Mar 13, 2021

Spiralling to Oblivion or Climbing to Success

The views expressed in the following article are not necessarily those of the Times of Wirtland.

Summary

I (Stephen Reid) will show how Wirtland requires innovation to avoid becoming a footnote in digital history. I will then compare two competing visions for Wirtland’s future. 

Vision 1: In 2010 Wirtland’s owners wrote here about acquiring land from a cash-strapped country as sovereign territory for our virtual state, transforming it into a physical state. The people of Wirtland would buy this land from a donor country at USD 1000/square meter. With territory of its own, Wirtland can gain international recognition as a country in accordance with the Montevideo Convention. This would generate much-needed publicity and attract citizens. Economic and political growth would follow. 

I will examine the difficulties with implementing this plan and the challenge in proving Wirtland has permanent residents (a requirement for recognition). Economic and political growth reflect citizens’ trust in their country, and thus far this plan hasn’t improved on it. 

Vision 2: I have proposed to Wirtland’s leaders that they endow Witizens (citizens of Wirtland) with self-rule and legally recognized  human rights, and create the basis for a real economy which doesn’t disadvantage the world’s poor and middle classes. Recognizing Witizens rights (and by extension those of all people) and giving them democracy is vital. It will attract those who lack them in their country of residence. Wirtland can then set up a trust fund through a fundraising foundation, allowing Witizens to deposit (and withdraw) money which is guaranteed to retain its buying-power. This will lay a cornerstone for economic freedom and will be the first step toward setting up a virtual national bank with a unique currency. These are keys to an independent economy based on proven ethical and trust-building principles. Witizens faith in Wirtland will grow, as will its population and political clout. 

This vision involves significantly smaller challenges than the first one. 

Article

We Witizens want progress in Wirtland, but we see no evidence of that in its websites -- a jumble of insecure and semi-connected concepts, many of which haven’t been updated for years. I empathize with Wirtland’s administrators, having myself experience the constant work of running a website. Still, Wirtland’s online stagnation is undeniable. 

In 2008, Wirtland was the first virtual state, but it is no longer the foremost. A space-bound competitor, founded in 2016, now has over 1,000,000 registered citizens. If we fail to create a raison d’etre -- something at which we can excel -- and a bold but realistic strategy for Wirtland’s future we will dwindle and end up in a dusty corner of the internet. [Achooo!] We might already be there. 

So how do we give Wirtland a meaningful purpose? Let’s compare a couple of options. I authored the second one, so please nuance it with critical comments.

 

The “quantum leap” growth method

This requires a big event and an external player for Wirtland’s explosive growth.

Wirtland’s leadership exemplifies this method through its intention to acquire land. The argument, first put forward in 2010, is as follows: 

Wirtland’s leaders want Wirtland to be recognized as a sovereign state, gaining publicity and attracting citizens. For this they must follow the Montevideo Convention (which defines a country). Wirtland must therefore fulfill the following requirements: 

“a.          a permanent population;

 b.           a defined territory;

 c.           government; and

 d.           capacity to enter into relations with the other states.”

It’s doubtful Wirtland’s present three owners constitute a government in the eyes of the Montevideo convention’s signatories to fulfill requirement “c” . Maybe they do, maybe not. That’s anyone’s guess. 

Wirtland’s leadership is planning an agreement with a desperate host country (fulfilling requirement “d”), whereby the host grants Wirtland a small parcel of unusable land in exchange for money (fulfilling requirement “b”). Nauru (known for environmental degradation and money-laundering) has been mentioned as a possible host. Wirtland will sell a parcel of the host’s worthless land to Wirtland’s citizens for USD 1000/ square meter, giving much of the profits to the host. That country stands to gain up to USD 10 million for a single hectare of unusable land, and Wirtland gets physical territory it can call its own. It sounds like a great deal for both parties.

After achieving all this, however, Wirtland must still demonstrate it has a permanent population in its newly-acquired territory. The land is useless, so we’ll assume it lacks infrastructure, roads from the host country, drinkable water, farmable land, usable or sellable resources etc. It might also contain hazardous waste. To permanently live there would therefore require an expensive effort by dedicated individuals which Wirtland must finance. Anyone interested? 

At least one house must be built on this territory to demonstrate permanence. And since Wirtland is a virtual state, its residents require internet access (either a land-line extended from the host country or a satellite link). Unless the land deal includes a road, rail, or sea link, everything must be carried in on the backs of its residents, including building materials, food, clothes, water if sufficient amounts can’t be collected from rain, waste disposal and sewage treatment plants, a generator and fuel (unless power lines can be drawn from the host country), personal items, and all the other necessities of life. Also, t+h-e land used for this residency project would be privately owned by Witizens who paid extravagant prices for it. They may all want rent. 

To demonstrate permanent residency and fulfill the first requirement of the Montevideo Convention, the residents of Wirtland’s territory must live there at least until the convention is satisfied. That could take years. Each trip outside the single hectare of Wirtland territory might require a visa. A prison term might be preferable. Still no volunteers? 

Any country in dire enough economic straits to sell a part of itself is probably unstable. What then keeps that host country from reneging on its deal or placing export duties on items entering Wirtland’s territory, especially when a new regime comes to power? 

This might still be possible with dedicated believers and a wealthy sponsor who doesn’t mind throwing money at it, but it is still likely to fail on the it's primary premise. Plots of useless land must actually be sold for USD 1000/square meter. Most of this money would go straight into the pockets of an unstable and probably unreliable country’s leadership. That land might even be privately owned (as it is in Nauru) which requires buying it twice. Also, Nauru’s present laws prohibit foreigners from buying Nauru’s land. 

Keep in mind that one square meter of Manhattan (the world’s most valuable property) is worth about USD 1200/square meter. Wirtland’s leadership claims this useless land can be almost as valuable as Manhattan’s, but they don’t say how, not even after 11 years. I take that to mean they have no idea. Neither have I. 

An object’s price is generally based on its market value and the trust between the buyer and the seller. Witizens haven’t demonstrated sufficient trust to even finance the ongoing operations of their virtual state. They hesitate to invest in a dictatorship, no matter how benevolent, and let's be very clear, Wirtland is owned by three people who dictate its future, making it a dictatorship. Autocracy is effective for establishing a virtual state, but it’s a weak basis for creating trust. So the value of worthless land will likely remain close to worthless. I wouldn’t pay USD 1000 or even USD 10/square meter for it. I might pay a single dollar for a square meter, just to say I own land in Wirtland, but at that price, no host country will go through the hassle of making a complex agreement with Wirtland to exchange sovereign territory for money. 

Even if the scheme succeeds, the international community need not recognize a country that fulfills the Montevideo Convention’s requirements (Abkhazia and South Ossetia are examples). Wirtland may go through all the hassle, jump through all the hoops, and still not reach its goal. 

However, the Montevideo Convention states that: 

“Even before recognition the state has the right to defend its integrity and independence, to provide for its conservation and prosperity, and consequently to organize itself as it sees fit, to legislate upon its interests, administer its services, and to define the jurisdiction and competence of its courts.” 

Wirtland could claim it has a defined (albeit disputed) territory consisting of planet Earth with a population of over 7 billion and a government (if the leadership forms one).It then only needs the capacity to enter into some sort of relation with another state, possibly a mikro-state like Liberland or the Principality of Seborga.  It needs only to recognize the authority of the Montevideo Convention to motivate its existence and claim legal protection of its interests. Why seek some illusive international recognition if it already has the legal right to exist without formal recognition? All recognized countries have accepted the Montevideo Convention as part of customary international law. This is important since it gives an unrecognized state, like Wirtland, legal rights which can be defended in any country’s courts, with the burden of proof lying on the other party. 

Land acquisition is, in my view, unnecessary and likely to fail. Wirtland has floundered during the 11 years its leadership has entertained this notion. It’s time for change. 

I encourage anyone with alternative views to comment or write an article and send it to Wirtland’s leadership here.


The organic growth method

Another possible future for our virtual state involves growth by steps using available resources. Wirtland has attempted this, but hasn’t allowed citizens rights or created an economy. Thus Witizens’ trust dwindled, and Wirtland’s initial success ended.

Using one’s strengths makes progress easier than struggling with one’s weaknesses. The previous method battles the weakness of Wirtland’s lack of international recognition,making progress difficult. We should highlight Wirtland’s strengths and only address its failings when they hinder progress.

We must, however, address Witizens’ abysmal trust. At present it hinders growth. The leadership’s unilateral decision to sell Wirtland on Ebay (which you can read about here) was an enormous breach of that trust. If Wirtland is to be sold, or become a democracy, or disband, or whatever, it should be Witizens’ choice. To recreate trust, I believe Wirtland’s leadership must recognize Witizens’ rights, among which is their right to self-govern. Wirtland’s leaders may choose to deny Witizens rights, but without rights Witizens will not invest in Wirtland’s future, and the country will remain in its dusty corner of the internet.

Creating trust involves letting Witizens adopt a constitution (The Constitution of Wirtland), treating them with dignity, giving them responsibilities, democratic government, and the basis for a fair and independent economy. Economy is the key to Wirtland’s growth, but I’ll cover that later.

A physical state need not create a purpose for itself, since it already has a captive population in need of services. But a state like Wirtland must find something at which it can out-compete all others. I suggest that human rights can be such a purpose. Rather than seeing Wirtland as a virtual state, consider it a global state which only uses a virtual medium.

Hundreds of millions of people, possibly billions, lack essential rights. They live in countries that imprison homosexuals, treat women as second class citizens, brutally discriminate against religious groups and propagate systemic racism and subjugation of aboriginals and natives. Then there are all those whose economic rights are exploited by others. Most oppressed people cannot just switch countries, but many have mobile phones. Any internet-based state that stands in solidarity with disenfranchised people has a potential citizenship numbering in the billions!

If Wirtland chooses this course, the next step is laying the groundwork for a new economy. The world’s dominant neoclassical economic system disadvantages most people in favor of banks and the wealthiest 1%. If Wirtland establishes a system which even slightly favours the economic rights of the 99%, its potential becomes almost limitless. Remember, the Montevideo Convention gives a non-recognized state the right to “provide for its conservation and prosperity”. A global state, such as Wirtland, thus has the right to create a bank, a currency, and its own economic system if it is a prerequisite to providing such prosperity. I envision this as a two-step process requiring:

1.    marketplaces in which to make fair trades of goods and services and

2.    a trusted currency with which to facilitate trade.

Economies, like virtual countries, are all about trust. Giving all Witizens valuable rights germinates seeds of trust that can be nurtured and grow into a viable economy. The first step requires setting up a non-profit Fundraising Foundation for Wirtland with an independent bank account.

The foundation creates a fund in which Witizens may freely deposit and withdraw money. The fund’s purpose is to ensure that the buying power of Witizens’ deposits don’t decrease over time, meaning any money they hold in the fund will increase in value at the rate of inflation. To do this, Wirtland’s government invests in diverse ethically-sound and successful businesses. Any profit exceeding inflation is invested in Wirtland’s development.

Wirtland, through its trust fund, has thereby established the economic right of zero inflation for Witizens’ money. It can then adopt a legitimate but competing model to the world’s dominant financial system, one which Christine Lagarde, the former head of the IMF, endorsed as more stable. This alternate model abolishes interest rates and requires that only real items be legal for sale. It therefore keeps loans from becoming oppressive and ensures that distorted financial derivatives like futures, options, shorts etc are abolished -- things the super-rich use to steal wealth from the less fortunate. That is an enormous step toward a fair economic playing field for Witizens. It will attract people and businesses in unstable countries to a fairer system in which the financially depressed can have faith.

Once Wirtland’s trust fund has generated sufficient capital, the national bank is set up with accounts for all Witizens. Any money invested in the trust fund is replicated in Witizens’ accounts as Wirtland’s own unique currency. Witizens retain the right to exchange it for foreign currency, a service for which the bank makes no profit, and zero inflation still applies, but Witizens may now also use Wirtland’s money in Wirtland’s free marketplaces.

These marketplaces charge nothing for the service, and allow Witizens to buy and sell goods and services meeting Wirtland’s ethical standards. The marketplaces will be web-based, requiring only programming. Anyone living in a country with high inflation will see the value of using Wirtland’s stable electronic currency over their own. As more Witizens exchange their currency for Wirtland’s, its trust fund grows, allowing more profitable investment.

I believe giving Witizens human rights, self-rule and a fairer economy creates a viable future. These things can be implemented incrementally starting now. They require no outside recognition or unreasonable financial investments. Witizens trust for Wirtland will be repaired and enable growth. In the end, the international recognition Wirtland’s leadership desires may be gained without selling worthless land at New York City prices.

Several donor organisations support democratization and human rights. Wirtland should seek additional project-assistance from them for programming and website development. I have personally contacted one, whose initial response was very positive.

Which method do you believe will provide the most hope for Wirtland’s future, the quantum leap or organic growth? Please write your reply in the comments.

Here are links to sites and documents where I am facilitating this organic growth.

Digital Democracy for Global Change (a Facebook group I founded)

The Constitution of Wirtland (Start with the introduction.)

Banking, Finance and Marketplaces (a foundation for a fair economy)

Your loyal fellow Witizen,

Stephen 
March 2021

Aug 29, 2019

For the first time in history, a populated sovereign country to be auctioned online

Wirtland, the first internet-based sovereign country (founded in 2018, population is over 8000), decided to seek funds for modernization online. For the first time in history, a populated country is listed on online trading platform.

Wirtland, August 29, 2019 - As the first sovereign cybercountry in the history of mankind founded in 2008, Wirtland has pioneered the world of virtual nations, which has been growing steadily since then.

Wirtland is based on the concept of a country that transcends national borders without breaching or lessening the sovereignty of any involved. Wirtland differs from online "virtual worlds": there is no computer-simulated environment, citizens do not use avatars, and may influence real politics, set up organizations, earn money. Wirtland issues real plastic ID cards, marriage certificates, registers businesses and other organizations.

Innovative in many ways, Wirtland became the first micronation to mint its own gold and silver (real) coins; was the first to launch versatile medical consultation services over the internet; granted citizenship to Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. Wirtland has announced a unique plan of acquisition of land, which, if successful, could be first case of peaceful formation of new country 'from scratch', making it eligible for international diplomatic recognition according to Article 1 of Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.

Aug 14, 2019

Happy Wirtland Day!

Wirtland is 11 years old. We wish to congratulate all witizens and fans on this glorious day, and wish you prosperity and happiness.

As the first sovereign cybercountry in the history of mankind founded in 2008, Wirtland pioneered the world of virtual nations, which has been growing steadily since then.

Wirtland remains an evolving experiment in legitimacy and self-sustainability of a country without its own soil, and hopes to bring new energy and modern technologies into the project, by attracting a wholly new management team. We hope the new team will lead Wirtland to a higher level and make it even more attractive to people.

Mar 8, 2019

You can be the new ruler of Wirtland! ¡Puedes ser el nuevo gobernante de Wirtland! ВЫ МОЖЕТЕ СТАТЬ НОВЫМ ПРАВИТЕЛЕМ ВИРТЛАНДИИ!


Founded in 2008, Wirtland today is one of the largest and most stable virtual countries with a truly global representation. After over 10 years of successful growth, the founders of Wirtland have decided to sell the project.

In case of interest in acquiring all the assets and rights, including Wirtland.com and Wirtland.net domain names and websites, please email your proposal at any of our official addresses, or via social channels.

We hope the new ruler of Wirtland will continue our mission!








 ¡Puedes ser el nuevo gobernante de Wirtland!

Fundada en 2008, Wirtland es hoy el país virtual más grande y estable del mundo. Después de más de 10 años de crecimiento exitoso, los fundadores de Wirtland decidieron vender el proyecto.

Si desea adquirir derechos sobre todos los activos del proyecto, incluidos los dominios Wirtland.com yWirtland.net, envíe su propuesta a cualquier dirección de correo electrónico oficial o a través de nuestras redes sociales.

¡Esperamos que el nuevo gobernante de Wirtland continúe nuestra misión!








ВЫ МОЖЕТЕ СТАТЬ НОВЫМ ПРАВИТЕЛЕМ ВИРТЛАНДИИ!

Основанная в 2008 году, Виртландия сегодня является крупнейшей и самой глобальной виртуальной страной. После более чем 10 лет успешного роста основатели Виртландии решили продать проект.

Если вы хотите приобрести права на все активы проекта, включая домены Wirtland.com и Wirtland.net, пожалуйста, напишите нам по любому из наших контактных адресов или через наши социальные сети.

Мы надеемся, что новый правитель Виртландии продолжит нашу миссию!



Aug 15, 2018

Exclusive interview of Wirtland’s Chancellor


On the occasion of 10 years anniversary of Wirtland, Chancellor of Wirtland has made a short interview to The Times of Wirtland.

Ten years have passed since you founded Wirtland. How can you assess the achievements?

We had our ups and downs, but most importantly, the influx of new people has never stopped during this 10 years period. Wirtland has survived and kept its attractiveness as alternative nation – that’s our most important achievement. Also, we managed to preserve our neutrality, which was not easy in the times of fierce international turmoil.

Some witizens complain about lack of activity in Wirtland. Can you comment?

We see our main task to establish Wirtland as a platform, and to keep it up, running, and operational. That’s what we have been doing successfully during the last decade. If level of activity is low that means that people are passive. Activities are now up to the citizens themselves – we just create the right conditions for them.

So, what should witizens expect from the government?

Wirtland was not set up to tax our members - we have a zero taxation policy. Wirtland was neither set up to entertain our members, by a regular flow of new initiatives and projects. We simply cannot afford this, because of zero taxation. I hope this is understandable. What we guarantee to citizens is the following:
  • Correct operation of Wirtland platform;
  • Full media support to citizens' initiatives;
  • Protection of citizens' personal data.
What should be done to further develop the Wirtland project?

We always need more people, and to achieve this we need better media support outside Wirtland. Yes, Wirtland has received quite good media coverage in the recent years, especially in Latin America and former Soviet countries. But most of the articles tend to be superficial. Journalists do not pay attention to the central question – why people all over the world are interested in alternative political identity? So, we are interested in publications about Wirtland and always welcome the media representatives from all over the world.

As Wirtland is not backed up by investors, we are always interested in making Wirtland economically self-sustaining. So, all business ideas are very welcome.

Finally, why did you decide not to disclose your real name?

Two reasons, which are very simple. I think that vanity of many self-proclaimed monarchs of micro nations is ridiculous, and by no means I want to be like them. Second reason is more important: We want Wirtland to be free from any nationalistic, racial, political, or other biases. But such connotations may occur from the real bios of founders. Simply speaking, we don’t want anybody to attach labels to our project such as “Aha, so the founders are Chinese (or American, African, Jewish, Muslim, Slavic, etc)!” This is why our policy is to keep our personal life and Wirtland separate from each other.

Thank you. But can you disclose any general information, perhaps your age, gender? Does Wirtland have a First Lady?


Well, I am 52 years old, male, happily married with one son.

Happy Anniversary to all witizens and friends of Wirtland! Prosperity and freedom to you and your families! Viva Wirtland!

Aug 14, 2018

Happy Anniversary! Wirtland Celebrates 10 Years


Happy Anniversary to all witizens and friends of Wirtland!

Today Wirtland is turning 10 years old. Ten years is substantial period for everyone; for a virtual state it is a record-braking lifespan.

Wirtland has managed to carry its flag and to survive through a turbulent decade, marked both by tremendous geopolitical changes all over the world, and remarkable progress in IT technologies penetrating the daily lives of everyone.

We are pleased to observe that the ideology of Wirtland has remained attractive, as we have been happy to welcome new citizens every week, coming from literally every corner of the world.

Thanks to this constant influx of new people, Wirtland is now accumulating more innovative ideas than ever. Wirtland is a country which helps our citizens to make their ideas real.

Wirtland wishes you prosperity, freedom, and independence!

Feb 10, 2016

First official Representative is appointed

Government of Wirtland is pleased to communicate that Boris Siomin was appointed as official Representative of Wirtland. His geographical location is Israel. His communication languages are English, Russian, Hebrew.

Wirtland extends warm congratulations to Boris! He became the first Representative of Wirtland, having responded to announcement published on February 9th. We hope that before long Wirtland will have an effective network of Representatives in many cities of the world.

The Representatives will offer assistance to new members and answer questions. The status of official Representative of Wirtland will be regulated by special Law which is currently under development. The Representatives will have an access to a special group Wirtland Staff.

The nearest Representative can be found easily using the map here.

Jan 24, 2016

IT companies with no street address on their websites? Wirtland's solution

There are IT companies which don’t publish their geographical coordinates on their websites, and only use a web contact form. They often offer excellent quality services and normal customer support, but the users don’t have an idea where the company is registered. It may be harmful for customer satisfaction and to overall firm’s credibility. What can be done to solve the problem, with due respect to corporate confidentiality policy?

Our answer is registration in Wirtland. Wirtland is the world’s first internet-based sovereign country.

A Wirtland address is original and secure. Registration is completely legal (more info: http://wirtland.agilityhoster.com/legal.html). Legally, it’s similar to registration in a real country like Northern Cyprus, but is much more fun. Some countries already consider diplomatic recognition of Wirtland, see http://tinyurl.com/7r6m9p.

For partner company, a Wirtland address is a logical answer to questions about location, as it’s natural for IT firm to be registered in internet-based country. Wirtland address also adds to company’s visibility, as each partner gets press coverage and extra space in Wirtland’s sites. For Wirtland, registration of businesses is an important way to become self-sustainable. We will form a network of companies registered in Wirtland, which will help to expand professional contacts between members.

Wirtland will also issue its quality certification label. With time, “Made in Wirtland” label for online services will be like “Swiss Made” for watches!

Read more about business opportunities here. Also, Wirtland's newly-relaunched social network "Witizens of Wirtland" offers several groups to discuss business-related issues:

Jobs and Profits
Possibilities to earn money in Wirtland: employment, services offered, business ideas, funds transfer, insurance.

Angel Club
An angel investor or angel (known as a business angel or informal investor in Europe) is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.

Entrepreneur Club
The practice of starting new organizations or revitalizing mature ones, particularly new businesses generally in response to identified opportunities. ECW will support entrepreneurs of Wirtland, trying to approach ideas to capital. Public 1 2008-12-19

Business Council of Wirtland
BCW is a forum for business leaders and professionals who wish to make Wirtland the best place to do business.

Bank of Wirtland
The first product of the Bank of Wirtland is ”Wirtland Crane” coin. If you bought a coin, you became a contributor to the Bank because the premium (difference between prices of gold and coin) goes to Bank. Discuss the coin, suggest new products here.

New members are welcome to register and interact.

Jan 20, 2016

New Witizens Network 2.0 is under construction

Good news, friends: Finally our Witizens of Wirtland (WoW) network is starting to be fixed!

Actually, not fixed, but re-built in a new place by hand – so no automatic import of all data is possible, unfortunately. So you may need to go through a new registration process. But it’s easy

Feel free to register and test WoW 2.0!

In the WoW 2.0 we will be adding new functionality. It will be available to registered members. For example, now you may see possibility to use Twitter directly from your member page. Feel free to test, and report how the new functions work. And your suggestions and ideas are welcome!

Also, we really need to raise funds to cover the network refurbishment and other current costs. So, if some of you could donate 5 or more dollars now (use PayPal Donate button), we would appreciate. You may also consider placing a banner ad. Thanks in advance, and welcome to WoW network!

Feb 22, 2015

Wirtland's network is experiencing difficulties

Wirtland's social network Witizens of Wirtland (WoW) - www.wirtland.net - is currently experiencing technical difficulties. The reason is unclear - it may be some technical problem or a hacker's attack.

You can still browse the WoW site, but may encounter problem with new member registration and sign-in, and some interactive capabilities may be restricted.

Until the WoW functionality is back to normal, we suggest to use official Wirtland Group in Facebook for interaction and new member registration.

Sep 23, 2014

Wirtland Under Attack

Witizens of Wirtland (WoW) - our social network - has been attacked. Wirtland.net became unavailable.

Our hosting provider reports that all the files and backups disappeared.

We are working to restore or, rather, rebuild the network. Thank you for cooperation and support.

Once the new platform is up, it will re-appear under the old Wirtland.net address.


Aug 13, 2014

Happy Wirtland Day!

Happy Wirtland Day!!!

Wirtland is 6 year old, and we will never give up. In fact, in the turbulent times of conflict like the world is experiencing now, we are getting stronger, as more new citizens are choosing the Wirtland alternative.

Active witizens are cordially invited to our newest Wirtland Nation Conference project - to meet and interact in real life (see https://www.facebook.com/WitiMeet)

Jan 29, 2014

What a shame, Wiki!

Cris (Wirtland's PR manager) writes on January 29 on his facebook page:
Today I received a message from Wikipedia, that someone deleted Wirtland entry from English Wikipedia! The guy who did this is “…a conservative Christian from west-central Ohio, currently in graduate school in Indiana…” (as he tells himself).

Speechless! What a shame, Wiki! How a single and pretty uneducated person can just delete your article, used by thousands of people for years???

Wiki message offers a way to contact this so-called “editor”:
 mail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EmailUser/Nyttend
 wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Nyttend
Shall we do something to restore Wirtland’s rights and fight against ignorance? If there are people knowledgeable in dealing with the dark dungeons of Wikipedia, please comment and tell us what should be done.

In a few minutes after this was posted in Wirtland's facebook page and other medias, Wirtland's citizen Ivan Camilo Quintero Santacruz quickly acted to restore the Wirtland article. Apparently, Ivan has the editor's rights at Wiki. Thank you, Ivan, bravo!

However, the article still has a subpage for discussion about deletion (here), where registered users may oppose or support it.

We wanted to add that the Wirtland article in English Wiki has been running for 5.5 years without problems. Also, it has "sister articles" in 9 other languages - in Български (Bulgarian), Español, Esperanto, فارسی (Farsi), Français, Interlingua, Русский (Russian), Türkçe, Українська (Ukrainian).

Jul 21, 2013

Wirtland citizenship for Edward Snowden

Government of Wirtland decided to grant Wirtland citizenship to Edward Snowden. The official letter from the world's first sovereign cybercountry underlines Mr. Snowden's "contribution in protection of human rights in the internet". Official residence permit was issued in the name of Edward Joseph Snowden.

"
Your case has vividly showed to the global community  how the modern technologies can be used for purposes different from what people subscribe to, when they sign up for web-based services. While citizenship of a cybercountry may seem merely symbolic, you know about the potential of social projects in the internet and their influence on real life.  Wirtland offers our citizenship to show our support to your case, and our appreciation of your achievements," - states the Wirtland's letter to Mr. Snowden.

Mr. Snowden, former technical contractor for the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and CIA, leaked details of top-secret U.S. and British mass surveillance programs to the press. On June 23, 2013, US officials said that Snowden's US passport had been revoked.

In 2010 Wirtland granted citizenship to Julian Assange.

Feb 19, 2013

Wirtland in Ukraine’s Wiki

The Ukrainian Wikipedia became 9th Wikipedia to feature an entry on Wirtland!

Oct 30, 2012

Wirtland Introduces Processing Fee For New Citizenship Applications

As a measure against illegitimate applications, Wirtland has recently introduced the application processing fee. The fee is set at 5 US$ (about 3,8 EUR) in any currency, payable by PayPal or credit card. When new applicant requests a Residence Permit, he or she is supposed to include a notification about payment together with a completed Application Form. This symbolic fee helps to filter our underage applicants and spammers. 

Please note that Wirtland citizenship, including membership in Witizens Network, remains completely free. This application processing fee is applicable only if you are requesting an official Wirtland document, i.e. submitting an application for Residence Permit.

Aug 23, 2012

These Wirtland Applications Are Not Official

We have spotted several applications for Android and other devices, which are based on the content of Wirtland sites. While Wirtland does not object against using our content and images are for non-commercial purposes, the Government of Wirtland states that these applications are not official products, and Wirtland has no connection with creators or sellers of such products.

Aug 13, 2012

Russian video on Wirtland: Happy Wirtland Day!

This video was posted on Wirtland's facebook timeline today - on Wirtland Day. Fun stuff. A nice way to celebrate our anniversary.

A very happy Wirtland Day to everybody!

And thanks to Andrey Nifedov for this nice video.

Jul 20, 2012

Is it possible to buy Wirtland project?

Dear witizens,

Today we have received the following message – see below. I replied that we need to discuss ths publicly. Please post your comments. Thank you.

michael posted an update in the group Associates:
Hello, I represent an investment fund. We are interested in web assets. Is it possible to buy Wirtland project? Who should be contacted? Thanks.
PS. This is not a joke.


Admin replied:
Thank you for your interest. I think we should discuss this publicly

Dec 4, 2011

An easy way to recognize Wirtland

There are many ways to attract people's attention to Wirtland. Recognition is one of them. It sounds official, but in fact you do not need to be General Secretary of United Nations, or a president of some country, to recognize Wirtland. There is a very simple way to recognize our country. Almost every webmaster and owner of internet resource can do that.

When you register yourself at various internet services, you often need to select your country from a drop-down list. So, I am talking about inclusion of Wirtland into such drop-down country list. This can be done very easily by a small change in the coding. Some websites have done that already for Wirtland. The latest example is Slovenian resource (see picture).

For Wirtland, this is important. And for the websites this is useful, too, because of marketing effect. "Our site recognizes virtual country" - is a slogan which helps to stand out, and may draw new clients. So, a small change in coding is well worth the effort.

Dec 1, 2011

Wirtland enters the Farsi Wikipedia

Do you speak Farsi? The Farsi version of Wikipedia now has an article on Wirtland. Farsi, or Iranian, has become the 9th language in which Wikipedia articles on Wirtland are available. Wikipedia's coverage of Wirtland is growing steadily. The first article on Wirtland appeared in Bulgarian Wiki, soon followed by English, Spanish, Russian and other language versions.

Nov 28, 2011

Wirtland article in Russian weekly

The November issue of Russian newspaper F5 features a large article about Wirtland. F5 is a full-colour printed weekly focusing on Russian-language internet. One-page article by Kirill Alekhin from newspaper's Subculture Section starts with phrase: "They are not satisfied with reality, they want to live in another world, in a different state...". Here are the links to full text of article in PDF and in JPG. Plain-text version can be found here. Comments by Russian-reading witizens are welcome!

Nov 26, 2011

Wirtland Offers Web Hosting Service

Citizens of Wirtland opened a business, which seems a logical choice for cybercountry: re-selling web hosting. Wirtland Hosting Service (WHS) is a company registered in Wirtland. As one of official businesses of Wirtland, WHS bears the Wirtland Quality Certificate. The new site can be found here.
Hosting plans by WHS with unlimited disk space start from $2.99/month (€2.26/month)

Nov 4, 2011

Wirtland on Slovenian Television


Today Wirtland appeared in television news broadcast in Slovenia. This is the video from today's news on Sponka television channel, covering Wirtland. The text can be found at Novice: Sponka TV. Wirtland greets all Slovenian-speaking people, and today Slovenian Club was opened at Wirtland.net.

Slovenia is the third country of the world which covered Wirtland in television news. In the past, American FOX News broadcasted the interview with Larry Fiorino on Wirtland (see clip here) and Bulgarian National BTV Channel organized a live interview with several witizens (see clip here).

Oct 27, 2011

Show Wirtland Identity With Style: Accessories With Embroidery

An elegant way to demonstrate your Witizen identity is wearing Wirtland's merchandise. Apart from traditional T-shirts and mugs, our two online shops offer a choice of items for winter season. Quality embroidery adds a touch of style to items such as lady's bags, polo shirts or winter pullovers. As always, you may customize your item by adding your own text, changing color and style.













Check other items in Witizen Gift Company and Wirtland Design. And your new designs and ideas are always welcome!