If we as players are not willing to adapt and change and fix the problems then this game is over. If us as a community are not willing to change and keep repeating the same things we are going to get a repeat of US99.
We need to work on this as a community.
Less than 24 hours after posting this message, this same player used a proxy account to ghost a plum 3k city for himself, just like Meg the Poodle did the day before.
I guess the things that the community needs to be "willing to adapt and change and fix the problems" do not apply to him.
On July 13, Orulla conquered a 2939 point ghost town. That city was ghosted by "endoki69." Endoki69, like "Mean Old Lady" is not a real player, but a proxy account controlled, actually or constructively, by Orulla.
Endoki69 has only played in 3 other worlds.
In US81-Nikiai - the world the account was first created for - Endoki69 was used mid-world to found an anchor on a highly contested island. When BP ended, Orulla's team's enemy revolted the city immediately, at 20:20:35. The city ghosted and was taken by Athenakins - Orulla's teammate - at 21:39:44. How do I know these exact circumstances and times? Because I was there and reported this action due to how blatantly abusive it was.
In US87-Golgi - endoki69 built three cities. Who did they go to, all in the span of 12 hours? G.O.M. - Orulla's teammate.
In US98-Tegea - endoki69 built one city before ghosting. Who took the city? HadesSon - Orulla''s teammate.
The pattern is obvious. It speaks for itself.
I think we can all agree that it's a big advantage to not have to fight for a partially built city on a farm island coming right out of BP.
But does anyone complain about this blatantly abusive tactic using a proxy account? Surely the community recognizes the unfair advantage it bestows, right? So why do players like Orulla and Meg the Poodle get away with this stuff world after world? Why does the community of players allow them to crap all over everyone?
It's because Innogames has allowed gamesmanship, advantage plays, and all kinds anti-competitive exploitive and abusive gameplay to persist on U.S. servers, and as a result community standards have completely devolved. The U.S. community is now mostly a toxic cesspool of players who view each new world as an opportunity to see how much they can get away with. And the ones who are the best at getting away with the most are the ones who are "successful" and attract legions of similarly unscrupulous frontrunners looking to beat up on those who are unwilling or unable to sink to levels necessary to compete... and that's how teams like Meg the Poodle's are born.
Which brings us to the total joke of this thread. As well-meaning as Brajanz0r may be, he is equally naive. The idea of this community being able to police itself is laughable. Almost anyone with a moral compass looking for a fair fight has fled this rat-ship long ago. It's just a den of thieves now. I mean, just look at this thread, it's a microcosm of the dire state of the community. The audacity and shamelessness of Orulla and Meg the Poodle is on full display. But does anyone speak up? Does anyone else call them out? No, of course not. And I suspect that's mostly because part of the player base is equally degenerate and either doesn't understand what they did wrong, or doesn't care because they're up to the same tricks. And the other part of the player base knows that reporting is futile because Innogames moderators are derelict of their duties and rarely take enforcement actions, even in circumstances that scream for intervention.
And community apathy combined with game moderators' failure to take action is the negative feedback loop that has brought us to this point.
Until this community is willing and able to stand up to abuses like how Orulla and Meg the Poodle took advantage of proxy accounts in this world, there's no hope for the future of U.S. servers.
Re-establishing standards of integrity and sportsmanship within the U.S. community will not fix all the problems, but it's necessary for the community to be healthy and to grow.
The community itself must be a partner in this, but the main responsibility falls on Innogames to stop treating U.S. servers like some Lord of the Flies cash grab and start devoting real resources - both human and technological - towards enforcing not just the rules of the game but towards elevating gameplay and community standards.