10000 Islands

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!

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 Wischland. 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. A more comprehensive forum guide can be found here. 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.

Guides and Set Up

• 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 Ettiquette 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.

• New Nation Stipends and Taco Island Charities Longevity Awards: Rewards to get new members started in our financial system.

• Ways to Make Money in 10000 Islands: This guide explains how to earn Tacos to enrich yourself in 10000 Islands' financial system.

• Nation Creation and World Census Guides: Wondering how Issues and national statistics work? These threads contain more information.

• 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.