I was mentioned and I quite disliked it. Who were the voters? What was the criteria? Why must I be notified? Why was I a contender? What is this award? Who is? Why are? How what? Why when? Where did I put my spectacles, because I thought I just had them . . .
Our nation will mourn for this moment, hopefully, this will spread a message of positivity to those who also fell victim to not being able to afford nuggies.. F
Auphelia and Drystar: I can explain the process of setting the winners for the awards.
1) Ministry of Culture members nominated candidates for each category. 2) A panel of 5 judges chose their picks for each category (the judges were Sandaoguo, Witchcraft and Sorcery, Imperial Dodo, Proctethia, and Aumeltopia). The people with the most votes won.
As for the dispatch... I'll go bug Swifty about it right now.
(If you have any further questions about the awards, I can answer them)
Today, Imperial dodo hosted the 2021 Lampshade Awards Show, awarding and recognizing the best South Pacificans in 2020. I was awarded the RMBer of the Year award, being selected by the judges in favor over Auphelia, Volaworand, Drystar, and Beepee. Swifty made the following statement:
"Melicorium has been one if not the most active RMBers this year, they have migrated over to the offsite community while still maintaining a very high level of activity on the gameside community. Furthermore, they have been a pioneer in welcoming new nations to the region and giving them all the dispatches, information and knowledge they need to know to get started. All of this was enough to award them the Lampshade for RMBer of the Year. Congratulations!"
To add onto this: - I first became an active RMBer in mid-late April, around the time I fought the Great Durian War against Western fardelshufflestein. From there on, I frequently participated in roleplay and conversations on the RMB. Over time, I learned the rules on the RMB, and I told rule-breakers the rule they were breaking and maybe point them out to the Local Council. I did this so much that I decided to run for a position in the Local Council in July-August, eventually losing to Auphelia. For about two months afterwards, I became less active on the RMB as I started focusing on R/D gameplay. However, I did not give up hope of becoming a Local Councillor, and after returning to being active on the RMB, I ran again for the LC in November-December, but eventually conceded the election to Beepee. I am still active on the RMB to this day, still doing almost the same things I started to do many months earlier. - I would not consider my level of activity on the gameside "very high", as I think I spend about an equal amount of time on the gameside and offsite (not including R/D gameplay, where I am technically on both simultaneously). Nonetheless, playing NationStates and participating in the TSP community has become one of my favorite pastimes. - Yes, I greet literally every other TSP nation with a population of 5 or 6 million who introduces themselves on the RMB, but that was not originally my idea. When he was an LCer, Proctethia did the same thing. Because he was one of my first friends on NationStates, I was inspired by him to greet new TSP nations. For this, I think Procty deserves some of the credit.
I acknowledge the great respect that I have earned for the reasons mentioned above. Who wouldn't like someone who likes to socialize, helps keep the RMB in shape, and is active in their community?
With that, I accept my Lampshade Award for RMBer of the Year. I also congratulate the others who have won awards in this contest, and thank Swifty, who hosted the contest, and the judges who voted for me. I have also finalized my decision to run in the upcoming LC elections in March if I am nominated.
If you want to learn more about my history on NationStates so far, I will be releasing a dispatch for my 1-year anniversary on the game as Melicorium (6:06:06 PM CST or 12:06:06 AM UTC on February 23/24).
Yo-Yo Ma is most notably a cellist, darling. And yes, his playing is divine. Utterly enchanting.
Why are you conspiring against me? Who told them they could vote against me? Why are there acceptance speeches? Why was I in the running? Why was I in the running without being told?
I should have liked to decline. Having served two LC terms in the last year - an eight month span (made longer by our minor crisis of democracy) during which I worked at managing the effects of the Drewpocalypse on our poor RMB, helping rewrite our laws, and ushering in a new age under the Geriatric League - why, after such a banner year it would be unthinkable to participate in such a contest that I would surely win. Utterly unfair to my contemporaries.
And yet.
Ah, well. Vengeance will be mine. Be careful my darlings. Quite, quite . . .