Hi there! Always good to be back for another Resident Spotlight. You can read last week’s here.
I’m glad to be here today with @LordGianni, a Legislator and Roleplay Moderator here in the South Pacific! They’ve been a huge mainstay in the community for several years now, and have done a lot of good work with and for our roleplayers. Thanks for being here!
Thanks for having me and for the very friendly introduction!
As always, we’ll start off with the easy questions. When did you learn about NationStates, and what got you into it?
Well, that was a coincidence. A friend of mine and I were sitting in a voice chat over on TeamSpeak and he discovered NationStates. I don’t exactly know how, he just did and told me about it, asked, if I wanted to also create a nation and I did. Coincidentally we both were founded in the South Pacific. Like him, I became hooked on the game at first by just answering some issues and comparing how each other’s stats increased, but his enthusiasm quickly vanished, while I simply stuck around.
I wonder if he would have been interested in some of the (many) other things NS had to offer.
Maybe, but I think a huge difference, as to why I stuck around and he didn’t, was, that I imagined a country to roleplay for years already before he showed me NationStates, whereas he simply found a funny internet game, that he could play for a few weeks.
How long have you been in the South Pacific?
I created my first NationStates account on 27 September 2016.
Man, that’s a long time. Coming up on seven years next month, actually! What have you liked the most about being in TSP over that time?
We have some very nice people here, one or two that I’d consider friends. TSP itself - I immediately was introduced to quite a chill culture, that I enjoyed. People coming together to talk about some nerdy facts, discussing politics mostly in a civil manner or just sit around in the old Lampshade Bar & Grill - that doesn’t exist in this shape or form anymore - and enjoy a glass of SPIT while playing spam games. That was nice.
The Lampshade Bar lives on in our hearts!!! And on Discord, partially, but that’s not as cool-sounding, hah.
Yeah, I mean…I don’t know how long you have been around and I don’t want to sound like a methuselah after only seven years, but the old LB&G was different. Had a different vibe. On Discord it’s a general chat named after the bar. You have to imagine, the old bar was actually set up as a bar with a bartender, at first RandomGuy199 - Karnetvor, who unfortunately didn’t come back yet, later me, first as assistant, then as the main bartender. And people came in, actually posted an order and you had to be the one providing a half-interesting answer to this, which obviously also included serving the drink to that person.
Also one has to add, it doesn’t only continue to exist in our hearts and on Discord, it’s also on the roleplay map. On Government Island!
I’ve been around since 2014 too, here and there. Definitely agree that the vibe was very different, the new bar hasn’t really taken on the new forums, but SPIT is still a mainstay, and we keep on wearing lampshades. 
Indeed. I’m happy we stick to those traditions!
You mentioned civil discussion of politics earlier, which I think we handle pretty well here. Consider this a two-pronged question for both the South Pacific and Real life: If you were in charge for a day, what would you do?
So, in real life? Well…Truth be told, I recently got politically fatalistic. If I could be in charge for one day, maybe with a little time for preparation, then I’d try to pass legislation to fix some of the systemic issues, I’m seeing. Like enforce some reforms in the face of digitisation and climate change, force Russia to surrender in Ukraine, make away with the financial system based on imagination, unite Europe, free the internet of national politics, introduce a UBI and a law, that makes the first article of the German constitution apply everywhere, abolish the death penalty everywhere, stuff like that. I guess, 24 hours wouldn’t be enough. xD
For TSP: That better does not happen. I have too little knowledge of the intricate details on how politics in NationStates are supposed to work, how and why we defend or attack other regions, why our relations with TNP seem to sour and better “randomly”. I probably would not do anything in this case to be honest.
If I should ever find myself in the position to be a candidate for Delegacy or becoming the PM in TSP, then obviously I will likely have read up on what I currently don’t know or have experts around me, so please don’t use this interview in a few years to attack me, haha.
Hahaha, I don’t think there’s a worry for that. We’re a forgiving bunch if you’re earnest!
Favorite song, book, movie, or game?
My favourite song is changing every year. Käärijä’s “Cha Cha Cha” is a huge contender to be my favourite song of 2023.
Favourite book: Rutger Bregman’s “Humankind: A hopeful history”
Favourite movie: Either the “Harry Potter” movies or “Forrest Gump”, but I still have to catch up on many great films.
Favourite game: Life is Strange (have more favourites, but that’s my default answer ^^)
Life is Strange is an interesting choice, to me at least. What make you go with that as your default?
It has just been an incredible singleplayer experience. The first game, that actually made me cry and think about the game for days even after I finished it.
Looks like I need to get back and finish it, hah. I only ever got through act 1 before.
What’s the significance behind your nation’s name?
So, I mentioned earlier that I already imagined a country before I joined NationStates. During childhood to be precise and, as a child does, I named the country after myself. “Gianlucaland”. That got shortened to GI-Land and then I founded my country in NationStates. In roleplay I canonically switched to a new nation name last year, that sounds slightly less self-centered - really, only slightly. It is now “Gianatla”. As to why it is called Gianatla, I refer everyone to my nation’s TSPedia article.
Cake, pie, or ice cream, and why?
Ice cream, because it’s good relatively consistently, can refresh you a little, fix your sadness temporarily.
Favorite flavor?
Classically chocolate. Followed by cookies and mint chocolate.
Mint chocolate is a very good flavor. I’ll take anything that has it.
Well, thank you for joining me today, Gianni. I’m looking forward to seeing what else you have in store for the RP community (I enjoyed your work on the RP Awards at the start of the year!), and working with Maverick on their Minister agenda.
No problem, anytime again. At this exact moment we as a roleplay community are sitting on a huge common history project for Pacifica before moving on to our yearly roleplay events, that will also feature some limited sort of participation by non-roleplayers! We’ll keep y’all updated. 
Stay tuned for the next Resident Spotlight. . .