NationStates issue results

[TalAkMaChen]

#1317,1

practically perfect royal toddlers tend to say "regrettably not at this juncture" rather than "no"

[TalAkMaChen]

It seems you overlooked the full expanse of #1318.

About #1318: Those options are not 1-4 but 1, 2, 3/4/5, and 7 -- so there is (at least) one more.
To explain:
Option 3 = Option 4 = Option 5

So are the effect lines. No clue why they are split up into three (or even four if the sixth is another copy of the same) options.

Also I found a fifth option for #590 which gives the same effect as optino 4 (just the socialist version).

[TalAkMaChen]

#1319,2

birth announcements often also serve as death announcements

[Typica]

Hi trotterdam,
Much enjoying the data you're sharing, though I hope I may ask a small addition.
Could you, in addition to the mean value, also provide the standard deviation?
Please please please?

[Trotterdam]

Hi trotterdam,
Much enjoying the data you're sharing, though I hope I may ask a small addition.
Could you, in addition to the mean value, also provide the standard deviation?
Please please please?

Unfortunately, this is not data I have been tracking.

I don't actually store all observed data points in my database (that would reach ridiculous sizes!), only the minimum data point, maximum data point, sum of all data points, and total number of data points. Whenever a new data point is added, I can easily update all four values without needing to store the data point individually. Mean is then calculated as sum divided by total number. This simplicity is really why I'm even displaying the mean, rather than the median, which would probably be a more useful number but harder to track.

As it turns out, there does exist a similar method for keeping a running tally of standard deviation without needing to store all data points (which I wasn't previously aware of!), but it would still require tracking a variable (sum of squares of data points) that I do not currently have in my database, meaning I would have to completely erase all my data and start over tracking from scratch.

Furthermore, I feel that too much data would just lead to clutter and make the information harder to read. The minimum and maximum values are already intended to give a sense of how much variation there is, and I feel that they are more intuitive to people without a deep understanding of statistics than standard deviation would be. Even some statisticians criticize standard deviation as a counterintuitive and misleading value. I think even the mean isn't that great of a value to display, it's just easier to track than other comparable values that would be more useful.

(One - well, two values I sometimes regret not originally coding my program to track are "percentage of data points below zero" and "percentage of data points above zero", which would be fairly easy to track, but would still require starting from scratch because they can't be derived from the current data, and would still have the concern of taking up more space on an already-somewhat-hard-to-read list.)

[TalAkMaChen]

#1321, 1

rumor has it that @@LEADER@@ has won three lotteries in a row

#1321,2

lottery winners spend most of their money on security

[TalAkMaChen]

#96,2 is the same as #96,1 .. just for nations without cars.

[Trotterdam]

Due to this (happened to me too!), all Civil Rights data will be purged soon. Not yet, because Eluvatar does not appear to have fixed for all nations it yet. Until then, note that the Civil Rights info in the next update (about an hour from now) will be bogus.

[TalAkMaChen]

1322,4

the first test of a good kindergartener is the quality of the sponge-baths they give

[TalAkMaChen]

1323:

1323,1 the new one @@CURRENCY@@ coin also makes a handy throwing-star
1323,2 the newest East Lebatuckese coins have "long live East Lebatuck" on heads and "death to @@NAME@@" on tails
1323,3 East Lebatuckese luxury goods are plundered by the working class of @@NAME@@

[TalAkMaChen]

1324

2: school lockers are filled with fancy underwear
3: a common response to government PSAs is "well, DUH, obviously"

[TalAkMaChen]

Want to know what an option will do before you choose it? Well, now you can.
... An option that is limited to WA members, though, such as #1015 1, can't benefit from this loophole and are still untrackable.) ...

This statement can also be removed/marked by strike, since #1015 was changed from WA to @@REGION@@ Criminal Court, and thus open to all nations. Or are there more such? I didn't notice so far, but my check of issue texts is "only" complete to 93.6%.

Also, what's a good delay between answering issues when your collector shall be able to "digest" the changes properly? A few minutes, 5, 10, more?

[Trotterdam]

This statement can also be removed/marked by strike, since #1015 was changed from WA to @@REGION@@ Criminal Court, and thus open to all nations. Or are there more such? I didn't notice so far, but my check of issue texts is "only" complete to 93.6%.

...Which you posted back last year? Maybe you should poke Jutsa.

I kept the text but amended it to establish that it's currently only theoretical.

The other option that might qualify is #1168 3. However, I've somehow acquired exactly one data point on that (which shouldn't be possible if it's really WA-exclusive, as I've assumed it probably is, unless there's a glitch), so I'm not sure what's up. At the same time, the rest of the issue also has unusually few data points (which also suggests a narrow validity, possibly was-in-the-WA-and-left or possibly something else), but not quite as few as that one option. So it could be anything at this point.

Also, what's a good delay between answering issues when your collector shall be able to "digest" the changes properly? A few minutes, 5, 10, more?

Theoretically, it depends on the server load. If a lot of people are answering issues at once, my program can get distracted checking on all of them, and take a while to get back to yours. However in practice, that's pretty rare, and a mere 1 minute should be enough most of the time, though I prefer to wait somewhat longer "just to be safe". 10 minutes should be more than enough time even during a worst-case scenario (barring major server lag/downtime, in which case you just won't be answering a lot of issues anyway).

[TalAkMaChen]

Aye, I reported a lot and keep adding to the last such post (last entry on page 249). However, Jutsa more than once mentioned not having sufficient time to edit all posts (and the wiki, too, I guess). He also asked for help but I have no idea how that should work, since only he and forum staff can edit Jutsa's posts.

Okay, about 1-2 minutes is fair. Then I don't need to cycle through all the puppies which takes significantly longer than 10 minutes (due to the issue checking). Always happy to help there!

[Trotterdam]

Well, cycling through all the puppets is recommended if you have them, because you were going to do that anyway. If you have lots of puppets then answering an issue on puppet 1, then on puppet 2, then on puppet 3, etc. and then on puppet 1 again is more efficient than waiting around doing nothing except checking the clock.

Of course, it's not a huge disaster if a data point gets discarded once or twice. I get lots.

[TalAkMaChen]

The other option that might qualify is #1168 3. However, I've somehow acquired exactly one data point on that (which shouldn't be possible if it's really WA-exclusive, as I've assumed it probably is, unless there's a glitch), so I'm not sure what's up. At the same time, the rest of the issue also has unusually few data points (which also suggests a narrow validity, possibly was-in-the-WA-and-left or possibly something else), but not quite as few as that one option. So it could be anything at this point.

Ah! Indeed I noticed that option 3 missing in my list. So it might be for other long-lost options (like 910.3 or 1206.2) .. for that case I now created a WA nation, maybe I'll catch any of those exclusive issues.

[TalAkMaChen]

Update on some missing/changed options:
#204,2 is missing, listed are 1+3+4
#366 changed and was shuffled around with.
Option 1: unchanged
Option 2: replaced by listed Option 3
Option 3: replaced by listed Option 4 [Validity: No Conscription]
Option 4: [Validity: Conscription]
So lines 3+4 are the same, while 2 is "alone" now.
The appropriate option texts will be added to my last "things to change" post later today.

[TalAkMaChen]

#1329,3

posh kids don't look down on the poor any more

[TalAkMaChen]

#1330,1

family trees become bare as entire branches are lopped off

#1330,3

the people's love for @@LEADER@@ is little more than self-preservation

Poor people.

#1330,4

Big Brother is still watching even when your big brother is dead

[TalAkMaChen]

I wish I could already add to 1330,2 but surely someone will choose that one someday.
However, 1306,4 can be united with option 5. Both have the same line, while option 4 is for nations that already allow immigration and the fifth option removes that policy.

[TalAkMaChen]

1331, 1

power stations shutting down at night has made bedtime reading tricky

1331,2

aeroplane cockpits no longer have altimeters or airspeed indicators

1332, 5

public executions just aren't the cheery spectacles they once were

[TalAkMaChen]

1333, 1+2

recognizing the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ flag qualifies you for citizenship

1333,4

engaged partners detail their fiancés' private lives in detail to prurient bureaucrats

1333,6

you can get married in sickness and in health but not internationally

[TalAkMaChen]

Note on 1333: Each of the three effects appear on two options (1+2, 3+4, 5+6). No clue why also the last one is double, since there's no difference for macros or the likes. Also no visible policy change. That being said, you may add 5+6 for the last effect line, not just 5.

[TalAkMaChen]

1335,1

flight attendants rip down curtains with revolutionary fervor

1335,2

the rich and poor vomit into separate bags

1335,3

humble workers tempt fate for a taste of airline caviar

[TalAkMaChen]

Long time no posting here!
1338,3 is

exiled racists are enjoying their retirement in exotic lands