RAIDERCON 2023: A NEW FRONTIER

[All Wild Things]

And that TBR/DEN are mod-banned

Awww.. my super awesome tag run for TBR won't count.. also that other forgotten run of 79 hits for DEN when it first started..

I'm anything but new.

I've been called "ancient raider" and "veteran raider" now.. I'm curious when the oldest raiders started being called ancient.. Maybe we need some new titles for even older raiders like dinosaur and prehistoric and stuff! Though there has to be more cool words between ancient and dinosaur..

Like antediluvian? That has to be one of my favourite words.

Looks like a fantastic agenda. I'm looking forward to this.

[Captain Alexander]

Raidercon has officially begun! Check out the interviews on Technology in Raiding with Khronion, Atagait, and Devi here, and join us on the discord and forum for discussion. We will also have other fun activities available later.

[Lyrical International Brigade]

I've been called "ancient raider" and "veteran raider" now.. I'm curious when the oldest raiders started being called ancient.. Maybe we need some new titles for even older raiders like dinosaur and prehistoric and stuff! Though there has to be more cool words between ancient and dinosaur..

Like antediluvian? That has to be one of my favourite words.

Neolithic, Paleolithic, Pleistocene...

[Numero Capitan]

No day by day summary like Jakker used to post on here?

Shame to see another event disappearing offsite entirely

[Transgender Dysphoria Blues]

No day by day summary like Jakker used to post on here?

Shame to see another event disappearing offsite entirely

It's been a very busy couple of days so I wasn't able to get that done, but I still intend to do that.

[Numero Capitan]

Shouldn't all be on one person, did the rest of the event even happen?

[Padfootia]

What happened here.

Raidercon has officially begun! Check out the interviews on Technology in Raiding with Khronion, Atagait, and Devi here, and join us on the discord and forum for discussion. We will also have other fun activities available later.

Tapatalk sucks can't you at least put the interview comments here.

[Tim-Opolis]

What happened here.

Raidercon has officially begun! Check out the interviews on Technology in Raiding with Khronion, Atagait, and Devi here, and join us on the discord and forum for discussion. We will also have other fun activities available later.

Tapatalk sucks can't you at least put the interview comments here.

Retweet.

Tapatalk is a steaming pile of cow shit, and it'd be really cool if you guys could cross-post some of this stuff to a better area. Plus, given how Tapatalk treats forums in terms of closing them down for inactivity, you're going to want to have backups for this content somewhere anyway. It only makes sense to just post it on-site, so you can both ensure that people don't have to use that trash forum host and so you can have backups.

[Darkness Reborn]

What happened here.

Tapatalk sucks can't you at least put the interview comments here.

Retweet.

Tapatalk is a steaming pile of cow shit, and it'd be really cool if you guys could cross-post some of this stuff to a better area. Plus, given how Tapatalk treats forums in terms of closing them down for inactivity, you're going to want to have backups for this content somewhere anyway. It only makes sense to just post it on-site, so you can both ensure that people don't have to use that trash forum host and so you can have backups.

Head back to DefenderCon if you want people to kiss your ass and rub your feet.

[Jakker]

Head back to DefenderCon if you want people to kiss your ass and rub your feet.

Chill on the personal insults there.

[Jakker]

Banner created by Varax Zwei

RaiderCon is an annual event held in July that celebrates the past, present, and future of raiding in NationStates. This convention first took place in 2015 to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of The Black Hawks. Players across NationStates come together to engage in discussions, games, and more. RaiderCon has daily programs that examine raiding from various angles and it is a fun time! If you are interested in checking out the content from years past, they can all be found in these dispatches.

The discord server can be found here: SERVER. Please note that RaiderCon is an event intended to examine raiding and celebrate various aspects of it. The Coordinators have the authority to not mask someone or remove someone that is unverifiable, showcases they will not adhere to that mission, or engages in behavior in the server that negatively affects others.

RAIDERVISION

Before RaiderCon, players will able to experience the opening act of RaiderVision. Hosted this year by The North Pacific, this event invites creative, musical performances to be submitted and voted upon. Submissions will open in June and voting will take place during RaiderCon. The winners will be announced at the conclusion of RaiderCon. Check out the announcement from Pallaith with more information on dates and participation instructions.

RAIDERCON 2020: BUILDING THE RAIDER

This year, we celebrate 5 years of RaiderCon! In honor of this awesome milestone, 2020 will have a theme: Building the Raider. Each day will review a different element of how raiding reflects an aspect of development. While raiding is typically regarded as a tool for destruction, the practice has a lot of layers and complexity. We hope to explore some of those layers this year. As always we will have great programs. These programs below will be accompanied each day by a live podcast in the discord server. Each day, Jakker will first speak about the theme of the day and other personal thoughts. From there, other guest speakers will be invited to speak. Both of these sessions will be recorded and shared. After the podcast, participants are welcomed to casually chat and discuss the topic of the day or other thoughts they may have. The daily topics and interviews will be:

Day 1: Building Raiding
July 1st: Why We Raid: Analysis of the Motivations Behind Raiding

Day 2: Building Narrative
July 2nd: What Makes a "Good" Villain?

Day 3: Building Community
July 3rd: Training and Integration of New Raiders

Day 4: Building Leadership
July 4th: The Future of Raiding

Day 5: Building Legacy
July 5th: Spotlight on Commended and Condemned Raiders

SPEAKERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE EVENT!

The previous four RaiderCons have been primarily held off-site via a forum. Due to the transition to Tapatalk and in the hopes of greater access, we are shifting this year's event primarily on-site via this thread, dispatches, and our discord channel. You can find content from the previous years here. We are working to get all of those dispatches finalized and easy to maneuver. Interviews for this year's program will also be released via dispatches by RaiderCon and announced in this thread during the event.

CONTESTS, GAMES, AND ROLEPLAY
We are going to have a lot of fun activities for participants to engage with during RaiderCon. These will take place in the event's discord server. There will be a meme contest, a roleplay, and a Puzzle Hunt! These will be open to all attendees.

And of course, there will be raiding! We are looking to have some trigger battles (manual only), WFE creativity contest, and try out some old-school raiding by doing so on NationStates Century theme. Any of these particular RaiderCon-sponsored raiding activities will be led by TBH and therefore not open to defenders. With that said, defenders are welcomed to engage in these activities on their own.

[Jakker]

Also just want to give a shoutout to all of the wonderful helpers in the planning group who have worked really hard to help make RaiderCon happen. A lot of time and energy has been put into the event and we hope that you enjoy it!

Reventus Koth
Raionitu
Miss Bad Life Choices
Lady Dominator
Aquilanion
Bjourn
Armaros II
Devi Vytherin
Drexlore
twobagger
Varax Zwei
Pterodaxtyl
Aurum Raider
World Assembly Nation 665
Sakana
Miravana
Scaled Hawk
Suryak
Badivermeraed III

[Scardino]

Jakker, look, I didn't want to do this here in front of everyone but look you found me on Tinder and that's funny and cool and whatever but we can't keep messaging like this my notifications are going off at all hours and my wife has already asked questions and each of my kids has their own WA so El Wu really needs this to just chill out, you know?

[Daytime to Night]

The previous four RaiderCons have been primarily held off-site via a forum. Due to the transition to Tapatalk and in the hopes of greater access, we are shifting this year's event primarily on-site via this thread, dispatches, and our discord channel. You can find content from the previous years here. We are working to get all of those dispatches finalized and easy to maneuver. Interviews for this year's program will also be released via dispatches by RaiderCon and announced in this thread during the event.

Good to hear, thanks for making this change and looks like a solid schedule

[Jakker]

Check out all of the awesome speakers lined up for RaiderCon! ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE EVENT STARTS

Day 1: Building Raiding
July 1st: Why We Raid: Analysis of the Motivations Behind Raiding with Common-Sense Politics, Twobagger, Valfor, and Varax Zwei

Day 2: Building Narrative
July 2nd: What Makes a "Good" Villain? with Ever-Wandering Souls, Santheres, Scardino, and Sedgistan

Day 3: Building Community
July 3rd: Training and Integration of New Raiders with A Bloodred Moon (Jo), Altino, Miss Bad Life Choices (Dakota), and ROM

Day 4: Building Leadership
July 4th: The Future of Raiding with Astrid Weisberg, Pterodaxtyl (Dax), Refuge Isle, and The Chariot (Steven)

Day 5: Building Legacy
July 5th: Spotlight on Commended and Condemned Raiders with Crushing Our Enemies, Evil Wolf, Mallorea and Riva, and Reventus Koth

[Jakker]

The first day of RaiderCon 2020 is here! Below are the interviews for Why We Raid: Analysis of the Motivations Behind Raiding with Common-Sense Politics, Twobagger, Valfor, and Varax Zwei. You can also find the interviews in this dispatch here: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1398062

Stayed tuned for later today for a podcast that discusses this topic further. It will be recorded and shared later. Enjoy and happy RaiderCon!

---

Why We Raid: Analysis of the Motivations Behind Raiding - Common-Sense Politics

Jakker
What do you see as the why behind raiding? What are the various elements that motivate people to raid?

CSP
I think you have to go back to the beginning to answer this question. While NationStates remains a simple browser game, I think players today would be surprised by just how simple it was back in 2003. If it was going to survive, and Max Barry has said that he never anticipated it would, it needed something more.

Then something really extraordinary happened. The players, rather than the site itself, innovated. They used a barebones browser game to create and organize communities and they created a system of warfare when there weren’t any mechanics meant for these things.

Raiding and the inevitable advent of organized defending made NS worth playing and this struggle was the primary gameplay element that sustained it for well over a decade. Things aren’t exactly at a fever pitch these days but I think that’s still true to some degree.

Max Barry created a site. Players created the game we play. I think that’s pretty cool and what makes our game unique in the gaming world. There are a lot of reasons why individuals choose to raid and I won’t try to nail them all down here but it was born from a desire to make the gameplay experience more dynamic.

Jakker
What are your reasons for raiding?

CSP
I wouldn’t necessarily define myself as a raider but I have been raiding since 2009 and there are several reasons for that. The first and most boring one is that my first real gameplay experience was joining Europeia about a year after I made my first nation and, well, Europeia primarily raided. Not necessarily well, but we primarily raided so I was sort of “raised” in it, if you will.

I think it’s true for most people, and it certainly is for me, that the relationships I was able to cultivate were what kept me interested and motivated to develop my skills and knowledge of raiding. Oddly enough, my friend Falconias actually taught me the basics when I was starting out. People like Earth22 and Savaer of Unknown kind of took me under their wing. I “grew up” having tremendous respect for players like North East Somerset and OnderKelkia and r3naissanc3r who have always been very gracious and let me ask them a million stupid questions.

The last big one, I think, is the connection to both the game’s past and its future. I will never be remembered as one of the great raiders of all-time but I got to work with some of them, to learn from them. In some small way we carry their legacies around with us and that’s always been something that’s important to me. I also get to pass those skills and stories on to new generations and that’s probably the most fulfilling part.

Jakker
How have your own motivations within military affairs changed over the years? What aspects keep you active and engaged with it?

CSP
In the beginning I was just trying to carve out a niche for myself in Europeia. Euro is a big place with a lot of talented people and it always has been. I think most of my personal legacy there is very much centered on taking the ERN, which was frankly a gamewide joke, and helping to turn it into an organization that was widely recognized for excellence and professionalism. I was just using something I was good at and had fun doing to contribute to my community.

My motivations now are less about what happens from update to update and more about a larger conversation in our region about what our place can and should be in a changing game. It’s not 2013 anymore. The game is different and we’re certainly different. I think getting more of our players involved in military gameplay is a great way to expose them, and get them to contribute to the larger gameplay landscape. That’s what I’m primarily focused on now.

Jakker
At the end of the day, NS can be simplified to a browser game and raiding simplified to just pressing buttons. What is the value in adding more depth to that whether that is with politics or ideologies? How do these added layers sustain raiding as a practice?

CSP
I’m not sure how to do this one without writing a dissertation! It kind of goes back to that discussion about why we raid to begin with, right? I’ll tell you straight up that I have absolutely no interest in going out there and hitting 30 zero endorsement targets in an update for the sake of doing it. That’s just not my jam. It doesn’t do anything for me, never has.

For me, our militaries are at their best and service in them is most attractive when they are used as an extension of our region’s foreign policy. Obviously, to make that work you need to have some kind of ideology. You need to have strategic goals. That could come in the form of opposing in-game Fascism. It could be protecting the sovereignty of GCRs. It could simply be projecting power.

We’re never going to get clean puppets and stealth raiding back, which you’ll hear me bitch about to no end but it has to mean something for me to be interested in it. It has to be more than just pressing a button. That’s even more true for a political region like mine. Without a larger strategic framework, there’s really no reason for our region to have a military to begin with.

Jakker
Raiding is often portrayed as a tool for destruction. What do you think about this? How has raiding served as a tool for progress and development?

CSP
Well it can and it often has been. That’s not how I’ve ever wanted to play the game and that’s why Euro has been such a pain in the ass over the years about what we will and what we won’t participate in. That’s not to say we’ve been perfect. We’ve made mistakes along the way.

But obviously raiding and the raiding community is a lot more than that. Not only have individual raiders made giant contributions to the game, the game itself wouldn’t exist without the advent of raiding as I talked about before.

Jakker
How do you see yourself and others who currently raid connected to those who have raided in the past? What about to those who raid in the future?

CSP
Yeah, I talked about this a little bit before so I’ll just say that we play a remarkable game that has been built by remarkable individuals and that has a long, rich history. Those of us who are still around are sort of the keepers of that history and those legacies and it’s our responsibility to build on it and pass it on. I spend a lot of time thinking about that.

Jakker
How do you think the varying individual actions of those who raid impact the larger raiding community?

CSP
We’ve seen what things like the PREDATOR scandal can do to individual communities and our larger community. I think that goes back to that idea about our connection to those who came before us and being good stewards of what we’ve inherited.

---

Why We Raid: Analysis of the Motivations Behind Raiding - Twobagger

Jakker
What do you see as the why behind raiding? What are the various elements that motivate people to raid?

Twobagger
There are quite a few reasons I've seen that motivate different people to raid. Perhaps most obviously is the community element: people want to fit in to a community. If there's a warm, welcoming community that welcomes them in and happens to raid, some will go raid just to participate more fully in the community. Closely related, sometimes people who aren't raiders make friends in raiding communities, and these friends invite them to go on raids. They might go to try and experience something their friend enjoys and wants to share with them. For others, it's more of a creative process: creating interesting or humorous WFEs, designing interesting raids, or implementing raiding tactics that aren't widely known or seen can give someone a highly visible outlet for their creativity.

For others, it's more of an expression of skill: they want to do it because there are human opponents, and they want to take these regions to show their talent at some part of the game, or to show that they are better in some way than their opponents. Maybe they move want to show that they can move faster, or hide better, or deftly win the trust of the existing community without getting caught. Others want to gain fame or notoriety, and want to take actions that affect other people to gain this status. Maybe you'll see them try and raid the most regions, or burn a particularly large or well-known region. These people often want to leave their mark on the game in a very visible way, and raiding is an intuitive way to do that. Perhaps others have a grudge against a particular region or person that they want to satisfy, and think that raiding whoever "wronged" them in some way will help them in some way. These people tend to show up on the RMB a lot, but they don't often stick around.

Jakker
What are your reasons for raiding?

Twobagger
My reasons are more in line with the community element: I want to be part of an active, welcoming community that respects and values all of its members and their efforts. The Black Hawks certainly fits the bill, and I'm lucky to have been welcomed so warmly by them. That being said, I am a bit of a show-off sometimes. I've gotten to know many defenders over the years, and I like beating my former friends. I like doing that when I tag raid - setting triggers so tight that my opponents can't make it into regions on time.

Jakker
How have your own motivations within military affairs changed over the years? What aspects keep you active and engaged with it?

Twobagger
In some ways, my motivations are exactly the same as they were thirteen years ago: I want to be part of a welcoming community. I want to make friends, and take care of the community as we build each other up. I want to have fun doing things with the community.

In other ways, they couldn't be more different: when I was starting out, I was taught that raiders were little more than schoolyard bullies who took pleasure in squashing people smaller than them. I believed this without question, and I acted accordingly - surely the natives needed to be protected from these people! But coming into contact with more raiders changed my mind - it's hard to believe that most raiders are bad when you start making friends with them, and next to impossible to believe it when you meet the community as a whole, and you can see for yourself how they treat each other and how they treat outsiders instead of relying on propaganda.

Jakker
At the end of the day, NS can be simplified to a browser game and raiding simplified to just pressing buttons. What is the value in adding more depth to that whether that is with politics or ideologies? How do these added layers sustain raiding as a practice?

Twobagger
NS is more of a sandbox than many games, and your experience depends less on mechanical skill or time played, and more on what you can convince other people to give to you. At its best, playing politics in this manner is what NS should be about, and helps to add flavor to what can otherwise be a bland game. However, we have to remember that this is a game best played in-character. It's easy to get so caught up in chasing power that we let actual human beings be hurt by working with or otherwise empowering those who would attack them out-of-character. This is one of the reasons I'm glad that anti-fascism has taken off in NS.

And sure, sometimes these layers are valuable to raiding as a whole. It helps to keep people in the game by adding another layer to a game that can otherwise get stale. This isn't something that motivates me, personally, but I can see how having an additional reason to play could be valuable for others, so long as this reason treats other people with the respect they deserve.

Jakker
Raiding is often portrayed as a tool for destruction. What do you think about this? How has raiding served as a tool for progress and development?

Twobagger
Raiding absolutely can be a tool for destruction. As I touched on before, there are communities who would seek to otherise people and treat them worse - as actual, human beings, not just as in-character players in a game. Communities that perpetuate this behavior - whether by directly encouraging it, or by harboring individuals who participate in it - absolutely should be raided and destroyed. There should be no safe harbor for people who seek to harm other people, and raiding does a service to the game by destroying these communities. Of course, there are some who would tell you that raiding is *just* about destruction, and that raiders don't care at all about the communities they destroy. This is pretty naked propaganda.

It’s also pretty clearly false. Raiding allows for great expression of creativity - it's often very interesting to see what other raiders come up with. Often, this innovation manifests itself in a military setting: the legal tools Spyglass and 20XX have contributed quite a bit both to raiding and defending, and the ideas of shotgun raiding and thorning have forced defenders to up their game or get left in the dust. It’s also pretty evident from looking at the communities built up by raiding organizations, like The Black Hawks - communities built on destruction tend to burn out, but TBH is going pretty strong, thanks to many members who have dedicated a lot of time towards building up the community and its members.

Jakker
How do you see yourself and others who currently raid connected to those who have raided in the past? What about to those who raid in the future?

Twobagger
For me, this is pretty straightforward: to borrow a phrase, those of us who raid today do so by standing on the shoulders of yesterday's raiding giants. There have been so, so many people who have contributed to raiding over the years, whether by helping to build and grow communities, or by experimenting with new tactics or new tools, or by teaching tomorrow's raiders to become even better and stronger than they themselves could be. As for tomorrow's raiders, it's more or less the same. I hope that, before I'm done, I can help hoist some of them up on my shoulders, and they can innovate and grow their communities in ways I'd never have imagined.

Jakker
How do you think the varying individual actions of those who raid impact the larger raiding community?

Twobagger
For better or for worse, there will always be those who paint raiders with a broad brush. For these people, and their audiences, all raiders are the same - when one raider stumbles, it reflects poorly on the entire community. Sometimes, if these people are being intellectually honest, it cuts the other way as well - when one raiding group does something well, it reflects well on the entire raiding community. This happens on a smaller level, even outside these propaganda bubbles; if you have many raiders who work well harmoniously and creatively, it's hard to see this and not think of raiders as a strong, creative force to be reckoned with. On the other hand, if raiding communities are accepting of those who would hurt other people, it's hard to see this and not think of raiders as a bunch of mean-spirited bullies. In some ways, it's a battle of competing perceptions - do we want raiding to be represented by innovative, creative people who work well together, or by small-minded bullies?

---

Why We Raid: Analysis of the Motivations Behind Raiding - Valfor

Jakker
What do you see as the why behind raiding? What are the various elements that motivate people to raid?

Valfor
There are many, many reasons why raiding has become an important aspect to Nationstates as a whole. In particular, it is a strategic method by which regions and their allies can demonstrate their strength in numbers. Raiding is a sort of diplomatic tool. Other regions may have more systematic approaches and may raid to expand their "empire" of sorts, to reach more people who can become active players or citizens in their community.

Jakker
What are your reasons for raiding?

Valfor
Personally, I raid primarily for the reasons I described, diplomacy and expansion. However, raiding is also quite fun in and of itself. There's a social aspect to it in some circles. My first-ever raid several years ago was an enthralling experience! Adrenaline increases heart rate and blood pressure, so in some ways it can be stressful, but the reward when successful is always worth it!

Jakker
How have your own motivations within military affairs changed over the years? What aspects keep you active and engaged with it?

Valfor
With the end of the UDL and FRA, the "blood-thirsty/destruction" mentality of raiding could not survive. That's why I think raiding perhaps has turned the page to a new chapter where we start turning to diplomacy and other aspects of the game by interweaving politics, ideology, and regional culture with raiding. As to aspects that keep me active and engaged, definitely the politics, ideology, and diplomacy. New alliances are being formed nearly everyday. Most recently, TWP and NPO come to mind. The raidersphere is ever-evolving and these things keep me interested and active.

Jakker
At the end of the day, NS can be simplified to a browser game and raiding simplified to just pressing buttons. What is the value in adding more depth to that whether that is with politics or ideologies? How do these added layers sustain raiding as a practice?

Valfor
I think those things give it more character and reason. Raiding is our *what*, but those politics and ideologies are our *why* and they are just as important to have for any successful and thriving community. Politics and ideologies, whether new or old, I think help keep the raiding community alive overall. There are always new ideas or ways of thinking that need to be tested to withstand criticism and time. Overall, these things keep raiding afloat and keep it fresh.

Jakker
Raiding is often portrayed as a tool for destruction. What do you think about this? How has raiding served as a tool for progress and development?

Valfor
I can see how it is construed as destruction, but that is a lie told by the liberal, defender media. (KIDDING) All joking aside, in their most basic form, raiding and defending are demonstrations of power. Whether it be a region going solo, a raider alliance, or a league of defenders, it is about blocking and overcoming the opposition. You want to show you have the numbers. You want to show you have the capability to lead. You want to show you are faster at clicking that "Move to" button, and faster at disseminating information.

So there is more to raiding than just clicking buttons or "destroying" things. Raiding and defending have most certainly served their purposes over the years for progress and development across Nationstates. Nationstates is certainly not the same as it was when I first joined. Overall, I think things have been made more fair. There have also been developments by players themselves to make raiding (or defending) easier - in one case, a browser extension, aspects of which are baked into the Nationstates we know and love today. So definitely, raiding has made an impact on gameplay and is a tool for progress and development. Definitely.

Jakker
How do you see yourself and others who currently raid connected to those who have raided in the past? What about to those who raid in the future?

Valfor
I started Nationstates actively around 2012, about 10ish years since Nationstates' creation. I did not know a relatively complete history of those who came before me until I read Onder Kelkia's speech/lecture at the Nationstates Grand Exhibition on Imperialism: Past and Present. (If you haven't read it, I highly suggest you do. It is a great read!)

What captivated me and got my attention is that I currently hold a position in which some very important people have held in the past. When I read that, I was in awe, but also humbled that I get to serve in such a capacity. It just put things into perspective for me, that these are quite large shoes to fill. By virtue of the position I hold, I am connected to those individuals throughout Nationstates History. Everything they did, everything they accomplished, has allowed me to be where I am today. I am in a long line of NS history that was unbeknownst to me before. I'm definitely lucky and grateful to have served in these capacities.

As for the future, I hope someone 10 years from now could perhaps say the same thing about me. In the meantime, we will continue our cause. We will continue to develop new ideas, new methods, and new friendships. Fight on.

Jakker
How do you think the varying individual actions of those who raid impact the larger raiding community?

Valfor
Each individual action is like a blip on a radar. One small blip probably won't mean much. However, it is the sum of all those individual blips that can and do make a difference. So while trying to decide whether to raid region ABC or region XYZ won't mean much, what matters is that you actually do, and have fun doing it. Then go raid region 123 while you're at it! Keep going!

---

Why We Raid: Analysis of the Motivations Behind Raiding - Varax Zwei

Jakker
What do you see as the why behind raiding? What are the various elements that motivate people to raid?

Varax
When I think about the motivations for raiding in general on NationStates, a lot goes back to the fact the game otherwise lacks an in game military mechanic. In lieu of this reality players have taken to utilizing the power of the delegate to organize invasions of regions under the banner of various orgs or simply as gameplayers seeing themselves as having no real home region. Many new players come into the game interesting engaging in a military option, as most of us play other games were such options are common. It is easy for raider organizations to engage with these players by then offering them that option. Upon engaging in raiding many find that they come to enjoy the communities that have developed around this aspect of the gameplay meta. Raiding is inherently an activity that requires strong teamwork to succeed. This team-building amongst raiders fosters strong comradery and a sense of belonging amongst the community. In fact, if one were to ask members of established raider organizations these days what is the aspect they like the most about were they are they would say the community itself. Additionally, raiding allows players to enjoy the game in new ways they might not have otherwise, and encourages players to compete and strive as they utilize the gameplay mechanics in different ways.

Jakker
What are your reasons for raiding?

Varax
Let me first say that when I came to NationStates for the first time back in 2004, I was certainly not a raider. Nor really the second time I returned to the game in 2007. At first my interest in NS was mostly on nation building, and regional politics plus roleplaying my nation around the concept I developed for it, as is the case with so many especially when they first start out. While I enjoyed that aspect well enough for a while, it wasn’t enough to hold my attention to the game, and I noticed a similar pattern amongst many of the others in the regions I was in back in those, leading to those regions falling into inactivity as a whole. So, upon looking into other regions in the game I became increasingly interested in additional ways to engage with and play the game, which led to my interest in raiding.

In 2015 when a group I was in made another attempt at a region called PoFostan, it became my intention to guide it away from the errors of the past regions I was in as well as to give the players there a way to enjoy the game and prevent it from falling into activity, plus grow and develop the region into something we could take some measure of pride in. So, I looked to raiding as a way to provide some of things, as well as to foster a greater understanding of the gameplay mechanics (such as why having a non-executive founder was a mistake that made the region vulnerable, etc.). During the next several months a few raids were organized and it did indeed bring the activity and enjoyment I had hoped for. Alas with that group, infighting and political partisanship reigned, which once again led the region to fall into disarray. I decided to leave them to their devices as I had become increasingly interested in some of the activities of the major raider organizations of the time, and remarked at they were able to utilize the games mechanics in such a way that they could have such a large impact across such a great many regions. Thus, I began raiding and working with communities centered around it as my primary interest in NS; instantly feeling happier than I ever had before playing the game and eager to learn what I could about it.

Jakker
How have your own motivations within military affairs changed over the years? What aspects keep you active and engaged with it?

Varax
When I first became active with military affairs it began as a curiosity, which quickly became something I desired to be more involved in as I realized it was the most enjoyable aspect of NS I had engaged in thus far. I quickly discovered with PoFostan that I enjoyed leading raids, and the planning aspect of them. Then when I moved on to other organizations I wanted to learn all I could from those with experience, and explore the different aspects of raiding. I enjoyed that with raiding, I could set goals with myself (for example, a certain region I wanted to raid, or hitting a certain number of targets, etc.) and then meeting or exceeding those goals. I also became interested more in building things from a systemic organization perspective, with military affairs as the centerpiece. As someone who enjoys playing a lot of strategy games, I felt like planning and executing raids and systemic region building made NS feel like a grand strategy game that I could actively play with my friends.

After the Predator scandal I nearly left NS entirely, but was drawn back when I was remained of the friendships I had built along the way. Now my motivations within military affairs upon my recent return is again setting goals for myself and the organizations I’m in as part of a larger strategic challenge, but also building those connections with the other players here, and enjoying those friendships.

Jakker
At the end of the day, NS can be simplified to a browser game and raiding simplified to just pressing buttons. What is the value in adding more depth to that whether that is with politics or ideologies? How do these added layers sustain raiding as a practice?

Varax
One could simplify almost any electronic game as being “x genre of game about pressing buttons”. Yet, we ascribe more value to our time here then the simple rote mechanics behind a game, and in that respect, raiding allows one to explore the mechanics of NationStates in a variety of creative ways. But beyond that NS is inherently a group based game, with a lot of ways for groups and individuals to express themselves politically. Over the years so many different regions and organizations have engaged in what can be considered raiding for a variety of purposes, and the variety there has helped raiding grow in different ways.

Jakker
Raiding is often portrayed as a tool for destruction. What do you think about this? How has raiding served as a tool for progress and development?

Varax
Raiding is rarely destructive, rather it is in itself inherently activity building. Raiding is an event basically, when a raid occurs it draws attention to the regions and organizations involved. This attention and the fun a raid can bring spurs activity and involvement in the game. In addition, with respect to raiding as a tool for progress and development, raiders are often at the forefront of understanding different way to utilize the game mechanics. Along the way, other regions including those who are raided themselves and use it as an opportunity to learn more about how the game is played, and interact with more players. When raiders for instance post their reports they often link to the various regions involved, many of which might not have gotten that attention otherwise, which can increase awareness of those regions. In addition, different regions can organize themselves around such activities increasing operational effectiveness and a sense of cohesion.

Jakker
How do you see yourself and others who currently raid connected to those who have raided in the past? What about to those who raid in the future?

Varax
Raiding is something that has been around almost as long as NS itself, which is now a game that has been around for quite a number of years. We are now in position where you have people playing it who are younger than the game itself. Raiding is something that has evolved considerably over the course of that time, both out of necessity as changes have been made to the game, and due to numerous innovations and gains in understanding the mechanics and possibilities we can achieve as raiders. In that way, those of us who raid now intrinsically raid with the knowledge and experience that was passed down by those who raided in the past, we all owe our achievements now to those who came before us. Similar those who raid in the future will benefit from what we develop and strive for now.

Jakker
How do you think the varying individual actions of those who raid impact the larger raiding community?

Varax
Every individual within the larger raider community impacts that community in some respect. The raider community would be nothing without the endorsements of individual players, or their ability to plan and execute. Individuals also inform the culture of the raider community and that culture can and has changed over time, as well as how we interact with each other and the larger NS community as a whole. Especially in terms of raiding, a few individuals can have a disproportionately large impact on the community as a whole. It is up to each of us to decide what we want to and can bring to the community, whether it is in terms of joining or leading raids, the plans we set for ourselves and our communities or the way we engage with one another. If you’re interested with getting involved in the raider community, my advice would be “don’t be afraid to put yourself out there”. Don’t be afraid to set goals and believe in yourself and your ability to make a difference, because from my experience a determined individual can make quite a big difference. For instance, if you come in with a goal to achieve certain objectives and hit those goals, you can inspire others and lead by example. With the way raiders utilize the mechanics the possibility exists for a few determined individuals to have a large impact in the larger community.

[Platitude dispensers]

How do i become a Raidr?e

[Jakker]

Here is the recording of the podcast from Day 1! If the file does not play, it should work once you download it. Let me know if there are any issues. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IJuTiX ... sp=sharing

[Jakker]

Day 2 of RaiderCon 2020 is here! July 2nd is The Black Hawks' birthday and a main reason why RaiderCon was started. Happy 15 years, TBH!

Below are the interviews for What Makes a "Good" Villain? with Ever-Wandering Souls, Santheres, Scardino, and Sedgistan. You can also find the interviews in this dispatch here: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1398638

Also in honor of today's special day, we also have extra content: an interview with Sorenity2 who along with Red Back, helped to refound TBH in 2007.

Stayed tuned for later today for a podcast that discusses these topics further. It will be recorded and shared later. Also make sure to check out the podcast and interviews from yesterday. Enjoy and happy RaiderCon!

---

What Makes a "Good" Villain? - Ever-Wandering Souls

Dakota
A major aspect of raiding seems to be playing the role of the villain or antagonist in NationStates. This role can play out like a story or narrative. Where do you see this fitting into raiding and why is it important?

Souls
I think it can be very important to embrace some of these aspects of villainhood! Essential even. It's good to be the bad guy. But TBH at least also finds it essential to not be bad guys (with credit to Wreck-It Ralph) - to keep it as a mantle that's put on, and then taken off at the end of the day. Be shameless, and more than that, play up your role as a villain!

Dakota
What does it take to be regarded as a player with a salient villain identity?

Souls
I'm either the best or worst person to ask this of. I doubt many natives know my name, because I'm not very prominent on ops anymore, and natives don't seem to find the GP thread that often anymore. GP - but some of that is just my role as designated "heel" (to borrow a wrestling term this time) of TBH. Can I return this one to the crowd?

Dakota
When you were starting out in raiding, who did you look up to that developed a strong villain persona?

Souls
Well, I started GP following more of a Hero persona. A grey knight, to be specific. But I suppose I did move towards raiding with the Brotherhood of Malice. If you can't tell by the name, they certainly played up the evil aspect. So, credit to Venico?

I was a noob though. The name was kinda as evil as it got, in the end :stuck_out_tongue: What did you do to play the role of villain and how did you incorporate ideas from raiders before you? I kinda hit this earlier, but the most I've actively sought the role of villain personally has really been in some of the more RP heavy reports I've written. Then, it's simple - write a story that showcases your side as somewhere between "villain" and "antihero." This was driven a lot by my time in Sicarius, where we strove as a region to write all reports in themed regional RP.

There weren't a whole lot of active RP reporting folks at that time that I recall, so I'm not sure I could name someone.
They certainly may have existed! This also might be a better question for someone of a younger era. I was largely self-grown and grown among my small group of friends and peers, in an era of mechanical tagging.

Dakota
You've been both a roleplayer and a raider in your time on NS. Has your roleplaying experience helped you in coming up with a villain narrative?

Souls
I got ahead of myself! So yeah, back when I led more raids, I had a real passion for writing at least self-contained short fiction incorporating elements of the raid into my reports. It was as much to keep things interesting and enjoyable for me as for anything else, but it certainly helped build a villain narrative, and it did come from my background in RP - though, back there, I was firmly on the hero side of things, and as I said, that's even where I joined RP.

Dakota
What effect do you think not having a strong villain persona has on raiding? Have you seen periods when that has been the case and what does it take to change it?

Souls
I think having one helps with PR, notable name recognition, as well as to attract...both some cool people, and some less so, lol. But I also think it helps within any region to have an identity, to feel cool, and to embrace what you're doing. Black clothes, bad deeds, sinful smiles...come on, who doesn't want that? So, on the converse, when you stray too far away from it, well, it's easy to be too nice in raids, confuse your own region, and lose your element of cool. Then you've got to decide to be suave and evil all over again, and that's work.

Dakota
Do you have any final thoughts on raiding and the role of being the villain?

Souls
Be different kinds of villains. Have a theme. Play it up. Brainstorm/create a big stack of ideas when you're in the right mood, so that you're not always trying to do it on the spot. Incorporate the events of the night into your story. Know your boundaries, stay cool while being cool. That's all I've got.

---

What Makes a "Good" Villain? - Santheres

Dakota
How does a role-player develop a believable story? Essentially, what sets apart a developed and respected role play?

Santheres
The main thing is in the question: is the scenario created believable. A lot of people talk about realism, and that word throws people off thinking that things need to match the real world. They don't; not at all. They should, however, maintain an internal consistency in which someone can easily identify how they as a person could fit into the world, how the characters involved do, and how a given scenario could arise.

Creativity is great, obviously, but when it's inconsistent, it's hard for someone to understand how the world of the story works. People like their assumptions to be challenged, but they do not like it when it's impossible to see what's coming because everything is random. There should be rhyming and reasoning to everything.

Dakota
How do those factors translate when a role-player wants to play the role of a villain either as a nation or individual?

Santheres
That villain came from somewhere. They didn't spring from a volcano lair. That villain also has a life and goals and dreams. They most likely think they're doing what's right - even if what's right is just what's good for them in particular. They have some kind of belief system, and the majority are unlikely to have goals that also cause them to lose everything.

Dakota
Who are some current or past players that role play as villains or the "bad side" well and what about their style is notable?

Santheres
I don't particularly enjoy these types of questions because I find an abnormal number of players in this position end up with a cult of personality around them and descend a bit too far into their characters. Spotlighting them tends to be less than ideal. The majority of players I know who have attempted to be "the villain" have tried too hard and placed vastly more value on being the villain than on having fun and *others* having fun. And like power creep in an MMO, they edged themselves further and further into a level of evil that wasn't believable anymore just because they constantly felt the need to one-up themselves.

So I suppose we can use this to indicate what a notably good style would entail. Don't take it seriously; remember it is a game. Remember that you are not the character (or nation). Set lines that the villain doesn't cross and be consistent about them - if forced into a situation where the line is crossed, there should be internal consequences for doing so.

Dakota
A major aspect of raiding seems to be playing the role of the villain or antagonist in NationStates. This role can play out like a story or narrative. Where do you see this fitting into raiding and why might it be important?

Santheres
Whether deserved or not, it does seem like raiders are often seen as "the villains" across the site. As an outsider, it seems like you have two real options here given that reputation: either fight it (though I suspect it's an uphill battle) or play with it. Or I suppose just let it be, but that's neither helpful for image nor as fun as it could be.

Dakota
How do you think those approaches in role-play you mentioned translate to gameplay and raiding specifically?

Santheres
If you play with it, then at least you're creating good stories for yourselves and others. If you play with it, then you're also (hopefully) taking yourself less seriously; and if you're taking it less seriously then so will others. This is a good thing if you want to be able to have fun and not be painted as heinously immoral. If I'm not taking you seriously because we all know it's just a game, then I'm less likely to get mad when things happen.

I assume this is helpful, though I'm too much of an outsider to know for sure. It does seem like, at the very least, it'd be useful for defenders to not take you seriously, though, even if they still think you're immoral. There might be a chance it makes them overconfident if they take *themselves* too seriously. Worst case scenario, though, you're adding some extra fun to the game for both yourself and others.

---

What Makes a "Good" Villain? - Scardino

Dakota
A major aspect of raiding seems to be playing the role of the villain or antagonist in NationStates. This role can play out like a story or narrative. Where do you see this fitting into raiding and why is it important?

Scardino
It certainly seems to be the most logical role. NS Antifa tries to be the hero while raiding and they have had some success at that. The Black Hawks played some sort of hero role in their battle against NPO and got the NPO to abandon members and cultural elements. There was also the red phone thing which went against that hero role but I think the takeaway there is that TBH is not making a concerted effort to be the hero or the villain. LWU has probably been pretty consistent on the villain side of things but I dare say our actions in the North bordered on altruistic. Lazarus and the East can be up for interpretation. We did and do battle against Nazis. All that being what it is, LWU going by its own code of ethics, one not formed by popular opinion, has demonstrated that you can be a villain without being bad.

Dakota
When you were starting out in raiding, who did you look up to that had a strong villain persona and why?

Scardino
When I was first getting started in March of 2005, what influenced me the most was spawning in The Pacific and witnessing the reign of Unlimited. In the face of outrage over Francos Spain and his actions, Unlimited created a cult of personality around him and embraced the notoriety. When I started Lone Wolves United, I borrowed cultural elements from Unlimited and the early NPO was an inspiration for the attitude and ethos with which Lone Wolves United would approach raiding.

As far as raiders before me, I can't say that any of them influenced us at all beyond serving as examples of what not to do and there was no coherent villain role being developed. Raiders were seen as villains but simply as a byproduct of the mechanics of crashing regions. The Invaders, for example, seemed to consciously reject the idea that they were villains and their diplomatic excellence and cool nature had an influence on myself and Evil Wolf, even as we took a different approach.

Dakota
What have you done to play the role of villain and how did you incorporate ideas from raiders before you?

Scardino
Playing the role of a villain has been for me not so much a deliberate choice as a role that I'm perfectly fine with. In a meta-game where you have heroes competing against heroes to see who can be the most notable knight in shining armor, that alone puts more tools in your toolbox. Being willing to do things that won't be popular can be liberating, if you'll pardon the term. At the same time, there are plenty of people who try entirely too hard to be a villain and they usually end up being annoying to work with and disappear with a DOS or simply fading into irrelevance.

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that there is little sense in charging ahead and pursuing the villain role like a desperate lover. It's a role that I think the best crashers are simply open to.

---

What Makes a "Good" Villain? - Sedgistan

Jakker
A major aspect of raiding seems to be playing the role of the villain or antagonist in NationStates. This role can play out like a story or narrative. Where do you see this fitting into raiding and why is it important?

Sedgistan
Well first off, invaders are the bad guys. And that’s good for the game. There’s no two ways about it, taking over other peoples’ regions is a “bad” thing to do. I’m not saying there aren’t arguments to be made otherwise (that it generates activity, or that some regions deserve to be burned to the ground) - and a key part of being the “bad guy” is using propaganda to claim you’re not. But the basic act of invading is the act of the villains of NationStates.

That’s a good thing because it allows a clear in-game moral (or ideological) division between players, which is what motivates people to care and take action. Having a narrative or overarching goal of some sort behind invading makes it more compelling and engaging. The imperialist sphere has done this well in the past - their interest is expanding their own power has always been backed up by effective propaganda. But even more conventional “invade for the sake of invading” groups need to play the villain well - both in how they interact with their victims, defenders, and the wider world for example in raid reports, to make their actions relevant and interesting.

Jakker
What does it take to be regarded as a player with a salient villain identity?

Sedgistan
Consistency. It’s no good flip-flopping between positions if you want to convince as a villain. Also creativity matters. Every so often we hear people moaning that NationStates is so boring, everything has been done before, why do people keep playing? Then TBH go and raid the cards market. There are always new opportunities to play the villain, but it takes some imagination to find those.

Jakker
How can someone play this role of a villain while still being respected and well-regarded in the game?

Sedgistan
That mainly comes down to the OOC/IC split. If you behave decently out of character (or don’t break character - e.g. Onder) then a talented player will get respect - even if it’s the grudging respect of a foe. Also, more from an in character perspective, a villain doesn’t have to be everyone’s villain. There are always more villains to ally and work with, and if you stick with them, you can retain their regard in-game.

Jakker
What have you done to play the role of villain and how did you incorporate ideas from raiders or players before you?

Sedgistan
Not much, really, as I was generally on the other side. The one exception was as Devonitians when couping the South Pacific. However, that was largely unplanned, and I initially tried to play the good guy (“bringing democracy to the natives ignored by the forum elites”) before descending into a manic tinpot dictator suppressing and ejecting left, right and centre. There’s a hell of a lot I could have done better, for a start having an idea what I would do when I took the delegacy, and sticking with that. I’m afraid I wasn’t much of a villain.

Jakker
What importance do you think raiding has in the game? What would the game be without it?

Sedgistan
That’s two big questions there. I’ll answer the second one first. NationStates would be completely different without invading. Either the mechanics would be gone (delegacies), which would make for a stale game, or mods would have to enforce rules against invading (a nightmare). Also, so many fundamental game mechanics came about as a response to invading - founders, ejection/banning, regional officers, the Security Council. Regional gameplaying would be pretty bad.

I’ve kind of answered the first question there too. I’ll add that while there may not proportionally be many people directly involved in invading, the mere prospect of being invaded drives much of regional politics, as regions organise themselves to stay active and secure.

On a personal level, my first NS region was an irrelevant backwater of around 50 nations that very quickly became founderless. I was the WA Delegate and found out about invading early on. It's what motivated me to take charge there, secure the region, and eventually look beyond its borders for outside allies and defenders to help keep us safe; then when I was in a position to I went out to help other regions that were threatened by invasion. Without the threat of invading driving me to do more in-game, I doubt I would have stuck around.

[Jakker]

TBH Birthday Interview - Sorenity2

Dakota
Since you joined in 2005, a lot of us weren’t around when you were joining raiding. What got you involved in raiding and what did a training raid look like?

Sorenity2
Well, at first, I joined with a couple of my friends who heard about it, and we saw a way to run a nation as we wanted. Not to mention to pass off some time and what not during classes whenever we had access to a computer, as well as at home to stay connected since, well, a Cell Phone was a big deal back then, and didn’t have access to the internet like they do now a days. So, everything that was done on NationStates was either on a School Computer, or a home Computer with, dare I say it, Dial-Up internet. Those were the days.

What got me into raiding was actually a recruitment message once I started getting more involved into actually playing. I heard of The Black Hawks and decided to join up with them and start from the bottom and work my way up. What really got me involved were the other like-minded members who became connected in a cyber world that was just starting to evolve and friendships, as well as companionship was starting to form. We had forums with games, skype, etc to communicate when we were able too, as well as opened our eyes from our little small towns to such a big world that was starting to form!

Now that we talked how I got involved, along with how things were back in that time, we can start talking about some of the raiding side of things. Raiding, was honestly, something to keep the game from being to monotonous. Yeah, you had your nation, you had your region, you had a forum, but, what else was there? Nothing. Someone needed to pick up a mantle and figure out a way to be able to keep the game going by also keeping it fresh and everyone on their toes, so-to-speak. That freshness, that is what I wanted to be apart of, the unknown with all the other elements, that is what got me involved in raiding.

As for training raids, well, after opening up to a whole new world evolving around cyberspace along with meeting so many people, we had lots of challenges that awaited us. The biggest and main challenge were all the different time zones that everyone resided in, along with trying to find time, for everyone, to be able, to have access to a computer, at a specific planned time. We all had day lives, we all had other things going on. Think back with LAN (Local Area Network) parties, before the internet, you Old Farts reading this know what I’m talking about, where in order to play a game, you needed a link cable that connected everyone together. The internet was slowly coming around in the 2000’s so we had other ways of entertainment. From finding a friend who had a big house, to everyone figuring out who all needs to bring a TV, who is in charge of snacks, who is in charge of the consoles, and do we have a port big enough to have 4 cables connected so that we could all play Halo in a living room on 4 TV’s with pizza being delivered soon, and then a sleepover. See, just planning something was a hurdle to overcome and with the forums, skype chats, etc, we were able to overcome and figure out a time that everyone would be available on a computer to conduct a training raid, and those that could not make it, well, we had another one for those instead.

Nowadays, having access to the internet, and on a cell phone at that, just fingertips away, makes back then look so distant, when really, it’s only been 15 years ago. Society is growing so exponentially fast that people are just not accustomed to how things used to be nor how difficult it really was just a short time in the past. Those challenges and hurtles are what brought us to where everyone is now. So, a training raid wasn’t too many people, maybe from 5 to 7 at one time if we were lucky.

Dakota
What were some motivations or common raiding motivations for raiding that you saw in 00’s?

Sorenity2
Shoot, I talked so much earlier, I forgot about the other questions. Apologies and I’ll try to keep the rest short and sweet. Some motivations for raiding was basically to keep things fresh in a sense. There was a sense of comradery that was formed around it. Whether it was linking with other raiders to help them out, since numbers were so few during an update and time of availability, we all had to work together. Majority of the times, correct me if I’m wrong, Raider Regions, rarely, did raids by themselves. We all opened up to others, communicated with others, alliances were formed, we were not in this alone, but in it together. The mere fact of trying to plan the 1 extra UN endorsement needed to succeed all depended on trying to out number the defenders if they were ever alerted about the raid, not to mention on how many people said they were going to be available at the update. Working together was key during those days and only being able to have one nation registered in the UN, as well in order to get an email notification for UN acceptance you had to wait a long time in order to receive it. Acceptance emails were not instant at all. Everything was about numbers, patience, and timing.

Dakota
Last year you were inducted into the Raider Hall of Fame (belated congrats!), with your work in “countless intelligence operations” being mentioned. How did you get into intel operations and who trained you?

Sorenity2
Thank you very much, greatly. So, with intel operations, in the beginning people will fail, the biggest take in doing or conducting them, is merely, having fun and being involved. Our training was from learning about our failures, or other failures, and merely training ourselves. I was involved with talking to Halcones before as well, along with Red Back and a lot of other key figures. Honestly, back to what I mentioned earlier about everything being numbers, patience, and timing. Infiltrating was a lot like raiding during that time frame and one either took a few days, a week, or shoot, TNP was a year, two years? Lol. It’s all about waiting for the right time, learning about all you can, seeing what everyone schedules are, working through, then once learned, relaying the information across, to see if we would be able to have the numbers to accomplish, or if we would have to keep waiting for another time.

Dakota
Your most well known infiltration is The North Pacific as Galapagos Isle, but what’s another intel/infiltration operation that you wish more people knew about?

Sorenity2
Well shoot, down and dirty, hmmm, I honestly think TNP was the biggest one. The others were mainly for sleeper nations that required little effort, due to inactivity of the region members etc. A lot of my time was spent with what did have activity, and that was TNP during the time. I would’ve loved to finish other things out during that time but I had to slowly pop off and become inactive as well due to joining the military and IRL just taking precedence. I did however do my best to keep some appearances throughout the years checking in and seeing how everyone was doing. Though these past, 7 or 8 years, life kinda just took over. Lol. That being said, this nicely allows me to segue into the next question perfectly.

Dakota
And the final few questions is since coming back to the Black Hawks, what’s been some of the biggest changes you’ve noticed and what’s been your favorite thing about TBH since coming back? What’s something from old TBH you miss the most?

Sorenity2
Since coming back, after such a long time, Penny 2.0 Bot was the biggest change, she is soooo polite. LMAO! Seriously though, the biggest change was tag raiding and seeing how raiding in a sense is more streamlined. Everything is literally instant now-a-days. From one region to the next, the email notifications, conversations, etc, just makes everything so “sweeeeet”!

Honestly, seeing the progression from a dial-up and patient standpoint, to an instant era, where the ability is there literally anywhere in the world, just from your fingertips on a little device that is carried with everyone just about, is literally the biggest change. Progression, all we do and ever do, is to progress. We can honestly all live in the past, but that will only ever get us to a place slowly. Whereas you can learn from the past, and then progress further by utilizing the information and streamlining it out to everyone instantly to accomplish your goal or goals. If there is something to learn from the past, its comradery, friendship, companionship. It’s being able to communicate clearly and know that no matter what you do, your family (does not need to be blood, for me, it includes everyone in The Black Hawks), will always be there to help you out.

So, after 7 to 8 years of not being on NationStates, and then randomly popping on a few months ago for nostalgia, to see how the game is, and see what is up, just to randomly see The Black Hawks region was still around, to joining their discord, to Red Back helping me through resetting my account on the forum because I’m an idiot, to literally each and every one of you, reading this along with the other interviews, to Jakker and his team putting RaiderCon together, and everyone helping out keeping it going and growing, to know no matter what, people, friends, family, are all here for you. Talking to everyone as if it was yesterday or the day before, like nothing ever happened, nor 8 of inactivity ever happened. Thank you to everyone for everything and keeping raiding, comradery, friendship alive along with the Game. Connecting all across the world instantly, damn, if my past self would’ve known that was ever possible 20 years ago. Lol

Oh, that’s right, something I missed from the old TBH, hmm, well, nothing. The warm welcomes, the family was still all there, still dysfunctional, oddly weird pinned messages on discords, and a lot of new names with people enjoying themselves, just as if nothing had ever changed. I’m a little sentimental, do not judge.

Very Respectfully,
Sorenity2

[Numero Capitan]

Ahh I'm glad you did an interview with Sorenity2!

The villain conversation is interesting. There seems to be a trend towards every raider region wanting to be the silliest, funnest group and claim that their activities are 'good' for the game or neutral, the NPO suddenly wants everyone to like them (and ally with them?), and some of the usual antagonists seem to be taking more of a backseat these days.

There is a serious risk that the biggest IC villain in the game could be Tim's ego.

[Jakker]

Here is the podcast recording of today's topic. There was a lot of interesting discussion in the VC afterwards and some disagreement about whether raiding is or should be considered as playing the villain role.

Check out the podcast here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LFcnDm ... sp=sharing

[Jakker]

Training and Integration of New Raiders - A Bloodred Moon (Jo)

Jakker
I think one of the hardest things to do is to not only recruit new players to a region, but to then to get them involved in activities like the discord, leadership positions, and raiding. What is your philosophy with new players? Do you see them as an important aspect to prioritize? A necessary part of the game to sustain the region? Or a burden?

Jo
If you want your region to grow and take an important place in NS? Yes, you need new players. No one plays the game forever, and you need new players to bring new blood into the region. When the rest of us are all in our armchairs, the new players will take the reins. New players need to be brought in, taught how to play and find their place among the existing community. LWU has existed for a long time, and that is because new players come along and take over leadership from the existing old guard. The periods LWU has spent inactive have almost always been caused by an inadequate supply of ambitious new people.

Jakker
Another challenge with new players is that they may require a lot of patience or may not be who they say they are. How do you balance creating a welcoming environment while also trying to protect the region?

Jo
I'd of course rather not reveal our security works, so I'll keep this fairly basic: we can bring up the patience. The question is if the recruits can bring up the patience and don't decide halfway through that it's too complicated and quit.

As for people not being who they say they are, alts always slip up. LWU's raids usually don't involve large groups of people, so if defenders seem to inexplicably know our target we have a small pool of suspects. It's also worth not immediately banning spies - find them and put them to work, but keep them from important things. Banning them will mean they will be sneaking in other alts, ones you might not catch. Do you suspect someone of being a spy but you aren't sure? Keep an eye on them, but don't treat them any different than otherwise - if they're genuine players, that'd be unjust and a waste of good new players, if they are a spy they'll know something's up.

That said, do evaluate what you can and can't afford to leak

Jakker
What strategies (on-site or off-site) does your region take to help players make that transition of actively getting involved in your region? Are these strategies similar or different if the new player is already established in the game versus a totally new person?

Jo
We try to keep on-site only nations involved through telegrams. I think discord has made the part of getting people more involved somewhat easier - a lot of people have discord accounts. Once they join the discord, you welcome them, get them to apply on the forums, and generally make them feel welcome in the community. It's a good idea to reach out in private, I've found, and answer their questions. People that are experienced and come to LWU still require training - we want to know what they know and what they don't, what they're good at and not, as well as introduce them to our way of raiding, which might differ from the organisation they came from. Generally totally new players require more time to train, but should established players have any questions we invite them to ask.

Jakker
How do your regions approach times when there are spikes in new nations like the most recent Drew Boom?

Jo
Usually only a small percentage of those people stick around. Still, it is worth seeing if you can get the good ones out of it. There are most certainly people who stick around, you just need to filter them out from the ones that don't. We got some good people out of the Drew boom specifically - Jasper, Mirecek, Quotes-and-asks come to mind - who did stick around and raid with us. Piler numbers also largely increased because of the Drew Boom, so overall I think it is worth recruiting during these booms.

Jakker
What do you think is the role of a region's community in the integration of new members?

Jo
I think the community should do it's very best in making the new players feel welcome.

Jakker
Are there any specific philosophies, mindsets, or perspectives that you want or try to instill in new members that will help them understand raiding or gameplay culture?

Jo
This is something I have recently been looking into. I do want new members to learn about raiding culture, ideology and history. LWU is a raider organisation, and should therefore have close ties to raiding culture and ideology in general while simultaneously maintaining its own identity.

Jakker
Do you have any best practices to share about training new members, specifically with military affairs?

Jo
Reach out to them in private. Be nice and be patient, and you'll get there. Far from every person ends up sticking around, but do make an effort to keep everyone around. Patiently run them through the training process.

Jakker
Any other thoughts or advice that you have for regions trying to retain new members?

Jo
Yes, actually. Once the new people pass the initial training, try to draw them in - let them serve as RO early on, unless you're on a particularly important operation. Get the promising ones to lead raids, and encourage them to get more involved in raiding.

---

Training and Integration of New Raiders - Altino

Jakker
I think one of the hardest things to do is to not only recruit new players to a region, but to then to get them involved in activities like the discord, leadership positions, and raiding. What is your philosophy with new players? Do you see them as an important aspect to prioritize? A necessary part of the game to sustain the region? Or a burden?

Altino
I love new players. I invest a lot of time in new players and making sure that they love me too. New blood is an exciting experience for a region all around, from older players who have a new direction to place their hope when they see potential to the new players themselves who are always brimming with ideas (even if they're sometimes terrible) and energy. In Karma, we make an effort to personally reach out to every nation that joins the region. As they take more steps toward settling in (like joining the WA, joining discord, asking questions, getting started in a department) we offer them progressively more of our attention and effort. Not every nation is going to stick around, and we don't waste our time badgering people who will obviously CTE or who are obviously not going to be focused enough to do much. But the region as a whole is designed to reach out to young players, find talent among them, and push them toward learning how to play the game. The act of training our noobs alone sustains a lot of the activity in Karma. We thrive not just on the fact that new blood exists, but on being able to see where they shine and help them find where they work the best. I really feel like Karma would be a bleak place without that venture.

Jakker
Another challenge with new players is that they may require a lot of patience or may not be who they say they are. How do you balance creating a welcoming environment while also trying to protect the region?

Altino
Karma's "getting to know you" process is extensive. Because we work so hard to help people find their place in the region, our welcoming process includes a lot of questions. New nations love to be able to talk about themselves, but I have had alts come in and confess after a while because they were getting so much attention they thought they must have already been found out. We train our welcoming committee to never accost anyone and always be polite, but to look out for people who do certain things or act certain ways, and to always report anything that seems suspicious to an admin. This way they can maintain friendliness without having to worry about the big details while a separate team can work on security. Nations who seem like they will stick around are assigned a mentor by our welcoming committee who will get to know them a little better on a one-on-one level and have a better chance at catching anything weird. Mixing a little security training in for our welcoming committee helps keep them friendly, informative, and watchful. They're our front line in pretty much every sense of the word. That comes with it's own pitfalls, like they can become oversuspicious at times. But for the most part it works to catch small suspicious pings so that admins only have to deal with real issues.

Jakker
What strategies (on-site or off-site) does your region take to help players make that transition of actively getting involved in your region? Are these strategies similar or different if the new player is already established in the game versus a totally new person?

Altino
Every nation in Karma is free to join government departments, the military, the newspaper, etc and work in them without signing up for citizenship or jumping through any hoops. If you're here, you're allowed to jump in. This means for us that every nation has the same opportunity to get involved. However, noobs don't want to just get involved. Noobs want to rule the world. Karma has an elevated citizenship that act as our "elite" players. Really they're just our most active players, but only the people who have this elevated citizenship can join our legislature, serve in our judiciary, or hold executive office. Entering the region you know that if you want to rule the world, you need to get elevated citizenship. The catch is that to apply for elevated citizenship you have to get someone holding government office to sponsor you. The easiest way to do this is to just join a department and work there, so noobs are encouraged to join up so that they can achieve their dreams of being in charge. Silly but simple.

Jakker
How do your regions approach times when there are spikes in new nations like the most recent Drew Boom?

Altino
We stop recruiting and wait for them to go away. >.> This is a personal quirk. I don't have any excuse for it, I just don't like cashing in on booms. In the future my plan is to just manually recruit through them and let the kids catch whoever they're able to with their own two hands. But I don't like the whole double in population within a week deal. That's not very organic and extremely impermanent.

Jakker
What do you think is the role of a region's community in the integration of new members?

Altino
Super, super vital. Ultimately if you're not cool and you're not fun, people don't want to stick around. People need to feel like they're part of something.

Jakker
Are there any specific philosophies, mindsets, or perspectives that you want or try to instill in new members that will help them understand raiding or gameplay culture?

Altino
:>
Meritocracy.
No, I'm serious, though. I am not here to invest my time in just anybody who will listen to me talk. I'm here to grow players who are good at what they do. I specifically foster the idea that you have to work for whatever it is that you're after, and my people don't let me down. If they want something badly enough then they make it happen. Coddled and cowardly players are just not gonna do anything for us in this game. We need players who are brave, who've learned to stand their ground, who have goals, and who know how to make their goals happen. You get those players by teaching them that it's okay to dig in your heels and play smart. Meritocracy will save your region, y'all.

Jakker
Do you have any best practices to share about training new members, specifically with military affairs?

Altino
A first raid is pretty scary. My most effective tool in training noobs during raids has been to have someone present who is not jumping or triggering. This person is only there to guide recruits, answer questions, and reassure them when they start to get stressed out. Their entire focus during the op will be to make sure that all recruits leave this experience feeling at ease - preferably excited. This makes it easier to focus on slower learners without breaking the whole raid down. Also I like to train people in small groups. Training people together and having them work together as a unit builds a comradery between them and creates an accountability that keeps them involved.

Jakker
Any other thoughts or advice that you have for regions trying to retain new members?

Altino
Really I guess just be patient. New players need a lot of direction, and you have to be attentive to what their individual needs are. If you can make them feel like they are a part of something good and keep a community that is easy to fall in love with, you can pretty much do whatever you want.

---

Training and Integration of New Raiders - Miss Bad Life Choices (Dakota)

Jakker
I think one of the hardest things to do is to not only recruit new players to a region, but to then to get them involved in activities like the discord, leadership positions, and raiding. What is your philosophy with new players? Do you see them as an important aspect to prioritize? A necessary part of the game to sustain the region? Or a burden?

Dakota
When dealing with new players, I think one of the best things you can do with retention is to help newer players figure out what success means to them and then helping them reach their goals. Once you've got a long term goal, make sure to help them get there through short term goals. Caring about their goals can go a long way with new people. As established players we all have our own goals but it's definitely important to remember the goals of the newer players. They'll often be the ones who help make your goals of that epic op or shotgun raid possible~

I definitely see new players as important to prioritize. With new players coming in a region will eventually go silent. On top of that, I think their fresh set of eyes towards GP and raiding can be invaluable at times. ^-^

Jakker
Another challenge with new players is that they may require a lot of patience or may not be who they say they are. How do you balance creating a welcoming environment while also trying to protect the region?

Dakota
Not sure I’m the best person to ask this haha. I have a bit of an iffy past when it comes to dealing with some OOC alts over the last three years and it’s led to me having some paranoia when it comes to new people (hey at least I’m honest about this =P).

That paranoia can make me hesitant when dealing with new people or people I suspect to be an alt, but I try to make sure that everyone who comes through TBH feels welcomed whether or not I suspect they’re an alt. I know with Karp I suspected him being an alt for months before we eventually caught him, and I hope that during that time he never felt unwelcomed in TBHs community by me. As far as keeping the community safe as well, it’s important to make sure you’re paying attention to who comes and goes through your region. Keeping good documentation of things can help too ^-^

Jakker
What strategies (on-site or off-site) does your region take to help players make that transition of actively getting involved in your region? Are these strategies similar or different if the new player is already established in the game versus a totally new person?

Dakota
With TBH, new members go through a channel in our Discord #training_grounds that consist of our PVTs (our raiding noobs) and our SGTs+. With a channel like this, it lets them ask whatever questions they have about raiding and can get reliable answers from our Sergeants+. If we have an applicant with some pre-existing experience with raiding, we’ll sometimes enlist them as a Private First Class or a Corporal if they’re familiar with our community as well. They can still ask whatever questions they have though ^-^

Jakker
How do your regions approach times when there are spikes in new nations like the most recent Drew Boom?

Dakota
I wasn’t around TBH much during the Drew boom, but for the reddit boom we worked as a team to make sure we were giving our best effort with recruitment/integration. We had some people watching the RMB, some people doing the actual recruitment, and then our community is normally good at welcoming members in #public We got the wonderful Peaches from that boom~

Jakker
What do you think is the role of a region's community in the integration of new members?

Dakota
It’s an obvious answer, but being welcoming and inclusive is the role of the overall community when it comes to new players. NationStates is already a lot for noobs to take in and when you add in a tight knit community who’ve known each other for years and have their inside jokes, it can be easy to feel left out.

Jakker
Are there any specific philosophies, mindsets, or perspectives that you want or try to instill in new members that will help them understand raiding or gameplay culture?

Dakota
I remember when I was getting better involved with raiding, I was told by Jakker that raiding is a place where you can be creative. It’s hard to come up with ideas that have never been done before on a game that's been around near 18 years, but you can always add your own creative touch or personality to whatever you do on NS

Jakker
Do you have any best practices to share about training new members, specifically with military affairs?

Dakota
For total noobs - make sure that their training raid is about them ^-^ Being a noob on this game is hard. It's better to be a bit too hands on too then hands off in the beginning.

With PFCs, if they don’t get active on their own I tend to reach out after a week or so to see what I can do to help them get involved better. Whether that’s just answering any questions they have or trying to work with them to plan an update they’re available for or something else, reaching out and being a friendly face is what I’ve found works best~

Jakker
Any other thoughts or advice that you have for regions trying to retain new members?

Dakota
Don’t be afraid to reach out in dms to new people. A lot of new players can be shy talking in regional chats and won’t ask the questions they have, but if you reach out they may have some good questions. DM’ing them also offers a friendly face and lets them know they can reach out to you in dms.

---

Training and Integration of New Raiders - Rom

Jakker
I think one of the hardest things to do is to not only recruit new players to a region, but to then to get them involved in activities like the discord, leadership positions, and raiding. What is your philosophy with new players? Do you see them as an important aspect to prioritize? A necessary part of the game to sustain the region? Or a burden?

Rom
I mean in TNP there really isn't a whole lot of recruiting to the region itself, as obviously we have plenty of nations that get founded there. So the important thing for us is to not only convince the newly founded nations to stick around in TNP, but to also get them onto our forums and discord and from there have them apply for citizenship and the NPA. And once they are in the NPA, getting them to be active participants is the next big thing. As you most likely know, a lot of nations join and then go inactive after one or two operations. One way I think you can really increase participation is by simply being active. Making sure your org is actively doing things during update, and also making sure that you have a positive and engaging environment outside of update goes a long way towards player retention.

Jakker
Another challenge with new players is that they may require a lot of patience or may not be who they say they are. How do you balance creating a welcoming environment while also trying to protect the region?

Rom
That is always going to be something to look out for, especially when you have a new soldier that is showing great promise is that they could always be a spy. In TNP specifically it is something we have to watch out for is that we could have people infiltrate the region with the end goal of couping the region, and you could certainly always have someone that is wanting to do that try and join NPA and use the experience they gain from there to their advantage in other parts of the region. As for ones that need a little bit more time to train, I think it is very important to understand where they are coming from. They are new, usually very excited, and we all have been there. I think maybe simplifying how you are explaining tactics is one way you can proceed with training them.

Jakker
What strategies (on-site or off-site) does your region take to help players make that transition of actively getting involved in your region? Are these strategies similar or different if the new player is already established in the game versus a totally new person?

Rom
We send out plenty of in-game telegrams telling people about the NPA. We also routinely publish NPA reports on both the TNP forums, and also in the regional newspaper we send out to our allies, the Northern Star, in the monthly NPA Bulletin. Another thing we have is also plenty of NPA related dispatches, and also earlier this year we did the Call to Serve series where TNP Radio interviewed all of the NPA Generals. I think that was a great success as we got plenty of new recruits as a result of the Call to Serve interviews that we did.

Jakker
How do your regions approach times when there are spikes in new nations like the most recent Drew Boom?

Rom
We actually didn't get that many new recruits during the Drew Boom into the NPA. However, we had several NPA members return and get active again during that time. But outside of the NPA, we really focused on getting them involved in the TNP WADP (WA Development Program) and have them endorsing our delegate McMasterdonia and our Security Council. We were able to as a result of this smash our previous endorsement record held in TNP, and in fact had SC members that were breaking the old endorsement record as well. Outside of that, we also had several become Citizens, and become involved in TNP that way.

Jakker
What do you think is the role of a region's community in the integration of new members?

Rom
I think that the community has absolutely everything to do with retaining members, however from what I've noticed over time unfortunately, you can attract plenty of recruits despite having a toxic and generally unhealthy regional community. Examples of that are like your TBR's and DEN's of the GP world. However, having a region that is solely GP focused isn't going to be a org that lasts long term. You have to do more beyond doing just updates, whether that be having a RP community, a regional government, a community that does plenty of non-GP activity activities like board games or plays games together on like Steam or something. But ultimately yes if you want your ory to last for many years you have to offer more than just doing raiding. Also making sure your community is a healthy one is also incredibly important. You should be putting the needs and safety of your members above all else, and if you have problem individuals within your community, removing them from your org should immediately happen the moment you find out about them, no matter their IC importance to your org. I've seen so many regions fall apart because of a poor admin team, and those regions honestly deserve to fail because of incompetence on the part of a subpar admin team.

Jakker
Are there any specific philosophies, mindsets, or perspectives that you want or try to instill in new members that will help them understand raiding or gameplay culture?

Rom
One of the things that we try to instill in our soldiers right away especially in our holds is to be respectful towards the natives. The NPA has policies that we follow such as no posting on the RMB of the region we are holding, no closing of embassies, and we return the region back to its original state upon leaving. So we obviously make sure to get them to adhere to our policies in that regard. And for like philosophies, I'd say the NPA is more of a org that does what is best for us, and us being independent allows to fulfill this goal. We have the ability to protect our allies when the need comes around, participate in other liberations if we feel it is in our best interests, or do any holds we feel like with a few exceptions of course. But ultimately we do whatever we feel like, and we do a pretty good job at it.

Jakker
Do you have any best practices to share about training new members, specifically with military affairs?

Rom
In the NPA we do a lot of our training on the field during updates. It obviously makes for a good time to hone your skills during like tag runs not only for the newer players who are learning how to better themselves in areas like move times, switching, and pointing, but also the triggers themselves where they are getting that field experience so they can become a better trigger and be more relied upon when they need to trigger for your bigger raids. But outside of update, we have plenty of training guides and have experienced NPA soldiers available for any questions a newer player may have. However for the most part yes, we do the majority of our training during training operations that we conduct.

Jakker
Any other thoughts or advice that you have for regions trying to retain new members?

Rom
That you always have to be active training and recruiting for new soldiers. This is important especially in UCR's where if you become lax in recruiting or training your region suffers massively for it. Knowing how to train and recruit soldiers is especially important, and even if not all of them end up becoming your future generals of your org and end up sticking around for years, it is a very rewarding experience to be able to train and help bring up the future crop of raiding. It also is not something that is gonna happen overnight either. Everyone learns at their own pace. Me for example, I was involved in gameplay for close to six years before I ended up becoming the leader of a gameplay org. That isn't to say that I took a long time to learn the ins and outs of gameplay, but rather I just never really had the right moment or found the right org before I ended up rising up the ranks.

[Honeydewistania]

Couldn’t you put instead of :stuck_out_tongue: lol

[Jakker]

Couldn’t you put instead of :stuck_out_tongue: lol

I give you art and this is all you see!?