Welcome Telegram

[Fujai]

I'd like to have a discussion about our welcome telegram. I've collected our current telegram, the telegrams of the other feeders, and I've created a potential new telegram.

A welcome telegram is basically a recruitment telegram to the new nations. It's our first, and sometimes only chance to make an impression on them. It has to convey all the right information, yet stay readable and succinct, so I think it's good to discuss exactly what we want in it.

First, here are the welcome telegrams from the other feeders:

The Pacific:

Spoiler

Welcome to The Pacific, Recruitment and Citizenry!

I realize that you've probably received a lot of telegrams already, so I've tried to keep this telegram's content limited to information that is relevant to you. You'll only receive this telegram once.

Your nation has been lucky enough to have been founded in The Pacific, which is the oldest and most storied region in the NationStates world. Many other regions will approach you about leaving your home region in favor of them, but it's my personal hope that you'll stay with us in your home region: you're already a Pacifican, and we want you here. The Pacific offers the full NationStates experience, it is where you are meant to be, and it has a welcoming community.

The Pacific's government was founded in 2003 after an inactive and lethargic tyrant was overthrown by a group of revolutionaries. The revolutionaries, who then created the government that we call the "New Pacific Order" (NPO), established institutions in our region that stand to this day and that YOU can get involved in if you want to do more on NS than simply answer issues. These institutions are listed and described below.

 

• Provincial Government of The Pacific: The Provincial Government is dedicated to serving you, the nations of the region, with direct access to the ruling party of our great region, the New Pacific Order. Each nation in the region belongs to a province based on the first letter of their chosen name. For more information on how you can get involved in the Provincial Government system, contact Emperor Aleisyr.

   

• The Revolutionary Guard: The Revolutionary Guard is the military branch of The Pacific. As a member of the regional military, you will have the opportunity to assist our allies in times of need, support the region in times of war, and help further our influence across the NationStates world. If you are interested in taking part in the Revolutionary Guard, contact Senator Karenus about this opportunity.

   

• The Pacific News Network: The Pacific News Network (PNN) reports regional and international happenings of importance to the region and the world. As a PNN staff writer, you get to practice your writing while also acting as a trusted source of news for many NationStates users. Contact Senator Pergamon for information.

   

• The Praetorian Guard: The Praetorian Guard is the elite security team of The Pacific. As a Praetorian, you protect the region by upholding the regional Civil Code and by reporting violations (i.e. inappropriate nation names/mottos, spam on the regional message board, people with too many endorsements) to the Guard's headquarters. You can learn more about this by contacting Senator Pergamon if you think you might enjoy it.

   

• World Assembly Membership: Lastly, nations are also encouraged to help protect the region by joining the World Assembly, which is yet another way to expand your NationStates experience past answering issues. If you are wondering how you can participate in the WA, I can assist you.

   

 

Any Pacifican can participate in these aspects of our region, and those who work the hardest and show the most skill can rise through the ranks and be trusted with the torch that is leading Pacifica. You can be the next person to take on that torch, and the first step on that path is to introduce yourself on our regional message board and register for our forums. Our forum can be found here: http://ns.npowned.net. All you have to do to start is put that URL in your web address bar and introduce yourself on our boards.

I hope you'll stay here, Recruitment and Citizenry. Feel free to ask me any questions that you may have about getting started. I'm more than happy to personally help you. Good luck!

Yours,

Aleisyr
Delegate of The Pacific
Emperor of the New Pacific Order

The North Pacific:

Spoiler

Greetings Recruitment and Citizenry,

Congratulations on joining NationStates! This is a diverse and exciting game, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the past several years.

Your NationStates experience will depend strongly on the region you choose to have your nation in. Allow me then to welcome you to our region - The North Pacific.

The North Pacific is one of the oldest and most powerful regions in NationStates. We pride ourselves on our strong democracy, openness, and transparency. Our new residents have the opportunity to join in and get involved as soon as they choose to, and are provided with the resources to become among the most influential nations in the world. Simply put, The North Pacific is the place to be in NationStates, and you can click here to find out why you should also be here.

You will shortly begin to receive recruitment telegrams from other regions. You can compare what each region has to offer and decide which one suits your nation best. I hope that you choose to stay in The North Pacific, and if you do, I recommend that you join our regional forum. Here are some highlights of what you can do there:

~ Become a legislator in the Regional Assembly.
~ Join the government by signing up for the Executive Staff.
~ Learn about exciting military gameplay by enlisting in the North Pacific Army.
~ Join our map and roleplay your nation in the Democratic Union.
~ Vote and run for delegate and other offices.

... And the list goes on! You can do all of the above simply by registering here: http://forum.thenorthpacific.org

I also strongly encourage you to join the World Assembly, which is one of the best ways to improve your game experience and increase your nation's power. This is more true in The North Pacific than in any other region - it is no coincidence we have way more World Assembly nations than any of them. You can click the previous link for more details about why and how to join the World Assembly.

If you do choose to join, please consider endorsing your Delegate Plembobria (this is me!), and Vice Delegate The Democratic Republic of Tomb. By doing so, you help keep our region secure and stable, and help increase its influence in the world. Thanks in advance, and we will be sure to endorse you back!

Whichever region you decide to make your home - and I will be delighted if that is The North Pacific - I wish you the best of luck in it. While deciding, treat yourself to some of our famous rum (comes in cocktails too!). If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, either by responding to this telegram, or on the regional forum.

Best regards,
Plembobria.

P.S. If you find the torrent of recruitment telegrams distracting, you can easily turn it off. First, go to your telegram preferences. From there, you can change your settings for Recruitment to Block All, or any other setting you prefer.

The South Pacific:

Spoiler

Welcome, Recruitment and Citizenry to The South Pacific!

We're one of the largest regions in the game, and the region that can lay the claim to have the oldest democracy in NationStates -- and we’re surely the most fun! I encourage you to introduce yourself on our regional message board!

And, if you're looking to get involved, join the World Assembly over on the left of the screen and then endorse me, Tsunamy, as well as the government officials linked in the World Factbook Entry.

Then, if you’d like to get to know the game more and how you can get involved in the region, I suggest you read this dispatch and swing by our regional message board!

So please grab a lampshade and join the party!
-tsu
Delegate, The South Pacific

The East Pacific doesn't seem to have a welcome telegram that I could find.

And for the reference, here is the telegram that NS sends to new nations:

Spoiler

Congratulations, leader, on your swift and surprising rise to power! Let me be the first to say: I was always on your side.

Fujai contains five million citizens including myself, and we're all eager for you to steer our destiny. You will do this by addressing ISSUES. Several await your attention already!

You may also wish to consider Fujai's place in the world. Its physical place, that is. The world contains thousands of regions, many eager to gain our glorious nation as a member, as I'm sure your TELEGRAMS will soon attest. If you notice one that would suit us better, please do deploy our cutting-edge georelocation technology to shift Fujai there! It would be a shame not to use it. The depreciation expense is kind of insane.

Those bean-counters over at the World Census have informed us that they intend to begin ranking Fujai on their ridiculous scales. I'm sure you don't care about such things. Unless they show Fujai near the top, that is. But you can find their nonsense under RANK.

There's also the  WORLD ASSEMBLY. Now this is a credible institution. I recommend we gain membership so we can vote on international law. That way, your wisdom and insight can help guide the whole world! It will also allow us to endorse other nations in the region, so they can tell when they're doing something right.

I won't take any more of your time. I can see the line outside. And national destiny doesn't just manifest itself! Ha ha. But if you're ever in need of further advice or information, may I direct you to these DISPATCHES, and perhaps the international FORUM. It's all written by other nations, of course, so biased and self-serving. But your keen eye can sort truth from fiction.

Good luck! Your humble servant and #1 fan,

Max Barry.

Now here is our current telegram:

Spoiler

Greetings Recruitment and Citizenry, and Welcome to The West Pacific!

~Where the coffee is always fresh, the bar always open, and there's Karaoke every Friday.~

Congratulations on arriving in The West Pacific!

The West Pacific is one of the best regions in the game and it has just about everything any region can offer. It's the best place to learn how to play the game, meet new people, and get involved at your own pace. New players can quickly learn more about the game by reading: "New to NationStates?"

Become a citizen and get involved in the regional government of The West Pacific. Join our forum: http://www.westpacific.org. Military, foreign affairs, internal affairs and other governmental opportunities await you there. Make an account and introduce yourself!

I'd also encourage you to join the NationStates World Assembly. Once you have joined the World Assembly, I invite you to endorse the Delegate and the Guardian nations listed here. Your endorsements increase the power and influence of our region. Keep in mind that joining the WA will allow you to also receive endorsements, and increase your own nation's regional influence!

Any questions? Send myself or one of the Guardians a Telegram and we will be happy to assist. If you would rather, you can come on to the Regional Message Board, introduce yourself and ask.

Once again, Welcome to The West Pacific! Remember to have fun!

Sincerely,

The Doesn't Suffer Fools Lightly of Big Bad Badger
World Assembly Delegate of The West Pacific

And here is the revised telegram I came up with: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=801586. I would've spoilered it, but it uses formatting we don't have here.

Revised revised version found here: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=802522

I'd be grateful any feedback you guys have about how we can do it better.

[Big Bad Badger]

I like it.  I would add this:  https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=640579 instead of Westwind's new to NS.  Because westwind's is found in YY's guide.

[Willania Imperium]

Although I admire the new telegraph for including our places of discussion, you seem to have skipped many important things. You forgot to include the fact that we have a new government or our customs or to recommend joining the WA. Also, the fact that it says "DON'T PANIC" doesn't sound very inviting. Finally, I feel we can add more information to entice the reader to join/stay. Of course, this may be my opinion. Plus, the idea of a new telegram as some merit.

[Fujai]

5 minutes ago, Big Bad Badger said:

I like it.  I would add this:  https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=640579 instead of Westwind's new to NS.  Because westwind's is found in YY's guide.

Good idea, got that updated now.

3 minutes ago, Willania Imperium said:

Although I admire the new telegraph for including our places of discussion, you seem to have skipped many important things. You forgot to include the fact that we have a new government or our customs or to recommend joining the WA. Also, the fact that it says "DON'T PANIC" doesn't sound very inviting. Finally, I feel we can add more information to entice the reader to join/stay. Of course, this may be my opinion. Plus, the idea of a new telegram as some merit.

I don't really think the "newness" of the government is necessary to point out, but there's links and descriptions in the spoiler about the forum, and there's stuff about the WA under the WA spoiler. I used the spoilers so that we could keep the length down.

The "Don't Panic" was a reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I thought we could score some points with that, but it could be changed.

What kind of information to entice them to stay are you thinking about?

[Big Bad Badger]

I appreciate the Don't Panic!

[Willania Imperium]

1 minute ago, Fujai said:

What kind of information to entice them to stay are you thinking about?

Well, we could explain our usual customs on the discussion sites. We can tell them of Punday Monday and Karaoke Friday on the RMB, RP and D&D on Discord, the many activities (...And the murders began; Last to Post Wins; Corrupt-A-Wish;etc.) on the Forums, the new E-Game Tournaments, and many more!

[Fujai]

We could perhaps add a spoiler section about that, I rather like the idea.

[Arthur Draig Kirkland Vasentius]

I must say, I am rather impressed with this draft for a new welcome telegram! I have always seen welcome telegrams as an excellent way to provide newcomers with all the information and tools they will require in order to be successful in said region. That being said, I enjoy the style and approach when using spoilers in order to organize and categorize information. I myself am one of those players that always looks at other regions' world factbook entities and envision how I believe I could improve upon them if given the chance. It can often times prove to be a difficult and stressful time for newcomers when they first enter a new region for the first time, especially one as large as The West Pacific. What I would do is give them a short brief, just a few sentences on what each topic currently mentioned on the draft is all about. Give them a few things to think about before they decide if The West Pacific Armed Forces is the right place for them, maybe educate them more about the full values of having a say on TWP's government through the Hall Of Nations. I think the whole "DON'T PANIC" thing is a nice touch, and it certainly makes the greeting feel a bit more real and lively. It's rather interesting to me that you would bring this up, but I have an appreciation for your desire to improve upon the current aspects of our region. I think what we have here is a great start, and maybe with a few small revisions and more suggestions made by other individuals we can end up molding this into a true masterpiece! 

[Fujai]

Taking suggestions into account, here as a revised revised version: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=802522

[Mediobogdum]

A few suggestions to brighten up the telegram: 

Make "DON'T PANIC" in RED 

Coloured text for the three spoiler titles, if that's possible,

Colour the text " Board of Questions" and a check please on:

The link for the Board of Questions which seems to be not working.

Otherwise, it looks fresh and new and good to go   

[Fujai]

29 minutes ago, Mediobogdum said:

A few suggestions to brighten up the telegram: 

Make "DON'T PANIC" in RED 

Coloured text for the three spoiler titles, if that's possible,

Colour the text " Board of Questions" and a check please on:

The link for the Board of Questions which seems to be not working.

Otherwise, it looks fresh and new and good to go   

I'm glad you like it! The sad part is that color doesn't work in telegrams

As for the link, I just got the workings of the Board together, so once the subforum gets up I'll put that link in there.

[Mediobogdum]

Oh, well ... just goes to show my lack of knowledge of tg coding. But at least I made an input!

[Fujai]

Don't feel bad, I had to delve deep and greedily to figure out all the codes that would work in a telegram. I still feel like the

---

shouldn't...

[Fujai]

@Big Bad Badger The welcome telegram is ready!

 

Spoiler

[hr][b]----------------------
-- DON'T PANIC --
---------------------- [/b]

Welcome to NationStates, a political simulator game. You're probably very overwhelmed, and we're here to help with that.
[hr][b]First, let me bid you welcome to [region]The West Pacific[/region]![/b]

[i]~Where the coffee is always fresh, the bar always open, and there's Karaoke every Friday.~[/i]

We're one of the best regions in the game and we have just about everything any region can offer. It's the best place to learn how to play the game, meet new people, and get involved at your own pace. New players can quickly learn more about the game by reading the [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=640579]Survival Guide[/url].

[hr]

[spoiler=[b]Click to learn about our forum![/b]]Join our forum here: [b]http://www.westpacific.org[/b]! You can become a citizen and get involved in the regional government of [region]The West Pacific[/region].

You can try:
[list]
[*][b]Military[/b]  -- [i]Fight for your region![/i]
[list][*]A great place to start, our Commander, Yuno Owl organizes raids against our enemies across NationStates.[/list]
[*][b]Foreign Affairs[/b]  -- [i]Become an ambassador![/i]
[list][*]Join the FA Minister Davelands and represent The West Pacific with our allies.[/list]
[*][b]Internal Affairs[/b]  -- [i]Culture! Games! Newspaper! Role Play![/i]
[list][*]Help TheNextMinisterofIA plan new events and games for the region.[/list]
[*][b]World Assembly Affairs[/b]  -- [i]The latest in international intrigue![/i]
[list][*]Discuss the latest resolutions at vote in the World Assembly with States of Glory.[/list]
[*][b]Hall of Nations[/b]  -- [i]Have a say in the government![/i]
[list][*]Apply for citizenship, help write laws for the region, and hold elections for office under the eye of The Holy Principality of Saint Mark[/list]
[*][b]The ClubHouse[/b]  -- [i]Day Life, Night Life, High Life, and Low Life![/i]
[list][*]Spam, games, talking, anything you could desire.[/list]
[/list]
So much you can do! Make an account and introduce yourself![/spoiler]

[spoiler=[b]The World Assembly![/b]]You can join the NationStates [b]World Assembly[/b] [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=un]here[/url]!

The World Assembly is very similar to a certain international institution in our own world, complete with resolutions and commendations and strongly worded letters!
Once you have joined, I invite you to [u]endorse the Delegate and the Guardian nations listed [b][url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=616364]here[/url][/b].[/u]

This is very important your endorsements increase the power and influence of our region, and help keep us safe from invaders.
Keep in mind that joining the WA will allow you to also receive endorsements, and increase your own nation's influence!

In addition, you can visit our forum to post a draft of your own proposals, and our esteemed Minister and Co. will help you sort it out.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=[b]Our regional Discord![/b]]We have a Discord server!
You can find it here: [b]https://discordapp.com/invite/C8PAEvR[/b]

It's a great place to stop by and say hello to people across the world! 

There are many channels to talk in, from politics to role play to music to D&D! Join us today![/spoiler][hr]
If you have any questions, you can send a telegram to a member of our [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=804336][i][b]Board of Questions[/b][/i][/url], found here: http://www.westpacific.org/forums/index.php?/forum/81-board-of-questions/
They can answer any question you can throw at them!

Drop on by the [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=display_region_rmb/region=the_west_pacific]Regional Message Board[/url] and say hello! There you'll find the residents of our region talking, and our two events, Punday Monday and Karaoke Friday. And don't worry, we only bite on full moons.

And once again, welcome to [region]The West Pacific[/region]! I hope you enjoy yourself and decide to stick around!

Yours truly,

[nation]Big Bad Badger[/nation]
[i]World Assembly Delegate of The West Pacific[/i][hr]

 

 

[Drall]

I loved the Don't Panic sign!!

 

And yes, the whole thing looks great to me!

[Willania Imperium]

I give my smile of approval!

[Big Bad Badger]

Welcome telegram is a BBC code fail!

And now I don't have a welcome TG while I am having to rework it.  <.<

[Mediobogdum]

There was no trial run?

[Fujai]

I copied everything directly from the dispatch I used, which I had tested in a telegram. Can you send a screenshot of what went wrong?

[Big Bad Badger]

Anything involving the

---

code was screwed up.  Give me a bit to get a screen shot, I'll load it in another region...

[Big Bad Badger]

[Fujai]

Okay, that's interesting, but doesn't surprise me too much. Just removing the hr should be fine, they were just for dividers, but an enter between the "welcome to nationstates" and "first, let me bid you welcome lines would be helpful without the horizontal lines.

[Big Bad Badger]

Can we center the Don't Panic?

Also the spoilers centered.

Maybe add something about fun too.

[Fujai]

I don't believe centering works in telegrams, sadly. As for fun, I leave that up to your disgression. Perhaps "It's the best place to learn how to play the game, meet new people, get involved at your own pace, and have fun!

[Willania Imperium]

Get rid of the s and I think you're golden! I like to suggest that we make the links to our Discord and Forums clickable. That way, it will be easier and quicker for people.