Issue IV: June 13th, 2016
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[big][big]Can NationStates Have Class?[/big][/big][/big][/big]
[big][big]Research Article | Calvin Coolidge, Author[/big][/big]
Shortly after the major update on April 28th, HYDRA made an announcement that they had raided the region Edisonia, a founderless region. However, this wasn't just any region, this was a class region. The moderation team instantly struck against HYDRA for this raid, saying that it had long been a rule that class regions should not be invaded by those outside the class. HYDRA retaliated by stating that this rule was not made clear, and, had they known it was illegal, they would not have partaken in the raid in the first place. By the time everything was said and done, HYDRA was punished, and Eliot Isaraider, the military operative at the head of the operation was placed on an extended World Assembly ban (extended from a previous WA ban he was already serving due to Predator-related punishments), and new information was added to the "Forbidden Actions" section of the rules. On the face of it, this struggle seems like a raider organization overstepping its bounds, breaking the rules, and getting punished: something that has become increasingly common this year in the game. However, something stuck out to me about this story. Before news of this operation broke, I had hardly heard of class regions, and it seems a lot of gameplay had similar confusions over what these regions are, how they operate, and what their relationship is to the wider world of NationStates. So, to help clear that confusion, let's use this event to get an inside look at class regions.
First, let's ask the obvious question: what is a class region? According to the NS page for educators (found
here) "To facilitate its use in classes, NationStates allows educators to establish a special class region, within which students' nations reside. This region is isolated from the rest of the game world, so students cannot communicate with or be approached by other players." That seems simple enough. There are multiple ways one could imagine the political world of NS being used to educate students, and class regions strive to set up an environment where those features can be accessed, without fear of the outside world of the game getting too involved in the education of students. Additionally, class regions may contain players that are younger than your average NS player, due to it being used in a 5th grade Social Studies class, for example. One of the features of a class region is that nations in that region, "will not receive daily issues that could be considered adult in nature." There is also a warning to educators along the bottom of that page that, "The game has more than a dozen Moderators who act swiftly to remove inappropriate material, but I can't completely guarantee that you (or your students) will never encounter it before they do." The unusual restrictions on telegrams are part of a series of protections that are imposed upon class regions to help protect young students from inappropriate material. We have probably all received telegrams that are nothing but spam or swear words aimed at us for whatever reason, and this is an attempt to mitigate that risk for what may be young students playing NationStates because their teacher told them to.
What does that leave students with, however? Well, almost everything that the rest of us players have. The differences include: being an automatic member of the World Assembly (without having to supply an e-mail), no telegrams from or to nations outside the region, and you cannot leave the region. In addition, issues that are "adult" in nature are not sent to these nations, and the only ads they will see are the ones for Max Barry's books. Clearly, the goal of these regions is to ensure that they are isolated communities, free from influence of the outside world. However, as the HYDRA incident shows, this is not always the case.
The only thing separating a class region from everyone else is one password. Ideally, that password is kept a secret between the teacher and their students, but things happen. Another interesting tidbit we found out was that, despite having a WA ban in place on him, Eliot was immediately granted WA status on his nation, even though he never applied. This is an interesting side effect of not having student nations use an e-mail to gain WA status. Since there was nothing that had to be checked in order to become a WA nation, Eliot obtained something that he should not have been able to obtain, because the game gave it to him. This is a ban-worthy offense, despite being automatic, and mods have punished nations in class regions for having two WAs at once, including for having a WA nation in a class region and a WA nation not in a class region. In fact, if this double WA holder does not immediately rectify the issue, and report the problem to the moderation team, they will be severely punished, like any other incident of being in possession of multiple WA nations. Another little misconception brought up during the HYDRA raid was whether class nations can make WA proposals. After asking moderator Mousebumples, it was determined that class nations are permitted to submit both General Assembly or Security Council proposals, just like any other WA nation with at least 2 endorsements. This is an odd quirk in the whole isolation factor of class regions. While there are obvious educational benefits to seeing what passes the WA and what doesn't, the ability to pass something without playing any other aspect of the game puts class regions in a unique power position, whether they know it or not. On the flip side, however, the inability of class nations to send out telegrams makes it nearly impossible to coordinate a telegram campaign, which makes it quite difficult to get submitted proposals to quorum and a vote. So, maybe take all this with a grain of salt.
All of these things point to one conclusion, which I think it accurately summarized by moderator Sedgistan: "Class regions are "out of the game" when it comes to gameplay." (
Source.) The official rule that was added as a result of this invasion is: "Unless you are an invited member of that class, you should not move to a class region." (
Source.) NationStates is a place where all communities are connected: from the roleplayers, to the military-types, even the issue-answerers. We all live in the same world, and are subject to the same rules, regardless of whether we intend to be or not. Class regions, however, are in a world of their own. Their version of NationStates is very similar to ours, but should never crossover. The consequences, as HYDRA and others have learned, can be dire. I hope that this article has shed a light into the world of class regions, with the hope that now that we understand what they are, we can all agree to just leave them alone.
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[big][big]Discussing the Symposium on Women in NationStates[/big][/big][/big][/big]
[big][big]Interview | Kraketopia, Editor-In-Chief[/big][/big]
After the successful Symposium on Women in NS held in Europeia, which saw 21 topics and 259 posts from participants across NS, The Standard thought it would sit down with the main organizer, Mousebumples, and talk about the success of the Symposium, and how governments and administrators in NS can move forward with the findings from the Symposium.
Kraketopia: Today we have the well renowned mod and legendary cheese hoarder, Mousebumples. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us. Recently you were the driving force behind the Women and NationStates Symposium, which took place in Europeia. What compelled you to host this conference, and how did you prepare for it?
Mousebumples: It all started when I hosted a Women & NationStates panel/lecture for the NS World's Fair last December. I talked with Asta and NeeNee on
Mixlr, and while that was a great experience ... it felt like there was still plenty more that should be discussed. When President Trinnien approached me to be his Minister without Portfolio last term, here in Europeia, this is one of the projects we talked about wanting to accomplish. So far as the "how" - just talking with a bunch of people, getting interested individuals to help me run panels and participate on panels. There was a lot of interest within NS as a whole, which definitely helped.
Kraken: That's great, it's always awesome when people are eager to help put on an event, especially across regional boundaries. What were the main discussion points of the Symposium? Were there any findings or positions that surprised you?
Mouse: I wanted to make it as accessible as I could to any female player in NationStates, so we had specific panels about female player involvement in most of the areas of NS. Gameplay certainly got a little extra coverage, given the overall Gameplay focus within Europeia, but NSGers and RPers also had specific opportunities to express what issues they viewed within their community. Overall, the support for female players (and equality within each sphere) was strong, but it also made it clear to me that while most of the major players within NationStates take allegations of harassment, abuse, or unfair treatment seriously, there are (unfortunately) some regions of the game where such actions are not viewed in such a harsh light.
Additionally, there were some points of view that I hadn't considered, but that - in retrospect - are worthy of further consideration. This includes stuff like that new female players are often first considered for Culture-type positions versus other avenues, or the inherent possible sexism and depersonalization within some of the NS family setups across NationStates merely because of the huge gender imbalance within the game itself. Heck, one of the things that surprised me was my realizing that I had been the subject of sexual harassment many years ago. I never really viewed it as such because it never seemed "that bad," compared to some of the things I hear about from other players, but the Symposium helped me truly view it as what it was - the unwillingness of another player to accept no for an answer.
Kraken: What do you think is the next step for the analysis of gender relations and roles in NS? A future Symposium, a research essay, a constant dialogue, support network, or something else?
Mouse: My essay writing days are in my past, I must say, as I mostly gave that up when I finished college. However, I think, at minimum, we need to continue to have a dialogue between players. Whether that's female players supporting female players, or forum administrators discussing issues with other forum administrators to allow them to proactively protect the players within their region. I know that Asta and Xor (and a few others) do have a female support forum/network that they've created, but I've avoided joining to this point. In large part, that's because of my mod status. I doubt most players would mind if I participated, but I don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable in that sort of situation, and I know that for some, even having a mod around at all can definitely do that. A future Symposium is certainly a possibility, but I don't have anything along these lines even generally sketched out at this point. Maybe another discussion at the NS World's Fair, maybe another symposium, or ... whatever else the future may have in store.
Kraken: What advice would you give for administrators and governments on the treatment of female players, especially new players?
Mouse: Some of it is, I think, common sense. Make it clear to the community that that sort of behavior is not to be tolerated - and that includes "hilarious jokes" on official regional chats (Skype or IRC or Discord or what have you). Harrassers will optimize whatever opporunities are available to them to do what they'll do - and each region should hopefully have a host of players that are prepared to call out this sort of misbehavior and stand up for what might be a relatively new female player that otherwise might wonder if that sort of behavior is condoned, or worse, accepted within this region.
Whether a region has "laws against harassment" or makes it clear that it's a Terms of Service issue, each regional government and administrative team should be prepared to respond in various scenarios. Sometimes, it'll be easy - a non citizen is accussed of harassment abroad, and an administrative ban may be warranted. But what if it's a member within your region? What if it's an otherwise valuable member within your region, who is "really really great" ... except for the abominable behavior he has towards female players? These are tough questions to ask and answer, but I think that each region will be better served by answering these questions in the hypothetical before they are confronted with circumstances that have faced other regions across NationStates when some prominent players have been accussed of such deplorable actions.
Kraken: Agreed, and hopefully this Symposium has helped highlight the importance of these issues, and will help all regions prepare accordingly. Thank you for talking with us today.
Mouse: No problem. I'm happy to talk about such an important issue facing all regions within NationStates.
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[big][big]Reflections on the FRA[/big][/big][/big][/big]
[big][big]Opinion | OnderKelkia, Author[/big][/big]
Written May 30th, 2016The Founderless Regions Alliance has long served as the favoured club of the defender political establishment. Despite the rise and fall of the United Defenders League in 2011-14, the FRA has retained its status as the centre of political gravity in the Defender world ever since the demise of the Alliance Defence Network (and its short-lived successor, the Defender Security Alliance) in 2007. Never has the FRA lived up to the reality of being a founderless regions alliance in a literal sense. Yet even by the FRA's historical standards, the extent to which it is today dependent on a clique of defender elites from the game-created regions of The Rejected Realms and Lazarus is breathtaking. Insofar as the daily functioning of the FRA as an organisation is concerned, its other member-regions may as well not exist.
Consider these figures: Between 1st May and 29th May, 35 users logged onto the FRA forums. Within that number, 19 were in the groups "Visitor", "Invader", "Diplomat", "Military Liaison" and "Non-Allied Ranger". 16 users were grouped as administrators, cabinet members, Assembly Members or Regional Members. Out of those 16, only Nobody of Importance (Neanbear), Northern Chittowa and Lemurian Islands have no current affiliation with either TRR or Lazarus. This means that a mere three individuals participate in the FRA's central institutions without being linked to TRR or Lazarus.
When we dig deeper, it becomes apparent that the real number of active FRA members without affiliation to TRR or Lazarus is actually 1. Neanbear is grouped as a regional member but was in fact attached to 00000 A World Power, which recently abandoned the sinking ship of the FRA. Lemurian Islands is primarily a member of Atlantis, but within that period last logged into the FRA on 1st May itself, so cannot be classed as an active contributor. That leaves Northern Chittowa (who was historically affiliated with Lazarus before it joined the FRA) as the sole active member of the FRA who is outside current TRR-Lazarus circles. It is unsurprising that Northern Chittowa emerges as the exception. He has been the FRA's premier strategic architect since it was founded in 2006. Despite its pitiful state, he has every incentive to cling on to the defender political project which he created.
In order to dispute the above analysis, the FRA might be tempted to argue that citizens of TRR or Lazarus may be principally affiliated with another FRA region. For example, they might point to Tim Stark's connection to San Francisco Bay Area (with all its 8 nations) and Karputsk's affiliation with New Sorvun (with its grand total of 3 nations). Yet in the modern era, these are not genuine regional communities. Rather, they are puppet dumps (populated by long-term FRA partisans) employed to provide seats in the FRA Regional Assembly for individual members of the defender political establishment who have loose ties to any active FRA region. It is therefore entirely irrelevant that some members of the FRA Regional Assembly may be officially recorded as representing long-dead puppet dumps. The individuals nominally from these regions who contribute to the FRA are, in reality, participating because they are servants of the Defender sphere's political interests.
Bearing in mind that some defender politicians have a stake in the FRA without directly serving the interests of any region, it is important to make a distinction between the places from where the FRA derives its power and where power really lies within the organisation.
Without the regions of The Rejected Realms and Lazarus, the modern FRA would be powerless in practical terms. It would have no supply of new members to fill its cabinet posts and no meaningful military strength. On the FRA forums, only four individuals are left in the FRA Rangers group. None of them logged in between 1st May and 29th May. Lazarus and TRR are the only FRA regions with even semi-active militaries (and even they are weak compared to TITO or the AWP Regional Defence Force). Without Lazarus and TRR, the FRA would be no more than a collection of puppet dumps, plus a small number of more active regions (Gay, Atlantis and Antarctica) who make little contribution to the alliance's political and military activities. The FRA is dependent on TRR and Lazarus for its continued relevance.
The FRA understand this. They know that keeping TRR and Lazarus in their camp is essential to their survival. Securing a second defender-controlled game-created region was the reason why they merrily supported illegitimately purging Viktoria Gryfynn, North East Somerset and Charles Cerebella on false grounds from Lazarus in September 2013. Reflecting back on the events of September 2013,
Funkadelia has observed that defenders accepted the New Pacific Order's actions only "out of necessity". What was the necessity? As Funkadelia put it: "Having two defender GCRs is, and I am sure no one in the FRA will deny this, very important for the FRA." The defender capitulation to the New Pacific Order in September 2013 was essentially a desperate act of survival. The FRA is extremely fortunate that Feux and Stujenske mishandled the NLO situation so badly that the Defender world has succeeded in maintaining its own grip on Lazarus following the NPO's exit.
Given the fact that the entirety of the FRA's military and political power derives from Lazarus and TRR, surely the organisation ought to be an instrument of their governments? It does not even claim to be. It is a super-regional body which advances its own defender political agenda rather than the material interests of the 'sovereign' regions who contribute to it. It even has puppet dumps as protectorates so defender political elites can get extra seats on its assembly. A comparison with the United Imperial Armed Forces is instructive. Any one of the UIAF regional governments was vested with the authority to veto any UIAF mission or any UIAF command appointment. The UIAF was entirely an agent of the governments which ruled the three regions whose militaries contributed to it. Nothing could happen unless Albion, TNI and the LKE were jointly agreed on it. Do Lazarus and TRR enjoy similar formal mechanisms for exerting control over the FRA? No. Informally, it has been shown that Lazarus and TRR members dominate the FRA's active user-base. Yet it is the defender political project which they are serving, as opposed to the specific interests of their regions.
Ultimately, the FRA is a conglomeration of defender political figures. The clique that composes the FRA is primarily based in Lazarus and The Rejected Realms, but participants in its central organs also include other members of the defender political establishment. Rather than Lazarus and TRR controlling the FRA through their members, the principal-agent relationship is if anything the other way round. Through their membership of the FRA and the influence of FRA-associated eminence grises, Lazarus and TRR remain firmly committed to defender-aligned foreign and military policies. The individual identities of these game-created regions have been shaped to embed them in the Defender world. While influential Lazarus and TRR figures remain committed to the defender political project embodied by the FRA, there is little prospect for these regions gaining genuine independence. Like the FRA's other member-regions, The Rejected Realms and Lazarus are reduced to pawns which the defender political machine can move against the Independent regions of NationStates.
