[ISSUE CHAIN] @@CAPITAL@@gate

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:10 pm

Here's a separate thread for this new issue chain. Hopefully others can post their findings on the chain so I can consolidate them into the OP here.

Thanks to people in the Issues Megathread, we now have the title and full text of every issue in an easy-to-access archive! There is still much to be done on mapping the paths between these issues, though.

List of issues in @@CAPITAL@@gate
Issue #789- @@CAPITAL@@gate (Chain Start)
Issue #790- The Art of The Distraction
Issue #791- The Smoking Gun?
Issue #792- Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Issue #793- Knock Knock. Who’s There? Not You Anymore!
Issue #794- Fear And Loathing In @@CAPITAL@@
Issue #795- Lock Him Up!
Issue #796- It's Dangerous To Go Alone!
Issue #797- Yesterday's News (Chain End)

Chain structure
Thanks to Trotterdam's diligent efforts, we now have a complete map of the chain! This isn't definite yet, so please report any errors that you find.

by **Fauxia** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:15 pm

I'll get you the name of 790 in a moment. According to my puppet's notices, it's "The Art of Distraction"

789.1 leads to 790. Something on 790 leads to 793

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:47 pm

Fauxia wrote:I'll get you the name of 790 in a moment. According to my puppet's notices, it's "The Art of Distraction"

789.1 leads to 790. Something on 790 leads to 793

Added. Thanks.

by **Fauxia** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:50 pm

Phydios wrote:
Fauxia wrote:I'll get you the name of 790 in a moment. According to my puppet's notices, it's "The Art of Distraction"

789.1 leads to 790. Something on 790 leads to 793

Added. Thanks.

Presumably 789.2 leads to 791, but we can't be so sure. Also, you didn't add the name of 790 on the top post.

Furthermore, you should probably leave hyperlinks to where the information comes from.

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:00 pm

Fauxia wrote:
Phydios wrote:Added. Thanks.
Presumably 789.2 leads to 791, but we can't be so sure. Also, you didn't add the name of 790 on the top post.

Furthermore, you should probably leave hyperlinks to where the information comes from.

Good idea. Updated.

by **Fauxia** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:11 pm

Phydios wrote:
Fauxia wrote:Presumably 789.2 leads to 791, but we can't be so sure. Also, you didn't add the name of 790 on the top post.

Furthermore, you should probably leave hyperlinks to where the information comes from.

Good idea. Updated.

Also, apologies for not being clear here. A)Garjohnia is my puppet, and b)I'm not saying 792 leads to 790. I think I misunderstood you and then you further misunderstood me.

What I meant was 790 lead to 793. Sorry

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:13 pm

Fauxia wrote:
Phydios wrote:Good idea. Updated.
Also, apologies for not being clear here. A)Garjohnia is my puppet, and b)I'm not saying 792 leads to 790. I think I misunderstood you and then you further misunderstood me.

What I meant was 790 lead to 793. Sorry

Oh, okay. Thanks for the clarification. Updated.

by **Tinhampton** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:29 pm

There also exists an issue #797, entitled "Yesterday's News". You get #797 if you choose Option 1 on Issue #793 (which has four options, not three

). It appears that this ends the chain, but I'm not entirely sure.

by **Fauxia** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:56 pm

Tinhampton wrote:There also exists an issue #797, entitled "Yesterday's News". You get #797 if you choose Option 1 on Issue #793 (which has four options, not three ). It appears that this ends the chain, but I'm not entirely sure.

So my puppet is going to get Issue 797 in half an hour?

by **Garjohnia** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:46 pm

Correct. I took option 1 on 793 and got 797, "Yesterday's News"

The story so far

It has been some time since the @@CAPITAL@@gate scandal, and many are reflecting on what the scandal’s place in @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ history should be.

The Issue

The @@CAPITAL@@ District Schoolboard has decided to update their @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ History course to include recent events, including the @@CAPITAL@@gate scandal. The scandal is still fresh in people’s memory, and those who were involved in the scandal have their own ideas on how it should be taught in schools.

The Debate

1. “The lesson from history is absolute power corrupts absolutely, and government cannot be trusted,” points out Barry Maxman, whose new novel chronicling @@CAPITAL@@gate recently topped the best seller list. “@@CAPITAL@@gate was about unchecked corruption, censorship, and your gross incompetence. We must remember @@CAPITAL@@gate, to make sure that no other person is intimidated the way I was. That should be its legacy.”
2. “The lesson from history is the free press safeguards democracy,” reminds media baron Mike Ives, handing out free newspapers to everyone in the room. “If it weren’t for the media, we might never have found out about the government’s shady dealings. @@CAPITAL@@gate reminds us that the free press must be protected at all costs, otherwise a dictatorship just might be around the corner.”
3. “The lesson from history is that democracy is the best form of government, for all others have been tried,” states your sister, who now works as a democracy advocate throughout @@REGION@@. “This was a healthy reminder that we need to be a nation that freely elects its leaders, and we won’t allow some dictator to walk all over us. You chose the noble path, dear Leader, and we’ll continue to make sure that @@NAME@@ is respected throughout the land!”
4. “The real question is why is this being taught in schools at all?” queries an eager young intern, who literally worships the ground you walk on. “Yeah, @@CAPITAL@@gate isn’t exactly a bright spot in @@NAME@@’s history, but you know some of these teachers will use it as propaganda against you. It’s best if we all simply forgot about it, and ban any teachings or depictions of the scandal from here on out.”

Took option 3. Fallout: The nation is regarded as a paragon of democracy.

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:41 pm

Tinhampton wrote:There also exists an issue #797, entitled "Yesterday's News". You get #797 if you choose Option 1 on Issue #793 (which has four options, not three ). It appears that this ends the chain, but I'm not entirely sure.

Thanks. Is #797 actually marked as part of the chain, or is it just an related issue (like an epilogue)? Also, do you have the text for all #793 options? I didn't see one of them.

Garjohnia wrote:Correct. I took option 1 on 793 and got 797, "Yesterday's News"
The story so far

It has been some time since the @@CAPITAL@@gate scandal, and many are reflecting on what the scandal’s place in @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ history should be.

The Issue

The @@CAPITAL@@ District Schoolboard has decided to update their @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ History course to include recent events, including the @@CAPITAL@@gate scandal. The scandal is still fresh in people’s memory, and those who were involved in the scandal have their own ideas on how it should be taught in schools.

The Debate

1. “The lesson from history is absolute power corrupts absolutely, and government cannot be trusted,” points out Barry Maxman, whose new novel chronicling @@CAPITAL@@gate recently topped the best seller list. “@@CAPITAL@@gate was about unchecked corruption, censorship, and your gross incompetence. We must remember @@CAPITAL@@gate, to make sure that no other person is intimidated the way I was. That should be its legacy.”
2. “The lesson from history is the free press safeguards democracy,” reminds media baron Mike Ives, handing out free newspapers to everyone in the room. “If it weren’t for the media, we might never have found out about the government’s shady dealings. @@CAPITAL@@gate reminds us that the free press must be protected at all costs, otherwise a dictatorship just might be around the corner.”
3. “The lesson from history is that democracy is the best form of government, for all others have been tried,” states your sister, who now works as a democracy advocate throughout @@REGION@@. “This was a healthy reminder that we need to be a nation that freely elects its leaders, and we won’t allow some dictator to walk all over us. You chose the noble path, dear Leader, and we’ll continue to make sure that @@NAME@@ is respected throughout the land!”
4. “The real question is why is this being taught in schools at all?” queries an eager young intern, who literally worships the ground you walk on. “Yeah, @@CAPITAL@@gate isn’t exactly a bright spot in @@NAME@@’s history, but you know some of these teachers will use it as propaganda against you. It’s best if we all simply forgot about it, and ban any teachings or depictions of the scandal from here on out.”

Took option 3. Fallout: The nation is regarded as a paragon of democracy.

Thanks!

by **Trotterdam** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:07 pm

Fauxia wrote:I'll get you the name of 790 in a moment. According to my puppet's notices, it's "The Art of Distraction"

Are you sure about the capitalization? Issues usually capitalize every word, though editors sometimes forget that.

Garjohnia wrote:Correct. I took option 1 on 793 and got 797, "Yesterday's News"

Did you check the internal numbering on #797? I'm suspicious, because there are definitely more endpoints for the chain than those four, and I've seen some of the effect lines for not-included-in-the-above options as followups to the same choices that can also be followed up with included-in-the-above options. I suspect that the relevant validity is whether all media is owned by the state.

#796 remains unaccounted for. It's also possible that it's a similar-but-different variant of #797 depending on exactly what you choose, I still think that's somewhat unlikely but I won't know for sure until I have more data.

I'm currently up to 35 options total in the chain. It looks like this includes one issue with 7 options and one issue with 8 options, but as is shown above, there's clearly some doubt over exactly how it's arranged.

Still looks like 8 issues total, 4 visible per playthough, and you need at least 3 playthroughs to see all the issues. You always start and end as the same place, but there's a whole criss-cross in between.

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:25 pm

Trotterdam wrote:Did you check the internal numbering on #797?

Could you tell me how to do that? I used "Inspect Element" in Firefox once to poke around in the HTML for the issue page, but couldn't find any "option" or "choice" identifier for the issue options.

Trotterdam wrote:I'm suspicious, because there are definitely more endpoints for the chain than those four, and I've seen some of the effect lines for not-included-in-the-above options as followups to the same choices that can also be followed up with included-in-the-above options. I suspect that the relevant validity is whether all media is owned by the state.

#796 remains unaccounted for. It's also possible that it's a similar-but-different variant of #797 depending on exactly what you choose, I still think that's somewhat unlikely but I won't know for sure until I have more data.

I'm currently up to 35 options total in the chain. It looks like this includes one issue with 7 options and one issue with 8 options, but as is shown above, there's clearly some doubt over exactly how it's arranged.

Still looks like 8 issues total, 4 visible per playthough, and you need at least 3 playthroughs to see all the issues. You always start and end as the same place, but there's a whole criss-cross in between.

Out of curiosity, how are you getting this data? Do you have some massive data-mining operation using puppets, are you scouring the whole NS world for relevant effect lines, or something else? I'm just confused about how you seem to know a lot more than any other non-staff member. It could be useful.

by **Australian rePublic** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:28 pm

So what's your issue about, specifically?

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:31 pm

Australian Republic wrote:So what's your issue about, specifically?

What do you mean? We aren't drafting anything here. We're gathering data on the newest published issue chain: a story about a scandal rocking your nation's government.

by **Australian rePublic** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:35 pm

Phydios wrote:
Australian Republic wrote:So what's your issue about, specifically?

What do you mean? We aren't drafting anything here. We're gathering data on the newest published issue chain: a story about a scandal rocking your nation's government.

Wait, there's a new chain?

by **The Candy Of Bottles** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:40 pm

#790: The Art Of The Distraction

The Story So Far

The @@CAPITAL@@gate scandal has gone viral, and you have decided to distance yourself from the people involved.

The Issue

The @@CAPITAL@@gate scandal continues to be front page news. Facing continued scrutiny and criticism, several of your closest Cabinet ministers and aides have suggested doing something to distract the people from @@CAPITAL@@gate.

The Debate

“The people are clearly angry because we haven’t gone far enough!” exclaims Gordon MacGruber while continually squeezing a stress ball. “Dismiss anyone involved in the scandal from their posts, and don’t stop there. Take a stand by prosecuting the corrupt career politicians and the lobbyists, and ensure that there’s always a free press to ask tough questions. Once @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ see how none of this was your fault, they’ll surely forgive you! Just make sure you appear sincere in your efforts.”

Accept

“Nothing distracts the people more than a good dosage of fear from an even bigger enemy,” reminds your Minister of Defense, while quickly leafing through a book entitled Political Corruption For Dummies. “You’ve read my reports of those pesky East Lebatuckese infiltrating Marche Noir, right? What if we started rumors about something similar happening here? We could claim that the East Lebatuckese have agents in @@NAME@@, and we could even come up with some sort of agency to track them down. People will be so scared they’ll turn on each other and forget all about us!”

Accept

“I hate to say ‘I told you so,’ but I told you so!” rebuffs Propaganda Ministry aide Virgil van Houten, as he emerges from his hiding spot in your coat closet. “To be honest, the only one who truly understands @@NAME@@ is the person who has been running it. We need to start cracking down hard on the media, protesters, and that pesky Barry Maxman just like I said. It’s obvious that he’s engaged in un-@@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ activities. You come up with some trumped-up charges and I’ll plant the evidence.”

Accept

Dismiss This Issue

Issue by The Free Secular Federation of Nation of Quebec

Edited by Nation of Quebec

I've left the names so others can check for randomness by comparing.

by **Trotterdam** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:09 pm

Phydios wrote:Could you tell me how to do that? I used "Inspect Element" in Firefox once to poke around in the HTML for the issue page, but couldn't find any "option" or "choice" identifier for the issue options.

What I do is go into View Source, and look for something that looks like this:

Code: Select all: <button type="submit" name="choice-0" value="1" class="button big icon approve">Accept</button>

The important part here is the name="choice-0". Note that internal option numbers are offset by one, so choice-0 is the first option, choice-1 is the second option, etc. choice--1 (that's a hyphen folowed by a minus sign) is dismissal.

Inspect Element on the Accept button should give the same information. Look for the "name" attribute.

Note that if you have confirmations turned on, the asking-for-confirmation page doesn't display the internal numbers for any option except for the one you chose and need to confirm. So do your inspection before that.

Phydios wrote:Out of curiosity, how are you getting this data? Do you have some massive data-mining operation using puppets, are you scouring the whole NS world for relevant effect lines, or something else? I'm just confused about how you seem to know a lot more than any other non-staff member. It could be useful.

That one. If I had a huge number of puppets, I'd be able to post the actual content of the issues, as well as some other cool stuff that's hard to gather with just a few nations. But I don't like the idea of juggling swarms of "Generic Nation Name 37"s. I'm not even capable of coming up with an uncreative nation name without trying to be creative about it

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:36 pm

Australian Republic wrote:
Phydios wrote:What do you mean? We aren't drafting anything here. We're gathering data on the newest published issue chain: a story about a scandal rocking your nation's government.

Wait, there's a new chain?

Yes, and you're in the middle of a thread all about it, so go ahead and read up. There was also discussion in the Issues Megathread for a week before I made this thread, and that's where you'll find the actual text of the issues that have been found so far. I've not added that to the OP yet.

Trotterdam wrote:What I do is go into View Source, and look for something that looks like this:
Code: Select all
<button type="submit" name="choice-0" value="1" class="button big icon approve">Accept</button>
The important part here is the name="choice-0". Note that internal option numbers are offset by one, so choice-0 is the first option, choice-1 is the second option, etc. choice--1 (that's a hyphen followed by a minus sign) is dismissal.

Inspect Element on the Accept button should give the same information. Look for the "name" attribute.

Note that if you have confirmations turned on, the asking-for-confirmation page doesn't display the internal numbers for any option except for the one you chose and need to confirm. So do your inspection before that.

Thanks! That's extremely helpful.

Trotterdam wrote:That one. If I had a huge number of puppets, I'd be able to post the actual content of the issues, as well as some other cool stuff that's hard to gather with just a few nations. But I don't like the idea of juggling swarms of "Generic Nation Name 37"s. I'm not even capable of coming up with an uncreative nation name without trying to be creative about it

That's quite the dedication. I'm impressed. But how do you distinguish chain effect lines from non-chain effect lines, let alone determine how many options each issue has, just from watching the World Activity feed?

by **Trotterdam** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:41 pm

Phydios wrote:That's quite the dedication. I'm impressed. But how do you distinguish chain effect lines from non-chain effect lines, let alone determine how many options each issue has, just from watching the World Activity feed?

Oh, quite easy. Someone posts in here that there's a new chain. Then I know to look for it

by **Phydios** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:46 pm

Trotterdam wrote:
Phydios wrote:That's quite the dedication. I'm impressed. But how do you distinguish chain effect lines from non-chain effect lines, let alone determine how many options each issue has, just from watching the World Activity feed?
Oh, quite easy. Someone posts in here that there's a new chain. Then I know to look for it

I don't understand... doesn't one effect line look basically the same as another unless you're already familiar with it? It seems fairly easy to link issue options to their effect lines, but doing the reverse seems nigh-impossible.

by **Trotterdam** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:52 pm

Effect lines always come with a mention of which nation they happened in. Go to that nation, look at its other recent effect lines. Do that on a bunch of nations that got the same effect line, see if you see a pattern.

For example, #788 - which nobody's reported yet - is also about how citizens express disapproval with the government, and some of its effect lines could at first glance be mistaken for part of the chain. But checking them makes it quickly obvious that they're occuring in isolation, so this is just a coincidence.

by **Fauxia** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:41 pm

Trotterdam wrote:
Fauxia wrote:I'll get you the name of 790 in a moment. According to my puppet's notices, it's "The Art of Distraction"
Are you sure about the capitalization? Issues usually capitalize every word, though editors sometimes forget that.

Garjohnia wrote:Correct. I took option 1 on 793 and got 797, "Yesterday's News"
Did you check the internal numbering on #797? I'm suspicious, because there are definitely more endpoints for the chain than those four, and I've seen some of the effect lines for not-included-in-the-above options as followups to the same choices that can also be followed up with included-in-the-above options. I suspect that the relevant validity is whether all media is owned by the state.

#796 remains unaccounted for. It's also possible that it's a similar-but-different variant of #797 depending on exactly what you choose, I still think that's somewhat unlikely but I won't know for sure until I have more data.

I'm currently up to 35 options total in the chain. It looks like this includes one issue with 7 options and one issue with 8 options, but as is shown above, there's clearly some doubt over exactly how it's arranged.

Still looks like 8 issues total, 4 visible per playthough, and you need at least 3 playthroughs to see all the issues. You always start and end as the same place, but there's a whole criss-cross in between.

Your theory about 796 could be correct, but I think it's separate and everyone gets 797 at the end, hence the bunch of options you're thinking of. For example, with Garjohnia, my puppet, I basically fired my entire cabinet. One option was about that, but it's not applicable for other nations that didn't do that.

As for the "internal options" I am inept at computer stuff, and will likely never figure out how to work that.

by **Trotterdam** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:50 pm

Fauxia wrote:As for the "internal options" I am inept at computer stuff, and will likely never figure out how to work that.

See that menu bar at the top? Click "View". Click "Page Source". The exact words may differ by browser, but it should be something along those lines.

At least on mine, Control+U is a shortcut.

by **Fauxia** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:20 pm

Trotterdam wrote:
Fauxia wrote:As for the "internal options" I am inept at computer stuff, and will likely never figure out how to work that.
See that menu bar at the top? Click "View". Click "Page Source". The exact words may differ by browser, but it should be something along those lines.

At least on mine, Control+U is a shortcut.

Right now, I'm on mobile, and I am a good deal, so I don't see the menu bar.

[ISSUE CHAIN] @@CAPITAL@@gate

[ISSUE CHAIN] @@CAPITAL@@gate

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