Eluvatar & Tomb for Delegate & Vice Delegate Platform

[Eluvatar]

Eluvatar & Tomb for Delegate & Vice Delegate Platform
January 2015

Over the last few days, I have spoken with a number of fellow member nations of The North Pacific regarding whether I should run for Delegate. At this time I have decided affirmatively, considering a number of factors on one side and the other, that I should.

I am pleased also to announce that I am declaring a joint campaign with Tomb, who is running for Vice Delegate. I am confident that he can serve as an excellent Vice Delegate given what I have seen of him on this forum and in the North Pacific Army, and in our joint efforts over this platform.

General Thoughts / Preamble

In playing NationStates I, Eluvatar, have since 2006 greatly concerned myself with acting ethically. Similarly, I have sought to act as a loyal citizen of my home region. I have no interest in discontinuing this.

If you choose me to be your Delegate, I will pledge that during my term as Delegate, I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. This is close to my heart indeed. I value democracy, freedom, and justice greatly, and will definitely do my utmost to always respect and uphold them.

I will promise to use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I think I’ve been clear in my commitment to acting legally, responsibly, and fairly. I don’t think I’m exactly known for abuse of power, either, and think I’ve been clear too in my care against serious mistakes or impropriety in general.

The question of nonfeasance will come up, seeing as I am the only Delegate in the history of The North Pacific to be recalled not for abuse of power. Rest assured, I would not have decided to run again if I did not plan on steps to ensure I do not disappoint the region with my absence at any point during this coming term.

I will promise to act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. It is definitely part of my core NS values to do this.

Serving the Nations of The North Pacific

How

In 2012, I created the WA Information for Voters program for the purpose of providing the nations of The North Pacific with a government service they can find useful and increasing the relevance of TNP in the World Assembly. Of these purposes, I find the first to be the most important. I have nothing but admiration for how the delegates since, especially McMasterdonia and r3naissanc3r, have continued this program. I must also applaud the WALL as a goal I had also hoped to work toward. By sharing resources with friendly regions on this matter, we can further both goals (public service and WA relevance) and also further ties. I remain optimistic that with further work by our allied governments the WALL can become a great thing.

An excellent innovation r3naissanc3r has brought to the work of serving the Nations of The North Pacific has been the careful creation and distribution of surveys of them. I will ask r3naissanc3r to share the results of his previous surveys and continue with surveys of my own so as to prioritize various ideas which may be considered to provide TNP nations with even more services and connections to our regional government and offsite forum community. Selecting the best new major program of this nature and implementing it would be the first priority of an Eluvatar/Tomb administration.

It should come as no surprise that I also am enthusiastic about the WA Development Program. I have consulted a great deal with the Delegate and Security Council in the planning stages of this program as I believe it is essential for the long term security of The North Pacific, by involving the Nations of The North Pacific in its defense. I will most certainly continue it, as well as seek out new avenues for promoting and pursuing it. I believe that by the end of my term The North Pacific could attain over 10% Endorsement Saturation[note]Endorsement saturation being one of the measures of success of the WA Development program: the fraction of total possible endorsements that have been given in the region. Currently at 8.7%[/note], becoming correspondingly more secure against attempted coup by the WA Delegate.

Why

Why do I think this is so important? A host of reasons.

As Delegate, I would swear to uphold the ideals of Democracy of The North Pacific. Democracy is predicated on one thing: citizen involvement. I wouldn’t go so far as to introduce a vote or die campaign, but I would pursue all ethical means to expand and strengthen Democracy in The North Pacific. To be clear, when I discuss citizen involvement, by citizen I mean all nations of The North Pacific. I want as many of them as possible to register for citizenship in our offsite legal sense.

There are practical reasons that this is in the interest of the offsite forum community as well. First of all, the WA Information for Voters program has a secondary purpose which is congruent with the purposes of the WA Development program: connecting TNP nations more to our offsite government and community by making it useful to them and hopefully making them more prepared to act in the case of a violent coup, unendorse the rogue delegate, and endorse the legal acting delegate. By connecting I mean that recipients of the Information for Voters message . I hope to achieve the same with further such programs which may earn the recognition of nations with other interests or priorities.

It would be incomplete to fail to mention that by providing good regional public services we can improve the NationStates experience of up to ? of new nations. This is a goal worth our efforts as it is helpful to the overall health of the game we so enjoy.

Finally, through providing useful services, we can improve TNP's power and vibrancy by encouraging more nations to stick around and/or get involved in our onsite and offsite communities.

Serving The North Pacific Offsite Forum Community

Foreign Policy

As previously mentioned, I see the WALL as a valuable endeavor to continue efforts in. By diplomatic efforts to progress the organization and pursue new active interested members, I think we can make this into another pillar of our activity and interregional stature.

It is essential also to maintain and strengthen our alliances. I am pleased by recent progress in further solidifying our relationship with the South Pacific, and look forward to working to do the same with our other various partners. (A caveat: if we cannot strengthen ties because the other party is inactive or uninterested, then we can’t. There’s no need to waste effort trying to change that: we can keep that alliance at status quo and pursue other goals with the efforts saved).

I would also pursue more alliances that improve our security and standing without reducing our flexibility. That is to say, I would look for potential partners that would be interested in supporting us but without expectations that would limit our foreign policy options.

Finally, I believe it’s time to link our foreign policy better with our regional communities, both in understanding and in support & involvement. I would like the Foreign Affairs ministry and its attached Diplomatic Corps to analyze and report on our relations and the NS world stage as a whole to the Regional Assembly, and seek the input of all citizens. To be clear, I don’t mean to put every single question in foreign policy to a binding poll: I mean to pursue discussions and maybe occasional polls that include our citizens with the Diplomatic Corps as the leaders of the discussion. As part of this, I believe we need to improve the Diplomatic Corps to the activity and involvement standards of other Executive Staffs.

The North Pacific Army

Today, the North Pacific Army is large, active, and growing: this needs to continue. A healthy and large army can promote the interests of The North Pacific abroad. Without regular operations, the Army would weaken and be unable to serve our essential interests of protecting our allies so that they in turn would protect us.

While it is important, helpful, and necessary for the North Pacific Army to actively cooperate with our allies, including the South Pacific Special Forces and the Europeian Republican Navy, there are a number of action items to improve how we do this one can find in how the combined mission in Fandom Alliance went. Our communications with the native residents of Fandom Alliance did not meet the standards of excellence I would expect of The North Pacific’s army. From what I’ve been able to understand, there was no plan in advance for the region’s World Factbook Entry while our forces occupied it, when it would be appropriately professional for our region’s military to be prepared in advance with a carefully chosen message. Through both of these oversights we placed our allies, whom we sought to improve our ties with, into a potentially problematic situation.

To be clear: while, I, Eluvatar, personally find raids such as that in Fandom Alliance distasteful in general, I am not prepared to prohibit the NPA from engaging in training missions involving the occupation of foreign regions we don’t have an overriding foreign policy reason against touching. This is because of my previously stated commitment to put the region first. It is not, however, in the region’s interest to needlessly produce issues as described above. To avoid such issues while also protecting our essential interest in an active and growing army, I would discuss appropriate protocols with NPA command to follow to further promote and protect regional interests during NPA operations.

The NPA is currently large, active, and adequately competent. I am not satisfied with mere adequacy. Our soldiers need to be trained further. McMasterdonia will develop training materials (no matter which of us is elected). Such training materials of necessity also being protocols for how the NPA acts, they would also be a part of previously mentioned discussions regarding proper protocols to avoid unnecessary problems. I also intend to develop tools they can use on the kinds of operations I prefer for superior excellence. With improved training standards and more sophisticated operations I hope to find and promote new talent, as while Gladio is an excellent officer and Minister we need to train more officers so that he is not irreplaceable. I also believe we need more officers with the authority to authorize missions, to further improve the Army’s activity.

Furthermore, some of the missions the NPA undertakes does should be mission-driven, tied to TNP ideas and priorities, and the focus should be on these operations. Today, I believe these missions are in the minority, and pursued with equal fervor. While we cannot necessarily artificially create missions with a TNP mission (unless our community comes up with a mission compatible with constant activity), we can definitely emphasize them more, for example with public regional celebration of successes and issuance of meritorious rewards.

Finally, the NPA Code may need streamlining, as it appears to currently be somewhat cumbersome and of staggering length for a new player to read. If so this is a process that should be undergone by the NPA as a whole in consultation with the Delegate’s office.

Home Affairs and Integration

With a running mate coming from the Home Affairs and Integration Ministry, it should be no surprise that this platform includes a number of plans in that area.

Firstly, we plan on the establishment of a more integral and standardized mentoring system. Under the current system one sends the new member a message welcoming them, and then they are left alone for a long while. According to Tomb, this causes some new members go away altogether and quit the game. It would be appropriate to set standards to how mentoring should work, such as a requirement that all mentors must check on their mentee weekly, actively soliciting ways to help.

Tomb and I also agree that as a region we need more of an onsite presence, not just a pipeline for pulling new nations directly to our offsite community. To that end we would find ways for the MoHA to also work on onsite participation, beyond simply inviting nations to the offsite. We need more of a regional onsite (NS) forum presence as well. Some possibilities to explore include:

• TNP Signature elements (like the old UDL sigs)
• Using TNP’s main topic in GamePlay for more than just diplomatic statements, but also some regional activity including active onsite forum users who reside in TNP.
• Having TNP RP pay some attention to onsite RP involving TNP nations, the WA Affairs ministry integrate better with the onsite WA forums, TNP branding of some kind in NS Sports, et cetera et cetera: more ideas can be solicited from the Executive Staff.

Like in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Home Affairs Executive Staff needs expansion, as do some other Ministries. Home Affairs will need to further promote the Executive Staff to act on this.

Culture, Roleplay, the University, and More

I am delighted to see active Roleplay on The North Pacific offsite forums. I am inclined to believe that we should offer some regional services to help with it. The regional Map is, fundamentally, such a regional service primarily for RP. I believe we can find more ways in which the region can support this form of regional activity. I believe we can apply the factbook workshop better to help people write and organize factbooks for their nations. I also think we can as a regional community, help people brainstorm more using the Drafting Plane.

The North Pacific University as a project is a challenging one to get right: too much structure can strangle it, not enough leaves it not very helpful. I think we want to review its structure and functions with an eye to two goals: research on topics important to the offsite forum community, including historical, technical, TNP legal, and other matters; and educating new members about things they want to know such as how various parts of the game or TNP work.

Some changes in structure to consider at the University include having professors, departments, deans, and other forms of assigned responsibilities, organization, and status. Without strangling it with strict rules and procedures, we would be able to generally let people do helpful things and then reward such help. We can also outline some responsibilities for those prepared to accept them. We may also explore having people register as students: this can show they are interested in learning. We should however avoid making this too cumbersome: I would suggest avoiding mandatory complex steps to get involved.

The Executive Staff (in general)

The Executive Staff is one more innovation which I applaud. It has brought about a functioning pool of training-by-doing participants in Executive Governance, which I had not satisfactorily accomplished in my terms in office 2012. The Executive Staff definitely deserves continuation and further development. To further increase its usefulness and attraction, it may be sensible to seek input on the details of policy from the members of each ministry in a systematic fashion. This is partly in practice today in a haphazard fashion: I would see it happen more often and more meaningfully.

The Vice Delegacy

You’re all likely quite aware of Tomb’s campaign for the Vice Delegacy. Based on Tomb’s activity, enthusiasm, and developed & developing skills, I would be delighted to work with him in that capacity. This platform was developed with his input, as would my Delegacy itself. In turn I imagine Tomb would be interested in my advice in his duties in the Security Council and with Regional Assembly applications. I’m particularly interested in finding a sensible and effective plan for reforming the Security Council procedures and improving the Security Council’s transparency.

Conclusion

Serve the region (both communities) and act honorably in the process? Sounds like a plan!

Please consider voting for Eluvatar for Delegate and Tomb for Vice Delegate!

Your questions and comments welcome and invited.

 

[Funkadelia]

Eluvatar for a better tomorrow!

 

[Eluvatar]

Eluvatar for a better tomorrow!

Why thank you.

 

[Flemingovia]

You touch on your record in your opening post, but not enough to allay my concerns.

You have a long history of disappearing for extended periods. Your last term as delegate ended in chaos and recall for that very reason, despite all the assurances you gave in your campaign thread.

When you disappear you do so without the courtesy of any sort of "heads up". You let down your colleagues and cause uncertainty and a greatly increased load for those around you. You have done it before.

I understand real life. I understand that sometimes it needs to come first. I understand the needs for walkabouts. What i do not understand is your rudeness and lack of concern about those around you in the WAY you do it.

I cannot trust that you will not suddenly disappear mid-term, as you have done in the past. I cannot trust your assurances. I will not be voting for you.

 

[Cormac]

Everyone has their flaws, and certainly activity issues in your prior term would be one of those. But as the person who proposed your recall during your prior term, I don't think it should be held against you on the assumption that it will happen again. If you say that it won't, and if you have a strong platform that makes you the best candidate for Delegate, I think you should have the opportunity to serve as Delegate.

I do believe you have a strong platform that makes you the best candidate for Delegate, so you have my vote.

Though, I must apologize to your running mate, but my vote for Vice Delegate will still be going to SillyString as I believe she has the strongest platform and is the best candidate for that office.

 

[SillyString]

The question of nonfeasance will come up, seeing as I am the only Delegate in the history of The North Pacific to be recalled not for abuse of power. Rest assured, I would not have decided to run again if I did not plan on steps to ensure I do not disappoint the region with my absence at any point during this coming term.

You know I adore you, but you have disappeared more than once while in office, generally without warning and without an accurate prediction of when you will return - you once told me "in a couple weeks" for something like three or four months. Can you elaborate on what steps you have planned to ensure that a similar disappearance does not happen in the upcoming term, or that if it does it can be handled calmly and without chaos?

 

[Eluvatar]

You touch on your record in your opening post, but not enough to allay my concerns.

I did indeed not want to devote a large portion of the platform to such a negative and potentially defensive discussion.

You have a long history of disappearing for extended periods. Your last term as delegate ended in chaos and recall for that very reason, despite all the assurances you gave in your campaign thread.

For those unaware of the details, the last campaign for Delegate which saw me elected was May 2012, in which I replied to a question from flemingovia saying:

1. Blue Wolf caused a lot of problems in the region through inactivity. You have a history of disappearing for periods without announcement or explaination. In fact, this thread marks your return from an absence of nearly two weeks which left everyone asking "where is Elu?"

If you are elected delegate what confidence can we have that you will not go walkabout during your term?

1. I don't vanish for more than 3 days when that would create a security crisis. If elected Delegate, that would apply. I'm running with that obligation in mind. I have not held any elected office since Grosseschnauzer took over the office of Attorney General, for a reason. That said, I do intend for the Council of Five to be able to act if I am briefly unavailable.

I also replied to a conversation between JAL and mcmasterdonia on the same lines:

Why is Elu the most likely to be couped? :s

Sporadic activity levels. When I couped Ermarian I just watched his activity levels and started swapping once it was clear he was on a LoA. The region watched helplessly as I was able to basically walk into the delegacy.

That won't happen.

I believe the stronger wording of that remark was intended to make clear that under no circumstances would I permit JAL to "walk into the delegacy."

I did not campaign for reelection in September, but was reelected nonetheless. On November 5th, I was recalled from office for inactivity.

The subject came up again when, following mcmasterdonia's resignation in March 2013, I ran to complete his January-May term. I was ruled ineligible by the Court having been elected in the previous two terms, and so was not elected. Before this ruling however I held a Q&A. Some relevant points excerpted below:

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.

Changes to NS mean that the tools I developed in late 2012 no longer work. However, I have rewritten the key part for the current game site using my newer utilities. With the improved telegram system within NS itself, some of them are less essential, but I am likely to do something to make my phone buzz whenever I get a telegram, nonetheless.

The specific segments of time I can devote to TNP have changed, as have my IRL circumstances. I expect to be sporadically available between 0600 and 0930, usually available for some part of 1145 to 1300, and always available for most of the time between 1900 and 2300 Eastern Time. (UTC-5).

How can we trust you will be active, and not abandon your duties? This is not the first time this has happened.

I refer you to my answer to that question in the above Q&A.

...

How can we trust you to be accountable and transparent to the people when you weren't as such when you went inactive the last time?

I see accountability and transparency as applying to relevant NationStates concerns. If you believe I should be transparent about matters entirely outside NationStates then you are going to be disappointed.

The problem is, we have heard this before. We can cope with officials who disappear. But we need to have confidence that whoever is elected delegate will not just disappear mid-term; and you have a poor track record. When you were delegate the last time you went walkabout for a large chunk of your term, and only returned when the threat of impeachment was imminent.

Actually, I only returned after I was removed. And if you expect me to disappear two months in, well, this term is 2 months long

I must admit, I admire your chutzpah in standing for delegate again so soon. But back in the May 2012 delegate election concerned were raised about your prolonged periods of inactivity. Back then you gave us this assurance:

1. I don't vanish for more than 3 days when that would create a security crisis. If elected Delegate, that would apply. I'm running with that obligation in mind.

I could be a weasel and say that was my platform last may, not last september, but really I can only apologize that I did not live up to that last december. In this case I know precisely how I can be available twice daily for the next two months, with a greater degree of specificity and therefore certainty.

Most recently, you went AWOL almost as soon as you were elected to the cabinet.

I don't believe I am Absent Without Leave from the cabinet.

I mean, seriously, how can we have any confidence that whatever assurances you give, as you have given in the past, you will not disappear without notice?

You can believe that I know what I'm talking about when I'm talking about the routine I have set out for the next two months.

Ultimately, flemingovia then responded with:

Also, thank you for your gracious replies to the question of your walkabouts. I may still have my concerns, but I appreciate your candour.

Govindia of course carried on...

It was the matter that Eluvatar and BW left without prior notice, and Eluvatar to this date hasn't given an explanation for why he left. If it was RL, the only one of the two who said that was BW, never Eluvatar.

Firstly, I did give limited notice. Secondly, your refusal to accept my statement doesn't mean I didn't make it. I really don't want to revisit that particular part of the discussion.

[/quote]
And carried on further in a post that was not approved as he was on moderation and had been told not to pester me for RL details...

In sum: In May 2012 I said I would be obligated to never be unavailable for over 3 days, and I ultimately failed to meet this obligation in late October/early November of that year. For this I have apologized, and will apologize again: I am sorry.

When you disappear you do so without the courtesy of any sort of "heads up". You let down your colleagues and cause uncertainty and a greatly increased load for those around you. You have done it before.

I must disagree on this particular point, as in late October 2012 I did notify the executive government. My notice of course stated that I expected to be available again within a few days. I was wrong about that.

I understand real life. I understand that sometimes it needs to come first. I understand the needs for walkabouts. What i do not understand is your rudeness and lack of concern about those around you in the WAY you do it.

I am sorry also that I offended you. I did not intend to be rude, but that is not an excuse. I am saddened that you see a lack of concern for others in my past courses of (in)action. I gave notice to mcmasterdonia, but not to you directly, and I am sorry for that.

I cannot trust that you will not suddenly disappear mid-term, as you have done in the past. I cannot trust your assurances. I will not be voting for you.

That is your right. I will not hold it against you.

Everyone has their flaws, and certainly activity issues in your prior term would be one of those. But as the person who proposed your recall during your prior term, I don't think it should be held against you on the assumption that it will happen again. If you say that it won't, and if you have a strong platform that makes you the best candidate for Delegate, I think you should have the opportunity to serve as Delegate.

Thank you. As I have said, I would not be running again if I thought a repeat of that ignominious end to my last Delegacy was likely. I have some care for my ultimate legacy, and do not expect to run again in the future.

I do believe you have a strong platform that makes you the best candidate for Delegate, so you have my vote.

Thank you again. A great deal of thought and work went into it.

Though, I must apologize to your running mate, but my vote for Vice Delegate will still be going to SillyString as I believe she has the strongest platform and is the best candidate for that office.

That is your right. I will not hold it against you either.

 

[Eluvatar]

The question of nonfeasance will come up, seeing as I am the only Delegate in the history of The North Pacific to be recalled not for abuse of power. Rest assured, I would not have decided to run again if I did not plan on steps to ensure I do not disappoint the region with my absence at any point during this coming term.

You know I adore you, but you have disappeared more than once while in office, generally without warning and without an accurate prediction of when you will return - you once told me "in a couple weeks" for something like three or four months. Can you elaborate on what steps you have planned to ensure that a similar disappearance does not happen in the upcoming term, or that if it does it can be handled calmly and without chaos?

Whoops, you posted while I was finalizing my reply to the previous questions.

A question. The "couple of weeks" comment: was I in office at the time?

Have my elaborations in my reply just posted addressed your question regarding steps planned?

Edit:
I would ask my friends to move to recall me should I be absent without notice for more than 28 hours.

I would ask the region to consider an unannounced absence of more than 28 hours by me to be a resignation from the office of Delegate, and will write up an official document to that effect.

 

[Flemingovia]

When you disappear you do so without the courtesy of any sort of "heads up". You let down your colleagues and cause uncertainty and a greatly increased load for those around you. You have done it before.

I must disagree on this particular point, as in late October 2012 I did notify the executive government. My notice of course stated that I expected to be available again within a few days. I was wrong about that.

For the record, I was thinking of your colleagues on the Admin team, not the executive branch.

 

[Eluvatar]

When you disappear you do so without the courtesy of any sort of "heads up". You let down your colleagues and cause uncertainty and a greatly increased load for those around you. You have done it before.

I must disagree on this particular point, as in late October 2012 I did notify the executive government. My notice of course stated that I expected to be available again within a few days. I was wrong about that.

For the record, I was thinking of your colleagues on the Admin team, not the executive branch.

Ah. I did not understand your meaning.

I do believe I generally fix urgent issues with things only I can fix even when I'm not generally available. If that's not the case I must apologize, and will work on a suitable way to make sure that doesn't happen in the future.

If you mean the general admin requests / user IP checks, while I am from time to time consulted about IP checks when I'm not generally available and try to be helpful, I don't believe I have an obligation to necessarily always be available to fulfil everyday admin requests or check everyday citizenship applicants, when I'm not really playing the game. What I can do, as it seems you have been expecting it, is to communicate better with the Admin team regarding when I am available and to what extent, going forward.

 

[mcmasterdonia]

You had multiple absences when you were last Delegate. The longest being around 25 or so days, which you told me would be for a couple of days and caused widespread concern for your wellbeing. But before that there was more than one unannounced absence of up to one week (where nobody was told) as I recall that Kiwi (One of your Ministers) decided it was necessary to inform the Security Council of your unannounced absence. The admin issue is a separate thing entirely.

How would a 28 hour resignation notice have practical or legal force? Would Tomb be instructed to sieze chairmanship of the cabinet and move for your immediate recall? I'm not really sure how that would work from a legal perspective.

This has certainly made the election more interesting and I am glad that you decided to run. I am looking forward to the debates.

 

[Eluvatar]

You had multiple absences when you were last Delegate. The longest being around 25 or so days, which you told me would be for a couple of days and caused widespread concern for your wellbeing.

I was wrong about how long that absence would be. I am sorry.

But before that there was more than one unannounced absence of up to one week (where nobody was told) as I recall that Kiwi (One of your Ministers) decided it was necessary to inform the Security Council of your unannounced absence.

I had an declared partial absence June 23rd to July 1st, 2012, during which I continued to check on my nation via mobile device.

I was apparently inactive July 20th to July 25th. So far I've found in my records that I didn't speak on #tnp from the 19th to the 25th, and did not log in to Zemnaya Svoboda between (time=1342782152) and some time between (time=1343188800) and (time=1343274664), not posting on the forum between (time=1342781460) and (time=1343229600). All in all I'm pretty sure I was unavailable for 5 days which is indeed 2 more than 3. I did apologize, and am prepared to apologize again. At that time, and to a greater extent at the end of October / beginning of November, I became intensely preoccupied IRL in a manner that is unlikely to happen again.

It's your prerogative to distrust me on this point, and I won't hold it against you. That said, part of me feels it's inconsistent with your having encouraged me to run as far back as October 23rd.

The admin issue is a separate thing entirely.

Agreed.

How would a 28 hour resignation notice have practical or legal force? Would Tomb be instructed to sieze chairmanship of the cabinet and move for your immediate recall? I'm not really sure how that would work from a legal perspective.

No, I plan to write a letter of resignation effective upon a 28 hour absence from this forum on my part (unless suspended). I may also write a script which will make a resignation post for me automatically should said 28 hours elapse. (Which I'd test on the testforum before running against this forum ).

This has certainly made the election more interesting and I am glad that you decided to run. I am looking forward to the debates.

Thank you. I am too.

 

[mcmasterdonia]

It's cool, it wasn't my intention to appear belligerent or anything like that.

In my opinion, you were one of our finest Delegates. I supported you until the very end. But the absences were an issue and I was curious about how you would seek to address them.

I encouraged you to run, because I believe that you would make a fine candidate and Delegate if elected. I cannot be 100% sure that you won't disappear though. I also believe that a competitive election is a much better idea for the health of TNP's democracy and that we are giving the voters a tough choice for this election. I also think that many of our ideas are very similar, even if the execution is likely going to be different.

 

[Eluvatar]

It's cool, it wasn't my intention to appear belligerent or anything like that.

I may have a tendency to overreact to mention of those periods, as I feel very badly about them.

In my opinion, you were one of our finest Delegates. I supported you until the very end. But the absences were an issue and I was curious about how you would seek to address them.

I am pretty certain that the circumstances associated with those absences will not happen. I also intend to force myself to announce any lesser absences are appropriately noticed with the aforementioned protocol. I expect I may have an absence or two of the form I had June 23rd to July 1st, 2012, which was brief, incomplete, and with provided notice, and similar to a number from our current Delegate in general form.

I encouraged you to run, because I believe that you would make a fine candidate and Delegate if elected. I cannot be 100% sure that you won't disappear though. I also believe that a competitive election is a much better idea for the health of TNP's democracy and that we are giving the voters a tough choice for this election. I also think that many of our ideas are very similar, even if the execution is likely going to be different.

Thank you. I am not 100% certain either, I'm 100% certain of very few things. I'm at least 95% certain however that I will not vanish unannounced.

We certainly have a great deal of political philosophy in common.

 

[Grosseschnauzer]

My only request of you is that if you become aware that you're unexpectedly starting an unplanned absence, that you give us notice even if you don't know how long it will be or if it will limit your presence as Delegate (or as an admin here, for that matter.) That I think, would address what concerned people the most in the past. And I would have no problem if your TNP WA nation sought readmission to the TNP Security Council.

 

[Eluvatar]

My only request of you is that if you become aware that you're unexpectedly starting an unplanned absence, that you give us notice even if you don't know how long it will be or if it will limit your presence as Delegate (or as an admin here, for that matter.)

Yes, that is an entirely sensible request. I've not previously understand the obligation to apply to administrative tasks, but I probably should as well.

That I think, would address what concerned people the most in the past. And I would have no problem if your TNP WA nation sought readmission to the TNP Security Council.

Ineligible for influence reasons at the moment

Thank you though.