Celebration at Lincoln Station - February 12, 3301

[Jaiotu]

It was a pointless non event, nothing happened just a load of CMDR's bobbing about aimlessly waiting for something. Could have had a firework display or something.

Yeah... it was kind of an experiment. Learned a LOT about trying to coordinate something like this. First: Really got to get specific with the times. Lots of folks assumed their local time while I assumed game time which meant the best time for people to meet in the USA was actually the day BEFORE Lincoln's birthday. The other thing is... once you get all these players together, what do you do? Fireworks would be nice. I guess we could have pointed multicannons at dead space and let em rip or something, lol. Maybe next year.

Anyone have any idea for doing something like this again in the near future?

 

[Jaiotu]

Found another video someone did for the event while searching YouTube:
[video=youtube;yqegspYUdXM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqegspYUdXM[/video]

 

[Boter]

Anyone have any idea for doing something like this again in the near future?

Not sure. Multicannons are a neat idea; or a salute, everyone points at a specific point (system's star or something) and fired three shots. Events with a short speech that can be elected are great, I've probably watched Virgil Kyle's Gettysburg Address at least five times. Since the instancing system doesn't let us get fifty like-minded random people, suggested activities are important.

We might also look at creating a private group for people to sign up for ahead of time, but I'm still pretty new (trading and saving up for an Orca is taking forever, cripes) and don't quite know the mechanics of that.

 

[Virgil Kyle]

It was a pointless non event, nothing happened just a load of CMDR's bobbing about aimlessly waiting for something. Could have had a firework display or something.

I wish you had been in the instance I was in, friend - I tried my best to help do it up right

 

[Twinley]

I hope this will give ideas to FD, and next time we'll have some big holographic Kakemonos , with fireworks, and a parade etc .. : )
that would be great : )

 

[Dominico]

As an amateur student of history i always get confused as to why abraham lincoln is held up as the great abolisher of slavery in games like civ etc. When the british did it far before and actually attacked american shipping to try to stop americans practicing slavery. N then americans went on to continue to treat the ex slaves like slaves for the next 100 years or so...

Very confusing...

Anyone enlighten me?

 

[Jaiotu]

As an amateur student of history i always get confused as to why abraham lincoln is held up as the great abolisher of slavery in games like civ etc. When the british did it far before and actually attacked american shipping to try to stop americans practicing slavery. N then americans went on to continue to treat the ex slaves like slaves for the next 100 years or so...

Very confusing...

Anyone enlighten me?

Sure... I can enlighten you.

Many of those games are developed in the USA. Many others cater to a predominantly American player base.

Britain was ahead of the USA in ending slavery. William Wilberforce successfully lobbied to end the slave trade in the British Empire in 1807. I'm not sure where you get your information that Britain attacked american shipping to stop Americans from practicing slavery (this would have been an act of war) because the United States passed a similar act ending the North Atlantic slave trade just two months later.

Neither of these acts actually ended slavery in either Britain or America all they did was outlaw the importation of slaves. Existing slaves remained slaves and persons born into slavery also remained enslaved.

It wasn't until the year of Wilberforce's death, 1833, that slavery was actually abolished in Britain. It took America another 32 years, and a war, to catch up.

Lincoln gets a lot of singular credit thanks to the Emancipation Proclamation. As an executive order he alone was responsible for its issuance and for declaring slaves in the 13 Confederate states free. Thus, as Union forces marched into the South they were empowered to free all slaves they encountered on the way. Kind of epic really.

The choice celebrating Lincoln's birthday was mostly fortuitous: There's a Lincoln starport and his birthday was close approaching. Why not use that as an opportunity for a bunch of players to meet up together in a multiplayer game where many players rarely see each other?

As far as America continuing to mistreat former slaves and their descendants... that is true. But racism and segregation have not been limited to the USA either.

 

[Virgil Kyle]

Not sure. Multicannons are a neat idea; or a salute, everyone points at a specific point (system's star or something) and fired three shots. Events with a short speech that can be elected are great, I've probably watched Virgil Kyle's Gettysburg Address at least five times. Since the instancing system doesn't let us get fifty like-minded random people, suggested activities are important.

We might also look at creating a private group for people to sign up for ahead of time, but I'm still pretty new (trading and saving up for an Orca is taking forever, cripes) and don't quite know the mechanics of that.

I just saw your post, Boter, and I feel humbled that you chose to watch the video even twice, let alone, as you say, at least five times! I'm glad you enjoyed it, friend

Anyways, yes, I think you're absolutely right - Next time, we should include some suggested activities. Regardless of how many people we can manage to fit in an instance (I don't really know the mechanics, either, lol), suggested activities would help everybody to (potentially, at least) make an event special on their own.

In regards to setting up another event, as per Jaiotu's question (his last post happened to mention it while I was researching, too, hehe), next month is actually the 208th anniversary of both the British Slave Trade Act, as well as the American Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves. I don't know what date we'd like to decide on, but since BOTH acts were passed on this same month of the same year, I feel it's a great opportunity to demonstrate, yet again, against the miserable practice of human bondage. As a suggestion of a great activity to commemorate this day, why not try to free as many slaves as possible? If Aisling Duval is still freeing slaves through her charitable organization, that would be a great opportunity to do so. Also, we could take BB missions to free them as well. We could also suggest readings and such. Those would be my suggestions. Feel free to discuss

 

[Boter]

I've never taken a slave freeing mission because the wording always seems sketchy to me. Do you actually free slaves, or are they pulling one over on unwitting Commanders? I'll have to look into that more.

Anyway, given two dates, let's go with the British one, especially since so many Brits are feeling slighted at the US-centric nature of this first event. I like the idea of freeing slaves, because it's an active disruption of the slave trade and perfectly in the spirit of the event.

It'd be pretty awesome if it could be set up as a Community Goal for the month, or between March 2nd (U.S. Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves) and March 25th (British Slave Trade Act 1807). I think that'd require a bit more work with/from the devs though.

That being said, I like the idea of a meetup somewhere as well. Not sure where, though.

 

[Jaiotu]

@Boter - The slave freeing missions are kind of ambiguous. They need to word them more strongly.

What I'd really like to see developed in the game is a "Safe Haven" system where any slaves brought to that system can be delivered for emancipation. Once FDev gets the passenger missions integrated into the game these former slaves could become passengers either attempting to return to their homes or heading out as colonists looking for a fresh start on the frontier.

 

[Virgil Kyle]

I've never taken a slave freeing mission because the wording always seems sketchy to me. Do you actually free slaves, or are they pulling one over on unwitting Commanders? I'll have to look into that more.

Anyway, given two dates, let's go with the British one, especially since so many Brits are feeling slighted at the US-centric nature of this first event. I like the idea of freeing slaves, because it's an active disruption of the slave trade and perfectly in the spirit of the event.

It'd be pretty awesome if it could be set up as a Community Goal for the month, or between March 2nd (U.S. Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves) and March 25th (British Slave Trade Act 1807). I think that'd require a bit more work with/from the devs though.

That being said, I like the idea of a meetup somewhere as well. Not sure where, though.

@Boter - The slave freeing missions are kind of ambiguous. They need to word them more strongly.

What I'd really like to see developed in the game is a "Safe Haven" system where any slaves brought to that system can be delivered for emancipation. Once FDev gets the passenger missions integrated into the game these former slaves could become passengers either attempting to return to their homes or heading out as colonists looking for a fresh start on the frontier.

All great, great points and ideas, gentlemen. We have a good discussion going here!

One thing I'd really like to see addressed, personally, is the fact that the only slaves that count for these missions must be 'legally' bought. To put it succinctly - What the hell?? The last thing I want to do while trying to free slaves (and hopefully help eradicate slavery in the process) is SUPPORT the slave trade! These missions need to accept ANY type of slave, legal or no. Hell, the preference should be on stolen slaves, IMO.

Anyways, as I said before, I think all the ideas you guys had are great. If we want to suggest your idea for a Community Goal, Boter, we really should get on that ASAP. The sooner we submit that idea to FD, the more likely (IMO) they are to actually entertain the idea.

Just my two cents

 

[Boter]

Definitely, on all accounts. For how freeing slaves works in general in the game, I'd love to take up a career as an abolitionist, if there were a clear way to do it. (Long-term, as mentioned I'm still raising money in a Type-6, haha.) As for an event/community goal, I definitely think we should try to make that happen... though I have no idea how to do so

If nothing else though I'm totally down for another community-sourced meetup somewhere.

 

[Virgil Kyle]

Definitely, on all accounts. For how freeing slaves works in general in the game, I'd love to take up a career as an abolitionist, if there were a clear way to do it. (Long-term, as mentioned I'm still raising money in a Type-6, haha.) As for an event/community goal, I definitely think we should try to make that happen... though I have no idea how to do so

If nothing else though I'm totally down for another community-sourced meetup somewhere.

Have you seen the player news thing FD is doing? That's how Jaiotu got his event picked up


Link is here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=101801&p=1576564&viewfull=1#post1576564

 

[Boter]

Whoops, dropped off the forums for a week or so. Silly other projects.

I'm down for trying to write-in a GalNet article on a March event.

*****

March 2, 3301

Sol Abolitionist Movement Calls for Slave Trade Disruption

A small but vocal faction of slavery abolitionists has called for more active involvement in ending the galactic slave trade.

“In March 1807, two great nations passed into law acts that prohibited the international trading of slaves,” Commander [insert] said. “Fifteen hundred years later, the slave trade is still practiced in human space, and in a large number of systems done so legally.

“This is a call to all Commanders of strong moral fiber, those that cannot stand idly by while man is owned by man. On 2^nd March, the 1,494^th anniversary of the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, show your colors. Free every enslaved soul that you can. Set a personal goal for yourself between then and 25^th March, the same anniversary of the Slave Trade Act 1807. Then, do the same the next month. And the next.

“And do not stop until every man is free.”

-CMDR Boter

*****

Some parts of this I really like - namely, that first sentence of the third paragraph. It's a bit long and exposition-y (though at 148 words, within the GalNet limit, barely). I felt pressured to include both Acts, since some Brits felt sore that Lincoln was getting all the attention (though the American act was passed first).

And then there's the name. We can create a name for a leader, or we can put one of our own.

Thoughts?

Edit: Slave trade, not salve trade >.< Fixed. Yay reviewing process.

 

[Virgil Kyle]

Whoops, dropped off the forums for a week or so. Silly other projects.

I'm down for trying to write-in a GalNet article on a March event.

*****

March 2, 3301

Sol Abolitionist Movement Calls for Slave Trade Disruption

A small but vocal faction of slavery abolitionists has called for more active involvement in ending the galactic slave trade.

“In March 1807, two great nations passed into law acts that prohibited the international trading of slaves,” Commander [insert] said. “Fifteen hundred years later, the slave trade is still practiced in human space, and in a large number of systems done so legally.

“This is a call to all Commanders of strong moral fiber, those that cannot stand idly by while man is owned by man. On 2^nd March, the 1,494^th anniversary of the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, show your colors. Free every enslaved soul that you can. Set a personal goal for yourself between then and 25^th March, the same anniversary of the Slave Trade Act 1807. Then, do the same the next month. And the next.

“And do not stop until every man is free.”

-CMDR Boter

*****

Some parts of this I really like - namely, that first sentence of the third paragraph. It's a bit long and exposition-y (though at 148 words, within the GalNet limit, barely). I felt pressured to include both Acts, since some Brits felt sore that Lincoln was getting all the attention (though the American act was passed first).

And then there's the name. We can create a name for a leader, or we can put one of our own.

Thoughts?

Edit: Slave trade, not salve trade >.< Fixed. Yay reviewing process.

Awesome write-up! I love it Here are my (very slight) edits for flow and readability. I bolded them so you can see what I changed. Oh, and I underlined stuff I feel we might want to lose:

March 2, 3301

Sol Abolitionist Movement Calls for Slave Trade Disruption

A small but vocal faction of slavery abolitionists has called for more active involvement on the part of independent commanders and private citizens in ending the galactic slave trade.

“In March 1807, two great nation-states on Earth passed into law acts that prohibited the international trading of slaves,” Commander [insert] said. “Fifteen hundred years later, the slave trade is still practiced in human space, and in a large number of systems is actually done so legally.

“This is a call to all cCommanders of strong moral fiber, those that cannot stand idly by while man is owned by man. On 2nd March 2nd, the 1,494th anniversary of the American 'Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves', show your colors. Free every enslaved soul that you can. Set a personal goal for yourself between then and 25th March 25th, the same anniversary of the British 'Slave Trade Act 1807'. Then, do the same the next month. And the next.

“...And do not stop until every man is free.!”

-CMDR Boter

Those are my suggestions based simply on readability and such. However, I did have another idea. It's just a minor detail for now, but it could end up meaning a lot down the road, possibly. Would you mind if we integrated this story with my idea for the resurgence of the Sol Constitution Party? Just insofar as the man being quoted is the guy I created to (someday, at least) lead a new, revitalized movement, not just against slavery, but for reform in the Federation in general The two stories I posted to the GalNet suggestion thread on this topic are linked below:


https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=101801&page=4&p=1582369&viewfull=1#post1582369

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=101801&page=7&p=1621596&viewfull=1#post1621596


As you can see in the second story, I intend the Sol Constitution party to take a hard stance against slavery, and I think this would tie in nicely with that

What do you think?

 

[Boter]

I like it! I have no problem with any of your changes. I don't know how GalNet usually formats their items for dates; in game it's 19 Feb 3301, so I wrote it that way, but then if they decide to use it they can format it correctly themselves.

As for it coming from the Sol Constitution Party, I leave that up to you. I've written it into the draft below, but if it's a part of the government he's basically issuing letters of mark to go after not just illegal slaves but, the way I wrote it, Imperial Slaves as well. Might be too bold a move to come straight from the source? To go more in depth than is needed for this particular article, Mr. Cantero may be astroturfing a more underground organization to work on that kind of thing. (Meanwhile if the Sol Constitution Party is not legally recognized, then by all means this makes total sense. But I get the sense they're trying to legitimize themselves.)

*****

March 2, 3301

Sol Constitution Party Calls for Slave Trade Disruption

The Sol Constitution Party has called for more active involvement on the part of private citizens in ending the galactic slave trade.

“In March 1807, two great nation-states on Earth passed into law acts that prohibited the international trading of slaves,” party leader Theodore Cantero said. “Fifteen hundred years later, the slave trade is still practiced in human space, and in a large number of systems is actually done so legally.

“This is a call to all commanders of strong moral fiber, those that cannot stand idly by while man is owned by man. This March, free every enslaved soul that you can. Then, do the same the next month. And the next.

“And do not stop until every man is free!”

This March is the 1,494^th anniversary of the American 'Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves' and the British 'Slave Trade Act 1807'.

-CMDR Boter

*****

I still trimmed a couple parts to try to fit in the 150 word limit. I took out the 2nd-25th timeframe from this draft - I liked your wording but it felt clunky to me in the paragraph. (If it were accepted as a true community goal, then that timeframe is awesome, but as just an article it felt odd to me.) I added it afterwards as the sort of thing a news article might place at the bottom for more information on the topic. I ran out of room, otherwise I'd add how SCP representatives showed up at a grassroots event honoring the birthday of American president Abraham Lincoln.

Also, if we want to make a new thread for further news/event planning, making one under the Sol Constitution Party totally makes sense, here or maybe in RP, not quite sure. Would just be nice to have a general thread instead of constantly necro'ing the Lincoln event thread.

 

[Virgil Kyle]

I like it! I have no problem with any of your changes. I don't know how GalNet usually formats their items for dates; in game it's 19 Feb 3301, so I wrote it that way, but then if they decide to use it they can format it correctly themselves.

As for it coming from the Sol Constitution Party, I leave that up to you. I've written it into the draft below, but if it's a part of the government he's basically issuing letters of mark to go after not just illegal slaves but, the way I wrote it, Imperial Slaves as well. Might be too bold a move to come straight from the source? To go more in depth than is needed for this particular article, Mr. Cantero may be astroturfing a more underground organization to work on that kind of thing. (Meanwhile if the Sol Constitution Party is not legally recognized, then by all means this makes total sense. But I get the sense they're trying to legitimize themselves.)

*****

March 2, 3301

Sol Constitution Party Calls for Slave Trade Disruption

The Sol Constitution Party has called for more active involvement on the part of private citizens in ending the galactic slave trade.

“In March 1807, two great nation-states on Earth passed into law acts that prohibited the international trading of slaves,” party leader Theodore Cantero said. “Fifteen hundred years later, the slave trade is still practiced in human space, and in a large number of systems is actually done so legally.

“This is a call to all commanders of strong moral fiber, those that cannot stand idly by while man is owned by man. This March, free every enslaved soul that you can. Then, do the same the next month. And the next.

“And do not stop until every man is free!”

This March is the 1,494^th anniversary of the American 'Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves' and the British 'Slave Trade Act 1807'.

-CMDR Boter

*****

I still trimmed a couple parts to try to fit in the 150 word limit. I took out the 2nd-25th timeframe from this draft - I liked your wording but it felt clunky to me in the paragraph. (If it were accepted as a true community goal, then that timeframe is awesome, but as just an article it felt odd to me.) I added it afterwards as the sort of thing a news article might place at the bottom for more information on the topic. I ran out of room, otherwise I'd add how SCP representatives showed up at a grassroots event honoring the birthday of American president Abraham Lincoln.

Also, if we want to make a new thread for further news/event planning, making one under the Sol Constitution Party totally makes sense, here or maybe in RP, not quite sure. Would just be nice to have a general thread instead of constantly necro'ing the Lincoln event thread.

I'm sorry, man, I think I confused things a bit I was merely saying we make Mr. Cantero the speaker - we needn't point out that he's a member of the Sol Constitution party, or include the party itself in the event in any way. I mean, I'd like to RP that they'd be involved, honestly, but we only have a budget of 150 words per news item, as you've pointed out. I tend to think Mr. Cantero would be speaking purely as a private citizen, and as a member of the abolitionist movement in this context. Also, as FD has not picked up my news ideas, we could RP that the SCP is still going through their reorganization and such at this point, and as such, that Mr. Cantero has not been named the leader of the party yet.

As for the issue of the legality of what he's calling for, from a political standpoint, he's not necessarily calling for any illegal actions, per se. He's simply saying to liberate any slaves you come across. Slavery is illegal in the Federation anyways, and one can buy Imperial slaves and free them if one so desires, so there is no implicit exhortation to illegality here, to my mind. And commanders are basically given 'letters of marque' all the time in the game, when they're asked to be bounty hunters and such, so I feel the ED universe is pretty permissive in such ways.

Anyways, I think you should turn in the previous version, personally. I'd love for the SCP to be involved in this in some way, but I think it's best if the SCP supported the abolitionist movement, as opposed to basically being the abolitionist movement. That's my take, anyways


...Oh yeah, and per your advice, yeah, we might want to start a new, different thread on this topic, when it comes time. I do like the relative privacy of this defunct thread, though. Maybe we should take further planning into Private Message-land

 

[Boter]

Alright, I'll post something closer to the original version, but with Theodore Cantero as the speaker.

Discussion closed, then; to private messages it is