June 2017 Newsletter

[Seperallis]

Show ContentJune 2017 Newsletter Preview:

"Ayzek only spies on you most of the time."

---

Eternity returns to NationStates
Since the dawn of Eternity's "great influx" of 2014, the community as a NationStates region has settled into a quiet slumber when both activity and efforts concentrated solely upon forum membership. With the exception of a brief spurt of NationStates-related recruitment in late 2016, the community's footprint on the Max Berry-inspired website slowly dwindled, even as forum activity thrived.

That all changed recently, as Dear Leader Ayzek gave his blessing to the grass-roots upswelling of support for a return to past glory. Even all-powerful King-Deities deserve rest, and with the Dear Leader showing signs of fatigue from managing the weight of literally all known existence, Seperallis - Chief of Logical Reason, Keeper of the One Beard, and all-around superior specimen of peak male performance - took the brave and magnanimous initiative to relieve His Supreme Benevolence of a small token of His overwhelming burden. With blessings of The Linear One in hand, it is with immense joy that we return to you, to NationStates, to the world, eager to learn more of our fellows in other communities as we likewise share of ourselves with others!

New recruitment officer takes the helm
As part of a completely unrelated yet highly convenient wave of new patriotism sweeping the community, Ayzek (King Alldays, long may he reign) proudly announced a new community recruiting initiative, led by the intrepid volunteer Alvino Castillon. Showered lavishly with gifts by His Benevolence, the highly reputable and dilligent hive of bees immediately set to work in its new post as it worked with the community to identify needs and re-create the program from scratch. Already within the first few days, the erstwhile cobweb-infested recruitment offices received a makeover, with sections devoted to tips, suggestions, templates, even an impressive desk and bulletin board where to display all the office's tools and projects for easy access.


Good job! Way to go! What a Model Citizen!

Discord in Eternity
With several terrible puns pending discovery, the community recently saw creation of a new chat service. The community has for years used a chatbox on the forum, but its limited functionality and lack of voice support began to frustrate efforts to organize community events and frustrate users as they held multiple conversations together. Thankfully, Rommy and several other saw the need and established a Discord service to meet the expanding needs of the the community. Huzzah!

We don't expect to kick the good ol' chatbox to the curb any time soon, though the new Discord is already enjoying regular use by most members. If you're feeling social, you should definitely visit us sometime.

Other News

• Addition of forum descriptions under consideration.
  
• Region/Forum sloganeering underway as citizens rediscover the essence of the community.
  
• Ritual sacrifices to The Benevolent One on the rise with unborking of community wiki.
  
• The Linear One releases new "recent events" timeline tool.
  

Balochian Crisis explodes in north Marzanna
Years of the brutal cycle of Balochi oppression and Saamojed terrorism exploded into a tense armed standoff between Saamojedi separatists in the north and Balochi government forces in the south of Balochia. After the forced round-up and "deportation" of tens of thousands of ethnic Saamojed to the pooer occupied north-country, and with winter coming, desperate Saamojedi "freedom fighters" staged a brutal and protracted uprising. The slow swell of opposition eventually overwhelmed the outnumbered Balochi army, ending decades of occupation of the ethnic Saamojed lands in the north as they freed themselves in a campaign of ethnocentric revenge that's left countless dead in its wake. An unsteady calm hangs across the battle lines, as both sides hold their breath, waiting for the curtain to rise on the next act.

They could see the smoke from a few kilometers away. Large black columns of smoke drifting lazily into the night. Above the sky, the northern lights could be seen, making for a macabre sight as the plumes appeared before them. It was not a good sign. When they saw it, they rode even faster. It could really only mean one thing. As they grew closer their hearts sank. Great fires in the village. Nearly every home was burning. Wood was the primary building material so there was plenty of fuel.

The caribou they had only so recently killed were among the blaze as well. The waste was monumental. Brekke was unsure if he was crying from the smoke or from the tragedy. The three hunters moved through the village, searching for anything resembling a living person. Oh, there were bodies, both burned and unburned. The snow was stained red. Women, children, and men lay prostrate and cold, their lifeblood spilled.

Brekke did not want to find his home but found himself unwillingly drawn to it. It must have been one of the early ones, as the flames were nearly finished. He peered inside to see two forms that were at one point his mother and sister. This time he knew why he felt tears.

>> Read More Here <<

Mazaghean Woes
The history of Mazaghea, a former USR bloc republic set free long ago after the collapse of the mega-country's communist regime, continues to unfold, the story told in Siora's "Historical" section. Jamzor the Jaxxor weaves a tale of intrigue, conflict and betrayal set in the world's bloody past: freshly free from communist oppression, power vacuums and conflicting agendas create factions within the newly minted, post-USR democracy that threaten to destroy it from within. Surrounded by larger local powers, can the small, mountainous nation keep itself from destruction from both without and within?

A man walked down a crowded street in Nalkop, the capital city of the Mazaghean Socialist Republic. Like everyone else, he wore a thick overcoat and stuffed his gloved hands into its pockets, trying to hold on to whatever warmth remained in his body. Snow fell and wind blew harshly. There were no warm greetings of friends, neighbors, or coworkers in the street, as everyone kept their eyes downcast to the path directly in front of them, taking the quickest route possible to their destination. This was no time for anything warm and friendly, and it was more than the weather which brought about such a state. War was brewing. The man could smell it on the air, and he knew what it smelled like. He was a natural soldier, a Mazaghe warrior born to the wrong time, he liked to think. He liked to think that he would have been more suited for those old days when the Mazaghes answered to no one but themselves. With dagger in one hand and flintlock in the other, he would have defended his homeland before it ever even knew the feeling of oppression.

>> Read More Here <<

Other News

• The ongoing civil war in New Galasia shifts into a new gear as Angiris intervenes, attacking regime-held bases and areas. (More)
  
• Distrust on the rise amidst nations of Kvaenna as secret talks ensue, culminating in naval skirmish between Arrenland and Brymme.
  
• Nyland's Federal Assembly passes historic multi-trillion Daler military rearmament and expansion package.
  
• Tensions grow within Lanlania as Azrean nationalists protesting empire's continued occupation of the colonial territory meet violent opposition.
  
• Svarna Surya's troubles continue, as new socialist government's economic plans meet stiff condemnation from neighbors and foreign business for dismantling the free market.
  
• Saratov defeats 1580 champions Valland to win 1584 Women's SIFA World Cup in a surprising 2-1 showing.
  
• Major review of the hottest and nottest tourist destinations in Siora is under way.
  

Q2 Author's Challenge closing soon
The second quarter of the Eternity Author's Writing Challenge is coming to a close at the end of June, and everyone totally didn't forget the deadline was fast approaching, they're just, uh...making final perfect preparations so their stories will be the best! This quarters' randomly-picked writing themes are "seed," "iron," "prayer," and the topic of "keeping a secret," all of which are in no way highly suggestive in nature at all.

Q3 themes have already been picked, and will be made public on 1st July. In the meantime, while everyone perfects the writings they've actually had ready to post for months now, why not join us and peruse the Q1 writing entries from earlier in the year, available for all to see here.



Explaining the Dutch
Nentsia, resident Dutchman, essayist and catnip addict, has continued his series on the Dutch national psyche via an exploration of the Dutch history the local Ministry of Education doesn't want you to know. Often full of opinions, Nentsia's well-researched and often very long writings, regardless of the topic, are a great way to burn some spare time while gaining perspective on a topic of history that very few often consider. If you're up for an almost-academic read on a little-known topic, you can't go wrong with this thematic collection.

I feel like writing about history a bit and this forum gives me an excuse to tell you a bit about Dutch history, since many here are from the US or some other semi-important country. This gives me an excuse to tell you about the history of a country that's not important, but thinks it is anyway. For this opening post I've ranted a bit about what everyone needs to know about Dutch history before you can get into the more detailed stuff, but next time I want to ramble about how the Netherlands went from being a Europoor backwater in the 1900's, to being one of the most prosperous European countries by the 1960's and beyond.

>> Read More Here <<

Other News

• Community minecraft server development continues, as the server goes offline temporarily to prepare & migrate to new hardware.
  
• Eternity XCOM becomes a thing, as Seperallis takes over the Game Status thread and inundates the chat with XCOM exploits. Make him stop, please.
  
• Nentsia continues to pick apart the dark secrets of Football Manager with almost perverse dedication.
  
• Much loved members go on hiatus to complete Basic Combat Training. Farewell, & good "luck."
  

Select the relevant spoiler for the forum you are on, select all of the code (take care to scroll down in the code box; there's much more than what's displayed) and copy the code to where you need it to be.

If the forum you are on has code that's not supported, the code seems to break, or there are other problems with the display of the newsletter, post your problems here so I can fix them.

After you've placed the newsletter where it needs to go, be sure to comment here saying so!

Show ContentZetaboards Code:

Code:

[center][url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/][img]http://board.eternityrpc.com/images/logo.png[/img][/url]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/Nx2Gty6.png[/img]

[url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/showthread.php?tid=8][img]http://i.imgur.com/UNGg5dZ.png[/img][/url]
"Ayzek only spies on you [i]most[/i] of the time."

[hr]

[img=410,120]http://i.imgur.com/21ubgSY.png[/img][/center]
[font=Georgia][big][big][u]Eternity returns to NationStates[/u][/big][/big]
Since the dawn of Eternity's "great influx" of 2014, the community as a NationStates region has settled into a quiet slumber when both activity and efforts concentrated solely upon forum membership. With the exception of a brief spurt of NationStates-related  recruitment in late 2016, the community's footprint on the Max Berry-inspired website slowly dwindled, even as forum activity thrived.

That all changed recently, as Dear Leader Ayzek gave his blessing to the grass-roots upswelling of support for a return to past glory. Even all-powerful King-Deities deserve rest, and with the Dear Leader showing signs of fatigue from managing the weight of literally all known existence, Seperallis - Chief of Logical Reason, Keeper of the One Beard, and all-around superior specimen of peak male performance - took the brave and magnanimous initiative to relieve His Supreme Benevolence of a small token of His overwhelming burden. With blessings of The Linear One in hand, it is with immense joy that we return to you, to NationStates, to the world, eager to learn more of our fellows in other communities as we likewise share of ourselves with others!

[big][big][u]New recruitment officer takes the helm[/u][/big][/big]
As part of a completely unrelated yet highly convenient wave of new patriotism sweeping the community, Ayzek (King Alldays, long may he reign) proudly announced a new community recruiting initiative, led by the intrepid volunteer Alvino Castillon. Showered lavishly with gifts by His Benevolence, the highly reputable and dilligent hive of bees immediately set to work in its new post as it worked with the community to identify needs and re-create the program from scratch. Already within the first few days, the erstwhile cobweb-infested recruitment offices received a makeover, with sections devoted to tips, suggestions, templates, even an impressive desk and bulletin board where to display all the office's tools and projects for easy access.

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/Teyeuwj.png[/img]
Good job! Way to go! What a Model Citizen![/center]

[big][big][u]Discord in Eternity[/u][/big][/big]
With several terrible puns pending discovery, the community recently saw creation of a new chat service. The community has for years used a chatbox on the forum, but its limited functionality and lack of voice support began to frustrate efforts to organize community events and frustrate users as they held multiple conversations together. Thankfully, Rommy and several other saw the need and established a Discord service to meet the expanding needs of the the community. Huzzah!

We don't expect to kick the good ol' chatbox to the curb any time soon, though the new Discord is already enjoying regular use by most members. If you're feeling social, you should [i]definitely[/i] [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/v2F5wJv]visit us sometime[/url].

[big][big][u]Other News[/u][/big][/big]
[list]
[*]Addition of forum descriptions under consideration.
[*]Region/Forum sloganeering underway as citizens rediscover the essence of the community.
[*]Ritual sacrifices to The Benevolent One on the rise with unborking of community wiki.
[*]The Linear One releases new "recent events" timeline tool.
[/list]

[center][img=410,120]http://i.imgur.com/lfg6r1f.png[/img][/center]
[big][big][u]Balochian Crisis explodes in north Marzanna[/u][/big][/big]
Years of the brutal cycle of Balochi oppression and Saamojed terrorism exploded into a tense armed standoff between Saamojedi separatists in the north and Balochi government forces in the south of Balochia. After the forced round-up and "deportation" of tens of thousands of ethnic Saamojed to the pooer occupied north-country, and with winter coming, desperate Saamojedi "freedom fighters" staged a brutal and protracted uprising. The slow swell of opposition eventually overwhelmed the outnumbered Balochi army, ending decades of occupation of the ethnic Saamojed lands in the north as they freed themselves in a campaign of ethnocentric revenge that's left countless dead in its wake. An unsteady calm hangs across the battle lines, as both sides hold their breath, waiting for the curtain to rise on the next act.
[/font]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/aKbraSN.png[/img][/center]
[quote][font=Georgia]They could see the smoke from a few kilometers away. Large black columns of smoke drifting lazily into the night. Above the sky, the northern lights could be seen, making for a macabre sight as the plumes appeared before them. It was not a good sign. When they saw it, they rode even faster. It could really only mean one thing. As they grew closer their hearts sank. Great fires in the village. Nearly every home was burning. Wood was the primary building material so there was plenty of fuel.

The caribou they had only so recently killed were among the blaze as well. The waste was monumental. Brekke was unsure if he was crying from the smoke or from the tragedy. The three hunters moved through the village, searching for anything resembling a living person. Oh, there were bodies, both burned and unburned. The snow was stained red. Women, children, and men lay prostrate and cold, their lifeblood spilled.

Brekke did not want to find his home but found himself unwillingly drawn to it. It must have been one of the early ones, as the flames were nearly finished. He peered inside to see two forms that were at one point his mother and sister. This time he knew why he felt tears.

[center][url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/showthread.php?tid=382]>> Read More Here <<[/url][/center][/quote]

[big][big][u]Mazaghean Woes[/u][/big][/big]
The history of Mazaghea, a former USR bloc republic set free long ago after the collapse of the mega-country's communist regime, continues to unfold, the story told in Siora's "Historical" section. Jamzor the Jaxxor weaves a tale of intrigue, conflict and betrayal set in the world's bloody past: freshly free from communist oppression, power vacuums and conflicting agendas create factions within the newly minted, post-USR democracy that threaten to destroy it from within. Surrounded by larger local powers, can the small, mountainous nation keep itself from destruction from both without and within?
[/font]
[quote][font=Georgia]A man walked down a crowded street in Nalkop, the capital city of the Mazaghean Socialist Republic. Like everyone else, he wore a thick overcoat and stuffed his gloved hands into its pockets, trying to hold on to whatever warmth remained in his body. Snow fell and wind blew harshly. There were no warm greetings of friends, neighbors, or coworkers in the street, as everyone kept their eyes downcast to the path directly in front of them, taking the quickest route possible to their destination. This was no time for anything warm and friendly, and it was more than the weather which brought about such a state. War was brewing. The man could smell it on the air, and he knew what it smelled like. He was a natural soldier, a Mazaghe warrior born to the wrong time, he liked to think. He liked to think that he would have been more suited for those old days when the Mazaghes answered to no one but themselves. With dagger in one hand and flintlock in the other, he would have defended his homeland before it ever even knew the feeling of oppression.

[center][url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/showthread.php?tid=363]>> Read More Here <<[/url][/center][/quote]

[big][big][u]Other News[/u][/big][/big]
[list]
[*]The ongoing civil war in New Galasia shifts into a new gear as Angiris intervenes, attacking regime-held bases and areas. ([url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/showthread.php?tid=140]More[/url])
[*]Distrust on the rise amidst nations of Kvaenna as secret talks ensue, culminating in naval skirmish between Arrenland and Brymme.
[*]Nyland's Federal Assembly passes historic multi-trillion Daler military rearmament and expansion package.
[*]Tensions grow within Lanlania as Azrean nationalists protesting empire's continued occupation of the colonial territory meet violent opposition.
[*]Svarna Surya's troubles continue, as new socialist government's economic plans meet stiff condemnation from neighbors and foreign business for dismantling the free market.
[*]Saratov defeats 1580 champions Valland to win 1584 Women's SIFA World Cup in a surprising 2-1 showing.
[*]Major review of the hottest and nottest tourist destinations in Siora is under way.
[/list]

[center][img=410,120]http://i.imgur.com/2UXt6Jr.png[/img][/center]
[big][big][u]Q2 Author's Challenge closing soon[/u][/big][/big]
The second quarter of the Eternity Author's Writing Challenge is coming to a close at the end of June, and everyone [i]totally didn't[/i] forget the deadline was fast approaching, they're just, uh...making final perfect preparations so their stories will be the best! This quarters' randomly-picked writing themes are "seed," "iron," "prayer," and the topic of "keeping a secret," all of which are in no way highly suggestive in nature at all.

Q3 themes have already been picked, and will be made public on 1st July. In the meantime, while everyone perfects the writings they've actually had ready to post for months now, why not join us and peruse the Q1 writing entries from earlier in the year, [url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/showthread.php?tid=273]available for all to see here[/url].

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/zKe3mg2.gif[/img][/center]

[big][big][u]Explaining the Dutch[/u][/big][/big]
Nentsia, resident Dutchman, essayist and catnip addict, has continued his series on the Dutch national psyche via an exploration of the Dutch history the local Ministry of Education doesn't want you to know. Often full of opinions, Nentsia's well-researched and often very long writings, regardless of the topic, are a great way to burn some spare time while gaining perspective on a topic of history that very few often consider. If you're up for an almost-academic read on a little-known topic, you can't go wrong with this thematic collection.
[/font]
[quote][font=Georgia]I feel like writing about history a bit and this forum gives me an excuse to tell you a bit about Dutch history, since many here are from the US or some other semi-important country. This gives me an excuse to tell you about the history of a country that's not important, but thinks it is anyway. For this opening post I've ranted a bit about what everyone needs to know about Dutch history before you can get into the more detailed stuff, but next time I want to ramble about how the Netherlands went from being a Europoor backwater in the 1900's, to being one of the most prosperous European countries by the 1960's and beyond.

[center][url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/showthread.php?tid=408]>> Read More Here <<[/url][/center][/quote]


[big][big][u]Other News[/u][/big][/big]
[list]
[*]Community minecraft server development continues, as the server goes offline temporarily to prepare & migrate to new hardware.
[*]Eternity XCOM becomes a thing, as Seperallis [url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/showthread.php?tid=36]takes over the Game Status[/url] thread and inundates the chat with XCOM exploits. Make him stop, please.
[*]Nentsia continues to pick apart the dark secrets of Football Manager [url=http://board.eternityrpc.com/showthread.php?tid=270]with almost perverse dedication[/url].
[*]Much loved members go on hiatus to complete Basic Combat Training. Farewell, & good "luck."
[/list][/font]