Okay, let's clear something up here.
Smelly approached me about a merger as James and I were discussing going to play mostly in EN99. We loved the idea of playing side by side with the people who gave us the best war we have had in a long time (although EPIDEMIC in Kas was also fun). We particularly wanted the chance to get to know the ex-Slyce players: Notmad, Rangled, Marcotti, and a few others. Smelly asked me if there was anyone we absolutely did NOT want, and I gave him a very short list of two or three names, which he ignored and invited anyway.
The goal was to bring the most active fighters and combine with what was left of TF/TLB into TWO alliances (Yes, three synergies, TF, and TLB into TWO, which would be the opposite of forming an MRA). Synergy got 45 spots and TF/TLB got 25 spots, we got no say in each others' lists, and everyone who had leader/council privilege before kept that status. One leader from Synergy came to Aftershock, one TF leader went to Shockwave.
That meant the leadership council was TF-heavy. So I (yes, ME) started nominating people from the Synergy side to take a spot on the council. That's when problems started. Everyone who was offered any kind of responsibility either refused, quit, or defected.
Smelly, I'm sorry. You told us you would be gone from the game for a week, but would stay in contact on Skype. It seemed odd to propose a merger of this magnitude and then leave. But after 9 days gone and not answering our messages, you did not seem to be keeping your word. If I was wrong to lose faith in you, I am very, very sorry. But by then, MGGA had recruited Darthodin, Marcotti, Great Dano, and many others by telling them god-knows-what.
We posted an op and three more people left to join MGGA with the details. That's when I found out that Synergy still had a shared Skype chat with people who left and people who stayed. So I changed our name. No TF people have joined MGGA. I only really trust the people being attacked by MGGA.
Rangled ghosted because Marcotti, supposedly his friend, had most of his cities in revolt.
What surprises me most of all though... these Synergy players who seemed to be such great players... can't even handle the first 12 hours in red revolt on the first day of a full op. Is that what old school grep was like? Being afraid to lose cities? You can keep it.