Big Bad Badger

Congrats to all the appointments, well deserved IMO

I do not wish to hear people say in these halls "don't bother, we got it" (paraphrased).
 
I want these halls to be where people can speak their mind, defend their positions, and try to persuade each other to build a better TWP.
 
I will not foster an environment where there's a have not and haves. 
 
Not happening while I'm still Advocate. This conversation should continue.
 
Here are my thoughts on impeachment. In general, I don't like impeachment proceedings. I am really concerned that URA is continuing to make mistake after mistake after mistake. 
 
The most recent issue I have is the ejection of Eli. It appears on the surface petty, childish, and perhaps most importantly impulsive. Moves like this tear a region apart and do not build the region. 
 
I'm willing to hear URA on this but it's seems very, very, very, repeat, very dubious.

I am completely disgusted with the behavior and decorum of members of the old and new guard.
If this is how we treat each other I'm appalled. We are better than this!
Will the adults in the room, please take control of the situation and get our offsite government rolling. Lastly, will the children and various shit stirrers please take it to private message or TG!
This sort of behavior will drive away every new person and many active members.
Remember the goal is to create more activity in the offsite forum.

So sorry to see this, Eli.  Your Mom and Dad are back together, if you believe in that sort of thing.
This game is the height of stupidity when compared to RL tragedy.  Please take all the time you need.  We will all be here afterward, probably having the same stupid arguments.

I am completely disgusted with the behavior and decorum of members of the old and new guard.
If this is how we treat each other I'm appalled. We are better than this!
Will the adults in the room, please take control of the situation and get our offsite government rolling. Lastly, will the children and various shit stirrers please take it to private message or TG!
This sort of behavior will drive away every new person and many active members.
Remember the goal is to create more activity in the offsite forum.

I am completely disgusted with the behavior and decorum of members of the old and new guard.
If this is how we treat each other I'm appalled. We are better than this!
Will the adults in the room, please take control of the situation and get our offsite government rolling. Lastly, will the children and various shit stirrers please take it to private message or TG!
This sort of behavior will drive away every new person and many active members.
Remember the goal is to create more activity in the offsite forum.

It's because he's a member of the NPO.

This thread can be used to discuss the changes we need to make to the Voice.  Here is my list of things the Voice should incorporate now that we have returned normality.  This is supposed to get discussion going, and is by no means final.  Bear with me.
 
I would like to put this excerpt from the Delegate’s proposal somewhere in the Charter because it clears any possible confusion over how the lawmaking starts.
​"​LAWMAKING: Each and all members of the voice can make law proposals that will govern and limit the actions of the off-site community (no law shall pertain the in-game aspect); this laws can be discussed freely by all members of the voice and the delegacy, as moderated by the Advocate and its deputies.​" The Voice needs to actually create laws about its procedure, otherwise nothing will get off the ground.
 
I’ve had this idea for a while and never really put it out there, but this could be a good tool for increasing activity.
New Nation Affairs Ministry: It would be the task of this ministry to provide a centralized location for all help links, extra help material beyond what already exists, and answers other questions that may be asked. This ministry would not be just for the newbs, of course.  Anyone could come here to ask a question about the game or the forums, so a different name may be appropriate in that sense.  It could utilize in-game mechanics such as the RMB and telegrams to get the word out. If it was included in the WFE and welcome telegram, then it could increase traffic to and draw in more new nations to take part in the forums.  
This line of the Charter needs to be changed.  Currently it doesn’t specify how the Voice can remove appointed officials other than the Advocate.
(11) The Voice may, by two-thirds majority vote, dismiss any official appointed by the Advocate from office.  
To simplify the application process instead of using threads and such to say what positions are up for grabs.  Also changing the way DAs are chosen.
Applications would to an "Application Officer of the Voice" who would handle the application procedure with the Voice, then they went to the Voice itself to see which one's passed there, and finally to the Advocate for the final choice.  Or perhaps to the Advocate first and then to the Voice in more of an appointment and confirmation style setup. The Application Officer would simply receive the applications by a set deadline, then report them to the Voice or whoever for a vote.  This simply makes it more formal and a little simpler for the layman to understand.  
To combat a potential inactive Advocate:
A council with rotating (active) members along with the DAs and Advocate would run the day to day tasks of the Voice, while the whole Voice would be used for legislative purposes. Also, in the case of an inactive member in a leadership position, there could be an "Inactive Vote" where 2/3 of the Voice votes to replace said official with an interim replacement, and then another vote ending the replacementship (there's a better word for that, I just can't think of it).  
Overall, in order to promote ease of access to the Voice, there should be as few grey areas as possible as well as explanations of how things work so there is as little confusion as possible.
 
 
 

In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary, come again?
I'm in!

This right here is why I would have love URAP to give me a heads up. I would have never, repeat never, gotten TWP's NS embassy restarted had I known this was coming. Utter waste of time and makes me look pretty foolish.
 
I don't like to waste my time. 
 
Piling on Vlagh is the misdirection. As I said before, I don't really care enough to try to discern if he has ulterior motives. It takes a lot of brainpower and i don't think he's the source of the problem. 
 
The problem that we have is our offsite forum's activity levels are light years below what they are on the in-game site. As the offsite oligarchs  - and yes we're the oligarchs - we have constantly sought ways to make the offsite forum more active because we think that the game should have an offsite forum and that it should be active.
 
As I stated months ago, why don't we try to change the whole paradigm and do away with  the offsite government dichotomy and do something different. Let's have the government be in-game and have the delegate establish whatever he/she/it wants it to be as delegates change. If we want to use this forum great, and if we only want to use this forum for limited things that's great too.
 
I think our constant reboot of forum governments is akin to a leopard trying to change it's spots and become something it isn't. We are a Karaoke Friday, Chocolate Loving, Marsupial hating, region and we don't need to be like TP, TNP, TEP, or anyone else. We just need to be comfortable enough in our own skin to realize the offsite may never be what the onsite is. But our onsite activity and TWP-ness is pretty da-- good.
 
So I say let's just let go of trying to fit a square peg in a circular hole and build our government at the delegate's direction on the onsite forum. Let's be the leopard and accept, no embrace, our spots. 

The return of Brick Top?

I like these ideas better. But perhaps something less bureaucractic sounding.
Here are some synonyms of guardian: attendant, baby-sitter, bird dog, cerberus, champion, chaperon, chaperone, conservator, cop, curator, custodian, defender, escort, guard, keeper, nurse, overseer, paladin, patrol, preserver, safeguard, sentinel, shepherd, sitter, sponsor, superintendent, supervisor, trustee, vigilante, warden, watchdog
Maybe even different names for the different positions like: Warden of the military. Sentinel of standards, Preserver of Culture.

Russo, I've been with you all along trusting your decisions and discretion.  You have a tough and at times thankless position that requires thought in avenues that most of us will never understand.  And you've handled yourself with wisdom and honor.  However, this role Vlagh is playing does not sound like something we would do in TWP.  Its ominous and puts a spectre around our offsite government that quite frankly breeds distrust, secrecy, and puts people off in a way that was the very problem last week.  I implore you to reconsider.  A reset because you don't like the way things are going is not the response we need in TWP!  We need open transparent decision making to put the people in position to be active participants in a flourishing government.

Russo, I've been with you all along trusting your decisions and discretion.  You have a tough and at times thankless position that requires thought in avenues that most of us will never understand.  And you've handled yourself with wisdom and honor.  However, this role Vlagh is playing does not sound like something we would do in TWP.  Its ominous and puts a spectre around our offsite government that quite frankly breeds distrust, secrecy, and puts people off in a way that was the very problem last week.  I implore you to reconsider.  A reset because you don't like the way things are going is not the response we need in TWP!  We need open transparent decision making to put the people in position to be active participants in a flourishing government.

Good input, thanks for taking the time to think that out. I won't address your points specifically, but I think the current crowd of regulars will.
 
I will offer one piece of feedback to your post, though. When it comes to fixing (recurrent) inactivity, I think you need to start with yourself. Every citizen should ask, "What do I want to do in TWP's government?" TWP's scenery has changed entirely this year - there are new Guardians, and even more new leaders - but fundamental issues such as productivity haven't changed as drastically. There have been ups and downs. In order to have success in that realm consistently, I still think the region needs to:
 
Figure out its goal: What is the end-goal for TWP? I don't mean "transparent government" or "elections", but rather, what constitutes a successful government? What is the goal of TWP's government? Is it to provide a service for the community? To achieve international power? If your goal is left ambigious, you'll never achieve it, because you won't know what you're trying to accomplish. And if your goal doesn't naturally energize people, you'll get no momentum. Take inventory of its resources: Round up people in this community and pose them these questions. What do you enjoy doing in NationStates? In TWP? What skills do you possess? Are you willing to take ownership of an aspect of TWP and lead it with vision? What direction would you ideally like to see TWP go? What are the things about TWP you would not want to see changed? Apply the information to a gameplan for pursuing its goal: Numbers 1-3 all work together in helping develop an efficient civil service. Number 1, 4, and 5 help you figure out what the interests you're dealing with are. If your goal is vibrant regional culture and bountiful activity, you need to make your decisions in an economic matter. Knowing interests is a part of that. Look at the cost each choice you make moving forward will have on your resources. The most important resources in NS are people's energy, people's skills, people's loyalties (not just to TWP, but to concepts, e.g. supremacy of the in-game mechanics, open citizenship, anything), and headcounts. Try something and remember that your goal doesn't need to be 100% achievable, so as long as it is 100% pursuable.  
¢¢

Welcome!

To be perfectly frank, the government should involve everyone in a positive manner.  Currently, not everyone is as involved as they might like to be, and some of us feel underrepresented.  This can be anyone's fault, everyone's fault, or no one's fault.  That doesn't matter.  We can point fingers all day and it will get us nowhere.  Some say that the current leadership should be more accommodating, open, and active.  Others say that everyone else should have been doing more.  In reality, it was probably a bit of both, plus some other assorted reasons.  We should get to the meat and potatoes of what was fundamentally wrong with the last government, and try to fix it.
 
These are some of the things I believe the government should incorporate:
Having no requirements to be in the legislature (or to be a citizen). Having few appointments, and as many elections as possible, which can help get new people in leadership. Having a more transparent government. Having as few grey areas as possible with explanations of how things work so there is as little confusion as possible. Utilizing a massive recruitment operation to bring in more members. Being friendly towards everyone, and answering all questions without condescension. A completely independent forum government. Having a government formed by the people, not forced upon them by a select few.

With all due respect, Ele, please don't rush to conclusions — especially when these conclusions come down to a negative comment in all-caps. And when these conclusions don't (and cannot) take into account pieces of communication that have been exchanged in private, via TG's in NS and messages here:
Like e.g. the fact that I was told 13 days ago by URA that there are governmental changes eminent (after a rather long period of radio silence from TWP leadership to a message of mine regarding things getting stale in the military area, along with questions/proposals). After that, I obviously decided to wait and see what'll happen, before making any further specific suggestions. Or like the fact that we Ambassadors had made it clear (in the relevant thread here) that it's not a good sign towards other regions when we don't issue Updates, but we were once again told to wait for newer developments. Or like the fact that I personally started a thread here about nations' languages, and Hariko another one regarding factbooks, with the explicit intent to boost new-nations retention and participation. Or like the fact that, 16 days ago, puzzled by URA's initiative to ask about a flag change before (and without) linking such an idea to some specific and substantial change of course (or something similar) in TWP, I wrote: "[...] If the 'new era' is a chocolate cake then the new flag is the cherries on top of it. And what I mean by this is that we first need the important part (the chocolate cake), with a clear and straightforward declaration about it that will unite us all (and this is key!), and then we can adorn and top it with a new flag representing the new era launch. First comes what we want to achieve (and why), then a regionwide consensus over the scope and the means, and finally the tools. A new scenery and flag is a tool. If it helps in uniting the region and our achieving the goal, then it is good. Otherwise, it’s not. [...] There isn't a thread for this discussion in our offsite forums — and it should." https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=13432325 Or like the fact that, before we had the chance to get a feeling of HOW things work around here, so that we can think of better and improved ways WITHIN the established frame of TWP governance to suggest, PD announces that the whole Voice will be built from ground up — so, once again, the only way was to submit our candidacies and wait to be appointed (and to know who's been appointed in an area where we had ideas to offer). Or like the fact that we get a TG from URA 3½ days ago that one of the new Governors will be working with Reçu, and then just after that Reçu resigns.  
We, the newer active TWP members, had started participating in off-site activities (e.g. embassies, the military etc.), with the deeply-rooted, well-established and best-indented goal of getting first of feeling of what's happening around TWP (and of what's expected from us), and then to participate as well as bring feedback along with new ideas to the table. I'm in TWP since June 27, 2015 — therefore I know about TWP only what I've been experiencing these 69 days. I don't know who likes whom or what grudges might still be in the air. But I know extremely well that the latest lot of TWP actives is of exceptionally high quality. And that this lot can easily become discouraged and/or lost, if we keep receiving contradictory or unclear signals for our direction — because we ourselves cannot make TWP take off by pushing it on our own only; there's a pilot and the rest of the 'official' cabin crew, and we have to rest assured we don't push in vain. And we can only get the assurance that we don't push in vain, through the actions, decisions and guidance of this TWP 'flight crew'. And this flight crew should by no means transfer their own responsibilities on our backs.
 
@URA, again with all due respect: Announce a time and date when the new TWP governance scheme assignments will be officially announced, and when assumed. If you lack one or more positions, move on with the ones you've got now, and fill in the blanks later down the track. Prove to us that Mal's most accurate comment will be no longer a reality, and that the WP leadership is all ears from now on.

Our ideas would have been expressed earlier, if we had been asked earlier.

I agree with Dark and Drach.
Furthermore,Hari was a great example. He was active on the forum, playing games. But it takes more. We need al of the leadership on. The past few days are a great example. The clubhouse section has been booming.
Recruitment takes time, but a concerted, enthuiastic effort will be successful.
It starts with those of us active now! Let's grow this thing. Let's have fun and build something we can be proud of!

I agree with Dark and Drach.
Furthermore,Hari was a great example. He was active on the forum, playing games. But it takes more. We need al of the leadership on. The past few days are a great example. The clubhouse section has been booming.
Recruitment takes time, but a concerted, enthuiastic effort will be successful.
It starts with those of us active now! Let's grow this thing. Let's have fun and build something we can be proud of!

I agree with Dark and Drach.
Furthermore,Hari was a great example. He was active on the forum, playing games. But it takes more. We need al of the leadership on. The past few days are a great example. The clubhouse section has been booming.
Recruitment takes time, but a concerted, enthuiastic effort will be successful.
It starts with those of us active now! Let's grow this thing. Let's have fun and build something we can be proud of!

Everyone is talking about inactivity, meanwhile this hasn't been updated since the beginning of July.  Is there a reason for that?  It seems counterproductive to bar new members from joining because of a thread that needs updating (unless it was deliberate, I can't say which).  If anyone can join, then why even have a separate subforum for the Voice? That only serves to drive people away.  Transparency is the best option to bring in the numbers.

IMHO it's of paramount importance to increase retention of newly-founded nations.
One step at a time: first retention, then participation (of natives), then attraction (of outsiders).
It's our duty to fight the delusion that recruiTGs cultivate to the average new user that a UCR can be superior to TWP.

It's not as hard as it is in the summer, Hariko. I promise. An organized, persistently cheerful effort always works.