[Request for Input] Polynesian Theme Brainstorming Thread

The Ministry of Regional Affairs under Minister Seraph has initiated a special project to develop a stronger regional theme for TSP based on the real Polynesian cultures of the South Pacific. TSP is already loosely Polynesian-themed, but in a very haphazard, tropical-resort-y sort of style. The idea of this project is not to replace or damage our current culture in any way -- we could never get rid of lampshades and SPIT and coconuts and llamas! -- but rather to add on top an additional layer of theme that can inspire us when we roleplay, increase the uniqueness of our symbolism, and undergird our activities.

As the lead fellow on the theme team, I've opened this thread to gather ideas for ways to implement the theme, and get the input of all South Pacificans -- not just those who are fellows in the Ministry.

This theme will be inspired by various Polynesian cultures, but doesn't have to directly copy any one of them. That said, unlike Osiris's ancient Egypt or the West Pacific's ancient China, Polynesian culture is very much still alive today. In using elements of a living culture as inspiration, I ask that we all be very careful to give it and especially its complexity due respect. For example, it would not be appropriate to call the CRS discord channel '#nga-atua' ("the gods" -- not that that would be a good name anyway!) because atua, or gods/spiritual ancestors, are tapu (sacred). This is a good webpage for understanding proper use of Maori cultural concepts.

This thread is NOT for discussion of whether to develop a stronger theme at all, for discussion about developing a different theme, or for discussion about how far the theme should extend. Those aspects are up to the Minister and have already been discussed. In addition, the final determination as to what of any ideas here get used is up to the theme team and ultimately the Minister.

Here's what we have so far, and where we need to go:

How we're going about the theme There are many related Polynesian languages in the South Pacific (Hawai'ian is Polynesian, but located in the North Pacific). Because it generally has the best-kept dictionaries, translations, and records (and because it already has a short history of use in TSP -- e.g. Roavin's Prime Minister campaign motto), we have chosen to use Te Reo Māori (the Maori language) for any translations, and generally Māori culture as the specific basis for this theme when specifics are needed. What to add the theme to, what not to add the theme to? Adding theme to: WFE Already includes Maori Haere mai ki te tonga! ("welcome to the South"), but perhaps could be expanded Mottos SPSF motto - ideas suggested already include Kia māia ("be brave"), Mā ngā hua tā tangata ("By our actions we are known") Motto for the Coalition? Welcome messages Rewritten welcome telegram - any ideas? Rewritten Coconut welcome message on Discord !legislate command on Discord —> !powhiri (the Maori welcoming ceremony), instead of responding “<name> is now a legislator!”, posts some more complex explanation of the ceremony? Graphics and logos Concept art would be greatly appreciated Forum skin Discord channel and forum subforum names Ideas would be especially appreciated here Not adding theme to: Government titles and body names We are not looking to rename "Minister" or "the Assembly" to something else. "Minister" will remain "Minister". However, changing the logo for the Assembly or the name of the #legislators-lounge channel is a great idea. Creating new for the theme: Custom Coconut Discord bot commands/games? Activities for regional festivals? One idea: waka (canoe) racing sport competitions Regional traditions One idea for the SPSF: Haka ceremony as a teambuilding ritual before update? Researching Polynesian customs is a great way to get ideas for new traditions in TSP

So here are the main things I'd be interested in hearing from you, the general public:

• Ideas for themed forum and Discord channel names
  
• Ideas for mottos
  
• Suggestions for how to rewrite the WFE and welcome messages
  
• Anything in the third category above: ideas inspired by the theme that you think TSP should implement
  

That said, anything in the outline above that interests you -- we'd love to hear what you have to say about it. After all, this is all of our theme!

I hope some of you guys bite!

~ Aumeltopia ~

Raccoons are bandits! First they steal your food . . . and then your heart/identity!

Reply

Does anyone here speak Maori, or do we go full Google translate?

Ideas for themed forum and Discord channel names

Since we have the possibility to have a text next to the subforum names explaining its contents, we could basically have any name. We could simply have generic translations, like "Kāwanatanga" for "government" (as an alternative to Fudgetopia Government Centre). But I'm not sure hwo people feel about remmoving "Fudgetopia" from the name. We could also try to find existing Maori lore/stuff that would reflect what's going on in the subforums, like maybe a reference to a tale or something.

Since we don't have the possibility to explain the categories on Discord in the same way, I suggest we don't rename these.

Ideas for mottos

Some spontaneous suggestions, obviously using Google Translate:

SPSF:
"Paruru tatou" for "we defend"
"Ka tiakina" for "it shall be defended"

State/government:
"Manapori me te rereketanga" for "democracy and diversity"

Roleplayer
Manager of the TSP and A1-0 maps
Roleplay moderator

My roleplay nations

Pacifica canon

Sedunn      Quick facts - Population: 26,016,343 - GDP: $1.53 trillion - Military: 354,000‬ personnel, 3.8% of GDP - King: Vimmru II - Foundation: Late Iron Age - Member of the WF and CPSC

Transsuneria Quick facts - Population: 1,003,504 - GDP: $20.637 billion - Military: 5,500‬ personnel, 0.75% of GDP - President: Emil Palmann - Foundation: 1905 - Member of the WF

A1-0 canon

Treecuu Star Empire

Aurora canon

Orawak Tribe

Reply

Does anyone here speak Maori, or do we go full Google translate?

 Not that I'm aware of (though it would be awesome if we did). I suggest using a dictionary like this one rather than Google Translate, for the sake of accuracy.

Since we have the possibility to have a text next to the subforum names explaining its contents, we could basically have any name. We could simply have generic translations, like "Kāwanatanga" for "government" (as an alternative to Fudgetopia Government Centre). But I'm not sure hwo people feel about remmoving "Fudgetopia" from the name. We could also try to find existing Maori lore/stuff that would reflect what's going on in the subforums, like maybe a reference to a tale or something.

Since we don't have the possibility to explain the categories on Discord in the same way, I suggest we don't rename these.

I believe "Kāwanatanga" is a loan directly importing the word "government" (you can sort of see the similarity if you squint), so maybe not that.

For both forum and discord, I think it's acceptable to change some names but not all. The highest-level forum sections -- Fudgetopia Government Centre, Lampshade District, etc. -- have pretty creative names already that don't really need changing. But "Assembly of the South Pacific"? "Civic and Political Organization Center"? "Operations Center"? I think some of those could be changed. Same with Discord. #foreign-affairs and #local-council should maybe keep their names, but #legislators-lounge, #meme-island, #cabinet-office, #joint-security-room? Maybe those could all be changed.

In fact, here's a list of forums and Discord channels I think could be renamed (others are free to disagree or add more):

Forum
Announcements
Operations Center
Assembly of The South Pacific
Executive Offices
Private Halls of the Assembly
Voting Chamber
High Court
World Assembly Center
Civic and Political Organization Center
Embassy Row
NationStates Discussion Center
Hall of Spam
Hall of Historical Records

Discord
Lobby (section name)
#drama-llama-palooza
#games
#meme-island
Government (section name)
#legislators-lounge
Legislator Pavillion (voice channel)
Archives (section)
#cabinet-office
#joint-security-room
[other restricted channels I don't know of]
#coconut-lounge (in MoRA)
#the-atrium (in MoFA)
#garden-lounge (in MoFA)
#members-hall (in MoFA)
#lounge (in TSPRP)

~ Aumeltopia ~

Raccoons are bandits! First they steal your food . . . and then your heart/identity!

Reply

I think it's better to retain the current names of the Discord channels because it's easier for people to understand what each channel is for. However, I'm all for changing the category names. Here are some translations:

• Lobby → Roro
  
• Government (or regional government) → Karauna (Kāwanatanga ā-rohe)
  

4× Cabinet minister /// 1× OWL director /// CRS member /// SPSF

My History

Reply

I think it's better to retain the current names of the Discord channels because it's easier for people to understand what each channel is for. However, I'm all for changing the category names. Here are some translations:

On the other hand, channel names are sometimes obscure names that require people to know what they mean by heart. And you also have the people who keep some categories minimised, in which case they'd have no idea what they meant unless they knew maori.

That being said, I'm generally not a fan of giving obscure (either decorational or in a language most people don't know) names to functional things like channels and categories (including the forum) anyways, and we've violated that many, many times in the south pacific - but that's my tuppance worth.

(This post was last modified: 08-17-2020, 08:03 PM by Jebediah.)

Reply

New direction being discussed on Discord now: go heavy on tying TSP to RL-South-Pacific nature and geography, and use Polynesian art as inspiration for graphics, but limit the extent to which we're appropriating cultural institutions, language, and names.

~ Aumeltopia ~

Raccoons are bandits! First they steal your food . . . and then your heart/identity!

Reply

I was very reticent about this because of the non-English language changes and other aspects that could definitely be considered appropriating. As long as we stick to aesthetics and imagery, I have no negative opinions of this

Reply

I think it wouldn't hurt to put out feelers in the NS forum and Discord to see if there are any players with a Polynesian heritage and who could be brought in to share some thoughts?

Reply

I feel like the theme should not harm efficiency. Changing welcome messages and TGs would probably make them more difficult to understand, and is completely pointless because the language in those should be as clear as possible. Changing the legislate command is also superfluous, as no-one cares enough about those.

As for the Haka ritual, I can't see how that would be performed on a text based messaging service.

Lastly, elements of this could come close to appropriation, so we should be careful about what we do.

Aga/Eunopiar

Mostly does boring things.

Reply

Perhaps we could create smaller regional communities called Islands, much like XKI's houses without the recruiting focus. This could also include inter-island RP, RP inside islands, island positions, etc., perhaps even a local government.

Reply