MicrasWiki - User contributions [en]

Geographical Standards Organisation

2011-03-11T21:46:13Z

Scott alexander:

The Geographical Standards Organization was a cartography society that maintained the fictional planet of Giess from August 2006 to August 2009. It was the most serious competitor faced by the MCS and Micras in their project to unify micronational cartography.

[[File:Gsotopo.png|thumb|right|GSO Topographical Map]]
[[File:Gsopolitical.png|thumb|right|GSO Political Map]]

==Prehistory==

During 2006 several factors conspired to make micronationalists increasingly dissatisfied with Micras.

First, Chief Cartographer [[Ryan Caruso]] pursued an aggressive policy of freeing up land for new nations to use that seriously restricted the ability of old nations to expand and sometimes even took land away from them. There were some attempts to define the amount of land to which a country was entitled mathematically via an equation taking into account post count and activity, an attempt which quickly ran afoul of countries who wanted more land than the equation allotted them. Most important was the [[Atkins Reduction]], in which each country was asked to give up a small amount of land; many countries felt their core territories were being taken away from them in the name of preserving land for hypothetical future empires.

Second, John Darcy led a group (actually mainly just John Darcy, but he was very loud) of people pushing for higher simulation standards. The entire MCS Map had mostly been made up on the fly, and Darcy wanted tectonically accurate landforms and rivers, full-blown climate simulations, and constructed anthropology and ecology. This was opposed by many other Micras members, who wanted to leave the planet deliberately vague so that future micronations could claim land and mold it in their own image without being told every detail of what their fictional geography had to be like.

Third, several countries wanted to switch to a complicated simulationist "game" in which they assigned themselves resources, GDPs, et cetera and used them to produce things like industrial infrastructure and military units according to mathematical rules. This became not only a practical difference but also a philosophical rallying cry: these countries believed they were superior and "more serious" than countries that were "only about storytelling", and touted themselves as "simulationist" micronations as opposed to the others' "fantasy". They began discussing a world solely for simulationists, separate from the fantasists who were holding them back.

==Foundation of Giess==

After long talks behind closed doors, in August 2006 Ben Gray and John Darcy announced the foundation of the Geographical Standards Organization, or GSO. The full list of founding members has been lost, but it included at least [[Anthelia]], [[Babkha]], [[Baracao]], [[Gotzborg]], and [[Alexandria]].

The organization was to differentiate itself from the MCS on a few lines. First, it would be admitting only the higher-tier, "simulationist" class of micronations. Second, it would explicitly try to create a strong simulation that tied together all its members. Third, it would use a map generated by AutoRealm, which would look better than the MCS's MSPaint style maps and be continuously updated directly off the AutoRealm file.

The reaction from the MCS ranged from dismay to anger; dismay because the cartography society had long acted as a unified force for the Sector and was now becoming a divisive force instead; anger because of the clandestine way in which the negotiations had taken place, with the existence of a discontent faction not even revealed until the final announcement. A leak of some of the classified negotiations revealed that the GSO founders were saying relatively mean things about most MCS nations behind their backs, adding to the anger. Among the most unhappy was Natopia, member of the Novasolum Confederation - the entire Confederation had been invited to the negotiations except for themselves, on the grounds that they weren't serious enough and might tell other countries.

Ryan, Chief Cartographer of the MCS, resigned in a rage and tried to close down the MCS; it was saved only when a group of participants led by V.C. Vehendi cancelled the closure and recreated it in their own image, starting the modern MCS structure led by a Council.

==Golden Age==

At its height, the GSO included at least the countries of [[Anthelia]], [[Babkha]], [[Baracao]], [[Gotzborg]], [[Alexandria]], [[Antica]], [[Paulovia]], [[Stormark]], [[Hurmu]], [[The United Baronies]], [[Treithar]], [[Karnali]], [[Interland]], [[Zindaria]], and [[Oscland]], although many of these also maintained land on the MCS. Throughout 2007, the two organizations were about equal in size, and maintained an unfriendly rivalry.

The GSO started off on [[Iain de Vembria]]'s [[micronations.net]] forum. When this closed, it switched to a spot on Will Tomsett's [[MicroHub]] forum. At no point did it ever have its own board; although it had its own website, at www.geostandards.org, no copy currently exists.

The GSO's map, Giess, consisted of four main continents: Novgard, Iotnargard, Grandica, and Novasolum. Grandica was self-consciously created in the image of the [[Grand Commonwealth]], one of the great powers of the day, and hosted many of the GC nations. Novasolum was named after the Micras continent of [[Novasolum]], and included Darcy's empire of Anthelia. Novgard, isolated in the west, hosted both Babkha and Stormark. Iotnargard was a "wild" continent, and there were a few RPs about people sending explorers to open up and colonize it.

The focus of the GSO's territory policy was in exploration and colonization. Instead of submitting claims based on activity, like at the MCS, nations claimed GSO territory by posting role-plays in which they simulated exploring an area and starting a colony.

Most activity upon Giess was this sort of colonizing and claiming, with the occasional recwar. The Grand Commonwealth constructed an interdimensional portal, the [[Hurmu Gate]], which allowed travel between Micras and Giess; this was intended to unify the economies and strategic picture of the two worlds, but it never really caught on.

==The Decline of Giess==

Several factors contributed to Giess' decline and eventual destruction in 2008 through 2009.

First, the choice to use AutoRealm for updates became more and more questionable as the people with the AutoRealm file either never showed up or refused to let other people use it. Because only .pngs of the map were released to the public and the original AutoRealm was kept as a "trade secret", only a few "head honchos" of the organization could actually update the map, and these people were often chronically inactive. John Darcy himself suffered from increasing business and personal commitments during this period and was unable to update consistently. The MCS loved poking fun at the relative update schedules of the two organizations (MCS several times per week, GSO once every few months).

Second, the promised unified simulation never arrived. This was mainly because of Darcy's frequent absences, but also because making a simulation and getting lots of countries to agree to it is really hard, and the GSO had not fully appreciated this beforehand.

Third, in a major stroke of luck, most of the new nations of the "Lovely Sector", the major influx of micronations that occurred with Danny Wallace's TV program "How To Start Your Own Country", chose the MCS rather than the GSO. This centered more and more activity around the MCS, while the GSO was becoming less and less active due to infrequent updates and the lack of a coherent simulation strategy.

Finally, in a move worthy of the Counter-Reformation, the MCS took great strides in addressing the issues that made the GSO seem attractive in the first place. The "dictatorial" Chief Cartographer position was replaced by a council of five people plus a less despotic Administrator-General. The organization ratified a constitution that contained clauses for removing MCS officials if necessary. The departure of many large nations to the GSO freed up huge swathes of land, ironically solving one of the problems that had made them leave in the first place. And the creation of new "special maps" made the graphics less of an issue.

In August 2009, the GSO closed for good, with most GSO nations returning to Micras.

Geographical Standards Organisation

2011-03-11T21:45:42Z

Scott alexander: /* Foundation of Giess */

The Geographical Standards Organization was a cartography society that maintained the fictional planet of Giess from August 2006 to August 2009. It was the most serious competitor faced by the MCS and Micras in their project to unify micronational cartography.

==Prehistory==

During 2006 several factors conspired to make micronationalists increasingly dissatisfied with Micras.

First, Chief Cartographer [[Ryan Caruso]] pursued an aggressive policy of freeing up land for new nations to use that seriously restricted the ability of old nations to expand and sometimes even took land away from them. There were some attempts to define the amount of land to which a country was entitled mathematically via an equation taking into account post count and activity, an attempt which quickly ran afoul of countries who wanted more land than the equation allotted them. Most important was the [[Atkins Reduction]], in which each country was asked to give up a small amount of land; many countries felt their core territories were being taken away from them in the name of preserving land for hypothetical future empires.

Second, John Darcy led a group (actually mainly just John Darcy, but he was very loud) of people pushing for higher simulation standards. The entire MCS Map had mostly been made up on the fly, and Darcy wanted tectonically accurate landforms and rivers, full-blown climate simulations, and constructed anthropology and ecology. This was opposed by many other Micras members, who wanted to leave the planet deliberately vague so that future micronations could claim land and mold it in their own image without being told every detail of what their fictional geography had to be like.

Third, several countries wanted to switch to a complicated simulationist "game" in which they assigned themselves resources, GDPs, et cetera and used them to produce things like industrial infrastructure and military units according to mathematical rules. This became not only a practical difference but also a philosophical rallying cry: these countries believed they were superior and "more serious" than countries that were "only about storytelling", and touted themselves as "simulationist" micronations as opposed to the others' "fantasy". They began discussing a world solely for simulationists, separate from the fantasists who were holding them back.

==Foundation of Giess==

After long talks behind closed doors, in August 2006 Ben Gray and John Darcy announced the foundation of the Geographical Standards Organization, or GSO. The full list of founding members has been lost, but it included at least [[Anthelia]], [[Babkha]], [[Baracao]], [[Gotzborg]], and [[Alexandria]].

The organization was to differentiate itself from the MCS on a few lines. First, it would be admitting only the higher-tier, "simulationist" class of micronations. Second, it would explicitly try to create a strong simulation that tied together all its members. Third, it would use a map generated by AutoRealm, which would look better than the MCS's MSPaint style maps and be continuously updated directly off the AutoRealm file.

The reaction from the MCS ranged from dismay to anger; dismay because the cartography society had long acted as a unified force for the Sector and was now becoming a divisive force instead; anger because of the clandestine way in which the negotiations had taken place, with the existence of a discontent faction not even revealed until the final announcement. A leak of some of the classified negotiations revealed that the GSO founders were saying relatively mean things about most MCS nations behind their backs, adding to the anger. Among the most unhappy was Natopia, member of the Novasolum Confederation - the entire Confederation had been invited to the negotiations except for themselves, on the grounds that they weren't serious enough and might tell other countries.

Ryan, Chief Cartographer of the MCS, resigned in a rage and tried to close down the MCS; it was saved only when a group of participants led by V.C. Vehendi cancelled the closure and recreated it in their own image, starting the modern MCS structure led by a Council.

==Golden Age==

At its height, the GSO included at least the countries of [[Anthelia]], [[Babkha]], [[Baracao]], [[Gotzborg]], [[Alexandria]], [[Antica]], [[Paulovia]], [[Stormark]], [[Hurmu]], [[The United Baronies]], [[Treithar]], [[Karnali]], [[Interland]], [[Zindaria]], and [[Oscland]], although many of these also maintained land on the MCS. Throughout 2007, the two organizations were about equal in size, and maintained an unfriendly rivalry.

The GSO started off on [[Iain de Vembria]]'s [[micronations.net]] forum. When this closed, it switched to a spot on Will Tomsett's [[MicroHub]] forum. At no point did it ever have its own board; although it had its own website, at www.geostandards.org, no copy currently exists.

The GSO's map, Giess, consisted of four main continents: Novgard, Iotnargard, Grandica, and Novasolum. Grandica was self-consciously created in the image of the [[Grand Commonwealth]], one of the great powers of the day, and hosted many of the GC nations. Novasolum was named after the Micras continent of [[Novasolum]], and included Darcy's empire of Anthelia. Novgard, isolated in the west, hosted both Babkha and Stormark. Iotnargard was a "wild" continent, and there were a few RPs about people sending explorers to open up and colonize it.

The focus of the GSO's territory policy was in exploration and colonization. Instead of submitting claims based on activity, like at the MCS, nations claimed GSO territory by posting role-plays in which they simulated exploring an area and starting a colony.

Most activity upon Giess was this sort of colonizing and claiming, with the occasional recwar. The Grand Commonwealth constructed an interdimensional portal, the [[Hurmu Gate]], which allowed travel between Micras and Giess; this was intended to unify the economies and strategic picture of the two worlds, but it never really caught on.

==The Decline of Giess==

Several factors contributed to Giess' decline and eventual destruction in 2008 through 2009.

First, the choice to use AutoRealm for updates became more and more questionable as the people with the AutoRealm file either never showed up or refused to let other people use it. Because only .pngs of the map were released to the public and the original AutoRealm was kept as a "trade secret", only a few "head honchos" of the organization could actually update the map, and these people were often chronically inactive. John Darcy himself suffered from increasing business and personal commitments during this period and was unable to update consistently. The MCS loved poking fun at the relative update schedules of the two organizations (MCS several times per week, GSO once every few months).

Second, the promised unified simulation never arrived. This was mainly because of Darcy's frequent absences, but also because making a simulation and getting lots of countries to agree to it is really hard, and the GSO had not fully appreciated this beforehand.

Third, in a major stroke of luck, most of the new nations of the "Lovely Sector", the major influx of micronations that occurred with Danny Wallace's TV program "How To Start Your Own Country", chose the MCS rather than the GSO. This centered more and more activity around the MCS, while the GSO was becoming less and less active due to infrequent updates and the lack of a coherent simulation strategy.

Finally, in a move worthy of the Counter-Reformation, the MCS took great strides in addressing the issues that made the GSO seem attractive in the first place. The "dictatorial" Chief Cartographer position was replaced by a council of five people plus a less despotic Administrator-General. The organization ratified a constitution that contained clauses for removing MCS officials if necessary. The departure of many large nations to the GSO freed up huge swathes of land, ironically solving one of the problems that had made them leave in the first place. And the creation of new "special maps" made the graphics less of an issue.

In August 2009, the GSO closed for good, with most GSO nations returning to Micras.

Geographical Standards Organisation

2011-03-11T21:45:08Z

Scott alexander: /* Foundation of Giess */

The Geographical Standards Organization was a cartography society that maintained the fictional planet of Giess from August 2006 to August 2009. It was the most serious competitor faced by the MCS and Micras in their project to unify micronational cartography.

==Prehistory==

During 2006 several factors conspired to make micronationalists increasingly dissatisfied with Micras.

First, Chief Cartographer [[Ryan Caruso]] pursued an aggressive policy of freeing up land for new nations to use that seriously restricted the ability of old nations to expand and sometimes even took land away from them. There were some attempts to define the amount of land to which a country was entitled mathematically via an equation taking into account post count and activity, an attempt which quickly ran afoul of countries who wanted more land than the equation allotted them. Most important was the [[Atkins Reduction]], in which each country was asked to give up a small amount of land; many countries felt their core territories were being taken away from them in the name of preserving land for hypothetical future empires.

Second, John Darcy led a group (actually mainly just John Darcy, but he was very loud) of people pushing for higher simulation standards. The entire MCS Map had mostly been made up on the fly, and Darcy wanted tectonically accurate landforms and rivers, full-blown climate simulations, and constructed anthropology and ecology. This was opposed by many other Micras members, who wanted to leave the planet deliberately vague so that future micronations could claim land and mold it in their own image without being told every detail of what their fictional geography had to be like.

Third, several countries wanted to switch to a complicated simulationist "game" in which they assigned themselves resources, GDPs, et cetera and used them to produce things like industrial infrastructure and military units according to mathematical rules. This became not only a practical difference but also a philosophical rallying cry: these countries believed they were superior and "more serious" than countries that were "only about storytelling", and touted themselves as "simulationist" micronations as opposed to the others' "fantasy". They began discussing a world solely for simulationists, separate from the fantasists who were holding them back.

==Foundation of Giess==

[[File:Gsopolitical.png|thumb|right|GSO Topographical Map]]
[[File:Gsopolitical.png|thumb|right|GSO Political Map]]

After long talks behind closed doors, in August 2006 Ben Gray and John Darcy announced the foundation of the Geographical Standards Organization, or GSO. The full list of founding members has been lost, but it included at least [[Anthelia]], [[Babkha]], [[Baracao]], [[Gotzborg]], and [[Alexandria]].

The organization was to differentiate itself from the MCS on a few lines. First, it would be admitting only the higher-tier, "simulationist" class of micronations. Second, it would explicitly try to create a strong simulation that tied together all its members. Third, it would use a map generated by AutoRealm, which would look better than the MCS's MSPaint style maps and be continuously updated directly off the AutoRealm file.

The reaction from the MCS ranged from dismay to anger; dismay because the cartography society had long acted as a unified force for the Sector and was now becoming a divisive force instead; anger because of the clandestine way in which the negotiations had taken place, with the existence of a discontent faction not even revealed until the final announcement. A leak of some of the classified negotiations revealed that the GSO founders were saying relatively mean things about most MCS nations behind their backs, adding to the anger. Among the most unhappy was Natopia, member of the Novasolum Confederation - the entire Confederation had been invited to the negotiations except for themselves, on the grounds that they weren't serious enough and might tell other countries.

Ryan, Chief Cartographer of the MCS, resigned in a rage and tried to close down the MCS; it was saved only when a group of participants led by V.C. Vehendi cancelled the closure and recreated it in their own image, starting the modern MCS structure led by a Council.

==Golden Age==

At its height, the GSO included at least the countries of [[Anthelia]], [[Babkha]], [[Baracao]], [[Gotzborg]], [[Alexandria]], [[Antica]], [[Paulovia]], [[Stormark]], [[Hurmu]], [[The United Baronies]], [[Treithar]], [[Karnali]], [[Interland]], [[Zindaria]], and [[Oscland]], although many of these also maintained land on the MCS. Throughout 2007, the two organizations were about equal in size, and maintained an unfriendly rivalry.

The GSO started off on [[Iain de Vembria]]'s [[micronations.net]] forum. When this closed, it switched to a spot on Will Tomsett's [[MicroHub]] forum. At no point did it ever have its own board; although it had its own website, at www.geostandards.org, no copy currently exists.

The GSO's map, Giess, consisted of four main continents: Novgard, Iotnargard, Grandica, and Novasolum. Grandica was self-consciously created in the image of the [[Grand Commonwealth]], one of the great powers of the day, and hosted many of the GC nations. Novasolum was named after the Micras continent of [[Novasolum]], and included Darcy's empire of Anthelia. Novgard, isolated in the west, hosted both Babkha and Stormark. Iotnargard was a "wild" continent, and there were a few RPs about people sending explorers to open up and colonize it.

The focus of the GSO's territory policy was in exploration and colonization. Instead of submitting claims based on activity, like at the MCS, nations claimed GSO territory by posting role-plays in which they simulated exploring an area and starting a colony.

Most activity upon Giess was this sort of colonizing and claiming, with the occasional recwar. The Grand Commonwealth constructed an interdimensional portal, the [[Hurmu Gate]], which allowed travel between Micras and Giess; this was intended to unify the economies and strategic picture of the two worlds, but it never really caught on.

==The Decline of Giess==

Several factors contributed to Giess' decline and eventual destruction in 2008 through 2009.

First, the choice to use AutoRealm for updates became more and more questionable as the people with the AutoRealm file either never showed up or refused to let other people use it. Because only .pngs of the map were released to the public and the original AutoRealm was kept as a "trade secret", only a few "head honchos" of the organization could actually update the map, and these people were often chronically inactive. John Darcy himself suffered from increasing business and personal commitments during this period and was unable to update consistently. The MCS loved poking fun at the relative update schedules of the two organizations (MCS several times per week, GSO once every few months).

Second, the promised unified simulation never arrived. This was mainly because of Darcy's frequent absences, but also because making a simulation and getting lots of countries to agree to it is really hard, and the GSO had not fully appreciated this beforehand.

Third, in a major stroke of luck, most of the new nations of the "Lovely Sector", the major influx of micronations that occurred with Danny Wallace's TV program "How To Start Your Own Country", chose the MCS rather than the GSO. This centered more and more activity around the MCS, while the GSO was becoming less and less active due to infrequent updates and the lack of a coherent simulation strategy.

Finally, in a move worthy of the Counter-Reformation, the MCS took great strides in addressing the issues that made the GSO seem attractive in the first place. The "dictatorial" Chief Cartographer position was replaced by a council of five people plus a less despotic Administrator-General. The organization ratified a constitution that contained clauses for removing MCS officials if necessary. The departure of many large nations to the GSO freed up huge swathes of land, ironically solving one of the problems that had made them leave in the first place. And the creation of new "special maps" made the graphics less of an issue.

In August 2009, the GSO closed for good, with most GSO nations returning to Micras.

File:Gsotopo.png

2011-03-11T21:42:06Z

Scott alexander:

File:Gsopolitical.png

2011-03-11T21:41:02Z

Scott alexander:

Geographical Standards Organisation

2011-03-11T21:39:11Z

Scott alexander:

The Geographical Standards Organization was a cartography society that maintained the fictional planet of Giess from August 2006 to August 2009. It was the most serious competitor faced by the MCS and Micras in their project to unify micronational cartography.

==Prehistory==

During 2006 several factors conspired to make micronationalists increasingly dissatisfied with Micras.

First, Chief Cartographer [[Ryan Caruso]] pursued an aggressive policy of freeing up land for new nations to use that seriously restricted the ability of old nations to expand and sometimes even took land away from them. There were some attempts to define the amount of land to which a country was entitled mathematically via an equation taking into account post count and activity, an attempt which quickly ran afoul of countries who wanted more land than the equation allotted them. Most important was the [[Atkins Reduction]], in which each country was asked to give up a small amount of land; many countries felt their core territories were being taken away from them in the name of preserving land for hypothetical future empires.

Second, John Darcy led a group (actually mainly just John Darcy, but he was very loud) of people pushing for higher simulation standards. The entire MCS Map had mostly been made up on the fly, and Darcy wanted tectonically accurate landforms and rivers, full-blown climate simulations, and constructed anthropology and ecology. This was opposed by many other Micras members, who wanted to leave the planet deliberately vague so that future micronations could claim land and mold it in their own image without being told every detail of what their fictional geography had to be like.

Third, several countries wanted to switch to a complicated simulationist "game" in which they assigned themselves resources, GDPs, et cetera and used them to produce things like industrial infrastructure and military units according to mathematical rules. This became not only a practical difference but also a philosophical rallying cry: these countries believed they were superior and "more serious" than countries that were "only about storytelling", and touted themselves as "simulationist" micronations as opposed to the others' "fantasy". They began discussing a world solely for simulationists, separate from the fantasists who were holding them back.

==Foundation of Giess==

After long talks behind closed doors, in August 2006 Ben Gray and John Darcy announced the foundation of the Geographical Standards Organization, or GSO. The full list of founding members has been lost, but it included at least [[Anthelia]], [[Babkha]], [[Baracao]], [[Gotzborg]], and [[Alexandria]].

The organization was to differentiate itself from the MCS on a few lines. First, it would be admitting only the higher-tier, "simulationist" class of micronations. Second, it would explicitly try to create a strong simulation that tied together all its members. Third, it would use a map generated by AutoRealm, which would look better than the MCS's MSPaint style maps and be continuously updated directly off the AutoRealm file.

The reaction from the MCS ranged from dismay to anger; dismay because the cartography society had long acted as a unified force for the Sector and was now becoming a divisive force instead; anger because of the clandestine way in which the negotiations had taken place, with the existence of a discontent faction not even revealed until the final announcement. A leak of some of the classified negotiations revealed that the GSO founders were saying relatively mean things about most MCS nations behind their backs, adding to the anger. Among the most unhappy was Natopia, member of the Novasolum Confederation - the entire Confederation had been invited to the negotiations except for themselves, on the grounds that they weren't serious enough and might tell other countries.

Ryan, Chief Cartographer of the MCS, resigned in a rage and tried to close down the MCS; it was saved only when a group of participants led by V.C. Vehendi cancelled the closure and recreated it in their own image, starting the modern MCS structure led by a Council.

==Golden Age==

At its height, the GSO included at least the countries of [[Anthelia]], [[Babkha]], [[Baracao]], [[Gotzborg]], [[Alexandria]], [[Antica]], [[Paulovia]], [[Stormark]], [[Hurmu]], [[The United Baronies]], [[Treithar]], [[Karnali]], [[Interland]], [[Zindaria]], and [[Oscland]], although many of these also maintained land on the MCS. Throughout 2007, the two organizations were about equal in size, and maintained an unfriendly rivalry.

The GSO started off on [[Iain de Vembria]]'s [[micronations.net]] forum. When this closed, it switched to a spot on Will Tomsett's [[MicroHub]] forum. At no point did it ever have its own board; although it had its own website, at www.geostandards.org, no copy currently exists.

The GSO's map, Giess, consisted of four main continents: Novgard, Iotnargard, Grandica, and Novasolum. Grandica was self-consciously created in the image of the [[Grand Commonwealth]], one of the great powers of the day, and hosted many of the GC nations. Novasolum was named after the Micras continent of [[Novasolum]], and included Darcy's empire of Anthelia. Novgard, isolated in the west, hosted both Babkha and Stormark. Iotnargard was a "wild" continent, and there were a few RPs about people sending explorers to open up and colonize it.

The focus of the GSO's territory policy was in exploration and colonization. Instead of submitting claims based on activity, like at the MCS, nations claimed GSO territory by posting role-plays in which they simulated exploring an area and starting a colony.

Most activity upon Giess was this sort of colonizing and claiming, with the occasional recwar. The Grand Commonwealth constructed an interdimensional portal, the [[Hurmu Gate]], which allowed travel between Micras and Giess; this was intended to unify the economies and strategic picture of the two worlds, but it never really caught on.

==The Decline of Giess==

Several factors contributed to Giess' decline and eventual destruction in 2008 through 2009.

First, the choice to use AutoRealm for updates became more and more questionable as the people with the AutoRealm file either never showed up or refused to let other people use it. Because only .pngs of the map were released to the public and the original AutoRealm was kept as a "trade secret", only a few "head honchos" of the organization could actually update the map, and these people were often chronically inactive. John Darcy himself suffered from increasing business and personal commitments during this period and was unable to update consistently. The MCS loved poking fun at the relative update schedules of the two organizations (MCS several times per week, GSO once every few months).

Second, the promised unified simulation never arrived. This was mainly because of Darcy's frequent absences, but also because making a simulation and getting lots of countries to agree to it is really hard, and the GSO had not fully appreciated this beforehand.

Third, in a major stroke of luck, most of the new nations of the "Lovely Sector", the major influx of micronations that occurred with Danny Wallace's TV program "How To Start Your Own Country", chose the MCS rather than the GSO. This centered more and more activity around the MCS, while the GSO was becoming less and less active due to infrequent updates and the lack of a coherent simulation strategy.

Finally, in a move worthy of the Counter-Reformation, the MCS took great strides in addressing the issues that made the GSO seem attractive in the first place. The "dictatorial" Chief Cartographer position was replaced by a council of five people plus a less despotic Administrator-General. The organization ratified a constitution that contained clauses for removing MCS officials if necessary. The departure of many large nations to the GSO freed up huge swathes of land, ironically solving one of the problems that had made them leave in the first place. And the creation of new "special maps" made the graphics less of an issue.

In August 2009, the GSO closed for good, with most GSO nations returning to Micras.

2011-01-09T16:21:51Z

Scott alexander:

2011-01-09T16:04:17Z

Scott alexander:

Hyperborea

2011-01-09T16:03:42Z

Bifrost

2011-01-09T14:09:31Z

Scott alexander: Redirected page to Hyperborea

#REDIRECT [[Hyperborea]]

Hyperborea

2011-01-09T14:08:53Z

Scott alexander:

:''This article is about the island chain. For the civilization inhabiting it, see [[Raikoth]].''

Hyperborea is the archipelago of two polar islands to the northeast of [[Benacia]] and the west of [[Fifth Isle]] and [[Apollonia]]. The larger of the two islands is called Bifrost (or usually just Hyperborea), and the smaller is Volsung.

Four large waterways (probably fjords, but the map provides no means of distinguishing them from rivers) cut through the periphery of the main island. In its center is Mt. Yaanek (3050 m), an active volcano considered sacred by the inhabitants. Other mountains include Mt. Pirumve, Mt. Aramve, and Mt. Dragumve (English: Holiness, Goodness, and Silence).

Most of the big island is covered in ice, but a small area of the southeast and most of the eastern coast are habitable. The small island has the archipelago's only permanently ice-free harbor, Tyrgaard. The strait between the two islands usually freezes in the winter and melts in the summer.

The large island contains the cities of Kalen, Midoth, Anshir, Tala, Talisre, Irsil, Taras, and Sidli, of which Tala (archaic name: Thulel) is represented on the MCS map. The small island contains the cities of Tyrgaard and Vanaphan, of which Vanaphan (archaic name: Vanaheim) is represented on the MCS map.

Hyperborea is inhabited by the Shirerithian territory of [[Raikoth]], which was once an independent country also called Hyperborea.

2011-01-07T00:36:46Z

Scott alexander:

The Treesian Unorthodox Church was a micronational religion founded by [[Eoin Dornan]] and based in the Barony of Treesia and Fabon. It flourished from about 2002 to 2004, but still has some adherents today.

==Theology==

TUC was a fundamentally polytheistic religion, but borrowed some elements from Christianity, including an apocalyptic worldview and an afterlife in Heaven or Hell. Its most important deities were the four Faldia: Aeon the god of time, Laguna the Mother of All, Ilass the goddess of magic, and Utas the god of light. After a cataclysmic war in heaven, Laguna was blinded, Utas was slain, Ilass turned evil and was banished to Hell, and Aeon begat Mandorel, the warrior-king of the gods.

Along with the four Faldia, TUC worshipped the four Irdia (gods of the elements), the various divine servants of Irdia, the various divine servants of the Faldia, and a host of lesser deities.

==Orchid-Lore==

Later Treesian Unorthodox theology often centered around two younger gods called the Kwendia, first introduced in the Book of the Orchids. Elwynn was the goddess of Good; Lest the god of Evil; according to the prophecy the two would bear a child, Andan, who would go on to destroy the universe. In order to prevent this disaster, the gods hid Elwynn away; Lest and his army of demons then tried various more or less complicated plots to discover and abduct her. Much of micronational history was retroactively explained as behind-the-scenes plotting by the forces of evil to bring about this apocalypse, especially the actions of [[Ardashir Khan]].

==Church Hierarchy==

The TUC differed from other religions in its success as a hierarchical organization. New adherents were invited to join the clergy at the lowest rank, Giolla, and move up through Marach, Sagart, Ard-Sagart, and eventually to become Ardeaspag, the equivalent of the Pope. Clergy with a rank of Sagart or above were assigned responsibility for a foreign country, which they generally tried to convert to the faith via a mission forum, or retain in the faith through sermons and exhortations on a temple forum.

==Rise and Fall of the Church==

At its height, the Treesian Unorthodox Church had successful missions in Ascalon, Babkha and Baracao in addition to its base in Treesia. Despite early resistance from each of these countries, it made several converts, most importantly Shah Ardashir of Babkha, and even won a crusade that gave it the right to preach freely in Babkha. During this era, the religion had ten or fifteen adherents, at least a third of whom were clergy.

After the Barony of Treesia became moribund, the Church declined alongside its parent country. It was decided that the Apocalypse was nigh, and the Treesians tried to hold it via role-playing game. This fell apart relatively quickly, and it is unclear whether the Apocalypse has occurred or not.

Today, there are no Treesian clergy remaining, but a few people still profess a personal devotion to the Unorthodox faith, most notably Daniel Kalirion of [[Elwynn]]. There are pockets of interest in TUC across Elwynn, Shireroth, and the Imperium Incognita.

==Links==

[http://thegrandarchive.yuku.com/forums/15/Treesian-Unorthodox Grand Archive: TUC Texts]
[http://baronyoftreesia.yuku.com/forums/8/The-Cathedral-and-Chained-Library Mother Cathedral in Treesia]
[http://baronyoftreesia.yuku.com/forums/10/Soke-of-Fabon-and-Tirbalar Soke of Fabon and Tirbalar]

Treesian Unorthodox Church

2011-01-07T00:30:20Z

Scott alexander: Created page with 'The Treesian Unorthodox Church was a micronational religion founded by Eoin Dornan and based in the Barony of Treesia and Fabon. It flourished from about 2002 to 2004, but st…'

Shireroth

2011-01-06T16:39:16Z

Scott alexander:

{{Nation
|country = Shireroth
|demonym = Shirerithian
|image_flag = Shire_flag.png
|language = Shirerithian English
|capital = Shirekeep
|largecity = Musica, Apollo City, Brookshire City, Novi Nigrad, Curragh
|wiki = [http://www.shireroth.org/shirewiki/Main_Page ShireWiki]
|forum = [http://shireroth.kuroshiro.net/forum/index.php Shirereithan Forum]
|population = 25
|active = 10
|date_founded = April 24, 2000
|government = Imperial Republic
|leader = Kaiser B'Caw I
|currency = Erb
|animal = Blue Moose
|fruit = Mango
|drink = N/A
|image_map= Shireroth global.png
|maps = All
|spcoords = (630,440) (800,480)
|pacoords =
}}

The Imperial Republic of Shireroth is an absolute monarchy that takes great pride in its age, traditions, and dominant position in the simulated world of Micras. Although Shireroth has started such well-known international projects as the [[Micronational Cartography Society]] and the [[Small Commonwealth]], it tends to be inwardly focused, ignoring most other countries and devoting the majority of its energy to its hideously complex feudal politics.
==History==

Shireroth was founded April 24, 2000 by [[Erik Mortis]]. It spent the majority of its early history as a client state to the great powers of the day, including [[Audentior]], [[Jasonia]], and [[Tymaria]]. After the fall of Tymaria, Shireroth emerged as the most powerful of its successor states. It was both able to collect most of the remnants of the old [[Apollo Sector]] micronationalists and gather a native community of its own consisting mostly of students at Sonoma State University in California.

By 2003, Shireroth's post-Tymaria glory days were gone, and many observers thought it was being outcompeted by flashier micronations like [[Menelmacar]]. In response, Steward Nikkolo declared "Oustfest", a tradition of kicking out anyone with more than three citizenships as insufficiently loyal. The tactic worked, with a smaller, sleeker core of patriotic citizens more willing to place Shirerithian interests first, and became a yearly occurence. Around the same time, the unpopular Kaiser Mog was overthrown by Kaiser Letifer, creating a Shirerithian tradition of revolting at the drop of a hat.

The next few years saw many highlights, including the War of the Wylthean Succession, an ultimately failed pro-democracy movement by rebel [[Philip Locke]], and the reduction of and combination of the country's many Duchies into six "classic" ones: Brookshire, Goldshire, Elwynn, Kildare, Yardistan, and Straylight. This era ended when Kaiser Yarad I attempted the brave but ultimately doomed "New Feudalism" experiment, in which the country's traditional feudal structure was turned on its head to allow more independence and bargaining between counties. Around the same time, many of Shireroth's traditional enemies allied into a "Grand Commonwealth" designed to check Shirerithian power; due to poor communication between the government's many ministries and branches, Shireroth's response was lackluster at best. For a combination of reasons including the new feudalism, a series of weak Kaisers, foreign stagnation, and bad luck, many Shirerithians departed and by 2007 the country was in a state of complete disrepair.

In October 2007, Erik Mortis returned, took the royal name Kaiser Mors V, and along with tech guru Ari Rahikkala led the "Great Reconsolidation", a reconstruction of Shireroth's institutions that shook off the inactivity of the past year. After Mortis' abdication, a long civil struggle began between a faction based in Shireroth's ally [[Babkha]] and a second faction that wanted to see ex-[[Cyberia]]n [[Jacobus]] Loki on the throne. The early dominance of the Babkhan faction collapsed when it was revealed to be a front for a Babkhan plot to take over the country, and Jacobus took the throne as Kaiser Loki the Long-Awaited in 2008.

Through 2009, Shireroth gradually collected new citizens, repaired its relationship with Babkha, gained international prestige as the home of the Small Commonwealth, and otherwise enjoyed growing prestige and power abroad completely unmarred by a series of constant low-grade feudal struggles at home. Most recently, a debate between traditionalists and liberals flared up in a battle over Shireroth's beloved but graphically questionable flag that led to founder Erik Mortis taking an indefinite leave of absence. Some worry that the country has grown too big and complex to stay together as an effective community, while others celebrate its continued growth and prosperity.
==Government==

Shireroth is ruled by a [[Kaiser]], an absolute monarch technically bound only by a weak charter that ze zirself can change with only slight inconvenience. The Kaiser rules by decree, and zir word supersedes all other law and institutions. However, the Kaiser is effectively bound by a number of traditions, most important of which is that ze can rule only for a maximum of three months before appointing an heir and abdicating gracefully. Any Kaiser who disobeys these traditions or the will of the people is likely to be dethroned in a rebellion.

The Kaiser appoints or dismisses at will three Imperial Advisors and approximately six Ministers, each of whom controls one of the country's Ministries. The current ministries of Shireroth are Exterior, Interior, Information, Military Affairs, Immigration and Naturalization, and Trade. A Minister has full power over zir Ministry, limited only by the generally uninterested Kaiser.

Shireroth's five (occasionally four or six) Duchies are each ruled by a Duke, technically ruling at the pleasure of the Kaiser but effectively chosen by the previous Duke. Each Duchy has several Baronies ruled by Barons who rule at the pleasure of the Duke. The Counties, just below the Baronies are the smallest feudal units, and their Counts are not officially nobles. Each County contains only one person, the Count, who develops it culturally in whatever direction takes zir fancy.

All Dukes and some Barons have access and votes to Shireroth's legislature, the Landsraad. Exactly who has how much power there is a hotly debated issue; right now, Barons can speak and vote, but conservatives occasionally succeed in barring the chamber to all but Dukes. In between the Kaiser, the Ministries, and the traditions, the Landsraad rarely has much to do, but issues of national importance sometimes come before it. The Landsraad is controlled by a Praetor, elected by the nobility, who acts as its speaker and enforces the rules of order.

Constitutional crises, as well as the occasional criminal trial, get referred to Shireroth's sole court, the Judex. The Arbiter of the Judex is charged with interpreting the Charter, the Lawbooks, and the Imperial Decrees. However, the Kaiser outranks the Arbiter and can fire zir or use imperial decrees to avoid the effects of zir decision. The only case in which the Arbiter has power beyond the Kaiser's is that both Kaiser and Arbiter must mutually agree on any changes to Shireroth's Charter.
==Subdivisions==

Shirerithians can go on for hours about their subdivisions, each of which is fiercely patriotic and occasionally locked in deadly war or alliance with various other subdivisions. Although the subdivision list is subject to frequent change, the most current list includes:

Goldenbrook, a union of some of the country's oldest territories, known as a traditional seat of power for national founder Erik Mortis and as a center for the nation's traditions and most conservative elements.

Elwynn, the country's largest and most diverse Duchy, linked to the icy north and Scandinavia. Contains factions of oppressed natives, spiritual Hyperboreans, bureaucratic Babkhans, giant insects, rampaging Vikings, and who knows what else. Most non-natives stay away.

Kildare is a collection of historic lands built up from the territories of some of Shireroth's progenitor states. It wears its history with great pomp and ceremony, is the country's economic center, and sometimes flirts with an Irish theme. It calls itself a Dutchy instead of a Duchy, an old joke that refuses to die.

Yardistan is the only Duchy that has a constitutionally protected right to rebel against the national government. In times past it was a center for revolution, craziness, and a party atmosphere, but it's calmed down a bit recently. Its language, Iardix, is one of Shireroth's most developed.

Straylight, the newest Duchy, has a disproportionate number of computer science types among its citizens. It bills itself as a sci-fi setting of oceanic platforms, and has recently been in negotiations with Yardistan about its possible annexation.

In terms of real-world territory, Shireroth claims Sonoma County, California as its capital. However, this claim was placed when a much higher proportion of Shirerithians resided in the county, and is now generally ignored.
==Culture==

Shireroth deliberately avoids basing itself wholesale on any particular real world country or even around a coherent idea or political system. Instead, its culture evolved chaotically over its existence. Some dispute the very existence of a national culture, instead saying that culture is mostly limited to the various subdivisions with the imperial government tying them together politically. Those who believe in culture cite elements taken from Germany, Hinduism, the Roman Empire, Warcraft and Dune, plus a large chunk that is uniquely Shirerithian and mostly incomprehensible to other micronationalists.

Much of Shireroth's culture is an accretion of the dozens of other micronations that have risen and fallen over Shireroth's lifetime. Shirerithian conversations are peppered with references to Menelmacar, PRH, Diga, [[YAMO]]s, magigarp, and the apocollapse. Although most citizens understand these, they present a formidable barrier to foreigners trying to make sense of Shirerithian life.

Shireroth's national religion is [[Cedrism]], a native pagan mythology based around Mors, the God of Death, and his ex-wife Viviantiana, the Goddess of Life. Worship tends to involve sacrificing citrus fruits (hence the name) and lighting explosions (which has given it its alternate and more popular name BOOOOMism). Cedrism also shares some Hindu beliefs like reincarnation and enlightenment.

Major Cedrist gods include Anandja, Goddess of Bliss, Lumina, Goddess of Light, Ifni, Goddess of Luck, and Sakat, God of Time. More popular are the minor "joke" gods, including Google, Bringer of Knowledge, Mog, God of Political Blunders, and B'caw, God of Spicy Chicken. However, by far the most popular god is [[Malarbor]], the Evil Tree God of Online Forums. Malarbor has had a prominent place in the announcement box of Shireroth's forums for many years, and has become the country's unofficial mascot and badwill ambassador. Malarbor's catch phrase, insofar as gods can have catchphrases, is "MALARBOR DEMANDS IT!"

Other features of Cedrism include the Demon (occasionally Deamon) Fish of Balgurd, the archdemon Rrakanychan, and the legendary Sword of Vengeance, symbol of the Kaiser's might (but arguably pilfered by the Babkhans a while back).

Shireroth's religion ties in neatly to its fictional history, which prominently features figures called tecnomaezji who fought long ago for the promotion of science over magic and superstition. Shireroth claims descent from the tecnomaezji ethos via a long and complicated series of wars, fictional Kaisers, and great empires.

In practice, only three or four Shirerithians have much interest in the religion, and even fewer in the fictional history. Both are kept around only to provide a national narrative that ties together everything that gets done in the subdivisions.

Shireroth uses the [[ASC calendar]] for most of its historical business, both real and fictional. The calendar records the number of days since 6 August 1999, when Shireroth's distant ancestor, the micronation of Audentior, was founded. For example, February 7 2010 is 3838 ASC. This system allows Shirerithians to make events seem a bit more grand scale: for example, saying that Kaiser Ari i ruled from 2064-2098 ASC.
==Economy==

Shireroth's currency is the erb, which comes in denominations of 1, 5, 18, 29, and 100.

Shireroth is a founding member of the [[Small Commonwealth Economy]], and hosts the [[Small Commonwealth Bank]] and SCEX, the [[Small Commonwealth Stock Exchange]]. Its economy is based on a system of bounties, in which people work without assured compensation but the Ministry of Trade rewards anyone who helps the country especially greatly with a cash gift. There are then gradual taxes that replenish the government treasury. Although the economy hasn't entirely caught on, there are several cases of people selling land and titles for money.

In the past, the country experimented with a system in which votes in the Landsraad were linked to the amount of money people in a Duchy had. But because Shireroth's Duchy-based voting system made it impossible to link it to personal wealth, this became awkward and was later abandoned; the economy has not really recovered.

[[Andreas Mayer]], Minister of Trade, is widely considered to be the only person who fully understands Shireroth's economy.
==Foreign Affairs==

Shireroth is unusually isolationist for a micronation, but nevertheless has several productive foreign relationships.

Shireroth is the founder and host of the Small Commonwealth, an organization that allows nations to sign specific treaties of operation. Though some denounce the Commonwealth as a YAMO, it had some real successes - for example, unifying the economy of most members and creating an international criminal court. Current Small Commonwealth members are Shireroth, [[Batavia]], [[Ashkenatza]], [[Natopia]], [[Nelaga]], [[Gralus]], [[Nederlanden]], and [[Stormark]]. Some enemies of the Commonwealth, especially [[Antica]], accuse members of being Shirerithian puppet states or the Commonwealth of being committed to Shirerithian domination. The Commonwealth itself loudly denies these allegations.

Shireroth is the founding member of the Micronational Cartography Society (MCS), which links thirty six nations, mostly English-speaking but also Dutch and Polish, together on a single map. Shireroth is a strong partisan of the Society and fiercely defended it during its conflicts with other cartography societies like the [[Geographical Standards Organization]]. Some accused Shireroth of dominating the society, which was once plausible when most of its top positions were held by Shirerithians. However, today only one of five MCS Council Members is Shirerithian, and most nations have stopped complaining about Shirerithian influence even though it holds much more Micras territory than any other country.

In the past, Shireroth frequently entered into agreements to annex other countries. For many struggling nations, Shirerithian annexation was attractive both because Shireroth had a good track record of surviving and because its feudal system made it easy for countries that joined it to keep their own land. During its history, Shireroth has directly annexed [[Apollonia]], [[Cimmeria]], [[Hyperborea]], [[Jaris]], [[Akerbjorn]], [[South Mondesia]], [[Cognito]], [[Lac Glacei]], [[Arminy]], [[Antica]] (dinarchy), [[Comstokia]], and [[Hurmu]] (among others).

Shireroth had a very long history of interaction with Babkha, culminating in the Mango-Camel Pact of 2003 which allied the two countries. After a falling-out, Babkha and subsequently the [[Grand Commonwealth]] it created became Shireroth's chief rival. This enmity lessened when popular Babkhan [[Hesam Jahandar]] won the throne of Shireroth, but flared up again with the revelation that he was under the control of Babkhan interests. Though the line "May we slay all treacherous Babkhans" was added to an unofficial version of the Shireroth anthem, after Babkha closed shop as a micronation Shireroth mostly agreed to let bygones be bygones. Recently, Babkhan-Shirerithian relations received a boost when former Babkhan [[Ardashir Osmani]] attained the throne of Shireroth.

The living micronation with which Shireroth most often interacts is Antica. Shireroth had a very warm relationship with the Dinarchy of Antica, but when it was overthrown by revolutionaries, Shireroth's relationship with its successor state, the Republic of Antica, started off on the wrong foot and has stayed there ever since. Shireroth, which allied with the defeated Dinarchy, fought the Republic for control of Antican territory. Although it won control of the territory, political factors later forced it to give most of it up to the Republic; this incident caused enmity which has persisted ever since. However, with the departures of prominent anti-Shirerithian Anticans [[Olorix]] and [[Steven]], the Antica-Shireroth rivalry has recently turned into more of a friendly competition than bitter hatred, with only a few holdouts like [[Ben Kern]] still causing trouble. Many Anticans, especially [[Chris Mules]], are respected by Shirerithians and welcome in Shirerithian territory, while a few Shirerithians, such as [[Scott Alexander]], head to Antica for their macronational political arguments.

Shireroth is frequently accused of believing their country is better than everyone else, to which the most traditionally Shirerithian response is "But we ARE better than everyone else, aren't we?" The nation's attitude to foreign relations has been compared, not unfairly, to that of Imperial China.
==Notable Projects and Accomplishments==

Shireroth is the subject of several works of art and literature. Most notably, it gets a mention in [[Harvey Steffke]]'s [[Control of Destiny]] series of computer role-playing games, in which several Shirerithians are prominent characters. A few other Shirerithians are involved in programming projects in one way or another, including [[Jonas Windsor]] (who is working on a game about Shireroth's Duchy of Kildare), Erik Mortis (who wrote the Small Commonwealth Bank), and [[James Raine]], who created the ShireFox modification for Firefox to allow easier access to Shireroth's internet presence.

The novel Unaimed Arrow takes place in Shireroth, as do several shorter works of fiction. Notable among these are the Elwynnese story threads pioneered by [[Andrew Allot]] and his friends, the poetry of Philip Locke, and the Lac Glacei and Mirioth story arcs in Yardistan.

Shireroth has several constructed languages in various states of completion and complexity. The most notable of these is [[Audente]], developed by [[Bill Trihus]] as the language of the County of Greater Audentior. [[Nicholas du Grifos]], a linguistics grad student and former Duke of Yardistan, is currently working on [[Praeta Sxirothes]], which when completed will take its place as Shireroth's national conlang.

In 2006, Shireroth ran a successful advertisement campaign on the webcomic Real Life Adventures, whose creator, Greg Dean, was at the time a Shirerithian citizen. Shireroth's other brush with the spotlight was a brief mention on BBC during the program [[How To Start Your Own Country]], in which [[Danny Wallace]] signed treaties with several leading micronations including Shireroth.

Shireroth co-hosted (with limited success) the 2004 [[Micronational Olympics]]. Although logistical problems prevented it from continuing in the field of micronational sports, it now hosts a relatively popular online version of the board game Diplomacy that attracts participants from all over the world. There's even a micronational variant.

Shireroth is also responsible for starting major organizations such as the Small Commonwealth, the MCS, and [[SNARL]] (the Shireroth-Natopia-Antica Recwar League). A Shirerithian (Scott Alexander) runs the [[FNORD Awards]], and another ([[Josh Coales]]) runs the [[Forum List]].

==See Also:==

[[History of Shireroth]]

==Links==

[http://shireroth.org/forum/index.php Discussion Boards]

[http://www.shireroth.org/ Website]

[[category:Nations]]
[[category:Shireroth]]
[[category:Small Commonwealth]]

Shireroth

2011-01-06T16:37:04Z

Scott alexander:

{{Nation
|country = Shireroth
|image_flag = Shire_flag.png
|language = Shirerithian English
|capital = Shirekeep
|largecity =
|website = [http://www.shireroth.org/shirewiki/Main_Page ShireWiki]
|forum = [http://shireroth.kuroshiro.net/forum/index.php Shirereithan Forum]
|population = 25
|active = 10
|date_founded = April 24, 2000
|government = Imperial Republic
|leader = Kaiser B'Caw I
|currency = Erb
|animal = Blue Moose
|fruit = Mango
|drink = N/A
|image_map= Shireroth global.png
|maps = All
|spcoords = (630,440) (800,480)
|pacoords =
}}

The Imperial Republic of Shireroth is an absolute monarchy that takes great pride in its age, traditions, and dominant position in the simulated world of Micras. Although Shireroth has started such well-known international projects as the [[Micronational Cartography Society]] and the [[Small Commonwealth]], it tends to be inwardly focused, ignoring most other countries and devoting the majority of its energy to its hideously complex feudal politics.
==History==

Shireroth was founded April 24, 2000 by [[Erik Mortis]]. It spent the majority of its early history as a client state to the great powers of the day, including [[Audentior]], [[Jasonia]], and [[Tymaria]]. After the fall of Tymaria, Shireroth emerged as the most powerful of its successor states. It was both able to collect most of the remnants of the old [[Apollo Sector]] micronationalists and gather a native community of its own consisting mostly of students at Sonoma State University in California.

By 2003, Shireroth's post-Tymaria glory days were gone, and many observers thought it was being outcompeted by flashier micronations like [[Menelmacar]]. In response, Steward Nikkolo declared "Oustfest", a tradition of kicking out anyone with more than three citizenships as insufficiently loyal. The tactic worked, with a smaller, sleeker core of patriotic citizens more willing to place Shirerithian interests first, and became a yearly occurence. Around the same time, the unpopular Kaiser Mog was overthrown by Kaiser Letifer, creating a Shirerithian tradition of revolting at the drop of a hat.

The next few years saw many highlights, including the War of the Wylthean Succession, an ultimately failed pro-democracy movement by rebel [[Philip Locke]], and the reduction of and combination of the country's many Duchies into six "classic" ones: Brookshire, Goldshire, Elwynn, Kildare, Yardistan, and Straylight. This era ended when Kaiser Yarad I attempted the brave but ultimately doomed "New Feudalism" experiment, in which the country's traditional feudal structure was turned on its head to allow more independence and bargaining between counties. Around the same time, many of Shireroth's traditional enemies allied into a "Grand Commonwealth" designed to check Shirerithian power; due to poor communication between the government's many ministries and branches, Shireroth's response was lackluster at best. For a combination of reasons including the new feudalism, a series of weak Kaisers, foreign stagnation, and bad luck, many Shirerithians departed and by 2007 the country was in a state of complete disrepair.

In October 2007, Erik Mortis returned, took the royal name Kaiser Mors V, and along with tech guru Ari Rahikkala led the "Great Reconsolidation", a reconstruction of Shireroth's institutions that shook off the inactivity of the past year. After Mortis' abdication, a long civil struggle began between a faction based in Shireroth's ally [[Babkha]] and a second faction that wanted to see ex-[[Cyberia]]n [[Jacobus]] Loki on the throne. The early dominance of the Babkhan faction collapsed when it was revealed to be a front for a Babkhan plot to take over the country, and Jacobus took the throne as Kaiser Loki the Long-Awaited in 2008.

Through 2009, Shireroth gradually collected new citizens, repaired its relationship with Babkha, gained international prestige as the home of the Small Commonwealth, and otherwise enjoyed growing prestige and power abroad completely unmarred by a series of constant low-grade feudal struggles at home. Most recently, a debate between traditionalists and liberals flared up in a battle over Shireroth's beloved but graphically questionable flag that led to founder Erik Mortis taking an indefinite leave of absence. Some worry that the country has grown too big and complex to stay together as an effective community, while others celebrate its continued growth and prosperity.
==Government==

Shireroth is ruled by a [[Kaiser]], an absolute monarch technically bound only by a weak charter that ze zirself can change with only slight inconvenience. The Kaiser rules by decree, and zir word supersedes all other law and institutions. However, the Kaiser is effectively bound by a number of traditions, most important of which is that ze can rule only for a maximum of three months before appointing an heir and abdicating gracefully. Any Kaiser who disobeys these traditions or the will of the people is likely to be dethroned in a rebellion.

The Kaiser appoints or dismisses at will three Imperial Advisors and approximately six Ministers, each of whom controls one of the country's Ministries. The current ministries of Shireroth are Exterior, Interior, Information, Military Affairs, Immigration and Naturalization, and Trade. A Minister has full power over zir Ministry, limited only by the generally uninterested Kaiser.

Shireroth's five (occasionally four or six) Duchies are each ruled by a Duke, technically ruling at the pleasure of the Kaiser but effectively chosen by the previous Duke. Each Duchy has several Baronies ruled by Barons who rule at the pleasure of the Duke. The Counties, just below the Baronies are the smallest feudal units, and their Counts are not officially nobles. Each County contains only one person, the Count, who develops it culturally in whatever direction takes zir fancy.

All Dukes and some Barons have access and votes to Shireroth's legislature, the Landsraad. Exactly who has how much power there is a hotly debated issue; right now, Barons can speak and vote, but conservatives occasionally succeed in barring the chamber to all but Dukes. In between the Kaiser, the Ministries, and the traditions, the Landsraad rarely has much to do, but issues of national importance sometimes come before it. The Landsraad is controlled by a Praetor, elected by the nobility, who acts as its speaker and enforces the rules of order.

Constitutional crises, as well as the occasional criminal trial, get referred to Shireroth's sole court, the Judex. The Arbiter of the Judex is charged with interpreting the Charter, the Lawbooks, and the Imperial Decrees. However, the Kaiser outranks the Arbiter and can fire zir or use imperial decrees to avoid the effects of zir decision. The only case in which the Arbiter has power beyond the Kaiser's is that both Kaiser and Arbiter must mutually agree on any changes to Shireroth's Charter.
==Subdivisions==

Shirerithians can go on for hours about their subdivisions, each of which is fiercely patriotic and occasionally locked in deadly war or alliance with various other subdivisions. Although the subdivision list is subject to frequent change, the most current list includes:

Goldenbrook, a union of some of the country's oldest territories, known as a traditional seat of power for national founder Erik Mortis and as a center for the nation's traditions and most conservative elements.

Elwynn, the country's largest and most diverse Duchy, linked to the icy north and Scandinavia. Contains factions of oppressed natives, spiritual Hyperboreans, bureaucratic Babkhans, giant insects, rampaging Vikings, and who knows what else. Most non-natives stay away.

Kildare is a collection of historic lands built up from the territories of some of Shireroth's progenitor states. It wears its history with great pomp and ceremony, is the country's economic center, and sometimes flirts with an Irish theme. It calls itself a Dutchy instead of a Duchy, an old joke that refuses to die.

Yardistan is the only Duchy that has a constitutionally protected right to rebel against the national government. In times past it was a center for revolution, craziness, and a party atmosphere, but it's calmed down a bit recently. Its language, Iardix, is one of Shireroth's most developed.

Straylight, the newest Duchy, has a disproportionate number of computer science types among its citizens. It bills itself as a sci-fi setting of oceanic platforms, and has recently been in negotiations with Yardistan about its possible annexation.

In terms of real-world territory, Shireroth claims Sonoma County, California as its capital. However, this claim was placed when a much higher proportion of Shirerithians resided in the county, and is now generally ignored.
==Culture==

Shireroth deliberately avoids basing itself wholesale on any particular real world country or even around a coherent idea or political system. Instead, its culture evolved chaotically over its existence. Some dispute the very existence of a national culture, instead saying that culture is mostly limited to the various subdivisions with the imperial government tying them together politically. Those who believe in culture cite elements taken from Germany, Hinduism, the Roman Empire, Warcraft and Dune, plus a large chunk that is uniquely Shirerithian and mostly incomprehensible to other micronationalists.

Much of Shireroth's culture is an accretion of the dozens of other micronations that have risen and fallen over Shireroth's lifetime. Shirerithian conversations are peppered with references to Menelmacar, PRH, Diga, [[YAMO]]s, magigarp, and the apocollapse. Although most citizens understand these, they present a formidable barrier to foreigners trying to make sense of Shirerithian life.

Shireroth's national religion is [[Cedrism]], a native pagan mythology based around Mors, the God of Death, and his ex-wife Viviantiana, the Goddess of Life. Worship tends to involve sacrificing citrus fruits (hence the name) and lighting explosions (which has given it its alternate and more popular name BOOOOMism). Cedrism also shares some Hindu beliefs like reincarnation and enlightenment.

Major Cedrist gods include Anandja, Goddess of Bliss, Lumina, Goddess of Light, Ifni, Goddess of Luck, and Sakat, God of Time. More popular are the minor "joke" gods, including Google, Bringer of Knowledge, Mog, God of Political Blunders, and B'caw, God of Spicy Chicken. However, by far the most popular god is [[Malarbor]], the Evil Tree God of Online Forums. Malarbor has had a prominent place in the announcement box of Shireroth's forums for many years, and has become the country's unofficial mascot and badwill ambassador. Malarbor's catch phrase, insofar as gods can have catchphrases, is "MALARBOR DEMANDS IT!"

Other features of Cedrism include the Demon (occasionally Deamon) Fish of Balgurd, the archdemon Rrakanychan, and the legendary Sword of Vengeance, symbol of the Kaiser's might (but arguably pilfered by the Babkhans a while back).

Shireroth's religion ties in neatly to its fictional history, which prominently features figures called tecnomaezji who fought long ago for the promotion of science over magic and superstition. Shireroth claims descent from the tecnomaezji ethos via a long and complicated series of wars, fictional Kaisers, and great empires.

In practice, only three or four Shirerithians have much interest in the religion, and even fewer in the fictional history. Both are kept around only to provide a national narrative that ties together everything that gets done in the subdivisions.

Shireroth uses the [[ASC calendar]] for most of its historical business, both real and fictional. The calendar records the number of days since 6 August 1999, when Shireroth's distant ancestor, the micronation of Audentior, was founded. For example, February 7 2010 is 3838 ASC. This system allows Shirerithians to make events seem a bit more grand scale: for example, saying that Kaiser Ari i ruled from 2064-2098 ASC.
==Economy==

Shireroth's currency is the erb, which comes in denominations of 1, 5, 18, 29, and 100.

Shireroth is a founding member of the [[Small Commonwealth Economy]], and hosts the [[Small Commonwealth Bank]] and SCEX, the [[Small Commonwealth Stock Exchange]]. Its economy is based on a system of bounties, in which people work without assured compensation but the Ministry of Trade rewards anyone who helps the country especially greatly with a cash gift. There are then gradual taxes that replenish the government treasury. Although the economy hasn't entirely caught on, there are several cases of people selling land and titles for money.

In the past, the country experimented with a system in which votes in the Landsraad were linked to the amount of money people in a Duchy had. But because Shireroth's Duchy-based voting system made it impossible to link it to personal wealth, this became awkward and was later abandoned; the economy has not really recovered.

[[Andreas Mayer]], Minister of Trade, is widely considered to be the only person who fully understands Shireroth's economy.
==Foreign Affairs==

Shireroth is unusually isolationist for a micronation, but nevertheless has several productive foreign relationships.

Shireroth is the founder and host of the Small Commonwealth, an organization that allows nations to sign specific treaties of operation. Though some denounce the Commonwealth as a YAMO, it had some real successes - for example, unifying the economy of most members and creating an international criminal court. Current Small Commonwealth members are Shireroth, [[Batavia]], [[Ashkenatza]], [[Natopia]], [[Nelaga]], [[Gralus]], [[Nederlanden]], and [[Stormark]]. Some enemies of the Commonwealth, especially [[Antica]], accuse members of being Shirerithian puppet states or the Commonwealth of being committed to Shirerithian domination. The Commonwealth itself loudly denies these allegations.

Shireroth is the founding member of the Micronational Cartography Society (MCS), which links thirty six nations, mostly English-speaking but also Dutch and Polish, together on a single map. Shireroth is a strong partisan of the Society and fiercely defended it during its conflicts with other cartography societies like the [[Geographical Standards Organization]]. Some accused Shireroth of dominating the society, which was once plausible when most of its top positions were held by Shirerithians. However, today only one of five MCS Council Members is Shirerithian, and most nations have stopped complaining about Shirerithian influence even though it holds much more Micras territory than any other country.

In the past, Shireroth frequently entered into agreements to annex other countries. For many struggling nations, Shirerithian annexation was attractive both because Shireroth had a good track record of surviving and because its feudal system made it easy for countries that joined it to keep their own land. During its history, Shireroth has directly annexed [[Apollonia]], [[Cimmeria]], [[Hyperborea]], [[Jaris]], [[Akerbjorn]], [[South Mondesia]], [[Cognito]], [[Lac Glacei]], [[Arminy]], [[Antica]] (dinarchy), [[Comstokia]], and [[Hurmu]] (among others).

Shireroth had a very long history of interaction with Babkha, culminating in the Mango-Camel Pact of 2003 which allied the two countries. After a falling-out, Babkha and subsequently the [[Grand Commonwealth]] it created became Shireroth's chief rival. This enmity lessened when popular Babkhan [[Hesam Jahandar]] won the throne of Shireroth, but flared up again with the revelation that he was under the control of Babkhan interests. Though the line "May we slay all treacherous Babkhans" was added to an unofficial version of the Shireroth anthem, after Babkha closed shop as a micronation Shireroth mostly agreed to let bygones be bygones. Recently, Babkhan-Shirerithian relations received a boost when former Babkhan [[Ardashir Osmani]] attained the throne of Shireroth.

The living micronation with which Shireroth most often interacts is Antica. Shireroth had a very warm relationship with the Dinarchy of Antica, but when it was overthrown by revolutionaries, Shireroth's relationship with its successor state, the Republic of Antica, started off on the wrong foot and has stayed there ever since. Shireroth, which allied with the defeated Dinarchy, fought the Republic for control of Antican territory. Although it won control of the territory, political factors later forced it to give most of it up to the Republic; this incident caused enmity which has persisted ever since. However, with the departures of prominent anti-Shirerithian Anticans [[Olorix]] and [[Steven]], the Antica-Shireroth rivalry has recently turned into more of a friendly competition than bitter hatred, with only a few holdouts like [[Ben Kern]] still causing trouble. Many Anticans, especially [[Chris Mules]], are respected by Shirerithians and welcome in Shirerithian territory, while a few Shirerithians, such as [[Scott Alexander]], head to Antica for their macronational political arguments.

Shireroth is frequently accused of believing their country is better than everyone else, to which the most traditionally Shirerithian response is "But we ARE better than everyone else, aren't we?" The nation's attitude to foreign relations has been compared, not unfairly, to that of Imperial China.
==Notable Projects and Accomplishments==

Shireroth is the subject of several works of art and literature. Most notably, it gets a mention in [[Harvey Steffke]]'s [[Control of Destiny]] series of computer role-playing games, in which several Shirerithians are prominent characters. A few other Shirerithians are involved in programming projects in one way or another, including [[Jonas Windsor]] (who is working on a game about Shireroth's Duchy of Kildare), Erik Mortis (who wrote the Small Commonwealth Bank), and [[James Raine]], who created the ShireFox modification for Firefox to allow easier access to Shireroth's internet presence.

The novel Unaimed Arrow takes place in Shireroth, as do several shorter works of fiction. Notable among these are the Elwynnese story threads pioneered by [[Andrew Allot]] and his friends, the poetry of Philip Locke, and the Lac Glacei and Mirioth story arcs in Yardistan.

Shireroth has several constructed languages in various states of completion and complexity. The most notable of these is [[Audente]], developed by [[Bill Trihus]] as the language of the County of Greater Audentior. [[Nicholas du Grifos]], a linguistics grad student and former Duke of Yardistan, is currently working on [[Praeta Sxirothes]], which when completed will take its place as Shireroth's national conlang.

In 2006, Shireroth ran a successful advertisement campaign on the webcomic Real Life Adventures, whose creator, Greg Dean, was at the time a Shirerithian citizen. Shireroth's other brush with the spotlight was a brief mention on BBC during the program [[How To Start Your Own Country]], in which [[Danny Wallace]] signed treaties with several leading micronations including Shireroth.

Shireroth co-hosted (with limited success) the 2004 [[Micronational Olympics]]. Although logistical problems prevented it from continuing in the field of micronational sports, it now hosts a relatively popular online version of the board game Diplomacy that attracts participants from all over the world. There's even a micronational variant.

Shireroth is also responsible for starting major organizations such as the Small Commonwealth, the MCS, and [[SNARL]] (the Shireroth-Natopia-Antica Recwar League). A Shirerithian (Scott Alexander) runs the [[FNORD Awards]], and another ([[Josh Coales]]) runs the [[Forum List]].

==See Also:==

[[History of Shireroth]]

==Links==

[http://shireroth.org/forum/index.php Discussion Boards]

[http://www.shireroth.org/ Website]

[[category:Nations]]
[[category:Shireroth]]
[[category:Small Commonwealth]]

File:Shireroth flag.png

2011-01-06T13:53:41Z

Scott alexander:

Shireroth

2011-01-06T13:51:55Z

Scott alexander: Replaced with Microwiki version

{{Nation
|country = Shireroth
|image_flag = Siteflag.gif
|language = Shirerithian English
|capital = Shirekeep
|largecity =
|website = [http://www.shireroth.org/shirewiki/Main_Page ShireWiki]
|forum = [http://shireroth.kuroshiro.net/forum/index.php Shirereithan Forum]
|population = 25
|active = 10
|date_founded = April 24, 2000
|government = Imperial Republic
|leader = Kaiser B'Caw I
|currency = Erb
|animal = Blue Moose
|fruit = Mango
|drink = N/A
|image_map= Shireroth global.png
|maps = All
|spcoords = (630,440) (800,480)
|pacoords =
}}

The Imperial Republic of Shireroth is an absolute monarchy that takes great pride in its age, traditions, and dominant position in the simulated world of Micras. Although Shireroth has started such well-known international projects as the [[Micronational Cartography Society]] and the [[Small Commonwealth]], it tends to be inwardly focused, ignoring most other countries and devoting the majority of its energy to its hideously complex feudal politics.
==History==

Shireroth was founded April 24, 2000 by [[Erik Mortis]]. It spent the majority of its early history as a client state to the great powers of the day, including [[Audentior]], [[Jasonia]], and [[Tymaria]]. After the fall of Tymaria, Shireroth emerged as the most powerful of its successor states. It was both able to collect most of the remnants of the old [[Apollo Sector]] micronationalists and gather a native community of its own consisting mostly of students at Sonoma State University in California.

By 2003, Shireroth's post-Tymaria glory days were gone, and many observers thought it was being outcompeted by flashier micronations like [[Menelmacar]]. In response, Steward Nikkolo declared "Oustfest", a tradition of kicking out anyone with more than three citizenships as insufficiently loyal. The tactic worked, with a smaller, sleeker core of patriotic citizens more willing to place Shirerithian interests first, and became a yearly occurence. Around the same time, the unpopular Kaiser Mog was overthrown by Kaiser Letifer, creating a Shirerithian tradition of revolting at the drop of a hat.

The next few years saw many highlights, including the War of the Wylthean Succession, an ultimately failed pro-democracy movement by rebel [[Philip Locke]], and the reduction of and combination of the country's many Duchies into six "classic" ones: Brookshire, Goldshire, Elwynn, Kildare, Yardistan, and Straylight. This era ended when Kaiser Yarad I attempted the brave but ultimately doomed "New Feudalism" experiment, in which the country's traditional feudal structure was turned on its head to allow more independence and bargaining between counties. Around the same time, many of Shireroth's traditional enemies allied into a "Grand Commonwealth" designed to check Shirerithian power; due to poor communication between the government's many ministries and branches, Shireroth's response was lackluster at best. For a combination of reasons including the new feudalism, a series of weak Kaisers, foreign stagnation, and bad luck, many Shirerithians departed and by 2007 the country was in a state of complete disrepair.

In October 2007, Erik Mortis returned, took the royal name Kaiser Mors V, and along with tech guru Ari Rahikkala led the "Great Reconsolidation", a reconstruction of Shireroth's institutions that shook off the inactivity of the past year. After Mortis' abdication, a long civil struggle began between a faction based in Shireroth's ally [[Babkha]] and a second faction that wanted to see ex-[[Cyberia]]n [[Jacobus]] Loki on the throne. The early dominance of the Babkhan faction collapsed when it was revealed to be a front for a Babkhan plot to take over the country, and Jacobus took the throne as Kaiser Loki the Long-Awaited in 2008.

Through 2009, Shireroth gradually collected new citizens, repaired its relationship with Babkha, gained international prestige as the home of the Small Commonwealth, and otherwise enjoyed growing prestige and power abroad completely unmarred by a series of constant low-grade feudal struggles at home. Most recently, a debate between traditionalists and liberals flared up in a battle over Shireroth's beloved but graphically questionable flag that led to founder Erik Mortis taking an indefinite leave of absence. Some worry that the country has grown too big and complex to stay together as an effective community, while others celebrate its continued growth and prosperity.
==Government==

Shireroth is ruled by a [[Kaiser]], an absolute monarch technically bound only by a weak charter that ze zirself can change with only slight inconvenience. The Kaiser rules by decree, and zir word supersedes all other law and institutions. However, the Kaiser is effectively bound by a number of traditions, most important of which is that ze can rule only for a maximum of three months before appointing an heir and abdicating gracefully. Any Kaiser who disobeys these traditions or the will of the people is likely to be dethroned in a rebellion.

The Kaiser appoints or dismisses at will three Imperial Advisors and approximately six Ministers, each of whom controls one of the country's Ministries. The current ministries of Shireroth are Exterior, Interior, Information, Military Affairs, Immigration and Naturalization, and Trade. A Minister has full power over zir Ministry, limited only by the generally uninterested Kaiser.

Shireroth's five (occasionally four or six) Duchies are each ruled by a Duke, technically ruling at the pleasure of the Kaiser but effectively chosen by the previous Duke. Each Duchy has several Baronies ruled by Barons who rule at the pleasure of the Duke. The Counties, just below the Baronies are the smallest feudal units, and their Counts are not officially nobles. Each County contains only one person, the Count, who develops it culturally in whatever direction takes zir fancy.

All Dukes and some Barons have access and votes to Shireroth's legislature, the Landsraad. Exactly who has how much power there is a hotly debated issue; right now, Barons can speak and vote, but conservatives occasionally succeed in barring the chamber to all but Dukes. In between the Kaiser, the Ministries, and the traditions, the Landsraad rarely has much to do, but issues of national importance sometimes come before it. The Landsraad is controlled by a Praetor, elected by the nobility, who acts as its speaker and enforces the rules of order.

Constitutional crises, as well as the occasional criminal trial, get referred to Shireroth's sole court, the Judex. The Arbiter of the Judex is charged with interpreting the Charter, the Lawbooks, and the Imperial Decrees. However, the Kaiser outranks the Arbiter and can fire zir or use imperial decrees to avoid the effects of zir decision. The only case in which the Arbiter has power beyond the Kaiser's is that both Kaiser and Arbiter must mutually agree on any changes to Shireroth's Charter.
==Subdivisions==

Shirerithians can go on for hours about their subdivisions, each of which is fiercely patriotic and occasionally locked in deadly war or alliance with various other subdivisions. Although the subdivision list is subject to frequent change, the most current list includes:

Goldenbrook, a union of some of the country's oldest territories, known as a traditional seat of power for national founder Erik Mortis and as a center for the nation's traditions and most conservative elements.

Elwynn, the country's largest and most diverse Duchy, linked to the icy north and Scandinavia. Contains factions of oppressed natives, spiritual Hyperboreans, bureaucratic Babkhans, giant insects, rampaging Vikings, and who knows what else. Most non-natives stay away.

Kildare is a collection of historic lands built up from the territories of some of Shireroth's progenitor states. It wears its history with great pomp and ceremony, is the country's economic center, and sometimes flirts with an Irish theme. It calls itself a Dutchy instead of a Duchy, an old joke that refuses to die.

Yardistan is the only Duchy that has a constitutionally protected right to rebel against the national government. In times past it was a center for revolution, craziness, and a party atmosphere, but it's calmed down a bit recently. Its language, Iardix, is one of Shireroth's most developed.

Straylight, the newest Duchy, has a disproportionate number of computer science types among its citizens. It bills itself as a sci-fi setting of oceanic platforms, and has recently been in negotiations with Yardistan about its possible annexation.

In terms of real-world territory, Shireroth claims Sonoma County, California as its capital. However, this claim was placed when a much higher proportion of Shirerithians resided in the county, and is now generally ignored.
==Culture==

Shireroth deliberately avoids basing itself wholesale on any particular real world country or even around a coherent idea or political system. Instead, its culture evolved chaotically over its existence. Some dispute the very existence of a national culture, instead saying that culture is mostly limited to the various subdivisions with the imperial government tying them together politically. Those who believe in culture cite elements taken from Germany, Hinduism, the Roman Empire, Warcraft and Dune, plus a large chunk that is uniquely Shirerithian and mostly incomprehensible to other micronationalists.

Much of Shireroth's culture is an accretion of the dozens of other micronations that have risen and fallen over Shireroth's lifetime. Shirerithian conversations are peppered with references to Menelmacar, PRH, Diga, [[YAMO]]s, magigarp, and the apocollapse. Although most citizens understand these, they present a formidable barrier to foreigners trying to make sense of Shirerithian life.

Shireroth's national religion is [[Cedrism]], a native pagan mythology based around Mors, the God of Death, and his ex-wife Viviantiana, the Goddess of Life. Worship tends to involve sacrificing citrus fruits (hence the name) and lighting explosions (which has given it its alternate and more popular name BOOOOMism). Cedrism also shares some Hindu beliefs like reincarnation and enlightenment.

Major Cedrist gods include Anandja, Goddess of Bliss, Lumina, Goddess of Light, Ifni, Goddess of Luck, and Sakat, God of Time. More popular are the minor "joke" gods, including Google, Bringer of Knowledge, Mog, God of Political Blunders, and B'caw, God of Spicy Chicken. However, by far the most popular god is [[Malarbor]], the Evil Tree God of Online Forums. Malarbor has had a prominent place in the announcement box of Shireroth's forums for many years, and has become the country's unofficial mascot and badwill ambassador. Malarbor's catch phrase, insofar as gods can have catchphrases, is "MALARBOR DEMANDS IT!"

Other features of Cedrism include the Demon (occasionally Deamon) Fish of Balgurd, the archdemon Rrakanychan, and the legendary Sword of Vengeance, symbol of the Kaiser's might (but arguably pilfered by the Babkhans a while back).

Shireroth's religion ties in neatly to its fictional history, which prominently features figures called tecnomaezji who fought long ago for the promotion of science over magic and superstition. Shireroth claims descent from the tecnomaezji ethos via a long and complicated series of wars, fictional Kaisers, and great empires.

In practice, only three or four Shirerithians have much interest in the religion, and even fewer in the fictional history. Both are kept around only to provide a national narrative that ties together everything that gets done in the subdivisions.

Shireroth uses the [[ASC calendar]] for most of its historical business, both real and fictional. The calendar records the number of days since 6 August 1999, when Shireroth's distant ancestor, the micronation of Audentior, was founded. For example, February 7 2010 is 3838 ASC. This system allows Shirerithians to make events seem a bit more grand scale: for example, saying that Kaiser Ari i ruled from 2064-2098 ASC.
==Economy==

Shireroth's currency is the erb, which comes in denominations of 1, 5, 18, 29, and 100.

Shireroth is a founding member of the [[Small Commonwealth Economy]], and hosts the [[Small Commonwealth Bank]] and SCEX, the [[Small Commonwealth Stock Exchange]]. Its economy is based on a system of bounties, in which people work without assured compensation but the Ministry of Trade rewards anyone who helps the country especially greatly with a cash gift. There are then gradual taxes that replenish the government treasury. Although the economy hasn't entirely caught on, there are several cases of people selling land and titles for money.

In the past, the country experimented with a system in which votes in the Landsraad were linked to the amount of money people in a Duchy had. But because Shireroth's Duchy-based voting system made it impossible to link it to personal wealth, this became awkward and was later abandoned; the economy has not really recovered.

[[Andreas Mayer]], Minister of Trade, is widely considered to be the only person who fully understands Shireroth's economy.
==Foreign Affairs==

Shireroth is unusually isolationist for a micronation, but nevertheless has several productive foreign relationships.

Shireroth is the founder and host of the Small Commonwealth, an organization that allows nations to sign specific treaties of operation. Though some denounce the Commonwealth as a YAMO, it had some real successes - for example, unifying the economy of most members and creating an international criminal court. Current Small Commonwealth members are Shireroth, [[Batavia]], [[Ashkenatza]], [[Natopia]], [[Nelaga]], [[Gralus]], [[Nederlanden]], and [[Stormark]]. Some enemies of the Commonwealth, especially [[Antica]], accuse members of being Shirerithian puppet states or the Commonwealth of being committed to Shirerithian domination. The Commonwealth itself loudly denies these allegations.

Shireroth is the founding member of the Micronational Cartography Society (MCS), which links thirty six nations, mostly English-speaking but also Dutch and Polish, together on a single map. Shireroth is a strong partisan of the Society and fiercely defended it during its conflicts with other cartography societies like the [[Geographical Standards Organization]]. Some accused Shireroth of dominating the society, which was once plausible when most of its top positions were held by Shirerithians. However, today only one of five MCS Council Members is Shirerithian, and most nations have stopped complaining about Shirerithian influence even though it holds much more Micras territory than any other country.

In the past, Shireroth frequently entered into agreements to annex other countries. For many struggling nations, Shirerithian annexation was attractive both because Shireroth had a good track record of surviving and because its feudal system made it easy for countries that joined it to keep their own land. During its history, Shireroth has directly annexed [[Apollonia]], [[Cimmeria]], [[Hyperborea]], [[Jaris]], [[Akerbjorn]], [[South Mondesia]], [[Cognito]], [[Lac Glacei]], [[Arminy]], [[Antica]] (dinarchy), [[Comstokia]], and [[Hurmu]] (among others).

Shireroth had a very long history of interaction with Babkha, culminating in the Mango-Camel Pact of 2003 which allied the two countries. After a falling-out, Babkha and subsequently the [[Grand Commonwealth]] it created became Shireroth's chief rival. This enmity lessened when popular Babkhan [[Hesam Jahandar]] won the throne of Shireroth, but flared up again with the revelation that he was under the control of Babkhan interests. Though the line "May we slay all treacherous Babkhans" was added to an unofficial version of the Shireroth anthem, after Babkha closed shop as a micronation Shireroth mostly agreed to let bygones be bygones. Recently, Babkhan-Shirerithian relations received a boost when former Babkhan [[Ardashir Osmani]] attained the throne of Shireroth.

The living micronation with which Shireroth most often interacts is Antica. Shireroth had a very warm relationship with the Dinarchy of Antica, but when it was overthrown by revolutionaries, Shireroth's relationship with its successor state, the Republic of Antica, started off on the wrong foot and has stayed there ever since. Shireroth, which allied with the defeated Dinarchy, fought the Republic for control of Antican territory. Although it won control of the territory, political factors later forced it to give most of it up to the Republic; this incident caused enmity which has persisted ever since. However, with the departures of prominent anti-Shirerithian Anticans [[Olorix]] and [[Steven]], the Antica-Shireroth rivalry has recently turned into more of a friendly competition than bitter hatred, with only a few holdouts like [[Ben Kern]] still causing trouble. Many Anticans, especially [[Chris Mules]], are respected by Shirerithians and welcome in Shirerithian territory, while a few Shirerithians, such as [[Scott Alexander]], head to Antica for their macronational political arguments.

Shireroth is frequently accused of believing their country is better than everyone else, to which the most traditionally Shirerithian response is "But we ARE better than everyone else, aren't we?" The nation's attitude to foreign relations has been compared, not unfairly, to that of Imperial China.
==Notable Projects and Accomplishments==

Shireroth is the subject of several works of art and literature. Most notably, it gets a mention in [[Harvey Steffke]]'s [[Control of Destiny]] series of computer role-playing games, in which several Shirerithians are prominent characters. A few other Shirerithians are involved in programming projects in one way or another, including [[Jonas Windsor]] (who is working on a game about Shireroth's Duchy of Kildare), Erik Mortis (who wrote the Small Commonwealth Bank), and [[James Raine]], who created the ShireFox modification for Firefox to allow easier access to Shireroth's internet presence.

The novel Unaimed Arrow takes place in Shireroth, as do several shorter works of fiction. Notable among these are the Elwynnese story threads pioneered by [[Andrew Allot]] and his friends, the poetry of Philip Locke, and the Lac Glacei and Mirioth story arcs in Yardistan.

Shireroth has several constructed languages in various states of completion and complexity. The most notable of these is [[Audente]], developed by [[Bill Trihus]] as the language of the County of Greater Audentior. [[Nicholas du Grifos]], a linguistics grad student and former Duke of Yardistan, is currently working on [[Praeta Sxirothes]], which when completed will take its place as Shireroth's national conlang.

In 2006, Shireroth ran a successful advertisement campaign on the webcomic Real Life Adventures, whose creator, Greg Dean, was at the time a Shirerithian citizen. Shireroth's other brush with the spotlight was a brief mention on BBC during the program [[How To Start Your Own Country]], in which [[Danny Wallace]] signed treaties with several leading micronations including Shireroth.

Shireroth co-hosted (with limited success) the 2004 [[Micronational Olympics]]. Although logistical problems prevented it from continuing in the field of micronational sports, it now hosts a relatively popular online version of the board game Diplomacy that attracts participants from all over the world. There's even a micronational variant.

Shireroth is also responsible for starting major organizations such as the Small Commonwealth, the MCS, and [[SNARL]] (the Shireroth-Natopia-Antica Recwar League). A Shirerithian (Scott Alexander) runs the [[FNORD Awards]], and another ([[Josh Coales]]) runs the [[Forum List]].

==See Also:==

[[History of Shireroth]]

==Links==

[http://shireroth.org/forum/index.php Discussion Boards]

[http://www.shireroth.org/ Website]

[[category:Nations]]
[[category:Shireroth]]
[[category:Small Commonwealth]]

Elwynn (goddess)

2011-01-06T13:46:54Z

Scott alexander: Created page with 'Elwynn was the Treesian Unorthodox goddess of virtue. She sometimes took the form of a white orchid. ==Mythology and Geneaology== Elwynn was the youngest daughter of Eiseamlar …'

Elwynn was the Treesian Unorthodox goddess of virtue. She sometimes took the form of a white orchid.

==Mythology and Geneaology==

Elwynn was the youngest daughter of Eiseamlar and Spedomhain, the two major creator gods. She was the twin of Lest, and sister to the various Irdian and Faldian gods.

According to a prophecy at her birth, if she ever met her twin brother Lest, the two would conceive a child: Andan, God of Ultimate Destruction. In order to prevent this apocalyptic event, the infant Elwynn was brought from Heaven to the banks of the river Elwynn, where she was raised by the god Utas. After a disastrous confrontation with Lest, she moved abode, reportedly to Mount Yaanek in Raikoth.

During the Treesian Apocalypse, she met Lest and bore his child Andan, resulting in the destruction of much of Micras (including the Barony of Treesia) and possibly of Geiss. It is unclear in what form Elwynn has survived this event, and whether she continues to exist corporeally on Micras or whether she is a spirit only.

==Significance==

Elwynn is one of the major figures in the Book of the Orchids, is the patron deity of the Duchy of Elwynn and the Elwynn Riqi Adurellion, and remains one of the most popular Treesian deities. Her symbol, the white orchid, is on the Elwynnese flag and the Kalirion coat of arms.