The Monthly Reject (Presented by TRR Media Corp.)

[Christian Democrats]

The Monthly Reject is a publication of the Rejected Realms Media Corporation.

Issue #1: October 2015
Issue #2: March 2016

You may join TRR Media Corp. on the official offsite forums of the Rejected Realms:

http://s8.zetaboards.com/The_RR_and_RRA/forum/38853/

[Christian Democrats]

THE REJECTED REALMS MEDIA CORPORATION
ISSUE #1 | OCTOBER 2015

The Delegate's Corner (By Guy)
A new publication, Regional Officers, and everything in between



Howdy, all. Firstly, I'd like to welcome you to the Rejected Realms' new publication, The Monthly Reject. Our object is to provide you with the very best of Rejects' creative output, whether it relates to NationStates news, commentary, real-life happenings, or interviews. Please take a read and enjoy, wherever your interests lie.

Our hugely successful predecessor publication, The Rejected Times, went into a slump of inactivity and eventual death with the departure of the predecessor in my role. The Times was by far the most prolific and successful media publication in NS Gameplay, and we will be sure to look to take after many of its successes.

There have also been some changes made, aimed at ensuring the highest level of quality of our output (such as through the transition to monthly editions) and at clearly delineating what stands as official TRR communication and what is simply the opinion of our members. Put simply, we have become a more community-based publication that seeks to showcase our very best. Apart from this editorial and the foreign update, the contributions to this publication are not reflective of any official stances of our government.

Undoubtedly, the biggest news in NationStates over the past few weeks has been the introduction of Regional Officers. A feature that could have much potential was thrown into immediate controversy due to one small part: the ability to give multiple nations Border Control powers in a founderless region.

Anyone with even a smidgen of understanding of the invasion game will realise that this part makes liberations all but impossible as up to 13 nations can now kick incoming liberators at an influence cost of zero. Anyone with half an eye on recent happenings in the invasion game -- or anytime in the past 3-4 years, really -- would also know that there is no longer anything resembling 'R/D'. Liberal Border Control access is not equally advantageous to raiders on the one hand and to natives and defenders on the other; rather, it creates a platform that provides for increasingly easy invasions against natives with an off-chance of defensive action being the only thing standing in the way.

The invasion game has been in need of a serious rebalancing act. Instead, it has been tilted even further toward offensive invasions with this new feature. An immediate fix is needed before the last few defenders hang their switchers. So where to now? The latest news post recognises these issues and lists some potential fixes. While there is likely to be a great divergence of opinion, it's important that this matter be resolved sooner rather than later to mitigate the abuse that we are likely to see over the coming days and, perhaps, weeks.

The potential for abuse, of course, is not limited only to invaders in founderless UCRs. Our fellow Feeders and Sinkers -- but not us, of course, as we thankfully don't have an eject button! -- are sure to pay particular attention to the effects of giving Border Control powers to multiple nations. Not only can Delegates find themselves vulnerable; but, as part of a coordinated push, the feature can also make coups almost impossible to repel. One needs look no further than to the New Lazarene Order, which would probably still be with us had ROs already been implemented, to understand the implications.

That's all from me for now. Enjoy the rest of the issue!

---

New Pacifican Leader: Never a Firm Francoist?
Christian Democrats sits down with Emperor Pierconium



CD: Hello, Emperor Pierconium, and thank you for agreeing to this interview. Would you mind, for our readers, giving a concise overview of your time in the New Pacific Order?

Pier: I joined shortly after the revolution and observed, initially as a spy on behalf of the ADN. I then joined the Praetorian Guard. I was appointed by Francos Spain as Governor of Province V in March 2004. Towards the end of the original NPO era Poskrebyshev named me as High Judge of the Pacific. When the People's Republic of the Pacific was formed, I became Senator of Justice. I then became Viceroy of the Pacific and then Emperor of the NPO after the closure of the PRP. I stepped down after some months in favor of others but have periodically returned to serve within the Pacific Senate until taking the Regent position and Emperorship earlier this year. I have served as Delegate of the Pacific three times with Pierconium and have had control of the Delegate nation two other times in the past.

CD: One of your first acts as Emperor has been to reinstitute the provincial system and appoint governors. What do you hope to accomplish by this act, and should Pacificans and the international community expect any other major reforms during your reign?

Pier: It is my hope that the provincial system will provide a more active engagement with the region as a whole and generate more activity. A feeder is very large and even the most active of them only engages a small minority on their offsite community. This is a means of more direct communication between the government and the nations of the region. Each Governor is charged with setting up his or her own system of government within the province and facilitating larger interaction between nations that is difficult from a purely top down approach. Though we are still in the early stages, so far it has been successful in reaching out to nations that might otherwise be missed in such a large system.

CD: Another early act of your government has been the introduction of a new regional currency: the denarius. Does the Pacific's abandonment of the franco represent an abandonment or a rethinking of Francoism (a perestroika of sorts), or does the NPO remain firmly committed to the Francoist doctrines on which it has been established?

Pier: I have never been a firm Franocist. In the past, I found it to be a useful tool in managing the dichotomy between feederites and userites but to me it has always been just that, a tool. But, as with many such doctrines, as times change so must they, or those that support them risk becoming obsolete. The shift in regional currency is a measure of our shift away from the dogma and hero worship of the past. I am more concerned with the Pacific's place in the present and future than distant memories and ghosts.

CD: Is Krulltopia's leadership over the NPO's armed forces a shift away from dogma? My readers will certainly have their doubts. What sort of foreign policy should we expect to see from the Pacific during your reign: a continuation of interventionism, a move toward liberal cosmopolitanism, or an autarkic or isolationistic focus on internal improvements?

Pier: The armed forces of the Pacific have been defunct for quite a while, and even in their previous incarnations they left much to be desired in my opinion. It is my hope that Krull can organize a military that can assist in the defense of other GCRs (as we did recently in TWP) and work in conjunction with various groups towards goals that meet with my vision. I do not see the Revolutionary Guard as an extension of Pacifican power so much as a means of assisting our friends in times of need.

As to our foreign policy, I am well aware of the errors made in the past regarding our interventionist practices and if nothing else, I learn from our mistakes. So no, the NPO has no plans to be interventionist (beyond normal diplomatic influence) or meddle directly into the affairs of other GCRs. I am currently focused primarily upon internal improvements to the region but have also made repairing the damage to our relations with the other GCRs (and the larger UCRs) a priority.

CD: I see that you've already reestablished relations with the East Pacific. Did TEP approach you, or did you approach them? Are you currently working on mending fences with any other feeder or sinker regions?

Pier: I approached them. And yes, I am working towards better relations with all of the GCRs. I am hopeful to have at least Embassies/diplomatic communication with each of the GCRs within a few months time. I am understanding that this is much easier said than done in some instances but the olive branch is there.

CD: Do you have any final thoughts that you would like to share with our readers?

Pier: I think we have covered most of the questions fairly well and I thank you for taking the time to conduct the interview. I will say that I have been the evil dictator, the indifferent dictator, the inactive dictator, and myriad other sorts here in NS and The Pacific in the past. And while I make no claims of being a great reformer and have no plans to disrupt the structure of the New Pacific Order, I would actually like to be the enlightened and engaged dictator for a change. Thanks!

CD: I very much enjoyed this interview.

---

The Rules They Are a-Changin' (By Kenny)
GA players grapple with mods over new proposal guidelines



Gaby and Carlos are on the outs again after Gaby discovered that the only reason she got pregnant was that Carlos was tampering with her birth control pills because he is going to prison for nine months and wants to make sure she doesn't stray. But the thing is, Gaby doesn't even know if the baby is his; it could be her teenage gardener's! Crazy, right? Well, that's not all. 'Cause Susan is devastated now that Mike has broken it off with her for going through his things and discovering a gun and stacks of cash in his kitchen cabinet. And now the loathsome Mrs. Huber knows that Susan was the one who accidentally burned Edie's house down and is trying to blackmail her. Lynette's still hooked on her kids' Ritalin because she doesn't know how to get all her housework done and still keep after her four screaming kids without it. Yeah, she's boring. But get this: Bree wants to punish her oldest, Andrew, to let him know that getting drunk and running down the neighbor lady with his dad's car was wrong. But she doesn't have a strong male role model around the house anymore because Rex was forced to move out after Bree found out he was sleeping with a prostitute. Oh, man! This shit just keeps getting juicier and juicier!

All of this, of course, has nothing to do with the subject of the article. But how else are you supposed to make the GA Rules Summit sound interesting? Perhaps if I told the story in Marklar? *Ahem!*:

Some marklars are concerned about the marklars' rewriting of the marklars -- actually, "marklarred" is a marklar; "marklarred" is more like it because of secret marklars and five key marklars are being dumped. Those marklars will just have to pleasure themselves with the marklars in their marklars from now on. ... Yeah, that's not working either.

OK, so what's been going on is, after much discussion about all the rules, Mallorea and Riva has finally posted an updated version of them. Most of the "new" rules read just like the old ones, actually, but with some minor tinkering and rewording to make some things clearer because some players still can't hear the term "House of Cards" without fantasizing about Kevin Spacey, etc.

But five rules were dropped in the initially proposed new ruleset, namely those banning branding, NatSov repeals, ideological bans, so-called "pure blockers," and "committee-only" proposals. What are these things? I'm so glad you asked! Here they are in a nutshell:

• Branding is naming more than one co-author in your proposal, thanking the members of your region and/or alliance for their input, or "signing" your proposal with your own nation name or stuff like: "Submitted on behalf of the High King of Camelot, Arthur Pendragon. Long may he reign." That's always been banned under the UN/WA rules (though not necessarily under the SC as they obviously have different conventions); but, under Mall's proposal, it won't be anymore.
  
• NatSov repeals are repeals whose arguments can basically be boiled down to: "This resolution sucks because it infringes on members' national sovereignty." Since practically any resolution can be criticized that way and since the GA is under no obligation to respect national sovereignty (or so the original justification went), that's been a no-no, at least until the current draft.
  
• Ideological bans are attempts to ban certain types of governments, like dictatorships, theocracies, monarchies, democratic republics, etc., etc. Not exactly sure why that's always been banned, but that's the way it is.
  
• "Pure blockers" are proposals that do nothing but try to forbid the WA from passing certain types of legislation. Since WA laws actually have to include some kind of, uh, law, and not just ban certain types of WA laws, this is also right out. (Some bright guy actually wrote a guide on legal blockers, which you can read here.)
  
• "Committee-only" proposals are proposals that do nothing but establish committees. It's always been preferred that such committees only be established to complement actual legislation, not just a substitute for it.

So anyway, Marklar indicated that his marklar was only to delete marklars and not to enforce arbitrary marklars ... umm, sorry. *ahem!*

Mall told players that the reason the rules were being dropped was because they only existed to create arbitrary standards for resolutions and that it should not be the mods' job to enforce them: "I don't see it as my place to be enforcing particular viewpoints or anything besides minimalistic standards upon the GA." But when a particularly sharp and good-looking chap pointed out that the rules do a bit more than just "enforce viewpoints" on legislators, he got no response.

Add to that, at least two other moderators, Mousebumples and Frisbeeteria, indicated that Mall's viewpoint on those rules was not necessarily the official or majority view and that other mods had expressed a desire to keep those particular rules. (Mall has since indicated that he was "outvoted" by the other mods on Branding and that that rule, at least, would be coming back.) But since the minutes of those Modcave proceedings are under lock and key, it's not really known at this point if Mall's proposed ruleset is even official, if the other mods are on board or even just tacitly going along, if there are other proposed revisions out there that got outvoted, if Ardchoille will ever post in the GA forum again, if UFoC is going to have to replace his ambassador yet again after a few months, if there is indeed a companion star to the Sun orbiting beyond the Oort cloud that occasionally sends comets hurdling toward Earth every 65 million years, if Kenny's ever going to get tired of threatening to suicide-bomb the WA every time he doesn't get his way -- WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!? WHY IS EVERYTHING ALL BLURRY?? WHAT IS THIS STRANGE THROBBING FEELING IN MY EARS?? WHY DO MY EYES HURT ALL OF A SUDDEN?! WHY IS THAT DUDE'S FACE SO FUGLY?! -- (*at this point, Kenny's head explodes*)

(Sighs.) Ahhh, that was fun. In the meantime, other new rules are being submitted and discussed by players (for example, a "single subject rule" to prevent proposals from addressing more than one issue at a time as well as a new appeals process), a new convention appears to be emerging about "dissenting opinions" from mods who disagree with a GA ruling (like in the Supreme Court), even some proposed revisions of the "dropped" rules are being batted around, and I'm pretty sure in one thread someone's crazy uncle gets drunk and starts dancing naked on the table. So what the heck are you all waiting for?! Head on over to the General Assembly forum and join in the FUN!!!

Alright then, I'm gonna go get drunk. And if I hear from any of you later on that "perhaps you've had enough," I'm gonna marklar your marklar so markling hard, you'll have to get your marklar out of a marklar for an entire marklar, you markling marklar!!!

---

An Update from the Foreign Office (By Libetarian Republics)
Elections, treaties, embassies, and more



It's back to school folks, or at least it was awhile back. Things became a little quiet as the summer concluded, but nonetheless I hope to bring some exciting news on what's happening in the Rejected Realms!

Election Season: Back to School

As mentioned in our last update, TRR's constitution has regular Officer elections every four months, to be held every April, August, and December. Prior to the August election, Delegate Guy restructured the cabinet to meet the needs of the community: Foreign Affairs, Media, Human Resources, and Culture (WA Affairs and Internal Affairs from the previous term were discontinued for the time being). There are two primary objectives laid out by Guy: restarting the Media Department (i.e., the Rejected Realms Media Corporation) and increasing social interactions and cultural events with allied/friendly regions to sustain current relationships.

Six candidates, including veterans and newcomers, vied for four spots in the Cabinet. Incumbents Libetarian Republics, Sad-States, and Christian Democrats won back their spots relatively easily. The final spot was heavily contested among incumbent Kyrogia, veteran Church of Satan, and newcomer Gradea. CoS attracted the votes necessary to overcome the other two candidates.

The final results were as follows:

• Libetarian Republics (Foreign Affairs)
• Sad-States (Human Resources)
• Christian Democrats (Media)
• The Church of Satan (Culture)

Halfway through the term, Sad-States resigned, citing increased real-life obligations. Gradea defeated Kyorgia 7-4 in a by-election for Human Resources, recently renamed the Integration Office by Delegate Guy.

Assembly Report

* The Rejected Realms is pleased to pass the Fifth Agreement on Friendship & Cooperation with the region of Australia. In the time after Australia's refounding, TRR has extended a hand to cultivate better relations.

* Minor debates occurred in the Assembly, including one over the legality of Delegate Guy's action when he changed the regional flag to a variant in apparent contravention of the Flag Act. The Delegate justified his actions as coming under the "cultural purposes" exception. The debate dissipated eventually with the return of the "official" flag.

* Eluvatar proposed the idea of codifying regional laws (compiling our acts into a single document), similar to the North Pacific's Legal Code. Many citizens expressed opposition, arguing that the maintenance of separate acts with an on-site index (via dispatch) provides clarity to the legal structure for residents. A consensus was reached, however, that the regional Assembly's forum will have to be reorganized at some point to distinguish laws and treaties, which are currently mixed together in a single subforum. More work for the admin slaves.

* Delegate Guy raised the prospect of requiring the Delegate to submit regular activity plans to the regional Assembly, which would be subject to a vote of confidence. Further, it was suggested that the failure of such a vote would trigger an election for the Delegate position. While Rejects approved the idea of the submission of regular plans, they were divided on the question of amending the Constitution to initiate elections should the Delegate's plans not be approved.

* The Rejected Realms sadly announced the termination of its Agreement on Friendship & Cooperation with the region of the Royal Alliance, which spontaneously withdrew its in-game embassy and which violated several terms in the Agreement. The Royal Alliance founder ejected the entire native population. A subsequent inquiry was made by Delegate Guy about the future of our relationship. With no response from the founder and with no prospect of restoring the region in sight, the regional Assembly unanimously repealed the Agreement.

Rejected Realms Army News

The RRA deployed several soldiers as part of a wide-scale defender operation in Hogwarts. Hogwarts had been under the control of Lone Wolves United until intelligence discovered that the player controlling the founder nation was leaving the game. The RRA deployed in assistance, returning the region back to native hands.

The RRA also participated in the liberation of Asia, the first liberation following the introduction of Regional Officers. An extensive allied sleeper operation kept alive the region's hope of liberation with a few RRA soldiers participating as defensive sleepers. The remaining core group of RRA soldiers entered at the major update, including RRA Commander Guy, who sent a non-WA to fool the raiders. The success of the operation came at a slim margin (44-43) for the natives/defenders. More information can be seen here.

News In Brief

* TRR is in the process of trying to start up its Roleplay sector. Roleplayers, both new and experienced, are welcome to participate.

* We officially have embassies with Canada again! We're glad to see Almonaster, the Canadian ambassador, back on our forums.

* We're also pleased to have a new embassy with Yggdrasil!

---

Easter Eggs: Part 3 (By Dr George)
A continuation of a series of articles from The Rejected Times



#080: Easter Egg: Aliens Wish Peace/Trade Agreement

The Issue
Aliens have landed in the fields of @@NAME@@ and they wish to trade and have peace.

The Debate
1. "Take us to your kneader!" says @@RANDOMNAME_REVERSED@@, alien lawyer. "We have heard wonders of @@NAME@@'s pizza, and must have it. We are certain that a valuable trade route can be set up between our peoples. You could have our first born, for example." Your Secretary of Trade is shocked, "First Born?! That's slavery!" but quickly calms down upon discovery that their young are considered a great delicacy there. "You know, maybe we should open up trade with them?"

2. The Coalition of No ETs wants you to stay out of this. @@RANDOMNAME@@ says "Them darn aliens thingies are going to take advantage of the situation an kill us all! You must ban all trade with them. If they want my cattle, it will be over my dead body!"

Trigger: Conventional wisdom: "produce a whole heck of a lot of pizza." When we last had the WA ranking of largest Pizza Delivery Sector, I asked the top 10 nations if they'd ever had this Easter Egg and none remembered having it. The nations I've seen have this have not necessarily had Pizza Delivery as their largest industrial sector. There aren't many pizza-related issues and there's no clear path to making Pizza Delivery your #1 industry, even if that were the trigger, which it apparently is not, at least not by itself.

If you choose option 1, you will get delivery calls from Saturn and conceivably a small bump in your Economy. Option 2 is for the (literally) xenophobes among us, and I don't recall ever seeing someone answer it this way.

#256: Easter Egg: Suburbs Are Out Of This World

The Issue
High crime rates have made the inner cities of @@NAME@@'s largest conurbations increasingly dangerous and undesirable places to live. The mass exodus of the middle class from city centers has escalated to the extent that the suburbs and exurbs of major cities are beginning to collide, leaving no land for expansion. In response, a group of well-to-do soccer moms are petitioning the government for funds to establish white-collar living space... on the Moon.

The Debate
1. "Crime is perpetually increasing," says Chastity Elizabeth Prescott as she adjusts the sweater tied like a cape over her shoulders. "Just yesterday my little John Alexander Stuart's after-school Bigtopianese tutor was attacked by a gang of hoodlums! Our children deserve safe housing and exactly manicured lawns no greater than two inches in grass blade height! With a sufficient colonization effort, we can commute from communities on the Moon to the industries in our big cities. You must support this--think of the children!"

2. "Rockets?!" shrieks noted bleeding heart Sunflower Earthchild Starbeam, pulling her knit cap more closely over her ears. "Think of the pollution, and the danger! What if there's an accident? This cockamamie scheme must clearly be banned! And you thought cars were bad- wait! Cars ARE bad!"

3. "Everyone knows urban blight is caused by the flight of capital to the suburbs and exurbs," notes the prominent left-wing economist Engelbert Pinquo. "Running away to the Moon will solve nothing. Capital, and those who have it, must be brought back to the inner city... by force if need be."

4. "Stone the crows! We're trapped between hippies, communists and soccer moms," grumbles Vice Admiral Freddy Broadside. "We need breathing room, and everyone knows there ain't no air on the Moon! So let's get it the old-fashioned way - by invading our neighbors! Outpost Uber Alles will fall to the might of @@NAME@@!"

Trigger: Crippling crime rate (perhaps continuously for as long as a year).

I'm not a big fan of this Easter Egg. Option 1 conceivably adds some pollution to your environment and possibly increases your tax rate. Option 2 appears to be an anti-economy option. Option 3 is clearly the low freedoms option. Option 4 is the bellicose option. So if you're an environment-loving, economy-loving, freedoms-loving, and peace-loving nation, there doesn't appear to be much for you here. I have usually dismissed it. If you want to have another Easter Egg added to your total, I'd choose option 1, unless one of the other options fits your nation's POV.

---

Greater German Reich Raided (By New Tuva SSR)
NationStates' most (in)famous Nazi region falls to communists and socialists



One of the larger far-right regions on NationStates, the Greater German Reich, has fallen. A coalition led by a leftist alliance known as The Red Fleet took over on September 24, 2015. The raid took over 100 nations from 17 leftist regions and was celebrated as a major victory against the Fascist front on NationStates.

On the eve of September 23, a mass of Communist and Socialist nations snuck into the region using cleverly disguised puppets and endorsed a nation known as Seditia. When the morning and the update came, the GGR was in confusion. Left and right, Seditia was using his newfound influence to take out all of the key members. Then came the exodus. A refugee crisis took place. Most of the pre-raid nations left and are currently spread out across NationStates.

The Greater German Reich, along with Nazi Europa, was, before the raid, the largest far-right region on NationStates. At the time of this writing, no organized attempt to take back the region has taken place. This has certainly been one of the biggest achievements by left-wing forces in the raiding game in recent history, the successful infiltration and overthrow of the (in)famous Greater German Reich by the Red Fleet.

---

Zombie Survival Guide (By Dr George)
How to make it through the impending Halloween plague



Regarding the Zombie Apocalypse mini-game, as of last year, there are three basic approaches (there's no guarantee this year will be exactly the same):

(1) Cure the Zombies;
(2) Kill the Zombies; and
(3) Join the Zombies.

If you decide on option 1, you will tell NS that your nation is "researching a cure." After about an hour, your nation will start building Cure Missiles which you can fire at other nations in the region. Once a nation is zombie-free, it tends to stay that way unless it has chosen option 3, or someone else who has chosen option 3 re-infects it.

If you decide on option 2, you will develop roving death squads that turn zombies into dead people. As above, you can send your death squads into other nations in the region to kill their zombies too.

If you decide on option 3, you will become very infected very quickly. After an hour or so, you will be able to infect your neighbours or go to other regions and "spread the wealth."

If you want to survive the ZA and emerge infection-free (highest score), here's the plan:

I. At the beginning of the crisis, have the founder temporarily close your region's borders to keep out unwanted "guests." This is not so true of TRR, since a clever nation can ask its Executive to eject them to gain entry into TRR.
II. I strongly suggest EVERYONE in your region research the cure. The point of the game is to have the most survivors, so dead people don't count.
III. Anyone who wants to join the zombies should voluntarily leave the region or be temporarily ejected for the duration of the crisis. Again, TRR is uniquely ill-equipped for this strategy.
IV. Particularly at the beginning, when your Cure Missiles are weakest, target the largest nations first -- your first few missile strikes will go a surprisingly long way with those nations with 20,000,000,000+ populations.
V. As the largest nations become zombie-free, turn your attention to other nations, especially apparently inactive ones. Your missiles will be getting stronger, so it won't be QUITE so tedious to rid medium and smaller nations of Zombies. If you leave even a few million Zombies, they will start multiplying again, so be sure the nation you're curing goes completely infection-free!
VI. It takes a minute or so between missile shots, so I advocate that you have 2 or 3 nations (or more if you're really efficient or have someone helping you) online at the same time with different browsers. You might have nation W on Chrome, X on Opera, Y on MSIE, and Z on Safari. Once you fire one missile, immediately switch to the next nation and so forth. By the time you've used your last browser, the first one will be ready to go again!
VII. Be aware that when a nation is hit with any of the three approaches, it cannot do anything for 60-90 seconds, so if you see nations being very active, don't strike them at first. Wait until they stop firing before curing them.
VIII. Perhaps you and 1-2 friends can tag-team a particular nation at a time, continuously bombarding it with cure missiles--it will become infection-free MUCH faster that way.
IX. As the night wears on, network with other awake nations to find any obscure nations with remaining infection.
X. Report any "Join Zombie" nations for ejection. (Obviously, for every region except TRR).
XI. Once the region is completely infection-free (usually the next day), you might consider voluntarily leaving your region to help out some other region, which will be deeply appreciated. Be sure you return to your home base before the end of the crisis so your population counts in the scoring.
XII. Even if you don't plan to stay up at all late, still be sure to research the cure in the first hour of the crisis, so you can at least heal yourself. STARTING EARLY IS KEY. If you wait until 99% of your population is zombified or dead, you won't have any resources to research the cure, since all your scientists will be in the bellies of the walkers!

If you and your region decide to embrace your inner zombies:

A. Starting early remains critical. Be aware, though, that zombies naturally die from the infection eventually.
B. Since the game is biased in favour of zombies, a region that willingly embraces Zombieism will become totally infected rather quickly. Note that even when you reduce a nation's living population to 0, living people will spring out of the thin air at the updates.
C. You should play with 2-4 nations, too, each on a separate browser. Particularly once you leave your home region to spread the Zombie love, you will want to be able to respond disproportionately if some fool fires a Cure Missile at you. Show them no mercy!
D. When possible, you should case the region you want to infect to find the largest nations. Your first ravenous horde or two will create many more zombies than they would in a smaller nation.
E. Especially when you're raining on the party of some do-gooder region, work quickly, as you will probably be ejected once the populace realizes your mission, unless you've gone to a founderless region with no WA delegate. Suckers!
F. The feeders and sinkers tend to become blood baths, as do larger regions without a survival plan. The mega-large feeders can have massive losses and still make a showing on the "Most Survivors" board, so give them as much Hell as you can!
G. Be aware of what your prey is doing or not doing. If they are also spreading zombies, leave them alone unless you want to send them a bloody valentine so to speak. Inactive nations should be your favoured prey.
H. Should a group of undead bigots totally cure you, you will continue to make more zombies, and you can always ask a zombie patriot to re-infect you too.
I. Should you decide to call it a night early, be sure you're joining the zombies and in a zombiephilic region when you log out. There's nothing worse than seeing a string of Cure Missiles have been fired at you all night while you slept the Sleep of the (Un)Dead.
J. You CAN research two or all three paths. Since the primary score is the number of living, uninfected citizens, sending in a band of death squads to kill zombies may be a more effective strategy at lowering a region's score, since the Really Dead cannot be cured.

Remember, this is a game, so have fun playing with the zombies! Note that once the crisis is over, there will be no permanent effects on your nation -- everyone will return to their complete populations, no more zombies, etc.

---

October Issue Comic:

http://static.existentialcomics.com/comics/philosophyHumans.jpg

[The Silver Sentinel]

So the NPO have moved from being fascist imperialists, to being roman style communists? That's an interesting switch.

[Kaboomlandia]

Nice to see TRR is getting back into news.

[Valrifell]

Nice to see TRR is getting back into news.

Is it?

Obligatory snarky commenting aside, I missed something by TRR, stirs commotion like nothing else, I tell ya.

[Flanderlion]

So the NPO have moved from being fascist imperialists, to being roman style communists? That's an interesting switch.

I wouldn't say we were fascist or communist, in the past, or now. We have our own ideological tenants, we don't need to adopt another foreign one - nor debate their merits. We've always leaned towards the Independent side rather than Imperialist. We do have a definite Roman theme to parts of the Order though, especially with the Praetorian Guard.

I quite liked Kenny's article on the WA rules.

[Unibot III]

As I said on TRR forums, great work guys. A lovely edition. I especially enjoyed the regional updates and Dr George's work.

[Consular]

Perhaps I missed something in Guy's piece, but is there a specific reason you didn't just revive the Times?

[Christian Democrats]

Perhaps I missed something in Guy's piece, but is there a specific reason you didn't just revive the Times?

We have different expectations for The Monthly Reject than we had for The Rejected Times. For one thing, we plan to publish only once a month, unlike the Times, which put out breaking news issues and often even full issues twice per month at some points. Also, while discussing how to revive TRR Media Corp., there was a general feeling that we ought to switch from a newspaper format (think The New York Times or The Washington Post) to a news magazine model (think The New Yorker or The Atlantic).

In short, different expectations call for a different name. We don't want to be held to the same standards as The Rejected Times, but we still want our readers to expect high-quality articles coming out of TRR Media Corp.

[Consular]

Fair enough, thanks for the answer. I do enjoy your publications.

[Pierconium]

It looks nice. I particularly enjoyed the humor in the Zombie Apocalypse article.

[Joyea]

GA players grapple with mods

GA players have the best relationship with the mods! I can't believe there's drama between them!

[Solorni]

Hopefully this new iteration turns out to be more thoughtful and of higher quality than it's predecessor. This was a decent first issue for the most part.

[The Church of Satan]

THE REJECTED REALMS MEDIA CORPORATION
SPECIAL RELEASE | MARCH 2016

Moderation vs. Predator
Longtime Raider Tool Declared Illegal
COMMENTARY | THE CHURCH OF SATAN

Over the last few days the gameplay section of the NS forum played host to a discussion over the legality of a raider tool that has been used for nearly 2 years. The tool in question, Predator, helps time raids. Created by DOS player Halcones in his pre-DOS days, it has been maintained by him after his deletion over a recruitment scandal last year involving an illegal script. According to Ridersyl, in order to gain usage of Predator, each user has to be authorized by Halcones. More than that, Predator sends data to Halcones on its use. NS Moderation investigated the legality of Predator for around 3 days, concluding that it was in fact illegal. The ruling stated:

After an examination of assorted evidence, I can say with confidence that Predator or Update tool violates the rate limitation and user agent script rules.

1. The tool does not set a user agent identifying itself, which violates the API Terms of use.

2. The tool greatly exceeds the rate limits set in the Script Rules for non-API requests, making requests at 5-10 times the permitted speed.

Generally, these kinds of violations are considered to be relatively minor, and are addressed by simply asking the script author to correct the script's behavior and follow the rules. This has been effective in the past.

In this case, however, the script does not properly identify itself, making it harder to track, and appears purposely designed to avoid both API rate-limiting and the 28-second API Happenings delay. (World happenings appear on https://www.nationstates.net/page=activity more or less immediately but are delayed from appearing in the API's world happenings shared for 28 seconds, to limit the gameplay advantage scripters can get from it.)

By simultaneously avoiding the API in this manner and breaking the regular site's rate limit, the tool delivers a Gameplay advantage over players without this script and scripters who follow the rules. Were the script to follow the rules, it would not be able to give increasingly-precise predictions of update time in the seconds approaching the target region's update.

In summary, the tool not only breaks site rules, but appears to be explicitly designed to do so.

During the course of the investigation, users of Predator were urged to file a GHR with any and all information they had on it. Now raiders from The Black Hawks & DEN, among others, are jumping ship. Of course, not all raiders are doing so. Cora remained a staunch, unapologetic defender of Predator's use even claiming to have been fully aware of its illegality prior to this latest scandal. Although he seemed to be the only one still clinging to Predator. Cora has since been declared DOS.

Defenders, however, are enraged over learning of just how much of an unfair advantage raiders have had for the last 18 months or so. Chief among them is Benevolent Thomas, who was furious and posted his thoughts on the NS forum. Keep in mind that not all raiders do or have used Predator. For months, Predator has helped raiders such as the now defunct Black Riders raid, refound, occupy and tag countless regions. The communities destroyed as a result can never be regained and this is one of many reasons why defenders are angered so. Many raiders have in that time claimed to play by the rules, to have respect for their enemies and for the game as a whole. This facade; however, is now shattered with the knowledge that raiders have long taken shortcuts, broken the rules and gladly reaped the benefits of their underhanded tactics. It's hard to say what will happen next. Who will face punishment for these heinous rule violations and how heavy a price will they pay? And what about the raider organizations that benefited from Predator? It's safe to say that they have one heck of public relations mess on their hands.

[Cormactopia II]

It's nice to see that the media of The Rejected Realms can be relied upon to be as partisan and biased as ever, making no mention of the raiders who have never used Predator, have spoken out against its use, etc.

Was this article approved by your Officer of Media before publication? I find it hard to believe Tomb would have been okay with this.

[The Democratic Republic of Tomb]

THE REJECTED REALMS MEDIA CORPORATION
ISSUE #2 | March 2016

Sitting Down with Belschaft, Recent Transitional Delegate of TSP (By Tomb)
A first class interview with a TSP native

Tomb: Today, I am joined by Belschaft, former Delegate and recent Transitional Delegate of TSP. Thank you for joining me today, Bel.

Belschaft: It's a pleasure to be here.

Tomb: Bel, as you know, the recent TSP coup by former Delegate Hileville has caused a lot of turmoil in TSP. Former Delegate Hileville started out by changing the regional forums citing violations by the Administration Team. Looking back at the events, one can argue that that action was a ploy, but in your perspective, is there any truth to the former Delegate's claims?

Belschaft: I don't think anyone familiar with TSP and the recent events would argue that it was a ploy, nor do I think that such an argument could be supported by the facts. It's a matter of record that there has been significant issues in regards to administration in TSP for some time, going as far back as the beginning of 2014. Part of that is a clash of personalities, but there have also been multiple incidents of Glen-Rhodes and Kris misusing their positions as admins. To give just one example, and a personal one at that, when I was declared a Security Threat by a previous Cabinet in 2015, I was illegally denied access to TSP's Court by the admin team, preventing me from appealing the matter or raising legal questions. Despite requests from the Chief Justice to rectify this nothing was done, and in the end I had to have myself charged with a crime - I quite literally had a friend bring criminal charges against me - to force them to give me access. So yes, there is truth to the claims of the previous Cabinet. That's not to say that I think the Admin Team was entirely to blame, or that all the allegations against them are fair - some of them are personal, and Glen-Rhodes and Kris receive criticism for things that other players wouldn't - but the Cabinet wasn't simply making things up. The Cabinet - at the time, five individuals, and later six once Sopo was elected and agreed with them - did not move forums for political advantage, or as part of some ploy. They had real grievances and real reasons, and I think that most of TSP - and the wider NSGP community - understood that, which is why there was considerable support both inside and outside TSP for the forum move. Things could have been done better, but six people - all elected separately (excluding the joint Delegate/Vice-Delegate ticket) and without prior orchestration - found themselves in a position where they thought that moving forums was the best option.

Tomb: Thank you for your response. Is it safe to assume that there will be changes to the Administration Team itself, or at least, to their way of conducting business in the future?

Belschaft: Yes, I think it is safe to expect that there will be changes to TSP's Administration, in terms of personnel, responsibilities and procedure. Eluvatar has recently been made an admin, at least temporarily, by Root Administrator Tsunamy, and there is a general consensus that the way Administration is handled in TSP needs to change. I don't know what form that will take, as it will be decided at the Great Council, but it is going to happen.

Tomb: Thank you! I'd like to shift to your personal experience with what had happened. Can you please recount when former Delegate Hileville contacted you to take interim charge of the Delegacy?

Belschaft:There's very little to recount about what happened there; negotiations between Hileville and the Committee of State Security had collapsed, and they had resolved to try and remove him and the Cabinet by force. Facing a situation where he would have to use force to retain control of the region he was unwilling to do so, and handed his nation over to me so that I could bring the crisis to a peaceful resolution. I received a Facebook message from Hileville at 18:41 GMT on Tuesday 2nd of February, asking if I was willing to take over his nation. I had control of his nation less than ten minutes later, and immediately contacted Tsunamy to begin restoring order.

Tomb: And you have handled it very well. As someone who has taken great interest in TSP and that has contributed to the region, where do you see TSP going from here? And if this was a lesson learned, what lesson should TSP learn out of this whole situation?

Belschaft: I think where TSP goes from here will depend on the outcome of the Great Council, but I would predict that we will move to a system of governance closer to TSP's historical foundation, with greater separation of powers; specifically, a split between the Head of State (Delegate) and Head of Government (Prime Minister). TSP's community has suffered a lot of problems over the last couple of years, and the events that occurred at the end of January and start of February were to a certain degree an inevitable result of that. We've become too factionalized and intolerant of each other, and lost our historic emphasis on consensus and cooperation. Majoritarian politics may be a great way to run a country in real life, but it's a crappy way to run a NS community. The lesson TSP needs to learn from this situation is a simple one; we have to separate personal disputes from politics, and stop letting petty arguments rip apart the community. If you don't like someone, that's fine - we can't all get along. What isn't fine is to attack them constantly, to make the community a hostile place with fighting and insults, and to try and drive them from the region. A lot of us - myself included - are guilty of that kind of behavior, and we need to learn how to cooperate with each other; to live and let live. There's more that should unite us than there is to divide us, but over the last couple of years we all lost our way, and turned TSP - a region once known as the laid back, fun, casual GCR - into a toxic community that couldn't get along with itself, never mind other regions. Changing our laws is important - they've become a complete mess through multiple revisions and amendments - but changing hearts and minds is the key to building a healthy community.

Tomb: Thank you for your detailed response! One last question.

Belschaft: Shoot.

Tomb: With TSP currently in the middle of Cabinet Elections, Tsunamy is currently the sole candidate for the position of Delegate. Do you believe that he will be able to work with the Great Council to bring meaningful reform? And if he is to be here right now, what one-piece advice would you give him?

Belschaft: Tsu is, by a very large margin, the most trusted and respected player currently active in TSP. To find someone else with the same level of universal support you would have to bring back players like Fudgie, Southern Bellz or Matt Duck. He is not only the consensus candidate for the Delegacy, but the only candidate who is trusted by everyone to be able to shepherd TSP through this difficult time. Considering that the most important thing right now is healing a divided community, no one else could do the job he is doing; being calm, reasonable, approachable, and engendering trust and communication.
I expect that the Great Council will bring about meaningful reform - there is universal agreement in TSP that things need to change, and that reform is desperately needed for us to bring the region back to it's roots as, first and foremost, a fun and safe place to be and hang out. There isn't yet a consensus on what shape those reforms should take, but there is a consensus on what the objective is - on where we want and need to go. We just need to find the road to take us there. As for my advice to Tsu, I've already given him plenty but I'm happy to repeat some of it; Tsu just needs to keep doing what he's doing, encouraging us to talk and put our differences aside for the good of the community.

Tomb: Thanks for joining me today, Bel. I wish TSP and its citizenry the best of luck with their future. I hope that you will stick around in TSP.

Belschaft: Thank you for having me, it's always a pleasure to be able to share my experiences and opinions. The process of healing TSP's community is going to be a long one, but we're making progress and I think we will succeed. TSP has always been my home in NS, and I have no intention of going anywhere.

00000 A World Power (By: Church of Satan)
Public Outcry v. Sovereignty

It was the morning of January 29th when the Gameplay area of the NS forums saw a blast from the past. Numero Capitan, the head of 00000 A World Power announced the region's comeback. Not just a return to the interregional community but also to R/D. The region was once a big part of military gameplay with a vast background as a defender force. Just twenty minutes later when Numero Capitan posted some promotions among the troops of A World Power's Regional Defense Force, something stuck out that sparked a fierce debate. Among those promoted was Govindia. As many people in NationStates know, Govindia does not have the best of reputations. It would be more accurate to say he has possibly the worst reputation in NationStates. Now I'm not going to go into why that is. This article probably wouldn't be published if I did and I just don't want to go into it. Anyways, not long after that, criticism had already started about the region's choice of letting Govindia be part of their community. It flooded into the thread from names such as Koth, Xoriet and Severisen. The most vocal and easily the most aggressive in their criticism though was Cormac. Which brings me to the subject of this article: Does the concern of the interregional community override a region's sovereignty? In particular, should outside parties have a say in who a region allows to join it?

I'll start with looking into the position held against A World Power, the position of Public Outcry. So it is the belief of outside parties that Govindia is a menace, toxic and dangerous to any community he joins. That may very well be true. What I do know from my own experience is that Govindia is very irritating and very persistent. I don't say this as an insult. I state this as a conclusion that I've come to resulting from my encounters with him due to my inclusion as part of Wintreath's community. Now it's very easy to ignore other users in IRC and on forums. I make use of such features on rare occasions. That's why I myself have no problem with being in a region that lets Govindia join its community. I think I may have gotten off topic though. Back to the topic at hand, is Govindia a threat to AWP's community? He might be able to annoy everyone away from the region. That is definitely possible. Would the "powers that be" in A World Power allow that? Most definitely not. What about prevention? Should Govindia be forcefully excluded from the regional community or even from the region altogether? It's certainly the safest route. The region might even be viewed better by the general public for it. Who am I kidding? They definitely would. Is it the right thing to do? That is of course up to A World Power and its citizens.

What about regional sovereignty? It is after all the right of all regions to be as inclusive or exclusive as they wish. It's an important factor in how every region operates. The public, an outside party, seems to believe sovereignty is not a factor. If it isn't then what is? Is it instead a matter of public safety and public pressure? If that were the case it would be very one sided. That's what the interregional community has resorted to though. It hasn't been denied that they have the right to pressure the region into buckling under the pressure. In fact it's been openly admitted as stated by Cormac (among others) in AWP's thread, "No one should join such regions, accept their embassy requests, work with them at update, or have anything at all to do with them." Should A World Power give in to public pressure? If they do, why stop there? This sets a dangerous precedent for how we approach controversial matters in NationStates. If it worked, then the same could be done for anything and with the right region's involved, it could work! With enough coordination and organization this could become a weapon that destroys communities, kills regions and drastically alters how diplomacy is conducted. It could become a diplomatic tool that sews distrust throughout NationStates, essentially telling other regions "Comply with my demands or I'll destroy your region." If A World Power gave in, I'd go so far as to say this could ultimately become a far bigger threat to regions than Govindia has ever been. I admit that this does sound very melodramatic, but is it impossible? I don't think so however that's for you, the reader, to decide.

So an Election Happened (By Madaloria)
New Media Officer, Election Controversy, and Much More!

Citizens line up to cast their vote

Some short time ago, a small change occurred in the Rejected Realms. To most, this change has little to no affect on them. Many likely did not even notice. Those that did notice know that Spider-Jerusalem retired as Media Officer, and his successor was elected shortly thereafter. This would seem hardly noteworthy, as these elections happen frequently, and, as aforementioned, go relatively unnoticed. However, the process was less than over night, and not without its controversy, and opinions are flying left and right about not only this election and the future of the Media in The Rejected Realms, but elections in general.

This election started out much like any other; the position was vacated, and the hopeful candidates, in this case being Tomb and Koth, challenged for it. From there, voting was open for three days to allow citizens to express who they feel deserves to hold the Office. However, this particular election ended up deferring to a process more controversial than a traditional vote; a tie breaker. The Rejected Realms has a very unique method of resolving ties, as, according to Foreign Affairs Officer The Church of Satan, “right now it states that whomever has been on the forum longer wins. To my knowledge this recent election is the first time it has ever been used. It's not often that we actually get a tie”. Ultimately the nomination went to Tomb, fairly and squarely under the current laws.

That is not to say, though, that people are unified in their opinion on the tie breaker system. Many feel the system is undemocratic, outdated and/or unusual. Others just think Koth deserved the position and feel he was cheated out of it. When asked about the outcome, Tomb defended his legitimacy, though not without praise for his competitor. “I did feel like I had the experience and skills enough to earn/deserve the position. However, in an election, it is not what you feel. It's what the voters, the citizens, feel. By putting forth a tie, our citizenry basically mouthed the fact that both Koth and I deserve the position, and they are right. Koth is an excellent, dedicated NS player. He has put so much effort into every region that he's been part of, and Osiris is one example.”

Regarding the process in which Tomb was elected, WA Delegate Libetarian admitted the current system is flawed, stating that “the tiebreaker procedures are odd to say; they're not the best at determining the outcome of an election”. In response, “a replacement is being discussed on the regional forum right now”, according to The Church of Satan, but that “to my knowledge this recent election is the first time it has ever been used. It's not often that we actually get a tie.” Now that Tomb is officially an official, the discussion has begun to move away from the election to what he plans to do during his tenure.

He promises that, “as I stated in my campaign, my plans for the Monthly are two-fold. Number one, we are going to be recruiting and recruiting and recruiting. Before we can have words, we need pens, and that’s exactly what I am going to do. Once that’s done and we have a larger staff composed of authors and editors, we are going to write more frequently about topics that are relevant without bias. Delivering the truth is hard, especially in a region where democracy is thriving and where the freedom to speech is guaranteed. However, we are going to work hard to make sure that with the news we deliver, our audience will hear nothing but the truth.”
While it is far too soon to make claim that these are achievable goals, they are certainly ones easy to rally behind. Some might say this will rally the media corp, and consequently the region, regardless, though still others claim it boils down to false hope that will only do more bad than good. Many members of the Media Corp have expressed faith in their new boss, and they are unbiasedly sure he will do a fine job.

However, while this election is easy to look at as existentially irrelevant, and apathetically obligatory, it may well be a window through which we can predict in what direction we are headed, whether it be the future of legal loopholes, the future of the media, or the future of democracy itself; and perhaps that notion, if anything, is worth the attention of the common folk.

Regional Officers: The End of the Traditional GCR Coup? (By Ambroscus Koth)
An outlook on Regional Officers

To hear this through audio recording:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/37983585/Malice/Monthly%20Reject%201.mp3

Hey folks, Koth here. Now that the short-lived “not-a-coup” in The South Pacific has come to a premature close, I think now's a great time to reflect on what happened and see what made this situation unique among the many governmental overthrows that have made waves throughout NationStates history. In this writer's mind, there's one standout detail that I haven't seen anyone talking about: the effect that Hileville's use of Regional Officers had on the outcome of the coup.

The Cabinet coup was the first time since the introduction of Regional Officers to the game that we have seen a GCR delegate utilize them to ensure their seat's security. Delegate Hileville had assigned his transitional government regional officer positions in accordance with their titles: Imkitopia, Scyllaland, Pacific Sopo, SJS Republic, and Awesomiasa. With such an all-star cast to assist Hileville with his border control, the transitional government should have had a breeze keeping power, right?

Not so much. As with many recent feeder coups, the demise of the regime came from the inside. Scyllaland, the Minister of Regional Affairs of the rebel regime, ended up being the one to defect. Killing the coup was surprisingly easy in Scylla's position: to kick off the coup, Hileville had banjected Glen-Rhodes (and his other nation, Sandaoguo) and Farengeto, which was a massive drain on his influence level. All Scylla had to do was clear the regional ban list to effectively undo Hile's efforts. Obviously, this kind of instant backstab would have never been possible without Regional Officers. As mentioned before, this method of coup-killing isn't anything new. Kazmr's betrayal led to the end of the New Lazarene Order a few months back when he was placed in the delegate seat. This required much more social engineering on Kazmr's end, however. Could the NLO have succeeded in the age of RO's? Who knows.

So what does this mean for prospective GCR tyrants in the age of Regional Officers? Speaking as one of the co-founders of the Osiris Fraternal Order, I still have to say I prefer the slingshot method of holding a region. Trust is a massive factor when you're holding a GCR, and it's far easier to keep the people you trust close when you require that they maintain a similar endorsement count. It really makes you seriously consider who you're sharing your legacy with, as opposed to the extremely simple appointment of a regional officer. Take it from one couper to another, kids: if you're going to appoint a council of RO's, don't hand out border control like candy. It could kill the next big gameplay event before it starts.

Media Officer Election Sparks Tiebreaker Debate (By Christian Democrats)
An Outdated System Going Out

On January 27, SpiderJerusalem resigned as the Rejected Realms' Media Officer due to real-life circumstances, thus triggering a by-election. Ambrosia (Koth) and Tomb, both new citizens, challenged for the position. Ambrosia campaigned on his "unique perspective" (i.e., being a raider in a largely defender Reject culture) and on his "good working relationships" with possible writers throughout NationStates, whereas Tomb pointed to experience in the North Pacific's news division. At the end of the four-day election, each candidate had received six votes. Pursuant to the Elections Act, which gives preference to "the candidate who joined the regional forums earlier," Speaker Tim declared Tomb (a forum member since April 2015) the winner over Ambrosia (a forum member since January 2016) while opining in his official declaration that "we have a really sh***y tie-breaker system here." Tim continued, "I encourage any and all citizens to author an amendment ASAP to change this s**t tiebreaker to something better, whoever authored this tiebreaker is actually just bad at legislation. Like, this is so bad, so bad. We should form remedial legislation courses to avoid clauses like this. Please, dear Max, come strike us with divine judgment to remove the pain of dealing with this clause."

Responding to the Speaker's call for reform, Guy, a long-time citizen and former delegate, opened a new topic in the region's Assembly regarding the backup tiebreaking procedure. (The first tiebreaking procedure for regional elections is a Borda count, inapplicable in two-candidate races.) He suggested, first, that "a coin-toss would be better" and, then, recommended changing the secondary tiebreaker from an earlier forum join date to "longer continuous citizenship." Also, he said that the Assembly could give the incumbent officers, collectively, a casting vote, calling this his favorite solution. Lemmingtopias subsequently recommended a 24-hour or 48-hour extension of balloting with the delegate choosing the winner should the candidates remain tied. Eluvatar suggested that preference be given to the candidate who declared his candidacy first; but this proposal was quickly criticized by Frattastan, who said that "it would feel very random - one could win a tie simply by being in the same timezone as the Speaker."

Since February 9, the Assembly's debate over the secondary electoral tiebreaker has remained silent due to the inability of citizens to achieve a consensus. The coin toss and first declaration of candidacy proposals appear to be arbitrary to many region members, and it is not clear who would be in charge of a coin toss should such a backup procedure be adopted. The dates on which players became citizens, unlike forum join dates, could present practical difficulties. Furthermore, there is some reluctance on the part of a few members to grant any player or group of players a casting vote because it could, in a minor way, undermine the Assembly's traditional commitment to egalitarianism among citizens. As a secondary tiebreaking procedure, the earlier forum join date thus remains in place for the time being despite criticism.

On Being a Good Sport (By Guy)
Because attitude matters

A few days ago, The Black Hawks invaded a region. As I said before, it was overall a great operation for both invaders and defenders - it was a well-natured operation, we both had our fun (and training). The natives weren't so happy. They got emotionally involved and, arguably, overreacted. It would be wrong to cast them away as crazy locos who get too attached. Because we do the same thing, all the time.

In some ways, NS can be likened to being out on the field, playing sport. No analogy is perfect, and I'm sure the diligent reader would be able to poke holes in it. But what is similar is that we get all riled up and emotionally invested in the outcome of what we put a lot of effort into; people who disagree with us can seem like a lot more than mere competitors at times. We wish our endeavours to succeed, whether that's in the invasion game or ideas for our regions. Even more than that, we interact with each other a lot, often-times directly about our different aspirations and visions. Invariably, this leads to very personal dealings.

The positive aspect of this is that we tend to become friends with, at the very least, the people we agree with in the game. There are very few players who manage to go on playing without forming any personal connections. With the exception of one rather large community, we also recognise a lot of the time that people we disagree with are often cool folk too, and get along with them well. But sometimes it's not so simple.

When was the last time you saw a player become personally aggressive or spiteful of another, due to IC disagreements? When the stakes are high, how well do you interact with your opponents? For most of us in Gameplay, the answers are "not very long ago" and "not very". We're oftentimes like the sport person who gets frustrated when losing, and makes a nasty play on an opponent. Or maybe our they make a nasty remark about them. If you're about to say or do something not pleasant, consider whether it's really worth your it - and even more fundamentally, whether you'd even be in the right by doing so.

There is, frankly, quite often a fine line between an ambitious player who pushes their ideas and means, and someone who does get nasty. Being unpleasant doesn't necessarily require name-calling; as a game that houses relatively intelligent people, we're perfectly capable of landing some blows without resorting to such means. If in doubt, perhaps take a more conciliatory tone, and maybe talk it through with the other person.

Some people attribute their aggression to merely playing the game, trying to gain a competitive edge. While I challenge you to tell yourself that you've never harboured ill-feelings towards someone due to IC differences; even if you see your actions as entirely IC, the other person is not likely to take well to it, so it's best to be conscientious about the quality of your interactions with others. This is still a game, and being a good sport matters.

The Monthly Reject
Publisher: Libetarian Republics - Executive Editor: Tomb - Managing Editor: Ambroscus Koth - Graphic Designer: The Church of Satan

[Libetarian Republics]

It's nice to see that the media of The Rejected Realms can be relied upon to be as partisan and biased as ever, making no mention of the raiders who have never used Predator, have spoken out against its use, etc.

Was this article approved by your Officer of Media before publication? I find it hard to believe Tomb would have been okay with this.

It's implied that not all raiders used Predators (no explicit wording or text claiming that all raiders used predators.)

[We Are Not the NSA]

It's nice to see that the media of The Rejected Realms can be relied upon to be as partisan and biased as ever, making no mention of the raiders who have never used Predator, have spoken out against its use, etc.

Was this article approved by your Officer of Media before publication? I find it hard to believe Tomb would have been okay with this.

It's implied that not all raiders used Predators (no explicit wording or text claiming that all raiders used predators.)

Yes, but it fails to mention that many of Predator's users had no idea it was illegal, and it even implies that all raiders do not respect their enemies. I mean, it could have been okay if it questioned raiders' respect for others, which is a completely understandable, but this article just straight up denies it, which is frankly kind of insulting considering how many of us have been cooperative with moderation's investigation.

[Todd McCloud]

Yeah, speaking as an outsider, the article sort of reminded me of coverage on the Republican election brought to you by Salon. It has a rather off-putting slant.

[Guy]

It's nice to see that the media of The Rejected Realms can be relied upon to be as partisan and biased as ever, making no mention of the raiders who have never used Predator, have spoken out against its use, etc.

Was this article approved by your Officer of Media before publication? I find it hard to believe Tomb would have been okay with this.

#NotAllRaiders

[Libetarian Republics]

It's implied that not all raiders used Predators (no explicit wording or text claiming that all raiders used predators.)

Yes, but it fails to mention that many of Predator's users had no idea it was illegal, and it even implies that all raiders do not respect their enemies. I mean, it could have been okay if it questioned raiders' respect for others, which is a completely understandable, but this article just straight up denies it, which is frankly kind of insulting considering how many of us have been cooperative with moderation's investigation.

The author wrote explicitly that not all raiders used Predator, and the only thing coming close to implying that "raiders not respecting their enemies" is the section mentioning Cora, which was an isolated case as mentioned in the article ("Although he seemed to be the only one still clinging to Predator")

I understand the nature of this issue, and make note I acknowledge the efforts made to maintain cooperation with moderation's investigation. Nonetheless, it doesn't change the perceived image of raiders surrounding these events (cheaters or what not.) The article acknowledges this, and is not attacking raiders in general but questions the possibility to change this image in the future after years of abuse.

[Kringalia]

I was illegally denied access to TSP's Court by the admin team, preventing me from appealing the matter or raising legal questions.

I won't let you do that. You were given all the necessary forum access to appeal the threat declaration before the Assembly, and had a fair hearing and appeal vote. There were no improper acts. I think you should stop portraying any administrative action you disagree with as illegal or bad faith act. It's entirely possible that an administrative action could be improper, but just as you called on everyone to respectfully disagree, there is also a need to stop creating needless divisions and accusations, and that includes ceasing the accusation that so many of our actions were illegal or abuses of power.

If you have issues with past administrative decisions, I invite you to reach out to us and make them known. If there were improper actions, tell us exactly why you think they were illegal. I welcome the opportunity of dialogue, and would be glad to discuss good faith measures to limit the risk of abuse. I'm more than certain all my colleagues share that sentiment. But that can only happen if we both approach each other with the knowledge our efforts come in good faith, not when we keep these accusations secret until we find it convenient to reveal them. That is exactly the problem with the Coup: those in the Cabinet had issues, but they took action without trying to approach admins and solve them together.

We now have a chance to do differently and solve any outstanding issues. Let's be fair to each other and discuss this calmly, without bad faith accusations, so we can work this out in a way that all can be satisfied. I am willing to talk, but as I keep saying, good faith is paramount.

[95 block]

Yeah, speaking as an outsider, the article sort of reminded me of coverage on the Republican election brought to you by Salon. It has a rather off-putting slant.

No matter how you defend this article, this is how I perceived it as well :/

[Knot II]

Yeah, speaking as an outsider, the article sort of reminded me of coverage on the Republican election brought to you by Salon. It has a rather off-putting slant.

This is why I ignore TRR publications unless I want to read comedy.

[We Are Not the NSA]

Yes, but it fails to mention that many of Predator's users had no idea it was illegal, and it even implies that all raiders do not respect their enemies. I mean, it could have been okay if it questioned raiders' respect for others, which is a completely understandable, but this article just straight up denies it, which is frankly kind of insulting considering how many of us have been cooperative with moderation's investigation.

The author wrote explicitly that not all raiders used Predator, and the only thing coming close to implying that "raiders not respecting their enemies" is the section mentioning Cora, which was an isolated case as mentioned in the article ("Although he seemed to be the only one still clinging to Predator")

I understand the nature of this issue, and make note I acknowledge the efforts made to maintain cooperation with moderation's investigation. Nonetheless, it doesn't change the perceived image of raiders surrounding these events (cheaters or what not.) The article acknowledges this, and is not attacking raiders in general but questions the possibility to change this image in the future after years of abuse.

Well, first off, I did not say that the author did not state that not all raiders were using Predator, because he did. I said that he did not state that not all Predator users were aware that the script was illegal, which is a major factor in the moral debate over this issue.

Many raiders have in that time claimed to play by the rules, to have respect for their enemies and for the game as a whole. This facade...

Not only is this not questioning whether raiders respect their enemies, it is actually asserting that they are cheaters. The author states that the claims made by raiders (not the raiders who actually cheated, but raiders in general) that they respect other players and follow the rules are lies, despite the fact that many raiders have been just as shocked/outraged by the revelations of the past few days as many defenders. I get the part about this being a huge scandal, and I understand that even with all of the details in play it still reflects poorly on the Raider Community, but there are several sections of this article that deliberately twist the truth to make raiders look even worse.