NationStates

It’s 2020. NationStates is celebrating a new decade. Players are bored out of their minds in self-isolation. Surely there couldn’t be a better time for a new NS World Fair?

I think people should stop assuming someone else is going to take the initiative to found a new fair or the old NS World Fair Committee will rise from the ashes. If someone wants to do it, do it.

Someone with some credibility should just create a Discord room here for open planning and invite people to help organize a World Fair. The person who makes the Discord room isn’t necessarily the chief organizer — but facilitating the conversation is an important step.

You’ll need creative input and willing volunteers. The initial questions to resolve are the logistics (date/host/theme/forum/moderation) and assigning tasks to key volunteers for organizing any lectures and/or any roleplayed event(s). It’s not easy but it’s also not complicated, a few willing organizers could put together the basics in short order for planning purposes.

Cue the opening bass riff from “Come Together.”

It would be quite the refreshing change of pace from all this utter crap going on right now.

-1 terrible idea, can't relate

I think this is a really interesting idea and I'd definitely like to see a return of the World Fair. They were a great opportunity to interact with people from other regions and get to see other regions and what they had to offer. It's difficult to see that kind of cultural exchange elsewhere in NS. Not to mention, in times like these any distraction is most welcome.

One region I think can pull this off is probably Caer Sidi, they're really good when it comes to stuff like this I hear.

This is a good idea.

Pacific con is happening, and there maaaaaaay be something coming soon from CS, so keep your eyes peeled :3

Yeah but some people might not be able to come

The NS World Fair turned into a clusterfuck before, when there wasn't a world-wide crisis driving everyone's stress levels up. No thanks. Maybe next year.

the what?

Let's not start another dumpster fire while the last one is still burning

Yokiria wrote:The NS World Fair turned into a clusterfuck before, when there wasn't a world-wide crisis driving everyone's stress levels up. No thanks. Maybe next year.

We ran those fairs for years — and one bad fair convinces some people that they must be, by default, a ’clusterfuck’? What about the other eight of them? They were the cultural highlight of the year in the some cases, a time when we got together.

I think a lot of people want something to do and they want to engage with a community in a time of relative isolation and anxiety. A new world fair could celebrate a message of hope, resilience, and togetherness. I have all these folks saying to me “it’d be nice...” but I don’t have a magic wand to make things happen — if people want to have a fun, enjoyable fair, it all begins with some keen folks saying “let’s do it,” open a planning workshop, invite people who might be interested in organizing, and asking the big questions:

1) When?

2) How will this fair work? What will make it engaging?

3) Who can complete each task ahead?

4) Where?

5) How do we avoid problems that have occurred before — and create something that will offer a good experience to participants?

My first thought is that the NS World Fair is a big blank canvass for cultural organizers to dream big and plan things that are done on a bigger scale than are usually organized. It’s an event that invites fun, creative solutions to logistical and political challenges. That means looking at “how can we host this thing without Zetaboards?” and getting innovative... that means looking at past fairs and saying “if regional hosts introduce too much politics into the fair, what can we do to make the fair more collaborative and give people a sense of collective, creative ownership over it without hosts?” A simple idea is to hold a vote for a Fair Mascot (like the Olympics) and the player who wins gets to use the Mascot as their account/avatar during the Fair. (I'm imagining a high profile GPer attending a Fair as a radioactive tangerine-coloured Donkey named Douglas that speaks in neighs.) You look for fun ways to encourage people to provide input and creative direction.

If you’re waiting for someone else to organize a fair it’s not going to happen; if you’re letting one bad fair dictate what is and isn’t possible, you never risk putting together something fun and engaging! But if you approach something with an open mind and invite other organizers to help in the spirit of fun and community, you’re always on solid ground to move ahead. Everything good that has ever happened in this great game in the past twenty years began with a few players spontaneously saying “sure, let’s do it” against a backdrop of skepticism.

I don't see how the last World Fair could be a stand-alone predictor for a 2020 one.

Additionally, international events happen all the time. In terms of moderation, what inherently distinguishes the NSWF from any other one of those events? Size doesn't seem like a major moderation change once you reach a certain point.

The feeders have already spent the last two months planning Pacific-Con, which will happen in April and has been announced on our respective Discord servers. Non-Pacific guests are welcome to attend the event, which will feature speakers for gameplay and roleplay, in-character events for roleplayers, wargame exercises, and fun games for everyone to play.

Qvait wrote:The feeders have already spent the last two months planning Pacific-Con, which will happen in April and has been announced on our respective Discord servers. Non-Pacific guests are welcome to attend the event, which will feature speakers for gameplay and roleplay, in-character events for roleplayers, wargame exercises, and fun games for everyone to play.

Sounds great and everything but the NS World Fair was always something different — organized by players from all stretches of NS on behalf of the greater community.

I should add that planning for an NSWF is best done in a semi-open environment — open up a Discord room for planning. Invite people from all quarters of NS. Things can backfire if more than one group is planning an NSWF at the same time — and you need all the volunteers and talent and creative input you can get anyways.

Just a crotchety vet sharing some experience...

Not a bad idea, I mean lots of folks held up with little to do.

As long as everyone's post stays 6 feet away from my posts, I'll probably join in.

Kuriko wrote:One region I think can pull this off is probably Caer Sidi, they're really good when it comes to stuff like this I hear.

I think so too. Aynia, get to it.

*is pushed out into the spotlight*

I... I've been asked to let you know that there's a small group of us currently planning a thing for sometime earlyish? summer time. It's in early stages at the moment so I can't say much, but if people are interested, we'd love to work with a variety of people :3

Also also, it's not UCR Con 3, that happens in fall, but the announcement for that will be out before you know it!

Aynia Moreaux wrote:*is pushed out into the spotlight*

I... I've been asked to let you know that there's a small group of us currently planning a thing for sometime earlyish? summer time. It's in early stages at the moment so I can't say much, but if people are interested, we'd love to work with a variety of people :3

Also also, it's not UCR Con 3, that happens in fall, but the announcement for that will be out before you know it!

If I could like a post, I would like this

The Stalker wrote:Not a bad idea, I mean lots of folks held up with little to do.

As long as everyone's post stays 6 feet away from my posts, I'll probably join in.

This actually gave me a really great laugh, thanks Stalker

I like the idea. 1 question, whats the world fair?

Aynia Moreaux wrote:*is pushed out into the spotlight*

I... I've been asked to let you know that there's a small group of us currently planning a thing for sometime earlyish? summer time. It's in early stages at the moment so I can't say much, but if people are interested, we'd love to work with a variety of people :3

Also also, it's not UCR Con 3, that happens in fall, but the announcement for that will be out before you know it!

*thumbs up* Good luck Aynia! That's exciting!

These events can be a chance to bring together people from all reaches of the game. I can't imagine a better way to celebrate the NS Community and ring in the new decade. They're going to need a big team with diverse interests and skills, so I think it's important that people in this thread and elsewhere that say they want to make a new fair a reality to get in touch with Aynia and co. These things are always a team effort.

*Exit, pursued by a bear* Aaaah! -Aaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I'd add that it needs rebranded though. NSWF is just too close to NSFW, and last time, that genuinely put some people off from attending.

All Wild Things wrote:I'd add that it needs rebranded though. NSWF is just too close to NSFW, and last time, that genuinely put some people off from attending.

That is ridiculous.

For the record, I am all for this skeleton in the closet of feeder to stay dead. Forever.

Honestly I wish we could have just kept the NS World Fair going. I always looked forward to it. It inspired me to try and come up with new, innovative ideas every year. Now the time just passes with nothing to look forward to. >_>