Dumb question: multiple nations?

[The Kiras]

I've looked in both the site FAQ as well as a cursory search of the forums and haven't found any official word on whether or not players can run multiple nations (either with different email addresses, or just different nations under the same addy).

In a couple places around the forums I've seen references like "you may only have one nation in the World Assembly" and "you may not use your nations fighting in the same war," but I just want to clarify that a single person can register multiple nations for gameplay (versus the forum role-playing) and not get exterminated a la Dalek-style.

And yes, you may laugh at my post count and join date if you wish.

[Zepplien]

Yes you can.
Just not form or WA

[Topid]

You can have as many nations as you want. I have nearly 50.

You cannot have more than one in the World Assembly. The game mods will remove both from the World Assembly and may prevent them from joining again.

As far as role-playing, I know it is frowned upon to 'puppet wank' IE if Topid is in a war and I bring Daynor's population to help Topid... That's kind of unfair. Especially seeing as I could unite a coalition of 50 nations. However I don't think that rule is mod-enforced, it is just polite, and if you fail to follow it people will in general just avoid you.

The poster above me is correct in the WA aspect but not the forum. You can have as many nations with forum accounts as you want. I've been active on these forums with Topid, Daynor, TannerFrankLand and a few other nations.

[Ballotonia]

The poster above me is correct in the WA aspect but not the forum. You can have as many nations with forum accounts as you want. I've been active on these forums with Topid, Daynor, TannerFrankLand and a few other nations.

What I think was meant there is the rule against puppet wanking on the forum: posting something with one nation and then following it up with another nation to agree with your own post, making it look as if one has support in an argument that really doesn't exist.

Ballotonia

[Topid]

The poster above me is correct in the WA aspect but not the forum. You can have as many nations with forum accounts as you want. I've been active on these forums with Topid, Daynor, TannerFrankLand and a few other nations.

What I think was meant there is the rule against puppet wanking on the forum: posting something with one nation and then following it up with another nation to agree with your own post, making it look as if one has support in an argument that really doesn't exist.

Ballotonia

I wasn't aware that was a mod-enforced rule.

Topid has argued with Daynor before. I wonder if that was a violation.

[Toyota Land]

I don't think it's a mod-enforced rules, but the other posters will smack you with a wet noodle if you do that.

[1000 Cats]

What I think was meant there is the rule against puppet wanking on the forum: posting something with one nation and then following it up with another nation to agree with your own post, making it look as if one has support in an argument that really doesn't exist.

Ballotonia

I wasn't aware that was a mod-enforced rule.

Topid has argued with Daynor before. I wonder if that was a violation.

Dissociative Identity Disorder ftw?

[Ballotonia]

I wasn't aware that was a mod-enforced rule.

Topid has argued with Daynor before. I wonder if that was a violation.

I've seen mods handing out a Knock-It-Off, and even outing which nation was the puppet of which other nation. But I can't seem to find it in the OSRS.

Ballotonia

[Sedgistan]

If it's done in the WA, you'll be told to stop. If it's done for RPing - unless solely your puppets are posting, you should be OK. Elsewhere, it depends. Having puppets argue for a Tech change won't be looked upon kindly.

[Ardchoille]

I wasn't aware that was a mod-enforced rule.

Topid has argued with Daynor before. I wonder if that was a violation.

I've seen mods handing out a Knock-It-Off, and even outing which nation was the puppet of which other nation. But I can't seem to find it in the OSRS.

Ballotonia

@ Topid: No, you were OK. I remember checking a couple of times, but you weren't being deceptive.

@ Ballotonia: It's difficult to put in the OSRS because different forums have slightly different conventions. Also, the penalty is usually just that the puppets are outed. (Actual rulebreaking, such as trolling, with a puppet is obviously another matter.) That's one of the reasons players should read the stickies at the top of any forum they're new to.

@ The Kiras: In the WA, posting with puppets to boost the apparent popularity of your proposal is frowned on, and mods do police that to keep voting fair. Likewise with having puppets put up weak arguments that your main then bowls over.

There's no problem with posting with an alternate nation providing you stick to it throughout that thread (eg, you might have a seagoing nation to discuss maritime proposals). There's usually no problem with "oncer" nations made strictly for laughs, eg, a player already arguing seriously in the thread might pick up on a phrase in a debate or proposal and make a joke nation to reflect it.

I haven't yet had to out a nation in the WA because most people take the hint when they see a general reminder about puppetwank suddenly dropped with a clang into a thread. I would, if necessary, but nations that play in the WA are usually careful of their WA-member puppet. I have had to go as far as "@@Nationname@@, you are reminded that puppetwank is discouraged because ..." without naming the other puppet.

Nations' mains and puppets have certainly been outed in General for puppetwank. Again, it's a matter of fairness.

I believe Sports accepts posting with your main and one puppet in a single thread, provided you make clear that they're both the same player. II strongly rejects players trying to boost their military with their puppets. In NS, it's largely whatever's acceptable to the other players in the thread; if they know and agree, it's OK. Certainly there's no objection in any forum to building different histories for your nations by RPing them in different threads. I can't see any problem with posting individual Factbooks for however many nations you actively RP. Using puppets to make your Trade storefront look more popular would be dodgy. Sedge has made the point for Tech: don't do it.

On the whole, in the forums, if a mod thinks you're doing it to deceive, you'll get stomped on, maybe have your puppets outed; if it's an accident, or legit RP, you won't; if it's trolling or flaming -- ie, rulebreaking -- usual penalties apply.

On the Gameplay (non-forum) side, because it's possible to switch WA membership from one of your puppets to another, some players use that to raid or defend. There are stickies about that in this forum and there's advice available in the regions involved. It's still strictly only one WA nation allowed at any one time. If two players use the one computer, only one can have a WA nation. If you post from a home computer and a work computer, you must still have only one WA nation.

[The Kiras]

Wow, thanks so much everybody! You are a very helpful lot of people.

And now it's time to talk about what we learned today:
-Don't use multiple nations to deceive others in their opinion of you or any other particular player.
-Don't use multiple nations to break game or RP rules (e.g. voting more than once in WA).

[New Palidor]

Multiple nations = Fun