What made you discover NS, and why did you decide to stay?

[Penguinya]

My friend began playing so I followed suit. Now I have an NS addiction

[The Blaatschapen]

I saw it in a signature while lurking on ancient Europa Universalis (Paradox) forums back in 2002.

Do you remember what that guy's nation was called at all?

no

[Voxija]

I came here because I read Jennifer Government. Then I searched other things Max did, and I liked tvtropes, so I read about NS on tvtropes. I made a nation, but I forgot the password, so I made this nation, and now I'm here.

[Page]

I heard about it back around 2007 or so, someone on an obscure forum I posted on mentioned that they had a simulated nation. I have absolutely no memory of what my first nation was called. Then I made another in 2009 and got into RP stuff, then I made Page in 2012.

[Pax Nerdvana]

A friend of mine told me about it. I can't remember what his nation was though. I've stayed for the community.

[Geneviev]

I got here because I was interested in making a nation while I was bored in school, and this is what Google gave me. I was a little disappointed because it wasn't real, but I stayed for the forums and my regions.

[Cameroi]

i wanted to role play a kind of world building, that nation states doesn't really come close to satisfying, but it seems to be about as close to it as i can find anyone interested in. maybe they exist and i just don't know how to look for them.

the mechanics of capitalism and the mechanics of war don't interest me either one.
but a culture that doesn't hate logic, consideration, honesty or imagination does.

i was exploring micro-nation links when i stumbled across ns. this was, more then ten years ago, probably more then twenty years ago.
maybe a little more then that. i'm not sure.

it was then one of the last places the kind of role play i was interested in was possible.
but that ended and the ending of that was more then ten years ago too.

at one point i even quit out of just not what i was interested in going on.
i was gone for more then four years as a result of that.

i'm not a good writer nor a good role player so i don't blame anyone.
(i do make pictures though, and post them currently on a place called furaffinity)

but a very different, very alternative way of life and culture are what does interest me.
first a universe that is not human centric. that is not any one thing centric.
and then its all about infrastructure, engineering and designing it to be harmonious and sustainable with environment.
odd little trains, odd little houses, odd little not human people living in them.

deciding to stay is still tenative, and probably always will be.

issues are amusing, though often totally of no relation to anything i invision.
regional message boards are frendly places to express my perspectives.

that's about it really.

[Qabea]

I came across it when looking up "country games" or something when I was like 10 or so. Over the next eight years I kept coming back with different nations because I'm never really satisfied with what I create. So here I am...

[Seangoli]

How and why I showed up here has been lost to time and space, known only to the infinite void. I remember having a 2002 account, but that as well is gone.

[Ifreann]

I drew the ire of being of incomprehensible malice and evil, and the torment they inflict on me is an eternity of posting on NSG. A fouler punishment than any wrought by the gods of old.

[The Black Forrest]

I'm surprised my nation founding date hasn't slipped into "antiquity" yet. In 2005, W was into his second term, people actually liked Nickelback, and the Motorola Razr was the coolest phone on the planet. Gas is cheaper today than it was back then in nominal terms, let alone real terms...

For some reason I'm getting a Mandela effect vibe from the Hyugens landing on Titan...for some reason I thought that happened in mid-2006 after I was on NS, not January 2005.

Antiquity refers to before NationStates gameside started keeping track of nation founding dates, in late November 2003; you can't "graduate" into antiquity status.

We do not speak of the before times where posting was like playing Russian Roulette and you hoped you got the bullet.

[The Black Forrest]

I discovered NS on Fox News Fair and Balanced at the time. I stayed because I can create my own nations with my own governments, real world statistics, leaders with Pics, laws and factbooks. With my real world nations, regional world nations and empire nations I have taken over the real world. With my made up named nations I have taken over parts of the non real world. I stayed because I can share my views with my fellow nations.

Nationstates was on fox?

You have a link?

[Rojava Free State]

I don't remember how I found this site.

[Sichult]

I came here because I read Jennifer Government. Then I searched other things Max did, and I liked tvtropes, so I read about NS on tvtropes. I made a nation, but I forgot the password, so I made this nation, and now I'm here.

Same here. I loved that book.

[The Black Forrest]

I don't remember how I found this site.

I am not sure anymore. It might have been when I ran into Max at a book talk long ago.

Then again; I think I found the site before that.....

[Antityranicals]

My brother found it somehow, and I decided to make my own nation as well.

[Roengian]

I used to follow this guy who made Cities: Skylines videos, and on his Discord there was a section for members of his Region here on NS. I used to have a nation that was part of that region. Ended up abandoning that and starting a new nation with a friend (this one!) more recently after he got me back into political stuff.

[Radiatia]

I've been here in one form or another for over a decade. I was having a discussion the other day in which I realised it's a chicken and egg situation: I can't remember whether I found Nationstates because of Jennifer Government, or whether I found Jennifer Government because of Nationstates.

All I remember is that I stumbled across this website and Max's books some time just after I left high school and, not to be glib, it's actually had a surprisingly massive impact on my life if I stop and think about it.

Mostly I'm here because I enjoy roleplaying as various imaginary countries, world-building, writing stories set in those countries featuring characters who live in those countries. (I don't get as much time to do that now, but I still do it when I get a moment.)

And for a while I thought I was interested in politics, until I got a job in politics and realised this was the worst mistake I'd ever made in my life bar none. (That's another story.) But this site has taught me a lot about politics, not necessarily via NSG (which I've always and continue to consider a cesspool) but actually via roleplaying (which taught me to understand issues from multiple perspectives) and the brief forays I've had into gameplay (which helped me learn how to deal with slightly unhinged people with big egos obsessed with power - something that would serve me well when working in Parliament later in life.)

Ultimately though what Nationstates has actually given me is some friends, many of whom I've gone on to meet in real life and who I now consider to be among my closest friends. That's the real reason I'm still here after all this time.

[Saint Nicholas and the Hussars]

I'm a masochist who enjoys debating economics and philosophy with 14 year old communists.

If only I could follow in your footsteps, but alas, I am not a masochist, and wish not to engage in arguments frequently

[BuDa]

I found NationStates on a Good Mythical Morning video back in February 2017. I used to scroll through the comments and find comments like "Nation: Area: Population:". There were so many "war comments" (you know, those comments of nations declaring wars on other GMM nations), until I saw someone named "Gh05ty" and decided to explore much of their nation, and then I stumbled across a Google Docs document and decided to read it. The end had a link to their NS nation. That is how I found NS. Buda wasn't the first nation I made in NS; I decided to create my first nation, called Tr1xie (stylised as "Trixie") as a parody nation. I signed out of Trixie and made another nation, and currently my main nation, Buda. I permanently abandoned Trixie and moved on to Buda, my "secondary nation" at the time.

TL;DR: I found NationStates by a Google Docs document. I created the country Buda back in mid-late 2016 but I couldn't find a software to create it, so I found NS. I decided to stay because Z-Day was one of my favourite game events, and I find the website interesting. There were only a hundred thousand nations at the time I created my main nation, Buda.

[Ghost Land]

I came across it when looking up "country games" or something when I was like 10 or so. Over the next eight years I kept coming back with different nations because I'm never really satisfied with what I create. So here I am...

That means you're about 18 now and joined originally in 2012 - what's up, brother? I'm also from 2012 originally. Do you remember what your first nation was called?

Also, I was reading through your factbooks. Awesome stuff! Your nation seems like a really interesting place.

[Thermodolia]

A past acquaintance linked me to it. Stayed for reasons. *shrug*

Pretty much this.

[Union of Pepe]

Brother discovered it. A couple year later I started playing it.

[-Astoria]

Nationstates was on fox?

You have a link?

Searched on their website; nothing turned up.

[New Dominioan]

I've been here in one form or another for over a decade. I was having a discussion the other day in which I realised it's a chicken and egg situation: I can't remember whether I found Nationstates because of Jennifer Government, or whether I found Jennifer Government because of Nationstates.

All I remember is that I stumbled across this website and Max's books some time just after I left high school and, not to be glib, it's actually had a surprisingly massive impact on my life if I stop and think about it.

Mostly I'm here because I enjoy roleplaying as various imaginary countries, world-building, writing stories set in those countries featuring characters who live in those countries. (I don't get as much time to do that now, but I still do it when I get a moment.)

And for a while I thought I was interested in politics, until I got a job in politics and realised this was the worst mistake I'd ever made in my life bar none. (That's another story.) But this site has taught me a lot about politics, not necessarily via NSG (which I've always and continue to consider a cesspool) but actually via roleplaying (which taught me to understand issues from multiple perspectives) and the brief forays I've had into gameplay (which helped me learn how to deal with slightly unhinged people with big egos obsessed with power - something that would serve me well when working in Parliament later in life.)

Ultimately though what Nationstates has actually given me is some friends, many of whom I've gone on to meet in real life and who I now consider to be among my closest friends. That's the real reason I'm still here after all this time.

Truly inspiring.