[HQ] Democracy Day Planning

SillyString

SillyString

TNPer
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11. The seventh of July, the day the constitution was ratified, shall be known as Democracy Day, and shall commemorate the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Legal Code of the North Pacific.
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How better to celebrate our beloved documents than with a printed version that fits in your pocket!? :w00t:

To make that happen, we need to raise money for printing... so obviously we're going to do a Kickstarter!

For a run of 100 copies, which will include the full text of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and which will have full-color cardstock covers, we probably need to raise between $150 and $200. The basic version is going to be offered completely free - people will just need to get us their address so we can mail it to them, in a regular letter envelope with a stamp (it really will be pocket sized!). The Kickstarter rewards will help fund the base run we aren't charging folks for. Additional rewards so far include:
  • Donate $2 to get a special Sponsor of Democracy edition
  • Donate $5 to get a fully customized back cover - you send us your design (we don't design it for you)
  • Donate $10 for a perfect-bound paperback book including the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Legal Code - same size as the base version, but over 3 times as long
  • Stretch goal: E-book (alternatively, could just make this freely available no matter what)
  • Stretch goal: Signed copy? Perhaps pick from a list of people willing to sign and ship? Could include me, maybe Elu, perhaps r3n, maybe even the delegate if Pallaith is open to that. And might make this a regular tier rather than a stretch goal.
We are waiting to hear back from the print shop as to how flexible they can be on multiple designs without charging too much more, which will determine the feasibility of offering customized copies. Also don't have fully solid pricing info yet.

In terms of promotion, we want to spread the word on the forum and on Discord about the Kickstarter. We aren't going to advertise on NS because that's forbidden by site rules. No TGs, no RMB posts, nothing like that. However, we do want to advertise the completely free version regionwide, possibly by a mass TG. Anybody who submits their address will get a free copy.

And this is something we can redo every year - people might want to collect various editions to compare them, since amendments can happen. And perhaps different individuals might offer to sign copies, which could be considered collectible as well.

We need some additional ideas for reward tiers and/or stretch goals! What else will people give money to get?

Also, I think we can come up with at least one or two other things to do on the forum or RMB on the day itself, so I need some help brainstorming on that front as well. :)

Obviously Manumission Day is the top priority, but Democracy Day isn't too far away so we shouldn't delay too much.
 
I was planning on donating at least $30 to this, since I like the idea a lot. I'd suggest a back cover featuring our region's flag, and I'd also love to see a page where former delegate's have signed it (ones in good standing, ofc). It could become a very novel and sentimental piece of our community's history.
 
Lord Ravenclaw:
I was planning on donating at least $30 to this, since I like the idea a lot. I'd suggest a back cover featuring our region's flag, and I'd also love to see a page where former delegate's have signed it (ones in good standing, ofc). It could become a very novel and sentimental piece of our community's history.
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Not physically, I should hope.
 
So, here's the dealio. Mods, backed up by [violet], have said that we cannot promote this directly on the NS site. I think the best we can do is a mass-tg saying "there is a democracy day celebration happening on the forum, with opportunities to participate even if you don't have a forum account." And then link to the forum, but not any specific thread. Then, on the forum, we could have an announcement titled something like "Get your free hard copy of the TNP Pocket Constitution" with information about the booklet and a link to a google form where they would fill in their address and no other information. We would cap responses to the form based on how well-funded our kickstarter is. We'd have the first 100 booklets ready to go on Democracy Day itself, and then we'd place an order for the rest once we reached the response cap, or a few days have passed and it looks like we aren't going to get any more orders.

Costs are still not finalized, but we expect we will be able to produce these booklets for around $0.68 per unit, and can have the whole order shipped to us from the print shop for between $10 and $20. We will then need to purchase envelopes and stamps to send them to everyone who requests one, which will cost between $0.61 and $1.30 depending on whether the address is outside the United States. Altogether, we're looking at an average of about $1.65 per unit, plus the shipping costs to get them to us. Add in Kickstarter's fees and the cost of producing backer rewards, and we're looking at $225 as our initial fundraising goal.

The standard pocket constitution will be a 3.5"x5" saddle stiched booklet, and the cover will be printed on the same paper as the interior. The booklet will contain only the text of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as of June 1. All kickstarter backers will receive a special edition with a card stock cover and a message of thanks on the back. Note that in the OP, it says that the standard booklet will have a card stock cover, but I'm thinking that works better as a stretch goal. If we hit $300, I think we can afford the card stock cover in the standard edition.

Another stretch goal I thought of is if we raise just a little extra, like $25 on top of the initial goal, we could maybe add some extra pages at the end, such as an afterword by the delegate, or the principal authors of the current constitution (which I believe would be Elu and Gulliver), promotion of the WADP, instructions for getting involved in TNP, etc.

Here's a preview of the Kickstarter, based on my current expectations: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1730719034/1246423700?token=30759afc. We would promote the Kickstarter on the forum and discord ONLY, and would not breath a WORD of this gameside. Do not share this link outside of this sub forum right now, because backer rewards and other details are not finalized. We're still in communication with the print shop, and have not settled on final costs, product details, etc.
 
plembobria:
Lord Ravenclaw:
I was planning on donating at least $30 to this, since I like the idea a lot. I'd suggest a back cover featuring our region's flag, and I'd also love to see a page where former delegate's have signed it (ones in good standing, ofc). It could become a very novel and sentimental piece of our community's history.
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Not physically, I should hope.
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Not physically, no.

You could scan your signature in and send that to Asta/COE or just include a signature image made via GIMP etc, I'd imagine.

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I'm more than happy for advertising on the discord server to happen (and I don't think we'll hear any issues on that front). All in all this is a sound plan.
 
I'm not sure signatures are very feasible. If we could get a complete set of signatures from all delegates under the current constitution, that would be amazing, but I don't think that would happen, and just having a few seems...I'm not sure what the point would be. I'd rather use those pages to include a special message from the current delegate, or any of the things I describe above for the first stretch goal.

Update from print shop: All the stuff we want to do, in terms of the physical products seems feasible. Here's a breakdown of what is possible:

1. Saddle-stitched, self-copy (look it up), mini book (3.5"x5") with only the text of the Constitution and Legal Code - $0.68 per booklet
2. Same as (1), but with four extra pages - $0.74 per booklet
3. Same as (2), but with a card stock cover - $1.01 per booklet
4. Same as (2) but perfect bound (look it up) - $1.51 per booklet
5. Perfect bound mini book with Constitution, BOR, and Legal Code - $2.34 per booklet
6. Perfect bound novel size (4.25"x7") book with all laws, rules, and procedures - $3 (this is a rough estimate, because I don't know the page count at this size yet)

(5) and (6) would be reserved for backer rewards. I'm thinking we would do a 100 unit run of (1) if we get fully funded, upgrade everything to (2) if we hit the first stretch goal, upgrade everything to (3) when we hit the second stretch goal. All backers will get (3) regardless of whether we hit the second stretch goal.

I'm thinking if we hit a higher stretch goal, maybe $400, we could upgrade everyone to (4), or at least the backers and the first 100 residents who order. We're using a print-on-demand service, so we don't have to order anything before democracy day. Once the kickstarter is over, we'll calculate the maximum number of orders we can take. If we get under that number, we can afford fancier versions for everyone. If we hit that maximum though, we'll being doing fancy for the first 100, and less fancy for the rest, I should think. Regardless of how much we raise and how many orders we get though, (5) and (6) will only be given to those who contribute for them as rewards on kickstarter. I am also thinking that (5) and (6) would only contain the text of the law, and not any of the extra stuff that is going into the minibook, since all backers, regardless of which reward they select, would be getting the minibook. I feel like the longer, perfect bound books ought to be more like legal reference, and less like collectibles. Do you potential backers disagree? Give me thoughts.

EDIT: Keep in mind that the prices listed above do not include the cost of having them shipped from the print shop to us, or the cost of mailing them from us to the residents, including stamps ($0.49 for USA, $1.15 worldwide) and envelopes (about $0.15).
 
For people who don't like clicking links, here's where the kickstarter stands:

Goals​
Base goal: $225
If we make this amount, we'll be able to produce 100 self-copy saddle-stitch pocket constitutions, to include the bill of rights, and distribute them absolutely free. Naturally we will also make all reward items.

Stretch goal: $250
If we get to $250, we will be able to include an extra 4 pages at the back of everyone's the pocket constitution. This content is currently TBD, but I'm hoping to talk the delegate into making a speech. That might be a nice thing to do every year, if we can - whoever currently holds the office will write a little something, like how governors make addresses for holidays. Alternatively, it could be something by the primary authors of the 2012 Constitution, or by someone who writes a lot of laws, or.. who knows! It's TBD, but should be cool.

Stretch goal: $300
Getting to $300 will allow us to replace the self-copy covers of all pocket constitutions with card stock. The card stock will be glossy and will make the document look wicked sleek. For realsies, y'all, you want the card stock. I believe all the paid rewards will come with card stock automatically - won't it be nice to have a matched set?

Rewards​
Sponsor of Democracy: $2
Special edition of the pocket constitution - card stock cover and a message of thanks.

Custom Edition: $5
Your own personalized copy of the constitution, with a fully customizable, full-color card stock cover. We will send you a template, you will send us your design. Also includes Sponsor of Democracy.

Paperback Constibillocode: $15
A miniature perfect-bound laminated-cover paperback book containing the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Legal Code. Roughly 3 times as long as the base version! Also includes Sponsor of Democracy edition.

The Big Book: $25
Small novel-sized (4.5"x7") perfect-bound laminated-cover paperback book with the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Legal Code, PLUS the RA rules, SC procedure, Court Rules and Procedures, and all current treaties. Also includes Sponsor of Democracy edition.

The Whole Shebang: $35
For the truly special kinds of crazy - a collector's set. The Big Book, the Constibillocode, and the Sponsor of Democracy Pocket Constitution. Send us a custom cover and we'll toss that in too.
 
Something I noticed while typing this up: It looks like there's a weird overlap between the $2 and the $5 pledge. The Sponsor Edition will have a personalized message on the back cover, but the Custom Edition lets you completely design your own back cover. Will the message of thanks be on top of that? Is the message of thanks on the inside back cover? Or do people who contribute $5 get 2 pocket constitutions, which seems a tad silly?
 
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