MX2 Opens To International Trade

MX2, the long-awaited replacement for PHP MicroXchange, opened to international trade today. MX2 already has ten member nations signed up, and represents months of programming and testing by its creators, Sander Dieleman and Jouker Sendler.

Some new operating restrictions are in force in order to prevent possible misuse of the system. Firstly, no user may initiate more than 5 international transactions within a period of two hours, and secondly, no more than 15% of a nation's circulating money may be transferred abroad every week.

Jouker Sendler, who also hosts MX2, said: "We hope that these limits will not be too restrictive. However, they might be reviewed and changed if necessary. So anyone who cannot transfer money because of these restrictions should post that information in the MX2 Forums, explaining why they think the restrictions should be changed."

Micronational economics has been in the doldrums for many months, mainly due to the absence of any viable operating system, so it will be interesting to see if MX2 can revive demand back to the levels seen in the days of the old ICEO. Certainly the automation of transactions, developed from the initial system in Sander Dieleman's PHP MicroXchange, should help.

MNN Celebrates Third Anniversary

MNN Boards- The Micronational News Network (MNN) is today celebrating the third anniversary of what many people would have once considered unimaginable- a service offering continually updates news and information for micronations.

In what started as a long overdue replacement for the old Micronations Today ezboard, MNN provided a forum-based news service, with dedicated journalists providing the articles. This formula became a success and MNN became a big hit, with users posting more than 580 news stories alone before the start of the blogging revolution.

MNN has been about more than just providing the news, however. From its first post it has provided a neutral environment where people can meet and exchange ideas, hold conferences and discuss issues. As a result, over the years MNN has hosted numerous conferences and organisations, including the Micronational Cartography Society, the Currency Exchange Organisation, the Apollo Foundation and more recently the Micronational Recreational Warfare Society and FNORD Awards.

Its success can be seen in many ways. Not only has the board amassed close to 12,000 posts and 360 members, but it has welcomed more than 75,000 unique visitors- a post and view count that would put most nations to shame.

When the Apollo Inquisitor spoke earlier today with the founder and owner of MNN, Sir Iain de Vembria, it was quickly able to engage his excitement and satisfaction. He spoke of his surprise at the growth of the service, and how it continues to grow, culminating with the recent launch of MNN 24/7- the blog service inspired by Cyberian Jack Santucci and enacted by Sander Dieleman. De Vembria accredits the success of MNN to its neutrality, stating that it

"...has succeeded by providing dedicated fora and services requested by micronationalists, [expanding] from the four original fora to the fifteen-plus ones today. Its ongoing success is founded on the principal of attracting people's interest and keeping it, which includes giving them as much control as possible, and therefore an interest in keeping things going."

When asked if he had any future plans for the service, he informed us that the news had probably been developed about as far as it could go, but that "...the existing features will be maintained, and any suggestions for new ones will continue to be accepted and implemented if they have merit."

Congratulations MNN! Heres to another three years!

Related Links:
MNN Forums
MNN Website
MNN History

The Apollo Inquisitor is a partially owned subsidiary of the Micronational News Network.

MicroXchange2 Set to Trade Soon

Lemuria- Legislatures and financial experts around the world are bracing themselves for the impending launch of MicroXchange2, which could revolutionise the micronational econo-sphere.

When the original PHP MicroXchange was launched to great acclaim last year, a large number of nations flocked to the system, which enabled them to transfer currency between nations at the click of a button. The system automatically calculated exchange rates and was hailed as the next sliced bread. However, it wasn't long before it came crashing to the ground, causing wide spread economic chaos (read: inactivity).

The production team of MicroXchange2, led by programming guru Sander Dieleman, has almost completed the new system. With an expanded array of features including private messaging, calculators and a snazzy control panel (as opposed to just a nifty one), the team is hoping that a number of nations will move their banks to the system.

MNN Unveils Revamped News Service

Just two months after the launch of its news aggregation service, MNN 24/7 has been completely revised to be more reader-friendly and to be able to offer extra services in the future.

The original javascript-based aggregator has been completely replaced following an increasing number of compatability and reliability issues. The new system is entirely PHP-based and was created by Sander Dieleman, using a PHP RSS parser called LastRSS, and with original feeds additionally processed by FeedBurner to be as accessible as possible.

New features include source names showing with each headline, and an automated list of sources that automatically updates itself when news weblogs are inactive for more than a month. Additionally, there is a new "News on Your Site" script that automatically updates itself for both headlines and sources.

MNN head Iain de Vembria said: "We are very pleased with the performance and flexiblity of the new system and are particularly grateful to Sander Dieleman for his tireless work behind the scenes. The micronational community will benefit greatly from our enhanced service."

SanderNation V: Meet Lemuria

Lemuria - Baracãon citizen and the man behind the phrase "SanderNation" Sander Dieleman recently chalked up another mark next to the title, with the creation of the new Empire of Lemuria. Lemuria, based on the southern brother of the well-known missing continent of Atlantis, is designed to be a cultural nation picking up where other nations left off.

The nation's constitutional convention is already well underway, along with its citizenship drive. The three week old nation is already boasting five citizens, with a number of them being new to micronations.

The constitutional convention looks soon to wrap up, with participants finalising their ideas over the nation's proposed families scheme and the legislative rules. To have your say before it's too late, drop by the nation's forums at http://sander.domainmultitude.com/lemuriaforums/

News Shorts (28/06/04)

Feianova- Who says no good things can come from war? Recent alligations against the Feianovan Commune saw a tripling in the average number of visits to the nations forums on June 28. The nation is also celebrating the return of founder, Sander Dieleman, and three new citizenship applications in the past week.

Shireroth/Feianova Tensions flared at forums across the microworld after it was claimed this week that Feianovan agents were infiltrating Antica's forums. Babkha, Shireroth, MNN and Feianovan forums all had threads with more than two pages arguing over the unfolding events. Things seem to have settled down now, with Shirerothian citizens now arguing over wether they despise Amerada or Cyberia more, and how crappy their forums are.

Cyberia- Cyberia has decided to join the MCS Map, after what appears to be a long time not on it. They have requested, however, that should they leave, their part of the map go with them.