IMPORTANT!: End of Cultural Era consultation

[Aquinas]

As was announced back in January, Particracy now has a system where Cultural Protocols need to be affirmed during each Cultural Era or else they become candidates for Culturally Open status.

Guys, I know this isn't wildly popular, but for the long-term benefit of the game, this needed to be done. If we are to attract and retain players, we need to offer more Culturally Open nations and more opportunities to create new cultures.

Remember, too, that making a nation Culturally Open does not mean it is not allowed to role-play the culture there; it simply means Moderation will not require players to abide by it. Also, of course, it will be possible to restore an elapsed Cultural Protocol under the terms of section 17 of the Game Rules.

We are now at the close of the Cultural Era. Of Particacy's 52 Culturally Protected nations, 34 have affirmed, whilst 18 have not affirmed.

The candidate nations are Badara, Darnussia, Hobrazia, Hulstria, Ibutho, Jakania, Kalopia, Keymon, Lourenne, Rutania, Selucia, Solentia, Talmoria, Telamon, Tukarali, Valruzia, Vorona and Zardugal.

Moderation has decided that of these candidates, 5 will be allowed to continue with their existing Cultural Protocols, and 13 will become Culturally Open. This will mean, after the process is complete, that 19 out of Particracy's 58 nations will be Culturally Open. Since there has to be a minimum of 8 Culturally Open nations at any one time, there will therefore be 11 opportunities to create new Cultural Protocols.

We are asking you, the players, to advise us as to which 5 of the 18 unaffirmed Cultural Protocols should be saved.

Please avoid laborious explanations and excuses for why a nation did not get around to affirming its Cultural Protocol. Instead, tell us what the Cultural Protocol means in practice to you. Present a positive case for why it should continue into the next Cultural Era.

The final decision will be made by us, but before we make the decision, we want to hear as much feedback as possible.

When discussing a candidate nation on this thread, please tell us a little about your background in the game and provide links to your relevant in-game party account(s). If you do not do this, we may, for example, not realise you have been playing in the nation for the last year as opposed to just being someone from outside the nation who has never actually played there.

We would like this process to be as open as possible. Every player in every candidate nation will be messaged about what the situation is and about this specific thread. Players may, if they wish, approach us privately with their views, but we would prefer if they gave their feedback here, in public, on this thread.

However, in order to ensure this openness, all posters have a responsibility to be civil. Every player in this game needs to feel comfortable coming to this thread and participating in this process. No matter how strong the emotions involved may be, courtesy must be maintained at all times.

One of the factors influencing our decisions will be how the candidate nations have fared in terms of player numbers during the current Cultural Era. Some in-game cultures are more popular than others, meaning some nations are regularly filled with players, whilst others spend most of the time as one-party states.

I have compiled a Party Numbers Rating for each of the candidate nations. This works by dividing the Cultural Era (IG year 3960 to the present) into 5 periods, giving each nation a rating for each period and then adding up all of a nation's period ratings to give it its final score.

For each period, nations were given points based on their election with the highest number of parties with seats and their election with the lowest number of parties with seats.

No points were allocated for having just one party, but for each party after that, points were based on the number of parties with seats. In other words, 0 parties = 0 parties, 1 party = 0 points, 2 parties = 2 points, 3 parties = 3 points, 4 parties = 4 points and so on.

To give an example of how many points a nation might win for a period, if its election with the lowest number of parties with seats was 4 and its election with the highest number of parties with seats was 7, then it would win 11 points (7+4). Similarly, if its election with the lowest number of parties with seats was 1 and its election with the highest number of parties with seats was 3, then it would win 3 points (3+0).

Without further ado, the Party Numbers Ratings are as follows:

Rutania - 75
Solentia - 53
Zardugal - 39
Telamon - 25
Selucia - 24
Keymon - 20
Hobrazia - 17
Tukarali - 16
Darnussia - 14
Lourenne - 13
Ibutho - 8
Jakania - 6
Hulstria - 5
Badara - 4
Valruzia - 4
Vorona - 4
Kalopia - 2
Talmoria - 0

Of course, these ratings are designed to inform the process of deciding which Cultural Protocols to save, not to automatically determine it. As we will no doubt hear soon from others, there are factors other than player numbers which affect how deserving a Cultural Protocol may be thought to be of saving.

Reddy & I appreciate how sensitive this process is, and we want to say we understand how, for some of you - including some of our most devoted players - this will hurt. We take no satisfaction in this. Please be assured we are trying to conduct this process as fairly as we can. And remember the choice of which Cultural Protocols to save and which to allow to expire will not be a personal judgement on any particular player or group of players.

One final request: no polls on this, please. Forum polls are easy to manipulate, because some players have multiple forum accounts.

[theoriginaltrotka]

I think its important to preserve the Cultural Protocols of Ibutho, firstly, because Ibutho is the the only "African" nation in the game, and it allows Particracy to represent a greater degree of multicultural diversity which is more greatly representative of the real world.

[Mikhail_Bakunin]

Zardugal should most definitely keep it's cultural protocol.

[CCP]

I wrote Ibutho's current Cultural Protocols, and I'm actually against saving them. The reason is that most of Ibutho's RPd history has basically been reactions against or cynical capitalizing on Aquinas's original Ibutho story which was about anti-African mockery. I understand that Aquinas will be limited in what he can say on this subject because he's a moderator now, so I won't delve into why I view his story that way, though I think it's obvious from his Ibutho contributions. So putting aside any characterization of his story, I'll just say that basically everyone who has played in the country since Aquinas has sought to reform his Ibutho story in varying ways. Some players like me have attempted an image makeover via a post-Mlungisist monarchy, while other players have sometimes cynically used Aquinas's story as a sub rosa justification for various kinds of colonialism (I think this latter group of players has been the majority). What this boils down to is that Ibutho has never really had a class of patriotic players so to speak who band together to consistently defend a mostly-understood conception of the country over a number of real-life years the way we see in countries like Luthoria, Rildanor, and some others. Ibutho's players have mostly played against the country rather than for it. And of the 'patriotic' Ibutho players like me, we've mostly played in solitude during one-player/one-party periods, even when our stories have been influential.

I'm African American and I began playing the game back in 2004 or 2005. For years, I wanted to see and play an African country in particracy, so I was excited about Aquinas's creation of Ibutho despite my reservations about the anti-African way he did it. That said, it's pretty clear that particracy players as a whole aren't quite sure how to play an African country. Many simply avoid it, sometimes explicitly. Of those who don't become bored or petrified into silence, they spend their few weeks deconstructing previous players' stories and most have sought to actively de-Africanize the country. For me, these are indications that Ibutho isn't quite the right fit for particracy's players.

Since Ibutho was created, both Cobura and Talmoria have been made African-majority countries (though ambiguously so). So opening Ibutho's protocols won't risk the total absence of African countries in the game. I don't know what kind of African country could be most healthily played in particracy, but I don't think Ibutho is quite it. I personally have been fantasizing about a Bermuda/Bahamas/Barbados-style African Caribbean country in 2-region Vorona or 1-region Keymon. I might create it myself if Ibutho isn't saved.

The bottom line observation is that the most successful countries in the game (both IC and OOC) have 1 to 3 players who are willing to park-and-play solely in that country for several real-life years. Ibutho hasn't had that (I wanted to play that role myself, but can't manage the time commitment). I'm both unsure if Ibutho will ever have that kind of player constituency and apprehensive about what the player/s will be like if it does.

Having an enduring African anchor state in-game will require a fairly deliberative look at the particracy player base to see what kind of African country (real world-based or entirely constructed) will be most-played and best-liked by players. Aquinas was forced to rush Ibutho's creation due to the 500-year rule constraint. This Cultural Era process provides a better opportunity to really think about particracy's African Question so to speak and get it right. For that reason, I'm in favor of letting Ibutho lapse, as much as I'll miss some of the great things we've done there.

[Akhenaten]

I posted a somewhat confrontational forward arguing against popularity being a reason to preserve a few English-speaking cultures, namely Rutania and Solentia. The sentiment, worded more nicley: their popularity is not an argument for keeping these cultures. They would be no less accessible were they made culturally open, and the cultures are not particularly interesting or unique. If the players in these countries cared about the cultures, the protocols would have been affirmed. If we have to choose, put them on the chopping block to preserve other cultures. Might be unfair; I play in the least accessible country in the game; whatever. That said, my votes for preservation:

Zardugal: Okay, personal bias involved here, since Zardugal borders Cobura and has cultural similarities with it. The Byzantine/Esperanto culture does not overwhelm or dominate new playes; it gives flair to the country but it is still accessible. In addition, Esperanto might be the most accesible language in existence to a Western audience. It's also been one of the most powerful countries in the game, and is almost universally hated across Majatra. It would be odd to wipe that slate clean. This might be less of a pressing issue, since I believe the 3 players there would be willing to preserve the culture once the 3rd player hits the time requirement.

Ibutho: The game is sorely lacking in African cultures. The game's incredibly Eurocentric; can we please maintain a hint of diversity here? (CCP did just say he's in favor of having Ibutho lapse, and Africanizing Keymon or Vorona. In that case, I suppose my "vote" could be switched to Talmoria, which actually makes more sense having an African culture from a Terran history standpoint.) I've been directly involved with Ibutho, and it has influenced Cobura in a multitude of ways, even though I haven't played there.

Selucia: Ancient Rome. Do I actually need to say anything else? Selucia's cool, okay. It's fairly accessible, there are plenty of resources for Latin, and the fact that it's in the top 5 for parties supports what an easy and fun country it is to play in. (I've played here, http://classic.particracy.net/viewparty ... tyid=23237)

Hulstria: CS has put a lot of work into one of the more unique and creative cultures in the game. It's not a carbon copy of anything else; it's kinda weird, but that's what makes it interesting, and it has a logical backstory. (Status: total outsider.)

Badara or Talmoria: One of these two, for me. Badara, because its elimination would threaten the existence of Middle Eastern/Islamic cultures in the game; same goes for Talmoria and African cultures. Thing is, neither of these countries are at all popular, and Talmoria's economy is broken. I'd still say they should be kept, but if I had to pick 5, I'm casting half an unofficial vote for each.

Welp, that's it. There are a few other cultures I'd preserve, but I don't want to dilute my point.

[Ted Cruz2016]

I am from Solentia and represent the Republican Party (GOP). We have been in Solentia since March 23, 2016 and briefly were in Kirwala for 3-4 days before. We then moved to Solentia since it was more conservative. The cultural protocols don't mean very much to my party and no party seems to enforce them. We use generic names and my names are just modified names of prominent GOP people (Ronald Rigid- Ronald Reagan; Ted Cruz- Ted Christ; Abraham Lincoln- Abrhaman Link) so we don't follow them and the other older parties don't either. We are the largest party in Solentia but don't hold the majoirty and even though we have 46% we are only 1/6 parties. We wouldn't mind being open as we republicans have made Solentia USA-conservative lite. We use US ideals like the Senate and also have American sport-football and support 2 years to be like the House-Senate hybrid; equal representation, larger legislative: 2 year term limits. We try to model as conservative America reaffirming judeo-Christian values and such so cultural protocols have no matter UNLESS THEY WILL IMAPCT THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY THEN we REFUSE to not have them destroyed as they will remove our plurality

[Choice Party]

My apologies for not re-affirming Hulstria's (now more recently known as Mikuni-Hulstria) cultural protocols. I myself am new to the nation and have brought some friends from elsewhere on the game here too, so things are heating up. The culture is a mix between Austrian and Japanese, with the latter now taking more affect.

I personally do agree that more nations need to be freed up with a culturally open status, however Mikuni-Hulstria has just started to become quite active now. We are also very strongly embracing the culture over here (well the Japanese parts anyway, although later in the game I plan on at least acknowledging the Austrian parts, perhaps with an Austrian party leader), so it would be a shame if our nation didn't make the cut. I'd say nations that are culturally open which don't really seem to have a distinct culture, and inactive nations with no parties are prime candidates to remain open instead of opening our nation.

I would also like to point out that usually I prefer to play in English or American based nations, but Mikuni-Hulstria is the first nation I've gotten really invested into playing a different culture. Just a bit of emotional blackmail there

[NoaIdema]

Selucia would prefer to become culturally open, as it would allow us to write a new cultural protocols from scratch. This, I believe, would attract more players. I have also made a bill in Selucia, asking players to vote yes or no on becoming culturally open. (http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=470880). I hope this somewhat changes your minds and hope that Selucia becomes culturally open. If Selucia becomes culturally open and we are able to write a new cultural protocols, we hope to somewhat keep the 'Ancient Roman' theme but make many changes to it, such as add more Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks and other ancient cultures. We hope to become culturally open so that we can make more drastic changes that would be allowed in a cultural protocol update. We don't want to make it a USA clone, as was implied by a previous user. This hopefully will convince you. Regards.

[Akhenaten]

Selucia would prefer to become culturally open, as it would allow us to write a new cultural protocols from scratch. This, I believe, would attract more players. I have also made a bill in Selucia, asking players to vote yes or no on becoming culturally open. (http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=470880). I hope this somewhat changes your minds and hope that Selucia becomes culturally open. If Selucia becomes culturally open and we are able to write a new cultural protocols, we hope to somewhat keep the 'Ancient Roman' theme but make many changes to it, such as add more Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks and other ancient cultures. We hope to become culturally open so that we can make more drastic changes that would be allowed in a cultural protocol update. We don't want to make it a USA clone, as was implied by a previous user. This hopefully will convince you. Regards.

I wasn't implying this, really, and I probably shouldn't have spoken for countries that are actively played. I apologize for that, and I may modify my original post. What I was saying is that the English speaking cultures should not be on the priority list for being saved, which Aquinas seems to imply, because opening them up would not change them much. If you want to open Selucia in such a way, it's not really my place to oppose it.

[SelucianCrusader]

NoaIdema: Luckily there is nothing to prevent you from revising the protocols in a realistic way without becoming culturally open. I like the general sound of what you are suggesting.

Selucia and Zardugal definitely need to keep their protocols (in some shape or form, not necessarily as they are now), as important hubs of game lore and RP, removing their culture would essentially destroy a huge part of the lore and the continent would stop making sense. This goes for Hulstria/Gishoto and Solentia too IMHO, although the former could use a revision to mak it more accessible to newer players.

I also very much disagree with the need for more "open" nations to attract more players. Just look at the current ones - are they all constantly full with players or close to that? Dranland succeed very well not despite but because of it's lore with the epic struggle of the three ethnic groups. If people want total freedom to ignore the lore and do hat they want, they can always go and play Nationstates.