Ideas for improvements and/or other suggestions are welcome.

Guide begins in the next box (v1.01):

1. Introduction

   Nationstates has a quaint halloween tradition.
   A zombie apocalypse.
   This is bad. Really bad.

   Can we do anything against this threat most foul?
   Of course!
   But we need YOUR help.
   With this simple guide, written by the most charismatic, intelligent and maginamous Alekseandrea, you will be a guaranteed 75% safe from the hordes!

2. Before the Apocalypse

   Here follows one of the most important steps in your fight against the undead threat:
   Make sure you know when it starts!
   Do you need knowledge of arcane and eldritch lore to know when the end has arrived?
   Of course not!
   The start is posted in the "Nationstates News".
   This is easily accessed through the left menu of the default nationstates layout.
   Click on the news-icon in the right lower corner of this menu and you'll find yourself on the "Nationstates News"-page.[1]
   Here one can find all the information one needs about the starting date and hour of the undead threat.
   Convenient, is it not?

   It's also wise to check the end time. One can also find this information on the "Nationstates News"-page.

3. The dawn of anti-zombie measures

   By now, you should know when the zombies appear and when they're gone.
   Thus, in this section we'll discuss what to do FIRST when you find yourself inside a zombified world.
   Follow the steps below. Start from 1 and perform them in the right order.

   1. Perform step 2 as soon as possible. The later you perform this action, the less impact your efforts will make.

   2. Go to your own nation's page. Click on the biohazard sign under your nations name, you should find it below your "political freedom"-indicator.[2]
      You should be in the "exterminate/cure/embrace"-option screen. Choose the cure option. Ignore the other 2 options.[3]

   3. Ask on the RMB to be cured.[4]

   4. Wait until your cure missiles are ready. (This takes a while, first the cure needs to be researched [5], then your missiles need to be ready [6])

   5. Start curing. (More information about the how and whom are found inside the next section "That's no nuke, it's a curing missile!".)
      

4. That's no nuke, it's a curing missile!

   Your cure missiles are ready. What will you do now?
   The answer is simple: Cure others.[7]

   If you still have zombies ask the others to cure you first.[8]
   This should put your nation on the "to cure" list.

   • How to cure a target?

     You simply go to the nation's page.
     Here you should be able to easily find a "launch cure missile"-button.[9] Click it.

     This should trigger a cooldown.
     If this cooldown ends, click the "launch cure missile"-button again.
     Repeat the 2 previous steps until the nation has no more zombies [10] left.

     If you followed these steps correctly, you just cured a nation.[11]

     You might have been wondering something: Who should I cure?
     Read below for more information:

   • What nation should I cure?

     To simplify things, we divide the "infected" groups in several categories.
     The high-priority [12] groups come first, the lower the priority, the lower they are on the list:

     1. Nations who are busy curing others or are going to cure others.[13]

     2. Nations exterminating the zombies.[16]

     3. Nations with large populations. Start with the largest population.[14]

     4. Nations who are only nagging on the RMB.[15]

     5. Nations who embraced the zombies.[16]
        

   • How do I recognise whether a nation is curing, killing, embracing or doing nothing?

     This is quite simple. One simply looks on the nation's page. When the nation is doing something[17], it will be mentioned in their description and shown by a pictogram besides their name.

   • Curing in groups

     It is advisable to cure in groups focusing on the same nation.
     Why?
     It's faster and less tedious.[18]

     How do you know which nations are currently being cured?

     Normally lists or status updates should be posted in the RMB.
     Check those.

     If none of those can be found, try looking on older pages of the RMB.

     If this turns up nothing, you simply make your own lists or status updates and post those in the RMB.[19]
     Use the priority list above as a guideline.
     The other curers will be grateful.

5. The end of zombie-filled days

   If all zombies in Spiritus have been cured, there is no reason to further fire cure missiles.
   You could go help other regions.
   But who cares about those?[20]

6. Frequently asked questions

   • What is the most efficient way to start curing?
     Read the guide. Follow the guidelines.

   • Whom do we cure first?
     See "4. That's no nuke, it's a curing missile!".

   • Why can't I fire cure missiles?
     If you haven't researched the cure, you can get no curing missiles. If you did, wait. They take a while to be build.

   • I can only do *insert something that's not curing* should I do it?
     No.

   • Waah , I'm overrun by zombies help!
     Notify the others on the RMB. Start curing others if you can.

   • Do you actually know what your talking about?
     It isn't rocket science. It's more like economics. Perform the right rituals and everything will be fine.

   • I don't like *insert nation name here* can't I send some zombies his/her way?
     No.

   • I don't get it.
     Read the guide.

   • Who's Mr. Nibbles?
     Some say he's the mastermind plotting Alekseandrea's every move. Others claim he's my cat.
     Both, one or neither might be true.

   • Is Salaxalans really an evil, alien, brainwashing overlord?
     ...

   • I don't understand certain words.
     Online dictionaries.

   • Why are we only allowed to cure people?
     Spiritus aims to have as many survivors as possible.
     Zombies become survivors when they're cured.
     Exterminating kills zombies really dead.[21]
     We don't want that.

   • Can I add potatoes to the payload of my cure missiles?
     If you don't break any WA laws, yes.

   • I want to adapt your super-awesome guide for my own region!
     This is an original guide. Do not steal.
     You are allowed to use parts of it if you mention it was based on my guide.
     

[1]For cellphone users: simply open your menu by clicking the button in the left-upper corner and scroll down untill you see the news option. Then click it.

[2]For cellphone users: It might be a bit more to the right. I didn't check.

[3]For those wishing to chose options that aren't cure: Go to a different region.

[4]ONLY do this when you're late to the Apocalypse. The others ALSO need to research cure missiles!

[5]This researches automatically. Don't worry about it. The missiles will be researched when the first prototype is ready.

[6]You can see the progress in your "exterminate/cure/embrace"-option screen.

[7]Sadly, it's impossible to use cure missiles on yourself.

[8]Use the RMB. You could try the Spiritus's fora or IRC-channel, but less people seem to be able to use those for some reason.

[9]Only click when it is a CURE button. Exterminating zombies or sending waves of zombies might lead to being kicked out of Spiritus. So don't.

[10]As in exactly 0 zombies. Exactly 0.

[11]Impressive, most impressive.

[12]High-priority means "cure them first".

[13]The less zombies you have in your nation, the more effective your cure missiles will be.

[14]You can find those through the Spiritus-page. Look for "Today's World Census Report". Change the bar right of this title to population and click on go. You should see a list with the nations in Spiritus ranked from high populations to low populations.

[15]They're annoying.

[16]Apparently we're too subtle. ONLY CURE. NO EMBRACING. NO EXTERMINATING.

[17]Doing something as in curing, killing or exterminating.

[18]Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

[19]For more information on how to properly link to another nation in a RMB-post, follow this link:

NationStates BBCode Guide

by Galvin islands

These BBCode-like tags can be used in Dispatches, Telegrams, Regional Message Board (RMB) posts, Regional World Factbook Entries (WFEs), and World Assembly proposals. Not all tags are valid for all message types: see below.

Bold, Italic, Underline
Valid: Everywhere
Tags: b, i, u

I [b]really[/b] like text that [i]makes a point[/i], you [u]know[/u]?

I really like text that makes a point, you know?

Nation, Region
Valid: Everywhere
Tags: nation, region
Options: short, noflag, noname

I am [nation]Testlandia[/nation]. Or [nation=short]Testlandia[/nation] for short. But you can simply call me [nation=short+noflag]Testlandia[/nation].

I am Testlandia. Or Testlandia for short. But you can simply call me Testlandia.

[region]The Pacific[/region] was the very first region in the world.

The Pacific was the very first region in the world.

World Assembly Proposal
Valid: Everywhere
Tag: proposal
Option: proposal ID

Please support [proposal=separatist_peoples_1416233457]my proposal[/proposal]!

Please support my proposal!

World Assembly Resolution
Valid: Everywhere
Tag: resolution
Option: council ID (GA, SC, or UN)#resolution ID

The foundation of modern WA legislation is [resolution=GA#2]the Rights and Duties law[/resolution].

The foundation of modern WA legislation is the Rights and Duties law.

Spoiler
Valid: Everywhere
Tag: spoiler
Options: text to display on button

[spoiler]Surprise![/spoiler]

Click to show...

Surprise!

[spoiler=Try this one, too!]Boo!![/spoiler]

Try this one, too!

Boo!!

Link
Valid for nationstates.net links: Everywhere
Valid for other sites: Dispatches, WFEs
Tag: url
Options: URL

Did you know the guy who wrote NationStates is [url=http://maxbarry.com]Max Barry[/url]?

Did you know the guy who wrote NationStates is Max Barry?

A lot of people live in [url=http://forum.nationstates.net/]the forums[/url]!

A lot of people live in the forums!

You can actually omit the [url] tag for full URLs, like this: http://www.nationstates.net/page=faq

You can actually omit the [url] tag for full URLs, like this: page=faq.

But it's usually most helpful to provide descriptive text, so people know [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=faq]this link leads to the FAQ[/url].

But it's usually most helpful to provide descriptive text, so people know this link leads to the FAQ.

List
Valid: Everywhere
Tags: list, *
Options: 1, a, i, A, I

[list][*]One
[*]Two
[*]Three[/list]

• One

• Two

• Three

[list=1][*]A more complicated list, which contains a nested list:
[list=i][*]"1" is 1, 2, 3...
[*]"i" is i, ii, iii...
[*]"a" is a, b, c...[/list]
[*]And the above can be capitalized, for A, B, C... and I, II, III...[/list]

1. A more complicated list, which contains a nested list:

   1. "1" is 1, 2, 3...

   2. "i" is i, ii, iii...

   3. "a" is a, b, c...

2. And the above can be capitalized, for A, B, C... and I, II, III...

Unformatted text
Valid: Everywhere
Tag: pre

[pre]You bold like [b]this[/b]![/pre]

You bold like [b]this[/b]!

Color
Valid: Dispatches, WFEs
Tag: color
Alternative name: colour
Options: name or hexidecimal code of color

I [color=red]love[/color] a little [colour=#FF9900]color[/colour].

I love a little color.

Quote
Valid: RMBs
Tag: quote
Options: name of author;post ID

[quote=testlandia;4970610]It's an outrage![/quote]

Testlandia wrote:

It's an outrage!

Background color
Valid: Dispatches
Tags: background, background-block
Options: name or hexidecimal code of color

Backgrounds can be applied to [background=yellow]highlight a few words[/background].

Backgrounds can be applied to highlight a few words.

[background-block=yellow]Backgrounds can also be applied at the paragraph level, which is especially noticeable...

...when it flows over multiple lines.[/background-block]

Backgrounds can also be applied at the paragraph level, which is especially noticeable...

...when it flows over multiple lines.

Font
Valid: Dispatches
Tag: font
Options: name of font(s), in order of preference

[font=Courier]What a beautiful font![/font]

What a beautiful font!

[font=Times New Roman, Arial, sans]What a beautiful font![/font]

What a beautiful font!

Alignment
Valid: Dispatches
Tag: align
Alternative names: center, centre
Options: left, right, center, justify

[align=center]Centered text.[/align]

Centered text.

[align=right]Right-justified text.[/align]

Right-justified text.

[centre]This is also centred, especially if you're British.[/centre]

This is also centred, especially if you're British.

Image
Valid: Dispatches
Tag: img

[img]http://www.nationstates.net/images/foot_jg.png[/img]

Float
Valid: Dispatches
Tag: float
Options: left, right

[float=right][img]http://www.nationstates.net/images/foot_jg.png[/img][/float]
[float=left][img]http://www.nationstates.net/images/foot_jg.png[/img][/float]
Images float on either side of this text.

Images float on either side of this text.

Box
Valid: Dispatches
Tag: box

[box]A pretty box.[/box]

(You're looking at it. Sadly, boxes cannot contain other boxes.)

Indent
Valid: Dispatches
Tag: tab
Option: number of pixels to indent

[tab=100]Some indented text[/tab].

Some indented text.

Anchor
Valid: Dispatches
Tag: anchor
Option: name of anchor

[anchor=JUMPHERE][/anchor]Useful for tables of contents.
Jump to [url=/page=dispatch/id=330837#JUMPHERE]my anchor[/url].

Useful for tables of contents.
Jump to my anchor.

Table
Valid: Dispatches
Tags: table, tr (table row), td (table cell)

[table][tr][td]A table's first row looks different[/td][td]Next cell[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Second row[/td][td]Next cell[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Third row[/td][td]Next cell[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Fourth row, which goes on at some length about nothing. It also has a line break in it. Here it comes. Ready? Okay!! Here it is!!
See?[/td][td]Next cell[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Hovering over a row highlights it[/td][td]Not bad, eh?[/td][/tr]
[/table]

A table's first row looks different	Next cell
Second row	Next cell
Third row	Next cell
Fourth row, which goes on at some length about nothing. It also has a line break in it. Here it comes. Ready? Okay!! Here it is!! See?	Next cell
Hovering over a row highlights it	Not bad, eh?

Read dispatch

[20]This is a rethorical question any answers will be ignored. Also no questions about this statement will be answered. You have been warned.

[21]Shocker. Didn't see that coming.

v1.01 changelog:
-minor corrections
-added "How do I recognise whether a nation is curing, killing, embracing or doing nothing?"
-added FAQs
-updated footnotes
-improved layout