The Writers' Block

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Thanks for flagging this (and thanks to FJS for flagging the flagging of this to me).

Now amended.

[Outer Sparta]

I know there are issues that deal with overfishing, poaching, and the like, but are there any that deal with the killing of endangered animals by poor communities who have nothing else to live of off? I don't know if that aspect has been covered in an issue or even an option or not.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Sounds like a fresh idea to me.

[Sunemia]

Is there any way to change an issue about child obesity in schools who overlarps too much with others issues about this to make an more original (and non-overlaping)issue?

[Fontenais]

Is there any way to change an issue about child obesity in schools who overlarps too much with others issues about this to make an more original (and non-overlaping)issue?

Just a heads up Sunemia is talking about their draft 'a fat problem in schools'
Sunemia, I'm not sure how you would change your draft to be more original. It might be easier to think of a fresh angle and then work from there, so you don't get bogged down by the existing draft

[Trotterdam]

We already have quite a few issues about obesity, including #72 Widening Buttocks Cause Movie Theater Havoc (generic "our people are too fat" issue), #288 Super-Sized Pizzas Recipe For Disaster? (fattening fast food), #477 Feeding Frenzy (junk food for children specifically), #549 Feasting Or Fasting? (another generic "our people are too fat" issue, but with two really dumb options), #716 Cheek to Cheek (seats not being designed to fit fat people), #855 Thin Evidence (scam diets), and #887 Thin Skin (beauty standards).

Further issues about school food that aren't specifically about obesity include #811 and #882.

I'd say this is pretty well-trodden ground. You're going to have a hard time finding a new niche in this area.

[Bears Armed]

We already have quite a few issues about obesity, including #72 Widening Buttocks Cause Movie Theater Havoc (generic "our people are too fat" issue), #288 Super-Sized Pizzas Recipe For Disaster? (fattening fast food), #477 Feeding Frenzy (junk food for children specifically), #549 Feasting Or Fasting? (another generic "our people are too fat" issue, but with two really dumb options), #716 Cheek to Cheek (seats not being designed to fit fat people), #855 Thin Evidence (scam diets), and #887 Thin Skin (beauty standards).

Further issues about school food that aren't specifically about obesity include #811 and #882.

I'd say this is pretty well-trodden ground. You're going to have a hard time finding a new niche in this area.

How about concentrating what this is doing to the ability of the nation's schools' sports teams & athletes, including those available as entrants for international competitions? ? Options could include a diet-related one, having the sports teachers force the overweight pupils to do a LOT of exercise (despite the health risks inherent in that), and shifting the emphasis to less athletic contests (e.g. chess, singing [opera? ], bake-offs...) instead.

[Fontenais]

Further issues about school food that aren't specifically about obesity include #811 and #882.

I'd say this is pretty well-trodden ground. You're going to have a hard time finding a new niche in this area.

How about concentrating what this is doing to the ability of the nation's schools' sports teams & athletes, including those available as entrants for international competitions? ? Options could include a diet-related one, having the sports teachers force the overweight pupils to do a LOT of exercise (despite the health risks inherent in that), and shifting the emphasis to less athletic contests (e.g. chess, singing [opera? ], bake-offs...) instead.

And even athletes come in different sizes - sumo wrestlers and weightlifters are generally quite large

[The Pharcyde]

I have an idea for an issue about the leader's marital status. Is my idea feasible?

The issue might ask the national leader to choose between staying single, staying married ("'Aren't you married already?' a long-time friend humorously asks."), courting an NPC nation's royal, and a nation-wide dating competition. Imagine what it would be like if Trump was single and decided to create The Bachelor for himself while in office.

I also think the issue could be a fun launchpad for an issue-chain. Selecting the royal marriage or nation-wide competition option could trigger a series of events related to those happenings. If those events end in marriage, perhaps the last issue could be about having a child. If you have a child, your spouse or child could occasionally appear as advisors in issues.

I envision this having a lot of potential to add depth to issues. Many leaders consider their children's futures when making policy decisions, in ways both indirect (e.g., "Do I want to leave my child with a destroyed climate?") and direct (e.g., "Do I really want to pass anti-nepotism legislation?").

[SherpDaWerp]

It sounds interesting, but it also seems like it would be very player-autonomy-destroying.

The issue might ask the national leader to choose between staying single

This implies you are single already.

staying married ("'Aren't you married already?' a long-time friend humorously asks.")

This implies you are married already.

courting an NPC nation's royal

This option is kinda ok, because choosing it implies you are ok with this type of thing and not choosing it implies you are not. However, I think something similar has already been done with a side-member of your family (a niece, perhaps?). And also this option cannot exist in a vacuum. It would also imply that either you are single already, or you are ok with cheating (?) on your current partner.

Imagine what it would be like if Trump was single and decided to create The Bachelor for himself while in office.

Whilst amusing, trump should not be the basis for your assumptions about my character...

It sounds like a cool idea, and you're right, it would add depth to some issue options, but I can't see any way that it would be possible to set such a thing up without making too many assumptions about the player's character to begin with.

[Fontenais]

I have an idea for an issue about the leader's marital status. Is my idea feasible?

The issue might ask the national leader to choose between staying single, staying married ("'Aren't you married already?' a long-time friend humorously asks."), courting an NPC nation's royal, and a nation-wide dating competition. Imagine what it would be like if Trump was single and decided to create The Bachelor for himself while in office.

My reservation is that I don't think Leader's relationship status would be a matter of national importance.

[The Free Joy State]

I have an idea for an issue about the leader's marital status. Is my idea feasible?

The issue might ask the national leader to choose between staying single, staying married ("'Aren't you married already?' a long-time friend humorously asks."), courting an NPC nation's royal, and a nation-wide dating competition. Imagine what it would be like if Trump was single and decided to create The Bachelor for himself while in office.

[spoiler=Idea for issue-chain]I also think the issue could be a fun launchpad for an issue-chain. Selecting the royal marriage or nation-wide competition option could trigger a series of events related to those happenings. If those events end in marriage, perhaps the last issue could be about having a child. If you have a child, your spouse or child could occasionally appear as advisors in issues.

It's not really a practical idea for an issue.

Issues cannot assume @@LEADER@@ is male or female; married (monogamously or polygamously) or single; that @@LEADER@@ has children or does not (either out of choice, or other). The most issues can assign is a parent, a sibling, an uncle/aunt or a niece/nephew (because you can't choose who you are born to, you can't choose if your parents have other children, you can't choose if your siblings have children).

But you can't tell players anything about their character. This issue would presuppose @@LEADER@@ was single. It would breach player autonomy (as that's not something we can check).

EDIT: And, practically speaking, it would not be especially practical to craft a chain purely for the sake of coding doppelgangers to issues whereby @@LEADER@@'s spouse or child speaks (when the option would be fulfilled, equally effectively, by another speaker in nations without a spouse of child).

[The Pharcyde]

Thanks for your feedback.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

This is something I wrestled with myself, trying to write an issue about personal relationships that doesn't overrule player autonomy. Where we ended up on this was the issue A Match Made in Heaven.

[Bears Armed]

Issues cannot assume @@LEADER@@ is male or female; married (monogamously or polygamously) or single; that @@LEADER@@ has children or does not (either out of choice, or other).

Re the last of those possibilities:

#432: Children In The Lead?
[Annihilators of Chan Island; ed:Lenyo]

The Issue
A recent broadsheet special on the children of other leaders in @@REGION@@ has brought attention to the lack of children in your own residence. Mindful of your dipping approval, some of your advisors have begun to wonder if some popularity could be won back by having a kid or two.

The Debate
1. “This is a golden PR opportunity,” exclaims @@RANDOMNAME@@, representing Moral Minority. “Imagine: you'd be the wise family figure. Think how much the people will love your new baby. You'll be the epitome of family values leading everyone into domestic bliss. And think of the merchandising! I mean, think of the children."

2. Maxford University demographer and suspected eugenicist @@RANDOMNAME@@ disagrees. "The fact is our nation is overflowing with young ne'er do wells. They commit more crimes, are more prone to rudeness, and worst of all are least likely to care about your good works, @@LEADER@@. We have to send the message that we are going to do something about the troublesome demographics, and a good place to start is by you staying childless. And if we really want to crack down on population growth, we need to double down on border security too."

3. “Or how about adoption?” schemes @@RANDOMNAME@@@, your PR expert.” I could see you with a nice adopted Lilliputian boy and an adopted Maxtopian girl. It would look great in front of the cameras. You could be the most multicultural and tolerant leader in @@REGION@@! And if everyone follows your lead, the orphanages won't be nearly as dreary!"

[Candlewhisper Archive]

432 was published before we started talking about player autonomy. It would not be acceptable by current standards to make that assumption.

[Bears Armed]

432 was published before we started talking about player autonomy. It would not be acceptable by current standards to make that assumption.

Okay.

[Lord Dominator]

National Happenings

Seconds ago: Following new legislation in Lord Dominator, extraordinary rendition is nothing out of the ordinary.
4 hours ago: Following new legislation in Lord Dominator, extraordinary rendition is nothing out of the ordinary.

So, without deliberately saving issues, I managed to answer the same issue twice in a row - and at minimum receive the same issue twice in 4 issues received.

I'm going to consider this some odd form of skill

[USS Monitor]

Are there any issues about bottle deposits? (That thing where you pay $0.05 or $0.10 or something every time you buy a bottle of soda, and then you can return the empty bottles to get your money back.)

This feels like it's so obvious it must have been done...

[Trotterdam]

Are there any issues about bottle deposits? (That thing where you pay $0.05 or $0.10 or something every time you buy a bottle of soda, and then you can return the empty bottles to get your money back.)

This feels like it's so obvious it must have been done...

Not that I can recall. Plenty of issues about recycling in general, but they usually aren't this specific about the details.

[Fontenais]

Are there any issues about bottle deposits? (That thing where you pay $0.05 or $0.10 or something every time you buy a bottle of soda, and then you can return the empty bottles to get your money back.)

This feels like it's so obvious it must have been done...

I haven't seen any issue like this before
As a matter of interest, in South Australia you get 10 cents back on bottles and cans (In other states, I think it is 5 cents. I vaguelly remember this being a matter of contention a while ago). This results in some people stockpiling bottles untill they have about 200, but lots of people just throw them in the bin (and in the CBD especially I often see homeless people collecting bottles from bins)

[USS Monitor]

Are there any issues about bottle deposits? (That thing where you pay $0.05 or $0.10 or something every time you buy a bottle of soda, and then you can return the empty bottles to get your money back.)

This feels like it's so obvious it must have been done...

I haven't seen any issue like this before
As a matter of interest, in South Australia you get 10 cents back on bottles and cans (In other states, I think it is 5 cents. I vaguelly remember this being a matter of contention a while ago). This results in some people stockpiling bottles untill they have about 200, but lots of people just throw them in the bin (and in the CBD especially I often see homeless people collecting bottles from bins)

Yes, homeless people collect them here too.

When I lived in China, they had guys with pedal carts that would go around collecting bottles, and the guy driving the cart would pay you for your bottles. Different cities had different methods for the recycling guys to get people's attention and let them know it was time to bring out their bottles. Some would use bells. The guys on my street had a paddle with balls tied to it, and when they spun it, the balls would bounce against the paddle and make a drumming noise. It was this weird mix of old-timey non-motorized logistics and modern eco-conscious thinking.

[Jutsa]

think any of this content would make for an interesting issue? >.>

[Fontenais]

think any of this content would make for an interesting issue? >.>

YouTube says the video is unavailable
The title says 'Trump and Syria' but that's a lot to unpack - what's the video about exactly?

[Jutsa]

Huh, odd. Link works for me .-.

It's basically John Oliver doing John Oliver things about Trump pulling troops out of Syria. Jolly good fun.