Guide to the House System

[Markanite]

Table of contents

A Guide to Houses in the 10000 Islands

Link to the House System, XKI Generations, and Family Tree board: 10000islands.proboards.com/board/293

Table of Contents
Click the links below to go to each section.

Introduction to Houses
How to Join a House
Which Houses Are Out There?
House Cup, Shield, and Scepter Competition
Games and Fun
How Do I Add My House and Generation to My Profile and Signature?
What are Generations?
The XKI Family Tree?
Reforms to the House System
Got a Question??

Original post written by Mayans

This guide and older versions written was written by Paffnia , Senator for Lyonnesse East (Nov. 2011-Jul. 2012) and reorganized and updated by Aschente, Senator for Lyonnesse East (Nov. 2021-July 2023) then adapted by Markanite following the reforms to Houses.

[Markanite]

Introduction to Houses

If you've been invited to join the 10000 Islands through NationStates via a telegram, or even if you joined without being invited, then you should check out the House system. There are several Houses around the 10000 Islands, and for a newer nation, it may get confusing. To clear things up, read over this simple guide.

Houses are simply groups of nations recruited by the House founder and other House members (with a few exceptions explained below). They are a fun way to converse with other people and socialize with other members of the forum. Joining a House also shows your appreciation for the fantastic recruiters and welcome-message senders we have in the Islands.

[Markanite]

How to Join a House

There are two options to go about joining a House here in the 10000 Islands. They depend on how you came across the region.

1) If you were invited to the 10000 Islands region by one of the nations who is already here, via a telegram through NationStates*, then you will be assigned to the House that they're in, if they're in one. Some people may also inform you on the welcome thread (here).

2) If you've come across the region by some other method besides an invitation telegram, then you could choose which House you wish to join yourself. Whereas when you're invited, it's respectful to join your recruiter's House, when you've joined without being invited, you don't have to join a certain House, and you can choose.

3) Nations who sign up without stating who recruited them or join by others means will be automatically assigned a house upon completing forum registration.

To actually join a House, just post in the House's thread (listed below) saying you want to join or send a message to the House's steward.

[Markanite]

Which Houses Are Out There?

There are four houses. Some houses have more members than others. But remember, it's not about the quantity all the time, it's also about the quality. So, here is a list of the houses:

Click on the House names for their threads.

House	Steward	Pixel Badge(s)
House of Improving Wordiness	Escanaba
House of the Defenders	Jabberwocky
House of the Sword	spratlyislands
House of Tasdorf	Palman

[Markanite]

House Cup, Shield, and Scepter Competitions

Three times a year--in January, May, and September--the month-long House Cup, House Shield, and House Scepter Competitions occur, run by the Senator for Lyonnesse East. The House Cup is awarded to the House that does the most collective recruiting over the month, based on a points system awarding nations recruited and recruitment telegrams sent, with bonuses at the Senator for Lyonnesse East's discretion for things like nations registering on the forum. The House Shield is awarded to the House that does the most recruiting per capita--each House's total House Cup points are divided by the number of eligible members of that House to determine the House Shield winner. The House Sceptre is awarded to the House of the individual nation whose recruitment telegram (sent out at minimum 1000 times in the month) has the highest percentage recruitment success rate All the details can be found here.

To make the Senator for Lyonnesse East's life easier, all House Stewards should keep a list of House members in the OP of the House thread, updated at least right before the House Cup and Shield starts. A note should be placed by every member who has CTE'd, is in the WA, or is Accelerator-eligible (in the WA and has been on the forum at least two months with at least ten posts), the last of which is used to calculate the House Shield.

A list of past winners of the House Cup can be found here, of the House Shield here, and of the House Sceptre here.

[Markanite]

Games and Fun

Besides the House Cup Shield and Scepter Competition and the House report monthly games, the Houses compete informally in game threads in Shelter's Taco Island and competitions hosted at the discretion of the Senator for Lyonnesse East. The following games and competitions are open:

Spam Points: Houses

The following games and competitions have finished:

Tug of War: House of Wordiness vs. House of Aersoldorf
Prolific Posting Contest

[Markanite]

How Do I Add My House and Generation to My Profile and Signature?

To add a listing of your House or generation in your profile, go to "Profile," then "Edit Profile," then the "Personal" tab. Located within, there are dropdown boxes for "House of" and "XKI Generation." For more information on these dropdown boxes, see here and here.

You can also add a pixel badge for your House to your signature, if your House has one. First read how to add images to your signature: here. Then, copy one of the following codes into your signature:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Click for pixel badge image codes}

[/code][/spoiler]

[Markanite]

What Are Generations?

Generations show in what time period you joined the Islands, usually marked by the date you joined the forum (which can be found on your profile). The full list of generations can be found here. Some generations have their own threads (Elder, TITO, United Nations, Recession, Initiative, Acylyndia War, and Redesign). The generations and other population trends are graphically depicted by the XKI Genealogy Project here.

[Markanite]

The XKI Family Tree

The XKI Family Tree (in its third version, created by the XKI Genealogy Project and found here) visually depicts the relationships between recruiters and the nations they have recruited, as well as nations' Houses and generations, similarly to a family tree. You can sign up for the tree and learn about the requirements here. The XKI Family Tree is managed by the XKI Genealogy Project (headquartered here and run by Paffnia ).

[Markanite]

Reforms to the House System

In July 2023, the Council of Nine passed a series of reforms to change the House System from based on Founders to four Houses which encompassed the previous houses. More information can be found here and in the archive here.

[Markanite]

Got a Question?

If you have any questions or comments about Houses or anything else in this guide, contact the senator for Lyonnesse East, who is responsible for maintaining the House system, currently keswickholt.

If you want part of this guide modified, contact Paffnia or the current LE Senator.