Mailing List Issues

Hi all,

This is Real Life stuff, not game stuff.

We have been having troubles with the mailing list for a while. A few of the players have trouble getting the mails, and some kept getting their messages bounced.

I put in a support ticket with our ISP, and received not great news.

The list is run by a Mailman server, and as the years have one by, and email requirements have changed and got ‘secured’, Mailman has not kept up. With the result that the ISP has decided that long term, Mailman is not fit for purpose. And, at this point, they have decided that they are going to retire that part of their offering. Already, you cannot create a new mailing list, and while they have not yet announced a sunset date for the service altogether, it is going away eventually.

So, we need an alternative. One thought is to just send big messages directly, with most of the recipients in the BCC part of the message. It would mean that we would need everyone to have a the list of the emails for everybody in the game.

Or we could decide to employ something like Discord instead, and get a discord server and use text chat channels on there. You can get free discord servers – we use one for the Aurellis and Sable games.

Or we could do something else – ideas are welcome.

What would also be welcome is if someone else wants to volunteer to take this on, and research and eventually run whatever is decided on.

Discussions need to happen, and a way forward be found.

Queen Florimel of Chaos to visit King Bleys of Amber

Queen Florimel of Chaos, Chatelaine of Thelbane Tower, has come back to visit her brother King Bleys of Amber.
There was a grand (not state) dinner in the Great Hall where King Bleys rehired the Royal Musicians and the Palace Jester Droppa Ma Pantz.
Queen Elizabeth Channicut had cut Droppa for crudeness and his excessive drinking. She had furloughed the musicians except for trumpeters to announce guests.
Queen Florimel invoked protocol to give Bleys the leverage to hire back this staff. This had the support of Prince John, Princess Fiona and Queen Mother Clarissa.
The Amber Queen Consort had abolished the almonry tradition and Maundry Tuesday (unlike Christian Thursday) and forbade her husband nor her family from doing act of humility as Oberon had done for mainly public relations reasons. Elizabeth reportedly said, “If the Unicorn of Amber i s concerned about the hooves of the paupers of Amber, she should donate her large private fortune to set up foot clinics and hire some doctors and nurses at competitive rates.”
Elizabeth Channicut also stated that she would celebrate Maundry Tuesday by cutting coupons for palace staff family members and crystal recording her teaching frugality in the home tobe shown to all boys and girls in schools of all ages and also in all royal funded academic institutions and also for all mendicants and those who call themselves poor. “I would rather teach people to be cheap!” she said proudly “than to give handouts. Then there will be more people with money and less overcharging merchants who should be whipped through the streets.”
Sadly she has privately admitted that King Bleys, a notorious spendthrift, has still been overspending. Said the King’s mother to her confidents, “Bleys constantly overspends. I was tempted to ask Geran to run his finances but luckily Elizabeth tries to moderate the worst of his spending. She stopped him from putting wine again in the city fountaints citing waste and public drunkeness crimes.”
Meanwhile Queen Florimel in Chaos publicly celebrated Maundry Tuesday and washed feet of a dozen mendicants in front of the Cathedral of the Unicorn.”
Queen Elizabeth Channicut quipped privately, “Flora is getting practice on how to treat Swayville’s gout and she needs how to handle ancient delicate tender tootsies.”

Gregor Gets Gold out of Jericho!

National Midnight Star – Scandal and Sin is our Daily Fare! Salacious, Siliceous and Spurious!

Gregor Gets Gold out of Jericho!

King Gregor of the Octopolis captured some New Vegas tourists and called them spies and threatened to burn them at the stake.
King Jericho, through the offices of Princess Myfanwy of Amber and her husband, King Grim of Asgard.
Secret negotiations took place in Karmways, The Five Seasons Hotel in Antilla Station and the old grist mill in Garnath Duchy.

Apparently Myfanwy had to also sing to Gregor the entire repertoire of Celine Dion including the Titanic theme song 19 times.

Jericho paid a ransom of 40,000 pounds of mithril and gave up 3 arkenstones and a 20 foot portrait of Valentinian The Conqueror to get the hostages releases. The hostages came back but no one can confirm nor deny that they had their teeth.

King Gregor, Duke of Karm, is notorious to taking out both high and low born’s teeth as a hobby dentist without benefit of painkillers and with benefit of a pliers. He removed the teeth of several high bloods years ago as part of the Soren Incident.

Festival of Wine and Roses to be the Best One Yet!

His Most Royal and Imperial Majesty,  by the Grace of the Most Holy Blood and the Holy Unicorn, Bleys, King of Amber, Emperor of the Golden Circle, Lord of Kolvir, Lord of Avernus, Head of the Church of Amber of the Unicorn Faith in the Amblerash Creed, Head of the Ancient House of Kolvir, Head of the House of the Amber Barrimans, Protector of the South, Ardenicus brings greetings.
You are invited to the Festival of Wine and Roses which celebrates the King and the Land as one in Amber City. This gala festival scheduled for next week promises to have street festivals, actors, artists, fantastic public banquets and wine flowing from every fountain in Amber’s capital. There will be a show of the sights of Golden Circle Pavilions with exotics creatures,  new science and technology, poetry, music, arcane sorcery shows and so much more the celebrate the renaissance of Amber and its monarchy and the grandeur and splendour of the realm.
This will cumulates in the Grand Ball of the Festival of Wine and Roses which will be graced with the Crowned Heads of Creation with a lavish occasion that has never been seen. New development of fireworks and light shows by magicians and alchemists will add wonder and spectacular moments to be remembered for living memory.
There is going to be a daylong parade with floats showing many of the territories of Amber, its dependent monarchs in the Golden Circle with untold riches in tribute, wonders for trade and commerce and a sign that a New Golden Age is dawning.  There will be poetry and prophecy of this new golden age by the Bard Caxophonics who will tell everyone of the wonders of Amber and its elegant and wondrous King Emperor. There will be a poetry contest, a music contest, arms and arrows contests with splendid prizes.

There will be a musical concert to celebrate the King and his Realm and its people with celebrity musicians across Amber and the Golden CIrcle.
May the Holy Unicorn Save the King!

Royal Engagement Announcement – Prince Paul and Princess Mary Rose

(Dragon of Chaos with Crown Emblem)
Thelbane Tower Palace
The Court of Abyss Empire, Kingdom of Chaos, Domain of Thelbane, Empire the Black Zone
//
His Most Imperial and Royal Majesty King-Emperor Swayville is proud to announce with his wife, Queen-Empress Florimel
That, their Daughter, Her Royal and Imperial Highness, Mary Rose
is to be Wed
To Prince Paul of Amber and Channicutways, Duke of Paulways
At the Great Cathedral at the Edge of the Universe of the Most Holy Dragon

New Government for Golden Circle Empire

King Bleys today has lifted the emergency measures that were imposed in the Golden Circle.
“With 99% of the strife over and peace coming back to the loyal client kingdoms of the Golden Circle, I am delighted and proud to end the Inquisition.
The Golden Circle is now looking after its Reconstruction under totally loyalty to the Crown.” said King Bleys at Court today.

“I am creating the Imperial Privy Council for the Empire of the Golden Circle to facilitate good government under the authority of the Imperial Viceroy.
There will be a Cabinet to supervise all areas of government under the central authority while respecting the autonomy of the Client Kings. This includes all Foreign Affairs outside the Golden Circle. Client Kings may have Embassies with each other and High Commissions in Amber City but may not have relations with sovereign nations outside of Amber.”

“There will be a customs union inside the Golden Circle and a special Free Trade agreement with the Kingdom of Amber. The Kingdom of Amber will negotiate any trade agreements with all foreign powers in friendship and with an eye for prosperity.”

“There will be a Judicial process that will be under the supervision of the Imperial Viceroy as the Courts in Amber and under the King of Amber. The Coke principle does not exist in Amber and the Oberon Doctrine still remains in place and is extended to the new Imperial Viceroyalty. The Golden Circle model shall be Federal in nature.”

“We thank the Grand Inquisitor, Prince Wendell for his years of effort in winning the hearts and minds, stopping the rebels and feeding the tummies. We wish to name my grandson, Prince Wendell, as the Viceroy of the Golden Circle, Chief Administrator and Commander in Chief of its Armed Forces effective immediately”

“Client Kings will upon their accession and once, every 7 years, will be required to present themselves and do homage to the Viceroy or to the Emperor (King Bleys of Amber) when he visits and holds an Imperial Durbar.

“Tribute from client kings is now abolished. There will be a direct taxation system created – which will be directly upon the Golden Circle from the central government that will be less per capita than the cost of tribute but is expected to produce many efficiencies. Client Kingdoms will have their own taxation system which will be separate from the Imperial GC Government.  The Imperial Government will issue its transfer payments to the Royal Government in Amber based upon discussions with the Royal Government in Amber and the Imperial Government of the Golden Circle.

King Bleys noted that over 40,000 Amber subjects are junior and senior officers in the Imperial Army and Navy, officials, bureaucrats and non commissioned officers in the new Golden Circle administration. He also said that many new graduates of the Helgram Academy are being actively recruited to assist in building the new government. All have been tested for loyalty to King Bleys. King Bleys said that these opportunities can give Helgrams and other high bloods opportunity for gainful progressive employment and do not need to go to special retraining programs like the one in Malus City. UT because of on the job training programs set up by Wendell.

Aemeliana DeFanged – In Palliative Care – SoR Disbanded!

After a speech that can almost be declared as self-immolation, “Saint” Aemeliana FitzJesby was admitted into the Special Hospital for the Deranged and Poisoned in the Grand Duchy of Jesbyways. Immediate Jesby family members have told the press that Aemeliana had a terrible from of Abyss Syphilis where the final stages of this disease are kicking in.

Members of the House of Jesby are petitioning King Swayville to allow her birthname of Jesby to be fully restored as well as her Barony of Aemelianaways.  The Royal Office considers that “her renunciation of her noble status and titles to be utter madness as well as her anti-monarchism to be proof of her diseased ridden insanity.”

Aemeliana is most infamous for being the founder and head of the Society of the Righteous (SotR) which was a more radical organization founded by dissidents unhappy with Amnesty InterCreation and its willingness to abide by the laws of the land.  Aemeliana suffered from emotional guilt for being a high born soul and compounded with her disease, was very unhappy. Her followers performed many terrible crimes including the recent murder of a Channicut natural son of the late Grand Duke Tubble in the 1997 Earth.

In her final stages of madness, she revealed many of the Society’s unsavoury and hypocritical practices including their vast largess and secret bank accounts. It is said she even revealed over 100 quintillion Thelbane Pounds worth of hidden assets in secret bank accounts with the code numbers across creation. It is reported that before they were seized by law enforcement, many of her questionable followers are now retiring as Billionaires. The Head of the Society of the Righteous confessed to unsavoury personal habits, including mass poisonings, that even horrified hardened former members of the now defunct Jesby Auntie’s Clique.

It is unclear who is going to take over the Society of the Righteous as many of her trusted advisors had cleared out her bank accounts. Said one anonymously from his new penthouse in a neutral shadow, “We could not use corrupt Parys/Garnath banks because they demanded proof of identity so it was easy to get a few billion out in a rush before the others took it beforehand.

Raid on Dinner in 1997 Earth Condemned!

(News of the World – NYC, 1997 Earth)   King Swayville’s Royal Office today condemned a recent attack by partisan vigilantes who dared to storm the Rainbow Club in the NYC Rockefeller Centre in 1997 Earth (Gwen, Thrawn and Karl’s) where  the Princes Geran, Ian and Edward and their wives, Prince Artur, Prince Karl were dining.
The vigilante ‘special agents’ who claimed to be authorized by a host of governments of small shadows, NGOs across Creation and miscellaneous committee groups, attempted to unlawfully place the three Princes into custody. Apparently they were mandated by their groups to make the most Noble Princes, Ministers, Archdukes and Grand Dukes face their ad hoc, ultra vires kangaroo court where the results would be preordained.
While these individuals were from this Earth (1997) they were trained and “authorized” by another Earth government(s) which is allied to, or moving in concert with the Society of the Righteous.
Of the 6 or 7 team members, all but two were taken into custody by NYC Police who had become as a result of the incident devout Loki worshippers along with nearly a quarter of Manhattan’s population. The other 2 died from their wounds received while attacking the noble Princes of the Blood.
King Swayville’s Royal Office condemned the attack which was personal to His Most Royal and Imperial Majesty, “This is a direct attack on civilization. The brother in law of  HMRIM along with two of his grandsons, one being a Grand Duke and an Archduke is an affront to the dignity of the Crown and shan’t be tolerated.”
A brick thrown into a bus side window in NYC in 1997 Earth said that “Saint” Ameliana FitzJesby condemned Geran, Ian and Edward as Enemies of the People. “They will be brought to justice.” the note promised, observing that Saint Ameliana has more squads who will attempt to ‘arrest these evildoers’.
King Swayville issued a Bounty of a Knighthood and 100,000,000 Thelbane Pounds for Ameliana FitzJesby – Dead or Alive.

Wiki Woes

It’s not been a great time for the wiki lately. We have been hacked, and while we are now running again, everyone is going to have to use the ‘forgotten password’ feature to get themselves a new password before they can log in again.

It’s the only way to be sure we’re not compromised.

Tim.