NationStates

Some may remember these - ad hoc updates from the issues team, sometimes months apart, sometimes years apart. I used to post them in the Writers' Block, but as that thread moves a lot faster these days, I'm sticking them in their own thread. If you want to read back on historical ones, they're all there. Otherwise, here's the latest:

Got Issues Update #8

• We were at 1330 issues last time, so it's 127 since then. It's also more than a year since our last update.
• It's old news now, but Electrum and Noah joined the team following our last Issues Contest; Frieden-und Freudenland also rejoined the team, while Baggieland and Ransium stepped down. There's currently 15 of us in the Issues Editing team, at varying levels of activity.
• Pogaria has been promoted to Senior Issues Editor, a reflection of his great contributions over several years.
• On the subject of Issues Contests, we're considering making it a regular event - potentially annually, as it's a good way of getting new Editors on board (particularly helping with finding those who we aren't already aware of from their Got Issues involvement), and also gets us a flood of quality submissions to work on.
• Having said that, we're not averse to adding Editors at other times, and there's a discussion going on at present about offering trials to a few of the promising authors whose issues you're used to reading.
• Chains - planning continues slowly on a future Covid-themed chain, but it's only in the brainstorming stage. We don't intend to write or publish anything until the real-world pandemic situation is over. At present no other chains are at the editing stage; we're taking a break since Pogaria's MADness chain made it in last year.
• The Pool of shortlisted player-submitted issues currently has 116 issues in it (coincidentally the same as our Staff issue folder). That's much more than last year, when we were at 55 in the Pool and running short of submissions to work on - but we could still do with more.
• Several hundred new random names have been added, so keep an eye out for them. This is the first of several small improvements to issues-related bits that we're in the process of making.
• You may also spot some new newspaper headlines coming up after you've answered an issue. We've only added a few of these, but will be looking at the wider selection of headlines in the future.
• Our Issues Editors have become Image Editors for the month, as we have fun selecting and cropping potential new newspaper/banner images. These should start being used from around mid-June onwards.
• A few long-overdue Betas may make it live soon.

My apologies if this is supposed to be a no-posting thread (y'know, limiting clutter ), but I thought it worth at least linking the older updates here, if there's gonna be a dedicated thread now.

Got Issues Update no.1
Got Issues Update no.2
Got Issues Update no.3
Got Issues Update no.4
Got Issues Update no.5
Got Issues Update no.6
Got Issues Update no.7

Ohh, nice, I am looking forward to the Beta stats.

SherpDaWerp wrote:My apologies if this is supposed to be a no-posting thread (y'know, limiting clutter ), but I thought it worth at least linking the older updates here, if there's gonna be a dedicated thread now.

Got Issues Update no.1
Got Issues Update no.2
Got Issues Update no.3
Got Issues Update no.4
Got Issues Update no.5
Got Issues Update no.6
Got Issues Update no.7

No apologies needed, replies are welcome, and your post is helpful.

I welcome the new names added.

Are names centered around English or does the game add anything like Japanese names spelled in English?

Debussy wrote:Are names centered around English or does the game add anything like Japanese names spelled in English?

The few times we've added names, we've tried to broaden the cultural representation, where feasible within the <First name> <Surname> format that names on NS use.

I recall difficulties with "Jong-Il" a few years ago, which was one of the original surnames, as someone pointed out that Korean naming is in the reverse order to English naming practice - as such that name got removed. Our system isn't sophisticated enough to handle this, so when that's an issue with certain cultural naming practices, those names get excluded.

In general, our goal when adding new names is:

1) Add diversity (e.g. Ngozi, Hammurabi, Akunjee).
2) Add famous names, whether politicians, actors, fictional characters or whatever (e.g. RuPaul, T'Challa, Buttigieg).
3) Add names that just sound funny (e.g. Bartholomeus, Bhooma, Manhire).

Sedgistan wrote:No apologies needed, replies are welcome, and your post is helpful.

Cool, I wasn't sure if you'd just not gotten around to locking it yet or something.

I reckon congratulations are due to Pogaria for a well-deserved promotion!

Sedgistan wrote:3) Add names that just sound funny (e.g. Bartholomeus, Bhooma, Manhire)

Now how do you even pronounce that first one? Bartholom-ay-us? Bartholom-oose?

Sedgistan wrote:I recall difficulties with "Jong-Il" a few years ago, which was one of the original surnames, as someone pointed out that Korean naming is in the reverse order to English naming practice - as such that name got removed.

My experience with languages that put the surname before the given name is that half the time, people flip the order of the names when translating them into English, while the other half of the time, people leave them as is. It can occasionally make it rather confusing how you're supposed to read any given name, but it also means that they don't have to be excluded from NationStates - the game structure means that names have to always be put in English order (given name first), but that's not exactly wrong, even if it can look odd for the names of specific people that we're used to seeing the other way around.

Sedgistan wrote:Bartholomeus

Heh. I once did a search on a name website and determined that that was the single longest name that doesn't sound ridiculous to English ears. (Though you'd usually use the more English-sounding "Bartholomew", which is one letter shorter. And of course even that often gets shortened to "Bart".)

Sedgistan wrote:[*]On the subject of Issues Contests, we're considering making it a regular event - potentially annually, as it's a good way of getting new Editors on board (particularly helping with finding those who we aren't already aware of from their Got Issues involvement), and also gets us a flood of quality submissions to work on.

Sounds like a good idea

Issue contests might get me off my ass and actually write something. Some major writer's block right now and also a busy schedule that should clear up (ish) soon.

Sedgistan wrote:A few long-overdue Betas may make it live soon.

Yes! Finally! I've been wondering about these.

Sedgistan wrote:

• On the subject of Issues Contests, we're considering making it a regular event - potentially annually, as it's a good way of getting new Editors on board (particularly helping with finding those who we aren't already aware of from their Got Issues involvement), and also gets us a flood of quality submissions to work on.

Ooh, I love the idea of recurring Issues Contests! I haven't been able to participate in the last one, but I'd absolutely love to participate in the next one c: great to hear they'll potentially be coming back!

Quick question, hopefully not that too private for the staff.

Will the selected Betas make it live all at once, or will they come in waves?

Exciting! Looking forward to new names and stats.

Sedgistan wrote:Our Issues Editors have become Image Editors for the month, as we have fun selecting and cropping potential new newspaper/banner images. These should start being used from around mid-June onwards.

More banners! As of my last census there are 589, however, just a few seem to be used, I see them repeating over and over, perhaps redistribute the usage of them for a greater variety in the older issues.

Valentine Z wrote:Quick question, hopefully not that too private for the staff.

Will the selected Betas make it live all at once, or will they come in waves?

Sedge can clarify if I'm wrong, but it should all be at once

I have returned.

Ransium wrote:I have returned.

It's great to have you back, Ransium.

Ransium wrote:I have returned.

Oooh, nice. Welcome back! ^^

Ransium wrote:I have returned.

The Return of the King?

Daarwyrth wrote:

Ransium wrote:I have returned.

The Return of the King?

Ransium's a bit more "Last March of the Ents".

Ransium wrote:I have returned.

no way, welcome back

Sedgistan wrote:

Daarwyrth wrote:The Return of the King?

Ransium's a bit more "Last March of the Ents".

BTW if anyone has seen the ent-wives I’d love to know about it.

Ransium wrote:I have returned.

All hail the Mangrovent!

Not a proper update, but worth mentioning - as of around a week or two ago, The Free Joy State and Pogaria have the same limited mod powers that Candlewhisper Archive has had since 2017. These cover the Got Issues? forum and our private Editing Room forum, and allow the trio of Senior Issues Editors to manage the official threads here, for example to update stickies.

They are not "Moderators" however, so regular mod duties such as warning miscreants, continue to be handled by the Mod team.

Sedgistan wrote:Not a proper update, but worth mentioning - as of around a week or two ago, The Free Joy State and Pogaria have the same limited mod powers that Candlewhisper Archive has had since 2017. These cover the Got Issues? forum and our private Editing Room forum, and allow the trio of Senior Issues Editors to manage the official threads here, for example to update stickies.

They are not "Moderators" however, so regular mod duties such as warning miscreants, continue to be handled by the Mod team.

Not that it matters, but just because I'm curious. Joy has been Senior Issues Editor for some time. Are those powers then given to specific accounts rather than Senior Issues Editors as a group?

Specific accounts. It hadn't seemed necessary to have more Editors with these powers before, but we could do with some more hands updating our internal documentation.

Some of you may have noticed a shiny new Editor - Candensia has joined the team.

For clarity's sake, this process was underway prior to the Contest, so he's not an early winner (we haven't reviewed Contest submissions yet).