What made you discover NS, and why did you decide to stay?

[Mornicoder]

I'll start. I discovered NS while searching about "Country Simulator" when I was bored, and stayed for the trading cards, F7, the community aspect of the site, etc.

[South Reinkalistan]

I remember watching a video on really small unrecognised "microstates" -- essentially, they were one or two people who'd decided to declare their own nation. These people still paid taxes and to all intents and purposes lived normal lives, they just also enjoyed pretending to be national leaders occasionally. They even had a cool little convention occasionally. I liked it -- it seemed cool. Naturally, I decided to go the low-effort route and look for ways I could make my own """nation""", and promptly discovered NationStates. I created my first nation, something along the lines of "Crosatistan". After losing interest and letting it CTE, I decided to create a new nation - South Reinkalistan. I stayed for the issues, really. I was an issues player for wayyyy too long, and then I jumped down the RP rabbithole.

[Green October Z]

My friends told me about it.

[The Libertarian States]

The paintbrush did a video on it

[Dumb Ideologies]

Mostly to leak the plans of some people at school to invade communist regions so none of their attacks ever succeeded.

I could have had an antiquity nation, but I stayed away from the forums with my first few nations because I thought everyone seemed too clever, which may have been a slight misunderstanding.

[Infected Mushroom]

My school librarian recommended it.

He allowed/encouraged me and my friends to play with it in the library during school breaks. Games were banned in school but he said this game was educational.

I created my first NS nation more than 14 years ago I think.

At the time I was interested in game side only.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

A past acquaintance linked me to it. Stayed for reasons. *shrug*

[The Sladerstan]

Googled "Create your own country"
Was first interested in issues, and then I was banned from another website that I spent all day on, so I stayed active here. My politics then and now are very different. I still remain social conservative, but just about everything else changed. Came in a generic paleoconservative, came out with my own ideology.

[New Kvenland]

Had a micronational phase when I was 13, stumbled upon this site and stuck around to write. Still not sure if it was a good idea or not

[Honeydewistania]

I was interested in micronations so I looked up games in which I could do so and I found NS and Politics and War. P&W really stank and I kept getting invaded so I concentrated on issues until my old region got invaded and I was aware of the gameplay sphere which was much more interesting to me so I stayed.

[Icemeria]

Paintbrush got me into it and I am loving it

[Mizialand]

I was searching about "United Nations Type Games" on Google back in 2011. Then I stumbled upon NS. At first, I limited myself to the gameside as I could not much understand the Forums (since I was only 13 back then). In 2012 I started exploring the forums - starting with WA and General and then gradually moving to FAN&I and II. I was quite active till 2014 posting at least once a day but then life happened.

I reckon that NS is the only thing I have been committed to for so long probably because there aren't any "winners" or "losers" here. I like its sandbox type nature wherein through conciliation and consensus with other players one can engage in Role Plays. Also the past few years haven't treated me quite well and NS has been a kind of escape. Though I haven't been able to devote as much time as I'd like to, at times I like to think what Mizialand would be like if it were a real country. While my earlier focus has been on GE&T, I am now focussing on world building and further integration of Mizialand with the region, but again that has been slow due to pressing RL obligations.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

The cheques I get from Russia and China, the minibar which opens out the side of my computer when I sign in, the nubile youngsters continually trying to get my attention, and of course the sense of doing some good in the world, every time I humiliate a right-winger.

Actually I don't fucking know. Just addicted to it I guess.

[The Zravvisk]

Found it through Tvtropes and got interested. Stayed because of the forum games on F7 and the occasional rp.

[The Liberated Territories]

I'm a masochist who enjoys debating economics and philosophy with 14 year old communists.

[Dominant Oppressors]

I found it through a youtube video by Andrew Andrews (IBXtoycat is his more popular channel), I stayed for the community I had built in my region and the people I had interacted with via NS, as well as the other aspects of the game

[The Blaatschapen]

I saw it in a signature while lurking on ancient Europa Universalis (Paradox) forums back in 2002.

[-Astoria]

Someone recommended it to me on an online game nearly seven years ago [said person's nation was something to do with the word Herbshire].

This was back when I was just a year under 13, & I had no knowledge of the forum threshold; as I mainly spent my time on the GE&T forum application threads.

It didn't last long as I plagiarised whole factbooks from other people - so much so that if you try to access most of those dispatches, all you get is a note saying "I stole it, mods removed it & I should apologise".

Fast-forward 5 years later, & I pretty much only stay on for the F7 threads; occasionally exploring NSG threads.

[Albrenia]

I was looking for free internet games with character customisation and somehow ended up here, and made two nations. The first of which I quickly abandoned and the second of which has been mine for a while now.

Stayed for the conversation, and have learned quite a bit from the people here who are considerably more knowledgeable about political theory than I am, yet still allow me to voice my opinions.

I find myself liking most of you folks too, for whatever reason.

[Purple Rats]

I joined for the game part- issues and seeing the outcome of that, but I didn't know then that you get issues only few in a day. I already thought to leave it again, but I got stuck in forum, and now I visit the site more because of it, and all the "game" part is just bonus.

I have love-hate feeling about it. Sometimes it's really eye-opening, educating or just interesting. Sometimes it's frustrating and I have even taken "rest" from it: forum-free days.

[Nu Alaska]

Don't remember exactly what I searched, but I was looking for nation simulation games of some kind. This one intrigued me most, and I stayed. Funnily enough the actual 'game' doesn't really interest me. I'm more here for the opportunity to write stuff and for the forums.

[Green October Z]

Mostly to leak the plans of some people at school to invade communist regions so none of their attacks ever succeeded.

I could have had an antiquity nation, but I stayed away from the forums with my first few nations because I thought everyone seemed too clever, which may have been a slight misunderstanding.

Slight misunderstanding is an understatement

[Stellar Colonies]

I was looking for something along the lines of HOI4. Found this instead.

Send help, I'm unable to leave

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

I was looking for something along the lines of HOI4. Found this instead.

Send help, I'm unable to leave

Welcome to the Hotel California.

[Green October Z]

I was looking for something along the lines of HOI4. Found this instead.

Send help, I'm unable to leave

Face it, you will be here forever