NationStates Issues **SPOILER ALERT**

[Trotterdam]

Okay, so it looks like one of the effect lines I thought was on #964, wasn't. Apparently there is another recent issue that also features people killing each other over games.

I also just saw this getting added.

A lot of doppelganger options use the same effect line, you know. e.g. 73.1 and 73.2, and 689.2 and 689.3. On the other hand, a lot of them don't, like 708.1 and 708.2. I'm curious to know how you're managing to analyse those.

My spoilers are public, you know You can take a look at them yourself. #73, #689, #708.

When options have the same effect line, I can't tell them apart, and so I simply treat them as one option, combining all stat effects from either option into a single pool. In many cases this is reasonable (a political opinion might be described as posted on a blog in nations where the internet is legal and written in a newspaper editorial where it is not, but it amounts to the same political opinion, and will have approximately the same stat effects). Occasionally it might not be, but I just have to accept that is a weak point in my program. It will at least be correctly recorded by showing the options to have a wide range of possible results, warning viewers that the data might be unreliable.

While in theory in some cases it might be possible to tell which version a nation got by querying its policies, that would require me to manually enter the validities for every such pair, and some validities aren't based on visible policies, and I would risk getting the validities wrong. Way too much effort and risk, so I'm not doing that.

When the variants do have separate effect lines, I just manually enter which is which, and that is that.

[Wyethalania]

Added! Looks like my hopes for a wave of new issues came true

Congratulations, Altmer! Also nice to see Wyethelania back in the editing business. :3c

Props to you for noticing! It's great to be back after my leave of absence. S:-)

[Feria-Alkaline]

ISSUE 964

An Expensive Watch

The Issue

Sporting events have always drawn big crowds of passionate fans, but those same crowds can bring a temporary surge in crime. While extra policing can be assigned, questions have been raised over who should pay for this.

The Debate

“These are big-profit events for the corporations that run them, but they generate considerable externalities which must be paid for by taxpayers,” explains Police Assistant Accountancy Director Dick Hendrikson, seeming excited to be at the centre of attention for once. “Let the profiteers pick up the extra cost, as guesstimated... I mean, carefully calculated by my department.”

Accept

“Excuse me? Since when have private companies been liable to fund public services?” retorts CEO Kathleen Parkarvarkar, showing you an empty wallet to emphasise her point, though her gesture is diminished in impact by it being a ridiculously expensive crocodile-skin, diamond-studded designer piece. “If you cut into profits, you discourage free market enterprise, and if you do that, there’ll be less sporting entertainment. And you know what happens when a populace doesn’t get its sports? That’s right - they start thinking about politics, and criticising their social betters. Do you really want that to happen?”

---CHOSEN---

Fiscal policy hawks decry the sizable "panem et circenses" fund added to the public budget.

Accept

“Oi oi, there’s no need for all this bovver,” grins die-hard fan Four Fingers Stan, hiding a bloodied length of scaffolding pole behind his back. “So we like to let off a bit of steam before and after the match, and have a bit of a scrap. It’s all good fun, and nobody who don’t wants to be there has to be there if they don’t wants to be, right? So why not give the rozzers the day off, and let us sort ourselves out?”

Accept

Dismiss This Issue

Issue by The Eye of Candlewhisper Archive

Edited by Baggieland

(The names might be random, idk...)

[Jutsa]

Many thanks, Feria! I remember this from the drafting phase; glad to see it added.

[Feria-Alkaline]

Many thanks, Feria! I remember this from the drafting phase; glad to see it added.

Yep, anytime. Sorry for the bad formatting, though...

[Jutsa]

Naeh, I've seen worse. I prefer good formatting, although I also am OK with names not being macronized in the event they're fixed,
and it's more common than not I have to go through it anyway — even if it has been changed for me.

[Jutsa]

Actually, you did inspire me to add a little something to the beginning post regarding finding options for me. :3c

Thank you very much!

[Drasnia]

#967: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics [The Atlae Isles; ed:Candlewhisper Archive]

The Issue
A dubious study in a dubious scientific magazine recently asserted that pizza is healthy, preventing heart disease, curing cancer and treating low libido. The scientific community rapidly discredited the study, but not before newspaper headlines had many Drasnians believing it.

The Debate
1. “This is a cheese-topped catastrophe! A doughy disaster!” moans paediatrician Dr. Melania Sims, who has spent all morning trying to convince mums not to put their kids on a pizza-only diet. “Science can’t move forward if its legitimacy is being undermined by bad studies! This Eckie-Cola Scientific Review is a sorry excuse for a publication, taking payment to publish any old trash, and masquerading as a serious journal! You must pass laws demanding stringency of peer review and reference-checking in academia.”

2. “You can’t stop bad science,” complains sociologist Tarquin Bennett. “What you can do, however, is expect the media to check if studies are legitimate. Just fine news networks each time they broadcast misleading information or fail to check their scientific sources, and hold them legally accountable for the consequences of misinformation.”

3. “Mamma mia, I tell you this is the truth!” exclaims Professor Giuseppe De Luigi, of the Independent Pizza Research Institute. “The ivory tower of academia has been saying for years that pizza was making the bambinos obese, but here is the evidence! It has all the fresh and organic ingredients, like tomatoes and even pineapples, and they count as a vegetable, sì? You should be telling everyone to be eating my cousin Benito’s delicious pizzas!”

[Jutsa]

Yaaay, Atlae's pizza issue!

Added! Thank you Drasnia, and congratulations Atlae :3c

[Jutsa]

Huh... this is a strange option I don't remember from the draft:

“Sports fans are a nasty bunch, but you’ve got to admire their fighting spirit,” comments Colonel Wong with a wry smile. “Come wartime, we could use men of their calibre. Shut down all professional sports, and conscript the lot of them. All that pent-up energy can instead be directed to the national good.”

About 90% sure the criteria is you need to not have conscription.

Ed: I'm aware, yeah, sports are needed to even get the issue.

Edit2: Can confirm that all names are random. Fixed that too.

Edit3: Think Colonel Wong is Colonel @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@?

[The Atlae Isles]

Yaaay, Atlae's pizza issue!

Added! Thank you Drasnia, and congratulations Atlae :3c

Thanks! CWA told me it was the oldest accepted submission in the pool so far.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

When options have the same effect line, I can't tell them apart, and so I simply treat them as one option, combining all stat effects from either option into a single pool. In many cases this is reasonable (a political opinion might be described as posted on a blog in nations where the internet is legal and written in a newspaper editorial where it is not, but it amounts to the same political opinion, and will have approximately the same stat effects). Occasionally it might not be, but I just have to accept that is a weak point in my program. It will at least be correctly recorded by showing the options to have a wide range of possible results, warning viewers that the data might be unreliable.

Yeah, you might want to add that warning. A lot of doppelgangers exist not just because the presentation needs to be different, but also because the instructed stat changes are different dependent on your starting position. Most policy shifts have default stat changes manually coded to go with them, for example, and there's different stats coded if a policy is being enacted or reinforced.

[Trotterdam]

#969 Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Incredibly Sick!

The Issue

Healthcare in @@NAME@@ is widely acknowledged as among the best in the world. Hospitals have seen a steady influx of patients from abroad. However, with so much medical tourism, there are claims that this is making it difficult for native @@DEMONYMNOUNPLURAL@@ to access their own healthcare system.

The Debate

1. "This is outrageous!" screams @@RANDOMNAME@@, who is camped outside @@CAPITAL@@ Public Hospital under a makeshift tent. "I came in for a routine checkup over a week ago, and no one has seen me yet. There are too many foreigners taking up our doctors' valuable time! We have to ban access to healthcare services for all non-citizens. It's not our fault their healthcare systems aren't as good as ours. Realistically, this is the only way to guarantee the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ people are getting the healthcare we deserve."

2. "Whoa there!" interrupts Dr. @@RANDOMNAME@@, the nation's leading posterior surgeon. "We have definitely been swamped with foreign patients, but turning them down altogether seems a bit harsh. How about we only accept non-citizens as patients if they have contracted a life-threatening illness or injury while traveling through @@NAME@@? That way, we won't turn away the needy in our own country, but we also won't be besieged with patients from other nations."

3. "Now hold on!" shouts your Secretary of Health as she stumbles in with excitement. "This presents a great opportunity! There's no question that our healthcare resources are some of the best in the world. Why shouldn't we use this as leverage to cash in on foreign desperation? We could make a lot of @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@ by charging steep fees to non-citizens! This way, only those willing to pay can get in, and the extra money will ensure that our hospitals are well-equipped for the influx. It's a win-win solution! Well, except for the poor foreigners, but you can't save them all."

4. "Where is your compassion?" chides foreign celebrity @@RANDOMNAME@@, who has had extensive cosmetic surgery performed at @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ hospitals. "You can't simply shun your foreign patients! Some of these people don't even have basic medical care in their home countries. You have to grow a heart and understand that people only come to you because you're the best. I say that you should welcome all visitors to your hospitals, regardless of national status, and treat them as your own. If you have to send more tax funds to healthcare to accomplish this, it's only right that you do so!"

Issue by Layvia
Edited by Pogaria

I like how the narrator starts out by flattering me Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

I don't know if the Secretary of Health is always female (or the other characters, for that matter). I got boy-girl-girl-girl.

About 90% sure the criteria is you need to not have conscription.

I can neither confirm nor deny this at the current time, what with having only two data points.

Yeah, you might want to add that warning.

I did. It's in the NAQ under "Q: Hey, you list this issue option as having both negative and positive effects on the same stats! How can that be?".

I imagine there are probably also a lot of cases where both versions move your stats in the same direction, but one causes more extreme changes than the other. I expect that the majority of time players will only care about "will this make my <stat> go up or down?", though, so the displayed info should be sufficient when this happens.

All effect lines that can be on multiple options are also clearly marked as such.

[Chan Island]

#969 Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Incredibly Sick!

The Issue

Healthcare in @@NAME@@ is widely acknowledged as among the best in the world. Hospitals have seen a steady influx of patients from abroad. However, with so much medical tourism, there are claims that this is making it difficult for native @@DEMONYMNOUNPLURAL@@ to access their own healthcare system.

The Debate

1. "This is outrageous!" screams @@RANDOMNAME@@, who is camped outside @@CAPITAL@@ Public Hospital under a makeshift tent. "I came in for a routine checkup over a week ago, and no one has seen me yet. There are too many foreigners taking up our doctors' valuable time! We have to ban access to healthcare services for all non-citizens. It's not our fault their healthcare systems aren't as good as ours. Realistically, this is the only way to guarantee the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ people are getting the healthcare we deserve."

2. "Whoa there!" interrupts Dr. @@RANDOMNAME@@, the nation's leading posterior surgeon. "We have definitely been swamped with foreign patients, but turning them down altogether seems a bit harsh. How about we only accept non-citizens as patients if they have contracted a life-threatening illness or injury while traveling through @@NAME@@? That way, we won't turn away the needy in our own country, but we also won't be besieged with patients from other nations."

3. "Now hold on!" shouts your Secretary of Health as she stumbles in with excitement. "This presents a great opportunity! There's no question that our healthcare resources are some of the best in the world. Why shouldn't we use this as leverage to cash in on foreign desperation? We could make a lot of @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@ by charging steep fees to non-citizens! This way, only those willing to pay can get in, and the extra money will ensure that our hospitals are well-equipped for the influx. It's a win-win solution! Well, except for the poor foreigners, but you can't save them all."

4. "Where is your compassion?" chides foreign celebrity @@RANDOMNAME@@, who has had extensive cosmetic surgery performed at @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ hospitals. "You can't simply shun your foreign patients! Some of these people don't even have basic medical care in their home countries. You have to grow a heart and understand that people only come to you because you're the best. I say that you should welcome all visitors to your hospitals, regardless of national status, and treat them as your own. If you have to send more tax funds to healthcare to accomplish this, it's only right that you do so!"

Issue by Layvia
Edited by Pogaria

I like how the narrator starts out by flattering me Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

I don't know if the Secretary of Health is always female (or the other characters, for that matter). I got boy-girl-girl-girl.

About 90% sure the criteria is you need to not have conscription.

I can neither confirm nor deny this at the current time, what with having only two data points.

Yeah, you might want to add that warning.

I did. It's in the NAQ under "Q: Hey, you list this issue option as having both negative and positive effects on the same stats! How can that be?".

I imagine there are probably also a lot of cases where both versions move your stats in the same direction, but one causes more extreme changes than the other. I expect that the majority of time players will only care about "will this make my <stat> go up or down?", though, so the displayed info should be sufficient when this happens.

All effect lines that can be on multiple options are also clearly marked as such.

Ouch. Bad luck that guy who wrote a big draft on the topic just recently too.

[Jutsa]

Eh, that person ended up leaving GI anyways, I'm afraid. As I said before, it had nothing to do with the GI community.

Added! Congratulations to Layvia.

We still need 911, 917, 952, 956, 965, and 968...
yeah, gl.

[Altmer Dominion]

#956 Sighting.

#956 The Bottom of the Gun Barrel

The Issue
It’s harvest season and farms all over Altmer Dominion are starved of manpower. A sizeable proportion of able-bodied young adults have been conscripted into the army, leaving the agricultural sector unable to find enough temporary workers to pick fruit or work the fields.

The Debate

1. “We only have half a dozen employees to work four times that many acres,” moans Miles Herrelko, a citrus orchard manager, “and three of them don’t even know how to operate basic machinery. If you could exempt people who have experience working on farms from the draft, our sector will be saved. Remember, an army marches on its stomach, so supporting us will help the military as well.”

2. “That’s not enough!” exclaims economist Stefanie Pasteur, marching into your office. “The military consumes resources but produces nothing. As you can see, it’s already causing detriment to productivity, and continuing to support it will eventually result in our entire economic infrastructure collapsing. I insist that you scrap conscription laws before our economy withers and dies!”

3. “Insubordination!” yells General Waialiki, waving a fist in the air in agitation. “How can you suggest that we leave our borders defenceless? There is another available source of manpower that has been overlooked - the disabled and elderly can be made to work. The agricultural sector can put to rest any accusations of ableism or ageism, and we get to maintain our army size.”

Issue by The UD Parliamentary Republic of Singapore no2
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

[Jutsa]

Oh thank goodness, that's the one(aside from 917) that I was particularly worried about. Thank you

Ed: Checked because I was curious, and I can confirm that another one of the missing issues is done by Singapore no2. Yep, he's hit 20 issues.

Congratulations

[Candensia]

Speak of the 956th Issue, and it shall appear!

[Singapore no2]

Oh thank goodness, that's the one(aside from 917) that I was particularly worried about. Thank you

Ed: Checked because I was curious, and I can confirm that another one of the missing issues is done by Singapore no2. Yep, he's hit 20 issues.

Congratulations

Thanks!

[Nation Tracker]

I found one!
_________________________________________________________
968 Nation Tracker Falls Flat In Singing Contest

The Issue
Last night, in the finals of popular reality TV contest @@REGION@@ vision, the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ representative lost, despite giving what almost all critics in @@NAME@@ have declared to be a superior performance. The enraged masses have inexplicably decided that the best course of action is to storm your office to voice their complaints.
The Debate
1. “It was rigged!” chants real housewife of @@CAPITAL@@, Rebecca Long Karsprintian, who is so angered that she is speaking at a pace you’re having trouble keeping up with. “Half the judges looked to be Maxtopian to me, and you know what those people think of us and our culture. The contest must be rerun, this time with more unbiased judges from @@NAME@@. If the rest of @@REGION@@ doesn’t agree, threaten trade sanctions, heck, maybe even outright war. Our national pride depends on this!”

2. “Clearly, the rest of @@REGION@@ are just uncultured idiots!” crescendoes Gerald Sharp, who was recently voted the country’s most-eligible bachelor. “If they can’t appreciate us, who needs them? The government should sponsor its own patriotic song contest! Call it @@DEMONYM@@ Idol, only let native-born @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ compete, and let @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ vote for a winner. A song for the people, by the people, to the people, from the people. Or something.”

3. “For sure, everyone knows that @@REGION@@vision always has every nation giving top marks to their favourite historic allies,” intones reality show survivor Geoff Probes. “Maybe instead you should be asking why other nations don’t feel inclined to treat @@NAME@@ that way. Maybe you should be investing more in diplomacy, in mutual-backscratching, in favorable trade deals traded for agreeable song contest votes. This is how the world works, and we should be learning to play nice with our neighbors.”

4. “If you ask me, these low-brow shows are making your average @@DEMONYM@@ no smarter than a 5th-grader,” croons your apprentice, after finally clearing the rabble from your office. “If only more shows on TV were serious, like 60 Clock-ticks, or informative, like Will Zeke the Science Geek, then television could actually help create a smarter, more refined populace.”

Issue by The my pre-title is longer than yours, I could teach you but I'd have to charge (and that would be against the commercialization rule) of Ransium
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

[Jutsa]

Huh... I'm half-surprised there's a "maybe our songs are just awful" option.

Added. Pretty nice issue, Ransium.

[Trotterdam]

#575 Sick Days for Sick Waves

The Issue

At the height of an extremely hot summer along the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ coastline, many workers have taken multiple 'sick days' to go to the beach and had the misfortune to run into their bosses, who have 'taken work home' to their seaside properties. Your chief employment analyst has estimated that the economic damage of the good weather has been significant, though he says he'll get back to you on exact figures once he recovers from an unexpected bout of period cramps that are keeping him off work today.

The Debate

2. "We lost a whole summer!" says @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, your Minister of Productivity, while adjusting his swimming costume. "We can't just shut @@NAME@@ down whenever it's a bit too hot - our economy would go broke. Of course, there's nothing wrong with bumming around the beach, but not while you're being paid... How about we allow the government, rather than the people, decide when somebody is sick enough to stay home from work. That'll put an end to their malingering tricks!"

3. "I'm not a bludger because I take a few sickies," complains @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, a surprisingly tanned data entry worker from his basement cubicle. "I mean c'mon, you can't 'spect us to work on a bloody scorcha! Maybe you could make all places of work close down when the weather is really good, then we can go to the beach and not worry &#145;bout it. I mean, what's more important, a barbie and some beers with yer mates, or more bleedin' work?&#148;

4. "Why can't we just start working on beaches?" asks @@RANDOMFEMALENAME@@, a bikini-clad beach beauty who persuaded your doorman to let her into the meeting. "I mean let people take the papers and printers and stuff to the beach and do the work there! Pay people for the work they do, not the hours they are in the office. Flexible workplaces are more productive, so you should be subsidising and encouraging with appropriate legislation."

5. "I don't really understand what the attraction of sunny beaches is supposed to be," notes dermatologist Dr. @@RANDOMNAME@@, closing your blinds for you. "People just need to be reminded that too much sunshine and beach-side indulgence can be bad for you. There's skin cancer, sunburn and all sorts of nasty creatures, like sharks and jellyfish. Have you seen the size of their teeth? Sharks, I mean, not jellyfish. Here, look at this photo of this man whose skin fell off after he got stung. I've got that picture in a Public Health leaflet, you just need to distribute them..."

Issue by Australian rePublic
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

Looks like a communist variant.

There's no reason for the first two speakers to be fixed to male, but I think they are because the issue was written before the pronoun macros existed.

Huh... I'm half-surprised there's a "maybe our songs are just awful" option.

Umm, there... isn't?

The only option criticizing @@NAME@@'s songs is the last one, and it's criticizing them for being mindless entertainment rather than for not being entertaining.

[Jutsa]

Holy cow I swear I meant to type "there isn't". I must be more worn out than I thought. >~<

Thank you, Trotterdam y.y

[Trotterdam]

Ah. Well, if we're talking about absent options, I'd kind of wished for the opposite: a kindergarten-style "everyone is a winner" option. Why worry about which song is BEST, so long as people like listening to all of them?

[Jutsa]

I guess there were a lot of things you could do there.

Then again, threatening trade sanctions is probably a bit overkill,
but that's generally a plus for NS if done right.