Olympia Archipelago- A Host Region for Creativity!

[Cyparissa]

Greetings!

Olympia Archipelago (OA) is a new region looking for like-minded nations to join our community. We want to develop a region of creative-writing, art, roleplaying, and much more! We're open to both new and experienced nations.

We're a mythology themed region; that means we're centered around different myths and legends from across the world (and multiverse). Though its founding nation is Greek oriented, OA is not a Greek-themed region. We're welcome to everybody.

If you're interested in learning more, visit our "Why Join OA" Factbook and check out our other Dispatches while you're at it. Consider giving them an up-vote!

We're new and have a lot of work to do. The ideal resident of OA is a nation with a creative spark and open to community-support.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

[Cyparissa]

I feel like I'm Charlie from Hazbin Hotel, just waiting for demons to come to my rehab. Except I don't have an Alastor... Anyone know a powerful radio demon?

[Tinhampton]

In order from least to most serious...

Why would such a region as OLYMPIA Archipelago not be focused on sports?

Why is OA passworded? It's not a frontier and is therefore immune from invasion. I'm assuming the intention is so that only high-quality creative types are authorised for entry. (Although the idea of an exclusive artists' club wouldn't be that bad, come to think of it...)

What is your roleplay code of conduct? You say that discrimination, even IC, will not be tolerated, which is much the same policy that Atlanticana had while Enna (aka Londoniopol) was running the place - now she's retired from NS and handed over control to Sakura (aka San Pera) I'm not sure if the hard line remains or not - but it's not exactly clear what specific kinds of government/foreign-relations policy are okay and which will result in you being asked to apply to the Rejected Realms roleplay instead.

There is an immense focus on preventing homophobia and transphobia within the boundaries of the Olympia Archipelago. While of course all forms of discrimination are objectionable, and LGBTQ+phobia more so on a game with so many LGBTQ+ players, is there anything underpinning the particular focus on this as opposed to (for instance) racism and sexism?

[Cyparissa]

In order from least to most serious...

Why would such a region as OLYMPIA Archipelago not be focused on sports?

Why is OA passworded? It's not a frontier and is therefore immune from invasion. I'm assuming the intention is so that only high-quality creative types are authorised for entry. (Although the idea of an exclusive artists' club wouldn't be that bad, come to think of it...)

What is your roleplay code of conduct? You say that discrimination, even IC, will not be tolerated, which is much the same policy that Atlanticana had while Enna (aka Londoniopol) was running the place - now she's retired from NS and handed over control to Sakura (aka San Pera) I'm not sure if the hard line remains or not - but it's not exactly clear what specific kinds of government/foreign-relations policy are okay and which will result in you being asked to apply to the Rejected Realms roleplay instead.

There is an immense focus on preventing homophobia and transphobia within the boundaries of the Olympia Archipelago. While of course all forms of discrimination are objectionable, and LGBTQ+phobia more so on a game with so many LGBTQ+ players, is there anything underpinning the particular focus on this as opposed to (for instance) racism and sexism?

Hi! Great points! I'll do my best to answer them:

1) Why is our region not sports themed: While I'm not against the idea of sports-like games in the future, I'm not an expert on the subject. As we explain in our "OA Regional Mythology" Factbook the name Olympia Archipelago comes from the Greek-mythology concept of Olympus. On Olympus, the Gods would meets to discuss Earthly happenings and how to handle them.

While the Greek Gods weren't always.... politically correct, I wished to mimic the idea of a region being a place where nations and their divine beings could meet and discuss topics.

Honestly I'd love to get more into sports for my personal Nation Cyparissa. Sports are supposed to be a huge part of our culture but I just don't know anything about them...

2) Why is the OA passworded: Honestly this is a question I've been asking myself a lot lately. When I first set up OA and was presented with the option to password or not, I thought "Yeah let's make sure only the right nations are joining." However as I think about it, I want OA to be about openness and expression, so restricting people from entering might not be the best idea. Who are the right nations anyway?

At the time, I was probably also thinking that requiring people to reach out to me instead of just joining would create a more personal experience. However now I see that it can come off as elitist.

3) What is our roleplay code of conduct: We do have a Roleplay guideline that you can read here, but it's very open ended. A lot still needs to be decided and that's on purpose. I want a region where nations are involved in its founding. So I want to wait until we get more nations and can discuss what everyone wants before determining any more roleplaying guidelines.

What is currently written down is just some general rules, like no discrimination, that I believe most nations joining the OA would agree with. However once we have new members I'm open to changing things!

4) Why focus so heavily on LGBTQIA+ Discrimination: Simply put, because I'm a part of the LGBTQIA+ Community. I have lived experience on what it's like to be discriminated against based on my gender identity and sexual orientation, so I find it important to create a safe space for other nations to join.

Not to say that other discriminations are allowed or less serious. In both the RMB and Discord Guidelines (Which I'm thinking of combining because they're so similar) we state that any discrimination, be it sexual, gender-based, racial, or xenophobic will not be tolerated. I'm a white male-presenting (though I'm technically nonbinary) individual so I feel like I can't speak as openly about racial or women's issues. That doesn't mean I take them less seriously though. No one should feel ostracized based on things they can't control like race, gender, sexual orientation, or the country they come from.

I hope this addressed all of your concerns surrounding the Olympia Archipelago! If you have anything else to add please feel free to post more or send a Telegram directly to Cyparissa!

[Cyparissa]

After heavy consideration and inspiration sparked in this thread, Olympia Archipelago is no longer under lock and key.

Instead of needing a password to enter the Region, now anyone can join at any time!

[Tinhampton]

I hope this addressed all of your concerns surrounding the Olympia Archipelago!

Those they do

[Haymarket Riot]

I feel like I'm Charlie from Hazbin Hotel, just waiting for demons to come to my rehab. Except I don't have an Alastor... Anyone know a powerful radio demon?

I'm not a radio demon (more of a politics wizard) but here's some advice:
1. Write a good recruitment telegram that uses the same selling points you've discussed in this thread. Send it over to me via TG and we can go back and forth on drafts.
2. Figure out how to recruit using it. There are three ways: API, manual, and stamps. I personally find that manual and stamp recruitment get the most bang for their buck in terms of how much hassle they are. But it's up to you with how much time you want to spend vs. money you want to spend. Here's a link for instructions on how to do that: viewtopic.php?p=25963624#V3
3. Pay attention to your region page, especially when your region is small, and welcome people actively on the RMB. It helps to have a dispatch with all the links they'll need quick-and-ready because new players get overwhelmed by telegrams and 90% of the time won't even read your Welcome TG. Make this dispatch heavily focused on action items, in order of priority. Here's my welcome dispatch as an example: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=2506043
4. Take into account feedback from your first reliable members (i.e., the ones who do most or all of the action items)--these people are gems and they'll be the ones who dictate how activity in your region works anyways. You can of course have a direction in mind for your regional culture, but remember that often these members are also the first to leave if they don't sense they've made the right choice in being where they are.

It looks like you have everything else set up already, you just need the people to come! That's good, most regions have the opposite problem. Feel free to shoot me a telegram if you need any more advice.