Pacific News Network [PNN] - Versutia Loses Founder

[Pacific News Network]

This thread will serve as an on-site depository for PNN stories moving forward.

[Pacific News Network]

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PNN: Capitalist Paradise on a Recruitment Rampage
Saturday August 10, 2013

PICTURED: One of Afforess' Henchman Swarms the Mailboxes of Francograd.

The World — Stamps were released to the NationStates public three days ago and Afforess, the former delegate of Capitalist Paradise, was one of the first to notice. The renowned coder sent out a mass telegram to every nation in the feeders, the sinkers, 10000 Islands, and seventy other large UCRs today in an effort to boost CP's size. Humorously, he misspelled "Balder" in his "to" form and thus residents of the peaceful sinker were protected from the advert spam.

This is not the first time that the nation in question has used mass telegrams to the chagrin of others, however. Indeed, another incident occurred when Ainur's founder quit: nations in the region were told that it would inevitably die and that they should move to Capitalist Paradise. When this action was noted in a Security Council thread, Afforess sent out yet another mass telegram to the residents of Ainur.

Above: The telegram that over 20,000 nations received today, note the misspelling of Balder/Baldr/Baldur.

Countless nations and most of the relevant regions have already been angered by this strategy, and have resorted to expressing their disgust of it and/or recruiting from Capitalist Paradise itself. For example, Milograd created a region, Freedom Fries Inc, and sent a mass telegram to every nation in Capitalist Paradise inviting them to forge a new region, though it seems he has put no effort into actually creating any sort of community whatsoever. It is likely that the region exists solely for the aforementioned telegram's sake, and that others may follow suit for their own regions. Cormac Stark, the Pharaoh of Osiris, expressed frustration and a desire for retribution in response to the mass recruitment.

It is also suspected that these messages, along with Afforess' previous incidents of over-zealous recruitment, prompted Feux to withdraw his "Commend Afforess" Security Council proposal from the World Assembly's floor. PNN may continue to update this story as it develops.

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Written by PNN's Staff, without much energy or coffee
The Pacific Press: A Newspaper with Issues
Proudly Part of PNN

[Pacific News Network]

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PNN BREAKING NEWS: Delegacy Election Concludes in The South Pacific
Monday August 12, 2013

PICTURED: Votes being tallied in TSP's Election Center.

The ticket of Belschaft and Rebel-topia won the run-off vote to decide the next delegate of The South Pacific tonight against the HEM/Alv ticket. The final public tally was 10-9, and based on exit polls taken by PNN, PNN can predict with almost certainty that the private voting tally does not tip the scale towards the HEM ticket's favor. It seems that the difference was made by semi-inactive voters who were called to the polls at the last minute to support one candidate or the other.

Belschaft will be replacing Southern Bellz as delegate, and this will be his second time in TSP's WAD seat. TSP also finished its regular elections, albeit they concluded several days ago; Sandaoguo (Glen-Rhodes) was elected to serve as the Chairman of TSP's Assembly, Escade will be running regional affairs, Kringalia will be overseeing foreign affairs, and Drugged Monkeys returned to his role in leading the NSA.

South Pacific Belschaft, the future delegate nation, currently holds 105 endorsements versus Southern Bellz's 235.

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Written by PNN's Staff, without much energy or coffee
The Pacific Press: A Newspaper with Issues
Proudly Part of PNN

[South Pacific Belschaft]

All glory to me. Or something.

_{*is currently locked out of his main-nation due to a password alteration error and waiting for the mods to respond to his GHR's, so posting on this nation*}

[Sedgistan]

_{*is currently locked out of his main-nation due to a password alteration error and waiting for the mods to respond to his GHR's, so posting on this nation*}

You got a response to that yesterday, according to the records.

EDIT: Sent to Belschaft... I'll get that sent to the right one.

[Karpathos]

Congratulations to South Pacific Belshaft! A well deserved win.


Hopefully the ignorant and hateful attitudes of your current FA minister won't derail the progress we've made in TSP-TP relations.

[Mad Jack]

And hopefully he won't damage Osiris-TSP relations either.

[Belschaft]

_{*is currently locked out of his main-nation due to a password alteration error and waiting for the mods to respond to his GHR's, so posting on this nation*}

You got a response to that yesterday, according to the records.

EDIT: Sent to Belschaft... I'll get that sent to the right one.

Heh, yeah

Multiple TG's sent to the nation I couldn't log into. Someone clearly had a blonde moment

[Sierra Lobo]

Congratulations to South Pacific Belshaft! A well deserved win.


Hopefully the ignorant and hateful attitudes of your current FA minister won't derail the progress we've made in TSP-TP relations.

Any news on the Milograd's trial?

[Pacific News Network]

PNN: An Interview with Afforess
Tuesday August 13, 2013

Update: An Interview with Afforess

We sat down with Afforess and asked him about his thoughts on this recruitment fiasco during this afternoon.

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PNN: Hello Afforess. It's widely known that you're the former delegate of Capitalist Paradise. To start, what's your role within the region now, and how does the region function?

Afforess: I am the current the Minister of the Interior. My duties include maintenance of the offsite forums, monitoring the RMB for troublemakers, monitoring national happenings of all nations for potential crimes, and managing the recruitment. It is an appointed (not elected) position, appointed by Kaputer. The region has a mixture of elected and appointed positions. The best way to understand is using the infographic on our site: http://capitalistparadise.com/forums/pages/government/ You can click on each position of government to see a short description.

PNN: All right. When and why did you decide that you were going to send out recruitment telegrams to every nation from the thirty largest regions in the game?

Afforess: I decided after I saw that the telegram stamps were available on Friday. There was no prior planning.

PNN: Do you think the mass messages work?

Afforess: It depends on what you mean by work. They have drawn in ~150 nations, and a few are still trickling in. Whether this is a success is unclear.

PNN: That sounds like success to me. You mentioned that you were doing a study throughout all of this. Are there any results that you're comfortable with sharing?

Afforess: It is far to early to call. I plan on waiting 2 weeks after the initial recruitment before writing up a preliminary report. After month of watching after that to determine what percentage of nations simply joined and then ceased to exist is needed. Don't expect final results until October.

PNN: That makes sense, though some are skeptical that this is for a report. What is your response to the outrage that residents of some of the regions you recruited from are feeling?

Afforess: I'd tell them to turn off recruitment telegrams and stop whining.

PNN: Fair enough, but how do you justify your recruitment tactics?

Afforess: Justify? I don't consider them unjust actions. Capitalist Paradise doesn't recognize regional sovereignty of any region unless it has been explicitly established in a treaty. Seeing as how the only treaties we have had were with Dharma, no unjust actions have been taken. To state in simpler terms, The Capitalist Paradise only recognizes itself, and the vast unliberated masses outside of the region. There are no other 'regions'.

PNN: Right. Some parties, specifically the government of Osiris, have expressed interest in possibly recruiting from Capitalist Paradise or taking up other forms of revenge against your region. What are your thoughts on this, and what do your region's members think?

Afforess: We have no opinions on this. They are free to do as they wish. We have no laws preventing such action.

PNN: Will you continue to send out mass messages that are similar in size to this week's in the future?

Afforess: Probably.

PNN: Interesting. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, Afforess.

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Written by PNN's Staff, without much energy or coffee
The Pacific Press: A Newspaper with Issues
Proudly Part of PNN

[Pacific News Network]

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PNN: Uncertainty Lingers Over The Heartland; Caretaker Ejected
Tuesday August 13, 2013

PICTURED: East Klent and Grays Harbor during their migration to Heartland 2.

The Heartland — The future of The Heartland is highly uncertain amongst residents and spectators alike following the lockdown of the region and the removal of its Delegate East Klent by its founder. The Heartland, which was founded in 2002 by former Game Moderator Ineptia (with the assistance of Lost Vegas and Gun Totin Rednecks), has gone through most of the decade with an active founder. During Ineptia's most recent bout of inactivity, natives decided to lock down the region to prevent an invasion and they subsequently migrated to Heartland 2. However, when Ineptia returned, East Klent was removed from the region and the emergency password that was in place was changed.

By the time Ineptia returned to The Heartland, the ancient region only had 2 nations left. Comparatively, Heartland 2 currently contains fifty nations. The Heartland's population has generally floated in the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties since 2006. The natives originally planned to refound the region, but determined that it'd be too difficult and chose to move to a successor region instead. According to one native, they wanted their region to "die with dignity." Ineptia cancelled the closure of the region's longtime allies and fellow Triumvirate members Wysteria and Texas after returning to The Heartland.

• 22 hours ago: The Grand Old Duchy of Ineptia cancelled the closure of embassies between The Heartland and Wysteria.
• 22 hours ago: The Grand Old Duchy of Ineptia cancelled the closure of embassies between The Heartland and Texas.
• 1 day 2 hours ago: The Grand Old Duchy of Ineptia changed the regional password.
• 1 day 2 hours ago: The Grand Old Duchy of Ineptia arrived from Lazarus.
• 1 day 2 hours ago: The Grand Old Duchy of Ineptia changed the regional password.
• 1 day 2 hours ago: The Grand Old Duchy of Ineptia barred WA Delegate access to Regional Control.
• 1 day 2 hours ago: The Grand Old Duchy of Ineptia barred WA Delegate access to Regional Control.
• 1 day 2 hours ago: The Grand Old Duchy of Ineptia ejected and banned The Constitutional Republic of East Klent from the region.
• 1 day 5 hours ago: The Constitutional Republic of East Klent lost WA Delegate status.

After realizing that Ineptia had returned to the game, residents of the region were anticipatory about returning to their home, and the confusion regarding whether or not they would be able to do so was discussed on H2's RMB. When announcing Ineptia's return on Heartland 2's RMB, East Klent said, "Ineptia has returned... and ejected me. Oh the irony." Crystal Palais, another resident, followed up with confusion, "Wait. Ineptia came back? Does that mean we should be going back to the old Heartland?" Other residents expressed similar sentiments and Grays Harbor, a long-time member of the region, noted his frustration about East Klent's unexplained removal from the region. East Klent was otherwise applauded as a caretaker during the emergency lock down and migration process. Ineptia has allegedly responded by saying that they've moved on from The Heartland and that they should enjoy their new home.

The Heartland is one of the oldest regions in the game, was one of the first to have an off-site forum and a regional map, and is one of the few remaining regions from 2002 still in existence. PNN may continue to update this story as it develops, and wishes residents of The Heartland the best of luck during their trying times.

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Written by PNN's Staff, without much energy or coffee
The Pacific Press: A Newspaper with Issues
Proudly Part of PNN

[The North Polish Union]

PNN: Fair enough, but how do you justify your recruitment tactics?

Afforess: Justify? I don't consider them unjust actions. Capitalist Paradise doesn't recognize regional sovereignty of any region unless it has been explicitly established in a treaty. Seeing as how the only treaties we have had were with Dharma, no unjust actions have been taken. To state in simpler terms, The Capitalist Paradise only recognizes itself, and the vast unliberated masses outside of the region. There are no other 'regions'.

I like CP's ideas on regional sovereignty.

[PrussianEmpire]

PNN: Fair enough, but how do you justify your recruitment tactics?

Afforess: Justify? I don't consider them unjust actions. Capitalist Paradise doesn't recognize regional sovereignty of any region unless it has been explicitly established in a treaty. Seeing as how the only treaties we have had were with Dharma, no unjust actions have been taken. To state in simpler terms, The Capitalist Paradise only recognizes itself, and the vast unliberated masses outside of the region. There are no other 'regions'.

I like CP's ideas on regional sovereignty.

I prefer the UDL's definition of Regional Sovereignty.

[Karpathos]

The Devoted Comrade: Interview with Bobogoobo
Aug 22, 2013. | | Pacific News Network

FRANCOGRAD, THE PACIFIC -- Bobogoobo, long-time contributor and loyal member of The Pacific, sat down with PNN for a casual chat one sunny August afternoon for PNN's new series, "The Devoted Comrade", which places the spotlight on those loyal members found deserving of recognition.

Hello Bobogoobo! Thanks for joining us for an interview. For readers who maybe don’t know who you are, you’re a long-time, very committed member of The Pacific; what have you been up to in The Pacific lately?

Happy to provide one. I haven't been doing too much lately, because my summer schedule doesn't permit me to be on for updates and I've been busy with other interests. I've mostly been keeping up with the forums and such.

So comrade, where did your journey in NationStates begin?

I came to The Pacific in August 2011, a month after I became a member of the NPO in Cyber Nations. I wanted to see the NPO's historic birthplace for myself and find out what it was like to be a citizen. I joined NS in August 2007 and my first region was Concosia, which I chose out of the recruitment telegrams I received.

Is it true that you flew the Concosia flag for quite some time, even after it was colonized and such?

Yes; I like to use flags of regions or groups that I have good memories of. I've never been very into NS politics, so it wasn't meant as any sort of statement. I don't think I ever contributed to Concosia's mission either, maybe because it wasn't very imperative at the time I joined. I was aware of the raids on it but didn't pay much attention because I think everyone had moved on by that time.

PICTURED: The flag of Concosia, which no longer flies over the region since The New Inquisition's vicious invasion of Concosia

An outspoken imperialist, implied there was no “Concosian Community” at the time of the TNI raid on the region. Any fond memories of the region that you would like to share with PNN?

There certainly was a community. I don't think I would still be playing NS if I hadn't been engaged and part of a great group of people there. My memory isn't great, and I joined after the region's zenith, so I don't remember times when it was extremely active. But I still made many good friends there. It was actually, I believe, my first time with a community of that kind (and on an offsite forum), because NS was my first nation simulator and I joined when I was 13. It must have been there that I acquired my taste for spam and really long random posts. I don't have any specific memories in mind, but I remember spamming all over the place (within the appropriate forum(s), of course) with good friends (some of whom I still talk to or am in regions with) and staying up late typing out some really long post talking about how someone's day was.

What brought you to The Pacific?

There wasn't a direct connection. I have a few nations that I use for citizenship in regions, and my second one is currently in the region that I joined after Concosia died out. My main ended up in TP after joining NPO in Cyber Nations, as I said above. I used this one so I could keep WA on it and endorse the Delegate and Senators.

While we’re into fond memory sharing; what’s one of your fondest memories from your time here in The Pacific?

One of my first raids as a member of the PEF, when we took a Nazi region. I hadn't been involved in very much military gameplay before that, and never in an organization quite as large and efficient. I was able to be a part of the trademark Pacifican war machine in all its glory and effectiveness. It was good fun, plus it was great to take a target in the campaign against the Nazis.

So, for someone who has contributed to The Pacific so long, I must ask what The Pacific means to you? Is it just a home or does it mean something more to you?

Well, one of the major points of Francoism (if I understand correctly) is camaraderie. I like the community and the chance to contribute to it and be a part of it. The Pacific is more than just a region in NationStates: it's part of a network of communities across several games that share a common theme (and often common members). All of the branches are well-organized with strong leaders, a clear purpose, and a vibrant community. I respect the ideals and find the NPOs to be among the best in their fields, and that's why I'm here.

As a Pacifician, any contributions or successful assignments you’re particularly proud of?

I haven't done much here, I'm afraid. There was at some point a plan to revitalize The Pacific's page on NSWiki, but I'm not sure what happened to that, and it doesn't seem like too many people use that wiki anyway. Wiki editing and other coding is one of my main strengths, and I'm not really into many of the aspects of NationStates these days, plus I have limited time because there are a lot of other things I'm interested in doing. All I've really contributed is activity on the forums and RMB.

If you were going to give a piece of advice to a new player attempting to get involved in The Pacific, what would it be?

Just to dive right in and help with whatever they're interested in, and to get to know their fellow Pacificans. The community and the various departments' labors are what I think it's most important and most rewarding to be involved in.

Any final remarks? You have the floor, Bobogoobo. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for the interview. Sorry I didn't have anything really exciting or cool to share. I think that's about everything. Pacifica prevails! o/

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Written by PNN Staff.
The Pacific Post : Your world, your news.
Proudly Part of PNN


edit to a question to satisfy the semantics issue the imperialist apologist from Osiris brought up.

[Cerian Quilor]

[Cormac A Stark]

An outspoken imperialist, implied there was no “Concosian Community”.

Actually, I believe the argument was that there was no Concosian community at the time that it was invaded and colonized by The New Inquisition. Clearly Bobogoobo had left the region by that time.

Edit for tag fix.

[Cerian Quilor]

Indeed. I see PNN is taking its journalism lessons from FOX.

[The North Polish Union]

Indeed. I see PNN is taking its journalism lessons from FOX.

Its Karpathos complaining about TNI, what do you expect?

[PrussianEmpire]

Indeed. I see PNN is taking its journalism lessons from FOX.

Whats that supposed to mean?

[Karpathos]

Don't even bother Prussia, these three are obligated to add their peanut gallery-esque responses to everything I post. I find it flattering how NPU especially follows me around like a puppy.

[The North Polish Union]

NPU especially follows me around like a puppy.

Since when?

Last time I complained about you was when I said pointed out that you weren't even censored for your role in the TSP coup. And Belschaft explained why that was.

[Cormac A Stark]

Don't even bother Prussia, these three are obligated to add their peanut gallery-esque responses to everything I post.

Odd, I thought I was adding a correction to the post in a civil, diplomatic, and generally non-controversial and neutral manner. If you don't want comments, might I suggest not posting on a public forum?

[Bobogoobo]

Thanks for the clarification on that question. Indeed, at the time of the first raid, I believe the region only contained a handful of nations, and any activity came mostly from myself and a friend or two still posting there just for fun and old times' sake.

[Cerian Quilor]

Indeed. I see PNN is taking its journalism lessons from FOX.

Whats that supposed to mean?

That they're deliberately distorting the truth without actually lying. Its something FOX does very, very well.

[The National Socialist Slumber Party]

Whats that supposed to mean?

That they're deliberately distorting the truth without actually lying. Its something FOX does very, very well.

Psh, that's kid stuff.

Although I'm not sure how much a network is responsible for an interviewee bending the truth, which I assume is what's happening.