NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm not sure weather there is a bug in the game or It is meant to be so - but several times I tried to create a nation which I had previously checked non existing by typing
http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/target=display_nation/nation=nationname
or the nation search under "The World"

Everytime the nation was displayed as not-existing. But when trying to create it the game told me that the name was "reserved" or "allready taken". This is kinda annoying. Some nations I tried where http,ftp,pop.gopher.

I eventually had to choose "https" which I dont like too much. Does anybody have a clue what is going wrong with these names?

When a nation dies, the name keeps reserved for a while, so people can resurrect their nation.

Don't mention it.

In future, go to the Create A Nation page, and type in the name of the nation you want.

Then click the little green text near the text entry box saying something like " check name ". This should birth a little pop up box that will tell you if the name is Okay and Unique so you can use it, or if it is the reserved name of a dead nation, or already being used in the game.

Should save you having to hop to and from the world page, ;)

How long does a nation stay reserved?

Once the new code is perfected and runs its course, 18 months.