Metagaming

Metagaming is a concept in roleplay in which the fourth wall is accidentally broken when characters profess knowledge of things only the player controlling them could know. For instance, if a character begins to talk of another nation's secret plans, even though there's no way they could have found them out. This is considered a breach of etiquette by many players, who would prefer that nations and leaders not be given unfair advantages in games of war or intrigue.

The World Assembly bans this type of play in General Assembly legislating; for example, proposals can't cite (or even hint at) regions or other aspects of gameplay, as there's no possible way the in-character assembly could know about those things. Such references, however, are fine according to the Security Council, which thrives on addressing regional issues and other aspects of gameplay politics - however, overt references to NationStates as a game are still not OK in the SC.