I was in Diamond for almost 15 years.  Started out in Diamond Go-Give, then we got a NSD of our very own (I know, whoopdie laa da), and then she retired.  Went back to Diamond Go-Give right before I sent my product back.

Can't say that Diamond was all that bad from my experience (though my NSD was certainly an interesting case, long story for another time and topic), but there was certainly nothing to commend it either.  Since I lived far, far away from my SD I was always an adoptee and over the years was adopted mostly into units falling under Ruby and Sapphire Division; it just worked out that way. Thankfully all of my adopted directors were wonderful people (because if they weren't I picked up and went elsewhere) but some of their uplines, up to and including in some cases their NSDs, were really over-the-top fogged out folks, and notably so even for MK directors.  You know, there's fogged out and then there's...   fogged out   ...

So I guess I can say that Diamonds Dominate Suck.  But do they dominate at sucking?  Hard to say...there's some strong competition out there!

Yep, it's true.  Everyone falls under a jewel-colored Seminar (see all that stuff in the middle of the Applause mag for examples of this), it's how MK administratively manages the various downline hierarchies.  From that, you (and your up/downline, depending on who you are) would then fall into the Go-Give Area for your Seminar ONLY if you don't have a NSD. 

OK, every one of the 5 Seminars has a Go-Give area, which is where they do the sorts of recognition that would normally be done at a National Area at Seminar.  A typical evening schedule at Seminar would be: 

Day O - your National's Awards Banquet
Day 1 - your Unit's Awards Banquet
Day 2 - Seminar Awards Night

If you don't have a National, you go to the Go-Give event to watch a bunch of people be recognized and hear a bunch of speeches.  Or you cut out and go to a nice restaurant in downtown Dallas.  Unless you're actually going on stage for recognition, I hightly recommend the latter.  The Go-Give event is a huge snoozefest IMO.

As for the rest of it:  everyone falls under someone else but the people under you aren't influenced by the position that you hold.  For example, in one of the units I was adopted into once upon a time, one of my adopted SDs first-line offspring was a NSD. 

I can give you at least one example of how you can be in MK and not have a NSD.  Right before I left MK, my NSD retired.  She had no offspring NSDs, she didn't have a senior NSD either and before her, the last NSD we had in the lineage had gone emeritus about 25 years ago and basically it comes down to if no one goes through all the crap involved to qualify for NSD, you just don't have one.  They don't appoint people into the position.

I was Ruby Go-Give (Go-give stands for "your director could Go-Give a F$%^&* if you're in debt over your head) 

I can't remember which area I was in or the unit. I'm in Atlanta if that helps someone help me remember who these people are????