ForestBoard

Kannap wrote:

Edit: appears [size][/size] tags don't work in RMBs, but they're going to stay for my humiliation posterity.

Unfortunate, but I respect it lol.

Kannap wrote:

But, truly, what are the candidates plans to single-handedly address the IRL climate change crisis?

[size=50]This is a non-serious question brought to you by Kannap being uncomfortably warm due to the unnaturally warm weather this time of year[/size]

Edit: appears [size][/size] tags don't work in RMBs, but they're going to stay for my humiliation posterity.

This is why for notes or adddendum to my posts I use the codes sup or pre.

It really adds a nice little touch to certain notes or points you're trying to make so they seem to feel different.

Zerphen wrote:

snip

Can I just say... thank you for being so elaborate with answering questions! I can really feel your enthusiasm behind what you're proposing and I love the energy.

Do hyenas get honorary votes?
:-P
I vote for whomever likes the Philosophers embassy the most!

Good luck on your election

The elections for the Presidency of the Republic of Saarenmaa have started, we invite you to vote for the future of the Republic of Saarenmaa!

Vote! | Archive

by The Community of Saarenmaan Information Agency

Read dispatch

A few dry days in spring and much of the Highlands is covered in smoke as farmers and crofters set about burning heather. They do this to keep the ground clear for grazing and promote the growth of edible grasses. It also means that nothing larger than heather ever gets established. Over the past few years longer periods of dry weather have led to some of these fires getting out of hand. It's not that long since I joined neighbours beating out flames that came to within 100m of their houses, or since several hundred school kids were stuck in town until late in the evening as a fire closed their road home. A community woodland replanting initiative that had been 10 years established was destroyed. This spring fire engines stand by near the larger burnings in case of trouble, but there has to be an informal rota because the fire crews are part-timers and volunteers who also have their own fires to set.

If you ask a crofter about this they'll say they have no choice, and in a legal sense this is true. In a last remnant of the feudal system, crofters rent their land from large estates and "superiors." Since exploited crofters successfully stuck it to The Man in the 1880s rents have been frozen (a typical annual rent is a handful of pounds that probably isn't actually collected) and evictions are impossible, but there remains an agreement that requires the burning to keep the land in grazeable condition. Beyond that boys will be boys, and people just enjoy setting fire to stuff.

This bleak landscape of peatbog and moorland was once temperate rainforest. It was created in its current form over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries when the landowners realised the potential for sheep farming on a huge scale. Combined with reprisals against the local population following the 1745 Jacobite rising, it led to large numbers of people being forcibly removed to the New World and created the Scottish diaspora in much the same was as famine distributed the Irish across the globe. The human population of the west coast is a fraction of what it was 200 years ago and the grievances left by the Highland Clearances are still keenly felt. It's portrayed as a sort of genocide, an assault on a culture and a language, which of course it was - but the most obvious thing that was cleared was trees.

Britain thinks of the Highlands and the Lake District as its wilderness, but if the process was happening now it would look like Bolsanaro's assault on the Amazon. Urbanites mistake open space for nature and don't realise that although the mountains, coasts and lochs are beautiful they're anything but natural. These days the large scale farming is gone. Crofters are the descendants of the people who were left by the Clearances, and we don't have Outback style sheep stations. For many people farming isn't a livelihood, but having 50 sheep or half a dozen cattle combines with seasonal and public sector work or renting rooms to tourists. So while clearing the land for livestock was once part of an assault on Gaelic culture, today the people keeping the land barren are the representatives of the same culture. The reintroduction of sea eagles was controversial because they sometimes take lambs, and resistance from small scale fishermen to the government's new marine conservation zones explicitly calls it out as the Clearances again. Yet the land is very marginal, and most crofters have to bring in feed for their animals for at least 9 months a year. Who even eats lamb these days anyway? If you worked it out as calories per hectare it would be a truly miserable yield, when once the Caledonian Forest of Scots pine, birch, rowan and oak stretched to the east coast.

On a bright March morning the view is beautiful and sad at the same time.

There should be a name for the feeling of being made sad by learning history.

The Realizer wrote:

There is...

It's Thefeelingofbeingmadesadbylearninghistory

How very German of you :P

Decided to FINALLY quick update my Forest politicube maps in my Statistical Maps dispatch from 14 months ago. I hope to do some of the other ones eventually, but the Forest Cube and Greenness Index maps are still my favorite, and I know the latter doesn't change much. I feel bad that I didn't get to it before a couple of folks CTE'd. Alas. Hope you enjoy :)

STATISTICAL Forest Maps

by The Bureaudirectic Union of Jutsa

I've spent too much time looking at and recolouring these map. I'm probably never gonna update most of these xD

If you have any questions, do please let me know. I'm aware some of the maps are a little daunting at first. I have a small FAQ at the end - not that they're necessarily actually FAQ, but sometimes what I'd expect to be FAQ.

Roless Era Maps:

Continental Greenness Index Map April 04 2024

Oceanic Greenness Index Map April 04 2024

Continental Militancy Map March 20 2024

Oceanic Militancy Map March 20 2024

Continental Political Ideology Cube March 17 2024

Oceanic Political Ideology March 17 2024

Continental Political Ideology Cube January 12 2023

Oceanic Political Ideology Cube January 12 2023

MSR Era Maps:

Continental Consumption Index April 03 2022

Oceanic Consumption Index April 03 2022

Continental Government Systems March 30 2022

Oceanic Government Systems March 30 2022

Continental Economic Systems March 28 2022

Oceanic Economic Systems March 28 2022

Jutsa Era Maps:

Oceanic Vehicular Map January 31 2022

Oceanic Religious Map January 31 2022

Oceanic Political Ideology Cube January 31 2022

Oceanic Greenness Index January 31 2022

Continental Vehicular Map January 21 2022

Continental Religious Map January 12 2022

Continental Political Ideology Cube January 01 (13th minor update) 2022

Continental Festivity Index December 23 2021

Oceanic Festivity Index December 23 2021

Greenness Index November 10 2021

Union of Forest Map September 18 2021

The links below were all made in June 2021.

Link to everything from the original update: Here

Greenness Index

Form of Government

Form of Economics

Political Ideology Cube

Economic Strengths

International Policies

Power Projection

Criminal Activity

Criminal Punishment

Big Brain Index

FAQish:

1) "What do the 2 and x2 mean?" Second-highest and second-lowest ranked, respectively.

2) "There are multiple Xs" tie. Looking at you 0 Disposable Income nations

3) "What the heck is going on with those colors?" Okay yeah it's a mess. So the black-white bar shows how intense a color should be based on its statistics, whereas the color map shows said statistic. If you have a lot of the green stat, a little of the blue stat, and none of the red stat, you're going to look like a slightly blue bright green or teal. If you have a little of everything, you'll look grey. If you're dark red, you are low in every stat but are a bit higher in the red stat; redish grey is neutral in all but slightly better in red; pale red is high in everything but especially red; and neon red means you're great at red but terrible at blue and green. Again, it's a bit messy, but it's how I set up tristat comparison. :P

4) "Will you make more maps or update existing ones?" Violet knows.

5) "How do I contact you with more questions?" Just telegram me. I don't mind. ;)

6) "Why did you chose to compare these sets of stats?" Arbitrary. Also if I could have more than 3 colours (which is already a mess as it is) I would. q-q

Read factbook

I did notice that a lot of nations do in fact change quite a bit over the course of a year, even from players I never thought would change much - sometimes rather dramatically, at that. One thing I noticed this time, however, is a really widespread trend - most nations that have changed have either gone more socialist or otherwise more authoritarian. Notably, a great many Civil Rights Lovefests became Scandinavian Liberal Paradises - like, a lot actually. So much so we only have five* CRLs left on the map! (No really the CRL:SLP ratio was 14:5 now it's flipped 5:13* [shoutout to FUF who I missed was also CRL and one of very few nations to go in that direction]) We got a good few dictatorships too, and a ton of Democratic Socialists and LWUs. Hate to say it but the map kinda looks like a vomit green. Only a couple of nations changed in the other direction, and it was almost exclusively for a slightly freer market (i.e. DS -> ICD, or Ru becoming an all-out anarchy). An interesting trend, to be sure... xD

(Although, to be completely fair, a lot of these nations are instead [over-]rebounding from going the opposite direction over the past couple years, and it is most likely just a result of fluctuation around a point somewhere between 2-8 classifications. But it's still funny how much they moved in sync with each other this time round.)

Edit: If anyone knows any of the values for nations I had to mark in grey, feel free to let me know and I can update them lickety-split ;p

p.s. sincere apologies to people who are colourblind or have 70s monitors

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

As an aside, I want to say, Uan, that that was an absolutely touching post. Someone please stick this in an archive somewhere. It's genuinely beautiful. And sad.

…::~Official~Regional~Elections~Post~::…

Dear Friends,

It is my great pleasure and privilege to announce the conclusion of the Forest Keeper Election of March 2024!

After having secured 23 of 34 of the validly-cast votes (or 68%), The Zephyrs of Zerphen has been elected and installed as our next Forest Keeper, and as the Head of Government for the Sixteenth Administration of Forest! Congratulations, Zerphen!!

I’d like to thank everyone who was involved in this election: everyone who voted, everyone who volunteered to serve as an Election Officer, everyone who ran for Forest Keeper, everyone who engaged with the discussions during Campaign Week, and last but not least, to Kannap, for being our Election Discussion Facilitator! As in real life, democracy is only as strong as the level of engagement, and in that regard, Forest is incredibly strong.

Please join me in congratulating Zerphen on their election to the Head of Government as Forest Keeper!!!

Also, please keep a lookout for upcoming announcements of Regional Officerships in the coming days. A new chapter begins!

It has been my pleasure and honor to serve as the the coordinator for our Bi-Annual Forest Keeper Election, as always! Until next time,

Ruinenlust, Governor of Forest :-)

~Acceptance Speech~
Hey everyone!

First of all, I want to give a big thanks to everyone who voted for me! When I decided to run in this election, I had no idea what to expect. I didn't know whether I, as someone completely new to regional government, would be blown out of the water by people who have been through this rigamarole before. I didn't know whether I could secure even a few votes, let alone twenty three. Needless to say, the support I've received through this RMB, telegrams, and in the vote, has been overwhelming in more ways than one, in a good way :] Thanks to all of you, I feel strongly that I can lead and guide this region with confidence.

As all life, Forest requires attentive care to be able to grow into something beautiful. Forest as a region has remained steadfast and constant through the care of all those who have come before and who are here today. Now, it is time for a nourishing rainfall through which our Forest can continue to grow and flourish. I hope that my administration can be that rainfall, being a safe, inclusive, and fun place for all under our canopy!

Now for the first order of business...

~Early Appointments~

I would like to announce a few people who I have already reached out to and will be a part of this administration! Ruinenlust, could you please appoint:

• Garbelia as the Deputy Forest Keeper. I hope their experience and advice as someone who has been in government for a few years now will be able to keep me on top of things, and I look forward to building a cooperative relationship with them in order to achieve our goals and vision for Forest :] They will also continue on in their role of Statistician.

• Roless as the Cartographer. Their passion for our regional maps is evident in the work they have done thus far over three terms, and I look forward to all the future map updates we will see from them in their fourth :]

~Government Applications Open~

There are a lot of positions still open in government. There are a few people that I plan on reaching out to over the next few days, but if you are interested in being a part of the upcoming administration, you should reach out to me by telegram or in my Discord DMs @uonia. Tell me what position(s) you are interested in, why you feel qualified, and what you hope to do in that position. The positions that need filled are as follows:

• Foreign Affairs Minister: This person is in charge of all foreign affairs and representing Forest on the world stage. They will be in charge of handling any embassy requests, the Ambassador Program, and evaluating our current embassies and how we can build stronger relations. If the latter two are too much of a burden, we can consider splitting this up, but we will only seek that if necessary.

• Culture and Events Minister: This person is in charge of Forest's handling of all events, creation of events here, and promoting of any other events that we are formally invited to. We are hoping to host at least one event during this term in the Song Contest, and if I recall there is a chess event which we have been invited to cohost by The Region That Has No Big Banks which will need addressed shortly.

• Chief Editor: This person will be co-leading the creation of a regional newspaper with me, and will ideally have nearly full editorial control upon its completion. We will create the standards and format for the regional newspaper which can be put in dispatch form, and they will be the one who accepts, rejects, and edits any submissions for the regional newspaper.

• Forest Ranger: This person is in charge of making sure our region is safe from any threats and problematic nations, and keeping our RMB clean. Preference given to anyone with high regional influence.

• Wise Elder: This person is in charge of maintaining our quote of the fortnight and acting as an advisor for any big decisions.

• Chief of Directories: This position will be in charge of fixing our horrendous government dispatch system and likely coordinating everything under one account. I may postpone selecting this position temporarily in favor of discussing some options for this with Garbelia since this was something we both campaigned on, but do contact me if you have any interest in doing this.

If anyone has any other ideas for how you could contribute to Forest, absolutely reach out to me because I'd love to hear your ideas :] If you have any fun Foresty names to replace some of the less interesting names for government officials, feel free to share those as well! If you're thinking you want to be involved in the government but think you'll be ignored in favor of someone with more qualifications or more experience, reach out anyways! Enthusiasm, passion, and dedication are more important to me than any hackneyed resume or lack thereof you could or couldn't come up with, and if I see that in your application you would be a good pick in my eyes :]

And remember, even if you don't get a position in the government, there are other ways you can be involved! Once the ambassador program is in full swing, you can join on as an ambassador to send and receive any updates from our embassy regions as well as participate in that region's culture. You'll also be able to write things for the regional newspaper once that is ready. And you will always be able to participate in any public discussions we have on our governmental affairs. As much as I may be a "leader" of this region, my job, beyond administrative stuff and being a positive face for the community, is more that of a facilitator for public discussion, where you will have your say and input in any big decisions.

I am excited to hear from you all and lead this community,
Zerphen, Forest Keeper of the Sixteenth Administration of Forest :]

Congratulations, Zerphen. :) Not only have you secured Forest Keeper, but even in the midst of 6 other candidates, some of whom were actually solid options in their own right, you managed to obtain 68.6% of total votes (albeit, 67.6% of valid votes, but still). That's in fact the largest first-time victory percentage since the sixth election (seventh keeper) of Turbeaux 5* years ago (sorry, originally got this year AND that year wrong) - and that was against only one option (Chan) who I assume was also a "joke" candidate. (only the 2nd/3rd elections were more skewed, and I cannot vouch for the validity of the fight the other candidates put up lol.) I also think you might be the first female Forest Keeper (but I could be completely wrong in that, and genuine apologies to everyone I've wronged if so xD)

And, of course, those statistics are taken from my newly updated elections dispatch #shamelessplug xD but genuinely well done. (and thnx for pointing out I forgot to change the one 24 to a 23. m'bad '>_> [and double-thanks for confirming that adding someone's name retroactively to a dispatch pings them... I have probably had a few raised eyebrows by now >.>])

Looking forward to the next cabinet you cobble together and what you have in store for us. ^^

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

I also want to thank Einswenn for your term is Forest Keeper. I know not all of your original plans came to fruition (and I will not deny me and my ongoing shenanigans with event junk and JEFF in particular may've played a small part, apologies if so), but as you know that's a very hard thing for anyone to do. But you served solidly, had valiantly preserved the sanctity of our RMB quality (and fully convinced me after the warnings of what happened over in Europe) and our constitution, did well to roll with the punches when it came to unanticipated (even contrary to your campaign foci) events, were a pleasure to work with (I appreciate working with my excitability followed by my irl lethargy), and I'd argue were an important tie with Europe during a time we might have needed it most xD (And all that after the chaotic irl events you've faced!)

So genuinely, thank you for what you had done and for serving our region well, friend. And I am genuinely sorry I haven't stressed that enough sooner. Honestly been sick four times now and unwell all the while in between, it's honestly a miracle I thought to do something so important in a post meant for someone else. Hope to see you around aplenty. :)