NationStates

>Write 25 factbook entries
>Attempt to write a NON-FACTBOOK BASED DISPATCH to either the Bulletin, Account, or Meta
>Observe as restrictive system glitches screws over your hard work continually referencing the fact you have 25 factbooks regardless of the fact that this should not matter

The factbook limitation of 25 in and of itself is also problematic. I will link you to the CIA's WOLRD FACTBOOK for reference of the various things that an ACTUAL factbook has. It is far more than 25. Restricting us to 25 factbook entries goes against the very spirit of the idea of having a factbook. Whatever lunatic implemented this needs to be scolded and this non-feature completely removed. It's the textbook definition of "stupid".

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/ ... ed-states/

Pairidaezia wrote:Whatever lunatic implemented this needs to be scolded and this non-feature completely removed.

That would be our site admin, [violet], who (unlike the CIA) does not have an unlimited budget for disk storage.

Regardless, it's not a bug, and it's far from urgent. Feel free to pay for your own hosting site and put up as massive a factbook collection as you like.

Frisbeeteria wrote:

Pairidaezia wrote:Whatever lunatic implemented this needs to be scolded and this non-feature completely removed.

That would be our site admin, [violet], who (unlike the CIA) does not have an unlimited budget for disk storage.

Regardless, it's not a bug, and it's far from urgent. Feel free to pay for your own hosting site and put up as massive a factbook collection as you like.

The 25-factbook limit isn't a glitch, but the OP did mention a genuine glitch. If you have hit the factbook limit and try to post any dispatch that isn't a factbook, it fails and tells you that you can't post any more factbooks, even though what you're posting isn't a factbook and therefore isn't subject to the same limit.

How is it not a bug whenever bulletins, account, and meta are stored in different locations than factbooks? In one of my other nations, I have 23 factbook entries and have posted far more than 2 dispatches as bulletins or account and had absolutely no problems. The limitation of 25 factbook entries may not be a glitch, but the overlapping of the 2 most certainly is.

I seem to remember this has been reported before. Anyway, it's a really minor thing which can be fixed by changing the category of one of your Factbooks to a non-factbook category, and then you can post as many dispatches as you want.

How I've always interpreted the policy is this:

You can view both factbooks and dispatches on your dispatches page. The factbook page, however, is meant to be the most important articles about your nation. There's no limit on how many dispatches you can have, but it doesn't make much sense to have infinite articles which are considered "the important ones".

Pairidaezia wrote:How is it not a bug whenever bulletins, account, and meta are stored in different locations than factbooks? In one of my other nations, I have 23 factbook entries and have posted far more than 2 dispatches as bulletins or account and had absolutely no problems. The limitation of 25 factbook entries may not be a glitch, but the overlapping of the 2 most certainly is.

A bug is a glitch or fault with the site that needs immediate attention or else the site will not work right.

This, on the other hand, does not need attention right away. Don't call things "bugs" when you are clearly posting an idea for improvement.

My friendly suggestion would be to group them into bigger factbooks with each dedicated section.

I understand the problem if you wrote too much (25 * ~90000 char limit). However, reading through your factbooks, you seriously don't need one lone factbook to state that your coastline is 403 km. Condense them into a single Wiki factbook.

Here's a Guide to a Wiki-style factbook, which should serve you well.

The limit applies to all dispatches, including factbooks. I've clarified the language in that error message.

The limit exists to prevent a small number of users creating large numbers of dispatches, which could impact site performance. As others have said above, it's usually the case that a large number of short dispatches can be better presented as fewer, more comprehensive docs.

[violet] wrote:The limit applies to all dispatches, including factbooks. I've clarified the language in that error message.

The limit exists to prevent a small number of users creating large numbers of dispatches, which could impact site performance. As others have said above, it's usually the case that a large number of short dispatches can be better presented as fewer, more comprehensive docs.

That is certainly not the case. (Look at The Northern Light, for instance; each large region/organisation probably has one or more such nations.). Nor should it be the case -- people rely on dispatches to communicate all kinds of routine things while maintaining an archive and a limit of 25 would cripple that.

Edit: If a new all-dispatch limit is going to be implemented, that should not be done without wide discussion and consultation.

Ahhh, I see. You are quite right.

Is there an example of a nation that currently has fewer than 25 factbooks, but is seeing this error message?

I suspect it occurs when some factbooks get deleted and the number is not synced properly.

[violet] wrote:Ahhh, I see. You are quite right.

Is there an example of a nation that currently has fewer than 25 factbooks, but is seeing this error message?

I suspect it occurs when some factbooks get deleted and the number is not synced properly.

See my nation. I just made myself 25 factbooks normally to test it and now can't make any more dispatches. (I have deleted factbooks over the years, but none recently)

Edit: should be noted that I have 25 factbooks but cannot create a dispatch. Not fewer than 25.

Okay, I finally get it. Should be fixed now.

[violet] wrote:Okay, I finally get it. Should be fixed now.

Yep, it works!