WA affairs mass-TGs and dispatches

r3naissanc3r

r3naissanc3r

TNPer
-
-
I would like to bring back the WA affairs mass-TGs. This is for a few reasons:

1) Increase our power in the WA, by having a large individual nation vote in addition to the WA's vote.
2) Increase familiarity between our WA nations and the Delegate and Vice Delegate (who is also MoWA in this case).
3) Advertise the WA section of the forum and potentially increase voting activity in it.
4) Use it indirectly for endotarting.

Here are a few questions.

1) Who should send the mass-TGs? I assume it would be either the Delegate or the VD/MoWA. We could even do it on the basis of whoever gets to do it first, as we have been doing with setting up the voting threads.
2) How frequent should the mass-TGs be? In the past, we used to send IFVs for every resolution that went to vote. Later, when Aba took over, we switched to (roughly) weekly digests that included recommendations for multiple resolutions. I believe IFVs for every resolution make more sense in terms of increasing our voting power, and they are also easier to write as they only require one single voting recommendation. On the other hand, they can potentially lead to spamming, but with the use of the WA campaign telegram type, and maybe even opt-outs, that may not be an issue.

Aba, what do you think? I am also thinking of sending out a survey to our WAs, asking for their own opinion on what form (content and frequency) the WA mass-TGs should have.

In addition to the above, I've been thinking that we should be making more regular use of dispatches. Dispatches give us the opportunity to both influence voters and do some free advertising for our forum at an interregional scale.

I am thinking of using the same model as with TNL: We have one dispatch that we beef up in upvotes, so that it reaches the top page of "Best" dispatches. This one gets edited every time a new resolution goes to vote. Then, additionally, every time there's a new resolution we create a new dispatch that we get 5-10 people to upvote, so that it shows up at the top of the "New" dispatches.

In addition to a recommendation on how to vote, the dispatches will include an advertisement for TNP and our WA section.
 
Also, Aba, it may be good if you hired a Deputy to help with these, both in terms of delivering the recommendations faster and providing recommendations when you have a conflict (I could handle the SC when you have conflicts, but I have absolutely no clue about GA legislation so I am unable to write intelligent recommendations there).

In terms of whom you could appoint, I was thinking of inviting Sciongrad to join the RA so that he can work with the MoWA. He knows our region and posts here from time to time. He is also likely to be part of our WA lobby through the IDU when the WA treaty passes, so it'll help with the transition to have him here ahead of time.

What do you think? How is your working relationship with Sciongrad?
 
In so far as I'm aware Sciongrad and I get along fine. We've disagreed on things before, but thats just the nature of authors and opinions. You know me, I'm generally open towards everyone, the question is are they open towards me ha!

In terms of the TG's to be honest, I just got busy and they became a chore, you helping with the proposals over the past few weeks has been a massive ease to me, so perhaps a deputy wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. I could even do up BS proposals to test their appraisal skills if you wanted.

I'd be happier to see what the region feels regarding the TG's frequency though, I know a few nations ended up blocking me to prevent receiving them the last time, which I was surprised about, so it might be good to get their feedback.
 
I can certainly manage the sending part myself, either permanently or when you're busy. Same goes for dispatch creation. As I said, the main issue is with the writing of the recommendation.

I will contact Sciongrad and see what he thinks. I'll also draft the survey TG later tonight and post it here for a quick review before I send it.
 
r3naissanc3r:
I sent out a telegram with a link to this form: http://forum.thenorthpacific.org/pages/mowaform/ . Hopefully we will get some useful feedback.

I also contacted Sciongrad. I'll let you know what he says.
Click to expand...
Awesome. We've had a passing in the family so I'm going to be sporadic over the next day or two. My priority at the moment here is finishing the elections but obviously RL will be heavily taking time too. When I'm back at full strength we can have a catch up on IRC about everything.
 
I am sorry for your loss, Aba. Obviously RL comes first - feel free to take as much time off as necessary. I can manage the department in the meantime.

I'd offer to help with elections, but I think that's not something I can legally do at this point.
 
r3naissanc3r:
I am sorry for your loss, Aba. Obviously RL comes first - feel free to take as much time off as necessary. I can manage the department in the meantime.

I'd offer to help with elections, but I think that's not something I can legally do at this point.
Click to expand...
No I believe there'd be too many problems if we handed off at this stage. I'll see it through. COE did a legal check the other night and according to the constibillicode the justice is elected by plurality vote, so at least I wont have to manage run offs. I should be back at full swing come monday at the latest, Sunday night at the earliest and we can touch base then.

Thanks for the help man.
 
Responses to the survey so far:

Would you be interested in receiving telegrams regarding votes in the WA General Assembly?
Yes, every time there is such a vote (up to twice per week).2377%
Yes, in the form of a weekly digest.310%
No, I would opt out of such telegrams.413%

Would you be interested in receiving telegrams regarding votes in the WA Security Council?
Yes, every time there is such a vote (up to twice per week).2377%
Yes, in the form of a weekly digest.27%
No, I would opt out of such telegrams.517%

Do you have "WA Campaign" telegrams blocked in your nation's telegram preferences?
Yes27%
No2893%

Are you a member of TNP's regional forum?
Yes1860%
No1240%

Do you participate in the forum voting threads on WA resolutions?
Yes1447%
No1653%

Looks like a strong majority is in favor of telegrams every time there is a new resolution. It is a bit concerning though that about half the responses so far are from forum members.

The response rate has slowed down considerably since yesterday. Probably worth checking for responses for another day, but I don't expect the results to change much.
 
Final results after 34 responses:

Would you be interested in receiving telegrams regarding votes in the WA General Assembly?
Yes, every time there is such a vote (up to twice per week).2779%
Yes, in the form of a weekly digest.39%
No, I would opt out of such telegrams.412%

Would you be interested in receiving telegrams regarding votes in the WA Security Council?
Yes, every time there is such a vote (up to twice per week).2779%
Yes, in the form of a weekly digest.26%
No, I would opt out of such telegrams.515%

Do you have "WA Campaign" telegrams blocked in your nation's telegram preferences?
Yes26%
No3294%

Are you a member of TNP's regional forum?
Yes2162%
No1338%

Do you participate in the forum voting threads on WA resolutions?
Yes1750%
No1750%

Overall, strong support for TGs every time something goes to vote. So let's go with that.

Also, Aba, Sciongrad has agreed to serve as your Deputy. So you can proceed with the appointment.
 
Some stats from the first IFV telegram:

593 Delivered
1 No Such Nation
2 Blocked by Sender
20 Blocked by Category

The one "no such nation" is someone who got deleted after I started the mass-tg (in fact I reported them).
 
Bumping this old thread to mention that I set up this survey so that we can get some feedback on the IFV program. I have TGed the link to all WA nations, so hopefully we'll get a few responses.

The responses are being logged in this spreadsheet as they come in. Once we get a few, I will also post a summary of the results.
 
Looks like we are not getting any more responses, so here is a summary of the results (you can look at the spreadsheet I linked in the immediately previous post for the individual responses):

They are informative and well written.[c]20[c]77%[c]They are well written but not informative.[c]5[c]19%[c]They are informative but not well written.[c]1[c]4%[c]They are neither informative nor well written.[c]0[c]0%[c]I have not received any such telegrams.[c]0[c]0%

I always vote as the information telegrams suggest.[c]4[c]15%[c]I usually vote as the information telegrams suggest.[c]5[c]19%[c]I take the information telegrams into account when deciding how to vote, but I do not always vote as they suggest.[c]13[c]50%[c]I do not take the information telegrams into account when deciding how to vote.[c]4[c]15%[c]I do not vote on General Assembly resolutions.[c]0[c]0%

Yes, every time there is such a vote (as happens currently).[c]21[c]81%[c]Yes, in the form of a weekly digest.[c]5[c]19%[c]No, I will opt out or have already opted out of such telegrams.[c]0[c]0%

There's too many information telegrams. A once weekly digest would be much more efficient.[c]I love being a sheep who does what the government tells me to do. I'm not even sarcastic. Good job, God-Emperor HMS Unicorn of the North Pacific ![c]I was a bit puzzled recently, sorry can't remember which resolution, that the info telegram recommended a vote one way, but Sir Unicorn had actually voted contrary to his own recommendation.[c]Improving punctuality when creating the information TG's (and the WA voting recommendations) should be a must-do for the delegate. Often the information TG's and WA voting suggestions in the forum come very late into the vote, and that's if they even come at all. I understand if personal issues come first, and I also understand that a lot of good research is needed to make a good suggestion, but if it cannot be done on time, then perhaps the position of Minister of WA Affairs should be transferred back to a separate person; Abacathea did an admirable job of this while he was M of WAA. Remember that we are the largest WA voting block in the game, and a good information TG is significantly more powerful than simply seeing the delegate's vote.[c]Was not aware we had a voting thread on TNP forum. But I'm new.[c]All iz good.

Always.[c]14[c]54%[c]Often.[c]11[c]42%[c]Rarely.[c]0[c]0%[c]Never.[c]1[c]4%

Always.[c]2[c]8%[c]Often.[c]4[c]15%[c]Rarely.[c]6[c]23%[c]Never.[c]14[c]54%

They are informative and well written.[c]20[c]77%[c]They are well written but not informative.[c]4[c]15%[c]They are informative but not well written.[c]1[c]4%[c]They are neither informative nor well written.[c]0[c]0%[c]I have not received any such telegrams.[c]1[c]4%

I always vote as the information telegrams suggest.[c]5[c]19%[c]I usually vote as the information telegrams suggest.[c]5[c]19%[c]I take the information telegrams into account when deciding how to vote, but I do not always vote as they suggest.[c]12[c]46%[c]I do not take the information telegrams into account when deciding how to vote.[c]2[c]8%[c]I do not vote on Security Council resolutions.[c]2[c]8%

Yes, every time there is such a vote (as happens currently).[c]21[c]81%[c]Yes, in the form of a weekly digest.[c]3[c]12%[c]No, I will opt out or have already opted out of such telegrams.[c]2[c]8%

Essentially what I said about the GA resolutions. A lot of research is crucial here due to the extremely political R/D gameplay nature of many of the resolutions put to vote here. This can be very confusing to the uninitiated, and a timely information TG can tip the balance for players who do not regularly check the forums.[c]Was not aware there was a voting thread in TNP Forum. But again... I'm new here.[c]All iz good.[c]They mostly seem to be pointless to-ong and fro-ing so I don't waste my time on them any more. The telegrams don't help much.[c]Security Council is not important, only a popularity game.

Always.[c]13[c]50%[c]Often.[c]9[c]35%[c]Rarely.[c]2[c]8%[c]Never.[c]2[c]8%

Always.[c]1[c]4%[c]Often.[c]5[c]19%[c]Rarely.[c]6[c]23%[c]Never.[c]14[c]54%

Yes.[c]1[c]4%[c]No.[c]25[c]96%

Yes.[c]17[c]65%[c]No.[c]9[c]35%

Nothing else. I hope I managed to get my points across. -Sasten[c]I suppose for this survey, the questions about how often one votes on resolutions could have had a 'sometimes' option, as I vote less than often and more than rarely whenever I am on NationStates (disregarding when I am too busy to play at all of course).[c]I believe I am member of the regional forum, but I don't every post there.[c]TNP is awesome. Love participating in games, feedback, voting, etc.[c]All iz good.[c]When I first joined NS I wanted to get more involved but I find the registration process to the regional forum really off-putting. It requires a lot of detailed personal information, with a lot of obligation, but no corresponding responsibility, ie no indication of any privacy policy on how this information will be used and/or protected. Call me careful, but I have trust issues when using the internet. I thought about shifting regions, to see if anyone else does it better, but I've kind of lost momentum with the game.
 
Overall, the results look very positive. People appear to support and find the IFV program useful. They also seem to continue to prefer the one-telegram-per-resolution format, instead of weekly telegrams.

The one salient criticism as far as I can tell is that we need to send the telegrams and post the forum recommendation faster. While I don't agree that that the recommendations were being sent out faster when Aba used to handle them (given that those were weekly digests, it's not really possible that they were sent on time), I do think we can do better.

What do others think of the results? I am particularly looking forward to suggestions on how to improve on punctuality.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top