[Comfed]

Magazine version

Editor's Note

Dear readers,

Did you hear? There’s a new TNS out! I know, I know, it’s awesome and cool. We’re back with yet another issue of The North Star, and as always, I’m here to give you a rundown of the issue and offer thoughts no one asked for. But that has never stopped me before, so here we go!

This issue was delayed a tiny touch because of the holidays, which in retrospect, was bound to happen. We apologise for the delay regardless. That all being said, despite everything, the team did an amazing job at bringing this issue out and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve produced yet again. In comparison to the last issue, I was actually active in the process of making this publication. Therefore, I can actually tell you a little bit about the process behind this TNS. We got together and made something cool. That’s what we’re all about. Thank you to everyone involved.

This issue is filled to the brim with content. A retelling of what has happened this year in the North, a .telling end-of-term census, a wholesome article about new year’s resolutions expressed by various TNPers, the debut of a really fun Culture Super Quiz™, and finally, a really interesting interview of GAer and Deputy Minister Kenmoria. If you wish to see something specific in the next issue of TNS be sure to contact me via telegram or DM me on Discord (@ruuuuuuuuben).

We would like to take a moment to express our gratitude to you, our amazing reader! Your support means the world to us, and we're thrilled that you take the time to appreciate our hard work. We sincerely thank you and hope that you continue to enjoy reading our TNS issues.

Cheers,

Halsoni
Executive Deputy Minister of Communications

Note: at the time of writing, I was still Executive Deputy Minister.

Year in Review
by Picairn & Arawi

2023 has been an incredibly momentous year, with scandals, elections, legislation and court cases. Many of these events will shape the North Pacific for many a time and will be remembered with sometimes reminiscence, or regret. So do read on.

January – Hulldom and Gorundu win in elections, military reforms and ops

The first month of the year saw the beginning of a new governmental term, which meant it started off with general elections, electing the Delegate, Vice Delegate and Speaker of the RA. Hulldom and Gorundu were elected Delegate and Vice Delegate respectively, and both were elected with huge margins, Hulldom winning 91% of the vote and Gorundu winning unopposed. Skaraborg was also elected Speaker, but with a much smaller margin, taking just 52% of the vote compared to their opponent Bobberino.

As well as this, the month saw an operation to liberate Phillipines, a treaty region of TWP and therefore a protected region by PPO, from the Levant, which was also raided as part of the operation by the NPA. Speaking of the NPA, this month saw the passage of the Military Modernisation and Cleanup Act in the RA, which set procedures and restrictions for NPA behaviour in military activity.

February – St George elected Justice, Self-Checkout Act

February was very much an uneventful month, however it did see the conclusion of the January Judicial special election. Dreadton resigned from the Court due to an IRL emergency. St George was elected unopposed, with 54 voting for them.

The month also saw the presentation of the Self-Checkout Act, which created a fairer, more open and efficient citizenship application process. The legislation was passed in the RA on the first of March.

March - Three new justices installed

March was a similarly peaceful month, however, it did see the usual round of judicial elections, electing three new justices to the Court.

Only three candidates were on the ballot paper, meaning they were guaranteed a place in the Court anyway, however, Pallaith was the most popular candidate, followed by Attempted Socialism and Lord Dominator.

April - Frontiers update and Act, blackmail scandal and resignation of Hulldom

April was very much a contrast to the two months that went before it. The events in this month would shape the future of the region going forward. Lone Wolves United, an ally of TNP, abruptly closed their in-game embassy with TNP. They then released a rare statement, explaining the reason why the embassy was closed. Hulldom, Delegate of TNP had apparently sent a screenshot of a message from HumanSanity, The South Pacific’s MoFA, which was blackmailing TNP into voting against a Commend proposal of a prominent LWU proposal. TSP, alongside other defender regions, threatened Hulldom that defenders would go out of their way to oppose Commends/Condemns of TNP members if Hulldom voted for the proposal. It was then revealed that Hulldom had caved in to the defenders’ demands and would oppose the proposal. This meant that Lone Wolves United closed their embassy with TNP. It was also a major hit to Hulldom’s leadership; with their MoFA resigning over the scandal, Hulldom resigned on the eighth of April. Gorundu then succeeded them as Acting Delegate and Siwale ascended to the Acting Vice Delegacy.

The month also saw the NationStates Frontier/Strongholds update. What this meant was that some regions would get rid of the ‘Governor’ position that was previously a feature of all UCRs (User Created Regions), and instead give full executive power to the WA Delegate. As the Delegate is elected by being the most endorsed in the region, it means that the leader of the region can democratically, freely elected by the region’s community at any time. These regions also take 50% of all spawns into the game, the other half held by feeder regions. These regions are known as Frontiers. However, Frontiers are now more susceptible to raiding, as raiders can come into the region and endorse an unwanted nation to the Delegacy, meaning the raiders can control the region. Regions that choose to keep the ‘Governor’ position are known as Strongholds. The concept of Frontiers meant that the possibility of a region holding a territory was very much likely. This led to a colossal piece of legislation being introduced to the Regional Assembly, which allowed for TNP to hold territories, introduced legal provisions for the protection of allies’ territories, amongst other provisions.

May - Gorundu elected Delegate

May saw the next cycle of general elections to elect the Delegate, Vice Delegate and Speaker. Gorundu, who had already been serving as Acting Delegate, won a landslide victory over their opponent Kastonvia. Chipoli then won a slightly closer but still comfortable win over their rival Vivanco in the race for Vice Delegate, and Skaraborg won a very large victory over Oceanica for the keys to the Speaker’s Office.

One of the first actions of Gorundu’s administration was the return of the Ministry of Communications, which had been defunct. The Ministry returned fervently, with a now constant stream of publications and broadcasts informing the people of TNP.

June - Repeal of the Aurora Alliance

It seemed that relations between TNP and TSP were livening up, after the blackmail affair of April. However, many in TNP were outraged after the appointment of HumanSanity, one of the many who was at fault in the scandal, to a government role. Gorundu announced in a statement in late May that this was the last straw and that they would be opening a formal discussion in the RA on whether or not to repeal the Aurora Alliance between TNP and TSP. After much debate, the RA made the decision to repeal the Alliance on the sixth of June.

June also saw a very dramatic trial in the Court of The North Pacific v. St George. This trial was sparked by an espionage indictment by Delegate Gorundu, after an inflammatory message by St George on Europeia was leaked from TRR to Europeia by an unknown individual, and many espionage accusations were made relating to that scandal. The trial also saw the resignation of St George’s defence lawyer, after much fighting over the procedure of the Court in the trial.

July - Ministry of Cards disbanded, resignations and recalls over Gorundu’s inactivity

The first days of July began with former Delegate Gorundu’s announcement of a one-week leave of absence, although he would later terminate his absence a few days early. In his stead, then-Acting Delegate Chipoli – following consultations with Gorundu and the Executive Council – dissolved the Ministry of Cards on July 6th, which had fallen into a state of inactivity. The moribund Ministry was reverted to the old Cards Guild, albeit with three new Guildmasters appointed to collectively manage the program, as opposed to a single Guildmaster before.

“Inactivity” would soon become the word that defines this month. Three weeks after the dissolution of the Ministry of Cards, on July 22nd a Regional Assembly inquiry was launched into Gorundu’s alleged lack of activity as concerned citizens noticed a serious decline in his leadership and engagement. The discussion exploded into a full-blown scandal when, frustrated with the former Delegate’s inaction, then-Advisor to the Delegate Pallaith and three Ministers of Gorundu's cabinet simultaneously resigned from their positions the next day. Gorundu attempted to salvage his Cabinet by making several new appointments, but his self-appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs was received with outrage and prompted a motion to recall in the Regional Assembly on July 26th.

August - Gorundu resigns, The North Pacific attacked

August was arguably the most consequential month of this year, and perhaps one of the most significant in TNP’s history. The aforementioned recall failed by just one vote on August 3rd, which coincidentally was Gorundu’s Nay vote, lodged at the last minute. This act breached a long-standing norm in TNP’s politics: a politician should not vote on decisions directly concerning them. It generated further anger among the citizenry and quickly led to a second recall vote just one hour later. But as the second vote was ongoing, Gorundu surprisingly resigned as Delegate on August 10th, citing his inability to fight against the recall and run the government at the same time. His seat was temporarily taken over by then-Vice Delegate Chipoli, who became Acting Delegate.

While TNP was still reeling from political instability and partisan division as a result of this affair, it was attacked by foreign powers for the first time in many years. On August 27th, an invading force from The Communist Bloc (TCB) and the Brotherhood of Malice (BoM) jumped into TNP and Delegate-tipped the region, pushing then-Acting Vice Delegate Pallaith into the in-game World Assembly Delegacy and overthrowing then-Acting Delegate Chipoli from the seat, disrupting a decade of peaceful transition of power. The Regional Assembly quickly convened in the aftermath to discuss the region’s response, in which war was floated as the best course of action.

September - Kaschovia, Fregerson, and Cloud win General Election, Wymondham elected Justice in Special Judicial Election

While the Regional Assembly continued to discuss various options against TCB and BoM’s attack, a General Election was held in early September where our current Delegate Kaschovia and Vice Delegate Fregerson were elected by a small majority on September 12th, defeating former Acting Delegate Chipoli and Minister of Culture NutmegTheSquirrel (The Anddorran Commune) respectively. Cloud, in contrast, won the Speaker seat by an overwhelming 97.65% of the vote. A Special Judicial Election was also conducted shortly after to replace Pallaith, who resigned as Justice to become Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Wymondham was elected by 55% of the vote. Following much discussion, a motion to recognise a state of war between TNP, TCB and BoM was put to vote in the Regional Assembly in the closing days of September.

October - Solidarity offensive, war declared by the Regional Assembly

October carried with it two important milestones: the largest anti-raider offensive ever in Solidarity and the Regional Assembly’s ratification of TNP’s Recognition of a State of War. On October 1st, a coalition of defender militaries and the NPA invaded Solidarity at major update and seized its WA Delegacy, marking our region’s first military retaliation against TCB’s aggression. Four days later, war became TNP’s official response as the Recognition of War against TCB and BoM was agreed upon by an overwhelming majority in the Regional Assembly, the first in 15 years since our last DoW in 2008. Throughout October, the anti-TCB coalition in Solidarity successfully fought off numerous TCB's siege attempts, eventually conquering the region on November 1st, when it was converted into a Stronghold and Rhaza (Quebecshire) was appointed as its Governor.

November - Three new Justices elected, Rum & Eagles Solidarity Agreement ratified, Friently dismissed as Lead RMB RP moderator

For the most part, November passed by relatively uneventful for TNP compared to previous months. The regular Judicial Election was organised to elect three new Justices for the next term, which Eluvatar, Wymondham and Lord Dominator won on November 12th, defeating Just a Lore and Gorundu. Eight days later, on November 20th the Rum & Eagles Solidarity Agreement, a non-aggression pact between TNP and The League & Concord, was formally ratified by the Regional Assembly, marking a turning point in the evolution of TNP – TL&C relations.

However, this tranquillity was soon disrupted by a major scandal in TNP’s Strangereal roleplay. Friently – TNP’s former Lead RMB RP moderator – was discovered to have espoused OOC Nazi and antisemitic beliefs, and subsequently dismissed from his position on November 21st. He has since left TNP and brought several others to a new region, while continuing to spread falsehoods about the incident.

December - Kaschovia’s Delegacy transition complete amidst BoM’s sabotage

December saw the urgency of Kaschovia’s Delegacy transition pushed to the forefront, following a malicious unendorsement campaign conducted against him on December 12th by perpetrators from the Brotherhood of Malice. After 3 months of difficulties in gathering endorsements through Weekly WA Reports and gameside promotion, BoM’s disruption and sabotage brought the issue to a boiling point for Kaschovia and TNP’s citizens. Following public discussions, our Delegate decided to change course by carrying out a new telegram campaign and calling in TNP’s allies in rapid fashion. The renewed efforts finally bore fruit when Kaschovia successfully took over as WA Delegate of TNP on December 16th.

2023 has been an eventful year for The North Pacific, with two Delegate resignations, a direct attack on TNP by hostile powers, the first Declaration of War since 2008, and a lengthy Delegacy transition, among other highlights. But even as scandals and attacks shocked TNP, our democracy stood strong and the business of governance continued unabated. We kept on our momentum despite numerous setbacks, frustrating enemy plans, reaffirming old traditions, and reaching new heights. The North Pacific has overcome many difficulties this year, and whatever comes next in 2024, we are ready for it.

End of Term Census
by Chipoli

In the closing days of 2023, The North Pacific conducted the End-of-Term TNP Census, courtesy of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The census, in the form of a poll, asked its respondents to express their opinions on high-ranking members of The North Pacific’s government, namely the Delegate, Vice Delegate, and current members of the Cabinet. A total of 27 TNP residents answered the poll, who were presented with the following options: strongly approve, approve, disapprove, strongly disapprove, neither approve nor disapprove, and unable to judge. The final option was treated as an abstention. Now, let’s dive in and take a look at what my fellow TNPers thought about these members of our government.

Delegate Kaschovia - 62.9%

Our Delegate, Kaschovia, attained a respectable 62.9% approval rating. Kasch has most notably led the North at a time when we are at war for the first time since 2008. However, his supporters may feel that he was harshly judged. His delegacy has been well-received, with one respondent calling him “easily the best Delegate in recent memory," citing the success of his administration. Under him, The North Pacific has ratified the Rum & Eagles Agreement, hosted multiple interregional events, generated the most activity within the gameside community for a long time, and substantially grown The North Pacific Army. Kaschovia has also been praised for his level of activity, having been a very energetic and enthusiastic Delegate, and now seeks to improve upon what is widely considered to be his successful first term.

Vice Delegate PotatoFarmers - 32%

On the other hand, Vice Delegate PotatoFarmers has not been quite as active as Kaschovia has been. His approval rating of 32% is the lowest of all in the census. Unfortunately for PotatoFarmers, his activity has been hampered largely due to real-life issues - which is the main factor for the low approval rating that he received, along with a lack of support during Kaschovia’s World Assembly Delegate transition as the Vice Delegate. 33.9% of respondents disapproved of his performance, with 29.6% of them strongly disapproving. 2 out of 27 poll-takers indicated that they were unable to judge his performance. PotatoFarmers chose not to run again as Vice Delegate in the January 2024 General Elections.

Cabinet - 61.5%

The cabinet garnered a generally favorable rating of 61.5%, with 44.4% of respondents approving and 14.8% strongly approving of their performance. Commenters cited the government’s successful handling of the ongoing war, particularly the NPA's military performance, and the recruitment efforts undertaken by the ministries of Communications and Defense. Respondents additionally praised the activity of Gameside Advocates and the increased engagement with the on-site community. However, many TNPers highlighted certain areas for improvement. Concerns were raised about communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with commenters urging for more transparency and updates. Some expressed a desire for increased cultural engagement, ministry activity, and a reduction in the amount of telegrams being sent out. Overall, the cabinet's performance appears to have been received relatively well, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Minister of Defense Comfed - 77.9%

Our Minister of Defense, Comfed, gained an impressive 77.9% approval rating, with more than half of respondents expressing strong approval, marking him as one of the highest-performing ministers in the cabinet. Notably, Comfed led the North Pacific Army in what has been a successful war effort, orchestrating the largest anti-Raider offensive in history, resulting in the capture of the TCB colony Solidarity. He played a pivotal role in rejuvenating the NPA, which had become dormant for months before his appointment. Recruitment efforts under his have boosted the number of NPA soldiers significantly. Additionally, he oversaw the creation of the TNP militia, which integrated members of the on-site community into the NPA, and he oversaw the creation of the TNP militia which integrated members of the on-site community into the NPA. Overall, his management of the ongoing war has been widely praised by TNPers.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Pallaith - 62.9%

Minister of Foreign Affairs Pallaith secured a 62.9% Approval Rating, matching Delegate Kaschovia. Pallaith's term was marked by notable accomplishments abroad, including successfully negotiating a treaty with two frontier regions - Carcassonne and The Wellspring. Additionally, he initiated a new chapter of relations with The League & Concord, playing a pivotal role in ratifying a non-aggression pact between them and The North Pacific. Pallaith’s performance was seen as a successful one, underscoring Pallaith's effective diplomacy and success in fostering new relationships with other regions, adding to our already extensive geopolitical landscape. While these achievements are certainly impressive, one commenter wrote that he felt there was not enough communication from the Ministry.

Minister of WA Affairs Simone Republic - 78.2%

Minister of World Assembly Affairs Simone, who replaced former Minister and current GenSec member Magecastle, was the only ministerial change made by Kachovia in the middle of the term. He racked up an impressive 78.2% approval rating - although that number may or may not have been inflated since 14.9% of respondents were unable to judge his performance. Regardless, Simone has still proven to be a popular Minister, with approximately two-thirds of residents approving of his performance. He has built upon his predecessor's success and under his watch, the WAA machine has been consistently delivering IFVs. With these results, Simone has assuredly proven that he deserves a full term in the Cabinet.

Minister of Home Affairs Lionsroar - 77.7%

Lionsroar, who will be featured twice in this article, ended a highly productive term with a remarkable approval rating of 77.7%, boasting the lowest number of disapprovals at only 7.4%. His productivity and proactive approach have led to him being considered as the Ministry's most effective member. Alongside his duties as Minister of Home Affairs, Lionsroar additionally served as the Lead Gameside Advocate, which will be discussed.

Minister of Culture The Anddoran Commune - 42.3%

The performance of Minister of Culture NutmegTheSquirrel (The Addorran Commune) was met with a mixed reception, and he received a 42.3% approval rating. During his term, Nutmeg helped organize numerous interregional events, including the Spirit Halloween Festival, TWP & TNP Interregional Chess Arena, and the 10 More Years Festival. Moreover, the first Delegate’s Day festival since 2019 was also held, where Siwale was crowned King of the North. However, many residents emphasized the need for more diverse events with other regions, a desire for increased cultural engagement, and reservations regarding the promotion of AI Art. While Nutmeg's tenure featured many highlights, such as the events we held with our allies, many TNPers feel that there are more improvements to be made in this department.

Minister of Communications Francois Isidore - 80.7%

Minister of Communications Robespierre (Francois Isidore) emerged from the 2023 TNP Census with an exceptional 80.7% approval rating, with his leadership and success being rewarded with the highest approval rating in the Cabinet. During his term, three new editions of The North Star (TNS) were released and four segments of The Northern Notes (TNN) were published, with one more currently in the works. Additionally, Robespierre created the collaborative design team to bring together TNP's best designers and artists - who have been used primarily to create graphics for issues of The North Star and produce propaganda posters for the war. On the radio front, the Ministry successfully tackled an editing backlog from the previous term, while recording eight new shows and releasing five, along with uploading four additional shows from the previous term. Furthermore, The Ministry additionally integrated all of the post-revival shows onto Spotify, offering TNPers, and other interested listeners an alternative platform for radio consumption. On the whole, this has been a greatly successful term for the Ministry and a good sign for future development.

Lead Gameside Advocate Lionsroar - 57.6%

Lead Gameside Advocate Lionsroar secured a solid 57.6% approval rating while leading one of the most active Gameside Advocate teams in recent memory. Introducing strategies such as posting advertisements on the Regional Message Board (RMB), he played a pivotal role in driving recruitment for the North Pacific Army during the initial stages of the war using war advertisements and posters. Lionsroar also implemented a new set of RMB Guidelines, which included changes to the double-posting rule. However, many residents criticized what they saw as the repetitive and spam-like nature of the ads. Some expressed a desire for increased interaction on the RMB with more TNP regulars on it and greater awareness among game-siders about the benefits of participation in the TNP government. Despite these critiques, Lionsroar received approval from more than a third of respondents, showcasing what has been a generally effective term.
How do TNPers feel the war is being handled?

Census Responses: How well do you think the war has been handled?:

"I wish we had more idea about what the next steps are and more of what the plan is. I get not all of that can be shared openly, but it feels at times like we did it to do it and it’s just sorta “now what?”, you know?"
"Pretty well. We haven't had another opportunity like Solidarity and I'd like to see something big happen. Still, I do understand that those opportunities might not always be as easy as Solidarity."

"About as well as it could be."

"The war has been handled well. Things have slowed down a bit as of late, but the initial mobilization and subsequent activities of the ministries (namely Defense and Comms) seem to have helped strengthen the region. People clearly care about what's been going on."

"decently, i don't really have an opinion on it"

"Poorly. We need to be far more aggressive."

"Yes"

"Mid at best"

"Good"

"i don't know but we don't seem to be stopping our enemies yet i think?"

"To be honest, I don't know how the war has been going."

"Well, we have had a calm and confident response to the conflict"

"Very well"

"Everything that was able to be done in a NS war was accomplished and done very well."

Toward the end of the census, our residents were questioned on how they felt about the handling of the ongoing war between ourselves, The Brotherhood of Malice, and The Communist Bloc. While some TNPers were satisfied with the war effort, highlighting the successful mobilization of the NPA and activity from the Ministries of Defense and Communications, others wished for clearer communication about the next steps and long-term plans. Some respondents conveyed that they felt the region was not aggressive enough, while others showed content with the NPA’s level of aggression. A few residents appeared to be unaware of the ongoing conflict or expressed uncertainty about its progress. Despite the diversity of the responses, the common theme is the acknowledgment of a calm and confident response to the conflict, with some proclaiming that everything achievable in an inter-regional NationStates war has been accomplished effectively.

Summary

Delegate Kaschovia received a respectable 62.9% approval rating and was lauded for his leadership during a time of war and the success of his administration. In contrast, Vice Delegate PotatoFarmers faced a number of challenges, with a 32% approval rating reflecting real-life issues impacting his activity. The cabinet as a whole received a generally favorable rating of 61.5%, praised for its handling of the war and activity in the ministries but a few areas of been identified for improvement, particularly in communication and cultural engagement.

Meanwhile, Minister of Defense Comfed excelled with a 77.9% approval rating, credited for leading a successful war effort and rejuvenating the NPA. Similarly, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pallaith received a 62.9% approval rating and was acknowledged for his successful diplomatic endeavors and the ratification of several treaties. Ministers Simone and Lionsroar secured high approval ratings at 78.2% and 77.7%, respectively.

Minister of Culture NutmegTheSquirrel, faced mixed reviews at 42.3%, with respondents primarily citing the lack of engagement from the ministry. Likewise, Lionsroar as Lead Gameside Advocate secured a 57.6% approval rating, faced critiques for repetitive ads on the RMB but was generally acknowledged for a productive term. Concurrently, Minister of Communications Robespierre stood out with an exceptional 80.7% approval rating, credited for the ministry’s productivity in TNS and radio.

Opinions on the war handling varied, with residents emphasizing the need for clearer communication and expressing both contentment and desire for increased aggression.

All high resolution census graphs can be found in the magazine version of this edition of The North Star.

Census Responses: What's something the government can make better?:

"I think communication from the foreign ministries has been lacking at times. It would be nice to hear more of what they’ve been doing."

"Our dispatches, cultural engagement and influx of new members."

"The Ministry of Culture can offer more events with other regions."

"More activity in certain ministries"

"Creating a New Branch of the Armed Forces. An Air Force or Navy would be perfect"

"Increase Regional Message Board interaction between new casual NS players and regular TNPers; increasing awareness of the benefits casuals can get by registering in the TNP forum and participating in TNP regional government, military GP, and/or RP activities"

"too many telegrams"

"International relations."

"More incentives for executive staff members"

"The army"

"Make stronger appeals to the game-side to join the forums."

Census Responses: The Situation In TNP:

"I think the steps of daily questions has been helpful, especially with an eye toward RP. Frankly not much you can or should do now given that we’re smaller, we get less troublemakers.
"Tighter moderation."

"Gameside Advocates' ads for ministries and events often feels like spam. Repetitive messages, crappy format. An alternative would be to use WFE space or pinned dispatches to provide relevant, timely news and ads. Spamming the RMB just makes people ignore our messaging. It gets in the way of other conversations."

"The new RMB guidelines are definitely a step in the right direction. Beyond that, I'd like to see the GAs mix up their templates somewhat. They do a fantastic job of advertising stuff, but I wonder if seeing the same text for the 67th time has lost its luster and decreased the effectiveness of those particular messages."

"More interaction"

"Get more TNP regulars to post on the RMB"

"stop spamming the same messages from ministries"

"More moderation"

"By hosting daily radio broadcasts"

"I've noticed in my limited experience that the RMB doesn't get any adverts as to the various events running off-site with other regions and on the discord."

Census Responses: Feedback for the Census:

"I think this is more of an approval poll than a census, but sure."
"It could be a bit more detailed. Include questions about our regional system etc."

"This form could have been better designed. Such opinion surveys should be taken during every delegacy. This approval ratings can be tracked across delegacies. Culture and HA/GA are difficult ministries. My lack of approval of their ministers does not mean that I think they wouldn't do well in other positions, just that someone with vision is needed, and they don't have it. My lack of approval for WA is because I haven't been following the WA this term and therefore can't judge. Toast is overrated. More people should enjoy cloves. Ministers should have deputies, but executive deputies were always a stupid idea."

"Kasch is easily the best Delegate that we've had in recent memory. I don't think I've ever seen the GAs be as active and effective as they have been this term. Credit to Lion, Marcus, Neptune, and co. for keeping things organized on the gameside front! I'm really not sure what Fregerson does. I rarely see him, and this transition could've been managed better by the Vice Delegate. HA seems to be being carried single-handedly by one person. No surprises there, but at least Lion seems to enjoy it."

New Year’s Resolutions
by Kaschovia

What does it mean for a new year to begin in NationStates? For many, it could mean improving national rankings and getting more gold badges. For others, it might be getting more involved with the regional government, perhaps even going for an elected position. Everyone is likely to have a different idea of what next year will look like for them, so we decided to find out what North Pacificans thought! Looking forward to the year ahead, the Ministry of Culture asked the region’s residents what their resolutions were for 2024 in NationStates. We received a mixture of responses, in the form of a poll, on the Regional Message Board, and on the Discord. So, let’s have a look at what the region said!

The Regional Poll

On the 2nd of January, a poll was released by Delegate Kaschovia titled ‘New Year's Resolutions For 2024’, in which ten options for possible new year's resolutions were presented for residents to choose from. These were gaining more endorsements, improving rankings and statistics, becoming more active in the government, climbing the ranks of the NPA, writing and submitting issue ideas, authoring WA resolutions, working on national roleplay and lore, improving their cards deck, becoming more active on the RMB, and an alternative to specify on the Regional Message Board if their choice wasn’t one of the options.

Overall, the poll received an impressive ninety responses and closed on the 4th of January. Let’s take a look at the breakdown of the votes!



As we can see, the clear favorite for most of the respondents was improving on the national roleplays and lore of their nation, which makes sense for a poll conducted gameside, where the RMB community, already home to an active RP scene, is more likely to see and respond to it. Twenty-two nations chose that option, making up 24.4% of the overall votes.

Rather surprisingly, improving card decks came in second with 14 votes (15.6%) out of 90. While the poll cannot be taken as a perfect representation of the interests of all North Pacificans, it is great to see that those most interested in cards still make up a large portion of the wider community and intend to continue that interest into 2024. I’ll have to start farming legendary cards again, I think!

Becoming more active on the Regional Message Board came in third place with 11 votes (12.2%). It’s no surprise that many of the respondents are interested in the RMB community, because it can be one of the most entertaining and enjoyable places in the region… if you can bear a little chaos from time to time. It is a great place for newer nations to develop a sense of belonging within the region and it’s home to some amazing nations!

Improving national rankings comes in at fourth with 9 votes (10%). Understandably, quite a lot of nations in The North Pacific see improving national rankings and statistics as a rewarding way to stand out and improve their own nation. It’s a great feeling when you answer an issue and get all of the effects you want. Earning gold badges and climbing the international rankings is something a lot of nations have even been commended and condemned for, so it definitely makes a lot of sense that a respectable portion of respondents are interested in further exploring that area of the game next year.

In joint fifth, gaining endorsements and improving activity within the government both received 8 votes (8.9%). This is super promising to see as two of our greatest priorities as a region should be encouraging executive involvement and pushing for World Assembly influence. Hopefully, all of those respondents succeed in their goals for next year so we can see some new faces in the executive and all benefit from the endorsements given!

Climbing the ranks of the North Pacific Army comes in at sixth with 4 votes (4.4%). Admittedly, we’d all like this to be higher, but alongside such common and well-known other interests I’m not surprised with the number of votes this option received. Since the majority of the response pool were not already members of the NPA, it makes sense that the option was ranked as such.

Second to last we have the goal of authoring World Assembly resolutions with 3 votes (3.3%), one of whom was our Minister of World Assembly Affairs Simone Republic. As usual, engagement with the World Assembly in terms of writing and drafting resolutions is on the lower side since the skill ceiling is so high, but it’s good to see that a couple of respondents were interested in it!

And finally, we have the relatively niche area of writing and submitting issue ideas with 2 votes (2.2%)! This turnout is relatively expected. Writing and submitting issue drafts is a process which takes a long time to get used to and therefore not a lot of nations will be familiar enough with it to vote for the option. Regardless, it’s good to see some votes for it.

Regional Message Board

Not only did we conduct a regional poll asking nations what their new year’s resolutions were, we also asked for direct responses on the Regional Message Board! Here are some of the responses we received.

Alogiada told us that they would like to “get at least 5 golden rankings and to get to 500 endorsements by 2025. (And maybe some improvements in SR too)” I’d definitely say those are realistic goals, so go for it!

United Orange Valley States said they would like to “become a GA and get to my goal of 500 puppets.” Very honourable resolution and I am sure the Gameside Advocates are always watching out for new members from the RMB community. Five hundred puppets is a lot, so good luck!

Le French Cat told us that they “Wanna be minor primitiveness and get an email to enter WA.” Yes, join the World Assembly and good luck with your rankings! Ropanama said they also wanted to join the WA. Go for it!

Soumilslandia and Basustandia would like to “get Top 1% in Defense Forces, Arms Manufacturing, Scientific Advancement, Manufacturing, WA Endorsements and much more along with the fact that this will be my main from now on, not abandoning it to create a new one by my liking.”

It was great overall to hear from so many different nations and get their perspectives on the goals they have for the year ahead. Whether that is to garner endorsements or climb the ranks of the NPA, there’s ample opportunity in The North Pacific for all of that and more.

Happy new year, everyone!

Culture Super Quiz
by Arawi

Locate all of the words on the list in the word search and attempt to answer all of the questions on the next page. There's one secret word missing from the list. The first person to submit as many correct solutions to the word search and quiz will be given a special shout-out in the next issue of The North Star and on various other TNP platforms!
Send your solutions to @Oriaga on Discord or Arawi on NationStates.



This Year

1. On which date specifically was the delegacy transition completed?

2. How many World Assembly resolutions were passed by TNP authors in 2023?

3. How many unique Deputy Ministers are there?

4. How many NBS shows have been published since the start of the term?

5. The Spirit Halloween Festival was organized by which two regions alongside TNP?

6. Who has served as Vice Delegate this year, and in what order?

7. On which date was ‘To War’ posted?

8. Which faction was TNP in for N-Day and where did we finish on the leaderboard?

9. What was Chipoli’s statement after the BoM/TCB delegate tip titled?

10. How many new pages of the RMB have been created throughout the year?

General TNP Trivia

1. Which delegate has served the longest in regional history?

2. Who was the first known delegate of The North Pacific?

3. What was the highest endorsement count ever reached by a TNP delegate?

4. When was the first issue of The Northern Light published?

5. When did the World Assembly Development program officially start?

[Comfed]

Interview with GenSec Kenmoria
by Francois Isidore

Robespierre: Hello everyone, and welcome to this month’s edition of The North Star’s Spotlight segment! My name is Robespierre and I’m the current Minister of Communications.
Today, I’m joined by the recently-appointed GA Secretariat and resident North Pacifican, Kenmoria. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us, Kenmoria!

Kenmoria: Hello! Thank you very much for having me.

Robespierre: Of course. It’s an honor, and hopefully, this interview will be a good way for those of us who are less familiar with the NSWA community to get an idea of who you are, what you enjoy, and what you’re about.

I know that it can be a tall task to have people summarize their history sometimes, but let’s start from the beginning. When did you first start playing NationStates? Was Kenmoria your first nation?

Kenmoria: I began playing NationStates many, many years ago, and Kenmoria was far from my first nation. It was around early 2017 when I first found the site. I was looking for a browser game to occupy my time, being bored with little else to do, and I stumbled upon NationStates as something like my fourth or fifth try. The concept seemed intriguing, so I made Great Britain. That was it, just Great Britain, with absolutely no changes. I answered Issues, sticking resolutely to the idea of just modelling the UK as best I could, and this was the sum of my activity. That was not particularly interesting, so it was hardly surprising that that nation CTEd having achieved nothing. I made another nation, with a slightly more interesting concept, and I decided to stretch my wings to Factbooks, as well as Issues. It took two more nations CTEing before I joined the Forums, solely as an F7 poster. This was in Summer, if I remember correctly, so I was the epitome of a summerposter. Three or so more nations then elapsed, similarly doing Issues, Factbooks, and F7.

A few months later, if my memory serves me faithfully, I made Kenmoria. This was my first nation that posted somewhere that actually increased my post count on the Forums, and it is still mine now, being just over six years old. It was also (barring a very ill-advised and undrafted proposal submitted on my fourth nation) my first foray into the worlds of roleplaying and the General Assembly, which have been my mainstays in NationStates.

Robespierre: Ah, I see. In preparation for this interview, I ended up reading through some of your nation’s dispatches to get a better idea of what Kenmoria is like IC. It seems that you’ve been issuing information for voters (IFVs) similarly to how our Ministry of World Assembly Affairs does it. I know that you’re a staffer in WA Affairs nowadays, so I don’t doubt that your experience with the GA and with IFVs has been immensely helpful to you in that endeavor.

For those keeping score at home, how many resolutions are you up to now? In terms of ones you’ve authored/co-authored, that is.

Kenmoria: I’ve been doing IFVs for a while. My first experience with them was in Europe, the WA Ministry of which I joined after a few years in that region. Despite the excellent efforts of Imperium Anglorum, that Ministry faded away, and the IFVs gradually stopped. For a time after that, I didn’t do any more, but I began to miss the chance to publicly promulgate my feelings on a particular proposal. Therefore, I began to write a few myself. They were an interesting exercise, partly because I wrote them from the perspective of IC Kenmoria, meaning that a few criticisms there are solely the artefact of a hypercapitalist Government. It was these IFVs, of which I wrote several, which inspired Magecastle, also known as the Ice States, to invite me to the Ministry of WA Affairs of the North Pacific. That was what inspired me to change regions.

Certainly, my experience with writing IFVs for Europe and for myself has been greatly useful in writing them for the North Pacific. Now OOC, (as a roleplayer rather than a Gameplayer would understand that term) I do enjoy being able to put out my thoughts to the world. As you asked that question, I had to quickly shift to my homepage on NationStates to see. I’ve not written one at all recently, and my pile of drafts is languishing in a folder. The count is seven in total, most of that being coauthorships. Writing and passing a resolution creates an immediate thrill that, in my limited experience, is the most exciting part of NationStates. However, I find that giving feedback and critique to other people’s drafts is, in the long run, even more rewarding.

Robespierre: So it was Magecastle who invited you here to TNP, eh? Well then, I’m sure that you’re excited to be working with them now on the GA Secretariat staff. In regard to that last bit you mentioned, would you say that you’re more of a coach than a player in that sense? Helping better other nations’ proposals rather than focusing primarily on passing your own, I mean.

Kenmoria: I definitely am excited. It was an honour to be invited to join GenSec, and I regard Magecastle as someone with whom I have had nothing but friendly interactions across my time in the General Assembly. I was, and remain, thrilled about the prospect of working with him to clarify and develop the way that the General Assembly moderates its proposals.

GenSec was in the rare position of having to appoint multiple players to fill its vacancies, as a result of a rush of well-earned resignations, which meant that I joined contemporaneously with Magecastle and Demosthenes & Burke. Though it was unfortunate that I did not have the chance to work with the outgoing members, it has been great to be part of that surge of activity caused by new appointees. I am very optimistic about being part of GenSec going towards.

I suppose that I was initially more of a pedant than a coach or a player in the General Assembly. Grammar has always been a passion of mine, and some of what is seen in the General Assembly Forum needs just the right amount of tweaking before being submitted. This meant that I could find a niche quickly in spotting a dangling participle, split infinitive, or incorrect agreement, and pointing this out to the author. Since then, my tastes have fortunately broadened, and I aim to be a little bit more substantive in my feedback. Now, I think that it is correct to describe me as something of a coach, though that pedant still remains. I do try to be as helpful as possible, particularly to newer players. Being polite and supportive makes necessary feedback a lot less painful for the recipient, and it is a lot more enjoyable to correct someone when that person feels supported, rather than disheartened, by the correction.

Another part of it is that I am, admittedly, not particularly creative. If I was overflowing with legislative ideas, then I might be more of an author. As it is, helping others is the best that I can get to vicariously live that experience.

Robespierre: For sure. Coming from someone who’s written a handful of SC resolutions, I can attest to how difficult it can be for people to not only come up with ideas for proposals but also be willing to pursue ideas and see them through until passage. On the subject of grammar, I must say that you’re very well-spoken. Quite formal and eloquent, is the impression I get. I figure that since an interview setting such as this provides us with a great opportunity to do so, why not get some advice straight from someone as qualified and as experienced as yourself?

When you’re giving feedback on others’ proposals or even reading their resolutions for the first time, what are some things that you look for aside from small fixes such as grammar? What are some common elements of a “good” General Assembly proposal that you would say ought to be weighed more heavily?

Kenmoria: Thank you very much! My grammatical tastes have always tended towards the archaic, which often makes me seem far more eloquent and articulate than I truly am. Of course, the other side of it is that it would be rather strange if a passionate grammarian were to write in a manner replete with errors. Ending sentences with prepositions is something up with which I shall not put.

There are a lot of things for which I am searching when reading proposals. The first, particularly with newer authors, is whether it is written as a law. Quite often, there are some newcomers who write speeches, requests, or bulletins and submit these directly as proposals. Though the policy and implementation might be excellent, the General Assembly deals with law, so a legislative style is absolutely critical. I always recommend looking at some passed resolutions, to get a feel for how one might do this. There is no mandatory style; a resolution consisting of a single sentence was one passed! However, following the usual format often helps. Once the correct rough idea is obtained, I am looking for whether the idea itself is good.

There are certain areas about which it is next to impossible to write. A pro-life piece of legislation, for example, would struggle mightily. However, even on less controversial areas, it is important to remember that the General Assembly is an international - nay - multiversal body. If what a person is writing could fit in a local council’s regulation, it might not be workable. Setting direct penalties for crimes, for example, is something that is too local to be meaningfully done at the General Assembly’s level. When an idea is theoretically achievable and it is written correctly, the next matter, at least for me, is execution. The policy should be written clearly, should generally be comprehensible to someone with a basic knowledge of the subject, should be possible to accomplish, and should correctly balance different needs. This can be the hardest part. A few rules are not to be afraid of non-mandatory clauses, and to delegate to committees where it would be impossible to exhaustively list regulations.

Lastly, there is my favourite part, the grammar. I don’t want to bore the readership with a list of rules, so I will say simply that Grammarly and similar tools are very helpful. Also, take a look at previous resolutions using your chosen style, and pay attention to the punctuation. Everything that is a sentence should end with a full stop or semicolon, and everything that is not should end with a comma. The most important element of any good proposal is dedication. This is a little bit of an abstract answer, but it is the best one that I can give. A proposal might take weeks, months, or even years to pass; Tinhampton is working on some proposals due for submission in 2026. However, in my humble view, it is almost always worth it.

There are plenty of regulars willing to give feedback, albeit a little too snarky sometimes, and one’s failure prepares one for a later success.

Robespierre: Dedication and persistence are key, absolutely. In my efforts as an author within the Security Council, I’ve found that my approach to proposal writing and drafting tends to take up more time than some others’ do. I’m often amazed at how quickly some people are able to submit proposal after proposal in either chamber and still have their writing be of good quality.

Circling back, you said that many of your passed resolutions have been co-authorships. Is there anyone in particular that you enjoy working on proposals with? Who would you like to work with in the future if you had your pick? I know that I’ve personally enjoyed working with roleplayers a great deal. Both in the past with Electrum and with some of the nominees that I’ve written for.

Kenmoria: There are plenty of people in the General Assembly, Imperium Anglorum and Simone Republic being two examples of many, who astound me as well with their output. I could never manage the number of proposals that they do. This is something that comes with practice. I can remember my first attempt at drafting a proposal, an ill-fated repeal of GA #008, which established the headquarters of the General Assembly. It is sufficient to say that I shan’t be revisiting that particular legislative effort.

With one unfortunate exception, I have greatly enjoyed working with all the authors as coauthor, and with all the coauthors as author, along with working with everyone else in the General Assembly. Zone 71, who has now left the site, was someone with whom I had plenty of legislative exchange. We were both quite new, so we fitted together rather well. From more recent authors, I have to mention Magecastle. We often discuss proposals in the DMs of Discord, and that is nothing but fun. I also recall a few years in the past, some good interactions with Honeydewistania. I believe, though I might be wrong, that we authored something together, and I have nothing but good words about her.

In terms of working with someone in the future, I do have a longstanding wish to do something in the Security Council, which probably would be relating to a roleplayer. For a while, I had far more posts in International Incidents and Portal to the Multiverse than I had in the General Assembly. I have simply never had the time or the correct idea. More on the General Assembly, I would love to author something hyper-technical, which would necessitate a very knowledgeable author. There have been a handful of cases where I have gotten to use my legal education, and there are a lot of lawyers in the General Assembly who have written some very specialised proposals. Doing work in that area would be superb.

Robespierre: That’s the running joke amongst NSers who are familiar with the GA community in passing, isn’t it? That all of the most prolific players in that area of the game are Ivy League-educated lawyers from New England

Kenmoria: I’ll have you know that my legal education originated in the esteemed universities of the United Kingdom. I hardly fit the stereotype! Yes, there are an awful lot of lawyers here. What we lack in souls and consciences, we more than make up for in knowledge of the Proposal Rules Compendium, and knowledge of actual law, naturally.

The downside of this is that it can sometimes feel elitist, which is something that I wish we did a better job of combatting. One certainly does not need to have any Ivy League education, or indeed any knowledge of actual law at all, to participate in the General Assembly. I hope that anyone looking to come to the General Assembly feels helped by our collective experience, rather than intimidated.

Robespierre: Well that’s certainly good to know haha

As I’m talking to you, I’m noticing a bit of irony. In the past, I’ve been told that I’m rather “stiff” with my tone and verbiage because of how formal I can be. Do you get any of that, in your experience? Or is that something that just comes naturally to you in the GA’s environment?

Kenmoria: I have had more than a few people mention my somewhat idiosyncratically formal style to me. Fortunately, however, I don’t think that it has ever been raised as a negative. There are a few possible reasons for that. One of these probably is that I’m often IC (in character) when posting in the General Assembly. Everyone expects Sir James Lewitt or Ambassador Q. Fortier to be formal since they are characters in a diplomatic environment. When, later, I am talking to someone OOC, the formal register is one to which that person is accustomed.

Robespierre: That's a good point. I hadn’t considered that the IC premise of the forums would set the tone for future OOC interactions, but it’s understandable why it would.

I’m obliged to ask who some of your influences are. Both on your own writing style and during the time that you spent initially learning about the WA/GA and writing IFVs in Europe’s ministry. Am I right to assume that IA had a prominent role in inspiring you to become increasingly engaged with the General Assembly?

Kenmoria: Araraukar, who I believe is still on NationStates though his activity has waned, is among one of my earliest influences. He was doing a very similar thing to me when I first joined, namely focussing on giving critique and feedback rather than on legislating. I imagine that, mostly unconsciously, I emulated some of his style, including the way that I format my OOC posts and the annotation method of giving feedback. You are correct that Imperium Anglorum had a role, though that was mainly in terms of regional engagement.

Before he telegrammed me about joining the WA Ministry of Europe, I had considered regions as little more than a tag on a nation’s page. The idea that they were a driving force behind the GA had shockingly not really dawned on me. His role as GenSec does also mean that, indirectly, he likely influenced a great deal of the entire General Assembly. Aside from those two, I will mention the Serendipitous, who has now left the site, as being an influence. Though a far newer player than I was, he left a mark on me by being a definitive roleplayer in the General Assembly. His creative roleplay was what influenced me to try to give my IC personae independent characters and voices, rather than merely being extensions of myself.

There are, of course, a whole host of other influences, far too many of them to name here. The General Assembly is a small and, therefore, close-knit community. We all influence each other to some extent, and I can think of a little something that I have learnt from almost every player there. My writing style, however, is uniquely my own. I think that that comes partly from my time spent writing in II and P2TM, but mostly from my bizarre inclinations towards certain phrasings and words.

Robespierre: Do you think that there’s a need for authors to lessen the verbosity of their proposals and roleplay so that it becomes a larger group? By that, I mean, is it desirable (in your view) to lower the bar to participation within the GA? How do you balance matters of accessibility for the community?

Kenmoria: I wouldn’t say that verbosity per se is an issue. Some legislative ideas do require a deal of loquaciousness to address properly, and limiting that will only mean that there will be a repeal-and-replace with something more detailed. Roleplay, with the exception of that which occurs in the infamous Strangers’ Bar, can often consist of little more than putting a comment in quotation marks, so that isn’t necessarily the issue either. Legislating is hard, and that is the primary challenge to participation.

There are over seven hundred resolutions, so checking for duplication and contradiction can be a real task, and the remit of available topics has shrunk greatly from when I joined. In my view, it is support for newcomers to the General Assembly to engage with the vast corpus of legislation and find a new angle to pursue that is what will help bring more people to our side of the vast landscape of NationStates. It is not so much lowering the bar as it is helping people to cross it. Another part of accessibility is how the General Assembly interacts with itself. This is less of a problem now, but I remember there being an awful lot of snark that sometimes bordered on hostility. The fact that this has lessened should be celebrated, and it should be kept that way.

I also have a dim view of authors facing criticism for the region from which they originate. Though I can understand the Gameplaying goals behind it, preventing people from participating to the same degree as others in the General Assembly because of a dispute elsewhere does not, in my view, help the game as a whole. With that said, the General Assembly inherently has limited appeal. Not everyone has the inclination to write thousands of characters about maritime wartime regulations, and that is fine. I doubt that the General Assembly will ever become as popular as answering Issues, for instance, simply because one is far more mass-market, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Robespierre: I would agree with you there. Outside disputes shouldn’t become barriers to participation for those who would otherwise be interested in drafting legislation within the General Assembly. Although you do understand some of the motivations and goals behind it, what would you say is the next logical step to making the GA community more welcoming and easier to engage with?

Do you think that, as a GA Secretariat, you’re now more empowered than ever before to help with this? If not, what do you define your role as and to what degree do you feel responsible for the community now?

Kenmoria: It’s difficult to settle on a single step since there is a lot of variation in the levels of experience with which people come to the General Assembly, and therefore a lot of variation in how the General Assembly initially appears. Speaking generally, I feel as though we often lack mentorship. The learning curve that is present when drafting legislation is among the steepest in the entirety of NationStates, competing with Issues, and sometimes it is easy for one who is unused to the unique format to feel lost. There are various regions, to my knowledge, that offer programmes of mentorship within the General Assembly. This is great, and I hope that these are expanded and developed in the months to come. The North Pacific does have a system for doing this, which is excellent, and which I only hope will continue to grow. One of the problems with such programmes is that the small size of the community means that few mentors are available. GCRs, with their regular access to new players and vast sizes, are well positioned in that regard, due to the number of members.

Also, there is the matter of less organised support from around the community. Certain players currently in the General Assembly have done a superb job of supporting newer authors, and I do feel that this makes a real difference in terms of developing a more accessible community. On a tangential sort of point, I do wish that there was a stronger distinction between IC and OOC. It can be easy to miss which is which when speech marks are the only indication of IC, resulting in Ambassador Grinch Scrooge Kratos being confused with the kind-hearted player behind that persona.

I definitely feel as though being part of GenSec has given me a different and perhaps more empowered role to play with regard to welcoming people to the General Assembly. Without trying to sound self-congratulatory, I have tried to be among the nicer voices that welcome those with a half-formed idea for legislation to the Hallowed Halls. Anyone who has been to the General Assembly for a while will have seen my scripted message of welcome, complete with links to various resources. Being part of GenSec certainly won’t change that, and I haven’t altered the message with some booming proclamation of Secretarial authority. It’s still the same Kenmoria. However, I do reckon that posting the sorts of links that I do with a pink jacket on my username makes the people receiving the message more likely to follow them. I also hope that it makes my advice sound a little more convincing, and therefore renders it more likely to be followed. This is good not only for my sense of pride but also because the boilerplate help is really rather useful.

The primary role of GenSec is to clarify the ruleset. Unlike the Security Council, the rules of which are for the most part able to be handled with a simple read-through and which consist largely of formatting, the rules of the General Assembly are of remarkable complexity and size. Several rules, such as Category, have had multiple tests developed through rulings on legality challenges, much like the way that courts of the real world function. Through these legality challenges, GenSec promulgates a gloss over the ruleset, specifying how each rule is to be interpreted and what qualifies as an infraction of each. Though they occur infrequently, in my view, these challenges are GenSec’s most important place of operation, because they involve live issues that strike at unresolved questions, ambiguities, and vagueness of the present ruleset.

When GenSec releases a judgement, it not only rules on whether a particular proposal is legal or illegal but reveals the standard to which future proposals need to adhere. The goal of clarity is also accomplished informally, through the forums and over such extraforumside methods of communication as Discord. Providing advice about legality, including possible areas to consider, helps to provide more everyday remedies for confusion about the rules. Though not as formal as challenges, the advice of someone on GenSec can be very useful in preventing wasted stamps spent on illegal proposals.

Of course, the most frequent thing that GenSec does is review proposals in the queue, marking them as legal, illegal, or to be discarded. This is important, to prevent blatant nonsense from clogging the legal pile and, occasionally, to stop something illegal from going to vote. However, I would not consider it as vital to the community as the forumside matters. It is more helpful to introduce complete newcomers to the General Assembly to the idea that the little checkbox talking about the rules does actually mean something.

Robespierre: That’s a very good way of summarizing it. In my estimation, I would think that the most daunting aspect of venturing into the General Assembly would be needing to keep up with past precedents, rule changes, etc. Not so much that writing a proposal is difficult — which, for some, it is — but that it’s hard to see where resolutions fit amongst one another in the grand scheme of things and you wouldn’t want to run the risk of unintentionally offending someone for not properly acknowledging the work they’ve already done within the chamber.

Stepping back from the more technical nature of the GA, is there any other part(s) of the game that you would consider to be your second love?

Kenmoria: I can certainly see that. We have over seven hundred resolutions with, in combination, thousands upon thousands of clauses. There are times when I’m searching for a keyword in the forumside list of resolutions and I stumble upon an obscure resolution that I cannot remember ever having seen previously. Without some sort of fundamental change to the General Assembly, I think that this just forms part of the learning curve inherent to how it operates. Roleplaying is something that I greatly enjoy, not only in the General Assembly, but also in II and P2TM. There are a few roleplays that I remember with great fondness, that have given me months of fun. I remember in particular a conflict in Posteastan where a corrupt Kenmorian corporation was caught using deeply unethical means as part of its supposedly benevolent restructuring work. I also recall a roleplay in P2TM about an elderly metahuman with a mostly useless superpower, on the run from an evil organisation with vastly more powerful resources.

Currently, I find myself a little too busy for any grandiose storylines, but I am presently waging a diplomatic conflict through communiqués and broadcasts over in II. I also regularly apply for embassies over in F&NI, which gives me a small part of the joy of collaborative storytelling. I think that what enchants me about collaborative roleplay is the scale of it. Where there are ten or twenty players participating, it really does feel like an international incident, into which I am getting only a partial glimpse. My writing isn’t great, and I have no knowledge of the technical details of warfare that make some of the roleplays that I read as impressive as they are. However, there is a huge range in level of commitment, and perchance skill, that is required by different roleplays across NationStates, allowing even someone of middling ability, such as myself, to participate. I also enjoy reading what others have written. G-Tech Corporation OPed a roleplay on P2TM about a group of modern humans transported to the ancient past, which served as my book of the month last year. It was a thrilling read.

Robespierre: It sounds like you and I are alike in that way, then. I too have always been impressed with how roleplayers from various communities are able to worldbuild with such detail and articulation, almost to the point where it seems like second nature to them. You can enjoy some really creative works when delving into the stories of others. In a way, I suppose that the hundreds upon hundreds of GA resolutions are kind of like the WA’s way of worldbuilding. Much like roleplay on the forums and elsewhere, it’s a collaborative and creative endeavor where iron sharpens iron and people bounce ideas off of one another.

This has been a really insightful chat and I do hope that our readers are enjoying the chance that we have to peek behind the curtain and get to know more about you. To end our interview, I have a final few rapid-fire questions that I wanted to ask.

1.) Within the next year, where do you see yourself going? Do you have any New Year’s resolutions or things you’d like to accomplish either within TNP or elsewhere?

2.) To date, what would you say has been your greatest accomplishment as a player? (Hint: You can’t answer with being appointed to the GA Secretariat. We’ve already covered that plenty )

3.) Just for fun, would you ever consider running for Secretary-General of the WA if/when the opportunity comes around again? Supposing that we did give it real powers instead of it being a harmless isolated event, what kind of Secretary-General do you think Kenmoria would be?

Kenmoria: (1) I do have one New Year’s resolution pertaining to NationStates, though it isn’t particularly tied to the General Assembly. I plan to work on my national factbooks, trying to actually give some life to the lore of IC Kenmoria. Prior to a retcon that I did, I had an excellent Wikipedian overview, which I unfortunately have not replaced. That might occupy some of my time on NationStates. Within the TNP, I’m happy to keep doing what I’m doing. Being deputy minister within the WA Affairs Ministry has been fun, and I would like to continue doing that. If something comes up, I will consider it, but I don’t particularly have any big goals.

(2) That’s a tricky one, largely because you have foiled my plan to mention GenSec. I don’t think that this involves the General Assembly either. Though the bulk of my contribution has been in that area, it was lots of little things, rather than any singular moment. I can’t think of any one resolution I’ve authored or coauthored that was particularly monumental. Therefore, shifting the topic entirely, I’ll say that it was authoring Power to the (AI) People, which is an Issue that I authored a few years ago. This was my fourth attempt, on a few nations, at writing an Issue, and it was the first to succeed. Based solely on how difficult it was to adapt to the unique style of Issues, this has been my greatest achievement thus far.

(3) I hardly think that I have either the political clout or the popularity to consider a run for Secretary-General. Though the title would be nice, this is something that ought to be reserved for those with the politicking or friendliness necessary to achieve the election. Winning votes has never been my strong point. If, however, I were to win, I hope that I would be a Secretary-General who did something with the role. Perhaps there could be a few roleplay threads involving a highly corrupt official being promoted to the role and trying to abuse the power, or a benevolent S-G trying to make a difference in a convoluted world.

As for the S-G being given actual powers, that would likely and should certainly involve the Security Council, in which case I suspect that I would be a rather terrible one. My knowledge of the Other Chamber is rather hopelessly limited, so I would be stumbling blindly trying to do something productive. I would probably have to ask my friends more experienced in the dealings of the Three-Walled Bar for some hints on what exactly “R/D” involves.

Robespierre: Maybe we should announce a joint bid for Secretary-General. You take the GA half of the duties and I’ll take the SC half haha. R/D is a blast though. You should try it sometime

Kenmoria: Hahaha, perhaps we should. It would certainly enable some amusing GenSec-SecGen puns. I have heard good things about the excitement of R/D. Maybe one day, far into the future, I will have the necessary availability at the daily update to participate. It does sound a lot more immediately fun than most of this text-based game.

Robespierre: Without a doubt. If it weren’t for things such as R/D, roleplay, cards, and the WA, then we’d likely have all gotten bored long ago!

It was great getting the chance to talk to you, Kenmoria. I’m glad that we could have you here as our interviewee for this month.

Kenmoria: Likewise, it was great to have the opportunity to be interviewed. I have genuinely enjoyed having this conversation with you.

Robespierre: Same here. You had some really thoughtful answers to share. I’m glad that I reached out. Thank you again!

Kenmoria: You're welcome!