Write an NS News post!

[[violet]]

We'd like the News page to include the occasional post that's NOT about server crashes or new code: a story about a famous incident in NS history, for example, or an analysis of NS government types.

If you have an idea for one, propose it here! (Don't rush out and write it--an outline is fine.) From time to time we'll pick out a popular suggestion.

Articles will have to be fairly short (less than 500 words) but can include graphics.

If you have an idea for an analysis-type article--something like this, for example--we can provide you with raw data from a nightly survey of active nations. Not all kinds of data are available but we can gather stats on most things, e.g. number of nations by population.

We have a wealth of knowledge and history in the NS community; it'd be great to put some where more people can see it!

(This topic is currently a global Announcement. After a few days, it will move to the Technical forum.)

[Cyrupe]

Very interesting idea Violet. I'll see if I can't joggle the noggle and get some ideas turned into written posts.

[Buffett and Colbert]

So for example, a user could submit something about the successive Generalite uprisings against Mod Tyranny and Bias?^TM

[Unibot II]

An advertising for the WA Army, which has recently been looking for new recruits.

[Unibot II]

On a serious note, I'd like to write a response to Rule IV in retrospect as one of the more avid protesters of the rule. I'd like to write about what the Security Council is, address some problems that people see in it, and explain the Rule IV conflict in depth, how it began and where it leaves us now, and how to rebuild the community from the mess it has left us in, or even more important why we should bother rebuilding the community.

The Security Council :
A Misunderstood Institution in Dire Need of ... You

• What is the Security Council?
  
  • A Moral Dimension to NationStates.
  • Brief history of the Security Council -- what has it accomplished and why has it done so ?
  Why should I care about it?
• • Refute common National Sovereignty compliant.
  • Refute common Regional Sovereignty compliant.
  • Refute common "Bad Guy Candy" compliant.
  • Refute common back-patting compliant.
  • Refute common 'easy-way-out' compliant regarding liberations.
  • Link the Security Council as a moral dimension to the average NationStates player, how is it useful? What purpose/role does it serve?
• What was the Rule IV Conflict?
  
  • What caused Rule IV and what caused the controversy over Rule IV?
  • History of the Protests.
  • Why should we accept Rule IV now, of all times?
• How can you help the community grow?
  
  • A change in attitude towards the Security Council, especially by the people who ought to respect it most.
  • We want to hear your stories! And who better to tell them then you!?
  • Where to go to participate in the Security Council.

[Almaniania]

Interesting idea!
So, would this include any RPing in the forums as well, or is it mainly NS history?

[Charlotte Ryberg]

Hi,

I think we could cover a recent event that is in fact happening right now:

The WA is currently debating Abortion, one of the most heated topic in history. It began on 17 December with a proposal by Christian Democrats to limit abortion after 24 weeks, and a contending proposal on Boxing Day by Umbra Ac Silentium to remove the WA's ability to legislate on such.

A commentby ambassador Dr. B. Castro of Glen-Rhodes inspired Ms. S. Harper of Charlotte Ryberg to develop a compromise which is now currently at vote. In the following days numerous drafts were developed by other ambassadors, some restricting abortion, some legalising abortion, and others wanting the WA to no longer legislate on the matter.

At one point on 9 January there were seven submitted proposals all dealing with abortion, and the WA forums were dominated by topics on abortion. On 11 January Charlotte Ryberg's proposal On Abortion, a resolution securing the right to abortion in essential cases such as non-consensual sexual activity (politically correct term for rape) and life in danger, while allowing member states to decide in more general cases such as sex selection and on demand abortion entered the voting floor.

The outcome of the resolution at vote is, well, in progress, but after less than 24 hours into the vote, CR's proposal is currently leading by 3 to 1. However, the debate has been heated with fierce reaction from many sides, with Christian Democrats attempting to repeal the proposal if passed, which also encountered mixed yet fierce reaction.

[[violet]]

Interesting idea!
So, would this include any RPing in the forums as well, or is it mainly NS history?

Articles should be of interest to NS players who haven't explored much of the game, as well as more established nations. It's not to be a soapbox for arguing a particular political case--we have plenty of places for that already--but could perhaps introduce people to an aspect of the site (past or present) that many are unfamiliar with.

With RPing, I would think there could be an interesting article about our RP communities and how they operate, but a description of a particular RP would probably be lost on most people (at least at this stage).

[Syvorji]

My idea can be about the forums themselves, about the history, the move to Jolt and so on and so fourth... Draft to come soon once I drink my coffee.

[Barringtonia]

Barringtonia writes another stunning post!

Popular poster continues to churn out excellence delighting all who read his work

(Nationstates, 12th January, 2011) Barringtonia today created another stunning post to be read by the Nationstates community at their leisure. This now marks over 8, 000 stunning posts since the move from Jolt, where he'd previously written some 5, 000 equally stunning posts. The comment, written in the How Light Deprivation causes Depression thread, which was initiated by Trippoli, posited a link with hibernation and vitamin D as a cause of depression. A quick Google search confirmed his musings and scientists around the world excitedly set to work on further exploring this angle. "This changes everything.. again", said Sir Richard Dawkins in a phone interview.

"This is not the first time Barringtonia has blown our minds away with his awesome posts, it's not even the first 1, 000'd time, it's over 8, 000 unique and compelling posts that cover the range from informative to gut-splittingly funny to those posts that simply cause you to stop and view the world anew, sometimes for days", said [Violet}], forum adminstrator and code-monkey, her voice filled with unconcealed admiration.

The post comes hot on the heels of his 'ba-zing' statement on FOX news being a comedy channel, which so far has left 17 people hospitalised for side-split injuries among a host of well-crafted and often ground-breaking postings.

"Sometimes I don't know if I should continue extracting money from him", stated Ardchoille, forum moderator and general enforcer of bribes, light oppression and men in dark suits carrying baseball bats, "I should almost pay for the honour of reading his erudite and witty one-liners, his profound and philosophical asides and just his general contribution not just to these boards but, really, to humanity in 'General'", she added, chuckling over her pun, "I got that one from Barringtonia actually", she added.

"Ultimately, and above all, it's really his humility that just makes you gasp in wonder", chimed Katganistan, Senior Forum Moderator, "I've admired him for ages and Lord knows my fiance would be out the door if Barringtonia ever visited New York".

As ever, Barringtonia was unavailable for comment, likely preparing another post that will cause one's eyes to pop out in awe if one isn't wearing sunglasses to shield from the brilliance.

Something like that I imagine, at least to prepare newcomers for what to expect.

[Vortiaganica]

@Barry-If it's aimed at newbies, a lot of the friendly banter (Like, say, Ardchoille's extractionist tendencies) would just alienate them from the news post.

And we wouldn't make them feel sick, now would we? (Jolt, ERK!)

[Ballotonia]

How about news posts which bring attention to some of the cool off-site stuff?

Like for instance NSSuite: http://nsdossier.texasregion.net/
(if New Texas agrees to the extra traffic, of course)

Ballotonia

[The Blaatschapen]

Will satirical/humourous news posts be accepted, considering that the game itself started out as a non-serious nation simulator?

[Mahaj WA Seat]

Will satirical/humourous news posts be accepted, considering that the game itself started out as a non-serious nation simulator?

i'd actually like to know the answer to this.

[Charlotte Ryberg]

Interesting idea!
So, would this include any RPing in the forums as well, or is it mainly NS history?

Articles should be of interest to NS players who haven't explored much of the game, as well as more established nations. It's not to be a soapbox for arguing a particular political case--we have plenty of places for that already--but could perhaps introduce people to an aspect of the site (past or present) that many are unfamiliar with.

With RPing, I would think there could be an interesting article about our RP communities and how they operate, but a description of a particular RP would probably be lost on most people (at least at this stage).

I was thinking about current events as I had just described. Alternatively we could spotlight some of the most influential WA players to date?

[Mahaj WA Seat]

Articles should be of interest to NS players who haven't explored much of the game, as well as more established nations. It's not to be a soapbox for arguing a particular political case--we have plenty of places for that already--but could perhaps introduce people to an aspect of the site (past or present) that many are unfamiliar with.

With RPing, I would think there could be an interesting article about our RP communities and how they operate, but a description of a particular RP would probably be lost on most people (at least at this stage).

I was thinking about current events as I had just described. Alternatively we could spotlight some of the most influential WA players to date?

heh, I know who i'd spotlight.

[Braxil]

this does sound interesting

[Mousebumples]

I may be missing it on first glance, but I don't see a News item "advertising" the New Proposal At Vote signal [the (1) or (2) beside the World Assembly listing] ...

I'd like to suggest a News Item that starts with highlighting the existence of this new feature. From there, I would use the rest of the News item to encourage further participation in WA proposal drafting. (With obvious emphasis being given to reading the stickies/rules and drafting on the forums.) I could certainly write quite an epic essay on the subject, but I'm sure I could also limit my verbosity to the 500-ish word limit, if this concept is worth further exploring.

[Ardchoille]

... <snip>Like, say, Ardchoille's extractionist tendencies

Definitely. They should not be given an inkling of such features until we have them securely hooked.

EDIT: Also, Barringtonia's post is obviously unsuitable because none of that is news to anyone. I mean, his superiority just goes without saying. /EDIT. *pockets special bonus*

So, re the actual topic: what about the occasional "10-points" item? Like those fillers in magazines -- 10 ways to bamboozle your boss, 10 top timewasters, 10 Bridezilla situations -- but with an NS twist.

For example, "10 NS Traditions" : the April Fool stunts, the Featured Region Followers, the Bastard Mod posts, the default flag, the ex-nation/Sex-nation flags, the lottery for special titles ... the sort of things that might make a newbie wonder what was going on.

(Note that I'm not volunteering to do one. Summaries are brief. Short. Not long. Nobody's ever accused me of brevity. )

If it went something like Name (of tradition, oddity, trend, biggest mistake, greatest moment, whatever); description (minimum five words, maximum 30), link to example if possible, it should stay fairly handily under 500 words.

[[violet]]

My idea can be about the forums themselves, about the history, the move to Jolt and so on and so fourth...

Possibly a little ambitious for 500 words!

How about news posts which bring attention to some of the cool off-site stuff?

Like for instance NSSuite: http://nsdossier.texasregion.net/
(if New Texas agrees to the extra traffic, of course)

New Texas would be perfect to write an article. And linking to NSDossier is fine by me. Same goes for anyone who runs a major third-party NS site.

Will satirical/humourous news posts be accepted

Sure, but they shouldn't rely for their humor on references that most people reading it won't understand.

For example, "10 NS Traditions" : the April Fool stunts, the Featured Region Followers, the Bastard Mod posts, the default flag, the ex-nation/Sex-nation flags, the lottery for special titles ... the sort of things that might make a newbie wonder what was going on.

Sounds good! The challenge will be to keep it reasonably short. Maybe top 5?

[Syvorji]

My idea can be about the forums themselves, about the history, the move to Jolt and so on and so fourth...

Possibly a little ambitious for 500 words!

Oops! Anyways, I was busy, but yeah...

For example, "10 NS Traditions" : the April Fool stunts, the Featured Region Followers, the Bastard Mod posts, the default flag, the ex-nation/Sex-nation flags, the lottery for special titles ... the sort of things that might make a newbie wonder what was going on.

Sounds good! The challenge will be to keep it reasonably short. Maybe top 5?

Ahem. How are they going to learn all of that? Would they use Wikipedia? Or would they TG every single player in sight. Just food for thought.

With that, an alternative to that idea could be an analysis of national categories, on how frequent it is to Nationstates.

[The Monarchy of France]

Funny thing is just a few days ago I was working on a blog for this exact idea. Of course it would mention NS-specific news, but it generally focused on National events (wars, happenings, latest forum talk). Of course manually it would be alot of work for just one person, but if there was a few select individuals it wouldn't be as bad.

[Ardchoille]

Sounds good! The challenge will be to keep it reasonably short. Maybe top 5?

Ahem. How are they going to learn all of that? Would they use Wikipedia? Or would they TG every single player in sight. Just food for thought.

I'm talking about the stuff long-term players would know without looking up, because they were around when it appeared. The sort of thing that doesn't end up in stickies, but might be interesting for newcomers to hear about before it suddenly starts happening right under their feet.

Though it would work for a "Five Top NS Things That Puzzle Newcomers" item, too.

With that, an alternative to that idea could be ...

I don't think it's a matter of one idea OR another. I think [violet] is just trying to get a whole bunch of ideas going, so it's A and B and C.

Not that it is given to we lowly folk to know the mind of [violet].

[Big Jim P]

I wouldn't mind seeing some of the history, especially from a Generlite pov. Alas, most of us geezers that lived through it are getting up there in years and our memories aren't what they use to be.

[Mousebumples]

I'm talking about the stuff long-term players would know without looking up, because they were around when it appeared. The sort of thing that doesn't end up in stickies, but might be interesting for newcomers to hear about before it suddenly starts happening right under their feet.

It may be hard to find sources for some of that stuff, with Jolt going down. Although, I suppose Kenny probably has a lot of the super-relevant stuff up on NS wiki - especially so far as NS/WA stuff goes.