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NS Telegram FAQ


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How do I send a telegram to many nations at once?

 

Go to your Telegrams page and clickCompose New Telegram. In the "To:" box, enter a list of nation names, separating them with commas.

You can also address telegrams to a region or special group. A telegram sent to region: Lazarus, for example, will be delivered to all nations in the region Lazarus. A telegram sent to tag: delegates will reach all World Assembly Delegates.

 

A telegram sent to more than one recipient is a Mass TG.

 

There are three ways to send a Mass TG:

  1. Enter a list of comma-separated names. If there are more than 8 names, each additional recipient requires 1 telegram stamp.
  2. Address your telegram to an entire region or special group. This usually requires telegram stamps, although Delegates and Founders may send Mass TGs to their own region for free.
  3. Write a script or program to interface with the Telegrams API. This doesn't require stamps but is limited to a fairly low number of recipients per day.

The other option is to copy and paste your message over and over to a smaller number of nations each time, keeping under the 8-recipient limit. If you do this, please use aTelegram Template! These make the process a little faster and less error-prone for you, as well as providing handy Delivery Reports. Create a template by addressing your telegram to tag:template, then use the special code it gives you to send copies to other nations.

 

What are Telegram Stamps?

 

Telegram Stamps are purchased from the NationStates Storeand required for some high-volume Mass TGs, such as sending a telegram to an entire region.

 

What are the differences between Mass Telegrams and regular telegrams?

 

The differences are:

  • Mass TGs include Delivery Reports, so you can tell exactly who received the TG and who didn't. These are viewable in yourSent Items.
  • Similarly, when used for recruitment, Mass TGs include Recruitment Reports, which track who clicks a link from your telegram to your region and subsequently move there:
    example_tg_recruitment.png
  • Mass TGs support personalization via the macro%NATION%, which expands into the name of the nation reading it. You can also use%TOKEN% to generate keys for off-site authentication.
  • Mass TGs can reach large numbers of nations quickly and easily. For example, you can telegram all current World Assembly Delegates with "To: tag:delegates". You can also send telegrams to nations that don't exist yet, using "To: tag:new" or "tag:refounded", and nations will receive a copy of your message as they qualify for it (i.e. as they are created or refounded). With the exception of Delegates and Founders sending a TG to their own region, this functionality requires the purchase ofTelegram Stamps. For a full list of available tags, open advanced telegram addressing by clicking the "" button beside the "To:" box when composing a new telegram.

What are the rules on sending telegrams?

 

Generally, you can send telegrams as often as you like. The game has inbuilt "flood" control and may slow you down if you try to send a lot in a hurry—and, of course, you should stay withinsite etiquette rules and avoid spamming people with messages of little relevance.

 

Advanced users should be aware of a few more rules:

  1. A telegram that encourages the recipient to move regions is a recruitment telegram, and must be marked by checking the appropriate box before clicking Send. (The checkbox can be exposed by clicking the "" beside the "To:" box.)
  2. Similarly, a telegram that encourages nations to vote on a World Assembly resolution or proposal must be marked as acampaign telegram.
  3. Scripts, bots, and browser tools must abide by siteScript Rules. All automated telegram-sending must be done viathe NationStates API.

What special groups can be reached using Telegram Stamps?

 

You can address a telegram to:

  • region: <Name> to send a TG to all residents of a region. (Also available without the need for Telegram Stamps to the region's Delegate and Founder.)
  • tag: New<Number> will queue a Telegram for attempted delivery to the next <Number> newly created nations. Be aware, however, that new nations are telegrammed very quickly by very many region recruiters. In order to reduce spam, the system throttles recruitment messages so that nations only receive a few at a time; additionally, new nations have a limited amount of space in their Inbox. This means that many recruitment telegrams wired to new nations will arrive late or not at all—and consume Telegram Stamps even so. There is no special priority for recruitment Telegrams based on how quickly or by which method they are sent: All recruitment Telegrams enter the same queue and exit it in random order.
  • tag: Refounded<Number> will queue a Telegram for attempted delivery to the next <Number> of nations who are refounded (i.e. restored by their owner after previously ceasing to exist due to inactivity).
  • tag: NewDelegates<Number> will queue a Telegram for attempted delivery to the next <Number> of nations who become World Assembly Delegate for their region.
  • tag: Delegates will send a TG to all current World Assembly Delegates
  • tag: WA will reach all World Assembly member nations
  • tag: All will send a Telegram to all nations. (Please be aware ofsite rules!)
  • tag: Welcome can be used by Regional Delegates and Founders to set up an automatic greeting to new arrivals in their region. This requires no telegram stamps! Delegates/Founders can find the appropriate control on their Region Control page. A region can only have one Welcome Telegram active at a time, and it will be canceled if the sender loses power in the region.

Please be aware that Telegram Stamps don't guarantee delivery. If a recipient blocks your message or cannot receive it (e.g. their inbox is full), the stamp is still consumed. This is especially relevant for recruitment campaigns aimed at new nations, which tend to receive large numbers of such messages.

 

How successful are recruitment telegrams?

 

Sadly (for recruiters), the great majority of recruitment telegrams are ignored, blocked, or never read. In general, you should expect:

  • 20-40% of your telegrams to be undeliverable due to the recipient's Inbox being full.
  • 10-20% of your telegrams to be blocked by spam filters.
  • 0-1% of your telegrams to convince a nation to move to your region.

These numbers vary by region: Feeders and Sinkers have more inactive nations, who are targeted more often by recruiters. Newly created and refounded nations are guaranteed to be active, but are telegrammed by recruiters even more frequently.

Edited by Westwind
Updated
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