Ideas to improve long term security

[Southern Bellz]

I want to ask the region if they have any ideas to improve our long term security.

 

The CSS will take all suggestions and discuss potential measures to improve security.

[Solm]

A fleet of sleepers (50+, ideally 100-200) should be maintained by separate parties (or a cool authorization mechanism) and kept within the region, actively logged in on to gain influence and have their WA's alternated to acquire influence by inactive members. The most important is the dedicated, trusted group of high-influence, high-endo nations, but that has already been started. As well as vigilant tracking of endorsements, etc...

[Belschaft]

We were planning to implement such a system, but the planned influence changes make it unworkable.

[Southern Bellz]

We were planning to implement such a system, but the planned influence changes make it unworkable.

 

Is there more information on this?

[Belschaft]

 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Belschaft" data-cid="105656" data-time="1379547663">
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We were planning to implement such a system, but the planned influence changes make it unworkable.

 

Is there more information on this?

 

</div>
</blockquote>
The influence changes? It's in the RD summit area in Technical.

[Rebel-topia]

Linky?

[Belschaft]

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewforum.php?f=32

[Southern Bellz]

Is this final? How come only raiders and defenders get to provide input?

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[Belschaft]

Um, everyone gets to provide input. It's mainly been R/D regulars cos their R/D regualrs.

[Escade]

I'm preparing a statement and will probably post there tomorrow. Would love if we all could post our own thoughts\ideas so that TSP is represented especially since I think ROs can do a great deal to stabilize a region like ours where raiding\coups are not "fun."

 

The changes to new delegates that limit them is also an interesting one that again could be used either way. 

 

How long does it take to employ such game play changes?

[Brutland and Norden]

At the risk of being seen as the killjoy, I'd say lowering the endocap is in order. The other GCRs have been lowering theirs (TWP is discussing lowering their 120 endocap, and TP halved theirs from 20 to10) in anticipation of GP changes. We didn't really reach the goal of 400 endos for the delegate, and we're still nowhere near the historical endorsement level of TSP delegates (270-ish). The 60-ish gap between the endocap and the delegate's numbers is easy to surmount. We are the feeder with the highest endocap and the one with the smallest delegate endo count, so we're really the lowest hanging apple in the tree.

[Hileville]

I agree with B&N on this.

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[Southern Bellz]

How does a scaling endo cap sound. One for residents, one for citizens, one for cabinet, one for css

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[QuietDad]

Seems to me the more trusted people near the delgate in endos the better. The way things are now with a dozen or so active residents, if someone needs to be ousted, there is too big a gap and everyone is too low in influence not to get kicked. If Milograd wanted, he could have kept the delagacy for years. 

 

The thing that keeps people inactive is that they aren't allowed to really participate unless they are allowed.

[Escade]

Seems to me the more trusted people near the delgate in endos the better. The way things are now with a dozen or so active residents, if someone needs to be ousted, there is too big a gap and everyone is too low in influence not to get kicked. If Milograd wanted, he could have kept the delagacy for years. 

 

The thing that keeps people inactive is that they aren't allowed to really participate unless they are allowed.

 

How do you suggest making participation easier for nations?  I feel like some of us in the government are trying to encourage it but not doing as well as we could.

 

I'm not sure how to tell which nations are active and have a lot of influence but aren't there a lot more than a dozen nations who have at least 50 or more endorsements?  

[Kris Kringle]

I'm not turning this into an activity and participation debate, but I do have to say that I still don't understand how the Cabinet can call on all residents to apply for Deputy and all kinds of positions and not be considered inclusive. I will grant that recently we have been a bit quiet in promoting opportunities, but citizens as well need to ask where to participate.

On SB's proposal, I'm not entirely against it but I'm not sure about the part granting citizens some sort of endorsement privilege over non citizens. I understand and agree with the reasoning behind it but am not sure it would be positive for our inclusion efforts.

[QuietDad]

Kris's reply is sort of the way things go that I'm trying to point out. The last "vote" for CSS garnered 6 votes out of 3900+ nations in the south pacific. The battle cry from the "Government" is "JOIN THE FORUM! APPLY FOR CITZENSHIP!" then "Oh, by the way, we will tell you what your alowed to do and say....".

 

I fell into this game a few years ago and enjoyed the issues/reaction/reward part of it. If I wanted to get into a Roll Playing forum based game, Nation States would not be it. Fact is, if your nation is in The South Pacific your a citizen. Shouldn't need to go off site to ask permission to play. There needs to be a greater effort to get the RMB involved. The current flag contest is a good idea in that it is being played out in the RMB too.

 

You have 6 or 7 people who control the region, swapping the delagacy between them, people in the cabinet that don't even have nations in the South Pacific or are Cabinet Members in other regions and noobs who wander into the wrong areas are threatened with ejection instead of mentoring. If you want to run a region like that, It should be a created region, not a feeder. This region should be about new people getting into the game, learning the game and being encouraged to get involved.

 

Risks? Of course there are risks. But even in the "Old Boys Network", when someone gets bored and goes rogue, there is very little that the dozen or so forum members can do resolve it. If Milograd didn't give up the region, there are not enough players involved, not enough treaties in place, not enough people who care who the delegate is to recover.

 

A delegate that can't sustain an endo count to stay delegate shouldn't be a delegate. A delegate with 20-30 supporters right behind him by 10 or so endos is much better protected in a raid with a plain of "If we get raided, get on fast and endorse those close....". May not be aable to pick the new delegate at that moment, but you have a better chance of getting the region back in control of the players. 

[Belschaft]

In my own experience having a larger number of nations with middling and high levels of endorsements and influence is, in security terms, a net positive. Douria's Osiris coup lasted so long due to a severe lack of such nations; they didn't have any potential delegates in place to tart on, and most of the region could be ejected without serious influence burn.

 

A low endorsement cap is good at protecting us from external threats. A high endorsement cap is good at protecting us from internal threats. 150 is currently about right by my maths.

 

We have three nations over 150; eight nations over 100; eight over 75; 18 over 50. We also have roughly 200 nations with more than 50 influence, and a similar number with more than 25 influence. These nations are, for all intents and purposes, safe from purging by a rogue delegate. I would prefer to have the rest of the CSS over 150 but that is not strictly speaking required.

[QuietDad]

The problem is all math. You as the delegate are at 212. Most of those over 100 already endorse each other and become useless in a coup attempt. If someone ends up with 213 and overtakes you, 213-150= 63 which means you not only need someone at 150 capable of retaking the region but 64 people ready to get involved and endorse him/her and not having him/her endorsed already. It takes weeks to even change delegates here after an election and usually it only occurs when the sitting delegate sees the new delegate is 2nd place in endorsements and resigns from the WA. The endo cap should be within 12-20 of the sitting delagate. A list should be published "in case of a Coup, endorse the following....." and members of the South Pacific Army should NOT have them endorsed to be able to get them a large amount of new endos quickly. 

 

I am not saying anything bad about the current situation here. I am just uttering my "If I were in charge..." thought process. Just an opinion, not a tirade.

[Rebel-topia]

If we lower the cap, there arent too many nations who would be affected.

 

Not that we have any real say, but Im not a huge fan of the changes to influence in GCRs. Its only going to make it easier to be coup'd.

[Drugged Monkeys]

I think that we seriously need to consider lowering the cap. We actually have at least one nation who has more endos than our elected Vice Delegate. And with Bel barely over 200, I think this a major concern.

[Mizay]

I advise setting the endorsement cap at 100.

 

I would also establish an endorsement tier that permits trustworthy, CSS-approved citizens to gain as many as 150 endorsements. If you have a series of high-influence citizens it will be a lot harder for a coup to secure a desirable amount of control. When we look at Milograd's coup, we notice that he was easily able to ban half of the region's citizens and cabinet. Only CSS members where able to stay in the region on their main nations. The banned citizens eventually acquired a large amount of endorsements in an effort to fight him but if it had been that way from the beginning it might've ended sooner.

[Southern Bellz]

I like that a lot

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[Drugged Monkeys]

I advise setting the endorsement cap at 100.

 

I would also establish an endorsement tier that permits trustworthy, CSS-approved citizens to gain as many as 150 endorsements. If you have a series of high-influence citizens it will be a lot harder for a coup to secure a desirable amount of control. When we look at Milograd's coup, we notice that he was easily able to ban half of the region's citizens and cabinet. Only CSS members where able to stay in the region on their main nations. The banned citizens eventually acquired a large amount of endorsements in an effort to fight him but if it had been that way from the beginning it might've ended sooner.

This is part of the reason we wrote this in Article 2 of the NSA Law

 

"NSA members are required to keep an influence puppet in TSP, for purposes of regional defense. When not participating in operations, members are encouraged to gather WA endorsements and influence on this nation."