THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY THE SOUTHERN UNION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Hi,
Recently there has been some controversy surrounding infrastructure on the server. As part of that controversy (especially the new one), SUD has been dragged in as part of it. What I need to make absolutely clear to everyone who is involved in this conflict or just going through it is that SUD has been portrayed as this malicious, evil organization going against the will of the community that has been led by me and a small group of other people. None of these things are true.
The role of SUD
The role of SUD has been, effectively, to just have a Discord server and a building in Montego Bay where city owners in the South could collaborate to create effective and working infrastructure between cities. This has resulted in many different projects coming to fruition, all of which have been independently managed by whoever is relevant. No member of SUD, whether it be me, Satan, Cake in the past, or anyone else has ever been puppet-mastering SUD as a whole. This is despite Thendil actively stating that we three āwhereā SUD or that Satan was the organizationās leader. We also need to make it clear that SUD has actively and always been promoting collaborative efforts to expand infrastructure, and despite the absolute garbage that some members spewed out against the HMSU last year most members have put working together above any petty disputes. In fact, all SUD members have been bound to a set of Tenements, which passed 8-0 democratically on the SUD discord. These are general principles that should be followed when handling all SUD infrastructure. Included:
Ownership of Infrastructure
Infrastructure āowned by the Southern Union for Developmentā is not required to have all SUD members as owners of said infrastructure.
Ownership of specific SUD infrastructure (e.g., a certain highway or railway) should be linked with the main organiser(s) of that infrastructure, to be known as the āmain owners.
Some might say that the people who built that infrastructure should be, in principle, owners of that infrastructure. Thatās not even just SUD rules - just general logic.
But most importantly, we also have these rules:
Relationships with other Organisations
The overall goal when interacting or creating infrastructure with other organisations is to be constructive and open.
If there is an ongoing dispute between the SUD or one of its members and another organisation, the Union and the Member should be open to compromise.
The SUD supports the creation of a formal cross-organisation entity.
The SUD supports public investment in private infrastructure, when reasonable.
The SUD supports positive interactions with other organisations; they should not be considered ācompetitionā.
When interacting with non-SUD members, no member of the SUD may make representations of the entire Union or infrastructure if that representation is to the detriment of the Union; see part VII.
No SUD member may be intentionally rude or demeaning to members of other organisations.
SUD members may be members of other infrastructure organisations.a. If, by a vote of the SUD membership, an organisation is deemed detrimental to the Union to an extreme extent, members of detrimental organisations who are also members of the Union are required to leave that organisation.
Relationships with other Cities or Nations
The overall goal when interacting or creating infrastructure with other organisations is to be constructive and open.
If there is an ongoing dispute between the SUD or one of its members and another organisation, the Union and the Member should be open to compromise.
Boycotts or the destruction of infrastructure between Union cities and non-Union cities should be considered a last resort.
If a city or nations requests that existing SUD infrastructure be connected to their own infrastructure, the main owner of the region should be open to this discussion.
SUD members should not consider nations or cities with membership to other transport organisations ācompetitionā, nor should members degrade infrastructure opportunities for this reason.
Structure of the Union
There should be no formal leader of the Union at any timeā¦
ā¦The owner of the SUD discord server (as of August 2023, nightemperor) can make special actions in regard to punishment of members.
These rules have been in place since August of last year, and the principles of them have been in practice since the SUD was founded. I am not interested in having a debate with Thendil about these things. This is just the reality of the situation. I am not even defending my own position here. I am just making it clear that the way in which SUD has been referred to recently - as a giant organisation with massive power led by few but with control over many - is a false narrative. Itās effectively a conspiracy theory. And we reject that assertion.
I am not writing this post to defend the position of myself or any exact member of the SUD, but the organisation as a whole. It has been objectively misrepresented too many times to count.
