Max Barry

Max Barry (born 18 March 1973) is the creator of NationStates. An Australian author and blogger whose novels include Syrup and Company, Barry originally conceived of his online nation-simulation game as a promotion for his 2003 book, Jennifer Government. His first NS nation was Maxtopia, which he eventually killed off. His current NS identity is a well-kept secret, though theories persist that Max is the player behind nations such as Testlandia and others. (Barry lodged this news post for Christmas 2009 to play up the theory that Testlandia is his.) He makes occasional appearances in daily issues; for instance, "Max Barry" has been crowned the winner of coed beauty pageants in countless NS nations.

A 2007 NSUN resolution sought to honor Barry's legacy by declaring March 18 "Max Barry Day," though even moderators said the proposal violated proposal rules and should have been deleted. It passed, and was repealed 10 days later.