Westwind

"Well, there you go again." - Ronald Reagan It's quite an experience isn't it? Welcome!

Pretty faces? Have you been sneaking around the liquor cabinet? Take good care of Albion!

Good luck! signed, a Geographer.

It is an interesting dynamic in NationStates that we have a simple, basic text-based game with larger-deeper player created functions and interactions that go far beyond the basic game. Just follow Alice down the Rabbit Hole and who knows what you might find in the depths of NS. Welcome to The West Pacific!

Once upon a time in NationStates, failure to clear the citizenship rolls of inactive members became a problem. Entropy of Activity in NationStates is a problem that arises over and over again. No matter how dynamic and active a region's community may be, activity eventually wanes, folks are distracted by RL, and Regional Officials get burn-out. Citizen/Players fade away. Then newer players with their own ideas of activity come along. They find the inactivity of the existing citizenry boring. So they write and present new Legislation to be voted upon, to shape the region with new activity that interests them. The ideas come up for a vote, and those old inactive citizens that haven't posted in months come out of the woodwork to vote, and they vote against the new player's legislation. The idea dies. Inactivity is thus perpetuated, and the frustrated new players go elsewhere. To combat this phenomena of the 'Old Guard' coming out to vote when they are otherwise inactive, Regions began to establish Activity Requirements to ensure that voting citizens are actively engaged in the regional community. Posting requirements can be more important for Regional Officials as well. Once upon a time, there were requirements for Ministers and Deputies to post no less than every other day, and requirements to post a notice and assign a deputy if a Minister will be absent for longer than a couple days. Activity begets Activity in NS, while the Entropy of Activity is the corrosive rust that destroys regions and communities.

I've seen 94Block around NS too, speaking of banned forum destroyers.

I have cross-stitch art and Salish style painting of Orca in my home. The Salish say that when a Tribal Chief dies, he is reborn as an Orca. In the 90's I had a friend that went on a Vision Quest, and afterwards had a Salish Beaver totem pole in his front yard, as that was what he found was his totem on his Quest. Although, when I was young, I was fond of Owls. "The Owls are not what they seem." - Twin Peaks However, there are two Cats, one Bird, and an aquarium full of Fish living in my home. I've always enjoyed cats since my first cat Mia when I was a toddler. My cats today are getting old like me, one is an arthritic 15, the other will be a chubby 12 next month. While there weren't always cats around in my life, there were always birds.First there were the Budgies in the '60's, then in the early 70's I bred Sacred White Doves. The Blackfeet sent Sacred White Dove feathers with their Warriors, as they represented protection and a safe return from battle. These are also the white doves magicians like to use in their acts. The male doves coo, while the female doves laugh at them. Then In the '80's, I bred and raised other birds, and I was the founder and first editor of the Kansas Avicultural Society Magazine. Today I have a 5 year old female Pineapple Conure that may well outlive me, as their lifespan is roughly 35 years. As for the fish, my maternal Grandfather came to visit when I was in the 4th grade and he took me fishing in the Paha Sapa (Black Hills). To commemorate our trip, he bought an aquarium for me when he left. And I've had an aquarium ever since. Sometimes fresh water fish, sometimes salt water fish. There are roughly 40 fish in my tank today.

*sneezes* Bah, there's already too much glitter. Are we there yet?

My daughter's 17 year old cat Chucky died last week at her mother's house. Been with her almost all her life. Chucky was given his name at the animal shelter, they said he had been 'chucked' out of a moving car before coming to the shelter. He was 2 when adopted.

I was given a long hair black cat named Samantha in '90. We called him Sam, his previous owned said he was misnamed. He seemed to prefer Sam anyway.

Hmmm..... my first Cat was named Mia (My-ah). 1963.

In February 2008, while The Crimson Order was activated across NS, TWP Delegate TAO was working on his own innovations to improve NS activity. The 1k Endo Project....to invite WA nations from all around NS to endorse TWP Delegate TAO for a day to reach 1000 endorsements: TAO:

Hmmm...... There's a form of ingame participation that has not been tried to my knowledge...."Sign This Pinned Dispatch Petition by clicking the Up arrrow" It's a small action, but people want something to do. Or pin two dispatches...competing proposals......"The dispatch that gets the most upvotes by Karaoke Friday will become regional policy" Just keep engaging with the players wherever you can.

If anyone would like to know more of the history of The Crimson Order, there is a thread in TRR in progress since no one has ever asked me about it before. I'm revealing tales of Crimson that have never been shared before. https://rejectedrealms.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&p=10023755#top

Since I can't comment in the Hall of Nations, I'll comment here.... Activity creates more Activity. Yes. Spend your time where the new players are it. In game, not offsite. I notice many important players are not active ingame. They rarely post on the RMB. It seems to me there is more interest in Discord than NS itself. It doesn't matter if my perception is true or not, but if it's true for a 15 year player like me, what do you think confused new players ingame think? Inviting new players to Discord and Forums is good, but don't ignore NS itself. That's the primary reason we are all here. Have your general conversations on the RMB, it'll keep it active and encourage new players to participate. THEN they'll be ready for offsite venues. When I was a new player, it wasn't the forums or chatrooms that engaged me to participate, it was the telegrams I received ingame, and the commentary on the RMB. Talking and planning is great, but accomplishes nothing without action. Action is the only means to Progress. Again, folks need to pay attention to the region itself ingame. The game is not Discord, it's NationStates. Engage with the Game itself. Frequently. This was the point of the Crimson Order eleven years ago, to bring activity back to an inactive game environment. Yes, it was very distressing to pop in and see that. I've never seen a proper explanation, and every time I've asked, I've been ignored. I notice the silences. They are loud and concerning. How but including us non-citizen residents and moving the discussion out of the Hall?

A Donation button could be placed in a custom block on the sidebar for convenience. Winnie could create a Paypal Money Pool (if that's available in Canada) on his account. "Money Pools are an easy and fast way to collect money with friends. Whether you need to raise money for a holiday, a group gift, or for regular shared expenses, just create a Money Pool and share it with your friends and family. Please note that you’re responsible for spending the money collected for the purpose set out in your Money Pools page. Your friends can chip in in seconds. If they don’t have a PayPal account, they can set up one in minutes "

I know HOW to add them, but in the past (I haven't checked in a long time) Winnie's settings didn't allow me upload them. So this will need to be a Winnie thing. I would have added many years ago if I could have.

Winnie could simply have a Paypal donation button (tip jar) for donations. I've done that before, no hassle.

*sets out a breakfast buffet*

*raises and shakes his cane at a passing cloud* I haven't looked at the feature in some time, but there is the banner advertising option in the ACP. It could be used for rotating banners, but separate from the header. Could also embed a rotating image in a custom block that could be placed above or below the forums, or on the sidebar. A sidebar ad block could have images for upcoming events, or satire, or recruitment, or.....*shrugs* "TWPAF Dragon Pirates Need YOU. Join Today!", hyperlinked to the signup thread.

Here's another old one. The Crimson Sails of The West Pacific Someone could add a dragon tatoo to the sails....

TWP Dragon Pirates

I also seemed to have had misplaced three other former members: Former Holy Ministers Treize Dreizehn , Intelligent Holograms and Charax  And it's worth noting that The Sacred Order embraces other Orders in NationStates, including The Crimson Order, the New TAO Order.....although I am concerned The New Pacific Order has lost it's way. Perhaps someday the NPO can return to the Sacred Order and complete the Gates of Redemption and Reunification Ceremonies and restore harmony between The Pacific and The West Pacific. *raises his hands to the heavens in supplication* *bows low to the earth bringing his arms down in a sweeping motion* *stands again* Welcome Former Delegate Elegarth! It is a honor to accept you into The Sacred Order. There is no doubt that your service to The West Pacific is deserving of recognition by The Sacred Order. A Grant of Title will be made upon due consideration. In the meantime, you are hereby Welcomed into The Sacred Order of The West Pacific as an Honored Entered Acolyte of The First Circle. I believe that Cleansed Seeker of The First Circle Mediobogdum is due for a Grant of Title as well. *raises his hands again* May the blessings of Max and ADMIN be upon you!

*puts on his Grand Inquisitor robes.... gold highlighted crimson upon a sable field, edged with silvery white fur and and strong gilded threads, covering the formal military uniform with decorations of many Regions beneath, and his SC Commendation medallion hanging from his neck.* *raises his hands to the heavens in supplication* The Sacred Order would be blessed should you choose to join. *ponders* I'll have to refresh my memory on the proper ceremony. And recollecting the Sacred Numerology, it seems that bringing the tally to Eight Delegates, the number of Money and Wealth, would surely be profitable.