Unibot
28-02-2009, 01:45
An Analysis of NationStates Generations
Contributed by Unibot
"Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it." George Orwell
I’ve been thinking about doing an anthropological analysis of NationStates generations for a while now. This isn’t a complete analysis by any means. Furthermore I do not know the history of NationStates as one would if I had ACTUALLY been there, so please correct me if I make a mistake. I use a theory of generational archetypes that I find works with the generations, if you are unfamiliar with this system; I have copied an explanation of the generational archetypes for you from a wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generations_(book)). The basis of these archetypes is on the notion that the dispositions of generations repeat with the cycles of human events.
Prophet/Idealist. A Prophet (or Idealist) generation is born during a High, spends its rising adult years during an Awakening, spends midlife during an Unraveling, and spends old age in a Crisis. Prophetic leaders have been cerebral and principled, summoners of human sacrifice, wagers of righteous wars. Early in life, few saw combat in uniform; late in life, most come to be revered as much for their words as for their deeds.
Nomad/Reactive. A Nomad (or Reactive) generation is born during an Awakening, spends its rising adult years during an Unraveling, spends midlife during a Crisis, and spends old age in a new High. Nomadic leaders have been cunning, hard-to-fool realists, taciturn warriors who prefer to meet problems and adversaries one-on-one.
Hero/Civic. A Hero (or Civic) generation is born during an Unraveling, spends its rising adult years during a Crisis, spends midlife during a High, and spends old age in an Awakening. Heroic leaders are considered to have been vigorous and rational institution-builders, busy and competent in old age. All of them entering midlife were aggressive advocates of technological progress, economic prosperity, social harmony, and public optimism.
Artist/Adaptive. An Artist (or Adaptive) generation is born during a Crisis, spends its rising adult years in a new High, spends midlife in an Awakening, and spends old age in an Unraveling. Artistic leaders have been advocates of fairness and the politics of inclusion, irrepressible in the wake of failure.
The Generations of NationStates and their Archetypical Representations
Protogonus Generation (Pioneers)= Hero/Civic
Zelus Generation (Afterwards creation, preceding baby boom) = Artist/Adaptive
Proteus Generation (Pre Influence) = Prophet/Idealist
Lotophagi Generation (Post Influence) = Nomad/Reactive
Theseus Generation (Post WA + Decline) = Hero/Civic
…………………………………………………………………
Hypothesized “Raleigh Generation” (Post-Revival?) = Artist/Adaptive
Archetypical Events in the course of NationStates History
Crises= Creation, the disbandment of the UN, the Great Decline
Awakenings= Regional Influence
Unraveling= the humdrum years following Regional Influence, cultural disintegration
High = the culture renaissance of NS (preceding Influence), the inclusion of multiple feeder regions to account for the Baby Boom.
A Brief Analysis of the NationStates Generations
Protogonus Generation
Very few of these veterans still exist; they are the pioneers of the game. They came to NationStates like Columbus with a great discovery, and conquered the world like Napoleon. They forged the first regions, and experimented with the first social societies and organizations. The generation’s main function was establishing systems, and new regions. A good real world example would be the Republican Generation (though George Washington was born a few years before it) that led the revolutionary war. The Protogonus had a remarkably low life expectancy, just over 21 days on average (deletion due to inactivity was 21, not 28 days in this era).
Some NationStates examples of the Protogonus Generation are,
Maxtopia (Sir Protogonus himself)
Ineptia (Founder of the Heartland)
The Bruce (Founder of Wysteria)
Cupertino (Founder of Farkistan)
Zelus Generation
These players arrived to the game with fresh individualistic ideas to a slowly progressing NationStates world. Under their direction, NationStates exploded with a cultural renaissance. They were also easily frightened of crises. With their involvement, a baby boom progressed. These explorers of the modern world found that NationStates needed a bit more creativity, and added greatly to the already established systems, created new ones, and tried to bring order and righteousness to them, they were enthusiastic players. A real world example that correlates back to the Zeluses would be, the silent generation, that were a hard working group of people, known to be strong activists, though also were criticized for being “withdrawn, cautious, unimaginative, indifferent, unadventurous and silent.”. The Zeluses improved on the life expectancy of their forefathers, and played the game with more consistency, their averaged life expectancy was 58 days.
One self "diagnosed" Zelus and notorious roleplayer, Automagfreek, commented on his generation, it's history, the great decline and the future with a lot of passion that I think will connect with fellow zeluses. I encourage you took take a further look (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14579903&postcount=15).
Some NationStates examples of the Zelus Generation are...
Frisbeeteria
The Most Glorious Hack
Sirocco
Automagfreek
HotRodia
1 Infinite Loop (opened the original NS flag Service)
Proteus Generation
This generation arrived in a baby boom that naturally followed the cultural renaissance of NationStates. They found themselves in a very developed world, with several different demographics and styles of play. Many players frolicked in the wide variety of organizations and institutions that had been created by their forefathers. However there was an increasingly large dispute over Influence, which divided them from their conservative predecessors. There also seems to be prevalent liking of humor, which stemmed from this generation. As for a main function, expansion was one the underlining principles under the Proteus Generation’s prevalent years. The mod conspiracy theories stems from this generation, but flourished in the Lotophagi generation. The best example of a Proteus Generation in Real Life would be the Baby-boomers, who alienated authority and were the first to really relish in the life style of a “teenager”. After the "Awakening", they died away fairly quickly, and became very conservative in their manner and roleplays (focusing on mostly Real Tech and strict political guidelines). This shift to realism might have been caused by the turbulence of the age, but no matter what, it obviously was a factor in the Great Decline. This could correlate back to real life, with the radical teenagers of the 60's becoming business oriented "yuppies" of the later years. The Proteuses had a lower life expectancy then the Zeluses, and on average, players died away at 49 days. This drop in the expectancy could be due to the overwhelming amount of expendable puppets at the time created for roleplays.
One Proteus describes his memories of the generation...
"While we were the newbies in the RP world at the time, it seems to me at least that we quickly came to dominate it, along with the more motivated '03 posters. (In II the so-called Proteus Generation gave rise to posters such as Praetonia, Doomingsland, The Kraven Corporation, etc.) Oddly enough, while we tried to break the rules a lot starting out, we later on became the most conservative of the generations so far, nearly flattening the political landscape before disappearing from the scene, mostly due to RL obligations. (Or something.) Nowadays it's hard to find a Proteus who's still active enough to count; even in the General Forum they're gradually dying off -- generally those who stay in the UN or become moderators last the longest. As far as generations go, though, it has a shorter staying power (only 2-3 years) than any of the two that preceded it, although longer than the succeeding generation's (which can be less than 2 years on average)."
Some NationStates examples of the Proteus Generation are...
Flibbleites
Ardchoille
Omigodtheykilledkenny
Evil Wolf
Eireann Shamrock (http://nswiki.net/index.php?title=Eireann_Shamrock)
Lotophagi Generation
Afterwards the cultural disintegration following Regional Influence’s activation, new nations found old organizations to join. Cultural progress is at an all-time low. There is a slow steady decline of population in this era, (NS looses about 45% of its size over two or so years). At this point in time, some start talking about a possible sequel. The residents become apathetic, if one went to the technical forum with a suggestion for the game his answer back would be “the mods already turned that down, so it’s not going to happen” within a few minutes of posting. This generation found that gaining respect among players, becoming influential and savoring distinguished autonomies was important. Many of the players on NationStates are probably in a real world generation such as Lotophagi, but don’t even know it. Generation X would be a suitable example of such. One Lotophagi explained his generation's existence as a fairly ignored one, because they're "not old enough to be well regarded by the ancients and not young and brash enough to demand the attention of the Theseids". Also adding that
"they make a decadent playground of the mouldering monuments of a once grand civilisation for which they have a unjustified nostalgia, since they never experienced the Apotheosis at first hand. They are the Byzantines, Spain under Phillip IV, The Sassanians, The Late Hellenistic Kingdoms, The Mannerist and Baroque periods of 17th century Italy e.t.c".
The Lotophagi had the longest of life expectancies out of the generations, with 81 days on average. This depicts the generation as being the most dedicated base of players. Around this time, a revival of Past-Tech threads became popular, some of which tiptoed into the line of alternative history threads and sparked a lot of controversy (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=528525&page=1).
Some NationStates examples of the Lotophagi Generation are...
Todd McCloud
Naivetry
Urgench
Zwangzug
Theseus Generation
The most recent of generations, these nations we’re born in an apathetic world that had been thrown on its side. Societies had been totally destroyed with a mysterious great decline, and the UN exploded into an “extra-dimensional fireball” to be replaced by a newfangled successor, the World Assembly. Many players of this generation find themselves lost on where to join, with a world that has been spread thin of dieing ideologies and playing styles, without the population to support it (as if a disease has ravaged through and sucked the meat off the belly of the beast, leaving only a skeleton). With a crisis emerging, their generation will do what it is necessary to fight through it, with a creative driven passion and determination. They at times don’t realize it, but with a crisis at hand, Theseuses have been raised to preserve what they can, as well as revive, restore and bring back the game with all its glory and might. This generation is in complete correlation with the real life generation that is edging on university age no doubt, the Millennials! NationStates has witnessed a large scale domination (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=528525&page=1) of roleplay threads based around future tech (FT) under the Theseus generation. It would be interesting to see if real world events such as Obama’s inauguration had an effect on NationStates. Though the generation has not yet finished its prevalent years, a rough life expectancy is calculated at 37 days on average. Much lower than previous generations, and obviously a sign of the Great Decline.
Some NationStates examples of the Theseus Generation are...
New South Hell
Unibot (Author of this amazing analysis)
Mayor for Life
A Conversation between these Canonical Generations
An important aspect to this anthropological study is how these different generations get along. In NationStates it is common to read a conversation between members of varying seniorities. So let me elaborate on this concept with a thought experiment, imagine a big metaphysical, chronological, gravity defying, multiplying, air-looming, lobster cracking cube. In this magical box are representatives of the five generations. As if it is a lucid dream, their reason for being there in the box is arbitrary and undefined, and their attempts to distinguish their perceived reality as a dream are fruitless. The proceedings in the box would go something like this…
Protogonus paced around the box, unimpressed with his company. He felt just a tad awkward from all of the stares that the younger representatives gave him. Stroking his white wig, and addressing the scruffiness of his colonial attire.
(At times, the “fame” of being an older nation can estrange and alienate Protogonuses)
Zelus was a quieter man who looked over at Protogonus for advice. Apparently in the past, he had been his loyal apprentice. With Protogonus silent, so was Zelus. Which left Proteus to address the quietness, “So, is someone going to talk about something!? Or should I be leaving to find a magical magazine stand somewhere?”
The joke made the older crowd laugh, but had Theseus confused.
The young, fair-haired man interrupted the controlled laughter, “hey! Maybe we SHOULD be trying to leave this place, there has to be something more than just this box.” The father of Theseus, Lotophagi, shook his head, and smiled with embarrassment to the other representatives, “no son, that’s never going to happen. Proteus was just making a joke.” To Lotophagi’s embarrassment, Theseus continued. Now addressing the royal Protogonus with little of the reverence that Zelus or the others showed him, “Hey Protogonus! You founded this place! Why don’t yeh order a royal expedition…to discover the world outside of the box? Eh?”
Protogonus did not answer back. But Zelus stepped in to address the rowdy young man, “the answer is simple. There is nothing to explore out of this box. Believe me, Proteus has tried numerous times.” Zelus glared coldly at Proteus. To break up the awkwardness, Proteus and Lotophagi laughed at the boy’s folly.
But then something terrible happened, Lotophagi started to cough blood. Disease had spread throughout the box, and it was now apparent that their home was no longer safe.
Proteus and Zelus remained in a constant argument about what to do, Zelus wanted to care for Lotophagi but Proteus wanted to leave the cube, so he wouldn’t contract the disease, and therefore called Zelus an old fool.
This was when Protogonus pulled rank, putting his hand between the two confrontational men, he explained “It’s time for you two to listen; we shall take a royal expedition.”
Proteus and Zelus were stunned.
Protogonus finished his commands with a question, “and who will lead?”
Protus looked at Zelus because of his seniority, and Zelus looked at Protus because he felt like he had misjudged the situation with Lotophagi, and figured he DID deserve the position more.
While this was going on, Theseus jumped to grab their attention, he felt it was imperative for them to leave and he also thought his father could be saved. However, his attempts were futile, at least for now. But Protogonus knew that Theseus would come out of the expedition being the leader of the men, regardless of who started out as the supposed leader.
Breakdown of “Unibot’s Gerontocube”
There are some important aspects of intergenerational conversations that can be discussed with a breakdown of the story. To start, there is a definite ladder of power among the ambassadors, but it’s an awkward one. You must understand, Protogonus devised the Gerontocube, and therefore is fully respected by everyone, even the young Theseus to an extent. Zelus learned everything from Protogonus, and therefore is the most respectful of him, with an exception of Lotophagi. What separates their dealing with the elder is, Zelus is not afraid to communicate with Protogonus, because they were once close, but Lotophagi knows only of legends of the great elder, and therefore is embarrassed when his son tries to address him.
There is also a very thin line of control between Zelus and Proteus; these two generations can at times be confrontational, with one attempting to take the stance as parent over the other and the other attempting to throw the authority off his shoulders. This is similar to real life examples, where the Prophet will rebel from the Hero's timely institution, and be confrontational with the Artist. In most societies, the preceding generation begins teaching a generation later, the omission is evident here as well, Proteus had little to do with Lotophagi’s education; he left that up to Zelus. This is obvious when Lotophagi becomes sick, and Proteus shows no sympathy. Being taught by Proteus as opposed to his apathetic father, Theseus has the same sort of rebellious streak to him that Proteus had in his younger years, but his disposition is not of out arrogance like Proteus at times but out of distress for his father’s safety. Protogonus also hints to a bit of favoritism with Theseus, which may stem from them being so similar, they’re going to have what socionics dubs an Identical Relation (http://www.socionics.com/rel/idn.htm), while Proteus and Theseus will have a Mirror Relation (http://www.socionics.com/rel/mrr.htm). Protogonus's may feel recently energized by the Theseus's generation, and want to help with their cause, the Proteus's alienation of authority is what kept them from feeling the same energy before.
So, we have Protogonus who made the box. Zelus who established the first of its social rules. Proteus who tried to break those rules, Lotophagi who relished in them and Theseus who wishes to step out of the box.
Predicting the Future of NationStates
Using this model, I can lay out a prediction of the future. The Theseus generation will convince other significant members of the generational landslide that a course of action needs to be taken to combat the Great Decline. Consider this time an epic battle of ideologies, generational rivalries, and a rebirth of social institutions. Older, wiser and well respected members of NationStates will awake from their pedestals, and feel compelled to help the cause. The Lotophagi will be hesitant of such changes, and for the most part let the crisis be averted by others. Not out of ignorant lethargy, but out of social apathy and a love for a system they don’t understand fully, or truly know. This hesitation is a logical one, the last time the system was changed it led to the Great Decline (regional influence). Zelus and Proteus generations may have a hard time distinguishing the movement behind these changes from the ones that brought forth the initial awakening. In the coming months, systems will be revamped, or scrapped and replaced with something more efficient.
The Theseuses will carve their way into NationStates history with new social institutions and game mechanics that bring about a NationStates revival. There is a relative calmness for a while, the Raleigh generation emerges. Their populace is a homogeneous one, which partakes in only a few different demographics, silent and forgettable. But their existence is welcomed by the Theseuses who had worked hard to see such arrivals and new blood. Ralieghs will find themselves befriended and taught by Lotophagies, who are as lost in this new and brave face of NationStates as the newborns. Their doctrine of stability, knowledge and authority will drive the Ralieghs to enforce strict new social rules in their prevalent years. In the coming months of mid 2010, the young and fresh Alaric generation will materialize. With their arrival marks a new age of imagination which helps to expand on the world forged by the Theseuses and the Ralieghs, but also instigates a huge change to the game’s mechanics. Around 2012, a magnificent alteration to the game will carry a huge price, as Alaricods and Ralieghs argue over its creation, popular institutions will become outdated with the changes. Creativity and populace will decline once again, worse than in the original great decline. Imagine NationStates falling like Rome. The Zhuangzi generation will slowly fill NationStates hollowed halls, echoing generations before it, as they attempt to put the pieces back together like a gigantic puzzle. The Alaricods and the Ralieghs will drop out of attendance with the fruitless attempts of the Zhuangzi to put back together its troubled world. NationStates will die a slow lingering death and will never reach its cyclic heroes, the Croatoan generation scheduled to arrive in early 2016.
One has to remember that NationStates will be very different in 2016. There will be a few distinctive demographics, and many failed projects. New features such as Regional Issues, and a glorious new systems for delegacy will be abroad. Predicting NationStates in six years is about the equivalent of guessing what Earth will look like in 110 years. Also one has to consider the possibility that the Internet will change, in six years, a lot of technological progresses can happen, as well as a possible NS3 sequel (shudder...) that could drain the Croatoan populace's attention from NS1.
“An Inquiry of Assembly Values” – A Social Experiment
After little debate with myself, I set out to test these anthropological theories. I had at first considered an experiment with a supposed “vulnerability” in the code that would allow for some humorous circumstances. But in the end I decided on a simple thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=586674) which outlined a question I have asked myself a lot, and wait for the replies. The question is “should the World Assembly have an army” among other discussions, the reason this is such a “debatable” topic is because the World Assembly is forbidden from forming an army, a decision which apparently was not left to the participants to decide. I figured the issue would show the generations very clearly, with their varying dispositions. Unfortunately, the thread was closed before too many observations could be made, in fact only members of two generations had time to comment (Proteus and Lotophagi).
The Lotophagi appeared apathetic to the argument, it took them the longest to register what I was getting at, and they suggested that I would fail. Showing no hope for change. The Lotophagi crave “maturity” and acceptance within the systems they respect, they wear their apathy like a badge. When someone else walks in and shows no “realism”, the Lotophagi suggest that they back down, as they have or else the society might not respect them, and immediate failure would follow. The Proteuses were more confrontational, they took the attack on the rules as an attack on themselves and the system they were protecting. This leads me to suggest the Violet Curve, a generational experience that is alive today in real life; generations after the “awakenings” such as the Boomers switch from absolute liberalism to strict conservatism in decades. The Proteuses were initially quarrelsome with their founders who were attempting to force them into conformity. But after they saw the changes they wanted to the system, the Proteuses became the greatest protectors of the systems. I would like to also point out, that although confrontational, the Proteuses were not totally apathetic to possibility that change could happen, because they have experienced it before, but they were still confrontational in “behalf of the system’s defense”.
I’d also like to thank a particular Proteus for being the only one that actually tried to answer my question of why there is a ban on the World Assembly’s potential army. You know who you are.
A Census Report of Generations
Data collected by me and a talented colleague, which reveals the distinct make-up of NationStates.
The census report was conducted with a python script that scans the <FOUNDED> tags in the XML feeds of Nations which describes how long ago the nation was founded. Some Protogonus outdate the <FOUNDED> tag’s creation and therefore have a <FOUNDED> date that equals zero – they were included in the census as Protogonuses.
As of April 29, 2009 …
NationStates can be dissected as,
3.7% Protogonus Generation
5% Zelus Generation
8.3% Proteus Generation
17% Lotophagi Generation
66% Theseus Generation
With merely two thirds of NationStates being young this causes me to think that the majority of Theseuses are merely puppets that have been newly created, however this assumption is unproven and based entirely on common beliefs.
_______________________________________________________________
If you disagree with the depiction of a Generation, please say so. I could be dead wrong on my anthropological analysis, I don’t have much history to go by, and I’m applying a very theoretical model to it. If you do approve of the generational analysis, and you wish to contribute with more significant events, please do so. If you don't approve of your name being used as an example for a generation (possibly because you think this generation stuff is silly and you don't want your name linked to it :p), for what ever reason, please just say so, I'll take your name off, promise. If you think you can add to the list of names with better examples, please post them.
Thanks for Reading
Unibot
Contributed by Unibot
"Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it." George Orwell
I’ve been thinking about doing an anthropological analysis of NationStates generations for a while now. This isn’t a complete analysis by any means. Furthermore I do not know the history of NationStates as one would if I had ACTUALLY been there, so please correct me if I make a mistake. I use a theory of generational archetypes that I find works with the generations, if you are unfamiliar with this system; I have copied an explanation of the generational archetypes for you from a wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generations_(book)). The basis of these archetypes is on the notion that the dispositions of generations repeat with the cycles of human events.
Prophet/Idealist. A Prophet (or Idealist) generation is born during a High, spends its rising adult years during an Awakening, spends midlife during an Unraveling, and spends old age in a Crisis. Prophetic leaders have been cerebral and principled, summoners of human sacrifice, wagers of righteous wars. Early in life, few saw combat in uniform; late in life, most come to be revered as much for their words as for their deeds.
Nomad/Reactive. A Nomad (or Reactive) generation is born during an Awakening, spends its rising adult years during an Unraveling, spends midlife during a Crisis, and spends old age in a new High. Nomadic leaders have been cunning, hard-to-fool realists, taciturn warriors who prefer to meet problems and adversaries one-on-one.
Hero/Civic. A Hero (or Civic) generation is born during an Unraveling, spends its rising adult years during a Crisis, spends midlife during a High, and spends old age in an Awakening. Heroic leaders are considered to have been vigorous and rational institution-builders, busy and competent in old age. All of them entering midlife were aggressive advocates of technological progress, economic prosperity, social harmony, and public optimism.
Artist/Adaptive. An Artist (or Adaptive) generation is born during a Crisis, spends its rising adult years in a new High, spends midlife in an Awakening, and spends old age in an Unraveling. Artistic leaders have been advocates of fairness and the politics of inclusion, irrepressible in the wake of failure.
The Generations of NationStates and their Archetypical Representations
Protogonus Generation (Pioneers)= Hero/Civic
Zelus Generation (Afterwards creation, preceding baby boom) = Artist/Adaptive
Proteus Generation (Pre Influence) = Prophet/Idealist
Lotophagi Generation (Post Influence) = Nomad/Reactive
Theseus Generation (Post WA + Decline) = Hero/Civic
…………………………………………………………………
Hypothesized “Raleigh Generation” (Post-Revival?) = Artist/Adaptive
Archetypical Events in the course of NationStates History
Crises= Creation, the disbandment of the UN, the Great Decline
Awakenings= Regional Influence
Unraveling= the humdrum years following Regional Influence, cultural disintegration
High = the culture renaissance of NS (preceding Influence), the inclusion of multiple feeder regions to account for the Baby Boom.
A Brief Analysis of the NationStates Generations
Protogonus Generation
Very few of these veterans still exist; they are the pioneers of the game. They came to NationStates like Columbus with a great discovery, and conquered the world like Napoleon. They forged the first regions, and experimented with the first social societies and organizations. The generation’s main function was establishing systems, and new regions. A good real world example would be the Republican Generation (though George Washington was born a few years before it) that led the revolutionary war. The Protogonus had a remarkably low life expectancy, just over 21 days on average (deletion due to inactivity was 21, not 28 days in this era).
Some NationStates examples of the Protogonus Generation are,
Maxtopia (Sir Protogonus himself)
Ineptia (Founder of the Heartland)
The Bruce (Founder of Wysteria)
Cupertino (Founder of Farkistan)
Zelus Generation
These players arrived to the game with fresh individualistic ideas to a slowly progressing NationStates world. Under their direction, NationStates exploded with a cultural renaissance. They were also easily frightened of crises. With their involvement, a baby boom progressed. These explorers of the modern world found that NationStates needed a bit more creativity, and added greatly to the already established systems, created new ones, and tried to bring order and righteousness to them, they were enthusiastic players. A real world example that correlates back to the Zeluses would be, the silent generation, that were a hard working group of people, known to be strong activists, though also were criticized for being “withdrawn, cautious, unimaginative, indifferent, unadventurous and silent.”. The Zeluses improved on the life expectancy of their forefathers, and played the game with more consistency, their averaged life expectancy was 58 days.
One self "diagnosed" Zelus and notorious roleplayer, Automagfreek, commented on his generation, it's history, the great decline and the future with a lot of passion that I think will connect with fellow zeluses. I encourage you took take a further look (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14579903&postcount=15).
Some NationStates examples of the Zelus Generation are...
Frisbeeteria
The Most Glorious Hack
Sirocco
Automagfreek
HotRodia
1 Infinite Loop (opened the original NS flag Service)
Proteus Generation
This generation arrived in a baby boom that naturally followed the cultural renaissance of NationStates. They found themselves in a very developed world, with several different demographics and styles of play. Many players frolicked in the wide variety of organizations and institutions that had been created by their forefathers. However there was an increasingly large dispute over Influence, which divided them from their conservative predecessors. There also seems to be prevalent liking of humor, which stemmed from this generation. As for a main function, expansion was one the underlining principles under the Proteus Generation’s prevalent years. The mod conspiracy theories stems from this generation, but flourished in the Lotophagi generation. The best example of a Proteus Generation in Real Life would be the Baby-boomers, who alienated authority and were the first to really relish in the life style of a “teenager”. After the "Awakening", they died away fairly quickly, and became very conservative in their manner and roleplays (focusing on mostly Real Tech and strict political guidelines). This shift to realism might have been caused by the turbulence of the age, but no matter what, it obviously was a factor in the Great Decline. This could correlate back to real life, with the radical teenagers of the 60's becoming business oriented "yuppies" of the later years. The Proteuses had a lower life expectancy then the Zeluses, and on average, players died away at 49 days. This drop in the expectancy could be due to the overwhelming amount of expendable puppets at the time created for roleplays.
One Proteus describes his memories of the generation...
"While we were the newbies in the RP world at the time, it seems to me at least that we quickly came to dominate it, along with the more motivated '03 posters. (In II the so-called Proteus Generation gave rise to posters such as Praetonia, Doomingsland, The Kraven Corporation, etc.) Oddly enough, while we tried to break the rules a lot starting out, we later on became the most conservative of the generations so far, nearly flattening the political landscape before disappearing from the scene, mostly due to RL obligations. (Or something.) Nowadays it's hard to find a Proteus who's still active enough to count; even in the General Forum they're gradually dying off -- generally those who stay in the UN or become moderators last the longest. As far as generations go, though, it has a shorter staying power (only 2-3 years) than any of the two that preceded it, although longer than the succeeding generation's (which can be less than 2 years on average)."
Some NationStates examples of the Proteus Generation are...
Flibbleites
Ardchoille
Omigodtheykilledkenny
Evil Wolf
Eireann Shamrock (http://nswiki.net/index.php?title=Eireann_Shamrock)
Lotophagi Generation
Afterwards the cultural disintegration following Regional Influence’s activation, new nations found old organizations to join. Cultural progress is at an all-time low. There is a slow steady decline of population in this era, (NS looses about 45% of its size over two or so years). At this point in time, some start talking about a possible sequel. The residents become apathetic, if one went to the technical forum with a suggestion for the game his answer back would be “the mods already turned that down, so it’s not going to happen” within a few minutes of posting. This generation found that gaining respect among players, becoming influential and savoring distinguished autonomies was important. Many of the players on NationStates are probably in a real world generation such as Lotophagi, but don’t even know it. Generation X would be a suitable example of such. One Lotophagi explained his generation's existence as a fairly ignored one, because they're "not old enough to be well regarded by the ancients and not young and brash enough to demand the attention of the Theseids". Also adding that
"they make a decadent playground of the mouldering monuments of a once grand civilisation for which they have a unjustified nostalgia, since they never experienced the Apotheosis at first hand. They are the Byzantines, Spain under Phillip IV, The Sassanians, The Late Hellenistic Kingdoms, The Mannerist and Baroque periods of 17th century Italy e.t.c".
The Lotophagi had the longest of life expectancies out of the generations, with 81 days on average. This depicts the generation as being the most dedicated base of players. Around this time, a revival of Past-Tech threads became popular, some of which tiptoed into the line of alternative history threads and sparked a lot of controversy (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=528525&page=1).
Some NationStates examples of the Lotophagi Generation are...
Todd McCloud
Naivetry
Urgench
Zwangzug
Theseus Generation
The most recent of generations, these nations we’re born in an apathetic world that had been thrown on its side. Societies had been totally destroyed with a mysterious great decline, and the UN exploded into an “extra-dimensional fireball” to be replaced by a newfangled successor, the World Assembly. Many players of this generation find themselves lost on where to join, with a world that has been spread thin of dieing ideologies and playing styles, without the population to support it (as if a disease has ravaged through and sucked the meat off the belly of the beast, leaving only a skeleton). With a crisis emerging, their generation will do what it is necessary to fight through it, with a creative driven passion and determination. They at times don’t realize it, but with a crisis at hand, Theseuses have been raised to preserve what they can, as well as revive, restore and bring back the game with all its glory and might. This generation is in complete correlation with the real life generation that is edging on university age no doubt, the Millennials! NationStates has witnessed a large scale domination (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=528525&page=1) of roleplay threads based around future tech (FT) under the Theseus generation. It would be interesting to see if real world events such as Obama’s inauguration had an effect on NationStates. Though the generation has not yet finished its prevalent years, a rough life expectancy is calculated at 37 days on average. Much lower than previous generations, and obviously a sign of the Great Decline.
Some NationStates examples of the Theseus Generation are...
New South Hell
Unibot (Author of this amazing analysis)
Mayor for Life
A Conversation between these Canonical Generations
An important aspect to this anthropological study is how these different generations get along. In NationStates it is common to read a conversation between members of varying seniorities. So let me elaborate on this concept with a thought experiment, imagine a big metaphysical, chronological, gravity defying, multiplying, air-looming, lobster cracking cube. In this magical box are representatives of the five generations. As if it is a lucid dream, their reason for being there in the box is arbitrary and undefined, and their attempts to distinguish their perceived reality as a dream are fruitless. The proceedings in the box would go something like this…
Protogonus paced around the box, unimpressed with his company. He felt just a tad awkward from all of the stares that the younger representatives gave him. Stroking his white wig, and addressing the scruffiness of his colonial attire.
(At times, the “fame” of being an older nation can estrange and alienate Protogonuses)
Zelus was a quieter man who looked over at Protogonus for advice. Apparently in the past, he had been his loyal apprentice. With Protogonus silent, so was Zelus. Which left Proteus to address the quietness, “So, is someone going to talk about something!? Or should I be leaving to find a magical magazine stand somewhere?”
The joke made the older crowd laugh, but had Theseus confused.
The young, fair-haired man interrupted the controlled laughter, “hey! Maybe we SHOULD be trying to leave this place, there has to be something more than just this box.” The father of Theseus, Lotophagi, shook his head, and smiled with embarrassment to the other representatives, “no son, that’s never going to happen. Proteus was just making a joke.” To Lotophagi’s embarrassment, Theseus continued. Now addressing the royal Protogonus with little of the reverence that Zelus or the others showed him, “Hey Protogonus! You founded this place! Why don’t yeh order a royal expedition…to discover the world outside of the box? Eh?”
Protogonus did not answer back. But Zelus stepped in to address the rowdy young man, “the answer is simple. There is nothing to explore out of this box. Believe me, Proteus has tried numerous times.” Zelus glared coldly at Proteus. To break up the awkwardness, Proteus and Lotophagi laughed at the boy’s folly.
But then something terrible happened, Lotophagi started to cough blood. Disease had spread throughout the box, and it was now apparent that their home was no longer safe.
Proteus and Zelus remained in a constant argument about what to do, Zelus wanted to care for Lotophagi but Proteus wanted to leave the cube, so he wouldn’t contract the disease, and therefore called Zelus an old fool.
This was when Protogonus pulled rank, putting his hand between the two confrontational men, he explained “It’s time for you two to listen; we shall take a royal expedition.”
Proteus and Zelus were stunned.
Protogonus finished his commands with a question, “and who will lead?”
Protus looked at Zelus because of his seniority, and Zelus looked at Protus because he felt like he had misjudged the situation with Lotophagi, and figured he DID deserve the position more.
While this was going on, Theseus jumped to grab their attention, he felt it was imperative for them to leave and he also thought his father could be saved. However, his attempts were futile, at least for now. But Protogonus knew that Theseus would come out of the expedition being the leader of the men, regardless of who started out as the supposed leader.
Breakdown of “Unibot’s Gerontocube”
There are some important aspects of intergenerational conversations that can be discussed with a breakdown of the story. To start, there is a definite ladder of power among the ambassadors, but it’s an awkward one. You must understand, Protogonus devised the Gerontocube, and therefore is fully respected by everyone, even the young Theseus to an extent. Zelus learned everything from Protogonus, and therefore is the most respectful of him, with an exception of Lotophagi. What separates their dealing with the elder is, Zelus is not afraid to communicate with Protogonus, because they were once close, but Lotophagi knows only of legends of the great elder, and therefore is embarrassed when his son tries to address him.
There is also a very thin line of control between Zelus and Proteus; these two generations can at times be confrontational, with one attempting to take the stance as parent over the other and the other attempting to throw the authority off his shoulders. This is similar to real life examples, where the Prophet will rebel from the Hero's timely institution, and be confrontational with the Artist. In most societies, the preceding generation begins teaching a generation later, the omission is evident here as well, Proteus had little to do with Lotophagi’s education; he left that up to Zelus. This is obvious when Lotophagi becomes sick, and Proteus shows no sympathy. Being taught by Proteus as opposed to his apathetic father, Theseus has the same sort of rebellious streak to him that Proteus had in his younger years, but his disposition is not of out arrogance like Proteus at times but out of distress for his father’s safety. Protogonus also hints to a bit of favoritism with Theseus, which may stem from them being so similar, they’re going to have what socionics dubs an Identical Relation (http://www.socionics.com/rel/idn.htm), while Proteus and Theseus will have a Mirror Relation (http://www.socionics.com/rel/mrr.htm). Protogonus's may feel recently energized by the Theseus's generation, and want to help with their cause, the Proteus's alienation of authority is what kept them from feeling the same energy before.
So, we have Protogonus who made the box. Zelus who established the first of its social rules. Proteus who tried to break those rules, Lotophagi who relished in them and Theseus who wishes to step out of the box.
Predicting the Future of NationStates
Using this model, I can lay out a prediction of the future. The Theseus generation will convince other significant members of the generational landslide that a course of action needs to be taken to combat the Great Decline. Consider this time an epic battle of ideologies, generational rivalries, and a rebirth of social institutions. Older, wiser and well respected members of NationStates will awake from their pedestals, and feel compelled to help the cause. The Lotophagi will be hesitant of such changes, and for the most part let the crisis be averted by others. Not out of ignorant lethargy, but out of social apathy and a love for a system they don’t understand fully, or truly know. This hesitation is a logical one, the last time the system was changed it led to the Great Decline (regional influence). Zelus and Proteus generations may have a hard time distinguishing the movement behind these changes from the ones that brought forth the initial awakening. In the coming months, systems will be revamped, or scrapped and replaced with something more efficient.
The Theseuses will carve their way into NationStates history with new social institutions and game mechanics that bring about a NationStates revival. There is a relative calmness for a while, the Raleigh generation emerges. Their populace is a homogeneous one, which partakes in only a few different demographics, silent and forgettable. But their existence is welcomed by the Theseuses who had worked hard to see such arrivals and new blood. Ralieghs will find themselves befriended and taught by Lotophagies, who are as lost in this new and brave face of NationStates as the newborns. Their doctrine of stability, knowledge and authority will drive the Ralieghs to enforce strict new social rules in their prevalent years. In the coming months of mid 2010, the young and fresh Alaric generation will materialize. With their arrival marks a new age of imagination which helps to expand on the world forged by the Theseuses and the Ralieghs, but also instigates a huge change to the game’s mechanics. Around 2012, a magnificent alteration to the game will carry a huge price, as Alaricods and Ralieghs argue over its creation, popular institutions will become outdated with the changes. Creativity and populace will decline once again, worse than in the original great decline. Imagine NationStates falling like Rome. The Zhuangzi generation will slowly fill NationStates hollowed halls, echoing generations before it, as they attempt to put the pieces back together like a gigantic puzzle. The Alaricods and the Ralieghs will drop out of attendance with the fruitless attempts of the Zhuangzi to put back together its troubled world. NationStates will die a slow lingering death and will never reach its cyclic heroes, the Croatoan generation scheduled to arrive in early 2016.
One has to remember that NationStates will be very different in 2016. There will be a few distinctive demographics, and many failed projects. New features such as Regional Issues, and a glorious new systems for delegacy will be abroad. Predicting NationStates in six years is about the equivalent of guessing what Earth will look like in 110 years. Also one has to consider the possibility that the Internet will change, in six years, a lot of technological progresses can happen, as well as a possible NS3 sequel (shudder...) that could drain the Croatoan populace's attention from NS1.
“An Inquiry of Assembly Values” – A Social Experiment
After little debate with myself, I set out to test these anthropological theories. I had at first considered an experiment with a supposed “vulnerability” in the code that would allow for some humorous circumstances. But in the end I decided on a simple thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=586674) which outlined a question I have asked myself a lot, and wait for the replies. The question is “should the World Assembly have an army” among other discussions, the reason this is such a “debatable” topic is because the World Assembly is forbidden from forming an army, a decision which apparently was not left to the participants to decide. I figured the issue would show the generations very clearly, with their varying dispositions. Unfortunately, the thread was closed before too many observations could be made, in fact only members of two generations had time to comment (Proteus and Lotophagi).
The Lotophagi appeared apathetic to the argument, it took them the longest to register what I was getting at, and they suggested that I would fail. Showing no hope for change. The Lotophagi crave “maturity” and acceptance within the systems they respect, they wear their apathy like a badge. When someone else walks in and shows no “realism”, the Lotophagi suggest that they back down, as they have or else the society might not respect them, and immediate failure would follow. The Proteuses were more confrontational, they took the attack on the rules as an attack on themselves and the system they were protecting. This leads me to suggest the Violet Curve, a generational experience that is alive today in real life; generations after the “awakenings” such as the Boomers switch from absolute liberalism to strict conservatism in decades. The Proteuses were initially quarrelsome with their founders who were attempting to force them into conformity. But after they saw the changes they wanted to the system, the Proteuses became the greatest protectors of the systems. I would like to also point out, that although confrontational, the Proteuses were not totally apathetic to possibility that change could happen, because they have experienced it before, but they were still confrontational in “behalf of the system’s defense”.
I’d also like to thank a particular Proteus for being the only one that actually tried to answer my question of why there is a ban on the World Assembly’s potential army. You know who you are.
A Census Report of Generations
Data collected by me and a talented colleague, which reveals the distinct make-up of NationStates.
The census report was conducted with a python script that scans the <FOUNDED> tags in the XML feeds of Nations which describes how long ago the nation was founded. Some Protogonus outdate the <FOUNDED> tag’s creation and therefore have a <FOUNDED> date that equals zero – they were included in the census as Protogonuses.
As of April 29, 2009 …
NationStates can be dissected as,
3.7% Protogonus Generation
5% Zelus Generation
8.3% Proteus Generation
17% Lotophagi Generation
66% Theseus Generation
With merely two thirds of NationStates being young this causes me to think that the majority of Theseuses are merely puppets that have been newly created, however this assumption is unproven and based entirely on common beliefs.
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If you disagree with the depiction of a Generation, please say so. I could be dead wrong on my anthropological analysis, I don’t have much history to go by, and I’m applying a very theoretical model to it. If you do approve of the generational analysis, and you wish to contribute with more significant events, please do so. If you don't approve of your name being used as an example for a generation (possibly because you think this generation stuff is silly and you don't want your name linked to it :p), for what ever reason, please just say so, I'll take your name off, promise. If you think you can add to the list of names with better examples, please post them.
Thanks for Reading
Unibot