Cards Co-op President: Regional Cards Free Las Pinas (fakeplasticearth)
Welcome to 10000 Islands!
If you're new to the game, you're probably wondering what all of the site features are and how they work. You'll find that NationStates is a seemingly simple browser game with a rich community and a depth of features and game play developed by players over the course of almost 18 years. 10000 Islands is one of the oldest regions in the game, dating back to 2002, with a continuously operational defender military and active regional government. ⠀ This Dispatch includes a step-by-step guide to how to get started in NationStates and become involved in 10000 Islands. NationStates is fundamentally a social game played regularly over the course of a long time. Take a minute to read up and dive in, eventually you'll forge your own unique path and be able to customize a game experience you enjoy! ⠀ P.S. Feel free to introduce yourself over in the Regional Message Board or over in the forums in the Welcome Center.
Opening Steps
The first thing you'll want to do, if you haven't already, is to answer your issues. In NationStates, you function as the all-powerful leader of your nation and Issues are how you effect your government's policy and national statistics. Issues are the only way to effect these and you'll have to wait for more issues once you've answered them all. To learn more about issues, you can check out the 10000 Islands issue and stats lounge or this Issue answering FAQ.
While you wait to receive more issues, you should join the World Assembly (WA). Joining the WA requires that you input your email address on the settings page (know that your email will not be visible to other users and NationStates does not send you spam emails!). Joining the World Assembly is important because it grants you a say in developing international law through the General Assembly and preserving international peace through the Security Council. More importantly, joining the WA grants you citizenship in 10000 Islands, which allows you to participate in elections and run for office.
Once you've joined the World Assembly, be sure to endorse the World Assembly Delegate Astrobolt. Endorsing the Delegate gives the region more power in the World Assembly because the Delegate's vote is weighted so they receive an extra vote for each WA endorsement they have. You can also decide how the WA Delegate votes once you're registered on the forum by participating in WA voting polls.
After you've done that, you can get involved in our regional community by signing up for the regional forum. The forum is the main headquarters for our regional government, economy, cultural events, our defender military, and role-playing. When you sign up for the forum, it's important to follow the instructions in the first post of this thread so that an Account Masker can go through and confirm your account to give you access to appropriate areas of the forum.
The last thing to do is join our regional Discord server. Discord is a live chat platform that we use to hang out and get to know our region-mates a little better. Stop by to meet some new friends!
Once you've done these four things (answer Issues, join the WA, sign up on the forum, and introduce yourself on Discord), you're all set! From there, take your own path and discover what about 10000 Islands interests you. The rest of this Dispatch is an index of guides and resources for you to look at.
Regional Government: 10000 Islands is governed according to the Constitution by the Chief Executive, a Council of Nine, and various executive government officials. Understanding the nuances of this system and why things are structured this way is important, and this guide serves to unpack all of that along with how you can get involved.
RMB Etiquette and Guide: The Regional Message Board (or RMB) is the shared community space we have that is built into NationStates. If you'd prefer not to use off-site forums or chat apps, it'll be hard for you to get involved in regional government or parts of our culture, but you can access a healthy sliver of our community through talking to your neighbors on the RMB. However, this comes with rules and community guidelines outlined in this guide.
WA Guide: Learn more about the World Assembly here - what is the General Assembly and the Security Council? How does WA membership effect your nation? What regional programs does 10000 Islands have for engaging in the WA?
Join TITO!: The Ten thousand Islands Treaty Organization (TITO) is 10000 Islands' regional defender military - they help secure other regions' security when they're attacked by raider forces. Learn about what exactly TITO does and how to help here.
Houses and Generations Guide: Discover your lineage and place in XKI's family tree as well as make friends by exploring our House and Generation system in this guide. Compete in competitions with other Houses and more!
Entertainment and Activities Guide: Want more fun things to do? Look no further than this guide! Discover all the endless possibilities for fun here in the 10000 Islands and how to interact with them or learn more about creating your own fun.
Additional Resources
10000 Islands Information Bureau: This is a forum-oriented guide with more information about the customs and traditions of 10000 Islands.
Welcome and Registration Thread: If you choose to join the 10000 Islands forum, post in this thread to get your account confirmed.
Terms & Abbreviations: Look up common NationStates slang and acronyms you find in this guide.
History of 10000 Islands and TITO: This guide contains a brief history of 10000 Islands and the Ten-thousand Islands Treaty Organization.
Regional Master Calendar: This dispatch holds a list of all our regional holidays so you can check for celebrations throughout the year.
Political Parties Information: Political parties are influential in 10000 Islands' electoral process. Learn more about the current parties and how the party system works in this guide.
10000 Islands Frequently Asked Questions ⠀ What is the first thing I should do now that I've joined the region? There are many ways to become involved in the region now that you've joined, like becoming a citizen, joining the forum where you can vote in elections and do lots of fun things, joining the discord server, or doing things gameside like endorsing the delegate, solving issues, and chatting on the regional message board. Learn more about the opening steps to involvement in the region in the XKI Welcome Guide. ⠀ What is the World Assembly and how do I join? The World Assembly is like NationStates version of the United Nations which governs the World. It passes different laws, and can condemn or commend nations on their acheivements. Members get to vote on each of these laws (you can vote for the ones you like and vote against the ones you don't), however you will have to follow anything that passes. You aren't allowed to just follow the laws you like and ignore the ones you don't. ⠀ Joining the World Assembly is not mandatory but it is open to everyone. Just go to the World Assembly page and click "Apply to Join" which just sends you an email that you need to accept (there's no actual application process). Be warned, as a user while you can have multiple nations and puppets only one can be a member of the World Assembly. Being a member allows you to endorse the delegate as well as other nations, and in addition allows you to vote on resolutions. More information on what endorsements do as well as the benefits of joining the World Assembly are below. ⠀ In addition check out the XKI World Assembly Guide for more information. ⠀ How do I become a Citizen? / What is the difference between WA and Non-WA membership? All 10000 residents in the WA are citizens of 10000 Islands. Citizens are eligible to vote and run in various elections and hold certain government positions, where as non-WA members are not able to. All WA members are highly encouraged to endorse the delegate to help keep the region safe. Learn more about citizenship and 10000 Islands government in the Regional Government Guide. ⠀ What are endorsements? How do I get endorsements? Endorsements are something you can do to fellow WA member nations in your region. In order to endorse another nation you both need to be WA members and to be in the same region. While they don't matter too much (however are important for bragging rights) endorsing the Delegate is very important as it keeps our region safe. ⠀ In order that Delegate transitions are more easily achieved, we limit endorsements to 1/2 the total of the sitting Delegate. Endorsement trading (aka "endo tarting") is OK up to this limit, but if you are over this limit at the time of Delegate transition, once every 6 months, you will be asked to shed your endorsements to get to this limit - or failing that, be temporarily booted from the region (which will cost you all of your endorsements). So mind this limit please.
Keep in mind that even when there isn't a Delegate transition going on, the limit still applies. Please remember this. ⠀ What is TITO? How do I join TITO? The Ten-thousand Islands Treaty Organization or TITO is 10000 Islands' defender military. You can learn more about joining TITO here. ⠀ Does 10000 Islands have a map? How can I get added to the map? Yes, 10000 Islands does have a map. You can view the map in this dispatch or on the forum here. ⠀ To be added to the map, you need to register a forum account and have a minimum of ten posts over a period of one month. You also must be a Citizen (WA resident) of 10000 Islands, with a national population of at least 250 Million. ⠀ If you qualify, you can post here to be added. ⠀ What is the legislative process of this region? / How can I get onto the Council? The Council of Nine is the legislative body of the Islands. Here legislation is written, passed, revised, and repealed. There is also a Council of Nine Lobby, where you can bring matters to the attention of the Council. In addition all official Council discussions except those marked secure will be viewable by all citizens so you can get up to date information on what's happening in the Council. However only council members are able to post in these non-secure discussions. ⠀ There are 3 appointed, and 5 elected positions in the Council (the other is held by our Chief Executive). Elections occur every odd numbered month. Senators serve a 4-month term and the Delegate serves a 6-month term. ⠀ What is recruiting? How can I become a recruiter? Recruiting is sending invitations to other nations. We use something called the Accelerator for ease of recruiting. Read here for more info. ⠀ I have more questions! Great! Check out the the rest of the guides, and/or see the forum for more Information about 10000 Islands!
Special thanks to HumanSanity for writing, Free Las Pinas for formatting, and the Ministry of Education for maintenance and upkeep.
Endorsements are the most fundamental and basic mechanic of NationStates' World Assembly (WA). They symbolize a nation's support (that is, an endorsement) for another to represent their region at the World Assembly.
Both chambers of the World Assembly - the General Assembly and the Security Council - use the same endorsement list. In other words, when endorsing a nation to the World Assembly, it is being endorsed for both the General Assembly (GA) and the Security Council (SC) simultaneously. It is not possible to endorse a nation solely to the General Assembly or the Security Council without involving the other.
How do I endorse a nation?
To endorse another nation, you must first meet two conditions:
Be in the same region as the nation you want to endorse.
Be both members of the World Assembly. Apply to join the World Assembly here.
First, go to the main page of the nation you intend to endorse:
nationstates.net/nation=NATIONNAME
If and only if the two previous criteria are fulfilled, a button appears right at the end of the page, below National Happenings, that says "Endorse NATIONNAME". Simply click that button, and wait for the game to process it (generally ~1-2 seconds at most).
Being the most fundamental mechanic of the World Assembly, endorsements have a number of very important effects:
Endorsements determine who becomes the region's World Assembly Delegate. The nation with the most endorsements in a region (at the very least, one endorsement is needed) becomes its World Assembly Delegate, in charge of representing their region at the World Assembly, during the next twice-daily game update. In case of an endorsement tie between a nation and the incumbent Delegate, the latter remains Delegate of the region. In case of a tie between two nations that are not the incumbent Delegate, the mechanics are not exactly clear, but apparently the one who received the oldest latest endorsement (that is, the one who got endorsed first with the tying endorsement) becomes Delegate. Delegates have special voting powers at the World Assembly: their vote is equivalent to that of 1 + number of endorsements (minimum 2 votes) nations. Proposals at the World Assembly also need the approval of 6% of Delegates before it can even be voted on. Outside the World Assembly, Delegates may have Executive powers, making them the paramount authority in the region, second only to the Founder (if there is one). Keep in mind that most of the largest regions in the game have a more organized method of picking the Delegate. For example, in 10000 Islands, the Delegate is elected every 6 months.
Endorsements help grow a nation's Influence. Provided it doesn't switch regions, a nation's Influence grows by 1 + number of endorsements every update, that is, 2*(1 + endorsements) per day. Delegates need to spend Influence to perform actions such as ejecting a nation from a region. Nations with higher Influence are, in turn, more expensive to ban or eject. Note that this restriction does not apply to Founders.
Endorsements allow nations to submit proposals to the World Assembly. To be specific, nations require at least 2 endorsements before they are allowed to submit their very own proposals to the World Assembly.
Endorsements award stat badges. Stat badges are awarded to a nation when any of its stats hit the top 10%, 5% and 1% in the game. Endorsements help obtaining stat badges in two ways. First, the number of endorsements received is a stat in itself, and given that a majority of nations are not members of the World Assembly, it is an easy badge to get. Second, endorsements play a huge role in obtaining an Influence badge given the mechanics of this stat.
Endorsement caps
As stated previously, most of the largest, most powerful regions in the game, including 10000 Islands, choose their Delegates through elections or other organized, pre-planned decision. To ensure that the desired nation becomes Delegate, regions enforce endorsement caps that apply to all other members of the World Assembly. In 10000 Islands, the endorsement cap is half the endorsements that the current Delegate has, and it does not apply to members of TITO, our military forces.
Endotarting
How do I gather endorsements?
When receiving an endorsement, it is generally considered respectful to return the favor and endorse that nation back. This exchange of endorsements is commonly known as endotarting. Hence, the easiest way of gathering endorsements is to simply endorse every nation in your region. Check the list of World Assembly members in 10000 Islands by checking the World Assembly Supremacy Program (WASP) awards here, or the World Census list here.
How could I lose endorsements?
There are four main ways you can lose the endorsement of a nation. From most to least common:
The nation in question Ceases to Exist;
The nation in question moves to another region;
The nation in question resigns from the World Assembly; or
The nation in question manually withdraws their endorsement.
If your nation changes regions, resigns from the World Assembly, or Ceases to Exist, it will lose all the endorsements it had previously received.
Why should I engage in endotarting?
Nations in 10000 Islands are strongly encouraged to endotart as much as possible (without breaking the endorsement cap), for a number of reasons:
As said, the fastest and most common way of gathering endorsements is engaging in endotarting, which will allow your nation to enjoy the advantages of getting endorsed. For example, you will easily obtain stat badges for World Assembly Endorsements or even Influence.
Endotarting is a way of engaging with other people! Furthermore, members of the World Assembly tend to be more active than non-members.
Endotarting boosts regional security slightly. Nations with more endorsements gather Influence faster, making it more costly for foreign hostile nations to eject them if they ever seized power.
10000 Islands actively rewards endotarting by giving away prizes through the WASP!
Latest Forum Threads