Post by Vivolkha on Feb 22, 2022 13:36:38 GMT -5
Answering the question nobody asked. Except Markanite.
This is a bit of a status update post, both in real life and in NS. Warning: potential rambling ahead. So, I retired from TIBOE in September, and since I think it's no secret that my NS activity has plummeted. I guess I just want to discuss a bit the reasons behind this. Why did I leave TIBOE? What is it that's keeping me away from NS?
Why leaving TIBOE
I was Chair of TIBOE for nearly a year (October 2020 - September 2021), and member of TIBOE for even longer under three different delegates (Kuriko / Lenlyvit, HumanSanity, Wischland). Under their guidance, I managed to implement widespread reforms that brought about TIBOE in its current form.
Many of my reasons for leaving TIBOE overlap with my issues with NS at the moment (see below), but two other reasons I should point out are burnout and the completion of the reforms. Holding any (or most) official positions in a region requires a minimum of activity and dedication, be it by law or in practice. After I was promoted, and as TIBOE started more and more new projects, my list of responsabilities kept growing and demanding more of my time and capabilities. And that's fine, but after almost a year of non-stop working with TIBOE, it got pretty tiring when combined with all the other issues.
Furthermore, I felt that TIBOE was in a good state and that no new major reforms were needed, which in my opinion provided a perfect moment for a leadership transition. Having a single person in charge forever isn't ideal anyway, and at some point I had to give my position to new people with fresh new ideas.
Lack of free time
Currently, I'm in my fourth year of my Physics degree (most university degrees in Spain, where I live, are four years long), and trying to learn Russian, and I've been hit with simultaneous difficulty spikes in both. Long story short, I have to dedicate far more time to university and language learning than I used to, and both are more stressing than before.
I've also consumed over a year of my life in programming a Pokémon fangame (not yet completed and not available anywhere on the internet, sorry). After that, I've got games to play (Persona 4), an ever increasing list of books to read, anime to review, NationStates... The list goes on and on and keeps growing at a rate that far outstrips my ability to complete these tasks, given the limited free time I have.
Mental health issues
I've been struggling with mental health issues for years now, yet only recently I've managed to get a diagnosis (a personality disorder). I'll have to attend therapy. On the one hand, hopefully my mental health will improve now that I'm meaningfully tackling the problem, but on the other hand attending therapy will take even more time out of my hands.
Changes in NS
I used to be quite active in the RMB. For months now though, an influx of new nations have significantly changed the nature of the RMB, which now has much more activity. Posts are buried much more quickly and tend to be shorter. This, per se, isn't necessarily good or bad, but it does inhibit the type of discussions I used to engage in: help for new nations, stats-related discussions, and commentary on real-world political developments, such as the various responses to COVID-19. I've also largely lost my interest in the NS card game, mostly because of lack of free time, how repetitive (and sometimes unrewarding) it is, and the fact that it interferes with careful stat play.
What have I been up to and what's ahead?
To be clear, I will not leave NS anytime soon.
Most of my current NS activity is focused on two fronts: stat play and keeping my endorsement count from declining, with occasional commentary on WA SC proposals. Roughly at the time I left TIBOE, my puppet Aryax managed to hit #1 in the world for Ideological Radicality - a position I intend on holding for as long as possible. This basically forces me to log in every single day to NS and carefully answer as many issues as possible (IR is a very tricky stat). I've also done some endorsement rounds: so far, I've managed to endorse all the top 250 nations in XKI by endorsement count, and I routinely check the nations below the minimum endorsement cap.
I currently have two NS projects in mind. First, I'm updating my guide to totalitarian states, but given my limited free time and that it depends on my progress with Daniel C. Mattingly's The Art of Political Control in China, the overhaul is going to take a very, very long time. Second, I'm seeking to create a new nation to RP as, but the project has been stalled for months now, mostly due to perfectionism, my failure to create a convincing conlang, and indecisiveness. The nation Galatna is the furthest this project has ever gotten, but it is still very flawed and I'm seriously considering letting the nation CTE and restarting.
I currently hold no government position in 10000 Islands, even though I'm still an XKI citizen and continue to be a WA member. Will I ever take another government position again? Honestly, I would like to, but in the current conditions it is essentially impossible. One thing is for sure though.
I will stand with 10000 Islands until the day I CTE.
This is a bit of a status update post, both in real life and in NS. Warning: potential rambling ahead. So, I retired from TIBOE in September, and since I think it's no secret that my NS activity has plummeted. I guess I just want to discuss a bit the reasons behind this. Why did I leave TIBOE? What is it that's keeping me away from NS?
Why leaving TIBOE
I was Chair of TIBOE for nearly a year (October 2020 - September 2021), and member of TIBOE for even longer under three different delegates (Kuriko / Lenlyvit, HumanSanity, Wischland). Under their guidance, I managed to implement widespread reforms that brought about TIBOE in its current form.
Many of my reasons for leaving TIBOE overlap with my issues with NS at the moment (see below), but two other reasons I should point out are burnout and the completion of the reforms. Holding any (or most) official positions in a region requires a minimum of activity and dedication, be it by law or in practice. After I was promoted, and as TIBOE started more and more new projects, my list of responsabilities kept growing and demanding more of my time and capabilities. And that's fine, but after almost a year of non-stop working with TIBOE, it got pretty tiring when combined with all the other issues.
Furthermore, I felt that TIBOE was in a good state and that no new major reforms were needed, which in my opinion provided a perfect moment for a leadership transition. Having a single person in charge forever isn't ideal anyway, and at some point I had to give my position to new people with fresh new ideas.
Lack of free time
Currently, I'm in my fourth year of my Physics degree (most university degrees in Spain, where I live, are four years long), and trying to learn Russian, and I've been hit with simultaneous difficulty spikes in both. Long story short, I have to dedicate far more time to university and language learning than I used to, and both are more stressing than before.
I've also consumed over a year of my life in programming a Pokémon fangame (not yet completed and not available anywhere on the internet, sorry). After that, I've got games to play (Persona 4), an ever increasing list of books to read, anime to review, NationStates... The list goes on and on and keeps growing at a rate that far outstrips my ability to complete these tasks, given the limited free time I have.
Mental health issues
I've been struggling with mental health issues for years now, yet only recently I've managed to get a diagnosis (a personality disorder). I'll have to attend therapy. On the one hand, hopefully my mental health will improve now that I'm meaningfully tackling the problem, but on the other hand attending therapy will take even more time out of my hands.
Changes in NS
I used to be quite active in the RMB. For months now though, an influx of new nations have significantly changed the nature of the RMB, which now has much more activity. Posts are buried much more quickly and tend to be shorter. This, per se, isn't necessarily good or bad, but it does inhibit the type of discussions I used to engage in: help for new nations, stats-related discussions, and commentary on real-world political developments, such as the various responses to COVID-19. I've also largely lost my interest in the NS card game, mostly because of lack of free time, how repetitive (and sometimes unrewarding) it is, and the fact that it interferes with careful stat play.
What have I been up to and what's ahead?
To be clear, I will not leave NS anytime soon.
Most of my current NS activity is focused on two fronts: stat play and keeping my endorsement count from declining, with occasional commentary on WA SC proposals. Roughly at the time I left TIBOE, my puppet Aryax managed to hit #1 in the world for Ideological Radicality - a position I intend on holding for as long as possible. This basically forces me to log in every single day to NS and carefully answer as many issues as possible (IR is a very tricky stat). I've also done some endorsement rounds: so far, I've managed to endorse all the top 250 nations in XKI by endorsement count, and I routinely check the nations below the minimum endorsement cap.
I currently have two NS projects in mind. First, I'm updating my guide to totalitarian states, but given my limited free time and that it depends on my progress with Daniel C. Mattingly's The Art of Political Control in China, the overhaul is going to take a very, very long time. Second, I'm seeking to create a new nation to RP as, but the project has been stalled for months now, mostly due to perfectionism, my failure to create a convincing conlang, and indecisiveness. The nation Galatna is the furthest this project has ever gotten, but it is still very flawed and I'm seriously considering letting the nation CTE and restarting.
I currently hold no government position in 10000 Islands, even though I'm still an XKI citizen and continue to be a WA member. Will I ever take another government position again? Honestly, I would like to, but in the current conditions it is essentially impossible. One thing is for sure though.
I will stand with 10000 Islands until the day I CTE.
