| The Independent Herald Tribune - 10/07/14 |
|
An Incestuous Relationship - Editorial Journalism, at its best, is promethean in nature. An independent press holds governments to account like no other institution. Alas, in NationStates it is little more than a pale imitation. Far from being independent, it is actively incestuous. News organisations can typically be divided into two categories; state propaganda machines, and pseudo-state propaganda machines. The difference between the two is little more than cosmetic, with the first being actively run by the regional government and promoting its interests – for example, The Rejected Times, The Northern Lights and The Lazarene Gazette – and the second run by members of the regional government operating ‘independently’ of their office – the list of prominent gameplayers who have or had their own papers is long, and includes many past and present GCR delegates; Unibot, Rachel Somerset and Westwind, to name just three. That these ‘independent’ newspapers invariably promote the interests of the governments and regions the players control is inevitable. This state of affairs is unavoidable. The NationStates player base is not large enough for it to be any other way. Near every active and informed gameplayer – those able and likely to run a newspaper – is either directly or indirectly involved in regional governance, as well as connected to the numerous informal IRC networks which largely run gameplay. So long as active regional populations number in the low dozens at best a truly independent media will be an unattainable goal. Writers and editors will always be personally connected to the subjects they cover, and engaged in creating as well as covering the news. That said, any Newspaper that truly aspires to be independent should be actively working to improve the present situation. Considering how bad things currently are, this would not be hard. To begin with, there must be genuine separation between the press and the state. Members of executive governments should not serve on the staff of newspapers, never mind control them. The focus of the press should be shifted to holding governments to account, rather than serving as their mouthpiece. News articles should be grounded in facts, and any data used not publicly available already should be made available for independent review and analysis. Most importantly, there must be a comprehensive process of editorial review to ensure objectivity and accuracy. Until this occurs, journalism in NationStates will be little more than a facsimile of the real thing. Profile of a Delegate: Kringalia - Sir Pitt I am ushered into the office of the Delegate of The South Pacific, Kringalia, on the back of a series of discussions about interviewing him for the South Pacific’s new newspaper, I finally have the chance to put my questions to one of the most influential people in Nationstates. It’s a hot day, and after the usual pleasantries and offering of cold beverages I can see that the Delegate is keen to get this over with – a feeling with which I have much sympathy. I decide to kick off by asking him about the current of the Assembly. “How do you feel about its performance? Is it helping the region or hindering it?” The Delegate is a man who considers his words carefully it seems, and after a short pause he begins his answer which has a rather glacial quality to it. “I think the Assembly is going through an interesting moment. We do have some heated debates and things go in a way we wouldn't want them to go. This discourages people from getting involved. I see at the same time that some people do try to get involved and bring some sense to the debates. That is encouraging, and I wish that more people behaved like that. In the end we can't control how people behave in the Assembly, but we can set the example of how we can get things done without all the infighting. That is the lesson I think we should all learn.” A sense of frustration pervades his voice, so I decide to press a little deeper. ”But do you feel, as has been referenced in the Assembly itself, that it is creating a negative image of TSP as a bickering, divided region?” Once again he pauses, perhaps not wishing to put a foot wrong in his response or perhaps a little bored by the topic, then he answers. ” The infighting definitely creates a negative image for the region, and some people have indeed mentioned that things that wouldn't even get attention abroad result in pages of discussions in our forum. I do feel like there is so much I can do as Delegate if people don't stop fighting against each other, but at the same time I like to keep in mind that the Assembly isn't the only thing to do in TSP. Sure, we have political infighting, but we have many people that are active participants in our roleplay section, people make suggestions on how to revamp Market Street, there is an active RMB. My point is that politics is just one aspect of the South Pacific, and while we should definitely address problems there, we are not as divided as it might seem.” The distinct image of tired referee desperately trying to separate two angry boxers leaps to mind. “Do you mean that there is not much you can do as Delegate if people don’t stop their infighting?” He responds quickly, ” I mean that I can't actually force people to be constructive if they don't want to be constructive. As Delegate I can't just make things happen. I have to work with other people.” It is certainly a noted quality of Kringalia that he tries to build consensus, and it is something that I decide to touch upon again later. Moving on from the Assembly, an area somewhat out of his control, I decide to ask him directly about his work. ”What are you working on at the moment as Delegate?” His tone of voice significantly lightens as he responds. ” Quite a few things. The main things I can mention is talking to some regions to strengthen our relationships abroad, planning a revamp of Market Street, and planning a festival with the North Pacific. That last one is the thing I'm most excited about, and I hope that we will have a great time with TNP. We were thinking about bringing back the model that was used in the regional games that Escade organised, which I think many people enjoyed.” It is clear that that culture is a topic that interests him, and I comment on the popularity of the TSP Inter-regional games. Changing topic, I ask him about TSP’s foreign policy – an area which is particularly controversial. ” Who do you see as central to TSP's relationships abroad over the next few months?” Pausing for a moment to reflect, he then provides his analysis. “Two regions that I think will be very important to the South Pacific over the next few months are Europeia and the North Pacific. We have held or will held cultural festivals with both, I keep in touch with their leadership, and am already planning further cooperation with them. Those are two regions that are similar to us and with whom I see a lot of potential for a stronger relationship.” “Does that include military cooperation?” I enquire. ”Yes, that includes military cooperation. Our treaties with both regions contemplate having joint missions, and I intend to make that happens. We have talked with both Europeia and TNP about this, and they agree that there is a lot we can do to have a closer and more dynamic relationship.” This comes around to a topic that I was particularly keen to probe the Delegate on, TSP’s military orientation. “What do you see TSP as?” I ask, hoping to find out a little more about his views on one of the most important geopolitical topics of the day. He briefly has to pause to answer a call from one of his ministries, after gathering himself again he begins his response. ” When I look at military orientation I consider two things. 1. What can keep TSP safe, not only from attacks but also from the endless discussions about R/D. 2. What can bring more fun and activity to the region in general, and to the Special Forces specifically. Recently there have been talks of TSP First, which I think sums up pretty nicely what I think the region should be. We don't need to defend regions because it is the right thing to do. We don't need to raid regions because it is something we can do. We should defend and raid according to what will give us better results at any given time. Sometimes it will be raiding, sometimes it will be defending. I think TSP needs to stop thinking of military orientation as something that defines our stance as a region. How vibrant our regional life is, that is what defines our stance as a region. So I see us working with both raider and defender regions, and yes, imperialists as well, because I consider how we can help each other, not what military orientation they have.” I can tell that this is a subject that he has thought deeply about, but I am a little unsure as to what exactly this means in terms of TSP’s position in the wider geopolitical landscape. What does TSP First mean in practice? I probe further. ” Are you refusing to put TSP on the spectrum or are you saying that TSP will move around on it, as needed to boost activity, regional life etc.?” “I'm saying that defining the military orientation of the South Pacific is not in my priority list. What I care about is making the region a more active and enjoyable place, and if either raiding more or defending more, or doing both, at any given time is what works, then that is fine by me.” The response has the same quality of a parent who has grown tired of their children asking “Why?” about everything. At the end of this answer, he has to go to have a short meeting with officials, who seem to be carrying some big cardboard files in the shape of pizzaboxes. They smell rather tasty as well. But after a short break, he returns and with child-like naivety, I decide to ask more to see if I can get a bit more of understanding of TSP’s foreign policy. ” If I can press you a bit on that, although it may not be your priority, it is an issue which is provoking significant debate in TSP and it is a matter of international importance. Are you saying that TSP cannot really be trusted by people, as its foreign policy will constantly change depending on regional interest?” ” Well, there are two things to consider here.” I feel a lecture coming on. ” First, our foreign policy IS doing raids or defences according to our regional interest. That hasn't prevented other regions from dealing with us, and even signing treaties. We have several alliances with other regions, and some others in the making. The challenge is determining what that interest is, and right now we determine that by looking at our alliances and our objectives in enhancing regional activity.” Having fought the urge to interrupt for a while, I can resist no longer. ” But are TSP's treaties set in stone, or are they under constant review? Because surely after a while, they will severely inhibit decision making and you will be trapped in the same R/D trap you are trying to avoid?” With a raised eyebrow and terse voice, he responds; “that's what I was going to address my the second point.” Pausing for a moment, he begins again. ” Our treaties do mean that there are limits to what we can do. We obviously won't revise a treaty just because it suddenly prevents us from doing something, without looking at the bigger picture of how that will impact our foreign policy.” He raises his hand as he says this, to make clear that he has more to say and to ward off irritating interruptions. ” What you are describing can happen, and we try our best to keep open channels of communication with others, so that any problems that arise can be fully discussed. In practice, however, our partners are quite understanding about our independence.” I decide to try and link cultural policy, which he seems to enjoy, and foreign policy, which seems more of irritant with a question about the TSP/TRR/Lazarus World Cup competition. ”Is that part of balancing TSP’s foreign policy?” ” The explanation is less interesting, I'm afraid. Unibot told me one day that TRR and Lazarus were supporting teams for the World Cup, and asked if we would be interested in joining them. I thought it was a great idea, and said yes.” ”Not everything can be of international significance I suppose!” I answer, a little disappointed that this wasn’t a clever move on the international chessboard. I begin the final section of the interview, with the Delegate obviously looking over my shoulder to the clock on the back of the wall. The topic is his leadership of TSP. ” Your supporters would say that you are a dedicated, moderate, consensus builder who is able to keep TSP together, a task similar to herding cats. Your critics would say that you lack energy and that you don't really drive TSP forward and think a little too small in scale. How would you respond to your supporters and your critics?” I feel a little taken aback by the question, he responds ” To people supporting me, I guess I want to say thanks for having confidence in me. I wanted the job because I wanted to do some good in the region, and I think that some progress has been made.” Stopping for a moment before he answers his critics, he then begins: ” To my critics, I also want to say thank you. Nobody can improve without knowing what they need to work on. I am well aware that I'm not the perfect Delegate, but I do want to leave the region in a better state than when I found it. If you think there is something wrong with the way we are doing things, you should step up and tells us. There is nothing I like more than talking with someone and hearing what we can do to improve the region.” Ever the politician, I muse to myself. ” What are the thoughts for your future? How long do you want to be Delegate for?” ” I plan to stay involved in the region long after I step down as Delegate. The South Pacific is my home and I want to help turn it into the best and most welcoming region in NationStates. How long do I want to stay as Delegate...” For a brief moment, I feel that I have produced a question that he wasn’t prepared for. However swiftly, he finishes his answer ” Obviously I'm going to finish my term. What happens after that, I'm not sure yet. I guess it depends on how we do during this last month of the term.” Every politician wants to be remembered for something. So I decide to ask our Delegate – what do you want as a legacy? Immediately he responds ”I guess if I could use one word to describe what I want as my legacy, it would be 'community'. I want to help create an active and self-sustainable community in the region, not only in the forum but also in the RMB. We have lots of potential as a region, and I think that an active culture is the one thing that has often eluded us.” “What is the biggest barrier to that?” I enquire. “Coming back full circle as it were, is there something about the political culture in TSP that is preventing community from being solidified?” “Perhaps.” The Delegate starts. ”What I think happens is that the people with the most potential to do something about culture aren't always interested in doing culture, as much as doing government, military gameplay, etc. That is changing, and we are seeing some very capable people that are interested in creating an active cultural sector. I think the biggest barrier is creating that initial activity drive that can convince people to start participating, which is what we are trying to do.” Feeling that I am pushing my luck if I try and delve any deeper into his assessment of the implementation of his policies so far. I decide to wrap up the interview. Any final thoughts? I ask. With a smile on his face, no doubt mostly made up of relief, he answers “Just thanks for the interview, and best of luck to SPINN in this new edition. I look forward to reading lots of articles from what will become the best newspaper in NS.” As I gather my belongings before I am ejected of the office by one of his many aides, I ask him what he thought of the interview. ”A little long” he cuts back. Perhaps, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Sleeping Giants No More - God-Emperor The conventional wisdom in NationStates maintains that feeder and sinker armies are inactive and, even when active, ineffectual, but are their armies’ recent actions turning conventional wisdom on its head? When this author shakes his Magic 8 Ball, it reads, “Signs point to yes.” Most notably, the recent occupation of the People’s Republic of Warzone Asia (PRWA) by The East Pacific’s Eastern Pacific Sovereign Army (EPSA) and The North Pacific’s North Pacific Army (NPA) was supported by the Imperial Sovereign Realms Army (ISRA), the joint command of Balder’s Jomsvikings and Osiris’ Sekhmet Legion. This ad hoc cooperation between these Game Created Region (GCR) armies, with additional support from the United Kingdom, created a level of endorsement piling that approaches that of The Black Riders’ occupations of Anarchy and The Silver Isles. Furthermore, the more recent raid of NAZI Europe by the NPA was supported by the EPSA and the ISRA with additional support from the United Imperial Armed Forces (UIAF), the joint command of Albion’s Royal Albion Legion, The New Inquisition’s The New Inquisition Armed Forces and The Land Of Kings And Emperors' Imperial Army, Equilism’s E-Army, Unknown’s Legion Of Cruor, Sicarius, The Black Hawks, and Antifa, which includes North Korea, The MT Army and The Red Fleet (TRF), among others, doubled the endorsement count of the aforementioned operations. The continued cooperation between the EPSA, NPA, and ISRA is creating a GCR bloc that can act as a balance against most any raider, defender, or imperialist blocs, despite the leanings of the individual armies, but the nature of the cooperation to date raises the question of whether it will actively balance against the unions and alliances on the Raider/Defender spectrum or it will effectively bandwagon in what is increasing becoming a uni-polar world. Additionally, The South Pacific’s South Pacific Special Forces (SPSF) supported stabilization operations in Warzone Australia, where a former South Pacific Army member was the longest serving delegate. Outside of the Warzones, The West Pacific’s Knights Of The Sacred Order Of The West are carrying out recovery operations on regions, like Atlantica, from both raiders and defenders alike. However, the relative inactivity of The New Pacific Order’s Pacific Expeditionary Force (NPO/PEF), Lazarus’ Lazarene Liberation Army (LLA), and The Rejected Realms Army (RRA) begs the question of whether or not this is an affirmation of active and effective GCR armies or more of a statement on the outlook of military game play in the world at large, and, perhaps more importantly, whether or not these defender and defender-leaning armies will ever clash with those more raider and imperialist leaning armies. Such a ‘clash’ occurred during the liberation of Liberal Haven lead by Arch Chancellor Milograd of the Founderless Regions Alliance, an alliance between the LLA and the RRA, amongst others, supported by The NPO, EPSA, and the SPSF with additional support from the United Defenders League, Spiritus’ Defense Force and autonomous brigades of Antifa, including TRF and The Internationale that ran concurrently with a liberation by the ISRA and the UIAF. The anti-Nazi fascist liberation was roughly equivalent to the occupation of the PRWA, but was dwarfed by the anti-Nazi fascist raid of NAZI Europe. When this author asked his Magic 8 Ball if and when we would receive any answers to these questions in the near future, he shook it again, and it read, “Ask again later.” Democracy in Inaction - Arbiter08 Whenever someone brings up TSP's Assembly they always seem to mention the constant infighting. Many have stated that the infighting is terrible but is it truly as bad as many portray it to be? First off, the infighting has become worse in recent times, so let's look at the outcomes of those debates. Let's look at the current Charter and Code of Laws amendments recently voted on (Not archived), and their outcomes. Then let's look at previous legislation since we moved to the new forums, and find which has a better pass to fail percentage. With that we can judge how productive the debates have been now compared to before the infighting really got out of hand. The current batch of legislation which voting recently concluded stands as two which failed, and two which passed. That gives us a 50% chance of having legislation pass with the current situation of the assembly. Now onto the legislation in the voting Archives. Keep in mind we are only comparing Charter amendments and Code of Laws amendments; not Appointments, or Reaffirmations. Looking at the Voting Archives we have eight total Charter amendments, seven of which passed, and one which failed. We also have two Code of Laws amendments, which both passed. That gives us a percentage of 90%. In the past we have had a 90% success rate with Charter and Code of Laws amendments, and now that has dropped down to 50%. That is a decrease of 40% in our amendment success rate! Therefore, the Assembly of The South Pacific is 40% less productive in passing legislation with the infighting. Now the question is, why? Why is the Assembly less productive? I believe that the Assembly is less productive because of the infighting. While everybody fights each other over many issues, they are becoming divided. When people become divided they are less likely to support people that they are constantly fighting, and that results in legislation receiving less support. When legislation receives less support it has less people fighting for it. When there are less people fighting for it fewer people will vote for it; if a piece of legislation doesn't receive enough votes to pass a certain threshold it fails. That is why half of recent legislation brought to vote failed. To Protect themselves from R/D, Roleplayers must embrace Gameplay - Belschaft Only the NationStates admins truly know how many players there, but for wont of a better figure WA membership has always served as a rough guide. At present there are roughly 15,400 WA member nations, each representing a unique player. Of these only a handful are actively involved in Gameplay – those parts of the game that directly involve the game mechanics of regional governance. An even smaller number participate in Military Gameplay, and perhaps half these players participate in what is commonly referred to as R/D – the endless battle waged between Raiders and Defenders since 2003. Being extremely generous we might estimate a total of three-hundred players involved in some form of Military Gameplay at present, just two percent of all unique players. How then did this tiny minority come to dominate the game? The answer is simple; the remaining 98% of players have allowed them to do so, by retreating from the game itself. There is nothing wrong about choosing to engage in Roleplay or General debate as your primary activity. Forum Seven has a thriving, if spammy, community. But NationStates is a game based around regional governance via the WA, and most players are involved in this aspect only peripherally. They might concern themselves with their own region, but often as no more than a place to organize their forum activities. And in doing so they have allowed themselves to become victimized, forced into a part of NationStates – R/D – that they want no part of. This issue has come to the fore recently, as a result of the activities of Forum Moderator and Raider Mallorea and Riva, who attempted to use WA game mechanics to open Haven, a historic Roleplay region, to raiding. Roleplayers have every right to object to this; whilst Raiding may be a part of the game, it is one based around imposing your will on others. No region wishes to be raided, and any community would rally to protect their own. But the way they have gone about this has been counterproductive, and has no chance of success. The extreme, overblown vitriol directed against Mallorea and Riva – including an organised campaign to try and force his removal as a Moderator, and even demands that he be banned from NationStates for unquestionably legal actions – can only have eroded what sympathy they had within the Moderation team. Beyond this, their demand that Game Administrators produce a complete ‘opt-out’ from Gameplay is unrealistic. Even were this possible, and mechanics that would not be open to manipulation could be created, [violet] long ago made it clear that this will not happen. Game mechanics are designed to be balanced and dynamic whenever possible, and the kind of security they desire would not meet this test. The reality is that existing mechanics, if used properly, would provide ample security, without causing lasting damage to Gameplay or necessitating constant Moderator intervention. How then can Roleplayers, Generalites and the spammers of Forum Seven achieve this security? The answer is to engage in Gameplay. This does not mean that they should become involved in R/D, for it is only a fringe aspect of Gameplay – and to do so would be as fundamentally counterproductive as their current approach is. Those who wish to protect their communities from R/D should instead organise their regions in the same way that they organise their forum-based activities. This means a concerted effort to use passwords effectively, to refound their regions when necessary and – more broadly – to build ties between their regions, commit themselves to collective security and make effective use of their WA nations. Beyond this they could build ties with those relatively benign Gameplay regions and organisations – the GCR’s in particular – who have the WA voting power to make the already unlikely possibility of a malicious liberation against non-Gameplay regions into an impossibility, and which would be willing to come to their aid defensively when needed if the Roleplayers would commit to the same. Abandoning Gameplay to the R/Ders has not served the rest of NationStates well. It is the reason why so small a minority has been able to create an improbable primacy, and act as it sees fit against the wishes and interests of the majority of players. If Rolepayers are serious about wanting to protect themselves from R/D the way forward is to embrace Gameplay, rather than hide away from it. If but a small fraction of them engaged with the game itself then the era of R/D predominance would be over for ever Corrections: Alterations to the article "Sleeping Giants No More" have been made at the requests of government officials of The New Pacific Order, The New Inquisition and The Land of Kings and Emperors. The Pacific Expeditionary Force was mistakenly labeled as a Defender military rather than Defender-leaning, and older names of the armed forces of TNI and LKE were used in place of the current versions. SPINN sincerely apologizes for these errors. Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making
Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator ![[Image: B9ytUsy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/B9ytUsy.png)
Thanks for providin' that title.
The Third Imperium
Journalist, South Pacific Independent News Network (SPINN) Provost, Magisterium Sergeant, East Pacific Sovereign Army Journalist, East Pacific News Service Foreign Affairs Minister, The West Pacific |
![[+]](/images/collapse_collapsed.png "[+]")
PREVIOUS ROLES 
| Users browsing this thread: |
| 1 Guest(s) |