NationStates Jolt Archive

Regional Happenings Spam: Going in and out of a region and hence filling up the regional events board with departing and arriving messages is known as Regional Happenings or Events Log Spamming and is not allowed. Use the Additional Information checkboxes on the Getting Help Page to capture abuses on the Regional Happenings. Warzones are exempt from this rule.


Does this include the same player using lots of puppets to spam the regional happenings or just 1 nation?

Does this include the same player using lots of puppets to spam the regional happenings or just 1 nation?
If that was illegal, than the feeders regional happenings get spammed every 5 minutes. I think it's a grey area, which one shouldn't abuse.
When discovered, it will probably be spam nevertheless.

Not a mod.

i know that but its just defenders have recently been flooding regions in an attempt to liberate them by hiding 1 UN nation among around 30 puppets.

Is this legal?

I don't know, but I would have liked to know a few weeks ago when Atlantic was successfully invaded using this technique. We rebelled the invaders, but we were forced to endure 2 days of oppression.

I believe that it is illegal, but don't quote me on it, because I'm not entirely sure.

Still, wait for a mod. Speculation can be enlightening but still isn't definitive.

Does this include the same player using lots of puppets to spam the regional happenings or just 1 nation?
Typically, we only consider it RH spam if it's a single player using either a single nation or a group of his own puppets to spam a region or a pair of regions. You can't avoid a spam warning by logging on to sequential puppets to do your spamming. For all you rules-lawyers looking for a loophole, forget it. We've warned and even deleted for that before.

There are degrees of spamming - a griefer trying to cover his tracks will be dealt with more sternly than someone popping back home each time between recruiting trips. Someone transitting between Warzones will not be warned at all, but transitting between a Warzone and a regular region might be warned.

Using coordinated puppets to swarm a region is an accepted technique, and to the best of my knowledge has never been warned (in isolation). Taking a "tour" of various regions en masse before hitting the target region is much more likely to get a warning, as spamming multiple regions is a more serious crime than spamming a single region. If 50 nations swarmed in 5 minutes, it might be warnable. 50 over a day or two, no way. There's also a big difference in having multiple puppets arriving from multiple regions, as opposed to someone deliberately moving between regions to spam both sets of boards.

Ultimately even these rules aren't hard and fast. As always, mod judgement plays a role, as do prior warning on the nation. For now, treat invader / defender swarming as legal.

Funny, I coulda sworn this was ruled illegal before....

Funny, I coulda sworn this was ruled illegal before....

Ditto.

Funny, I coulda sworn this was ruled illegal before....
Find me a link and I'll adjust accordingly.

I should clarify that by "coordinated puppets" I'm referring to a number of players coordinating via an offsite forum or IRC and moving into a region pretty much at the same time. I do NOT mean a single player coordinating his own puppets. My mistake for not clarifying that I was answering two questions at once.

The ruling was made in the pre-Jolt era, and I'm unable to use the search to find the direct quote.

I don't know if it helps much but I found this:

:arrow: Invaders cannot spam the regional happenings with puppets to cover their tracks, you can move 1 puppet with you though
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2365936#2365936
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2370369#2370369

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=301703

The same thing in a more recent message from Euro's premod time: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=8618436&postcount=4

does this include defenders? Because recently they have been using the tactic of 'puppet parading'. Surely this applies as RH spamming?

does this include defenders? Because recently they have been using the tactic of 'puppet parading'. Surely this applies as RH spamming?

If I recall correctly, the Mods don't draw a line between invaders and defenders, they view both as invaders.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=301703
Invaders cannot spam the regional happenings with puppets to cover their tracks, you can move 1 puppet with you though.
The same thing in a more recent message from Euro's premod time: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=8618436&postcount=4
I think this ultimately stems from poor phrasing on my part. Nothing I posted was meant to disagree with the above posts in any way. To clarify:

"No single player may, with a single nation or in combination of his/her puppets, spam the regional happenings of any region. However, flooding multiple nations run by different players into a region, in a coordinated effort to confuse invader or defender forces, is considered a legitimate tactic in the invasion game, and is not considered RH spam."

Does that help?
If I recall correctly, the Mods don't draw a line between invaders and defenders, they view both as invaders.
That is correct.

Just to question something (not trying to rules-lawyer, but this is my usual MO)

When I run an invasion, we usually leave the region to various other feeders (not the same one), then to another (again, not necc the same one), then all move to the target together (usually within a span of several seconds of each other). Is this not legal? Or would it depend purely on the number of nations involved? Does it matter if we wait to be bumped off the RHL of the feeders in question?

If you state, as part of your invasion plan, "OK, everybody move to Wysteria, then NationStates, then The South Pacific, the Rejected Realms, and finally to our target", then yeah, it's spamming.

If you state, "Everybody muddle your path by going thru at least one game region", that's another thing entirely. The first is planned spamming, the second would be coincidental if it was spam at all.

I do it like: Okay, at 12am, everyone move to a chosen feeder.

At 12:15, everyone move to a player region.

At exactly 12:30 (with a countdown in the chatroom) move to the target.

This would be bad then?

You're over-analyzing it. Let it go. Even we aren't that anal about stuff.

sorry all i was checking was whether defenders newest tactic; the puppet parade was leagal as they seem to be using it quite alot now...

You're over-analyzing it. Let it go. Even we aren't that anal about stuff.

lmao

also if i wanted to get this checked out if it is the same nation what "catagory" of mods would i send it too

what "catagory" of mods would i send it too
They all go to the same list. The category notices don't send to different mods, they're just a convenience for folks, i.e. "Nation Restoration" can be used with just the name of the nation(s) being requested with no other explanation.

If you have to pick one, pick 'abuse' or 'other'. We don't really care.