YAMO

Intermicronational organisations named the United Micronations are often called YAMOs; pictured is the logo of a 2008 iteration

YAMO is an acronym and disparaging (derogatory) epithet for the phrase "yet another micronational organisation"—that is, broadly, an intermicronational organisation that serves no useful purpose. Among the most widely-known slang within micronationalism, the origin of the acronym is unknown, but a micronational dictionary from circa 24 April 2001 claims it was coined by "at least 1998". A number of similar acronyms have also been coined to further ridicule different aspects of the intermicronational community: such as YAMUN for "yet another micronational United Nations" in reference to the number of intermicronational organisations founded in emulation of the macronational United Nations some called the United Micronations, or YAMD(S) for "yet another micronational discord (server)" in reference to the number of intermicronational discord server groups being created.

History

YAMO is among the most widely-known slang within the intermicronational community, but its origin is obscure. A glossary of micronational terms—the earliest dictionary of micronational parlance created before 24 April 2001—included YAMO as a derogatory phrase, and claimed without attribution that it was coined by "at least 1998". Its entry states YAMO is "often used to describe newly-founded supra-micronational organisations, in recognition of the tendency for micronationalism to produce a plethora of would-be "micronational UNs", none of which are fundamentally better than any other, and none of which have significant effect on the micronational community."

According to micropatriologist Zabëlle Skye, YAMO may not have been used by the micronational community on Usenet nor by the prominent League of Secessionist States, both of which are ubiquitous in the late 1990s and early 2000s. YAMO appears in the MicroWiki sector by 2009. The Organisation of Active Micronations's Micronational Dictionary added YAMO on 30 November 2009, the same day the dictionary was created. Secretary-General of the intermicronational organisation Gordon Freeman—also known as Philip Fish—contributed the definition to the dictionary and defined YAMO as "a derogatory term to describe intermicronational organisations that are founded and merely duplicate the work of other similar organisations."

The YAMO Federation is a satirical organisation founded at MicroCon 2019 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on 21 July with the stated goal to "try to find out why almost all micronational organisations fail or dissolve quickly." YAMO was added to the Institute of Micropatriological Research's Micronational Dictionary, first published on 18 October 2022. The third paperback edition, released on 11 August 2023, defines it as "An intermicronational organisation that serves no purpose"; "an inexperienced or unprofessional intermicronational organisation, typically short-lived and with no noteworthy accomplishments" and lastly "a general insult for an intermicronational organisation."

Usage

Entries for YAM- and YAMO in the Micronational Dictionary (third edition)

YAMO is among the most widely-known slang within the intermicronational community, including MicroWiki, Facebook, micronationalist Twitter, r/micronations and the Discord sector. It is commonly used as a general insult for an intermicronational organisation, though it has multiple critical connotations such as serving no useful purpose—often by attempting to fill the role served by an already extant organisation—failing to perform an intended purpose, being operated by inexperienced or incompetent leaders, and being unstable, short-lived or inactive. YAMO is often used pleonastically, as in "yet another YAMO" or "the United Micronations is a YAMO".

Related phrases

The use of YAMO has spawned several related, albeit none as popular, specific phrases beginning with yet another micronational (YAM-) that disparage the creation of projects which have failed in the past, usually by inexperienced micronationalists. One example is YAMUN—"yet another micronational United Nations"—Referring to the number of intermicronational organisations founded in emulation of the macronational United Nations, many of which attempt to consolidate the existence of an "intermicronational law".

See also

• One man nation