Recently, the reopening of an alternative map has begun a conversation regarding independence. However, upon further inspection, this independence is fundamentally flawed. In this post, we will discuss this map’s leadership and the decisions made that ruin this façade of independence.
Designed by Master DS
Independence in the Community
The idea of “independence” has existed for a long time, possibly since leagues were created. Independent judging organizations act as an equalizer, stripping any league’s influence over battles. The Legends Committee follows this same philosophy, preventing leagues from influencing decisions over individuals.
For some, an ideal independence from leagues removes their power over both tournaments and the map. Instead, detractors’ philosophies push towards third-party committees or organizations holding power over these. Furthermore, this philosophy pushes media organizations to be purely media, removing the dual-organization foundations most modern leagues adopt.
Beyond the core idea, the ideal structure varies depending on who you ask. Some argue for an army board that votes on tournaments and map decisions. Others argue judging organizations handle this, keeping league activity separate from other organizations. Most relevant to today’s discussion is the idea of an independently run map disconnected from any other organization or league.
Club Penguin Army World Map
The Club Penguin Armies World Map is a self-proclaimed “independent map” opened shortly after Club Penguin Army League reopened in October of last year. As CPAWM Founder Bull Hour describes, this map claims to take authority away from leagues, operating completely outside their influence as its own entity. However, without much digging, this sentiment is questionable at best and untrue at worst.
The first sign of this façade of independence breaking lies in CPAWM’s current administration. Alongside Bull Hour, the administration stated in CPAWM’s reopening post is Ghostt, Midnight, and Yellow Typer. Not only are they active army leaders/advisors, a problem in its own right, but these four make up four out of seven administrators and advisors behind Small Medium Army League. Unsurprisingly, SMAL is the only league currently listed as a CPAWM partner, which in a vacuum poses no issues. Couple the partnership with CPAWM’s administration, and suspicions arise.
The “Partners” section of CPAWM’s website noting SMAL as the “Official League”
This could easily be written off as CPAWM titling SMAL an officially established league in the community; however, this feels arbitrary and deflective rather than a valid defense. Certainly, an organization focused on creating a great map wouldn’t partner with subpar leagues that aren’t considered official. For clarity, I’d like to reiterate that CPAWM is made up exclusively of SMAL administration, so the SMAL administration is responsible for this claim. Applying the same logic to CPAWM’s statements and map rules, the line between independence and corruption begins fading.
Concerning Map Rules
Excerpt taken from CPAWM’s Re-Opening Post
This rule, supported by the official CPAWM rules, is objectively biased. Claiming independence and then creating rules based on armies’ league affiliations are fundamentally contradictory. Both this statement and the rules page could easily mention protection for Small-Medium armies as one, yet they distinguish between “SMAL-registered armies” and “Non-SMAL armies”, which signifies this distinction is purposeful. Added context does these decisions no favors, as SMAL administrators are responsible for them.
In practice, this gives S/M armies extra incentive to register under SMAL over any other league, as the SMAL registry offers them added protection against unregistered S/M armies. A counter is that all S/M armies should register under SMAL regardless; however, this unprecedented expectation that all S/M armies will join SMAL should not determine a map’s rules, especially considering this map claims independence from all leagues. In fact, the wording shows that CPAWM admins understand this, as they define the difference between registered and unregistered armies.
THE ARMY LEADER PROBLEM
As previously discussed, all parties involved in both CPAWM and SMAL are current army leaders/advisors, two of whom are S/M leaders. This alone warrants its own post regarding SMAL; however, this post remains focused on CPAWM. Returning to the rules page and keeping these facts in mind, another rule raises many questions.
Direct rule taken from CPAWM Map Rules page
Now, head judges reviewing recorded footage to verify judging results is nothing unusual. This rule falls when league administrators also have the authority to review footage to determine results. Under normal circumstances, this poses no issues, as even Club Penguin Armies has the same rule, but issues arise when administrators also lead armies participating in the map.
Put simply, under this ruling, the current Fire Vikings leader, Yellow Typer, can make decisions that benefit FV regarding invasions. The current Scarlet Republic leader, Ghostt, can make the same rulings that benefit SR. Note that nowhere in the stated rules, in CPAWM or SMAL, are prohibitions present. Once again, the SMAL administration, through the lens of CPAWM, creates rules that strictly benefit their league, as army leaders are fully allowed to work their way up to eventually benefit from the same rules the current administration benefits from, rules that these administrators made themselves.
In summary, CPAWM claims to be an independently run map separate from any governing league despite being run exclusively by the SMAL administration. Through this, the SMAL admins have made rulings that strictly benefit SMAL and aid its appeal to the S/M community over other leagues. The administration has also implemented rules that benefit them not just as a league, but as individual army leaders. With no alternative S/M league, though, why exert this self-bias?
club penguin army league
History seems to repeat itself, as this group has come under fire before due to administrative decisions. It is no coincidence that the same group of people previously involved in an “anti-CPA org”, as reclaimed by CPAL Founder Ugly in CPAL’s closure post, are making similarly poor attempts at seizing power for themselves through manipulation of the army community.
Earlier this summer, CPAL announced its own Legends Cup XVI, serving as an alternative to CPA. Murmurs of this decision began shortly before this announcement, with detractors noting the clear attempt by CPAL to take power. When the official announcement was posted, the CPAL administration tried to discredit these opinions by questioning their interest in benefiting the community.
Excerpt from “Club Penguin Army League Presents: Legends Cup XVI”
Interestingly, instead of disproving these accusations, CPAL furthered them by requiring league registration to participate in its LC. This put armies CPAL approached in a precarious position, as they had to decide not only which LC to join, but which league to continue with. Even after the plan for a CPAL LC fell through, an S/M tournament began development, continuing to put armies between the two leagues’ conflict.
Excerpt from “Club Penguin Army League Presents: Legends Cup XVI”
Now, with continued discourse regarding the stale map structure, CPAWM reopens with a statement reiterating its independence from leagues. Pulling back this veil reveals rules that favor one league over all others and an administrative team that, just a few months ago, attempted a similarly distasteful move, detailed above.
conclusion
Competition is positive in good faith. Using a highly regarded tournament name as a pull while, in the same breath, shaming those who dare question the decision is not good-faith competition. Using a position as a league administrator and creating rules that benefit one league is not good-faith competition. Resorting to corruption to garner public favor does not make you better than the current standard; it only reflects one’s own intentions.
Ellie
Reporter-in-Training
More Information
Club Penguin Politician and S/M Advocate