[Draft] Breakable Blenders Being Bought from Abroad

[Pangurstan]

Title: Breakeable Blenders Being Bought From Abroad

Validity: Consequence of 105, option 2

Description: Even though stricter manufacturing laws have been introduced, items that don’t comply with the regulations are still sold in @@NAME@@. This is because corporations have discovered a legal loophole: only items made in @@NAME@@ must comply with the new laws.

Option 1: “According to the law,” begins corporate lawyer @@RANDOMNAME_1@@ in a monotonous voice, “all items manufactured in @@NAME@@ must comply with minimum safety standards, which are as follows, etc. It never says that items imported into the country have to comply with the law. Therefore it does not apply to our products.”

Effect: cheap imported toasters toast their owners instead of bread

Option 2: “What!” shouts your aide @@RANDOMNAME_2@@ as @@HE@@ quickly opens a binder full of legal documents. “I don’t think that’s what it — by the love of Violet it does say that!” @@He@@ turns to you and says “You have to change this law! It’s just a simple amendment to the law, so it won’t be too much trouble.”

Effect: only items that can survive a nuclear blast can be sold in @@NAME@@

Option 3: “It seems to me the problem is importing items.” states @@RANDOMNAME_3@@, who is wearing a hat with a “Made in @@NAME@@” sticker on it. “What if you banned imports? Then we could avoid low quality imports.“ As he leaves, you notice that the “Made in @@NAME@@” sticker has a smaller sticker on it that says “Made in Dàgúo.”

Effect: laissez-faire economists in @@REGION@@ often have nightmares involving refrigerators (Establishes “Autarky” policy)

Title: Breakable Blenders Being Bought from Abroad

Validity: Consequence of 105, option 2

Description: After kitchen appliances that violated safety regulations started appearing in @@Name@@, there has been a hunt for their source. It has been recently discovered that the malfunctioning microwaves were manufactured in Dàgúo, and the retailers claim that therefore the safety regulations don’t apply.

Option 1: “According to the law,” begins corporate lawyer @@Randomname_1@@ in a monotonous voice, “all items manufactured in @@Name@@ must comply with minimum safety standards, which are as follows, etc. It never says that items imported into the country have to comply with the law. Therefore it does not apply to our products.”

Effect: cheap imported toasters toast their owners instead of bread

Option 2: “What!” shouts your aide @@Randomname_2@@ as @@He@@ quickly opens a binder full of legal documents. “I don’t think that’s what it — by the love of Violet it does say that!” @@He@@ turns to you and says “You have to change this law! It’s just a simple amendment to the law, so it won’t be too much trouble.”

Effect: only items that can survive a nuclear blast can be sold in @@Name@@

Option 3: “It seems to me the problem is importing items.” states @@Randomname_3@@, who is wearing a hat with a “Made in @@Name” sticker on it. “What if you banned imports? Then we could avoid low quality imports.“ As he leaves, you notice that the “Made in @@Name@@” sticker has a smaller sticker on it that says “Made in Dàgúo.”

Effect: laissez-faire economists in @@Region@@ often have nightmares involving refrigerators (Establishes “Autarky” policy)

Title: Breakable Blenders Being Bought from Abroad

Issue Validity: Does not have no internet policy, has safety regulations

Description: After kitchen appliances that violated safety regulations started appearing in @@Nation@@, there has been a hunt for their source. Today, it has been discovered that they have been sold by the popular e-commerce site Amazoom. Unfortunately, Amazoom is based out of the United Federations, meaning that @@DemonymAdjective@@ regulations don’t apply.

Option 1: “You must ban these products!” says @@Randomname_1@@, a famous WhoTuber who reviews kitchen appliances. “Just yesterday, I was reviewing a toaster when it exploded! The toaster was underwater and the slots were filled with batteries, but that doesn’t matter. Perhaps if you increased customs checks and required all imported items comply with @@DemonymAdjective safety regulations.”

Effect: the only thing that can be imported into @@Nation@@ is sand

Option 2: Surely there must be a better way,” says @@Randomname_2@@, the CEO of Amazoom. “More government regulation is unneeded. If you provide subsidies for products that don’t break, then people will be incentivized to sell high-quality products.”

Effect: the government pays 1 @@Currency@@ for every layer of bubble wrap packages are shipped in

Option 3: “It seems to me that the problem is the internet,” says renowned Luddite @@Randomname_3@@. “We didn’t have problems like this before these darned machines took over the retail industry. I say we get rid of them!”

Effect: exploding batteries can only be bought in person

Title: Badly-made blenders and bigoted bumper stickers

Issue Validity: Does not have ‘no internet’

Description: After a series of scandals involving poorly made kitchen appliances and racist souvenir postcards appearing on the popular online retailer Amazoom, a group of online shoppers and social justice activists have appeared in your office to request more government regulation of online products.

Option 1: “You must ban these products!” says @@Randomname_1@@, a famous WhoTuber who reviews kitchen appliances. “Just yesterday, I was reviewing a toaster when it exploded! The toaster was underwater and the slots were filled with batteries, but that doesn’t matter.” A second person shouts “They were selling postcards with a picture of the genocidal Bigtopian dictator @@Randomname_2@@!”

Effect: Nothing more controversial or breakable than concrete bricks is sold in @@Nation@@

Option 2: “Surely there must be a better way,” says @@Randomname_3@@, the CEO of Amazoom. “What if we removed the products in question from our site? At the very least, we could mark them as low-quality items. Just say the word, and we’ll get to work!”

Effect: books critical of publishing CEOs are stamped “Liar, liar, pants on fire”

Option 3: “If the people don’t like what we sell, then they don’t have to buy it,” exclaims @@Randomname_4@@, a creator of the forementioned goods. “We have a right to sell what we want, and that shouldn’t be interfered with by these snowflakes!”

Effect: the nation’s racist souvenirs break too easily to be internationally known

Option 4: “It seems to me that the problem is the internet,” says renowned Luddite @@Randomname_5@@. “We didn’t have problems like this before these darned machines took over the retail industry. I say we get rid of them!”

Effect: handbags stereotyping minorities have to be bought in person in @@Name@@ (Establishes no internet policy)

[The Transmondian Commonwealth]

I don't think the defective products and the racist bumper stickers belong together in one issue. A defective product is a different issue from an offensive product.

[Australian rePublic]

I think an interesting angle to take here would be if Amazoom was based in a different country

[Pangurstan]

Draft 2 is published now. It has morphed into a sequel for issue #105, so should I take out the part about online retail?

[Baggieland]

It has morphed into a sequel for issue #105

If you wish it to be a consequence, then in the validity line just write: consequence issue 105, option 2.

Everything else that is currently in the validity line can go.

Also, all your macros are wrong. Have a look in the 'how to write an issue' thread, and see if you can improve them.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Description: After kitchen appliances that violated safety regulations started appearing in @@Nation@@, there has been a hunt for their source. Today, it has been discovered that they have been sold by the popular e-commerce site Amazoom. Unfortunately, Amazoom is based out of the United Federations, meaning that @@DemonymAdjective@@ regulations don’t apply.

The underlined parts don't belong in an objective narration, I'd suggest rephrasing them. For example:

However, Amazoom is based out of the United Federation, and they claim that @@DEMONYM@@ regulations don't apply to them.

I'd note though that the premise is kind of ridiculous, as every international business ever has had to respect the laws of the nations in trades in. It's not a believable issue for an international corporation to claim that it's above the law of the nations it is selling to.

[Pangurstan]

I'd note though that the premise is kind of ridiculous, as every international business ever has had to respect the laws of the nations in trades in. It's not a believable issue for an international corporation to claim that it's above the law of the nations it is selling to.

I think the premise is better now, and makes more sense. Can issue #105 be interpreted in this way? I think option 2 is vague enough for it to only apply to products manufactured in the country, but it’s kind of borderline.

Also, all your macros are wrong. Have a look in the 'how to write an issue' thread, and see if you can improve them.

I think they’re fixed now.

[Baggieland]

I think the premise is better now, and makes more sense. Can issue #105 be interpreted in this way?

For this to be a consequence from 105, I think the intro needs changing.

Description: After kitchen appliances that violated safety regulations started appearing in @@Name@@, there has been a hunt for their source. It has been recently discovered that the malfunctioning microwaves were manufactured in Dàgúo, and the retailers claim that therefore the safety regulations don’t apply.

I suggest something like:

Since stricter manufacturing laws were introduced, corporate lawyers have discovered a legal loophole: only goods manufactured in @@NAME@@ are bound by these rules... (and take it from there).

I think they’re fixed now.

Nah, everything needs to be capitalised: @@NAME@@, @@HE@@, etc.

[Pangurstan]

Draft 4 is up! This should fix the macros, and the description. I think it’s almost ready to submit.

[Baggieland]

I think it’s almost ready to submit.

It's only been up for five days. Most issues are in GI for at least two weeks before they get submitted. Remember, not everyone is on here 24/7, someone who has been away for a bit might take a look at this and give a really good suggestion.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Description: Even though stricter manufacturing laws have been introduced, items that don’t comply with the regulations are still sold in @@NAME@@. This is because corporations have discovered a legal loophole: only items made in @@NAME@@ must comply with the new laws.

This premise still seems extraordinarily unlikely.

While we can and do make assumptions about @@NAME@@, we generally avoid dictating assumptions that would characterise them as being an outlier nation. In the real world, I don't think there's any nation that waives domestic quality standards for imported goods -- if anything, it's normally the case that imported goods are MORE stringently examined.

For sure, there are reported problems of low quality manufacturing passing undetected into a nation, but normally these things are dealt with as soon as they are detected, and this happens on a law enforcement rather than a legislation level.

[Trotterdam]

I think "your foreign laws don't apply to us" situations are more likely to come up with stuff like worker laws. If a foreign company uses low-paid sweatshop labor to produce nonetheless-adequate products, then an importer might just decide that those products pass local quality control laws and not look too much into their origins.

Though that sounds like something we might have an issue about already? I know we already have an issue about similar situation with environmental laws rather than labor laws, anyway.

[Australian rePublic]

No. That's not how this works. No government would be stupid enough to choose option 1- not only does it circumvent the law, but it also actively demotes local manufacturing. No government is that stupid. Besides, that's not how it works. You can easily ban importation of unsafe products. What you need to do is set up a website based overseas. Operate legally in your home country, and then sell dodgy products to @@NAME@@. You're operating outside of @@NAME@@'s jurisdiction, so @@NAME@@ can't prosecute you, but also, you're not selling illegal substances, so the government can't confescate them and/or prosecute the buyer.

Let's say there's a Dagou brand toaster, Delli Welli. Delli Welli toasters are faulty. As such, the importation of Delli Welli toasters is banned. Okay, so someone wants a Delli Welli toaster. They go on Aladdin.com. It's legal to buy products to buy products from aladdin, in fact, many people buy products from aladdin to sell in their shops. You want to buy a Delli Welli toaster. You don't plan to sell the toaster in your shop (which can be cracked down upon), you plan to keep the toaster for yourself. You make a legal transaction buying a legal appliance, a toaster, from a legal platform. The toaster, however, does not meet safety regulations. It's also not illegal to own Delli Welli toasters it's just illegal to sell them commercially. Seller doesn't care, because their based overseas and don't care about @@NAME@@'s law. That's your dilemma. Or if you don't want tangible goods (as you can simply ban sales from Aladdin.com), you can look at Australia's Google-Viagogo controversy, where viagogo are selling illegitimate, unusable tickets, and there's nothing Australia can do about it, because we're too small for anyone to take seriously (I know this first hand, thanks Google). Which brings me to my next point, this issue would work best in small countries that noone cares about. Big countries are generally taken seriously, or, alternately, with a website like Google who care very little for the rule of law until absolutely necassery