Discord

Snapshot of the server (April 17, 2020)

### Purposes

Social Discussion, Legislative Drafting, Government Announcements, Private Media, Coniferan Roleplay

### Roles

61

"*The RMB is functional, but simply inadequate for our community’s desires. The flexibility of Discord channels gives us opportunities we wouldn’t have otherwise."*

– Secretary-General Karteria

**Discord** is an off-site communication platform utilized by the New West Indies for a variety of purposes. It includes general information, social discussion, bots, and legislative drafting.

Participation in the platform is not required by citizens but is heavily encouraged. Upon entrants' arrivals, they are regularly greeted with a link to discord. The platform is also shown immediately in the Welcome Dispatch, which was created on July 17, 2019. Discord is widely considered to be the epicenter of the community; many members gather there to discuss their livelihoods on and off of NationStates. And while most significant government operations are conducted on-site, announcements and internal policymaking are done off-site.

The Secretary-General is the primary maintainer of the server, though the Founder also does significant administration. A team of moderators oversees and enforces the communication rules of all servers under the purview of the New West Indies.

## History

The Discord server used by the New West Indies was created on March 30, 2018 by Achipel. It went mostly unused during the region's nascency, for most citizens focused on their roleplay on-site. However, it gradually gained steam as more and more citizens joined.

The uses of Discord changed drastically as time went on. While a legislative discussion channel was always present, its usage became more commonplace as interest in the General Assembly rose. The types of channels for social discussion expanded to include linguistics, vexillology, art, venting, and various other needs.

Originally, the social discussion category was headed by the off-topic channel, a miscellaneous catch-all point for non-NS chat. This was in opposition to the on-topic channel, which is for discussion related to NationStates and the New West Indies. However, on September 19, 2019, Secretary-General Karteria reorganized off-topic, renaming it to "general" and opening up discussion to NS and non-NS topics. This move occurred in an attempt to allow conversation to flow more freely and naturally than it had in the past.

For a short period of time, from February 18 to March 23, 2020, legislative discussion on Discord was moved to the forum. However, this decision was later reversed, as it became apparent that the forum was not receiving the involvement hoped by the government.

On April 5, 2020, a new category called "Coniferan Roleplay" was introduced along with a host of new channels to enforce the Treaty of Conservation. The category was later renamed to the more generic "Conifer Things" to allow for other supplementary Coniferan Remnant affairs.

## Structure

### **Categories and Channels**

The New West Indies Discord is divided up amongst many different categories with many different channels for discussion. Chief among them are the categorical-less first four, which are #info-and-rules, #announcements, #surveys, and #polls. The first describes the community in general and outlines the server's rules; the second houses updates from the government and server administration; the third provides opportunities for the public to express their opinions on regional issues; the fourth inquires about real-life pursuits.

Following these four channels, there are the "stations," which are private media services developed by individual broadcasters. They range in purpose, such as satirical news, artistic exhibits, and more.

The "Community" category houses the primary catalyst for communication, focusing on social and real-life concerns. It includes channels such as #general, #memes, #politics, #vexillology, #bits-and-bytes, and #linguistics. At the request of Coniferan Remnants, the #wucelapan channel was added to provide a space for practicing the custom-language created in Conifer.

Other supplemental channels also have a place in "Community." #quotes allows people to pin comical or memorable phrases from their favorite region-mates, #bot-commands allows for bot usage, and the #music channel lets citizens listen to whatever song they desire.

The "Roleplay" category focuses on the concerns of in-character role-play conducted on-site. However, in-character posts are prohibited from Discord, as it is supposed to only have out-of-character discussion. The Roleplay Committee also maintains its primary modem for communication here.

The "NationStates" category serves as the place for discussing on-topic issues such as the region, World Assembly, and the Lands End Exchange. The category also serves as the primary means for foreign diplomats to contact New West Indian leaders.

The "General Assembly" category is where most legislative drafting takes place. It houses a catch-all discussion channel and various channels dedicated to specific issues, such as the High Court, as well as the (private) Filibuster's Pub and Grill.

The "Conifer Things" category allows for Coniferan Remnants (or anyone else they allow) to role-play, and it also has a place for group-specific discussion.

The "Government" category is a classified area for high-clearance government officials to discuss administrative affairs.

The "Moderation" category maintains an area for citizens or residents to report misconduct in the region as well as a log of all warnings issued by the moderation team.

Finally, there are many archives of obsolete channels, divided between GA specific ones and miscellaneous fallen conversations.

### **Roles**

The roles assigned to each individual user determine their access to the server and represent their status in the server and community at-large. Each citizen receives a role with the corresponding name, giving them access to the majority of the server and bestowing a light green hue. They also receive the "DJ" role, which gives them access to the music bot. Otherwise, all other roles are determined by the various choices of the individual or community.

Leaders, elected or otherwise, have corresponding roles, such as Founder, Secretary, or Chief Justice. Depending on their role, it may give them greater permissions or access to the server, or it may simply represent their overall status in the community. Moderators are given their own role that allows them access to specific moderation tools.

Citizens who have been appointed by the government to certain positions will receive the Government Official role, which will assign a red hue to their nickname. Similarly, members of the Roleplay Committee receive a corresponding role and a dark green hue (while giving them access to the RP Committee channel).

Residents of the on-site region are assigned a corresponding role with a grey hue, which gives them access to basic channels but restricts them from the majority of areas.

Visitors who are not in the on-site region are given one of three roles depending on their status. The most basic is the "visitor" role, which is a catch-all for anyone who doesn't satisfy the other two. A "Diplomat" is any nation that generally may represent the government of another region, either as a regular government official or a diplomat in their own right. An "Ambassador," meanwhile, is a special designation for diplomats assigned to the New West Indies specifically, and they usually stem from embassy regions.

The "Broadcaster" role is assigned to anyone who attains a Broadcasting License and allows them to own their own station.

There are also many dozens of roles designating the conference of distinctions or awards, each with its own unique color and title.

## Political Issues

While Discord is largely seen as a positive for the New West Indies community, there have been some issues alongside it. Many officials in the initial governments did not use Discord, which was seen as an inefficiency by some.

Moreover, it has been a point of contention between sects of government, beginning with General Assembly Resolution 015, which supposedly inappropriately required citizens to use Discord in order to participate in legislative affairs. The issue perhaps apexed at one point when Secretary-General Karteria attempted to enact Executive Decree 017, which would have established communication rules for the platform. However, Achipel vetoed the measure, arguing that some rules were overbearing and the General Assembly ought to decide the issue. Ultimately, the latter point was disregarded, and Karteria enacted a revised version in a new decree.

Over the lifecycle of the New West Indies, many have expressed annoyance or frustration at those who do not use Discord, while others rarely use or avoid using Discord altogether.

## References

1. ↑ Example of a Welcome Message.
2. ↑ "Explore Our Community!"
3. ↑ Server Information. AugustinAndroid Bot.
4. ↑ "General" Channel Rules.
5. ↑ *Statement by the Secretary-General.* March 22, 2020.
6. ↑ Achipel's Refutation.