Player's History of Particracy Classic

[dannypk]

How and when did you discover Particracy? How old were you and where were you in life around that time (to the extent you are comfortable sharing)?

I discovered Particracy somewhere around September-October 2017, mostly through searching for political simulators (I played quite a lot). I was just 13 and I had recently become interested in politics, mostly attracted to anarchism as I discovered the punk scene. And logically, that'd reflect a lot of what I contributed on Particracy early on. It's funny because I consider that it was also around this time when I stopped being the "semi-popular kid" of class to be the politics nerd and asocial teen. I do remember those times very dearly - I particularly have a memory of doing a huge overhaul of Telamon's wiki history page while my sister watched the Lord of the Rings on TV next to me. I don't know why exactly that's remained in my memory, but I love it.

What country did you first play in? What was your earliest experience with the forum? What were your first impressions, generally?

My first nation was Telamon. I remember reading by someone else in this thread (Mbites?) that most people pick the nation of their own RL culture. I, honestly, just picked a random nation. And it  happened to be Telamon. Back then Telamon didn't have a culture proper - when I joined, the whole cultural protocols thingy wasn't even as developed as it is now, and many nations didn't have one. In fact, it was jamescfm joining Telamon soon afterwards that introduced some cultural protocols to Telamon. I remember when I joined it, there was just this guy, whose name I don't remember, but I remember the name of the party: "Kafe Commune". Or something of the sort. It was essentially an anarcho-communist party. I played as a libertarian socialist party, and got very much along with this party, although nothing special of the sort. They eventually deactivated, though, and I was left alone, until more parties starting to come. I made of Telamon an anarchist utopia for a long time (half a century? a century?) until a bunch of different parties (james being one of them!) came in, started complaining about it, said there were no "RP laws explaining and approving it" and so on - and altogether, my poor newbie self decided to call it quits and destroyed the anarchist utopia and changed the ideology of my party to a made-up ideology, one I remember naming "Federal Collectivism" after one of those player suggested it to me. The worst part of all is, these parties (james included again!) didn't last long and I was left alone again, so I made of Telamon now... a Federal Collectivist utopia! Eventually I got bored and left Telamon, and have never returned - even though I've considered it several times.

I believe I didn't touch the forum until I joined Egelion (now finally suiting my RL culture) after Telamon. Egelion has a special place in my heart, because that's where I think I grew as a Roleplayer, learnt a lot, and started participating with the community. I remember orchestrating a whole civil war, super interesting with other nations involved, although I had a minor role in it. Ever since that happened, I've always been nostalgic for recreating a project of the sort, and I think that influences a lot of my RP projects nowadays (I believe most of you know what I'm talking about). I've always been very good at writing, so I had no issues with it. I also was used to forums, since I started participating in forums when I was nine years old (wouldn't recommend it, though: if you have children, keep them away from the internet, as much as you can!). My main issue was my inexperience with politics, economics, and so on. If many of my RPs now seem "surreal" or "insane"... let's just say I had a lot of imagination back then, and I've touched some grass ever since, believe it or not.

I've also been a "nation hopper" in the sense I've probably been in... half of Terra? Sometimes briefly, sometimes for a relatively long time. 

What was your most memorable RP experience or arc? Did you help shape any regions, lore, or political systems that you’re proud of?

As I said, the Egelian civil war arc was my main influence in this game and my main motivation for continuing. But I had a minor role in it, so I don't know if I can count it much.

Back then, I was probably known as the Egelian guy. I was practically there most of my time in Particracy. I've engaged in many different lores for Egelion, but there was an infamous player known for party sitting that often didn't let us roleplayers enjoy the nation, so I decided to leave Egelion and never returned except for briefly before going to Selucia in 2023.

Now, I'm probably known as the Selucian guy. It saddens me that a nation that has been so important in Terra, and that has had a lot of potential, was left largely abandoned and with a lot of chaos when it comes to the information regarding the past and the culture. I've tried my best, and I still do, to fix this, while respecting all the decisions and RPs from previous players. My arc of the Principate in Selucia is special - I've never done something I'm so proud of, and I'd be lying if I said I'm not tempted with repeating it over and over again. I've always been a nerd of the Roman Principate, and just when I was fixated on it I took advantage that Selucia was empty in 2023 to join it and prepare a typical ancient Roman political drama that led to the Principate (with some creative liberties, of course). I particularly love the dilemma of modernisation vs keeping traditional lifestyles, and it's something incredibly present in my Selucian RP arcs. I'm also currently overhauling some other minor cultures in Selucia, equivalent to Old French, Occitan, and Mozarabic. 

I'm also probably remembered for the infamous Istalian invasion of Pontesi and Kafuristan when I roleplayed a communist party - yet another political drama, but modern and based on communist ideologies. Personally, I loved the political aspect of it more - I wasn't as much interesed in the roleplay of a military conflict, but I thought it would be fun and would give a chance for other nations to get something out of it (roleplay, more relevance, more power, etc), and would also serve as a way for me to say goodbye to Istalia and return to my beloved Selucia. Needless to say, anyone who was around at the time probably noticed I ended up pretty discontent with how it was organised and how some players also tried to get involved in it in ways I found dangerously toxic. Since then, I've become more cautious of conflict RPs, especially when it involves many nations. Nonetheless, I loved the communist magazine I made and my brief project of analysing Terran events through a Metzist lens! It was very fun and I hope I can return to it some day.

What do you think your biggest impact/legacy has been on the game and the community (if any)?

To be honest, I've always kept myself more low-key on purpose (partly because I was inexperienced, and partly because I didn't want to get way too involved with the... uh, community we had back then). I'd say there were two different periods of my time in Particracy, one from 2017 to 2020 (when I stopped playing), and then another one in 2023 to nowadays. Both wildly different. Back in 2017-2020, I remember I spent insane amounts of time in the wiki. I was in the top 10 of the wiki's ranking for a very long time (and I'm only a bit below it now), which can already show a bit how much I dedicated to the wiki. I'd fix things done by others, write my own stuff, even do overhauls of history pages (most notably Telamon's).

I like to see myself as someone who's mostly just there to help others. You need someone to RP with? Cool, give me your idea and I'll make it possible. I'm very open-minded, and it's very helpful for this. And whenever there's been conflict, I've always been there to mediate the community and try to calm the waters. Sure - it's nothing extraordinary, but I like to think I've helped people or the community in any way several times. As I said before, my whole Istalian RP of the conflict against Pontesi and Kafuristan was particularly to give some protagonism and benefits to MrFacts and Farsun, two people I've always gotten along well and respect a lot. I didn't mind breaking Istalia down in three states and giving them control of two of them - I was thinking of them from the beginning, and only barely on myself (sorry Axxell, I know you hated that!)

Who were some of the players or moderators who had the biggest impact on you? What were your most memorable interactions, collaborations, or rivalries?

Moderators it's easy - in the past I mostly just interacted with Farsun and jamescfm. And I had a very good relationship with both of them. While I became very distant with james (and he probably barely even remembers me, if at all), Farsun has remained a person from the very beginning with whom I've gotten along amazingly well, and I've never had any issue with him. I'm aware of the dramas both have been involved in, even if not to the most miniscule detail, and I still have utmost respect for the both of them and hold no grudges or resentment towards them in any way (in fact, both have treated me well, anyway). Nowadays, I'd obviously like to mention GreekIdiot - I had never met him before joining Selucia, and it was a pleasant surprise. I think we all can agree he's been a very neat addition to the community - and to the game - and he deserves our respect for all the efforts done, not just for the game, but also the community. In many ways, I also think I've been motivated by him to do exactly what I described earlier: to help others in their RPs and ensure they can have fun, even at my own expense. 

As players - I'm particularly fond for Louis for his dedication and absolutely marvelous ideas and personality - he's a cool person to have around, but you also don't want to make him angry. In a similar way, I could mention Weim - she's fun to be around, cool, and has an incredible dedication. While he's a newer addition, I'm also very fond of MrFacts - I've never seen someone so nice and passionate for roleplaying and learning, it's always fun to interact with him in any way. Also, as a fellow insane player, I have to mention Svet. I'm addicted to her RPs and ideas and, while I've largely abandoned her in Nadiya, I've truly always wanted to RP with her (I'm just saying this so she doesn't get angry with me - send help). I'd also like to mention Doc - while we've had our disagreements, especially in politics (seriously, Doc, let's never debate politics again), I respect him a lot and I think he's one of the best roleplayers I've seen in the community, and with the most dedication of all. Last special mention, I think, will be for Axxell. I met him very recently, when he returned to Istalia after I completely ruined it, and he was very pleasant and had cool ideas. I'm honestly envious of his style.

And while, perhaps, not as special as the others to get a custom message, I'd still like to mention (in no particular order) Lig, Mbites, Polites, Liu, Aethan, Brad, imp, Kubrick, Zanz, jorni, TheNick, Vesica, and Zhdanov - and probably some more I'm missing, because they've also had some impact on me, even if only a bit.

How did the community culture evolve during your time within it?

As others have said, it is much less toxic now. People I had a lot of respect for (Farsun, james) would suddenly be involved in heavy drama and vanish, only to come back later and get involved in more drama, and I was left completely confused. Now the community is more... normal? There are some small dramas even now and then, as is to be expected of any community, especially one of our sort. But it has nothing to do with what I remember in the past. There's less competition and more fun, I think. Which is the essence of Particracy - to have fun.

How did Particracy influence your interests, writing, or worldview?

Not much, honestly. It has served as further practice for writing, has pushed me to learn about certain topics, and such. And it has introduced me to worldbuilding, which I absolutely love now.

How do you feel about the end of Particracy Classic — and what do you hope remains remembered?

I think I have a different take from the rest? To me Classic didn't die, it just evolved. What we had been demanding wouter to do for ages, Greek has finally gone and done it: fix the goddamn game. But it's still essentially the same game, just forum-based now. It was heading that direction, inevitably, as it started losing many players eventually.

[Polites]

How and when did you discover Particracy? How old were you and where were you in life around that time (to the extent you are comfortable sharing)?

I first discovered Particracy in 2007, right as I was graduating highschool. At that time I was applying to the Political Science department of the University of Bucharest, and while researching the department I ran into its forum. In the off topic section somebody posted a link to the game. As I had briefly flirted with other online political simulation games (mostly NationStates) I was intrigued and decided to give it a shot.

What country did you first play in? What was your earliest experience with the forum? What were your first impressions, generally?

Like Zanz I first joined Sekowo (now Seko) in 2007. I think it was a couple of weeks after Zanz left, and there was only Imperium's party there. Back then I was very interested in Greek and Roman history and culture and had some knowledge of Latin, and Aretist Sekowo seemed to have an Ancient Greek theme. Soon after joining many other players joined as well, and I was there during Sekowo's ultimate transition away from Aretism and though I did contribute to that, my party tried to keep Greek Sekowo alive.

At that time Sekowo had a very active and engaged community. The roleplay wasn't really anything to write home about, but it was different from anything I had seen anywhere else. I did briefly frequent the old Takeforum, but one of the players in Sekowo created a separate forum just for us, and much of the RP I engaged in was on that defunct forum. I honestly found interacting with just one nation to be a bit overwhelming, so I did not pay any attention to what was happening in the rest of Terra, except for Sekowo's neighbours. This was still during the time when the game was in active development and new nations were still being added in Dovani. After Lourenne and Talmoria were created I thought all other empty lands in Dovani would be added to the game as new nations, so I came up with the Dovani for the Dovanians treaty, which I was surprised to see gained quite a bit of traction.

After getting bored in Sekowo I moved to Lourenne and tried unsuccessfully to turn it Greek, and after that I briefly tried a Gao-Showa nationalist party in Greater Hulstria, trying to bring back the dual monarchy. I then took a 2 year sabbatical and returned in 2009-2010.

Old Particracy was a very different game in 2007. It was definitely a much more chaotic era, with far fewer rules and a much greater focus on game mechanics. Cultures were also much less defined and could change widely. What marked me the most was the collaborative nature of the RP, the fact that no single person could "own" a nation, and that there was already some pretty solid worldbuilding that was both very strange but also easy to grasp.

What was your most memorable RP experience or arc? Did you help shape any regions, lore, or political systems that you’re proud of?

Quite a few. The ones I am most proud of were the empire building RP arcs I engaged in around  2012-2014. The Southern Hemisphere War was really fun. When I came back to Yingdala with a Zen Socialist party Liu Che was gracious enough to let me take over the government and reform Yingdala, while he moved elsewhere. This was the first large scale war RP I ever engaged in, and I am proud to say it ultimately paved the way for the end of the "colonies" and their evolution into the FBCs. 

 The Dolgavan War was a great experience, and I think the first time I participated in one of these RP-focused "reunions" in a single nation. I joined Jalal, Captain-Socialist, and other great RPers in Dolgava in a chaotic battle-royale war which then became an unstable feudal republic, for which I am proud to have designed the political system. This was also my first engagement with the Terran Patriarchal Church, which I then used in Deltaria. 

Maybe the longest-lasting and most engaging RP arc I ever took part in was the Deltarian Empire, which lasted for about 100 IG years. I convinced Captain-Socialist and some other players to join me in Deltaria, at the time a relatively unremarkable liberal democracy, and help me restore the insane culture and RP that was typical of Deltaria in the older days. With time, and with the collaboration of many legendary RPers like Zanz and Dynastia, we managed to establish a massive empire backed by solid RP. It was during this time that I began my Cultural Protocol updating spree, as I updated the cultures of every nation I was bringing into the empire. Later, when Dynastia had left and the empire was starting to crumble, I had a fantastic time playing with Aquinas in Deltaria where he led a clerical opposition to the regime that ultimately ended in his character getting blinded and imprisoned and some of his ministers impaled.

Kubrick mentioned the Temrkai arc, and it's another one I take pride in originating. During the Deltarian conquests I created the Augustan culture, a modern day Byzantine culture using Esperanto as its language, and I helped build the new Augustan Empire and then I brought it down with Temrkai. This was my first proper interaction with Kubrick and I loved it. Not long after Kubrick and I moved to Selucia, where we essentially recreated the plot of the Rome TV series in a modern day setting. We were also joined by Aquinas and Reddy, and I would say that was the most fun single nation RP arc I ever took part in.

Many years later I was also in Selucia, this time with Aethan and Sisyphus. This was another great single nation RP, with much greater focus on a complex political system, complete with judiciary, referendums, local elections, and local political parties. I also overengineered a political ideology after spending an inordinate amount of time reading about neo-Roman republicanism.

What do you think your biggest impact/legacy has been on the game and the community (if any)?

I've often been called the "culture guy" of Particracy, and I think that's because of my obsession with updating or introducing Cultural Protocols in practically any nation I play in. Sometimes this has been helpful, but I've also often introduced cultures too obscure to properly engage in (RIP Phoenician Cildania). 

Another impact I've had is the current state of religions in Terra. I initiated the "Great Religion Retcon" in 2012 - before then the rules were less strict on RL names, so religions like "Christianity" and "Islam" were dominant. After Moderation updated the rules to ban RL names, I initiated a retcon of the major religions in Particracy, and the bones of that project persist to this day.

A somewhat minor impact I've had is on the Jelbic language, I helped others use it in their RPs and I've also developed some additional Jelbic varieties (Classical Brmek, Banmek, and Jelbido). I also created a template on the wiki that automatically conjugates regular Jelbic verbs.

Who were some of the players or moderators who had the biggest impact on you? What were your most memorable interactions, collaborations, or rivalries?

Here's the players I think had the biggest impact on me, in roughly chronological order. If I missed anyone it's because I am getting old.

• Imperium, the first player I interacted with and who basically introduced me to the game
  
• Captain-Socialist, whom I first helped build an empire for Seko and for many years after joined me in many of my hare-brained projects
  
• Jalal, probably the best RPer this game has ever seen
  
• Dynastia, though harmful OOCly, was an Old Guard player who saw my RP and appreciated it, and taught me much more about RPing
  
• Zanz, who joined many of the same arcs as me and greatly contributed to the Jelbic language
  
• Siggon, whose Excel sheets I continued to use for many years to update my budgets and help me form winning coalitions
  
• Reddy, who took over some of my RP threads, and also joined me in some projects
  
• Liu Che, the resident Yingdala expert, from whom I learned a lot about Chinese culture, and who did a fantastic job implementing an ancient political system in a modern setting
  
• Kubrick, who went from a Dutch player in the middle of the Jelbosphere to the best user of Jelbic. He essentially created Vanuku, and I've had a great time RPing with Kubrick 
  
• Aquinas, probably the game's best Moderator. Even though we had our disagreements during my brief tenure as Mod, Aquinas left a huge impact on the game and I have great respect for his contributions. He's also a great RPer
  
• Martinulus, who took over the skeleton of Hosianism and turned it into a well thought out and very believable fictional religion. Also he helped me see that playing a "boring" liberal democracy can actually be fun
  
• Jamescfm, who did a great job with cultures and was also a good Moderator
  
• Wu Han, though I have had few direct interactions with, has done an amazing job on forum aesthetics, and has organized some great projects (like IESCO)
  
• Aethan, with whom I had a great time in Selucia; at the time we were genuinely competing against each other in terms of game mechanics and trying to win elections, and Aethan was really good at rolling with the punches and is a great RPer
  
• Greek, who effectively saved this community from oblivion. An alright Moderator too.
  
  

How did the community culture evolve during your time within it?

It's been 18 years since I first joined the game, so it's unsurprising that its culture changed drastically over time. During the first few years it was much more chaotic, and many things that were later banned (like nation raiding, or even hate speech) were allowed back then. Thankfully the community has moved passed that, though there has always been a lot of toxicity within it. 

How did Particracy influence your interests, writing, or worldview?

I don't know if Particracy had any direct effect on my political views, but the research I put into various cultures for PT helped me gain more knowledge about the real world. It also helped me acknowledge and confront some of my unconscious Eurocentric biases. Apart from that, I also learned a lot from engaging with various tools I used for Particracy, especially Photoshop, which I had never used before having to design my first flag and CoA. Writing on the forum and the wiki  helped with my English writing.

How do you feel about the end of Particracy Classic — and what do you hope remains remembered?

I am definitely very upset that Wouter decided to just kill off the forum and the game with no prior notice. Particracy may be "his", but many people over its long history have poured thousands of hours into writing for Particracy, and though much of that may not be Pulitzer award-worthy, and a lot of it was just plain plagiarism, it's still not fair to so casually discard the effort of so many people. I know the game was incredibly unstable, and I remember that when I was a Mod simple administrative actions often risked breaking the game. I also know that we've been through something similar before when we lost the Takeforum, and the death of the game was always a looming threat. But to see it actually happen, especially the way it did, is heartbreaking. I am happy that there still remains an active community and that some of the old RP will still be remembered. On the other hand, the game mechanics were always very incomplete and we always circumvented the game's limitations via the forum and the wiki. Though the old forum is gone, I'm glad to see that the best part of Particracy still exists.

[jamescfm]

Before anything else, I would like to repeat some of what others have said. I think this is a great idea, and I have really enjoyed reading the reflections of other players, especially comparing the responses of those who joined the games at different times.

How and when did you discover Particracy? How old were you and where were you in life around that time (to the extent you are comfortable sharing)?

I started playing the game in the summer of 2016, when I had just finished secondary school. I had a lot of spare time on my hands. Like Wu, I had also played Democracy 3 and felt unsatisfied with certain aspects of the game. I had tried to play NationStates before, but I frankly did not understand it. I searched online for political simulation games and found Particracy.

What country did you first play in? What was your earliest experience with the forum? What were your first impressions, generally?

Kalistan was the first country that I played in. I chose it because it was culturally open and I did not understand cultural protocols at the time. I remember being extremely eager to make progress when I started playing the game, and spending a lot of time figuring out the internal mechanisms of my own party. I also remember taking an active interest in several “party organisations”, which seems strange in hindsight because they were effectively irrelevant.

As a player in Kalistan, it was not long before I spoke to Doc and he introduced me to the forum. There is no doubt that I would not have continued to play the game if he had not done so. For anybody who resents my continued presence in the community, you know who to blame.

In this early period, my focus was primarily on the dynamic between my party and Doc’s long-standing Socialist Party. As other (less cooperative) players joined the game, I generally found myself as Doc’s ally. Eventually I became more familiar with the international role-play context, and began to take an interest in the wider game world.

What was your most memorable RP experience or arc? Did you help shape any regions, lore, or political systems that you’re proud of?

In contrast to most long-term players, there is no single country in the game that I identify with most, or consider my “home”. I have always been something of a nomad, which means I have had great experiences in a number of countries. I do think there are a few role-play experiences that stand out as significant though.

Kizenia and New Endralon was a pivotal early role-play experience for me. It was the first time that I had been in a country with several active role-players. I was there alongside Autokrator, Reddy, Kubrick, and Zanz, all of whom I would role-play with again in the future. The multi-player dynamic appealed to me, and this is the way I have generally preferred to play since. Reflecting on this period, it also marked the beginning of a recurring theme in which I would play the dull, pragmatic, sensible party.

Rildanor was the second time I properly experienced this multi-player dynamic, and it cemented a long-term game relationship with Kubrick and Zanz. In comparison to our previous experience though, this time around felt much more collaborative (helped by the early days of the Discord server). As others have referenced, the narrative this time was much more character-driven. At this point, I realised the enjoyment in role-play was writing for the benefit of my collaborators, and appreciating what they did to take the story forward.

Jakania marked my return to the game after a period of absence. Though I had played alongside them both to certain extents before, this was my first major collaboration with both Pragma and Wu. In our time in Jakania, we shaped and developed the political culture in a far more substantial way than when I was in Kizenia and New Endralon, or Rildanor.

Cildania is undoubtedly my favourite role-play experience in the game. It involved Kubrick, Pragma, Wu, Zanz, and many more. Everything was taken to a different level. The role-play was dynamic, fast-moving, and collaborative to a degree I had never previously experienced. There are so many memorable moments from this period. For me, it is the absolute pinnacle of what this game can be.

What do you think your biggest impact/legacy has been on the game and the community (if any)?

I think the other responses in this thread speak to my impact on the game and the community, for better and worse. For almost as long as I have played the game, I have held strong opinions about the way the community should be managed. In frequently speaking these views openly and in crude terms, I have often come into conflict with other players. In spite of that, I believe I have made a significant contribution to the community in several ways.

I worked hard to try to improve the organisation and standards on the previous wiki. I am glad to see that content on the new wiki has generally been of a higher quality.

In my opinion, the efforts I made alongside several players (especially Polites) to standardise and improve cultural protocols have been a net positive, though it would be foolish to pretend these have not been a source of frustration to many.

Perhaps most importantly, I do feel that I have played a role in ensuring the continued existence of the community by demanding high standards from the game’s moderators.

Who were some of the players or moderators who had the biggest impact on you? What were your most memorable interactions, collaborations, or rivalries?

I have probably interacted with almost everybody who was an active part of the community between 2016 and 2023. The players below are those who have left the most lasting impact on me in broadly chronological order.

Doc. As mentioned above, I would not be playing the game today without Doc’s willingness to explain things to me when I joined Kalistan. Though it is fair to say we have different preferences about role-play, I remain grateful for the effort he made at that time. The post he made on the old forum, in which he used kayfabe as a means to explain role-play, is a sacred text that I believe all players would benefit from reading.

Aquinas. A polarising character in this community for various reasons. In the time I have played the game, the community was largest and most active under his tenure. Though I acknowledge his flaws, he was an extremely responsive and generally fair moderator. Aquinas also had a distinct style of role-play that focused less on economic, military, and political affairs compared to most other players.

Kubrick. Ever since his far-right nutjob character accused my party leader of being a reptilian in Kizenia and New Endralon, I have been forced to play the straight man to this buffoon. Aside from a short stint in Vanuku, I have generally played with him in a multi-player setting, and we almost always fall into the same character briefs. Kubrick is great at being flexible in role-play, but he is especially good at driving events forward when required.

Zanz. As the man himself has acknowledged, he is probably the player whose approach to the game is most like my own. I have benefited greatly from his advice and insight dating all the way back to our early interactions in Kizenia and New Endralon. I am also very grateful for his commitment to helping the community over an extended period of time.

Wu. As has been discussed previously, Wu led a major shift in the visual style of role-play shortly after he joined the game. I think he has produced the most thoughtful and interesting role-play I have read, and his commitment to thinking deeply about the countries he plays in is remarkable. Nobody has been able to change my mind about the game as often as him.

Pragma. I am not sure how I came to develop such a strong role-play partnership with Pragma. I do not remember playing alongside her before Jakania, but I seem to recall we already had a good working relationship by that point. Even though there is no way to measure this, she is likely the person I have role-played with the most, and that is not an accident. Pragma’s approach to role-play is always interesting and astute.

Polites. I have played alongside him far less often that most of the other players mentioned above. Polites has always been willing to work with me on the cultural aspects of the game though, even when my ideas directly contradict projects that he has worked on. I am extremely grateful for his willingness to help with the forum-based countries, religion, language, history, and everything else he has contributed to.

Honourable mentions to Liu Che, Reddy, Autokrator, Louis, and robmark. I have not interacted with these players to the same extent as those above, but each has left their mark on me in some way. I would also like to give a special mention to Farsun, who has undeniably occupied a disproportionate amount of my time in this community.

How did the community culture evolve during your time within it?

When I joined the game, the forum was not a welcoming place in many ways. I think the community culture has improved since then. GreekIdiot deserves to be acknowledged for his determination to keep the game alive, but also for his commitment to engaging the wider community.

The widespread adoption of Discord has been beneficial in facilitating role-play, but it has also had a negative impact. Players appear less willing to properly plan role-play beforehand and less able to distinguish in-character and out-of-character interactions. As a result, it does feel that a significant amount of time is spent on off-topic prattle.

How did Particracy influence your interests, writing, or worldview?

Particracy has had a negligible impact on my politics, but a remarkable impact on my understanding of the world. In my ordinary life, it is not uncommon for somebody to ask how I know something and receive a non-committal explanation. The real answer is that I read about it while researching something for Particracy.

In the course of playing in so many countries, I have developed a much greater awareness of the world’s ethnic groups, languages, religions, and political systems. In most cases, this is a surface level knowledge gained through basic internet research. However, that is still more than I knew before I played the game. I would also say the game has made my writing clearer and more concise.

How do you feel about the end of Particracy Classic — and what do you hope remains remembered?

I am extremely disappointed by Wouter’s abandonment of this community, and the thousands of hours of work by hundreds of different players that was lost when the forum died. Wouter relied on this community to launch his spin-off game, Particracy Alpha, and he continued to earn revenue from ads on the forum for many years after he was no longer involved with the game.

In spite of all that, I am optimistic that we now have control over the future of the community ourselves and I am intrigued to see how it develops.

[Pragma]

How and when did you discover Particracy? How old were you and where were you in life around that time (to the extent you are comfortable sharing)?

A friend found it and showed it to me around 2014, but I didn't become Pragma until 2016. We were both big politics nerds in college and I found it a lot more engaging that NationStates and a lot more open-ended than Democracy 3. I was only just starting to transition so this was the first online community were I was introducing myself as a "she" and it was a little bit scary at first, hence why I didn't engage with the forums for a few years. Losing my forum account, find the discord and recreating myself as Pragma was when I really think I "discovered" the game as a I play it now.

What country did you first play in? What was your earliest experience with the forum? What were your first impressions, generally?

My first ever nation was actually Selucia, where me and my friends in college did some godawful RP. We weren't using the forums so it was just total slop using the broken mechanics of the game. We renamed a load of cities after ourselves and niche references. 

I disavow that period and will instead insist the first country I *PLAYED* in was Dorvik. I remember that it was very full at the time and everyone else was doing forum posting so I might as well have joined in. My work was at first very low effort and I didn't put much effort into how it looked.

My first impressions of the community was that everyone was a dick except the people who were nice.

What was your most memorable RP experience or arc? Did you help shape any regions, lore, or political systems that you’re proud of?

There are two crowning RP experiences in my mind since I started: Vascania and Cildania. 

Cildania is my most memorable and fun RP experience. The gang of players we had there was exceptional and it's no wonder everyone else who played there has said it's one of their favourites too. It had everything from the mafia to corruption to scandal to the one and only Fish Hook. I loved building up the national culture and drawing silly little maps to post in the discord. Cildania was the game work exactly as it should and my only regret is we didn't try to stay there a little longer.

Vascania is obviously the region I shaped the most. I built that empire with my own two hands. What started as just a little Kissingeresque anti-Commie coup and civil war in whatever the northern country was called back then snowballed until some idiot let me take over Kalkalistan in an improbably invasion. I annoyed a few people by basically recreating the entire demography, geography, political, linguistics and literally everything else. I spat out maps like it was going out of fashion with an endless stream of oil, autocracy and Ahmadiphobia. Now I realise I probably obsessed over Vascania so much many people struggle to get through my dense, scattered lore. Only a few brave souls have dared to take over where I left off and I salute their efforts... but we all know Vascania is my baby.

What do you think your biggest impact/legacy has been on the game and the community (if any)?

My biggest legacy is creating and populating Vascania with the scattered vapourings of my diseased mind. Pretty much everything about the country was made by me including its very existance. Not to toot my own horn, but having a "homeland" in this game is a hard thing to achieve especially when you've been around the block, but Vascania is my in-game homeland. I probably wouldn't want to live there though...

Who were some of the players or moderators who had the biggest impact on you? What were your most memorable interactions, collaborations, or rivalries?

Jamescfm: Crafty little bastard. Like he says, we can't remember how we got onto collaboration terms but it all took off from there. We've worked on so much at this point and I think most of my favourite memories in the game have this little Englishman in the picture.
WiseWu: It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for. Unmatched for graphics and drafting long legalesque documents. A crucial player in some of the best collaborations I've had in the game and a swell guy even if he is Canadian.
Zanz: Unc. That feeling after you accept your dad isn't superman when you see him fail to build a shed in the back garden for 6 hours when you're 9. Glad to have been the lynchpin in his much-vaunted renaissance era and forever grateful for giving us Fish Hook.
Kubrick: Unc 2, but the kind who doesn't get invited to Christmas parties but still shows up and gets far too drunk. If there's any remotely interesting tomfoolery afoot then this Frisian duck is probably playing a part.
Luis: Fun little fella and fellow Dovani dominator. Always entertained by his RP and genuinely impressed by how much he's grown as a player. Makes me feel old though so that's points subtracted.
GreekIdiot: Solid dude. Ol' reliable and the reviver of the game.
Polties: Fellow cultural nerd and dreamer. I've probably retconned plenty of his work without realising.
Farsun/Auditorii: Early rival but a committed player who kept the game going when it was screaming out "let me die"
Mr God: Another sometimes rival, especially when he was playing that in that Deltarian shithole. Jaya Vasc forever.
Mbites: I did troll him back in the day. Was that like 2016? 2017? The olden days.
And a load of others besides.

How did the community culture evolve during your time within it?

It's a lot less toxic and competitive than it was. I probably played into that in the first place but I'm all medicated now. I like it this way and so does my nurse.

How did Particracy influence your interests, writing, or worldview?

Honestly I don't know if it hasn't, or if it has and I've just not noticed it. I think it has been the whetstone to my sharpening creative writing skills.

How do you feel about the end of Particracy Classic — and what do you hope remains remembered?

The actual browser game was crying out to die but the forum is what I miss. Hopefully we recover some data some day. I'm incredibly excited for the next chapter.

[Liukupukk1]

Hey, I saw people doing these and thought I'd give it a go. I might sway from the topic and mostly just banter, but I try to answer the questions haha. Apologies for terrible formatting, or lack thereof, I'm doing this on mobile.

- How and when did you discover Particracy? How old were you and where were you in life around that time?

I was searching the internet far and wide for political simulators/roleplay. I tried and tested all I could find, most of them being poop from a butthole, then I stumbled on Particracy. I think it was around 2018-2019, I did not know about forums or the discord. I was playing in Luthori using only the ingame system and the wiki. I think it was in 2020 when I properly started taking part in the community. I have taken several breaks due to being a mental nutcase and having the inability to keep my head and body in one place when my mind starts to wonder. Hopefully I can fix that in the future. Apologies for that :p


- What country did you first play in? What was your earliest experience with the forum? What were your first impressions, generally?

Luthori. I was playing this far right party, but it was really limited as I only used in game variables and not actual roleplay apart from additional description in the text box. I can't recall my first experiences with the forum, I was more of a wiki guy in the beginning. And you can guess my first experiences generally given that I still love this game.



- What was your most memorable RP experience or arc? Did you help shape any regions, lore, or political systems that you’re proud of?

My most memorable RPs were probably in Bianjie. I loved building it from basically the ground up since it was abandoned for long, and I found a home there quick.


- What do you think your biggest impact/legacy has been on the game and the community (if any)?

I wouldn't know. That's for other people to judge





- Who were some of the players or moderators who had the biggest impact on you? What were your most memorable interactions, collaborations, or rivalries?

I couldn't name just some people. I think the community as a whole is very awesome, but especially those who regularly have done co-op with me :p



- How did the community culture evolve during your time within it?

I don't know. I think it has been pretty tight knit from the time I joined, ignoring the occasional meltdowns.




- How did Particracy influence your interests, writing, or worldview?

I have definitely improved my writing skills, and storytelling abilities. I still steer clear from long walls of texts and rather focus on concise narrative storytelling slowly building up, rather than blowing my load in a single essay. I think I've also opened up a bit to differing views through trying to RP all across the spectrum.


- How do you feel about the end of Particracy Classic — and what do you hope remains remembered?


I do think moving to a forum based system is good for the game, and promotes better roleplay in non-FBC countries, even ones where the forums have been largely ignored before. I do think it sucks that the old forums are inaccesible, which makes it harder to find references to pre-legacy stuff.

[imperialpearl]

• How and when did you discover Particracy? How old were you and where were you in life around that time (to the extent you are comfortable sharing)? 
  

I remembered finding PT while looking for something 'more' than NationStates and Ars Regendi. I had been playing the two games for years before, perhaps since I was 12. I obviously had no idea what I was doing, but I nonetheless came back to them because they were different from what a lot of people in my life and inner circle were playing at the time. I happened upon PT after scrolling in a forum about people talking about the various political simulators they've played throughout the years. I was perhaps 15 at the time and I would say that I was beginning to form my own political opinions, but for the most part, I lacked the knowledge to properly articulate my inner thoughts. At the same time I discovered PT, I also discovered a Battlefield 2 Mod called Project Reality, which, alongside PT, I still to this day, even as the communities in both have shrunk significantly since I first joined.  

• What country did you first play in? What was your earliest experience with the forum? What were your first impressions, generally?
  

The first country I roleplayed in was Zardugal. The first player I interacted with was PaleRider (who was in Zardugal at the time). For the very first two months of playing the game, I stuck exclusively to the game itself. In first joining Zardugal, I remember an exchange of messages with PaleRider where he basically told me that there was more to the game than just what I saw when I logged on. For me, at the time, I was content with what I saw. The game had the 'more' I had been looking for in NationStates and Ars Regendi. I remember him sending me a message on the message centre with a direct link to Zardugal's newspaper, and when I clicked on it, I was so scared because it was daunting. Many of the forums at the time were some 30+ pages deep. And I remembered that it took me some time to psych myself up to even make a forum account. 

• What was your most memorable RP experience or arc? Did you help shape any regions, lore, or political systems that you’re proud of?
  

My most memorable RP experience would be the Great Terran War. It was the first time I had ever been exposed to multi-player, planned role-play. I was in Trigunia/Nadiya at the time, and I had become accustomed to the game's players: Kubrick in Vanuku, Farsun/Auditorri in Dorvik, LiuChe in Yindala/Indrala, Doc in Kalistan, Colonelvesica in Hutori etc. To me, the RP was very foundational because it opened my mind to the idea that there was certainly more to PT than just RPing in your corner and that really good stories could be told when you bring the players together. 

• What do you think your biggest impact/legacy has been on the game and the community (if any)?
  

I don't know whether my impact on the community has been otherwise positive. I still hold myself to a different stand granted my past indiscretions regarding plagiarism (something I still hang over myself to this day). I think in those moments, I lost a lot of the trust of members of the community at the time, and it's something I still feel looming over my head (partly because I continue to remind myself of how incredibly stupid I was). I'd like to think that, insofar as my most authentic work, I hope that I sort of raised the bar on military RP in the community. I understand the community's aversion to such RP now (being on the receiving end), and I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the appetite for such RP as I did in the past. I'll leave the rest to the community.

• Who were some of the players or moderators who had the biggest impact on you? What were your most memorable interactions, collaborations, or rivalries?
  

I think I'll link my numerous takes from "The Pub" here to basically show all the people I've come to appreciate and who have been extremely formative for me both ICly and OOC. Both in the community and in my personal life. 

• Part I
  
• Part II
  

I intend to do a "Part III" as I become more acquainted with the newer players becoming involved in PT: Reborn. 

• How did the community culture evolve during your time within it?
  

This is a very loaded question which I think deserves its own thing someday in the future, but for now. I would like to say that the community has shifted away from the hardcore mechanics towards roleplay for the better. I think Greek's innovation with the story arc has been perhaps one of the most transformational things to ever happen to this community. 

• How did Particracy influence your interests, writing, or worldview?
  

You guys might laugh, you may not. But in the early years of playing in PT (particularly my time in Zardugal and Trigunia), I had very right-wing views. I used to watch Alex Jones and thought that he was some visionary thinker, and I was thoroughly convinced that I could never and would never "abandon" what I believed was the correct sort of thinking for "normal people". My time in Trigunia set that into overdrive because I spent so much time reading news from Russia, be it on RT, Sputnik, TASS or the Moscow Times, that it genuinely started to shift and warp my political views. It was only when I left the country and went to Kazulia that my entire worldview changed. In Kazulia, I played the Labour Party, the very first left-wing party I had played in the game ever. Since then, I have never played a right-wing party. I would like to say that I see myself as a Social Democrat (or perhaps to the left of centre-left), but I also believe that as I interact more with left-wing literature, my views will swing harder to the left. My first time in Lodamun encouraged me to pursue an Economics Degree, and I'm going on to do my Master's soon (this September). I would say that I owe my political journey out of the desert to this game and I think that without it, I don't think I could imagine where I would be today. Career-wise, even relationship-wise (because rediscovering my left-wing origins, I also got back into touch with my queer identity (I'm gay). I tried to get my boyfriend to play with me in Lodamun back in 2022 (he wasn't all that interested, still isn't. But I bounce off a lot of ideas with him for Vorona because he plays another game on Discord religiously). 

On writing, I would say that whereas the old me (Maxington) would have wanted to do military RP, I'm no longer inclined to do so. I genuinely enjoy economic RP and as I was conversing with Jorni, I'm beginning to enjoy political RP as well (even though I still struggle on how to make posts sound more authentic). I would say that I want to do way more political posts similar to what everyone else does, you know, the details on elections and the results and whatnot. But I guess I have to begin to realise that I don't have to be as technical as I've historically been. 

• How do you feel about the end of Particracy Classic — and what do you hope remains remembered?
  

I don't feel anything for Particracy Classic. I think what we've built in its absence is a much better representation of (1) a community of near-like-minded individuals and (2) an advanced political simulator. I honestly believe that there is no community out there that is doing what we have been doing now, and to me, that is special. 

[Svetlana]

• How and when did you discover Particracy? How old were you and where were you in life around that time (to the extent you are comfortable sharing)?

Unlike the rest of you guys, I wasn't that actively engaged in 'Nations States' type of simulators, I had tried some but they always felt extremely bland and most of the times they were extremely uptight for no reason so I mostly resorted to doing stuff like model UN, student governments, etc throughout my teenage years. Funnily enough it was Weim who showed me particracy, it was during a VERY heated debate that she hit me up with "Hey svet, wanna come play Particracy?" and it immediately intrigued me because back in Uni we had just recently discussed the topic of parliamentary systems degrading from 'popular democracy' to 'autocratic particracy'. Anyways before I lose myself, I was 22 years old at the time Weim invited me to join and I had just freshly dissolved my university's student government because the entire legislative body became radicalized which led to fights between my center left party the Utopian Student's Social Party (that's where the idea of Utopianism came from) and the conservative Union for Common Sense. So particracy just so happened to be something that I wanted to explore since it was recommended by one of my favorite online friends.

• What country did you first play in? What was your earliest experience with the forum? What were your first impressions, generally?

So the first country I joined was Kundrati, it was where most of the people I knew were located Aren, Weim, and Starfruit, and I was feeling a bit silly back then and decided to form the Party for Harmony and Peace which was mostly a joke party that I RPed as being some tech feminist nutjobs that was meant to stand out among the more "tame" parties in Kundrati. My first impression of the community? It looked like a dictatorship to me, people competing agaisnt each other like it was something that affects their IRL lives, the rankings making players post just for the sake of improving their rank, also people were way too scared of Auditorium and Dorvik which I didn't understand especially when Kundrati was basically being treated like some second degree nation by Dorvik and the government didn't even bother standing up to him back then.i kept saying stuff like "Why are we so afraid of Dorvik? There's plenty of people we don't have to fear them." In that moment I immediately knew that the community desperately needed to loosen up a little and just RP for the sake of fun and whimsy which ties nicely with the next question.

• What was your most memorable RP experience or arc? Did you help shape any regions, lore, or political systems that you’re proud of?

Honestly, I consider every nation that I was in as my babies especially if I was the only player back then, but the most memorable RP experience was definitely Nadiya/Trigunia. The sole reason I joined Trigunia back then was that I accidentally glanced at the Nation's forum thread and saw how it was basically a carbon copy of Russia with the overuse of Putin, dictatorships, propaganda, conservatism, hyper focus on the use of Russians instead of using the other ethnicities making up the country (notably the Ukrainians), and useless militarism and that immediately made me want to join it just loosen up it up. Trigunia was also the first country where I was by myself for the first time and given free reign over it, most of you might remember when I first state the whole matriarchy system in Trigunia, and the only reason I started it was simply because I refused to use male east European politicians and instead preferred to use women instead. What followed were glorious months of me cooking up a lot of bullshit like prohibiting men from running in politics, focusing on the use of more non Russian politicians from Ukraine and Belarus, actually develop the country by pushing it toward adopting pacifistic and genuine friendships with countries across terra and Keris. This of course earned me a lot of warnings from Farsun who didn't like at all how I was "butchering" the country and I responded back by being even more petty and standing my ground because 1) I hate it when another person tries to belittle me by dismissing my opinions because I'm a "newbie" and 2) him trying to act so though and dictatorial just made me double down even more since PT desperately needed a break from all seriousness. When another player joined Trigunia and RPed a conservative patriarchal party as a direct reaction to my matriarchist ultra woke republicanism, I was extremely happy especially since it was a new player and I wanted to make sure he felt accepted and welcomed so I coordinated an arc with him which ended the first Utopianist era and we parted on good terms before he got suspiciously banned for no reason after my departure from Trigunia to Valruzia. I don't know if I helped or even played a role in changing the systems of countries I controlled, I'm not going to lie, I always saw my RP being dismissed and brushed under the rug by almost every person that joined after me back then and that greatly impacted the perception I had of my own RP since it was always brushed off as "too silly" or "just newbie bullshit" so eh. The works that I'm most proud of are definitely Nadiya/Trigunia and Aldegar because those two nations were the first ones where I had settled long term and poured my sweat and tears into them.

• Who were some of the players or moderators who had the biggest impact on you? What were your most memorable interactions, collaborations, or rivalries?

This should probably be a Pub post but I have to mention my babygirl Greek, even tho I call him names and "hate" on him from time to time. He was the first guy that reached out to me when I first joined Trigunia and we immediately clicked, he was such a chill guy during an era of the community that was extremely uptight and rigid, we collaborated on a lot of stuff especially the Second Malivian War where my international RP capabilities were first put to the test but he was still there to guide me and make stuff more easy to understand. There's Weim she's one of my day ones in PT, we collaborated on so many arcs together like the democracy arc in Yingdala, Seko, Kundrati, Beiteynu, etc she's just a blast to RP with and a really nice gal, but she's still an American so that's an automatic zero on the Svet friendship chart! Personally I think that I get along with everyone since I never take stuff personally and I'm always laid back when it comes to PT because I strictly see it as a game and nothing more so why let it bother me and pull me when I can just follow the current and do my own silly stuff to keep the whimsical spirit alive

• How did the community culture evolve during your time within it?

The community has definitely become way more chill compared to when I first joined it back in 2023 and that's for the better, the abolition of the rankings and change in the mod team definitely shattered what remained of what I liked to call "the RP dictatorship", people began to write posts for fun but the ghosts of the rankings still persisted since players were still meta posting to try and make their country the world hegemon or something and I always found that absurd especially when most resorted to "hard" power to project influence, like why even bother writing posts when you feel pressured to do so just so your country remained relevant? I still feel that people continue pressuring themselves to write, and I'm one of those but to a minor extent, I just need everyone to put down their keyboards and go touch some grass instead of forcing themselves to post post post as if the earth is gonna implode tomorrow.

• How did Particracy influence your interests, writing, or worldview?

Other than making realize that there's other people like me that are politics nerds, PT didn't influence my interests that much because I was actually bending my RPs according to my own interests and stuff I wanted to try out. I won't deny that PT did help me in managing my creative flow in a more healthy way to avoid instant burn out but also improve my writing style when it comes to news reports type of stuff, I mean I used to write fanfics on a weekly basis in AO3 but it was mostly stories and not summaries of events that happened in a fictional nation so there's that and the fact that I learned how to use digital art tools on my phone just to make sick designs and torment Imp with my far superior skills (I know you're reading this, your PC assisted designs will never match my hand drawn ones!)

• How do you feel about the end of Particracy Classic — and what do you hope remains remembered?

I didn't care that much about the end of Classic because I was already used to rulling nations by myself by the time Classic died and I was glad that PT was getting a much needed upgrade. I do hope that my silly political parties will be remembered in both Classic, Legacy, and Reborn because I'm such a talented, beautiful, rich, and able bodied person unlike Zanz. Also this community is the best one on the internet and I hope that it remains the same forever, I'll always be here anyways in case people need me to become Admin and rule with a pure heart filled with kindness.