Joe Bobs

I remember those days. I've recently been writing up the history of the GRA (I'm literally going through thread by thread, it's taken me two months to write the first 8000 words, which has covered the first year (2005-06)) and I came across all scandals from that time, RLA forum deletion, etc.

My thoughts too Westwind. I always find animals doing silly things funny. But then again I find fart jokes funny. Heeheehee. My first thought when I saw the first edit was that people thought someone had forced the orangutan into that position, which of course would be horrible. I was really surprised to find it was peeing that offended them.

It's nice to know a photo I chose is the biggest news of the week! I had been looking for a gif of a monkey throwing poop, but in all the gifs I found it was too difficult to see that it was poop. And I stumbled across that! I recall it being very late and thinking 'that'll do'. Whoda thunkit?

That would make an odd episode of Jerry Springer... 'Next up we have a girl who claims her father used her to gain intel on the FRA. Her father claims she was passing puppet nation names to the UIAF. And we'll meet several conspiracists who claim the daughter and father are the same person!'

I'll make sure we have her name in the FRA intel files then!

You know you've been playing NS too long when... And congrats to you and your daughter Westwind!

I've personally not said anything against any Osirans, and what other GRAers do and say is something I cannot control. I personally have only made comments against Old Fed/PUT, and I stand by it. Everything I said was in reaction to his statement and was attacking what he said, I didn't make comments about him as a person. I think that's fair. I'll admit my tone was stronger than I would usually use but I was really annoyed at the tone he used. I don't like the fact that Osiris and TEP, in their official statements, made comments on the GRA-Lazarus relationship. I don't think that's any of their business and its up to Lazarus to say whatever they like.

From the Office of the Arch-Chancellor of the Founderless Regions Alliance Date: May 2014 Forum: s7.zetaboards.com/FRA Greetings; This is the first update of the May-August term for the Founderless Regions Alliance's cabinet. Moving Forward with a New Term With the new term starting, my goals as Arch-Chancellor largely revolve around general modernization and streamlining the FRA's operational facilities and policies in hopes of increasing our productivity. This term only started mere days ago, so not much has been done quite yet in regards to that, but we hope to take a look at reforming our forum structure, the FRA Rangers' chain of command, our training procedures, our resources, etc. in the coming weeks, while also recruiting, defending, and doing what we usually do. If these reforms go well, we will follow by experimenting with an interesting line-up of ideas that you'll have to wait a bit to see. Regardless, I and the Cabinet are looking quite forward to making the most of the new term. FRA Leads Liberation of Liberal Haven I am pleased to announce the successful liberation of Liberal Haven from the Right Wing Uprising. The mission, which was performed on 5/14's major update, was led and organized by the FRA Cabinet in cooperation with the Lazarene Liberation Army and, of course, Tim, who daringly attempted to trigger for a region that updated immediately after a feeder. Due to a sleepy delegate, the triggering ultimately wasn't necessary, but his efforts are nonetheless appreciated. Liberal Haven was of particular concern as a mission because the RWU placed several long-term sleepers in the region and was able to put the stockpiled influence to use through banjections and passwording the region. Cercueil, who is also known as "German Dragons" of NAZI EUROPE, took the delegacy just over fifty days ago and was succeeded by Curious Gecko, another sleeper. We originally planned to submit our own liberation proposal of the region, but Cormac A Stark wrote a fine resolution, beating us to the punch. All in all, it worked out, as the passing of that liberation opened the door for removing the Fascists from Liberal Haven. The coalition of forces that liberated the region include the FRA and the Lazarene Liberation Army, whom were responsible for coordinating the operation, the East Pacific Sovereign Army, the RRA, Spiritus, the New Southern Army, the New Pacific Order, and the UDL. We also found ourselves in a rare instance where we were pursuing the same objective militarily as the UIAF; though they originally intended to work separately with TSP to liberate the region, our operation was underway prior to their set-up and thus TSP joined us, and the UIAF, ISRA, and the UK ended up endorsing our lead and Geomania of TSP. The logistics of this arrangement were certainly uneasy at first, but fortunately the liberation was not derailed. A good laugh was had after the mission as well... Rangers Withdraw as Natives Successfully Refound Slavia The Rangers withdrew from Slavia this Tuesday after receiving North Polish Union's request to do so in preparation for a refound. Slavia, which was raided because the UIAF saw an opportunity to target it after the founder of the large region suddenly ceased to exist, was held by the occupying imperialist piling force until Dyr Nasad thwarted their refound attempt at the end of the winter. The effort was a long haul, both for us and, more dramatically, the residents of Slavia. The initial confusion caused by raiders insisting that their attack was an attack on Slavia because of its role in the FRA, even though Slavia was in the process of withdrawing from the Alliance, was as baffling as it sounds. The massive piling force that was deployed to Slavia was an obstacle that made a standard liberation impossible, so NPU and myself had no choice but to request help from the Security Council in ensuring that the UIAF didn't turn Slavia into a trophy. When we managed to take back the region, we had to spend almost a month securing Slavia before we were able to safely transfer the delegacy to NPU, and this week Slavia's community finally pulled off a professional-grade refound of their own, thus ending the ordeal. It is obvious that this has been a trying experience for Slavia, and it was tough not being able to help sooner, but I'm truly glad that the community was able to brave through it all and work with us to re-secure their region. I wish them the best of luck on their future endeavors and the protection of their region's sovereignty. Regardless of whether or not they are members of the FRA, we will continue to offer our support of their right to sovereignty in the face of imperialism. New Cabinet Elected, Term Length Amendment Passes the RA The FRA Regional Assembly recently wrapped up cabinet elections. You may notice that we usually don't have elections in May: this is correct. As Joneswest alluded to in the previous update, we recently implemented election reforms that effected a constitutional amendment mandating terms that are longer than past terms by one additional month. Our short terms have often been a subject of slight irritation, so the amendment was able to pass with ease. The change required that our usual election schedule be altered to suit longer terms. Elections will now occur in February, May, August, and November. The new cabinet is as follows: Just Around the Corner: FRAVision FRAVision, our annual song contest between NS players on their region's behalfs, is also just around the corner. While the details and scheduling are still being worked out presently, those interested in participating as contestants are encouraged to begin thinking about what they'd like to submit. I and Wopruthien will be serving as the event's organizers this year and I fully intend to take bribes from any person who can convince Blue Wolf to actually record a cover of "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof. Fun (Or Maybe Not?) Discussion of the Week: F.R.A. vs. FRAH, With Linguistics Lessons from Joe Bobs To the surprise of some of us in the FRA, there are actually people who pronounce FRA as "FRAH" instead of reading aloud the initialism. We made a topic about it and people were simply horrified that people actually do that. That's not terribly interesting, but what is interesting is that Joe Bobs, our RLO, was actually able to explain why most people use "F.R.A." but some use "FRAH". His linguistics degree was the source of both knowledge and sympathy for his financial well-being -- he took the time to explain the initialism's popularity below. It's actually pretty interesting. I took up asking him why "ointment" is such an unappealing word after the fact, and he happily explained that too. He may analyze a word of your choice upon request if you're lucky. Comic of the Update Finally, enjoy this comic. *Sorry TWP, IMG not working The lesson? Lima beans are a tool of the opposition. Lazarene rice is inalieable freedom. Thank you for reading, and you'll be hearing from us again later this month. Milograd Arch-Chancellor of the Founderless Regions Alliance

Hahaha! I can't remember a time the GRA wasn't bouncing from one controversy from the next. I think we've all gone grey from the stress! We'll be releasing a statement in the next few days.

Thankyou both! TWP is cool.

Westwind, BBD - Would you be happy for me to quote you with the above? Westwind, I'd include what your quote was in response to as well. This is for a piece I'm doing on responses to our FA updates. Cheers!

Westwind, I think I can speak for the GRA in saying you are hereby an honourary GRAer.

That's what we aim for!

No problem!

Finally, the GRA maintains its eternal war against Falconias. In the words of Old Zertaxia, you all cray-cray. Written by Joe Bobs. With thanks for contributions from Sovereign Liberties, fighter4u, Jonewest and Old Zertaxia.

Congrats to you both!

Sounds like 'hanging chads' all over again!

Baby steps!

And this funky little graph of activity over the years: Joe Bobs would also like to thank Old Zertaxia and Jonewest for doing some minor admin things in relation to this. Nah, they were super-admins and we wub them. Population Rise We are pleased to announce the continuation of the GRA's rise in population. At the time of going to press, the region is home to 102 nations, up from 81 in the last update. Sadly, we have not yet overtaken 10,000 Islands, but we remain confident it will happen in the next two weeks (if we keep saying that, one day it has to be true, right?). We are also pleased to be able to welcome back G-tech and Chin Chillas to the GRA this month. We also welcome new citizens Dyr Nasad, Horse, Takanashi and Libetarian Republics. Govindia Strikes Again! Govindia and the GRA have a long and ugly history, going back to the time he began Facebook stalking Old Zertaxia. This month, he bashed the GRA in his election campaign in Wintreath, calling GRAers 'trolls', 'argumentative', 'hostile', 'abrasive' and stating that we 'thrive off internet drama'. However, despite these compliments, he also said we have only been 'helpful to an extent as defenders'. The People's Assembly of the GRA lodged a formal protest against Govindia's statement, which has been hotly debated in the Wintreath GRA embassy. The GRA thanks all those Wintreathians who responded, and helped smooth past the matter to ensure relations between Wintreath and the GRA remained friendly and cooperative. Govindia did not respond. Diplomatic Crisis with Captialist Paradise A minor diplomatic crisis also occurred when Sovereign Liberties' stated his opposition to the opening of an embassy with Capitalist Paradise, when he revealed that last year, CP had attempted to recruit from the GRA. Sucrati, representing CP, has stated that this was a one-off action and it is the policy of CP not to recruit from regions with which they share ties. After some discussion, it was decided that as the matter did appear to have been a singular occurrence, it would be forgotten in the interest of building diplomatic relations between the two regions. People's Assembly The last few weeks have seen a number of topics discussed in the People's Assembly, the direct-democracy governing body of the GRA. Joe Bobs proposed the 'In-Game Embassies Act', to set punishments for members of the Founder Nation Control Board who took actions on approving or disapproving embassies. However, the act was not passed into law, due to lack of support. The formation of the GRA Invader Nut Smashers (GRAINS) army continues, with opposition mostly coming from Sovereign Liberties and active FRA Rangers in the GRA, and support from Joe Bobs and Old Zertaxia, with Jonewest flip-flopping like a dying fish and Uropa taking the opportunity to vocalise his dislike for the FRA. The main debate in the PA has taken place over the rights of citizenship in the region. Almost all workings of the GRA Government (excluding the GRADF) take place in public, and have done so almost since the region's founding in 2005. However, the rights to post in the People's Assembly came to question, as members of the Aura Hyperia delegation posted their opinions on the possible AH-GRA in the PA. Many said only citizens should have this right, whilst others wanted the right available to all, with only voting held for citizens only. However, the law became further complicated as two proposals came to the floor: Old Zertaxia's Citizenship Act, and Sovereign Liberties' redrafting of the People's Declaration of Assembling (the constitution of the GRA). These are currently being taken to vote. Protestors demand rights for citizens. Finally, one law has seen almost universal agreement (excluding Jonewest who is a party-pooper), the Anniversary Act, which would see the creation of six public holidays in the region. Whilst the dates and exact nature of the holidays are yet to be confirmed, the suggested line-up is: GRA Founding Day Old Zertaxia Day - to celebrate the GRA's longest-serving citizen, Speaker and former President, and in particular for his actions to save the region in its early days, when many natives abandoned the region following deletion of its founder. Uropa Day - to celebrate the region's most vocal member and former Chancellor, and specifically to mark Uropa's actions in forcing the opening of Parliament to the public in its earliest days. Dipes Day - to celebrate one of the longest serving Presidents and greatest Defenders, and to mark the creation of the first left-wing party in June '05, ending the region's right wing slant. Northern Chittowa Day - to celebrate the FRA co-founder, former President, Foreign Affairs guru and Defender extraordinaire, and to mark the creation of the forums by NC. South Land Day - to celebrate one of the founding fathers of the GRA and first President, specifically to mark the day South Land announced an end to the tyranny of New Emerica, the first democratic government, and the launch of the 'Defender only' policy. Rotatorship Week - to celebrate the most infamous of the GRA's political system, a week of a mini-rotatorship will take place. New Embassies We are happy to announce the opening of the Kantrias embassy! Only one new embassy this month, following the thirty-two opened in March. The GRA in the FRA We are also pleased to announce that Jonewest, GRADF General, has been fulfilling his duties as Acting Arch Chancellor of the FRA during Karputsk's absence. This week, Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Bobs has also been elected Regional Liaison Officer in the FRA. Finally, the GRA maintains its eternal war against Falconias. In the words of Jonewest, NO. Written by Joe Bobs. With thanks for contributions from Jonewest and Old Zertaxia.

No problem, whenever you're ready, the embassy is set up.

Meh, it's not that bad. Fiddling around in SQL mostly. I use Cognos a lot too. I like SQL, it makes sense. But it scares the crap out of me too, if I'm making big changes I re-read my script about 10 times to make sure all my 'where' clauses are in! There are people reading this thinking this is the nerdiest discussion ever. ed: Forgot to ask, will TWP be sending a representative over to the GRA too?

Yes, as I've said elsewhere, it's a shame there isn't more communication across the divides in NS. Interaction is the basis of the game in many ways. I hope we see more inter-regional activities, conventions, etc. And tell me about it! I'm a Database Manager, drives me mad!

Well it does mean if one provider goes out of business, we know there are others to jump ship to!

There are so many forum formats now though, NS has diversified! I can't get this aligning right.

Other laws being discussed at the time of going to press are a Bill of Rights, the Separation of Militaries Act, the In-Game Embassies Act, and a selection of so called 'Practical Laws'. Expansion of Embassies Joe Bobs has been mercilessly spamming the NS world in a ruthless bid of regional self-promotion, as you are no doubt aware, or else you wouldn't be reading this! He has released the following statement: To this end, we are proud to announce new embassies with the following: Aura Hyperia, British Isles, Capitalist Paradise, Gatesville Inc, Independent Order, Mordor, NeoConfederate States of America, The New Galactic Empire, New Warsaw Pact, Osiris, Renegade Islands Alliance and Wintreath. And we are pleased to announce the reopening of embassies with: Belgium-Netherlands, Canada, Caprecia & Nysa, Equilism, Gay, Region Inc and The West Pacific. Jonewest commented: 'Joe Bobs has been overworking the hardly working administration staff to setup a huge array of embassies on the GRA Forums. While they may be held together by glue and bondage, for the most part the embassies look good!' (Ed note: Image removed after Google search of 'glue and bondage' was found to violate most forums' Terms of Service...) Jonewest Vs. Sovereign Liberties This month saw a return to the classical language of the GRA: flame wars lasting multiple days over an arbitrary point no one can remember. Our best investigative journalists have found that the war may have begun with Sovereign Liberties' criticism of Jonewest's dismissive tone when asked to perform his Admin duties, but no one is quite certain. Both accused the other of being 'non-contributors', which has now, like so many slurs before, become a term of affection and fraternity in the GRA. Jonewest commented as follows: 'Tensions rose, fell, and sandwiches were made for me afterwards. All has been reasoned and resolved, with a new word being added to the GRA Official Dictionary!' (Ed note: The word was 'no', which Jonewest has redefined not as a refusal, but a tool of Admins to put people in their place.) Jonewest has been a vocal opponent of the 'say no to drugs' campaign in the past, but is now launching his own 'say no to admin requests'. Uropa held a poll into who was likely to win, in which, surprisingly, the winner was 'I'm a fwuffy penguin and want everyone to be friends Joe Bobs', 3 votes to 2 to 2. Sovereign Liberties could not be reached for a comment, because he has chickenpox. We hope he gets well soon and has a bath in calamine. Old Zertaxia is particularly frightened, as he can remember smallpox. (Ed note: Sovereign Liberties is now well, but I enjoy the above picture too much to take it out. ) GRADF The GRADF continues to operate as part of the FRA Rangers, whilst Jonewest modernises the institution. He has stated 'We are currently moving the GRADF into the modern age of strategy and tactics. With this lengthy procedure of moving data and resources from Windows 95 to Windows Millennium Edition computers it has been decided that the following honorary titles be bestowed on the following: Old Zertaxia - GRADF Whore, Northern Chittowa - GRA Watchdog, Uropa - Chief of the Military Police. Old Zertaxia has responded: 'Even though the word "High" in High General Jonewest's title is clearly not in reference to an extremely elevated place, and rather a reference to his intoxicated state (for all you dumdums out there, Jonewest is f*cking high as balls whenever he attempt to do things, especially Admin things, especially create forums and not f*ck them up), I graciously and grandly accept the honor of GRABR Whore. Thank you.' He also added that he hates everyone. New Formal Address for Admin Requests After multiple attempts to make admins do things by throwing rocks at them, Joe Bobs has tried a different tactic, making the following plea in the Admin Request Thread: Finally, the GRA maintains its eternal war against Falconias. In the words of Uropa, beace. Written by Joe Bobs. With thanks for contributions from Jonewest and Old Zertaxia.