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Topics - CGJ

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1
Office of the Chancellory / SMF 2.1 Upgrade
« on: September 20, 2022, 04:21:35 PM »
Hi all,

This a follow-up to: https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2644.0

As a few months have passed, I am providing an update on the forum 'upgradeability' - the majority of mods are not supported in SMF 2.1, although some have been replaced. It's unlikely these will be updated, and therefore a discussion will take place with Pyrena

Spoiler: Mods supported/replaced • show

Remove Last Edit - compatible
Misc Anti Spam - not supported, replaced (mostly) by built-in functionality
Menu Editor lite - not supported, functionality replaced by https://custom.simplemachines.org/index.php?mod=3674
Custom BBCodes Manager - supported
Ohara YouTube Embed  - not supported, replaced by https://custom.simplemachines.org/index.php?mod=3982
Expanding & Collapsing Spoiler Tag - not supported, replaced by https://custom.simplemachines.org/index.php?mod=4166


Spoiler: Mods not supported • show

SVG as image - not supported, no patch coming (low need)
Label for banned members   - not supported, patch coming (low need)
MPAAP - Modify Posts At Anytime Permission - not supported (not required)
Footnotes - not supported
Auto Respond - not supported, would lose tio_helper
Cloudflare IP Referral Support - not supported, not a major issue


Themes

One of the fun things we get to decide is...what should our default theme be! Unfortunately the theme library is a bit...limited. There is a question about whether we keep the current principally dark theme, which I thing (if can be done tastefully) should continue.

I therefore suggest if we wished to go ahead with the upgrade:
Primary theme: https://custom.simplemachines.org/index.php?theme=2930
Looks quite nice, will test to see if I can replace the purple with yellow (or orange)

Secondary themes:
- Default
- blindspot https://custom.simplemachines.org/index.php?theme=2974

Key decisions
- Are we happy with the proposal on the primary and secondary themes?
- Are we happy to proceed with an update without the auto reply bot?

2
Vignettes / Dartfordian Vignette(s)
« on: July 24, 2022, 11:17:21 AM »
Creating this thread to post any random, but usually mundane, stories from Dartfordia.

3
Forum Administration / Forum Upgrade - SMF 2.1
« on: May 01, 2022, 08:47:54 PM »
Hello!

Two forum-related posts in a day!

As some of you may have heard, Simple Machines have released a new version of their forum software: SMF 2.1.

New features include:
  • A new WYSIWYG editor
  • 'Real-time alerts'
  • Support for mobile devices
  • Draft messages[/i]
    • Mentions like @CGJ
    • Embedded attachments and an easier way to upload attachments

    To allow for modifications and themes to update (we're using 12 mods and 3 custom themes!) I haven't upgraded the forum yet, however for when we reach better compatibility, I wanted to throw this open and let people suggest themes! We're likely looking at an upgrade over summer this year.

    There aren't many themes for SMF 2.1 on the official SMF site, but there are more sites out there. Of courses special credit will be given to anyone feeling specially creative and who volunteers to create a custom theme for TIO!

    Ideally I think we'll need a light theme and a dark theme. Feel free to use this thread to suggest themes.

4
Forum Administration / Issues with the forum email
« on: May 01, 2022, 08:22:53 PM »
Hi all,

I learned of an issue last week with emails not sending (thanks to Daito for flagging). We use SendInBlue to send our emails, as they are a well-known and 'trusted' service that is usually supported most email providers and reduces the risk of emails from the forum ending up in junk.

However, a few weeks ago '[email protected]' deactivated for a reason I am still yet uncertain. This meant that when SendInBlue (the people I use to actually send emails) wrote to me to say they were deactivating the account for inactivity/compliance, I didn't receive the notification. The SendInBlue was deactivated and emails couldn't send.

While investigating I setup a temporary solution which...wasn't the best but it had to do.

I am pleased to say, however, that I have regained the email account and re-activated the SendInBlue account. All emails should now be working. Please let me know via Discord if you have any issues by posting in the #forum-administration chat.

Thanks all,
C

5
Office of the Chancellory / IMPORTANT: Launch of TIO NFTs
« on: April 01, 2022, 07:06:28 PM »
Hello Orderians,

I am delighted to announce that we are launching our exclusive range of Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs for short.

NFTs are, put simply, the future of art and the wider internet. Just like in real life when you sell priceless art, you can now make money by investing in a unique, digital good on the blockchain. Or in This case, the TIO dragon with a variety of customisations. Your investment is then stored in the blockchain for eternity, ensuring that you, and only you, have rights over it.

The purpose of these NFTs is simple: we need to increase traffic, and we want to give you the financial incentive time to do the same. By bringing people here, they can invest in exclusive digital characters that they can have on their phones 24/7, it’s the future!

Like most things in life, such as being able to afford your own home in an overcrowded city, you just have to believe.

And if you believe. I believe. And then they believe. And we make all kinds of fucking money.

Unfortunately due to the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, we will instead accept payments using your local currency on PayPal and we’ll save your exclusive digital good in the TIO Google Drive. Trust us, it’s just as secure.

For more information, please check out this easy-to-understand explainer video courtesy of our NFT adviser, Victor Chaos.

The platform will go live from 2 April. Minimum investment $1000 per token.

Happy investing!

6
OOC Socialisation / Fantasy Premier League
« on: August 13, 2021, 09:53:45 PM »
Hi Orderians,

We have a Fantasy Premier League table!

Click here to join!

It starts on game week 2, the deadline is on Saturday 21 August to join (and take full advantage)!

7
Forum Administration / Closure of TIOwiki
« on: January 10, 2021, 07:03:25 PM »
Dear all,

Following discussions with the Privy Council, we have decided to permanently close TIOwiki on Sunday 7 February 2021.

Until this point you will still be able to access the site to retrieve any contents you have stored on-site. The website will also continue to be backed up weekly.

We’ve found that, as a separate website, TIOwiki is significantly under-utilised. We originally intended for TIOwiki to directly integrate with Zetaboards (remember that?) and SMF, but this has sadly proved too challenging to achieve.

Our longer-term plans to migrate our servers to an alternative host also make it difficult to justify its continued existence and maintenance, and we have therefore decided that it would be easier to close the site.

We apologise for any inconvenience, but hope this provides adequate time to migrate any information to the Factbook forum.

Thanks,
CGJ

8
Forum Administration / Forum Downtime
« on: October 05, 2020, 08:26:09 AM »
Hi all,

As you may have seen from the Discord chat, an attempt was made to brute force into the server. This has resulted in significant downtime over the course of the past few days. The attack appears to have been targeted at the server itself, not any any forum passwords.

I am pleased to report that, to the best of mine and iFastNet's knowledge, no compromise of the server has occurred. This means that there has been no breach of personal data, not have any forum passwords been compromised. iFastNet have shut down one of the ports that was being used to attack the site.

I apologise for any inconvenience caused by the downtime.

Thanks,
C

9
Forum Administration / Future Website Outage
« on: February 19, 2020, 04:55:42 PM »
Hi all,

From about 10pm tonight, I will be moving the forum over to CloudFlare in order to counter the drastic increase in the annoying bots that are crawling through the website.

There shouldn't be an extended outage, though the site may go down for a couple of hours as namservers switch over.

Kind regards,
CGJ

10
Forum Administration / Website outage
« on: January 28, 2020, 10:04:16 PM »
Hi all,

As most of you will be aware, we suffered a major multi-day outage this week. As the administrator (and it is literally my only job here) I wanted to be open and transparent about what happened, why, and what’s now in place.

To be clear: this was in no way related to a hack or data breach; no personal data has been affected by this week’s events.

So, what happened?

For my current employer, we are holding a conference and I volunteered to run the website. The website is hosted on the same account as TIO. Tickets for this event were released yesterday.

We had very high demand on the website from approx 10:50 onwards. Despite having used the hosting provider for almost 10 years, I'd never experienced the (still relatively low compared to what Glastonbury gets!) demand that the ticket registration generated. The website hosting plan, which cost about £4 a month, was not enough.

During frantic discussions with the hosting provider, we moved to a dedicated hosting platform at a slightly higher cost of $20 per month. Credit to the support team who did this in about half an hour.

All should be back to normal. There was a teething error as I had to point some of the internal addresses to new places as the paths had changed.

So once again apologies for the inconvenience. Please let me know if you notice any new issues.

Thanks,
C

11
Forum Administration / Forum Maintenance (29/12/2019)
« on: December 29, 2019, 11:27:51 AM »
NOTICE OF FORUM MAINTENANCE

From 10pm GMT/UTC onwards, we will be updating the Forum software from version 2.0.15 to 2.0.16. This will include a number of adjustments, particularly in relation to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). While the Forum already complies with GDPR the best it can, Simple Machines have now embedded our current feature-set within the Forum software itself. For more information on SMF 2.0.16, please see here.

I will post a second notice on the Discord chat when the Forum is 5 minutes away from going offline.

Thanks,
C

12
Office of the Chancellory / Statement on the Founder Account
« on: January 15, 2019, 09:29:21 PM »
Earlier today I was alerted on Discord to the fact that the founder account, Littlebrook, had ceased to exist. I took immediate action and ensured that founder access was fully restored to that account.

Maintaining founder account access is essential in securing the region and protecting it against the risks of raiding, I can only apologise to members of the Independent Order that this occurred.

I have reviewed the account settings and it appears no email account was associated with it, hence why I did not receive a reminder from NationStates. I have now added an email account to ensure this incident does not occur again.

13
Forum Administration / Use of images on the forum
« on: August 16, 2018, 12:11:15 AM »
Hi all,

Due to a recent judgement by the European Court of Justice, we are now restricting the use of images and graphics on the forum. The ECJ ruled that “The posting on a website of a photograph that was freely accessible on another website with the consent of the author requires a new authorisation by that author.”

Therefore, in order to use an image on this forum, you must either use your own work, or use an image where:
1) You have permission from its creator/owner to use on TIO;
2) It is issued under a Creative Commons licence or similar licence; or
3) It is otherwise in the public domain.

Where required, you must also give credit to the relevant content producer.

Any photo or graphic that does not meet the above criteria is liable to removal on a takedown request.

Should you use an image that does not meet the above criteria, you accept any and all liability concerning the use of said images. Further, you agree to allow us to supply your email and IP addresses should any legal action be brought against The Independent Order in relation to such images.

This does not apply to any hyperlinks to images.

Content creators
If we’ve used your photo or graphic and would like us to take it down, please email [email protected] and we will ensure it is taken down within 48 hours and the member notified of the issue.

Waiver
You agree that by posting any images of your own creation on the forum for in-game international organisations, maps, or for the purposes of official use by the staff of the Independent Order (including forum graphics), you give The Independent Order and its staff, and in the circumstances of international organisations, its users, full rights to use the images with credit in perpetuity.

Finding free-to-use images
There are a number of websites where you can find free-to-use images, many of which can be found here. You can also use Google Advanced Image Search, just filter the ‘usage rights’ option near the bottom. All images on Wikipedia are useable on this forum.

Note
The forum Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy will be updated in due course to reflect this announcement.

14
OOC Socialisation / Fantasy Premier League 2018/19
« on: July 30, 2018, 10:40:22 PM »
As is tradition, it's time for some Fantasy Premier League!

To join, simply register on https://fantasy.premierleague.com/ and make your team, then enter the league code below to join the League of Mundus!

1681635-383261

15
Press Offices / Royal Dartfordian Press Office
« on: July 29, 2018, 10:19:21 PM »

Royal Dartfordian Press Office

Please use this topic to ask the government of Dartfordia questions on world events. This also includes 'Rochester Palace', a broad term to refer to the Royal Family.

16
Sporting Hub / Mundus Champions League 2018
« on: July 09, 2018, 01:41:46 PM »

Back for a fourth season, having been full of stories for the last couple of years is the Mundus Champions League.

Notes:

1) For the audience of doubt this is a football tournament (though some insist on calling it soccer)

2) This year there will be in advance of the tournament a press release from the MFA (Mundus's version of FIFA) outlining some football based proposals, these will not have any bearing on the results of matches they will still be randomly generated results it is just something that people who run news story's on team performances in games may want to incorporate. The said press release will also include the venue for this years final (which I will be deciding and asking someone to provide a stadium for)

3) This is so everyone is clear a club tournament i.e. the type of tournament you would see teams such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid etc play in. It is NOT an international team competition.

Sign up information is below you may enter between one and four teams per nation (NOTE that I would prefer people do not enter four from primary's and secondary's please vary that), please note that if at the end of the sign up period there is an odd number of entered teams I will assign wild cards as necessary to make the tournament format work. Also the competition is initially for thirty two teams and I will if there is an over subscription of clubs put in place a qualification round to narrow down the field to the final thirty two, if we get near 48 teams or even 64 (both unlikely based on previous years) then I will adjust the format accordingly.

Code: (note that a * denotes a required field and people may if they wish provide an image as to the team colors)

Code: [Select]
[b]*Team Name:[/b]
[b]*Nation:[/b]
[b]*League place:[/b]
[b]*Team Colors:[/b]
[b]Team Stadium:[/b]
[b]Stadium Capacity:[/b]
[b]Team History (If any):[/b]
[b]Team Formation:[/b]
[b]Team Manager:[/b]

17
Office of the Chancellory / DONATE TO OUR RECRUITMENT DRIVE
« on: May 01, 2018, 09:53:42 PM »
A Chancellory Message

Hey guys,

Each week we buy a number of stamps, which are used to send telegrams to new members of NationStates.

We use this so that we can expand, bringing new members to our region, expanding our community and bringing more roleplayers to our forums.

Sadly, these stamps cost money. Fortunately, they're only $1 for 1000 stamps, so this is where you come in!

If just 10 members donated $1 each, we would have enough stamps to reach out to 10,000 new users.

You can use PayPal or Google Wallet, and while we can see that you, as a nation, have donated – everything else remains totally anonymous!

Donating is easy, just follow this link and click 'gift options', type 'United Moreland', head to the bottom and donate as many stamps as you like (minimum 1000/$1). Make sure to change your currency!!!

18
Forum Administration / Commonwealth Treaty Organisation Forum
« on: April 26, 2018, 08:59:32 PM »
Okay so I'm looking at potentially trimming some of the lesser-used forums down, and it appears that CTO is one forum that does not get much attention. As the forum itself is quite unique (it relates only to one organisation), I was wondering what people think we should do with it.

19
Economics and Industry / LS-Railways Storefront
« on: April 22, 2018, 02:09:24 PM »

Welcome to the official store of LS-Railways plc, one of the two largest railway companies in Dartfordia and one of the most successful in the world. We were founded in 1603 as the Gardner and Williamson Wagonway Company, and in our 400-year history have led the world in railway technology. We pioneered a successful wooden wagonway network in the 17th and 18th centuries for coal mines and similar freight, and helped Richard Trevithick develop the world's first full-scale working railway steam locomotive. The world's first passenger service, the Locomotion, transformed the way the world saw the railways, and it was our purchase of the Anabelle-Bermond Railway that helped us bring this technology to the world.

Years later, our development of the first electric tramway, and then the deep-tube Underground system, helped transform urban life in Hematite and other cities across Dartfordia and throughout the world. The Littlebrook-Southfleet Railway, built in 1962 and modernised in 2014, was the world's first super high speed service, and now sees trains run at 360kmph (225mph) between Dartfordia's two largest cities. Yet we continue to push technology to its limits, even well in to the 21st Century. Our development of Hyperloop will create a 5th mode of transport that matches the speed of an aeroplane, the privacy of a car and the energy efficiency of a bicycle. We are proud to have been one of the main contractors in the construction, and the principal infrastructure company in the maintenance, of the Trans-Albion Railway, pioneering a new level of railway safety with the Albion and Cross-Straits Train Control System that uses advanced mobile technology instead of track-side signalling.

Today, LS-Railways presently runs a number of InterCity and regional concessions on the Dartfordian railway network, as well as owning, maintaining and exclusively running our namesake Super High Speed Littlebrook to Southfleet Railway and the HyperDart network. We have a global presence: bidding for franchises and construction/management contracts for railways, trams and metro networks across Mundus; building, maintaining and running Hyperloop services; leading transport research in all four corners of the globe; and running the most luxurious way of travelling across the continent of Albion — the Albion Express.

Solutions

LS-Railways has a number of solutions that we can provide your nation.

Spoiler: MagLev • show
Information coming soon


Spoiler: High Speed Rail • show
For over a century rail has been a popular way to traverse vast expanses of land, and in more recent times we’ve seen exceptional developments in speed and quality of high speed trains. While more expensive than Hyperloop, High Speed Rail offers exceptional capacity for both passengers and freight, and with LS-Railways you know you’re getting the finest quality of service.



Unlike other companies, we don’t use standard track-side signals. We use advanced in-cab CBCS (communications Based Control System) technology (based on GSM-R) that gives drivers real-time information on what their speed should be, and when they need to stop. This allows our trains to run faster and closer together, using smart moving blocks and therefore bypassing traditional signal blocks, and drastically improving safety.

While currently our maximum speeds reach 220mph, our tracks are designed to be run with trains capable of up to 300mph.

Estimated price: $320,000,000 per mile.


Spoiler: City Solutions • show
Since the 19th century, Dartfordia has been the historic and technological hub of city solutions. From trams to sub-surface metros to deep-tube Underground/Subway to commuter railway systems, we have been there, done that hundreds of times. LS-Railways is a leading contractor in the design, construction and operation of these networks, with our array of experts able to deliver any solution your city needs.

Our networks use a mixture of advanced in-cab technology, along with track-side signalling. Our trains can be OMO (one-man operation) or ATO* (automatic train operation), allowing operators to bypass the need for drivers.

Price: Varies

Options:
- Commuter Railway
- ‘Sub-surface’ networks, just below the street
- ‘Deep Tube’ lines that run deep under the city

- Trams
- Monorail
- Light rail

*Not available for trams


Trains4sale

InterCity

Spoiler: Southfleet InterCity Express 400 • show


LS-Railway’s fastest train. This beast can travel across countries at a whopping 250mph (design), achieving, on average, 220mph on our high-speed railway in Dartfordia.

Statistics: See here

Cost: $30-70 million per train


Spoiler: Albion InterContinental 320 • show


This beast is used to transit the Trans-Albion Railway at 200mph, getting from Dartfordia to Tytor in just 5 hours, so its perfect for use across borders. It’s designed to be packed with up to 4 different controlling signalling/communication systems.

Statistics

Cost: $30-70 million per train


Spoiler: InterCity Duplex Express • show


Our most advanced double-decker train, capable of carrying large amounts of people across great distances Much like the 320, it is designed to be packed with up to 4 different controlling signalling/communication systems.

Statistics

Cost: $50-90 million per train


Spoiler: Wilmington InterCity 140 • show


For lines with extra curvature, but still great speed, the Wilmington InterCity 140 offers the ability for super-fast InterCity travel on older and traditionally slower lines.

Statistics

Cost: $50-90 million per train


Regional

Spoiler: Regio Littlebrook 15 • show


Designed for speed, reliability and quick acceleration, the Regio Littlebrook 15 is perfect for both short and medium-distance travel.

Statistics

Cost: $18-25 million per train


Spoiler: Regio Stone 14 • show


Also designed for speed, reliability and quick acceleration, the Regio Stone 14 is perfect for lines with short and long distances in the.

Statistics

Cost: $18-25 million per train


Coming soon: trams, light rail, monorail, Underground, Metros, etc.

OOC: I've p much just copied this over from the old forum, will edit properly when I'm off LOA.

20
Introductions / test2
« on: April 11, 2018, 03:21:52 AM »
just testing the buttons init

21
Office of the Chancellory / Constitutional Amendment Act (2018)
« on: February 19, 2018, 04:33:12 PM »
Your Excellency,

On behalf of the members of the Regional Assembly, I wish to present the following Constitutional Amendment for Chancellory Assent.

Quote
Constitutional Amendment Act (2018)

An act to amend the Constitution to abolish the Premier and the Regional Assembly, enhance the powers of the Grand Chancellor, provide protections for members during the enactment of legislation, and for connected purposes.

WHEREAS the members of the Independent Order have, after due time and consideration, determined that there shall exist a single Constitution with supreme authority over all laws,

AND WHEREAS said members believe such Constitution has, since its enactment, failed to increase activity with regional governance or gameplay, and therefore believes significant amendments are required,

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by Her Excellency the Grand Chancellor, by and with the advice and consent of the Regional Assembly, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Amendments

(1) After subsection 2a, insert:
“(b) Making any such enactments required for the peace, order and good government in the region;
(c) Appointing Ministers, the Lord Chief Justice and the Roleplay Magistrate, and any other formal positions, where required;”

(2) In subsection 2b, omit ‘Premier elections and’.

(3) Section (3) shall be repealed.

(4) Section (4) shall be amended as follows:
“(4) The Grand Chancellor may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law. Should a Grand Chancellor be recalled, then an Constitutional Convention shall be required to appoint a replacement.”

(5) Article Two, including sections 5-13, shall be replaced with:
“Article Two: Legislation

(5) The Grand Chancellor may enact any legislation, including amendments to the Constitution, Criminal Code and Roleplay Rules.

(6) Any enactment made shall be known as Acts of the Chancellory.

(7) The Grand Chancellor must, when seeking to make such legislative changes, publicly post, and announce on Discord, the regional message board and any other relevant areas, the proposed Act in the Conference Hall.

(8) The Act must remain in the Conference Hall, open for public debate or opposition, for a minimum of 72 hours, unless such an Act would amend the Constitution, Criminal Code, Emergency Procedures or Roleplay Rules, where it must be open for at least 96 hours.

(9) No Act amending the Roleplay Rules proposed initially by the Grand Chancellor may be enacted without the advice and consent of the Roleplay Magistrate, except where the enactment is approved by a referendum of eligible members.

(10) Any eligible member may petition in the Conference Hall thread to block an Act. Should the petition receive two further signatures from eligible members while the Act is in the Conference Hall, then the Act shall be subject to referendum of all eligible members.

(11) Any eligible member may bring forward their own legislation and, with the support of four further eligible members, require the Bill to be brought to a referendum of all eligible members.

(12) The Grand Chancellor may, where authorised or required by law to do so, issue a statutory instrument known as an Order of the Chancellory (herein ‘Order’). No Order shall need prior approval, however, any eligible member may bring forward, to the Conference Hall, a petition to repeal the Order. Should the petition receive four further signatures from eligible members, then the Order must be withdrawn.”

(6) Article Three, including sections 14-20, shall be repealed.

(7) Section (22) shall be amended as follows:
“(22) The Roleplay Magistrate shall be appointed by the Grand Chancellor for an indefinite term. The Roleplay Magistrate may be dismissed by the Grand Chancellor, or may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law.”

(8) In subsection (23c), omit ‘Regional Assembly’ and insert ‘Grand Chancellor’.

(9) Section (26) shall be amended as follows:
“(26) The Lord Chief Justice shall be appointed by the Grand Chancellor for an indefinite term. The Lord Chief Justice may be dismissed by the Grand Chancellor, or may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law.”

(10) In subsection (27b), omit ‘, Executive, Regional Assembly’.

(11) After subsection (27b), insert:
“(c) Ensuring all Acts and Orders of the Chancellory are made in compliance, and are themselves compliant, with the Constitution, Criminal Code and Roleplay Rules.”

(12) In section (29), omit ‘Regional Assembly’ and insert ‘Grand Chancellor’.

(13) In section (29), omit ‘Zetaboards Terms of Service and Terms of Use’ and insert ‘Forum Terms of Service’.

(14) In section (30), omit ‘, with the exception of members of the Regional Assembly.’

(15) After section (30), insert:
“(31) An eligible member is one who has been a member of the forum for a period of at least 45 days, has made more than 20 non-spam posts on the forum, and is not serving any form of sentence under the Criminal Code (2013) or the Forum Terms of Service Act (2015).”

Consequential provisions

(16) All previous Acts of the Assembly shall henceforth be known as Acts of the Chancellory.

(17) Any power, authority or responsibility derived from other statutes for the Premier or Regional Assembly shall henceforth be considered powers of the Grand Chancellor.

(18) Existing Orders of the Executive (herein ‘Executive Orders’) shall remain in force, however the power to make such Executive Orders shall be depreciated and vested in the Grand Chancellor’s power to make Orders.

(19) The Grand Chancellor shall, by Order, amend the explanatory note of the Constitution to bring it in to line with the Constitution as amended by this Act. This must be done within 6 months of this Act coming in to force.

(20) All article and section numbers in the Constitution shall be renumbered accordingly.

Explanatory note (not part of Act)

This Act is a major rewriting of the Constitution. It repels Articles 2 and 3 to abolish the Premier and the Regional Assembly. It replaces it by empowering the Grand Chancellor to make ‘any such enactments required for the peace, order and good governance of the region.’ It states that when the GC wants to enact a law, it must be posted in the Conference Hall for 72 hours (96 for Constitutional amendments, Criminal Code and RP Rule amendments) and empowers members to oppose bills/present their own.

22
Office of the Chancellory / STATEMENT REGARDING CONDUCT ON DISCORD
« on: February 09, 2018, 10:57:20 PM »


Office of the Chancellory

Dear Ordierans,

It’s been brought to our attention that there are serious concerns about increasing toxicity, including some accusations of racism, homophobia, Islamaphobia or anti-Semitism, within the Discord chat.

The Chancellory and Administration team would like to remind everyone that racism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamaphobia and anti-Semitism are all strictly prohibited.

Anyone using such language runs the risk of being perma-banned from the forum and Discord, and ejected from the region. Not only is it in violation of the Criminal Code (2013), but is also in violation of the Forum and Discord terms of service.

We would also like to make clear that Forever Alone and KaiserAdolf have all received formal and final warnings for anti-Semitism.

Furthermore, and we really never thought we’d say this, discussion on the Israel-Palestine conflict is now prohibited from Discord.

If you believe someone has acted in such a way, please report it to one of the administrators.

Thank you,


Beatrice
CGJ
Achkaerin
DaveIronside

23
State of Emergency (Suspension of Constitutional Provisions) Act (2018)
An Act to suspend provisions in the Constitution relating to the election of a Premier

BE IT ENACTED by Her Excellency the Grand Chancellor, exercising powers under section (3) of the State of Emergency Order (2018), and with the advice and consent of the Council of Nobility, as follows:

(1) Article Two (sections 5-13) of the Constitution shall be suspended.

(2) This Act shall be repealed upon the end of the State of Emergency, or on any other date appointed by Her Excellency by Order.

24
Statutory Instruments / State of Emergency Order (2018)
« on: January 20, 2018, 04:22:40 PM »
State of Emergency Order (2018)

WHEREAS the Premier has been declared absent without leave, and that the Regional Assembly has motioned for a Constitutional Amendment to be passed abolishing such position, but that due to the current constitution an election will be imminently required,

AND WHEREAS Her Excellency the Grand Chancellor is determined that this satisfies the condition of section (1b) of the Emergency Procedures Act (2017),

Her Excellency the Grand Chancellor, exercising powers under section (1) of the Emergency Procedures Act (2017), orders as follows:

(1) A State of Emergency is partially declared.

(2) A Council of Nobility is established, and shall consist of:
CGJ
DaveIronside
Achkaerin
KrisNord
Gadshack

(3) The Grand Chancellor may, with the consent of the Council of Nobility, suspend provisions of the Constitution.

(4) No additional emergency powers shall be vested in the Grand Chancellor during this period.

(5) Appeals to the High Court shall not be suspended.

(6) The Regional Assembly shall continue to function

(7) This Order shall remain in force for a maximum of 3 months, or until an earlier time appointed by the Grand Chancellor.

26
Forum Administration / Dealing with spam
« on: January 15, 2018, 04:44:17 AM »
Dealing with spam

We currently have a bit of an issue with spam bots. It’s not a huge, insurmountable, problem. However we are consistently seeing a few bots slip through the net. But, as they’d say in Audax, tendit in ardua virtus![1]

What we currently utilise

As it stands, we use three key methods of anti-spam protection:
  • Email verification: requires newly-registered users to activate their account via email
  • CAPTCHA: This consists of those annoying letters that everybody struggles reading
  • Anti-spam question: These are usually easy to answer

This multi-layered approach is similar what we used at Zetaboards, and even then saw spambots slip through the net. The same is happening now.

Now, unlike with Zetaboards, we are in a position to improve that situation. Having considered our options, I’ve decided to adopt the following three additional measures:
  • Form time gate: Spambots are fantastic. They’re beautiful. And they fill those forms in within milliseconds. Fortunately, we know that. And so the time gate will automatically block any user that attempts to register within X amount of seconds (I know what it is, but let’s not make it too obvious).
  • Hidden question: We’ve hidden a question that 50% of the time users can’t see. Bots can see it though (they just use the source code!), and if it gets filled in, then it will reject the application
  • Akismet anti-spam: This system was adopted from WordPress and is effectively a last line of defence, meaning if the spambots get through, Akismet will flag the post by detecting what it considers spam content, then will place it in the mod queue.[2]

So overall we now have 6 countermeasures against spam. We’ll still probably get the occasional spam bot, but hopefully these occasions become much fewer and far between.
 1. 'Virtue strives for what is difficult'...apparently
 2. This may cause an issue, because we often make fantasy posts, of your posts being flagged for spam. If this occurs, let an admin know and we will approve the post.

27
Archive / Constitutional Amendment Act (2018)
« on: January 13, 2018, 03:36:55 AM »
I'm bringing this Bill forward to debate yo.

Quote
Constitutional Amendment Act (2018)

An act to amend the Constitution to abolish the Premier and the Regional Assembly, enhance the powers of the Grand Chancellor, provide protections for members during the enactment of legislation, and for connected purposes.

WHEREAS the members of the Independent Order have, after due time and consideration, determined that there shall exist a single Constitution with supreme authority over all laws,

AND WHEREAS said members believe such Constitution has, since its enactment, failed to increase activity with regional governance or gameplay, and therefore believes significant amendments are required,

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by Her Excellency the Grand Chancellor, by and with the advice and consent of the Regional Assembly, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Amendments

(1) After subsection 2a, insert:
“(b) Making any such enactments required for the peace, order and good government in the region;
(c) Appointing Ministers, the Lord Chief Justice and the Roleplay Magistrate, and any other formal positions, where required;”

(2) In subsection 2b, omit ‘Premier elections and’.

(3) Section (3) shall be repealed.

(4) Section (4) shall be amended as follows:
“(4) The Grand Chancellor may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law. Should a Grand Chancellor be recalled, then an Constitutional Convention shall be required to appoint a replacement.”

(5) Article Two, including sections 5-13, shall be replaced with:
Article Two: Legislation

(5) The Grand Chancellor may enact any legislation, including amendments to the Constitution, Criminal Code and Roleplay Rules.

(6) Any enactment made shall be known as Acts of the Chancellory.

(7) The Grand Chancellor must, when seeking to make such legislative changes, publicly post, and announce on Discord, the regional message board and any other relevant areas, the proposed Act in the Conference Hall.

(8) The Act must remain in the Conference Hall, open for public debate or opposition, for a minimum of 72 hours, unless such an Act would amend the Constitution, Criminal Code, Emergency Procedures or Roleplay Rules, where it must be open for at least 96 hours.

(9) No Act amending the Roleplay Rules proposed initially by the Grand Chancellor may be enacted without the advice and consent of the Roleplay Magistrate, except where the enactment is approved by a referendum of eligible members.

(10) Any eligible member may petition in the Conference Hall thread to block an Act. Should the petition receive two further signatures from eligible members while the Act is in the Conference Hall, then the Act shall be subject to referendum of all eligible members.

(11) Any eligible member may bring forward their own legislation and, with the support of four further eligible members, require the Bill to be brought to a referendum of all eligible members.

(12) The Grand Chancellor may, where authorised or required by law to do so, issue a statutory instrument known as an Order of the Chancellory (herein ‘Order’). No Order shall need prior approval, however, any eligible member may bring forward, to the Conference Hall, a petition to repeal the Order. Should the petition receive four further signatures from eligible members, then the Order must be withdrawn.”

(6) Article Three, including sections 14-20, shall be repealed.

(7) Section (22) shall be amended as follows:
“(22) The Roleplay Magistrate shall be appointed by the Grand Chancellor for an indefinite term. The Roleplay Magistrate may be dismissed by the Grand Chancellor, or may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law.”

(8) In subsection (23c), omit ‘Regional Assembly’ and insert ‘Grand Chancellor’.

(9) Section (26) shall be amended as follows:
“(26) The Lord Chief Justice shall be appointed by the Grand Chancellor for an indefinite term. The Lord Chief Justice may be dismissed by the Grand Chancellor, or may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law.”

(10) In subsection (27b), omit ‘, Executive, Regional Assembly’.

(11) After subsection (27b), insert:
“(c) Ensuring all Acts and Orders of the Chancellory are made in compliance, and are themselves compliant, with the Constitution, Criminal Code and Roleplay Rules.”

(12) In section (29), omit ‘Regional Assembly’ and insert ‘Grand Chancellor’.

(13) In section (29), omit ‘Zetaboards Terms of Service and Terms of Use’ and insert ‘Forum Terms of Service’.

(14) In section (30), omit ‘, with the exception of members of the Regional Assembly.’

(15) After section (30), insert:
“(31) An eligible member is one who has been a member of the forum for a period of at least 45 days, has made more than 20 non-spam posts on the forum, and is not serving any form of sentence under the Criminal Code (2013) or the Forum Terms of Service Act (2015).”

Consequential provisions

(16) All previous Acts of the Assembly shall henceforth be known as Acts of the Chancellory.

(17) Any power, authority or responsibility derived from other statutes for the Premier or Regional Assembly shall henceforth be considered powers of the Grand Chancellor.

(18) Existing Orders of the Executive (herein ‘Executive Orders’) shall remain in force, however the power to make such Executive Orders shall be depreciated and vested in the Grand Chancellor’s power to make Orders.

(19) The Grand Chancellor shall, by Order, amend the explanatory note of the Constitution to bring it in to line with the Constitution as amended by this Act. This must be done within 6 months of this Act coming in to force.

(20) All article and section numbers in the Constitution shall be renumbered accordingly.

Explanatory note (not part of Act)

This Act is a major rewriting of the Constitution. It repels Articles 2 and 3 to abolish the Premier and the Regional Assembly. It replaces it by empowering the Grand Chancellor to make ‘any such enactments required for the peace, order and good governance of the region.’ It states that when the GC wants to enact a law, it must be posted in the Conference Hall for 72 hours (96 for Constitutional amendments, Criminal Code and RP Rule amendments) and empowers members to oppose bills/present their own.

28
Government Archive / Draft Constitutional Amendment
« on: January 09, 2018, 12:59:31 PM »
Constitutional Amendment Act (2018)

An act to amend the Constitution to abolish the Premier and the Regional Assembly, and for connected purposes.

WHEREAS the members of the Independent Order have, after due time and consideration, determined that there shall exist a single Constitution with supreme authority over all laws,

AND WHEREAS said members believe such Constitution has, since its enactment, failed to increase activity with regional governance or gameplay, and therefore believes significant amendments are required,

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by Her Excellency the Grand Chancellor, by and with the advice and consent of the Regional Assembly, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Amendments

(1) After subsection 2a, insert:
“(b) Making any such enactments required for the peace, order and good government in the region;
(c) Appointing Ministers, the Lord Chief Justice and the Roleplay Moderator, and any other formal positions, where required;”

(2) In subsection 2b, omit ‘Premier elections and’.

(3) Section (3) shall be repealed.

(4) Section (4) shall be amended as follows:
“(4) The Grand Chancellor may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law. Should a Grand Chancellor be recalled, then an Constitutional Convention shall be required to appoint a replacement.”

(5) Article Two, including sections 5-13, shall be replaced with:
Article Two: Legislation

(5) The Grand Chancellor may enact any legislation, including amendments to the Constitution, Criminal Code and Roleplay Rules.

(6) Any enactment made shall be known as Acts of the Chancellory.

(7) The Grand Chancellor must, when seeking to make such legislative changes, publicly post, and announce on Discord, the regional message board and any other relevant areas, the proposed Act in the Conference Hall.

(8) The Act must remain in the Conference Hall, open for public debate or opposition, for a minimum of 72 hours, unless such an Act would amend the Constitution, Criminal Code or Roleplay Rules, where it must be open for at least 96 hours.

(9) Any eligible member may petition in the Conference Hall thread to block an Act. Should the petition receive two further signatures from eligible members while the Act is in the Conference Hall, then the Act shall be subject to referendum of all eligible members.

(10) Any eligible member may bring forward their own legislative amendments and, with the support of four further eligible members, require the Bill to be brought to a referendum of all eligible members.

(11) The Grand Chancellor may, where authorised or required by law to do so, issue statutory instruments known as an Order of the Chancellory (herein ‘Order’). No Order shall need prior approval, however, any eligible member may bring forward, to the Conference Hall, a petition to repeal the Order. Should the petition receive four further signatures from eligible members, then the Order must be withdrawn.”

(6) Article Three, including section 14-20, shall be repealed.

(7) Section (22) shall be amended as follows:
“(22) The Roleplay Magistrate shall be appointed by the Grand Chancellor for an indefinite term. The Roleplay Magistrate may be dismissed by the Grand Chancellor, or may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law.”

(8) Section (26) shall be amended as follows:
“(26) The Lord Chief Justice shall be appointed by the Grand Chancellor for an indefinite term. The Lord Chief Justice may be dismissed by the Grand Chancellor, or may be recalled following a referendum of all eligible members of the Independent Order, as defined by law.”

(9) In section (29), omit ‘Regional Assembly’ and insert ‘Grand Chancellor’.

(10) In section (29), omit ‘Zetaboards Terms of Service and Terms of Use’ and insert ‘Forum Terms of Service Act (2015)’.

(11) In section (30), omit ‘, with the exception of members of the Regional Assembly.’

(12) After section (30), insert:
“(31) An eligible member is one who has been a member of the forum for a period of at least 45 days, has made more than 20 non-spam posts on the forum, and is not serving any form of sentence under the Criminal Code (2013) or the Forum Terms of Service Act (2015).”

Consequential provisions

(13) All previous Acts of the Assembly shall henceforth be known as Acts of the Chancellory.

(14) Any power, authority or responsibility derived from other statutes for the Premier or Regional Assembly shall henceforth be considered powers of the Grand Chancellor.

(15) Existing Orders of the Executive (herein ‘Executive Orders’) shall remain in force, however the power to make such  Executive Orders shall be depreciated and vested in the Grand Chancellor’s power to make Orders.

29
As our service provider is based in the UK we are bound by the General Data Protection Regulations insofar as it applies in the UK (UK GDPR). The UK GDPR applies to the Independent Order as a Data Controller.

A copy of the privacy policy can be found here.

Children

The UK GDPR contains provisions intended to enhance the protection of children’s personal data. As we do not identify individual's beyond their IP address, username and email address, we do not believe any action is required.

Order Law

No amendment to TIO law is required to enforce UK GDPR, as it is contained within the Chancellory's responsibility for forum administration.

Discord

The Independent Order is not the data controller for our Discord server, as we are not responsible for the processing of personal data. However Discord maintains the same privacy policy for all users which is (to the best of our understanding) GDPR compliant. You can read their privacy policy here.

Brexit

The transition period ended on 31 December 2020, meaning the UK is no longer bound by EU rules. However, the UK has decided to continue to apply GDPR in accordance with the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. This means we will continue to apply the same principles and follow the same rules as prior to Brexit. It also means that, in our privacy policy, it is referred to as 'UK GDPR'. The UK Government has provided a consolidated UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 here.

Misc

As our data processing does not possess a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, we are not required to undertake a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), nor are we required to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO). We reserve the right to reveal information we hold about you (or any other related information collected on this service) in the event of a formal complaint or legal action arising from any situation caused by your use of this forum, in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom. We also reserve the right to make changes to this privacy policy.

We will consider on an ongoing basis all other requirements.

30
Forum Administration / Forum Maintenance (27/11/2017)
« on: November 26, 2017, 12:59:16 PM »
Hi y'all,

Just FYI the forum will be taken offline tomorrow at about 12PM UTC/GMT (7pm UST, 4pm PST, 11am AEDT, 1am CET) for approximately two hours.

This will be so I can :
- Test changing our SSL certificate without ruining your lives (after I couldn't do it last time); and
- Update the forum from version 2.0.14 to 2.0.15

Thanks!

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