Al'Badara

[AAEmmerson1]

Hi there

I notice there is some real bad feeling to a few us joining in Al'badara

We firstly mean no one any offence - we've come in to enjoy a truly excellent game. it's a game I've played in the past and really enjoyed. I wanted other real life friends to enjoy it too.

We joined in Al'badara because it was the first on the list and practically empty.

I'm not sure why there is so much hostility to new people joining - especially a nation which started off with 750 - 0 seats. And it was the originator that called early elections not us.

We simply want to enjoy the game functions have have a quiet life. We hope this goes some way to clearing up any ill feeling

[meisme]

The problem isn't from new people joining, it's from you guys going to a Arabic nation with a rich history and turning it into Generic English Republic #21, with titles like President and Prime Minister without even translating it to the right language. Personally, due to me being there for about 8 months before leaving recently, I am annoyed that everything me and others on here during my time there and other players though the years worked on making it an unique and RP-riched Arabic nation just got destroyed before our eyes. For the others, I can't explain their discontent.

[Aquinas]

Hi AAEmmerson1,

I am sorry for your experience of "real bad feeling", and hope this will not put you off the game. Or this forum, for that matter, as there is a lot of fun to be had here - however bewildering it might seem at the moment.

You and your friends are unfortunate to have walked into the crossfire of a controversy that has been raging in Particracy for a very long time. This is why some of the comments you have heard sound harsh. I hope it will make you feel a little better if I assure you it is nothing *personal*.

Some nations have developed specific cultures as a theme - by which I mean things like certain languages and religions. From time to time, these nations have "lost" their culture due to new players preferring to disregard them in favour of a "generic" Anglo-Saxon English-speaking culture. People have become upset about this in the past, and in response, Moderation introduced a system of Cultural Protocols to give nations some degree of "protection" against this. You can read more about the Cultural Protocols here. Al'Badara, you will notice, is classified as a "Culturally Active Nation", which means it does not have a detailed census of religions followed and languages spoken, but it does have a broadly accepted culture (ie. Majatran, or Arabic in real-life).

For some while, I think parties in Al'Badara have listed their party names in Arabic, whilst giving an English translation on their party description. I suspect some people are disappointed that Al'Badara's newest parties have not chosen to do this. So far as I am aware, neither you nor your friends are obliged by the rules to give your parties Arabic names. But you might, of course, have a think about whether you would like to do this, since it might help you to feel more Arabic .

You will, I believe, be generally expected to give Cabinet members and party characters Arabic names. Names of cities and your "national titles" (eg. name of the legislature, Head of Government, Head of State...) may be changed, but you are encouraged to keep them in Arabic.

You may find it interesting and helpful to look through your nation's legislative history and look at the parties that have competed in Al'Badara in the recent past. This will give you a better "feel" for what kind of nation Al'Badara has been roleplayed as. Reading the wiki pages, like this one, could be useful too.

There are almost certainly other people here who will be able to give you better advice than me, or indeed correct any bad advice that I have inadvertently given you . I am delighted you are enjoying the game, and hope you will continue to do so. And as I said before, please don't be too put off by any negativity. New players are vital to the future of this game.

Aquinas

[AAEmmerson1]

Hi Aquinas

I think the problem is - without knowing exactly where to look - I had no idea about cultural protocols - this isn't flagged up - and should probably be put on some sort of nation descriptor when you sign up.

I can't promise we will always do it exactly as the originators intended, but neither are we out to totally destroy the nation, we're out to play it for fun.

[SelucianCrusader]

There are almost certainly other people here who will be able to give you better advice than me, or indeed correct any bad advice that I have inadvertently given you

Nah, you are probably one of the best people here to give advice in these types of situations, since you are always nice to everybody.

One little correction though: one isn't allowed to change the names of cities or regions in a way that goes contrary to a nation's cultural character.

As for the question of Al'Badara, I pretty much agree with all that meisme already wrote. If you want to add to what went before that's great, but it shouldn't come at the expense of extinguishing of what came before.

[Aquinas]

I think the problem is - without knowing exactly where to look - I had no idea about cultural protocols - this isn't flagged up - and should probably be put on some sort of nation descriptor when you sign up.

You have a fair point. Maybe we could think of ways to be a little more newbie friendly on this sort of thing.

One little correction though: one isn't allowed to change the names of cities or regions in a way that goes contrary to a nation's cultural character.

Yep, you are right.

[Duke Matthus]

Hi Aquinas

I think the problem is - without knowing exactly where to look - I had no idea about cultural protocols - this isn't flagged up - and should probably be put on some sort of nation descriptor when you sign up.

I can't promise we will always do it exactly as the originators intended, but neither are we out to totally destroy the nation, we're out to play it for fun.

There should be a bill in your debate section labeled OOC: Cultural Protocols (All new players must read). That is the best we can do as of right now to notify new players about the culture and manners of a country, since this is a player mandate rather than a game mechanic mandate.

Also, while I have one of you on here, would you all mind bring to vote the lovely friendship treaty between Luthori and your nation? It was about to pass when elections happened and as such, we are in a pickle.

[Aquinas]

There should be a bill in your debate section labeled OOC: Cultural Protocols (All new players must read). That is the best we can do as of right now to notify new players about the culture and manners of a country, since this is a player mandate rather than a game mechanic mandate.

Yes, I agree with that. Actually, I think Al'Badara does have various information Bills in its debate section. One of the issues might be that, like many nations, it has so many redundant Bills clogging up its debate section that many new players are put off reading through all of them!

[Siggon Kristov]

There should be a bill in your debate section labeled OOC: Cultural Protocols (All new players must read). That is the best we can do as of right now to notify new players about the culture and manners of a country, since this is a player mandate rather than a game mechanic mandate.

Yes, I agree with that. Actually, I think Al'Badara does have various information Bills in its debate section. One of the issues might be that, like many nations, it has so many redundant Bills clogging up its debate section that many new players are put off reading through all of them!

If they were all passed (instead of just lying there in debate), there could just be 1 grand OOC bill, that stays in debate mode, but has links to all the passed OOC bills. When an OOC bill is passed/repealed by the players, then it's added/removed from that list.

[Aquinas]

There should be a bill in your debate section labeled OOC: Cultural Protocols (All new players must read). That is the best we can do as of right now to notify new players about the culture and manners of a country, since this is a player mandate rather than a game mechanic mandate.

Yes, I agree with that. Actually, I think Al'Badara does have various information Bills in its debate section. One of the issues might be that, like many nations, it has so many redundant Bills clogging up its debate section that many new players are put off reading through all of them!

If they were all passed (instead of just lying there in debate), there could just be 1 grand OOC bill, that stays in debate mode, but has links to all the passed OOC bills. When an OOC bill is passed/repealed by the players, then it's added/removed from that list.

I really like that idea. Clogged-up "Bills under debate" sections are one of my pet hates!