A column that has laid dead for years suddenly makes a return. Welcome to ‘Picture Perfect,’ the column where we look at some of the most important photographs in our corner of the internet.
Designed by Cassie
There’s a popular saying, a picture is worth 1000 words. It’s a fantastic saying that really couldn’t be more true. Per our column introductory post, every week we will look at an iconic photograph and attempt to write a 1000 post from it. The photograph in question could be a treaty, a battle picture, a message or anything, really. That’s the beauty of it. Like art, photographs can be analysed in many different ways.
As our latest set of columns is still new, as well as this being the first edition of ‘Picture Perfect’ in 2023, I will be heavily monitoring the feedback of this post. Truly, our goal as an organisation is to provide our readers with fascinating content. In other words, as Column Manager, it is my duty to provide you with content that you enjoy reading. Without further ado, I present to you Picture Perfect: A Thrice United Community.
For the community.
The Club Penguin Armies logo
To kick off week one, I decided to reflect upon the home of the entire community. The photograph I selected is the logo of this very organisation; the organisation that is responsible for the third unification of this ever-so-divided community. Revived in 2022, Club Penguin Armies has been the main active organisation in its lifetime, barely rivalled by even the likes of Club Penguin Army Times. Because every live army is registered and there’s a lack of competition, it is fair to say that the community is united under the CPA banner.
Club Penguin army media organisations have existed for over 12 years. In that time many have come and gone. When you think of the most notable news organisations, naturally you think of Club Penguin Army Central, Club Penguin Army Hub and others. These websites are typically considered the best of the best, due to huge community attention and influence.
The formation of Club Penguin Armies felt rather familiar to the creation of media titan Club Penguin Army Hub. The merger between CP Army Media (CPR & others) and CP Online Army League (CPO) was met with considerable success due to the fragmented nature of the community, with armies playing entirely different games and the “other side’s” existence not being acknowledged. While the formation of Club Penguin Armies was similar, the competitiveness between the two organizations, CPA Headquarters and CPA Network was not as pronounced as that between CPOAL & CPAM. In fact, it might be argued that CPAN, the league primarily supported by the Rebel Penguin Federation and Ice Warriors, was on the brink of death. Regardless, the two organisations merged, and for the third time since its inception, the community found itself battling under a single roof.
The fact that CPAHQ was the clear frontrunner in terms of activity did not matter because certain armies did not wish to participate in their league. This is something that Spotty, CPA Founder and former CPAHQ administrator talked to me about. In our conversation, I asked her if she currently supports unification, why CPAHQ & CPAN really merged, and if Club Penguin Armies can keep the community unified long-term.
The honest reasoning behind the merge was that CPAN was a league that was dead and those in it didn’t want to merge into HQ because they left it, hence CPA was made. I personally don’t think this community will ever fully stayed unified long-term, and I don’t think it should, in life competition is healthy, you don’t find many ‘communities’ where there is a complete monopoly. Even if there are no competitors at the moment, I will be surprised if we didn’t see one before this leagues second birthday next July.
-Spotty, CPA Founder & Former CPAHQ Administrator
Spotty’s takes are interesting. She believes that competition among leagues/media sites is healthy. I believe she’s right. It can foster competition and ensure that each side is more cautious and produces higher-quality work. The downside is that it may split armies apart, which in today’s climate would not be wise. In 2019 & 2020, armies were larger and plentiful, so this split still worked. Take World War Rewritten, for example, an intense and widescale conflict in which no CPOAL army participated. Spotty also shared her opinion that sometime in the next nine months the community will split again. Nobody can really know if this is true or not. However, the army board is seemingly growing increasingly dissatisfied and the average lifespan of a news organisation post-Disney is certainly one year or less. Maybe soon?
I understand that this post has been perhaps a little rambly. I will justify this and say it’s because, for my analysis, the backstory is just as important as the analysis. Going back to the original image, the Club Penguin Armies logo, I ask myself what I see. In the literal sense, I see a singular blue penguin in a shield-looking badge. But really, I see community. I see one penguin that represents us all, finally under one roof again. But that very statement poses the question, what if we went back to having no roof? A question for another time, perhaps.
For now, one community under one roof is working fine as the armies’ main focus right now is trying to navigate the increasingly crushing depths of the September drop. I guess I will end this post by passing the question off to you, dear reader. What do you see when you look at the CPA logo? What analyses can you make? Stay tuned for next week.
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Mchappy is interning at Club Penguin Armies as the Chief Executive Producer. Max held him at gunpoint to finish his biography.