Fujai

One of the reasons TWPAF benefited from its pirate theme was because that theme is well suited to West Pacifican culture. I'm all for a rebranding of TWP, as I've made plenty clear before, but making something it other than TWP doesn't make any sense. There's no reason we should be taking things from RL cultures that aren't ours when we have a perfectly good one right here in TWP. The theme should reflect TWP, not the other way around.
One can say that a new theme won't affect our culture, except it undoubtedly will. If done correctly, all mentions of TWP in government, documentation, and conversation would include the new language, and of the active members it will please some, do nothing to others, and irritate others. New nations will feel its influence even more strongly, as they wouldn't know anything else. Not to mention, if a theme either doesn't change or doesn't reflect the culture, then what's the point? People could just ignore it and all of this effort and discussion would be for naught.
To that extent, I'm not in favor of any of the themes presented, and I think we have a lot more to gain from expanding TWPAF's pirate theme for the rest of the region. It's unique, easy to understand, and meshes well with TWP's culture. On the whole I prefer when things are discussed as a region and not presented to us after closed door discussions.
Were I forced to choose from the three, however, Kawaii's Shogunate Japan theme seemed the best. Being open ended and more in favor of a reskin as opposed to something larger makes it easier to adapt to our needs. Plus it includes the only flag of the bunch that was interesting to me.
Overall, a TWP theme is the best theme.

That is such a treat, Westwind! Whoa! TWP's history is one of my favorites to hear about. Always do silly and fun.  TWP has always been a region that made things their own, I love it. Also I finally found the other thread people were talking in. xD I just commented on the legislation one. My vote was for Imperialist China. Though now I'm sad no one tried to enforce Klingon TWP, I definitely would have voted for that instead. 
 
I'm really sad to see some of these older TWP folks discouraging this newer generation from making things their own and investing in a vision for TWP on their terms! Badger sees TWP as a laid back beach vibe, but clearly that's not what anyone was going for when TWP was a Klingon crazyland. Giving newer generations an opportunity to invest in their region is really important. If you're not going to grow with TWP, then it can't be the TWP that you envisioned forever. It has to be the TWP that reaches out to the people investing in it right now, y'know? I get the discomfort. But I feel like these new themes do definitely keep classic TWP elements in them - like the colors didn't go anywhere! - while letting the TWP of the present make their own mark on the region. They need a history too.  
 
Also I agree with Dark about confusing names and keeping them clear at least on Gameside. Regions with hard themes are great, but hard to decipher for FA purposes or for new people if they're not pretty well spelled out in like, RO titles or at least a Dispatch somewhere. 

One of the reasons TWPAF benefited from its pirate theme was because that theme is well suited to West Pacifican culture. I'm all for a rebranding of TWP, as I've made plenty clear before, but making something it other than TWP doesn't make any sense. There's no reason we should be taking things from RL cultures that aren't ours when we have a perfectly good one right here in TWP. The theme should reflect TWP, not the other way around.
One can say that a new theme won't affect our culture, except it undoubtedly will. If done correctly, all mentions of TWP in government, documentation, and conversation would include the new language, and of the active members it will please some, do nothing to others, and irritate others. New nations will feel its influence even more strongly, as they wouldn't know anything else. Not to mention, if a theme either doesn't change or doesn't reflect the culture, then what's the point? People could just ignore it and all of this effort and discussion would be for naught.
To that extent, I'm not in favor of any of the themes presented, and I think we have a lot more to gain from expanding TWPAF's pirate theme for the rest of the region. It's unique, easy to understand, and meshes well with TWP's culture. On the whole I prefer when things are discussed as a region and not presented to us after closed door discussions.
Were I forced to choose from the three, however, Kawaii's Shogunate Japan theme seemed the best. Being open ended and more in favor of a reskin as opposed to something larger makes it easier to adapt to our needs. Plus it includes the only flag of the bunch that was interesting to me.
Overall, a TWP theme is the best theme.

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.
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.

I really liked the simplicity and TWPness of your design, so I had it in the back of my head as I was working on it. I tend to go overboard with detail so that helped tone it down a little.
Oh I remember those! Were you the one who made that FA logo? It looks really nice.

I really liked the simplicity and TWPness of your design, so I had it in the back of my head as I was working on it. I tend to go overboard with detail so that helped tone it down a little.
Oh I remember those! Were you the one who made that FA logo? It looks really nice.

Oh man, I forgot about the Crimson Order there, definitely a missed opportunity—that could be rectified...
I'm glad that there's public support for rebranding! The region could certainly use it after so long.

Hey there folks. I've put together some ideas for unified regional branding here, as I think we could use a shake up in our look. There've been attempts before at making a theme for official dispatches, but none have ever stuck past a delegate change. For the time being, I have an emblem, wordmark, dispatch theme, WFE, and a potential new flag.
Why have consistent regional branding, you ask? A cohesive look not only makes the region easier to navigate, but it asserts and enhances regional identity. As far as I know, only TWP and Lazarus have no dispatch theme (although they do have some pretty jazzin' graphics kicking around). Without it, we have a harder time displaying who we are both to ourselves and to the rest of the NSverse. My goal for the redesign was to keep everything in line with TWP's identity. Central to that is a sense of playfulness and not taking ourselves too seriously, which is why I tried to went for simplicity, recognizably, and vibrancy. As Dark once said, I believe, TWP runs a tight ship, but we do it wearing a tutu and a propeller hat.
The colors I'm using I have [tentatively] titled The West Pacific Scarlet (#CC0000) and The West Pacific Violet (#481C5E), with white as a third color, when needed.
For the emblem, I wanted to do something that was simple and round, so It could be used in a wide variety of places. Another thought I had was taking the favicon (the blue one here) and using that for the emblem after swapping the colors. The main reason I didn't go with that is because it didn't incorporate the flag and would've been less recognizable, but the option is still there.
For the wordmark, I really wanted to keep it simple so that it could be typed out and still have the same look. To that effect I used Verdana for the font, because it's widely available both on and off line, with just a simple bold, italic, and color.
Next are a couple options for a dispatch theme. I took my last attempt and incorporated some of the feedback from Dark's idea thread. The three versions each have a different header. The first is has only the words "The West Pacific", the second has the wordmark, and the third has only the words, with the symbol floated to either side. Edit: I added an example for an FA exclusive template, as an example of something that could be tailored to our ministries.
Dispatch just words
Dispatch wordmark
Dispatch floated symbol
FA Update example
Should we decide to use these, I think the opportunity should be taken to migrate our official dispatches onto a regional nation. They're very scattered and in some cases duplicated right now. I'm willing to do the legwork for the migration once finals are over in a week and a half (I'll also finish the rest of my backlog then). After that, I can keep it updated when updates and new dispatches are needed. It should be noted that this would apply only to official dispatches, such as the RMB rules, code of conduct, ministry posts, etc, but not to personal projects like Yy's Survival Guide.
For the WFE, I kept 90% of what it has now, changed a couple things around, and swapped colors. I didn't link Halo or the Guardians because I didn't want to bother them with a useless ping. I did test it to make sure that it fits inside the length limit, so there's no concern there. The only thing I really took out was the "No RMB recruiting" section, because no region really allows it anyway, so there's not much use in keeping it around.
TWP WFE sample
Lastly, and probably most contentiously, is the flag. I am in no way opposed to just keeping our original flag (this being the oldest version I know of), although the current version isn't vertically symmetrical (although the old version is technically a bit off as well, I found). Overall, I'm not ecstatic about the flag I did with the new colors, something about it, perhaps the colors themselves, just looks off to me; I'd like to see what you folks think about it. I have a bunch of other redesigns sitting around here if those look better to anyone.
Edit: I added a second flag that I'm happier with. It captures more of the depth on our current flag while keeping the new color scheme intact.
 
Note: I posted smaller versions of everything so it wouldn't be overwhelming and take three years to load. Later I can post the full size ones and put the svgs up on google drive or something so they're publicly available.

Hey there folks. I've put together some ideas for unified regional branding here, as I think we could use a shake up in our look. There've been attempts before at making a theme for official dispatches, but none have ever stuck past a delegate change. For the time being, I have an emblem, wordmark, dispatch theme, WFE, and a potential new flag.
Why have consistent regional branding, you ask? A cohesive look not only makes the region easier to navigate, but it asserts and enhances regional identity. As far as I know, only TWP and Lazarus have no dispatch theme (although they do have some pretty jazzin' graphics kicking around). Without it, we have a harder time displaying who we are both to ourselves and to the rest of the NSverse. My goal for the redesign was to keep everything in line with TWP's identity. Central to that is a sense of playfulness and not taking ourselves too seriously, which is why I tried to went for simplicity, recognizably, and vibrancy. As Dark once said, I believe, TWP runs a tight ship, but we do it wearing a tutu and a propeller hat.
The colors I'm using I have [tentatively] titled The West Pacific Scarlet (#CC0000) and The West Pacific Violet (#481C5E), with white as a third color, when needed.
For the emblem, I wanted to do something that was simple and round, so It could be used in a wide variety of places. Another thought I had was taking the favicon (the blue one here) and using that for the emblem after swapping the colors. The main reason I didn't go with that is because it didn't incorporate the flag and would've been less recognizable, but the option is still there.
For the wordmark, I really wanted to keep it simple so that it could be typed out and still have the same look. To that effect I used Verdana for the font, because it's widely available both on and off line, with just a simple bold, italic, and color.
Next are a couple options for a dispatch theme. I took my last attempt and incorporated some of the feedback from Dark's idea thread. The three versions each have a different header. The first is has only the words "The West Pacific", the second has the wordmark, and the third has only the words, with the symbol floated to either side. Edit: I added an example for an FA exclusive template, as an example of something that could be tailored to our ministries.
Dispatch just words
Dispatch wordmark
Dispatch floated symbol
FA Update example
Should we decide to use these, I think the opportunity should be taken to migrate our official dispatches onto a regional nation. They're very scattered and in some cases duplicated right now. I'm willing to do the legwork for the migration once finals are over in a week and a half (I'll also finish the rest of my backlog then). After that, I can keep it updated when updates and new dispatches are needed. It should be noted that this would apply only to official dispatches, such as the RMB rules, code of conduct, ministry posts, etc, but not to personal projects like Yy's Survival Guide.
For the WFE, I kept 90% of what it has now, changed a couple things around, and swapped colors. I didn't link Halo or the Guardians because I didn't want to bother them with a useless ping. I did test it to make sure that it fits inside the length limit, so there's no concern there. The only thing I really took out was the "No RMB recruiting" section, because no region really allows it anyway, so there's not much use in keeping it around.
TWP WFE sample
Lastly, and probably most contentiously, is the flag. I am in no way opposed to just keeping our original flag (this being the oldest version I know of), although the current version isn't vertically symmetrical (although the old version is technically a bit off as well, I found). Overall, I'm not ecstatic about the flag I did with the new colors, something about it, perhaps the colors themselves, just looks off to me; I'd like to see what you folks think about it. I have a bunch of other redesigns sitting around here if those look better to anyone.
Edit: I added a second flag that I'm happier with. It captures more of the depth on our current flag while keeping the new color scheme intact.
 
Note: I posted smaller versions of everything so it wouldn't be overwhelming and take three years to load. Later I can post the full size ones and put the svgs up on google drive or something so they're publicly available.

Hey there folks. I've put together some ideas for unified regional branding here, as I think we could use a shake up in our look. There've been attempts before at making a theme for official dispatches, but none have ever stuck past a delegate change. For the time being, I have an emblem, wordmark, dispatch theme, WFE, and a potential new flag.
Why have consistent regional branding, you ask? A cohesive look not only makes the region easier to navigate, but it asserts and enhances regional identity. As far as I know, only TWP and Lazarus have no dispatch theme (although they do have some pretty jazzin' graphics kicking around). Without it, we have a harder time displaying who we are both to ourselves and to the rest of the NSverse. My goal for the redesign was to keep everything in line with TWP's identity. Central to that is a sense of playfulness and not taking ourselves too seriously, which is why I tried to went for simplicity, recognizably, and vibrancy. As Dark once said, I believe, TWP runs a tight ship, but we do it wearing a tutu and a propeller hat.
The colors I'm using I have [tentatively] titled The West Pacific Scarlet (#CC0000) and The West Pacific Violet (#481C5E), with white as a third color, when needed.
For the emblem, I wanted to do something that was simple and round, so It could be used in a wide variety of places. Another thought I had was taking the favicon (the blue one here) and using that for the emblem after swapping the colors. The main reason I didn't go with that is because it didn't incorporate the flag and would've been less recognizable, but the option is still there.
For the wordmark, I really wanted to keep it simple so that it could be typed out and still have the same look. To that effect I used Verdana for the font, because it's widely available both on and off line, with just a simple bold, italic, and color.
Next are a couple options for a dispatch theme. I took my last attempt and incorporated some of the feedback from Dark's idea thread. The three versions each have a different header. The first is has only the words "The West Pacific", the second has the wordmark, and the third has only the words, with the symbol floated to either side. Edit: I added an example for an FA exclusive template, as an example of something that could be tailored to our ministries.
Dispatch just words
Dispatch wordmark
Dispatch floated symbol
FA Update example
Should we decide to use these, I think the opportunity should be taken to migrate our official dispatches onto a regional nation. They're very scattered and in some cases duplicated right now. I'm willing to do the legwork for the migration once finals are over in a week and a half (I'll also finish the rest of my backlog then). After that, I can keep it updated when updates and new dispatches are needed. It should be noted that this would apply only to official dispatches, such as the RMB rules, code of conduct, ministry posts, etc, but not to personal projects like Yy's Survival Guide.
For the WFE, I kept 90% of what it has now, changed a couple things around, and swapped colors. I didn't link Halo or the Guardians because I didn't want to bother them with a useless ping. I did test it to make sure that it fits inside the length limit, so there's no concern there. The only thing I really took out was the "No RMB recruiting" section, because no region really allows it anyway, so there's not much use in keeping it around.
TWP WFE sample
Lastly, and probably most contentiously, is the flag. I am in no way opposed to just keeping our original flag (this being the oldest version I know of), although the current version isn't vertically symmetrical (although the old version is technically a bit off as well, I found). Overall, I'm not ecstatic about the flag I did with the new colors, something about it, perhaps the colors themselves, just looks off to me; I'd like to see what you folks think about it. I have a bunch of other redesigns sitting around here if those look better to anyone.
Edit: I added a second flag that I'm happier with. It captures more of the depth on our current flag while keeping the new color scheme intact.
 
Note: I posted smaller versions of everything so it wouldn't be overwhelming and take three years to load. Later I can post the full size ones and put the svgs up on google drive or something so they're publicly available.

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.....

I love the spirit of this thread, and with that being said, here goes nothing!
Government reforms - parliamentary system
The delegate is elected by the Hall of Nations. This encourages participation in forum government, and keeps the delegate responsive to the people. The Hall would probably function as it does, although the Delegate could assume the Speaker's function. I don't have much thought on that at the moment. Ministers would continue to be elected or appointed as normal. Guardians would either stay as normal, or would have their positions assumed by the Ministers. Alternatively, a Minister of Security could be created that heads the Guardians.  A vote of no confidence by the Hall can trigger a special election, with the victor serving until the end of the next term. No confidence votes can be used to either replace a single Minister or Delegate, or to remove and replace the whole Government. A better judicial system where people can appeal ejections and the like, where the people doing the ejecting don't sit on the jury. 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. Brainstorm ways to make the Hall actually matter outside of elections. Other assorted gripes
The TWP flag could use an update. Since the last change, it's bothered me that the rays aren't symmetrical. Also gradients just aren't good for flags. An update should be something simple and instantly recognizable as TWP's flag. I have some variations that I've made over time here. Official dispatches should have a cohesive aesthetic. Everything looks so much better when there's a contiguous theme between dispatches. Think of us as an RL university. You would want the websites for the colleges and departments to follow the theme of the main university page so that people know they're on a university website. TWP colors would need to be solidified. I recommend #CC0000 for the red, #481C5E for the purple, and white. In dispatch terms, there should be a single header style, with a graphic and title that makes it obvious it's an official TWP dispatch. One menu below that would be for the main pages that should always be a click away. A second menu could be located either below that or to the side, that lists a table of contents or quick links specific to that dispatches needs. Here is an example of what I'm thinking of. A single body style would control the font and size used, as well as the way headings and subsections look and are divided. The footer style would be mainly aesthetic, containing a small section of quick links that includes the umbrella dispatch. @Neenee, how do you feel about these flag and theme ideas? We're really missing out on a vibrant part of a community by neglecting RP. We've kind of just accepted the fact that it isn't going to be popular in TWP, but it feels like we just need to collectively give it a shot. This can be in a ton of ways, there can be a lot more than just story RP and the like. It seems to me that there's a good possibility of using our nations for this, what with the map and factbook success we've had in the past. Edit: What I mean by "using our nations" is by encouraging things like the Teikei and the LoEA On that note, I'd be willing to put together a new map and keep it updated and try revamping Darkipedia, there's a whole lot of potential there. Here is a mockup for Darkipedia's main page. @Mediobogdum and @Davelands, I'm curious as to what you think of these. There are too many banjections for minor infractions. It'll take more effort to explain our rules to people, but it's certainly worth a shot. People don't like to read on the internet. Just tossing our rules at people and ejecting them when they don't read them isn't doing us any favors. That information should be offered in multiple places and different depths. There should be a very condensed form on the WFE, a more in depth form explained when people ignore what is on the WFE, and finally a dispatch with the whole list and explanations for after an RMB/telegram explanation. Newbies might be smelly at first but they tend to get better with age if we just give them a shot in the beginning, metaphorical or otherwise. Edit: Comic Sans and Papyrus should be outlawed in this region for crimes against humanity.

For the most part, in Hall elections, the most capable candidate has been chosen. In many cases that candidate happened to also be the most popular. I feel like it would increase participation and interest, and it would be a fairly simple change overall, the most jarring part of it would be ideological. We already have a strong meritocracy, and there's no reason that electing the Delegate would change that.
I agree that it isn't much used, but it also isn't much advertised. My real gripe with it is that one of the people your appeal is heard by is the one who ejected you. Selecting jurors ad hoc would limit the bias of potential appeals and trials.
I'd argue that ones in the dispatch are in a similar design, but a different style. The design is good, it's the execution that I feel is problematic and counter to accepted flag design, mainly with the gradient. A lot of flags on NS aren't so much flags for a nation or region as banners for a personality, which isn't bad, but perhaps not appropriate for a region.
I can get a map made up this weekend, I think. I like the style Bran did it in, but a larger scale would be better. I can make a thread for it over in RP if you're into it and make an announcement on the RMB and Discord to start taking requests. Medio is the caretaker for Darkipedia right now, so it'd be up to him, but I'm glad you're into a redesign!
You're right that it's not too much to ask, but in some cases it's just too much for people to do. At that point I don't think there's much to do apart from making it as accessible as possible. The RMB Etiquette dispatch might be one page, but there's just a lot of information there and it's not very user friendly. A little formatting could go a long way on that one in particular, though you're right that we're doing better than a couple years ago.
I didn't know that the WFE had a size limit, is that determined by the amount of code or the amount of text displayed?
Those numbers sound right, and if so that's a lot of progress. The most prevalent loss of population is probably less on banjections and more on people just leaving for their multitude of reasons.
Comic Sans is overused and badly designed. Far be it from me to outlaw your fun, but there are plenty of fonts out there that can be upbeat and warm while keeping good design standards. I suggest looking at Google Fonts for others that may be better designed.

You've not mastered snark here, there or anywhere. You just come up as crude, disrespectful, offensive and tooooo much of an ass.

I was on this forum long before your nation even existed, I am even part of the old archived forums before Winni made this one.

As a matter of fact, I was one of the handful of people to first post anything in these forums after they were set up and running.

Just because I do not frequent here does not mean I am not watching....

*bites you on the ankles*

Hello, and welcome to Fujaian Designs, formerly Flags by Fujai, a graphic design service run by yours truly, Fujai (pronounced foo-'jay or foo'yay).
While this service began with flags, it has since expanded to include regional themes, branding (for nations, storefronts, or anything else), maps, seals, badges, awards, coats of arms, banners, and any other type of graphic design!
To request a design, simply send me a telegram, forum PM, or a Discord message at Smithy876#6074. I ask that you include what you would like, any ideas you have, such as color or style, and what it will be used for. After I send you a first draft, let me know if there is anything you would like to change—I encourage constructive criticism so that I can make you the best product possible.
You can see a gallery of my work at my dispatch here.
A couple notes:
My only request is that after I've made you a design (assuming that you like it), you point people in my direction if they ask about it or need something designed.
Programs I use, if you're curious:
For designing, I mainly use Adobe Illustrator (95%), Adobe Photoshop (4%), and FlagMaker (1%). Free alternatives to Illustrator and Photoshop are Inkscape and GIMP. If you are a student or work for a university or large company, you probably have some sort of discount for Adobe products. If you don't have a discount, they charge ridiculously exorbitant prices for much the same functionality as the free alternatives.
ColorBrewer.org is a great utility for making scientifically tested color schemes for maps and other forms of data visualization. Color.adobe.com is also a useful tool for making color schemes.
I use Instant Eyedropper to sample the color of any pixel on my screen, and Image Resizer for Windows to resize my images easily.
This will always be a completely free service.
Thanks!
--Fujai

Last week I dismissed four Guardians from their posts. The action itself is not what caused issue, but rather the manner in which I handled the dismissals. Each Guardian has served TWP with honor and distinction and I failed to treat them with the respect and dignity their service demanded.
Their devotion to TWP is unquestionable and their professional character is beyond reproach. Failure to recognize that - however temporary - constitutes a gross misjudgment on my part.
I want to personally apologize to Elegarth, Yy4u, Wickedly Evil People, and Bhang Bhang Duc. Furthermore, I would like to apologize to the rest of the region for the undue stress and anxiety caused by this situation.
Going forward, I pledge to earn back the trust in me that has been shaken, and to continue to serve the region and her interests to the best of my abilities.

There is a genuine problem of using Discord for some of our daily regional control.  What Discord has done is to effectively is to split the region into two factions with some discusssions being carried out in both discord and our off-site forum.
Whilst it is agreed that we have encouraged a new way for business to be discussed and carried out, and as a result we have new players becoming involved.  The downside is that we now have no clear direction for procedures for  the region.
I would suggest be that we need to have just a SINGLE place to discuss the various topics i.e., either in the forum OR on Discord NOT both.
 

That is the problem, Dark.  There was no discussion or opinions sought on how things were to develop in the region regarding guardianship, as far as I can tell.  Certainly not with me but I had a foot in both camps being brought online as an adjunct to the Old Guard and moving along with changes being introduced by the New Guard.

Nice to see you around!

Hi everyone,
I have been hanging on for some weeks now and I have finally found my way to this side of the "game" as well.
 
Congrats on the nice comunity. If the issues doesnt make sense then theres always a karaoke Friday or a punny Monday to look forward to
 
 

Thank you so much! You rock!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board of Questions FAQ!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here you will find answers to many common questions and links to more information than you wanted.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Questions:
What is NationStates?
Well...It's a nation simulation game where you respond to issues to mold your country and interact with the players and regions around you.
Can I declare war on someone?
No, this is not a war game.
What region am I in?
You're in The West Pacific! Commonly known as the Best Pacific, we have all that you could ever want in a region, so stick around and find out!
Who and what is a Delegate?
Our Delegate is Big Bad Badger. He is the leader of our region.
What's the government like?
The West Pacific (TWP) is a meritocracy. This means that if you work hard and show that you can do well, you will advance in rank. Our region is headed by the Delegate, who is assisted by his/her Guardians. The Delegate is free to choose their own Guardians and a successor at any time. We have a legislature called the Hall of Nations that is headed by a Speaker. There are multiple Ministries, including Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, WA Affairs, Military, and Recruitment and Citizenry. Some Ministers are elected and some are not, our "constitution" is viewable here.
I like roleplay, do you have that?
We sure do! We especially like pen and paper RPGs here in TWP, but we have a roleplay channel on our Discord server, a factbook encyclopedia, nation RP, and much more on our forums!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Links!
Guides:
Survival Guide to NationStates <-- This is one of the best guides out there.
Official Game FAQ
TWP Government:
Manners of Governance
Current members of government
Endorsement Cap
Code of Conduct
RMB Etiquette
Hall of Nations
Internal Affairs
Foreign Affairs
WA Affairs
Recruitment and Citizenry
Board of Questions Dispatch
The West Pacific Armed Forces (TWPAF)
NS Daily Issues
TWP Stuff:
TWP Forum
TWP Discord
TWP News and Information! (Foreign Affairs Updates, Newspaper, TWP Radio, TWPAF, and more!)
Community Interest Survey (from your friends at Internal Affairs)
Flags by Fujai
Darkipedia, the Chocolatey Encyclopedia
General NS Stuff:
Acronyms
List of NS Codes
World Assembly:
Security Council Guide
General Assembly Guide
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm sure I missed tons of useful things, please send me a PM/TG so I can add things.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board of Questions FAQ!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here you will find answers to many common questions and links to more information than you wanted.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Questions:
What is NationStates?
Well...It's a nation simulation game where you respond to issues to mold your country and interact with the players and regions around you.
Can I declare war on someone?
No, this is not a war game.
What region am I in?
You're in The West Pacific! Commonly known as the Best Pacific, we have all that you could ever want in a region, so stick around and find out!
Who and what is a Delegate?
Our Delegate is Big Bad Badger. He is the leader of our region.
What's the government like?
The West Pacific (TWP) is a meritocracy. This means that if you work hard and show that you can do well, you will advance in rank. Our region is headed by the Delegate, who is assisted by his/her Guardians. The Delegate is free to choose their own Guardians and a successor at any time. We have a legislature called the Hall of Nations that is headed by a Speaker. There are multiple Ministries, including Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, WA Affairs, Military, and Recruitment and Citizenry. Some Ministers are elected and some are not, our "constitution" is viewable here.
I like roleplay, do you have that?
We sure do! We especially like pen and paper RPGs here in TWP, but we have a roleplay channel on our Discord server, a factbook encyclopedia, nation RP, and much more on our forums!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Links!
Guides:
Survival Guide to NationStates <-- This is one of the best guides out there.
Official Game FAQ
TWP Government:
Manners of Governance
Current members of government
Endorsement Cap
Code of Conduct
RMB Etiquette
Hall of Nations
Internal Affairs
Foreign Affairs
WA Affairs
Recruitment and Citizenry
Board of Questions Dispatch
The West Pacific Armed Forces (TWPAF)
NS Daily Issues
TWP Stuff:
TWP Forum
TWP Discord
TWP News and Information! (Foreign Affairs Updates, Newspaper, TWP Radio, TWPAF, and more!)
Community Interest Survey (from your friends at Internal Affairs)
Flags by Fujai
Darkipedia, the Chocolatey Encyclopedia
General NS Stuff:
Acronyms
List of NS Codes
World Assembly:
Security Council Guide
General Assembly Guide
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm sure I missed tons of useful things, please send me a PM/TG so I can add things.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Board of Questions FAQ!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here you will find answers to many common questions and links to more information than you wanted.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Questions:
What is NationStates?
Well...It's a nation simulation game where you respond to issues to mold your country and interact with the players and regions around you.
Can I declare war on someone?
No, this is not a war game.
What region am I in?
You're in The West Pacific! Commonly known as the Best Pacific, we have all that you could ever want in a region, so stick around and find out!
Who and what is a Delegate?
Our Delegate is Big Bad Badger. He is the leader of our region.
What's the government like?
The West Pacific (TWP) is a meritocracy. This means that if you work hard and show that you can do well, you will advance in rank. Our region is headed by the Delegate, who is assisted by his/her Guardians. The Delegate is free to choose their own Guardians and a successor at any time. We have a legislature called the Hall of Nations that is headed by a Speaker. There are multiple Ministries, including Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, WA Affairs, Military, and Recruitment and Citizenry. Some Ministers are elected and some are not, our "constitution" is viewable here.
I like roleplay, do you have that?
We sure do! We especially like pen and paper RPGs here in TWP, but we have a roleplay channel on our Discord server, a factbook encyclopedia, nation RP, and much more on our forums!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Links!
Guides:
Survival Guide to NationStates <-- This is one of the best guides out there.
Official Game FAQ
TWP Government:
Manners of Governance
Current members of government
Endorsement Cap
Code of Conduct
RMB Etiquette
Hall of Nations
Internal Affairs
Foreign Affairs
WA Affairs
Recruitment and Citizenry
Board of Questions Dispatch
The West Pacific Armed Forces (TWPAF)
NS Daily Issues
TWP Stuff:
TWP Forum
TWP Discord
TWP News and Information! (Foreign Affairs Updates, Newspaper, TWP Radio, TWPAF, and more!)
Community Interest Survey (from your friends at Internal Affairs)
Flags by Fujai
Darkipedia, the Chocolatey Encyclopedia
General NS Stuff:
Acronyms
List of NS Codes
World Assembly:
Security Council Guide
General Assembly Guide
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm sure I missed tons of useful things, please send me a PM/TG so I can add things.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------