Osiris Oracle

[Zaolat]

I think Chester's problem is essentially that he can't move past Festavo. As in, how Fest behaved when he was basically new. See, just as Chester isn't Chester anymore, Festavo has changed a bit as well. If Osiris thinks he is ready for the responsibility then perhaps he is.

Who? And no, it's not that I don't believe Fest would make a good Pharaoh. Osiris will remain essentially the same. I was kind of hoping Ain would get a shot, and bring Osiris more onto the international stage. But seeing as how I am not a member of Osiris, and really don't have a say in the matter c'est la vie. Congrats to Fest and all that other jazz anyway.

And exactly how long have you been an active part of TWP's community? Oh, that's right, never.

He was for a few days, but Dark seems to despise RMB spammers, and helped Gradea out the door (by using him to open it ).

We know what your other puppets are, you always play it off feigning ignorance. But we've seen through that.

[Bhang Bhang Duc]

He was for a few days, but Dark seems to despise RMB spammers, and helped Gradea out the door (by using him to open it ).

To be fair pretty much every recent TWP Delegate (including Russo) has despised RMB spammers, not just Dark. Gradea just seems to have taken it more personally than most.

Gradea did provide some amusement during the recent DEN occupancy though. He arrived in TWP to gloat and then sprinted back to TNP when barked at by Lord Ravenclaw. Usain Bolt couldn't have moved any faster.

[Solorni]

Great issue and congratulations to Festavo

[Drop Your Pants]

Just when I thought Osiris couldn't possibly get any worse...

You must be joking, now we all know where his WA is

[Shadoke]

Congrats to Fest. Good luck, old friend

[Ambroscus Koth]

Just as a general protip, assume the following of Osiris:

- If 4 or more former Pharaohs endorse the current one and believe that he'll be decent in the position, we probably know better than you.
- Opinions regarding how our region should be operated by those who have no involvement in our region mean precisely jack shit to us.
- Raven can never leave

[Cormac Stark]

I was kind of hoping Ain would get a shot, and bring Osiris more onto the international stage.

The Osiris Fraternal Order currently has treaty alliances with the following regions:

• Albion
• Balder
• The East Pacific
• Europeia
• The Land of Kings and Emperors
• The New Galactic Empire
• The New Inquisition

The OFO also has non-aggression pacts with Lazarus and The Rejected Realms, and enjoys relatively positive relations with all of the other Feeder and Sinker governments except the New Pacific Order. This is not to mention the basic relations it maintains with several prominent user-created regions from raider regions like DEN to defender regions like Spiritus and Taijitu and regions somewhere in between these two ends of the spectrum. How much more "onto the international stage" would you like Osiris to be, exactly?

I'm sure Festavo will do a great job, and congratulations to him. It's nice to see a relatively fresh face in leadership, or "fresh" at least by comparison to most previous Pharaohs.

[Trick Shot]

Just as a general protip, assume the following of Osiris:

- If 4 or more former Pharaohs endorse the current one and believe that he'll be decent in the position, we probably know better than you.
- Opinions regarding how our region should be operated by those who have no involvement in our region mean precisely jack shit to us.
- Raven can never leave

This statement is approved by the government of the Osiris Fraternal Order.

Thanks to everybody for congratulating me.

[Lady Anastasia]

Congratulations to Festavo on your victory.

I for one am glad to see Osiris again sticking together against outside opinions and punditry. Osiris knows how best to run Osiris.

And yes, the above sentiment was serious, and not sarcastic.

[Valrifell]

Just as a general protip, assume the following of Osiris:

- If 4 or more former Pharaohs endorse the current one and believe that he'll be decent in the position, we probably know better than you.
- Opinions regarding how our region should be operated by those who have no involvement in our region mean precisely jack shit to us.
- Raven can never leave

This statement is approved by the government of the Osiris Fraternal Order.

Thanks to everybody for congratulating me.

I can say I know a GCR delegate now!

*Goes to cross that off NS bucket list*

[Ever-Wandering Souls]

The Osiris Fraternal Order currently has treaty alliances with the following regions:

• Albion
• Balder
• The East Pacific
• Europeia
• The Land of Kings and Emperors
• The New Galactic Empire
• The New Inquisition

The OFO also has non-aggression pacts with Lazarus and The Rejected Realms, and enjoys relatively positive relations with all of the other Feeder and Sinker governments except the New Pacific Order. This is not to mention the basic relations it maintains with several prominent user-created regions from raider regions like DEN to defender regions like Spiritus and Taijitu and regions somewhere in between these two ends of the spectrum. How much more "onto the international stage" would you like Osiris to be, exactly?

I'm sure Festavo will do a great job, and congratulations to him. It's nice to see a relatively fresh face in leadership, or "fresh" at least by comparison to most previous Pharaohs.

/me holds wings over face and cries in the corner

[Pierconium]

I get along just fine with several prominent members of Osiris.

[Luxdonia]

He was for a few days, but Dark seems to despise RMB spammers, and helped Gradea out the door (by using him to open it ).

To be fair pretty much every recent TWP Delegate (including Russo) has despised RMB spammers, not just Dark. Gradea just seems to have taken it more personally than most.

Gradea did provide some amusement during the recent DEN occupancy though. He arrived in TWP to gloat and then sprinted back to TNP when barked at by Lord Ravenclaw. Usain Bolt couldn't have moved any faster.

I'll think of that next time I help TWP.

[Riftey]

I can't say I'm surprised with the outcome. Neither can I say I'm disappointed. Fest and I have had out disagreements and we don't see eye to eye on here. However he is a super guy offsite and I'm sure he'll do a fine job with OFO.

I'll think of that next time I help TWP.

I still cant get my head around you asking me to help with a reclaim of TWP. Made no sense aye.

[Lord Ravenclaw]

I was kind of hoping Ain would get a shot, and bring Osiris more onto the international stage.

Osiris isn't lacking in people with international/interregional renown, recognition and experience. Not to mention Osiris also has numerous allies who also have considerable influence and exposure to the interregional stage.

That and they are going to have a highly skilled, experienced and respected Minister of Foreign Affairs who will be able to support the Pharaoh and Osiris.*

Just as a general protip, assume the following of Osiris:

- If 4 or more former Pharaohs endorse the current one and believe that he'll be decent in the position, we probably know better than you.
- Opinions regarding how our region should be operated by those who have no involvement in our region mean precisely jack shit to us.
- Raven can never leave

I feel like Tim and his Sky Cell.

*holds up sign asking for help*

Gradea did provide some amusement during the recent DEN occupancy though. He arrived in TWP to gloat and then sprinted back to TNP when barked at by Lord Ravenclaw. Usain Bolt couldn't have moved any faster.

It was interesting to see, I'll give you that.

I'll think of that next time I help TWP.

It was a remarkably bad time to gloat, so I'm rather grateful you decided to refrain from it after my comment.

And now to go on record: Congratulations, Festavo. I look forward to seeing what your term brings. Utilise your cabinet well, and Osiris will be all the better because of it. Do not be afraid to seek advice and suggestions from them, or Osiris' allies. The easiest burden to carry is one that is shared.


* Nope, not me. :3

[Jakker Loves Rawr]

November 2015 Issue

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Interview with Cormac Stark, Founder and Konungr of Asgard

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Jakker: What made you decide to remain in NS after your return with the TWP coup?

Cormac: Basically, the same thing that has made me decide to remain in NationStates far longer than I ever thought I would: I've made some lasting friendships here and I want to continue playing NationStates with those people. A secondary reason is that I didn't like the reasons for my retirement and the way I departed, and I felt I still had things left to do in NationStates. I didn't feel done, essentially, though I very much believed I was when I had decided to retire a month earlier.


Jakker: One of your primary focuses right now is the revival of Asgard. How has that been? What has driven you to bring it back to life?

Cormac: Asgard has always felt like unfinished business to me since the way its first "incarnation," if you will, ended in 2012 under very unfortunate circumstances, including the destruction of our forum by the person to whom I had entrusted the Founder account and root administration of the forum. So partially what has driven me to bring it back to life is that I've always wanted to bring it back to life, and this isn't the first time I've tried. This is by far the most energetic attempt and, thus far, the most successful.

I would have to say it's going pretty well in some respects and not so well in others. Recruitment is going extremely well; we've climbed from three nations to 177 in less than a month, which is the most rapid population growth Asgard has ever seen. On the other hand, as is the case for many regions in modern NationStates, forum activity is an issue. Our "active" forum population -- if you can even call it active -- is comprised almost exclusively of existing gameplayers who have come here from other regions by word of mouth recruitment. Newcomers who have come here from the Feeders by telegram recruitment aren't that interested in participating in an off-site forum.

This lack of forum activity has led to an informal referendum by regional poll on whether to shift regional government and activities completely on-site. That referendum is pretty much evenly divided, which means in all likelihood it's going to come down to my own judgment call as Founder. I'm leaning toward shifting everything on-site so stay tuned to see how that is implemented in the coming days.


Jakker: Has The Miniluv Messenger changed how people perceive you? How are you still able to obtain private information?

Cormac: I'm not sure it's changed how people perceive me, though I think it's contributed to the development of various perceptions people have of me. These perceptions of me had already started before I ever created The Miniluv Messenger, as a result of a player even less trustworthy than me leaking the existence of and logs from a private IRC channel called #miniluv that included several of my NationStates friends and me. The channel was really just an informal place to hang out and chat, but the leaked logs included some plotting against FRA influence in Spiritus, so due to that and due to most channel participants being prominent gameplayers, the channel came to be seen as some kind of diabolical conspiracy. The Miniluv Messenger was really born out of that ridiculous conspiracy theory and has since taken on a life of its own.

In hindsight, I guess it's sort of ironic that the leaking of the existence of #miniluv -- which outraged me -- led to the creation of The Miniluv Messenger, which specializes in reporting leaked information.

As to how I obtain information, it's nothing mysterious or ingenious: People just give it to me, and usually without prompting. Miniluv 2015 is basically the Anonymous movement of NationStates: We're everywhere and nowhere all at once. We have no membership but anyone can be a member. The Messenger would be nothing without its sources.


Jakker: You seem to serve as the person who says things in GP that others want to say, but don't. Do you feel like players play the game too safely? Why?

Cormac: I do feel like they play the game too safely, and it's contributing to the rapid decline of gameplay, along with technical disadvantages that haven't been corrected by site administration. It's 2015, for [violet]'s sake, can we get an R/D game that actually works and the ability to simultaneously run multiple regional polls? But I digress. Yes, people play the game way too safely and I can't at all understand why. Risk is interesting. Change is interesting. Conflict is interesting. The best way to make this game thrive is to keep it interesting, but it's not going to be interesting for many people with everyone sitting around doing nothing much but having festivals with spam games and chatting about how great NationStates used to be in the early 2000s. Early NationStates was great because those players didn't play it safe and boring. Let's get back to that.


Jakker: You appear to have strong feelings against NPO. Do you believe that people have let Pacifica off too easily after the Lazarus coup? What do you expect to happen in the future?

Cormac: People have let the NPO off way too easily and it's got a lot to do, again, with playing NationStates safe. There is, among many players, an intense aversion to interregional conflict of any kind that is really detrimental to the game -- both because it keeps the game boring and simultaneously encourages bored players to instigate interpersonal conflicts with each other instead. Everyone wants to just put the Lazarus coup in the past, whether the NPO has made any substantive change to warrant that or not, because conflict with the NPO is a lot less appealing to them than getting along with a regime that has no respect for the sovereignty of other Feeders and Sinkers and never has. I'm very disappointed in the Feeders and Sinkers that have re-established relations with the NPO, or never severed relations at all. We'll see how that works out for them in the long run; we saw how it turned out for The South Pacific in 2013 and Lazarus earlier this year.


Jakker: Do you have any goals left to accomplish in NS?

Cormac: My goal is, and I think has always been, to make NationStates gameplay more interesting. To engage more players, to make the game more exciting for them, to give them compelling reasons to want to participate. User-created regions are supposed to be, among other things, a great tool for experimentation in NationStates. It's clear to me that serious changes are necessary in NationStates gameplay right now, including a re-thinking of our reliance on off-site activity, so I expect to be experimenting with how to make on-site government and activities work in Asgard.

I have some other goals, but I wouldn't be me if I told you what all of them are. I'm nothing if not full of surprises.

---

Regional Officers: Player Survey

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Feeder

Elegarth, Delegate of Feeder The West Pacific

As a feeder, do you feel like the addition of ROs has strengthened your region’s security?

In general, I personally believe ROs are a double edge sword that each region must consider and use carefully. However, in the particular case of The West Pacific, it has been a very useful tool for both security and RMB maintenance. As a feeder, we can easily get troublemakers spawning often, and the existence of a team of ROs that can take care of spam and banjections improve the region's style.

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

I think that depends on each region, their game play style, their goals and what not. Is hard to say what can or should they be used to. The potential applications of ROs are many!

How has using ROs helped your region? Hurt your region?

Well, as I mentioned before, it has improved our RMB maintenance and the handling of spammers and ill-intentioned users. We've always have many players involved with reporting to the MODs rule violations, but now they can also suppress undesired spam or inappropriate content, and handle troublemakers while the delegate is not online. Instead of having to wait a couple hours, we can now get those sorted in a couple minutes.

It was also highly useful during the Zombie Event, as it allowed us to promptly remove zombie empires and killer nations from the region, we had the maximum number of ROs at a point, and that was a part of our success in reaching 3rd place in the event.

Any additions that you would like to see to ROs?

I can't think of any right now. I guess if the annexation is ever introduced in the game, it would be nice to set the ROs so that annexed regions can have governors. Then again, is just a random idea I just had. Not necessarily something I wish for to happen now, or ever.

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User Created Regions with Founders

Vancouvia, Founder of The Western Isles

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

The ultimate goal should be to ease the burden of founders/executive delegates and allow previously existing regional officers to actually be able to conduct their duties i.e an officer with duties concerning foreign affairs can now actually accept embassy requests.

How has using ROs helped your region? Hurt your region?

It's helped in that most powers matched well with already existing offices, only now it's possible for them to autonomously execute their duties

Any additions that you would like to see to ROs?

No, they're aesthetically pleasing and get the job done.

Would the use of ROs change if the region became founderless?

Probably have more officers with border control.

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King Nephmir II, Founder of Auralia

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

To further extend a region's government powers in order to make the region more democratic, or to reward the active and trusted region members for following the absolute regime, depending on what you're in to.

How has using ROs helped your region? Hurt your region?

Help: Increase of government activity, and at least one governing member is typically online at any given time to eject spammers and trouble makers. I can't really say that it has done anything to hurt it, however (as of yet).

Any additions that you would like to see to ROs?

Perhaps the ability to transfer the founder nation. The founder could spend influence equivalent to that of password protecting the region with a hidden password to do so. It would make refounds less messy and risky. Of course there's always the chance that a Raider implant could be the new founder, but when refounding Raiders can snipe your refound anyway with the way it is already. If the founder wants to switch power, that's his or her choice. Of course, the original founder should still be recorded as the original founder somewhere. Founderless regions would need to be refounded in the normal fashion.

It would be nifty if "ROs only" could be set as a restriction for polls, too, along with "embassy regions", leading to an interesting combination of restrictions that could be used.

Any other thoughts/questions/concerns/compliments to bring up to game admin?

I've been looking forward to ROs for a long time! It turned out better than I expected and I can't wait to see how the annexation feature turns out as well (assuming it happens in my NS lifetime).

Would the use of ROs change if the region became founderless?

Not really (in theory)- The WA Delegate would theoretically initiate pre-determined emergency procedures to make the co-founder take the delegate seat as the new head of the region until the founder returns, or indefinitely if the founder doesn't. All other ROs would be elected democratically as usual.

---

LGBT Equality, Founder of Gay

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

To enhance a region's mission, even if that mission is as simple as surviving or prospering.

How has using ROs helped your region? Hurt your region?

Our Regional Secretary was able to suppress the posts of a griefer before I, the Founder, returned to the region. He now has border control, too, to be able decisively to deal with such persons.

Any additions that you would like to see to ROs?

I am interested in exploring having the ability to give someone besides the WAD executive authority. Such would need to be handled thoughtfully so as not to interfere with the R/D aspect of the game.

Any other thoughts/questions/concerns/compliments to bring up to game admin?

This doesn't have to do with RO, but we have been griefed now by 4 separate nations from the same player, all of whom have been banned from the region. They have all been reported to the Mods, but so far only one of the nations has been deleted. IMHO, after 3x of using other nations to get around a regional ban, this player's IP address should be DOSed.

Would the use of ROs change if the region became founderless?

If I were the WAD of a Founderless region, I would set up 12 separate nations with border control capacity to have the best shot at repelling any invasions. Likewise, as things stand, if I were a raider WAD of a Founderless region, I would do the same thing to repel a counter-invasion. If, as above, a region's WAD could appoint another executive, that would essentially create a Co- or Vice-Founder. I would think there would have to be serious limitations on such as not to change the R/D dynamic. Perhaps a region would be limited to two executives, for a Founderless region, the prime one remaining the WAD, who could, after a period of time, strip the executive authority from the Vice-Founder.

IMHO, it would need to be set up so that in a Founderless region, the Vice-Founder could not eject the Executive WAD. If a region's Founder were to CTE or be deleted after appointing a Vice-Founder, any WAD would become the prime Executive as in any other Founderless region. I'd think a Vice-Founder would need to use influence like a WAD, so that a successful raid would not enable a Vice-Founder to banject all nations and refound at the next update. This all would require some serious discussion with input from people more heavily into R/D than I am. The consensus may be that such is untenable.

As things stand now, the border control agents do not have to expend influence to banject new nations, which seriously tilts the game in favour of raiders. I would suggest this needs to be revisited, either limiting the number of border control agents and/or requiring influence to be expended to banject any nation.

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Goddess Relief Office, Founder of Yggdrasil and Valhalla

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

More people to help manage the region for better security and greater activity. I think having more than 2 people is esp. important for larger regions.

How has using ROs helped your region? Hurt your region?

Too early to say but I don't see how it can hurt.

Any other thoughts/questions/concerns/compliments to bring up to game admin?

Graphically, it would be better to have ROs listed lower on the WFE. It is incredibly distracting from the actual WFE and takes away attention from the region's description. Either make it lower (beneath Dispatches), or make it collapsible.

Would the use of ROs change if the region became founderless?

ROs would help to ensure things get done even if Delegate becomes inactive. However, to take on the security role the Admins need to implement changes to ensure invaders cannot dismiss ROs immediately upon taking the delegateship.

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Alexandros o Megas, Founder of Hellenic Civilization

RO's addition in game makes it more pluralistic and it will at the end help to increase the level of activity in a region or reward those nations already active. So I have found it a positive change.

In Hellenic Civilization we do not have much activity but we have many puppets, that historically are part of the Region.
Through RO's I actually rewarded current WA Delegate and those actively posting in our RMB.

A Founder may become sometimes - rare and unpleasant - inactive and CTE but for a logical period as he may resurrect and comes back the Region's character should not change (i.e. an illness of Founder or a long trip etc.). But at the end after a logical time period - like for new nations with the name of pre-existing nations - the RO's powers should be increased to some of those the Founder had.

Another idea is the Founder to be able to appoint 1-2 nations as his successors in case of CTE and that to be permanent if long time passes; successors could be among RO's or not.

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Vandoosa, Founder of Glorious Nations of Iwaku

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

To kick out scary mean raiders like Jakker!

How has using ROs helped your region? Hurt your region?

So far zero change here in Iwaku.. though I've only appointed one to see what happens..

Any other thoughts/questions/concerns/compliments to bring up to game admin?

Make it where founders influence is displayed as GOD! Because founders technically are God of a region.. Also having God on my nation page will inflate my ego to Rifty levels.

Would the use of ROs change if the region became founderless?

Nope.. they can still stop tag raids.. if they are not lazy that is..

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Founderless User Created Regions

Ecuadorian Love, Delegate of The Union

As a founderless region, do you feel like the addition of ROs has strengthened your region’s security?

ROs have yet to have any consequences, so far only benefits.

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

Main benefit is that I can now have my ROs eject trouble makers in the region when I'm not around, or if I want to conserve my regional influence.

How has using ROs helped your region? Hurt your region?

Furthermore, in the future we plan to refound, but we still plan on having a democratic region, where the elected delegate is the main leading figure in the region. In the past this meant giving the delegate an executive position, which makes the region vulnerable to raids by DEN and your friends and TBH. Now however, as we refound, we will make the delegate position non-exe, and simply create another office with fill executive powers, that will be awarded to the delegate. This way we can't get raided.

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Mikeswell, Delegate of Nationstates

The only real position that has the power to affect the security of the region seemingly is border control. All other positions are nice and can increase player activity. I like the idea of having a puppet to banject nations but I'm not sure how effective it will be in a crisis.

As a founderless region, do you feel like the addition of ROs has strengthened your region’s security?

Marginally

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

Increased player participation

Any other thoughts/questions/concerns/compliments to bring up to game admin?

could they make me the Founder of the region?

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Otaku Stratus, Delegate of Japan

Why haven’t you implemented ROs in your founderless region?

We're still considering it. There's very little participation in the region right now but there's a lot of interest in using this system, by a few people at least.

What changes would encourage you to implement ROs if any?

Basically as soon as someone volunteers. Right now the most qualified right-hand-man is someone who only shows up a few times a month.

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

I think to allow more people to participate and have something useful to do, and take a bit of the responsibility off of the delegate, who has to sleep SOMEtime

Any additions that you would like to see to ROs?

They're pretty good at present. Basically I want to have more people in charge of security (as many as possible) and potentially someone in charge of recruiting

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Voga, Delegate of The United Reddit Nations

We have not implemented ROs in our founderless region because of the small size and amount of activity which goes on in our region. Because we have implemented safeguards against raiding, such as requiring a regional password in order to join. In order for the United Reddit Nations to implement ROs, we would first require far more activity or a great influx of new members, to the point where our WA Delegate (i.e. the People's Empire of Voga) would not be able to undertake administrative duties alone.

At this time, as previously stated, it is not necessary. The ultimate goal of any Regional Officer ought to be to serve as an extension of both the will of the region in question and of the WA Delegate from that region, helping to execute administrative responsibilities and to moderate posts on that region. As things stand, the People's Empire of Voga does not see any additions to ROs as necessary, though it is not opposed to their idea nor to their implementation in the United Reddit Nations should the need arise.

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Hawkswind, Delegate of St Abbaddon

We have not implemented ROs because we have had a loss of WA members, and so far we have not had replacement members show.

The only change I would insert is a way to overturn or reject a RO's choice, usually with a 2/3 majority vote.

Ultimate goal should be to make it easier for things to get done in a region, instead of relying on one person.

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The Stalker, Delegate of Hell

As a founderless region, do you feel like the addition of ROs has strengthened your region’s security?

I believe it has for Hell, however I don't think this will be universally true for founderless regions. I expect more of a bell curve effect. ROs in the hands of experienced players / communities will allow for greater defense in founderless regions, but in the hands of less experienced communities runs of the risk of having it work against them.

What should the ultimate goal of ROs be for a region?

To better allow regions to design their own regional governments in which officials can actually help run the region.
Secondly I think it's function should be pushed towards the goal of allowing natives to fight back against raids, in such a way the dynamic shifts to natives fighting raiders themselves rather than defenders fighting raiders in the native's home.

How has using ROs helped your region? Hurt your region?

So far the ROs have helped our region and allow for greater shared responsibility of running and defending the region. No longer a burden for a single person, but the duty of a collective.

[Marselesk]

A solid read

[Jakker Loves Rawr]

December 2015 Issue

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NationStates World Fair 2015

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The fourth NationStates World Fair took place on December 7th-14th of 2015. The fair saw an activity record of over 5380 posts during that time. I interviewed a couple members of the committee and the host, Greater Dienstad, to hear their thoughts on the event. I also interviewed Charles Cerebella and Kringalia who originally were planning the event.

Committee Members

Todd McCloud

Jakker: What made you decide to be part of the NS World Fair team this year?

Todd: Well, I was a part of the original team and have helped in many fairs from the past. I've done it since the first annual fair. I guess it was something I just wanted to do!


Jakker: How did you feel about original World Fair being set up by Kringalia and Charles? And the set of events that followed including the backlash from the gameplay community and the players’ eventual withdrawal from the event?

Todd: They didn't deserve the backlash. They were caught in the middle with Unibot making a unilateral decision and unfortunately as a consequence there was a big breakdown in communication. It was weird - we, being the committee, had been meeting about when and how to set up a fair, then in October there was apparently a fair already in the works!


Jakker: What made the committee decide to try and include Kris and Charles in the new team for NSWF? How did you feel when they turned you down? What reasons did they give?

Todd: Because we realized from the start it wasn't their fault. We harbored no ill will with them and hoped they'd join us in the fight. Unfortunately, they chose not to, but that's totally their choice and we respect that. These things are tough to organize and require a bit of time to get them going, organized, and running.


Jakker: How did you feel the preparation for the event go? Were there any hiccups? What tasks did you help with specifically?

Todd: It went well. There were some slow spots, but for the most part everyone pitched in and in the end, we had a good show. I was mostly involved with the core organization, fixing code, moderation, hosting bids and hosting bid setups, inviting regions, and reminding them that they requested a booth, among other things. But these were not exclusively monitored and initiated by me; we did work as a team and many folks had a hand in this. I'm glad we had a good team because otherwise we would not have been able to get a fair going.

You know, I think some folks panicked a little with respect to the timing, but bear in mind that two years ago we almost missed the timing and had to back things up several times since I was going through a busy spell and Unibot was semi retired. But we did get it through. This year was good because we chose a date and stuck with it, and everyone stepped up to the plate and helped out. That makes it a good year for planning.


Jakker: Were you surprised that so few regions submitted bids to be host?

Todd: I'm kind of surprised 4 bids is considered few, considering for the 2013 NSWF we had 4 and the 2014 NSWF had 5. The reality is we had four very capable, very good regions throw their name in for consideration and, ultimately, we were confident that all of the applicants would have done a great job.


Jakker: Describe your feelings about the event itself. What was your favorite activity that took place? Any activities that did not go as well as you would have liked?

Todd: I'm always a guy who likes to read those articles folks take the time to write up, especially when they're backed by statistics, first-hand accounts, and/or interesting topics. This year's event was full of solid lectures arguably spearheaded by some atypical lectures - the AMAA mod show, Belschaft's talk on NS and mental illness, and three prominent players speaking about Women on NS. In addition, we had talks involving roleplay and NS Sports, two topics that don't normally make it to the floor in past fairs. It was a good mix, and it opens things up for fairs down the road.


Jakker: Look back at the event, what is your overall view? How do you think it will be remembered?

Todd: As I said earlier, I think that the variety here was very good and may open the door for other communities within this game. It's funny how we play the same game but play it much differently when compared to, say, RPers or the GA crowd, so to speak. I think this will help other communities get involved and transition this from a gameplay-centered event to a game-centered event.


Jakker: Any advice for players who may set up the event in the future?

Todd: Yeah, sure. Stay active, work as a team, and follow through with what you say you want to do.

---

Ambrella aka Sopo

Jakker: What made you decide to be part of the NS World Fair team this year?

Sopo: After Kris and Charles withdrew, I offered whatever assistance I could provide. McM approached me shortly thereafter and offered to bring me into the planning committee. I found the World Fairs of the past couple years to be real highlights, so I was excited to help out with one of the NS community's cornerstone events.


Jakker: How did you feel about original World Fair being set up by Kringalia and Charles? And the set of events that followed including the backlash from the gameplay community and the players’ eventual withdrawal from the event?

Sopo: Like many people, I was confused as to how or why Unibot felt able to "pass the torch" for the World Fair. I know both Kris and Charles to varying degrees, and they're both quality players. I'm sure they would have put on an excellent fair. However, Unibot didn't have the right to hand over the keys, as other people put in work as well. They didn't deserve to be put in the limelight the way that they were, and I'm disappointed that they seemed to come out of the whole ordeal feeling bitter, but I understand. I hope by next year it will all be water under the bridge, and that they might consider helping out with next year's World Fair.


Jakker: How did you feel the preparation for the event go? Were there any hiccups? What tasks did you help with specifically?

Sopo: Of course, there are always hiccups. Thankfully nothing went wrong that couldn't be overcome by the collective work of the committee. Unfortunately, I ended up with less spare time prior to the event than I had expected, so I have to give credit to everyone else for most of the planning--Todd McCloud, McMasterdonia, Astarial, Almonaster, as well as the folks from Greater Dienstad. My largest contributions were setting up the Medway area, taking care of moderation tasks, and helping organize the mod AMA, all which pale in comparison to everyone else's work. I hope if they'll have me back again next year I can do my "fair" share.


Jakker: Were you surprised that so few regions submitted bids to be host?

Sopo: A bit surprised, but the bids we did receive were so well written that I didn't feel we were missing anything. Greater Dienstad, this year's host region, put together an amazing bid. Considering I had never really heard of their region before, I was very impressed. They were great to work with, and truly made this year's event their own.


Jakker: Describe your feelings about the event itself. What was your favorite activity that took place? Any activities that did not go as well as you would have liked?

Sopo: Some of the regional booths really killed it this year. Alexandria, Europeia, Canada, and others really went above and beyond with their activities. I'm disappointed that I didn't get more letters for "Ask Sopo," and some of the lectures that came toward the end of the fair didn't really get the attention they deserved. Belschaft put together an insightful piece on Gameplay and Mental Illness that I hope continues to disseminate through the game. I also don't think NES got all of the pushback he hoped for on his piece on the Sinkers.


Jakker: Look back at the event, what is your overall view? How do you think it will be remembered?

Sopo: I'm proud that we put on the most active NS World Fair yet. There's plenty of room to improve, but it was a great, fun event, and I've gotten a lot of good feedback. Overall, I think people will remember the fair this year for impressive lectures and lively community areas.


Jakker: Any advice for players who may set up the event in the future?

Sopo: Be prepared to put in a lot of work! It takes time and effort to make these things a success. The lovely people I worked with really took care of business, and it was a pleasure to be a part of such a dynamic committee.

---

---

Host of the World Fair

Lamoni, Delegate of Greater Dienstad

Jakker: What made Greater Dienstad decide to submit a bid to host the NSWF?

Lamoni: It would be accurate to say that I am what made Greater Dienstad decide to submit a bid. Or at least, I got the process started. I've attended the NSWF since at least number two, and I had the thought that it would be a good idea for GD to host one. When the fair committee started looking for hosts for the 2015 fair, I persuaded The Macabees that the inter-regional exposure that GD would get from hosting the fair would translate into benefits like more NS-wide exposure for the the region, possibly resulting in having more nations join us in the long-term, since more people would know about us, and not just in RP circles.

I don't want to sound self-centered, but I do wield a considerable amount of power in GD, and even helped to hold it together when the region was invaded by TBR (until we could get our founder back to expel them), so getting the fair-hosting process started was really not that hard. It also helped that our founder had attended the previous fair, so he knew something of what to expect, as far as the fair itself goes.


Jakker: Walk me through all the preparation from when the region learned that they were going to host until the event started. For regions who are looking to bid in the future, what does it take to be a host?

Lamoni: Once we learned that Greater Dienstad was going to be the fair host, it became a joint effort between three GD nations (The Macabees, United Gordonopia, and Lamoni), and the fair committee. The two groups managed to work together very professionally, with the committee taking our suggestions, and working their magic on them. Most of the actual work (on our end, at least) was in deciding on what we wanted the fair's message board to look like, from the various forums, to the forum background. Everything in accordance with the fair's theme, "Diversity and Co-operation."
It all came out in such a way that the focus was more on the things that were actually happening, instead of fluff like what the forum background looked like. The fact that we had the single busiest fair in the fair's history really helped with that, but there was no way in which we could have predicted that our fair would win that honor.

As for what it takes to be a host, I would say that it takes the ability to not only work with the fair committee in a professional manner, but to also have a clear message embedded in your fair's theme, which you can base things around. In other words, have a model of what you want the fair to be like in your mind, with the theme as the central expression of that. After you have such a model, you'll need the ability to communicate your vision clearly to the fair committee. Once everyone has that vision in mind, the rest can more easily fall into place, since everyone will be singing off of the same sheet music, as it were.


Jakker: How do you feel the event itself go? Any hiccups? Favorite moment? Favorite activity? Anything you would change?

Lamoni: I personally think that the fair went very well. No one was expecting it to be the most active fair in the fair's history, but even if it hadn't been so, it would still have been a success.

We had also been trying to get more RPers and NS Sports players to attend the fair, but neither one really came in significant numbers, which was a shame, because as an RPer who has been attending the fair for so long, I feel that the fair has something to offer to everyone on NS, and also serves as a neutral ground, where you can drop the anger and prejudices of what happened during the rest of the year, and just have fun with various people, while learning very valuable information from the lectures.

Thanks to the fair, I now have a fair number of contacts in the GP world, and while that sets me apart from a good chunk of the RPing community by itself, I still don't believe that GP regions should harm RP regions. This makes me about as middle-ground on the GP issue as you'll find a member of the RP community on NS. It also means that I don't see the GP community as merely "those people who merely get a kick out of destroying the hard work of the RP community, all for cheap laughs," (the typical RPer view of raiders, which is unlikely to improve until such time as there is an enforceable way to keep raiders out of RP regions) but as a collection of people, both good and bad, like everyone else.


Jakker: Anything you’d like to see in future NSWFs?

Lamoni: I would love to see more participation from RPers in the fair, honestly. Not only can it serve as a place of communication between the various groups of NS, but it also allows the various groups to simply have fun together, no matter from where on NS that they hail. The prejudices are relaxed, and everyone just tries to have fun, as well as learning from the lectures. It is like an NS Christmas, and I think that the RP community would also benefit from it. It'll take some real doing, but it can be done.

---

---

Former Committee Members of the World Fair

Kringalia aka Kris

Jakker: What made you decide to be part of setting up this year’s NSWF originally?

Kris: I felt very passionate about helping organise cultural events and I think I was doing a good job as Minister of Regional Affairs of the South Pacific, which gave me some background in that area. When Unibot asked if I was interested in taking over the World Fair, I thought it would be an exciting and fun challenge.


Jakker: What was going through your mind when the backlash started occurring from the community about the NSWF? Did you feel like it was warranted?

Kris: I blamed myself for being so naive as to think that it could have gone any different. Whatever grievances gameplayers might have had with Unibot, I still fail to see why they had to approach Charles and me with such aggressiveness. A decent conversation might have been much more productive, instead of all the unwarranted criticism we saw.


Jakker: Why did you ultimately decide to give up on the event?

Kris: I realised that I already had a good job as Minister of Regional Affairs and had no need for the constant toxicity of the gameplay community. Charles eventually suggested that we should just let the old committee take over, and I agreed that the costs of standing our ground greatly outweighed the benefits.


Jakker: What feelings did you have when the NSWF was then being set up by the new committee? Why did you not accept their invitation to joining their committee?

Kris: I was disappointed that the new committee listened to the demands of vocal gameplayers. I am sure they had good intentions and were capable, but letting the loudest people call the shots set a bad precedent and unnecessarily politicised the Fair. Like I said some weeks ago, I declined a seat in the committee because I did not want to be a part of that. I felt that there was nothing I could contribute and had no desire to continue being involved in gameplay affairs, when time and time again they had only given me headaches and annoyance. I know there are many decent gameplayers, but unfortunately the toxic ones are most outspoken.


Jakker: How would have your event differed from the event that was prepared by others? Did you participate in the event itself? How do you think it went?

Kris: I did not pay any attention to the recent World Fair, so I could not say. I hope it went well, though.


Jakker: Any advice or thoughts for players looking to help with future NSWFs?

Kris: It's first and foremost a cultural event. People wanting to help organise the World Fair should treat it as such, and leave all their politics aside. Think of ways to make it fun for as many players as possible, and remember that NationStates is also the game of roleplayers and generalites, of issue answerers and F7ers. They all deserve their space in the Fair.

---

Charles Cerebella

Jakker: What made you decide to be part of setting up this year’s NSWF originally?

Charles: It all came rather out of the blue when Unibot telegrammed me and Kring about it, asking if we'd be interested in taking it over. It was quite the exciting prospect, and I thought I could give a lot to the project and help it out so decided why not!


Jakker: What was going through your mind when the backlash started occurring from the community about the NSWF? Did you feel like it was warranted?

Charles: I definitely didn't feel it was warranted. We had worked hard to put together a package that we thought would not only address the criticisms of previous years but, in general, be a really fun and interesting offering for people and regions to take part in. Both of us are players of some integrity, I'd like to think, and to come under attack in the way we did for taking on a project for the whole of NS that neither of us had sought to do originally really did feel unjustified.


Jakker: Why did you ultimately decide to give up on the event? What feelings did you have when the NSWF was then being set up by the new committee? Why did you not accept their invitation to joining their committee?

Charles: To roll a few of the questions into one answer, both me and Kring just wanted to wash our hands of it all. Instead of the fair being a matter of culture and roleplay and fun, it was a matter of politiking. After we announced, the discussions weren't about whether the World Fair we were offering was a good one, whether our changes were positive ones and our ideas interesting, it was about politics. It was about the legitimacy of the event. About Unibot's (non-existant) involvement. About why certain people hadn't been asked. It wasn't a case of two players putting a lot of work in to create something for everyone to enjoy, it was about why wasn't so-and-so involved or this person or that person.

It stuck us very much that people wanted the fair to be owned by them and something about their own careers rather than something for NS generally. Both of us weren't interested in any of that. We had been approached to put something on and we'd tried our honest best to put together something that would be very good. Neither of us had or have any interest in the Fair as some badge of honour, some notch on the bed post for us. When it was clear that it wasn't about the content but the form then we stepped away. The kind of toxicity that was exhibited is exactly why both of us are rarer faces in gameplay these days. Neither of us had the energy or interest in that battle. That is why we both declined to sit on the new (/old) committee and furthermore why we dropped all our own plans. We had no interest in running a competing fair to show ours was the best or anything. If other people felt they had more legitimacy to do it, then so be it, we were happy to concede and move on.


Jakker: How would have your event differed from the event that was prepared by others? Did you participate in the event itself? How do you think it went?

Charles: I can't say I did participate at all so I don't know how it went. As for how the two offerings differed I'm not too sure. I believe they went back to the old, and contentious, hosting system that had been so open to criticism in previous years. The fair me and Kring put together would have amended this to offer a wider range of regions ways to participate as 'hosts' by having different classes of region (feeders, sinkers, old UCRs and younger ones) be the host for a certain day with a guest lecture from them and them at the top of lists and the like.

We wanted to make it as wide and inclusive as possible and make sure it was something that went far beyond gameplay and really brought in other parts of NS like roleplayers and WA focused regions and people in as well, and we'd been very active in reaching out to those kind of people to get them involved. We were very excited about the whole thing. Whether the actual fair did anything like that, or reverted purely back to the older model I don't know.

Both me and Kring remain very interested in the inclusive element of what we had planned so who knows if we might try and put something together to try and encourage that intermingling of communities, but separate from all ideas of the Fair itself. We have spoken of it before so we'll have to see maybe.


Jakker: Any advice or thoughts for players looking to help with future NSWFs?

Charles: Well, having not participated in the planning, I guess I'm not well placed to say. All I'll say is you'd probably need a thick skin.

[Cormac Stark]

I'm just going to link this post again in response to Kris and Cere, because it provides actual facts to demonstrate at whom the toxicity in that whole debate was actually directed. It wasn't, for the most part, at Kris and Cere, but rather at those who voiced civil and reasonable objections to Unibot unilaterally choosing new NSWF organizers and excluding the rest of the committee. Much of the actual toxicity in that thread came from Kris himself, who is both a gameplay politician and a rather toxic one.

It is difficult to whine about gameplay toxicity when you are still wallowing in your sour grapes and accusing others of "toxicity" because you're still holding a grudge over something that occurred months ago, and did not even occur as you are portraying it.

[Consular]

I don't think starting this argument again has any merit.

[Ambroscus Koth]

I'd rather see an argument than snipes and vague accusations.

[Cormac Stark]

I don't think starting this argument again has any merit.

I would tend to agree, so it's extremely unfortunate that both of them spent the bulk of their interviews starting it up again. They can't expect the people they're sniping at in their interviews not to respond.

[Consular]

I'm not sure what else the Oracle was expecting to get from approaching them to be honest.

[Todd McCloud]

Regardless, the fair went well, those who did serve on the committee were pretty candid about how surprised they were and who they were not happy about - not Kris and Cere. We had hoped to combine the two groups, but that was not to be. The interest was not reciprocated, so we decided to honor their request of not being a part of it. That's about it.

All that said, those who did contribute put their noses to the grindstone and put together a very strong fair. I am proud of the men and women who worked together to make this fair a positive impact in 2015 for NationStates. It was a privilege working with them, and those who did serve certainly did not do it out of a necessity to "own" the fair or whatever - they did it knowing there was baggage but also that it needed to be done and that they had the capacity to work together and put together a strong product.

Also, it seems this article was only meant to kind of stir the pot... but I'm going to turn the burner off and let things settle down.

We'll meet again in '16!

[Cormac Stark]

I'm not sure what else the Oracle was expecting to get from approaching them to be honest.

I don't think anyone could have anticipated they would still be whining about it like school children several months later. It isn't the Oracle's fault that Kris and Cere lack the maturity to withstand even the mildest criticism and objection, most of which wasn't even directed at them.