Too Long; Didn't ReadWhat can I do this week?
A Word from the Monarch
Wintreath's Grand New Flag
Wintreath's Original Flag: 2013-2019
Upon our founding as a NationStates region, one of our first discussions was on regional symbols, including our flag. I had the idea to use a dormant winter tree, which to me symbolizes the promise of growth and renewal in the coming spring. Some designers ran with this theme, but we also explored flags based on runes, snowflakes, and even snow-capped mountains.
With so many awesome designs, we decided to have a contest to determine which one we would adopt. The winning flag was submitted by early Citizen TitsMcGee, which he designed and submitted while he was at work. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that he stuck around long after winning the contest, but variations of his flag represented Wintreath for nearly 9 years.
LGBTQ+ Pride Variation Flag: 2019-2022
In celebration of Pride Month 2019, Emoticonius designed a new version of the flag with the dormant tree showcasing the colors of the Pride flag. We originally used this flag just for Pride Month, but as the impact and importance of our LGBTQ+ community grew and we wanted to make sure it was represented in our community symbols, this became our permanent flag over time.
We've also created other variations of the flag over the years, most recently with the dormant tree in front of the Ukranian flag in solidarity with their resistance to the Russian invasion.
Our Grand New Flag!
The story of the new flag begins a few weeks before we had any intention of creating a new flag. As part of our experiment to expand to Twitter, we needed a new circular profile icon, which I created by taking the tree from our flag, putting it within a circle, and using our regional colors. This symbol became our Discord server icon at the same time.
When I decided that it would be inappropriate to continue using the flag that Emoticonius had designed, I intended to go back to using our original flag. However, the Joint Moderation Group felt it was important to have a flag that continued to represent our LGBTQ+ community, and ideas for an entirely new flag spawned from there.
Michi working on new flag designs
Our new flag was designed by
Michi (
Penguin Dictators), our current Jarl of Culture and Delegate, but draws inspiration from some of Crya's flags from the 2013 contest: particularly the idea of using an emblem that's centered on the flag's Nordic cross. From there, the flag took on ideas from members of the Joint Moderation Group where the discussion had started, especially using the LGBTQ+ pride colors as part of the cross and making the emblem bigger so it stands out more.
And thus came the final product: a little old, a little new, some LGBTQ+ representation, and a lot of blue! I was excited to see this flag take shape and come together, and I know that it will serve Wintreath well for years to come just as our old flag did. Thank you to Michi for putting this flag together (and the hundred draft versions that came before this), and to everyone who contributed ideas.
I hope that you enjoyed the story of Wintreath's flags! Until next week, stay frosty.
-Winter
The Welcome WagonAloha to our new and returning Citizens!
Welcome
Trashkanistan73 to the ranks of our Citizens! Trash has been involved on the NationStates RMB for several years now, but has decided to join the forums and become a Citizen to take part in the newer Rollspelskra RPs.
Welcome back to
Hugsim (
Ardio), a historic member of the community who returned after his Citizenship recently lapsed. We hope that this marks the beginning of seeing him around the community more often!
If you would like to become a Citizen of Wintreath, all you have to do is join our forums and then fill out
this form. Citizens gain full rights under our regional constitution, gain access to Citizen-only areas of the forums and Discord, and can participate in our government from our all-Citizen assembly to the Cabinet that runs the day-to-do operations of Wintreath.
Upcoming EventsAll times Eastern. Check out our Discord for the latest gaming events!
What's Happening NowNews from Wintreath
Kiddian Departs WintreathKiddian (
Kiddian States) announced this week that he had to leave Wintreath and NationStates due to "unforeseen life stuff", though he hopes to check in occassionally. While Kiddian was a relatively new member, he had become a regular in Rollspelskra roleplays and had just started to put together the Wintreath Regional Sports League, which has since been cancelled in his absence. Kiddian will be missed in our community, and we hope that he will be able to return to Wintreath soon.
Werewolf Rating System Released!Thane of Werewolf Arenado formally released the rating system, which Werewolf game hosts will use to describe their games so players can understand if its suitable for their experience level. The topic also includes definitions and suggests to help new hosts. This was a campaign pledge for Arenado which they can now mark as fulfilled!
TGN Publishes LGBTQ+ Country Group Photo!After running into difficulties that delayed the release,
TGN (
The Greenlandic North) released the LGBTQ+ Group Photo, which shows 10 of our NationStates nations played by members of Wintreath's LGBTQ+ community! It's a lovely creation, so thanks to TGN for putting it together!
Read More About It!Publications from Wintreans about anything and everything
Wintreath in StatisticsCheck
Wintreath in Statistics to see how active Wintreath was in June and other interesting stats, along with
Wintermoot's insights and perspective on it all.
Views of RP events from
TGN (
The Greenlandic North). This edition celebrates the most viewed edition of the publication yet, events during the Svipish Civil War, and some surprising pipeline errors!
New Forum Discussions
Here are the new discussions on our off-site forums! If one of them interests you, why don’t you add to it with a reply? As we have a few things going on at the moment, the list has been broken down by category!
Rollspelskra - Roleplay
Everything Else
Looking for Group
The Hearthkeepers: Wintreath's Welcome WagonThe Hearthkeepers help keep Wintreath a warm and welcoming community! They welcome and help new members, post daily questions for the community to discuss, create weekly events, and more. Would you like to help keep Wintreath a warm place? Check out the link and contact Michi / Penguin Dictators to join!
Winbassadors: Wintreath’s Face to Other CommunitiesAmbassadors (named Winbassadors on the Discord because ambassador was already taken) represent Wintreath to other communities. This involves joining their forums and Discord, keeping track of what’s going on there, posting our dispatches and information, and contributing to our foreign dispatch, the Auora Borealis. If you’re a Citizen and would like to join the Winbassador program, contact Wintermoot on Discord!
The Dungeon Masters: Wintreath's Gaming LeadersDungeon Masters help organize and run gaming nights: everything from Discord games like Cards Against Humanity to video games like Jackbox and Among Us. This is a great way to help contribute to Wintreath’s community that doesn’t involve NationStates, for those Citizens who have moved on from the NS side. If you’re interested in becoming a Dungeon Master, check the linked dispatch!
Rollspelskra: Wintreath's Roleplaying GuildRollspelskra is where the best roleplaying in Wintreath happens, with a focus on well-organized and moderated RPs that follow good etiquette. Join by showing you know the RP fallacies and how to avoid them, then once in propose and vote on monthly official RPs or create and join other RPs created by members. Check the link to explore Rollspelskra and join in on the fun!
Thanks for Reading!
Did you like this edition of The Frosty Bugle? Be sure to upvote/like this post so that I know people are getting something out of this publication and be encouraged to write more! Also, thanks to our subscribers who are listed below!
@Marzipan,
@TGN