Join the new world

I have found that one of the most enjoyable things about this game is the community. Creating a larger, more inclusive community is a beneficial step for everyone. We deserve an American government that works hard to keep new players interested throughout the month. A government that works hard to get them active, get them involved and keep them involved. We would all be far better off if that was the nation we had.That is what I want to work day and night to achieve to be able to provide Americans and future Americans with the infrastructure needed to succeed.

I am proud to say that during my time as Secretary of the Interior we introduced several new programs. We helped quite a number of people, and had three great months of a smooth running department. BU2SU was released during that time thanks to the wonderful brain of Arrden. We had an IRC Program and we started the moving program. We did great fundraisers and much more. Even during my term Interior wasn’t a priority. Departments like Interior are an essential part of the US government and of our great community.



America can be a difficult nation to get involved in. It can be difficult to get a job or to get started if you don’t really know the mechanics of the community. I’ve spent quite a bit of time this month working on making that easier. We need a federal government that encourages new players to join in, and I intend to fix that in the coming month. My plan involves inviting new players to help with programs, write for the WHPR, help anywhere we can fit them in. Many players want to get involved and simply don’t know how.

We as a nation could greatly improve the way we deal with the basics when it comes to new players. This includes food, strength programs and weapons. Our current Interior department rarely releases articles, BU2SU is rarely advertised and neither is Meals on Wheels. We are not lending a hand to the new players to prepare them for the future. We need to reach out to them and help them. Not only with things regarding the game, but with things regarding the community aspect of the game.

I recently did a survey of new players. I sent out a google doc form to several of them with a few short questions about how they liked the game and what the US could improve on. The results were interesting. While food, money, strength, and weapons were of course some of the basic things they needed (which is an area that can be improved on), they also pointed to other areas that we could improve as well. (I believe allowing more feedback from new players is an important step we can take to improving future retention efforts).

America needs to do things like restart the welcome committee. Many new players only get a few messages, feel alone, and do not get encouraged to get involved. One nationally sent message is helpful, but extra messages from the welcome committee are always a fantastic way to give people more information and get them more involved. Most importantly it makes them feel welcome to the game.

We also need to quickly introduce new players to IRC. We could easily get more players active in the game if they were encouraged to give it a shot and had help with it. Using programs like the IRC incentive program, a task based program, or Vortex can encourage new players to get on the chat system. We can host more IRC events, have competitions, games, question time with the President, and far more.

America needs to have more programs like the Workers program. We need to bring down the entry barrier into the country’s politics. While it does require some work to get involved, we also do not want it to be a maze of never ending confusion for new people who could just move on to Reddit or something more entertaining. We are competing for their attention and their time. Only a few people act like it. We need a cabinet that works with these programs as well, a group of people who are willing to help new players get employed and active and who are willing to provide the jobs.

America could learn a lot from other nations who have working retention programs. In my research I have seen other nations with incentive programs that work and could be used as a model. They give players marks to reach and rewards for reaching them, and they help them through each step. It is an easy way to get them ranked up, to get them on IRC, on the forums, in the party, friends with other people, and fully involved in the game. Learning from other people’s successes is never a bad thing.

We can also work harder with all the organizations involved in the retention process. We can bring back programs like Stack the Wall that assist members of military units with training costs and we can also coordinate better with parties and MUs to create events, games, programs, and more.



America itself needs a refocusing of attention. We do not care about Interior, Education, Retention, or anything of the sort as much as we should, and most of this lacked significantly this month. I understand that old players are not as interested because we are already in the meta, but there are hundreds of new guys who are not and need that last boost that we can and should give them.

If we get these departments working more effectively than before, we can then refocus staff to help create new programs, new focuses and new ideas. It is about understanding that there is an issue with what does exist now and that we can do far better.



Programs like my worker program, like other nations’ development programs, like BU2SU, like MoW, and like many others, are often the backbone of a new player’s life. I’ve had so many people tell me they like a program, or they wish a program had existed when they were young, or something of the sort. These programs DO make a difference, and they’re well worth the time we put into them. I get a lot of satisfaction from helping new players get involved, and I don’t see any reason why the nation shouldn’t receive that satisfaction of a growing community as well.

Programs encourage things like more media activity, more articles, more IRC events and more people working in party jobs.. They work, and many work very well, and we can and should use them more effectively.

I look forward to further outlining my plans, and to showing you the great people who will be working with me (Or you know, just read the USWP forum). They have some great ideas, as do I, and I think we’re in for a great month ahead.


~On August 5th, vote Irule777 for President of the eUnited states of America.

Let’s refocus America’s attention on player retention~