Join the new world

In this short article we discuss the new eNL census, set up by SS of the ministry of home affairs, Mattio. What is it? Why should you fill it out and how will it help the eNL? We also talk to Mattio, creator of the census and learn a bit more about him and his political history.

This edition's article titles:
1. The eNL census By missingno
2. Who is Mattio? By Mattio



Writer: missingno
The eNL census

As a citizen of the eNetherlands i was curious to find out what the eNL census was all about. I had heard a few people discussing it on the eNL forum as well as shouting a recent media article in the news feed.
You can find the official article, published by Mattio's newspaper "Nederlands Nieuws" here:
http://tinyurl.com/eNLcensus

The article sums up what it will do. The three main points are:
1. To find out what languages people in the eNL speak. Dutch or English, or both.
2. To find out how socially active the people of eNL are. Do they post on the forum? etc.
3. To find out how effective the recruitment and coaching programme is.

The census overall sounds like a good idea. If succesful i can imagine that the census will provide the knowledge needed to the current government on how they can attract more people to the forum. How government articles can be more appealing with use of language, depending on what languages the citizens of the eNL speak more of. And to find out whether coaching and recruitment needs improving or not.

Personally, i think the census is a great idea and [eToast] is an official supporter of this programme.
I think eRepublik as a whole can be a dull game. But when you add the social aspect, the forum, the politics it makes it 100x better. That's why i believe people need to be more involved with the forums and this census might just help the government to put more effort into getting people on there.

So, how do you get involved in the census and fill it out?
If not already contacted via PM by Mattio you should contact him ingame, asking to fill out the form and he will send you a link.
He can be found here: Mattio



Writer: Mattio
Who is Mattio?
Interviewer: missingno

Hello Mattio, how did you eLife start? Have you lived and worked in many countries?

I came to eRepublik through the OGame forum, where suddenly a lot of people were linking to this game. I believe I started playing through a referrer link from BroodRoosterNL so he is still making money with all the gold I get... 😛
I have not lived in a lot of countries. I did travel, but not for more than three or four days in a row. Just to fight and finish missions.

What made you want to get involved in eNL politics and government?


In the beginning, I very soon discovered that just 2-clicking wasn't very satisfying. I started my own newspaper in those days, with little success, and was very confident of myself. Going into politics was a logical step, you could say. Since then, I have ran for almost every election thinkable (with and without success).

Your quite an eOld player, which version of erepublik do you prefer the most? What do you think of the new version, do you enjoy playing?

I quit playing when the game started to crumble down: the admins seemed to be addicted to changing every aspect of the game. When I came back, not even a month ago, I quickly found out that, surprisingly, they were successful. The current version of this game is the one that has my preference. On the second place I'd place the very first version, in which working was just working, training was no more than training and fighting was done on a "city map".

How do you think the social side of the game effects erepublik? For example, do you think it is crucial to join the eNL forum?

I believe that a country should not be dependant on the forum, since that's something outside of the game and not visible to new players. The media should be the main frame for new players to discover what is going on in the world and their country. More and more, people complain about "congress discussions" coming out to the media, but in my view, that is a great development. The more people read about what is going on in politics, the more they are encouraged and motivated to join that great world.

You were quite an active politician during the eUNL times, what can you tell us about those times and what do you think of a future eUNL between eNL and eBE?

The eUNL was a great way to make both our countries stronger. But it had a dark side too. A dark side that I have never liked. Since a lot of the Belgians didn’t understand Dutch, we universally decided to speak English. In the media, on the forum, even in PM’s between native Dutch speakers.
This was great for the players that were in the eUNL in those days, but in my eyes, it is the biggest problem the eNetherlands are facing now and it is a problem that has always existed since we started speaking English: new players don’t understand a crap of what’s going on.
NB: I’m not saying that we should speak Dutch (I’m answering this interview in English too), but I would like the media to be a bit more Dutch AND English publishing. I, for example, have only published articles that were either Dutch or both Dutch and English.
I see no future eUNL. I believe our countries should both follow their own ways. The eNetherlands could become great, eBelgium could be too. But together, there can only be separation, polarisation and hatred within politics.



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