SC Proposal: Convention Against Heisting

[Wischland]

Convention Against Heisting

A resolution to express a position on international affairs and obligations.

Category: Declaration

Type: Declare

Proposed By: Debussy

The Security Council,

Believing it necessary to inform the greater public on how nations attempt to collect signature artworks of other nations in order to protect collectors and minimize disputes,

Recognizing that the collecting of signature artworks, even with the help of advanced tools, can be extremely time-consuming and arduous,

Defining, for the purpose of this resolution,

i. Card Farming – the process in which nations puppet, enslave, or administer other nations in order to collect their artwork, generally with the aim of increasing reserves of bank.

ii. Transfer – artwork being bought and sold with the intention of moving bank between nations controlled by the same administration.

iii. Heist – when a nation attempts to steal bank from another nation, typically during transfers, by placing a lower ask than the amount being transferred.

iv. Pull Event – an event in which nations attempt to duplicate artwork by matching an ask above market value and placing repeated, rapid, and increasing bids while card farming.

Understanding that in order to build a collection, a nation must obtain bank, usually through card farming, and that bank, once pooled on secondary nations, must be transferred to the nation building the collection,

Noting that during a transfer, there is considerable risk of being heisted, and that this risk can change depending on a variety of factors, which, for the benefit of the public, have been outlined below,

Asserting that nations are entitled to the fruits of their labor, and that the practice of heisting does not align with the mission of this Council,

Hereby declares the following guidelines for collectors:

Article I. Reducing Risk

I. Transfers are best conducted during times of low market activity.

II. Avoid conducting transfers during pull events, which can disrupt the event and increase the chances of having the transfers heisted.

III. Artworks of higher scarcity make for better transfers, decreasing the chances of having heisters obtain a copy of the artwork being used.

IV. Have several copies of an artwork before conducting transfers with it.

V. The greater the amount of bank attempting to be transferred over a single exchange, the greater the risk of heisters obtaining a copy of the artwork.

VI. For large transfers, start the auction with a low risk bid, generally around market value, and wait towards the end of the auction before attempting to move large sums of bank, thus limiting the amount of time heisters can intervene.

Article II. International Cooperation

I. When possible, members of regional and non-regional organizations having to do with the exchange of artwork, henceforth referred to as “guilds,” should refrain from heisting and advise against the practice.

II. Guilds are encouraged to craft agreements, publish literature, and issue their own guidelines regarding heisting in an attempt to build a safer market space.

III. Guilds are encouraged to organize against heisters, and use whatever means available on the market to corral the threat.

Article III. Communication

I. When subject to a heist, nations should make an effort to end the dispute by communicating with the heister.

II. When a heist originates from a region with a guild, the guild should facilitate communication between the parties involved when requested and practical.

This is the discussion thread. To cast your vote, go HERE

[Wischland]

Further Resources:

See NS Forum Debate HERE

See the WAS Voting Recommendation HERE

[Astrobolt]

Opposed

A SC declaration on cards etiquette is a great idea, and a perfect example of what a declaration should be. However, this proposal was rushed, and would benefit from a rewrite.

One thing that is interesting, this proposal never actually recommends that individuals refrain from heisting, only that guilds do so. In fact, this proposal puts the onus on the victim of the heist to come to an agreement with the perpetrator, in effect letting heisters off the hook.

Moreover, HS mentioned this on TSP's RMB, but article two calls all card based organizations "guilds". This seems to be based off TNP's Guard Guild, and thus this word is not politically neutral, but seems to give too much credit to TNP, at the expense of other organizations (including XKI's Card Co-op).

[Vivolkha]

Against by principle. I'm not opposed to a declaration that essentially amounts to advice for a safe transfer, and I'm not opposed to efforts by "guilds" against heisting. But at an individual level, they happen, and you need to play around them, end of story. I consider heisting a perfectly legitimate mechanic and even the rational decision to do should you encounter an opportunity to do so, given the (generally) low risk (though the odds of success against a good player are small), though I acknowledge the inconvenience for card pulls and regional card cooperation / events.