http://empireofthealexandrians.org/
Dear reader,
I write this letter to announce formally that the Empire of the Alexandrians will undergo a period of transformation that will see it retire from Micras completely and close operations until further notice.
For the last 15 years, Alexandria has been part of the world of Micras, participating and growing to be one of the oldest nations of the Micran geofictional community.
Just like anything else in life – Alexandria's had a good run and it is time that it comes to a close.
Alexandria was first founded as Madland on May 7th, 2002 as a vehicle for a strong interest in conworlding, in politics, law and creativity. It was an exercise, in many ways, in escapism, in creating an opportunity to escape some of the daily darknesses of life by engaging my creativity, creating something that was fun, that I could be proud of.
It took a while to get things right. There were many changes over time – the name changed from Madland to Alexandria, the cultural theme slowly became more French and Spanish, the territorial claims in Micras grew and grew. During this time, a very small community grew to include a lot of different citizens and participants, each contributing to the Empire in their own ways and abilities.
However, over the last two or three years, what was once a hobby has become more of a burden and liability for me. I feel creatively constrained and bankrupt. The focus on creating something fun and engaging for myself was shifted towards winning petty squabbles with other Micran participants (to which, admittedly, I have contributed to in many ways and am deeply and sincerely sorry for any hurt or anger my actions and words have caused), the development of neurotic attachments to pixels on a map, and a constant pursuit of post counts that has led to shallow development. The expectations of honoring the pasts of the ghosts of Micras' Green when Alexandria has expanded as well as the expectations and, at times, conflicting desires with Alexandrian participants have also put serious constraints on the creative wishes and directions I want to take Alexandria into.
All of these, slowly but surely, have eroded my desire to remain involved in Micras and has constrained my creativity to the point where my escape from life's stresses has become a detour to a different kind of set of constraints and stresses all in itself.
In a way, a lot of this comes from Alexandria's growth and development over the last 15 years. A great Micran participant once said to me that a lot of us have ideas and images of what our geofictional projects should be in our minds, and that it takes a while for those to be put to paper. He is right.
For a long time, I have toyed with grand restructuring ideas for Alexandria, but never been able to fully realize them, only to see them remain in my head, collecting dust in my memory. Or they have stayed in my head because I would get significant push back to them, or see them diluted or changed.
I believe wholeheartedly that for me to regain the passion, creativity, and fun I once had with Alexandria, it is best to withdraw Alexandria from the Micran realm of expectations and constraints and take some time off to patiently recreate the Alexandria I see in my mind. I want to recreate Alexandria without any pesky remarks telling me to hurry, or without any of the naysaying or bad attitudes that sometimes are projected by others to others' creative pursuits.
I hope to relaunch Alexandria sometime in the future. I do not know when that will be. I want to take my time, enjoy the process, and see where it will take me.
Instead of holding large parts of the Micras map hostage and facing reduction or outright removal for wanting to pursue this direction, I have opted to file for a removal, following a thorough change of names and places through a modification. I do not plan on giving away any Alexandrian land.
The time for judging Alexandria's strength and progress by post counts and pixels is over.
I request that people do not appropriate the Alexandrian legacy for themselves and that they do not infringe on the intellectual property of Alexandria. There is only one Alexandria, and I hope that everyone will honor this request and instead create new nations and new cultures in old Alexandrian land.
As for my involvement in other Micran nations, I hope to continue my involvement but at a reduced rate. I have not given further consideration to this subject, and I hope to give updates to the individuals and nations I am involved in when I've given careful thought to the subject.
At the moment, however, my focus will be in creating the Alexandria I have always envisioned.
If you are interested in receiving updates about Alexandria, you are welcome to subscribe to our new mailing list here.
I apologize to everyone who will view this as a sudden move. I have thought about this moment for quite some time, and I am simply seizing the moment to move on to better creative pursuits.
Thank you for your understanding, and until next time -
Edgard