Malcalypse The Seeker Leaves Jihad!

In an unbelievable, and unexpected by some, move, Sean Breen, aka Malcalypse The Seeker, a long standing and respected Jihadii and member of the Jihad Triumvirate and Verthandic Rangers High Council has announced his resignation from the Jihad, and in a surprise move called for the elimination of the entire movement. Many do not agree with the idea of the end of the Jihad, and it at present looks as if the final suggestion from this learned elder statesman will not be followed, it does bring about some amount of sadness in this reporters eyes. Below is the text in full of Mal's dramatic resignation letter posted to CGIab4d...

To whom it may concern:

Due to special circumstances (that amount more or less to general ennui on my part), I am officially resigning from the Triumvirate, from my post in the Verthandic Rangers, and taking an indefinite leave of absence from the JU 2.0 Project.

I have been with the Jihad since the summer of 1995. Through that time, I have seen things go up and down, back and forth. But never have I lost any faith that the Jihad would persevere, that it would continue.

Now... I don't know anymore. I really don't.

The Jihad has been in a slump for more than two years. In those two years, almost nothing has happened; no new blood was infused, few stories were written (and even fewer released), and all the "active" Jihaddi did was sit around on IRC and trade Linux tips and dumb cow jokes. I don't claim to have been above
that; I wasn't. I sat on IRC just as willingly as anybody else involved.

For a long time, I treated the whole idea of "The Jihad is Doomed" as just another thing to mock the newbies and the occasional expatriate with. I think that I had some justification for that; after all, during those moments of internal strife, the Jihad managed to close ranks and stand together as a community. It certainly looked like it was impossible to break.

But now, I think the Jihad has fallen into a fatal apathy. Nobody has any more real interest in the Jihad's activities. Only a handful want to continue writing/role-playing in the fictional universe, and even less want to talk about the real-world effects of a Barney-educated generation on society as a whole.

That great departed Jihaddi (loved and hated by many) Deadlock said once -- I think he was quoting somebody -- "The Jihad is about having fun making fun of Barney." Well, it's not happening anymore. The joke has died. It died a long time ago, perhaps, but it's died the true death now.

Therefore, as my last action as a Triumvir Praetor of the Jihad, I am recommending to my partners in crime, Melanie Davies and Shadur, that you and my successor draft a procedure for the orderly dissolution of the Jihad, shutting down *.jihad.net, and ensuring that alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die is properly rmgrouped. I will personally assist Fireball and the other members of the JU 2.0 Project in closing that out, as well. If the Jihad is going to die, then dammit, it should close up shop with dignity, instead of wasting away as it has been.

I don't expect this to be well-received. Still, I feel it has to be said, and it has to be done.

It was fun while it lasted, but all things must end.

             Goodbye, farewell, amen,
             Reverend Sean M. Breen
             "Malaclypse the Seeker"

We at the Herald bid a sad farewell to Mal and wish him well out in the Real World. Come back and visit some time.

Rev Cyohtee

Welcome Back Galand!

VRDET would like to take the time to welcome back, from a very long leave of absense, Dr. Forrester, Research and Developement.

M.A.U.L. Awards Announcements

**+ Announcing the M.A.U.L. Golden Grimace Award +**

It is my pleasure to announce the 1st Annual M.A.U.L. Golden Grimace Award. This award is given out to that Jihaddi who has, by the nomination of his or her peers, been deemed to have had an exemplary year in service to the Cause[tm]. Voting begins on November 15th, 1999, and ends on December 10th of that same year, and is done by emailing M.A.U.L.'s CinC at homeless@svn.net. You can only vote once, and you cannot vote for yourself. That nominee with the most votes will be publicly awarded the Golden Grimace on December 15th.

For the rules governing the Golden Grimace, have a look at http://www.svn.net/homeless/maul/policy.html, and if you've got questions, M.A.U.L.'s CinC would be happy to answer them.

Good luck to all the nominees!

**+ Announcing the M.A.U.L. Phoenix Crest Award +**

It is my pleasure to announce the 1st Annual M.A.U.L. Phoenix Crest Award. Voting begins today, November 19th, 1999. This award is given annually to any member of M.A.U.L. (paygrade E-2 and up) who has shown exemplary service to M.A.U.L. and the Cause[tm]. Any member of M.A.U.L. at paygrade E-3 and above may vote, although you cannot vote for yourself. A list of the nominees follows:

CinC Most Holy
Col. Jeracho
Lt. Marquardt
Sgt. Litbolt
Cpl. Phrackwulf
Cpl. Gaston

To vote, simply mail CinC (homeless@svn.net) with your choice. Voting closes on December 5th.

For the rules governing the Phoenix Crest, have a look at http://www.svn.net/homeless/maul/policy.html

Good luck to all the nominees!

VRDET News Announcement

VRDET would like to welcome Recruit ransom into their ranks. The announcement comes after a long delay due to internal confusion and lost paperwork [what's new?]. Welcome ransom! Please contact the Billeting Dept for room assignement a.s.a.p.
In other news, VRDET would like to let everyone know they can see an updated roster by going to http://vrdet.jihad.net/roster.html.
VRDET is happy to announce the return of PFC Kaosfury J. Logrus to active duty following his period of Net-Death.

VRDET is also sad to announce the resignation of Katze Brenner from the Verthandic Rangers. Her seat on the High Council shall not be refilled, and is being eliminated from the Council. Katze (or katster as she is more commonly known) has certain RL issues that make it impossible for her to comtinue in her roll in the Verthandic Rangers and her new roll as XO of Alpha Squadron in TRES (see TRES Announcements) at the same time, and she has determined that TRES is in greater need of her than VR at the present time. Her presence in VR shall be missed.