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A History of Ixnay (OOC): Difference between revisions
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==The Beginning== | ==The Beginning== | ||
"Ixnay". The word itself, of course, is pig latin gibberish nonsense. To truly understand Ixnay, one must put themselves in the mindset of the internet in the early 2000s. Things were not as developed as they would become in the 2010s and beyond; memes were often crude, simple, and with limited shelf life. This was internet humor in the 2000s, and it infiltrated everything that was done. Consequently, when the HTML browser game NationStates started in late 2002, it attracted much of this humor which permeated game culture in the early years. With this in mind, it's easy to see how a group of school friends from England arrived upon the name "Ixnay", which they did when they founded the region in early 2003. Pieces of Ixnay's early history have been preserved, particularly in the memory of MacPhoenix Apostasy, an early member. MacPhoenix recounted that he assumed control of map updates in 2004 and maintained Ixnay's early forum and member lists; the latter of which still exist and can be found ''here (he has since removed this page)'' while the forums are lost to history. MacPhoenix was Ixnay's second cartographer; the first, Terra Nievus, is probably responsible for drawing the shape of Sarpedon, the "continent of Ixnay". The maps from that period are included in | [[File:Ixmap 2004.png|thumb|left|300px|Ixnay in 2004. All of these players are long gone, but in some instances their names still name some places in [[Sarpedon]] as of 2023.]] | ||
"Ixnay". The word itself, of course, is pig latin gibberish nonsense. To truly understand Ixnay, one must put themselves in the mindset of the internet in the early 2000s. Things were not as developed as they would become in the 2010s and beyond; memes were often crude, simple, and with limited shelf life. This was internet humor in the 2000s, and it infiltrated everything that was done. Consequently, when the HTML browser game NationStates started in late 2002, it attracted much of this humor which permeated game culture in the early years. With this in mind, it's easy to see how a group of school friends from England arrived upon the name "Ixnay", which they did when they founded the region in early 2003. Pieces of Ixnay's early history have been preserved, particularly in the memory of MacPhoenix Apostasy, an early member. MacPhoenix recounted that he assumed control of map updates in 2004 and maintained Ixnay's early forum and member lists; the latter of which still exist and can be found ''here (he has since removed this page)'' while the forums are lost to history. MacPhoenix was Ixnay's second cartographer; the first, Terra Nievus, is probably responsible for drawing the shape of Sarpedon, the "continent of Ixnay". The maps from that period are included in this section. MacPhoenix recounted that the region was contentious even then, but it was active. They had a ''rudimentary football league (this was originally linked before MacPhoenix removed it'' system, a regional Olympics, and other activities between them. A regional wiki existed on Wikispaces, a service that closed in 2018 to the loss of all of its data. It recounted a Great War between Uzbeckistan (MorningStar) and the other nations in the region culminating with Uzbeckistan's ceasing to exist in late 2006. They also began a major region-wide railway system called IxRail, an on-again off-again staple until the 2015 Reboot. | |||
By 2009-10, most of the first generation of Ixnay had gone. All Peoples had ceased to exist, making the member Solisbury the leading member of the region administratively and culturally. Solisbury began the long tradition of the administrator-cartographer as well, and during their time in office Ixnay saw its first crude vector map courtesy of Microsoft Powerpoint. Solisbury's reign continued until 2012 when they ceased to exist, when the region entered a critical decline in membership and activity coupled with uncertainty at the top. Ixnay would have five separate Delegates from Jan 2012 to December 2013. Most notable of these was Kazomal, originally called Katzistanza, who was one of the region's oldest members. Under Kazomal's administration, the region declined to four members by December and appeared to be on the cusp of one of many NationStates regions of antiquity which would find its end. | [[File:Ixmap 2012.png|thumb|right|300px|2012 decline era IxMap, made by Urcea; his first map style for Ixnay.]] | ||
By 2009-10, most of the first generation of Ixnay had gone. All Peoples had ceased to exist, making the member Solisbury the leading member of the region administratively and culturally. Solisbury began the long tradition of the administrator-cartographer as well, and during their time in office Ixnay saw its first crude vector map courtesy of Microsoft Powerpoint. Solisbury's reign continued until 2012 when they ceased to exist, when the region entered a critical decline in membership and activity coupled with uncertainty at the top. Ixnay would have five separate Delegates from Jan 2012 to December 2013. Most notable of these was Kazomal, originally called Katzistanza, who was one of the region's oldest members. Under Kazomal's administration, the region declined to four members by December and appeared to be on the cusp of one of many NationStates regions of antiquity which would find its end. | |||
==The Spelfiad (Memoir from 2017, incomplete)== | ==The Spelfiad (Memoir from 2017, incomplete)== | ||
===Introduction=== | ===Introduction=== | ||
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I had always wanted to be the Delegate of a region. I always tend to want to be in charge – I guess it’s just in my nature, some accusing me of being power hungry. I suppose that’s true, but I also want to do things in positions of power I get. My rise to the Delegacy was not one that could have been reasonably foreseen – as a 16 year old, I was expelled from Ixnay in 2010 for, among other things, foul language and a poor temperament towards other players. I loved the region, though – I enjoyed the atmosphere the most of all. I had hopped around to several regions before and after – primarily Tyrrhenia – but Ixnay stuck. I don’t know why. I had never really been in a casual roleplaying community. Many, particularly Tyrrhenia, had activity requirements, and I just couldn’t pump out material. I liked the idea of being in a region that cooperated when I had a sudden momentary burst of creativity while simultaneously being a region that would tolerate me sitting around shooting the shit for months with nothing important going on in-universe. ''In hindsight, I'm sure a lot of my failure to produce was a consequence of age; productivity comes with experience.'' | I had always wanted to be the Delegate of a region. I always tend to want to be in charge – I guess it’s just in my nature, some accusing me of being power hungry. I suppose that’s true, but I also want to do things in positions of power I get. My rise to the Delegacy was not one that could have been reasonably foreseen – as a 16 year old, I was expelled from Ixnay in 2010 for, among other things, foul language and a poor temperament towards other players. I loved the region, though – I enjoyed the atmosphere the most of all. I had hopped around to several regions before and after – primarily Tyrrhenia – but Ixnay stuck. I don’t know why. I had never really been in a casual roleplaying community. Many, particularly Tyrrhenia, had activity requirements, and I just couldn’t pump out material. I liked the idea of being in a region that cooperated when I had a sudden momentary burst of creativity while simultaneously being a region that would tolerate me sitting around shooting the shit for months with nothing important going on in-universe. ''In hindsight, I'm sure a lot of my failure to produce was a consequence of age; productivity comes with experience.'' | ||
[[File:Ixmapsummer13.png|thumb|left|350px|Ixnay after my 2013 recruiting drive. This map features Kirav (Carthinova) and Kistan for the first time.]] | |||
Though not Delegate, I had launched a major recruiting drive twice, both times primarily relying on roleplay connections I had made on the NationStates onsite forum, especially through a Papal Conclave roleplay. These two efforts occurred once in the fall of 2012 surrounding a plotline I introduced that brought Ixnay forward in time, and then again in 2013 when I undid those and adopted the timeline the region would use until the middle of 2015. That timeline set, as well as my becoming Delegate later in the year, were the two key events to usher in what many of what are now the older players consider the “Classic Era” of Ixnay. I would not have known at the time; not controlling the Delegacy meant any recruiting effort was doomed to fail as the Delegate could not vet potential recruits fast enough. I despaired, finally, after the second recruiting attempt. I conceded that Ixnay was doomed to dwindle and die – at eleven members following the recruiting failure – and that my dreams of a large vibrant region reminiscent of Tyrrhenia or the other great old ladies of the roleplay world were doomed to not come to pass. I guess, then, the 2013 “coup”, if it could be called that, was simply the result of boredom from being on winter break – I was a Sophomore at the '''-REDACTED-''' at the time. I didn’t fully expect it to work – I expected a telegram back from Lacus Magni saying that he just couldn’t bring himself to join the World Assembly. I would have accepted, stirred that I had failed again, and moved on. That is not what came to pass. I became Delegate and determined that I would conform Ixnay to my ideal while trying to stay true to its history and traditions – an extensive, ten year history. | Though not Delegate, I had launched a major recruiting drive twice, both times primarily relying on roleplay connections I had made on the NationStates onsite forum, especially through a Papal Conclave roleplay. These two efforts occurred once in the fall of 2012 surrounding a plotline I introduced that brought Ixnay forward in time, and then again in 2013 when I undid those and adopted the timeline the region would use until the middle of 2015. That timeline set, as well as my becoming Delegate later in the year, were the two key events to usher in what many of what are now the older players consider the “Classic Era” of Ixnay. I would not have known at the time; not controlling the Delegacy meant any recruiting effort was doomed to fail as the Delegate could not vet potential recruits fast enough. I despaired, finally, after the second recruiting attempt. I conceded that Ixnay was doomed to dwindle and die – at eleven members following the recruiting failure – and that my dreams of a large vibrant region reminiscent of Tyrrhenia or the other great old ladies of the roleplay world were doomed to not come to pass. I guess, then, the 2013 “coup”, if it could be called that, was simply the result of boredom from being on winter break – I was a Sophomore at the '''-REDACTED-''' at the time. I didn’t fully expect it to work – I expected a telegram back from Lacus Magni saying that he just couldn’t bring himself to join the World Assembly. I would have accepted, stirred that I had failed again, and moved on. That is not what came to pass. I became Delegate and determined that I would conform Ixnay to my ideal while trying to stay true to its history and traditions – an extensive, ten year history. | ||
===Building a Core=== | ===Building a Core=== | ||
If Ixnay had relied on its strong player relations, I knew I needed to build a community of roleplayers that I knew were primarily social, and so I turned to my old connections. First, those of the Conclave roleplay; Lacus Magni had joined through this, and I reached out to Kirav and Kistan next. Both players had been in the region during the 2013 effort (Kirav as a puppet), and I knew both had no real ties to their regional communities. Kirav was an older player – a veteran of the late 2000s “golden age of II” like myself, and I knew he would be a big get. It took some maneuvering and negotiation, but he came over with his primary nation soon enough. I considered this a move that improved the outward legitimacy of the region. It should be said I didn’t know if Kirav’s presence actually brought a single member to the region, but my only model for a region at the time was Tyrrhenia, which thrived on the late 2000s-type player. ''A later recollection of events by Burg confirmed that the presence of Kirav did indeed bring the region a certain pedigree of legitimacy, drawing him in.'' In my mind, getting Kirav to join meant that this effort was real. We had landed a pretty decently-sized fish, not a puppet, but the | If Ixnay had relied on its strong player relations, I knew I needed to build a community of roleplayers that I knew were primarily social, and so I turned to my old connections. First, those of the Conclave roleplay; Lacus Magni had joined through this, and I reached out to Kirav and Kistan next. Both players had been in the region during the 2013 effort (Kirav as a puppet), and I knew both had no real ties to their regional communities. Kirav was an older player – a veteran of the late 2000s “golden age of II” like myself, and I knew he would be a big get. It took some maneuvering and negotiation, but he came over with his primary nation soon enough. I considered this a move that improved the outward legitimacy of the region. It should be said I didn’t know if Kirav’s presence actually brought a single member to the region, but my only model for a region at the time was Tyrrhenia, which thrived on the late 2000s-type player. ''A later recollection of events by Burg confirmed that the presence of Kirav did indeed bring the region a certain pedigree of legitimacy, drawing him in.'' In my mind, getting Kirav to join meant that this effort was real. We had landed a pretty decently-sized fish, not a puppet, but the | ||
real deal. This set the recruiting goals for the next few months that did not truly come to pass – getting disaffected, veteran players. We did acquire a few, but in hindsight it was not where our bread was buttered. My view of NationStates as that late 2000s-style place was out of date but it was the only thing I had to go on. | real deal. This set the recruiting goals for the next few months that did not truly come to pass – getting disaffected, veteran players. We did acquire a few, but in hindsight it was not where our bread was buttered. My view of NationStates as that late 2000s-style place was out of date but it was the only thing I had to go on. | ||
[[File:Ixmap jan 2014.png|thumb|right|300px|Ixnay immediately after the Spelfian coup, with a new playerbase introduced.]] | |||
Soon, several other players came. Most of the Conclave players had not yet responded, but a player from 2013 I had recruited named Talion Union came back. I got two players named Canete and Blue Cross Island from a random roleplay thread, and by the fourth of the year Ixnay had about eleven players. I had already considered myself a success; after all, I had increased the region’s membership by about two hundred percent. That would pale in comparison, however to what would come next. | Soon, several other players came. Most of the Conclave players had not yet responded, but a player from 2013 I had recruited named Talion Union came back. I got two players named Canete and Blue Cross Island from a random roleplay thread, and by the fourth of the year Ixnay had about eleven players. I had already considered myself a success; after all, I had increased the region’s membership by about two hundred percent. That would pale in comparison, however to what would come next. | ||
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One of the early actors we had was a transgender player named Cyllea. This dude – he identified as a male during his time in Ixnay – was a trip. He must have been around fifteen or sixteen and that was my first experience as the regional executive dealing with that kind of age and the erratic behavior that accompanies it. I first, during this time, understood that I was wrong in 2010 when expelled from the region, and I understood what Solisbury, the then-delegate, went through. At this point I took a stance I more or less hold still – I don’t really believe in bans, I believe in patience and that being patient in newer and younger players will reap huge rewards for the region later on, as I believe the younger players who are a bit, for a lack of a better term, “nubby” will grow up in the region and become committed members. I gave Cyllea the Constantinalia nation and it has also gone to several players since, perhaps most successfully Kronata, who became Vice Delegate in 2016. This abortive | One of the early actors we had was a transgender player named Cyllea. This dude – he identified as a male during his time in Ixnay – was a trip. He must have been around fifteen or sixteen and that was my first experience as the regional executive dealing with that kind of age and the erratic behavior that accompanies it. I first, during this time, understood that I was wrong in 2010 when expelled from the region, and I understood what Solisbury, the then-delegate, went through. At this point I took a stance I more or less hold still – I don’t really believe in bans, I believe in patience and that being patient in newer and younger players will reap huge rewards for the region later on, as I believe the younger players who are a bit, for a lack of a better term, “nubby” will grow up in the region and become committed members. I gave Cyllea the Constantinalia nation and it has also gone to several players since, perhaps most successfully Kronata, who became Vice Delegate in 2016. This abortive | ||
“mentorship” has worked successfully on a few occasions, particularly with two players called Absurrania (who will be discussed in depth later) and The United States of North Amerigo, though there have been others over the years. | “mentorship” has worked successfully on a few occasions, particularly with two players called Absurrania (who will be discussed in depth later) and The United States of North Amerigo, though there have been others over the years. | ||
[[File:Ixmap1-29-14.png|thumb|left|300px|Ixnay as it stood at the end of January 2014, reaching a new high of activity and now including the Darklands.]] | |||
By the end of the month of January 2014, as new members came in daily, we had an astounding 43 members. If you asked me at that point, I would have told you my work was basically complete. In the years 2003-2013, Ixnay’s membership height was 44, which I would soon tie in February. We had formed a core membership. The key additions including Aerolah, Malaysii, and Luxew, three players we absorbed from a region we annexed called Audonia. ''At this time, Ixnay adopted the "subregion" model - annexing existing NationStates regions under the Ixnay umbrella with promises of autonomy and culture retention in addition to separate parts of the forum and self-governance. Audonia was the first such subregion.'' Kistan agreed to return, an older player named Pauldustllah joined, we annexed a region called The Darklands, another subregion, and we even had three veteran players called Yalos, Arcerion, and San Pellegrino Romana (albeit through a puppet) join. The annexation of the Darklands was somewhat controversial both on our side and in their region and would prove to be the first fight of many relating to their relationship with us. Other players that would come to stay, such as Sawra, Pelaxia, and Absurrania, joined during this time as well. | By the end of the month of January 2014, as new members came in daily, we had an astounding 43 members. If you asked me at that point, I would have told you my work was basically complete. In the years 2003-2013, Ixnay’s membership height was 44, which I would soon tie in February. We had formed a core membership. The key additions including Aerolah, Malaysii, and Luxew, three players we absorbed from a region we annexed called Audonia. ''At this time, Ixnay adopted the "subregion" model - annexing existing NationStates regions under the Ixnay umbrella with promises of autonomy and culture retention in addition to separate parts of the forum and self-governance. Audonia was the first such subregion.'' Kistan agreed to return, an older player named Pauldustllah joined, we annexed a region called The Darklands, another subregion, and we even had three veteran players called Yalos, Arcerion, and San Pellegrino Romana (albeit through a puppet) join. The annexation of the Darklands was somewhat controversial both on our side and in their region and would prove to be the first fight of many relating to their relationship with us. Other players that would come to stay, such as Sawra, Pelaxia, and Absurrania, joined during this time as well. | ||
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The Low Golden Age came to an end with the migration off of Chatzy to IRC in late 2014 with the help of Heku. This inaugurated the High Golden Age and also represented Heku's first step in entrenching himself within Ixnay's power structure by gradually taking control of the logistical systems of Ixnay. | The Low Golden Age came to an end with the migration off of Chatzy to IRC in late 2014 with the help of Heku. This inaugurated the High Golden Age and also represented Heku's first step in entrenching himself within Ixnay's power structure by gradually taking control of the logistical systems of Ixnay. | ||
[[File:Currency collapse.png|thumb|right|300px|An ICN entry.]] | |||
During this period, most roleplay took place on Ixnay's Zetaboards. A lot of activity was character RP, but most of it was something called "Ixnay Central News" (ICN), where news-style updates about events within player countries would be posted. These started out as rudimentary text posts but grew ever more elaborate, with each player making or taking a news template. This would remain the primary style of roleplay until the transition to Full Lore in [[2016]]. | |||
===The High Golden Age=== | ===The High Golden Age=== | ||
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ICly, the early High Golden Age was dominated by a rivalry between Urcea and the UIF regarding the status of Pel, a large protectorate of Urcea's that took the place and IC position of the player nation of the same name. The Darklanders appear to have still been around at this time, and presumably the Audonians were with them, and this soft cold war presumably still made up the majority of IC interaction. This era also saw many new nations come and go on Crona, which had been added during the latter portion of 2014 and had become something of a tutorial island. The Snowlandish Betrayal occurred due to Heku's position in Crona before his relocation to southwestern Sarpedon early in 2015. During this period, Ixnay was really trying to reconceive of itself as the entirety of the IC world rather than just as a continent floating in a sea of continents which constituted a larger NationStates continuity. In early 2015, this movement and conception was just in its earliest stages and would not be contemplated as a full measure until the reboot later in the year. | ICly, the early High Golden Age was dominated by a rivalry between Urcea and the UIF regarding the status of Pel, a large protectorate of Urcea's that took the place and IC position of the player nation of the same name. The Darklanders appear to have still been around at this time, and presumably the Audonians were with them, and this soft cold war presumably still made up the majority of IC interaction. This era also saw many new nations come and go on Crona, which had been added during the latter portion of 2014 and had become something of a tutorial island. The Snowlandish Betrayal occurred due to Heku's position in Crona before his relocation to southwestern Sarpedon early in 2015. During this period, Ixnay was really trying to reconceive of itself as the entirety of the IC world rather than just as a continent floating in a sea of continents which constituted a larger NationStates continuity. In early 2015, this movement and conception was just in its earliest stages and would not be contemplated as a full measure until the reboot later in the year. | ||
[[File:Ixmap3-10-15.png|thumb|left|400px|A March 2015 map. This is typical of the High Golden Age period OOCly with its accompanying IC lore continuum; observe the Darklands, geopolitically complicated IxProp (Sarpedon), and also features an early-ish Corumm and Heku.]] | |||
OOCly, Absurrania dominated the first half this period and remained influential throughout it. The Fundamental Statute called for some mostly powerless Vice Delegates, and during Absurrania's tenure as Delegate he ruled alongside Insui, Luxew, Palmeria, and Latin as Vice Delegates, each evidently for one term. I cannot emphasize enough how much the elections and OOC politics of this time were a central feature of regional interest and discussion. Term limits were implemented in February 2015 as a check on Abs, and accordingly Latin became Delegate with Abs as his Vice Delegate at the end of April 2015. Abs would still remain extremely prominent within his role as Vice Delegate and would attempt to return later that year. The April 2015 election saw Heku and Corumm as a joint ticket defeated overwhelmingly by the incumbent team. | OOCly, Absurrania dominated the first half this period and remained influential throughout it. The Fundamental Statute called for some mostly powerless Vice Delegates, and during Absurrania's tenure as Delegate he ruled alongside Insui, Luxew, Palmeria, and Latin as Vice Delegates, each evidently for one term. I cannot emphasize enough how much the elections and OOC politics of this time were a central feature of regional interest and discussion. Term limits were implemented in February 2015 as a check on Abs, and accordingly Latin became Delegate with Abs as his Vice Delegate at the end of April 2015. Abs would still remain extremely prominent within his role as Vice Delegate and would attempt to return later that year. The April 2015 election saw Heku and Corumm as a joint ticket defeated overwhelmingly by the incumbent team. | ||
The major controversy of this period was over statistics. Prior to the IxStats reforms, all members of the region simply used the stats of their NationStates country, which are determined mostly as a function of how long a nation exists within game. Accordingly, Urcea and Kiravia were the largest countries as the oldest players in Ixnay. This created a bloated statistical situation as both countries were well into the high 10s, low 20s billions of population by 2015. This created a power deficiency between them and newer players and also created what some complained to be an unrealistic world population. Reform was often talked about, but the discussion was a bitter, bitter one for most of the period of the debate. Ixnay was allegedly, and I don't know to this day if this is true, one of the last semi-serious RP regions to use game stats. Latin appears to have championed significant reforms with my assistance, although the balance of who-did-what is now beyond my recollection. A poll of the region in May of 2015 approved "RP Stats" compared to "Game Stats" by a margin of 19 to 12. A subsequent amendment to the Fundamental Statute, approved 20-3, created a new RP Stat convention which set every player's population stats at 10% of their Game Stats, which I thought was a relatively fair compromise. This principle, I believe, continued on for some years after that, and Urcea and Kiravia being in the single billion plus range survives by convention today. Later in the year, a single, cohesive time scale was approved nearly unanimously, 24-1, with only Corumm voting no. The much-mocked "LatinTime" established the first ticking-clock RP time scale for Ixnay, setting it at 2024. A distant derivation of this system survives today. | The major controversy of this period was over statistics. Prior to the IxStats reforms, all members of the region simply used the stats of their NationStates country, which are determined mostly as a function of how long a nation exists within game. Accordingly, Urcea and Kiravia were the largest countries as the oldest players in Ixnay. This created a bloated statistical situation as both countries were well into the high 10s, low 20s billions of population by 2015. This created a power deficiency between them and newer players and also created what some complained to be an unrealistic world population. Reform was often talked about, but the discussion was a bitter, bitter one for most of the period of the debate. Ixnay was allegedly, and I don't know to this day if this is true, one of the last semi-serious RP regions to use game stats. Latin appears to have championed significant reforms with my assistance, although the balance of who-did-what is now beyond my recollection. A poll of the region in May of 2015 approved "RP Stats" compared to "Game Stats" by a margin of 19 to 12. A subsequent amendment to the Fundamental Statute, approved 20-3, created a new RP Stat convention which set every player's population stats at 10% of their Game Stats, which I thought was a relatively fair compromise. This principle, I believe, continued on for some years after that, and Urcea and Kiravia being in the single billion plus range survives by convention today. Later in the year, a single, cohesive time scale was approved nearly unanimously, 24-1, with only Corumm voting no. The much-mocked "LatinTime" established the first ticking-clock RP time scale for Ixnay, setting it at 2024. A distant derivation of this system survives today. | ||
[[File:Ixmap5-16-15.png|thumb|right|300px|Ixnay at the time of Ghant's arrival, ca. May 2015. This map is historically significant as well for the major consolidation of landmass in Levantia, with Urcea taking its familiar shape and the kernel of Kuhlfros (Fiannria) forming.]] | |||
In spring 2015, specific date unknown, Ghant joined Ixnay. Ghant is a player who has kicked around basically every region with a roleplay component in NationStates and draws a very polarized view based on his IC play style and OOC ideas. I was impressed by his resume and thought he might be a good addition to the region, but I actually received several telegrams from other regional delegates warning me that he was trouble. Regardless, with my eye on him, I let him stay, and he and I got along fairly well at first. (''2023 Text Beginning''). It is generally true, and true to this day, that this player is a very accomplished person as far as roleplay is concerned. However, in the long run, his character-oriented roleplay and the things he wanted to focus on (such as the all-important and all-consuming desire for realism that consumes every new Ixnay entrant) were generally not a good fit for Ixnay. It would turn out that several other long-time members, such as Malay, Latin, and others, preferred this style of play. It would come to create division in Ixnay further down the road. For a time, however, the arrival of Ghant signaled the new era of Ixnay. As mentioned, the Darkland era had waned. Roleplay, and general OOC peace, were the order of the day for most of 2015. | In spring 2015, specific date unknown, Ghant joined Ixnay. Ghant is a player who has kicked around basically every region with a roleplay component in NationStates and draws a very polarized view based on his IC play style and OOC ideas. I was impressed by his resume and thought he might be a good addition to the region, but I actually received several telegrams from other regional delegates warning me that he was trouble. Regardless, with my eye on him, I let him stay, and he and I got along fairly well at first. (''2023 Text Beginning''). It is generally true, and true to this day, that this player is a very accomplished person as far as roleplay is concerned. However, in the long run, his character-oriented roleplay and the things he wanted to focus on (such as the all-important and all-consuming desire for realism that consumes every new Ixnay entrant) were generally not a good fit for Ixnay. It would turn out that several other long-time members, such as Malay, Latin, and others, preferred this style of play. It would come to create division in Ixnay further down the road. For a time, however, the arrival of Ghant signaled the new era of Ixnay. As mentioned, the Darkland era had waned. Roleplay, and general OOC peace, were the order of the day for most of 2015. In terms of the map, the end of the Darklands and arrival of this mini-Ghant era signaled the beginning of Ixnay as a closed world rather than a region floating in the ocean of NationStates. New continents were added, as were poles; a map demonstrates this change. | ||
[[File:Ixmap7-2-15.png|thumb|left|300px|Ixnay immediately following the end of the Darklands, July, 2015. Colonial Punth, what would eventually become modern Crona, also appears here in the Antarctic region, as do new world continents.]] | |||
One could argue the end of the golden era occurred with the exit of Abs from the scene. Absurrania, the country (also called UIF), had been a central part of IC play, and the player was central to OOC politics. Eventually, the UIF's IC ambitions got the better of it. Without its Darkland allies, the UIF was drawn into a war with Amerigo and a new player called Jakee. It has always been my suspicion, though never confirmed, that Abs functionally ragequit because the country he spent a year building was out of options. It is also possible that the puppet situation was going to be exposed, ruining his OOC reputation. A long-running joke and, increasingly, theory is that Abs signed up to fight with the {{wp|Daesh}}. Whatever the case, he disappeared on July 21st, 2015 - his last words being "well I have to go to sleep". Sleep on, king. | One could argue the end of the golden era occurred with the exit of Abs from the scene. Absurrania, the country (also called UIF), had been a central part of IC play, and the player was central to OOC politics. Eventually, the UIF's IC ambitions got the better of it. Without its Darkland allies, the UIF was drawn into a war with Amerigo and a new player called Jakee. It has always been my suspicion, though never confirmed, that Abs functionally ragequit because the country he spent a year building was out of options. It is also possible that the puppet situation was going to be exposed, ruining his OOC reputation. A long-running joke and, increasingly, theory is that Abs signed up to fight with the {{wp|Daesh}}. Whatever the case, he disappeared on July 21st, 2015 - his last words being "well I have to go to sleep". Sleep on, king. | ||
===IxReboot Era=== | ===IxReboot Era=== | ||
In August 2015, casual conversations between myself and Latin gradually emerged into a new idea - Ixnay's first full reboot. The pre-reboot canon included a very large and tangled train of events, half-lore, and functionally IC superstition. This included Darklands Cold War lore, Sarpedon (IxProp) lore entirely dependent on the UIF, half-remembered pre-Urcea era stuff dating back to the mid 2000s that I had tried to integrate, and various other sometimes contradictory or immersion breaking issues. We were dealing with events and an IC history that no player actually remembered as well as ones where the central characters were completely removed from existence. Accordingly, the casual conversations took on significantly more momentum within staff circles. Before I go on to describe what happened, my great regret - and the thing that made IxReboot so controversial - was that nearly all the planning happened behind closed doors. I generally believe IxReboot to not only be the best choice staff ever made - and the one that allowed Ixnay to survive the coming storm - but the fact it was dictated to players, rather than solicited their input, caused major problems. It also caused a semi-continuous rift between myself and Pauldustllah that was not mended until around 2020. | In August 2015, casual conversations between myself and Latin gradually emerged into a new idea - Ixnay's first full reboot. The pre-reboot canon included a very large and tangled train of events, half-lore, and functionally IC superstition. This included Darklands Cold War lore, Sarpedon (IxProp) lore entirely dependent on the UIF, half-remembered pre-Urcea era stuff dating back to the mid 2000s that I had tried to integrate, and various other sometimes contradictory or immersion breaking issues. We were dealing with events and an IC history that no player actually remembered as well as ones where the central characters were completely removed from existence. Accordingly, the casual conversations took on significantly more momentum within staff circles. Before I go on to describe what happened, my great regret - and the thing that made IxReboot so controversial - was that nearly all the planning happened behind closed doors. I generally believe IxReboot to not only be the best choice staff ever made - and the one that allowed Ixnay to survive the coming storm - but the fact it was dictated to players, rather than solicited their input, caused major problems. It also caused a semi-continuous rift between myself and Pauldustllah that was not mended until around 2020. | ||
[[File:AbsMedal.png|thumb|right|150px|The end of Abs necessitated an IC need for a refresh. 😭😭😭]] | |||
[[File:81815.png|thumb|left|150px|A map of Ixnay immediately pre-Reboot. Note the presence of an NPC Absurrania to fill the lore void. Kronata also first appears here, but in the eastern continents. Baclow!]] | |||
The fundamental idea of IxReboot was not only to cast away the old lore but to rearrange the map in such a way that fostered immersion. Prior to IxReboot, new players were put anywhere on the map that looked good, regardless of culture or religion. IxReboot changed this, grouping players generally by culture. It wasn't perfect and didn't reach refinement until 2019; for example, Germans were put in both Levantia and Crona. As part of this, Pauldustllah, Amerigo, and others were shunted off to Crona. Heku was moved to more or less his present location. My recollection is that we also put Insui where she ended up on Sarpedon. I believe Palmeria basically remained where it was pre-reboot, creating a Latin/Romance corridor on Sarpedon. Other miscellaneous cultural groupings occurred. By the time the process was completed, the whole world was more or less sorted in cultural or rational roleplay reasons rather than all over the place. | The fundamental idea of IxReboot was not only to cast away the old lore but to rearrange the map in such a way that fostered immersion. Prior to IxReboot, new players were put anywhere on the map that looked good, regardless of culture or religion. IxReboot changed this, grouping players generally by culture. It wasn't perfect and didn't reach refinement until 2019; for example, Germans were put in both Levantia and Crona. As part of this, Pauldustllah, Amerigo, and others were shunted off to Crona. Heku was moved to more or less his present location. My recollection is that we also put Insui where she ended up on Sarpedon. I believe Palmeria basically remained where it was pre-reboot, creating a Latin/Romance corridor on Sarpedon. Other miscellaneous cultural groupings occurred. By the time the process was completed, the whole world was more or less sorted in cultural or rational roleplay reasons rather than all over the place. | ||
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===Black Thursday Collapse=== | ===Black Thursday Collapse=== | ||
I would like to clear the record for a moment. In months following what we now call "Black Thursday", in a place of anger I made claims that members who left on that day, most and especially Latin, did so without as much as an explanation or a goodbye. In hindsight, and reviewing the record, these claims were completely untrue. As indicated above, at 4:46 PM on Thursday, March 9th, 2016, I did receive an email. It was respectful, explaining that he and other members, had a difference of opinion regarding the direction of the region. It also included an updated version of the map which removed everyone who was leaving. Beyond stating that our core members - Latin, Malay, Ghant, and later Azur (in a different direction) and I think Ormata (?) - left, I don't really have much to say about them or where they ended up. This history is more focused on Ixnay, the community, and the events of 3/9/16 as it relates to the community. As Latin was serving as Delegate, this was not only a spiritual blow to the region but also totally crippled its leadership. | I would like to clear the record for a moment. In months following what we now call "Black Thursday", in a place of anger I made claims that members who left on that day, most and especially Latin, did so without as much as an explanation or a goodbye. In hindsight, and reviewing the record, these claims were completely untrue. As indicated above, at 4:46 PM on Thursday, March 9th, 2016, I did receive an email. It was respectful, explaining that he and other members, had a difference of opinion regarding the direction of the region. It also included an updated version of the map which removed everyone who was leaving. Beyond stating that our core members - Latin, Malay, Ghant, and later Azur (in a different direction) and I think Ormata (?) - left, I don't really have much to say about them or where they ended up. This history is more focused on Ixnay, the community, and the events of 3/9/16 as it relates to the community. As Latin was serving as Delegate, this was not only a spiritual blow to the region but also totally crippled its leadership. | ||
[[File:The Liberals have been owned.png|thumb|right|200px|Around the time of Black Thursday, we began to use our own website - IxNet.]] | |||
During Black Thursday, I was obviously abscent from the community. This created a lack of leadership within the community. The sudden loss of core members, plus lack of leadership, made it seem evident to everyone that Ixnay had reached its conclusion. That Thursday, and the next 1-2 days afterward, were the period of the greatest uncertainty in the history of Ixnay. Part of the issue was that many of the players had been bit actors or peripheral players during the pre-Thursday time. To my recollection, the remaining community was myself, Kirav, Heku, Corumm, Kron, Amerigo, Jakee, Kuhlfros, Kistan, Insui, a player called Helvianir, and maybe a handful of others - sorry if I forgot you. A sense of malaise and people looking for a lifeboat set in - including Heku, who to his everlasting shame attempted to start Nevias. However, as IRC admin and sometimes-delegate, Heku found himself in a position to eventually take charge, to his everlasting credit. Heku basically assumed control over a hollowed-out community with Kron more or less as his second-in-command, and those two began to pick up the pieces. From that date on, Heku has essentially been a fixture in Ixnay's leadership and functionally elevated himself to my level of importance and authority within the community. | |||
Those were dark months, and I remained absent for many of them. We managed to stop the bleeding and began to pick up the pieces, ensuring no members left and that Ixnay would continue to exist. Some former members attempted to poach people, but most remained strong. The absolute worst of Black Thursday had ended by the end of March, but to this day it remains probably the worst day in Ixnay's history. From a personal point of view, I was now fairly isolated within Ixnay. This was the era of randoms becoming regulars for a brief time - "Tits", Akai, and Santh. Slak came around this time and was on-and-off for about four years. Heku and I have our historic differences, and to be frank I never liked Kron. For the time being, I was lacking in any sort of RP/lore partner. This era was functionally an in-between time. On the bright side, Black Thursday arguably gave IxReboot the space to breathe. The community was coming to a shift from "geopolitical roleplay with decent factbooks" to something ''else'' - but it took time to discover what that was. | |||
Those were dark months, and I remained absent for many of them. We managed to stop the bleeding and began to pick up the pieces, ensuring no members left and that Ixnay would continue to exist. Some former members attempted to poach people, but most remained strong. The absolute worst of Black Thursday had ended by the end of March, but to this day it remains probably the worst day in Ixnay's history. From a personal point of view, I was now fairly isolated within Ixnay. Heku and I have our historic differences, and to be frank I never liked Kron. For the time being, I was lacking in any sort of RP/lore partner. This era was functionally an in-between time. On the bright side, Black Thursday arguably gave IxReboot the space to breathe. The community was coming to a shift from "geopolitical roleplay with decent factbooks" to something ''else'' - but it took time to discover what that was. | |||
===The Burg Renaissance and Silver Age=== | ===The Burg Renaissance and Silver Age=== | ||
The beginning of Lore. | The beginning of Lore. | ||
===Second Departure and Canadian Dark Age=== | ===Second Departure and Canadian Dark Age=== | ||
[[File:Map Update 72617.png|thumb|right|300px|A July 2017 map typical of the Burg era, just after the second departure.]] | |||
===The Spelf Renaissance and Canadian Drama=== | ===The Spelf Renaissance and Canadian Drama=== | ||
I would add, during this period (2019), there was a "Third Departure" and "Fourth Departure" to follow Black Thursday and whatever the hell 2017 was, except this one was so irrelevant that it doesn't merit its own section. I believe Helvi and a number of people left to form some other community in the face of some real or perceived insult or banning. Later, and I think this was 2020, a large contingent of Canadian players left briefly over a controversy between Azi and Cronzcovina, and/or admin response to that - I don't really remember. Nearly everyone from the Fourth Departure would eventually return. | |||
===The Pandemic and Wipe=== | ===The Pandemic and Wipe=== | ||
===The Second Golden Age=== | ===The Second Golden Age=== | ||
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[[Category:IXWB]] | [[Category:IXWB]] | ||
[[Category:Museum of Ixnay]] | |||