The Writers' Block

[Trotterdam]

We could just ban all lists containing more than two entries. Who has the attention span for that anyway?

[Fauxia]

We could just ban all lists containing more than two entries. Who has the attention span for that anyway?

Pogaria, CWA and I do, clearly!

[Shwe Tu Colony]

But if there's another grammatical subject we may not agree on, how about "apostrophe s" versus just "apostrophe" after a name ending with s, such as James?

[USS Monitor]

But if there's another grammatical subject we may not agree on, how about "apostrophe s" versus just "apostrophe" after a name ending with s, such as James?

Are you trying to start a flame war and make us recruit more Issues Mods? You should know it is dangerous business posting about contentious grammatical questions when there are writers and editors around.

[Shwe Tu Colony]

But if there's another grammatical subject we may not agree on, how about "apostrophe s" versus just "apostrophe" after a name ending with s, such as James?

Are you trying to start a flame war and make us recruit more Issues Mods? You should know it is dangerous business posting about contentious grammatical questions when there are writers and editors around.

That's what makes it fun fufufufufufu.
Now then, how about splitting them infinitives? I want to greatly hear your opinions, & I also greatly want to see a debate.

[Pogaria]

Now then, how about splitting them infinitives? I want to greatly hear your opinions, & I also greatly want to see a debate.

That's a stupid rule. Some guy just made it up because he thought English should be more like Latin.

[Merconitonitopia]

But if there's another grammatical subject we may not agree on, how about "apostrophe s" versus just "apostrophe" after a name ending with s, such as James?

Just apostrophe. This is well established grammatical convention. That which belongs to James is James', I won't stand to hear anything to the contrary from you troglodytes.

[Trotterdam]

But if there's another grammatical subject we may not agree on, how about "apostrophe s" versus just "apostrophe" after a name ending with s, such as James?

How do you pronounce it? Do you pronounce the-posessive-of-"James" as identical to "James" or "Jameses"?

In the former case, it would make sense to spell it "James'", and in the latter case, it would make sense to spell it "James's".

I don't know how much variation there is in how people pronounce it, and there can surely be debate on which pronounciation is correct, but the spelling then simply follows logically.

Now then, how about splitting them infinitives? I want to greatly hear your opinions, & I also greatly want to see a debate.

"I want to greatly hear your opinions" is technically gramatically correct, but it sounds awkward because it has a nonsensical meaning that is unlikely to be what you intended in this context.

"Greatly" here attaches to "hear" rather than "want", so rather than saying that your desire is intense, you are saying that your desire is for great hearing, rather than normal hearing, whatever that means.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Pogaria, CWA and

*snip*

tldr

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Hey, just found a great picture in the image base for an issue about IVF, so searched for an issue about it but couldn't find one. Anyone want to take that on?

[Kurnugia]

Hi, I was wondering if there is already a specific issue to reinstate the court system.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

So glad you asked!

Actually, while you can reinstate courts, the narratives attached to it are very unsatisfactory, and we need a better issue that specifically addresses exactly that.

Post 2 of this thread identifies "policy gaps" that need closing. Reproduced here for your convenience:

Multiple gaps exist within the issue base. Please consider closing these with good quality issue drafts, which will be prioritised for publication:

Absolute primogeniture - Activated in 596, if you choose to have the eldest child inherit the throne regardless of gender. Cannot currently be reversed. Medium priority: Reversal issue needed please.

Autarky - Freedom from any dependence on external trade or markets. Activated in 126, 649 and 815. Deactivated by a whole bunch of options that incidentally mention solutions based on imports and exports. This isn't ideal, and those options will slowly be migrating to option validity exclusions, so we need a proper reversal. Medium priority: Reversal issue that explicitly reverses the concept of autarky.

Body Modification - Body modification is banned. Medium priority: An issue that makes this legal again.

Dinosaur park - Activated by 474. Specifically that the nation has a theme park with real live dinosaurs in it. Can be reversed at present, but only as a side effect of closing all zoos. Low priority: Specific narrative reversal issue needed please.

Dinosaurs - Activated by 474, 556 and 655. Means that dinosaurs have been brought back to life. Can currently be reversed, but it's very roundabout and tricky to achieve. Low priority: Specific narrative reversal issue needed please.

Mccarthyism - Activated only in the CAPITALgate chain, and currently checked only there, but creates a persistent condition suggesting that the nation indulges in Mccarthy era witch-hunts for dissidents. Low priority: An issue reverses this policy.

Metric - Activated by 319. Indicates metric system is in use. Can't be reversed at present. Medium priority: Reversal issue needed please.

Monarchy - Activated by 461 and 527. Can be reversed in 596, but access to that issue is locked if you already have absolute primogeniture, which in turn cannot be reversed. So ideally we need an issue that can reverse both these in two options within a single issue. High priority.

National Healthcover - Nation has an NHS, activated and deactivated in lots of places. However deactivations are mostly by side effect, no specific deactivation. Low priority: Reversal issue that explicitly ends the NHS.

Piracy - Pretty much activated and deactivated in 201, this policy is never referenced anywhere else. Low priority: An issue that checks if this policy is active as a validity criteria.

Police Cars - The specific situation where even though cars are banned, the police are explicitly allowed to have police cars as per 357 and 625. This also acts as an entry check to 357, but has no reversal. Medium priority: An issue that reverts a nation to having no cars for the police OR the populace.

Term Limits - Activated in 54 and 306, elected officials have term limits. No reversal exists at present. Medium priority: An issue that reverses term limits.

Native Elections - Activated in 427, elected officials must be nativeborn. No reversal exists at present. High priority: An issue that reverses this.

No Cents - As per 343, small denomination coins have been withdrawn. One reversal exists at present, but requires you to have another rare policy active. Low priority: An issue that reverses this with non-stringent entry requirements.

No Compensation- Nation allows for compensation lawsuits. Currently activated by specific narratives, and deactivated incidentally by options that mention compensation. This isn't ideal, and those options will slowly be migrating to option validity exclusions, so we need a proper reversal. Medium priority: Reversal issue that explicitly restores the concept of compensation.

No Courts - This policy indicates that lack of traditional courts, which basically means a judge, verbal arguments and evidence for prosecution and defence, and formal sentencing prior to punishment. There's actually three reversals in the game but they're all a little unsatisfactory, as they reverse the policy as a side effect of mentioning a solution that involves courts. I'd rather flag these as options not valid if you don't have courts, but to do that... High priority: An issue that reinstates courts.

No Senate - Triggered by abolishing the upper house in 560. No reversal exists. High priority: An issue that reinstates the upper house.

No Smoking - Can be reversed by 139, but not all non-smoking nations can access that issue. Low priority: Other ways to re-legalising smoking, ideally nestled within issues that don't have that as the primary narrative.

No Zoos - As per 431 and 547. One reversal exists, but only as a side effect change. Low priority: An issue that specifically relegalises zoos.

Note that this list doesn't account for the fact that a lot of good authors have submitted drafts to close a lot of these gaps, but till when/if they get published, the list will keep flagging the gaps, so feel free to compete.

[Milintia]

Hi all,

I've got an idea for an issue that sprung from Priti Patel last year.

I'm wondering if there's an issue already talking about something like this, so I don't end up submitting an issue draft that's already been covered?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Hi all,

I've got an idea for an issue that sprung from Priti Patel last year.

I'm wondering if there's an issue already talking about something like this, so I don't end up submitting an issue draft that's already been covered?

What's the idea you had?

[Milintia]

Hi all,

I've got an idea for an issue that sprung from Priti Patel last year.

I'm wondering if there's an issue already talking about something like this, so I don't end up submitting an issue draft that's already been covered?

What's the idea you had?

Basically, a Cabinet minister in your country is unveiled to have been conducting diplomacy with a foreign power behind your back while on "holiday". This coincided with behaviour after they came back that, in light of this new information, is directly in this other country's interests, causing a national scandal.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Sounds hard to write well, but go for it.


----

Unrelated to this, but I note that there's not many issues about responses to geopolitical situations. #863 is a good recent one, but I wonder if anyone is feeling inspired to write more issues about stuff happening in far off lands that could effect home, and the geopolitical response.

Thoughts from the top of my head:

- Civil unrest in a foreign nation affecting gas pipelines that supply @@NAME@@
- A drop in trade barriers between two nations that is going to lead to decreased demand for your nation's produce.
- Religious tensions threatening nuclear war between two nations that are geographically positioned to leave @@NAME@@ in the fallout.

I'll add these to my ideas list too. Help yourself as always.

[Jutsa]

#863 is a good recent one

Don't forget about #877: Gunning for Profits

I don't think I'll be aiming to write about these, myself; I've got a lot of other stuff I wanna get uploaded by the time someone'll probably come along and write about these.

[Caracasus]

What's the idea you had?

Basically, a Cabinet minister in your country is unveiled to have been conducting diplomacy with a foreign power behind your back while on "holiday". This coincided with behaviour after they came back that, in light of this new information, is directly in this other country's interests, causing a national scandal.

The trouble with making this deal directly against your government's interest is that the right option will be really easy - fire them! I would suggest making it a beneficial deal for your industry, but also having it revealed that the minister went against the remit of the government in negotiating it. Issues are all about presenting a dilemma.

[Milintia]

Basically, a Cabinet minister in your country is unveiled to have been conducting diplomacy with a foreign power behind your back while on "holiday". This coincided with behaviour after they came back that, in light of this new information, is directly in this other country's interests, causing a national scandal.

The trouble with making this deal directly against your government's interest is that the right option will be really easy - fire them! I would suggest making it a beneficial deal for your industry, but also having it revealed that the minister went against the remit of the government in negotiating it. Issues are all about presenting a dilemma.

Draft here, if you'd like to have a look at what I had in mind.

[Caracasus]

The trouble with making this deal directly against your government's interest is that the right option will be really easy - fire them! I would suggest making it a beneficial deal for your industry, but also having it revealed that the minister went against the remit of the government in negotiating it. Issues are all about presenting a dilemma.

Draft here, if you'd like to have a look at what I had in mind.

Added feedback. Good luck with this, I think there's the potential for something in this...

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Three fun facts:

There's over a hundred and forty issues that aren't accessible to nations that have gotten rid of capitalism.
There are six issues that aren't accessible to nations that have capitalism.
Around 18% of NS nations have gotten rid of capitalism.

More issues specific to non-capitalist nations, please!

[Jutsa]

I actually have one, but it's another one of those I've pushed down in my immense list.

[Singapore no2]

Three fun facts:

There's over a hundred and forty issues that aren't accessible to nations that have gotten rid of capitalism.
There are six issues that aren't accessible to nations that have capitalism.
Around 18% of NS nations have gotten rid of capitalism.

More issues specific to non-capitalist nations, please!

Wow.

It really isn't easy being red.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

I think its not unexpected, as most people playing a web browser game are likely to live in capitalist nations, so the day-to-day real life issues we become aware of tend to be those of capitalist societies. Communist issues, on the other hand, require research.

[Milintia]

I think its not unexpected, as most people playing a web browser game are likely to live in capitalist nations, so the day-to-day real life issues we become aware of tend to be those of capitalist societies. Communist issues, on the other hand, require research.

Nah, it just means that communist nations are better than capitalist nations

I could think of some later on but I don't really feel comfortable writing them due to left-wing ideological bias, so I'll just post them here as I do and let anyone have a go at them.