- Pronouns
- he/him/his
- TNP Nation
- Zemnaya Svoboda
- Discord
- Eluvatar#8517
(Expected) Frequently Asked Questions
Why are you running?
Because I want to help TNP govern itself democratically and efficiently.
My commitment to democracy in TNP may not need reiteration, but I will be clear: it may not be omniscience, it won’t always result in exactly what everyone, or even anyone wants, but it is superior to any alternative. There is no more just, or, in the long run, benevolent mode of governance than a democratic one. We are perhaps unique in NationStates in how seriously we take our democracy. We are building a system of justice which is actually just. We have a clear and concise constitution and an organized and coherent body of law which help us reduce conflict and seek fair and equal treatment for all. We are completing a collection of up to date and helpful introductory documents. We have an open but not empty voluntary assembly which writes our laws and speaks for us as a whole. We have freely elected officials who can be removed for cause by it. We have a volunteer military which works toward the ends we assign it. We can and should build on these things: complete our Court system’s march toward justice, further organize and improve our body of law as we agree, arrange matters for the future upkeep of our FAQs, clear up the fuzzy spots in our legislative and deliberative processes, and find the sweet spot where our Ministers are answerable both to the Delegate and to us all. If all that sounds like a tall order, imagine conceiving our carefully structured system today from the perspective of the era before Magicality.
What in the world could you mean when you say you want efficiency in TNP?
I don’t mean simply more tools I develop which then passively exist and are of use to everyone (though of course I will be doing that too). I mean the pursuit of the best possible systems, cultural events, et cetera. And I don’t mean to make the best the enemy of the good: quite the contrary, I mean to implement an Agile Delegacy. I mean metaphorical agility in policy and practice but also the Agile development system’s emphasis on regular team coordination and revision of plans to match reality. The long term plans I put out in preparation for my campaign nearly a year ago were helpful but the dates on them were less helpful. I will see it as my responsibility to make sure we have a plan for this week every week which is as good as we can make it. To that end I will experiment with holding regular planning sessions with all available TNPers and particularly the cabinet using the service we find to be most practical (most likely Rally) to organize, prioritize, and schedule tasks. This approach should allow us to keep things from getting lost and keep people from burning out. I will of course tailor the details to what works in practice.
So what would your actual agenda be?
Some of the projects I intend the executive team to pursue in sensible pieces and order include the work I expect to be routinely done for WA Resolutions reviews, the Foreign Update, and regular (at least weekly) NPA missions; the development and feedback-informed iterated improvement of a regional welcoming protocol (fire and forget won’t cut it); superior cultural events such as communal film screenings, trivia games, and academic symposia; furthering our values and goals with a Concord with Osiris and the South Pacific; building a respected presence in the onsite boards (WA, Gameplay, and even Technical); helping the OOC and other apolitical arteries of the region flow and expand; and all the great ideas to be suggested by TNPers for us to do.
What about the Executive Council?
The people have spoken and they have spoken clearly about the executive council system as I originally implemented it and McMasterdonia adjusted it. As such, I will not be resuming it. Instead, however, my cabinet will be part of the Agile process. As the cabinet won’t be elected it won’t represent TNP and it won’t govern overall policy: I will apply the policy that I feel best reflects the region’s will and interests. I will, however, seek the advice of the region as I feel appropriate, or as I am asked to by petitions. In other words, yes, I will be holding polls open to Citizens on appropriate questions, including the appointments of Ministers.
Why all this now?
I won’t pretend it was my plan to run in March. It really is very strange rolling out this kind of detailed and upbeat platform under the circumstances, and having to accelerate things is not easy, or even particularly fun, but I think I have to. We need to build on the progress of the last year or so and not let it slip away, and we need to keep democratic and stable governance.
Shouldn’t somebody new get a shot at it?
I don’t think many of the other candidates are new. In fact, as of this writing, I am a median candidate by TNP “age”.
How active will you be?
From now until taking office and from then until May 17th or later if necessary due to a runoff I will be on and holding meetings with the available government officials twice a day, every day, whenever helpful. For McMasterdonia’s use during his worldwide journeys, I have developed a number of tools to assist a feeder delegate who is not on 24/7. I will be using them as well to economize my time. (I will be emailed about RMB posts, telegrams, and perhaps WA Proposals reaching my telephone).
How do we know you’ll keep that promise?
I understand some of you may be worried that I could disappear. I won’t: There are two daily weekday segments I have which I can devote to TNP, and likewise two daily segments on the weekends. Generally the two segments of guaranteed presence will be between 8:00 and 8:30 EDT and sometime between 17:30 and 23:00 EDT. Given that the term ends mid-May, I can be certain that there will not be any non-NationStates concerns that contradict that schedule.
Will you be skipping out on Admin?
I will be stepping down from administrative powers as is traditional. However, in my most recent period of service as Delegate I continued to assist with administrative duties. I will do so again. I will be able to contribute to security checks as before, and hope to implement methods to assist further. The test forum and github repository will again allow me to help maintain and improve our technological and graphical systems. Nevertheless, I expect I will also be advising the admin team to add another administrator.
What of your NPIA Director role?
I will not be continuing as NPIA Director if elected. I will consult with the officers of the NPIA in finding a new Director. I don’t know who that will be, but I can say that I will choose someone I think we can trust to do right and to excel. Obviously, the NPIA has not and will not undertake any operations that might be prohibited under any remotely sensible new charter during this sensitive time for the organization.
What about the NPIA?
I will not abandon McMasterdonia’s project of rechartering the NPIA in a manner which is both functional and accountable. I just presented my idea of an Intelligence Court, but any implementation of oversight which does not harm the NPIA’s ability to serve the region, violate democratic principles, or fail to oversee the NPIA is of interest to me. Ultimately I believe it will be necessary to pass a high level NPIA charter into law.
What if you’re convicted?
I am not a spy against TNP or a traitor and I don’t expect the Court to decide, counterfactually, that I am. If they do, however, I will of course respect and abide by the sentence. If that means sending myself to the land long associated with Kandarin the elder, so be it.
Why should I vote for you?
You should vote for me if you trust my values, commitment, and competence. I wouldn’t be running if I did not trust myself.
I welcome further questions.
Why are you running?
Because I want to help TNP govern itself democratically and efficiently.
My commitment to democracy in TNP may not need reiteration, but I will be clear: it may not be omniscience, it won’t always result in exactly what everyone, or even anyone wants, but it is superior to any alternative. There is no more just, or, in the long run, benevolent mode of governance than a democratic one. We are perhaps unique in NationStates in how seriously we take our democracy. We are building a system of justice which is actually just. We have a clear and concise constitution and an organized and coherent body of law which help us reduce conflict and seek fair and equal treatment for all. We are completing a collection of up to date and helpful introductory documents. We have an open but not empty voluntary assembly which writes our laws and speaks for us as a whole. We have freely elected officials who can be removed for cause by it. We have a volunteer military which works toward the ends we assign it. We can and should build on these things: complete our Court system’s march toward justice, further organize and improve our body of law as we agree, arrange matters for the future upkeep of our FAQs, clear up the fuzzy spots in our legislative and deliberative processes, and find the sweet spot where our Ministers are answerable both to the Delegate and to us all. If all that sounds like a tall order, imagine conceiving our carefully structured system today from the perspective of the era before Magicality.
What in the world could you mean when you say you want efficiency in TNP?
I don’t mean simply more tools I develop which then passively exist and are of use to everyone (though of course I will be doing that too). I mean the pursuit of the best possible systems, cultural events, et cetera. And I don’t mean to make the best the enemy of the good: quite the contrary, I mean to implement an Agile Delegacy. I mean metaphorical agility in policy and practice but also the Agile development system’s emphasis on regular team coordination and revision of plans to match reality. The long term plans I put out in preparation for my campaign nearly a year ago were helpful but the dates on them were less helpful. I will see it as my responsibility to make sure we have a plan for this week every week which is as good as we can make it. To that end I will experiment with holding regular planning sessions with all available TNPers and particularly the cabinet using the service we find to be most practical (most likely Rally) to organize, prioritize, and schedule tasks. This approach should allow us to keep things from getting lost and keep people from burning out. I will of course tailor the details to what works in practice.
So what would your actual agenda be?
Some of the projects I intend the executive team to pursue in sensible pieces and order include the work I expect to be routinely done for WA Resolutions reviews, the Foreign Update, and regular (at least weekly) NPA missions; the development and feedback-informed iterated improvement of a regional welcoming protocol (fire and forget won’t cut it); superior cultural events such as communal film screenings, trivia games, and academic symposia; furthering our values and goals with a Concord with Osiris and the South Pacific; building a respected presence in the onsite boards (WA, Gameplay, and even Technical); helping the OOC and other apolitical arteries of the region flow and expand; and all the great ideas to be suggested by TNPers for us to do.
What about the Executive Council?
The people have spoken and they have spoken clearly about the executive council system as I originally implemented it and McMasterdonia adjusted it. As such, I will not be resuming it. Instead, however, my cabinet will be part of the Agile process. As the cabinet won’t be elected it won’t represent TNP and it won’t govern overall policy: I will apply the policy that I feel best reflects the region’s will and interests. I will, however, seek the advice of the region as I feel appropriate, or as I am asked to by petitions. In other words, yes, I will be holding polls open to Citizens on appropriate questions, including the appointments of Ministers.
Why all this now?
I won’t pretend it was my plan to run in March. It really is very strange rolling out this kind of detailed and upbeat platform under the circumstances, and having to accelerate things is not easy, or even particularly fun, but I think I have to. We need to build on the progress of the last year or so and not let it slip away, and we need to keep democratic and stable governance.
Shouldn’t somebody new get a shot at it?
I don’t think many of the other candidates are new. In fact, as of this writing, I am a median candidate by TNP “age”.
How active will you be?
From now until taking office and from then until May 17th or later if necessary due to a runoff I will be on and holding meetings with the available government officials twice a day, every day, whenever helpful. For McMasterdonia’s use during his worldwide journeys, I have developed a number of tools to assist a feeder delegate who is not on 24/7. I will be using them as well to economize my time. (I will be emailed about RMB posts, telegrams, and perhaps WA Proposals reaching my telephone).
How do we know you’ll keep that promise?
I understand some of you may be worried that I could disappear. I won’t: There are two daily weekday segments I have which I can devote to TNP, and likewise two daily segments on the weekends. Generally the two segments of guaranteed presence will be between 8:00 and 8:30 EDT and sometime between 17:30 and 23:00 EDT. Given that the term ends mid-May, I can be certain that there will not be any non-NationStates concerns that contradict that schedule.
Will you be skipping out on Admin?
I will be stepping down from administrative powers as is traditional. However, in my most recent period of service as Delegate I continued to assist with administrative duties. I will do so again. I will be able to contribute to security checks as before, and hope to implement methods to assist further. The test forum and github repository will again allow me to help maintain and improve our technological and graphical systems. Nevertheless, I expect I will also be advising the admin team to add another administrator.
What of your NPIA Director role?
I will not be continuing as NPIA Director if elected. I will consult with the officers of the NPIA in finding a new Director. I don’t know who that will be, but I can say that I will choose someone I think we can trust to do right and to excel. Obviously, the NPIA has not and will not undertake any operations that might be prohibited under any remotely sensible new charter during this sensitive time for the organization.
What about the NPIA?
I will not abandon McMasterdonia’s project of rechartering the NPIA in a manner which is both functional and accountable. I just presented my idea of an Intelligence Court, but any implementation of oversight which does not harm the NPIA’s ability to serve the region, violate democratic principles, or fail to oversee the NPIA is of interest to me. Ultimately I believe it will be necessary to pass a high level NPIA charter into law.
What if you’re convicted?
I am not a spy against TNP or a traitor and I don’t expect the Court to decide, counterfactually, that I am. If they do, however, I will of course respect and abide by the sentence. If that means sending myself to the land long associated with Kandarin the elder, so be it.
Why should I vote for you?
You should vote for me if you trust my values, commitment, and competence. I wouldn’t be running if I did not trust myself.
I welcome further questions.
in your thread.
