Embassy Review

[Praetor]

The first change we will be making to TNP’s FA is through a review of our forum and our in-game embassies. This review to determine which regions we continue to have embassies which do not provide any value to the region and our interests. We currently have 35 forum embassies and 36 in-game embassies.

We have 13 bilateral treaties which are with (all lists are in alphabetical order):
Balder
Equilism
Europe
Europeia
Greater Dienstad
International Democratic Union
Lazarus
Osiris
Stargate
Taijitu
The East Pacific
The Rejected Realms
The South Pacific

These regions all have both a forum embassy and an in-game embassy with us. Their embassies are mandated by our treaty; removing any embassies would necessitate a treaty repeal. We are not evaluating any treaties to be repealed—and it would not be a discussion held at this level if it was—as such, we are not going to discuss whether any of the embassies of treatied regions should be closed.

The eight regions that we have forum embassies and in-game embassies with are:
Canada
Forest
Gay
Lone Wolves United
Spiritus
The Free Nations Region
The Pacific
The West Pacific

The 14 regions that we have forum embassies but no in-game embassies with are:
Hartfelden
Kingdom of Great Britain
South Pacific
St Abbaddon
Thalassia
The Allied Republic
The Black Hawks
The Empire of Mare Nostrum
The Hole to Hide In
The Land of Kings and Emperors
The Social Liberal Union
The Union of Democratic States
United Kingdom
Wintreath

The 15 regions that we have in-game embassies but not forum embassies with are:
Albion
Anti Nazi Alliance
Australia
Birb
PacificCon
Equinox
HC Metalurg
Mordor
Nasicournia
One big Island
The Potato Alliance
The Skeleton Army
Unknown
Warzone PacificCon
World Assembly Legislative League

The above 37 regions are up for discussion. While there are some regions that is it incredibly unlikely that we will close embassies with them and some regions that it is incredibly likely that we will close embassies with, I intend to make no comment on these regions yet. This is also intended to be an exercise for staff members to participate in the critical thinking and persuasive requirements of FA. I am eagerly welcoming comments on whether we should keep open or close the embassies listed above. When considering whether a forum activity should be closed, consider the activity of the embassy and the state of the region. When considering whether an in-game embassy should be closed, consider our relationship with the region and the benefit it offers to us. Feel free to make comments on as little or as many regions as you would like.

Ultimately, the final decision on which embassies to close will be made by the Delegate based upon recommendations I will create from the discussion that we all have. I will most likely provide the recommendations after a week or so.

 

[Peeps]

As Ambassador to Gay I recommend that no changes are made to our current relationship, while they are not a very active region an embassy with them has great symbolic value.

 

[New Celoveniortan]

The Township of Equilism is a quiet, peaceful, and nice region. There is no reason nor pretext of any kind to close the Embassy between the two regions.

 

[Tim Kasto]

I am Ambassador to Balder and that our current relationship should be maintained with no changes. I will add that there is some daily activity on RMB and discord with little activity on their forum. From my conversations with people, Balder is an important ally for passing our WA resolutions as they vote in our favor.

 

[Fregerson]

Opinions on my 3 postings:
Europe - No questions about this embassy. They belong in the first list, as a treatied ally, part of WALL with us. For activity levels, most of their activity is on their forums (for RPing) and RMB, so their discord is relatively quiter.
Thalassia - The question of "what type of embassy" this is propped up towards the tail end of last term, when they did their constitutional reforms and set up their forums for the first time, and required ambassadors to declare what type of embassy we have. I declared it as a "consulate" (defined as an off-site embassy only), considering that no on-site embassy has been established with Thalassia per se ever since the historical move from Pacifica to Thalassia. Like many UCRs, activity isn't as high, though there still remains a significant number of active residents/citizens.
Hell - Strangely, I have an been posted as an ambassador there even though no in-game or off-site relationship officially exists? I am not sure how to comment on this, considering that I am not exactly the most familiar guy with our relationship history. Will require the leadership's input on this one - maybe this is another embassy to take note of.

 

[Comfed]

I am the current ambassador to Wintreath. I don’t think a change of status is warranted.

I am also the current ambassador to Osiris. We maintain a treaty with Osiris. I don’t believe a change of status is warranted.

Canada

I know this is an in-game embassy but their region is very inactive. This is one to review.

Lone Wolves United

I say close. We don’t have very close ties to them and their last update was over four years ago.

Forest

Spiritus

Keep, because no matter their activity they have a good history with TNP.

The Pacific
The West Pacific

They’re very active and diligent with posting. Keep.

Hartfelden

This region is dying. Their only noteworthy achievement (if it’s even that notable) is being a signatory to the APC. No updates since 2019. Close.

Kingdom of Great Britain
South Pacific
St Abbaddon

They’re reasonably active. Keep.

The Allied Republic

They have posted zero updates since we opened an embassy in 2019. I have never heard of them. Close.

The Empire of Mare Nostrum

Their last update was over a year ago. They have 20 nations and a password. Close.

LunarPunk needs an in-game embassy.

 

[Westinor]

As an ambassador to South Pacific, I believe the region is active enough to warrant having an embassy with, and recent activity following their elections has risen. The current embassy status seems fine to me.

 

[Sanjurika]

A lot of our in-game embassies without forum embassies are symbolic so I supposed it's really up to the Delegate. Are PacificCon and Warzone PacificCon necessary to keep?

I agree with Comfed about EMN.

 

[MajorTriad]

I believe our relationship with the Social Liberal Union should remain as it is. I have no knowledge of our previous standing with them.
But the embassy should stay up, even though the forum and RMB are relatively quiet. Most of its activity takes place in the server, including most of their ongoing RP. The active members are diligent and dedicated to the region. They show interest in our distributions. So I believe the embassy should remain open.

 

[Bobberino]

As ambassador to KoGB, I believe the embassy should remain the way it is.

 

[Peeps]

Of the others, I would concur on EMN and then also recommend closing with Equinox, only 30 nations and no regional government anymore it seems.

 

[Imperial Pieserged]

Currently ambassador to IDU, only recent activity on their forum apart from me was delegate xio. RMB occasionally has postings but not much. Discord is somewhat active with memes and rp but not much else

 

[Rocketdog]

Hartfelden doesnt have a forum anymore, but discord is very active.

 

[Robespierre]

Ambassador to the Union of Democratic States here:

As far as I can tell, the UDS seems very friendly, active, and welcoming. When I arrived, they were happy to see me and I was met with a positive reception as the ambassador from TNP to them. They’ve recently transferred over to XenForo forums, which is the same type of forums that we have, and their regional government is very active.

They’re defender-aligned, but I would recommend that we either maintain relations with them as they exist in the status quo or even consider strengthening ties with them. They’ve got lots of people that can be found elsewhere too (like from TRR, who we’re already close with). Not sure what we’d do with them, but I’ve quite enjoyed my time being assigned there

 

[Praetor]

Thank you for all the comments so far, if I have not replied, do not worry, I still have noted your opinion (and most likely agree with you).

The Township of Equilism is a quiet, peaceful, and nice region. There is no reason nor pretext of any kind to close the Embassy between the two regions.

I am Ambassador to Balder and that our current relationship should be maintained with no changes. I will add that there is some daily activity on RMB and discord with little activity on their forum. From my conversations with people, Balder is an important ally for passing our WA resolutions as they vote in our favor.

Given that Balder and Equilism are treatied allies we certainly won't be closing our embassies illegally!

Opinions on my 3 postings:
Europe - No questions about this embassy. They belong in the first list, as a treatied ally, part of WALL with us. For activity levels, most of their activity is on their forums (for RPing) and RMB, so their discord is relatively quiter.
Thalassia - The question of "what type of embassy" this is propped up towards the tail end of last term, when they did their constitutional reforms and set up their forums for the first time, and required ambassadors to declare what type of embassy we have. I declared it as a "consulate" (defined as an off-site embassy only), considering that no on-site embassy has been established with Thalassia per se ever since the historical move from Pacifica to Thalassia. Like many UCRs, activity isn't as high, though there still remains a significant number of active residents/citizens.
Hell - Strangely, I have an been posted as an ambassador there even though no in-game or off-site relationship officially exists? I am not sure how to comment on this, considering that I am not exactly the most familiar guy with our relationship history. Will require the leadership's input on this one - maybe this is another embassy to take note of.

lol @ Hell.

That's certainly interesting and a good catch. I wonder if the creation of a forum embassy was just never made and Hell never caught it due to not posting there. I'll have to look into it and will get back to you. What are your thoughts on their activity?

LunarPunk needs an in-game embassy.

We'll see how many in-game embassies we have with the NPA; HC Metalurg isn't used anymore. We could keep it for symbolic reasons.

A lot of our in-game embassies without forum embassies are symbolic so I supposed it's really up to the Delegate. Are PacificCon and Warzone PacificCon necessary to keep?

I agree with Comfed about EMN.

I don't believe they are necessary to keep and will most likely be closed. Same with The Potato Alliance.

EMN actually closed down their government a while back so I imagine we'll be closing that embassy.

Of the others, I would concur on EMN and then also recommend closing with Equinox, only 30 nations and no regional government anymore it seems.

Likewise on EMN. Thanks for the recommendation on Equinox. I concur. Bit of a shame, I liked the concept of the region.

Currently ambassador to IDU, only recent activity on their forum apart from me was delegate xio. RMB occasionally has postings but not much. Discord is somewhat active with memes and rp but not much else

Noted. They are a treatied ally and a member of WALL so we won't be closing their embassy. I do believe there's more activity in WALL from them.

 

[Fregerson]

lol @ Hell.

That's certainly interesting and a good catch. I wonder if the creation of a forum embassy was just never made and Hell never caught it due to not posting there. I'll have to look into it and will get back to you. What are your thoughts on their activity?

You would know their discord is utterly blank. Any post of updates comes without reply. I must say the activity on their RMB (Underworld/Hell) is also decreasing. Now we can see posts from more than 1 week on their RMB front page pretty easily.

 

[Praetor]

The regions that we have forum embassies and in-game embassies with are:

Canada
Gay

We are on pretty friendly terms with these regions. However, we haven't heard from them recently on our forums. Perhaps it would be worth checking in on them and see how they are doing?

Forest
Spiritus
The Free Nations Region
The Pacific
The West Pacific

All of theses nations are fairly major and are active on our off-site forums. Keep them as is.

Lone Wolves United

While we have not heard from them in quite some time on the forum, they are nevertheless a military organization and those tend to be less active in posting updates on our forums. As such, I will reach out to the NPA for their thoughts.

The regions that we have forum embassies but no in-game embassies with are:

Hartfelden
The Allied Republic
The Empire of Mare Nostrum

These have been inactive for quite some time; I think these can all be closed with no fess.

Kingdom of Great Britain
South Pacific
St Abbaddon
Thalassia
The Black Hawks
The Hole to Hide In
The Land of Kings and Emperors
United Kingdom
The Union of Democratic States
Wintreath

These have all been relatively active recently or are new so we should leave them open.

The Social Liberal Union

While this has been inactive for a while, we recently communicated with them with their coup and changed their embassy name to fit their new region. As such, I think it might be best to have the Ambassador send a "We'd love to hear from you" note.

The regions that we have in-game embassies but not forum embassies with are:

Albion

A former treatied ally which has since become quite inactive—I'm not sure there is much value we get from this given that the treaty was repealed. Close this embassy I think.

Australia

A rather inactive region which collects embassies. While I would recommend closing this embassy, I do believe we leaned on them to not open an embassy with a fascist region not too long ago so it may be inappropriate to close the embassy now.

Equinox
Mordor
Unknown
Nasicournia

Formerly active regions that we used to have off-site relations with them, unfortunately they are no longer as active as they used to be. These should be closed due to a lack of ongoing relations with them.

One big Island

The founder is somewhat active on our RMB (rarely though), I'm leaning towards recommending that we close this embassy as well.

The Skeleton Army

Quite inactive region which is also passworded, despite it being commended, we get no value from it and should close it.

Anti Nazi Alliance

While this is an embassy of a region that we captured from fascists based on the WFE, we don't maintain embassies with regions captured usually. While this embassy could be symbolic, I think it's pretty clear that TNP is anti-fascist and anti-Nazi, I think this embassy could be closed as well.

Birb

The current jump point of the NPA, should remain open for symbolic reasons and if the NPA wants to use the cross-embassy posting feature.

HC Metalurg

Former jump point of the NPA, not in use and we will be keeping our current jump point's embassy open. This can be closed (Minister of Defence Nim was fine with it).

The Potato Alliance
Warzone PacificCon
PacificCon

These are all embassies from regions that were created for events that ended previously—they should be closed.

World Assembly Legislative League

As this is symbolic of an inter-regional organization we are a part of, I do not think it should be closed.

EDIT: Also somewhat related to this, recall our ambassador from Hell given a lack of activity from them and no diplomatic presence on our side.

 

[Gorundu]

No one has mentioned opening any in-game embassies with regions that we currently have a forum embassy with, but I think we should consider some of them which we have had relations with for a while and have been decently active in posting updates, like The Union of Democratic States or The Land of Kings and Emperors.

 

[Praetor]

No one has mentioned opening any in-game embassies with regions that we currently have a forum embassy with, but I think we should consider some of them which we have had relations with for a while and have been decently active in posting updates, like The Union of Democratic States or The Land of Kings and Emperors.

While not out of the question, at this time, I would prefer to cut down on the embassies before we start seeking regions to open embassies with. We will be seeking out relations with new regions in the future though.