[Canonicity Review] The Treaty of the Golden Star

[Sil Dorsett]

With the Treaty of the Golden Star passed and in force, I would like the Conclave to review a specific line that I didn't really pay attention to during debate which has to do with diplomatic relations. The line in question reads:

3. In-character representatives from each signatory's roleplay world will be given diplomatic status in the countries of the other signatory's world.

There are a few issues stemming from this line that I realized late:

• The operative clause in the line reads "will be given" which to me implies that this is a forced action and ignores an RP nation's right to determine their own domestic policies.
• In fact, I had asked Goyanes whether Clause 1 of TNP's Bill of Rights also applied to our Eras RP nations, but I was told that because Eras RP is under the purview of forum moderation and not TNP government, it did not. But this led to another question: Why did the treaty influence RP when it's not something in the purview of TNP government?
• The line does not specify that this diplomatic status would be limited to the shared space we agreed to in clause IV.2. Does that mean that even when a nation does not exist in one world outside of the shared space, we still have to recognize that other worlds exist and grant diplomatic status? Could this result in relations between Eras and Strangereal nations?

What I ask of the Conclave is to review the canonicity of Clause IV.3 within the Eras environment. Are diplomatic relations that are either forced or consented to by this clause canonical or not?

 

[Goyanes]

I do not think the TNP government should be involved in the "domestic" affairs of roleplay. Roleplay is under the purview of administration. I think that 4.3 of the Golden Star Treaty should be ruled non canon, as players should not be forced to interact with other nations, as it forces the gameplay.

 

[MacSalterson]

I've not really got an opinion on this one, since I have no clue what it pertains to. But, that's essentially all there is to it and there isn't additional outside context, my thoughts are along the same lines as Goy's.

 

[Sil Dorsett]

I've not really got an opinion on this one, since I have no clue what it pertains to. But, that's essentially all there is to it and there isn't additional outside context, my thoughts are along the same lines as Goy's.

Alright, I'll try to fill in the gaps. The treaty was a product of our cultural exchange event with Greater Dienstad. Section IV of it were provisions to encourage cross-region RP events and activities and set some guidelines on how we'd go about it. I'll repost the entire section here:

1. The signatories shall endeavor to conduct communal cultural activities to the benefit of members of both regions, such as an annual roleplay and cultural exchange.
2. The signatories shall recognize a shared space where universes overlap in their roleplay worlds and will endeavor to coordinate in this shared space. The signatories agree that interactions within this shared space occur within its own unique continuity.
3. In-character representatives from each signatory's roleplay world will be given diplomatic status in the countries of the other signatory's world.
4. The signatories shall endeavor to attend each other's roleplay expositions and other large-scale roleplay events.

Clauses 1 and 4 are basically "Hey, we had a good time. Let's do more of this." Simple. Clause 2 covered what we did over Discord, where we had our National Leaders Debate and the Grand Banquet in Syr's Golden Palace. We all agreed that was non-canon as it pertained to our individual worlds, but I think the clause establishes that things like that would follow their own canon. Clause 3 is what I'm not sure of. It's not clear what the scope of that clause was.