A C E D L

News

Editorial

• Wholesale and needless slaughter of native wildlife. We will work to eliminate the killing of rabbits, cows, and other species native to Dereth (anything that doesn't attack you first, without provocation). We recognize the desire for cooks to obtain foodstuffs and for farmers to raise livestock; but if you kill a cow you had better be using its meat to prepare a yummy meal, or else risk our wrath!
  
  
• Highway traffic. We promote the use of magic to create free, more, and permanent portals along oft-traveled routes, so that fewer roads are necessary. Create rest stops and wilderness campsites with maps and directions so that cities can be found. Lower the player density along these routes, make them safer! More help, less roads!
  
  
• Urban sprawl. If housing indeed becomes available for players to buy, the major cities will undoubtedly experience immense and rapid growth. This growth must be checked with an eye to preserving the natural beauty of the Dereth landscape while allowing our cities to grow. Objectives will be sustainable growth, high density housing, communal areas, and preservation of green ways and other natural areas in and around our growing cities.
  
  

• The Carrot: We will set up cash, item, and spell knowledge/game secret incentives to recognize projects of environmental excellence. We will create a 'City of the Month' award campaign to formally acknowledge the city that has taken the best strides towards protecting the environment.
  
  
• The Stick: We are currently made up of non-player killer (PK) members. While we constantly recruit members, and hope to draw the attention of some high level PK's to come join us, player versus player (PVP) combat is contrary to the stated goals of harmony the ACEDL strives for. Our weapons are shame and ridicule, both in and out of the game. We will maintain a list of known bunny killers on our webpage; in the game, we will leave pamphlets scattered about each city listing the 'brave' bunny killers.
  
  
• The Computer: we will take an active stance in the continued development of the Asheron's Call game, promoting new features and lobbying for changes in the structure of the game itself to further enhance our goals.
  
  

We will strive to be proactive in facing environmental problems in Dereth. Take our land purchasing program for an example. By recognizing the potential for development before the ability is even present, we are hopefully acting to solve a problem before it even begins. My first experiences in Dereth involved hunting in and around Nanto's Blue Ghost Falls. I would hate to see that pristine view besmirched by some rich player's condominium development. To stop this from happening, we will lobby with Turbine outside the game, try to curb development inside the game, and gather our own resources to buy up environmentally sensitive areas.

Related to this program, we will attempt the creation of a Continental Parks program, wherein natural areas of Dereth are kept wild and free of human encroachment. Hunting will of course be a primary natural resource, and by setting up a Dereth-wide program of preservation, we can help ensure that future generations of hunters can face the ravages of the wild, without fear of trespassing on privately held land.

Also, to enhance the enjoyment of Dereth's natural resources, we will publish and maintain field guides to the native flora and fauna. By native fauna, we refer to those creatures that pose no threat to humans, those that inhabited Dereth before us, before the monsters came. The bunnies and cows, for starters. Much documentation is prepared elsewhere detailing every nuance of the monsters (how to kill them, what their statistics are, etc.). But a greater purpose will be served by identifying and cataloging the various species of trees, by writing travelogues and visiting guides to our Continental Parks, and by studying the interaction of the various ecosystems of Dereth. Desert and Jungle, Swamp and Forest, Snow-Capped Mountain and White-Capped Sea, all are unique and beautiful, and we will strive to represent them all!

This section will contain links to our pages describing the individual programs, links to our field guides, links to our regional offices, etc. This is of course under development; as the movement grows, the central office staff will maintain these programs, while the regional directors will help gather data and enforce our 'bunny killer black list' policies.

We envision a central office, headquartered here on the web and in the town of Lin inside the game. Because of the size of Dereth, we will likely establish four regional offices (Northern Osteth, Middle Osteth, Southern Osteth, and Inner Sea) to help coordinate activities at the local level. Realistically, our few volunteers will be wearing many hats for some time to come. This section will link to details about our organization and our membership, when the movement catches on!

To join our cause, send Anaboo email at anaboo@dereth.net, and indicate that you would like to join ACEDL. She will contact you as to your availability and interests, and come up with jobs for you to do! Anaboo can usually be found in Southern Osteth, so feel free to @tell her about it when you are online...

To show your support of ACEDL in game, you can do as our members do and wear a green hat! Most are linen or wool (you _can_ find some green gromnie hide studded leather bassinets), so you will probably only want to wear your green hat about town.

In game, @tell Anaboo to make a pledge of items, pyreals, or the like. We will maintain an expense account here, online, so you can see exactly where your donation is going.

If you are getting married or know someone getting married, a donation to ACEDL in the name of the bride(s) or groom(s) is a great way to give a gift that lasts!

Outside the game, we are not asking for 'real' money (at least not at this time). We are a grass-roots, volunteer organization; at some point we may indeed want to set legal precedence and become the first 100 percent virtual not-for-profit corporation. But at this time, it's still a labor of love, so keep your hard earned money. We're working to make Asheron's Call worth the ten bucks a month!

Inside the game, however, we need the pyreals! We have to buy parchment and spend cash on prizes and other group activities. This is an organization, not a guild, and we may indeed try to suggest reasonable membership dues at some point or ask our members to canvas for pyreals. But for now, we raise money only through our stewardship program.

"Are you serious?" Yes! We feel that while much attention is being paid to the mechanics of the game, the balance between classes, the magic system, added features and enhancements, someone needs to step up and speak out for the beauty of the landscape! Someone needs to acknowledge that a lot of effort and virtual blood, sweat, and tears went into creating a world that not only fits the bill programmatically, but that is actually pleasant to walk around in! A treat to explore! Fun in which to simply exist! Without safeguards and watchdogs, the problems associated with unchecked, unplanned growth can strangle the virtual environment as surely as the real one.

"When you say 'we', you really mean 'me', don't you?" Yes! Well, at least for now. But I am confident that as time goes on others will join the movement. The benefits far outweigh the costs, and those who participate will have a certain status in the eyes of their peers. And a year or two from now, when you are enjoying and marveling at how an on-line community came together and planned their growth in the game, how the players made conscious decisions on protecting the game environment, you will be able to hold your virtual head in pride, and *atoyot* your way into the new millenium.

UPDATE: Since the time of our founding (was it only 4 short weeks ago?!?) our membership roster has swelled. There are over 15 active participants on our list server, and many of them have banded together in-game to hunt with each other, adventure together, offer each other support, and further the cause! This page gets 30+ hits per day, and our roster will undoubtedly continue to swell! -- Anaboo, 11/24/99

"But what about the real world?" Yes! Meaning, we view the ACEDL movement as having real potential to inspire, motivate, and educate people about the 'real' world and its environmental problems. When a young player participates in this kind of grass-roots organization, the skills he or she learns are not trivial. Organization. Confidence. Teaching. Research. These are all skills that help in the real world. It is my sincere hope that ACEDL will spur interest in our Earth's environment, and will provide a framework for teaching and developing the skills necessary to protect it. But wherever the players' real world interests lay, the ability to work in a group towards a common goal, to raise funds and awareness, to lobby those in power to affect a change, these are powerful, powerful tools. Perhaps the most powerful.

As Margaret Mead notes,

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: indeed it's the only thing that ever has.