Independent OrderBoard

Date: September 2020
Population: 1,522
Delegate Endorsement: 414
Forum: https://10000islands.proboards.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/4uWZbNS

Has your region been invaded, or do you want to get in touch with TITO? If so, contact one of the following nations:
~Chief Executive: Markanite
~Field Commander: Kanta Hame
~Tactical Officers: Shy Guyia, Smugglers and Mercs (TITO EF), THX1138, Controlitia, Grea Kriopia, Kuriko
~Executive Officers: Hakketomat, Aschente

As of this report's publication, the Government of 10000 Islands consists of:
~Chief Executive: Markanite
~WA Delegate: HumanSanity
~Senior Senator for New Republica South (Debates and Discussions): Controlitia
~Senator for Himes West (RP): Wille-Harlia
~Senator for Lyonnesse East (Houses): Thedairos
~Senator for Blue Canaria North (Emissary Report): Wischland
~Minister of Immigration: THX1138
~Minister of Education: Grea Kriopia
~Minister of Labor: Free Las Pinas

Information about other government officials of 10000 Islands can be found here.

Scheduled elections took place in September for the positions of Delegate, Senator for New Republica South, and Senator for Blue Canaria North.

HumanSanity of MSPP entered the race for Delegate, with strong support from the previous month's straw poll. Hakketomat also ran a playful campaign in the democratic spirit. Despite accusations of vehicular manslaughter, HS pulled through with an easy victory. Congratulations!

Incumbent Controlitia defeated Kohnhead and Solarampa to stay on as Senator for New Republica South.

Wischland ran unopposed to become Senator for Blue Canaria North following Grea Kriopia's transition to Minister of Education.

Congratulations to all candidate for a campaign well-run.

XKI thanks Kuriko for her invaluable service as Delegate.

~Minister of Education Grea Kriopia appointed Kohnhead as her deputy to assist her in collecting and organizing information about XKI
~ Ananke II and Eastern New England joined the Welcome Buddies team on the behest of Grea Kriopia to greet and mentor new Islanders
~Dokansia was made emissary to Forest and Yuwa was made emissary to Greater Dienstad
~Delegate HumanSanity hired Margaux as Secretary of State, to assist in the supervision of Emissaries and advise of FA matters
~Eastern New England was hired as Foreign Affairs Secretary

This year's N-Day prompted great excitement within 10000 Islands. As the date grew nearer Islanders were eager to discuss N-Day in the RMB and every nation prepared for the nuclear apocalypse. XKI joined the Potato Alliance alongside many other spud-loving allies, with HumanSanity and Haivon serving as Potato Generals to lead XKI's operations.

Although the Potato Alliance had a rough start to N-Day, some expert strategy and the willingness of every member to grind away at the production of shields and nukes allowed for a quick recovery. Potato Alliance regained a positive score at about +12:56. From there, the faction climbed the ranks from last place up all the way to 2nd place, ending N-day with an astounding score of 284,847 and a grand total of 346,472 strikes!

~September's Featured Nation was Yuwa. Consistent and undoubtedly reliable, Yuwa's dedicated work as a recruiter, TITO member, and emissary makes them more than worthy of the honor. Keep up the good work!
~Following the success of XKI's first TacoVision, Hakketomat quickly decided to host a round two. TacoVision II was even more popular, with 32 song submissions, an extended listening party, and a nail-biting live vote count! Congratulations to Ananke II for winning with the excellent song choice of Est-ce que tu m'aimes?
~A Short Story Contest hosted by Taco-Island-Charities asked Islanders to write a story about someone who "has been completely color blind for their entire life, seeing only grayscale, until they come across a stranger who appears in color." The contest concluded this month, with Jabberwocky taking the cake with his charming tale.
~Towards the end of the month, XKI was swept up in an Among Us craze, with Islanders gathering together every day to kill, sabotage, and accuse one another. Accidental self-reports, stab-happy imposter teams, and the clearly-audible sounds of murder coming from unmuted mikes led to a great deal of laughter and made everyone just a little sus.
~XKI joined the partea in the Tea House of Cards, where Islanders discussed trading cards and participated in fun events with friends from other region. Special congratulations to Eastern New England, for winning 1st place in the Quantitea and Regional categories of the Card Collecting Competition alongside Reimstagrad, and to Anisopterra for winning the I'm an Arteast section of Cute Animal Competition with their adorable drawing.

A regional poll by THX1138 asked Islanders to pick their favorite kind of pole. XKI is evidently a fan of penguins as the South Poll became the clear winner!

The RMB picked up again in September with these wonderful revelations:

~Don't go clubbing with Krystalveil
~Fighting words
~NS is sus
~Make a wish!
~Give yourself a round of applause
~GK's #1 Fan
~Jaws 4: Coming to a Daycare Near You
~A true delegate
~Throwback Thursday

HumanSanity has served in many government offices during his years in XKI, and has now taken on the mantel of Delegate. In this edition, he was gracious enough to give us a look into his plans for the region.

Wisch: First off, congratulations on becoming delegate! It's quite the achievement. What inspired you to run for the position?

HS: Since joining NS, regional government and region building have always been interesting to me. Throughout my time in 10000 Islands I've held a variety of government positions. This has always been something, simply put, that I find really fun. As I grow older, I especially love seeing my work succeed in building a strong community. I decided to run for Delegate for a few reasons.
First, it's sort of what's next for me. In XKI, I've held 2 of the 3 Minister positions (Labor and Immigration) and I am the only person to have been elected to each different Senate seat. But I had never been Delegate before, and I have an appetite right now to continue being a part of leading the region.
Second, I think the example provided by Kuriko was really instructive for me, and she certainly deserves credit for demonstrating to me how to effectively and tactfully advocate for defender values in NationStates. While I have my own approach and direction, Kuriko certainly guided me and helped hone my philosophy of XKI's foreign affairs.
Third, on a purely selfish level, I think this is going to be fun. Ultimately, we play NS because it's fun, and I think I'll enjoy both the gear of being Delegate that is about long-term improvements and projects and the gear where you address each problem and crisis as it arises. I think I'm going to have fun over the next 6 months, even if I'll be a bit exhausted

Wisch: You've certainly been very involved in XKI's government! Was anything different about your delegacy campaign than your previous campaigns for senator?

HS: More than anything it was different because I had planned it for a lot longer. I decided I was going to run for Delegate about 6 weeks before declarations open. Just emotionally there was a lot more build up and excitement associated with the election. Running for Delegate is a big decision: it's a 6 month term (not 4 months), it requires you to lock your WA nation from defending activity, and it requires you to serve as an informal figure head/head of state for the region (especially on site) in addition to performing specific job tasks.
Otherwise, it was pretty similar. Of course, I've never been accused of vehicular manslaughter before, but eh, that's not too big a deal.

Wisch: I'm sure getting elected gave you quite the sense of catharsis then. Now, let's look to the future. Could you detail some of your domestic goals as delegate? What's to come for XKI?

HS: My most important domestic goal as Delegate is to embody the spirit of 10000 Islands.
Whenever new nations arrive, they look to the Delegate as the nation's highest elected official. While the Delegate is not the highest member of our government, they are listed first on the main nation page, so they're someone who new nations look up to. It's important that the Delegate leads by example, providing a welcoming and positive presence on the main site, on the forum, and on Discord. Over time, I've gotten to see a lot of different Delegates, and I think this inviting atmosphere and community engagement was the hallmark of Ananke's two very highly regarded terms as Delegate.
Another purely domestic priority for the upcoming term is a bit of work with TIBOE. Vivolkha has done a fantastic job taking an informal leadership role in TIBOE, regularly and aggressively advocating for Delegate endorsements. I want to work with TIBOE and the WA Secretariat to connect TIBOE to the World Assembly Supremacy Program and our broader goals of using cross-endorsement to increase activity.

Wisch: And what can our friends in other regions expect from Delegate HS?

HS: My platform was entirely driven by a belief that expanded cultural and social ties will give us more tools to advocate for defender values on the world stage. Part of this is increasing the depth of our ties with other defender regions and part of this is working more with independent and unaligned regions.
To accomplish this, I am going assist several others in hosting a defender cultural summit shortly. Additionally, I am going to bring back the practice of weekend visits, but instead of attempting to run them every weekend, I'm going to pick and choose and invest more energy into planning each one so they can be more successful.
Lastly, and most importantly, I want my term to serve as an opportunity to clarify and promote a message of compassionate defender internationalism. For far too long "moralism" has been framed as a bad thing in favor of infinite relativism and competitive games playing. While the best defenders, both politically and on the battlefield, are tactical and clever, we cannot abandon our core values which are essential for recruiting, retention, and clarity of purpose.

Wisch: Of course, as delegate, you're going to be heavily involved in WA affairs. How are you planning on handling this new responsibility, especially in regards to upholding XKI's values?

HS: Ultimately, barring exceptional discussions or last minute changes in circumstance (as occurred in my recent decision to override the Liberate Syria vote), I will vote according to forum polls.
Of course, I will exercise clear community leadership on SC discussions. It is important to me that XKI supports Commendations for hard-working defenders and defender regions who have a record of extensive service to the cause. It is also important that XKI supports Commendations for those who have dedicated themselves to building neutral, independent, or gameplay unaligned communities as well - RPers, issue writers and answerers, cards players, and region builders who have also done the quintessentially defender work of building a more inclusive and active game.
Additionally, I want to see a serious pushback against the trend of both Commending and Condemning raiders. Both of these badges for raiders and raider regions become recruiting and propaganda tools. In a strategic sense, defenders should be denying raiders these tools for advancing their agenda. This is obviously an intense politicization of the SC, but the SC is already intensely political.
Most importantly, liberations are the last line of defense we have when things have gone wrong on an operation and native sovereignty is on the line. In do or disappear situations for longstanding native communities, I will be fierce in my advocacy for SC liberations for founderless regions being griefed.

Wisch: Thank you so much for your time. Before we conclude the interview, do you have any final thoughts or comments you'd like to share?

HS: I'm really excited to be Delegate and I'm looking forward to it :)

Date: October 2020
Population: 1476
Delegate Endorsement: 444
Forum: https://10000islands.proboards.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/4uWZbNS

Has your region been invaded, or do you want to get in touch with TITO? If so, contact one of the following nations:
~Chief Executive: Markanite
~Field Commander: Kanta Hame
~Tactical Officers: Shy Guyia, Smugglers and Mercs (TITO EF), THX1138, Controlitia, Grea Kriopia, Kuriko
~Executive Officers: Hakketomat, Aschente

As of this report's publication, the Government of 10000 Islands consists of:
~Chief Executive: Markanite
~WA Delegate: HumanSanity
~Senior Senator for New Republica South (Debates and Discussions): Controlitia
~Senator for Himes West (RP): Wille-Harlia
~Senator for Lyonnesse East (Houses): Thedairos
~Senator for Blue Canaria North (Emissary Report): Wischland
~Minister of Immigration: THX1138
~Minister of Education: Grea Kriopia
~Minister of Labor: Free Las Pinas

Information about other government officials of 10000 Islands can be found here.

~Vivolkha was named Chair of the XKI Brigade of Endorsers to organize efforts to increase the delegates endo count.
~Eastern New England appointed Dokansia as the Deputy World Assembly Secretary to assist in the coordination of FA policy.
~The position of Cultural Officer was taken over by Thedairos after Grea Kriopia stepped down. Thank you GK for all your hard work. We look forward to seeing what exciting events Thed has planned for the future!
~Serbianistan, Zaberaz hapang, and Sulenia were all hired as Welcome Buddies by Minister of Education Grea Kriopia to help guide and support new Islanders.

Islanders dressed up in their fanciest suits and ritziest ball gowns to rub shoulders and drink champagne with their fellow defenders at the first ever Liberty Gala. Players from all over NS joined in for the revelry and got to know one another through games of Among Us, impromptu VC parties, and a congo line to other regions' Discord servers. Besides making new friends, players paid respects to old ones, through panels and essays from experienced defenders, as well as an extensive family tree that traced mentor-trainee relationships through several generations.

But it wasn't all fun and games at the Gala, as players were also split into teams to compete in Defender Telephone, Trivia Relay, and a Detag/Chase competition. Players also had a chance to show off their individual skills in trigger jumping and chasing competitions, with results determined by a nail-biting few milliseconds! Despite the competitive nature of these events, players were quick to praise one another and keep their spirits high. In the end Team Obama proved themselves to be the best defenders (or perhaps just the most enthusiastic), and were awarded 1st place in the Defender Games. Though the end of the Gala is bittersweet, everyone returned home with new friends and plenty of fun memories!

XKI went all in to celebrate Halloween this year, with plenty of events to get everyone is a spooky spirit!

~The Cultural Office hosted a Regional Pumpkin Event, in which Islanders could submit different designs for an XKI jack-o'-lantern. The simultaneously beachy and spooky palm tree design, suggested by THX1138 proved to be the region's favorite. Grea Kriopia, in a live pumpkin-carving session, expertly created this Halloween's fantastic Regional Pumpkin
~Chief Executive Markanite called upon Islanders to collect candy in a Trick-or-Treating themed Scavenger Hunt that had everyone scouring the forums for candy. Margaux proved themselves to be the most adept candy-hunter, finding an amazing 928 sweets, and winning 50,000 tacos as a prize! Wischland and Free Las Pinas also showed their candy finding skills, coming in second and third place respectively.
~The region didn't let the fun stop during Z-Day's zombie incursions. Islanders worked together to cure the zombie plague and save one another's nations, coordinating in Discord and the regional RMB. Player's cure spamming saved trillions of lives, and placed XKI on the Z-Day rankings at #13 for most survivors, and #5 for Most Survivors + No Quarantine. Meanwhile Louisistan led zombie-loving nation to spread the undead scourge from 10000 Zombies to the rest of the world. Whatever side Islanders took, they had a blast working with another to deal with the zombie threat.

~Margaux was named Rookie of the Quarter. Besides his service as Secretary of state, Deputy Senator for Himes West, in TITO, and as a recruiter, Margaux has been a fixture on the forum and Discord, bringing joy to all with his formality and respectful discourse. Congratulations Margaux on the well-deserved award!
~Islanders sallied over the The Union of Democratic States to spend the weekend socializing with friends there. Members of XKI and UDS got together to play a variety of games and roleplay together in a mutual story-building event. Laughter and camaraderie abounded, and Islanders returned home with lots of new friends.
~Senator for Lyonnesse East Thedairos held the House Shield and Cup Competition, in which recruiters from XKI's different houses competed to contact and recruit as many new nations as possible. Led by the recruiting machine also known as United Counties of Escanaba, the House of Improving Wordiness took both the House Cup and House Shield. The House Sceptre went to the House of Aersoldorf thanks to Free Las Pinas's high recruiting success rate. Congratulations to the winning Houses and thank you to all recruiters!
~October's Featured Nation was Zaberaz hapang whose excellent work as a Welcome Buddy and recruiter shows their diligence and commitment to making XKI an even better region. Keep up the good work ZH, we can't wait to see what you'll do next!
~Following HumanSanity's assumption of the Delegacy, October saw an Endorsement Drive to get HS's endo count up to an ambitious 500 endorsements. Although HS's endo count was still a bit short by the end of the month, the hard work of TIBOE prompted over 30 nations to give HS their endorsement, with more sure to come soon.
~The A Taco Archipelago International Convention concluded after a month of excellent roleplaying and nation-development, all hosted by Wille-Harlia and Thedairos. Islanders were asked to create factbooks on their nation's military, design a map for their nation, and even write a battle speech! The convention ended with a bevy of awards and congratulations for each event winner.

A poll by Jabberwocky asked Islanders to pick which dinosaur they would save from extinction. Following lots of dino-based discussion in the RMB the Brontosaur and Raptors both proved popular.

There were lots of good vibes in the RMB this month:

~A Cheerful Hello
~Corruption? Who's She?
~Blessed by the Easter Bunny
~Prepare for the Elephant Rebellion
~We all know where Mozambique is
~THX is hip and with it
~NS Deep Fake
~"Good" is subjective
~The wonders of nature

Aspiring poets of the region once again competed in October's Poet Laureate Contest, with poems centered on the theme of regret. After two tied votes, Margaux was declared winner of the competition with their poem "The Quiet Throne".