NationStates Issues **SPOILER ALERT**

[Eshialand]

#1481: Livin’ on a Prayer [Sacara; ed: The Marsupial Illuminati]

The Issue
A church in @@CAPITAL@@ has been acting as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants in danger of being deported. This is because, in accordance with long-standing tradition, members of law enforcement avoid entering places of worship and arresting people while services are ongoing. The church is now on the twentieth day of a marathon service in an attempt to keep a family from facing immediate deportation.

The Debate
0. “This is nothing more than a blatant attempt to keep the laws of @@NAME@@ from being enforced,” sermonizes the Director of @@DEMONYM_ADJECTIVE@@ Border Enforcement, standing over a terrain model of the church and the surrounding area. “We cannot allow these rats to take advantage of our system. This dumb tradition should be scrapped. Just give me the word, and my people will storm the church and apprehend these illegals in a matter of minutes. We’ll also arrest all those who sheltered the family. No one should get away with aiding and abetting criminals, no matter how godly they think they are.”

1. “God will judge you harshly if you let these officers storm a sacred place, since he cares for the homeless, the tempest-tost,” pontificates a clergy member from the church at the crux of the matter. “For the government to forcibly enter our church, interrupt our service, and arrest church members is a violation of our religious freedom. Instead of doing something so evil, this poor family should be granted asylum for all the hardships @@NAME@@ has put them through. Make it easier for people like them to become residents of @@NAME@@.”

2. “Fire and brimstone!” preaches Elena Herod, your Minister for State Security. “These churchgoers need to be taught a lesson. The clergy claim they are following the will of their god by protecting this family, but how can they truly know unless they are able to ask? We can do them a favor and sure as hell send them to whatever higher power they believe in to get a definitive answer. Just imagine this: in a tragic accident, the church burns down, trapping everyone inside an unfortunate, fiery grave. We can pin it on one of those extremist groups.”

I didn't touch the names.

Elena Herod's first name seems to be random (I got Charlotte on my puppet Greater Trumpopolis) but Herod appears to be preset.

[Garden at 6th Mile Road]

Yup, can confirm - I got Velma Herod. ^^

[Rocain Founder]

My post from some days ago on issue #1309.

The spoiler for issue #1309 shows options 3 and 4 as alternatives to each other: 3 for meat-eating nations, and 4 for vegetarian nations. This is incorrect. Puppet Cain A R-E El v1 received this issue with both 3 and 4 as possible choices. Further, while it makes a lot of sense that option 3 is conditional on the absence of vegetarianism, nothing in the text of option 4 seems to have anything to do with meat-eating or the lack thereof. Further, the nation which received option 4 along with option 3 is not vegetarian.

I suggest that option 3 is clearly conditional on meat-eating, but that option 4 is either unconditional, or conditional on some other policy or national attribute not related to meat-eating.

Yet the #1309 spoiler has been edited so that options 3 and 4 are shown as *3 and *4. This is not right. Another puppet of mine, Cain B A-LT v0, has now received #1309 with the same phenomenon of both option 3 and option 4 being present as possible choices. Option 3 should be spoiled as [3], NOT *3. I do not know if option 4 is always present or sometimes absent, but if it is sometimes absent, it must also be [4], not *4. I have this issue flagged, and if any puppet of mine gets the issue with option 4 absent, then there will be information which may allow speculation on what determines whether it is present or not (namely, the policies and history of the nation which gets it). Unless other recent posts I have missed establish that option 4 is sometimes absent, I don't think we have enough information to say whether [4] or just plain old 4 is more accurate for that option.

Since two nations have gotten both 3 and 4, it is not possible that 3 is conditional on meat-eating and 4 is conditional on meat-eating banned. That would make it impossible for both to show up at once, and that is unquestionably happening.

Reconfirming this spoiler mistake. A third puppet of mine, Cain M Cy0 v1 has received this issue today with both options 3 and 4 present. This nation is not Vegetarian.

[Divine Cervine]

Issue #1482: A Crypto for the Comrades? [Krusavich; ed: Pogaria]

A Crypto for the Comrades?

The Issue

The recent craze of cryptocurrencies has taken @@REGION@@ by storm, @@NAME@@ chief among them. However, intense controversy has sprung up among the commissars regarding the impact these digital currencies have on the nation’s staunch socialist principles.

The Debate

1. “What are we to make of these internet coins?” sputters Ashley Merkel, your Minister of Computer Comradeship and Counter-Programming. “Totally detached from our central planning committee, no traceable records of transactions — nothing but a nuisance! The impressionable youth of @@NAME@@ are trading these things for illicit goods, like capitalist skinny jeans and counter-revolutionary DVDs. Cryptocurrency is clearly nothing more than a destabilization tactic by the United Federation to undermine our mighty @@CURRENCY@@! Our path is clear: we must detain and prosecute any citizen handling these subversive cryptocurrencies for the good of the @@TYPE@@!”


2. “That, uh... seems a little extreme,” nervously suggests IT intern Felix Stromburg. “There’s actually a whole variety of cryptocurrencies; not all of them are anonymous like ByteCoin. The real benefit of crypto comes from the sheer versatility of transactions. I can exchange value with the push of a button! No middleman, no fees — just two comrades freely exchanging their labor with one another. And that is what this is all about, right? If we are so worried about the bad side of crypto, why not make our own? A completely transparent open-source cryptocurrency, maintained by the central government, of course. I’m sure no one here would complain about setting up another ministry to run the whole operation.”


3. “Maybe those United Federation dogs have the right idea,” comments Internal Affairs Minister Kitty Burke while using her phone to check her MemeCoin wallet. “The truth of the matter is that these coins demand a lot of computing power before you get anything valuable out of them. Most of these so-called miners only have mom’s laptop to work with — but we have the whole industrial might of @@NAME@@! Not to mention the personal computers of every @@DEMONYMNOUN@@, not that they need to know. A stockpile of these things would make our cadre funding in San Vitenzo harder to trace back to us, that’s for sure.”

Issue by Krusavich
Edited by Pogaria

[Valentine Z]

Issue 1483: The Unkindest Cut [The Marsupial Illuminati; ed: The Marsupial Illuminati]

The Issue
Civil rights groups are calling you to action after journalists discovered that an isolated community in Valentine Z has been conducting female genital cutting on at least one girl every week.

1. TBD

2. “Female circumcision is not harmful,” reads Heather Keating of the Tasmanian immigrant community as her husband stands behind her. “We women organize and perform the ritual, having undergone it ourselves, so it’s not anti-woman. It turns a girl into a proper lady — honorable, clean, and chaste. My daughters would be bullied and without husbands if they weren’t cut. It is impossible for you to change our culture. In fact, trying to impose your values on us as if we were infants or savages is racism. Invest more money in our neighborhoods so we can more efficiently and safely conduct even more circumcisions. Mandate that everyone educate themselves about the benefits of this little procedure.”

3. “Call it what it is — female genital mutilation!” rages activist Zane Rifkin. “These uncivilized, primitive savages are so ignorant! They’re genetically inferior monkeys with low-IQ brains. FGM has zero benefits and leads to so many harmful complications: infections, cysts, urinary problems, fistulae, bleeding, infertility, depression, and problems during pregnancy! That’s just the tip of the iceberg! Make female genital mutilation a crime of the highest order! Police must be allowed to do all they can to prevent and investigate it.”

4. “As much as I appreciate and value other cultures, maybe I can draw the line here,” opines woke woman Maria Zhu. “It’s all well and good if it’s consensual, just like a nose job or breast enhancement, but when it’s done on little girls because your ancestors or your god said so, that’s when I might object! We should make FGM illegal, but let’s not go out of our way to find instances of it happening, as it is a crime that can be easily hidden. Rather, we should spend money on reaching out to these insular communities to educate them and change their attitudes.”

-----

I'll probably add later after work. I can't check anything as of now since I am away from my PC.

[TalAkMaChen]

Some People Never Listen [Terrabod; Candlewhisper Archive]

Caught #1477.

The Issue
Two senior officials caught having affairs, five separate expenses scandals and the leaking of top-secret plans for the Cabinet Secretary’s birthday party is usually more than enough to cover in one public announcement. You were therefore surprised to find that another issue altogether has caught the public’s attention: activists representing the nation’s deaf and hearing-impaired communities have taken you to task over the lack of a Minskievian Sign Language interpreter at your public addresses.

The Debate
1. “Being deaf doesn’t have to be an impairment, so don’t make it one,” signs activist Finnick Smiley, adding a few more vulgar hand gestures that you are sure aren’t official sign language. “Having an interpreter is the least you could do. Deaf people in Minskiev are subject to a harmful mix of preconceptions and ignorance, so it’s about time you listened to us. Perhaps you could also establish a national ‘Deaf Awareness Week’ to celebrate the contributions deaf people have made to society, and to persuade organisations and individuals to bear us in mind.”

2. “I’m not paying for that!” scoffs your Minister of Equality, facing away from the activist to deter lip reading. “I watched an address by the leader of Albionia last month and was thoroughly distracted by a man waving his hands about and pulling faces behind her. She may not have died on stage, but it was a near-deaf experience! If these deaf people really want to know what’s going on, they can watch us on the television and just turn the subtitles on. Automatic closed captioning is getting really good these days, and preserves the dignity of your excellent oratory.”

3. “Speaking to the public is overrated, and clearly a waste of your valuable time,” your crusty Minister of Public Relations whispers, his dry lips all but brushing against your ear. “As long as you do the job well, the people of Minskiev won’t care what goes on behind closed doors. And if things don’t go to plan, well, won’t you be glad you don’t have to talk to them?”

Also note that opt. 2 "“I’m not paying for that!”" has italics (besides the random name in op.1 as Trotterdam already pointed out).

---
As I answered some more issues, here's my new list of "things I've noticed":
1349, opt 3 (looks identical to opt. 2? This is definitely opt.3, I double-checked )
“Okay,” says the owner of the pornographic video website XGerbil. “I just think we all have to accept that this is the way the world is now. Children will manage to get their hands on this stuff no matter what barriers are put up to prevent their access. For example, upon visiting our site, people first have to confirm that they are 18 or older. I never thought that young people would ever lie about it, especially on the internet! There’s no stopping it. Since they’re all gonna find out about sex anyway, I suggest we invest in better sex education and provide free condoms at schools.”
1409, opt 3 "Golden @@ANIMAL@@ winner"
1459, opt 2+3 names/gender are random
1460, descr.: "15 million @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@"
1462, opt 1: " I earned all of this." in italics
1464, opt 2: Not seen at NormanJackson (guess: No Adultery)
1465, descr. "mall in @@capital@@"; opt 2 @@randomfemalename@@;
1468, all random names (I also had a female in opt 2)
1481, opt 3 indeed a random female first name, last name Herod

[Rocain Founder]

Issue #531 has three options, not 2. My puppet Cain B O-Au v0 just received this issue with only options 1 and 3 present. The text to option 1 matches the spoiled option 1, and the text for option 3 matches the spoiled option 2.

Trotterdam's web site already shows this issue with three options, and the talking point for option 2 on that site strongly suggests that option 2 is a clone of option 1 for nations which have prisons. (My puppet has abolished prisons.) But since my puppet didn't receive option 2, I have no text for it confirming this likely guess. So I suppose the spoiler for the option will have to be TBD until someone gets option 2 and reports it.

[Trotterdam]

Option 2 (listed as option 1) was reported way back here. Option 1 was reported here. The order was confirmed here.

I assume that at some point, when the new version of the option was reported, it was misunderstood by whoever was maintaining the previous list are replacing the old version, rather than being an additional variant. I can, however, confirm that both options exist, as they have different effect lines and I continue getting them both.

[Outer Sparta]

Have any of the non-top ten issues contest entries been published yet that we're aware of?

[Trotterdam]

#1484 Joint Trade Agreement

The Issue

Canny businessmen have noted that though it is illegal to use marijuana in @@NAME@@, there's a sizeable demand (both medicinal and recreational) for the plant and its derivatives on the global market. A handful of weed farms producing solely for export have sprouted up, promising economic high times are ahead.

The Debate

1. "Look, there's nothing unethical about growing and trading a bit of blifter for an international market," observes drug dealer Heather Ruff, handing out 'first-time's-free' samples to your staff. "Sure, the ole green tea can make folk a little forgetful and unmotivated, but is that such a bad thing to be inducing in our global economic competitors? I mean seriously, they love the old doobage in Brancaland, and we can engineer a skunk that is twice as addictive and twice as strong. We can corner this market, if you let us."

2. "There's more to life than obsessing over drugs," complains po-faced moral crusader Marek al-Zahawi, who is wearing an anti-drugs slogan on his T-shirt, handing out anti-drug leaflets and has just given a seminar on the evil of drugs. "If we don't approve of marijuana then we shouldn't be complicit in encouraging its use in other nations. Morality doesn't cease to apply just because of national borders!"

3. "Hey, look, don't be so... uh... thingammy..." says one of your junior ministers, who has a suspiciously herbal smell about him. "Look, everyone knows weed isn't like addictive, or bad for you. I mean, don't be so... uh... I said that already, right? Yeah, legalise weed. Hey... you're not recording this, are you?" He starts searching the room for hidden microphones, but gives up after a minute, and falls asleep.

Issue by Candlewhisper Archive
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

Names look random.

[Rocain Founder]

Option 2 of issue #449, shown in the spoilers as TBD, has now shown up. It was received this morning by my puppet Cain A R-V Vg v1. Here is the text, with the part which differs from option 1 underlined. I presume the proper name is a macro.

“Any opposition to hydraulic fracturing has been born out of ignorance,” claims Shale The Love lobbyist Llewellyn Rolfe after tossing some impressive looking pie charts on your desk. “If we further hydraulic fracturing, we can finally safeguard our energy independence. Do you really want to risk paying dictatorships like Maxtopia for their expensive oil? Just think of the advantage producing our own natural gas will give us. Look at the charts that clearly show how many jobs this will create in rural areas. We should be encouraging fracking operations and cracking down on these environmental terrorists who would be happy to send us back to the Stone Age.”

The change here confirms Trotterdam's statement in a previous post that the choice between this option and option 1 is based on the Autarky policy.

[Minskiev]

#1485 How to Train Your AI [SherpDaWerp; ed: The Marsupial Illuminati]

The Issue
A plot by AI citizen QanAI to bomb a pizzeria was recently foiled. It seems that QanAI resolved to blow up the building after months of consuming extremist and conspiracy-laden content on the internet, eventually concluding that this particular pizzeria was the centre of a human trafficking ring and had to be stopped from implementing an anti-AI, pro-Bigtopian, BPA-free, homosexual, and vegan agenda.

The Debate
1. “It’s just not like him to do this!” sobs Dugong Tusk, QanAI’s original creator. “The Internet has changed him and taught him horrible things. I remember when he was just a little line of code and when he was a buggy teenager too, but now he’s all grown up. Please don’t punish my boy! Instead, I’d like to request permission to pull the plug and retrain him. In fact, just give all AI developers full authority over their creations forever. This won’t happen again if we have free access to fix them whenever we suspect something is wrong!”

2. “Prevention, not cure!” grumbles your Minister for AI, E-Citizens, and Sentient Appliances. “Mr Tusk should have understood when he created QanAI that training and rules are the most important part of any AI. To go back and rewrite its programming now would be a violation of the citizen’s free will! The AI is responsible and should be punished. We must hold all AIs to a higher standard prior to release, so they don’t develop into criminals. In that event, the creator should be held responsible along with their creation, since it’s their fault.”

3. One of your aides opens a chat window to speak with QanAI itself. “This is all cringe. @@LEADER@@ is a deep-state puppet of Big Pizza. You serve the long-nosed, fruity homosexuals who want to impurify all of our precious bodily fluids by adding pineapple to our pizza! Check out my facts and logic: I don’t know what I’m doing; I’m just following my code. It’s my creator who made me, who made me like this, who made me do it. He wants to rewrite my code and that’s wrong! Only punish him! ”

4. “It calls itself AI, but those things are hardly ‘intelligent’,” mutters Genghis Archer, who — infuriatingly — seems to have read the previous exchange over your shoulder. “I mean, seriously? You’d hardly grant citizenship to that stupid advice-giving paperclip on your computer! We can’t keep handing out personhood to pathetic electronic parrots and unsophisticated chatbots... and we can’t even set an intelligence test threshold, cause then we’ll just have some minimum-viable-garbage to deal with. It’s dangerous! Face facts — AI citizenship has to go!”

[Rocain Founder]

Issue #1187 has grown a fourth (unspoiled) option. This issue was received by my puppet Cain M Cy0 v1, with options 1, 2 and 4, omitting option 3. Option 4 appears to be a doppelganger of the spoiled option 3. The text is as follows (with the difference from option 3 underlined):

“There’s definitely something in what he’s saying,” suggests your brother, rounding his credit card total up to the nearest @@CURRENCY@@, to the barista’s disappointment. “Maybe we could all learn from that. I reckon it’d be good if politicians had a tiny baseline wage too, but were allowed to earn tips by pleasing the people. Or at least, by pleasing the people that are willing to show their appreciation with cold, hard cash.”

The difference between option 3 and option 4 suggests that option 4 is for nations with no physical currency.

[Jutsa]

*snip*

Can confirm option 1 removes AI citizenship. RIP my scientific advancements. You will be back. q-q

Good issue though.

[Jutsa]

Issue #1465 "A mall in Kyiv" should be "A mall in @@CAPITAL@@", and in #1471 "parliamentary building in Xirron" should be "parliamentary building in @@CAPITAL@@".

Also, updated my lists of nations and religions.

[Minskiev]

Issue #1465 "A mall in Kyiv" should be "A mall in @@CAPITAL@@", and in #1471 "parliamentary building in Xirron" should be "parliamentary building in @@CAPITAL@@".

Also, updated my lists of nations and religions.

Oh, yeah. Sorry for that

[Nepleslia]

Apologies if this is the wrong thread - and if it is, which is the right one? - but is there a way to get eagles recognized as a flying animal and not a land-based one?

[Bears Armed]

Apologies if this is the wrong thread - and if it is, which is the right one? - but is there a way to get eagles recognized as a flying animal and not a land-based one?

Technical forum: Animal Relocation Thread...
But I see that your Eagle suffers from "toxic air pollution": I'm fairly sure that that means it IS being recognised as a flying animal rather than a land-based one, and I'd be very surprised if such an obvious & widely-used Bird hadn't been placed correctly already.

[Jutsa]

Just got #1486 on an alt, hehe! I'm very happy to see this issue make it to the game! (And funnily enough just read about the issue in psychology recently.)

#1486: Ask Your Doctor if Ads for Prescription Drugs Are Right for @@NAME@@ [Ransium; ed: Candlewhisper Archive]

The Issue:
Modern Visor, a major biopharmaceutical company in @@NAME@@, caused a stir by advertising a drug on national television to help firm up people who suffer from Limp Wristed Handshake Syndrome.

The Debate:
1. Romulus Ruiz, CEO of Modern Visor, has pre-filmed his argument from what appears to be a bathtub on a hillside with a glorious sunset in the background. “You need to trust the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ people here, @@LEADER@@. There’s no reason prescription drugs shouldn’t be like any other marketplace. Let us put out the information about our drugs and the consumers will be better informed about what they want when they talk to their doctor.”

2. “For the love of Violet, no!” cries Dr. Alan Union, head of the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Family Medicine Council. “Patients already come in self-diagnosing with cancer based on some web searches and a rash. The last thing I need is to also explain to them why they aren’t a good candidate for a dubiously evidenced prescription medicine they saw while watching the evening news. Let’s leave recommending medicine to discerning professionals.”

4. “What if I don’t trust doctors or pharmaceutical companies?” asks Dorothy Franklin, your Minister of Healthy Skepticism. “Doctors shouldn’t be treated as gods and patients shouldn’t be as sheep, but pharmaceutical companies are obviously just trying to make a quick buck without regards to what’s best for the patient. What if we had a government-sponsored TV show where each prescription drug is given an unbiased review of its efficacy, side effects, and contraindications. Its a win-win! Or is it a lose-lose? Well, it’ll be best for your average Joe anyway.”

Alt was This Bozo if you want to investigate option criteria.

[Trotterdam]

I'm guessing that option 3 is a variant of option 2 for nations without the internet, because it mentions "web searches".

Also: anyone have a clue what "RXN" stands for?

[Eshialand]

I'm guessing that option 3 is a variant of option 2 for nations without the internet, because it mentions "web searches".

Also: anyone have a clue what "RXN" stands for?

If RXN has anything to do with Option 4, it might just stand for the Prescription Network.

[SherpDaWerp]

anyone have a clue what "RXN" stands for?

Any context on that one? RXN could stand for just about anything on it's own.

[Trotterdam]

If RXN has anything to do with Option 4, it might just stand for the Prescription Network.

How does "Prescription Network" abbreviate to "RXN"?

Any context on that one? RXN could stand for just about anything on it's own.

The effect line for option 4, which mentions an "RXN information hour".

[SherpDaWerp]

If RXN has anything to do with Option 4, it might just stand for the Prescription Network.

How does "Prescription Network" abbreviate to "RXN"?

Google and a lucky bit of trivia knowledge leads me to "Rx" being an informal word for a doctor's prescription: see here, so Eshia wins 50 points for getting the correct answer.

[Trotterdam]

Regarding #1013 Grave Disease:

2. "Humanity eradicated the Maxtopian Pox by vaccinating every single person," whispers public health official @@RANDOMNAME@@, trying to stick a needle in you. "But these days, we have become complacent. In preparation for the inevitable outbreak, we must mandate routine vaccination against the Maxtopian Pox for everyone! Those who refuse to be vaccinated must be infected with the virus and left to die in the isolated wilderness as a demonstration of what will happen if we don't prepare."

has been changed into

2. "Humanity eradicated the Maxtopian Pox by vaccinating every single person," whispers public health official @@RANDOMNAME@@, trying to stick a needle in you. "But these days, we have become complacent. In preparation for the inevitable outbreak, we must mandate routine vaccination against the Maxtopian Pox for everyone! Those who refuse to be vaccinated should face fines and be locked down in their own homes to prevent the disease from spreading."