The Writers' Block

[NeuPolska]

I’ve checked but maybe I missed it, is there an issue regarding compulsory fitness?

[Trotterdam]

I’ve checked but maybe I missed it, is there an issue regarding compulsory fitness?

Not an entire issue, but it gets brought up in some.

Mainly, #72 1. See also #477 3 and #217 3.

[Divitalia]

So I had an issue idea, don’t know if it exists already, if it’d be viable, or if anyone would want to write an issue based upon it.

The premise of the issue would be that people in the nation are claiming to have seen the devil (or some other religious figure) and the church is upset about it.

The options:

1: It’s blasphemy, saying such things should be outlawed.
2: Pro free speech.
3: If they said they saw the devil, they saw the devil
4: Outlaw religion

Suggested Name: Devil Went Down to @@NATION@@

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

So I had an issue idea, don’t know if it exists already, if it’d be viable, or if anyone would want to write an issue based upon it.

The premise of the issue would be that people in the nation are claiming to have seen the devil (or some other religious figure) and the church is upset about it.

The options:

1: It’s blasphemy, saying such things should be outlawed.
2: Pro free speech.
3: If they said they saw the devil, they saw the devil
4: Outlaw religion

Suggested Name: Devil Went Down to @@NATION@@

No, so far as I know, we haven't had an issue where people claimed to have seen the devil.

But the real question here is why the Church would be upset about people telling such things.

Besides, we take care not to mention "the Church" in the issues, so even if you write this kind of an issue draft, you're gonna have to talk about the Order of Violet or something like that.

[He Qixin]

uhh guys

i have an issue idea about car services. is that covered yet?

[Trotterdam]

The premise of the issue would be that people in the nation are claiming to have seen the devil (or some other religious figure) and the church is upset about it.

So... they saw the devil? And then what?

Did they make a deal with him? Run scared from him? Spy on one of his secrets that will allow them to undermine his work? Find him in collabaration with <person they don't like>?

[The Free Joy State]

The premise of the issue would be that people in the nation are claiming to have seen the devil (or some other religious figure) and the church is upset about it.

So... they saw the devil? And then what?

Did they make a deal with him? Run scared from him? Spy on one of his secrets that will allow them to undermine his work? Find him in collabaration with <person they don't like>?

Worth pointing out that, while two issues do have "the devil" as a character (IIRC), all potentially supernatural phenomena (i.e. sulphurous smell) are given a likely earth-bound explanation (i.e. bad stomach).

While you can write an issue with "the devil", you couldn't actually make it super-supernatural (things appearing and disappearing with no explanation) or confirm that it was The Official One and Only Devil^TM of traditional theology.

And, ditto, as has been noted, we don't use RL religions in current canon (the only existing examples are in the older issues).

But, within those bounds (and observing Trotterdam's thoughts), you could make a fun issue.

EDITED LATER: But I have to agree with Trotterdam that your initial premise seems a little flat and needs expanding, and also agree with FuF that any religion that propagates the idea of a devil or demon would probably welcome 'proof' of its existence (to scare the bejesus out of its followers). So, while you could have a very fun issue, it needs work. But that's what GI's here for.

[Australian rePublic]

I chose to gain slavery thinking that I would get a banner for it. I was wrong. I regretted it. Is there a reversal?

[The Free Joy State]

I chose to gain slavery thinking that I would get a banner for it. I was wrong. I regretted it. Is there a reversal?

Yes, two.

#254 "Freedom Comes at a Price" (option 2), and #898 "Two's Company, Three's a Crowd, Four's an Uprising" (option 4).

[Australian rePublic]

I chose to gain slavery thinking that I would get a banner for it. I was wrong. I regretted it. Is there a reversal?

Yes, two.

#254 "Freedom Comes at a Price", and #898 "Two's Company, Three's a Crowd, Four's an Uprising".

Thanks!

[Mzeusia]

On the home page of nations, it says that the national animal frolics through woods, sifts through garbage, etc. Can the "sifts through garbage" for example, be a validity or is that code not there yet?

[Australian rePublic]

On the home page of nations, it says that the national animal frolics through woods, sifts through garbage, etc. Can the "sifts through garbage" for example, be a validity or is that code not there yet?

I don't know, but when land animals eat from garbage bins in cities, sea animals dodge garbage in the ocean and air animals dodge planes

[Trotterdam]

On the home page of nations, it says that the national animal frolics through woods, sifts through garbage, etc. Can the "sifts through garbage" for example, be a validity or is that code not there yet?

Those descriptions are based simply on the nation's Environmental Beauty, and making issue validities dependant on Environmental Beauty is certainly possible. I would suggest writing it as "Environmental Beauty is at the level where the national animal would sift through garbage" in your draft - the editors will know the exact numbers to plug in.

As Australian Republic notes, the description depends on whether the animal is recognized living in the land, sea, or air - all three recognize the same Environmental Beauty brackets, but have different descriptions. While the editors probably can code an issue validity to depend on whether the national animal is recognized as land/sea/air, I would recommend against it (outside of easter egg issues), since it would unreasonably limit issue availability over a trivial detail. Thus, you have to accept that, even if your issue is written for nations whose Environmental Beauty is bad enough that animals have to sift through garbage, the issue might get assigned to a nation that doesn't actually have that exact text on the nation page due to having honored a sea or air animal.

Nations which eat their national animal also get a special description which overrides and hides the environment-based descriptions that they would otherwise qualify for based on their Environmental Beauty.

[Jutsa]

Moved from my spoilers thread because I'm a derp:

Do we have an issue about testing WMDs?

I know, it'd be a difficult to really test things like bio-weapons without test subjects,
but if one doesn't exist, is there a way to specifically make it for nukes?

Speaking of which, do we have any issues about a WMD killing a bunch of people in the area it's supposed to be stored?

[Australian rePublic]

Do we have an issue about testing WMDs?

I know, it'd be a difficult to really test things like bio-weapons without test subjects,

Not necassirly. In fact most nuke test were done in the middle of nowhere because there were were no people around

Just to point out a few

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear ... _Australia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear ... kini_Atoll

[Jutsa]

Yeah but I think WMD testing was still banned eventually...

[Australian rePublic]

Yeah but I think WMD testing was still banned eventually...

It was, thankfully. My point is that you don't need test sunjects

[Jutsa]

Not for nukes, but you'd have to if you wanna test things like bio-weapons... right?

[Australian rePublic]

Not for nukes, but you'd have to if you wanna test things like bio-weapons... right?

I see

[Ab Humanitatis Scientiam]

Not necassirly. In fact most nuke test were done in the middle of nowhere because there were were no people around

Just to point out a few

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear ... _Australia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear ... kini_Atoll

Ummmm....

The Rongelap Atoll was coated with up to 2 cm (0.79 in) of snow-like irradiated calcium debris and ash over the entire island. Virtually all the inhabitants experienced severe radiation sickness, including itchiness, sore skin, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Their symptoms also included burning eyes and swelling of the neck, arms, and legs.[27][28] The inhabitants were forced to abandon the islands, leaving all their belongings, three days after the test. They were relocated to Kwajalein for medical treatment.[28][29][30]

Six days after the Castle Bravo test, the U.S government set up a secret project to study the medical effects of the weapon on the residents of the Marshall Islands.[31]

The United States was subsequently accused of using the inhabitants as medical research subjects, without obtaining their consent, to study the effects of nuclear exposure.[27] Until that time, the United States Atomic Energy Commission had given little thought to the potential impact of widespread fallout contamination and health and ecological impacts beyond the formally designated boundary of the test site.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear ... kini_Atoll

The Marshall Islands (including Bikini and Rongelap atolls) has no one around, if you completely and intentionally ignore all the people who were around.

Never mind scores of military veterans exposed to the effects of nuclear tests, in various capacities. The official line might be that the government didn't know or realize the danger of radiation, as it was building weapons whose primary area-denial capability is specifically based in the generation of shit tons of radiation, but the speed with which it setup medical studies on the effects of radiation exposure following their tests kinda exposes the lie.

There sure as hell were human nuclear test subjects, so an issue based on that premise is perfectly valid and historically accurate.

[Australian rePublic]

Not necassirly. In fact most nuke test were done in the middle of nowhere because there were were no people around

Just to point out a few

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear ... _Australia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear ... kini_Atoll

Ummmm....

The Rongelap Atoll was coated with up to 2 cm (0.79 in) of snow-like irradiated calcium debris and ash over the entire island. Virtually all the inhabitants experienced severe radiation sickness, including itchiness, sore skin, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Their symptoms also included burning eyes and swelling of the neck, arms, and legs.[27][28] The inhabitants were forced to abandon the islands, leaving all their belongings, three days after the test. They were relocated to Kwajalein for medical treatment.[28][29][30]

Six days after the Castle Bravo test, the U.S government set up a secret project to study the medical effects of the weapon on the residents of the Marshall Islands.[31]

The United States was subsequently accused of using the inhabitants as medical research subjects, without obtaining their consent, to study the effects of nuclear exposure.[27] Until that time, the United States Atomic Energy Commission had given little thought to the potential impact of widespread fallout contamination and health and ecological impacts beyond the formally designated boundary of the test site.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear ... kini_Atoll

The Marshall Islands (including Bikini and Rongelap atolls) has no one around, if you completely and intentionally ignore all the people who were around.

Never mind scores of military veterans exposed to the effects of nuclear tests, in various capacities. The official line might be that the government didn't know or realize the danger of radiation, as it was building weapons whose primary area-denial capability is specifically based in the generation of shit tons of radiation, but the speed with which it setup medical studies on the effects of radiation exposure following their tests kinda exposes the lie.

There sure as hell were human nuclear test subjects, so an issue based on that premise is perfectly valid and historically accurate.

Looks like I'm wrong

[Ab Humanitatis Scientiam]

Looks like I'm wrong

Sorry, just one of my buttons.

But yeah. Nuke testing in the Pacific (and at home, and basically everywhere else) was basically Tuskegee syphilis 2.0. "Wanna see a cool explosion?!?! Wear these goggle and look over there. Nah, it's just a bit warm, but totally chill. There might be a bit of dust..."

[Jutsa]

really important: Issue 1000, unless I missed any other issues, is the 42nd instance of Bigtopia.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

AHS, you really oughta draft that issue. You know your stuff and are a good writer, it'd be a shoo in.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Copy pasted from a thread on the topic, I've assembled this guidance:

On general principle, here's some guidance on number reservation.

1) Give it plenty of lead time

If you've got an issue in mind for a particular number start the drafting process early so you can get at least a few weeks of feedback, then submit that issue well ahead of time - at least 15 issues of the intended number, ideally.

If we pass the number you wanted, it's too late, there's no going back.

So 1001? Far too late. A submission for that slot should have gone in at latest at the time 986 was being added.


2) No reservations will be confirmed

By policy, we don't let players know that their issues are accepted unless an editing process has begun. Mostly that's because we reject over 90% of issues on quality grounds - the stuff you see drafted in GI is the very best of the crop, be assured. Also, an accepted issue might never reach publication, because standards move on and up, or it proves less inspiring on reexamination, or because its premise gets duplicated.

Because of that policy, we can't confirm for you that your chosen issue number will be reserved.

Likewise, we reserve the right to publish a submitted issue in a slot other than the one the author was seeking.


3) Make it clear this is your intention

In the submission, clearly mark in either the title or the validities (or both, even better) that you intend this for a specific issue number. Though we generally follow GI closely, it's a lot of book-keeping to track these things. A clear number mention in the title helps us spot these issues easily in the accepted pool if we do decide to use them.