Seraph - Last Monday at 9:01 PM
Well, I'm here. It might not be a bad idea to make sure this works and that people can see it.
Feel free to discuss the discussion in by the #poolside.
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:01 PM
and if you want to discuss the discussion of the discussion, I'm afraid you're out of luck.
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:02 PM
Now, discussing the discussion of the discussion of the discussion, on the other hand, may be slightly too meta.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:02 PM
We like Meta.
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:02 PM
Ready when you are :smiley:
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:02 PM
But we're less fond of post-modernism.
o7
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:03 PM
Yeah, I prefer email-modernism myself.
>_>
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:03 PM
I'm more a post-post-modernist, really.
or is that pre-futurism?
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:03 PM
I'm just a more modern modernist
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:03 PM
Anyway, that's not why we're here!
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:04 PM
Indeed, it's not!
Seraph is here
Darcania is here
And .... well, nobody cares about me, but I am the moderator and am here, so we can start now :smiley:
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:04 PM
(I care about you, Ro!)
(Just to set those ships a-saling ;P)
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:05 PM
@everyone Welcome to A Drop in the Ocean Discussions - today, the topic is Culture, Culture, Culture as we have a nice discussion between the more culturally oriented Ministers of our great regions. Please, welcome @Seraph of the South Pacific and @Darcania of the North Pacific!
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:06 PM
Hello
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:06 PM
Hi!
feels very cultured, now
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:06 PM
Why don't you introduce yourselves?
To those that may not know who you are :smiley:
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:08 PM
Okay, so I'm Seraph (you might have noticed my name in blue above the text, but just in case). I'm also known in-game as Erinor. I started playing NS back in April and quickly found myself getting involved in regional affairs in one way or another. I did a term as a member of the Local Council, where I learned the importance of engaging the in-game community as much as doing stuff on the forums or on Discord and then, after an attempt to run for Chair of the Assembly I was elected as Minister of Regional Affairs back in October. (Full disclosure, no one ran against me...)
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:10 PM
Well, I am Darcania, recently returned from a year-long CTE, and the current Deputy Minister of Cultural Affairs in TNP. I was founded in TNP almost exactly two years ago and never left. Last time I was on NS, I focused mainly on RP and GP, without worrying too much about any regional government or foreign affairs. This time, however, to round out my NS experience, I've been focusing more on law (currently I am also the Deputy Attorney General in TNP) and foreign affairs, to see what life is like outside of TNP. I've never held any elected positions, but I'm hoping one day to be a Delegate of TNP.
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:10 PM
Thank you :smiley:
Now, this is not really an interview, or even a debate - rather, this is a discussion amongst two people working in similar areas in our respective regions. I will guide the conversation where needed, including bringing in questions and topics from citizens of our regions, but for the most part I will let these two speak amongst themselves, and we will see where the conversation goes.
Note that transcripts will be made available after the discussion.(edited)
Let's start off with something not related to culture (the fun parts can come later :stuck_out_tongue: ). You both got into your positions in different ways - Seraph was elected by the Legislature in the South Pacific, while Darcania was appointed to his position. I would like to know where you see the respective advantages and disadvantages to these approaches, if any, for the kind of work that you do.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:12 PM
Okay, so I have a question for @Darcania.
Which can wait, sorry.
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:12 PM
We'll do that next
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:12 PM
Indeed.
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:13 PM
Hah! And here I was trying not to be too much of an overbearing moderator :stuck_out_tongue:
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:13 PM
No, it's okay, I was distracted and missed your post! (Go me!)
Anyway, I guess I've been in both an appointed and elected position within this Ministry.
I was part of the Advisory Council last term when Roavin was minister and so I've seen both sides to a certain degree.
I think there's a greater sense of freedom when you're appointed to a role, especially if part of a larger team.
Wheras in an elected role there's a greater sense of pressure, not least because you're at the top of the ministry and the buck stops with you.
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:18 PM
I suppose one of the advantages to being appointed is simply time and effort. In TNP, we have a very thourough election process, which can take quite a bit of effort for the Election Commissioners (I would know, I've been an EC twice now), and elections currently take a minimum of twelve days. Appointing is much simpler in return, but we retain oversight from the other branches of our government through an Oath of Office and the recall option available to the RA. In turn, though, it can sometimes result in less activity, since there is less pressure to keep to any promises you would have made in an election campaign.
However, I do prefer the appointment procedure in the end. The lack of such strong pressure and the freedom it grants is important to me, at the very least, to help facilitate creative approaches to any problems we may face.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:20 PM
Sounds good, although it seems our appontment system is much more informal. It's really up to each individual MoRA as to whether or not they appoint any deputies and, if so, how many.
I'm a man well aware of my own weaknesses, so I appointed 5. :stuck_out_tongue:
Also, for the benefit of @Yalkan, I like cheese too!
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:21 PM
Syrixia is a strong Minister of Culture, and I believe he would do great even without Deputies, but even he has three: myself, @Goyanes, and Kasch
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:22 PM
I think cultural roles and the (as I understand it) even broader portfolio of Regional Affairs, are so broad that it would be foolish to work without a team to back you up.
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:22 PM
What do you do in Regional Affairs beyond organize events like this one?
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:24 PM
So, Regional Affairs in the South Pacific covers welcoming and integrating new players, RMB engagement, RP improvement, Journalism and Festivals and Events. I understand that some of this stuff is covered by other ministries in the North Pacifc, and that's particularly interesting beccause we've just had a bill proposed in the Assembly to split our MoRA into two parts.
(incidentally my question was going to be about that, ha ha)
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:27 PM
As I see it, TNP has three Ministries involved in internal regional affairs at the moment: Cultural Affairs, Gameside Affairs, and Home Affairs. Gameside handles moderation and mentoring on the RMB, Home Affairs handles forumside mentoring and forum recruitment, and Cultural Affairs handles events. Cultural sometimes handles RP improvement, but we have a seperate RP moderator team appointed by our forum administration that works on RP improvement, though Cultural will usually work with the RP moderators for such things.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:28 PM
And how do you feel that works for you guys?
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:28 PM
It works pretty well. There's been discussion to merge Gameside and Home Affairs, but they're still working pretty well regardless of their separation or merger.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:29 PM
Do you find you have a lot of crossover in staff, or people interested in being involved in both?
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:29 PM
Having a static, experience RP moderator team to balance out the fluid position of Minister of Culture helps out, too, in my opinion.
We often do. Home Affairs and Gameside shares the highest percentage of members (I'm stating this without hard data, but in my experience this has been the case), and I've actually seen a surprising amount of members displaying the badges of all six Ministries in their forum signatures.
Once you get into our Executive Staff, it's difficult to resist checking out the other Ministries :stuck_out_tongue:
How about TSP?(edited)
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:32 PM
Well the idea of considerable crossover is one of the reasons many legislators were against the bill. We were also concerend about the ministries competing, either for resources or just for the political ends of their ministers.
As it is the current MoRA team is much reduced from what it has been in the past and the active members we have are pretty much all chipping in all over the place.
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:34 PM
Our current Minister, Syrixia, has been working very hard on keeping up activity in our Ministry, and considering our Ministry's attendance in this event and in the planning phase, I'd say he did pretty well :stuck_out_tongue:
As for competing resources, some members may favor one Ministry they're in over the other, but we often have enough members that it balances out.
Oh, sorry, quick correction, we have seven Ministries, not six, but only six of them have distinct badges to display. The seventh is our regional army.
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:37 PM
How much is journalism a part of your purviews? And, in general, is journalism more a private institution or more of a government institution?
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:37 PM
In TSP we are lucky to have both private and government journalism active at the same time.
There is also a considerably blur between the two, with people who work on both and, thanks to an initiative by Roavin, a government run Journalism Support Service to provide proofreading and advice for independents.
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:40 PM
Our Ministry of Culture doesn't do much in terms of journalism; our regional newspaper, The Northern Light, is handled by our Ministry of Communications. It's more of a government institution; I find we don't have much in terms of private news institutions in TNP. Cross-Ministry members, like myself, may write articles from other Ministries, but mostly our newspaper is used to keep our embassies up-to-date with TNP's regional happenings as opposed to keeping our own residents up-to-date.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:41 PM
nods
There's a considerably degree of difference in our experiences, then, which is really interesting.
As feeder regions we face the same general challenges, but the way we approach them is very different.
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:42 PM
Oh hey guys, we have a surprise visitor!
pen_mouth:
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:42 PM
I figured I'd pop in as I am able to be on the Internet at the moment. Happy to answer any questions. :stuck_out_tongue:
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:42 PM
Introduce yourself, Syr
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:42 PM
Gladly.
I'm Darc's son who is also his boss for some reason
But in all seriousness, I'm Syrixia, TNP's Minister of Culture :stuck_out_tongue:
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:43 PM
I like being in charge behind the scenes.
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:43 PM
fite me
Anyways, my job is to make sure spirits are high in the region and that we have a good time.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:44 PM
Does @Roavin have any questions for us?
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:44 PM
^^
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:44 PM
I should point out that Syrixia is my NS son, not my real life son.
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:44 PM
:stuck_out_tongue:
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:44 PM
I do have topics, though I must say I was very pleasantly observing the conversation you were having :smiley:
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:45 PM
Ask away, bruv.
I'd be happy to answer past questions from my own point of view too.
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:45 PM
2 vs 1 now
Kinda unfair
pen_mouth:
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:45 PM
(We all know you're secretly on my side :wink: )
Roavin - Last Monday at 9:45 PM
(Always my luv)
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:46 PM
Anyway, I have a question, actually.
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:46 PM
for?
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:46 PM
What do you find is the largest challenge you face as Minister of Culture?
@Syrixia
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:46 PM
His Deputies
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:47 PM
The largest challenge I face is myself. I'm constantly encouraged by my fellow citizens and officials, but I feel like I'm not doing enough. Whenever I'm here I'm always trying to help the regional culture, whether it be in RP or in MiniCult work.
Note- I call the MINIstry of CULTure MiniCult
I think Lennart or Gradea invented the nickname, I'll have to check.
It was Gradea
But back to the question at hand- As I said before, I am my own biggest obstacle, which is both advantageous and discouraging.
It helps me do better, but it's also bad for my own self-esteem about my job.
But
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:50 PM
I can relate with all that.
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:50 PM
as my dad always says to me, if you're a negative person bad stuff isn't that bad and good stuff is even better.
So in the long run I guess it helps me. :stuck_out_tongue:
The encouragement from my peers really helps, though.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:51 PM
You find MiniCult(TM) is good for your personal development, then?
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:51 PM
To extend the question to me, my biggest challenge as Deputy Minister is to make sure this guy doesn't get out of hand. Seriously, he is very energetic and enthusiastic about his job, one of the reasons I consider him the best Culture Minister I've seen so far, but it's sometimes important to make sure he doesn't get carried away, and to do my best to keep up with him so I can effectively help him out with running the Ministry.
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:52 PM
^This. My imagination runs wild with me sometimes. :stuck_out_tongue:
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:52 PM
I'm a pretty low-energy person in general, so it's pretty difficult, but I think it's a good balance. It's a shame I was around for only half his term.(edited)
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:53 PM
Also, @Seraph, yes to a degree. I have three distinct agendae at all times: that of Mapperdonia (the community of Mappers on YouTube), NationStates, and Real Life.
My position affects my self-esteem on NS positively, but not much outside, because it's only a game. :stuck_out_tongue:
I have amazing self-esteem in real life, though.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:54 PM
That's good to hear. I'll confess that I don't, but that this experience has been really helpful for me.
I've even included details of parts of it in job applications, ha ha.
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:54 PM
oh jaysus
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:54 PM
You have to word it very carefully...
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:55 PM
Btw, think of how I keep NS, IRL, and Mapperdonia separate as kinda like how the player behind Gracius Maximus and Ivan Moldavi keeps those two personas separate. I reference them like how, let's say, GM would talk about Ivan, but I keep them separate.(edited)
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:55 PM
I find NS can be pretty good for my own personal development. I'm at the bottom of the corporate ladder in real life (dish jockey), which doesn't flex my mind very much or help me improve my leadership experience, but I find NS helps be out with both.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:55 PM
(Retail monkey, here)
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:56 PM
Perhaps NS will help me in that way when I get a job. :stuck_out_tongue:
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:56 PM
Since I've re-joined NS, I've actually rarely touched any video games. The only recent game I've played was Transistor.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:56 PM
I find it eats mostly into my reading time...
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:56 PM
I think it's a good sign; I've been too engrossed with video games before, and my school life suffered as a result.
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:56 PM
I started last year with a target of books to read on Goodreads and, in the end, didn't get halway through, ha ha.
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:57 PM
So, @Seraph, what are your major challenges as Minister, and do you find your position to help you with personal growth?
Seraph - Last Monday at 9:57 PM
Anyway, to backtrack to my original question, the biggest challenge I face is, I think, a history of decline in the Miinistry over the last year or so and the struggle to rebuild a team and get people involved.
There are a lot of hurdles to getting new people engaged in the huge range of stuff there is to do in a big region like ours and, without already having a strong team of minions (I don't really think you're minions), it can be a bit of an uphill struggle. We've made some progress in the last two months, however, and I hope that, if I don't get a second term, I'll haev at least done a bit of groundwork for whoever comes after me.
And wow, we've been at this an hour!
Syrixia - Last Monday at 9:59 PM
I've been at this for ten minutes. :stuck_out_tongue:
Darcania - Last Monday at 9:59 PM
I think the fractured Ministries we have in TNP help with engagement, since it allows people to pick and choose what they would like to do day-to-day in the Executive.
Syrixia - Last Monday at 10:00 PM
Agreed! Mo' choices, mo' experiences, mo' fun.
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:00 PM
We're working on a more streamlined system that really lays out all the optins clearly for people and helps them to choose based on their interests and personality, but it's been a lot of behind-the-scenes work and so it hasn't borne any visible fruit just yet.
We certainly don't lack for choice, however.
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:01 PM
I know what you mean, we often have to deal with behind-the-scenes work that doesn't seem to bear fruit for a while in Culture. It takes patience to bear it out, but the "fruit" in this analogy is definitely worth it.(edited)
Syrixia - Last Monday at 10:03 PM
I should note, btw, since Darc did it and I wasn't very detailed-
I was founded in TNP almost over two years ago, around October 2014, and never left. In contrast to Darcania, I've always focused on RP. For most of my two years RP was my exclusive purview until Cascadia, a nation since no longer with us, appointed me as Deputy Minister of Culture. He joined NS after me, so I was slightly embarrassed at my lack of progression, but I did my job with dignity and continued to primarily focus on RP. I served briefly in the North Pacific Army, but later resigned to build up my endorsements.
Everything changed for me when Plembobria, a nation who joined around the same time I did, was elected Delegate and contacted me about a proposition.
I was like ok sure let's hear this
One oath later I'm having the time of my NS career.
I still focus a lot on RP, mind you, but more focus has been given to other culture-purview projects lately.
A Murder Mystery theme week is in the works, (the theme is being reviewed by the Admins) and I have plans to start an RP encouragement project called Project Renaissance during Winter vacation.
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:05 PM
Sounds like fun!(edited)
Syrixia - Last Monday at 10:05 PM
Not this week though. This week is going to be a veritable hell for me. Thank Our Lord Flemingovia I'm on right now.(edited)
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:06 PM
I remember half of my positions have been me actively asking for them. This may surprise some of you, but I've only been on NS for about five months total, but by simply asking for positions I've been surprisingly successful.
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:06 PM
Okay, I'd be very keen to make sure that those who have sent in questions have a chance to have them answered.
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:06 PM
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs comes to mind.
@Roavin? Got some more questions for us?
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:07 PM
I have topics, but I didn't see a need to step in yet :smiley:
Syrixia - Last Monday at 10:07 PM
I remember hearing that you were dropping in to say hi @Darcania, and immediately set about to bugging you to come back XD(edited)
i guess it worked
shrugs
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:07 PM
You're the one who brought me back when I started lurking on Discord, remember?
Syrixia - Last Monday at 10:07 PM
yup
I should probably go soon, by the way- I have to work on my biology. I'll take one final question before I go, however.
@Roavin
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:07 PM
Alright.
Let's go with a nice one - what was your greatest/nicest/most wonderful experience in your role?
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:09 PM
This moment is ranking pretty highly, but I'm not sure I can give a clear 'best' moment. For me it's the moments when you realise that something you've organised, lead, or created yourself is actually working, that people are having fun, and getting involved. Those moments make the stress before worth it.
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:10 PM
I'd say this festival, really. Since I re-joined only about a month ago, this is the biggest Cultural project I've been involved in so far, and it's been quite a success. More than that, it was an inter-regional affair, which as I've said I've been trying to get more involved in. It also helps that we're having such a good discussion on our similarities and differences between our two regions.
It also helps that this discussion makes me feel important :3
Syrixia - Last Monday at 10:11 PM
Probably either appointing Darcania as Deputy Minister (I was very happy when he came back) and this festival. (It's huge, awesome, and successful!)
Sorry for the short answer. :stuck_out_tongue: Gotta go.
Darcania - Today at 5:10 PM
I'd say this festival, really. Since I re-joined only about a month ago, this is the biggest Cultural project I've been involved in so far, and it's been quite a success.
Darcania - Today at 5:10 PM
It also helps that we're having such a good discussion on our similarities and differences between our two regions.
This sums the whole bit of what I think up^^^
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:12 PM
Well, I'm very glad to have been a part of that!
Syrixia - Last Monday at 10:12 PM
Anyways, baiiiiiiiiii.
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:12 PM
Bye!
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:12 PM
Bye, Syr!
Syrixia A. Sanguine - Last Monday at 10:12 PM
bai daddy
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:13 PM
Thanks for showing up, even if only for twenty minutes!
Syrixia A. Sanguine - Last Monday at 10:13 PM
:joy:
Darcania - Today at 5:13 PM
Thanks for showing up, even if only for twenty minutes!
:heart:
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:13 PM
Thanks for joining us!
Syrixia A. Sanguine - Last Monday at 10:13 PM
No problem.
Ok logging off now jaysus
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:13 PM
I'm still good to keep going.
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:13 PM
Okay, I can probably managed a nother fifteen minutes.
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:14 PM
Got another topic for us, @Roavin?
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:14 PM
Absolutely!
Let's talk about game-side involvement.
Both of our regions have a significant "forumite" culture, and lots of activity is concentrated onto this relatively small part of our communitie.
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:14 PM
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:15 PM
Yet there are the wider swaths of the RMB and beyond that also wish to be entertained and may have things to contribute.
How do you see the possibilities of expanding from the forums to the in-game community, keeping in mind the strong differences in paradigms and experiences between the two places?
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:17 PM
Firstly, I try to make sure that anything we do is shared in-game as well and that as much information about it is conveyed as possible to them as well.
I stay active on the RMB too, to make sure that at least a portion of the forum community is recognisable to the in-game community.
It was part of my strategy to have a deputy in charge of improving the in-game involvement, but unfortunately that hasn't worked out so far. Instead we've recently run a short survey on the topic and will publish the results shortly.
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:20 PM
I honestly don't know. I personally have never considered gameside culture. I know our Gameside ministry does usually handle RMB affairs, though they haven't as a group so much established a culture as more prevented a worse one through moderation. I do know that @Praetor, a member of the Ministry who happens to have moderation power through his FA position does quite a lot for the RMB, though, being the main one to suppress rule-breaking posts and the one who puts up polls every so often, to the point where he nearly single-handedly handles the cultural aspects gameside (doubtlessly with the help of other members, like @Yalkan). I, however, don't know much about Gameside personally; I've only just recently joined that Ministry and thus am not privvy to their discussions of anything like that.
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:24 PM
Well, then let's get to the most important question of all.
This is a very, very vitally important question and I hope you treat it with the utmost diligence.
Ready?
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:24 PM
is excited
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:24 PM
vibrates with anticipation
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:24 PM
Here it is.
It's coming.
It's right around the corner.
Approaching.
Wait for it.
...
. . .
. . .
Cake or Pie?
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:25 PM
Pie, mostly because where I work I can get cheescake whenever and there's such a thing as too much of a good thing >.>
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:26 PM
Everyone knows that I'm an independessert, but as it's nearly Christmas... MINCE PIES!!!!!
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:27 PM
I see TNP and TSP can agree on at least one thing.
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:27 PM
On which note, I better go and do various Ministry things that need done before I go to bed.
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:27 PM
Indeed.
Thank you both for participating. I think this went extremely well, especially with our surprise guest :smiley:
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:28 PM
Thank you for having me
Seraph - Last Monday at 10:28 PM
Thank you for being an excellent moderator!
And thank you Darcania for answering my, sometimes rather in depth, questions!
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:28 PM
Transcripts will be made available soon.
Darcania - Last Monday at 10:28 PM
Sorry I didn't have much in the way of questions myself :sweat_smile:
Roavin - Last Monday at 10:29 PM
And on that note - I encourage everybody in #poolside to give our two conversationalists here a big, big round of applause! Bye :smiley:
@everyone
