The Warzone Inquirer

[The Warzone Inquirer]

Issue II - Interesting Times

9th November 2018

---

Foreword by WZEU Duke Apulita

There is an expression that I'm quite fond of. Nominally it is a blessing, but the intended meaning behind it is often the exact opposite. This expression is "May you live in interesting times". The ironic implication, of course, being that non-interesting tranquility might be much preferable and safer than the reverse.

I'm not quite sure what I prefer for the Warzones. The quiet gives us space to build our regions in peace, developing culture, forums, governments, all those vital parts of a functional community. At the same time, Warzones have always thrived on action. A foreign incursion into the warzones has always linked with a significant uptick in native activity. Some kind of happy medium probably exists I suppose, but it is difficult to find. If I were to pick one above the other, I must admit I live in a Warzone for a reason.

For the time being, I am content to declare, may we all live in interesting times.

---

Warzone Asia's Week
Author: Apulita
It has been quite the week for a few of the Warzones, but none more than Warzone Asia, which has gone from a desolate wasteland, languishing in the aftereffects of an NPO incursion, into the Warzone with the highest delegate endorsement count, as well as most RMB activity. This growth is remarkable, and in many ways confusing to other parts of the Warzone community.

Investigative journalism has identified the many-puppeted player choosing to identify with the moniker of Ballpit as behind the occurrences in the region. Bringing large numbers of IRL friends and in-game allies, he has decided to commit his efforts to building a Warzone community. For the curious, more information can be found in the Faces from the Warzones column, where I spoke with Ballpit personally on these matters.

---

OPINION: Can a Warzone have Natives?
Author: Apulita
All too often I've seen a few ideas of NS Gameplay erroneously combined, when in relation to the Warzones. As the argument goes, a Warzone is intended for raiding, and thus those who choose to reside there have no right not to be raided. This logic, I agree with. To make the decision to reside in a Warzone is to implicitly opt-in to gameplay, whether it will be beneficial to you or not. Where we run into trouble is when this logic is extended to make the claim that a Warzone can not have "natives". Even long-term Warzone residents have been known to make the claim that there are no Warzone natives, only semi-permanent guests.

I suppose this might be a difference in definition. To me, a native to a region is someone who classifies that region as their home on Nationstates, above all else. Perhaps instead, it is an ideological difference. To declare the concept of a Warzone native as non-existent gives moral and ethical permission to those seeking to conduct hostile operations against a Warzone, whose otherwise stated goals are the protection of natively-held regions. Many a defender organization has been known to hit Warzone regions exclusively for their practice, after all.

At the end of the day, my main account and WA nation have been committed to Warzone Europe since early 2014. When I found I had the time to return to NS Gameplay and refounded this nation, I didn't have to spend any time at all considering where I would end up, I just went home to Warzone Europe and went from there. I don't know what others would classify this as, but I know what I would call it. I make no claim to have a "right" to my region, nor do I pretend that raiding my community is immoral in any way. What I do say though is, for better or worse, I am a native here.

---

What are Warzones anyway?
There is an ongoing discussion about what Warzones really are, in gameplay terms. The common trend nowadays is to divide the regions of Nationstates into UCR and GCR, a division in which the Warzones technically fall in the latter category. However, it's no secret that while the term "Game-Created Region" explicitly means a region built into the game, the term carries with it a number of implications around size and relevance to gameplay, thanks to the natural population generation of Feeders, Sinkers, and Catchers. The term GCR implies a sort of importance that Warzones are simply without.

To further the discussion on this subject, the Warzone Inquirer has sponsored a very short questionnaire, available at this link, where our readers may share their opinion on the subject. Our next issue will go over the results of this, and discuss what it means for the Warzones.

---

The Warzone-o-meter
In this regular column, the current situation in each of the six Game Created Warzones will be checked and summarized for your viewing pleasure. Here is the state of the Warzones!

Warzone Europe: Endorsements: 9 (+2), Activity: Significant, Notes: Continuing construction of community, Verdict: Waxing
Warzone Australia: Endorsements: 6 (+1), Activity: Significant, Notes: Still a colony of Extalia, Verdict: Waxing
Warzone Africa: Endorsements: 3 (-2), Activity: Quiet, Notes: Most activity coming from foreigners, Verdict: Waning
Warzone Sandbox: Endorsements: 5 (+0), Activity: Quiet, Notes: They like the quiet, Verdict: Stagnant
Warzone Airspace: Endorsements: 2 (+0), Activity: Quiet, Notes: Looking for Senators, Verdict: Stagnant
Warzone Asia: Endorsements: 17 (+17), Activity: Booming, Notes: Significant involvement of non-native powers, Verdict: Waxing

---

Faces from the Warzones
In this regular column, we sit down with an important face in the Warzones and get to know a little more about them. This time, I spoke to Ballpit, a new rising star in the Warzone community and the engineer behind the explosive occurrences in Warzone Asia in the past week.

Alright, a warm welcome and thanks for joining me in the second edition of Faces from the Warzones! Anything you'd like to say before we begin?

Ballpit: Nope, just happy to be here. What can I do for ya?

So first off, you publicly have a lot of puppets kicking around on this site, what do you choose to identify as?

Ballpit: I am known as "Ballpit" so let's go with that.

Great. My first real question for you is on your general history with the site. When did you start out with Nationstates?

Ballpit: Exactly 36 Days ago.
36 days prior to this interview, that is.
[Editors Note: This interview occurred on November 8th 2018]

You're very young on this site compared to most of our audience, what brought you here?

Ballpit: Coincidence? Ambition? It's hard to tell for sure. I joined my first Warzone (Warzone Australia) 19 days ago. (Again, using the time of this interview as a Point Of View for time.) after that I later joined Warzone Europe and then later my crew and I took Warzone Asia, which was highly inactive. We have since began to extend invitations for diplomatic relations with the above two mentioned Warzones.

On the subject of Warzone Asia, there are a number of questions in the air. Katz Kingdom WA is the current delegate, is this another puppet of yours, or a comrade in arms?

Ballpit: He is my Lieutenant. If that were my puppet, I would be in violation of site rules, as I am banned from the World Assembly.

So Katz is the delegate, but you would classify Warzone Asia as under your indirect control?

Ballpit: Yes. He is my Second In Command. As such, I am the one extending invitations for diplomatic ties.
My control there is mostly implicit.
If I need something done, I tell him, but other than that, the region is his.

Now, the biggest question on everyone's mind is the endorsements. Warzone Asia has very quickly risen to the top of the Warzone endorsement count. Where are they from?

Ballpit: The straight answer? Most are from IRL friends. I asked most people who I knew to simply create an account and apply the endorsement. The current count still isn't good enough for me, and I will continue to add to that number until I am satisfied that my Lieutenant will enjoy a long uninterrupted reign there. It's simple. As a raider, I know how things work. And it's good to exercise a bit of paranoia every now and then. This is one of those cases. For something like a Warzone, having a public display of total control is something I am proud of. I'm proud of my Lieutenant for securing the Delegacy, and will continue to get him the endorsements he needs to maintain his position.

At the time of writing, Katz Kingdom WA has 18 endorsements. Roughly how many would you call permanent settlers, and how many are temporary supporters such as those from the TYA Alliance as credited in your World Factbook Entry?

Ballpit: Hmmm.
If I was looking at the names I could give you a better estimate, but I'm not at the moment. I'd say roughly eleven would be permanent, and the other seven will likely withdraw after a week for retasking.

You've identified yourself as a raider. What's your history with this section of gameplay?

Ballpit: It's a short one, at least, the legal part of raiding is. The above part where I mentioned my WA ban? I (not proud of it) WA multiied and was a one man raid team. This was 35 days ago. The legal raiding is something I have helped orchestrate with my men for roughly the past week. We are extremely new and still learning the ropes. This can also be an implied reason for wishing to maintain hold of a Warzone, having knowledge of their history for being highly volatile regions known for games of "regional ping-pong."

You've certainly had quite the month on Nationstates, where do you plan to go from here? Any goals or ambitions you'd like to share?

Ballpit: Well, the main thing I have been working towards is getting that WA ban lifted. I've adhered to site rules and even in some cases I've enforced them where I could. I'm simply doing my own thing but at the same time I've got a small army to lead.

Thanks for taking part in this interview today. As a final question, what would you say to those looking in to the Warzones from outside, who have little to no context for what you're doing?

Ballpit: To the outsiders and non-Warzone participants? Sure. I'd say that they are in for a treat, so grab that popcorn. I want to see a unified Warzones like never seen before, but these ideals can only be built on by the participation of the other Warzone Delegates and leaders. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

---

What's on?
There are always an abundance of fun and interesting activities going on. Below for your convenience, we've listed a few Warzone happenings this week!
-Warzone Europe Trivia League
-Warzone Europe Flag Design Competition

Want us to link your activities in this column? Get in touch with this account via telegram.

---

This draws to a close the second issue of the Warzone Inquirer. Expect more to follow, touching on news both within and without the Warzone regions. Want to write a column for us, or want us to run a story on a subject you know about? Our telegrams are always open!

[Bears Armed]

Re "OPINION: Can a Warzone have Natives?" I've even seen some raiders claim that since Influence-based mechanics replaced the previous system for moderating invasions, which had recognized 'natives' as a category entitled to specific protection (although working out who was or wasn't genuinely native to a region could sometimes be difficult), no region has natives!

[Lord Dominator]

Interesting stuff ya' got here

[Milozoldyck]

Can a Warzone have Natives?

Yes. Being a native in a warzone is simply characterized by always returning home.

[The Warzone Inquirer]

Issue III - Meadows in Metropolis

2nd December 2018

---

Foreword by Malphe

Sometimes I can't help but feel like NS as a whole is a little chartered, with so many various programs and guides and people around for over a decade who have regionbuilding and raiding or defending down to a precise science with all their own terminology and bots. If you found a UCR you can more or less go through a few old paths so trodden they've become canyons and you'll have a thriving community, and the GCRs are so monolithic that change usually happens slowly or, when they do move fast, painfully for those involved. NS has reached a point that mapping out the game would be a near impossible task, as it moves so fast and has so many little cogs that it would be a similar task as trying to understand all technology in the modern world. It's impossible.

I think this is why I, as well as some other people I'm guessing, are so attracted to the warzones. They're in a very unique position, they're irrelevant enough to have only a few eyes on them at any point but they're still GCRs; the warzones will never fade into total obscurity. Since they're rarely taken at all seriously what you can and can't do in a Warzone is up in the air, it's a small world and there's so much that hasn't been tried- I do think that if NS were a tiny game with only a few dozen or maybe a few hundred active members I think the landscape of gameplay would look a little like the Warzones, with so little mapped out and people not entirely sure what they can and can't do with what they have. A little like early youtube, before anybody got a hang of the algorithm and just did what they thought might work.

So I guess when I put time to developing the Warzones, whether through a news service or trying to establish a government in one of them, I'm just trying to map it out a little bit. See what I can and can't get away with, and know that the ground I'm treading is at least mostly untouched. The Warzones are a meadow in a metropolis, though I'll always have sight of the skyscrapers it's nice to have a little peace and quiet once in a while.

---

Warzone Federation Declared
Shock and awe rumbled throughout the Warzones recently, when the announcement went public that the governments of Warzones Airspace, Asia, and Europe, had jointly negotiated the formation of a federation of their three communities. The idea of Warzone community unification is nothing new, but the Warzone Federation is unique in it's far-reaching consequences. Where many other attempts have resulted in half-measures or sputtering collapses, the federation has immediately begun with the radical move of full community unification. Groups from all three Warzones have moved to Warzone Europe, where a provisional government was formed, and a constitution signed into law. [ED: Constitution available here.]

Sources indicate that attempts were made to reach out to the native communities of Warzones Australia, Africa, and Sandbox, though in the former's case the government at the time was unsupportive of the idea, and the latter two were unable to participate in active negotiations. Notable, however, is the Federation's constitution which includes a section legally allowing future Warzone native communities to annex themselves into the federation, and receive the same representative rights as the founding communities. This would seem to indicate that the federation has not completely abandoned its attempt to involve the entirety of the native Warzoner movement.

---

NPO Delenda Est, the Warzone Perspective
Warzones have always had to take a pragmatic approach to interregional politics. With their uniquely unstable mechanics, there has been little room for ideology or pride. However, this long pattern of attempted quiet and undisturbed isolationism is sometimes broken when events are of sufficient significance. In terms of the diplomatic fallout surrounding the New Pacific Order, this seems to be one of those events.

The occupiers of Warzone Australia, Amestris, are in open war with the NPO. The same was true of the former occupants of Warzone Asia, a group of raiders from Extalia. After this group was ousted, the new occupiers maintained the closure of the TP embassy after "re-assessing the situation, as well as the ideology of The Pacific in relations to UCRs & other GCRs". While not going so far as to declare war, the native governments in Warzones Europe, Africa, Airspace, and Sandbox, have all also expressed their displeasure with the exposed actions of the NPO in the form of embassy closure.

The following image, captured on the 27th of November, is indicative of what the Inquirer's in-house political theorists are calling the Solid Six, a term describing the foreign policy decisions of the native Warzones, which more often than not follow very similar trends.

---

What are Warzones anyway? - Part 2
Author: Lyrasan
Last issue we brought up a discussion that still goes on today: What are the Warzones? While officially they are Game Created Regions (GCRs) they do not convey the same mental image that one expects when they think of GCRs. The Warzones do not carry anywhere near the same sort of name recognition nor influence as the other GCRs. We sponsored a questionnaire asking respondents to classify the Warzones under one of four options. The results are fairly straightforward with 2/3 of the responses (4 out of 6) stating that they believed the Warzones were equally qualified to be called GCRs as the more prominent ones. 1/3 (2 of 4) of the responses classify the Warzones as being purely their own thing, no other clarification needed.

Now, from a technical standpoint the majority would be correct. No GCR is greater than another, and therefore the Warzones are as equal to the other GCRs as they are to one another. However, stepping away from the technical perspective it can be said that differences amongst the GCRs start to form. The Warzones have always been a tumultuous place with only a handful of them having governments that last more than a year. Because of this they may not garner the same respect as the other GCRs whose governments can last the better part of a decade or more. As it stands perhaps the minority are correct: perhaps the Warzones should be considered just their own thing. Separate from the other GCRs, as separate as the Feeders are from the Sinkers.

See the full results of our survey here.

---

The Warzone-o-meter
In this regular column, the current situation in each of the six Game Created Warzones will be checked and summarized for your viewing pleasure. Here is the state of the Warzones!

Warzone Europe: Endorsements: 18 (+9), Activity: Booming, Notes: Home of the Federation, Verdict: Waxing
Warzone Australia: Endorsements: 6 (+0), Activity: Significant, Notes: Occupied by forces of Amestris, Verdict: Stagnant
Warzone Africa: Endorsements: 4 (+1), Activity: Quiet, Notes: Natives restored after temporary occupation, Verdict: Stagnant
Warzone Sandbox: Endorsements: 6 (+1), Activity: Quiet, Notes: N/A, Verdict: Stagnant
Warzone Airspace: Endorsements: 2 (+0), Activity: Quiet, Notes: Lost significant activity to the Federation, Verdict: Waning
Warzone Asia: Endorsements: 5 (-12), Activity: Significant, Notes: Numerous changings of hands, all support closing NPO Embassy, Verdict: Waning

---

Faces from the Warzones
In this regular column, we sit down with an important face in the Warzones and get to know a little more about them. This week, I had a chat with Lyrasan, a titan of Warzone nativehood and the recently assumed provisional delegate of the Warzone Federation.

Hello Lyrasan, thank you for catching up with me today, and welcome to the third edition of Faces from the Warzones.
As always, I'd like to begin by asking you how you got started on Nationstates.

Lyrasan: Thanks for having me. I got started with Nationstates in October of 2013 when a friend recommended it to me and some other friends.

And if you could summarize, what is your general history with the website since then?

Lyrasan: Well, I've been active in a number of regions across 3 or so nations including Lyrasan. I think it was around early 2014 I came across the Warzones and decided I wanted to take part in this rather obscure part of NS. I chose Airspace mainly due to it being the home base of Codger who I wanted to replace as longest serving leader of the Warzones, at the time anyways. For a brief period Crisisies and I did some raiding based out of Airspace until we got bored and decided to just settle down at our home base. I have been leader of Airspace a handful of times and under the latest government have served as the First and Fourth Skylord [ED: Title of Delegate] of WZAI.

I'm glad you've brought up your involvement in the Warzones. You are one of the few large Warzone personalities that has survived on since the 2014-2016 golden age of native communities. Why do you think you've stayed while others have moved on?

Lyrasan: I think what always drew me to stay with the Warzones were the small, rather tightknit communities. Where some of the regions I was involved with grew and collapsed over the years, the Warzones typically stayed rather small, even during the 14-16 golden age as you say. For maybe the last year or so I have thought about moving on from the warzones, that was in fact why I stepped down as Skylord the first time. Even with that though, I have remained and can't really see myself leaving anytime soon.

Interesting perspective, thank you for sharing it. Do you have any particular anecdotes you'd like to share from your past in influencing the Warzones? Any moments of particular pride as Skylord?

Lyrasan: While it's not any particular moment I would say that any time we managed to fend off raids usually made me quite happy. Airspace is usually a small region so for us to beat back raiders was always a good feeling.

You've been involved with Warzone Airspace in particular for quite a while, and now you're heading a provisional government based in Warzone Europe. How do you feel about this, and about the Warzone Federation in general?

Lyrasan: I'm really excited about this whole thing. Over the years I've seen many a failed Warzone interregional government, this is something else entirely. I am very interested in seeing how this new project goes and hope that it ends up succeeding. I must admit I was sad to leave Warzone Airspace but I think that this is a powerful next step in the history of the Warzones.

Given your position in the provisional government, do you have any specific plans or predictions for what progress the Federation will make in the short term?

Lyrasan: My plans for the Federation for the near future would be to really get the government set up and have the institutions running. I'm hoping we can have the basic infrastructure down soon so that we can begin to set up the states and then the legislature, culminating in the election of the first president.

Interesting, we're all very excited to see where this all leads. And what about you personally, in terms of ambitions, should we perhaps expect a presidential candidacy around the corner?

Lyrasan: I haven't ruled anything out at this point, but I would like to get things set up before I commit to anything. I will say that if people want me to I am certainly willing to serve. [ED: Since this interview, Lyrasan has in fact declared candidacy for the presidency.]

Well, thank you for catching up with us today. Do you have any final words for those observing the formation of this Federation, from inside or out?

Lyrasan: All I ask is that people keep an open mind. We've seen our fair share of unsuccessful interregional governments but I honestly believe this one will be different. I hope that people will be able to see this and not just disregard this new Federation right off the bat.

---

What's on?
There are always an abundance of fun and interesting activities going on. Below for your convenience, we've listed a few happenings this week!
-Warzone Europe Trivia League
-Warzone Federation General Elections

Want us to link your activities in this column? Get in touch with this account via telegram.

---

This draws to a close the third issue of the Warzone Inquirer. Expect more to follow, touching on news both within and without the Warzone regions. Our telegram box is always open to those looking to contribute a foreword or column, or sit for an interview.

Special thanks to Malphe and Lyrasan for contributing to this issue of the Warzone Inquirer.

[Apulita]

The Editor in Chief (me) would like to apologize to our faithful readers for the delay in publication. A combination of final exams, negotiating a federation, and celebrating a birthday, left little time to write.

[Lyrasan]

"Titan of Warzone Nativehood" hmm...

I like that

[The Warzone Inquirer]

Unaffiliated Article 1 - Special Correction

3rd December 2018

---

Warzone Australia swaps hands

We apologize to our readers for an inconsistent fact in our previous publication. During our regular Warzone-O-Meter column, often the state of the warzones is checked days in advance of the publication of the issue. In this instance, this has led to a lack of coverage of a notable occurrence in Warzone Australia. After the withdrawal of Extalian forces ordered by Domais, the region had come under the purview of Amestris, who held it as some sort of vanity project.

One and a half days ago, at the time of writing, forces of the North Pacific Army and the South Pacific Special Forces worked on a cooperative operation in which they seized control of the region and ejected forces from Amestris. Questions about the instigation of this attack were quickly answered when occupying forces made hints in the WZAU World Factbook Entry at their disapproval of the leader of Amestris, Bradley or Saint Block, and his past actions.

Warzone Australia has struggled for a long time to properly establish a native presence, though since the pullout of Extalia little movement has been seen, so our expert analysts predict that this exchange of control has done little damage to the region's prospects. It is rare for the larger GCR cousins of the Warzones to care enough to launch a military operation within them, so all natives will be paying close attention to recent events in Warzone Australia. More importantly, this may lead to changes in policy among native governments who hope to avoid becoming the next target of a more Warzone-aware GCR military.

[Crisisies]

Love it.

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

Happy to take part in getting rid of Amestria or whatever it's called from Warzone Australia

[Neo Domais]

Amestr's op was over, they were done. A little late to the party.

[King Bradley]

You guys did a good job, Mad Jack. XD

[Liberated American Provinces]

These are absolutely wonderful.

[The Warzone Inquirer]

Issue IV - Phoenix Arisen

30th December 2019

---

Foreword by Apulita

The Warzone community is, in my experience, a magical thing. It can take beating after beating, sometimes self-inflicted, but it never truly dies. The resilience and determination of this community is why I myself keep coming back for more, I hunger for the sheer energy. We are helped, of course, by the fact that our forgotten GCRs, while difficult to hold, are impossible to truly lose. Warzones cannot be refounded, or locked out with passwords. It makes our job more difficult, but in times of crisis it is a fact that we greatly rely on.

The recent history of the Warzones, in my opinion, is a tragedy. The Warzone Federation, an interregional government uniting the Warzone Native movements for (to my knowledge) the first time, ended in collapse after disagreements about the legitimacy of a presidential election spiraled into a civil war, and further disagreements saw numerous declarations of secession. The Federation hobbled on for a while, a legal ghost, but it would not recover. It is a deep regret of mine that I was not present at the time of the downfall, but I doubt my intervention could have saved my child project either way.

With the effective death of the Warzone Federation, the Warzone Native movements were scattered to the winds, torn apart by grudges and significantly damaged by loss of activity. The Warzone Communities were heavily crippled, to be blunt. But as can be guaranteed to happen, the life-cycle of the Warzones continued and the bust would gradually shift into a boom. Over the past several months, with little fanfare or celebration, the Warzone communities have picked up the pieces and pulled themselves back together.

All six Warzones have native governments claiming legitimacy, and two (Sandbox and Europe) have ten or more local endorsements. The signing of the Warzone Treaty was a significant step in moving on from the damages of the Federation, a sign that the Warzone communities were ready and willing to cooperate again. Constitutions have been drafted, governments elected, and just like that, the Phoenix that is the Warzones arises once more.

---

Lazarus is a big fish, in the small Warzone pond
Author: Apulita
Lazarus, under the authority of LazCorp, has recently become the most significant foreign influence flexing their muscles within the Warzone regions. In their war with the New Pacific Order, they have committed themselves to targeting regions associated, even loosely, with the Pacific, and this eventually led LazCorp to target regions which have embassies with the Pacific, a category including both Warzone Europe and Warzone Asia.

On the 18th of December, forces from Lazarus took control of Warzone Asia, with the stated intent to close the embassy with the Pacific. While the occupiers held for some time, on the 20th native forces managed to reclaim their region with the help of a number of outside allies. After attempts on Warzone Africa and Warzone Airspace were bested, Lazarus found their mark on the 22nd in a quick assault which took Warzone Europe, while the region's infant government had yet to organize a military or security force. Embassy closures soon followed.

A back-and-forth over the next few days saw failed attempts to liberate Warzone Europe, and further the fall of Warzone Asia back to occupation, culminating in an operation on the 24th of December including operatives from the NPO, IJN, TMO, WZEU, and WZAS. The Christmas Eve Operation successfully liberated both Warzone Europe and Warzone Asia, and native government was immediately restored to both regions.

Following the Christmas Eve liberations, forces from both sides settled in for the holiday proper, agreeing to an informal Christmas truce and enjoying time in the Real World^TM. The truce would not hold permanently, however, as on the 29th, forces from Lazarus were successful in an operation to take Warzone Airspace, though they have avoided stepping on most toes, surprisingly preserving much of the pre-existing World Factbook Entry among other actions to make their occupation less onerous.

The occupation of Warzone Airspace, which had no embassy with the Pacific to begin with, is prime evidence of the real rationale behind LazCorp's recent invasions throughout the Warzones. This rationale was confirmed when I spoke with Imaginary/Sylven, Vice-Director and currently the commander of Lazarus's military. Confirming that the Warzones serve as a "cool context to practice doing ops", the supposed ideological nature of the operations can be discarded.

One should not assume, however, that Lazarus coldly views the Warzones as target practice to drill up their troops. As confirmed by Imaginary/Sylven, "the main reason is to have a great time". This view is shared by the author, who can speak only to the fair and reasonable conduct of Lazarus's forces at every point in the recent conflicts, and who could ask for few occupiers more enjoyable.

NOTE: Readers should be made aware that everything is not as it seems in Warzone Australia.

---

The First Warzone Awards
Author: Apulita
Organized by Alnorud, the delegate of Warzone Asia (who is the subject of this edition's Faces from the Warzones!), the Warzone Awards is a new take on the trend of yearly awards ceremonies in NS Gameplay, this time with a Warzone spin!

While the Warzone Awards have not been met with much fanfare or excitement (the title of the first awards being "Why Not" is indicative), there is certainly much to cover, for the events of this year include everything from the downfall of the Warzone Federation to the new conflict between Lazarus and the once-again cooperating Warzones.

Time will tell whether this experiment will stand the test of time, but either way this author is happy to have a space to recognize the contributions to these oft-forgotten communities.

---

The Warzone-o-meter
In this regular column, the current situation in each of the six Game Created Warzones will be summarized for your viewing pleasure. Here is the state of the Warzones!

Warzone Europe: Endorsements: 11, Activity: Significant, Notes: New Government, Verdict: Waxing
Warzone Australia: Endorsements: 5, Activity: Significant, Notes: Fake Occupation, Verdict: Stable
Warzone Africa: Endorsements: 3, Activity: Significant, Notes: Long-running native government, Verdict: Stable
Warzone Sandbox: Endorsements: 15, Activity: Quiet, Notes: Longest-running current delegacy, Verdict: Waxing
Warzone Airspace: Endorsements: 8, Activity: Significant, Notes: OCCUPATION: LAZARUS, Verdict: Trouble
Warzone Asia: Endorsements: 7, Activity: Quiet, Notes: Recently recovered native government, Verdict: Stable

---

Faces from the Warzones
In this regular column, we sit down with an important face in the Warzones and get to know a little more about them. This week, I spoke to Alnorud, the delegate of Warzone Asia and a notably hard-working member of the Warzone Native community.

Alnorud, thank you very much for joining me for the rebirth of the Warzone Inquirer. Before we begin, is there anything you'd like to say to our readers?

Alnorud: Well, first I would like to thank you for inviting me, I'm glad to attend the rebirth of the Warzone Inquirer and I hope readers will have an interesting read.

I appreciate that, thank you. We generally start around here by establishing the background. What is your general history with Nationstates?

Alnorud: I started Nationstates in 2015, however communication wasn't easy as I was pretty young and not a native English speaker. After maybe three months as an hermit, I was invited to a region named Auralia in late 2015. This is the region where I first interacted with a Nationstates community, participated to some Roleplay and military occupations. However I left after some time as there had been problems between the Roleplay and Military branches, then I spent some time on and off from 2016 to 2018 in small French speaking regions.

My first interaction with Warzones was actually pretty late, I was founder of the Alliance du Lys which switched from a French speaking region to an English speaking one and my first action here was in December 2018 when I became Delegate of Warzone Asia as an ally of the Warzone Federation.

I became officially a citizen of the Federation in February 2019, and member of the New Pacific Order in April of the same year.
Then I served various positions under the Federation, and I'm now Lord Amyral of Warzone Asia.

Thank you. I'd like to explore a little deeper into your early history with the Warzones. What was your initial motivation for getting involved, and how did you feel it went at first?

Alnorud: I had at first the interests of my own region in mind but then I realized the existence of the Federation. I decided to support Warzoners by providing pilers and serving as Delegate, I think it went pretty well at first and I ended considering Warzone Asia as my home as well after some time, hence why I applied to citizenship.

Your political tenure in the Warzone Federation was controversial to some. Could you summarize your involvement in the government of the Federation, and your perspective on the Federation's collapse?

Alnorud: Indeed, I was citizen during the second government and then became candidate to the Senate of the third government. These elections happened during a period of inactivity which extended the election period from April to May, this was also due to a legislative problem as potential candidates to the Presidency were not able to serve as Delegate of Warzone Europe as it was suggested by the Constitution. So in early May I spent a few days to gather elected officials, write and ratify a new law and elect a new President with the Senate.

I suppose this and my military cooperation with the Federation participated to the choice of President Crisisies to appoint me as Secretary of Defense during their term. My involvement as Secretary involved rewriting the law about the Military system, ending the chaos in Warzone Airspace by looking for external support and such.

Finally, the most controversial period is likely to be my terms as President. I actually already started the decentralization process supported by my opponents during the Civil War but Constitution writing seems to have been too slow for a part of the citizens. I must say it's saddening for a reformist like me who spent time to reform the laws during the inactivity periods to be criticized in the name of politics that I would have supported.

As for my perspective on the Federation's collapse, I think almost everyone won the war because many had no longer interests in the survival of the Federation, I also consider that miscommunication is the main reason of why it happened.

Thank you for your thoughts on that. What have you been doing in the Warzones since the independence of Warzone Asia from the Federation?

Alnorud: Since Warzone Asia became independent, I have been working in Warzone Asia in order to organize the government, recruitment, culture and bilingual policies. As for the Warzones as a whole, I actively participated to discussions between government officials or with other Warzone citizens, I also became the informal organizer of the Warzone Military cooperation server.

You've also been noted as a big advocate for the relevancy of the Warzones on the larger stage, with such moves as the creation of an independent Warzone Awards for 2019. What is your goal in these measures?

Alnorud: I think that the Warzones are a unique kind of experience in Nationstates, just like being citizen of a Feeder or a Sinker is not the same as being citizen of a UCR or Founderless region, being citizen of a Warzone is different. But it's not wrong, only different.
I rightly expected some eyebrows raised about the Warzone Awards, but I don't think this should prevent anyone from doing things for the good of the Warzones on a larger stage. Warzoners seemed to like the idea of Warzone Awards and I don't think external skepticism is a good reason enough to prevent them from enjoying Nationstates.

You've certainly made your mark on the Warzones so far, what plans do you have for the future?

Alnorud: This is a tough question, Warzones are an unpredictable place to say the least.

I'm hoping for the best for Warzone Asia and my regional community, I'm also looking forward to successful cooperation between Warzoners, I think we ready to learn from our past.

With that, our interview comes to an end. Any closing remarks?

Alnorud: This year have been very interesting in the Warzones, I'm hoping to enjoy the incoming year.

I'm also wishing you good luck with the revival of the Warzone Inquirer, it's been a pleasure to answer your questions!

---

What's on?
There are always an abundance of fun and interesting activities going on in the Warzones. Below for your convenience, we've listed a few happenings this week!
-Warzone Awards 2019
-Warzone Europe's Crown Recruitment Drive

Want us to link your activities in this column? Get in touch with this account via telegram.

---

This draws to a close the fourth issue of the Warzone Inquirer. Expect more to follow, touching on news both within and without the Warzone regions. Our telegram box is always open to those looking to contribute a foreword or column, or sit for an interview.

Staff at the Warzone Inquirer apologize for the full year gap between editions of this paper, but make no promise to do better.

[Your Imaginary Friend]

Yay for news! It's nice to see people noticing the Guard as we zip around tying everyone's hair in knots. :) Gotta keep y'all on your toes!

[Indo-Malaysia]

Top notch