Westwind
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Posts posted by Westwind
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18 hours ago, The Boring Kingdom of Perladela said:
So, don't waste your breath.
We waste bits and bytes instead of breath.
Welcome to TWP!
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11 hours ago, Fujai said:
nevermind that it's wildly historically inaccurate
That would be a good thing, I'd think.
2 hours ago, Darkesia said:Also seeing... Pirates, yes! Pirates, no! Hmmm... Maybe this translates to: We want to retain the idea of being a bunch of rogue personalities gathered together and loyal to one another.
*chuckles* Bunch of rogues......The Syndicate (oh wait, a region already did that), The Western Cartel. The Rogue Gallery of The West Pacific....
I don't know if anyone knew this, but once upon a time I was looking to establish a Rogue Pirate military, sailing across all the Pacifics, unaffiliated with any of them. There were two or three missions these unknown Pirates engaged in across The Pacifics, but never really got fully off the ground. I smiled when TWPAF went Pirate, I was proud of you all.
2 hours ago, Darkesia said:But in reality, you are the Delegate. It's your choice.
Exactly. Of course, if The Delegate wishes to pursue a process/debate/choice beyond that.......that's The Delegate's choice too. On the other hand, if....
2 hours ago, Darkesia said:...do not go with anime or kpop or any of that weeb stuff.
And no pink with purple polka dots WFE. I see a region that does that and I immediate click elsewhere. Have some respect for your viewer/readers and be easy on the eyes.
2 hours ago, Darkesia said:just wait until you try to tie legislation to arguments from two separate bodies full of strong, intelligent opinionated players.
Yup. You'll be sorry. You'll be frustrated. NS isn't worth the high blood pressure.
3 hours ago, Big Bad Badger said:I want the change to be compelled by a good reason. I don't feel like a good reason has been presented.
I tend agree with this. I'm still waiting for a presentation of sufficient cause for change, and where that change might apply, how it will be applied......
Although, had the Delegate simply announced "here is our new Theme!" I'd accept the Delegate wanting a change as reason enough. (That doesn't mean I'd agree with or like the change)
2 hours ago, Saint Mark said:The reason is that things are getting stale in the region.
I can't fully address this, I'm not on Discord so I don't know what the real activity level is here. Also, the period of the Holidays into February is always slow. The ebb and flow of NS.
A theme change isn't sufficient to drive activity to combat staleness. Action is what drives change, and that action comes from the region's Leaders, not the theme.
Partially why Pirates is worth considering.....the military is active, the military is Pirate. I don't see that theme being promulgated on the RMB or via mass TG, so it feels detached from the region as a whole. Integrating Pirate into the theme would meld the two together better in player's minds. (Psychology), tying the civilian and the military into a whole.
Whenever the civilian government is closely tied to the military and military/diplomatic activities, it drives interest and activity. When a civilian government begins to ignore it's military, it will progressively go inactive. Unless is has another strong area (such as RP) to supplant the military activity.
2 hours ago, Big Bad Badger said:It has to do with tangible govt activity, engaging nations, and helping nations find purpose in the region.
There does seem to be less interaction with the region ingame these days. And obviously little interaction on the forum. I don't do Discord, so I have no idea there. I feel like Non-Discord players have been locked out of activity by the regional Oligarchies.
1 hour ago, Saint Mark said:I do not want a situation like what happened in the past.
Never ever EVER EVER allow a higher legislative body. NEVER.
1 hour ago, Saint Mark said:make it quite clear that the Hall of Peers is advisory only
If it has no power, no one will participate - there will be nothing to do. If it has too much power, I guarantee you will eventually have a conflict with the Delegate. This is where the balancing act of TWP comes into play.
2 hours ago, Saint Mark said:even if Japan is selected.
Let's not go to RL national themes at all. The Rising Sun of the TWP flag used to bother me all by itself as it was too suggestive of WWII Japan. I'm old, grew up with those veterans, knew WWI vets. My grandfathers were both considered National Security assets, my daughter's maternal great grandfather was a private American citizen, captured as a POW by the Japanese and he died in malnourished captivity, his body never recovered.
(I knew a US Civil War vet - at his 100th birthday he said of his imprisonment as a POW that the prisoners "ate as well as the guards. All we had to eat was grasshoppers.")
Although no NS theme insulted me more than The NPO's Soviet theme. Made me sick to my stomach after growing up at nuclear ground zero for the Cold War. Let's not promote RL murderous regimes (such as Imperial Japan, Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany.....).
2 hours ago, Kawaii said:the 80's
I lived through that time, the 80's sucked.
Don't do 70's Japan, back then Japan was known for flimsy cheap throw away products. (Like China is known for now). *chuckles*
I like your flag design best of the choices, but I don't like it's color scheme.
I'd prefer to keep our flag, or alter it slightly, than a wholesale change. I won't like it, whatever it is, if the theme design abandons our 15 year flag.
- Fujai, Big Bad Badger and Kawaii
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A Model United Nations sounds like fun. Once upon a time long ago when I was in High School, there was a Student Congress that competed at Forensics meets across the state. I was the Lead of my school's House Delegation, and served as Presiding Officer most meets. It was a blast. Unfortunately, most meets were required to go by Sequential Debate rather than Open Debate - I performed better with Open Debate. I remember writing Legislation on Decriminalization of Victimless Crimes and Judicial System Reform among others.
In NS, I would suggest participation in regional Legislatures/Assemblies, debates in the General Assembly/Security Council World Assembly forums ingame, and signing up as an Ambassador.
Good luck to you, and welcome!
- Saint Mark, Danlina and HyFy
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23 hours ago, Dalimbar said:
We started out as one of the key pillars of the ADN, and proudly were one of the most effective forces in defenderdom, never mind in-game.
*nods, rocks, rambles* During The Crimson Order operations, one of the possible paths we prepared was the restoration of ADN. I owned the domain name (PH gave it to me), created a new forum. We controlled two of the three largest regional former ADN militaries (TNP/Equilism) and I had an insider in Nasicournia (ADN foudning region) ready to declare alliance with us if I triggered that option. TWP had both defender and raider armies, and the TWP Minister of the defender army was a former Equilism Military Minister, so I expect TWP would have participated in some way. Those four regions were the four pillars of ADN.
I could have been the Defender hero rather than villian. (Of course, all that had to be kept secret from the others we were working with such as Gatesville, The Last Kingdom, LKE....)
I had three or four very different options mapped out and prepared. If TNP Admin Grosse /Flem hadn't refused to change the North Pacific Army forum name ("OMG West is going to turn us raider because he's changing the name!" *rollseyes*)- thus blocking me and violating the TNP constitution, Crimson Order would have turned out entirely differently. And Grosse and Flem would have been happy about the results. Instead they assumed my intentions incorrectly. Screwed themselves over based on their own metal projections. (Yes, yes....I encouraged those perceptions of course) TNP should stop calling me a rogue delegate. I was duly elected and It was TNP forum admin that violated the constitution, giving me no choice but to abandon the forum. I was duly elected and the constitution gave me full authority. Ah well.
These days, TNP Admin Elu, who stole the TNP Delegacy from me, was recently asking for my help with TNP's forum move from Tapatalk. I'll never get credit though (I think it's ironic. Demonize me and ask for me help. Wasn't the first time.)
Of course, there was the time when The Pacific asked for my help, and I never got credit for that either. I think The Pacific should hire me as Emperor and Delegate, I have a good resume for the job.
23 hours ago, Dalimbar said:those of us who should honestly be NS dead by now.
*chuckles* I've been planning my NS death for five years. It's very close now. Unless The Pacific wants to hire me as Delegate. I won't hold my breath.
42 minutes ago, Overthinkers said:Not to mention that the other thread is citizens-only.
Thank you!
I have the ability to post in the Hall, but I don't because I'm not a citizen. Besides, I can ramble a bit off topic here, as thread jacking is traditional in TWP.
24 minutes ago, Big Bad Badger said:I really like the idea of expanding upon the pirate theme.
Perhaps combined with the dragon from Ark's flag idea.
"Dragons coming out of the sea,
Shimmering silver head of wisdom looking at me.
He brings down the fire from the skies,
You can tell he's doing well by the look in human eyes.
Better not compromise.
It won't be easy." -
More old Graphics....I'll spoiler them to spare the thread.
SpoilerYes, TWP and Dragons...
There was this old TWP Pirates flag...
I predominantly used this regional flag during my delegacy:
Let's see, what else....
The Tweedy Flags of Yy4u's Delegacy:
Another:
The New West Pacfic Order
TWP Ministry of State Security:
The West Pacific Imperium:
TWP Flag Flying in the wind
Once upon a time this flag used to follow TWPAF into battle:
Ah...finally found it....the complete Klingon Pirate Flag of TWP (BTW, "Klingon Pirates" was suppose to be an insult - TSP gave us that nickname. We embraced it instead.)
The Darkesian TWP/Gatesville Hybrid Flag
And then, after bringing global peace, TWP, lead by All Good People was faced with the final nation of resistance, lead by Donald Rumsfeld.
(The road to global NS peace was strewn with thousands of bodies of banjected nations)- Kawaii, Mediobogdum and Ark
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And never forget The Klingon Empire of The West Pacific!
And TWP is Legendary:
- Big Bad Badger, Altino and Saint Mark
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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)
1 hour ago, Ark said:As far as your comment about an oath, I don’t really know what to do about that.
*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.
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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.
1 hour ago, Ark said: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,
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.
- Fujai, Elegarth and Saint Mark
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I designed a TWP ambassador credentials page a few years back.
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A Cascade of Crimson,
On a field of Sable,
Highlighted in Argent,
Trimmed in Gold.- The Crimson King, The Crimson Order, House of Westwind
Delegate of The North and West Pacifics -
12 hours ago, Fujai said:
The West Pacific Scarlet (#CC0000)
But...but.....Crimson!
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On 11/30/2018 at 1:34 PM, Big Bad Badger said:
Pours Peppermint Schnapps in with ....
I recall back in the 70's Peppermint Schnapps was popular among teenagers cruising the strip.
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7 hours ago, Saint Mark said:
... and the theme change I alluded to was a region change, not this forum.
The black queen chants
the funeral march
The cracked brass bells will ring
To summon back the fire witch
To the court of the crimson kingRestore The Crimson Order ! Hail !
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Beyond disappointing to see The Pacific has continued to work with a criminal player such as Block. It's not the first time they've worked with him nefariously, and it's not the first time we've had to call them out about the association.
Obviously they didn't learn and don't care.
The Pacific needs to return to sound leadership, and governance based on respect, trust, and merited responsibility. The current leadership needs to step down having stained the proud history of the region once again.
- Elegarth and Saint Mark
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On 11/7/2018 at 12:12 PM, Elegarth said:
I think I should have been journalist...
In the late 70's was editor of my high school newspaper, The Panther's Cry. I got the position from a competition with a fake newspaper layout...mine was the "Four Wings High Times" (one wing had been blown up by the South Wing Sweat Hogs, another wing had simply disappeared - I had fun with it). Cut and paste layout of typewritten material, PC's were years away yet.
In 1979 I penned an article about the Iranian Revolution, the US Embassy was being held hostage at the time. I had to get clearance from the School Board to publish it, as it was considered a controversial topic. I got approval and it ran front page. It was a good article, covering Iranian history as well as the current events.
In the 80's I was editor of Christian Light Ministries newsletter, and the Kansas Avicultural Society Magazine. I had an online newsletter delivered to 35 countries in the 90's called Tales Across The Waters for fans of the German band Triumvirat. Was always surprised how large their fan base was in South America, Japan, and Korea. One subscriber/fan in Japan went to temple to have a blessing made for my daughter when she was born. I sponsored a couple 'cultural exchange' concerts in St. Louis in '99, folks we're asking for my autograph - I told them they were nuts. The band reunited and recorded a new album called "The Website Story" inspired by my work, but the record label went bankrupt and the album was never released. (I have the songs and planned artwork, but the band leader won't follow through further. But for a 2000 album, it sound alot like the 80's. Lead singer on that album is now with the Nervous Germans.)
At times I've thought about creating an online local news service, the local newspaper is terrible. Live citizen tips and reports would do better.
- Kawaii, Elegarth and Saint Mark
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On 9/24/2018 at 9:59 AM, Big Bad Badger said:
I have an TWP conundrum.
I am not sure that the requirement to have people post at least once per month is an effective thing for the Hall of Nations. But we have a beautiful forum and need more activity here. What can we do to increase activity here?
Once upon a time in a region somewhere in NS......we required all regional officials to post on the forum at least every other day (preferably daily). And an official was also expected to reply to every thread in his/her jurisdiction frequently.
Activity begets Activity.
The interior official should be posting in interior threads, starting new threads, regularly. Same for Defense, Foreign Affairs, et al. There should be new material in every category frequently. There should never be a category that hasn't had activity in a month or more. Get rid of those categories if you're not using them.
In other words, streamline your customer's experience and provide them value.
Part of an official's duties is keeping up activity in their area of responsibility. And maintaining the pinned threads, make sure they are up to date and relevant.
When officials post regularly, it gives non-officials something of interest to read and maybe respond to. That creates activity. It's really simple.
If they cannot do that for a time (keep up this activity level), they should post an absence notice. If they fail to post in a certain time span (one week?), or fail to post a notice of absence, or fail to appoint a deputy in their absence, they need to be replaced quickly. Otherwise the gears of activity slow and stop, and the entire region suffers.
One official that's slowed down or inactive will encourage the same in other officials. It becomes a snowball of inactivity if it's not addressed.
Today you have Discord, and no one pays attention to the forums because of it. The work needed on the forum doesn't' get done. (Key disclosure here though - I loath Discord, so I'm very biased. I'm a forum rat, not a chatroomer)
Some questions:
- Is not Customer Service part of your job as a regional official?
- Why should people come to the forum when they are constantly encouraged to go to Discord on the RMB?
- What value does it provide to your customers that they should sign up for yet another offsite venue? Or should I say....
- Why should players, already being asked to go offsite from the game they joined, be expected to visit multiple offsite venues in order to participate in the game? Or rather said...
- The more venues, the more you complicate your customer's experience. Doesn't this obviously drive away potential customers (potential active players)?
- Why do you, as a regional administration, require this of your 'citizens'? Join a forum, join Discord, sign an oath...and finally we accept you into the fold as a customer/player.You're demanding too many hoops for your customers (players) to jump through in order to be recognized as 'one of us with the right to have a say'. The game doesn't require this. Player administrations do, and create stagnant oligarchies over the long term.
Like IRC, Discord is good for instant interaction, and is more accessible for that purpose than the RMB. Unlike IRC or the RMB, it provides you the ability to create multiple rooms/channels....like forum threads...to organize the conversation. Unlike forums, it does not provide the ability to readily organize and provide easy access to information that hasn't just been posted. Forums provide a better long term organizational and informational situation than Discord. Information can be pinned for presentation, turned into announcements, archived, reorganized, etc etc. Forums are like a book, it has chapters (catagories) sub-chapters (threads). Discord is like a student's notebook. Lots of scattered disorganized notes and information that only the OP can discern and know it's organization, but of much less use to others and newcomers.
And yet, the forums aren't being used in their natural capacity.
I just noticed yesterday, there are many pinned informational threads here and there around the forum that remain from my Delegacy. Those should have been updated/replaced several Delegacies (years) ago. This is slack housekeeping by successive administrations. I'm not even a TWP citizen (sidetrack: I loath NS citizenship oaths. I'm already in the region, I'm already participating, I'm already contributing....don't make me sign an oath to anything just for being here in order for the 'region' to acknowledge my contributions - it's simply bullshit to act as a gatekeeper to who gets to be part of the 'IN' crowd/oligarchy. End citizenship oaths! One does not need an oath to be held to the standards of the region. That's false reasoning.)
Okay.....I gotta run.....
- Big Bad Badger and Fujai
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On 8/24/2018 at 3:27 PM, Fujai said:
- Have a functioning intelligence division. I've never seen or heard of any real activity in there, though perhaps they just do their jobs really well.
Sun Tzu called it the 'Divine Manipulation of the Threads'.
When these five kinds of spy are all at work, no one can discover your secrets and systems.
1. Local spies - services of local inhabitants
2. Inward spies - making use of officials of the enemy
3. Converted spies - using the enemies spies for your own purposes
4. Doomed spies - taking false information to the enemy
5. Surviving spies - execute operations based on information gathered or situations created by other spies
- Neenee and Mediobogdum
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On 9/12/2017 at 10:17 PM, Westwind said:
Real Estate.
Still waiting....
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I liked Sixguns software.
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20 hours ago, Elegarth said:
This reminda me my time as Editor of the PNN in another realm
Beware of those 'other realms'. Especially RL. I was an editor in RL in the 70's/80's/90's.
(this is not an application)
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On 6/29/2018 at 12:14 PM, Darkesia said:
Only pointing out that you are 15 months late with your response.
Although someone else's gravedig can be used as an opportunity for a traditional TWP threadjack.So next time a Nuclear Apocalypse approaches, don't forget the wisdom of Dr. Strangelove.
"Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy, the FEAR to attack."
Be sure they will fear TWP before the next apocalypse!- Saint Mark and Darkesia
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On 6/21/2018 at 4:46 PM, Davelands said:
I have more citizens to add to the rolls
I read that as "add to the Trolls".
New Theme Chatter
in The Lounge
Posted
*chuckles* I've no doubt!
In the US, some people did very well, and some did very poorly. The economy didn't soar as some would make it seem, instead it fell back several times. I remember the storefronts suddenly going empty across the cities a couple times. The music sucked. Government spending to defeat the Soviets provided jobs, but took it's toll by taking resources from other parts of the economy. The Decade of Greed wasn't universal, it was only a section that flaunted it with their suits and cocaine which Hollywood loves to portray, the corruption of the Keating Five, Iran/Contra, 1987 Black Friday market crash, Savings and Loan crisis.....
A friend of mine and I were driving around downtown Kansas City in the '80's and we noticed these businessmen marching around the sidewalks in their grey suits as if they owned the world. We'd try to talk to them or at least get their attention. They wouldn't even respond to saying a simple 'Hi!" The thing that finally got their attention? We called out "Dollar Bills!" and they all turned their heads in unison to look our way. It was hilarious. Silly human race. These businessmen walking shoulder to shoulder, three people wide.....we decided that The Who nailed it. "Eminence Front. It's a put on." (the rhythm/beat of the song perfectly matched the businessmens purposeful steps)
*winks*