NationStates Jolt Archive

How To Write An Issue: Introduction

This guide is to improve your chances at getting your issue accepted. It is also to help you think about what you're going to do it on. Take a look at already-submitted issues and you'll soon pick up the style. Remember to read the guidelines, they put things a lot more succinctly than I have and, if not followed properly, dramatically reduce your chances. This forum is a good place for showing your ideas and discussing them. It's also great for much-needed feedback so don't be shy!

Part 1: Getting An Idea

Sometimes the hardest part of writing an issue is thinking up a good theme for an issue. In my time I've seen a whole spectrum of ideas ranging from the very good (health insurance, the compensation culture, landfills, ballots etc.) to the very bad ("LETS RAISE CIVAL RIGHTS!", "should fish be allowed to walk backwards?", "Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?", "Space monkeys have attacked your nation"). But how to get an idea?

How to get an idea

Look in the newspaper, read magazines, watch the news - especially look out for debates where there are people arguing FOR and AGAINST. That's what makes up an issue in essence. The people who are with an idea and the people who are against. Or you can tree previous issues.

Treeing Issues

This is the practice of making an issue which comes up as a result of an earlier decision. For example, you have an issue where you ban cars. What would happen as a result? Maybe the mass transit system would kick into use, and people would argue about the fees being too high? Or the roads could deteriorate through the lack of road tax? The possibilites are endless.

What makes a good issue

One of the key factors of NationStates is that no matter what you decide, there will be a lot of people unhappy with your decision. Every option should be wrong in some way, and there should NEVER be a case where one option is 'right' and another 'wrong', because that's not what NationStates is about. Playing the 'right' way would imply that NationStates is a game with a way to win and this is not the case. NS is not a game you should be able to 'win' in any sense. Anyway: your idea must be an argument with differing points of view. That's what an issue is. Oh - and don't write your issue in ALL CAPS. That's annoying.

About Easter Eggs

An Easter Egg is an issue which we see as good but not usable in the conventional way. What we usually do is make them very hard to get as a joke. Do not write issues for the purpose of being an Easter Egg.
Really, don't. SalusaSecondus is the only one to convert submissions into Easter Eggs and he hasn't done any issues for a long time. As it is, he's far too busy to go writing up these things. Please stick to writing regular issues, NS is a game about politics from a humorous angle - not outright buffoonery.

Evaluating your idea

To make sure your issue is usable, you must consider:

Is it unique? If an issue has already been made about the idea, don't bother, unless it's from a different angle (e.g. the gambling issue - what would the aftermath be? You could write an issue about problems that have arisen from an earlier decision)

Is it totally in-character? If it's not in-character, there's no point. Don't send issues saying 'Should I go out with Linda?'

Is it relevant? Is it a problem which would be taken to the leader of a nation? This basically means that you don't send issues about what kind of bath sponge is better, or whether Harry Potter is better than Lord of The Rings.

Is it good? Is the idea a good idea? Issues about whether cheese should be compulsory or whether monkeys should have the right to wed humans are simply too weird and stupid to use. And strings of unintelligible gibberish will be deleted too.

Is it possible? I've seen issues about radical cancer cures and such, but until there is one, I wouldn't accept any about them. Make up an imaginary disease of some sort. Large mechanoid robot soldiers can be kept out too. There are issues like the vat issue which are borderline but at least they're feasible. Keep it real, man.

Is it acceptable to a young reader? Meaning: don't send us issues on the morality of various sexual acts and stuff. Issues about abortion and prostitution are OK, because they're 'standard' sexual dilemmas. But anything about whether we should be allowed to get jiggy with the family dog will be deleted. No exceptions.

Is it a difficult choice? If your idea involves an imaginary power source, for example, which is cheap, clean, efficient etc. and therefore eradicates the point of choosing anything else then it's not usable. Every choice should be the wrong choice in some way or another. The issue should make the reader, after making his decision, think he should maybe have picked another one. This can be tricky, but don't worry: that's what editors are for. :wink:

Is it workable? You can't make an issue which changes the game in any way, meaning you can't have an issue which makes a new nation, or a new region or makes it say 'the referendum of @@NAME@@ decides' instead of 'the parliament of @@NAME@@ decides' or bans currency. It would require new code, and that's not something that will be implemented.

Is it acceptable to readers? Obviously any issue can offend people, and there will always be people who will be offended by the smallest slight. But there's offensive and there's offensive. No issues like 'Kill all jews!' or whatever. An issue can debate about religion and atheism, or homosexuality but it should be on no-one's side.

Once you've got your idea, it's time to write it.

Part 2: How To Write An Issue

This is the most important part of your submission - how to make your issue interesting; how to make it stand out from the others and grab the rambling issue editor's attention. Some issues I can just delete instantly because the author has not put any options down (this includes ones which only have 'yes', 'no' and 'maybe'). The Issue Editors are not going to use your issue if you have not written any options. We're here to do editing, not write up a whole issue based on your idea. Submitted issues which haven't had enough effort put into them will be deleted.

Right then. Here we go, starting with the issue fields:

How to write a good Name:

The name of your issue should be very short, all words have a capital letter at the beginning (or most, it depends, sometimes), say what the problem is at hand, and if it's witty or a pun then that's a bonus. The Name field does not, as some people think, mean your own name or your nation's name: it is the name of the issue.

How to write a good description:

Simply give a brief summary of the problem at hand. Should be no longer than a couple of sentences. Take a look at the descriptions of already-submitted issues to get the feel of the style.

How to write a good validity:

Simply write what the issue is not valid for, what it's only valid for, or if it's valid for everyone. If your nation has elections for instance, there's no point in getting an issue about people wanting the right to vote. You can not make an issue only valid for yourself or a particular region.

Variables:

I'm not going to go into this much, because there're a bunch of secret variables I'm not going to tell anyone about (OMG MOD SECRETS!!), so what I'm going to do is tell you the really basic things that your [stats] can affect. Your issue can affect:


Civil rights, political freedoms and economic freedoms
Funding of government departments
Industries
Taxes
A bunch of other stuff which you can probably deduce from the daily UN rankings.


Your issue cannot affect:


Population
Any player-customiseable fields including the name, type, animal, flag, currency or motto.
game mechanics: your issue can not add new industries, government departments or anything else that would require new code.
The United Nations
Other nations or regions


The structure of an issue

An issue is made up of two or more options. The number of options there can be is pretty much as many as you please, the largest number that's been used so far is six. But your average issue will usually have two or three options. The basic premise is that you've got your issue (say, for instance, about divorce) and now you've got to write down the differing points of view.

The structure of a two-option issue is easy. You've got someone who's FOR divorce and someone who's AGAINST divorce. Easy-peasy.

The structure of a three-option issue is (usually) made up of FOR, AGAINST, and FREAKY COMPROMISE. The 'freaky compromise' is where you can really let your imagination run wild, but keep it at least vaguely sensible. The freaky compromise could be something like 'Hey, one way of lowering divorce rates is just to stop people marrying in the first place!' The freaky compromise is usually an extreme option.

Anything more than three options is usually devoted to issues which have a vaster number of possibilities than your usual FOR and AGAINST. It could be something like two options FOR but in differing ways and two options against but in differing ways. Take a look at existing issues and try to see how the structure fits in.

Some issues may have a lot of options because it's an issue about choosing things from a list of possibilities, such as deciding which department the majority of your funding will go to, or picking someone to be an advisor, etc.

The structure of an option

Your basic option goes like this:

[option]"[a small sentence that summarises briefly the speaker's @@RANDOMNAME@@'s point of view.]," says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a [something related to @@RANDOMNAME@@'s point of view. Say he was against meat-eating. Maybe it would say "a devout vegetarian" or something.]. "[@@RANDOMNAME@@'s arguments for his point of view and against the others. This is followed by a statement where @@RANDOMNAME@@ admits a downside but tries to say it's not important anyway, uses a flawed argument, or says something incredibly biased and opinionated.]"

Not all options work like this of course, some are changed for humorous or literary effect, but it's a good template for any budding issue-writer. An option shouldn't be too long, maybe 100 to 160 or so words apiece - when I first became an editor I'd never considered this but it's too late to change now. (just in case you think I'm a hypocrite 'cos the first option of the loudspeakers issue is huge. :wink:) This isn't an ironclad rule so don't feel pressured to count your words. You should be able to judge correctly by scrutinising other issues.

Let's tak' a look at a sample option from an already-existing issue:

"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."

As you can see, the first sentence is vocalised and is clearly demonstrating the speaker's opinion. This is followed by a randomly generated name (you should always use @@RANDOMNAME@@ unless a specific name can be used for greater humorous effect - don't use real people) and a relevant description of @@RANDOMNAME@@. He then backs up his first statement with arguments for it (in this case it is quite short but more greatly compounded in later options - remember what I said earlier: try to aim for an issue which, when a recipient decides on it, leaves a lingering feeling that the wrong one has been made) and ends with a very biased statement implying that people of low income shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Take a good look at the style of writing in other issues and you should pick it up eventually.

Part 3: Issue Format

Getting the issue looking right is important, because if you don't do it right it mucks up my editing screen and I get allsorts of weird errors. This has included all the text turning orange and ballooning to a hundred times its original size. No kidding.

The Issue Submission Page

When you have the issue submission page open, you will see four fields: name, description, validity and options.

Name

The name of your issue.

Description

This field is the text which summarises the premise of the issue.

Validity

This is where you put what nations can have this. F'r instance, an issue about tyre disposal would be useless for a nation with no cars.

Options

This is where you write the text of the option. An option is broken down into three sections: [option], [effect] and [stats]. First of all, the [option] bit:

[option]

First of all, write [option].

You should now have:

[option]

Now, write your the text of your option. You should now have:

[option]"Hey, you can't do that," says some guy. "This is just a made up option to use as an example."

It has to be [option]. Not [Option] or [OPTION] or [options] or anything else. It must be [option] or it won't work on my editing screen. The text after [option] should keep on going as one single paragraph. Do not use the return key in the middle of the text. Do not use all caps. Use straight quotation marks ("), not slanting ones.

[effect]

You now have your first option. Next comes the [effect] line. The [effect] line is what will appear on the nation screen when a particular option is chosen. It should (preferably) be in the present or present perfect tense (for example, if you ban elections, your nation's page will include the line 'elections have been banned'. Other [effect]s include 'military funding has been stripped back' and 'organ donation is compulsory.

Currently, you have this:

[option]"Hey, you can't do that," says some guy. "This is just a made up option to use as an example."

When your option is written, you press the return key and write [effect]. You now have this:

[option]"Hey, you can't do that," says some guy. "This is just a made up option to use as an example."
[effect]

You then write your [effect] line. This should be one sentence that requires no punctuation, and does not begin witha capital letter. It should be one space away from [effect].

Thus:

[option]"Hey, you can't do that," says some guy. "This is just a made up option to use as an example."
[effect] people have been eating each other for some reason

[stats]

This details how selecting the option will affect your nation. The stats will (if the editor thinks it's appropriate) be converted into code, but I'm not going to go into that since you don't need to learn it. Simply write things like 'police funding increases, civil rights decrease', whatever is relevant to the option. You don't have to include this if you don't want to; it's only really necessary if you have a definite idea on how it affects things. If you do want to include it, read this:

Currently, you have this:

[option]"Hey, you can't do that," says some guy. "This is just a made up option to use as an example."
[effect] people have been eating each other for some reason

Press return after the [effect] line has been completed to your satisfaction and type [stats]. You now have this:

[option]"Hey, you can't do that," says some guy. "This is just a made up option to use as an example."
[effect] people have been eating each other for some reason
[stats] government size increases, tax increases, economy decreases, happiness decreases

Remember, [option], [effect] and [stats] must all be lower case. No [Effect] or [STATS] or anything. To start a second option, simply press return twice and start again. It should be [option] all the way, not [option1], [option2] etc.

The Macros

What's a macro? A macro is a tiny piece of code which changes, depending on who's viewing it. For example, take this macro: @@NAME@@. Whenever I, Sirocco, look at an issue and look at that part of an issue which says @@NAME@@, I see Sirocco. Example:

My name is @@NAME@@

gives:

My name is Sirocco

Pretty neat, huh? There's only a few macros up for use, here's the list. Note that the examples are all based on my nation Sirocco. Also remember that all macros MUST be in caps and in between @@ symbols.

@@NAME@@: gives you the name of your nation.

I live in @@NAME@@

gives:

I live in Sirocco

@@REGION@@: gives you the name of the region in which you reside. N.B.: this macro doesn't actually work. Instead of The Pacific, for example, it gives the_pacific. Maybe one day this will be fixed. Who knows?

@@NAME@@ is in @@REGION@@

should give:

Sirocco is in Lancre

@@RANDOMNAME@@: generates a random name (for a person). Note that it doesn't specify genders, so try to keep that kind of thing out of your issues. Otherwise we'll have more errors like '"Yes," says Fleur Trax, man on the street.'

@@RANDOMNAME@@ lives in @@NAME@@

could, for example, give:

Max Clinton lives in Sirocco

@@MAJORINDUSTRY@@: gives the name of your nation's biggest industry.

I work in the @@MAJORINDUSTRY@@ industry

gives:

I work in the Book Publishing industry

@@POPULATION@@: gives you your population in millions.

There are @@POPULATION@@ million people in @@NAME@@ (at the time of writing)

gives:

There are 2407 million people in Sirocco (at the time of writing)

@@TYPE@@: gives you the pretitle of your nation.

The @@TYPE@@ of @@NAME@@

gives:

The Holy Hippocracy of Sirocco

@@ANIMAL@@: gives you your national animal.

Beware of the @@ANIMAL@@s

gives:

Beware of the flightless hippos

@@CURRENCY@@: gives you your national currency.

That'll be seven @@CURRENCY@@s please.

gives:

That'll be seven IOUs please.

@@SLOGAN@@: gives you your national motto.

His last words were '@@SLOGAN@@'

gives:

His last words were 'Don't ask me, I only govern here'

(snip...)
The Macros

What's a macro? A macro is a tiny piece of code which changes, depending on who's viewing it. For example, take this macro: @@NAME@@. Whenever I, Sirocco, look at an issue and look at that part of an issue which says @@NAME@@, I see Sirocco. Example:

My name is @@RANDOMNAME@@

gives:

My name is Sirocco

Pretty neat, huh? (snip..)

Shouldn't that @@RANDOMNAME@@ at the beginning just be @@NAME@@?

The whole thing got messed up after the move so I needed to rewrite it all. Do report any further errors you come across. :)

Will do. :)

::awards self 1 point for reading stickies.

About the "Is it origional?" part. It seems that the issues are repeating themselves. Any time someone (me) enters a very realistic and origional idea it gets the thumbs down.

If it hasn't been accepted, you can be sure that there were reasons behind the issue editor's decision to delete it.

Excuse me if this has been asked and answered elsewhere, but where (time) is the team in the queue towards reviewing issues?

I ask, because I submitted two in the Feb. - Apr. time period and have been curious. One was on vector control (West Nile Virus) and the other was on comic book censorship (Comics Code Authority).

Thanks!

Look here: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=325112

I know there was a section on the fact that only mods can become issue editors. The question I was pondering was thusly: How do you become a mod.

I know the answer will likely include such phrases as:

"Post a lot more than you have"
"This is the wrong thread"
"Bugger off you little twerp"
"Post for another 5 years"
"Whippersnapper!"

But I'm curious nonetheless :)

Nope, the only answer to that is a link. :p
http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=296993

Thank you kindly for the reply Unfree :)

It is refreshing to not see the usual answers. Any mod may feel free to delete these rather irrelevant postings :)

Excelent! Seeing how me having a pop of 500 million is just a week or two away, i think i should commence writing my post. This is a really helpful guide :D!

is there a maximum number of options
if its here allready may i appoligize now for being blind

is there a maximum number of options
if its here allready may i appoligize now for being blind
Not technically, but don't go overboard - 6 is the most we have so far, and you'd probably be better sticking to 2 or 3.

thank you for the help i have a good ide of what to do now

The freaky compromise could be something like 'Hey, one way of lowering divorce rates is just to stop people marrying in the first place!'
I have always felt this option is missing in "Where's the Love Gone?"
Could you add it, please?

No, we don't add new options.

It's a pity. I would like to abolish marriages but an issue with this option would probably too similar. Or is there already one that includes it? (Perhaps a kind of sequel to "Where's the Love Gone?")
But I understand that you don't want to change existing issues.

What things can be outlawed to make an issue inapplicable to certain nations?

Cars and guns are two examples - there're many more.

I have a problem of finding the Issue submission page. I am dead certain I once saw it in FAQ but that was months ago.

So, anyone who feels like pointing it out, feel free.

If your nation has more than 500 million citizens, a link will appear on your issues page.

If your nation has more than 500 million citizens, a link will appear on your issues page.

Thank you. Then I know I just looked at the wrong place.

I have the link but only 9 million citizens. Most importantly, how DO you get 500 million citizens? Is it just a million a day thing or what?

I have the link but only 9 million citizens. Most importantly, how DO you get 500 million citizens? Is it just a million a day thing or what?
your pop will grow daily
i think it will grow faster with 2 issues per day
any issue sent in before 500 million will be ignored

your pop will grow daily
i think it will grow faster with 2 issues per day
any issue sent in before 500 million will be ignored

Right Thinking Whites, don't post authoritavely on something you don't know about.

Yes, your population will grow daily. It takes about three months to reach 500 million.
Your population will not grow faster with two issues a day.
Nations with populations under 500 million's submissions will not be ignored.

Right Thinking Whites, don't post authoritavely on something you don't know about.

Yes, your population will grow daily. It takes about three months to reach 500 million.
Your population will not grow faster with two issues a day.
Nations with populations under 500 million's submissions will not be ignored.
i just said i thought it would grow faster with 2
and also i got the 500 mil. from this
The 500mil restriction still applies and isn't being changed. As you may have noticed, it is being enforced more strictly now. All I can recommend is patience until you grow enough to submit an issue.
http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=7336250&postcount=13

Some changes which I thought had come into effect haven't, it seems. Right now, while there IS a link to the issue submission page for nations under 500 million in population, it won't work for them. I'll hopefully have it removed as soon as possible.

Well for starters you might want to spell Necrophilia correctly.

So, the *only* way to increase your population is time? I mean, there's nothing else you can do; is it affected by isues, United Nations status or lack of, etc.

And do all nations start with the same population?

You are correct. There is no way to influence your population's growth rate (which can fluctuate a little as your nation gets older - but it fluctuates randomly and there is nothing you can do about it). Everyone begins with 5 million population.

Got it; thanks. * is gathering a cooler of soda and chips to wait a year *

Gnah. I'll have to force breed the populace by piping porn music into all commercials :fluffle:

I'm getting sick of voting on issues I already voted on

What I want to know is how to post a issue?

What I want to know is how to post a issue?
If you mean where you submit an issue, when your nation reaches a population of 500 million, there will be a issue submission button on the bottom of your issues screen.

I putting a bill of rights for the wolves of Quest_Land. These rights will protecs the wolves from any harm to them. India has one for cows why not we have one for wolves. :headbang:

Why don't you change existing issues?

We change mistakes, but nothing else.

You did not answer my question.

There's numerous reasons: coding problems, compatability errors, continuity, etc. But ultimately it's an admin decision and any changes to issues are very, very low priority in their to-do lists.

An option for treating criminals: give them an electronc fetter so they are limited to stay at home and at work.

I just mention it in case you haven't heard of it.

Is there a specific place where I would go to post an issue and a form to fill out with regards to the issue. I didn't see a link anywhere.

Read the Issues FAQ.

Yes, your population will grow daily. It takes about three months to reach 500 million.


:D Yeah! I thought I was going to have to wait a year and a half or longer to get there (at only 1 million more a day). Thanks for the estimate, sirocco. That gives me an idea how long before I can begin to submit issues myself.

If these have already been asked, just shoot me (though an answer would still be appreciated).

1/ Is there a maximum 'submission rate'? As in, being only able to submit 1 issue a day? I'm still a long way from being able to submit, but while I can't submit them, writing them (and posting them for feedback) should still prove fun, and by the time I can submit them, I'll probably have a bunch waiting.

2/ Is there anything 'protecting' your issues submitted on the forum? I hardly expect to be able to copyright them, but do you check forum-posted issues before working submitted ones into the game?

Thnx.

1. No, you can submit as many as you like.
2. This is answered in the Issues FAQ sticky.

Where is the issue submission page?

Read the issues FAQ. You won't be able to find it (and even if you could, you couldn't use it) until your population reaches 500 million

*mutters darkly under his breath at the number of badly spelt posts asking the same damned questions which have already been answered twice in this thread*

Just a thought... my nation is rather small (not even at the 50 million mark yet -.-) and it irritates me to wait for the 500 point as I'll have forgotten both of the ideas I currently have (apologies for the seemingly arrogant undertone to that remark :P)... if I asked a friend with over 500 million pop. to submit an issue for me, and s/he placed a note to the editor(s) at the foot or head of said issue asking that I be named as the originator of the issue, would that request be honoured, or simply passed over? I can accept that there's a fair probability of the request being ignored (after all, you have a lot of work to do =]) but all the same I'm compelled to ask - both of the ideas at present are ideas I drafted as UN proposals but have henceforth decided to stage as issues instead. Oh... and I apologise for the long, rambling post :P

Now, back to raising my army of irritated spelling freaks to wipe out the nations which don't appear educated in basic spelling, punctuation or grammar... >] (note: although this comment is quite clearly a joke, I nevertheless feel that I must point it out; I've noticed people take jokes rather seriously in these forums -.-)

EDIT: eeeeeeek >.< I think this was already addressed in a different post (albeit for a different reason) - "No. An issue is attributed only to whoever submitted it."...... if I'm wrong then by all means correct me, but if not then I apologise for wasting your time -.-

Thanks a lot!!!
I couldn't figure this out before! :headbang:

Validity

This is where you put what nations can have this. F'r instance, an issue about tyre disposal would be useless for a nation with no cars.

Apart from the F'r. Why would a tyre issue be useless for a nationw ith no cars? Bikes, Planes, Unicycles?

Wanted to ask you about an issue in NSG but you aren't there...

*tag* Nice thread, I was thinking about giving issue writing a go, if (or when) I do, I'll be sure to put this to good use.

I know that this is probably a dumb question but i wanted to know were do i enter to make my issue

please answere me :p

Read the FAQ. It should answer all your other questions too. :)

Municipality-Mightmares

[description]Recently, the Mayor of your capital city has been hit by a wave of criticism after he suggested that the main municipality would be joined with several other neighbouring municipalities.

[option]”This is absolutely necessary,” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, mayor of your capital city. “Joining several municipalities together will attract more businesses and make large projects, like that new subway-line, easier to accomplish.”
[effect]Economy grows, political freedoms goes down A BIT.

[option]”This is RIDICULOUS!” shouts mayor @@RANDOMNAME@@ of an adjoining municipality. “That other mayor is just out for more political power! Besides, joining several municipalities together will further the gap between politicians and civilians. AND I want to keep the identity of my municipality, never mind the extra jobs!. ”
[effect]Political freedom rises A BIT, economy goes down a bit.

Validity: all nations

Oops.....

The basic 2 options in any given issue appears to be too few - issues should really have 3 or more options to them.

Every issue that may arise will have loads of logical options which would not be "perfect" but would be some form of compromise or otherwise be logical. It is a shame that sometimes a really good issue gets dismissed simply because the options offered is either outrageous or that there are much better (seemingly obvious to the reader which of course is looking at it from hindsight) options which isn't considered by the writer.

If there was more than 2 options, it would be more likely that decent options would be included. Don't get me wrong though - I think nearly all of the issues rock - just might be improved a little.

Issues are not edited except for typos, for reasons which have not been fully explained.

iv'e always wanted to try issue writing for myself. :) all i have to do is wait until my pop is over 500 million! :headbang:

say that i have a pretty darn good issue, from listening to the news, but i just don't know how to convert it from real world, to NS.

How would you do it? :confused:

Consider what the problem at the core of the issue is and then write up a FOR and an AGAINST option. The include a compromise and, if possible, other solutions. If you're still stuck, e-mail me and I'll give as good advice as I can.

Why wouldnt an issue involving immigration affect population?

It probably 'would'. But it can't. It's something in the coding that the mods can't/don't want to fiddle with.

Aaah, thanks for the answer :)

Well it's not a definitive answer. Obviously, only the mods (and then probably only those who have done some issue editing) can give that. But they have in the past specified that issues can't affect population, and I think it's unlikely they'd change in the immediate future.

Issues don't affect your population, and it's not something we want to change.

I wrote an issue about the legalisation of incest. Would that be too out there or not?

Hmm, tricky. I'd have to ask Max.

could you show me the issue post link?
thanks
M v P

There'd be no point, since you can't submit issues until your population reaches 500 million.

Is this list still valid? Or have some of these been taken?

Gay adoption
Terrorism (GOOD terrorism issues. I've seen plenty of issues on terrorism, but they've all been absolutely terrible - think carefully about how you structure this issue)
Military coup (again, think carefully about how you do this one)
Public transport strikes (bus drivers? Airline workers?)
Nuclear meltdown
Coastal erosion
Lack of healthcare
Territory expansion (someone claiming part of your land, or your claiming of theirs, either will do)

(List stolen from sirocco's Modblog)

Aye, they're still valid.

There's a list of "valid" topics for new issues? Where?

I've got some ideas that I'm working on, and would like to know whether I'm wasting my time: 'Be Prepared' [about supporting, banning or replacing the Scout Movement], 'Don't Mention The War!' [censorship, vs. militarism], 'Music Hath Charms' [arts funding to reduce crime], and 'No Representation Without Taxation' [basic proposal = limiting the right to vote to taxpayers, in the hope that this will encourage people to work harder]... Do any of these look viable?

There must be hundreds if not thousands of possible issues out there. Some time ago I wrote up a list of things we don't have issues about off the top of my head to inspire people. Your ideas sound very interesting, though I'm not sure I understand the art-crime one.

It was inspired by the show 'The Music Man', in which a salesman/conman was going around selling all of the equipment for school bands to town councils by persuading them that this would cut youth crime...

"Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in River City!
With a capital "T"
That rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool,
That stands for pool.
We've surely got trouble!
Right here in River City,
Right here!
Gotta figger out a way
To keep the young ones moral after school!
Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble..."

Whether or not this actually works would, of course, be up to whoever actually wrote the code for including that issue in NS.

I think it may be too much of an obscure idea to work.

Oh well, in that case I'll write the other ones first...

I actually like the art/crime idea... it is very similar to the midnight basketball thing that was proposed as a way to cut down on youth related crime in New York City. The pro is obvious, the con is that it was aimed at inner city minorities, and was a pointedly racist program.

I think it would go something like this:

Keep Kids On Beat to Keep Kids from Beating Up

Blah blah... music program proposed to keep teens busy and not committing crimes

Pro - keeps kids off the streets, but expensive and not all kids go for it - so it lowers crime somewhat but raises taxes

Con - program is racist in that it targets minorities, and money should be used to fund police depts. and juvenile detention facilities - so it increases police funding, lowers crime, but increases citizen discontent

Wacky - make it mandatory for all kids, even if they are not at all musical, and make it mandatory for parents to attend concerts, no matter how awful - so it lowers crime, raises taxes and makes citizens unhappy

Does that work? I realize it is not my issue, but I will write it up, if you would like.

But where do I go to write an issue? :gundge:

Read the FAQ.

Very useful thread, I'll keep it in mind if I ever manage to get up to 500 million... Got a lot of rather good ideas, pity we can't submit them until we've been around several months...

Anyone like the idea of a nuclear issue? Maybe something to do with the dumping of waste or nuclear power plants. Suggestions?

this question is probably answered somewhere, but I'm an idiot, and I probably couldn't find it anyway...
I submitted an issue, and I was wondering whether I will be notified if it's rejected. It says in the FAQ that you will be TGd if it's accepted, but how do you know if it isn't?

I submitted an issue, and I was wondering whether I will be notified if it's rejected. It says in the FAQ that you will be TGd if it's accepted, but how do you know if it isn't?


You ask Sirocco when he comes into the NationStates chat. You won't get a TG.

You ask Sirocco when he comes into the NationStates chat. You won't get a TG.

oh boy...
here comes a n00b question in...
three...
two...
one...
which NationStates chat? the irc?
</n00b question>

Actually, his question is also answered in the FAQ. You don't get a direct confirmation. They'd have to send them out way too many times to way too many people. But if you check the FAQ, you can see the dates of the submitted issues being processed, and if yours is passed due and hasn't been accepted, it's gone.

Also, with sirocco resigning, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be the one to ask anymore.

Oh, okay, thanks.

I'm getting sick of voting on issues I already voted on


Me too.........

Me too.........

There will be more issues coming, so have patience. :)

while you've prolly heard the rhetoric a vigintillion times over, i apologize if this question is answered elsewhere. (i cant find it)

What has been the most recent issues-adding-update? (help me out here, need better name for that)
I don't remember exactly when i submitted my issue, anywhere from 3-4 months ago, and i reread my draft out of boredom and realized i can improve it, and very much so. I just don't want to resubmit it if I'm not positive it has been rejected, because if it just hasn't been finished on the mods end (or not even read yet), I don't want to lay what's practically the same thing on the queue.

The batch we're working on now extends from the 31st of May 2005 to the 24th of February 2006.

There not upto that yet... I've got one in that time frame but still quite a few more.

alright, thanks, i'll try to remember that

I'd like to know if there are any issues which specifically nationalise all business whilst retaining the corporate structure (i.e: All business owned by the government but not as a single monlithic corporation, allowing the competition part that goes well for capitilism without the non-social aspects existing)?

where do we post an issue proposal?

Once you have a population of 500 million a link will appear on the Issues page.

I'd like to know if there are any issues which specifically nationalise all business whilst retaining the corporate structure (i.e: All business owned by the government but not as a single monlithic corporation, allowing the competition part that goes well for capitilism without the non-social aspects existing)?

Best way to find out.... Check the Issues sticky in this forum....

Is it acceptable to a young reader? Meaning: don't send us issues on the morality of various sexual acts and stuff. Issues about abortion and prostitution are OK, because they're 'standard' sexual dilemmas. But anything about whether we should be allowed to get jiggy with the family dog will be deleted. No exceptions.I am wondering what, beyond just plain stupid issues this would ential. I ask because I have some ideas that might or might not be too much. They are being seriously debated ad going through courts around various parts of the world, so they are controversial, but...don't know if the mods would say they weren't suitable for young audiences.

how do you wire the issue the Nation states

I have no idea what you mean, I'm afraid.

I have no idea what you mean, I'm afraid.
I think what he/she means is how, once a player's written an issue, do they submit it...

In which case, first your nation has to have a population of over 500 million - this usually takes about three months. At that point, a link will appear on your issues page (I think) which will take you to a page where you can submit your issue.

Well, I was all set to do it. But now I just might be too lazy. XD

*Idea*:gundge:

I just completed writing an issue thanks to this guide. It was really helpful.

So how long does it usually take to get a population of 500 million, so that you can send an issue, coz i've only just joined and have a population of like 6 million and have loads of really good ideas (well at least I think I do)

about 3-4 months.

and if you notice the post 3 above yours, it was already answered ;)

oops my bad!

Of course, there's nothing to keep you from opening threads here to discuss your ideas and draft those proposals now so that they'll actually be ready to submit as soon you've got the necessary population...

If my issue isn't accepted, can I rewrite again with different effects (for example, my issue affects the population. Can I rewrite it wthout that effect)?

Issue editors consider your effects to be suggestions. The vast majority of issues are deleted because they are too similar to existing canon. Resubmitting would not resolve that.

And getting it accepted will take what time?

This comment on sirocco's blog might help give an answer (http://siroccothemod.blogspot.com/2008/05/catching-up-with-issues.html)

The batch we're working on now extends from the 24th of May 2007 to the 24th of May 2008. Good luck everyone!

There have been exactly 1223 issue submissions this last year. Time to have a look at them...

Right Thinking Whites, don't post authoritavely on something you don't know about.

Yes, your population will grow daily. It takes about three months to reach 500 million.
Your population will not grow faster with two issues a day.
Nations with populations under 500 million's submissions will not be ignored.

That's good, because I have lots of nations with populations in the billions, but I want my issues to be credited to The Fiefdom of Lord Xenophon.

I'm not sure if this is the right place, but how will you know if your issue has been accepted?

You'll get a telegram. If memory serves, you also get to be the first player to receive the issue, even if you wouldn't ordinarily qualify for it.

Ok, thank you.