Adorable Davelands

Not sure on the migration ETA as of yet, but I've moved all my DNS to CloudFlare now and have the new server up and running.  New Server has SSD Storage instead of the older Spinning Rust, so hopefully we'll find it a faster home once I've got everything moved over.
Still a few things I need to configure but I'm hoping this weekend to move stuff.

And we're on the new server!  Seems like it's a bit snappier to me, but maybe that's just cause I fought with it all day

@Adorable Davelands  @Ahmir I of Meracina @PumpkinHeadTheLegend @no1crate @New Quieria @Wolowso @New Naticefecka Islands @The Empire of Gordinium @Load All accepted.
Gwist rejected due to admin concerns.
Jakub has been banned from the region and is no longer eligible.

This is the official embassy for The Union of Democratic States.
May our relations always be strong!

How about a beach on a mountain lake?

How about a beach on a mountain lake?

How about a beach on a mountain lake?

Lakeside in the mountains.  Having enough shoreline to launch a small boat or canoe is all the beach I need.
Beaches are pretty to take pictures of...  from afar while standing in the shade.

We are arrogant enough to think that we have even a small idea about how the universe works. I suspect that we know less than %0.00001 of the answers. Heck, we had to create the concept of Dark Matter just to make our math work right.
I'm going with the KISS method. There was an explosion that moved everything out. Gravity will eventually pull everything back together, even if that spot is past where we are right now (which is why we think the universe is expanding forever).

Has been banned, but it's a DHCP Address in Iowa, so it will likely return as a new IP at somepoint.  You weren't the only account it attempted to login as.
Thankfully the forum software's lockout/autounlock does it's job in preventing a true brute force attack, as it maxes out at 3 attempts.

Adorable Davelands - AD - ADS - .ad

I'm sorry @Darkesia but the best I can do for you right now is this eternally spinning jar of glitter.

Congrats on an excellent run as Delegate Halo! If I had one regret it was not making you my direct successor.
Bran, well... we've had our differences, but I've watched you grow and learn under Halo. I think you will be an excellent Delegate and will continue to make The West Pacific even better!

Congrats on an excellent run as Delegate Halo! If I had one regret it was not making you my direct successor.
Bran, well... we've had our differences, but I've watched you grow and learn under Halo. I think you will be an excellent Delegate and will continue to make The West Pacific even better!

Today, a new theme is inaugurated in The West Pacific, one that honors our traditions and institutions and builds on these to provide new excitement and opportunities. This ceremony is not about me, but about you, the residents who make this the best region in NationStates. Therefore, I use this occasion to recognize some of those who have made The West Pacific what it is today and those who have begun the work of bringing it to a new glory.
Merit is awarded in The West Pacific. The greatness of our region is the result of the imagination, talentand work of many individuals over many years contributing to our common good. These Honors are one way we can show our appreciation to those dedicated residents. As today is the first Honors ceremony in The West Pacific under the current theme, it will be longer than most will be in the future. There are many achievers that must be recognized.

Honors Of The West Pacific
Granted by His Imperial Majesty,
Marcarius Halo Rahl, The Holy Principality of Saint Mark,
Dragon Emperor of The West Pacific
on the first day of March in the year two-thousand and nineteen.

The recognition of merit is one of the pillars of The West Pacific.
These dedicated residents of our region, by applying their unique talents with hard work and imagination
to the betterment of The West Pacific have earned high praise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
First, it is with great affection and admiration that I grant Neenee the titles of
Dowager Empress of the West Pacific
For her dedicated service as our last Delegate,

 
 Chancellor of The Hall of Peers
So that she may continue to serve the region with her wise counsel, and
Celestial Sage
As one who appointed the current Delegate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next, I would like to honor, Davelands, 
the Delegate that preceded her and who has done so much in so many different roles for our region both before and after his delegacy,
by granting him the title of
Royal Prince of The West Pacific.  

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next honor is granted to Big Bad Badger
for his inspired leadership during his past delegacy
which led to the creation of The Manners among many other regional improvements and institutions.
He is made a Royal Duke of The West Pacific. 

 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In recognition of his past work as the Delegate during whose tenure I was born in The West Pacific,
for having started several of our fond traditions and for always being our Delegarth,
I grant Elegarth the honor of
Royal Duke of The West Pacific.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In recognition of his aid to The West Pacific multiple times as our transition Delegate,
and honoring his many years of loyally serving as one of our region’s Guardians,
I grant Mediobogdum the title
Royal Duke of The West Pacific.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grateful for the chocolate she shares and appreciative of her wise counsel,
and in recognition of her service as a past Delegate,
I grant Darkesia the title of
Duchess of Hainan.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In gratitude for his many years of time, talent and treasure in supporting our region, and especially the forum,
I award Southern Eureka with the title of
Duke of Chongming.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In recognition of his many contributions to the region since antiquity,
including his terms as our Delegate and his support as The West Pacific’s unofficial historian,
I grant All Good People the title of
Duke of Zhoushan.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In gratitude for his assistance as a Guardian,
and in recognition of his past contributions as a Delegate of The West Pacific,
I bestow upon Yy4u, the title
Marquis of Donghai.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In appreciation for his service to The West Pacific as its Delegate multiple times,
Wickedly Evil People is granted the title
Marquis of Shangchuan.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In recognition of his past Delegacy, and fearful of his roofur madness,
I bestow upon Bhang Bhang Duc the title of
Marquis of Damang.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In gratitude for her loyal and dedicated service as The Commander of The West Pacific Armed Forces
and briefly as our Foreign Affairs Minister, and in appreciation for her willingness to delve enthusiastically into any project,
I grant Kawaii Schoolgirl the title of
Countess of Junshan.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In gratitude for his devoted service as Speaker of The Hall of Nations and Minister of Foreign Affairs,
and in appreciation for his willingness to work for the region,
I grant Arkadia Universalis the title of
Earl of Ping.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In recognition of his work as our first Minister of Education, and in appreciation of his wise counsel,
I grant Dalimbar the title of
Baron of Zhifu.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In gratitude for his exceptional work in Internal Affairs, both past and present,
and with appreciation for his wise counsel,
I bestow upon Bran Astor the title of
Baron of Hebao.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Orders of Xia
Xia means someone with power who helps others in need. The Xia (pronounced shya) are the knights of The West Pacific.
This is the highest non-peer honor a resident can receive.
~~~~~~~~~

Benevolent Order of Mencius:
for extraordinary service to the people of TWP
This is the highest of the Xia Orders.

Those admitted to this Order today are:

Southern Eureka
For his years of Forum support

Big Bad Badger
For beginning The West Pacific’s transformation
 

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Imperial Order of The Dragon:
for extraordinary service to The Emperor

Those admitted to this Order today are:

Kawaii Schoolgirl
Arkadia Universalis
Dalimbar 
Bran Astor
These have demonstrated steadfast loyalty, wise counsel, constant vigilance, and an untiring willingness to serve.
 

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Martial Order of Ching Shih:
for extraordinary service to TWPAF 

Those admitted to this Order today are:

Kawaii Schoolgirl
Chervil 
Altino
These have been crucial to the restructuring and rebirth of the region’s armed forces.
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Benevolent Order of The Three Perfections: 
    for extraordinary service in The Arts 

Those admitted to this Order today are:

Fujai
Kawaii
Bran Astor
Yy4u
These have demonstrated an uncanny talent in turning any request into a beautiful work of art.
 

Hi there TWP o/
I'm W&S. Some of you know me, others don't, but I'm a soon-to-be-stateless gameplayer who's taken up residence in TWP recently and I realized I hadn't made a forum account here yet. https://www.nationstates.net/nation=twpaf_temp_worker is my nation in TWP. More on the name below :P 
A little about me for those who don't know me so well:
My main nation is Witchcraft and Sorcery and I usually go by W&S or WS or whatever variant of that you please. I just celebrated (or rather completely forgot) my sixth anniversary playing NS on February first. Most of that time has been spent in 10000 Islands, where I've been a senator, dean of the university, and tactical officer of TITO among other things. I also spent a year and a half in the Grey Wardens before returning to 10ki. Right now though I'm in the process of leaving 10ki, this time likely for good as my military ideas have shifted well away from what 10ki stands for. 
What the heckee am I doing here?
Just chilling for now, honestly. I've become friendly with a lot of people in TWP's government over the last couple of years. Badger, Dali, Rigel, Ark, and I've had pleasant interactions with a lot more. Y'all are cool and I'm happy to be here ^_^

I have avoided publicly commenting on these changes because I wanted to let the process play itself out organically. However...
I understand Halo's reasons for trying a theme and I'm willing to give it a chance. As Westwind has shown, themes and ways of doing things can change over time. The Ele/Badger/Davelands/Neenee era of TWP was theme-less, maybe Halo will begin a themed era. Or not. If it doesn't work out it can easily be changed or removed.
I agree that it is 100% Halo's decision. He could wake up tomorrow and declare that we are now "TWP In Space" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmI77ZBeJrQ ) and go forward with that theme. But it's a better thing that he is asking for all this input. Maybe, like Dark said, we are close to something really good. Maybe some flexibility is in order by all sides.
But, one thing that I am against is the decision to add the Peers based on the whim of the Delegate. This is exactly the type of thing we created the Hall of Nations for. Honestly, if the Delegate proposed a change like this and it was debated and voted on by the Hall, there is almost no chance of it failing, so why not let them do it? It's been almost a year since the Hall did anything of substance besides run elections. If you wanted to spur activity then that would be a great way to start.
And I agree with Badger that Westwind's graphics were an amazing look back into the past.

Do you want to visit foreign lands?
Do you want to meet new people?
Do you want to help The West Pacific?
Then do I have a great job for you!
Join The West Pacific Diplomat Corps!
Become an ambassador and be assigned a region where you will represent TWP. You will meet and become friends with the local people, talk to them about The West Pacific, and help us spread the word about how great we are.
If you are an outgoing person who is dedicated to TWP and NationStates then this is a perfect opportunity to get involved.
The requirements are simple:
• Be willing to spend time interacting with another region
• Be a member of the WA
• Be able to post on message boards and outside forums
• Have an ability to type messages clearly and respectfully
• Be able to write brief reports on your region for the Foreign Minister

I have avoided publicly commenting on these changes because I wanted to let the process play itself out organically. However...
I understand Halo's reasons for trying a theme and I'm willing to give it a chance. As Westwind has shown, themes and ways of doing things can change over time. The Ele/Badger/Davelands/Neenee era of TWP was theme-less, maybe Halo will begin a themed era. Or not. If it doesn't work out it can easily be changed or removed.
I agree that it is 100% Halo's decision. He could wake up tomorrow and declare that we are now "TWP In Space" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmI77ZBeJrQ ) and go forward with that theme. But it's a better thing that he is asking for all this input. Maybe, like Dark said, we are close to something really good. Maybe some flexibility is in order by all sides.
But, one thing that I am against is the decision to add the Peers based on the whim of the Delegate. This is exactly the type of thing we created the Hall of Nations for. Honestly, if the Delegate proposed a change like this and it was debated and voted on by the Hall, there is almost no chance of it failing, so why not let them do it? It's been almost a year since the Hall did anything of substance besides run elections. If you wanted to spur activity then that would be a great way to start.
And I agree with Badger that Westwind's graphics were an amazing look back into the past.

I have avoided publicly commenting on these changes because I wanted to let the process play itself out organically. However...
I understand Halo's reasons for trying a theme and I'm willing to give it a chance. As Westwind has shown, themes and ways of doing things can change over time. The Ele/Badger/Davelands/Neenee era of TWP was theme-less, maybe Halo will begin a themed era. Or not. If it doesn't work out it can easily be changed or removed.
I agree that it is 100% Halo's decision. He could wake up tomorrow and declare that we are now "TWP In Space" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmI77ZBeJrQ ) and go forward with that theme. But it's a better thing that he is asking for all this input. Maybe, like Dark said, we are close to something really good. Maybe some flexibility is in order by all sides.
But, one thing that I am against is the decision to add the Peers based on the whim of the Delegate. This is exactly the type of thing we created the Hall of Nations for. Honestly, if the Delegate proposed a change like this and it was debated and voted on by the Hall, there is almost no chance of it failing, so why not let them do it? It's been almost a year since the Hall did anything of substance besides run elections. If you wanted to spur activity then that would be a great way to start.
And I agree with Badger that Westwind's graphics were an amazing look back into the past.

I'm guessing that Altino's Military masking is a holdover from when she was running TWPAF. I would assume that there is no need to keep it any more given that she is the Pharaoh of Osiris.

**NOMNOMNOM**

54 minutes ago: The Next Nazi Germany was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by The Holy Principality of Saint Mark. 55 minutes ago: Union memetica was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by The Holy Principality of Saint Mark. 7 hours ago: ASDASDSADSADSAPCLKKMPNFAD was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Mediobogdum. 1 day 7 hours ago: Marxist Furries was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Davelands. 2 days ago: Skedong was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Mediobogdum. 2 days 6 hours ago: Qpqpqpqpqpqlqpqpqp was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Mediobogdum. 2 days 19 hours ago: Afddd was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Mediobogdum. 2 days 19 hours ago: Dfgdfgdfc was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Mediobogdum. 3 days ago: Maniggers was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Mediobogdum. 4 days ago: Nazi Yulin Empire was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Neenee. 4 days ago: F You You Get No Nation was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Neenee. 6 days ago: DJ Lil Tay was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Davelands. 6 days ago: Meme-astan was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by The Holy Principality of Saint Mark. 6 days ago: Ballistikov was ejected and banned from The West Pacific by Overthinkers. This is the complete banjection list from the past week. All were banned for name/data infractions as you can easily see. I think that we have done a really good job in stopping the reflexive banjections for minor RMB infractions that was prevalent when I joined. In fact, I was almost banjected after a couple of months on the RMB because someone felt that I was speaking out of turn.
You are right in that the general attitude to noobs asking the basic questions is usually "Here, read it". To be honest, it is easier than saying two paragraphs of boilerplate 5 times a day. But I recognize that some people don't want to read so I made a smaller version of the RMB Rules and added it to the WFE. It should be easier to look at and read. https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1084143

That's great, and I think something that simplified will be useful (because yes, people don't want to read), and will probably handle a lot of the questions/behavior that would otherwise come up on the RMB.
I think my concern is the people who want the human contact, so to speak. They want to interact and ask questions. Obviously though, it is preferable that they read the things first and then ask, and we should encourage that. But, as long as the attitude is "Here, this will help" and not "Can't you read?" that should make a difference.