NationStates Issues **SPOILER ALERT**

[Dexterra]

removed

[Trotterdam]

This is in accordance with Trotterdam's opinion, stated right after the post cited above, that Capital Punishment has nothing to do with which option is presented to the user.

To clarify, this isn't actually what I meant. My methodology can't distinguish between different options with the same effect line, so all my data can confirm is that either there isn't a Capital Punishment-based validity on any of the options, or there is, but a nation will always get one or the other and they have the same effect line.

Of course, with your own confirmation of having received option 2 on a non-capital-punishing nation, this is now moot point.

I also note that, according to Trotterdam's web site, option 2 never adds the Capital Punishment policy, which I find rather mysterious.

Well, if your original guess about option 2 only appearing on nations that already having Capital Punishment were right, then this would be unsurprising. But apparently it wasn't.

Maybe the fact that this option proposes an extra-judicial killing means that it is not considered to introduce Capital Punishment.

That would make sense.

---

The "Not being able to prove wrongdoing has never stopped us enforcing the law in the past." line makes me wonder if it might have something to do with Corruption? This is not something I can test.

[Valentine Z]

I did say I will get to it, but yeah, sorry for the delay! I will be doing it on Friday. ^^;

Work's been busy.

[Rocain Founder]

That golden-oldie issue #4 has a third option, a variant of option 2. The issue was received this morning by my puppet Cain O-N Dp v1, with no option 2 and option 3 instead. Here is the text of the option, with the difference from the spoiled option 2 underlined.

3. “This is a catastrophe waiting to happen,” says the Chamber of Commerce. “Think of the consequences! Without big business, where do the jobs come from? Where do we get our medicine? Our electronics? Our latest fashions? There are dozens of useless regulations the government could abolish today to make life easier for commerce, and it’s high time they did.”

The replacement of "cars" by "electronics" makes it obvious that this variant is intended for nations which have banned cars (such as Cain O-N Dp v1).

[Valentine Z]

Valentine’s Changelog 040

---

♪ Mambo Mucho Mambo! ♪

- Fixed some issues / added options for older issues.
- Added 7 new issues.

Changes made to the threads can be seen here. I have done the best of my ability so far in tracking changes, thanks to those who reported for the older issues. If the change is not made live yet, I might have possibly missed it by mistake, or skipped over it for now until I have further information. If there is something I skipped from your feedback post, please don't hesitate to point it out! ♥

EDIT: Hotfix for #1493 regarding names.

[Heliosphere]

Issue 1494: A Minor Political Problem
The Issue
After the latest election, campaign finance auditors discovered that one of the most popular politicians in Heliosphere received a huge number of donations from minors who aren’t yet old enough to vote.

The Debate
1. “It’s sick to think people are okay with preying on our nation’s youth,” bemoans a parent whose teenage son donated to the campaign in question. “I was getting suspicious when my son kept asking me for money, and now I figure out he was giving it away to some crazy kook. These young folks can’t even vote yet, and greedy politicians are already taking their money! Please, you have to kick this person out of parliament, and make it illegal for candidates to take advantage of our innocent children.”

2. “The average donation to my campaign was only twenty-seven Novas per person. Do we really want to discourage our future voters from participating in the political process?” asks Ernie Flanders, the elderly politician in question, who is surprisingly popular with people half your age. “I love listening to the young people of Heliosphere, and my message just happens to resonate with them. Don’t ya know there are some very smart kids who want to get involved early? It should be up to them to decide how to spend their money, not the government.”

3. “This demographic is an untapped gold mine!” excitedly announces your chief election strategist, preparing several colorful goody bags. “This guy was onto something big here. Not literally, as kids are small, but something that will certainly help us out in a big way. Let’s allow children to vote too! Then, we could start campaigning at schools all across Heliosphere, filling our youth with promises of ice cream and toys if they vote for us. I can see it already, Leader; we’ll win in a landslide!”

Issue by The Spacefaring Federation of Sacara

Edited by Candensia and Pogaria

[TalAkMaChen]

Short updates:

Code: Select all

1336,1 random female name; opt 2 random name; opt 3 is set as is

1423,3 not seen at all nations (guess: must have sports)

1466,1 random name, 2 (female) random name, 3 random name, 4 random name

1471,3 random name (my guess)

1483, issue: "community in @@NAME@@"
1483,1 requires Violetism legal? Or 1/2 have immigration (not) legal? (at least #1 was not seen as option at both TalAkMaChen and OptionOners)
1483,2-4 random female name

1485,4 random name

1491,1 has "screams [i]@@LEADER@@ Sucks[/i] reporter" (italics, no "the")
1491,3 has "chief editor of [i]The @@LEADER@@ Times[/i]." (italics, capitalized "the")

[Rocain Founder]

I believe that options 4 and 5 of issue #817 should be marked in the spoilers with an * as alternatives. 4 appears to be for religious nations, and 5 for secular ones. This suggestion is the result of my puppet Cain O-P Ut v1 receiving the issue. This nation, which received option 4 but not 5, is fairly religious (top 25% or so for religion, bottom 25% or so for secularity).

[TalAkMaChen]

More updates:
1457,5 also at "low religiousness" (7.03 religiousness, 39.3 secularism)
1458,1 random name, opt 3 @@boy@@ (can be either)
1477,1 random name
1484 all random names and gender (opt 2: "slogan on @@his@@ T-shirt"; opt 3: "smell about @@him@@" and "@@HE@@ starts searching")
1489,2 "@@HE@@ nudges the"

[Pencil Sharpeners 2]

Issue 1495: Throwing Paleontologists a Bone
The Issue
After a commercial fossil hunter discovered an incredibly rare and nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, and subsequently announced their intent to sell it to the highest bidder at an auction house, a debate kicked off on the ethics of for-profit fossil hunting. One of your more dinosaur-obsessed aides has convinced you to visit a dig site and obtain first-hand knowledge on the matter.

The Debate
1. “Fossil hunters are destroying our precious fossil record!” cries Dr. Lobachevsky, a noted paleontologist, while gently brushing the dirt from a Triceratops skull. “They’re not adequately documenting the context of the fossils they find, they’re careless with less profitable specimens, and it’s going to cost Pandapolis University a bundle to try and keep that precious T. rex in public hands. You need to make a law that only publicly funded paleontologists with scientific, not capitalist, intentions are allowed to collect fossils.”

2. “These bones are a limited-time offer,” states Jennifer Shaft, the fossil hunter at the center of the controversy, slinging a jackhammer behind her back. “The government will never have the funding to find and collect them all, so they’d probably be eroded away in a few years anyway. Besides, fossil hunting is a great hobby; it gets people outdoors, educates them about Pencil Sharpeners 2’s past, and can even put some cash in their pockets if they’re lucky. Just disseminate some basic guidelines on documentation so citizens can help preserve the scientific record, and encourage the free market to compete.”

3. “Why are y’all even spendin’ any of my tax dollars on hoity-toity gov’ment museums and paleonto-whatevers?” asks Newt Barber, the rancher on whose land the dig is occurring. “Seems like there’s plenty of private money for bone collection and display. You should cut gov’ment funding for such nonsense entirely.”

Issue by The United Mangrove Archipelago of Ransium

Edited by Verdant Haven

[Rocain Founder]

My puppet Cain A C-G Gn v1 today received issue #1135 with possible choices 1, 2, 3 and 5. The spoiler for this issue shows only four options possible. The text my puppet received for option 5 is identical to that for the spoiled option 4. I found the following recent post regarding this issue, indicating that an alternative to to option 3 would be added for nations with mandatory nudity. This is presumably option 4, the one my puppet did not receive (as it does not have mandatory nudity), so I cannot tell you what the text of option 4 is, just that it exists, and presumably is somewhat similar to but not identical to option 3.

While researching this, I also found this considerably older post stating that the condition for the spoiled option 4 (now option 5) is not the absence of Nudism, as the spoiler states, but something else unstated in that post. I suspect the condition may instead be Prudism, because if women's dress is already severely restricted, women are thereby forbidden from putting their flesh on display (something which upsets the option 5 ambassador), but this is only a guess on my part.

[Sacara]

Issue #1496: A Place For Everything

The Issue:

Opposition Leader Gertie Shatner recently made a televised speech at a party conference, and did so with her brand new uPhone85 prominently visible on the lectern throughout. Several times she used the “Sippy” virtual assistant feature to bring up relevant statistics during her speech. While her supporters are pleased at this clever attention-catching variation on the usual political rhetoric, her opponents have cynically noted that Pear — the manufacturers of the uPhone series — are notable campaign donors to her party.

The Debate:
0. “This blatant product placement is the result of selling influence, and is bringing politics into disrepute!” accuses Foreign Minister Leonardo Barker, who was recently caught in a scandal involving snorting cocaine off the foreheads of abused interns. “In our official capacity as politicians, we should never be allowed to refer to or endorse commercial products by name.”

1. “Look, it’s not as if corporations are all-powerful. We’re not living in some dystopian science fiction novel!” says your Treasury Minister Rosalina Gorbachev, clutching a copy of Max Barry’s Jennifer Government, her favourite book. “Excellent satires on unchecked corporate power aside, my point is that you shouldn’t be too reactionary here. Respect free speech, respect free market forces, and don’t stand in the way of product placement.”

2. “Actually, this might be a great opportunity to use accusations of corruption to take down a popular opposition leader,” observes Napoleon Berkshire-Orwell, your Minister of Irony. “You should appoint a Political Influences Guru — someone who is on your payroll, of course — with powers to prosecute politicians who show signs of being unduly influenced by outside organisations which we deem as unwholesome. The political landscape would be yours to shape...”

Authored by Candlewhisper Archive, Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

[Bears Armed]

Issue #1496: A Place For Everything

The Issue:

Opposition Leader Gertie Shatner recently made a televised speech at a party conference, and did so with her brand new uPhone85 prominently visible on the lectern throughout. Several times she used the “Sippy” virtual assistant feature to bring up relevant statistics during her speech. While her supporters are pleased at this clever attention-catching variation on the usual political rhetoric, her opponents have cynically noted that Pear — the manufacturers of the uPhone series — are notable campaign donors to her party.

The Debate:
0. “This blatant product placement is the result of selling influence, and is bringing politics into disrepute!” accuses Foreign Minister Leonardo Barker, who was recently caught in a scandal involving snorting cocaine off the foreheads of abused interns. “In our official capacity as politicians, we should never be allowed to refer to or endorse commercial products by name.”

1. “Look, it’s not as if corporations are all-powerful. We’re not living in some dystopian science fiction novel!” says your Treasury Minister Rosalina Gorbachev, clutching a copy of Max Barry’s Jennifer Government, her favourite book. “Excellent satires on unchecked corporate power aside, my point is that you shouldn’t be too reactionary here. Respect free speech, respect free market forces, and don’t stand in the way of product placement.”

2. “Actually, this might be a great opportunity to use accusations of corruption to take down a popular opposition leader,” observes Napoleon Berkshire-Orwell, your Minister of Irony. “You should appoint a Political Influences Guru — someone who is on your payroll, of course — with powers to prosecute politicians who show signs of being unduly influenced by outside organisations which we deem as unwholesome. The political landscape would be yours to shape...”

Authored by Candlewhisper Archive, Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

'Napoleon Berkshire-Orwell ' is fairly obviously a fixed name, it's a clear reference to 'Animal Farm'...

EDIT: I've just had this issue on one of my puppets, and can now confirm that the name "Napoleon Berkshire-Orwell' is fixed. The other two names are variable.

[Very Pog]

1,429: The Wind Become Death

The Issue
Recent studies of becquerel-burdened berries have found that radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing in Althaniq has been carried into @@NAME@@ by transoceanic jet streams.

The Debate
1.)"Althaniq might be keen to join the big boys at the nuclear-capable club, but this sort of sloppiness makes it clear then're not ready," comments your Minister of International Patronisation. "@@NAME@@ is like an elder sibling to Althaniq - tell then that they don't need a nuclear weapons program, because they're already under our protection. In fact, tell them they have to cease all testing now and in perpetuity, if they want to stay on our good side, and pay reperations for the harm they've done. They gotta remember their place."


2.) "No, can you not see? This is the danger of raw, unadulterated nuclear power!" cries nuclear disarmament activist @@RANDOMNAME@@ as he manically waves around a Geiger counter that clicks worryingly as it sweeps past your groin area. "These weapons imperil our very means of life - the ramifications of radiation spare no one. Althaniq must cease their nuclear ambitions, and we should lead by example. Disarm now!"

3.) "How boring, like I haven't heard that two hundred and thirty-five times already,: yawns nuclear scientist @@RANDOMNAME@@.
"Look, Althaniq is only doing nuclear tests because they're decades behind advanced nations like ours. We did all our testing dacades ago, and there's really no need for them to reapt all that messy business. Just shear our techincal knowledge with them, and we'll be even closer allies then before."


Issue by The Wayward Lightbrand of Westinor

Edited by Candelwhisper Archive



I dont really know is any of the Names are fixed or not so i just put in @RANDOMNAME@

[Jutsa]

Woooh, congratulations Westinor been waiting on this one, nice to see it finally in the game.

[Trotterdam]

Umm, we're on #1496 now. #1429 is old hat.

[Jutsa]

Oh... somehow I missed that xD I genuinely didn't remember it being added and I misread that as 1492 instead of 1429... my bad

Well, late congratulations again anyway?

[Valentine Z]

Valentine’s Changelog 041

---

My Resolution for 2022? 7680 × 4320.

- Fixed name macros for a few issues.
- Added possible validities and options (TBC).
- Added 3 new issues.

Changes made to the threads can be seen here.

[Rocain Founder]

Option 2 of issue #1467 has turned up. Puppet Cain M Cy0 v1, which has Autarky, received this issue with options 2, 3, 4 and 5, but no option 1. Here is option 2 as received by that nation (proper names left as received):

“Jethras and Augustus perhaps could have been more circumspect, but they’re @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ citizens who have committed no crime under our laws,” observes @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Consulate Officer Paul Myfinger. “We have a moral obligation to negotiate their release. I suggest we could make a couple of economic concessions, such as surrendering some of our nation’s share of fishing rights in international waters to Sacerdia. In return, our out-of-the-closet citizens can be gotten out of hot water. I’m also confident we can establish procedures to send home any future @@DEMONYMNOUNPLURAL@@ arrested there. Everybody wins.”

[Cyzixraqab]

Umm howdy, I've never made a post on this forum board thingy before but I just got Issue #1496 "A Place For Everything" and saw that you all seem to be missing the text that informs you of the results for one of the options on that issue, well I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I answered with option 1 and this was the result:

Political clichés like "band-aid solutions" and "adrenaline shots to the economy" are headed for the dumpster.

and I answered 1 in hopes that it would increase integrity due to stopping politicians from sponsoring products and y'know kinda seems like having that would be corrupt, so I'm confused why it actually decreased integrity a bit

I really wish for more issues that decrease political freedom and increase integrity since I'm aiming for Inoffensive Centrist Democracy with high integrity but it seems like that type of issue is unheard of!

anyway, here are the results if you wanted to see them:
https://prnt.sc/25qoj4b

[Valentine Z]

Hello, and thank you for your contribution nonetheless, the intention is more than appreciated! With that said, this thread so far is only for issues themselves and their choices, as well as their validities.

The results of the choices, as well as the rough estimates on the stats based on choices, can be seen in Trotterdam's thread. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=440593

[Dexterra]

Issue #1497: Double Trouble

The Issue
An intelligence agent has uncovered a document detailing a planned coup of your government. DNA evidence extracted from skin cells on the document have linked the plot to two cabinet ministers — identical twins Jamie and Jessie Anderson. Both twins deny any involvement and are blaming the other.

The Debate
1.“Because we can’t tell which twin was plotting against you, we can’t reasonably prove either of them was involved,” claims Attorney General and killjoy Billy Whiterock. “Better to let a guilty person walk free than have an innocent person be wrongly punished. We have no choice but to hold back until we have more evidence, and allow them to continue their current roles. Besides, I always found it somewhat charming that we have twins fulfilling the roles of Minister for Alternative Solutions and Minister for Creative Solutions.”

2. “Bah, in my experience twins are more likely to commit crimes because they think we can’t charge both of them,” says Chief of Police Sange Garza, who’s a bit of a loose cannon but by gum, gets results every time. “If you free them both, then you’re issuing a carte blanche for these creepy doppelgangers to commit crimes. As long as we’re sure that one twin was responsible, assume both are guilty until one of them cracks and confesses.”

3. “Good news everyone!” announces Professor Darnsworth, a crackpot geneticist who is the spitting image of your Secretary of State. “We’ve recently discovered that all sets of identical twins are comprised of an ‘evil’ twin and a ‘good’ twin. Invariably, one twin will always be predisposed to be evil, grow a goatee and blame their evil deeds on the other twin. Give my team a blank cheque and we’ll be able to develop a soul smear test to determine which person in a pair of twins is evil. Then you can keep the good twin and punish the evil one!”

Authored by The Gold and Silver Alloy of Electrum, edited by Candlewhisper Archive

Names in red appear to be random. I don't think 'Professor Darnsworth' in option 3 is random because it seems like a reference to a Futurama character

[Minskiev]

I can say that Jamie and Jessie aren't random. Anderson is, however.

Billy Whiterock isn't random.

The Chief of Police is random.

Professor Darnsworth isn't random.

Issue #1497: Double Trouble [Electrum; ed: Candlewhisper Archive]

The Issue

An intelligence agent has uncovered a document detailing a planned coup of your government. DNA evidence extracted from skin cells on the document have (note: should this be has?) linked the plot to two cabinet ministers — identical twins Jamie and Jessie Thiesen. Both twins deny any involvement and are blaming the other.

The Debate
“Because we can’t tell which twin was plotting against you, we can’t reasonably prove either of them was involved,” claims Attorney General and killjoy Billy Whiterock. “Better to let a guilty person walk free than have an innocent person be wrongly punished. We have no choice but to hold back until we have more evidence, and allow them to continue their current roles. Besides, I always found it somewhat charming that we have twins fulfilling the roles of Minister for Alternative Solutions and Minister for Creative Solutions.”

“Bah, in my experience twins are more likely to commit crimes because they think we can’t charge both of them,” says Chief of Police Matt Chatwin, who’s a bit of a loose cannon but by gum, gets results every time. “If you free them both, then you’re issuing a carte blanche for these creepy doppelgangers to commit crimes. As long as we’re sure that one twin was responsible, assume both are guilty until one of them cracks and confesses.”

“Good news everyone!” announces Professor Darnsworth, a crackpot geneticist who is the spitting image of your Secretary of State. “We’ve recently discovered that all sets of identical twins are comprised of an ‘evil’ twin and a ‘good’ twin. Invariably, one twin will always be predisposed to be evil, grow a goatee and blame their evil deeds on the other twin. Give my team a blank cheque and we’ll be able to develop a soul smear test to determine which person in a pair of twins is evil. Then you can keep the good twin and punish the evil one!”

[Rocain Founder]

This post and several following reported that option 4 of issue #279 had the same text as the spoiled option 3. Puppet Cain A P-R Rd v1 has now received this issue with option 3 rather than option 4. The text of option 3, so far as I can tell, is also identical to the spoiled text of option 3. The previous posts indicated that the text of option 4 was also identical to the spoiled option 3. Since one must assume that option variants like this exist for some reason, then option 3 and option 4 must differ in their effects (or possibly in their talking points). As to what determines whether a particular nation gets option 3 or option 4, I have no theories at all. But here are the policies of Cain A P-R Rd v1. They can be compared with the policies of the puppet from the previous report (which received option 4), but I admit that the comparison did not trigger any theories for me. Perhaps someone else will be more insightful.

The puppet which got this issue chose to dismiss it, so I have no info on whether the talking point for option 3 might differ from that for option 4.

Cannabis
Gun Control
No Automobiles
No Computers
No Marriage
No Prison
Public Protest
Socialism
Sortition
Space Program
Vat-Produced Infants

My nation (for once, my main nation Rocain Founder) just received issue #279, receiving option 3, not option 4. (And I checked again that the text of option 3 is identical to that spoiled for option 4.)

I am bothering to post again to include the list of policies of my nation, which are rather significantly different from those of the puppet in my previous report.

AI Personhood
Capital Punishment
Capitalism
Compulsory Organ Harvesting
Corporal Punishment
Curfew
Human Sacrifice
ID Chips
Marriage Equality
Metricism
No Immigration
No Judiciary
No Prison
No Smoking
Nuclear Power
Permanent Marriage
Slavery
Sortition
Space Program
Vat-Produced Infants
Weapons of Mass Destruction

None of the differences seem to have much to do with the subject matter of the issue. The only one that I can imagine as having some influence is that the the puppet which got option 3 has No Marriage, while my nation, which got option 4, has Permanent Marriage. I think this is a low-probability guess, but it's the only one I have. More data points are clearly needed.

Once again, I selected a different option than the one being discussed, so I have no information about its talking point.

[Rocain Founder]

Do folks remember this post, wherein issue #1380 was discovered to follow after a previously unknown block of options in issue #1378? Following posts to that one discuss theories of what might have caused the second bloc of options to be offered rather than the first block.

I don't have an answer for that. However, I do have a data point that could be the answer. Previously there was a brief debate about whether the choice of which block would be offered was a result of previous choices in the issue chain, or was caused by something external to it. This is still undecided, but, if the difference has a cause internal to the chain, we now have more information on what that difference relates to. My nation from the previous post gave the following responses to earlier issues in the chain: 1375:1, 1376:1, 1377:2). I have another puppet now going through the chain, which was offered options 1 and 3 (the first block), whose responses to previous issues in the chain were: 1375:5, 1376:1, 1377:2. Which establishes that, if the cause is internal to the chain rather than external, it has to do with the response to issue #1375.

I had a theory that it was related to choosing option 2 of #1377; that theory has been entirely discredited (unless the decision is based both on previous responses AND something external, anyway).