[DRAFT] Commend The Rejected Realms

[-Amy Pond-]

As a 9 year resident of TRR, I too would like to see a Commendation of my home region.

[Goobergunchia]

Worth your time looking around here, too.

[Outer Sparta]

Worth your time looking around here, too.

Oh, that's a good suggestion. Offsite regional forums contain a lot of information you won't find on the actual site.

[Aivintis]

This may be a good place and time to mention that I have compiled some notes for a TRR Commendation, but am still in the researching process, and likely will be until one or both of my current drafts are submitted. I fully intend to submit it, but if YSG here finds a suitable co-author and goes forward in it then I'll back down.

[The Church of Satan]

Worth your time looking around here, too.

This also has some relevant information.

[Twertis]

TRR has a community where all are welcome is by design, not by choice. I wouldn’t call that especially commendable. You’d want to speak to some TRRers and see what you can include in here.

It’s not a good draft, but that’s just not true. Frankly, it shows a very superficial view of regions on your part.

[Twertis]

Also, I’ve spent most of my time on NS in TRR, and I’m not at all convinced it’s commendable. Unibotian propaganda might describe it as a beacon of culture, defenderism, and media (as shown in his style as delegate), and to an extent it is, but only an extent.

I love the laid-back, quiet and welcoming nature of TRR. It has a very strong community of gameplayers, SCers, etc— especially for a region which struggles so hard to gain members. And there’s no doubt that the RRA has been one of the most significant militaries in the game. But I don’t think we should exaggerate its greatness. TRR’s devoluted, decentralized executive branch has proved to be largely ineffectual and weak— only the most competent players can make a dent, and even then only barely. And TRT’s high-and-mighty opinion of itself is again just propaganda from Unibot and CoS, when in reality nobody writes anything interesting anywhere in NS media.

When I was attempting Commend Equilism, Sedgistan suggested that I commend Equilism for its players, rather than the region itself. This turns out to be a doubly excellent idea for TRR. TRR’s had a long slew of prominent players: Fratt, Naivetry, Sedge, CG, Kandy, Harm, Wop, Karp, Deadeye Jack, Grim, Goober, etc. I’m probably missing a dozen.

[Unibot III]

Also, I’ve spent most of my time on NS in TRR, and I’m not at all convinced it’s commendable. Unibotian propaganda might describe it as a beacon of culture, defenderism, and media (as shown in his style as delegate), and to an extent it is, but only an extent.

I love the laid-back, quiet and welcoming nature of TRR. It has a very strong community of gameplayers, SCers, etc— especially for a region which struggles so hard to gain members. And there’s no doubt that the RRA has been one of the most significant militaries in the game. But I don’t think we should exaggerate its greatness. TRR’s devoluted, decentralized executive branch has proved to be largely ineffectual and weak— only the most competent players can make a dent, and even then only barely. And TRT’s high-and-mighty opinion of itself is again just propaganda from Unibot and CoS, when in reality nobody writes anything interesting anywhere in NS media.

When I was attempting Commend Equilism, Sedgistan suggested that I commend Equilism for its players, rather than the region itself. This turns out to be a doubly excellent idea for TRR. TRR’s had a long slew of prominent players: Fratt, Naivetry, Sedge, CG, Kandy, Harm, Wop, Karp, Deadeye Jack, Grim, Goober, etc. I’m probably missing a dozen.

Obviously, I disagree with the charge that that was propaganda.

I believed then, and still believe it - with good reason - that we were leading the best region in NationStates.

Successive governments - Frattastan, mine, and LR's - from 2013-2016 caught lightning in a bottle in those intervening years, when the 2011 rebuild met its fullest potential. We were leading the world in cultural events. Our news was dominating the media landscape. We had a clear, uncontested vision for the region as a liberal superpower, advocating for international security, native rights, and democracy abroad.

However, that idea of a region - something big, bold, romantic - is simply no longer in vogue. Culture is mostly done over Discord in much smaller circles. Political idealism today is being outright disregarded as the game becomes more casual.

Today's TRR is stagnant and I sense the region's stagnancy is in part, because there's no clear opinion on the direction forward for TRR and in lieu of a clear direction, legislative and political movement is only advanced on consensus legislation.

TRR is being pulled in different directions between those that want to preserve the foundations, move on completely, or something else. Its legislature is comatose, stuck on insular discussions surrounding RMB suppression. Executives are recycled through a revolving door, chewing up their time playing with the margins. TRT is fine, but not running regular editions yet. The RRA has always been unreformable without public ownership.

Is TRR commendable? It's a tough question, in my opinion. I think citing commendable players from TRR, as you suggest, is not very compelling - TRR attracts good company, but it's only rarely responsible for nuturing that talent - the talent comes to TRR because of its scale, its ambition, and its values and culture which makes it an attractive port of call. The "TRR" of that era I'm referencing above was uniquely strong and stood out from its peers, but I would question whether the present incarnation of TRR is healthy enough in terms of cultural and political output to be recognized.

I think TRR has a bit of soul-searching ahead of it before it hits it stride again. Is defending still the right fit for TRR? TGWers in TRR are naturally cold to the idea of a new defender superorganization, like ADN or FRA, but that was always important for TRR’s FA. How do you reconnect TRR with its in-game community? What is TRR's foreign policy? What is the region's ethos? Its raison d'etre? Does the region still have a rehabilitative mandate? Does it want to be a gadfly or join the mainstream? I have no stake in the outcome. I've left and doubt many care what answers I have if I had any (I don't), but I will always maintain a special interest in following TRR and its future.

Obviously, I'll vote FOR though if I get around to joining the WA.

[The Church of Satan]

As much as I dislike the notion, TRR benefited from all the controversy and conflict that Gameplay had at the time. We capitalized on all of that. In a time of peace, there's little to capitalize on. But consider TRR's long history. The region has done a lot of good over the years, despite the obstacles imposed on us by the mechanics unique to it. We've long taken in the worst NationStates has to offer, and we thrived anyways. How many regions can honestly say that? From the moment the RRA went defender, the region has prospered. Our predecessors, Kandarin, Crazy Girl, and Siggi, laid the foundation for players such as Fratt, Guy, Sedge, Wham, Unibot, and LR to build the community that made such a big impact in NS, diplomatically, culturally, and militarily. We reached our peak some years ago, but I think we're still commendable even though we're not at our best right now.

[Algebra and Geometry]

So, this is my third attempt at getting a WA resolution up, and as my previous attempts failed (and I got some advice saying that I should first post it here as a draft), I decided: Hey, let's actually put it on the forums first, to see if the community can find any flaws! Anyways, here's my SC proposal right now:

The Security Council,

Acknowledging the fact that the Rejected Realms (known here as TRR) is where all ejected and/or banned nations reside;

Recognizing their attempts to make the world safer by providing a community where everyone is welcome;

Understanding that sometimes, things don't go as expected, and extra work is needed, which is true for TRR;

Hoping that, someday, there will be no need for ejecting/banning, due to their efforts,

Hereby commends the Rejected Realms

If I screwed up somewhere, please tell me. If you think that this is ready to be put through, tell me as well!
(NOTE: I did submit this, but then I withdrew it when I realized it's forums first, then submission)

I accept that.

[Unibot III]

As much as I dislike the notion, TRR benefited from all the controversy and conflict that Gameplay had at the time. We capitalized on all of that. In a time of peace, there's little to capitalize on. But consider TRR's long history. The region has done a lot of good over the years, despite the obstacles imposed on us by the mechanics unique to it. We've long taken in the worst NationStates has to offer, and we thrived anyways. How many regions can honestly say that? From the moment the RRA went defender, the region has prospered. Our predecessors, Kandarin, Crazy Girl, and Siggi, laid the foundation for players such as Fratt, Guy, Sedge, Wham, Unibot, and LR to build the community that made such a big impact in NS, diplomatically, culturally, and militarily. We reached our peak some years ago, but I think we're still commendable even though we're not at our best right now.

I think it’s simple really, TRR is the most NSGP-y GCR. Has been forever. There’s very little locally sourced base. It’s run by gameplayers for gameplayers. It’s why attempts to bring community roleplay to TRR have always failed, TRR is a NSGP region.

When NSGP was very dynamic, TRR had a lightning bolt up it’s butt. Now with NSGP being stagnant, TRR is stagnant. The region is sensitive to changes in NSGP.

I think TRR’s best path forward is either to adopt something like Goober’s “Reject Modernity” plan - and play a pro-active role in making NSGP more interesting, reviving a defender supergroup (which TGW will try to oppose) - or adopt something like a crazy Warzone Codger scheme, heavily theme-based, where TRR drops NSGP entirely and becomes a distinct thing, a cult, a prison colony, an underworld or whatever. Both directions require radical change.

Waiting around for NSGP to become interesting again, to breathe life into your own region is unsustainable and it’s wearing thin as time passes.

[Quebecshire]

I think TRR’s best path forward is either to adopt something like Goober’s “Reject Modernity” plan - and play a pro-active role in making NSGP more interesting, reviving a defender supergroup (which TGW will try to oppose)

Something tells me your idea of a "defender supergroup" is overpoliticized bullshit stuck in the pre-Libcord era. No thanks. Defenders, RRA included, are thriving right now without the nonsense of players and eras past.

[Unibot III]

I think TRR’s best path forward is either to adopt something like Goober’s “Reject Modernity” plan - and play a pro-active role in making NSGP more interesting, reviving a defender supergroup (which TGW will try to oppose)

Something tells me your idea of a "defender supergroup" is overpoliticized bullshit stuck in the pre-Libcord era. No thanks. Defenders, RRA included, are thriving right now without the nonsense of players and eras past.

First, it's not my idea - there's been many superorganizations in the past. What's unusual about this time in NS is the absence of one. I wouldn't want you to think that I'm like the originator of the idea, it predates me by many a moon.

Second, the "nonsense of players and eras" past was what kept people interested in the game. It's a game. There's supposed to be some element of drama and dare I say it, even factionalism.

I don't like saying this (I want to see TRR succeed) but TRR is inactive (not necessarily disproportionally more inactive than the rest of the GCRs, but inactive): people are tuning out from TRR and from NSGP in general. TGW posts all of their (and "Libcord's") successes to a subworld that is increasingly uninterested in what it has accomplished.

Ultimately though, Quebecshire, one of us is right and you don't have to believe me - you'd have every right to think I may just be six years out of touch and not in the loop (haha an understatement), but if I'm right, the people with the most invested in TGW & Libcord will keep cheering on the status quo (and its many legitimate successes and its pragmatic arrangement) while the actual game, the politics that keeps it alive and engaging, will keep shrinking... and shrinking.. and shrinking around them. I think we're seeing a lot of evidence of this happening.

I wouldn't dare argue that TGW/Libcord isn't getting results - but is NSGP thriving? I think there's been a giant hole shaped like the ADN in NSGP for quite a while. Perhaps I'm a bit offside in thinking this: I have always cared about native communities, but I have also always wanted to see NationStates and the R/D dynamic thrive too (some have argued these are contradicting values). I see a defending world today that is very, very pragmatic and advanced in skill - delivering results every day for regions under threat - but I also see a gameplay world encircling them that is closing in, getting smaller and smaller, and growing more bored by the day.

I guess what I am saying is if nobody is willing to disequilibrize the defending world, defending will eventually cease to be a vehicle for political activity (if it hasn't already) and TRR will have to (at some point) reevaluate whether tying itself to defending as a core element of its foreign policy and identity offers as much interest to TRR as it did, say ten years ago, when being a defending region meant being a member of a super-organization (FRA) caught in an important geopolitical struggle with imperialists. The less political that defending is, the more it becomes like a subgame like Regional Cards or whatever, which isn't fundamental enough to center a GCR around. Does that make sense?

[Twertis]

Somehow Unibot and I couldn’t agree more and couldn’t agree less at the same time.

TRR is not a gameplay region. At least, not anymore. Maybe it was, and the death of gameplay killed off any regional purpose TRR had. But that only shows a lack of resilience on TRR’s part. Why should a region exist if all it does is serve gameplay drama? I’m sure rejects would agree with me. FA policy is essentially to stay out of as much gameplay drama as possible— without such we’d be tied up in constant fights with TNP, TWP, Osiris, and yes even other defender regions (because of people like me who align more with TNP philosophy).

The battles TRR fights are internal. We’ve got hardcore independents debating moralist defenders, those who want to limit executive power and those who don’t, those who want more of the same and those who are dying for change, etc. TRR is stagnant because it’s incapable of managing crossroads. Every little thing (even double posting on an RMB) becomes a month-long Assembly argument with no conclusion. And meanwhile the government does nothing and nobody seems to notice or care.

They need to borrow from the United States and beef up the executive immensely. Democracy’s great and all, but the assembly needs to shut up and let the government do its own thing for once. Delegate’s need the opportunity to pick a cabinet that best suits them and their goals, and then forward their goals with the assembly only stepping in for major things. Democracy simply isn’t efficient or productive enough to be used as it is in TRR.

[Twertis]

I’m sure delegates like Jack would’ve done a hell of a lot more if they didn’t spend their entire term arguing with the assembly over everything.

[The Church of Satan]

We've gotten off topic here. This thread is supposed to be about commending (or not) The Rejected Realms. To the author of this would-be resolution, we've posted links to some of our region's historical background. I suggest you start from the bottom and work your way up. I think the war against the Atlantic Alliance would be a good start on that. From there, move on towards the ADN (Alliance Defense Network), the UDL (United Defenders League,) and the FRA (Founderless Regions Alliance.)

The NS History thread should be very helpful.

[Unibot III]

Somehow Unibot and I couldn’t agree more and couldn’t agree less at the same time.

TRR is not a gameplay region. At least, not anymore. Maybe it was, and the death of gameplay killed off any regional purpose TRR had. But that only shows a lack of resilience on TRR’s part. Why should a region exist if all it does is serve gameplay drama? I’m sure rejects would agree with me. FA policy is essentially to stay out of as much gameplay drama as possible— without such we’d be tied up in constant fights with TNP, TWP, Osiris, and yes even other defender regions (because of people like me who align more with TNP philosophy).

The battles TRR fights are internal. We’ve got hardcore independents debating moralist defenders, those who want to limit executive power and those who don’t, those who want more of the same and those who are dying for change, etc. TRR is stagnant because it’s incapable of managing crossroads. Every little thing (even double posting on an RMB) becomes a month-long Assembly argument with no conclusion. And meanwhile the government does nothing and nobody seems to notice or care.

They need to borrow from the United States and beef up the executive immensely. Democracy’s great and all, but the assembly needs to shut up and let the government do its own thing for once. Delegate’s need the opportunity to pick a cabinet that best suits them and their goals, and then forward their goals with the assembly only stepping in for major things. Democracy simply isn’t efficient or productive enough to be used as it is in TRR.

Church is right that we’re off-topic, mostly, so I’ll just reiterate my initial point first which was questioning whether TRR is healthy enough to be recognized — a “legacy” commendation makes sense to me for an old UCR, but GCRs are forever, they’re a permanent part of the game and increasingly they’ve been a stagnant part of the game.

Twertis, just responding to you below:

Twertis, I think we agree more than you might think - I see TRR as having been disproportionately impacted by NSGP’s stagnancy because TRR was always so NSGP-centric. I agree TRR is at a crossroads moment & it’s managing that crossroads poorly by evading the problem and chit-chattering — you’ve got folks attached to an old idea of TRR from the 2010s without context, and another attached to the success of TNP and the idea of replicating that success.

I think defenders will have to justify how you can keep defending as a core part of the region’s identity while defending becomes more apolitical and less geopolitical; independentists will have to defend how TRR can preserve its uniqueness while joining a blob — and to what extent is TNP & co. responsible for NSGP becoming uninteresting and static? If I were in the delegate’s shoes (which is a big leap from moth-balled pariah to elected official! ), I would be asserting that TRR cannot live in the past and it shouldn’t surrender its individuality, but rather it should play a more hands-on role in challenging the international order and the status quo.

I disagree with your assessment of TRR’s executive powers: the Assembly has always been a pack of hyenas and crusty cynics who are negative about anything, but the Delegate has a great deal of executive discretion to appoint who they want, to whatever roles they want, and do just about anything that doesn’t require a legislative element. TRR gives the Delegate a great deal of power. Jack’s problem was he was trying to devolve one of his powers (to choose a TRT Editor) and give it to the Assembly permanently which meant challenging the Assembly — Jack was trying to give away more of the delegate’s power to the Assembly, not subtract from it.

[The Church of Satan]

Church is right that we’re off-topic, mostly, so I’ll just reiterate my initial point first which was questioning whether TRR is healthy enough to be recognized — a “legacy” commendation makes sense to me for an old UCR, but GCRs are forever, they’re a permanent part of the game and increasingly they’ve been a stagnant part of the game.

Given that we've maintained basically the exact same government, with the exact same values, for about as long as NationStates has existed, I feel that a legacy commendation is exactly what this should be. Most GCRs saw multiple changes in government and values over the years. To maintain ours and thrive through all the chaos that NationStates has seen throughout its existence, I would say warrants a well-deserved legacy commendation.

It's not like there isn't any sort of precedence for it either. Codger got a commendation for being a warzone delegate for a whole year. So why shouldn't TRR get a commendation for keeping its government going, defending countless regions from raiders and imperialists, and region crashers too, while building up a thriving community that values democracy and personal liberty for eighteen long years?

[Unibot III]

Church is right that we’re off-topic, mostly, so I’ll just reiterate my initial point first which was questioning whether TRR is healthy enough to be recognized — a “legacy” commendation makes sense to me for an old UCR, but GCRs are forever, they’re a permanent part of the game and increasingly they’ve been a stagnant part of the game.

Given that we've maintained basically the exact same government, with the exact same values, for about as long as NationStates has existed, I feel that a legacy commendation is exactly what this should be. Most GCRs saw multiple changes in government and values over the years. To maintain ours and thrive through all the chaos that NationStates has seen throughout its existence, I would say warrants a well-deserved legacy commendation.

It's not like there isn't any sort of precedence for it either. Codger got a commendation for being a warzone delegate for a whole year. So why shouldn't TRR get a commendation for keeping its government going, defending countless regions from raiders and imperialists, and region crashers too, while building up a thriving community that values democracy and personal liberty for eighteen long years?

This is not accurate though, the 2011 Constitution was revolutionary in TRR. Barring the RRA & the flag, there is very little continuity between post-2011 TRR, a liberal democracy with an active press, and a pre-2011 TRR that was largely defined by one personality and was often inactive.

I feel like there are different rules & expectations here for legacy commendations.

A legacy commendation for a player or a UCR is done so with the understanding that no player, nor any user-created community can realistically be expected to be a permanent fixture of the game. We have real lives. Our activity is going to wane. Things move on.

A legacy commendation for a GCR is more difficult to justify when a GCR is a permanent feature of the game. Shouldn’t a GCR that’s being commended at least be active at the time of the resolution’s passage? We could commend any GCR in recognition of their golden years.

The reality is TRR is facing some growing pains, it’s in a rough patch, & a commendation doesn’t seem to make as much sense today as it did a few years ago.

[The Church of Satan]

This is not accurate though, the 2011 Constitution was revolutionary in TRR. Barring the RRA & the flag, there is very little continuity between post-2011 TRR, a liberal democracy with an active press, and a pre-2011 TRR that was largely defined by one personality and was often inactive.

I feel like there are different rules & expectations here for legacy commendations.

A legacy commendation for a player or a UCR is done so with the understanding that no player, nor any user-created community can realistically be expected to be a permanent fixture of the game. We have real lives. Our activity is going to wane. Things move on.

A legacy commendation for a GCR is more difficult to justify when a GCR is a permanent feature of the game. Shouldn’t a GCR that’s being commended at least be active at the time of the resolution’s passage? We could commend any GCR in recognition of their golden years.

The reality is TRR is facing some growing pains, it’s in a rough patch, & a commendation doesn’t seem to make as much sense today as it did a few years ago.

I never understood this notion that GCRs are inherently non-commendable/non-condemnable. They have some advantages, yes, but they also have disadvantages that UCRs don't. They lack the security of a founder, they're great big targets, some are reliant on people refounding nations, one can't get rid of anyone, and the rest have to watch their new nations like a hawk to try and determine which ones are looking to take them down. Because the delegate is the top of the in-game pyramid for them. Regional security is a finite thing in GCRs, unlike UCRs where the founder is guaranteed security. We work hard like any other region to keep what we got and make it better.

Yes, TRR is forever. But consider this: governments are not always forever. Lazarus, Osiris, The East Pacific, The South Pacific, The North Pacific, all proof that even for a GCR everything can fall. Was there a (long) period of inactivity? Yes. But the region bounced back. No region is epic all the time (unless there's a region named "epic all the time.") The fact remains however that TRR has done things worthy of commendation. This is proven by the multiple citizens whom have been commended by the Security Council; Crazy Girl, Frattastan II, Guy, Wopruthien, Kandarin, and probably a few others I couldn't remember. So what if we're not dead and gone? That's a good thing. This is a commendation, not a funeral dirge.

[Unibot III]

This is not accurate though, the 2011 Constitution was revolutionary in TRR. Barring the RRA & the flag, there is very little continuity between post-2011 TRR, a liberal democracy with an active press, and a pre-2011 TRR that was largely defined by one personality and was often inactive.

I feel like there are different rules & expectations here for legacy commendations.

A legacy commendation for a player or a UCR is done so with the understanding that no player, nor any user-created community can realistically be expected to be a permanent fixture of the game. We have real lives. Our activity is going to wane. Things move on.

A legacy commendation for a GCR is more difficult to justify when a GCR is a permanent feature of the game. Shouldn’t a GCR that’s being commended at least be active at the time of the resolution’s passage? We could commend any GCR in recognition of their golden years.

The reality is TRR is facing some growing pains, it’s in a rough patch, & a commendation doesn’t seem to make as much sense today as it did a few years ago.

I never understood this notion that GCRs are inherently non-commendable/non-condemnable. They have some advantages, yes, but they also have disadvantages that UCRs don't. They lack the security of a founder, they're great big targets, some are reliant on people refounding nations, one can't get rid of anyone, and the rest have to watch their new nations like a hawk to try and determine which ones are looking to take them down. Because the delegate is the top of the in-game pyramid for them. Regional security is a finite thing in GCRs, unlike UCRs where the founder is guaranteed security. We work hard like any other region to keep what we got and make it better.

Yes, TRR is forever. But consider this: governments are not always forever. Lazarus, Osiris, The East Pacific, The South Pacific, The North Pacific, all proof that even for a GCR everything can fall. Was there a (long) period of inactivity? Yes. But the region bounced back. No region is epic all the time (unless there's a region named "epic all the time.") The fact remains however that TRR has done things worthy of commendation. This is proven by the multiple citizens whom have been commended by the Security Council; Crazy Girl, Frattastan II, Guy, Wopruthien, Kandarin, and probably a few others I couldn't remember. So what if we're not dead and gone? That's a good thing. This is a commendation, not a funeral dirge.

Note: I am not saying a GCR cannot be considered for a commendation. I’ve proposed a WA commendation for TRR in the past. Few of us would argue that a GCR can’t be considered for a condemnation for reprehensible behaviour, so why shouldn’t they also considered for commendations for extraordinary contributions to NS?

What I am saying is I would expect different standards for a commendation of a GCR than a UCR.

If a player or a region contributed a lot to NS but is now largely no longer active, the WA will likely give them a pass and overlook that to adopt their legacy commendation.

It seems harder to me to justify a commendation for a GCR that is currently inactive when GCRs are forever. Virtually all GCRs have golden years that could be recognized in a commendation. There’s nothing unique about TRR in being able to pinpoint a few years of its life where it was highly successful — TNP can do that; TEP can do that; TSP can do that; Lazarus etc etc etc. I think if a GCR is to be commended, it should be a very strong, active, and vital community, and that commendation should be in jeopardy if and when its presence wanes.

[The Church of Satan]

Note: I am not saying a GCR cannot be considered for a commendation. I’ve proposed a WA commendation for TRR in the past. Few of us would argue that a GCR can’t be considered for a condemnation for reprehensible behaviour, so why shouldn’t they also considered for commendations for extraordinary contributions to NS?

What I am saying is I would expect different standards for a commendation of a GCR than a UCR.

If a player or a region contributed a lot to NS but is now largely no longer active, the WA will likely give them a pass and overlook that to adopt their legacy commendation.

It seems harder to me to justify a commendation for a GCR that is currently inactive when GCRs are forever. Virtually all GCRs have golden years that could be recognized in a commendation. There’s nothing unique about TRR in being able to pinpoint a few years of its life where it was highly successful — TNP can do that; TEP can do that; TSP can do that; Lazarus etc etc etc. I think if a GCR is to be commended, it should be a very strong, active, and vital community, and that commendation should be in jeopardy if and when its presence wanes.

How is TRR inactive right now? The Culture Office has been working on a new project for about two weeks straight (it's all hush-hush right now, so no details.) The Rejected Times recently published a new issue, the Culture Calendar is chock full of regularly scheduled events, RejectVision is three days away, the Foreign Affairs Office (alongside the delegate) is working on something (not my department, so no details.) The RMB is all kinds of active (annoyingly so sometimes.) Plus, the RRA is out there every night. We're plenty active, even if it's not making headlines.

[Unibot III]

Note: I am not saying a GCR cannot be considered for a commendation. I’ve proposed a WA commendation for TRR in the past. Few of us would argue that a GCR can’t be considered for a condemnation for reprehensible behaviour, so why shouldn’t they also considered for commendations for extraordinary contributions to NS?

What I am saying is I would expect different standards for a commendation of a GCR than a UCR.

If a player or a region contributed a lot to NS but is now largely no longer active, the WA will likely give them a pass and overlook that to adopt their legacy commendation.

It seems harder to me to justify a commendation for a GCR that is currently inactive when GCRs are forever. Virtually all GCRs have golden years that could be recognized in a commendation. There’s nothing unique about TRR in being able to pinpoint a few years of its life where it was highly successful — TNP can do that; TEP can do that; TSP can do that; Lazarus etc etc etc. I think if a GCR is to be commended, it should be a very strong, active, and vital community, and that commendation should be in jeopardy if and when its presence wanes.

How is TRR inactive right now? The Culture Office has been working on a new project for about two weeks straight (it's all hush-hush right now, so no details.) The Rejected Times recently published a new issue, the Culture Calendar is chock full of regularly scheduled events, RejectVision is three days away, the Foreign Affairs Office (alongside the delegate) is working on something (not my department, so no details.) The RMB is all kinds of active (annoyingly so sometimes.) Plus, the RRA is out there every night. We're plenty active, even if it's not making headlines.

A common complaint that I would cite here with most GCR governments today is they go at great lengths to assure everyone they’re doing something, but without ever doing a whole lot — it’s all “hush-hush.” This isn’t just a TRR problem, it’s a NS problem.

TRT published one good edition, covering stuff that was like eight months old.

The Assembly is spending its time debating tedious amendments to RMB suppression rules & TRT membership. It’s playing at the margins.

The RMB is active but TWP’s RMB is even more active, and they’ve barely had a government for centuries now.

Nobody outside of Discord cares about the goddamn Culture Calendar except the Culture Officer. It’s been a failure for years. Not a soul participates in those RMB activities. The Assembly’s voters have their heads stuck in the sand, evaluating the success of its cultural programs based off their experience in Discord amongst their core group — they’ve blissfully ignored the years-long failure to engage TRRers on the actual NS platform in cultural-political-social activities.

The RRA has been zealously preaching their continued activity since the Old Testament — they’re not even a semi-dominant force in NSGP; it’s a piece of intellectual property that’s been underused and underserved by its private owners, FRA-TGW-ADN ex-pats, who have treated it as a retirement home since before 2009.

The problem with the little circle of people running TRR today is they’re so quick to congratulate themselves and defend their record and success, and quote meaningless statistics (how many detags, RMB posts made etc.) It verges on a Balder-esque approach to non-governing (Balder, of course, claiming to be most culturally active GCR for years, even citing legitimate statistics to back it up.) TRR has kind of become a lot like Balder.

A return to activity would be a return to governing for the region as a whole. Region-wide cultural activities and groups. Pursue legislative changes only when it’s substantive and necessary. Build a foreign policy that situates TRR and its collective interest in today’s context, removed from the friendships and entanglements of each individual resident’s Discord buddies. You need an ethos, a direction, and a drive to engage people beyond the same ten people in your Discord room.

[Outer Sparta]

Any updates from the author on any potential updates or what kinds of research they have found?

[The Church of Satan]

A common complaint that I would cite here with most GCR governments today is they go at great lengths to assure everyone they’re doing something, but without ever doing a whole lot — it’s all “hush-hush.” This isn’t just a TRR problem, it’s a NS problem.

It's hush-hush because I don't want leaks ruining it before it even begins. It's not unreasonable.

TRT published one good edition, covering stuff that was like eight months old.

News in GP has been sparse this year. This is not the fault of TRT or its journalists.

The Assembly is spending its time debating tedious amendments to RMB suppression rules & TRT membership. It’s playing at the margins.

Those are the issues we currently face. Thus we are addressing them. It's that simple.

The RMB is active but TWP’s RMB is even more active, and they’ve barely had a government for centuries now.

We can't all have an RMB that moves a mile a minute like TEP's. At least it's easy to keep track of the conversation on ours.

Nobody outside of Discord cares about the goddamn Culture Calendar except the Culture Officer. It’s been a failure for years. Not a soul participates in those RMB activities. The Assembly’s voters have their heads stuck in the sand, evaluating the success of its cultural programs based off their experience in Discord amongst their core group — they’ve blissfully ignored the years-long failure to engage TRRers on the actual NS platform in cultural-political-social activities.

Balancing Discord and the RMB is an issue we do face. We're trying.

The RRA has been zealously preaching their continued activity since the Old Testament — they’re not even a semi-dominant force in NSGP; it’s a piece of intellectual property that’s been underused and underserved by its private owners, FRA-TGW-ADN ex-pats, who have treated it as a retirement home since before 2009.

I'm afraid they simply do not have a "big bad" to bring some good headlines to R/D.

The problem with the little circle of people running TRR today is they’re so quick to congratulate themselves and defend their record and success, and quote meaningless statistics (how many detags, RMB posts made etc.) It verges on a Balder-esque approach to non-governing (Balder, of course, claiming to be most culturally active GCR for years, even citing legitimate statistics to back it up.) TRR has kind of become a lot like Balder.

Oh no, that's going too far. TRR is better and nothing like Balder always. Every region sees a dry season every now and then. Best we can do is buckle down and try our best. It's not the first one some of us have worked through.

A return to activity would be a return to governing for the region as a whole. Region-wide cultural activities and groups. Pursue legislative changes only when it’s substantive and necessary. Build a foreign policy that situates TRR and its collective interest in today’s context, removed from the friendships and entanglements of each individual resident’s Discord buddies. You need an ethos, a direction, and a drive to engage people beyond the same ten people in your Discord room.

Is it really so different than it used to be? Now, it's our Discord buddies. Then, it was our (and your) IRC buddies.