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Anything that drives healthy activity is a good thing IMHO. I see nothing wrong with an attempt to give the region a cultural theme and I applaud the creative work being done by the region's residents. That said. Can we get an option for an in-game theme that doesn't involve memorizing new titles, please? Can the Delegate and Ministers still have titles that clearly state what they do? the one thing that really irks me about the themed regions is the crazy titles everyone has. I need a glossary to figure out who has what job in Osiris for example.

And never forget The Klingon Empire of The West Pacific! And TWP is Legendary:

One point that I made in my original post that has also been reflected by Ark, I want to stress. No theme will eliminate the unique TWP-ness of our region. We will not be slavishly following one of these themes. They will be a framework which we will alter to suit the needs of our residents and the character of our region.

The guardianship and cabinet have considered the pros and cons of a theme change at every step of the way. We knew that some people would be iffy about stepping away from "traditional" TWP. We want you to know that what you came to and stayed in TWP for, whether it's relaxation, a career, or just a place to enjoy some snark, a theme change won't affect your ability to do that. I personally love all the proposed themes and I can't wait to see how the Hall votes. As far as changing the flag, one of the few instructions Halo explicitly gave us was to make the flag still reflective of TWP's current flag design, either through the color scheme or the sunburst. The flag will always feel like TWP regardless. The reason we settled on the Hall was covered by Halo, but I'd also like to bring up that having the entire region vote on a theme doesn't make all that much sense when most of the nations that would be voting are only gameside, which is 1/3rd of the areas the theme would actually affect (the other two being discord and forum obviously). I understand the traditionalist stance, of course, but sometimes it's okay to step away from tradition, and take a leap in the hope that the region will be better for it. I am very confident that this theme change will do nothing except provide another fun aspect to TWP and make the region a better place for a variety of player personalities to be in.

I've always enjoyed the laid-back theme (or lack of such) in TWP as well, and I respect the opinion of those who wish to uphold it. But having the theme change generates some excitement, and having a set theme in general incites interest in newcomers. I'm thinking back to when TWPAF unveiled the new pirate theme. Before Altino took over, we lacked a clear theme there; closest thing we had was the omnipresent anime and pinkness. When the pirate theme was unveiled, even our existing members renewed their interest and got more involved. Alti complimented this with effective recruitment drives, and TWPAF was in better shape than it had been in a while, with new stars rising through the ranks. By embracing a new theme, any theme, we would have a clearer direction and a way to engage newcomers. Have to remember that most new NS players come from my generation, and we're famously bad at staying interested for long. We need to give them a reason to be interested. </rambling>

More old Graphics....I'll spoiler them to spare the thread.

Nice! Everyone ... the theme will be fun and TWP will still be wonderful because the same people will still be here. YOU make TWP what it is, not some theme.

I changed themes two or three times during my Delegacy. We started out sort of Dune based with the Laandstrad for the Assembly. But no one could remember how to spell it. *chuckles* Later went to the Sacred Order of The West Pacific and The West Pacific Imperium. Policies stayed the same, graphics stayed the same. The theme is just a costume you put on In the end, it's delegate's choice IMO. I mearly added to titles for my themes, so a Minister became Holy Minister and a Guardian became a Cardinal Guardian. In Equilism we went through a period when we changed the theme with each government. By the time they'd gotten to a Game of Thrones theme, they lost me as I didn't know anything about it (still don't) - so was all meaningless to me. Houses, titles, all irrelevant and confusing to me. I like the dragon imagery in the graphics proposal. You can tie that to TWP having had two Delegates associated with Dragons. You could take the Eagle and Crossbones flag and replace the Eagle with a Dragon. I gotta admit, I haven't been fond of TWPAF flags for some time. I think folks are too resistant to making use of the ingame polling. This would still be somewhat restrictive, but it would cast a wider net than the forum and still would be secure: Set the poll to both Native and Large Nation - it will prevent nations from other regions jumping in to vote, and prevent new founded nations from voting. (A nation would have to be about 6 months old to vote...a nation voting age requirement based on game mechanics). You could even form a bi-cameral legislature: ingame based on those polling rules (House), and Hall of Peers voting (Senate), Delegate has veto authority. Although, having a bi-cameral legislature is what got TWP into trouble before. The Senate becomes and exclusionary old boys club that eventually goes inactive and blocks the Delegate (I've seen this movie before) *chuckles* Nothing. I've championed more open citizenship, and removed citizenship oaths when I was delegate. It was never a problem. I haven't been a TWP citizen since oaths were reintroduced. So I'm just being me.

Hmmmm. My first impression: Any theme needs to incorporate traditional TWP. My second impression: Change can be good, and a theme can be a rallying point. But change for the sake of change is useless. *reads other thread* My third impression: These theme proposals don't speak to me. There's nothing wrong with them. But I don't want to live in a Russia or China themed region, I want to live in The West Pacific which has nothing to do with those. Be Original, be TWP. A pirate theme works.....it's not nationality/location specific. An imperial theme works....if it's not RL nation based... TWP should be TWP themed. My fourth impression: None of my prior impressions matter. Doesn't the government represent all those gameside nations too? I refuse to sign an oath to prove I'm active in a region. So my opinion has no weight.

It was my initial intention to have all of the residents in TWP vote on the theme, but after many discussions, we decided that the citizens are the most active residents and they should be the ones making the decision. Several other themes other than the three presented were also considered, but we thought these offered the greatest opportunity for advancement and recognition, while still reflecting some of the key elements of the region. I think all three themes are terrific! Many thanks to Kawaii, Ark and OT for the work they put into developing these!

I am 100% pro-imperial China.

And I have masked them both on Discord.

One of the reasons TWPAF benefited from its pirate theme was because that theme is well suited to West Pacifican culture. I'm all for a rebranding of TWP, as I've made plenty clear before, but making something it other than TWP doesn't make any sense. There's no reason we should be taking things from RL cultures that aren't ours when we have a perfectly good one right here in TWP. The theme should reflect TWP, not the other way around. One can say that a new theme won't affect our culture, except it undoubtedly will. If done correctly, all mentions of TWP in government, documentation, and conversation would include the new language, and of the active members it will please some, do nothing to others, and irritate others. New nations will feel its influence even more strongly, as they wouldn't know anything else. Not to mention, if a theme either doesn't change or doesn't reflect the culture, then what's the point? People could just ignore it and all of this effort and discussion would be for naught. To that extent, I'm not in favor of any of the themes presented, and I think we have a lot more to gain from expanding TWPAF's pirate theme for the rest of the region. It's unique, easy to understand, and meshes well with TWP's culture. On the whole I prefer when things are discussed as a region and not presented to us after closed door discussions. Were I forced to choose from the three, however, Kawaii's Shogunate Japan theme seemed the best. Being open ended and more in favor of a reskin as opposed to something larger makes it easier to adapt to our needs. Plus it includes the only flag of the bunch that was interesting to me. Overall, a TWP theme is the best theme.

back from the dead

It won’t be such an intense theme change as to change our culture or how we operate to match that of the country we’re themed after. I understand your point though. Halo specifically chose these theme options because they have coastlines along the western Pacific Ocean, however, so they do have a tangential connection. TWPAF will be keeping its pirate theme, it’s always been relatively independent when it comes to theming/stylization as long as I’ve been around. TWP proper, however, is neither pirate-themed nor Tahiti-themed like badger suggested. It is, like most of the feeders, theme-less with a general feel of a theme or culture that evolved over time. Which is something we took note of. Does TWP *need* a theme like UCRs or Sinkers? No, it doesn’t. And this theme change is disimilar to those for some very important reasons. Primarily, UCRs and Sinkers base their entire region and culture off of their themes. We do not. We are taking TWP’s existing culture and adding to it with the theme (which is almost entirely cosmetic aside from the Hall of Peers addition) that the delegate and region have agreed upon. Your impressions absolutely matter, Westwind, as do those of the nations gameside. However, I can think of no more secure way to vote for a theme than on the forums. I disapprove of sacrificing that security by holding a gameside poll, where the options are either WA nations (TWPAF and non-WA citizens can’t vote), “natives” (totally arbitrary residency requirement IIRC), or everyone (meaning that any other region could very well spam our poll and pick our theme for us). I do however, think it would be pertinent to advertise the theme change to the region so that they are at least aware that a theme change vote is occurring. As far as your comment about an oath, I don’t really know what to do about that. The existence of a citizenship oath isn’t up to me, nor do I think it’s particularly binding or restrictive.

I agree with Dark trying to figure out who the FA minister is or the delegate is annoying when they all have obscure or confusing names. This being said I'm all for a theme change but I don't want to change the traditional laid back nature, I personally like it because it offers a break from my hectic RL. If I had a preference it would be the Imperial Russian theme I but I applaud everyone for the hard work and the huge amount of creativity in the ideas. my one thought or Idea would probably be a more organized discord or forum RP, but that take a lot of work and effort so it may not be plausible.

That makes sense, Dark. I think the Ministers would retain their current titles, but even if something is added I agree wholeheartedly that they should retain titles that easily inform as to what they do. ninjaed ...

A lot of hard work was put forth by OT and Ark, and they've really blew me away. I feel like I won't be able to compete with them haha! Nevertheless, I'm glad to have had a chance to pitch in. It's really nice to be able to change it up a bit. You run with the same thing for too long, it loses its luster with too many people. I have full faith that this will help garner more activity and get us more citizen applications.

All done!

I, Bran Astor, swear that I have, to the best of my knowledge, been completely truthful in applying for citizenship in The West Pacific and that I have no other NationStates identity that has not been made known in this application. I swear my allegiance to The West Pacific and its citizens, and I swear not to engage in hostilities against The West Pacific or to violate The Manners of Governance, the constitution of The West Pacific, or any laws made pursuant to that constitution.

I, Seven Deaths, swear that I have, to the best of my knowledge, been completely truthful in applying for citizenship in The West Pacific and that I have no other NationStates identity that has not been made known in this application. I swear my allegiance to The West Pacific and its citizens, and I swear not to engage in hostilities against The West Pacific or to violate The Manners of Governance, the constitution of The West Pacific, or any laws made pursuant to that constitution.

Try that out. I moved some things around and added an officer's mask. If I need to go to Minister level, give me a poke and I will fix it.

Both done.

Hi TWP! I'm Somyrion/Aumeltopia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the South Pacific and your new ambassador from TSP. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you! I hope we can work towards further cooperation between our two regions ^-^ Please ask me any and all questions you have, from what our position is on this or that piece of politics to whether we really do ride llamas to work in the South (yes, obviously!). It's what I'm here for, after all! - Somy P.S.: If any of you know where the nearest stash of biscuits is, please alert me. You will my receive eternal love.

Today, the regions of Lazarus and The West Pacific announce the signing of The Chol Covenant Our regions pursued this treaty with a desire to strengthen both the friendship between each other, as well as bolster our positions in the world at large. The West Pacific and Lazarus have supported each other in crucial moments of NationStates history and this treaty will stand as a monument to that cooperation moving forward. We seek to provide a foundation upon which we may create a stronger bond between our respective communities and we hope to stand together as a voice for sovereign ideals throughout the World. The Chol Covenant Preamble Desiring that there shall be lasting peace and friendship between Lazarus and The West Pacific, this treaty is declared to be agreed upon by the governments of both regions, broadening and rejoicing in both the present and future friendship between the two regions. Each region shall respect the independence, sovereignty, and principles of the other and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the other, working only toward the betterment of each. Article I - Recognition of Sovereignty A. The members of this treaty recognize the independence and sovereignty of the current government of each region and agree to recognize any legal government that follows. B. Each member region recognizes that the sovereignty of each government is vested in the delegate and reflected in the decisions they make, and the authority they maintain as symbols of unity and stability for their region. C. Both regions agree not to take up arms against one another, nor undertake any action that is aimed at the subversion of the legitimate government of either region. D. Neither region shall enact law which cedes sovereign control of its government to a third party not native to its region. Article II – Mutual Defense A. Signatories of this treaty agree to provide defense for one another and may call on each other in times of crisis, or any other circumstance that is deemed a threat to the legal governments of either region. B. Such defense is not limited in scope, and the regional governments of both regions may request any form of help that they feel is necessary in trying circumstances, which can include everything from a statement by the other regional government, to a call for military assistance. C. A Request for military assistance may only be filed by the lawful Delegates or heads of the regional militaries. D. If a request cannot reasonably be fulfilled by the region, they may respectfully reject the request, but some form of help must be provided. E. If one region comes into possession of intelligence that could put the other region at risk, such information must be reported to the other regional government’s officials as quickly as possible. Any information shared between the parties of this treaty will be kept confidential to the greatest capability of both regional governments, and such information will not be presented publicly unless the regions have both agreed. Article III – Military Cooperation A. Signatory regions shall not engage in military hostilities against each other. This includes direct military operations and engaging in military operations in assistance of an opposing force of the other region. B. Individual military operations do not need the approval of the other region as long as it does not violate Article III, A. C. The signatories of this treaty agree to the principle of military cooperation, and will try to work together when possible to increase the effectiveness, strength, and respect of each other’s military. D. Both regions agree to recognize that the militaries of each regions are independent entities, protected under the right of sovereignty, and that they may engage each other on opposite sides of the battlefield in typical military gameplay; moreover, such engagements should and will not offend either region, but be greeted with respect in the spirit of competition. E. Though strongly encouraged, neither region is obligated to participate in any military operation of the other, with the exception of the mutual defense agreements spelled out in this treaty. Article IV – Diplomatic Cooperation A. Each signatory will endeavor to provide diplomatic support to the other signatory, where it is possible for them to do so, while being consistent with their own internal policies. B. Signatory regions shall provide an embassy for the other signatory on their forums and shall provide a representative from their region who will act as an ambassador from their region. C. Each signatory will endeavor to keep the other up-to-date on their regional affairs. D. Each ambassador shall behave in a respectable manner towards the signatory region. This includes, but is not limited to, obeying regional laws where it is applicable and following any ambassadorial protocol that the signatory region has already in place. E. Either signatory region may request that the ambassador sent to them by the other signatory be replaced if it is deemed that clauses IV.C or IV.D have not been followed appropriately by that individual. Article V – Cultural Activities A. Each signatory will endeavor, where appropriate to engage in social and cultural activities with the other signatory. This can include, but is not limited to, festivals, competitions, and other shared events. Article VI – Termination of Treaty A. If either regional government is considering withdrawal from this treaty, representatives from both regions must first meet and make a good-faith effort to find a solution to the issue(s) causing withdrawal. B. If that good-faith effort fails, then either member of this treaty may withdraw by posting a notice in the embassy of the other region. C. There will then be a five-day period before the treaty cancellation is considered final. D. Termination of this treaty shall not be seen as an act of war or hostility by either side.