Westwind

It’s Drunken Conquerors - what do you expect? Backed up by that other perennial dirtbag Block.

Except when it's ADN's  fault.
If Dark finds out.....
.....yeah, probably best to blame ADN rather than Dilber.

Matter, which consists of atoms, is said to make up estimately 4% of The Universe.
Atoms are said to be 99% empty, which means, we only know about 0.04% of The Universe (and nota bene, not everything about that 0.04%). The rest - what it really is, how it works, is still a mystery, according to science.
Something to think about.

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).

I’ll admit I’m not particularly well-versed in the science behind this question, but endless expansion seems to make more sense to me. 

The endless expansion fits a little better with my understanding of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics (a system will move towards a state with higher entropy).

Supposing that The Universe will change once the end of life happens, it will shrink from expansion, just to expand again, to provide life once again. The end creates a beginning. One option creates the other.
If end means life ceases to exist here, then no conciousness will be able to experience the universe, so it is just like an end.
If end means how the rest of the world acts without us or any other life form, I believe it will make cycles, each with maybe a slight change, but with the ending and the beginning staying the same.

The Big Crunch... wouldn't that be nice? An infinite cycle of the universe. But alas, the scientific consensus seems to be that it'll be a heat death. Shame, that.

Heat Death of The Universe has such a nice ring.

Walking around Sherman Pass, apparently!

What's Bran doing in RL?

Man that white list proposal is so disgusting

Dilber/Chucky Bear
 
 

 
credit to Yy

It was supposed to have allowed Peers to post there. I'll make a request.
Thanks for pointing this out, West.
As for activity in The Hall of Peers, Bran asked us to think of a project we would like to consider and my idea involves the Peers!
 

Thanks for the link, I'd thought that there was an announcement, but did not find it.  I figured the appointment would be listed in the Hall of Peers though.
Often times new forums are requested without posting rights in the first place, and then opened to the public later. I've been wondering why no one requested posting  permissions be granted there since last March, but RL was rather busy back then for me, and as an involuntary Admin, I mind my own business unless the Admin team needs help. Might want to put in an Admin request if you want Peers to be able to post in there.

 

What is it about a redemption story that draws us in? Is it the drama of the fall from grace? Is it the hope of a better tomorrow? Could it be that each of us has a nagging memory of a wrongdoing we hope won't follow us the rest of our IC, OOC, and IRL lives? The author of the White List Campaign telegram is betting on that.
NationStates, for the most part, has a good Admin and Moderation team that does indeed protect its players. We've witnessed them warn, correct, suspend, ban, and delete accounts that commit everything from spam to flamebait to harassment. However, as most of us know, the communities and overall nature of gameplay extends to several off-site locations, such as forums, IRC, Skype, and Discord.
Does the protection of the Admin and Moderation team extend to those locations? No.
Do certain players take advantage of that? Yes.
NationStates should be a safe space for people of all ages. A vast majority of communities have admin teams comprised of good, sensible, caring players who diligently extend the umbrella of protection to all facets of gameplay. They have long drawn a line of decency against bad behavior in the sand and proclaimed "Here we stand."
The West Pacific has a long memory.
We remember the White List author. We remember their actions.
You and your kind will never be welcome here.
Here we stand.
 

I prefer the hope of the future as opposed to sorrows of the past.  I chose 2020.

Season's greetings everyone,

It's been another year. Have you accomplished the goals you set for yourself? Are you proud of your actions this year? Have you come to terms with your faults and mistakes? More importantly how are you doing? We hope that this December 25th you spend your time with loved ones; family, friends or even the neighbor that nobody else pays any attention to. As the snow falls (weather permitting), the sun shines (weather permitting) and the roads freeze (drive safe) the community of Wintreath wishes you the merriest of Christmases, the happiest of Hanukkahs and the very best of Boxing Days. As a community that so strongly values the friendships developed here in NationStates we understand that while things may not always go well, whatever is happening your friends are here to lighten the load, talk you through it and carry you past it. It is with that in mind we send this to you. Whether you find your stocking filled with candy or coal, whether you find yourself in good fortune or bad, merry Christmas, happy festival, happy Yule and happy Solstice!

Most Sincerely,
The Citizens and Residents of Wintreath

Dear all,
When I started my nation and signed up on the forum, I was a little intimidated since it was clear that there are some long-time players here. Sorry for not posting sooner! It's also been a bit of a learning curb. It took me time to understand RMB etiquette with things like double posting. 
I am Fuentana and I have been lightly spamming our RMB with puns and Haikus with some regularity, so this might be a bit of a delayed and unnecessary intro for some. It's been a lot of fun getting more involved over the last few months. I'm looking forward to more chuckles through the region's snark, wordplay, and RP. 

But I do want to note that I'll be posting Haikus here in the Library and Coffee Shop section of our forum, as well as various RP stuff as I learn them. Probably a decent amount of my RP contributions (if valid; I'm still learning my way in these parts) will be cultural in nature, playing on some of my real life interests.

So I hope you'll visit the library from time to time with a cup of coffee in hand (or a dram of whisky) to see what the poetically just people of Fuentana are writing. Cheers! 

I love a good purge  

Westwind
By Correspondent Reçueçn 
 
“I’d like to ask for your thoughts on some things, as well as just your own history,” I said. 
“Go right ahead,” said Westwind. He poured us both another glass of rum. I took a moment to look at the bottle, with the TWP Spiced Crimson Rum branding. 
“This is good stuff,” I said. 
Westwind nodded. “By the way, in TNP it was Crimson Rum. In TWP it was Spiced Crimson Rum. There IS a difference! Both are served at the E-Bar in Equilism, and kegs of Spiced Crimson Rum are delivered to the TWP RMB on special occasions. Such vintage spirits have limited availability.” 
I laughed. “Well I’m glad I could taste some.” I savored a mouthful as I thought about what I wanted to ask.  
“We talk a lot about how NS is a 'text-based game' and what that means. Definitely it's a very unique game in both the demands it makes of players and the opportunities it presents.  What qualities of yours do you think it plays to?” 
“Well, having a degree in political science and geography plays well to a political simulation game. I remember when SimCity first came out....and the first Civilization. Having done my own sort of version of NS when I was young, and having written a book about those fictional nations and characters... it all fits well. 
Maybe Max Barry was my protege and he doesn't know it.  
As for the text-based aspect, there's probably a few other factors. Besides trying to write a book, I'd been editor of three publications. Back in the days of paste-up layouts before computers. So I'm often comfortable writing.  
And when those early computers came along, text-based games were what was available.  'Rogue'....enter a direction and get a response. Text based. 
Due to my disabilities, I cannot play Real Time Simulation games. (I liked Age of Empires, but I can't play it) Trying to keep up with the game causes me to have seizures. So I have to be careful what kind of video games I play. I have to watch out for rapid graphics, flashing graphics. And my medications slow brain function. So I'm too slow to react for some games, and I have to play them on the very easiest settings. 
The text-based game NS doesn't give me any of those problems.” 
“When you reminisce about your time on NS, what period do you think of the most fondly?” 
“I would have to say it was the camaraderie of the players of Equilism,” said WW. “How well we all worked together inside and outside the region. How we were often able to avoid the heated conflicts that were seen in so many other regions. How we were able to innovate outside of traditional NS ideologies, plot complex ideas outside of the box and out of the R/D perspective, ground our actions in well-founded ideals, and how well we could come together to accomplish our goals. Great players with great accomplishments all across NS. I was fortunate to work with them. 
Just like all the greatest rock bands....the interactions of strong personalities makes for great music.” 
“What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from NS?” 
“Intrigue in NS is described by Pink Floyd in the song 'Dogs' 
Welcome to NationStates!” 
And in true TWP style, Westwind began to sing me some karaoke: 
“- You got to be crazy.... 
- Gotta sleep on your toes... 
- You got to strike when the moment is right without thinking... 
- And after a while, you can work on points for style.... 
- You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to 
   So that when they turn their backs on you 
   You'll get the chance to put the knife in. 
- You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder.... 
- You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you get older... 
- And when you lose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.... 
- Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used.... 
- That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend....” 
He trailed off and thought for a minute before speaking again.  
“Or....Maybe I"m an old grandpa (my nickname became 'Gramps' in Equilism by '05) that's learned to be more online social media savvy from interacting with players young enough to be children and grandchildren on NS? Too weird. But I've been online since before the Internet was public, so I already knew cyberspace.” 
Once more, he began to sing: “’Net boy, Net girl 
Send your signal 'round the world 
Put a message in a modem 
And throw it in the cyber sea...’ 
I have seen NS political tactics applied in RL across Social Media that baffled traditional political operatives. 
I ran for office once in 1990's RL, via third party for State Legislature. An informational campaign. More recently, both major parties were offering me leadership conferences and training in the '16 election. So strange...getting offers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Washington, California...... 
I admit a certain curiosity as to how useful NS experience might be in pursuing RL Politics. Would I do it though? Probably not. I don't like either major party, and you can't win without one. I don't think my health would like it. And the mudslinging would drive anyone mad. But most of our RL politicians are not terribly intelligent.The Oligarchy of Real Life. 
In NS and RL, leadership requires finding the right people to do the job that needs doing, and being willing to delegate tasks and the authority (and resources) they need to carry them out. Thus, in NS as in RL, politics makes strange bedfellows. Play NS enough, and you'll understand the odd alignments that appear in RL politics at times.” 
“What question do you most want to get asked in an interview? What's the answer?” 
“I don't know. I'd found it curious that no one had ever asked me about The Crimson Order in TNP, and now that's been asked and answered in TRR.” 
We drifted into natural, personal conversation as we sipped on our rum and enjoyed some TWP karaoke favorites. Suddenly, the clock on the mantlepiece chimed loudly. It was already evening, and I had stayed longer than I had meant to. 
“Thank you so much, Westwind. For the newspaper, I'll let you have the final word. Anything else you'd like to say?” 
“I don't know if I have any words left." He chuckled. "NationStates is a curious animal. It cannot be tamed, but it can be lead and domesticated for a time and place. 
Just think.....had the Destroyers/Deadwood/NTO/SOULEATERS efforts been backed by a multi-regional organization such as a reformed ADN or The Crimson Order and followed to it's natural conclusion.....more Raider targets would have been removed from the game....Region names freed for new/active players to use.....there would be fewer small regions without security, leaving fewer regions for defenders to defend....the R/D game could be crippled......forum/offsite communities enhanced by players returned from the void of inactivity....interregional politics and 'wars' could supersede the R/D conflicts of the past....NS could be a more dynamic political simulation capable of innovation unhampered by limited R/D gameplay perspectives. 
The potential in those ideas that were developed was audacious. No wonder defenders worked with raiders to defeat The Crimson King. *chuckles* 
Existing paradigms don't like change.   
NationStates is a long story that is constantly having new pages written by it's players on a daily basis. 
And I'm just one of the Storytellers.” 
                                                                                                     
I would like to personally thank @Westwind for granting this interview. I had a lot of fun speaking with him and learning from him. I'd like to apologize for the frankly ridiculous amount of time it took me to get around to writing it up, and also for leaving out as much as I did... WW is a source of much wisdom and I couldn't pack it all into the format I wanted. Any inaccuracies in the above articles not in direct quotes are my responsibility: please let me know if I've gotten anything wrong.
Happy Holidays!

The following article ran in the 21st issue of The West Pacifican and is reproduced here with the rest of the interview. 
By Correspondent @Reçueçn
 
Back in April, I sat down with Westwind to get to know a little bit more about one of TWP’s greats—himself. He invited me into his study, poured me a glass of crimson rum, and arranged himself in his favorite armchair. I, recently returned to the region, decided I had better start at the beginning. 
“What originally got you into NS?” I asked. “And what was it that got you to stay? Do you remember the moment you went from thinking 'Ok, this is interesting,’ to ‘I can see I'll be into this for a while’?” 
Westwind half-smiled, nodded, and leaned back. 
“That's a good question, because it reminds me of what it was like to be a new player in NS.  We can become jaded and forget that NS can seem like directionless and confusing place when your nation is first Founded in one of these ‘region’ things. 
I was completely baffled by what a region is. It made no sense to me. Where are the Continents? What am I supposed to do?” 
Westwind’s first encounter with Nationstates, the game we know and love, was short-lived, and came about when his ex-wife, aware of his interests, sent him a link. At the time, Westwind was too busy, but something must have intrigued him, because a couple months later he came back and began again. 
Having forgotten his original nation, he founded Westwind—now his oldest nation, dating back to January of 2004. But the nation of Westwind had been conceived even decades before that, on paper; “I did hardcopy NS on my own before Max was even alive,” boasts Westwind. Westwind had drawn maps, tracked economies and international relations, and even written books on his nations—books from which the stories would later influence roleplays in Equilism. But Westwind didn’t get to Equilism right away. 
Like many in the west, Westwind claims The West Pacific as his nation’s birthplace. But when he originally founded his first nation, that meant nothing to him.  
“Westwind was Founded in The West Pacific.  I had no idea what that meant. I read the NS FAQ and I was just as confused as ever.  I couldn't grasp the concept of what a 'region' is or what it means. 
I received the usual flood of recruitment telegrams, and they did not help me understand NS.” 
I smiled as Westwind talked. A lot of what he recounted—even if it had happened in 2004—sounded like the same situation with which new players are faced today. 
Having figured out the basic mechanics behind moving regions, Westwind decided on a move to Equilism, still less than two weeks old. He lurked there for a while, but many things were different in that era—no mass telegrams, and messages that disappeared off the RMB as soon as they left the front page. Communication was more difficult, but off-site forums helped to fill that gap. Westwind had arrived in the middle of a constitutional convention, and as it finished, Equilism moved to new forums where he joined and became a senator. It as the beginning of a meteoric rise—within six weeks of being on Nationstates, Westwind had become Prime Minister and Delegate. 
“NS moved very quickly those days,” he said with a chuckle. 
“What led you back to TWP after you’d left for Equilism?” I asked. 
“That Westwind was Founded in TWP is certainly important to me. I really can't say why. IRL, I was born in Ohio and my family left there six months later. I have no attachments to Ohio. (Except for Darkesia.)” 
Westwind’s return to his birthplace, however, took some time, and only happened once he had built other connections first. Most notably, Equilism was a defender region and its E-Army, of which Westwind was commander, was a member of the ADN—as was TWP. During thepuppetmaster liberation of TNP, he guesses that Equilism made the largest contribution, followed by TWP. His lead nation for that liberation might ring a bell: All Good People. 
These events lead to Westwind then becoming more involved in TNP. But as time passed and he tried to use the region as a platform to rekindle gameplay, the old guard refused to work with him, sometime around ‘07/08. He had been banned from TWP during the triumvirate, but now he quietly moved back in with All Good people. When The Faeyas was elected Delegate, Westwind began to reinvolve himself in TWP politics. 
Westwind felt that delegacy in TNP had prepared him for his eventual delegacy in TWP. But even before that, the schism in Equilism prepared him for delegacy in TNP. The Equilism schism was very similar to something Biyah had done with the West Pacific Directorate, although Westwind emphasizes that this was merely coincidence. This would have been in late 2006. The secret behind the Equilism Schism was that both sides of the schism were in fact in on it and working together—it was just a big scheme to promote activity. 
When he finally came back to TWP, Westwind ran for delegate but lost against Punk Daddy. It was only years later he actually gained the delegacy, by that point a well-known and respected figure in the region. After the schism in Equilism, that region and TWP, despite their very different communities, found similar ideologies concerning game mechanics and the delegacy. Westwind fit right in in both.

Be Thankful, Not Entitled 
By Madeline Norfolk ( @Lady Madeline)
Over my years in NationStates, I’ve come to realize that I have these phases in my time in regions that I put a lot of work in. 
I go from being gracious just to be given the opportunity to do what I like, and extremely humbled when recognized by folks that I’m doing a good job, to being frustrated that nobody appreciates my work and my time I’m putting in.
Currently, I’m in a weird place where I’m not really gracious or frustrated—I guess that comes with more RL maturity. I’m in a place where I just want to do what I enjoy in NationStates and if that means cutting down how many regions I’m involved in, or taking a step away from a position or part of a region I really enjoy, then that’s what I’ll have to do. Through this journey of maturity and general peace in NationStates activity, there’s something we all should learn, we need to be thankful instead of entitled. 
What I mean is, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve worked in a position or a region, Be Thankful every time someone recognizes you for doing good! Don’t expect people to fall to your virtual feet and sing your name in praises every time you do whatever your job is. I certainly don’t play this game to stroke the ego of strangers on the internet, and you probably don’t either. If you’re getting frustrated because no one is praising you anymore or thanking you, then it may be time for you to take a step back or go in a different direction!
It is amazing how much a term break or letting someone else take over with as little involvement from you as possible can be. Not only can it be rewarding to see your hard work continue in others, but it can also help you reassess why you’re doing this job.
So why am I even talking about this?
Too many of my friends and people I know in NationStates come to me or others frustrated that nobody cares what they’re doing or they’re feeling underappreciated because they got negative feedback. It isn’t fun and it really just stinks worse than leftovers from Thanksgiving that you left in the fridge for a month.
As we enter this season of giving and receiving, remember that everyone here is human, and not only that, but most are not here to make you feel good about this game. You should find your feel good in things you accomplish, the surprises when you do get recognition, and most importantly in the friendships and communities you join. At the end, if this game were to shut down tomorrow, it isn’t like we’ll all just stop talking to one another, and frankly nobody cares if you’ve built 8 different proboards forums or written 4 Constitutions. 
So be thankful for your opportunities—
Be thankful for the unexpected recognitions—
Be thankful for the communities you have—
And don’t feel entitled that you deserve things because you did a thing or anyone owes you things because you did a thing for them. 
Do things because you like doing them, not for whatever prizes you expect to get for doing them!
I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, be thankful, be gracious, be humble, be loving, be caring, be intentional. ✌

I haven't seen them in there, but I'll keep watch because they are definitely on something.  

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