investigations as they were called back then) were essentially reserved for gross violations of the law (ie. a player who played the save, a leader that blatantly defied the will of the citizens, a DP that totally ignored the instructions of a leader, etc...). Back then, I imagine that we spent 90% of our time debating in-game issues and perhaps 10% of our time debating the rules and who violated them.
Today, it seems to be the exact opposite, and what is worse, it seems that some of us are thriving on this - revelling in it even. We seem to enjoy this bickering so much, that it has taken on a life of its own. The actual Civ3 game has taken a distant back seat to the constant quarelling over rules and conduct in the forums. It has become more important to win a legal dispute or to illustrate some shortcoming in the current ruleset than to analyze the build queue of a city or to debate the best direction in which we should expand our empire.
Perhaps this is what some of us are looking for in a demogame. I can say that it is certainly not what I am looking for, which is why this is likely to be my final post for some time. I am saddened by the direction that this forum has taken. What was once a source of entertainment has become something terribly different. I wish I knew how to correct this problem, to help make this game more fun for all who participate in it, but I fear that there are too many of us that believe the demogame does not need any correcting. So, with a heavy heart, for the time being, I will look elsewhere for my entertainment. Good luck to you all.