Nuclear Weapons RP

[Wu Han]

I don’t really have a horse in this race, so to speak, as I don’t particularly enjoy military/war RP and have engaged in it maybe 2 or 3 times in my entire history in the game. I personally began to detest having to participate in military RP in my early period of the game due to the requirements of those who are deeply invested in military stuff for players to provide detailed development of everything from small arms to airplanes; that which didn’t comply with their standards was ruled unrealistic and unreasonable. This was frustrating and ultimately served to gatekeep the status of “great military powers” among nations with players of similar interests and degrees of pedantry. I raise this, as I think a similar dynamic is, and has always been present concerning the status of nuclear arms in the game. That said, I recognize military RP is a very core component of the game for other players.

In my opinion, nuclear weapons should either:

1. Be completely banned from the game, to provide a more level playing field for all players, or;
2. Be accessible to anyone, without depending on a subjective determination about the RP lead up to their procurement. 

I know that my second recommendation is likely to be the more controversial so let me explain:

• Allowing self-selecting players to determine what RP they deem to meet the standard for nuclear procurement is, and has been, problematic. 
  
• All military RP in the game must be planned and agreed to out of character. If I don’t accept that your country could use nuclear weapons against mine, then that’s the end of it. This is the case even if the mods/community/whoever else has affirmed you as having nuclear weapons. Thus, making a determination about whether or not a state has nuclear arms is relatively moot. 
  
• Countries always seem to be able to build massive infrastructure projects (high speed rail, hydroelectric dams, advanced power plants, skyscrapers, and so on) without ever having to explain how they've acquired the technical know-how, materials and resources to do so. To force some RP to meet a certain standard of realism, and not other forms, privileges one form over the other. 
  

If nuclear weapons are to be permitted, under a system where they can only be developed and possessed by a player whose RP has met a certain standard, then I think it is incumbent on those who will be making that determination to provide, in very clear, explicit terms, what steps a player must take to meet that standard, without any room for ambiguity.