NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm relatively new to the game and just thought I'd kick an idea out there that I didn't see mentioned in the issues list. This is something that usually comes up here in the US for redistricting of counties but I thought it could be applicable to Nationstates. I know I can't submit it but thought I might at least put a rough outline down now and see what others may think of it.

Redistricting Deadlock

After months of deliberation plans to redistrict the nation for the next elections have gone nowhere.

Option 1: Redistrict to help your own party strengthen their power.

Option 2: Redistrict based on quotas to make all areas have equal representation of all classes, religion, ethnicity. While fair, voting districts will be oddly shaped and may make it difficult for people to know where to go to vote.

Option 3: Redistrict to help minority candidates, placing various minority groups in their own districts.

Option 4: Redistrict by social class so low, middle, and upper classes all have their own candidates.

Option 5: Redistrict based on type of car or other industry so they can try to sell new models/upgrades/features outside of the voting areas.

Option 6: You handpick all the candidates for areas you arbitrarily decide on and nobody better disagree.

Of course there are a lot more options possible such as religion or any other way you can identify people. So any feedback, ideas, comments? Because I'm a long way off from 500 million I'm afraid.

Sounds reasonable. I'll be able to offer more comment, though, if you write it all the way out. Use this format:

Place title here

Place scenario here

Place validity here (Some nations don't get all issues. There are some I've never seen, for example. Put who shouldn't get this here)

1) Option 1
[effect]What goes on your nation's page if you choose #1
[stats]A basic description of what could happen to various stats

2) Option 2

and so forth...

Remember, issues need to be fairly funny, and the effects should be highly exaggerated. Stats not so much. When writing out everything, you can use these tags to indicate the variables:

@@RANDOMNAME@@ - Random person's name - Max Barry, Hack Christmas, whatever.
@@NAME@@ - Nation's Name
@@ANIMAL@@ - National Animal
@@CURRENCY@@ - National Currency
@@SLOGAN@@ - National Motto
@@REGION@@ - Nation's Region
@@MAJORINDUSTRY@@ - Your nation's largest industry
@@POPULATION@@ - Population in MILLIONS - not billions
@@TYPE@@ - Nation's Title (United Federation, in my case - Holy Hippocracy in Sirocco's)

Have fun.

I need to work on being a little more imaginative/humorous probably but that's the gist of it done in proper format.

How to Redistrict

The time has come once again to redistrict @@NAME@@ for the next elections.

Validity: Only for democratic nations that would actually contain elections at some level.

[option]According to your party’s leader @@RANDOMNAME@@, “Just do what we always do of course. Split up our opponents’ bases of support and consolidate our own. It’s all legal, in fact it’s tradition! We’ll get to pick up a few more seats which means you get more power too, it’s win-win.”
[effect] democracy is currently being re-defined
[stats]political freedoms lower, funding of largest government department increases, smallest department funding decreases

[option]Equality expert @@RANDOMNAME@@ thinks otherwise. “Just because it’s tradition doesn’t mean you have to follow it! This is a chance to make things truly fair and representative. At last we can split up @@NAME@@ into fair and accurate portions of our country’s peoples. Of course some of the districts will be a tad confusing when viewed on a map, especially trying to fit our one and only “Bring Back Disco” citizen into all 57 districts. And registration will require a few more pages to get all the necessary information. But a few confused voters is nothing new, at least we’ll know in our hearts it’s fair!”
[effect] registering to vote is a part-time job
[stats] government size increases, political freedoms increase, traffic increases

[option]Minority lobbyist @@RANDOMNAME@@ unsurprisingly has another idea. “For to long the many minorities of this great nation have been so-called represented by the very people who are oppressing them! I demand that we redistrict in order to band our minorities together so they can elect leaders that properly stand for who they are, such as myself.”
[effect] every culture gets a national holiday or five
[stats]civil rights increase, economy decreases

[option]After puffing out a cigar lit with a burning @@CURRENCY@@, @@MAJORINDUSTRY@@ representative @@RANDOMNAME@@ proposes a unique solution. “Look forget about equality and fairness. You know what’s fair? Everyone having the chance to purchase what they want at low low election day prices! You divvy up @@NAME@@ based on some sales figures I happen to have with me and we can have salesmen outside every voting booth with everything those people could possibly want. It’ll be the biggest sales day of the year!”
[effect] election ballots now come with coupons
[stats]economy increases, civil rights decrease, political rights decrease, major industry increases

[option]A little voice in the back of your head who we’ll call @@RANDOMNAME@@ has a simple fix. “Just scribble some lines on a map to make everyone happy, only instead of holding elections you can just pick who you want running those areas. Saves everyone the hassle of campaigning and voting and then you can talk to your buddies while at work!”
[effect] buying the nation’s leader a drink is a surefire way to get a government position
[stats] political rights decrease, government size increases

That's actually very good. Nice work!

Just a couple things:

Don't quite get the funding changes in option 1. Why just those two, and why the change at all?

In option 2, I don't think there's a stat for traffic. I could be wrong though.

In option 5, I would make "the little voice" the notorious cousion that happens to be the Minister of Something-or-other, who's always trying to steer you in the dictatorial direction. Little voices might worry some people, and the cousion is a regular character anyway.

Very nice! Good luck with it!

The reason for the funding changes was because your party is strengthened. As a result I figure they would increase funding to whatever department your government is most in favor of, and cut funding back on whatever department you give the least amount of credit.

I honestly didn't think there was a traffic stat, any ideas on other stats which may represent some sort of confusion and/or chaos? I didn't want to use crime but I wanted some way to represent the confusion caused by the strange redistricting.

And that last one of course is easy enough to do. I think I've seen it actually be the brother before though I may just leave it as the little voice to make it a tad different from all the other issues.

Excellent writing. Wish I had thought of this myself.

I would go with the "little voice" concept. Be original.

Only suggestion I have for an option is Virtual Districts, without geographical borders. Kinda like those telephone area codes that overlap in major cities, though you'd have to use different criteria, like the religion- or income-based districts you mentioned. Good luck trying to encapsulate that one in a sentence or two.

The business angle is inspired. I wouldn't have thought of that.

For the title, you might use something like "Gerrymanders in @@NAME@@?" to use an historical reference. You could put something in the 2nd option about the shape of your voting district resembling an @@ANIMAL@@.

Don't know if traffic is a stat, but you could use public apathy. A clue for those "hidden" stats are the world rankings you get every day.

Oh, one more suggestion, you could make your minority rep's statement rhyme, a la Je$$e Jack$on.

Here's what I got revised. As I said I can't submit this and won't be able to for a long time so anyone who sees this, feel free to work it over some more and submit it yourself if you want, I'm not THAT concerned over the glory in the minute chance it does get accepted and coded. And I'm pretty sure I'll forget about it by the time I hit 500 million since I'm only at about 26 million now.

Gerrymander Initiates Gesticulation

The time has come once again to redistrict @@NAME@@ for the next series of elections.

Validity: Only for democratic nations that would actually contain elections at some level.

[option] According to your party’s leader @@RANDOMNAME@@, “Just do what we always do of course. Split up our opponents’ bases of support and consolidate our own. It’s all legal, in fact it’s tradition! We’ll get to pick up a few more seats which means you get more power too, so it’s win-win.”
[effect] democracy is currently being re-defined
[stats] political freedoms lower, funding of largest government department increases, smallest department funding decreases

[option] Equality guru @@RANDOMNAME@@ thinks otherwise. “Just because it’s tradition doesn’t mean you have to follow it! This is a chance to make things truly fair and representative. At last we can split up @@NAME@@ into fair and accurate portions of our country’s peoples. Of course some of the districts will look like the backside of a deformed @@ANIMAL@@, especially trying to fit our one and only “Bring Back Disco” citizen into all 57 districts. And registration will require a few more pages to get all the necessary information. But a few confused voters is nothing new, at least we’ll know in our hearts it’s fair!”
[effect] registering to vote is a part-time job
[stats] government size increases, political freedoms increase, public apathy increases

[option] Minority lobbyist @@RANDOMNAME@@ unsurprisingly has his own idea and shares it in your ear with a bullhorn. “For to long the many minorities of this great nation have been so-called represented by the very people who are oppressing them! I demand that we redistrict in order to band our minorities together so they can elect leaders that properly stand for their interests, such as myself.”
[effect] every culture gets a national holiday or five
[stats] civil rights increase, economy decreases

[option]After puffing out a cigar lit with a burning @@CURRENCY@@, @@MAJORINDUSTRY@@ representative @@RANDOMNAME@@ proposes a unique solution. “Look forget about equality and fairness. You know what’s fair? Everyone having the chance to purchase what they want at low, low election-day prices! You divvy up @@NAME@@ based on some sales figures I happen to have with me and we can have salesmen outside every voting booth with everything those people could possibly want. It’ll be the biggest targeted sales day of the year!”
[effect] election ballots now come with coupons
[stats] economy increases, civil rights decrease, political rights decrease, major industry increases

[option]A little voice in the back of your head whom we’ll call @@RANDOMNAME@@ has a simple fix. “Just scribble some lines on a map to make everyone happy, only instead of holding elections you can just pick who you want running all of them. Saves everyone the hassle of campaigning and voting. Plus then you can talk to your buddies while at work!”
[effect] buying the nation’s leader a drink is a surefire way to get a government position
[stats] political rights decrease, government size increases