Post by Rogernomics on Feb 3, 2009 12:48:33 GMT 2
Nationstates Rules
UN Proposal or Repeals Rules and Information
UN Information & Rules Collection
Types Of UN Rule Violations
Game Mechanics
Game Mechanics violations are attempts to change how the UN works. Eg. Requiring "proper" spelling, adjusting the number of votes needed for queue, creating a universal UN currency, and forming a "secondary UN" are all examples of this. Another example of this is forbidding UN action at a future point in time -- you can't make your Resolution "Repeal-proof" or prohibit types of legislation.
Army, Police, SWAT, etc
The UN doesn't get an army. Nor does it get to form The World Police. This is pretty clear: don't do it.
Ideological Bans
Okay, so you hate capitalism. That's nice, but you can't ban it. Just like you can't ban communism, socialism, democracy, dictatorships, conservatives, liberals, Christians, atheist, or any other political, religious, or economic ideology.
MetaGaming
A MetaGaming violation is one that breaks attempts to force events outside of the UN itself. Proposals dealing with Regions, with other nations, Moderators, and requiring activities on the Forums are examples. This also includes Proposals that try to affect non-UN nations.
Creating Stuff
Committees may be created, as long as certain things are kept in mind: nations do not sit on committees, they are staffed by mystical beings that instantly spring into existance and live only to serve on said committee. Committees are also bound by the above MetaGame rules. Also, keep in mind that Committees are additions to Proposals; they shouldn't be all the Proposal does.
Optionality
The opinionality ban refers to when language such as "Nations can ignore this Resolution if they want," which is right out.·
Format
Remember where I mentioned needing more than rhetoric? Yeah, this is what I'm talking about. This also includes Repeals with no argument, Proposals that are questions ("Don't you think we should...?"), and Proposals that are just too incomprehensible to make sense of. All proposals/repeals have to be written in English and understandable to moderators or it will be removed
Real World Violations
George Bush, Hammas, France, The Michigan Compiled Laws (Annotated), and Smith & Wesson do not exist in the NationStates world. Don't bring them up in Proposals. This includes references to real world documents, movies, and books. This is really easy to grasp and is a "bright line" violation. A Proposal that is wonderfully written, but mentions "the Great Wall of China" will be deleted.
Category
Category violations are pretty simple things, and often happens with 'Social Justice'. If your Social Justice proposal doesn't deal with "reduc[ing] income inequality and increas[ing] basic welfare", you've got the wrong category. This also includes proposals to ban guns forever being labeled as "Gun Control: Relax". This also includes Medical Marijuana Proposals under Human Rights, by the way.
Repeals
Yes, you can Repeal, provided you use the Repeal function.
If you make your own Proposal in some other category and calling it a Repeal, it's going to be deleted. Remember, Repeals can only repeal the existing resolution. You can provide reasons for repeal, but not any new provisions or laws.
Furthermore, simply stating "National Sovereignty" is not sufficient grounds for a Repeal. Since such a stance could be used on every single Resolution, it is little more than saying "I don't like it."Also, Repealing on the grounds of an old Resolution violating the current rules is not sufficient. Repealing because a Resolution violates the rules is itself a MetaGaming violation: the laws do not "exist" from an In Character standpoint.
Amendments
You can't amend proposals. Period. You can't add on, you can't adjust, you can't edit. If you want to change an existing Proposal, you have to Repeal it first.
House of Cards
Should the Resolution that creates the committe be Repealed, the committee will continue to exist, but in a reduced capacity. If your Proposal "builds on" an existing Resolution, you're ammending that resolution. Excessive back referencing is not acceptable either. Create a new Proposal, don't just parrot existing ones. (see: Duplication)
Strength Violation
This is very rare, but has been used in extreme cases. If your Proposal calls for the immediate destruction of all nuclear weapons and forbids their construction, and you list it as 'mild', it'll probably be deleted.
Significant
Proposals that affect a fair-sized area of policy and/or use fairly strong language to affect a policy area.MildProposals that affect a very limited area of policy and/or use fairly mild language to affect only that policy area, or broader policy areas in a very minor way.
No Joke like rules
No stupid resolutions/repeals such as mandating allowances for children who eat their vegetables.
Honest Mistakes
This usually happens with Repeals. Someone will misread the Resolution and submit a Repeal that supports the Resolution, or tries to undo a Resolution because they think it does something it doesn't (UN Taxation Ban comes to mind...)
Duplication
If the majority of your Proposal is covered by an existing Resolution, your Proposal is toast. We've got enough of these things already, we don't need to double up.
Contradiction
Diametric opposite to Duplication. The UN has already mandated Gay Marriage. You can't ban it without at least one Repeal.·
Branding
Limited branding is allowed. "Limited" means that you may list one co-author by nation name only. Example:"Co-authored by The Most Glorious Hack"Further branding will result in the Proposal being deleted.
Excessive Pimping<Cogitation>
No insane spamming of Regional Message Boards with your Proposal. Irritating your regionmates about it is fine, but don't go on a world tour hawking it. While this doesn't deal with the Proposal itself, excessive hustling will still result in the Proposal being deleted, and the person pushing it may face UN ejection.·
Proposal Stealing
If it can be proven that you've simply copy and pasted somebody else's Proposal and submitted it as your own, it'll be deleted, and you may be ejected from the UN as well.
Exceptionally minor infractions will not receive a warning. Also, if you've accidentally posted your Proposal three times you probably won't be warned. Same if you realise your error and ask for it to be deleted before a Mod sweeps the list. The definition of "minor" is up to the Mod doing the sweep, of course. Exceptionally severe infractions will earn you an instant kick.
Usually these are Proposals that fall under the 'Grossly Offensive' group. Also, you may be ejected for a second infraction if you submit the exact same Proposal after having it be deleted by the Mods. Unless we expressly told you it was okay to repost, don't.
Closing Remarks
While these rules are binding, we don't want players to feel like they will be hunted down in the middle of the night if they violate the rules. The hope is that players will continue to post drafts in this forum so that others can make sure a Proposal is legal. Also, remember that warnings for illegal Proposals do not count towards being deleted or anything like that. They're simply to keep people from flooding the queue with bad or improperly written proposals.- The Most Glorious HackNationStates Game Moderator
Proposal Categories
There seems to be some confusion as to what the existing UN proposal categories do, so I'll try to describe them in more detail here. Note that any reference to "government" refers to the governments of UN member nations, not the UN itself. References to "Personal" and "Civil" Freedoms are identical and completely interchangeable....
Environmental
A resolution to increase the quality of the world's environment, at the expense of industry.Precisely what it sounds like. Any Environmental resolution will cause a hit to your industries while improving the environment. Any proposal written for this category should preferably talk about industry having to somehow pay for environmental improvements. Of course, this could be abstracted by saying that the government taxes industry more to implement an environmental plan of some kind....
Human Rights
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.
Moral Decency
A resolution to restrict civil freedoms in the interest of moral decency.These are exactly opposed types of resolutions and affect Civil Freedoms. "Human Rights" increases these freedoms while "Moral Decency" reduces them. Remember that these freedoms primarily discuss the domestic Civil policies of UN member nations; Shall the UN require its members to exert more or less control over the personal aspects of the lives of their citizens/subjects? If it's an issue about how you choose to live your life (or if you have a choice), then it's Civil Freedoms.
Total Personal/Civil Freedoms are one of the components of Anarchy.
Zero Civil Freedoms are Totalitarian regimes."Mild" versions of either category will push nations in a particular direction, but only as far as the center. Stronger versions will push nations towards a more extreme end of the spectrum....
Free Trade
A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.Social JusticeA resolution to reduce income inequality and increase basic welfare.These are almost exactly opposed types of resolutions. Both affect Economic freedoms. "Free Trade" increases Economic freedoms while "Social Justice" reduces Economic freedoms. In addition, "Social Justice" also increases government spending on welfare and healthcare (though "Free Trade" does not have an opposite effect).
Economic freedoms primarily discuss how much regulation there is on business/industry or how much government spending goes to helping poor/sick people. Total Economic freedom is Laissez-faire Capitalism. Zero Economic freedom is a completely government-controlled economy.
Creating a Food and Drug Administration in all UN member nations, or creating a Securities and Exchange Commission in all UN member nations is imposing a mild form of Economic control, and therefore a mild reduction of Economic freedoms; you're imposing restrictions on what businesses and industries may do and you're moving away from a completely-uncontrolled Laissez-faire system.In terms of Economic Freedoms, "Mild" versions of either category will push nations in a particular direction, but only as far as the center. Stronger versions will push nations towards a more extreme end of the spectrum....
The Furtherment of Democracy
A resolution to increase democratic freedoms.Political StabilityA resolution to restrict political freedoms in the interest of law and order.These are exactly opposed types of resolutions and affect Political Freedoms. "The Furtherment of Democracy" increases these freedoms while "Political Stability" reduces them.
Remember that these freedoms primarily discuss the domestic Political policies of UN member nations; Shall the UN require its members to grant more or less say in the operations of their government? Who makes the decisions? Whether or not you even get to vote on anything (or anyone) is a Political Freedoms issue. Total Political Freedoms represent something akin to pure democracies, where every single citizen has a direct vote in every single matter.
Zero Political Freedoms means that the citizens (or subjects, or slaves) have no say in the operations of government whatsoever. Imposing regulation on campaign finances is a mild form of reducing Political Freedoms."Mild" versions of either category will push nations in a particular direction, but only as far as the center. Stronger versions will push nations towards a more extreme end of the spectrum....
Gun Control
A resolution to tighten or relax gun control laws.Remember that Personal/Civil Freedoms have subcategories. (Actually, Economic and Political Freedoms also have subcategories, but it's Civil that concerns us here.) "Human Rights" and "Moral Decency" affect the overall government control on the personal lives of citizens. "Gun Control" affects the degree of freedom regarding the private possession and use of firearms."Tighten" increases government regulation on the private use of firearms while "Relax" reduces these regulations.
This proposal category discusses ONLY the private, personal possession of firearms, and does NOT address the use of guns by agents of the government (the police and military). If you want to talk about police or military weaponry, then use either "Global Disarmament" or "International Security"....
International Security
A resolution to improve world security by boosting police and military budgets.
Global Disarmament
A resolution to slash worldwide military spending. Precisely what it sounds like. "International Security" increases government spending on the police and military while "Global Disarmament" reduces government spending on the police and military. Both resolutions affect the military more than they do the police, but they do affect both. These categories can cover any kind of weaponry used by the police or military:
Gambling
A resolution to legalize or outlaw gambling.Precisely what it sounds like. "Outlaw" will ban gambling (and eliminate the gambling industry) in all UN member nations while "Legalize" will allow gambling in all UN member nations...
Recreational Drug Use
A resolution to ban, legalize, or encourage recreational drugs.Precisely what it sounds like. "Outlaw" will impose a drug ban, "Legalize" and "Promote" will remove drug bans. They also have effects on the "Drugs" subcategory of Civil Freedoms; "Outlaw" will instantly impose total government control on drugs, "Legalize" will relax government control on drugs, and "Promote" will impose zero government control on drugs. "Promote" will also increse overall Civil Freedoms, but will not push it past the center.
Getting Additional Help
As extensive as these explanations are, sometimes there are things that still aren't clear and you need additional help. Ask your fellow players for advice. When drafting a UN proposal, do it on a word processor on your own computer.
Do not underestimate the value of informal peer reviews. When you submit a proposal to the UN, you certify that you understand the proposal rules and that you are subject to Moderator action if the proposal is deemed to be in violation. "I didn't know" or "I didn't understand" is not an acceptable excuse.
Written by Cogitation;
September 24, 2004 and February 23, 2005
The Most Glorious HackNationStates Game Moderator
UN Proposal or Repeals Rules and Information
UN Information & Rules Collection
Types Of UN Rule Violations
Game Mechanics
Game Mechanics violations are attempts to change how the UN works. Eg. Requiring "proper" spelling, adjusting the number of votes needed for queue, creating a universal UN currency, and forming a "secondary UN" are all examples of this. Another example of this is forbidding UN action at a future point in time -- you can't make your Resolution "Repeal-proof" or prohibit types of legislation.
Army, Police, SWAT, etc
The UN doesn't get an army. Nor does it get to form The World Police. This is pretty clear: don't do it.
Ideological Bans
Okay, so you hate capitalism. That's nice, but you can't ban it. Just like you can't ban communism, socialism, democracy, dictatorships, conservatives, liberals, Christians, atheist, or any other political, religious, or economic ideology.
MetaGaming
A MetaGaming violation is one that breaks attempts to force events outside of the UN itself. Proposals dealing with Regions, with other nations, Moderators, and requiring activities on the Forums are examples. This also includes Proposals that try to affect non-UN nations.
Creating Stuff
Committees may be created, as long as certain things are kept in mind: nations do not sit on committees, they are staffed by mystical beings that instantly spring into existance and live only to serve on said committee. Committees are also bound by the above MetaGame rules. Also, keep in mind that Committees are additions to Proposals; they shouldn't be all the Proposal does.
Optionality
The opinionality ban refers to when language such as "Nations can ignore this Resolution if they want," which is right out.·
Format
Remember where I mentioned needing more than rhetoric? Yeah, this is what I'm talking about. This also includes Repeals with no argument, Proposals that are questions ("Don't you think we should...?"), and Proposals that are just too incomprehensible to make sense of. All proposals/repeals have to be written in English and understandable to moderators or it will be removed
Real World Violations
George Bush, Hammas, France, The Michigan Compiled Laws (Annotated), and Smith & Wesson do not exist in the NationStates world. Don't bring them up in Proposals. This includes references to real world documents, movies, and books. This is really easy to grasp and is a "bright line" violation. A Proposal that is wonderfully written, but mentions "the Great Wall of China" will be deleted.
Category
Category violations are pretty simple things, and often happens with 'Social Justice'. If your Social Justice proposal doesn't deal with "reduc[ing] income inequality and increas[ing] basic welfare", you've got the wrong category. This also includes proposals to ban guns forever being labeled as "Gun Control: Relax". This also includes Medical Marijuana Proposals under Human Rights, by the way.
Repeals
Yes, you can Repeal, provided you use the Repeal function.
If you make your own Proposal in some other category and calling it a Repeal, it's going to be deleted. Remember, Repeals can only repeal the existing resolution. You can provide reasons for repeal, but not any new provisions or laws.
Furthermore, simply stating "National Sovereignty" is not sufficient grounds for a Repeal. Since such a stance could be used on every single Resolution, it is little more than saying "I don't like it."Also, Repealing on the grounds of an old Resolution violating the current rules is not sufficient. Repealing because a Resolution violates the rules is itself a MetaGaming violation: the laws do not "exist" from an In Character standpoint.
Amendments
You can't amend proposals. Period. You can't add on, you can't adjust, you can't edit. If you want to change an existing Proposal, you have to Repeal it first.
House of Cards
Should the Resolution that creates the committe be Repealed, the committee will continue to exist, but in a reduced capacity. If your Proposal "builds on" an existing Resolution, you're ammending that resolution. Excessive back referencing is not acceptable either. Create a new Proposal, don't just parrot existing ones. (see: Duplication)
Strength Violation
This is very rare, but has been used in extreme cases. If your Proposal calls for the immediate destruction of all nuclear weapons and forbids their construction, and you list it as 'mild', it'll probably be deleted.
Significant
Proposals that affect a fair-sized area of policy and/or use fairly strong language to affect a policy area.MildProposals that affect a very limited area of policy and/or use fairly mild language to affect only that policy area, or broader policy areas in a very minor way.
No Joke like rules
No stupid resolutions/repeals such as mandating allowances for children who eat their vegetables.
Honest Mistakes
This usually happens with Repeals. Someone will misread the Resolution and submit a Repeal that supports the Resolution, or tries to undo a Resolution because they think it does something it doesn't (UN Taxation Ban comes to mind...)
Duplication
If the majority of your Proposal is covered by an existing Resolution, your Proposal is toast. We've got enough of these things already, we don't need to double up.
Contradiction
Diametric opposite to Duplication. The UN has already mandated Gay Marriage. You can't ban it without at least one Repeal.·
Branding
Limited branding is allowed. "Limited" means that you may list one co-author by nation name only. Example:"Co-authored by The Most Glorious Hack"Further branding will result in the Proposal being deleted.
Excessive Pimping<Cogitation>
No insane spamming of Regional Message Boards with your Proposal. Irritating your regionmates about it is fine, but don't go on a world tour hawking it. While this doesn't deal with the Proposal itself, excessive hustling will still result in the Proposal being deleted, and the person pushing it may face UN ejection.·
Proposal Stealing
If it can be proven that you've simply copy and pasted somebody else's Proposal and submitted it as your own, it'll be deleted, and you may be ejected from the UN as well.
Exceptionally minor infractions will not receive a warning. Also, if you've accidentally posted your Proposal three times you probably won't be warned. Same if you realise your error and ask for it to be deleted before a Mod sweeps the list. The definition of "minor" is up to the Mod doing the sweep, of course. Exceptionally severe infractions will earn you an instant kick.
Usually these are Proposals that fall under the 'Grossly Offensive' group. Also, you may be ejected for a second infraction if you submit the exact same Proposal after having it be deleted by the Mods. Unless we expressly told you it was okay to repost, don't.
Closing Remarks
While these rules are binding, we don't want players to feel like they will be hunted down in the middle of the night if they violate the rules. The hope is that players will continue to post drafts in this forum so that others can make sure a Proposal is legal. Also, remember that warnings for illegal Proposals do not count towards being deleted or anything like that. They're simply to keep people from flooding the queue with bad or improperly written proposals.- The Most Glorious HackNationStates Game Moderator
Proposal Categories
There seems to be some confusion as to what the existing UN proposal categories do, so I'll try to describe them in more detail here. Note that any reference to "government" refers to the governments of UN member nations, not the UN itself. References to "Personal" and "Civil" Freedoms are identical and completely interchangeable....
Environmental
A resolution to increase the quality of the world's environment, at the expense of industry.Precisely what it sounds like. Any Environmental resolution will cause a hit to your industries while improving the environment. Any proposal written for this category should preferably talk about industry having to somehow pay for environmental improvements. Of course, this could be abstracted by saying that the government taxes industry more to implement an environmental plan of some kind....
Human Rights
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.
Moral Decency
A resolution to restrict civil freedoms in the interest of moral decency.These are exactly opposed types of resolutions and affect Civil Freedoms. "Human Rights" increases these freedoms while "Moral Decency" reduces them. Remember that these freedoms primarily discuss the domestic Civil policies of UN member nations; Shall the UN require its members to exert more or less control over the personal aspects of the lives of their citizens/subjects? If it's an issue about how you choose to live your life (or if you have a choice), then it's Civil Freedoms.
Total Personal/Civil Freedoms are one of the components of Anarchy.
Zero Civil Freedoms are Totalitarian regimes."Mild" versions of either category will push nations in a particular direction, but only as far as the center. Stronger versions will push nations towards a more extreme end of the spectrum....
Free Trade
A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.Social JusticeA resolution to reduce income inequality and increase basic welfare.These are almost exactly opposed types of resolutions. Both affect Economic freedoms. "Free Trade" increases Economic freedoms while "Social Justice" reduces Economic freedoms. In addition, "Social Justice" also increases government spending on welfare and healthcare (though "Free Trade" does not have an opposite effect).
Economic freedoms primarily discuss how much regulation there is on business/industry or how much government spending goes to helping poor/sick people. Total Economic freedom is Laissez-faire Capitalism. Zero Economic freedom is a completely government-controlled economy.
Creating a Food and Drug Administration in all UN member nations, or creating a Securities and Exchange Commission in all UN member nations is imposing a mild form of Economic control, and therefore a mild reduction of Economic freedoms; you're imposing restrictions on what businesses and industries may do and you're moving away from a completely-uncontrolled Laissez-faire system.In terms of Economic Freedoms, "Mild" versions of either category will push nations in a particular direction, but only as far as the center. Stronger versions will push nations towards a more extreme end of the spectrum....
The Furtherment of Democracy
A resolution to increase democratic freedoms.Political StabilityA resolution to restrict political freedoms in the interest of law and order.These are exactly opposed types of resolutions and affect Political Freedoms. "The Furtherment of Democracy" increases these freedoms while "Political Stability" reduces them.
Remember that these freedoms primarily discuss the domestic Political policies of UN member nations; Shall the UN require its members to grant more or less say in the operations of their government? Who makes the decisions? Whether or not you even get to vote on anything (or anyone) is a Political Freedoms issue. Total Political Freedoms represent something akin to pure democracies, where every single citizen has a direct vote in every single matter.
Zero Political Freedoms means that the citizens (or subjects, or slaves) have no say in the operations of government whatsoever. Imposing regulation on campaign finances is a mild form of reducing Political Freedoms."Mild" versions of either category will push nations in a particular direction, but only as far as the center. Stronger versions will push nations towards a more extreme end of the spectrum....
Gun Control
A resolution to tighten or relax gun control laws.Remember that Personal/Civil Freedoms have subcategories. (Actually, Economic and Political Freedoms also have subcategories, but it's Civil that concerns us here.) "Human Rights" and "Moral Decency" affect the overall government control on the personal lives of citizens. "Gun Control" affects the degree of freedom regarding the private possession and use of firearms."Tighten" increases government regulation on the private use of firearms while "Relax" reduces these regulations.
This proposal category discusses ONLY the private, personal possession of firearms, and does NOT address the use of guns by agents of the government (the police and military). If you want to talk about police or military weaponry, then use either "Global Disarmament" or "International Security"....
International Security
A resolution to improve world security by boosting police and military budgets.
Global Disarmament
A resolution to slash worldwide military spending. Precisely what it sounds like. "International Security" increases government spending on the police and military while "Global Disarmament" reduces government spending on the police and military. Both resolutions affect the military more than they do the police, but they do affect both. These categories can cover any kind of weaponry used by the police or military:
Gambling
A resolution to legalize or outlaw gambling.Precisely what it sounds like. "Outlaw" will ban gambling (and eliminate the gambling industry) in all UN member nations while "Legalize" will allow gambling in all UN member nations...
Recreational Drug Use
A resolution to ban, legalize, or encourage recreational drugs.Precisely what it sounds like. "Outlaw" will impose a drug ban, "Legalize" and "Promote" will remove drug bans. They also have effects on the "Drugs" subcategory of Civil Freedoms; "Outlaw" will instantly impose total government control on drugs, "Legalize" will relax government control on drugs, and "Promote" will impose zero government control on drugs. "Promote" will also increse overall Civil Freedoms, but will not push it past the center.
Getting Additional Help
As extensive as these explanations are, sometimes there are things that still aren't clear and you need additional help. Ask your fellow players for advice. When drafting a UN proposal, do it on a word processor on your own computer.
Do not underestimate the value of informal peer reviews. When you submit a proposal to the UN, you certify that you understand the proposal rules and that you are subject to Moderator action if the proposal is deemed to be in violation. "I didn't know" or "I didn't understand" is not an acceptable excuse.
Written by Cogitation;
September 24, 2004 and February 23, 2005
The Most Glorious HackNationStates Game Moderator