The Monarchy of WintreathThe Monarch's Holiday Message 2018
In a way, the holiday season is a celebration of the warmth and joy of home, and of the people that make home such a warm and joyful place. This is why during this time of year most people want to be home for the holidays, and the way that I see it that extends to our online homes as well. Wintreath is my online home, and I figure that it must be home to others as well, because the further into the season we went, the more active we became. This feels me with great joy, because a home is a place that people want to go to...to relax, to let loose, and to be themselves, and it makes me feel really happy and proud that the community that I founded with a few others five years ago has become such a place to other people.
This year was many things for our community and online home, but it was never dull. Over the course of 2018, we faced challenges and had our share of triumphs. We saw familiar faces leave the community while new friends joined it. We branched into new things and put our attention to reviving old things. Through all this, I believe that we have become a stronger, more diverse community, and that we are leaving 2018 stronger than we entered it.
One of our biggest successes this year was the revival of recruitment and the subsequent growth of our NationStates region to heights that haven't been seen in nearly two years. We did this by overhauling our manual recruitment page, switching from NS++ for our API recruitment to our own custom script, and retooling our algorithms to target the nations most likely to be active and to be open to recruitment. As a result, during the year our NationStates region more than doubled in size, from around 190 nations to over 380, while requiring less effort to maintain than before.
Another success this year was in reviving the Cabinet. When the year began, the Cabinet was a dusty, inactive group that occasionally gave me advice when I asked for it. However, we restructured the Cabinet, giving Jarls more power to structure their own ministries and determine what needs their ministry needed to meet. We also made thane positions elected, giving Citizens with the drive and desire a chance to share their vision of what they would do in the Cabinet and for Citizens to choose the vision and the person they think is best. While I hope that we can continue to improve the Cabinet in 2019, I believe that it's already come a long way, being a body that regularly discusses things as they come up and assumes more responsibility than before, paving the way for other successes such as our recent activity in foreign affairs and our cultural successes.
Speaking of culture, I believe another success is the enduring strength of Wintrean culture as shown in the Summersend Festival, N-Day, and Z-Day. Culture is very important for a less political region such as ours, because in many ways it replaces politics as the reason many people come to us. We may not be the biggest, the most powerful, or the most relevant region in NationStates, but I feel our culture is stronger than most other regions, even those that are big, powerful, and relevant. Earlier this year, a candidate for office in an allied region posted that he didn't know whether we had much to offer them, but I believe anyone who has experienced our culture would know better. Fun and games is very much our thing, and I believe this year has continued to prove it.
These things make us a better region and a better website, but it doesn't make us a better community. What continues to make us an awesome community is our enduring principles, especially those of compassion, sympathy, civility, warmth, and personability. It's why we do things such as giving those unpopular in other communities a chance to make something of themselves. Sometimes it doesn't even work out, as we all know from experience, but the times when it does are some of my proudest as Founder and Monarch. Even when upholding these principles has made me uncomfortable or has provided fodder for those that want to tarnish us, it's something that I'm proud that we do and something that I still feel is right. It's what sets us apart from other communities, what draws people in who thrive, and ultimately what makes us a strong and enduring community.
I hope that you have enjoyed being part of our community in 2018, especially those of you who consider Wintreath to be your online home. 2019 is only a few days away now, and I hope to discuss my plans and ideas for the new year soon, but until then, I wish you a very happy remaining holiday season!
Inric Nordrim Kestar (Wintermoot I of Wintreath)Monarch and Founder of WintreathSuzerain of New HyperionRegent of Nowhere