My dad was a learned fellow.  He enjoyed reading scientific papers in what little spare time he had and encouraged my brothers and sisters to take an interest in the world around us.  I valued his advice but I was always more interested in the science of removing money from the legitimate monetary system to care about real science.  One basic point stuck with me.  The idea that when greater quantities of a substance are dissolved into a liquid, at the point where no more can be dissolved, it starts to precipitate out. 

There have been several mentions in the past about the LV experiment, whether it works or not etc.  In the beginning when all was begat, it was a violent, unpredictable sideshow where now it is one of the largest, more stable cities around.  There are still people willing to take on the Vegas way of life.  Our city is bursting at the seams with people wanting a bit of this different lifestyle yet still more want in.  As more and more people want to enter Vegas at some point, dead bodies will start to precipitate into the morgue again and that seems a tad unfair.

This isn't the place for any of the leaders to be congratulated; this is an attempt to tie up the discussions surrounding declining population and an idea to make these streets bustle again.

The numbers as we've seen have taken a hit.  Many reasons have been put forward about bloodlines taking a break due to their mother's and father's high level of engagement before they died.  Another reason might be, the fact that during a war huge swathes of low ranked members are removed and the son's/daughter's thoughts and motivation to enter the beauty contest in established cities wanes and legitimate livelihoods seem attractive.

War, we are told, is bad for business.  Stagnation however is worse and during that period of inertia towards the middle of last year we saw many bloodlines leave only for more to appear briefly in the immediate aftermath.  This month, we have seen the loss of Philly, Saint Louis and New York families.  There have been moves to establish a presence in Philly and New York, formerly two powerhouse cities but I still wonder, is there more that can be done?

JesseJames came into the streets proclaiming that there would be no other cities like Las Vegas and he had a point.  We're one of a kind!  It's the inhabitants that make the city the way it is however I feel there are far more pros towards the replication of this vibrancy in other cities than cons.

Is the case for the old way of authing people into new cities getting a bit dated?

I like your thinking, Betsy.

Personally I actually agree and disagree, as odd as that may sound. The "old way" of auth should never be considered out dated. I still feel that receiving the proper approval for setting up in your current home city is the most rewarding method by which to gain that bold suit.

However, there is a lot to be said of someone that will risk it all and move outwith their comfort zone and take on the task of building from scratch with little or no help at all. Vegas has been good to me, so obviously I will be painting a good picture of how things can work out when taking this route; but its never been easy. Like you said Betsy, the city is only what its inhabitants make it, its been a real city wide movement to get to the stage where we are now and it took a while before that balance was found.

I would love to see another city be afforded the same opportunity that Vegas has had. Many people thought of Vegas as a sideshow, like you said, but few who have had the Vegas experience will say they didn't enjoy it, and in my own opinion to truly live your life to the fullest in these parts you need to be doing something that you enjoy. If there isn't any enjoyment in it, whats the point?

Sadly i think no matter what you do, not everyone is going to be happy and someone along the line will take offence.   I think to see cities filled is an essential step forward to motivate and re-invigorate what seems in some cases a tired and broken section of the community who stay just to watch and hardly work or regularly are seen to post negative thoughts.  The truth is most people in such unstable times will look to those they trust and those who fit a specific criteria to set up, or move out of the city but for many they will just sit as guns, money makers etc.

The truth is i sit more now watching where the next strike will be aimed at as cities sit in what some may judge precarious positions and to a degree my motivation would be shaped partly if i was the attacking side or the one sitting back and seeing what happens.  Something interesting struck me last night was, some welcomed eves strike for power last night yet if i made a rank i could set up with andd did the same i would be condemned.

The truth is i would love to see the same brush tarred to everyone, everyone to have an opportunity to shine and the world to combine stability without stagnancy but i think to get one to a degree you have to take the other, and not everyone can shine as easily at once otherwise many people would be back to 10-20 man crews which although hopefully providing members a better grounding in what society offers and its limits.  The unfortunate realism is not everyone is meant to be a leader and the minute you feel your advising your leader on how to build their strengths is the minute you hit that wall and wonder "how the f*ck did this idiot get authed" and how much of a failure was his last leader or sponsor not teaching him or her jack.

The truth is we can try and do little things to make the day easier, can contribute to our own family but apart from constant revolution till people get a society exactly how they want it could be as damaging as stagnancy due to family lines constant deaths; and at the end of that the society still wont be perfect for everyone...

There is a very fresh deal in saying

"Detroit is open to anyone to set up until there is a godfather and closes it, or we as the ruling leaders chose to close it"

There isn't anything better than the excitement of going in there wanting to make your mark on something new.

The old way though is very much a simple and secure method and goes some way to securing your city. Authing a friend from your own city, someone you have taught, who you believe is loyal to you is a very strong method of going some way to securing your place in the world.

Prime examples of this way of authing people can be traced back not much more than a year in our history. Under the rule of TheDean and Roman cities were authed to people deemed loyal to their previous leader. DavyJones to Philly, CaptainStubbing to New Orleans. Even as recently as AlabamaWorley to Detroit.

Of course it can also go epically wrong and you can read the individuals incorrectly the death of Demine at the hands of SpaceMountain is an example of this.