(Yes, I posted this years ago, but given the current thread about General, I wanted to re-post it in an effort to help us get back on track, and perform that most important function, laughing at ourselves. Besides, I thought up some new enteries)
Here in the NationStates General forum, we have debated just about anything and everything. Politics, however, are a specialty. I have noticed a few things in the debates here in my four short years that might confuse a new comer to this everlasting argument. So, without further ado, I present this glossary of terms to help those who might be confused.
Center or Centrist: Your own political position, regardless of where you are outside NationStates. This position is, of course, the voice of sweet reason and compromise.
Leftist or Liberal: Any position to the left of you.
Rightist or Conservative: Any position to the right of you.
Leftist Liberal Pinko Commie Elitist: Any position to the left of you that you disagree with.
Rightist Neo-con Cave-dwelling Fascist and/or Racist: Any position to the right of you that you disagree with.
Religious Loon: Anyone who happens to remotely mention a religious position, or reason for, assuming you are not religious in your Centrist position.
Amoral/Immoral Atheistic Sinner: Anyone who happens to remotely question the validly of the Bible (or holy book of choice), assuming you are religious in your Centrist position.
Source: Anything posted that will backup an argument. On NationStates General it is considered good form to post your sources for any statements made, including that grass is green, the sky is blue, and water is wet. Failure to do so is one sign of being a Troll. Sources come in valid and biased varieties.
Valid Source: Anything written and posted (usually on the Internet) that agrees with and backs up your position, regardless of author or source.
Biased Source: Anything written or posted (usually on the Internet) that disagrees with your position, regardless of author or source.
Flaming: Anytime someone says something disagreeable to your Centrist views.
A Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Rebuttal: Your response to any posting on NationStates General Forum which you disagreed with.
Logical Fallacies: What your opponent committed when he or she Flamed your Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Post/Rebuttal. Popular fallacies include post hoc ergo propter hoc, ad hominem, presto changeo, appeal to authority, abracadabra, and straw man. Sometimes used as a talisman to chase away Trolls, just repeating the words is said to have enough power to drive Trolls away from threads.
Moving the Goal Posts: A form of exercise on NationStates General. It consists of picking up a goal and moving it down the playing field in the hopes that your opponent will follow. A surprising number of miles/kilometers can be run in this manner.
Troll: Anyone who disagrees with your Centrist views. Trolls automatically flame.
Grammar Nazi: A type of poster who will nitpick the spelling mistakes in your Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Rebuttal while ignoring their own. No one knows why they do this, but it has been speculated that they might be distantly related to Trolls, or out of sheer bloody-mindedness.
Drama Queen: Anyone who complains for no good reason about being on the receiving end of Good Mod Judgment or a Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Rebuttal from you or someone who agrees with you
Threadjacker: Anyone who is able and willing to drag your thread about private chinchilla ranches into a healthcare debate; unless you are the one doing it, at which case it is branching the thread into a related area.
Mod: A group of somewhat deranged people who try to herd cats for fun. Posters sometimes ascend to Mod status by being given a Ban Hammer, which they will then hold above their heads, proclaiming, “By the Power of Max Barry! I have the POWER!”
Mod Brutality/Bias: Mod action against your Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Rebuttal.
Good Mod Judgment: Mod action against a Flame directed at you or your Centrist position.
Whining/Unreasonable Reporting: Anytime you are reported to the Mods for your Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Rebuttal.
Forum Emergency: Anytime you report a Troll for his or her Flame directed at you or your Centrist position.
Using Mods as Weapons: Endgame in NSG; consists of physically picking up a Mod and tossing him or her at a Troll in the hopes that the Ban Hammer will hit the Troll. Threatening to do so will usually bring the Wrath of Mod.
One Stop Rules Shop (OSRS): The supposed rules that guide the debates on NationStates General. While everyone has claimed to have read them, no one really has except the Mods.
American Bashers: Anyone who does not worship the United States of America and supports her actions 100% or questions said actions, especially in regards to the War on Terror and former President George W Bush, dependent upon your Centrist position. Applies to supporters of President Obama.
Military Nut Cases: Anyone who worships the United States of America and supports her actions 100%, without questions, especially in regards to the War on Terror and former President George W Bush, dependant upon your Centrist position. Applies to critics of President Obama.
Gun Nut: Any poster who obviously believes that everyone ought to be armed to the teeth and be able to drive an M1A1 Abrams on the highways, as evidenced by mentioning that the 2nd amendment may have some merit.
Gun Grabber: Any poster who obviously means to disarm the entire populace in preparation for an NWO's takeover, as evidenced by mentioning that any form of firearm regulation may have some merit.
French/France: The butt of all jokes and/or attacks if you’re a Military Nut Case, an automatic label for American Bashers.
Americans/America: The butt of all jokes and/or attacks if you’re an American Basher, or French.
Evolution/Abortion/Gun Control/God/Iraq/former President Bush/President Obama/Gay Marriage: Topics guaranteed to bring out the Leftist Liberal Pinko Commie Elitist or Rightist Neo-con Cave-dwelling Fascist and/or Racist in droves to Flame your Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Centrist position.
Cult: A group of posters who worship another poster for no apparent reason. The ability to get a cult may be contingent on possessing something called breasts. Posting a picture of these elusive mammaries in captivity will almost automatically win you a cult who will then hope to be able to see them in their more natural environment.
Spam: Anything off-topic in your Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Centrist thread, assuming you yourself did not post it, at which case it was a funny aside.
Intentionally Misspelling Words/Puns: Also known as a funny aside if you posted it, or spam if you did not. Such attempts are known for the pain caused to other posters. Intentionally misspelled words will bring out the Grammar Nazis in full force.
Sarcasm: A mythical creature said by some to wander around the forums at night. Sometimes, when posters say completely unreasonable or false things, they will claim to have been motivated by this creature.
Devil's Advocate: What posters were really playing at all along as soon as their arguments are thoroughly eviscerated by your Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Rebuttal, or vice versa. Not to be confused with Sarcasm
Roleplay Forums: Strange realms not often visited by those from General. They are said to be populated by American Bashers, Military Nutcases, and Trolls who are convinced that they are the reason for the forums instead of General and its place in laying out your Centrist position.
Real Life: Said to be a place outside of NationStates General. A few people even claim to either remember it or to have been there, but this is a false rumour. No such thing actually exists.
Cookie/An Internet: The point system of NationStates General. A Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Rebuttal will win you a Cookie or an Internet. No one knows what can be done with either, but everyone seems happy to get them.
tl;dr: A generic catch-all used by you when a poster is being a wheezy windbag and won't get to the point when a more succinct post would suffice, or posted by a Troll responding to your Well Written/Researched/Conceived Mild and Reasonable post because said Troll has the attention-span of a gnat and can't be bothered reading more than a few lines before being distracted by ... oh, look! A bunny!
/Thread: A false BBCode command that tries to turn A Well Written/Conceived Mild and Reasonable Rebuttal into a sort of an axiom, unbeatable to opponents. Usually written to close a discussion, though no one is sure why people attempt to use it as, inevitably, the discussion will continue.
Noob: Anyone who wanders into NSG and expects his or her Flames will be listened to.
Newbie: Anyone who assumes that reasonable arguments will be listened to on NationStates General Forum.
Old Timers: Those who know better.
This is, of course, a partial list based upon my own neutral (i.e. Centrist) views of NationStates General Forum. I ask that ye olde old timers and newbies add to the list for educational purposes.
And now, the NSII Glossary, thanks to Bavin
Stickies: All those crappy rules that you don't need to read anyway.
Godmod: Just about anything that someone does that beats your stuff.
Totally Not a Godmod: All the crazy shit you can do.
Noob: Anyone who's posts are shorter then yours
Nerd: Anyone who's posts are longer then yours.
Nuke Spam: Whenever your opponent uses nukes.
Totally Epic Climax: Whenever you use nukes.
ABM systems: What you use to stop nukes inbound on your country
PMT GODMODDING!: Any ABM system used by the enemy.
FTLi: Super-duper shields that protect you from all attacks in space, but never your opponents.
II Alliances: A group of sexually-frustrated extremists who enjoy curbstoping anyone that questions their ideology.
IFA: A group of sexually-frustrated ex-Nazi's who enjoy curbstomping any noob that questions fascism.
COMINTERN: A group of sexually-frustrated ex-Bolsheviks who enjoy curbstomping any noob that questions communism/socialism.
CAPINTERN/CA: A group of sexually-frustrated ex-stockbrokers who enjoy curbstomping any noob that questions capitalism.
ODECON: A group of sexually-frustrated ex-Student Body members who think they are NATO, and enjoy curbstomping any noob that questions democracy.
GDF: Pretty much everyone who couldn't get into ODECON
IRON: The IFA... IN SPACE! With Tariffs!
Hermes: ODECON... IN SPACE! With Stargates!
General: A strange realm. It is rumored that people here solve their ideological differences with words, not missiles. As if that would work anyway, seeing as that any compromise from your Centrist position would lead to disaster.
For those of you who don’t get the funny, this is supposed to be funny. Please no personal attacks unless you’re willing to attack yourself at the same time.
