[draft] A sparse web

[Rejistania]

This is based on a real event https://www.piie.com/blogs/north-korea- ... plete-list

it also refers to how other communist countries use the internet: From Cuban Esperanto content, to an absolute deluge of Vietnamese content on YouTube, to Pol Pot's presumed stance, to the Chinese paralell internet. Yeah, I know policies are not required, I add them to express intent

A sparse web

[validity] socialism, internet, low IT sector, red bloc membership
Just before a convention of the red bloc, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@adjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains of it. As various, capitalists international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth, the other representatives offer suggestions

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade @@randomfirstname@@ Castro, chairman of the San Vincenzo communist party, "This is a sign to cooperate. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation under your domains. Could you, in response, do us a favour and translate your local content in Esperanto to weaken the influence of the United Federation?"
[effect] Most of the @@demonym_adjective@@ websites are only visited by constructed language nerds

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," enthusiastically greets Joseph Rustev, chairman of the East Lebatuck communist party, "We can offer the hardware and expertise for every cooperative, collective and syndicate to create their own website. This will show your technological expertise to the capitalist pigdogs!" he mumbles, "Ignore the rumours of a hardware level vulnerability, allowing us to gain access."
[effect] East Lebatuck seems to know the @@demonym_adjective@@ production data before @@leader@@ does.

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Pol Cauldron, chairman of the Champukean Communist Party, "All that web and pseudo-intellectualism does nothing at all for the common worker. It would be better if we ignore the pointless chattering from abroad and disconnect from the internet so this doesn't happen again!"
[effect] former webdesigners labour in the fields
[policy] no internet

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Nguyen Minh, chairman of the Núi Và Sông communist Party, "No need to reinvent the wheel, we can flood the existing capitalist sites like WhoTube and ShortTok with communist content to allow us to win the hearts and minds of the capitalists. There might be the risk of getting banned or sanctioned, but we always can work via different accounts and countries."
[effect] spies in Kawandaland buy SIM cards in bulk

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the Dàguó Celestial Emperor who also chairs the Dàguó communist party, "Have you considered just copying western sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to use the capitalist alternative, we build a Great Firewall to stop it. May I suggest you use Dàguó hardware for hosting? While our cooperatives are not as cheap as East Lebatuck's, they are state of the art."
[effect] The government pays billions of @@currency@@ to a foreign government to host its own nation simulator

[option] "Hey, boss," greets Bax Merry, an office worker and amateur writer, "how about, you let every comrade create their own web site. Sure, there might be objectionable sites, both in design and in content, but this will allow healthy discussion. And maybe I can use it to publish my web novel Machine Man."
[effect] Thousands of @@demonymplural@@ repeat the mistakes from the early days of the internet with revolutionary fervour
[policy] end no dissent, establish public protest

A sparse net

[validity] socialism, internet, low IT sector,
Just before a convention of communist nations, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@demonymadjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains and associated websites of it. As many, capitalistic-aligned international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth and amusement, the other representatives offer suggestions

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade Castor, chairman of the San Vitenzo Workers' Solidarity party, "This is a sign to cooperate as such ridicule weakens our common cause of world socialism and makes your country seem backwards and medieval. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation under your domains. Could you, in response, do us a favour and translate your local content in the constructed language of Lelejanto to weaken the influence of the United Federation, which is spreading its language and influence like its pollution?"
[effect] most of the @@demonym_adjective@@ websites are only visited by constructed language nerds

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," enthusiastically greets Joseph Rustev, chairman of the East Lebatuck People's Party, "We can offer the hardware and expertise for every cooperative, collective and syndicate to create their own website. This will show your technological expertise to the capitalist pigdogs and improve your own technological state industries," he mumbles, "Ignore the rumours of a hidden backdoor, allowing us access to all the information on them."
[effect] East Lebatuck seems to know the @@demonym_adjective@@ production data before @@leader@@ does

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Pol Cauldron, chairman of the Revolutionary Liberation front of Champukea, a nation famous for its emphasis on agriculture, "All that web this and domain that does nothing at all for the common worker and is just a way for counter-revolutionary ideas to spread under the guise of progress. It would be better if you followed our lead and ignore the pointless chattering from abroad and disconnect from the internet so this doesn't happen again!"
[effect] former webdesigners labour in the fields
[policy] no internet

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Nguyen Minh, chairman of the Núi Và Sông Socialist Unitary Party, "No need to reinvent the wheel or re-weave the web. We can show our presence on the internet even without our own infrastructure if we flood the existing capitalist sites like WhoTube and ShortTok with revolutionary content to allow us to win the hearts and minds of the capitalists. There might be the risk of getting banned or sanctioned, but we always can work via different accounts and countries."
[effect] spies in Kawandaland buy SIM cards in bulk

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the Dàguó Celestial Emperor who also chairs the Dàguó communist party,"I am sure that it didn't come to your mind but you could also just copy capitalist sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to use the capitalist alternative, we build a Great Firewall to stop it. May I suggest you use hardware from our glorious communist empire Dàguó for hosting? While our cooperatives are not as cheap as East Lebatuck's, they are state-of-the-art."
[effect] The government pays billions of @@currency@@ to a foreign government to host its own nation simulator

[option] "Hey, boss," greets Bax Merry, an office worker and amateur writer, "how about, you let every comrade create their own web site. Sure, there might be objectionable sites, both in design and in content, but this will allow healthy discussion, free exchange of ideas and be a boon to the arts and the technology syndicates. And maybe I can use it to publish my episodical novel Machine Man."
[effect] thousands of @@demonymplural@@ repeat all of the mistakes from the early days of the internet with revolutionary fervour
[policy] end no dissent, establish public protest

A sparse net

[validity] socialism, internet, low IT sector,
Just before a convention of socialist nations, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@demonymadjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains and associated websites of it. As many, capitalistic-aligned international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth and amusement, making the country a laughing stock and hurting the already struggling reputation of the Information Technology industry, the other representatives offer suggestions

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade Castor, chairman of the San Vitenzo Workers' Solidarity party, "This is a sign to cooperate as such ridicule weakens our common cause of world socialism and makes your country seem backwards and medieval. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation into all official languages under your domains. Could you, in response, do us a favour and help us circumvent the embargo of the United Federation, even though they are economically stronger and might cause secondary sanctions against @@nation@@?"
[effect] @@nation@@ pays its IT experts in literal peanuts

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," enthusiastically greets Joseph Rustev, chairman of the East Lebatuck People's Party, "We can offer the hardware and expertise for every cooperative, collective and syndicate to create their own website. This will show your technological expertise to the capitalist pigdogs and improve your own technological state industries," While an aide whispers to you, "There are rumours of a hidden backdoor, allowing them access to all the information on them."
[effect] East Lebatuck seems to know the @@demonym_adjective@@ production data before @@leader@@ does

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Pol Cauldron, chairman of the Revolutionary Liberation front of Dei Meanchicheate, a nation famous for its emphasis on agriculture, "All that web this and domain that does nothing at all for the common worker and is just a way for counter-revolutionary ideas to spread under the guise of progress. The internet is nothing but a means to spread counter-revolutionary ideas and the automation that it allows violates the dignity of the common worker. It would be better if you followed our lead and ignore the pointless chattering from abroad and disconnect from the internet so this doesn't happen again!"
[effect] former web designers labour in the fields


[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Nguyen Minh, chairman of the Núi Và Sông Socialist Unitary Party, "No need to reinvent the wheel or re-weave the web. If you want to see @@nation@@ represented on the web, we can show our presence on the internet even without our own infrastructure if we flood the existing capitalist sites like WhoTube and ShortTok with revolutionary content to allow us to win the hearts and minds of the capitalists, ho wouldn't leave theircapitalist sites anyways. There might be the risk of getting banned or sanctioned, but we always can work via different accounts and countries."
[effect] spies in Kawandaland buy SIM cards in bulk

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the Dàguó Celestial Emperor who also chairs the Dàguó communist party,"I am sure that it didn't come to your mind but you could also just copy capitalist sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to use the capitalist alternative, we build a Great Firewall to stop it
[effect] The government pays billions of @@currencyplural@@ to infiltrate capitalist companies host its own nation simulator

[option] "Hey, boss," greets Bax Merry, an office worker and amateur writer, "how about we subsidise the Information Technology Syndicates and the system to assign domain names to let every comrade create their own web site. Sure, there might be objectionable sites, both in design and in content, but this will allow healthy discussion, free exchange of ideas and be a boon to the arts and show other countries our revolutionary spirit. And maybe I can use it to publish my episodical novel Machine Man."
[effect] thousands of @@demonymplural@@ repeat all of the mistakes from the early days of the internet with revolutionary fervour

A sparse net

[validity] socialism, internet, low IT sector,
Just before a convention of the Information Technology syndicates, cooperatives and worker-owned companies of socialist nations, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@demonymadjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains and associated websites of it. As many, capitalistic-aligned international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth and amusement, making the country a laughing stock and hurting the already struggling reputation of the domestic Information Technology industry, the other representatives offer suggestions:

[option] "Hello, Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade Castor, chairman of the San Vitenzo Workers' Solidarity party, "This is a sign to cooperate as such ridicule weakens our common cause of world socialism and makes your country seem backwards and medieval. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation into all official languages under your domains. Could you, in response, do us a favour and help us circumvent the embargo of the United Federation, even though they are economically stronger and might cause secondary sanctions against @@nation@@?"
[effect] @@nation@@ pays its IT experts in literal peanuts

[option] "Victory to you, Comrade @@Leader@@," enthusiastically greets Tamazi Shonia, minister of infrastructure of East Lebatuck, "We can offer the hardware and expertise for every cooperative, collective and syndicate to create their own website. This will show your technological expertise to the capitalist pigdogs and improve your own technological state industries," While an aide whispers to you, "Be careful: there are rumours of a hidden backdoor, allowing them access to all the information on these computers."
[effect] East Lebatuck seems to know the @@demonym_adjective@@ production data before @@leader@@ does

[option] "I heard of your dilemma, comrade @@leader@@," greets Pol Cauldron, chairman of the Revolutionary Liberation front of Din Meanchicheate, a nation famous for its emphasis on agriculture and distrust of the intelligentsia, "All that web this and domain that does nothing at all for the common worker and is just a way for counter-revolutionary ideas to spread under the guise of progress. The internet is nothing but a means to spread counter-revolutionary ideas and the automation that it allows violates the dignity of the common worker. It would be better if you followed our lead and ignore the pointless chattering from abroad and disconnect from the internet. No one can make fun of things that don't exis!"
[effect] former web designers labour to catch actual bugs in the fields


[option] "Ciao Comrade @@leader@@,"cheerfully greets Nguyen Minh, minister of propaganda from the Núi Và Sông Socialist Unitary Party, "No need to reinvent the wheel or re-weave the web. If you want to see @@nation@@ represented on the web, we can show our presence on the internet even without our own infrastructure We just flood the existing capitalist sites like WhoTube and ShortTok with revolutionary content to allow us to win the hearts and minds of the capitalists, who wouldn't leave their capitalist sites anyways. There might be the risk of getting banned or sanctioned, but we always can work via different accounts and countries."
[effect] spies in Kawandaland buy SIM cards in bulk

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the undersecretary of IT of the Dàguó Celestial Emperor in a monotone voice, "I am sure that it didn't come to your mind but you could also just copy capitalist sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to avoid the sites from socialist nations and use the capitalist alternative, we build a Great Firewall to stop it."
[effect] The government pays billions of @@currencyplural@@ to infiltrate capitalist companies to host its own nation simulator

[option] "Hey, boss," greets Max Barry, an office worker and amateur writer, "how about we subsidise the Information Technology Syndicates and the system to assign domain names to let every comrade create their own web site. Sure, there might be objectionable sites, both in design and in content, but this will allow healthy discussion, free exchange of ideas and be a boon to the arts and show other countries our revolutionary spirit. And maybe I can use it to publish my episodical novel Machine Man."
[effect] thousands of @@demonymplural@@ repeat all of the mistakes from the early days of the internet with revolutionary fervour

Big rework with more validities and the same amount of options.



A sparse net

[validity] socialism, internet, low IT sector,
Just before a convention of the Information Technology syndicates, cooperatives and worker-owned companies of socialist nations, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@demonymadjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains and associated websites of it. As many, capitalistic-aligned international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth and amusement, making the country a laughing stock and hurting the already struggling reputation of the domestic Information Technology industry, questioning their networking experience, the other representatives offer suggestions and various degrees of empathy:
[validity] multilingual (chose option 2 in issue 71 or supported sign language in "Some People Never Listen")
[option] "Hello Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade Castor, chairman of the San Vitenzo Workers' Solidarity party, "This is as clear a sign to cooperate as any as such ridicule weakens our common cause of world socialism and makes your country seem backwards and medieval. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation into all official languages under your domains. Unfortunately, our contribution will not be much as we are limited by the embargo of the United Federation and their secondary sanctions against everyone trading with us, but say the word and we are willing and ready to trade expertise and content for assistance with our current harvest failure."
[effect] @@nation@@ pays its IT experts in literal peanuts

[validity]monolingual
[option] "Hello Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade Castor, chairman of the San Vitenzo Workers' Solidarity party, "This is as clear a sign to cooperate as any as such ridicule weakens our common cause of world socialism and makes your country seem backwards and medieval. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation into your official language under your domains. Unfortunately, our contribution will not be much as we are limited by the embargo of the United Federation and their secondary sanctions against everyone trading with us, but say the word and we are willing and ready to trade expertise and content for assistance with our current harvest failure."
[effect] @@nation@@ pays its IT experts in literal peanuts

[option] "Victory to you, Comrade @@Leader@@," enthusiastically greets Tamazi Shonia, minister of infrastructure of East Lebatuck, "We can offer the hardware and expertise for every cooperative, collective and syndicate to create their own website. This will show your technological expertise to the capitalist pigdogs and improve your own technological state industries. This information will allow us to integrate our industries much further, for the glory of the socialist cause."
[effect] East Lebatuck's companies seem to disproportionately win government contracts. // Delays in East Lebatuck's tractor part production affects the ability of cattle feed in @@nation@@

[option] "I heard of your dilemma, comrade @@leader@@," greets Pol Cauldron, chairman of the Revolutionary Liberation front of Din Meanchicheate, a nation famous for its emphasis on agriculture and distrust of the intelligentsia, "In the best case, the internet is just a place for idle chatter and empty gossip, with the occasional counter-revolutionary idea interspersed for good measure. In the worst case, automation of manual tasks allows for deskilling of the labour," in response to the confused facial expressions of your staff, he explains, "requiring fewer skills for the work and making workers more replaceable and more alienated. In addition, by its sheer nature, a network is not a means of production to be put into the hands of the worker. Your country would be better off, if it follows the example of the Great People's Republic of Din Meanchicheate, and stays off of it. Your Information Technology sector might struggle, but that is just the price to pay for ideological purity. "
[effect] former web designers labour to catch actual bugs in the fields

[option] "Ciao Comrade @@leader@@,"cheerfully greets Nguyen Minh, minister of propaganda from the Núi Và Sông Socialist Unitary Party, "No need to reinvent the wheel or re-weave the web. If you want to see @@nation@@ and its technology represented on the web, we can show our presence on the internet even without our own infrastructure We just flood the existing capitalist sites like WhoTube and ShortTok with revolutionary content to allow us to win the hearts and minds of the capitalists, who wouldn't leave their capitalist sites anyways. There might be the risk of getting banned or sanctioned, but we always can work via different accounts and countries."
[effect] spies in Kawandaland buy SIM cards in bulk // 120p communist memes are the laughing stock of WhoTube
[validity] red bloc membership
[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the undersecretary of IT of the Dàguó Celestial Emperor in a monotone voice, "I am sure that it didn't come to your mind but you could also just copy capitalist sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to avoid the sites from socialist nations and use the capitalist alternative, the red bloc can build an Iron Firewall to stop it for every member nation."
[validity] no red bloc membership
[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the undersecretary of IT of the Dàguó Celestial Emperor in a monotone voice, "I am sure that it didn't come to your mind but you could also just copy capitalist sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to avoid the sites from socialist nations and use the capitalist alternative, our two nations can build a Great Firewall to put a stop to it."
[effect] The government pays billions of @@currencyplural@@ to infiltrate capitalist companies to host its own nation simulator

[option] "Hey, boss," greets Max Barry, an office worker and amateur writer, "how about we subsidise the Information Technology Syndicates and the system to assign domain names to let every comrade create their own web site. Sure, there might be objectionable sites, both in design and in content, but this will allow healthy discussion, free exchange of ideas and be a boon to the arts and show other countries our revolutionary spirit. And maybe I can use it to publish my episodical novel Machine Man."
[effect] thousands of @@demonymplural@@ repeat all of the mistakes from the early days of the internet with revolutionary fervour

[The Ankhalic Vaspriot]

Hello and welcome to Got Issues! Here's your feedback as promised.

[validity] socialism, internet, low IT sector, red bloc membership

I don't see why Red Bloc membership would be necessary here, as the issue could be suitably reworded to "an international conference" or perhaps something more specific lore-wise without compromising the premise.

Just before a convention of the red bloc, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@adjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains of it. As various, capitalists international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth, the other representatives offer suggestions

@@adjective@@ should be @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@. I suggest giving some indication as to why this is a bad thing. "[T]he extent of the @@[DEMONYMADJECTIVE]@@ internet has been revealed@@ doesn't sound very concerning or important right off the bat, especially since many people don't have the knowledge--background or practical--to deduce it. You don't have to explain everything of course (having your first speaker or two do a chunk of the explaining is a good strategy if your description is running a bit long), but some elaboration would be helpful here. The final clause of the last sentence is redundant, as it's clear that's what's happening.

In all places where "communist party" is mentioned, I recommend thinking about the exact ideology being represented. Many existing socialism-only issues on NS suffer from heavy ideological assumptions that don't logically follow from the very simple premise of socialism, which you have a great opportunity to help fix here by providing a greater diversity of labels than just calling everyone communist. Not all the names even have to be ismatic; you could just as well go with names like "East Lebatuckese People's Party" or "Red Liberation Front of Champukea."

For all your effect lines, ensure there are no capital letters at the start (except proper nouns) nor punctuation at the end.

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade @@randomfirstname@@ Castro, chairman of the San Vincenzo communist party, "This is a sign to cooperate. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation under your domains. Could you, in response, do us a favour and translate your local content in Esperanto to weaken the influence of the United Federation?"

Why should you take them up on this offer? Is San Vicenzo (I think you meant San Vi[i]t[/t]enzo) known for their IT industry? Are they trying to extend a helpful hand out of solidarity? What makes this solution compelling? You could totally keep the quid pro quo here, but I would personally do away with it in favor of that elaboration. That's ultimately a personal stylistic choice though. Also, Esperanto is a real-world reference and as such cannot be mentioned.

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," enthusiastically greets Joseph Rustev, chairman of the East Lebatuck communist party, "We can offer the hardware and expertise for every cooperative, collective and syndicate to create their own website. This will show your technological expertise to the capitalist pigdogs!" he mumbles, "Ignore the rumours of a hardware level vulnerability, allowing us to gain access."

What exactly is their offer here? Most of your options run a bit short and have a lot of room for fun with lore and character. I suggest finding another way to balance the perspective than the "ignore this overtly problematic thing" angle. Even if you go with something like that, it'd be more compelling for the next speaker to mention it as a reason to dismiss the previous.

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Pol Cauldron, chairman of the Champukean Communist Party, "All that web and pseudo-intellectualism does nothing at all for the common worker. It would be better if we ignore the pointless chattering from abroad and disconnect from the internet so this doesn't happen again!"

What's the reason for doing this? Has Champukea implemented this policy? If so, how has it fared? Why is the former discussion "pseudo-intellectualism"?

[policy] no internet

You don't have to add this. Editors take care of all relevant policies. You may have meant that the option wouldn't be valid for nations that haven't already banned the internet though, in which case you're looking for "[validity] does not have 'no internet.'"

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Nguyen Minh, chairman of the Núi Và Sông communist Party, "No need to reinvent the wheel, we can flood the existing capitalist sites like WhoTube and ShortTok with communist content to allow us to win the hearts and minds of the capitalists. There might be the risk of getting banned or sanctioned, but we always can work via different accounts and countries."
[effect] spies in Kawandaland buy SIM cards in bulk

How does this solve the problem at hand? Even if the solution is "do little and retaliate," addressing how it pertains to the exposure of @@NAME@@'s internet is important to tie this into the primary concern. This speaker would be more compelling if they didn't hedge their statement with the "might be a risk" thing, but instead used that to show the effectiveness of their approach (e.g. "the bots will get banned, of course, but we have more than enough computational power to overwhelm them").

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the Dàguó Celestial Emperor who also chairs the Dàguó communist party, "Have you considered just copying western sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to use the capitalist alternative, we build a Great Firewall to stop it. May I suggest you use Dàguó hardware for hosting? While our cooperatives are not as cheap as East Lebatuck's, they are state of the art."

"Western" is a real world reference; you'll want to nix that." I'd lean into the Great Firewall idea more, as that's the most unique part of this option. I'd avoid the hedge here too in favor of a more confident, perhaps even haughty speaker. State-of-the-art is hyphenated.

[option] "Hey, boss," greets Bax Merry, an office worker and amateur writer, "how about, you let every comrade create their own web site. Sure, there might be objectionable sites, both in design and in content, but this will allow healthy discussion. And maybe I can use it to publish my web novel Machine Man."

I think a more compelling argument, perhaps one from a socialist perspective, could be made for increased freedom of internet usage. Given the low IT industry validity on the issue, you could also make an argument for this being a good way to get @@NAME@@'s tech up off the ground.

[policy] end no dissent, establish public protest

As a bit above, this isn't necessary.

[Australian rePublic]

But wouldn't this instead be an issue of free speech instead of economics? Unless we have specific issues like algorithms and advertising

[Rejistania]

But wouldn't this instead be an issue of free speech instead of economics? Unless we have specific issues like algorithms and advertising

I considered it an issue that the nation's reputation was tarnished and the country humiliated on an international scale.

Hello and welcome to Got Issues! Here's your feedback as promised.

[validity] socialism, internet, low IT sector, red bloc membership

I don't see why Red Bloc membership would be necessary here, as the issue could be suitably reworded to "an international conference" or perhaps something more specific lore-wise without compromising the premise.

I tried to add a bit lore to the red bloc, but you are right, a yugoslavia-esque country might still be interested in this issue.

Just before a convention of the red bloc, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@adjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains of it. As various, capitalists international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth, the other representatives offer suggestions

@@adjective@@ should be @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@. I suggest giving some indication as to why this is a bad thing. "[T]he extent of the @@[DEMONYMADJECTIVE]@@ internet has been revealed@@ doesn't sound very concerning or important right off the bat, especially since many people don't have the knowledge--background or practical--to deduce it. You don't have to explain everything of course (having your first speaker or two do a chunk of the explaining is a good strategy if your description is running a bit long), but some elaboration would be helpful here. The final clause of the last sentence is redundant, as it's clear that's what's happening.

I hope that I made it clear in my revision.

In all places where "communist party" is mentioned, I recommend thinking about the exact ideology being represented. Many existing socialism-only issues on NS suffer from heavy ideological assumptions that don't logically follow from the very simple premise of socialism, which you have a great opportunity to help fix here by providing a greater diversity of labels than just calling everyone communist. Not all the names even have to be ismatic; you could just as well go with names like "East Lebatuckese People's Party" or "Red Liberation Front of Champukea."

fixed.

For all your effect lines, ensure there are no capital letters at the start (except proper nouns) nor punctuation at the end.

fixed

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade @@randomfirstname@@ Castro, chairman of the San Vincenzo communist party, "This is a sign to cooperate. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation under your domains. Could you, in response, do us a favour and translate your local content in Esperanto to weaken the influence of the United Federation?"

Why should you take them up on this offer? Is San Vicenzo (I think you meant San Vi[i]t[/t]enzo) known for their IT industry? Are they trying to extend a helpful hand out of solidarity? What makes this solution compelling? You could totally keep the quid pro quo here, but I would personally do away with it in favor of that elaboration. That's ultimately a personal stylistic choice though. Also, Esperanto is a real-world reference and as such cannot be mentioned.

I use an invented version, 'lelej means to hope in Rejistanian.

[option] "Comrade @@Leader@@," enthusiastically greets Joseph Rustev, chairman of the East Lebatuck communist party, "We can offer the hardware and expertise for every cooperative, collective and syndicate to create their own website. This will show your technological expertise to the capitalist pigdogs!" he mumbles, "Ignore the rumours of a hardware level vulnerability, allowing us to gain access."

What exactly is their offer here? Most of your options run a bit short and have a lot of room for fun with lore and character. I suggest finding another way to balance the perspective than the "ignore this overtly problematic thing" angle. Even if you go with something like that, it'd be more compelling for the next speaker to mention it as a reason to dismiss the previous.

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Pol Cauldron, chairman of the Champukean Communist Party, "All that web and pseudo-intellectualism does nothing at all for the common worker. It would be better if we ignore the pointless chattering from abroad and disconnect from the internet so this doesn't happen again!"

What's the reason for doing this? Has Champukea implemented this policy? If so, how has it fared? Why is the former discussion "pseudo-intellectualism"?

I tried to use a Khmer Rouge language, but emphasized that it is Champukean policy.

[policy] no internet

You don't have to add this. Editors take care of all relevant policies. You may have meant that the option wouldn't be valid for nations that haven't already banned the internet though, in which case you're looking for "[validity] does not have 'no internet.'"

I use them to show what I am going for, in case it was not clear.

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets Nguyen Minh, chairman of the Núi Và Sông communist Party, "No need to reinvent the wheel, we can flood the existing capitalist sites like WhoTube and ShortTok with communist content to allow us to win the hearts and minds of the capitalists. There might be the risk of getting banned or sanctioned, but we always can work via different accounts and countries."
[effect] spies in Kawandaland buy SIM cards in bulk

How does this solve the problem at hand? Even if the solution is "do little and retaliate," addressing how it pertains to the exposure of @@NAME@@'s internet is important to tie this into the primary concern. This speaker would be more compelling if they didn't hedge their statement with the "might be a risk" thing, but instead used that to show the effectiveness of their approach (e.g. "the bots will get banned, of course, but we have more than enough computational power to overwhelm them").

Given the low IT sector, they don' t have the computational power in the country. But I was referring not to bots but to cultural memes, like ghe con vy(sp?), which became a meme in 2020, but I made it more clear what the goal is.

[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the Dàguó Celestial Emperor who also chairs the Dàguó communist party, "Have you considered just copying western sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to use the capitalist alternative, we build a Great Firewall to stop it. May I suggest you use Dàguó hardware for hosting? While our cooperatives are not as cheap as East Lebatuck's, they are state of the art."

"Western" is a real world reference; you'll want to nix that." I'd lean into the Great Firewall idea more, as that's the most unique part of this option. I'd avoid the hedge here too in favor of a more confident, perhaps even haughty speaker. State-of-the-art is hyphenated.

I tried to make the tone better.

[option] "Hey, boss," greets Bax Merry, an office worker and amateur writer, "how about, you let every comrade create their own web site. Sure, there might be objectionable sites, both in design and in content, but this will allow healthy discussion. And maybe I can use it to publish my web novel Machine Man."

I think a more compelling argument, perhaps one from a socialist perspective, could be made for increased freedom of internet usage. Given the low IT industry validity on the issue, you could also make an argument for this being a good way to get @@NAME@@'s tech up off the ground.

[policy] end no dissent, establish public protest

As a bit above, this isn't necessary.

fixed it. new version is up.

[The Ankhalic Vaspriot]

Just before a convention of communist nations, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@demonymadjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains and associated websites of it. As many, capitalistic-aligned international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth and amusement, the other representatives offer suggestions

I'd switch it to a convention of socialist nations, as socialism and communism are very different things, and it's the former which is implied by the policy. In general, it's best if socialist issues stay away from assuming @@NAME@@ is just the USSR. The introduction still leaves me wondering why exactly this is an issue. You have the event and the reactions, but not the problem. The last sentence could probably be nixed in favor of expansion on this point, as it doesn't add much that isn't found elsewhere in the issue. You'll also want some end punctuation.

In option 1, the offer the host the sites is the only piece of text discussing the presented solution. The Esperanto reference is a bit forced, so I suggest cutting down on it to provide more space for the hosting talk and tying that quid pro quo in a bit more.

In option 2, I'm still skeptical of the quote at the end. The option makes a compelling argument as is, so I don't see a reason to tack on a cliché ignore-the-rumors bit. I advise that you focus a bit more on the solution being offered.

In option 3, I'd reckon a stronger case could be made for why abandoning the internet is most in line with the ideals of socialism. The speaker makes claims like it doing "nothing at all for the common worker," but doesn't meaningfully substantiate them. Also, you can remove [policy] here and in the final option. Editors decide policies. In the effect, web designers is two words.

In option 4, how does this solve the issue at hand, that being the extent of the internet being revealed? "Ignore that and focus on propaganda" is a completely valid solution, but the speaker ought to at least make a case for why this is preferable to addressing the problem more directly.

In option 5, more explanation of what exactly is being suggested would be apt. The speaker discusses at least three different ideas: copying sites from capitalist nations, building a firewall, and purchasing hardware from Dàguó. These can certainly all go together, but I suggest weighing which is the most important and ensuring that all three suggestions tie into a coherent plan.

In option 6, I'm not really sure that "let[ting]" people make their own sites is the issue. The validity has nothing to do with internet freedoms. It might be more apt to, for example, subsidize the IT industry in some way to increase the nation's capacity to do its own hosting. Also, website is one word. See the previous note about [policy].

[Rejistania]

Just before a convention of communist nations, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@demonymadjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains and associated websites of it. As many, capitalistic-aligned international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth and amusement, the other representatives offer suggestions

I'd switch it to a convention of socialist nations, as socialism and communism are very different things, and it's the former which is implied by the policy. In general, it's best if socialist issues stay away from assuming @@NAME@@ is just the USSR. The introduction still leaves me wondering why exactly this is an issue. You have the event and the reactions, but not the problem. The last sentence could probably be nixed in favor of expansion on this point, as it doesn't add much that isn't found elsewhere in the issue. You'll also want some end punctuation.

changed it, the semantics is why I wanted to avoid this with red bloc

In option 1, the offer the host the sites is the only piece of text discussing the presented solution. The Esperanto reference is a bit forced, so I suggest cutting down on it to provide more space for the hosting talk and tying that quid pro quo in a bit more.

Given the talk of secondary sanctions, I changed the potential effect.

In option 2, I'm still skeptical of the quote at the end. The option makes a compelling argument as is, so I don't see a reason to tack on a cliché ignore-the-rumors bit. I advise that you focus a bit more on the solution being offered.

It seems in character for East Lebatuck, see "Space is big enough for both of us", but I removed this cliche.

In option 3, I'd reckon a stronger case could be made for why abandoning the internet is most in line with the ideals of socialism. The speaker makes claims like it doing "nothing at all for the common worker," but doesn't meaningfully substantiate them. Also, you can remove [policy] here and in the final option. Editors decide policies. In the effect, web designers is two words.

I improved the reasoning a bit.

In option 4, how does this solve the issue at hand, that being the extent of the internet being revealed? "Ignore that and focus on propaganda" is a completely valid solution, but the speaker ought to at least make a case for why this is preferable to addressing the problem more directly.

I think I did so.

In option 5, more explanation of what exactly is being suggested would be apt. The speaker discusses at least three different ideas: copying sites from capitalist nations, building a firewall, and purchasing hardware from Dàguó. These can certainly all go together, but I suggest weighing which is the most important and ensuring that all three suggestions tie into a coherent plan.

I emphsized the paralell web more.

In option 6, I'm not really sure that "let[ting]" people make their own sites is the issue. The validity has nothing to do with internet freedoms. It might be more apt to, for example, subsidize the IT industry in some way to increase the nation's capacity to do its own hosting. Also, website is one word. See the previous note about [policy].

Thanks, improved version is up.

[Nardin]

Howdy, a couple thoughts,

- I appreciate that you took TAV's advice to make the convention about more generally socialist nations rather than just communist ones; gives you opportunities for different viewpoints in the ensuing options instead of them all cookie-cutter/same ideology. As a way to add some more flavor or explanation to this one, instead of being mentioned as just a "convention of socialist nations", maybe you could consider listing what exactly this convention was about. Could be both a happy coincidence and ironic if it happens to be that it was a meeting about tech security or another related topic of some kind, but that's up to you.

- For all the options, I find it somewhat repetitive that each option starts with ["Comrade @@Leader@@," greets]; if Leader is here at this conference, then we can probably safely assume that they've already met, or know them in some capacity. Then you can add in some variation on how each delegate is approaching/interacting with Leader. Additionally (and maybe this is just me), it's also repetitive that most of the speakers are listed as being the chairmen of these parties. They don't all have to be chairmen; you can add in some diversity by having one be a chairman, another be some high-ranking tech consultant or science attaché, or so on. By having them all be introduced in a different way, and having different roles, you can make the options feel more alive rather than, to use the term again, being just cookie-cutter copies of one another. You'd also have the opportunity to insert some humor in some of them if you wish, since as it is right now this issue doesn't have a whole lot other than that in the effect lines.

- I'm still not really a fan of that end to option 2; it seems a little stilted to have an aide say this, like are they warning Leader about it, or does East Lebatuck want access to this stuff of yours? If so, why don't they just outright say so? All the other speakers are clear in communicating what they want/talking about consequences.

- In option 3, I think instead of ending with the ol' "so this doesn't happen again", it might be better for this speaker to finish his pitch on how rejecting the internet will (in his opinion) be actually a good thing. For the effect line, can add a little humor by having something like "former web designers labour to remove bugs in the fields" or the like.

- In option 4, the sentence starting with "If you want to see @@nation@@" is quite long and unwieldy, and might read better if you break it into two.

- Why is the speaker in option 5 saying "we build a Great Firewall", are they suggesting that NAME and Daguo make a joint Great Firewall, or that NAME needs to make its own based off of Daguo's? That might need clarified. The effect line here might also need some polishing

- For the last option, Max Barry is an established figure in NS issues, so you could probably just use his name here, since you're also directly referring to Machine Man.

[Rejistania]

Howdy, a couple thoughts,

- I appreciate that you took TAV's advice to make the convention about more generally socialist nations rather than just communist ones; gives you opportunities for different viewpoints in the ensuing options instead of them all cookie-cutter/same ideology. As a way to add some more flavor or explanation to this one, instead of being mentioned as just a "convention of socialist nations", maybe you could consider listing what exactly this convention was about. Could be both a happy coincidence and ironic if it happens to be that it was a meeting about tech security or another related topic of some kind, but that's up to you.

Great idea!

- For all the options, I find it somewhat repetitive that each option starts with ["Comrade @@Leader@@," greets]; if Leader is here at this conference, then we can probably safely assume that they've already met, or know them in some capacity. Then you can add in some variation on how each delegate is approaching/interacting with Leader. Additionally (and maybe this is just me), it's also repetitive that most of the speakers are listed as being the chairmen of these parties. They don't all have to be chairmen; you can add in some diversity by having one be a chairman, another be some high-ranking tech consultant or science attaché, or so on. By having them all be introduced in a different way, and having different roles, you can make the options feel more alive rather than, to use the term again, being just cookie-cutter copies of one another. You'd also have the opportunity to insert some humor in some of them if you wish, since as it is right now this issue doesn't have a whole lot other than that in the effect lines.

Great idea, I added some inside jokes (Ciao sounds like the Vietnamese greeting, Victory to you, is the translation of გამარჯობა)

- I'm still not really a fan of that end to option 2; it seems a little stilted to have an aide say this, like are they warning Leader about it, or does East Lebatuck want access to this stuff of yours? If so, why don't they just outright say so? All the other speakers are clear in communicating what they want/talking about consequences.

I think that East Lebatuck would not admit it but I made it clearer

- In option 3, I think instead of ending with the ol' "so this doesn't happen again", it might be better for this speaker to finish his pitch on how rejecting the internet will (in his opinion) be actually a good thing. For the effect line, can add a little humor by having something like "former web designers labour to remove bugs in the fields" or the like.

I adjusted this, great effect line

- In option 4, the sentence starting with "If you want to see @@nation@@" is quite long and unwieldy, and might read better if you break it into two.

adjusted

- Why is the speaker in option 5 saying "we build a Great Firewall", are they suggesting that NAME and Daguo make a joint Great Firewall, or that NAME needs to make its own based off of Daguo's? That might need clarified. The effect line here might also need some polishing

I clarified this.

- For the last option, Max Barry is an established figure in NS issues, so you could probably just use his name here, since you're also directly referring to Machine Man.

updated. Please be so kind and provide feedback on the newest version.

[The Ankhalic Vaspriot]

Here's the next round of feedback, as requested:

The introduction still leaves the reader wondering why this is a problem. There have been many negative reactions and knock-on consequences, yes, but what about the extent of the internet being revealed is inherently negative and has led to these consequences? The options could then discuss how they might solve this issue, why it isn't actually bad, etc.

In the options, I partially disagree with Nardin's suggestion to have each speaker introduce themselves in a way other than by saying "Comrade @@LEADER@@." I think it would be extremely funny if each speaker said this while introducing themselves in increasingly absurd ways. Your call on this though. It would also work just fine to add to each speaker's personality by having them introduce themselves differently.

I don't quite see why the first speaker hedges their suggestion with the "even though" clause in the way that they do. I would imagine that this speaker, especially referencing Cuba, would encourage economic solidarity in the face of the enemy's might. It might also be helpful to clarify who the United Federation is economically stronger than, as @@NAME@@ could easily be an economic powerhouse themselves. You could, for example, have the speaker talk a bit more about the UF's relationship with San Vitenzo.

As I have reiterated and as Nardin stated, the aide in option 2 doesn't add much and overall detracts from the issue. Why would someone pick this option with that knowledge? I recommend either nixing it and have this offer be genuine or having the speaker be more upfront with what they want in return.

Missing T at the end of option 3's last word. Overall, this option is looking fairly good! I might still suggest connecting the anti-technology sentiment a bit more closely with the socialist principles presented though.

In option 4, you can safely nix "reinvent the wheel," as "re-weave the web" is funny on its own and identifiable as a version of the original phrase. You're missing a period between "infrastructure" and "we." This option especially leaves me wondering how it solves the original problem. Propaganda is powerful, yes, but what does this newfound favorable sentiment in enemy countries do against @@NAME@@'s internet being revealed?

I'd like to reiterate Nardin's point on option 5. Who's building this wall?

In the final option, website is one word. This speaker, even though advocating for an outside-the-box solution, should still connect the solution back to the original issue. Perhaps this situation is a good example of why the internet should be free and open in the first place? Or something like that; whatever you deem apt.

As an overarching note, I'd encourage you to not be afraid of rewriting most of the text in any given option or issue after receiving feedback. You have great ideas for sure, but there are a few points I've brought up a couple times because they can't really be fixed with small wording changes. I find that when I draft issues, not much of the original draft survives to the submitted--much less the published--version. Scrapping and rewriting can feel bad in the moment, but it's a great way to hone your skills. I'm not saying you have to rework the entire issue, as you're free to apply this advice as you see fit, but I would encourage you to think about the implications any given piece of feedback has not just for the part of the option it's in, but for the option as a whole and for the entire issue.

[Rejistania]

+appears in a puff of smoke*
+posts this revision*

Explains that the // for the effects are where I am not certain

A sparse net

[validity] socialism, internet, low IT sector,
Just before a convention of the Information Technology syndicates, cooperatives and worker-owned companies of socialist nations, an embarrassing leak happened: Due to a misconfigured DNS server, the extent of the @@demonymadjective@@ internet has been revealed, all 5 domains and associated websites of it. As many, capitalistic-aligned international outlets reacted with various forms of mirth and amusement, making the country a laughing stock and hurting the already struggling reputation of the domestic Information Technology industry, questioning their networking experience, the other representatives offer suggestions and various degrees of empathy:
[validity] multilingual (chose option 2 in issue 71 or supported sign language in "Some People Never Listen")
[option] "Hello Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade Castor, chairman of the San Vitenzo Workers' Solidarity party, "This is as clear a sign to cooperate as any as such ridicule weakens our common cause of world socialism and makes your country seem backwards and medieval. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation into all official languages under your domains. Unfortunately, our contribution will not be much as we are limited by the embargo of the United Federation and their secondary sanctions against everyone trading with us, but say the word and we are willing and ready to trade expertise and content for assistance with our current harvest failure."
[effect] @@nation@@ pays its IT experts in literal peanuts

[validity]monolingual
[option] "Hello Comrade @@Leader@@," greets comrade Castor, chairman of the San Vitenzo Workers' Solidarity party, "This is as clear a sign to cooperate as any as such ridicule weakens our common cause of world socialism and makes your country seem backwards and medieval. Just say the word and we will host some of our news and education sites also in translation into your official language under your domains. Unfortunately, our contribution will not be much as we are limited by the embargo of the United Federation and their secondary sanctions against everyone trading with us, but say the word and we are willing and ready to trade expertise and content for assistance with our current harvest failure."
[effect] @@nation@@ pays its IT experts in literal peanuts

[option] "Victory to you, Comrade @@Leader@@," enthusiastically greets Tamazi Shonia, minister of infrastructure of East Lebatuck, "We can offer the hardware and expertise for every cooperative, collective and syndicate to create their own website. This will show your technological expertise to the capitalist pigdogs and improve your own technological state industries. This information will allow us to integrate our industries much further, for the glory of the socialist cause."
[effect] East Lebatuck's companies seem to disproportionately win government contracts. // Delays in East Lebatuck's tractor part production affects the ability of cattle feed in @@nation@@

[option] "I heard of your dilemma, comrade @@leader@@," greets Pol Cauldron, chairman of the Revolutionary Liberation front of Din Meanchicheate, a nation famous for its emphasis on agriculture and distrust of the intelligentsia, "In the best case, the internet is just a place for idle chatter and empty gossip, with the occasional counter-revolutionary idea interspersed for good measure. In the worst case, automation of manual tasks allows for deskilling of the labour," in response to the confused facial expressions of your staff, he explains, "requiring fewer skills for the work and making workers more replaceable and more alienated. In addition, by its sheer nature, a network is not a means of production to be put into the hands of the worker. Your country would be better off, if it follows the example of the Great People's Republic of Din Meanchicheate, and stays off of it. Your Information Technology sector might struggle, but that is just the price to pay for ideological purity. "
[effect] former web designers labour to catch actual bugs in the fields

[option] "Ciao Comrade @@leader@@,"cheerfully greets Nguyen Minh, minister of propaganda from the Núi Và Sông Socialist Unitary Party, "No need to reinvent the wheel or re-weave the web. If you want to see @@nation@@ and its technology represented on the web, we can show our presence on the internet even without our own infrastructure We just flood the existing capitalist sites like WhoTube and ShortTok with revolutionary content to allow us to win the hearts and minds of the capitalists, who wouldn't leave their capitalist sites anyways. There might be the risk of getting banned or sanctioned, but we always can work via different accounts and countries."
[effect] spies in Kawandaland buy SIM cards in bulk // 120p communist memes are the laughing stock of WhoTube
[validity] red bloc membership
[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the undersecretary of IT of the Dàguó Celestial Emperor in a monotone voice, "I am sure that it didn't come to your mind but you could also just copy capitalist sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to avoid the sites from socialist nations and use the capitalist alternative, the red bloc can build an Iron Firewall to stop it for every member nation."
[validity] no red bloc membership
[option] "Comrade @@leader@@," greets the undersecretary of IT of the Dàguó Celestial Emperor in a monotone voice, "I am sure that it didn't come to your mind but you could also just copy capitalist sites? It might be difficult to hack into the servers or sneak operatives into the companies to copy the source code, but you have these sites under your own control. And if traitors want to avoid the sites from socialist nations and use the capitalist alternative, our two nations can build a Great Firewall to put a stop to it."
[effect] The government pays billions of @@currencyplural@@ to infiltrate capitalist companies to host its own nation simulator

[option] "Hey, boss," greets Max Barry, an office worker and amateur writer, "how about we subsidise the Information Technology Syndicates and the system to assign domain names to let every comrade create their own web site. Sure, there might be objectionable sites, both in design and in content, but this will allow healthy discussion, free exchange of ideas and be a boon to the arts and show other countries our revolutionary spirit. And maybe I can use it to publish my episodical novel Machine Man."
[effect] thousands of @@demonymplural@@ repeat all of the mistakes from the early days of the internet with revolutionary fervour




*disappears again*