An Introduction to Got Issues?
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Note: I overuse italics and (…) [mostly cause I can’t find a decent way to separate lines on-forum]
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Welcome to my course on Got Issues?! Lesson number one: do not use interrobangs!?!?!?!.
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Seriously, using ?! is not approved of in Got Issues? (GI), so I highly recommend you use your best judgement to determine if a ? or a ! should belong there. But that’s getting into the nitty gritty details.
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Got Issues? is the place on the forum where you go if you have issues. That is, issues for the game. (This is not Technical, people.) The name itself is derived from the phrase “Got Milk?”. I can not tell you how much the editors will love you if you add a sole “Got (something)?” reference in your issue draft.
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Which brings me to what you do in GI: You draft issues for the game. Yes, the game itself; you get to write those things that you answered when you first joined NS (and maybe still do). You can submit your first issue after you hit 200 million citizens, by going to your issues page and clicking “Want to write issues for NationStates?”
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You may be saying to yourself, “Oh! I can just submit my issue! I don’t need to post it on the forum!”. And you may be right. But you’re probably more likely to be murdered (unless you’re in Iceland).
Seriously, though: there are roughly 40,000 issue proposals submitted — every. day.
There are just over 1,000 issues in the game.
Most of them were forum-drafted, and many of which are by serial authors and many more by editors.
Draw your own conclusions.
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No kidding, people often times submit really bad drafts that either cover an already-covered topic, or cover nothing at all. Even when drafting, most drafts don’t make it into the game. It may be shot down before submission, shot down after submission and before an editor picks it up, or even shot down after an editor picks it up. But once it’s in the game, it stays in the game (looking at you, #408.)
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Actually that’s not all you can do in GI. You can also report unusual issue effects in the Unusual Issue Effects megathread (PLEASE read the first post there first…) or report glaring grammatical, spelling, or logical mistakes in “Help Us Fix Old Issues” (Hufoi). Mostly pedantic people who have nothing to offer and aren’t very nice go here, but you can still check it out if you want.
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You can also just look at the existing issues in the game in our spoiler list, to which you can also contribute by copy/pasting THE TEXT of an issue (as well as the author/editor/name/issue number). Finally, you can view most of the topics I’m going to cover in this course over there in the “How to Create an Issue” thread and a link posted there, or you can join our discord and discuss things there.
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So you may now be asking, “If there is a basic and detailed thread on-site describing GI, created by a more qualified person, then why am I here?” I’ll tell you this: I have no idea. But I will also say that there are many, many things to go over in GI. It is full of intricate policies and even more intricate details. However, compared to other parts of Nationstates, such as the World Assembly, it’s a lot easier to get the basics down, and, in my opinion, is a lot easier to get good at once you start.
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If you have trouble with humor, then GI may not be the place for you. Editors (the people who might pick up your draft) and even pre-submission commenters may suggest some ways of helping with that, but if humor’s not your thing, then you may want to try out the General Assembly in the World Assembly instead.
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You also have to enjoy writing to some extent, and be incredibly open in constructive criticism. You do NOT have to listen to everyone’s comments — opinions vary — but if you want the best draft possible, then you should at the very least consider someone else’s suggestion.
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And you need to be very determined to adjust your draft accordingly, or be willing to see your draft go up in flames. It’s a brutal effort, trying to put the love and attention into a draft that it deserves, but being alright when it goes nowhere or gets shredded by Trotterdam or Candlewhisper Archive. (If someone else “shreds” it or you never see them on-site, then this paragraph is very, very dated.)
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Despite all of this, GI is still usually an enjoyable experience. We have a very small but friendly community. Yes, sometimes your drafts get brutally shredded, but that is not the norm; on the rare occasion something does happen, it sends chills across the entire community. It may still get kindly shredded, but GI’s philosophy is it’s better to be honest than put sugar on something that will never work. Overall, the authors, editors, commenters, and discord members are very, very friendly and helpful. (disclaimer: People complaining in HUFOI and UIE are sometimes exceptions to this rule.)
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I highly recommend you check out the GI discord (It’s only one server. Regions pretty much always have at least two, many more.), but it is not mandatory. Many forumers don’t hang out on the discord. And vise versa, funnily enough. But I highly recommend that you do for two reasons. 1) It’s always good to know the community, especially such a small and tight-knit one, and 2) It always helps to have people look at your draft.
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It’s not going to happen fast, as GI is fairly slow-moving, and the consensus for bumping a draft is wait at least a day and the draft has been pushed to the second page. Drafts can be submitted whenever you like, but on average they take roughly a month of drafting (more if one’s inactive, maybe less if one’s really good), and after that point, it can take anywhere from a few days to over a year for a draft to be worked on and accepted. (That said, if most of a year’s passed, it’s probably dead.) And it’s best to forget about a draft, assume it may have gotten deleted, and move onto the next. Practice makes perfect, after all. But being nice to the community does not hurt. Nor does having a good first draft.
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HOMEWORK:
This section will describe tasks I’ll give you. These lectures do necessarily have to be read, as long as you do the homework assigned afterwards. And, if you have an issue accepted, then you already can graduate during a graduation ceremony. Seriously, getting an issue accepted is the point of this course. But you may also read it if you just want to learn how I look at GI.
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If you have any questions, want me to comment on or grade a draft, or just want a more interactive way of doing things, I’d be delighted, as I hope any grader or teacher who replaces me. But there will be other people, on the forums, if no one here can help you out.
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Also, remember the most important rule about GI: Have fun. DO NOT DO THIS if you are not having fun, or just want to pass a course, or something. Do it because you want to do it.
… or because your irl teacher is making you do it. Either way, welcome!