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Culture Clashes; Or: How I learned to hate mergers.
Topic Started: Jun 17 2008, 07:20:43 PM (311 Views)
Ardus Cadogan
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You may not be fully aware of this, but the Entente is no stranger to mass influxes of established members. Over the course of our history, the Entente has engaged in a total of six major mergers and acquisition periods--VE-EC merger, OE-Tetris, OE-ACID, VE-RageCo, the GPA influx, and the Atlantis influx. Of these, I can only call one a success and benefit to the alliance: the GPA influx, and even it was only marginally so. All the other sudden waves of individuals to our fair alliance ultimately turned out to be to our detriment, largely because of failure on our part to recognize the strength (or complete absence) of the foreign culture inundating the Entente. Pronounced cultural differences within a single alliance can lead to dissent, division, dissatisfaction, and sometimes, disbandment. There's a reason why there are only two successful merger alliances in the world today (MCXA and TPF, unless I missed somebody)--egos and unfamiliar cultural habits more often than not conflict and lead to unforeseen problems. Let me provide a few specific examples...

The Obsidian Mergers

One of the lesser known events that took place during the formation of the Obsidian (and later Oceanic) Entente was the assimilation of the alliances Tetris and ACID by the young OE. Tetris was a very small white team alliance led by the ambitious Logan, a man you may better know as a Pacifican and the father of the current "Sanction Race" thread on the OWF. ACID was a very small black team alliance that had once been a member of the League. As the OE prepared to finally form, Egore, then Lord of Viridia, decided that the launching crew of 10 Viridians would not be enough to establish a sufficient foothold for the new alliance and managed to convince the leaders of the two micro-alliances that they would find greater glory by joining in on the new black team venture. After speaking with all the relevant parties, I found them to be sufficiently competent and delegated out government positions according to their strengths while at the same time keeping a majority stake in the OE government in the hands of Viridians. The OE formed and, despite the obvious troubles with GOONS, things seemed as though they might turn out well enough internally. They didn't.

The ACID merger didn't work out very well thanks to the simple fact that ACID didn't have much of anything you could call a spirit or culture. While most mergers fail because cultures don't mix, this merger didn't work out simply because there was nothing to assimilate. The vast majority of ACID's 30 or so members were absolute dead weight--in the end there was perhaps two or three people who would even post on the OE's forums. The total inactivity on the part of the ACIDians ended up being highly demoralizing to the alliance and left the OE with the originally projected problem of being understaffed. The Tetris merger worked out marginally better--we got Logan, who worked hard enough. Again though, beyond him, the other 9 or 10 Tetris members really did very little. Unable to generate any sort of community in the post-GCW era and unable to acquire any former Viridians who might be able to work on the problems, the inexperienced OE quietly disbanded shortly after the Aqua Security Summit.

Rage Company

More recent was the merger of Rage Company into the Viridian Entente. RageCo was the project 519_Nigras, a former /b/tard turned disciple of Egore. VE granted 519 protection and Rage Co formed. However, it didn't take long to realize that the organization was a complete and total mistake. The majority of its members loudly and publicly trolled foreign dignitaries and leaders while it lawled in a /b/-like fashion. Within a few weeks many of VE's allies were calling for RageCo's head. Rather than abandon 519, however, VE offered to shelter select Ragers within Viridia, those who had proven themselves to be capable of playing the game in an acceptable fashion. 519 organized his most loyal followers and relocated to the VE, disbanding Rage as his final act; the remaining riff-raff was bombed into oblivion.

At first, RageCo seemed to work out well enough. Many of those who came with 519 were incredibly intelligent and were armed with advanced programming and mathematical skills, a boon for any alliance. However, with time, the abrasive \m/-like culture of the Ragers conflicted with the other Viridians. One notable event occurred when I personally dropped the banhammer on a former Rager for posting a story about the rape of a young girl in the off-topic portion of the VE forums. The reaction was supported by most members, but it also generated a terribly unexpected condemnation by many former Ragers. They were irritated that the individual was ejected without any warning or trial and, furthermore, didn't really see any problem with the story. A number of them left. From that point forward, Ragers made it a habit to mock and ridicule the government, especially when it made a decision that was interpreted as a reduction of their "freedoms". Things finally came to a head over the subject of tech-raiding, which VE had opted to allow with heavy regulation upon reformation. Many were pushing for it to be banned again while others, despite never raiding, defended it. Notable individuals on both sides threatened to leave the alliance if the issue was decided contrary to their own position. The debates grew increasingly acrid and some began to leave the alliance, including long-time member Antonio Salovega, VI. The government finally opted to put an end to the issue and banned the practice. As a result, the whole remainder of Rage Co, including 519 himself, resigned from the alliance, with many burning the bridge as they left. All in all, we ended up losing all of Rage Co and a few other Viridians as a result of their presence. A total disaster.

Atlantis

You all know who Atlantis was--large, white sanctioned alliance that disbanded in a flurry of internal chaos. VE and Atlantis had been good allies and, immediately after their disbandment, a massive portion of their members (close to 100 maybe?) opted to migrate to Viridia. Problems sprung up immediately, largely due to the cautionary measures I took in order to ensure we didn't inherit whatever had killed them--all Atlantean applications were put "on hold" for a period of a couple weeks, leading to the comical and sarcastic saying "VE Applicant 4 Life". Many Atlanteans questioned why we didn't seem to trust them, especially after former government member HungChang gave up and applied to TPF instead, getting accepted with little hesitation. The subject faded with time, though, and the alliance moved on.

On a personal level, Atlantis got along fantastically with most Viridians, but their more democratic culture ultimately proved incompatible with the VE. Many bemoaned what they saw as the permanent hold on government by the old guard of the alliance, a complaint that grew increasingly loud as time went on and the government grew inactive. Many argued for the expansion of democratic institutions in the Entente, an option flatly rejected by the government and most other Viridians. Convinced that they'd never get very far in the Entente, the former government members of Atlantis decided that they'd try to create a new alliance--Hyperion. Virillus led up the project and begin to call up former Atlanteans; this didn't sit well with a number of alliances since a number of these Atlanteans were their members. The offended parties stormed into the VE's IRC channel at the exact same time as Rayvon left and took half the government with him. Virillus was ultimately ejected from the VE for his offenses, which infuriated the Atlanteans, especially when certain MoAwes, playing a stronger than normal role in the chaos of the government, effectively told them to shut up and brushed aside their concerns while refusing to share any real information about what had happened. The Atlanteans resigned en masse and the timetable for Hyperion was moved up dramatically. I imagine most folks here know the rest--Hyperion resulted in numerous contraversies and the VE's total membership and strength plummeted to what you see now.

The GPA War and the Neutral Invasion

The one influx I believe to have been worthwhile and totally beneficial to the Entente would be the influx of neutrals during and following the GPA War. Finally convinced that the GPA was done for, a handful of prominent neutrals, including Apriland and Grossman, migrated to the Viridian Entente, attracted by its navigation and balancing of the situation and our commitment to what we liked to refer to as "the liberation of Green", or the conclusion of unilateral GGA control over the sphere. Many other neutrals, fleeing the sinking ship, followed in their wake, joining the VE. They immediately found what they were looking for--a stable government, a powerful idealism, and relief from the shackles of neutrality. I like to think that we turned Grossman into the monster that he is today.

While some neutrals eventually left for reasons similar to the Atlanteans, dissatisfaction with the lack of democratic institutions in the Entente, they left on good terms while the majority of those who had followed them to Viridia actually stayed for all the reasons April and Gross had come in the first place--green patriotism, stability, and meritocratic institutions. To this date they continue to serve the Entente and provide their extensive economic experience, experimenting with new rapid growth programs.

In Conclusion...

The chances for a merger to succeed are largely based on how similar the groups involved are. Highly different groups likely won't even attempt to merge, but many groups come together without realizing the subtle differences between them. When the possibility of a merger or large assimilation presents itself, make sure you know all you can about your incoming influx, lest ye suffer internal problems of the very worst sort.

EDIT: Minor grammatical fixes.
Edited by Ardus Cadogan, Jun 18 2008, 02:08:03 AM.
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Ardus Cadogan
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Also, my internet magically returned to me a couple days early, so I get to post this after all. :D
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Wentworth the Brave
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Quod in nex , ego vadum teneo pacis

Thank you for this. I have always wondered about the pros and cons of merging alliances. :)
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Bud


Good read and very true. While I have only been through one merger it was very hectic ensuring that the cultures of both could survive afterwards. It has been successful but not with out loss or pains.
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