Why?

[Sacrumsia]

Why was my thread, a legitimate roleplaying thread, moved from its home in Nations States sub-forum to "Forum 7"?

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=31394&p=1254164#p1254164


I would have appreciated at the very least a heads-up or explanation as to why it was moved. Moving it to Forum 7 besides not making any logical sense, decreases its visibility for those wishing or having a desire to participate. Having it in the role-playing forum makes more sense rather than a general discussion area.

If I was talking about Real Life survivor, and discussing the upcoming, past, or present series of Survivor, then it would make sense to have it in Forum 7 or a general discussion area. But instead this is a signup for individuals wishing to participate in an RP thread that is totally unrelated to the RL version.

If I could get someone to clarify this for me and explain the reasoning behind the move of the thread, that'd be fine. (And if it was done on accident, thats fine, we all make mistakes.)

[Tubbsalot]

Well, the RP forums are meant for RPing NationStates, not Survivor. It was unrelated, so it got moved.

[Tanaara]

The two RP's of yours that were moved to Forum 7 were not NS RP, and thus the mods moved them to the forum where non NS RP's are allowed.

Edited for clarity - not NS based - but are based on rl TV reality shows

[Intangelon]

Why was my thread, a legitimate roleplaying thread, moved from its home in Nations States sub-forum to "Forum 7"?

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=31394&p=1254164#p1254164


I would have appreciated at the very least a heads-up or explanation as to why it was moved. Moving it to Forum 7 besides not making any logical sense, decreases its visibility for those wishing or having a desire to participate. Having it in the role-playing forum makes more sense rather than a general discussion area.

If I was talking about Real Life survivor, and discussing the upcoming, past, or present series of Survivor, then it would make sense to have it in Forum 7 or a general discussion area. But instead this is a signup for individuals wishing to participate in an RP thread that is totally unrelated to the RL version.

If I could get someone to clarify this for me and explain the reasoning behind the move of the thread, that'd be fine. (And if it was done on accident, thats fine, we all make mistakes.)

Stickies are your friend. Read them.

[Ardchoille]

As the other players have explained, since the birth of Forum 7, we've been moving non-NS RPs there. Most players find it an improvement on our previous policy, which was to lock anything that wasn't an NS-related RP.

So it wasn't moved because anyone took it for a discussion thread. It was recognised as an RP.

How, then, was it a non-NS RP, when it had "Nation States Survivor" all over it?

If you read this thread, you should be able to work that out. Other players have wanted to do non-NS RPing here, and Scolo prepared that thread some time ago as an explanation.

But I'll try to relate it to your threads (I see the Bachelor one was moved, too). Reading through your intro post, it's pretty evident that it could be taking place anywhere on any planet. You assume other players will know the rules of Survivor, and you prepare the ground for what's essentially a written version of the TV show, but with imaginary people in an imaginary locale. In your "essay" questions, there's nothing to guide players towards showing anything that's unique to their NS nation, or any way in which their NS nation will affect their participation. It's as if the names of their characters were just onscreen nicks for the players themselves to play imaginary Survivor. The whole point of the thread is just that: to play Survivor.

The whole point of NS RP is to play your stories from your NS nations. Events in them, characters shaped by them. It doesn't mean you can't use a pre-existing background. For example, we've got a fair few nations that operate in the Star Wars universe. If someone just started an RP on the basis "Let's do Star Wars where they destroy the Death Star, but this time Chewbacca's got Jedi powers", that's a Star Wars RP, not an NS RP.

But if their NS nation is a Wookie nation, and they RP a character whose quest is to become the first Wookie Jedi Master; if somehow this quest involves the nations of other NS players; then, even if "real" Star Wars characters make passing appearances (his teacher takes him to see Yoda; Chewbacca and Han Solo start a brawl in a bar he's in), it's still an NS RP.

So if you want to try an RP in which a Survivor show is one element of a story involving your nation (and possibly other nations), that would be allowed in NS. A simple Survivor episode stays in F7.

Since you've now got two mod opinions on this -- the mod who moved it and mine -- I'd normally close this thread. But you may have some questions, or the mod who moved it may want to clarify something I've missed, so I'll leave it open for [some] [polite] discussion.

[JuNii]

I have a question...

now normally, I would agree to things like "I has to do something with your NS country..." but if I wanted to... say make a Futuristic RP... can I expand the NS countries into Planets? For instance... take a Star Trek themed RP and allow players to roleplay their 'NS Countries' as Planets / Planetary systems?

[Sacrumsia]

As the other players have explained, since the birth of Forum 7, we've been moving non-NS RPs there. Most players find it an improvement on our previous policy, which was to lock anything that wasn't an NS-related RP.

So it wasn't moved because anyone took it for a discussion thread. It was recognised as an RP.

How, then, was it a non-NS RP, when it had "Nation States Survivor" all over it?

If you read this thread, you should be able to work that out. Other players have wanted to do non-NS RPing here, and Scolo prepared that thread some time ago as an explanation.

But I'll try to relate it to your threads (I see the Bachelor one was moved, too). Reading through your intro post, it's pretty evident that it could be taking place anywhere on any planet. You assume other players will know the rules of Survivor, and you prepare the ground for what's essentially a written version of the TV show, but with imaginary people in an imaginary locale. In your "essay" questions, there's nothing to guide players towards showing anything that's unique to their NS nation, or any way in which their NS nation will affect their participation. It's as if the names of their characters were just onscreen nicks for the players themselves to play imaginary Survivor. The whole point of the thread is just that: to play Survivor.

The whole point of NS RP is to play your stories from your NS nations. Events in them, characters shaped by them. It doesn't mean you can't use a pre-existing background. For example, we've got a fair few nations that operate in the Star Wars universe. If someone just started an RP on the basis "Let's do Star Wars where they destroy the Death Star, but this time Chewbacca's got Jedi powers", that's a Star Wars RP, not an NS RP.

But if their NS nation is a Wookie nation, and they RP a character whose quest is to become the first Wookie Jedi Master; if somehow this quest involves the nations of other NS players; then, even if "real" Star Wars characters make passing appearances (his teacher takes him to see Yoda; Chewbacca and Han Solo start a brawl in a bar he's in), it's still an NS RP.

So if you want to try an RP in which a Survivor show is one element of a story involving your nation (and possibly other nations), that would be allowed in NS. A simple Survivor episode stays in F7.

Since you've now got two mod opinions on this -- the mod who moved it and mine -- I'd normally close this thread. But you may have some questions, or the mod who moved it may want to clarify something I've missed, so I'll leave it open for [some] [polite] discussion.

I thought I had made it NationStates related when I asked individuals within the application to specify their country, which by that I meant their NationStates Nation that the character is coming from. It would be very much appropriate to have it in the NS Area because it involves NS characters from NS Nations. Wheras it may not be exclusively hosted within an NS Nation, it still involves NS Characters from NS Nations. See you have to understand, its unorthodox and really not the way its done in RL to advertise the location before hand. It is entirely done to surprise the contestants by the location. Thats what I am doing, I'm keeping the location secret, but needless to say it will be done within Sacrumsia's many extended territories.

[Grays Harbor]

Taking a RL TV show, using that TV shows logo, and then claiming it is an NS RP because you ask for the players country does not make it NS related. It is a copy of the TV show. Two mods have pointed that out now, as have several not-mods. It is not NS related.

[Czardas]

I have a question...

now normally, I would agree to things like "I has to do something with your NS country..." but if I wanted to... say make a Futuristic RP... can I expand the NS countries into Planets? For instance... take a Star Trek themed RP and allow players to roleplay their 'NS Countries' as Planets / Planetary systems?

Future tech nations often do that already -- some claim even entire galaxies as part of their territory. There's a FT map floating around II somewhere. It's certainly rare for FT players to claim anything less than at least one planet.

[Sacrumsia]

Taking a RL TV show, using that TV shows logo, and then claiming it is an NS RP because you ask for the players country does not make it NS related. It is a copy of the TV show. Two mods have pointed that out now, as have several not-mods. It is not NS related.

But as I said in my posting, the show will be taking place in Sacrumsia's extended territories, thus an NS location.

[Kryozerkia]

Taking a RL TV show, using that TV shows logo, and then claiming it is an NS RP because you ask for the players country does not make it NS related. It is a copy of the TV show. Two mods have pointed that out now, as have several not-mods. It is not NS related.

But as I said in my posting, the show will be taking place in Sacrumsia's extended territories, thus an NS location.

Even if it is an NS locale, it still fails to meet the majority of requirements for it to be an NS RP. It is permitted as an RP in Forum 7, which is a step up from the old standard which was to lock the thread.

[Weylara]

I have a question...

now normally, I would agree to things like "I has to do something with your NS country..." but if I wanted to... say make a Futuristic RP... can I expand the NS countries into Planets? For instance... take a Star Trek themed RP and allow players to roleplay their 'NS Countries' as Planets / Planetary systems?

Future tech nations often do that already -- some claim even entire galaxies as part of their territory. There's a FT map floating around II somewhere. It's certainly rare for FT players to claim anything less than at least one planet.

Yeah, this is it.

[Ardchoille]

It is entirely done to surprise the contestants by the location. Thats what I am doing, I'm keeping the location secret, but needless to say it will be done within Sacrumsia's many extended territories.

In the long run, it comes down to this: NS RP isn't allowed to be fanfic. Nobody can just plunk Harry Potter's Hogwarts down in their nation and play out a term there, even if they haul in young wizards from NS nations. Yet we do allow "school of magic" RPs, because school and magic are basic concepts that can reasonably apply across NS nations, and they can differ according to the nature of those nations.

So an RP opening with the premise "surviving a challenge in Sacrumsia" would be fine, but an RP opening with the premise "let's play Survivor in Sacrumsia" isn't. It's starting out on the wrong foot for an NS RP. The two mods who've commented on your RP have done so from experience of other RPs that began with that subtle difference in approach.

Maybe that's led us to a wrong decision, in your particular case. We don't know what your RP will become. Based on what we know now, though, it's staying in F7. (I understand your wish to have it in NS on the grounds that F7 "decreases its visibility for those wishing or having a desire to participate"; but the exposure it's had in this forum should partly work against that.)

You're still able to write the RP, though, and it gives you a chance to do what all the good writing books advise: show, don't tell. Get on with the RP where it is, in Forum 7, and prove us wrong. (TG me if you want the OOC commentary that's already in it removed.)

Alternatively, file a GHR and let other mods decide. I've locked this thread because it seems to me we're getting into hypotheticals -- "it will/won't/will be NS" -- and further commentary on that can only drive everybody into entrenched positions.