Header Courtesy of Lynx 
September 2018  
Point//Counterpoint
Note from the Editor: This month, we’re introducing a new style of Article. Every once in a while a topic will divide the populus of Osiris
and we in the Oracle will sometimes be split ourselves. So we’ve decided to introduce ​Point//Counterpoint.
It will be a debate style article with two writers discussing two different sides of the issue. You are welcome to your own opinion and
would love to see some response to this new article type.
The Topic for this month is the Forum move and reasoning behind it. What do you think, Osiris? Are you for or against it?
Point
By Josh.
Welcome, prospective readers, to a new segment of the Oracle. In Point
and Counterpoint, myself and Peter, with the assistance of the occasional
“completely willing” “volunteers” from the Community Affairs
department and beyond will be delivering a neatly packaged review of an
issue affecting NS, or the world at large. As the title implies, this series
will have two articles covering each issue; one detailing one author’s
point of view, and another detailing an alternative viewpoint or
interpretation. Some devil’s advocacy may be required, but as I am sure
many of you know, there’s a lot to argue with me about!
With the recent change in Zetaboards, which a good part of the off-site
communities were based on, discussions about the utility of forums and
the state NS’ forums find themselves in have risen once again. For those
who are unaware, Zetaboards was recently bought out by Tapatalk, who
have begun forced migrations of existing Zetaboards forum communities
to their, by all accounts, significantly more limited format.
Koth’s view that Tapatalk just plain “sucks” is reflected in the general
community; one user I came across described it as “unacceptable.” A
great number of forum admins have responded to this forced change by
migrating their forums to alternative service, going to great lengths to
provide what they view as better and more worthwhile forum experiences.
In light of this, and as an admin myself, I ask why we should put so much
effort into such an archaic method of communications when our
communities are so focused on discord usage for day to day interaction?
Why, when very few people actively use forums, should administrators go
to the lengths that many are to uproot move their entire community to
another service?
To me, these questions have only on answer in most cases; we shouldn’t.
In Gay, I have revived our community around discord. Almost nobody
uses the forums for anything more than voting when the time comes
around to hold elections. Those who use it more frequently are members
of the government, who must conduct official votes on the forum. These
are both verification and security issues, where forums are extremely
helpful.
Regardless of being hosted by Zetaboards or Tapatalk, this is a core and
basic part of a forum’s functionality, and something that will work
perfectly fine without spending a lot of limited time on migrating the
forum. Infrequent logins to vote on the occasional issue don’t require the
forum to look particularly pretty, only to do the bare minimum level of
functioning for the demands of the region. This is not an argument based
in “let us scrap all forums,” far from it, but an appeal to realise what we
actually use forums for in the modern age of NS. No longer are they the
primary hub of all activity, and we shouldn’t treat them as if they were.
Gay is not unique in being a region where the primary social activity of
the community takes place not on the forums, but on its discord server.
Many regions have forums which see little to no use outside of official
government business, citizenship management and the like, and for those
Counterpoint
By Peter
So why for go through the effort of making forums more welcoming and
user friendly? Simply if they’re an important part of your region and
communication you should always put some effort into those things.
And why are forums still important? Firstly forums are a more reliable and
much better way to archive… well everything really, such as laws, reports
or events. Even with dedicated channels on Discord it is easier to create
archives in a forum, and even to navigate said archives.
Forums also have advantages when it comes to laws. It’s better to just use
a forum to create and discuss laws; for many reasons conversations and
discussions tend to derail all the time in Discord. It starts with the fact that,
it being a chat app, people have a natural tendency to do just that: chat.
The idea that it is a chat and even the design of the apps just push us
towards that. And chatting is not that helpful for creating things like
laws… or working in general really. Then there’s the next reason: It is
harder to keep track of a whole conversation on Discord. Have you ever
opened your Discord only to find out that there was a conversation that
looked important going on but you have more than 100 messages to read
and you don’t even know when the conversation started? It’s a nightmare.
Of course there are ways to work around this with pings and pins but even
so you have to make an effort and set up a system so that those features
can consistently be used for that effect… While in the case of forums the
platform is that system in itself. In forums you also have the advantage of
being able to create, discuss or suggest various ideas at the same time
without everything being so all over the place. Even if you set up a
specific channel just for law-making and have created a system using
pings and/or pins using that while trying to discuss various laws at the
same time is… at the very least a slow process and an headache. In forums
each law will just have a thread for itself.
For Discord you could also create a channel for every new law in the
process of making… but that too sounds like a headache and like it would
just clutter up your sidebar. Still on the topic of lawmaking, and going
back to the topic of archiving, I think there is an advantage to being able to
see the whole thought process and discussions that happened when setting
up and creating laws, when thinking of possible amendments to current
laws or even creating new laws. This way you’ll know better why that idea
wasn’t added before or if it was even talked about… I think Discord
would complicate this job (for reasons I’ve mentioned before for other
points).
Finally there is the double edged “advantage” of safety, both regional and
personal. The first thing to be talked about in terms of safety that forums
possess and Discord does not is access to IP addresses. In forums
generally admins, or at least the owner of the forum, have access to the IP
addresses of members. This is of course a bonus for regional safety since if
you get banned it is easier to create a new Discord account than it is to set
up a new forum account on a different IP.
Of course this is where the other edged side of the blade appears: if the
admin team is not trust-worthy you now just gave your IP address to some
regions it is silly and unnecessary to convert to another forum host over
mere issues of looks and day to day user friendliness. As a rule, forums
are not approachable or user-friendly in the modern age, regardless of
who hosts them, and attempting to slap a fancy paint scheme on one will
not change that fact. It is plainly evident that when matched up against
discord for day to day socialising, the majority of notable regions have
opted for discord. Besides the occasional odd and archaic RMB-focused
Forest type, this is the reality of our game.
It is plainly not the best use of a forum admin’s time to be transferring
their forums over, and can take away from the quality of service in other
areas. This has been highlighted recently by TNP’s administration not
properly addressing serious complaints about admin abuses in favour of
concentrating on a forum transfer. Prioritising this over community health
is a disastrous approach to administration, and one that could be
inadvertently followed should another region concentrate too much on
how their forum looks, and not the actual wellbeing of the region they
serve.
Overall, I argue that with the reduced role of forums in our modern
regional communities, it is silly to treat them as the primary point of
contact. As long as a region’s forums provide for the basic requirements
of verification and other government business, which Tapatalk forums
absolutely can do, there is little to be gained in the majority of previously
Zetaboards based regions from panicking about the transfer and putting a
great amount of time and effort into switching forums.
shady unknown person on the internet and that is not a good thing. Besides
that there is also the thing that if you use only forums and your community
limits itself to those means of communication as an admin you may even
have access to personal messages if required and that way if someone is
having trouble for some reason outside the public view there is a change
you might be able to help and know firsthand what is really going on,
something that is harder to achieve on Discord. This is both a pro for
personal safety, as you can better protect your members from other people,
as it is for regional safety, as you can know if someone is having any
“criminal” activities in the background…
That said once again, if your admin team is not trustworthy you run into
the same problem as with IPs.
For all of those security pros and cons, the first and most important thing
you should have regarding your forum is a trustworthy and honest admin
team.
And for me those are the advantages of the forums, although I enjoy
socializing on Discord, I think those things make forums still a necessary
means of communication and organization for NS regions.

FROM THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

Osiris is looking for A Few Good ... Mentors!

Have you ever joined a new community and wondered, "okay now what do I do?" Well, you can stop that from happening to new Osiris citizens. Being a
mentor means being a knowledgeable point of reference and a friend so that new citizens can find their way and feel truly welcome into the Osiris
Community! If you'd like to help welcome new citizens you can sign up on the Osiris Forum! Ask a member of the Community Affairs team for a link if
you need one!

We're also looking for your input!

Do you have something you'd like to tell Community Affairs? You could be a part of the CA team or you can offer your ideas, suggestions, and input into
our new CA Suggestion box. Don't worry, it's completely anonymous if you want it to be!
 “What’s the Sitch, Syg” OSIRIS STATLYMPICS
By Sygian

Nations of Osiris,
Osiris has been quite the powerhouse lately, with Pharaoh Altino and her
Council of Viziers at the helm. The past month has brought a various
The Stats portion of the Statlympics have come to a close and we are very
number of things to Osiris, one of these being the new forum. Koth, who
happy to present to you our categorical winners:
has been the root administrator of Osiris’ offsite forum since the dawn of
the Osiris Fraternal Order, put it very simply for us that aren’t familiar
Civil Rights​: Eye of Voo
with technical terms. Zathyus Networks (creator of Zetaboards, the most
Political Freedom​: Benjabobaria
commonly used offsite forum domain in NationStates) announced earlier
Economy​: Imperium of Josh and Tethys 13
this year that they “have been acquired by Tapatalk, Inc. It’s not a
Nudity​: Rion Brkba
transfer,” he says, “Tapatalk owns [Zetaboards] now.” This unexpected
Pacifism​: Imperium of Josh
change brought disappointment to several communities across
Weaponization​: Kittengrass
NationStates. Tapatalk has been known for their grotesque forum layouts,
Black Market​: Dalimbar
so it’s not only inconvenient to transfer to a new domain, but it’s also a
Primitiveness​: Continental Rapture
process. With the help of our fantastic offsite administration team, Osiris
Crime​: Gryphonian Alliance Tres
was able to transfer everything from the old forum onto a new one - and
Corruption​: Dalimbar
we don’t have to worry about an ugly forum layout!
Defense Forces​: The Matriarchal Empire of Tiparu
Although, a new forum guarantees new issues. The administration
Government Size​: Eye of Voo
team has set up a channel (#new-forum-issues) in the Discord server for
Employment​: Eye of Voo
anyone that is experiencing any trouble with the forum. Be sure to ask
Religiousness​: Kittengrass
there if you need any help or have any questions!
Charmlessness​: The empire of wymondham
Following these forum changes, Pharaoh Altino has made some
Public Healthcare​: Eye of Voo
changes within the government. First, she appointed Lynx as the new
Public Education​: Eye of Voo
Vizier of Gameside Affairs and as a Guardian. “[Lynx has] been working
Tourism​: Eye of Voo
with Sygian and myself in Gameside and with the recent Statlympics
Secularism​: Imperium of Josh
games that she started with the help of Rigel in Community Affairs has
Death Rate​: The empire of wymondham
really started to come into her own,” Altino says. “She will take over for
Sygian as Vizier of Gameside Affairs. She will also join our team of
The most popular categories were Economy, Defense Forces, Public
Guardians.” Lynx requested that Lord Dominator be appointed as her
Healthcare, and Public Education. The least popular categories were
Sub-Vizier, a request that was approved by Altino. Finally, Altino
Primitiveness, Charmlessness, and Employment. A few categories were
removed Dr_PelIcaN from the Council of Guardians following recent
complete blowouts, such as Dalimbar's total victory in the black market
inactivity. “ Pel has been serving as Guardian of Osiris for a long few
with a victory margin of over 100 trillion "Cashes." Rion Brkba
months now, but has grown somewhat silent lately… due to his absence,
steamrolled the Nudity category with a margin of 500 "Cheeks per square
I'm removing him from the Council of Guardians.”
mile," and Kittengrass dominated religiousness with a margin of 3000
As the new Vizier of Gameside Affairs, Lynx has quite a few
"Prayers per hour."
unique ideas in mind. She is currently constructing a list of the best quotes
from the offsite forum, Discord server, and the Regional Message Board
Eye of Voo​ had the most victories with 6, followed by Josh with three, and
to post weekly. Doing so will hopefully attract certain players to our
then a three way tie for third with Wymondham, Dalimbar, and
offsite forums to get involved in Osiris.
Kittengrass achieving 2 victories each.
There are quite a few interesting changes that are happening, and
knowing Osiris, there will be plenty more to come. I am excited to see the
growth of our region every day, and I hope everyone reading this article is
inspired to make their own change… because maybe I’ll write about you
next time!
Congratulations to the victors, and a special thanks to all participants who
entered. The Lore portion of the Inaugural Statlympics will be judged this
That Sweet, Sweet   week by our very own Priests of Osiris and the winners will be presented
RMB Activity  in a week's time.

Good luck!
 
The RMB is a vital resource of new citizenry in Osiris. Mike was
drawn to our region by people he met on the RMB. We’ve seen
characters who’ve served our region as friends, citizens, Viziers,
and all sorts of things - like Rallori and Diaz! - come from the
RMB. There are many more really cool people who speak there
every day but aren’t being reached out to in a way that makes
them want to stay, but we can change that!

Join the RMB Dream Team! Trick innocent nations into

becoming a permanent part of Osiris!
 Interview with Sylven
By Wymondham

Many of you may have come across an individual Imaginary on the

Lazarus discord or forums some time since last autumn most likely
leading FA or going raiding as a member of the UDoL’s military yet it has
only recently been revealed that Imaginary was actually Sylven of TWP
and Lily. Our reporter, Wymondham spoke to Sylven about this a few
days after the news broke.

Wymondham​: Hi there Sylven, or should I call you Imaginary? Recently

you've admitted that you infiltrated the Undead Dominion and later Imaginary’s Nation Flag
wolfist Lazarus under a secret identity known as Imaginary, you were
obviously very successful in this, managing to fool everyone so
completely that I even took you raiding as a member of the Undead
Dominion's military force. What made you decide to infiltrate Lazarus
under a false identity?
Wymondham​: Could you perhaps explain the process that goes on when
you are creating a new identity by that I mean, is there anything you did to
prepare before getting involved in the undead dominion and how did you
make sure people who knew you as Sylven didn't recognise imaginary for
Sylven​: I didn't like what the leaders of the Undead Dominion were doing
who they really were?
in Lazarus: banning longtime natives, rejecting all ideas but their own,
and time after time making it evident that they were merely there for the
power and fame. If a delegate (particularly of a GCR where new nations
Sylven​: I made a Google doc specifying everything I wanted to
first experience -or first re-experience - the game) consistently makes
accomplish and what kind of person I wanted Imaginary to be. I didn't
decisions that harm the region, I think they should be removed. The
want my personality to be the same under both my original and assumed
easiest way I saw for that to happen in Lazarus was for someone to gain
persona so I wrote down some loose guidelines that I thought would set
the trust of Funkadelia and his friends, gain the delegacy, and as Imki did,
Imaginary apart from Sylven such as
coup the place. I was bored and frustrated and decided to go for it. For me
that meant I needed to create a false identity since there is no way they
~is an Assassin's Creed fangirl (while I do like the symbol and art, I've
would have trusted a defender to be on their side
never actually played the game)
~swears fairly regularly, and in a fun way (I have sworn like twice as
Sylven)
has good grammar (I generally use absolutely awful grammar)
Wymondham​: You spent a year as Imaginary, so you must have come
~does not use "..."s (I'm addicted to those things.. this one was really hard
across other NSers you knew and got on well with as Sylven, how did that
to do at first)
feel talking to people who knew you but didn't know that Imaginary and
~uses discord emojis (as Sylven I tend to use text ones, especially for
Sylven were the same person?
facial expressions)

I only looked at the Google doc a few times over the year, but I think
planning out who I was trying to be was pretty helpful. If you're a spy you
Sylven​: It felt weird. Especially in Osiris and The West Pacific (where
want to act like a person, not one person one day and another person the
Imaginary was an ambassador) there were a lot of people around who I
next. I also made a Discord server where I kept things I thought were
knew well as Sylven. I felt a bit low for tricking my friends, but I also
pertinent to my situation and where I organized the work I did as a
found it interesting getting to know them again, so-to-speak. Probably the
member of Lazarus. I used this pretty regularly during the
hardest part was trying not to act super comfortable around them since I
Dominion/Wolfist period but later I invited a trusted friend (Liliarchy; I
had spent so much time with them before, but we had supposedly just met.
think I told him about all this because he kept getting on to me for
As Imaginary you might have noticed I talked a bit more seriously (capital
appearing offline) there and we mostly used it for listening to Dubstep
sentences, periods, etc) than I do as Sylven. I was always scared of getting
together in.
too chill and making some kind of joke or conversing in a kind of way
that would have helped people identify me as my other identity. That may
have made Imaginary feel a little plastic.
Wymondham​: Obviously you went raiding with the Undead dominions
military force despite being a defender how did you find that experience?

Wymondham​: Now, you stated earlier you made Imaginary as you

Sylven​: I actually used to be a raider, but I was one of those folks who
wanted to infiltrate the Undead Dominion. However after Imki took over
would move into the region and then telegram my partner to endorse me
you still kept up the act of being Imaginary, could you perhaps explain the
(he'd usually come a few days later). It was interesting to be with people
reasoning behind that decision?
who were using more up-to-date raiding techniques. That being said, I
didn't personally experience much of this because the Undead Dominion
military was very inactive. I think it did one or two ops, neither of which I
was able to make. The only real raiding I did was with you. While it was
Sylven​: I didn't know much about Imki. I generally think well of people,
fun, I think I'll remain on the fenda side of gameplay.
but Imki had seemed to be very tight with the Wolfists and when she took
the delegacy I really didn't know what Lazarus was in for. I decided to
stay incognito just to make sure I wasn't saying "Hey I'm with you guys!"
and letting her know to get rid of me (thus ruining my chances of
Wymondham​: Thank you very much for this interview Sylven, I'm sure it
infiltrating her regime). Another reason was the complete confusion of
will be very informative for our readers
Anarchy Week. I didn't think another drama point needed to be stuck in
the middle of that. I did come to trust and respect Imki's dedication to
Sylven​: My pleasure!
Lazarus's well-being over the next month or two. To be frank, the only
reason I didn't make my false identity public three weeks ago was laziness
and fear that my friends (both those of Imaginary and Sylven) would think
I was a terrible person because of what I did.