NationStates Jolt Archive

It would be more pleasant if one could know before one types in an entire issue that you must have a population of over 500 million to submit an issue. Not nice.

It's written in the stickies all over the issues forum.

Good point. It used to be there and must have been removed in the move to Jolt and no on noticed. I'll add it when I have the chance.

I would be an excellent addition to the help file one can access while writing an issue. I am not sure everyone will be on the forums and necessarily see the stickies.

You mean add it to the FAQ?

Want to contribute an Issue to NationStates? Do it here! (http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/page=submit_issue ) or Before you submit an issue, make sure to read these guidelines! (http://www.nationstates.net/pages/submit_issue_guidelines.html) would be good places.

Not the FAQ (though that would be a good place too). In the help file that is available WHILE one is writing an issue. For those technical wizards that never need help (but are always quick with a RTFM) I mean THIS document:


Issue Submission Guidelines

How to submit an issue to NationStates, and what I'll do with it.
Important Legal Stuff

When you post text to this site, you agree to allow NationStates to use and display it (as per the site Terms & Conditions). This especially applies to issues you submit: you must agree that we can use them as part of the NationStates game -- both in its current and any possible future versions. For example, NationStates 2, which is being developed as a pay-to-play game, may incorporate some or all of your submission.

Your issue may not be used. If it is, it will be edited by Max Barry or game admin.

If you do not agree to this, you may not submit an issue.
General Guidelines

Issues should be fun, quirky, and interesting. They should be written in a light, humorous tone, and not attempt to push any particular political viewpoint.

Each of your options should have pros and cons. There should be no "right" option that makes everything better and "wrong" options that make everything worse. Your options should force players to make a trade-off: to think about what they consider important.

Don't try to make your issue too similar to the ones already in the game--be original!
Using Variables

If you want to use a word that will change depending on which nation is receiving the issue -- e.g. the name of the nation -- use capital letters and surround the word with "@@". So a sentence including the nation's name might be: "This is a sad day for @@NAME@@." To substitute the national currency, use @@CURRENCY@@, etc.

To insert a random person's name, use "@@RANDOMNAME@@".
Name

Choose a short, relevant title, such as "Nudists Demand Time in Sun" or "Child Casino Shock".
Description

This should be a sentence or two summarizing the issue at hand. For example: "A loose coalition of sartorially-challenged individuals known as "Let It All Hang Out" has called on the government to relax public nudity laws." Or: "Children as young as eight have been spotted gambling in some of @@NAME@@'s seedier casinos."
Validity

If some nations should not receive this issue -- for example, it is about road rage, and so isn't valid for nations that have banned automobiles -- mention this here. Example: "Not valid for nations with low tax rates."
Options

Here you enter several different choices: players will have to select which they most agree with (or dismiss the issue altogether).

Each time you begin a new option, start a new line and write "[option]". Then write the actual text that should be displayed. (E.g.: "[option]The High Minister for Finance, who also happens to be your brother, dismisses the claim...")

At the end of the option, start a new line and write "[effect]", followed by a short description that will be added to the description of nations that select this option. (E.g.: "[effect]the right to free speech is being drastically curtailed".)

If you want, you can also provide more detailed instructions as to what should happen to the internal makeup of nations that choose this option. To do this, start a new line and write "[stats]", followed by a description as to what should happen. (E.g.: "political freedom falls, publishing industry shrinks a little.")
Complete Example

Title: Should Democracy be Compulsory?

Description: In response to a slow news week, certain highbrow newspapers have stirred up the debate over voluntary vs compulsory voting.

Validity: Not valid for nations that don't have elections

Options:

[option]"Compulsory voting makes about as much as sense as
having the death penalty for attempted suicide," says civil
rights activist @@RANDOMNAME@@. "You can't force
people to be free! You can only give them the choice.
Besides, if all those derelicts who can't be bothered to
get off their ass once every few years voted, who would
they elect? I shudder to think."
[effect]voting is voluntary
[stats]political freedom increases, public apathy increases

[option]"It's not contradictory at all,"
argues political commentator @@RANDOMNAME@@.
"The fact is, if not everyone votes, the outcome isn't truly
representative. Some groups--like elderly gun nuts--vote more
often than others.
That's why always we always end up with such terrible politicians."
[effect]voting is compulsory
[stats]size of government increases a bit, political freedom
decreases, apathy decreases

[option]"This raises an interesting issue," says
@@RANDOMNAME@@, your brother. "And that is:
why do we need elections, anyway? Seems to me it would be much
simpler if you just decided what was right, and did it. Wouldn't
that save everyone a lot of time?"
[effect]elections have been outlawed
[stats]political freedom decreases to almost zero

Practicalities

If you take a long time (more than about 30 minutes) to type in your issue, the game will think you have left and log your nation out. Clicking "Submit Issue" will then take you to the login screen and cause your issue to be lost! For this reason, it is recommended that you draft your issue in a word processor (like Notepad), then paste it into your browser when you're happy with it.


Understood?