A few days ago I read this article by intellectualhobo. In it he contends that civcraft's societies are not true "nations", since the individuals within them do not have a true shared national identity arising from a common conception of their place in history. Also he claims that to be considered a true "state", a group must have the have the ability to independently provide security and enforce laws within its territory, and no so-called state on civcraft can actually do this.

This is a good criticism of "states" on civcraft: nobody so far has built a truly effective state. I think unrealistic game mechanics are a large part of what is holding this back: the easiest path to power right now is not to organize people, it's to practice spamclicking to become a one-man godzilla, or use botting scripts to become a one-man industrial empire. So as a result people have hardly tried.

Regarding nationhood, though, I've realized that we in Aytos have something many other cities don't. We have a shared past going all the way back to 1.0 Tigerstaden, and common awareness of our significant place in Civcraft's history. This sense of nationhood that we have, as far as it exists, will be a source of stability and cohesion for the state we attempt to create. We should do whatever we can to preserve our history, and "pass the torch" on to our new immigrants.

Because of this, I wonder if it would be a good idea to require history and civics education for immigrant would-be citizens (in the form of a short citizenship test on some required reading material). Teach them about the glory of old Tigerstaden, the heroism of mister_magpie, the barbarism of Y_ankees and the perfidy of Positronic. Tell them the story of our attempts to recreate that here in Aytos, and the enemies we have withstood along the way. Giving our newfriends some reasons to take pride in Aytian culture and heritage could be an important part of building a true nation.