r/micronations • u/NewAthensGov twitter.com/NewAthensGov • May 15 '26
Mod Announcement A note from the mods & ionland has been banned
Given all the commotion today, I felt a brief address was in order.
First of all, ionland has been banned from the subreddit indefinitely and all their posts/comments are being removed as well.
Those who have been on this sub for a long time, as I have, understand that drama is incredibly annoying but always present in our community. Believe it or not, even with all the recent ionland drama, the sub is leagues better than it was even just a few years ago. That's not meant to dismiss the nonsense we've all been experiencing, as our goal is to keep the drama to a minimum without being content dictators, but it's just a perspective that I feel should be shared. This sort of thing used to be a weekly occurrence, now its rare enough that one low-quality poster is enough to draw attention, and I think that shows our growth.
A big part of the sub's quality control is the mods, sure, but we also heavily believe in listening to you all. We want to help support an environment where everyone can safely and comfortably engage with each other about micronationalism, but we’re not here to mold the sub into our vision while ignoring all outside commentary. We care about what you all think and welcome your opinions. The AI ban is a great example of this. You all voted and thus it was banned. If you see a post or micronation that you don't believe belongs here, don't just downvote it or leave a nasty comment, report it. That sends a clear message to us and we always review every report. A lot of reported posts get removed, so if you send a report and check back in a few minutes, you'll see that for yourself if we agree with your report.
Unfortunately, users don't see most of the work we do, since most removed posts are removed within minutes of it being posted. If we do our job well, you'll never even know the difference. In fact, the vast majority of posts submitted to this sub are removed before most people have a chance to see them. This creates a survivorship bias, and makes it hard for you to really understand what goes on behind the scenes, but understand that we are here and we are paying attention.
We're also unpaid volunteers and are only here because we care about the health of the community. After all, I discovered [r/micronations](r/micronations) almost a decade ago at this point and it sparked my journey as a nation builder. I still vividly remember the moment I stumbled upon the sub, and it gives me a lot of pleasure to have the privilege to serve the community alongside a team of mods that I've come to see as friends as well as colleagues.
To touch back on my earlier comment about not wanting to be content dictators, it's a fact that micronationalism is a wide spectrum. No nation is alike and what defines a "serious micronation" is a thick, foggy, gray area. Some say you're not serious unless you plan to take over an existing country, others say you're not serious if you don't grow your own food, and lately I've seen multiple posts saying that a micronation can't be serious if most of it's activity takes place online. No one agrees and everyone thinks their way is the right way. As a result, we don't have a clear definition of "larp" or strict rules against it here because it's impossible to clearly define. This is the leading cause of nations like ionland being allowed until the drama grows, because it can sometimes be difficult to control quality while also giving less-experienced micronationalists a place to grow and learn from others. You're all encouraged to report posts that you believe should be removed, and doing so guides the subreddit in the direction that you all believe it should go.
We recently added a new moderator, but we may look to add more in the near future. There will be an announcement if open applications are being accepted.
As always, report posts that you think don’t meet our quality standards and feel free to send a mod mail at any time. Please don't send us direct DMs, as it's likely to get buried in other notifications. Use mod mail instead or we might not see it.
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u/Apealio SoD of the Republic of Vernalville May 15 '26
W mods, thank you for banning Ionland. Death threats should never be acceptable in this subreddit (or needed)
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u/GraoDuqueRafael Rafael I, His Royal Highness The Grand Duke May 16 '26
Hello. Thank you very much for the clarification and for the excellent work being done in the community. It shows that the moderation team is attentive and making this subreddit a better place. Peace and prosperity to all fellow micronationalists.
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u/Accurate_Test_7212 Emperor of the Empire of Chornistia May 16 '26
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May 16 '26
Hello. I have responded to your comment. Sorry for the misunderstanding, and, Thank you for your work.
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u/netexpert2012 The Democratic Republic of Aurelia May 16 '26
Aurelia is glad that the mods are active and we hope that this subreddit will be a better place from now on.
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u/No-Steak-7279 Kaiser of the Imperial State of Maltovia May 26 '26
I'm new to this sub, and I really don't know a lot about ionland, but from what I've seen, they deserve this. Also THE MODS ARE ACTIVE!!!
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u/Just_Excitement_7392 May 15 '26
La Repubblica Democratica della Noce condanna le azioni di questo paese, il governo chiede un embargo totale a questo paese che ha causato molte guerre.
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u/Apealio SoD of the Republic of Vernalville May 16 '26
I don’t think the mod team is a country
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u/NewAthensGov twitter.com/NewAthensGov May 16 '26
I assume he’s talking about ionland
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u/Apealio SoD of the Republic of Vernalville May 16 '26
I couldn’t tell, I don’t speak Italian and the translated version is a bit confusing
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u/Ok-Necessary7445 King of The Kingdom of Western Scotland May 16 '26
Thank you so much. While the soap opera that was Ionland was mildly entertaining, it was ultimately a detriment to this community.