As some of you are aware, the Moderation Team is in the process of drawing up a new edition of the rules, which will be known as the 'Game Rules'. The time to release that has not yet arrived, but we are now ready to roll out a significant tranche of reforms. You will notice that the 'Rules of the Game' has been updated, and is now the Rules of the Game (interim version). Most of the changes are in section 6, which deals with culture. Some of you may have also noticed that messages have already been sent out to nations which will be especially affected by the changes taking place.
The issues in the game surrounding culture and cultural enforcement have been a bugbear in our community for a long time. It may well be that there is no perfect solution to these issues, but we want you to know we care about your concerns and are determined to tackle them as effectively and fairly as possible. We also want you to know we have carefully reviewed all of the arguments and ideas which have been put forward on the forum about the culture rules and their enforcement.
All nations to be "Culturally Protected" or "Culturally Open"
Since the Cultural Protocols system was introduced in October 2011, there have been 4 possible cultural statuses for the nations: Culturally Void, Culturally Dormant, Culturally Active and Culturally Protected. Due to the confusion and ambiguity surrounding what exactly Culturally Dormant and Culturally Active mean in terms of cultural enforcement, we have resolved to implement a simpler system, with only 2 categories.
There will continue to be Culturally Protected nations which have formal Cultural Protocols which are enforced by Moderation. There will also be Culturally Open nations which will have no culture enforced by Moderation.
It is important that at least some nations should be Culturally Open, because some players prefer the flexibility which comes from playing in a nation not bound by Cultural Protocols. We have therefore decided that Davostan, Kundrati and Lodamun are Culturally Open and will remain permanently Culturally Open. Any Cultural Protocol requests submitted for those nations will be rejected.
The remaining Culturally Active nations, namely Badara, Jakania, Kazulia and Talmoria, have until 1st October to adopt appropriate Cultural Protocols. If they do not meet that deadline, Moderation will assume responsibility for doing this.
Cultural Protocols to be clearer and more specific
The currently-enforced Cultural Protocols have been drawn up at different times and by different players over the last 4 years. Some provide percentage breakdowns for culture, religion and language, whereas others rely on general descriptions. We make no criticism of players who have introduced general descriptions instead of percentage breakdowns, but at this point in the game's history, we believe the time has come to insist all Cultural Protocols should provide percentage breakdowns for at least the cultural and religious demographics.
Therefore, Gaduridos, Kafuristan, Kalistan, Kirlawa, New Endralon/Kizenia, Sekowo and Valruzia have until 1st October to adopt Cultural Protocols which provide a percentage breakdown for cultural and religious demographics. If they do not meet that deadline, Moderation will assume responsibility for doing this.
Additionally, all future Cultural Protocols must provide descriptions of the cultures, languages and religions which would be easy for a new player to understand (eg. "Dundorfian = German"). Players also have a responsibility to ensure an "OOC: Cultural Protocols" reference bill is kept in the nation's debate section and that this includes a link to the approved Cultural Protocols bill, the Cultural Protocols Index and the Rules. There is a responsibility, too, to ensure the reference bill includes advice on character naming and translations (which might, for example, mean providing links to Google Translate and Behind the Name's Random Name Generator). Finally, to prevent confusion, players have a responsibility to ensure any unofficial or outdated Cultural Protocols bills are removed from their nation's debate section.
Nation names and the Nation Renaming Guide
For Culturally Protected nations, nation names must now conform to a language authorised for the nation in the Nation Renaming Guide. Names from outside of these languages will only be granted at Moderation's discretion and where a very strong case has been presented. This system is primarily designed to prevent the use of English names for non-English nations. At the time of writing, the following nations do not have a nation name that conforms with the requirements of the Nation Renaming Guide:
Aldegar
Aloria
Barmenia
Beiteynu
Darnussia
Deltaria
Endralon
Hobrazia
Ibutho
Kalopia
Kazulia
Likatonia
Pontesi
Telamon
Trigunia
These nations have until 1st October to adopt an appropriate nation names. If they do not meet that deadline, Moderation will assume responsibility for doing this.
The Nation Renaming Guide is not set in stone and is likely to evolve over time. Players are encouraged to suggest changes they feel are appropriate on the Nation Renaming Guide: feedback thread.
Naming the hard-to-name nations
Some of the nations have authorised languages which are not so easy to translate. As a special allowance, if the posting of a translation request on the Language assistance requests thread is not fulfilled after 7 days, then the names for Barmenia, Jelbania, Pontesi and Vorona/Deltaria Nova may be given in English, and the name for Cildania may be given in Hebrew.
We invite interested players to use the new Naming the hard-to-name nations thread to supply us with lists of potential nation names in Brmek (for Barmenia), Jelbic (for Jelbania), Pntek (for Pontesi), old English/Anglo-Saxon (for Vorona/ Deltaria Nova) and Phoenician (for Cildania). If the lists become extensive enough and provide options for a a wide range of political systems (eg. monarchy, theocracy, republic, socialist state...) then we will consider removing the special allowances detailed in the previous paragraph.
Constitutional variables can be in English
The other constitutional variables can be in either English or a language appropriate to the culture of the nation. These variables include:
- Constitutional variables introduced not through the game mechanics, but through constitutional role-play laws (see section 10).
- National motto.
- Head of State title.
- Head of Government title.
- Legislative assembly title
- National sport.
- National animal.
- National anthem.
- Title of subnational entities.
When an English constitutional variable appears in a non-English nation, it should be interpreted as an English translation of the actual official variable. The actual official variable should be presumed to be in the language most appropriate to the culture of the nation. Similarly, when a bill proposes to translate a constitutional variable directly from the native language to English, the bill should be treated as an OOC matter about the aesthetic appearance of the nation page.
There are two main reasons for our tolerance of English constitutional variables in non-English nations. Firstly, we recognise the reality that many players and would-be players find non-English terms discomforting, and if we are serious about maintaining and expanding Particracy's player numbers, we need to take some account of this. Secondly, it is not technically possible for Moderators to manually change these constitutional variables. We can delete the bills before they pass, but we can only do this if they are drawn to our attention in time. Usually, they will not be.
Cultural enforcement is therefore being focussed more strictly instead on nation names and character names.
We understand that some players will be disappointed that native names for constitutional variables are not going to be enforced. Our plea to players is to try to make a perceptive realignment by regarding these English titles as mere translations rather than as an obstacle to immersion in the role-play of a nation's culture.
Stricter rules on English character names
We have noted concerns that in some nations, where English is a minority, all of the Cabinet Minsters and other characters have been given English names. In order to address this and enhance role-play realism, the following is now required:
Character names and especially Head of State, Head of Government and Cabinet minister names must be appropriate for the cultural background of the nation. Whilst a small number of character names may be permitted to come from minorities, the broad spread of character names should be realistic. Exceptions to this will only be granted at Moderation's discretion and where a very strong case has been presented.
In nations where English is present as an in-game culture, but not the majority, English character names must not be too disproportionately prevalent. For example, if 10% of the population are English, English characters should not make up half of the Cabinet or half of a party's list of candidates. Exceptions to this will only be granted at Moderation's discretion and where a very strong case has been presented.
Firmer enforcement
We appreciate it can be frustrating for players when a player in their nation is not complying with the rules. We also recognise that when a player is not complying with the rules, this can seem to function as an advertisement for saying the rules do not need to be followed. As Moderators, we can enforce the rules, but we have to give the player concerned a reasonable opportunity to respond before we sanction them. This whole process sometimes goes on for a while, especially if the player concerned is not logging in regularly.
In order to improve the efficiency of the rules enforcement process, the following measures are being introduced:
- Reactivation requests will be denied for parties which are in breach of the rules.
- Early election requests will be denied where granting them would be likely to give advantage to a player who is in breach of the rules.
- Players in breach of the rules will be inactivated if it is noticed they have not logged in for 4 days or if they fail to respond to a Moderation message within 4 days.
Encouraging respect for in-game cultures
It is our general experience that the best way to encourage new players to follow a nation's cultural guidelines is for there to already be experienced players adhering to the culture when they arrives, being helpful in explaining the game's rules and conventions, and involving them in the game in a friendly way. In particular, it is advisable to inform new players about the character naming rules before they have the opportunity to nominate candidates for office. When all of this happens right at the beginning, players usually adapt very quickly and there is no need for the heavy hand of Moderation to become involved.
We repeat: by far the best way to ensure the successful development of a nation is for experienced players to go there, stay there and nurture it. So if there is a nation you are passionate about, go there and look after it! If there is a nation a group of you are passionate about, see if you can arrange amongst yourselves to make sure at least one of you is there at any one time. Never forget that when new players arrive, the welcome of a veteran player who really knows and loves the nation is more inspiring than a bossy Moderator wading in to lecture about the rules.
Where a player in your nation is not following the rules, your first step - if you feel confident enough about doing so - should be to communicate with the player yourself. If that does not produce the desired result, your next step should be to contact Moderation. To underline the importance we attach to cultural enforcement, we have created a new thread for precisely this purpose: the Cultural Protocol Violation Reports thread. You are all strongly encouraged to use this thread. If you would prefer to report Cultural Protocol violations to us privately, you are also very welcome to communicate with us privately either on the forum or through our in-game Moderation account.
We promise you, we will enforce the rules and foster respect for Particracy's cultures, but we need your co-operation in order to make this work. Together, we can build an even better framework for role-play realism and ensure Particracy continues to be the best political simulation game on the web.