Self-nominations for RD Summit Stakeholders

[Soviet Canuckistan]

Name: Soviet Canuckistan

Background: I’m a Senior Merryman in the UDL and have been defending for 7-8 months now and have been involved in most parts of defending. Also, I'm a regional founder and former delegate so I know what it's like to run a region and the challenges associated with that role and the WA.

Why I should be a representative: I can represent the views of the average “foot-soldier”, the people of raiding and defending who don’t hold uber-important jobs such as leading an important organization but who just come out at update to do liberations, detags, defences and the raider equivalents without receiving a lot of the glory. I also know very well how the raiding/defending game works technically. I want the R/D game to continue to be interesting and amusing for both sides and to evolve so it can appeal to many more players and so people will continue to play the game, not just sign up for an org and forget about it.

If you have questions or comments, you can TG me if needed.

[Frattastan]

I've been playing since 2007 and have been involved for the most in the San Francisco Bay Area (originally a founderless defender region) with its spinoff projects and in the Rejected Realms - a sinker often threatened by invaders and various power-grabbers.

I oppose griefing and any other gameplay practice that is needlessly destructive or vilifying of your opponent.
As no opt-out from the invasion game can be really effective in the long term - with passwords being leaked and founders eventually ceasing to exist and abandoning their regional community - any region can be seen as a potential target, to be eventually raided one day, and thus I consider R/D to have always been, essentially, a raider/native game.

Currently, due to the imbalance caused by more accurate update-pointing techniques, Military Gameplay has seen an involution: "tag-raiding" monopolises the update happenings, Invader regions that don't practice tagging or don't have access to update calculation tools are weakened, and virtually all the Defender regions (with the exception of the largest one) have faded away into inactivity (as defending is less appealing, being mostly a huge collection of failures, dominated by dumb, tedious and repetitive activities such as "detags").

Therefore, I would like any to see technical changes to:

• stomp the hegemony of tag-raiding over a Military Gameplay where accurate timing is the sole valued skill;
• give more possibilities to fight back any invading force to the residents of founderless regions (because conflict is senseless if it involves only one side preying on the other).

Sometimes I am seen as being strongly opinionated, but I am able to discuss civilly and manage to get along well with and have the respect of people from across the Gameplay spectrum.

[Southern Bellz]

I am Southern Bellz.

I started my NS career as a defender as the Nation Quagmire_Rocks, who now is CTEd. I spent a lot of time raiding with the DEN as Of Crazed, and raided both the GCR Lazarus and The Rejected Realms. I like to pull of what I call high impact raids that often take time, and effect the game of NationStates. I am semi-active in raiding now, and the last success I had was earlier in the year in Catholic:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=166286

With this nation I was elected delegate of The South Pacific and led as a democratic neutral leader who was couped by game moderator Sedge. TSP is where I play now, were my primary agenda is to preserve sovereignty of the various feeders as each has wound up with a very unique culture.

What that gives me is a rather unique perspective of how the game is played. I have played it from all sides, I think all sides should be able to play effectively if they are the best at political maneuvering. I am uneducated mostly on the technical aspects of newer raiding and defending, but I think the nontechnical sides are just as important than coding, timing and updates.

Lastly, I have presented an interesting idea before being invited to change the game, and I am still of the belief that the idea will help the game.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=88734

EDIT: Also of interest, is when I first joined the DEN, the founder turned out to be an RLA spy and ejected the entire region and deleted the off-site forum. So I know what it is like to both be the 'bully' and the 'victim'

[Ravania Prima]

Name: Ravania

Background: Currently UDL-Lieutenant and one of, if not the most active detagger in NS. Although like most of us I enjoy defenses and liberations more. I believe that every native nation in every single region has the right to reside in an un-tagged region.
I entered the R/D game after the original founderless region Vlaanderen got raided (again) about a year ago. As a native and delegate of the region I lead the refound of the region, seeing it as the only way of avoiding raids in the future. I was gladly assisted by some of the oldest defenders in the game to succesfully pull off this 'risky' business. As I still see this the only way for natives of founderless regions to participate in the R/D game, I truly believe their role, in what should be an R/N/D-game, must be strengthened.

Why should I participate: Because I believe the R/D-game would be far more interesting, if natives get an active role in it and not just be the victims of circumstances. I also believe tag-raiding is the ultimate form of harrasment and should be made more difficult not only by technical additions like variance but by giving the residents of those small founderless regions some power.

[Cerberion]

I’m Cerberion and I’d like to self nominate as a participate in the R/D summit.

I am an active defender that is focused more on the traditional R/D game and I think I can act as a champion for this aspect of gameplay. I’ve been on NS for coming up on 3 years and have an excellent grasp of both the game mechanics and politics involved in the R / D arena.

While my rhetoric usually runs 100% against invaders I can be perfectly reasonable in accepting compromises in changes to gameplay that improve the overall health of the game. I recognize the importance of R / D to NS as a whole and, in that sense; I support the actions of the “ruthless invaders” as they bring an aspect to the game that provide many with a great deal of entertainment.

I believe I can provide a solid view point that represents the defender side of gameplay, while maintaining a supportive attitude towards both sides in the effort to build a better game.

[Captain Apollo]

Name: Apollo Anumia (also known as Eldarion Telcontar).

Background: I'm a former two-time Grand Admiral of the Europeian Republican Navy, scouting dozens of raids (and being praised by Uni on the precise move times during my first term) and defeating numerous liberations attempts. I started my raiding career by gaining some experience in TBR and retired a Lieutenant once I became Grand Admiral in Europeia. I've also been Commander of the Asgard Armed Forces (for a short time) as well as being a Major Sergeant in TNIAF. I've been raiding for over a year now and I've definitely done a lot of it. I'm currently a member of the ERN and head of my region Ainur's Military.

Why I should be a representative: Starting off as a hard-core raider in TBR, I didn't care much for Defenders at all, they were just a nuisance; trying to foil my planned raids and were a general pain. For the first few months all I thought about was Raiding and heavily preferred it to what other raiders made defending out to be. During my prime raiding time I still thought that way, as all defenders did - was ruin our plans. However, In recent months I have taken somewhat of a backseat in the R/D. I'm still a raider, but a much more moderate one. I could care less who's who as I'm generally in it to have fun and advance my region, so I'll provide insight on how organsations themselves work and specifically analyse what makes orgs like UDL or TBR work and the psychology behind their member base. I'm not strongly affiliated with either side - I won't be one of those members that just says what another raider said. I'll provide my own opinion.

Yes, this is 299 words.

[Johz]

I'm Johz. I'm a Senior Merryman of the UDL, and an ex-member of LWU, albeit not for very long.

I've been part of the game for almost three years, spending most of that time on the forums. However, over the past year I have migrated over to gameplay. Currently, I am principally active over minor update, as one of UDL's key detaggers. I also do a lot of work coding systems designed to aid defenders, and also (in principle at least) raiders.

My strongest view on raiding and defending is that it must continue, and innovate. Whatever solutions are found must be balanced, but shouldn't ever encourage players to get stuck in a rut. As a stakeholder/delegate, I would be supporting the ideas (be they pro-raider, pro-defender, or anything else) that encourage the maximum amount of participation, with the minimum amount of native disruption.

However, I also feel that I can represent the coding side of NS. I'm well aware of the issues in gameplay becoming simply a matter of fighting computers against computers, but for many people, NS is the ideal nurturing ground for coding ability (as it was for Max Barry, iirc) and so to lose that would be very unfortunate. A balance certainly needs to be found, but, wherever possible, I would like to be able to support the use of coding in military gameplay.

[Ambassador of PUT]

Gameplay Experience:

• WAD of Atrigeas
• Founder of the Commonwealth of Independent Regions
• Re-elected NS Republic President

The NS Republic has 17 member regions. It is neutral, but member regions encompass all NS perspectives.
The Commonwealth is a trio of roleplay/gameplay regions. We share a forum, and seek to expand our gameplay.

My experience is establishing Atrigeas' foreign affairs, founding a gameplay-centered "confederation" of roleplaying regions, and directing the growth of the NSR into a mutual support network. Both alliances have given me an intimate understanding of how to get any sort of player into gameplay. More importantly, it has been my job to listen to their cares and concerns for gameplay, including R/D. The most common requests are defense, refounds and wargames (player-devised pretend wars).

Technical Knowledge:
I started gameplay in Atrigeas as its FRA representative then WAD. That translates into defending, and use of region- and WA-mechanics. My point: I value the activity each aspect of R/D provides, and simply seek to protect natives (non-gameplayers) while enticing their participation, esp. through the alternative military gameplay styles of the Third Way.

Stake--Reason To Be Here:
Natives regions should be better protected, and the Third Way exists as unexplored possibilities for politics--both are poorly advocated by other nominees, IMO. No other nominee has an network of soon-to-be 20 ideologically diverse regions, or has demonstrated how to increase the number of gameplayers. My experiences show I understand how game mechanics impact gameplay and roleplay, and how to link all three. My proposed ideas illustrate my point. Founder Parties prevent founderlessness and increase the number of gameplayers. Entry Applications provide a sustainable defense without antiquating SC Liberations. Open Entry allows in-character and/or political wars that explore the Third Way--mercenaries, imperialists (hegemonies), alliances, non-aggressors, etc.

--People United Together,
est. February 16th, 2009

[Wopruthien]

I’m currently the Arch-Chancellor of the FRA, as well as serving in multiple other positions and roles within the longest running defender organisation, since joining in 2009. I’ve been on a countless number of defences since then and was one of the first defenders to combat ‘tag-raiding’ when it emerged in 2011. I was quite vocal in my support of keeping the status quo of switching and still enjoy the chase of switching and defending against various raider groups. I think the new changes, safer switching, and added variance, have done much to rebalance the game since update times have become predictable with the data dump giving advantage to the raiders.

Seeing 20+ regions taken in an update can still happen and I’d like to see this addressed further’. Updates in the past usually contained one liberation and or maybe one defence while the rest of the time you sat ideally watching the WA happenings. With tag-raiding update lasts a full hour in an intense game of catch the mouse. However, I’d like to ensure the damage done of repeated raids on the same target is lessened, with natives given more aid protecting themselves. I would however be keen to ensure the intensity of whatever replaces tag-raiding remain the same.

I would also like to see slightly more emphasis on political raids, than ‘clock-raids’ rewarding political skill rather than 'clock skill'.

On a personal note, lately I refuse to be drawn into long winded and pointless arguments and instead like to focus on the job in hand, which is defending.

[Tim-Opolis]

Hey, I'm Tim-Opolis.

I've been playing NS for almost three years now, and I've been involved in various aspects of R/D (Raiding, Defending, Intel, Native) from the day I joined. I'm currently a Lieutenant in the UDL, as well as Chief of Orientation, and am a former member of TBR and TBH. I'm also the Founder of Spiritus, former Delegate of Grand Central, and former Vice Delegate of The North Pacific.

My point of view is currently one of a Defender, but I've pretty much done all of the R/D aspects; so I can definitely relate and understand the other perspectives. I believe this allows me to have a more open mind to changes, but also better realize how individual changes could impact each part of the R/D community. I also carry the Point of View of a Triggerman, so I'm definitely concerned with Update and how it's acting.

I think that I could be a good addition to the R/D Summit because see the need to compromise on this issue. I think that having actively played both sides of the spectrum, I’m able to see how each solution would impact each side. I do realize that a fair solution is needed, and that if I had to, I would go against my organization to get a balanced solution passed. R/D is a very important part of Nationstates, and I would like to see it stay as something interesting and as something people would want to get involved in. I think the current R/D is much more about clock skill than strategy and I think that this does need to, at least a bit, change.

Thank You.

[Notolecta]

I'm Notolecta, a former Grand Admiral of the Europeian Republican Navy, with multiple tag-riads, support missions, and long term raids under my belt.

I would prove to be a useful addition to the summit because I am a raider that sees the raider-defender game as a competition where both sides are necessary. Unlike many raiders and defenders I do not believe the two groups are enemies rather competitors. I also believe that defenders are currently at a disadvantage and often can't put up a fight against raiders, which as a raider disappoints me because I don't really find it satisfying to take targets without any opposition. My viewpoint is one that is rather uncommon for raiders and comes from a different perspective than many defenders have. I don't agree with colonization because I believe that when you refound a region you are just ending the fun, and I don't really see any point in that.

I also believe that when considering changes there is another factor that must be taken into consideration: how will the change affect regional and inter-regional politics. Gameplay is one of the most important pieces of diplomacy and foreign affairs in NS regions and also provides a proving ground for young politicians in some regions. Obviously this does not apply to all regions as some are completely a-political such as TBR, but it is still something that must be kept in mind.

[Communist Eraser]

Name: Communist Eraser/Warzone Codger/Laderhig

Background: Started as a casual player in TWP, focused on issues and interacting on the RMB without any interest in regional politics. In addition to TWP I now have dozens of puppets in various regions for social/chatting purposes.

Best known as Warzone Codger, who revived gameplay around the 'Warzones' after years of neglect. While it didn’t replace the R/D game, with the right attitude it was a modest success as a complement/alternative the traditional R/D game.

Currently delegate of Eastern Europe, most known by the political nous of former delegate Czech Mate, and how he tricked the region and the SC, towards his goal to refound the region and purge a rival faction.

Why I should be a representative: The opening thread encouraged players from different parts of the game to participate. I feel my experiences would provide an alternate perspective then those from traditional R/D backgrounds.

First, as a 'native' who primarily plays for the community aspect and doesn't want inference by R/D at all.

Secondly, as someone who is interested in the 'military' aspects of the game but doesn’t want the spite of traditional R/D. Additionally there are dozens of regions who want a 'military' but are too inactive for traditional R/D. I feel more could be done to encourage easier/alternative military play, allowing more players to enjoy this area of gameplay with in a less destructive manner. Warzones were an interesting idea that deserved further experimentation. In a perfect world, those alternative systems would be so fun that players would prefer those to traditional R/D

Finally, I’m a believer that the core of NS is about politics. Actions caused by politics should be unrestricted, while it should be less about timing. Military should be less about meaningless “raids”, more about political “coups” and outing spies.

[AS22]

I have waited until the end to see if I thought my nomination could bring something different to the table, or if I would simply be a superfluous voice. In looking at every nominee, I am confident I bring a unique perspective, so here it goes...

I don't believe many people can claim to have played on as many "sides" as I have. If you want to look at the R/D spectrum apolitically, I have been a raider, neutral, and a defender GPer. On the political spectrum, you could say I am raider leaning, a Francoist, and anti-UDL (or Unibotan) defenderism, because it uses defending as a vector for political subjugation. I have been both the couper/saboteur character and the member of cabinet, which in my case allowed me to read government accounts and theories of my own coup attempts. On the question of coding in GP, I have my own codes and can tell you how several of the Pacific's scanners operate, all while manually going through the site and picking my targets the old fashioned way.

I will bring to this summit an understanding of all these GP facets when considering changes. I desire to maintain the power and desirability of raiding as a GP option while compromising on the clock-work raiderism, which I think can be as bad for raiders as it is tedious for defenders. I will come into this summit with a strong protection and understanding of feeder gameplay, I want changes to consider the role of neutral feeder armies -one of which I led across the Warzones- and GP in feeders themselves, I do not want GP to undergo changes to make R/D more difficult/interesting while leaving feeders in a loop or reinforcing what is in many ways feeder delegate invincibility.

Thank you

[Zemnaya Svoboda]

I am most often known as Eluvatar but this is my primary nation. I have been involved in region building in user created regions and game created regions, in fighting for freedom in GCRs and (via, eventually, exodus) in a UCR. I am intimately familiar with the effect of Influence on game created regions and particularly The North Pacific. More recently I have fought for natives of regions I do not myself reside in as one of the first members of the United Defenders League. I have provided that organization with logistical and material support, and to those ends I carefully monitor the details of the gameplay-wide Raiding / Defending struggle. I have been a recruiter for three UCRs and sent thousands (but not myriads) of telegrams, a GCR politician / fortification, a NationStates historian, a Defender, and in all these roles I have brought to bear my technical knowledge and abilities.

I am discontent about the status of relations between the UDL and TITO, and about the social drift toward seeing tyrannizing GCRs as acceptable behavior since 2005. I would like to help make sure that any changes to the game are prudent ones, and I would try to imagine what unintended consequences could result.

My goals in joining this Summit would be to try to promote the health of the game as a whole, followed by promoting the rights of nations and regions, followed by safeguarding the ability of players like myself to be involved technically (I appreciate that NationStates is somewhat unusual among browser games in permitting any scripting access to the sit at all!). Thank you for reading my submission.

[Topdop]

Shows up fashionably late. Howdy, gang. Topdop here: delegate of The East Pacific, WA writer, GCR dweller, and long-standing "neutral" when it comes to the R/D dynamic. Most of you know me mainly as "A mean old man." I have virtually no first-hand experience as a participant of the R/D dynamic, but I think that I have a pretty solid understanding of how it works due to the constant interaction I've had with its members (first as a writer for the SC and now as a member of the GCRs). I think I can fairly adequately represent the opinions of those NS players more interested in legislating and governing on a regional level rather than in engaging directly in R/D or military conflict (though I am hardly a pacifist). What are some of my personal opinions on gameplay and R/D? I don't believe that GCRs should commit themselves to conflicts irrelevant to their politics. Objectively, I think that R/D game is legitimate. I think that tag raiding is silly and the amount of it that can be done in a single night is absurd. The accidental multiing thing should ideally be prevented by caution on the parts of the switchers, but can still be addressed. I have a few ideas on how to solve some of the current issues in the R/D system that I'd like to discuss in this conference. Pick me! Jumps up and down.

EDIT: Fixed some typos.