Fujai

Yes, we are, but we aren't a massive bureaucracy like some of the others. I feel like it's more of a "piece of paper that gets the job done" than "this is a statement of all that we are and all that we hold dear" kind of thing.
Interesting that the name is the most contentious part of it.

I personally believe it would sounds better if we called it "The Ministry of xyz", versus "The xyz Ministry".
i.e. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Minister of Foreign Affairs; The Ministry of Military Affairs, The Minister of Military Affiars

I think I've got the title. This was given to me by Aelitia, the Delegate of The East Pacific.
The Manners of Governance of The West Pacific or The Manners for short. It has an official ring to it. And describes the document as it is more of a statement of government rather than a codified set of laws that you would find in a charter or constitution.

And I was going more for charter precisely because it was less formal. 

And I was going more for charter precisely because it was less formal. 

I think charter might be a technically better word, and if I remember right that's what we called the last one too, but constitution gets the job done just as well, so it probably doesn't make much difference.

A side note, but do you think the Ministers/Speaker would have communications or poll authority?

I think I'll stick to non-animated flags for now, and just point people in the right directions, being the obvious traditionalist that I am.

My nationality is American, born in Chicago, raised in Wisconsin. Ethnicity is more complicated. My mom is 100% German, and my dad has some German as well, but there's also French (via Canada), English (via New England and Canada in the 1600s), some Scottish, and a tiny slice of Polish.  I have an ancestor, Peter Ingersoll, who was a Captain in the Continental Army and also owned an inn in Great Barrington, MA. I don't remember the name of it though.

The first part could be done by a "Proposal Of No Confidence". Simple majority to be sent to the Delegate for a decision.
Same for new Ministries: A "Proposal To Create The Ministry Of Xxxxx". Same as before (majority sent to Delegate).

Here is the latest draft of the potential governmental document (needs a name).  The purpose of this document is to put into writing the governmental workings of TWP.  It is also to expand the ministries, create a legislative branch and bring electable positions to the government.  I'm hoping that it will spur activity and give an opportunity for new blood to take an interest and work in TWP.  Let me know what you think, this is the first public draft:
Preamble
 
We, the nations of The West Pacific, heartily believe in the supremacy of the Delegacy and in-game mechanics of the region. We believe that the residents of the region determine the Delegate through daily endorsements. The Delegate will exercise in-game power as they see fit.
 
Delegate and Guardians
 
1. The Delegate of The West Pacific has all sovereign authority over the in-game region and the off-site government of The West Pacific and shall have final say on all relevant decisions. The Delegate shall select their successor at a time of their choosing.
 
2. The Delegate shall appoint nations from The West Pacific to serve as Guardians. Guardians shall maintain a high level of endorsements and influence in the region and will serve as protectors of The West Pacific against risks to the sovereignty and security of the region and maintain civility on the RMB and off-site properties. Guardians may resign at any time or the Delegate may eliminate, replace, or add to the number of Guardians as they see fit.
 
3. All interregional treaties will be negotiated and ratified by the Delegate and Guardians.
 
4. Guardians may be assigned other duties to serve the region as determined by the Delegate.
 
5. In the event of the Delegate ceasing to exist, resigning the position or giving away his nation to a third-party without previously having selected a successor, he will cease being recognized as the Delegate and a new Delegate will be chosen by the remaining Guardians.
 
Citizenry
 
1. All residents of The West Pacific will have the right to citizenship providing that they declare citizenship on the off-site forum and maintain a nation in The West Pacific. A citizen will be in good standing if they maintain citizenship and post at least once per month in the off-site forum.
 
2. Citizens, in good standing, will automatically be allowed entry into the Hall of Nations the governing body of The West Pacific.
 
Hall of Nations
 
1. All citizens will be allowed one vote in all governmental referenda and elections that are brought before the Hall of Nations.
 
2. The Hall will elect a Speaker who will represent the Hall of Nations in discussions with the Guardians or Delegate.
 
3. The Speaker will serve a three-month term.
 
4. All votes unless otherwise noted will be decided by a simple majority of voting nations. There will be a three-day public discussion thread on all voting. It will be followed by a three-day voting period. All elections will have a three-day standing period. The Speaker will moderate all votes unless they concern the Speaker, in which case a member from the Hall of Nations will be appointed to moderate the vote.
 
5. The Delegate may ask the Hall for opinions and votes on various NS related topics and events as they occur in the region. The Speaker may also bring legislation to vote in the Hall which may not infringe the rights and responsibilities of the Delegate or the Guardians as realized by the in-game mechanics and/or listed in this document.
 
Ministries
 
1. The Delegate will distribute governmental business as needed and it will be handled through various ministries.
 
2. The Delegate will appoint the leaders of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Military Affairs Ministry. These Delegate-appointed ministries will have a deputy minister that will be elected by the Hall of Nations.
 
3. All other ministries will be elected by the Hall of Nations. They will serve a four-month term. They may resign or be terminated by the Delegate before the end of their term. Ministers may serve unlimited terms.
 
4. Any minister may appoint assistants as needed to fulfill the duties of the position.
 
5. Foreign Affairs Ministry will be appointed by the Delegate. They will have an elected deputy minister that will assist in day-to-day operations of the Ambassadorial corp and report back to the Hall any news necessary. The Foreign Affairs Minister will manage the Ambassadorial corp and prepare monthly Foreign Affairs updates that will go out to embassies.
 
6. Military Affairs Minister will be appointed by the Delegate and will serve as the Commander of The West Pacific Armed Forces (TWPAF). They will engage in maintaining a force of soldiers along with recruiting and training new soldiers. The Commander is tasked with day-to-day field operations, and shall work with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Delegate to meet the needs of the region. The Commander will appoint soldiers into ranks appropriate for experience, service, and availability. A Sergeant-At-Arms will be elected by the Hall and will aid the Commander and inform the Hall of goings on in the military. Furthermore, the Sergeant-At-Arms will also work internally in The West Pacific to check for endorsement cap violators.
 
7. Recruitment and Retention Ministry will reach out to residents of The West Pacific to encourage them to become citizens, participate in the military, newspaper, ambassadorial corps, and other governmental activities. The office will keep statistics of citizenship and recruitment activities.
 
8. Internal Affairs Ministry will work to promote cultural and other West Pacifican activities to citizens and residents, and encourage participation in such activities. When an activity will be open to members of other regions, the Internal Affairs Minister will work with the Foreign Affairs Minister to promote those activities to other regions.  They will moderate the Role Play section of the off-site forum, appoint an editor for “The West Pacifican” newspaper, and gauge the interest of the citizenry of various events and run new events based on citizen interest.
 
9. World Assembly Affairs Ministry will maintain a presence in the on-site World Assembly forum and off-site TWP forum presenting relevant information to the citizens of The West Pacific. The WA Affairs Minister will be required to present their opinions on all GA and SA resolutions and poll residents to get suggestions as to how the Delegate should vote on resolutions.  This should be completed in the off-site forum before the proposal reaches the floor for voting in the WA.
 
Judicial
 
1. The Delegate and the Guardians may banject nations from The West Pacific for breaking on-site rules, for uncivilized behaviour in the region, for attempting to forcibly change or undermine the Delegacy, or for any other violation to The West Pacific way of life.  Any appeal of a Delegate and/or Guardian banjection decision must go through the Delegate and Guardian who exercised the decision.  The Code of Conduct of The West Pacific shall serve as a useful guide to the accepted behavior of members of The West Pacific; however, the Delegate and the Guardians discretion is not limited by this document.
 
2. If a citizen is banjected, appeal will go through the Guardian and the Speaker of the Hall of Nations. They will come to a consensus on the appeal.
 
3. All criminal and civil disputes which occur on the off-site forum of the region shall be arbitrated by a Tribunal comprised of the Delegate, a Guardian and the Speaker of the Hall of Nations.
 
4. A Criminal and Civil Code and other legislation shall be established by the Hall of Nations and approved by the Delegate to provide for laws for all properties owned, operated and recognized by the legal Delegate of The West Pacific. The Delegate shall work with the owners of the various off-site properties to assist with the day-to-day operations over the respective property.

I liked the idea of a Mental Health Awareness. The official month for it is May, and I think it's something that is increasingly prevalent, yet too often overlooked in society.

Perhaps The Weird Pacific could do with a completely nonsensical holiday that is in no way related to anything, such as Saint Deflurgenbergtoaster Day where we honor the accomplishments of Saint Deflurgenbergtoaster.
 
Saint Deflurgenbergtoaster is known for how he triumphantly rid his birth country of Ktildismibinijimistan of snails and cabbages by pouring tons of salt on them (we do not mention how this led to a great deal of trouble for farmers whose cabbage fields were now completely unfarmable, and the subsequent salt-shortage, and increased cost of snails and cabbages nationwide). He also invented the Two Slice Deflurgenbergtoaster Oven, or Toaster for short. He also invented the process of toasting, before him bread and bagels were either eaten cold or thoroughly burnt (it should also be mentioned that any toaster with a capacity for more than two slices of anything are works of the Devil, who is also Saint Deflurgenbergtoaster's evil twin). Seeing the famine and economic strife that his homeland suffered from (which were in no way a direct result of his own actions), Saint Deflurgenberg Toaster gave all of the profits from his Toaster back to his community, effectively ending homelessness and bringing about world peace for about 30 minutes. However, all the prophets from his Toaster led to a great deal of confusing and conflicting prophecies that the monks of Ktildisimibinijimistan are still trying to properly understand to this day. Saintdeflurgenbergtoaster tragically died in the middle of an outdoor karaoke party when he was ambushed and devoured by a pack of rabid snakes.

The proper actions for observing Saint Deflurgenbergtoaster Day (April 16th), otherwise known as The Feast of Saint Deflurgenbergtoaster as it takes place on the anniversary of this one time that Saint Deflurgenbergtoaster ate an entire jar of pickles in one sitting, are as follows:

- Eating toasted foods or otherwise using a two slice toaster.
 
-Admonishing those who use/own a toaster with a capacity for greater than two slices of bread.
 
-Pouring vast quantities of salt on things we dislike
 
-Giving alms to the poor
 
-Channeling the spiritual energy of toasters to create more prophecies to keep the monks of Ktildisimibinijimistan employed
 
-The especially devout may also honor Saint Deflurgenbergtoaster by commiting ritual suicide by sacrificing themselves to snakes.

This is just a rough idea though.

Personally, I don't think we need these formal structures. All it's done in the time I've been here is cause frustration, inactive officials, and foreigners deriding us for being “authoritarian”. Not to mention the Unibotian speculation. (We're hardly authoritarian, we just have a dysfunctional democratic system)
 
We should focus on what we're good at, which is providing an interesting community for visitors and new residents.
 
How to improve the region (IMO):
 
Dissolve the on-site government. Yeah, yeah, just hold your thoughts while I finish mine. We can dissolve the government without having to go Pacifican on the region. All we really have been expecting out of our leadership lately is border control. What the game provides is more than enough to take care of our needs. Beyond that, we don't need anything formal. So an unnecessarily complex bureaucracy that requires more people than we have to offer is a waste of time just to please other regions who do that kind of stuff.
 
When it comes to activity outside of government, we should encourage people to make little groups, almost like clubs, where they can create content and share it with the rest of the region. I know that there are people in the region that like Polandball, Hetalia, image editing, etc, and they could be doing all that, adding to the regional culture. Right now they're just on the RMB. Not that there's anything wrong with having fun on the RMB; it's quite fun and a place for the region to bond...but there's all that potential there not being used.
 
For example, I have this Teikei thing where me and a few of the other teenage West Pacificans are part of this EU-like group. We roleplay and give each other ideas to contribute to our factbooks. On top of that we also use our region as a safe place to store puppets and a place to go when one of their nations doesn't have any region to go to. Also, during the zombie apocalypse, we worked together as a team to cure ourselves of zombies, and then several other TWP nations as well.
 
There could be groups that discuss political ideologies, RP groups, story writers, conlangers, poets, and people that are into WorldVision contests, to name a few. Wouldn't it be nice to see someone representing TWP in interregional events? We don't need to awkwardly and forcefully try to stimulate activity with government officials.
 
If TNP is known for its democracy, TEP its RP, and OBI for its beer-guzzling mercenaries, then why can't we play on our strengths and make a name for ourselves using culture?
 
Sure, militaries can fight wars and conquer, but their influence only goes so far as those they rule. A region that uses soft power has a much broader reach, and generates goodwill towards itself.
 
So, do you think I'm on to something, or that I'm deluded?

Good luck, RL is a demanding mistress, we're here for you if you need it.

So, as you may or may not have noticed, I haven't really been around the past month or two.  I'm going through a rough patch over in RL, and I'm just having trouble dealing with it.  I just have a lot of stress and badness in my life right now, but don't worry, I'll be around occasionally, not enough to actually do much, though.  I'll be be back completely sometime around February after the semester ends.  Thanks.

How is this flag? Let me know if you want anything different?
 

One could be for the Office itself, and the other could be modified for each individual ambassador.

Hello, and welcome to Fujaian Designs, formerly Flags by Fujai, a graphic design service run by yours truly, Fujai (pronounced foo-'jay or foo'yay).
While this service began with flags, it has since expanded to include regional themes, branding (for nations, storefronts, or anything else), maps, seals, badges, awards, coats of arms, banners, and any other type of graphic design!
To request a design, simply send me a telegram, forum PM, or a Discord message at Smithy876#6074. I ask that you include what you would like, any ideas you have, such as color or style, and what it will be used for. After I send you a first draft, let me know if there is anything you would like to change—I encourage constructive criticism so that I can make you the best product possible.
You can see a gallery of my work at my dispatch here.
A couple notes:
My only request is that after I've made you a design (assuming that you like it), you point people in my direction if they ask about it or need something designed.
Programs I use, if you're curious:
For designing, I mainly use Adobe Illustrator (95%), Adobe Photoshop (4%), and FlagMaker (1%). Free alternatives to Illustrator and Photoshop are Inkscape and GIMP. If you are a student or work for a university or large company, you probably have some sort of discount for Adobe products. If you don't have a discount, they charge ridiculously exorbitant prices for much the same functionality as the free alternatives.
ColorBrewer.org is a great utility for making scientifically tested color schemes for maps and other forms of data visualization. Color.adobe.com is also a useful tool for making color schemes.
I use Instant Eyedropper to sample the color of any pixel on my screen, and Image Resizer for Windows to resize my images easily.
This will always be a completely free service.
Thanks!
--Fujai

Hello, and welcome to Fujaian Designs, formerly Flags by Fujai, a graphic design service run by yours truly, Fujai (pronounced foo-'jay or foo'yay).
While this service began with flags, it has since expanded to include regional themes, branding (for nations, storefronts, or anything else), maps, seals, badges, awards, coats of arms, banners, and any other type of graphic design!
To request a design, simply send me a telegram, forum PM, or a Discord message at Smithy876#6074. I ask that you include what you would like, any ideas you have, such as color or style, and what it will be used for. After I send you a first draft, let me know if there is anything you would like to change—I encourage constructive criticism so that I can make you the best product possible.
You can see a gallery of my work at my dispatch here.
A couple notes:
My only request is that after I've made you a design (assuming that you like it), you point people in my direction if they ask about it or need something designed.
Programs I use, if you're curious:
For designing, I mainly use Adobe Illustrator (95%), Adobe Photoshop (4%), and FlagMaker (1%). Free alternatives to Illustrator and Photoshop are Inkscape and GIMP. If you are a student or work for a university or large company, you probably have some sort of discount for Adobe products. If you don't have a discount, they charge ridiculously exorbitant prices for much the same functionality as the free alternatives.
ColorBrewer.org is a great utility for making scientifically tested color schemes for maps and other forms of data visualization. Color.adobe.com is also a useful tool for making color schemes.
I use Instant Eyedropper to sample the color of any pixel on my screen, and Image Resizer for Windows to resize my images easily.
This will always be a completely free service.
Thanks!
--Fujai

Hello, and welcome to Fujaian Designs, formerly Flags by Fujai, a graphic design service run by yours truly, Fujai (pronounced foo-'jay or foo'yay).
While this service began with flags, it has since expanded to include regional themes, branding (for nations, storefronts, or anything else), maps, seals, badges, awards, coats of arms, banners, and any other type of graphic design!
To request a design, simply send me a telegram, forum PM, or a Discord message at Smithy876#6074. I ask that you include what you would like, any ideas you have, such as color or style, and what it will be used for. After I send you a first draft, let me know if there is anything you would like to change—I encourage constructive criticism so that I can make you the best product possible.
You can see a gallery of my work at my dispatch here.
A couple notes:
My only request is that after I've made you a design (assuming that you like it), you point people in my direction if they ask about it or need something designed.
Programs I use, if you're curious:
For designing, I mainly use Adobe Illustrator (95%), Adobe Photoshop (4%), and FlagMaker (1%). Free alternatives to Illustrator and Photoshop are Inkscape and GIMP. If you are a student or work for a university or large company, you probably have some sort of discount for Adobe products. If you don't have a discount, they charge ridiculously exorbitant prices for much the same functionality as the free alternatives.
ColorBrewer.org is a great utility for making scientifically tested color schemes for maps and other forms of data visualization. Color.adobe.com is also a useful tool for making color schemes.
I use Instant Eyedropper to sample the color of any pixel on my screen, and Image Resizer for Windows to resize my images easily.
This will always be a completely free service.
Thanks!
--Fujai

The Western Mail
 
The Snark Sentinel
 
The Western Banner
 
The Western Post
 
The Snark Sun
 
I think it should be a part of TWP, something that symbolizes us as a community.

The Western Mail
 
The Snark Sentinel
 
The Western Banner
 
The Western Post
 
The Snark Sun
 
I think it should be a part of TWP, something that symbolizes us as a community.

Arguably true as well. We hit a gray area there. In any case, as I've already said in other posts in the past month, your personal actions on it were not a decision you made, you were just the messenger of orders given by the former delegate, and neither myself, nor should others by the way, consider your actions wrong: you followed the orders given to you by the creator of your position. In my book, the messenger does not carries fault for the message. so whatever was done wrong, it should be attributed to the former delegate.
Now well, you can quit the voice, or belong to it. The constitution is the same, same rules, no constitutional convention was done, and is simpler and easier to carry it over...