I guess it was the older theme that was used as a permanent one but was replaced as times got on.Gradea:What is this Old Blue thing anyway?
I like this idea and linked to it in the cabinet chat, where Mousebumples came up with this lovely idea:Kasch:How about a North Pacific Appreciation theme?
Celebrating some of The North Pacific's most beloved and influential members and some of the region's greatest achievements. For all of the members that are relatively new to the forums and to the game, this would serve as a great way to educate people on the history of the region and of the forums. We could speak about some of the people who have greatly served this region and maybe we could highlight some of the regions best moments. This theme would be fitting, since The North Pacific has been around for most of NS History and there are people who were around to witness how the region developed.
The theme would have like a gold colour, with diamond outlines. There would be threads for people to post on where we discuss some of our best moments on NS and the forums. There could be threads for members of the government to comment on some of the golden ages of the region and the things they have had to go work towards to get where we are today. There are so many things that could be spoken about, and I would imagine that sharing some of our most positive moments as a region would lift the moods of many people. Not only would some of the more prominent members of the region have the chance to speak about their experiences, but smaller and less known nations would also be able to make their voices heard.
In conclusion, the theme would serve as a way to appreciate some of the finer things this region has accomplished, rather then focusing on the negatives.
What do you think?
<Mousebumples>1) would it be interesting to have a "year" for each day of the theme week ... or weeks, perhaps?
<Mousebumples>i.e. start with what history we know of TNP from 2002, or whatever year we have solid records on, and just treat it like an informative sort of thing?
<Mousebumples>but i'm a complete history nerd, so that sort of stuff interests me
<Mousebumples>if we want to limit it to a week, i'd expect that TNP's history could probably be classified in some "eras" - i.e. by notable Delegates, or periods between transformative events
<Mousebumples>and even if we only have 4 "eras" we could go with 2 days per era or something - just to keep things more organized and less haphazard
<Mousebumples>2) do we have contacts (or still active citizens) from all/most of these times that would be willing to be available to either give a short speech/post or just have a Q&A on the forum or on IRC about what it was like "back then" ?
.....
<Mousebumples>the other thing that kasch more glosses over, is that it might be worthwhile to talk about some of the bad things and the fuckups that happened - not that we want to make this "boo, TNP was bad!" or anything, but i generally try to view mistakes and screwups as opportunities to learn
<Mousebumples>and, in the case of history, to not repeat history
<Mousebumples>not that we want to flay any old players alive for "bad choices" but - for example - you guys looked at the influence-related issues that made you semi-regular victims of coups and changed the system and the culture in that regard
<Mousebumples>whether things were easy to take advantage of being of a lack of knowledge, or a lack of structure or whatever, isn't really the point ... but you realized that you had an issue and you took steps to rectify it
<Mousebumples>(plus, i get more TGs in response to recruitment TGs from TNPers going - "thanks for the invite, but i really like it here in my region" - than i do from the other feeders)
<Mousebumples>i don't know much about the details of TNP history, so i'm not much help there, but i can definitely see potential for a theme week of a sort
<Mousebumples>it might be fun to put together like a "which past delegate of TNP are you?" quiz for the lolz, depending on how much you think TNPers would like that sort of thing
It depends on how the "hard times" are framed, I suppose. I'd view it more as a, "Wow, look at how we fixed [x problem]" than a "Gosh, so-and-so really messed that up." Not that some people won't be negative regardless because they can, but a part of history (in my view) is understanding mistakes of the past, and why things didn't work in the past, so you can do better in the future.Kasch:I respect that Mousebumples might want to go over some of the mistakes that TNP has made, and that is totally understandable, but I can see things taking a turn for the worst if we end up pointing fingers at one another and blaming certain mishaps on particular members of the community. I don't want anyone that doesn't deserve it to be portrayed in a negative manner. Hence, why I suggested a more light-hearted and positive theme.
But sure, we could discuss the general history of the region and go over some of the tougher time periods and eras, but the last thing I want is people being indirectly blamed for things that may have happened an extremely long time ago. I am going to suggest that we lean more towards Syrixia's idea of a historical 'Old Blue' theme, but also keep some elements of both mine and Mousebumples ideas, mixing discussions on better times for TNP, and also keeping the tougher times included.
Alright, that's a very reasonable way to put it and I think it should work if we have a balance. We don't want to glamorize and boast about all of our achievements, but we also do not want to recap every mistake we've made. We could highlight some of the bigger slip-ups, and some of our good times just as much.Mousebumples:It depends on how the "hard times" are framed, I suppose. I'd view it more as a, "Wow, look at how we fixed [x problem]" than a "Gosh, so-and-so really messed that up." Not that some people won't be negative regardless because they can, but a part of history (in my view) is understanding mistakes of the past, and why things didn't work in the past, so you can do better in the future.Kasch:I respect that Mousebumples might want to go over some of the mistakes that TNP has made, and that is totally understandable, but I can see things taking a turn for the worst if we end up pointing fingers at one another and blaming certain mishaps on particular members of the community. I don't want anyone that doesn't deserve it to be portrayed in a negative manner. Hence, why I suggested a more light-hearted and positive theme.
But sure, we could discuss the general history of the region and go over some of the tougher time periods and eras, but the last thing I want is people being indirectly blamed for things that may have happened an extremely long time ago. I am going to suggest that we lean more towards Syrixia's idea of a historical 'Old Blue' theme, but also keep some elements of both mine and Mousebumples ideas, mixing discussions on better times for TNP, and also keeping the tougher times included.
Again: I'm a scientist at heart (and work in healthcare IRL), so I try to view problems as opportunities to learn and understand things better. That's not to say that we need to do things "my" way, but to ignore harder times because they're not happy and lighthearted seems like it would make it harder to really emphasize all that TNP has accomplished. Good times look especially good when framed against harder times, after all, do they not?
I love this idea. A noir murder mystery week. Make the forum black & white, everyone comes up with a Prohibition-Era alter ego, etc.Lord Ravenclaw:I wouldn't mind a mystery/murder-mystery crime theme.
Yeah! I'd be down for it.IndieGirl:I love this idea. A noir murder mystery week. Make the forum black & white, everyone comes up with a Prohibition-Era alter ego, etc.Lord Ravenclaw:I wouldn't mind a mystery/murder-mystery crime theme.
Love it!IndieGirl:I love this idea. A noir murder mystery week. Make the forum black & white, everyone comes up with a Prohibition-Era alter ego, etc.Lord Ravenclaw:I wouldn't mind a mystery/murder-mystery crime theme.
Yep, I can totally find a 1920s-era Host a Murder game that we can convert for forum-play.Cronaal:That sounds fun! Maybe a murder case to go along with it
I'm definitely more with the first idea than the second.Kasch:I'm still with what we originally discussed, either a noir/mystery/murder theme or a historic old blue theme with some fancier elements.
Explain more about this idea and what kind of things we can do around it.Equestria and Griffon:A theme week should be about NationStates.It's the game we play.
That sounds amazing!Gradea:Yeah, the mystery theme sounds a good idea. Maybe we have a murder take place and the residents of TNP vote on what action is taken in an ingame poll?
Bring a suit.Hiskjriaana:Fantastic! I could provide the jazz