Look, being the old guy who built Labor out of nothing and apparently somebody all the newer players dislike because some people go around saying I'm a meanie (
), it's very simple what this party needs.
I left because this party is a hollow shell of the glorious existence it maintained for years. Primarily, loyalty and unity completely disappeared. There are multiple reasons for why this has happened: a breakdown of consistent, engaged leadership; little-to-no outreach to newer players to incorporate them into the broader fold; massive recruitment efforts that basically focused on quantity instead of quality; tons of players coming in all at once (which made all the former more difficult to handle); external pressure from other "power-players"; a lack of consequences (executed by the members, not the leadership) for bad behavior; and more.
For whatever reason, it seems the newest players are more...sensitive than in the past. I'm not sure why, but fundamentally, this is an elections simulation. In order to have any meaningful career or prospects, you need a crowd of people with whom to stand. Parties are the most logical and healthy format for that to take place in this game. When you take the route of the President and other former players, it causes harm to the core functions of the game (i.e. it becomes more about friendship than policy, ideology and governance).
The Labor Party - at its core - cannot function without loyalty. Contrary to the whining of some, that is not loyalty to any Supreme Leader or whatever. It is loyalty to the party itself, its values and its fellow members. Labor itself is an anomaly in that prior to it, no fully left-wing political party in this game ever became dominant in the decade or so prior: it was all basically a bunch of "muh fiscal responsibility and social liberalism" to varying degrees. In order to remain relevant and defy the natural political gravity of the game, loyalty to one another must be concrete.
Some examples of this include:
- supporting party-nominated candidates you might not personally like, understanding that your political future also will depend on fellow party members who don't like you doing the same
- not taking the bait and publicly dissing or making fun of fellow party members (either here or in IRC) when prompted by right-wingers or splinter-cells who are just trying to start something
- accepting that you are not 100% of the puzzle and that dozens of members must come to compromise and consensus based on what the bulk of the party deems necessary
- publicly shaming people who try to dissolve partisan boundaries (which are healthy for the game) and replace them with personality cults
- voting as elected officials for your party's candidates in legislative bodies to be speakers etc
- having a proactive desire to be a part of a bigger family, and understanding that said dynamic is a two-way street
Another lesson many Laborites would be well-advised to learn - and one that it took me quite some time to fully embrace - is being fine with saying goodbye. When somebody self-jettisons, say "see you later!". Almost always, these individuals will be types who were previously causing some form of mischief (whether that be criticizing other members, voting for candidates not endorsed by the party, playing both sides and/or leaking info, somebody successfully brainwashing them, or anything similar). Any party is always stronger without those types present. I learned it is far better to have a party of 30 people who are operating on the same wavelength than having 50 people and dealing with the machinations of many who have no loyalty, consideration or respect for their fellow members, constantly undermining the party's ability to do anything. There's no point in chasing after people who don't want to belong: let them go.
And if anybody has a problem with anything I've said here, tough titties. This is a political simulator: it is how things are
supposed to work when the game is healthy. Sadly, all too many who are newer have never experienced this form of gameplay, as things have generally remained peachy-keen on the partisan/ideological front since reset. Atlasia at its core is not fundamentally different in terms of the partisanship, relationships and interactions of RL politics when it is operating at its best. If you want to play a "nice guy FF" game without conflict or whatever, then go spin the bottle or do a Sudoku puzzle.
Looks like I have to fire my Psychopathic manipulator ray at some people again 
Pro-tip: it's not a LOA if you're still posting, hovering on the forum and lurking on the "Who's Online" page 20 hours per day
