Help us fix old issues

[Luna Amore]

There appears to be a typo present in option 2 of issue #756 "The Issue With Issues."

You suddenly hear a shattering noise and find Theresa Kim, your Advisor Of Trivial Matters, has broken through your office window. “Sorry about that, your office door was being fixed,” she apologies. “Anyway, an issues crackdown? Ha! Your window’s a trivial issue, yet you’ll probably be enlisting all of Rekasneg’s government to replace it! I say, anyone who wants should be able to bring an issue directly to your attention! Then the people will feel like the government is a helpful organization working for them, not something big to fear! If that doesn’t work, I’ll even help fix your window!”

I believe that it's supposed to be "apologizes" rather than "apologies."

Fixed. Looks like the z ran away.

[Novo Wagondia]

It seems as though choosing option #3 on Issue 717 (Cheques And Balances) causes an inverse of its forecasted effect. After I confirmed the third option (supporting the independence of a central bank), the stats screen told me that my tax rate had dropped 1.3%, with a 1/3 percent increase in economic output. The raise in all these variables was corroborated by NSIndex, which predicted those same increases. Unfortunately, what appeared to be an ideal outcome was soiled because my tax rate actually increased by a roughly similar amount, with my economic output ticking downward slightly. I'm no stranger to issues which surprise you with unanticipated outcomes, or have exaggerated effects, but this seemed to be more a technical issue because the stats screen guaranteed rises and drops which were then reversed when I went to the variable-specific charts. I really did enjoy the issue's content, so naturally I hope something can be done to prevent the same thing happening to somebody else.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Yes, I see what you mean. This is definitely one for the technical team, maybe try and get violet's attention in Technical.

The issue software reports tax rate going from 39.69 to 39.16.

Your graph shows 37.58 to 39.16.

Same endpoint, but different baseline.

My guess is:

1) At the previous update you were at 37.58%.
2) A WA resolution passed, committing you to shrinking your economy somehow, which necessitated tax going to 39.69%
3) The issue triggered, getting you down to 39.16%
4) The update happened, and a new graph point was plotted.

That's my best guess, as a resolution did pass around that time, and many WA nations that don't answer issues at all saw their tax rates rise. For example, your region neighbour United Kingdom of Poland went from 9.38% to 9.98%, and has not answered any issues for a very long time.

I'm just speculating, technical staff will be able to confirm or refute this.

If the above was true, it was probably this WA resolution here:
https://www.nationstates.net/page=WA_pa ... /council=1

...authored by our very own prodigy editor Ransium, so I guess in a roundabout way you CAN blame the editing team after all.

[Novo Wagondia]

I appreciate the speedy reply and the justification; it does make much more sense that way. I may still bring it up with technical, but the mysterious winds of the WA are always a good scapegoat. Thanks for the help

[Wobbegong]

Issue #123: Now, Vat's Food For Thought

I've been trying to get the banner for embracing VATS, and picked the first option, thinking having VATS meat to research and to consume would give me the banner, but it did not.

The second and third option just has you either research or consume VATS meat respectively. Of which when I had the issue again I picked the second option and still have yet to get the banner.

The fourth option rejects VATS while the fifth option makes everyone sterile and has your population grown in VATS from now on.

I think I've picked the fifth option before, but I could be wrong, it being so long since I've seen this issue and remembered what option I've chosen before.

On a similar note, is there a thread that discusses banners and how to achieve them?

I may be wrong posting this in Got Issues, I apologize if I am.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Technical does banners.

edit: actually, tell a lie, I forgot that we gained access to banner coding (though to see, not change) a short while ago.

Anyway, yep, have checked it out.

I don't think I'm allowed to tell you which options trigger that banner though.

[Wobbegong]

Technical does banners.

edit: actually, tell a lie, I forgot that we gained access to banner coding (though to see, not change) a short while ago.

Anyway, yep, have checked it out.

I don't think I'm allowed to tell you which options trigger that banner though.

So the options I've previously picked did not trigger the banner?

Should I take this up with Technical?

Thank you Candlewhisper Archive for answering me.

[Luna Amore]

Technical does banners.

edit: actually, tell a lie, I forgot that we gained access to banner coding (though to see, not change) a short while ago.

Anyway, yep, have checked it out.

I don't think I'm allowed to tell you which options trigger that banner though.

So the options I've previously picked did not trigger the banner?

Should I take this up with Technical?

Thank you Candlewhisper Archive for answering me.

There's no technical fault that I see.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Sorry, I should have been less ambiguous. By "checked it out" I mean that there is no error.

[Jutsa]

Are you supposed to be able to get issue #011 as a democratically elected civil rights lovefest which has never once been a dictatorship?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

No.

Flagged elsewhere, and fixed. Was my error.

[Trotterdam]

I've been trying to get the banner for embracing VATS, and picked the first option, thinking having VATS meat to research and to consume would give me the banner, but it did not.

That's probably just the fifth option. Growing people in vats is a major nation-changing event that is tracked with a flag and leads to a followup issue. I'm not sure the game even remembers whether you're using vats for food or replacement organs, aside from slightly increasing your healthcare numbers and the like.

[Anollasia]

From issue 592:

“Boy, am I glad they caught that monster?” asks chat show host Colleen Sestero hopefully rhetorically, just after airing a thirty minute segment profiling the killer.

The question mark just feels wrong. It seems like she means it more like "Boy, am I glad they caught that monster!" but with the question mark, I keep reading it with an intonation at the end. It does say she's asking (rhetorically) but why should she ask people if she's glad they caught that monster. It makes more sense as an exclamation.

[Merconitonitopia]

From issue 592:

“Boy, am I glad they caught that monster?” asks chat show host Colleen Sestero hopefully rhetorically, just after airing a thirty minute segment profiling the killer.

The question mark just feels wrong. It seems like she means it more like "Boy, am I glad they caught that monster!" but with the question mark, I keep reading it with an intonation at the end. It does say she's asking (rhetorically) but why should she ask people if she's glad they caught that monster. It makes more sense as an exclamation.

Yeah that one always trips me up. Does sound like he's trying to be rhetorical and critical, rather than trying to farce sincerity.

[Ransium]

Maybe the host is just looking into the deep empty void that is her soul and looking for even the tiniest speck of what she can just barely remember as "feelings"? I think that's what's being implied anyway.

[Trotterdam]

It could also be read as her expressing doubt about whether they really caught the right monster.

But what I'm really here to do is point out a double space in the effect line for #759 option 3, just before the macro.

EDIT: And option 2 already has two "to"s, but it needs three (before "find").

EDIT 2: The former has been fixed but the latter has not.

EDIT 3: It now appears to be UN-fixed. Was I hallucinating or are there two versions of this option?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

It could also be read as her expressing doubt about whether they really caught the right monster.

But what I'm really here to do is point out a double space in the effect line for #759 option 3, just before the macro.

EDIT: And option 2 already has two "to"s, but it needs three (before "find").

EDIT 2: The former has been fixed but the latter has not.

EDIT 3: It now appears to be UN-fixed. Was I hallucinating or are there two versions of this option?

Have added the "to".

The double space does not appear to exist, and the edit I just made is the first one since the issue was released. So... hallucination?

Also, Neo, wake up.

[Trotterdam]

The double space does not appear to exist, and the edit I just made is the first one since the issue was released. So... hallucination?

No, it's absolutely there.

Examples of nations that have the doubled space:
prometheians
the_sinclarian_provinces
espirito
tierra_de_denero

Examples of nations that don't have the doubled space:
st_james_and_leos_island
new_failure
ferox_spero
gilded_coast

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Straight cut and paste here, apart from enclosed code changed to "macro".

the government's stance on marriage is 'Let @@PLURALDEMONYMMACRO@@ marry themselves'

There is no extra space. Or spoon.

Also, looking at the linked nations, there's no doubled space on any of them. Just to clarify, you said it was immediately prior to the macro, yes?

As you're seeing something different on your computer to me, may be worth taking up with technical. Maybe something to do with the pluralisation macro, or with browsers or something like that.

[Trotterdam]

Also, looking at the linked nations, there's no doubled space on any of them. Just to clarify, you said it was immediately prior to the macro, yes?

I'm seeing the doubled spaces in the API's version of the effect lines (which I'm displaying in a fixed-width font, so it's very obvious). HTML tends to smooth such things away, but they must exist at some step in the internal process.

It is specific to this issue, not any issue that uses plural demonyms. Actually, wait. The details of my script mean that if an effect line that wasn't broken before started being broken now, I wouldn't notice immediately. I'll set some checks for that now.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

If you say so! I've checked and checked from the editing control panel, including viewing source code, and there is only 1 space there typed in.

If it helps your checks, the effect lines that use PLURAL DEMONYM are 439.4 484.4 493.4 503.4 505.3 525.3 534.5 597.1 597.3 629.1 637.1 656.2 659.2 706.1 707.5 711.2 716.5 721.2 724.2 732.2 759.3.

[Trotterdam]

If it helps your checks, the effect lines that use PLURAL DEMONYM are 439.4 484.4 493.4 503.4 505.3 525.3 534.5 597.1 597.3 629.1 637.1 656.2 659.2 706.1 707.5 711.2 716.5 721.2 724.2 732.2 759.3.

Thanks! I already knew about every single one of those, but thanks anyway!

I set checks for five of them (it got tedious to do all of then, and I deliberately skipped the ones where the macro begins the sentence because they're not analogous to #759), so now I just have to wait for results to roll in.

EDIT: Confirmed: marfilia has a double space in #706 1, big_bad_badger doesn't. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if this problem existed when the line were first added. Will be bringing up with Technical now.

[Tinhampton]

Wouldn't Issue #294 "Ghost Riders On The Sly" read more logically if Options 2 and 3 were swapped around, or was that the entire point of the current switcheroo in the first place?

[Zaluzianskya]

I just got issue 321 even though previously I chose option 3 of 670. If I have completely open borders, how is there such a thing as "illegal aliens" in my country?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Wouldn't Issue #294 "Ghost Riders On The Sly" read more logically if Options 2 and 3 were swapped around, or was that the entire point of the current switcheroo in the first place?

Not sure what you mean.