ForestBoard

Canaltia wrote:

I think we can actually password the region (unless you know something I don't, which is very possible), but that doesn't mean we should. We handled things pretty well last year with open borders, and I don't see why we shouldn't go for it again. That said, I also wouldn't be opposed to having everyone embrace and becoming a vessel by which plague spreads, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Whatever we do, I'm on board, and I might bring some puppets along for the ride. I know a lot of people don't like puppets, so I'll not do a huge chain, but I'm still debating whether or not to bring a few so I can rapidfire cure missiles. It definitely benefits the region stat-wise, but I don't want to impede on other's fun.

I want to see a Chan Island administration Z-day.

Hello Forest!..I'M Anosdiania!.How's ur day?

Ziotah and Riverside wrote:

Any idea of what we are doing for Z-Day this year? Same as usual? Going to be a challenge again like last year without lockdown capability I imagine.

The general consensus so far has been to focus on the cure but not to password-protect the region (i.e. same as last year). We do have the option of locking the region down, but open borders are more fun... plus it puts us in a good place to get top of the leaderboard for "Most Survivors + No Quarantine" again.

Ziotah and Riverside wrote:

Ahh...I always forget the details of these things. I think the problem last year then was that we didn't have enough people with ejection powers.

As far as I am aware, we didn't eject a single nation last year. It was a struggle, but determined efforts meant we were able to keep things under control. Before last year, every RO got border control powers before z-day started, and had them removed immediately afterward.

Ziotah and Riverside wrote:

Ahh...I always forget the details of these things. I think the problem last year then was that we didn't have enough people with ejection powers.

Last year was that Errinundera was inactive (but not CTE'd) and they were the only person with the power to password-protect the region. This year, Ruinenlust has executive powers... but as I said, the plan right now is not to use them.

I don't really remember there being any particular issue with border control... as Window Land said, we didn't really use it and we still still ended up 1st for "Most Survivors + No Quarantine". It's always good to be prepared, though, because troublemakers are a given.

Ownzone wrote:

I think we did eject nations that came in and actively spread zombies though and I think we should do that again. If we don't it is waiting for a moment where considerably more "spreaders" join the region than we can cure and we have to deal with a "tap that is constantly leaking".

Yeah, I don't think anyone was suggesting we avoid using border control powers - just that we refrain from password protecting the region. I don't really remember any major security issues last year - but as I said, it's good to be prepared for that kind of stuff to happen.

Ownzone wrote:

I think we did eject nations that came in and actively spread zombies though and I think we should do that again. If we don't it is waiting for a moment where considerably more "spreaders" join the region than we can cure and we have to deal with a "tap that is constantly leaking".

Last year we didn't have the ability to eject nations, so instead we fired cure missiles at them the moment they arrived. Nations have a cooldown, so if they have been fired upon they don't have the ability to do anything nefarious themselves. So they either ended up either cured or just left voluntarily.

Canaltia wrote:

That said, I also wouldn't be opposed to having everyone embrace and becoming a vessel by which plague spreads, but I don't think that's going to happen.

I've always found that option to be rather boring, cos if you just did nothing you'd get the same result.

What would be harder would be to kill everyone in the region. In that scenario you can't kill someone if they're not infected so you'd first have to infect everyone, then set about killing everyone. I don't know if you can still send kill squads if all your population is dead, so you'd have to let the remaining survivors get killed naturally.

But the region has always been about the cure, and we've got previous standards and records to uphold.

Uan aa Boa wrote:

Perhaps we could set that a Forest Keeper's term is 6 months but can, at the Head of State's discretion, be extended by up to 2 weeks to avoid such a situation.

The Cypher Nine wrote:

Would it be an issue to move election times just a bit?

Personally, I'd be in favor of an amendment that simply moved the end of the terms from Sept. & Mar. 16th to, say, Sept. & Mar. 1st (or Oct. & Apr. 1st, or whatever). There isn't much of an obstacle in the spring, since the April Fools' Day event doesn't require anything (and is usually dumb anyway, to be frank), but the fall is when things are somewhat thornier. There's N-Day around the end of September, and then Z-Day at the end of October. So if we adjusted the beginning of the Election Period so that things would be wrapped up (unless we have multiple primary rounds, runoffs, etc.--nothing is perfect), that would prevent situations where events happened in the midst of an election.

Re: Moving the election cycle: I actually have that on my list of things I'd like to eventually see, and would've raised it eventually anyway had no one else done it, hehe. Full approval. :)

Mozworld wrote:

Well, both Z-Day and N-Day started out as April Fool events, so you never know what that day may bring.

As did trading cards.

Nation of ecologists wrote:

*ahem*

Hello there Forest, I have returned from my 24 day absence. I hope everything's been going well here, I will be making posts from time to time from now on.

Pleasure to have you back! ^-^

Things seem to be going alright so far (as far as I can tell; the forest hasn't burned down since N-Day anyway). Been slowly plucking away at ideas. :3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of: What would everyone think about a potential regional anthem type of thing? I feel like this might have been brought up before, but my memory unfortunately is almost as bad as my formal statesman impersonation. It could either be composed new or taken off the internet... anything that doesn't get us into legal trouble, really. *Inserts Imperial March/Russian anthem crossover rip*

But seriously, would it be too odd an idea to maybe, down the road, have folks bring forth a bunch of ideas for potential anthems and then have the most well-liked ones voted on? It could be an interesting exercise for all of Forest to participate in... though, I doubt a single song could truly capture the spirit of Forest. Lest it's audio taken straight from a tropical rainforest... or potentially The Mississippi Squirrel Revival*.

(*please don't impeach me for this)

DMedia News Headline: Daarwyrth Dies Another Day?

Extraordinary news from Daarwyrthian scientists sweeps across Forest today, as during a press conference at the Royal Daarsted University a team of brilliant minds within the field of cellular biology announced a major breakthrough regarding the cellular cycle. During the event, Prof. dr. Than Othos revealed a stunning new theory that explains the mechanisms behind cellular decay and regeneration, and the potential to arrest this cycle, which might have far-reaching effects in this field of study. The revelation sparked many questions on the nature of the discovery and what had led the scientists to it, yet perhaps more pressingly, it led to the expression of concerns about the potential dangers of tampering with the cellular cycle in such a profound way. Prof. dr. Othos dismissed most of these concerns as "science fiction that the writers of a TV show played around with", presumably referencing Daarwyrth's hit series from 2010 The Dead Walkers. The scientist then concluded the press conference with an invitation to the scientific communities of Forest to collaborate with his team, to bring the new theory to life with further study and research. As expected, this led to harsh criticism from the Sovereignty Bloc, whose party leader Gylene vyn Wylden professed that "Daarwyrth should not give its scientific knowledge and expertise away so willingly to those who would surely squander it, especially with study and research that could benefit the lives of all Daarwyrthers".

In the aftermath of the press conference, the scientific team from the Royal Daarsted University released several key papers and studies on their research to the wider scientific community for further peer review. It remains to be seen what new insights will be sparked from this extraordinary revelation, and it has made all of us ask ourselves whether immortality and eternal youth have been brought one step closer, and whether we might actually live to see and experience it.

Monday, 25th October, 2021

Orojo was awoken by the sound of birds chirping outside his window. Groggily, he got up to open the curtains, revealing the culprits behind his premature consciousness. The pair of blue fairy wrens promptly flew away upon sighting the sudden movement, disturbing the violet foliage of the tree in the process.

The young Rijenȷ́an looks down towards the cobbled street below. Luran flags are hanging by the front door of almost every house on the street, quite a few more than normal. A quick glance at the calendar across the room explains the anomaly: today was Diarchy Day, Lura's national day.

Orojo was fond of Diarchy Day. Returning his gaze to the street below, and the few people walking or cycling past, he considered the way he was going to spend his holiday. After formulating his plan, Orojo got dressed. Late October is usually quite cool in Lura, so a grey jumper and green scarf were the focal points of his outfit.

Once his own Luran flag joined the sea of flags lining the street, the Uovi city centre was a short bicycle ride away.

Green and grey ribbon lined the city centre, complementing the violet leaves Uovi and the surrounding area were usually consumed by. Even now, before most of the day's major events had begun, the local cafés were filled with people enjoying a morning with friends or family. In the nearby park, picnics were being enjoyed and a setup beside a gazebo was being utilised by older Lurans to play chess, checkers and other classic two-player board games. Today was a day of twos, after all.

"Orojo!" It was Yja, who had clearly been as keen as he had to soak in the atmosphere of the day.

"Good morning, Yja. It's not like you to be up before noon."

"Excuse me? If I remember correctly, you are the one who oversleeps and ends up late to lectures." She giggled as she watched Orojo blush. "Let's just enjoy each other's company before the events start."

Orojo hadn't intended to meet with Yja quite so early, but perhaps this was fate at work. He had intended on admitting his feelings during the evening waltz, a traditional way to end the festivities each year.

Who knows what unexpected turns the day may take on this, a holiday born of love and celebrating the act of union?