Roseway
06-01-2004, 21:20
Introduction
This post is a Naming Guide for those of us who are new to NationStates and do not know how to pick a serious name. To the older nations with names I pronounce dumb: sorry. You have risen past your stupid names, which is a crowning achievement. However, it's easier to be taken seriously from the start and by later new nations if you have a good name.
Suffixes
Suffixes are the end of your nation name. Some real-world examples of good suffixes are England, America, and Germany. Notice the name gives an easy way talk about their citizens; English(men), Americans, and Germans. Bad suffixes are those that make no sense or make people misname your citizens. I have seen some notable bad suffixes in Dontgonearthere, Vroshnak and Thunderstraat. These good nations have risen past those bad suffixes, but they still stick with them. Choose a suffix ending with an ia, land, y, or some real-world nation name with an easy citizen name: I am an example of this, taking Roseway and Rosewegian from the RL name of Norway.
Plurals
Don't use them. They look stupid if you try to do serious RP.
RL Words
Names (arbitrarily picked) that look stupid without plurals or a bad suffix include such possible names as "Flabland," "Truckia," and "Roberty." These are good for water-balloon wars and humorous RPs but not anything serious. Make up something.
Capitalization
Put a capital letter in front of each word in your nation name. Partially or full-caps nation names make us all snigger inside. This is forgivable if you use it as an acronym.
"The", "And", or "Of"
The first letter in your nation name is capitalized. Thus, it changes names like "The People's Republic of the Gambia" to "The People's Republic of The Gambia." This makes a big difference.
The word "And" is only encouraged if you know the proper usage; names with proper usage, like "Juteland and Saxony," even have a cool acronym (J&S).
The word "Of" is discouraged. It can't make your name better. As the first word, it provides a redundant conjunction. This looks extremely dumb and strips most respect for you away automatically.
In Conclusion
This thread is intended for reference, and a guide for nations new enough to start over with a better name. Please forgive me if I have inadvertantly insulted your nation's honorable name, and if you have an idea on how to make this guide better, please post.
This post is a Naming Guide for those of us who are new to NationStates and do not know how to pick a serious name. To the older nations with names I pronounce dumb: sorry. You have risen past your stupid names, which is a crowning achievement. However, it's easier to be taken seriously from the start and by later new nations if you have a good name.
Suffixes
Suffixes are the end of your nation name. Some real-world examples of good suffixes are England, America, and Germany. Notice the name gives an easy way talk about their citizens; English(men), Americans, and Germans. Bad suffixes are those that make no sense or make people misname your citizens. I have seen some notable bad suffixes in Dontgonearthere, Vroshnak and Thunderstraat. These good nations have risen past those bad suffixes, but they still stick with them. Choose a suffix ending with an ia, land, y, or some real-world nation name with an easy citizen name: I am an example of this, taking Roseway and Rosewegian from the RL name of Norway.
Plurals
Don't use them. They look stupid if you try to do serious RP.
RL Words
Names (arbitrarily picked) that look stupid without plurals or a bad suffix include such possible names as "Flabland," "Truckia," and "Roberty." These are good for water-balloon wars and humorous RPs but not anything serious. Make up something.
Capitalization
Put a capital letter in front of each word in your nation name. Partially or full-caps nation names make us all snigger inside. This is forgivable if you use it as an acronym.
"The", "And", or "Of"
The first letter in your nation name is capitalized. Thus, it changes names like "The People's Republic of the Gambia" to "The People's Republic of The Gambia." This makes a big difference.
The word "And" is only encouraged if you know the proper usage; names with proper usage, like "Juteland and Saxony," even have a cool acronym (J&S).
The word "Of" is discouraged. It can't make your name better. As the first word, it provides a redundant conjunction. This looks extremely dumb and strips most respect for you away automatically.
In Conclusion
This thread is intended for reference, and a guide for nations new enough to start over with a better name. Please forgive me if I have inadvertantly insulted your nation's honorable name, and if you have an idea on how to make this guide better, please post.