- “Legalese” - Yes, communiqués should be imbued with some degree of “legalese.” No this does not mean it should be written so verbosely as some laws. Finding the proper degree is key here. A communique is after all, a legal document, but it is also from a public agency. Communiques should state the point, but be very specific as to what it intends to do. Even if that is to mislead or be vague, it should still be specific. For example, if a communique has the intention of declaring a specific ideology to be fallacious and incompatible with what a specific state perceives as correct, it should do so, provide examples if verifiable, and list general grievances. Ensure grammar is checked (have the Nazis check it for you as well), and use good language. Formality is also a necessity.
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Examples
- Good: “The Federal Republic of Oogalagastan does henceforth declare…” - the writing is clear and official.
- Bad: “Oogalagastan says that you are…” - the writing does not sound official. - “We the nation” - This is probably the largest problems with most communiqués. While yes, telegrams during World War I often displayed use of “I” and talking from a single person’s standpoint, they always contained mentions of the entire nation and were typically in the plural first person. For communiqués to be well-written on NS, as well is in the modern world, they should be written in the third person or in the plural first person, taking the standpoint of the entire nation. Avoid other uses of the first and second persons when not in reference to a specific nation.
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Examples
- Good: “It is the intent of the Oompa-Loompa Imperium to ensure the safety and prosperity of all peoples upon the Earth.” - The writing makes mention of the entirety of the Oompa-Loompas.
- Bad: “I, the Prime Minister of the Oompa-Loompas, think that we should all provide for the safety and prosperity of all peoples upon the earth.” - The writing simply states what the Prime Minister alone thinks.
EXCEPTION: Personal declarations are an exception to this rule. For example, a statement from the King of a nation should mentioned his specific intentions and should not be exclusively in the third person. It should however revert to the first principle: keep it official. - “Like a woman‘s skirt” - Like a woman’s skirt, communiqués should be long enough to cover the basics, but short enough to be interesting. Simply speaking, do not post a communique that is equivalent to the size of most novellas. State what you must, make it official, and be done with it. While length should certainly vary and should be based upon the subject at hand, don’t make it too short, nor too lengthy. It is improper to give a precise number of paragraphs/words for a communique as it is really based upon the subject, and the specific, individual situation at hand. Simply be rational about the situation; more complex matters typically require more attention.
- Good: Interesting; you get the gist of the piece; you can say “nice legs’
- Bad: Using panties as a skirt (or in this case posting a one-liner); what the Amish consider overly conservative (or in this case a novel as your communique). - “Who the hell is that?” - Ensure they know who you’re talking to and who YOU are. State your full name, where your nation is, attach necessary governmental signatures, etc. This one is self explanatory.
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Examples
Good: “…the Several States of UMADBRO does therefore sanction the actions of the Republic of LolUMAD-UMAD in…” - The writing states WHO is stating the declaration, and WHO it is sanctioning.
Bad: “We don’t like you.” - No specific mention of either who. - “Be real, not fake yo” - Ensure the communique fits the style of your nation. Ensure your socioeconomic, cultural, and political cultures are taken into account when responding to global situations and when preparing reactions, verbal or otherwise. When taking realism into account also ensure that the situations and positions your nation takes fits realistically in the current political atmosphere. Yes, this requires some degree of planning and, if you’re particularly white and nerdy, political and/or economic analysis depending on the situation. Boiled down this can be stated as simply be realistic.
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Good: “The Glorious Nation of GenocidesRUS does hence decree that the economic situations faced by the state hereof is reasoning for acquisition of the oil reserves whereof the Great WalPeace Republic through all means, armed and unarmed.” - The writing fits; GenocidesRUS is generally prone to armed confrontations over resources.
Bad: “The Glorious Nation of GenocidesRUS does hereby declare utmost support for the actions whereof the World Assembly in its actions to ensure the world peace and the limitation of genocides.” - The writing does not fit the nation; GenociesRUS is known for mass murders, not the perpetuation of world peace. - Summary: Be realistic, use good word choice, ensure your nation’s theme fits, use formality, check length for sufficiency.
[◆] Imagery in Communiques - “Oooh pretty” - Government coat of arms are usually meant to be aesthetically appealing yes, but their usual purpose is functionality. They indicate exactly where the communique originated, as well as representative of the state in which they are used by. Ensure that the imagery contained represents your state and include it.
- “Looks like a Doctor signed it…” - Ensure to include who it is from in an officially documented area. The common method is a signature from the head of foreign affairs or the head of state. I personally use the signatures that fit the type of communique; different agency sign differently and different sentiments require different levels of approval. In reality, it’s up to you but the final point is that there should be some approval authority to generically print on the communique. Real life examples are extremely numerous; all communiqués are ultimately “signed” by someone, often the head of the organization or the Public Relations (foreign affairs) department.
- “Oh how verbose you are…” - Ultimately, the majority of your communique will be words. This is the point. Ensure to include the coat of arms and maybe a signature of ten, but also ensure words are the main point.
- Summary: use good design detail; sign your paperwork, use mostly writing.
[◆]Types of Communiques - Personal Declaration/Decree - These types of communiqués are typically from the standpoint of a single person speaking for the entire nation, or an a matter that is of important and regarding them directly (such as a royal coronation). These can be relatively formal or often international invitations to events hosted (which will often be formal in and of themselves, but often imbued with some higher degree of cordiality).
- Declaration/Decree - Declarations and decrees are, by estimation, the second most common communiqués on NationStates. Declarations are typically communications from states describing the intention of a state to employ some level of force or action into a specific area, issue, or locality. These often receive the sharpest reaction as they usually deal with something the state intends to do or will regard what the state sees as proper or condemnable.
- Inter-State Communication - These are probably the most prevalent in NationStates. These are the usual intergovernmental communications sent throughout the world usually involving the foreign minister; they are meetings between states without a meeting location. These are where most of these principles will come to surface.
- Internal Publication - These publications are typically seen moreso in Factbooks than anything else. They are interagency communications dealing with actions from internal agencies and
actions of the government and state in question rather than some international pariah or occurrence.
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Examples - Personal Declaration (on behalf of the nation)
viewtopic.php?p=5043520#p5043520 - Declaration
viewtopic.php?p=7465840#p7465840 - Internal Communication
http://www.che.ac.za/documents/d000184/ - Inter-state communication
viewtopic.php?p=4982915#p4982915 - Summary: Different types of communiqués; declarations and decrees get largest reaction generally, they also usually involve and invoke some form of action on part of the state. International communication is most common; use formality and use proper diction. Use the principles listed. Internal publications are generally in FactBooks. Use them as communications within your government.
Summary: Just read the damn thing ffs. D:<
Having been jumped, beaten, and verbally abused into submission, I have finally been forced to write my guide to communiques. It seems that my communiques are more popular than I presumed, and I'm always eager to help and teach people. So thus, after all this abuse, I have accomplished by assigned duty. And I say unto you, voila!
[◆] Introduction
The communiqué. The communiqué is such a simple formality it seems that has appeared consistently within the realm of NationStates role-playing for years. As with all fictional things, the NS communiqué typically has its basis in fact. So first, let’s define what a communiqué is.
A communiqué, quite simply, is a publicized (typically written) announcement, report, or declaration from a public agency, usually of a state and a department therein. Communiqués are seen most widely on the national scale with hundreds, possibly thousands, of communiqués originating from municipalities and other smaller political entities. Communiqués in their most famous form, and most widely seen on NationStates however, are typically international communications, usually between several states.
So, here the question begs, what should a communiqué look like?
Well really, it’s up the creator of the communiqué. For centuries intergovernmental communication was on parchment. Communiqués of those sort will be covered in a separate guide, but many of the principles expressed herein are the same, and were established by such earlier communications. There are three basic principles in effective communiqué creation: writing, imagery, and type.
[◆] Writing Communiques
These are Legal Documents. Communiques are published and recorded by public agencies and considered to be legal documents. What is reported is a matter of state record. The writing should be expressed as such. The writing of communiqués are probably the most complicated matter of their creation. Writing communiqués should reflect a tone appropriate for the situation, the proper “feel” of your state, and be sufficiently legalistic and official so to sound as though it is actually from an agency of a state.
Good Words and Phrases to Use in Communiques
"Thereof"
"Therewith"
"Whereof"
"Hitherto"
"Thus"
"Hence(forth)"
The (FULL Nation Name) does henceforth declare...
It is the intent of this state, the (FULL nation name) to enact the following action...
Therefore, the obligation of any proper state in this matter is to...
Regarding the matter hereof, this state does henceforth...
It is therefore, with intention to...
"afford the placation whereto"
"ensure the sanctity of human life"
Listing grievances against a state or entity is always a good provocative measure.
