by Max Barry

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Region: Forest

Cretox state wrote:It's the HIV problem. Let's say an author tries to pass a resolution on HIV/AIDS. That would be fine and dandy in real life, but what about NS? How do you know that HIV even exists in NS? How do you know that it's widespread enough to warrant a WA resolution on the matter? What about nations whose populations aren't human? Then what? Rather than attempting to legislate on HIV/AIDS, authors have legislated on infectious diseases or simply healthcare in general.

This is a similar situation. How do you know that 6 weeks is sufficient paid leave? What if a worker's unique situation necessitates greater leave? What if a worker's species has a lifespan that would make 6 weeks an absurd duration of leave? Using concrete numbers in proposals is generally frowned upon because they make little sense in the context of international law with a low word count limit in the NS multiverse. Using flexible language is often simply a necessity. Many WA regulars believe that the particulars of employment law should not be legislated on by the WA at all, the logic being that such resolutions will either be too specific or too ambiguous. I can't say I disagree with them.

This makes sense if we accept the convention that the WA aspect of the game has to accommodate everybody's RP no matter how outlandish it is. I'm not sure why we do accept that, however, and I can't find any basis for it in the rules. HIV is an issue because of the rule on real-life references, not because of species-wank, and it's not at all clear to me that this rule entails multiple species. The basis of NS, and the first thing a player encounters, is the issues game and the issues make it clear that nations are assumed to exist in the modern era and be populated by humans. They talk about relations with Bigtopian immigrants but not with settlers from Tau Ceti, and conflict with Blackacre not the Galactic Trade Federation. The GA legislates on CFCs and carbon emissions without worrying that these laws won't make sense on planets that have a methane atmosphere and no ozone layer. In that spirit I feel the best response to species-wank, and an entirely legal one, it to simply ignore it. Players can do what they like when taking part in RP but it doesn't mean that everyone has to treat it all as canon.

Cretox state, Atsvea, Ruinenlust, The void territories, and 4 othersMiddle Barael, Nation of ecologists, Garbelia, and The most serene republicans

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