Embassy and Consulates FAQ

[sedge]

• What's the difference between Embassies and Consulates?
  
  At a basic technical level, if we agree to establish an embassy with your region, we will create a sub-forum here for you to post information in, and we will expect you to do the same for us on your forum. Additionally, we will agree to the creation of in-game embassies.
  
  More importantly, though, an embassy signifies that we wish to develop a meaningful relationship with your region. We think we have something in common, or have the potential to work together, or essentially just like you. It signifies a level of trust, and there's an expectation that this will be reciprocated. We view embassies as a long-term investment, and will not open or close them lightly. It is expected that regions with embassies keep us updated on their progress every so often - we will do the same for you. Ideally, we will assign permanent ambassadors to each other's region.
  
  Consulates are a more basic arrangement. A region that establishes a consulate with us gets a thread in the Consulates sub-forum, and can post updates there. We will not post updates on your forum, and will not exchange embassies in-game.
• Why the distinction - couldn't you just open embassies for everyone?
  
  That'd be great if we had dozens of willing volunteers with the time to staff them - but we don't. As a high-profile game-created region that is known for its active foreign affairs department, we get a lot of embassy requests. We simply don't have the time to be able to accept all these - if we did, we'd spend all our time posting updates, and wouldn't be able to build up a worthwhile relationship with any regions.
  
  Additionally, in the past we've opened embassies with regions that went inactive after a couple of months and died. We waste our time sorting out embassies and posting updates for them, and get nothing in return. By having consulates, we give regions a chance to prove to us that they're going to remain active.
• So if we open a consulate here and keep it active, you'll grant us an embassy in a few months?
  
  Maybe. We can't guarantee that, unfortunately. It depends on how many people we have available to do Foreign Affairs work here, and it also depends on whether we think it's worth having formal diplomatic relations with you. Don't be offended if we reject your embassy request - it doesn't mean we don't like you.
• How do we open a Consulate?
  
  Easy. Just start a new thread in the Consulates sub-forum. Make sure the title of the thread is the name of your region, and that you keep all your posts to the same thread.
  
  On extremely rare occasions - mainly as a result of serious disagreements, we may decide to close Consulates. If this happens, please do not contest the decision - such a move will not be taken lightly, and will have been discussed amongst the leadership of the region.
• How do we open an Embassy?
  
  If you wish to apply for an embassy with The Rejected Realms, please post a new thread in this forum, with the name of your region as the topic title.
  
  We'll need a few details about your region in order to process the application, so the more information you give us, the quicker it can be done. Things like the forum address, frequency of updates, name of the ambassador and reason(s) for wanting an embassy with us would all be appreciated. If you don't provide that information in your application, we'll just end up asking for it anyway.
  
  Once that information is provided, we may ask a few more questions, and then will come to a decision on accepting/rejecting the Embassy request.
• What if I have other questions that aren't addressed here?
  
  Contact the person responsible for Foreign Affairs.

[sedge]

Embassy guidelines:

So that people have a rough idea what we're looking for in regions we open embassies with, these are the rough standards we use:

• Size - ideally at least 50 nations, preferably over 100
• Offsite forums - must have offsite forums, so that we can post updates
• Government - should have an established government which runs the region's affairs
• Activity - should be active both on the RMB and on the forums
• Foreign Affairs - should be willing to write and deliver updates
• Gameplay - ideally should have at least a passing interest in NationStates gameplay
• Friendly - should be friendly. If you're hostile or rude, expect the same back

Please be aware these are just guidelines - regions that meet them may be rejected, and some that don't may be accepted.