Long Overdue Updates

Equilism Township Election Results

25 March 2016

The Mayor
The Noble Republic of tarricoe - 2
The Stiff Drink Pouring of North Pooch and Vodkaland - 7
abstain - 1

Town Moderator
The Noble Republic of tarricoe - 6
abstain - 4

World Assembly Delegate
The Democratic Kingdom of Isaris - 4
The Noble Republic of tarricoe - 0
The Sacred Protectorate of Patrimonium Petri - 2
abstain - 4

Election certified this 25th of March 2016 by Westwind, Emeritus Rex, Co-Founder, and Father of Equilism

On behalf of the Interim Government of the Equilism Commonwealth:
Congratulations to Mayor Pooch, Town Moderator tarricoe, and World Assembly Delegate Isaris! And thank you to everyone that participated in these elections, both candidates and citizens alike.

The Interim Government is hereby dissolved as the newly elected officials take office.

Please join me in congratulating the first elected government of the Equilism Township! :cheers:

Equilism Easter Update​

This is an official update from the Equilism Township to all friends and allies on the status of our region endorsed by the offices of the Mayor and the WA Delegate.

Hello friends! May I have your attention, please?

Much has changed since our last update to you, which in some regions was more than a year ago. It is our deep regret that our relations fell into such a state of disarray, and we are eternally grateful that you have maintained your embassies and treaties with us despite our absence on the world stage. Today we are pleased to announce that our silence will be broken. The Equilism Township is the beginning of a new chapter in our region's long history and we intend to share it with the rest of the world.

What happened to the Commonwealth?

While we have internally debated the reasons why until we were blue in the face, to be blunt the Commonwealth fell apart due to inactivity. While some cite a lack of regional direction, such as military gameplay, others cite a restrictive Senate that ceased to function. The long and the short of it is that Westwind, the Co-Founder, had to dismiss the government of the Commonwealth and appoint an Interim Government to figure something out. Our population had fallen to less than 150 and active membership on our off-site forum is ~10%, or even less.

The result of the Interim Government's efforts was the nullification of the Constitution of the Commonwealth and the ratification of the Charter of the Equilism Township, which Westwind signed into law on 15 March 2016.

How is the Township different from the Commonwealth?

Since the structure of the Commonwealth failed partly due to an inactive Senate, we have opted for a consensus-based, direct democracy as opposed to an elected Legislative body. All citizens of the Township are free to bring up any matter for discussion in the Public Courtyard, and if it gains support, the Town Moderator will bring it to a vote in the Town Hall before the entire citizenry. While we understand this may seem crazy to some, we believe that this kind of inclusiveness is necessary to rebuild our region. With our long history and the work of our predecessors to guide us, we have a solid foundation, to be sure.

The Mayor is now our Chief Executive and is responsible for guiding the overall domestic and foreign policy of the Township. He is also responsible for negotiating treaties with other regions, which will then need to be ratified in the Town Hall by the entire citizenry. There are also many other things the Mayor is responsible for, but those are unimportant in regard to this update.

The status of our military

Currently we do not have an active military. Mayor Pooch has declared his intent to rebuild it but as to what direction it will take has yet to be determined. Historically we have opted for a defender and imperialist approach, but it is difficult to say at this time if this will continue. However, what can be said easily is that once we have raised a reasonable force, we will have great need to perform training exercises with our allies.

What about our treaties?

Don't worry. If you'll have us, it's our intent to re-ratify all of our treaties with new language to reflect our change in government. Our Mayor and Delegate are working on the drafts right now! However, we might wait to approach you with them until our government is fully setup and we've brought in a larger population. Times have been rough on us, but now we can begin our recovery. Please bear with us!

However, before I update you all about our region, I'd like to share with you an incredible and infinitely exciting bit of news about something from RL. Rhydian Cowley, a 20km race walker, has been added to the 2016 Australian Olympic Team. You can find an article on that here. Why am I sharing this? Because Rhydian Cowley is long-time member and former WA Delegate of Equilism, The Monkye! Our community is filled with pride seeing our friend fulfill his aspirations and we will be cheering for him as he goes for the gold in Brazil this summer!

You can follow Monk's Olympic journey here at this Facebook page.

The election for the office of Town Moderator of the Equilism Township ran from May 1st through May 8th, with two candidates standing. Those candidates were Astarial and Kubrikistan, both long-time members with a history of service to the region under previous governments. Running on a campaign promise to bring new tools to the job and increase the efficiency of the position's administrative duties, Astarial was elected by a vote of 5-3-1. However, shortly after the dust had settled, Astarial asked Kubrikistan to be her Deputy Moderator, and he accepted.

The Deputy Moderator is a new position for the Township created by Astarial as one of her first acts in office. They are appointed by the Town Moderator and serve to moderate over proposals in which the Town Moderator has taken an active role as a participant. The need for this arose as Astarial had been heavily involved in important legislation being debated in the Town Hall prior to taking office, and thus she could not be impartial on the matter. As the Town Moderator has the authority to declare a proposal passed by consensus, the new office was created to take on this duty when the Town Moderator cannot be impartial.

The first proposal to be passed this way, and indeed the first legislation passed since the Charter was adopted, was the Protectorates Act (2016), authored by WA Delegate Isaris. It passed on May 22nd and is a replacement for the Colonies and Protectorates Act passed by the Second Commonwealth of Equilism in 2014, re-validating Equilism's relationship with protectorate region Warzone Europe. As Astarial is also the Empress of the Dominion of Warzone Europe (head of state), this further facilitated the need for the office of Deputy Moderator.


Another implementation Town Moderator Astarial is partially responsible for is the redesign of our off-site forum's layout, with heavy input from WA Delegate Isaris as well. Citizens and visitors alike should find the Equilism forum to be a much more user-friendly place thanks to their design and the brilliant admin work of Co-Founder Westwind. Not only are threads and categories easier to locate, but site performance has also been improved by the reduction of categories and recent technical updates. Furthermore, a new feature to Township life was also implemented along with the new layout: clubs and organizations!

Clubs and organizations can be founded by forum members regardless of citizenship status and two have already sprung up so far; the Equilism Anime Club and the Equilism Gaming Guild! The Anime Club is an entire sub-forum devoted to anime due to its large membership in respect to the population of the region, as well as its history on old Main Street, where it was originally founded by Monk in 2008. Meanwhile, the Gaming Guild, founded by Isaris, is devoted to all things gaming; whether you're a fan of video games, board games, card games, sports, or all of the above, you're welcome in the EQLGG!

The election for the office of Mayor of the Equilism Township ran from June 1st through June 8th, with only one candidate standing. That candidate was the incumbent Mayor, North Pooch and Vodkaland, who has been in office since the March 25th election that started the Township government. With Pooch standing uncontested, the Election Aide opened a confirmation vote on June 5th after the standing period had officially ended, wherein citizens of Equilism could confirm or deny Pooch as Mayor. In the end, with a tally of 8-0, Pooch was confirmed as Mayor for a second term.

After his confirmation, Mayor Pooch made the following statement on the Equilism RMB:

*steps in front of camera*

Thank you to everyone who voted for me! As I go into my final term as Mayor, I'd like to look back a bit into the previous term. At the beginning I suggested that my staff and I would be deemed successful if we were to find ways to increase activity. In looking at the usage of the forum, I'd say that we have been mostly successful. There is much activity in a wide variety of threads. We have expanded our diplomacy. The gaming threads are active. The government threads are active. But it is not enough. We need to develop vested player interest from more players to help create the type of region that can thrive in the NS world.

During this term for us to be successful there are two focuses that are important: we need to introduce more legislation to get our charter tidied up and we need a continued focus on recruitment, retainment, and increased participation amongst current citizens. If we can accomplish these goals Equilism will be in a better place!

I would like to thank our WA Delegate Isaris for his tireless efforts for Equilism. Without his work and dedication we would be lost! Next I would like to thank Belussa. Not only is he the best NS DM, but he has done a great job working with other regions increasing Equilism's standing in the NS world. Lastly I would like to thank Astarial, our Town hall moderator. Her enthusiasm and love for Equilism is very apparent and she has brought many solid ideas to the government offices.

I would ask you citizens of this great region to find what you can do to help Equilism, roll up your sleeves, and get busy.

Once again thank you for voting for me for Mayor.

*sets mic down gently*

Click to expand...

Equilism has always been a region that's welcoming to journalists. Over the years, numerous publications have graced its shelves, including the Equilist, the Rejected Times, the Westwind Frontline News, and many more. Since April, a new publication has regularly filled the stands in the Township. The Isari Times, formerly known as the Isari Weekly News, strives to provide news to the citizens and tourists of Equilism from around the region and the NS world at large. What's more, the Isari Times has recently expanded into Europeia as well! As you probably guessed from the title, the author of this publication and the author of this update are one and the same.

If you enjoyed reading this update, you might enjoy reading the Isari Times! You can find it here in Equilism and here in Europeia!

Shameless advertising and possible abuse of power aside, this is an open invitation from the Equilism Township to foreign media outlets to publish in our region! We want to hear from our friends all over the world, not just the ambassadors of their governments in the embassies! All are welcome to bring their publications to our foreign media sub-forum here. Please check the guidelines and information thread before posting your media.


Preparation for Equilism's next big event is underway! The Midsummer Nights Festival will be a series of bonfires held from June 21st to July 5th in the center of the Township. Come and join us as we gather round to debate a wide variety of topics and issues that have permeated humanity throughout the years, or start a topic of your own! If debates aren't your thing, don't worry, the Midsummer Nights Festival will feature other activities as well.

One of the other star attractions of the Festival will be the Wildwalker Hearthstone Tournament, hosted by the Equilism Gaming Guild. Participants will be required to create three wild mode decks for this tournament as it will use a last hero standing format. More information and a sign-up sheet will be available in the near future with the release of another update regarding the Festival. We hope to see you there!

Thank you for reading this update. If you'd like to visit the Township as a tourist, you can do so by clicking one of the Equilism banners.