Fujai

Stop. If there was NPO influence, it was not made by Vlagh. Our leaders let themselves be influenced by the functioning government of The Pacific.
It just so happened that Vlagh was Minister of Legislative RP when the dissolution happened. He was only following direct orders from the Delegate, and he wouldn't do anything without the Delegate's orders.
That being said, the Voice should not have been dissolved. That violated the belief of separation between the forum and in-game governments, and it also violated our trust.

Stop. If there was NPO influence, it was not made by Vlagh. Our leaders let themselves be influenced by the functioning government of The Pacific.
It just so happened that Vlagh was Minister of Legislative RP when the dissolution happened. He was only following direct orders from the Delegate, and he wouldn't do anything without the Delegate's orders.
That being said, the Voice should not have been dissolved. That violated the belief of separation between the forum and in-game governments, and it also violated our trust.

At least someone else got the reference
By the lingo, I meant which words and phrases are exclusive to here and what do they mean?

Potentially bureaucratic, but it also cuts down on inactivity, spreads the load, puts more people in government, and combines the knowledge and experience of two people into one Ministry.

That's actually a good idea. Nice job, Fujai.
And no, there isn't a Minister of Legislative RP in there. But you'll have to ask the Delegate to know for sure, my apologies.
Now, the main reason why the Voice got disbanded was a lack of activity. As I've mentioned to the Guardians earlier, in order to keep the government working smoothly, I highly recommend being mindful of the amount of ministries the Advocate creates. Because we tend to have less activity than other feeders, we should treat activity like a resource and not spread people too thin. When it comes to ministries, it would be best if those ministries were about key matters and that there were multiple people in a department in order to keep things running even if some people go inactive. I can tell you, it's difficult trying to run a ministry alone, because the work falls completely on you and you're the only one spreading the word about new projects that need the community's support.
Edit: Aw man, I've been ninja'd. Typing on a phone is really slow, lol.

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.

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.

Welcome!  I'm glad you decided to give the forums a try, you'll love it here.

Hello and welcome to the forums of The Best Pacific!

Hi everyone.
 
My name is Avadon and finally after nearly 3 years of being in The West Pacific, I have decided to join the member forums. Before I was plagued always by life and other duties. If you've seen me around posting in chat, you'll know it takes me days to reply to anything. But I realize the familiar faces I'm so used to seeing post have all "retired" themselves to here and you know I can't live without my bi-monthly dose of the predator and chocolates so yes, here I am! Hi everyone!
 
Yaaay.

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.

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.

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.

TSP's that-a-way >

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.

No, I don't know how hard it can be. But I'd like to learn, and I'm sure others will step up as well.

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.

No, I don't know how hard it can be. But I'd like to learn, and I'm sure others will step up as well.

I like our open door policy. Tightening citizenship just means driving away potential new players from inside and outside TWP. Citizenship like you describe would make TWP exclusionary to people who don't really know how things work but are happy to help. And ultimately, the heart of TWP is our RMB and the community on it, not the political processes that happen around it.
Keep TWP open to all.

Then we advertise.  We can send TGs to all active nations that don't participate in the RMB so we can get some responses, then spam out adverts for the forums.  Sending personalized TGs to new nations could help.  It would make them feel more at ease than the standard welcome and flood of recruitments.  We can strive to be even friendlier, and maybe loosen up on the grammar and English rules on the RMB, I have a feeling that they're pushing away some of the younger nations.  We can all be friendlier to some of the others, and striving to include them will make them happier and more likely to stay.
 
Making the forums a more central part of the WFE could help as well.  There could be links to each of the major subforums, not just a couple.  Maybe getting rid of the dojo themed link names could help, but that might be getting a little too nitpicky.
 
We can try sending PMs to the accounts on the forums, since most people have email notifications for those, at least.  And we can make more descriptive threads on here telling what things are and how things work on the forums so that there isn't much confusion from the get go.  Even PMing new members on the forums with a welcome could serve to increase their activity.
 
Finally, an idea that I've had for a while: A 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, so a different name may be appropriate.
It would be located for the most part on the forums (people could TG members for quick questions and whatnot).  If it is included in the WFE, then it could increase traffic to the forums and draw in more new nations to take part in and revitalize the forums.
 
 
Anyway, the point is that there are plenty of options to raise participation, and we don't have to resort to getting rid of the Charter and the Union to do it.

I agree.  The Voice sign-in hasn't been updated in two months, but that could've been an easy fix.  Also, it would have been even better to simply move the Voice out of a protected subforum.  The Charter says that any resident can join, but it was locked away, protected by a dusty thread.  If it had simply been out in the open, I'm sure there would have been more activity in it.
 
It's possible that a change up of a couple things could have done wonders without scrapping the entire government.  In my eyes, there wasn't much attempt to fix it, but that is just as much my fault as anyone's.  Anyone could have spoken up, but it didn't happen until recently.

*Gets on soapbox*
I feel that leadership in the voice was an issue. No sooner were people selected to fill positions, then they were absent. Frequently! For long periods of time without interacting with or leading the voice. It happened frequently and caused a void at a time when we needed guidance. Furthermore, several leaders in abstentia were guardians. So their void was felt on both sides of TWP.
I would not complain without a possible solution. Nearly every absence was announced, but no one was substituted to take their place. When a DA or guardian has to leave because of RL, then a replacement, either full time or temporarily must be selected.
Another leadership concern I have observed that has stifled activities on the forum is ejecting active members. I'm sure the people deserved to be removed but we haven't replaced their activity. Banning people has consequences. Makes some not want to be active.
Lastly, leadership has not been as welcoming and encouraging as they need to be. Many never comment, post, or play the games thereby encouraging less forum usage with their absence. Some are negative or too stern when commenting. This is a game! People who are chastised do not have fun. Furthermore, I feel that many in the leadership are too clique-ish and exclude others especially new participants.
Dissolving the Voice was the choice made by leadership to create more forum activity. Perhaps a change in management philosophy was all that was necessary?
I'm not writing this as an indictment on delegates, guardians, advocates or deputy advocates. I'm writing this because I care. TWP has been fun for me and I'd like to increase my enjoyment. I'd like to be more active because it's fun for me! But leadership needs to be there for us to inspire activity!
*Steps off soapbox*
PS: I typed this on my phone, sorry for editing issues on an important post.

The national anthem of Fujai is called "By Fjord and Mountain." In the original Fujaian it is called "Avf Fjord et Fujell," and in Norwegian it is called "Av Fjord og Fjell."  The words are based on an old folk song about the beauty of Fujai, with a similar theme to "Solas Ané."  Lyrics here.  It is a ballad sung to a slow march at 80 bpm in D major.