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The current Endorsement Cap: Nations endorsing the Delegate: 70 Nations not endorsing the Delegate: 10 Note: Cap is subject to change. This post will be updated when changes are made. Greetings all nations of The West Pacific ! Please take a moment to inform yourself of the Endorsement policy of our great region. Endorsement caps are common in regions across NationStates, and are even more important for the security of Founderless regions such as the Game Created Regions, which includes The West Pacific. Our security precautions ensure our stability and the protection of our community from those that would selfishly seek to replace our community with their ego. All players are encouraged to join The World Assembly and endorse the Delegate and Guardians. Our Delegate is the ingame Administrator of The West Pacific, and our Guardians are selected by the Delegate to assist and advise in Administration. Guardians are exempt from the endorsement cap. Your endorsements empower our region in World Affairs as well as increase our Influence to ensure our region's security. (Just remember NationStates Rules allow only one World Assembly member nation per player.) NationStates implimented a change in how Influence is calculated in Game Created Regions, and as a result, I have instituted this new endorsement cap policy. You can read our discussion and the details of this change in this thread. Please take note that while each nation has the right to choose whether or not to endorse any given World Assembly nation, failure to endorse the Delegate places a drain upon the Delegate's Influence. Because of this game mechanic effect and the six month limitation on the accumulation of Influence now in place, those that choose not to endorse the Delegate will be held to a lower endorsement cap. A World Assembly member nation only needs two endorsements in order to fully participate in all World Assembly game features, so this lower cap will not affect your ability to fully participate in the game. The full effect of the change in how Influence is calculated will not be felt for six months from it's implimentation on September 20, 2013. These endorsement cap levels and policies are subject to change as the effects of this implimentation become more clear, and as inregion/ingame circumstances may change (such as significant changes in population.) (Note: Nations that are above the cap at time of implimentation will be contacted regarding their options to come into compliance.) What happens when a nation exceeds the cap ? - In the event that a nation has not endorsed the Delegate, and exceeds the lower cap, that nation will be contacted and given the opportunity to endorse the Delegate or take action to reduce it's endorsements into compliance. Failure to take either of these actions will result in removal from the region. - In the event that a nation has endorsed the Delegate and exceeds the higher cap, that nation will be contacted and given the opportunity to take action to reduce it's endorsements. Failure to take such action will result in removal from the region. - In the event that a nation is clearly 'endotarting' to quickly gain endorsements to threaten or test the security of the region, or to make a 'run' at the Delegacy, that nation will be contacted and expected to take immediate action to reduce it's endorsements within One Update (12 hours). An immediate eject and ban will result for failure to respond or cooperate. Banjection will come more quickly if said nation engages in poor telegram etiquette. I've exceeded the cap, what should I do ? If you have not endorsed the Delegate, simply endorsing the Delegate will allow you to exceed the lower cap. If you do not want to endorse the Delegate, but have exceeded the cap....and/or If you have endorsed the Delegate, but have exceeded the higher cap, you can take these actions to reduce your endorsements: - The quickest method available is to resign from the World Assembly. You will lose all your endorsements, and you can then reapply and rejoin. - Don't want to bother with resigning and rejoining the World Assembly ? Instead you can move your nation out of the region for one update (updates occur twice daily). Your endorsements will be removed by spending one update out of the region. You can then return to the region with a clean slate, and seek endorsements up to the cap once again - You can also attempt to telegram nations that are endorsing you, to ask them to remove their endorsements. This method is fine when you have only slightly exceeded the cap, but may take time. You must be proactive when using this option, as failure to take action in a timely manner will result in the Delegate removing you from the region. Can I get an Exemption from the cap ? The Delegate in consultation with the Guardians may consider exemptions under extrodinary conditions. Is there a Government participation exemption ? While this was discussed as a possibility, the Delegate decided there was not enough grounds to include it in this policy. However, this may change in the future and is open for discussion among The Concillium and The Delegate. I have other questions. Feel free to post any questions you have, or send a telegram or private message to the Delegate.

There are changes coming to NationStates, as was being discussed here: http://www.westpacific.org/forums/index.php?/topic/503-major-ns-shakeup/ One of the changes that will only impact Game Created Regions such as The West Pacific, will be a change in how Influence is accumulated. As it stands now, nations gain Influence through a formula that is kept secret. There are a few things we know about it, like the fact that being a member of the World Assembly and gaining endorsements are the primary drivers of gaining Influence (but not the only means). And it costs Delegates Influence to use some of their administrative capabilities. I've always despised Influence, even though I understand why it was implimented. Max has insisted that Influence is not going away, so I've sought to understand it, and make use of it. But I feel it's a poor implimentation that needs balance at the very least, and I support this coming change. Since Influence was established, the active players of GCR's have had to contend with inactive old player nations that sit around endorsements, gaining Influence for years, becoming an impediment to the dynamics of active players. And sometimes a threat to the regoinal community's Delegate. Under the current circumstances, active players could choose and support a delegate that holds with certain policies, and those old inactive nations can decide they don't like it and override the active community, returning the entire region to a life of inactivity. The coming change will place a cap on Influence. The initial idea is to place a six month cap in place. Each nation will only maintain six months worth of Influence, so those that spend years gathering Influence while they do nothing will no longer control the active life of a GCR. I support activity, and this coming change will also support activity. The thread on this can be found on the NS forums at: http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=258990 From the thread you can see that the six month figure is generally accepted, and I agree, although I'm willing to accept an alternative such as 9 or 12 months. There are some sour grapes in that thread, almost exclusively from nations in TNP, where they like to maintain that huge pool of Influence to control their region from the sidelines. I don't agree, but respect TNP's policies for their own region. It appears our friends in The Pacific have taken a step in preparation for this change by lowering their endorsement cap from 20 down to 10. They will want to take this action to help preserve the dominance of the Delegate and appointed leadership. I don't know that lowering the cap from 20 is neccesitated, as Influence is relative within a region, so I don't see alot of impact from bringing it down to ten. But again, I respect and understand their policy and reasoning. From my perspective of the Delegacy here in TWP, we have maintained a system of Guardians that provides a group of highly endorsed, high Influence nations that are prepared to protect the Delegacy. Because we have this level of active protection, the Delegate can be a high influence Minnow, and be secure and successful. (Although, my experience from two feeder delegacies says, Vassal level Influence or higher is preferable for the Delegate) I am considering what adjustments I should make in TWP in the endorsement cap, given the coming change. I believe that as The Pacific has already shown (and is discussed on the NS thread) a lowering of endorsement caps can be expected across the GCR's in general. The capping of Influence will reduce the relative Influence levels of older nations to newer nations, and will reward active nations over inactive nations. I would like to hear everyone's thoughts, ideas, comments and input on this for TWP. At this point, I am considering the creation of a multi-tier endorsement cap. Perhaps two or three endorsement levels. I haven't considered numeric levels at all yet. Just the general concept. - A low endorsement cap for WA nations that have not endorsed the Delegate. (A Delegate endorses almost all WA's in the region, which helps each of them gain Influence. When they fail to return the endorsement, it is an Influence drain upon the Delegate...the only nation in the region required to spend Influence) - A higher endorsement cap for WA nations that are endorsing the Delegate - Perhaps a third, higher cap, for nations that participate in regional activities (government, military, etc). Activity should be encouraged, and perhaps this would be an additional incentive. I want to support those that support TWP. - The Guardians would continue to be cap exempt. I would also consider adding non-Guardian cap exemptions for trusted active nations and those that have contributed to TWP through it's history. This would also compensate for an otherwise lowered endorsement cap. The floor is open for your thoughts.....