Another day, Another Leak! This time showing you Gentlemen’s.Club’s Alliance Update! Enjoy!

4/15 Alliance Update
Postby Sslink » Wed Apr 15, 2015 1:14 am

Well a lot has happened in the last few weeks. The vast majority was predicted/predictable, and/or at least part of one of our many contingency plans. All of it re-affirms that the path we have been on for the last few months has been the EXACT right path. I would not profess to be 100% secure in a tumultuous time like this (or for that matter ANY time in nul sec). However, in terms of our current position, path, and goals, I think we are about as well positioned as we possibly could be for FozzieSov. Ultimately we have the culture, resilience, and adaptability to adjust to any development that may come our way.

Every change that CCP has implemented, or will be implementing is moving things in one direction: Local, local, local. Local conflict; local politics; local production. Massive territories, massive power blocs, and mega coalitions are going to ultimately give way to smaller, efficient, and organized groups. This has been predictable, inevitable, and ultimately by CCP design. Though we have remained loyal and dedicated N3 members, we have ALSO very much seen the importance of preparing ourselves for the future. My greatest hope is that the N3 will adapt (even if belated) to the changing game dynamics, and remain intact. However, I have also been preparing for possibility (and recently increasing probability) that the N3 will not remain intact as a sov holding entity (at least in it’s present form).

Our History in the N3:

GCLUB has been loyal to the N3 since before we were official members (originally as EICO). We supported them throughout the Halloween war, and earned a bit of a reputation as a scrappy group with lots of potential. Nulli was the first group who gave us a real chance to step up and earn our official membership, and we will always be in their debt. Over the last year, we have formed great relationships with other N3 entities (recently and most notably with THOR), and I want to be clear about this: Our bros will continue to be bros, no matter what happens with the N3. True friendships extend far beyond any coalition, currently held sov, or position on a map, and true loyalties are much more than a temporary manifestation of circumstantial convenience. Over time, good people, and good players gravitate toward common purpose!

It is very important to me that we remain true to our word, and loyal to our allies. Throughout our time in the N3, we have backed our bros; whether we agreed with every decision or not; or whether our side was winning or losing. This has been our approach from start to finish; from the opening fight in KW- at the beginning of the Halloween war, through the hell camp of O-W, and to our most recent support in defense of Delve. So I am waiting to see what the actual “official” disposition of the N3 is, as officially the only thing that has been announced is NC going nomad. However, either way we will continue to support our bros to the best of our ability, and will remain blue with our closest bros regardless.

That said, we have also very much been aware that massive changes are coming to Eve. We have been on a path since mid November to prepare ourselves for the ability to stand with local allies, hold a reasonable territory, and maximize the value of the sov we hold through efficient use. That is why I have been focused heavily on building our local “mini” coalition, developing Gentlemen’s.Parlor, and building a solid financial cushion. We have spent months preparing for this, and we are very much ready for FozzieSov, to face the challenges, and to seize the opportunities that come with it.

GCLUB & Friends Moving Forward:

The key to success will be to focus on securing and holding a reasonable amount of space, efficiently maximizing it’s potential, and developing good, strong relationships with local entities (of all sizes). We will also maintain good relationships with our bros even if they choose a different path, or move far way. We want to support smaller alliances, and help them to grow into powerful allies. This has been the path we have been on for months, and is still very much our direction. We will obviously continue to adapt to changing circumstances, but overall the basic strategies and principles remain the same:

♦Stay close to fun content, but keep good relationships to maintain sov security.
♦Keep growing and developing as a PVP organization.
♦Remain new bro friendly, and a place where a new bro can learn and thrive.
♦Continue to build industry, market, and finance.
♦Don’t over extend territory, and maximize the USE of the space we hold
♦Keep it classy, honor all agreements, and remain flexible

At this juncture I fully expect that our local group of bros will have sufficient strength to hold Immensea, and the desired connecting pockets. Obviously it is always intelligent to have contingencies, and to be prepared for the worst. However GCLUB’s success has been based on the philosophy of maximizing what we have, and keeping our ambitions (moons, sov, etc.) in proportion with our relative capabilities. We avoid ego and hubris (as much as a bunch of arrogant dudes who play internet spaceships can), and we keep it classy. Typically even our enemies don’t “hate us”, and more often than not we earn respect from those we fight.

To most, the space we plan to hold is “meh” for sov, and literally shit for moons (aka Immensea). This is because the future of our income will be derived from how we manage our sov (dues and rent), not moons. As a result, with most of nul sec on fire, and a TON of much better space up for grabs, there will be much lower hanging, far more desirable fruit. Honestly, I am a little baffled that INIT is even still poking north Immensea, and don’t think they really want to live here. Time will tell, but I am convinced that their attacks are more about tying us up so we can’t help in Delve (and also gudfights). If that is the case… well played, mission accomplished… mad respect. Our fights with INIT have been fun, and fighting them (instead of kicking babies) makes us better PVP’ers.

Financially:

We had a sizeable jump in income a couple months ago, and I have very intentionally used this last couple months to build a sizeable reserve. We have always been very financially conservative, and this has paid off time and time again. Currently we have a prudent reserve sufficient to sustain multiple months of fighting without any income. That is a pretty solid place to be, and provides a considerable resilience and confidence with a universe in a state of flux.

Though we will continue to hold our modest allotment of alliance moons, over time it is our intention to become far less dependent on moon income, and instead derive the bulk of our funding through our own sov management system. Though we will continue to offer a traditional rental program, our primary goal is to continue to build Gentlemen’s.Parlor and become primarily funded through dues paying indy corps. This is a FAR superior model to traditional renting:

A) It is cheaper and better for the member corps
B) It utilizes space more efficiently
C) It adds security through militia and high defense indexes (in FozzieSov)
D) As other major entities are engaged in “old think” and chasing the low hanging fruit (moon income), our source of income will be priceless to us, but literally worthless to anyone who could take it.

From The Ashes:

Obviously we will continue building our little “mini coalition”. Perhaps one day it won’t be so “mini”. However, regardless of size, we will continue to take what we have learned (by both good example and bad), and when dealing with our friends, we will maintain some very basic principles:

#1 – We will make realistic promises, and keep our word.
#2 – We will treat EVERYONE with respect until they do something to earn our disrespect.
#3 – We will communicate, and plan. Yes plans have to be flexible, but planning and contingency planning is at the heart of any good organization.

We have several smaller alliances who are using this opportunity to grow and develop, and I think there is a lot of potential. Over the coming months (and/or years) I think we are going to see some great things from some of them, and I look forward to participating in that process.

What Membership Should Be Doing:

Well for the most part, just keep doing exactly what you are doing. Keep training into our doctrines (particular Chimeras and Archons), position your ships in the proper location(s), join fleets, have fun roaming nearby content, and isk up. At this point I very much expect that we will be executing our plan from our current location, continuing to add corps to GCLUB and GSP0T, and strengthening our position.

However, make no mistake. Being well positioned is great, but NOTHING is guaranteed. Even when the universe is stable, we should all remember we are just one bad week away from a layover in low sec. In the midst of massive changes to game mechanics, and the majority of the universe in a state of flux… anything can happen. I am not expecting the next few months to go perfectly smooth (honestly it would be boring if it did). I am sure there will be high points, and low points. It is even feasible that something horrible could happen, which could require relocation.

So let’s make sure that we maintain the right mindset. Let’s make sure that we never forget the core of what makes us who we are. Ultimately space if fleeting, and coalitions come and go, however a strong community of dedicated members working toward common goals is virtually indestructible. I have always worked very hard to communicate the goals, the vision, and the WHY behind what we do. I have struggled with that recently more than ever (see below), but I will always make sure to take the time (at least every couple weeks) to keep you guys up to date.
I very much enjoy watching the results play out (whether it be military, meta game, coalition building, or whatever), and I am (in some demented way) having a lot of fun. Mostly I am sharing a little of this with you so that you know that just because you don’t see me hanging in channels or in fleets as much these days, and my SWOT frequency is down to every other week, it isn’t because I don’t want to be. It just means that the stuff we have been doing to prepare for FozzieSov and other changes in the universe takes a metric fuck ton of time. I am very excited about the coming changes, but the workload that comes with it is pretty intense. Hopefully it will stabilize (at least some) soon.

So I hope in the near future to have more time soon to flood your mail box with SWOTs, share my sexy voice in TS more, and to be in more fleets (mebe even some day FC’ing them again). In the meantime, don’t take my lack of visible presence as a lack of appreciation. You guys are awesome! I am beyond proud of GCLUB, and what we have accomplished. I look forward to this next chapter of our history together, and I think we are going to thrive in the universe to come.