Eras' random thoughts

As a longtime resident of The North Pacific (TNP), I feel a sort of embarrassment at the situation in which we find ourselves. We seem to have developed a strange disposition to turmoil in our region. First, we had the reign of UPS Rail and Great Bight, during which many nations, including myself, were banned from our home for having too many endorsements, speaking out, or for other unknown reasons. Not much longer than a month ago, delegacy of our region again passed into the hands of those that many consider to be akin to a dictatorship. Indeed, while NPD is supposed to refer to North Pacific Directorate, many who oppose the NPD prefer North Pacific Dictatorship as a true representation of the government's style.

What I would like to do is to lay out one view of the situation. This is not by any means an official NPU view, but we may see by comments how many people agree with me.

The first thing I want to do is to state what I want for The North Pacific. My reason for opposing the NPD as the government of TNP, now and forever. You may debate my terminology and correct usage of words, but what I want for TNP is democracy, the power to CHOOSE. Perhaps the correct word is republic or representative democracy; quite frankly I do not care, as long as citizens are allowed to participate freely in the governing of their region without fear of repercussions due to dissenting opinions. And right now that is not happening; given the laws put in place by Moldavi upon creation of the NPD, I fear that will never happen.

I'd like to give my perspective on how the NPD came about and what impact their changes have had on The North Pacific. There is a previous article in the INSN that covers up to a point where Cathyy, the previous owner of Pixiedance, handed control of her nation, the TNP delegate, over to Moldavi/Pierconium, former Senator of The Pacific. Shortly after that article, Cathyy was given control of her nation back. However, within another week she had given complete and permanent control back to Moldavi, and the NPD was born. When that happened, Moldavi issued a statement saying that a new government had been born and the previous one dissolved… solely on his authority as delegate. The region's forum (recently changed by Cathyy) was overhauled and several new Admins were added which, at that time, were unknown to anyone outside the NPD (~6 members at the time).

Under the new government, a set of laws (the Codex) was put forth. The Constitution, which had been voted into place in August of last year, was removed from the forum. All discussions that were occurring at the time in regards to revisions were simply deleted. Moldavi and the NPD decided upon the set of laws and decreed that they were the new rule of law in TNP. There was no discussion, no input solicited from longtime residents of the region; there was no choice in the laws. Additionally, the laws focused mainly on crimes and punishment. There was no vision given for TNP, no direction, no hope for the future. The Codex consists of a list of crimes that can be committed and the punishment for them. That is the legal framework for the NPD.

An additional point that needs to be made is the current makeup of the NPD. The delegate is a former Senator of The Pacific, stripped of all rank and honors by the PRP due to his actions. His participation in TNP prior to this was either extremely minimal or occurred as part of his duties as a Senator of The Pacific. Insane Power has been a member of TNP since the days of Great Bight, but he is also credited with attacking many members of TNP on a personal level, resulting in the resignation of Cabinet members and departure of some from the region. When the NPD first appeared, the remaining 4 members of the NPD were unknown. Their names on the forum were Judessia, Poltsamaa, Pletorium, and DeutscheDR. Shortly after the handover, it was revealed by Cathyy that she was Judessia. She in fact did not quit NS; she instead decided to assume the role of Minister of Justice. And later, through the efforts of the West Pacific Intelligence Agency, the identities of the other three were revealed to be: Tygaland from New Sparrow (Poltsamaa), Schizoid from New Sparrow (Pletorium), and Red Communist from USSR (DeutscheDR).

Only 2 of the 6 members of the NPD have worked for and participated in the government of TNP prior to their takeover. Moldavi would make the argument that he had a puppet nation residing in TNP and that he was a participant on the regional forum, however I believe his participation as a Senator does not qualify as participation as a member of TNP. Even if you wish to count Moldavi, that leaves 3 members (HALF) that had NO previous experience in The North Pacific. Our region is controlled in large part by people that have no idea what The North Pacific has experienced, who the people are, and what the goals of the region should be. That is unacceptable.

The NPD has created a body called the Regional Assembly, through which the laws of the region can change. This is what they have said. However, all those that have opposed the government or that now refuse to swear allegiance to the NPD as the legitimate government cannot participate in the Regional Assembly. Indeed, as a "troublemaker" I cannot even view the Regional Assembly forum. You should not have to swear to support a government that you believe is wrong and want to change in order to participate in government.

Currently, two members of the region, Better Times (Free4All) and Ceasersland, have been banned from the region because they gained too many endorsements. One can only suspect that other nations who surpass a number set by Moldavi will be banned if they are not members of the NPD. The majority of longtime participants in the regional forum have been labeled "troublemakers" or "Opposition Ambassadors" due to their opposition and dissenting opinions against the government. This restricts their viewing and posting privileges. Moldavi has charged many members of TNP with violation of the Codex. Better Times and Ceasersland have both been convicted and declared permanently banned. Others (including Ananke, Flemingovia, Heft, Hersfold, and myself), have now been formally charged and brought to trial.

Everything about the formation of the NPD goes against what TNP has stood for and what the people of the region have shown that they want over time. And let me say this; the ends DO NOT justify the means. While the NPD may have a grandiose vision of the future, their means of getting there violates the principles that The North Pacific has stood for over the passing of the years. I will fight to keep those principles in place, because I believe in them and the possibilities inherent in our region and the people that reside there.

I, as a citizen of The North Pacific, hope that the people of The North Pacific can be given back their right to participation in the government no matter their views or opinions. I hope that we are allowed to choose our government and our laws. I hope that we do not have to endure a third dictatorship in the future.

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Can a feeder region ever have a coherent purpose? What is the purpose of a feeder region? Can a group of people guide the region and determine policies for it? Under what circumstances is that kind of oligarchy acceptable?

Let's face it. NPD and NPU are 2 sides of a many sided die. One advocates stability through dictatorial control, ultimately resting in the hands of 1 person. The other advocates a majority rule, which has a possibility of becoming disorderly.

Does it even matter what the government of a Pacific is? If we look at participation offsite of NS by nations in the Pacifics, every bit of participation is from someone in the minority. If we're generous, 100 people out of close to 7,500 in TNP participate offsite on a somewhat regular basis. And that's generous. 1.5% of the population deciding on policies for the rest of the region. And that sounds SOOO bad. But in reality, it's not bad at all. It's close to perfect.

The reason it's perfect is because of the disconnect between the NS site politics and offsite politics. NS only recognizes the delegate. That's it. And the only activities onsite that a delegate can engage in is UN proposals/voting, and the ban button. That's it. Now assuming that most people can agree that nations shouldn't be ejected randomly at the delegate's whim and that banning should only happen in predetermined cases, the delegate's hands are fairly tied in respects to the ban button. And for UN proposals, almost all delegates simply poll the populace and get their feedback. Yet again, not a policy setting decision. According to strict NS rules, the delegate is the head of the government. But there's very little politics that happens strictly onsite. Most politics take place offsite. So the delegate can very easily be fair to the majority of nations that are in a feeder simply because they don't care about regional politics or are just starting out, finding their way.

Regional politics. This is *completely* offsite. Nothing done here can affect the NS site unless the delegate lets it. Or there's a mass movement of nations due to something happening here. But even a "mass" movement can't affect the population of a feeder significantly. The rules made here are unenforceable directly, they're based on trust in the other person and the fear of being shunned if you break the rules.

Regional politics that create positions other than the delegate, create treaties, alliances, and embassies, and create governments are all in the minds of their creators. Anything created here between regions is really just between the people participating in the offsite worlds. And that's very few people. So if TNP has a treaty with the ADN, with TEP, with the PRP, or with TWP, it's an agreement between the people of those regions, who believe that that could help their region. Politics within region are intimately connected to the people within the region. Without the people participating offsite, there is no politics.

So the problem with offsite politics comes from the ever present problems of people interacting with each other. Given that a feeder will always contain a wide variety of people with a wide variety of views and goals for their nations, it is close to impossible to satisfy everyone's goal and vision for the region. So then the decision time comes (ultimately made by the delegate in accordance with NS rules) of how the region's government will be run. But the total power doesn't rest with the delegate in a feeder. There are enough participating people that unless the delegate can pool together at least a small number of people, they won't stay in power for long. If a feeder region unites against their delegate, the delegate WILL be gone eventually.

Side analogy Regional politics is like evolution. When the population drops to a low enough level, there can be rapid genetic change since the population is so small. When the population is high, genetic change is slower. So when many people stop participating in the offsite government, either by leaving or just not speaking up, a small group of individuals can rapidly change the politics of the government.

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Here's something that's been a source of interest and frustration from day one for me. The tendency for people to lie, exaggerate, or otherwise put forward something that's not true when playing NS.

I tend to categorize 2 areas. IC and OOC. People need to accept that there are two areas. Insults tendered in one do not carry over to the other. Likewise for compliments. In general, people do well with this simply because there's little strife overall in NS. But a few seem unable to figure out the difference between the two sectors.

Besides the inability to distinguish, there are people that are never seem to leave their IC personas. They take IC insulting to areas that are normally the domain of OOC. I personally view any messengers as OOC. I may discuss things about the game, aspects of it, but I don't conduct official business off of some type of forum.

This in large part is probably due to how I play the game. My personality is my nation, so I can talk with what I think for what I want. Alternatively, maybe I should take everything that people say as being IC. But that doesn't work for a goodly number of people. They go on and on about their lives.

Then there's that person that continuously says things sarcastically, jokingly, trying to push your buttons. Whether it's intentional or not. They just never seem to stop and say anything real. Or if they do, it's so lost amongst the clutter of the randomness that you can't see it. Then they act hurt when you don't see the "truth" of their statement.

In truth, none of this makes any sense. Hooray for random rants!

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So. diplomacy. Not really the word I'm thinking of. I'm more focused on "playing nice". This has nothing to do with regional politics.

If someone asks you not to do something (OOC), shouldn't you try (to the best of your ability) to NOT do that??? And if it simply requires that you exercise some restraint, it doesn't detract from your NS experience in ANY way, then why the hell would you stop to consider the request? I don't care if you hate the person on NS. They're still a person and deserving of some simple courtesy. Until they fragrantly act like an asshole OOC to people, honor simple requests. It makes the game smoother.

I'm tired of people not actually talking to each other and hiding behind diplomacy or politics. You want a region that's not bitterly divided? Get the people to have some respect and basis for understanding between each other. Have a healthy OOC or debate section where people talk about issues that actually matter to them, and do it honestly. Don't argue politics all the time. Chat with each other outside the forum. Do things with each other outside NS.

If people never actually talk and get a chance to relate to one another, then the chance of blowups escalates, and misunderstandings become disproportionately large. And people take the IC into the OOC realm. Then the problem arises that people play this game in different ways. Some are IC constantly. Some are OOC constantly. Some draw very distinct lines between their IC and OOC comments. And some (me included) have this very blurry line that goes back and forth depending on the situation. And personally, I lean more OOC when I'm anywhere outside a forum.

IRC is... the worst I think. When someone says, "don't take it personally." on IRC, I cringe. How can you *not* take things personally when they're said to you in a format where they are? Unless it's mutually agreed that people are IC, then you have to assume they're OOC.

One more rant down. Several million to go.

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Woohoo! another rant. yippy skippy. Although this is I guess more a continuation of a theme. IC vs. OOC.
So a group of people decided to institute a dictatorship (temporary according to them) that was designed to increase activity in their quiet region. They acted suddenly, had the consent of the delegate, and changed forums on the region. Then, about 2 days later, amidst a large amount of backlash and misgivings on the part of the participants, the group was disbanded and the region returned somewhat to normal. No participant tried to hold on to power, they let it pass peaceably on to those that had not participated and were left. Whether they helped increase activity remains to be seen, but they have again stirred up that group of people that seem unable to separate the game from their personal feelings.

I write this as a close friend of people on *both* sides of this. And personally, I completely disagree with what the group did. I think it was a stupid gesture and way to garner activity. Additionally, stopping so soon meant that no good came of it. Except to warn the region that they were vulnerable. And one would have thought they had learned that from watching it happen in TNP. *sighs*

However, aside from that, I remain friends with those people. I understand they felt their actions were the only way to get what they wanted, and they implemented them. Some people however, who called those involved friends before this now have dropped them, called them names, and raked their names through the mud. Some of this has been done IC, which I agree needs to be done, as those involved were the truly trusted members of the government, and they in effect betrayed that trust, no matter they thought it was best for the region. But they do *not* deserve to be insulted personally, which is happening. They don't need to be told to go jump off a cliff, called a pussy, or generally referred to as scum.

NationStates is a game. I know that people can be attached to regions. I am attached to Lemuria and will be for as long as I play NS. But if someone or a group of people took over Lemuria and twisted it, I would fight tooth and nail to get it back. Or I would leave. But my actions would be in game. Depending on the people and how personally I knew them, I would likely get plenty pissed at them. Even hurt if it was done by a select few. However, if they then stopped, that would remove a huge source of my ire. And I think they would still be my friends. Of course I can't say for certain, but I *can* say I wouldn't threaten them or call them any worse names than idiots and SOBs for going counter to my beliefs. And that would be referring to their beliefs for the region, not them personally, because I know they're all quite intelligent. I get exasperated with people on NS, but nothing goes beyond that.

This comes back to the IC/OOC line on NS. Lemuria is actually harder than a feeder because we are all so OOC. So attacks from within on Lem would be quite personal to all of us. But I'm still reminded of my evolution statement on change within a feeder. Sometimes punctuated evolution can happen. In this case, it was a failed line, but it happened because a small group of active people that were great friends tried something together. And NS often comes down to such personal actions and coalitions.

I'm disgusted with some of what I've seen. Apparently people can't accept actions they don't completely condone from their friends. And some are unable to move past a game friendship into a true friendship, where actions on a game do not kill a friendship. Instead, they make the friendship more interesting and fun. I'm sorry for the hurt my friends are feeling from learning that people aren't quite as open as they thought, and more hurt by a game then they should be. I love you guys.

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