Hi there! Welcome back to another Resident Spotlight. You can find last week’s here.
Super glad to be here today with Grace Wellesley Thayer, also known as @Welly! They’re one of our newest active legislators and have certainly hit the ground running with their contributions, providing some excellent insight in the Voter Registration discussion, as well as participating in the campaigns for PM! Thanks for being here!
Great to be here–thanks for having me!
Let’s kick it off with a solid opener. What got you into NationStates?
Ah good question. I came across it basically by accident. I was taking the Political Compass test (found here for anyone interested, though I am not so sure about the accuracy of the results: https://www.politicalcompass.org/). From there, one Google search about national policymaking lead to another, and finally to “create a nation.” To which NS is the first hit I think. I was intrigued and the rest is history.
Understandable. A while ago, a bunch of South Pacificans did the political compass test and we plotted everyone’s results down. I think the vast majority, like upwards of 3/4ths, were libertarian left. Could be interesting to see what it’s like today!
Well I guess I fit in then–I was libertarian left as well. Which I felt was pretty accurate with respect to me, but I was a bit confused by the some of the “real world” politicians plot positions. But anyway, that’s a digression.
TSP was where you were founded, then?
I actually wasn’t founded in TSP. It was another Pacific, but I now can’t remember which. I ended up moving to TSP after looking around at the various big regions’ dispatches describing their governments and gameplay. Somehow I stumbled upon TSP’s Online Rulings Consultation System. I’m a huge law nerd, so that got me interested. I might be the only person who could be excited about finding an online government with its own detailed case law system, but that’s what drew me here initially.
Oh @KrisKringle is going to be so excited to hear that, hahaha.
You joined back at the start of June, right?
Hmm yes that seems right. It’s been a bit of a crazy few months with multiple moves and lots of RL stuff, so I have lost track of time. But around then.
How has your time here been since then, at least with consideration given to RL? What do you like the most about TSP?
It’s been great, honestly. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at first. The NS game interface itself is deceptively simple. It is like the tip of the iceburg as to what is really going on in the game. So once I discovered the forums it was a little intimidating at first trying to figure out how everything worked. But what I’ve liked most about TSP is that everyone has been so incredibly welcoming. It really made it easy to get acclimated and start getting involved.
That’s super nice to hear!
Speaking of incredible welcomes and easy acclimation, congratulations! You’ve just been elected PM for a day this cycle. What would you do?
Wow, that’s not one I was ready for. In reality I would probably resign in favor of someone more experienced! But I guess that is dodging the question. So if I must serve my day in office, I would focus on integration. I admit that’s a vague answer. That’s because I don’t have any brilliant ideas on the topic. But having recently joined TSP myself, it strikes me as a crucial issue. For me at least, it felt like the first 2-3 days on NS were touch-and-go. I could have stayed and gotten involved or decided it wasn’t for me. I imagine a lot of new players are in that position. Making sure more of those folks take the former path instead of the latter seems like a difficult but essential project. Probably not one that could be solved in 24 hours as PM. But worth a shot.
Anything else you’d want to do?
Ah well, I don’t know if this is funny or controversial but… I’d make ice cream the official regional dessert.
I’ve been following the cake / pie debates and must acknowledge that I am an ice cream partisan…
Favorite song, book, game, or movie?
All great questions. Favorite book is Cry, the Beloved Country. If I can get two answers out of it, favorite game is Diplomacy (despite its tendency to destroy friendships…).
I can respect the game hustle. I’ll admit I’ve never heard of Cry, the Beloved Country, but this looks like a super interesting read.
Yes, it’s the best English writing I’ve ever read. Prose like poetry. But I won’t wax on.
What’s the significance behind your nation’s name?
Ah my nation’s name. I can only give a few details here, but since we are talking about writing it fits. It’s not my name, but rather a character in an ongoing novel project. Hopefully one day it will be published and you can get the full story behind it.
I hope to read that story one day soon enough!
What genres do you write in?
I suppose I would call it semi-historical fiction. Some of Ian McEwan and J.M. Coetzee’s work is what I’m aiming for but will never achieve.
Don’t discount yourself so soon! There is still time to grow into it!
Thank you for the vote of confidence–I certainly hope you are proven right!]
You answered my next question earlier, which makes me think I need to start rewriting them , but I’d like to ask, what’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Moose Tracks. No doubt. Hard to find but worth the effort.
Next time I’m on the hunt for some frozen goodies, I’ll keep an eye out and give it a shot.
Well, thanks for joining me, and for sticking around here in TSP! It’s super nice to have newer players jump straight in and get involved, and I know that can be a hard sell.
Of course, thanks so much for chatting–I’ve really enjoyed it! And thanks to everyone in TSP for being so welcoming over the past month or so. I’ve really enjoyed my time so far and look forward to many more!
Stay tuned for the next Resident Spotlight. . .