When did it become OK to attack new players?

When I joined Illyriad, and for over a year after that, new players were protected from from attacks, even from small players. Whilst many would argue that it does not make sense to protect new players from other new players, it is almost never a good thing for a large player to attack a small player as they learn nothing and likely end up leaving the game.

However, in the past few weeks, a couple of incidents have come to my attention where a new player gets attacked by a large player.
The first of these was the catalyst for the Storm/WRATH war. After an incident occurred with one of Loki's Jarls of Trouble, a Storm player decided to attack small players in Loki. Small players who did nothing except join Loki.
The second and latest incident is the one which prompted me to write this article. A player called Laird Richard- a two town player with no alliance- was threatened in GC by SoLazy- a player from The End with 29 cities.
A chat log of the threat can be found here

This is not just a threat to attack or siege one of Laird Richard's cites; SoLazy has declared that his intention is to completely noob ring Richard. The total annihilation of a new player for no other reason than they are near a spot SoLazy wants.

One of the best things Illyriad has is the community- that is the thing that has kept me and many others playing. It would be a real shame if the community were to lose the values which made it so friendly and welcoming.

Author: Eowan The Short