Foreword
When I was elected Vice Delegate four months ago, I certainly wasn’t expecting to be in this position come May. But it’s the job that I’ve been given, and over the last three weeks I’ve put in many hours and my best effort. There were many people, both within TNP and outside, who helped me navigate the complex situations internally and abroad. Looking back over these weeks, there was much that we have managed to accomplish. We quickly responded to the crisis, filling the vacuum of leadership and reasserting our Independence when we were dismissed as puppets and proxies for the defenders, while resetting our relationship with defenders so that we can still work with them in the future; we assumed control of the first active Frontier (and as of now, still the largest Frontier); and we have begun comprehensively reviewing the tech issues we face and work with our coders on new scripts. But more importantly, I’ve seen the view from the Delegate’s seat, and I believe I know what we need to do as a region to adapt and improve in these challenging times. I believe I have a plan for our future.
The government has faced no shortage of challenges these past few months - whether it’s most of our technological tools being rendered unusable, the crisis that triggered the resignation of the Delegate, the arrival of the Frontiers update, or just the general shortage of staff we are still facing. In the coming term, we will need to confront our challenges proactively. We need to engage the region and deliver robust, sustainable solutions. We need a plan that creates the momentum we need to drive us into a brighter future. Ultimately, my goal is to build a stronger community and stronger region - that means an active, engaged and knowledgeable group of people. My plan, I believe, will help set us in that direction over the next four months.
About this platform
The generally accepted way of presenting a platform in Delegate elections is to make some summaries about Executive management before splitting the platform into sections on each ministry. This platform won’t be like that. It is my belief that almost everything a ministry does is in some way connected to another ministry’s work, or towards a greater goal for the government. To communicate my vision for TNP effectively, I will be splitting the platform into two broad areas on Domestic Affairs and Foreign Affairs, and discuss each of the goals I have in these areas. Some of these goals will have many moving parts and involve multiple ministries, while some will be more focused. But all of these goals serve the purpose of extracting more potential from our region and from the advantageous position we are in as the largest region.
Domestic Affairs
Turning around Executive Staff stagnation
Through the years, we have developed a suite of tools to bolster our recruitment. Our task at hand is to use them effectively - beginning with telegrams and Lists. Currently, the Ministry of Home Affairs’ telegram Lists can be split into two rough categories - general ones, like for joining the forum or applying for citizenship, or more specific, such as for a certain ministry. The specific ones are the ones we need more. Our automated telegrams already convey lots of the general information, and while some reminding is always good, it doesn’t need to be the focus of Lists. This will involve writing new telegrams and creating new templates, and maintaining awareness on which ministries are most in need of new staffers. As it stands, writing and updating telegram templates hasn’t been a strong suit for the Ministry of Home Affairs, and most of that comes down to a lack of encouragement. Sometimes, the Minister or Deputy Ministers have to take charge of the effort and lead by example. Home Affairs should never just be about sending Lists, it’s about recruitment and integration, and right now, the Executive Staff needs that.
Mentoring is also a function that can use some refinements. Firstly, it would be ideal to notify mentors of new joiners on a more consistent basis, perhaps daily or once every two or three days depending on the volume of new joiners. This would allow us to reach newcomers more quickly and raise the likelihood of retaining them before they lose interest. A spreadsheet could be very useful to keep track of those who responded to mentor messages and remind mentors to respond to them, follow up with their progress, and push them to try out new things in the region, so that mentees get the fullest extent of support available to them.
Mentoring is also a function that can use some refinements. Firstly, it would be ideal to notify mentors of new joiners on a more consistent basis, perhaps daily or once every two or three days depending on the volume of new joiners. This would allow us to reach newcomers more quickly and raise the likelihood of retaining them before they lose interest. A spreadsheet could be very useful to keep track of those who responded to mentor messages and remind mentors to respond to them, follow up with their progress, and push them to try out new things in the region, so that mentees get the fullest extent of support available to them.
Coordinating the effort to replace defunct technology
With the tech guild now up and running to begin replacing our scripts and tools that had been rendered unusable recently, the government has an important role to play. By coordinating the efforts of our talented coders and admins, communicating the government's needs, and setting priorities for the tools we need the most, the government can help the tech guild work more efficiently. This will no doubt also help the government get a better understanding of the new scripts when they are implemented, especially their vulnerabilities, so that the government can respond appropriately to minimise damage if a situation arises.
Accountability and Transparency
The Northern Notes were introduced by Pallaith in his last term as essentially a new form of press releases. I would like to build and expand on that foundation this term. I believe it’s the perfect avenue to start with the revival of a communications/media ministry (more on that in a different section). These press releases will focus on activity in the Executive government, and if requested, updates from other branches of government, with a focus on compiling comprehensive information and directing readers as to where they can find more details on a particular event. This will keep TNPers consistently informed about what’s going on in the government. More detailed press releases would also be released on an as-needed basis for major events such as a large North Pacific Army operation or an interregional event.
On a further note, ministerial reports have slipped into oblivion over the last few terms. While at once we had as many as one report every month, we now barely even see any end-of-term reports. I would like to bring them back to a frequency of at least a midterm and end-of-term report. In addition, I believe regular reports from the Delegate personally would better inform the region of the big picture. These reports are a vital part of maintaining accountability and informing TNPers what we have achieved (and just as importantly, not achieved) each term.
On a further note, ministerial reports have slipped into oblivion over the last few terms. While at once we had as many as one report every month, we now barely even see any end-of-term reports. I would like to bring them back to a frequency of at least a midterm and end-of-term report. In addition, I believe regular reports from the Delegate personally would better inform the region of the big picture. These reports are a vital part of maintaining accountability and informing TNPers what we have achieved (and just as importantly, not achieved) each term.
Putting the spotlight on recruitment
With our receiving share of newly spawned nations being slashed by half due to the Frontiers/Strongholds update, we will need to take steps to ensure that our population doesn’t decline dramatically. This is why telegram recruitment will be crucial to this term’s agenda. Consistent with best practice, we will attempt to implement all three forms of telegram recruitment currently available - stamps, API and manual. For stamps, this will be underway shortly, as we already have a good amount of stamps in deposit and a new regional nation dedicated for this use. For API, this will need to be scripted with help from the tech guild and hopefully implemented some time during the term. Manual recruitment is where most of our efforts will be focused, as it is the only method that isn’t automated, but therefore generates the highest returns.
Manual recruitment is, as the name suggests, manual, but it can be made more efficient with the help of a tool. I have discussed with various people over the last few weeks about how we should go about acquiring one. Some have suggested Dot, a bot used already by several other regions such as The League, but its code is closed source and it only allows one person to recruit at once. We are currently in discussions with Europeia to use a copy of their tool, as our own tech guild has yet to sort out the hosting of any new tools, and it is imperative that we can start recruiting as soon as possible. Once a tool is up and running, we will begin recruiting recruiters as part of the Home Affairs staff, and a program will be designed with incentives for sending telegrams - this will likely include trading cards, with cards given away per number of telegrams sent. Other contests and rewards would also be designed to ensure fresh incentives are always provided and people do not lose interest in what can be a repetitive task.
This emphasis on recruitment will also mean a re-examination of our telegram templates to build a new recruitment telegram. In fact, there will likely be several new recruitment telegrams that can be tested out for their effectiveness so that we maximise our return.
Manual recruitment is, as the name suggests, manual, but it can be made more efficient with the help of a tool. I have discussed with various people over the last few weeks about how we should go about acquiring one. Some have suggested Dot, a bot used already by several other regions such as The League, but its code is closed source and it only allows one person to recruit at once. We are currently in discussions with Europeia to use a copy of their tool, as our own tech guild has yet to sort out the hosting of any new tools, and it is imperative that we can start recruiting as soon as possible. Once a tool is up and running, we will begin recruiting recruiters as part of the Home Affairs staff, and a program will be designed with incentives for sending telegrams - this will likely include trading cards, with cards given away per number of telegrams sent. Other contests and rewards would also be designed to ensure fresh incentives are always provided and people do not lose interest in what can be a repetitive task.
This emphasis on recruitment will also mean a re-examination of our telegram templates to build a new recruitment telegram. In fact, there will likely be several new recruitment telegrams that can be tested out for their effectiveness so that we maximise our return.
Rebuilding government media
The slowly declining interest in article-writing over the last few years had been a death knell for the former Ministry of Communication/Media. The merger of Media into Culture was intended to remove an inactive ministry and lower the burden on ministry leadership to produce articles given the circumstances, but it was unfortunately mostly neglected by successive Ministers of Culture. This is why I believe we need to make a proper, not half-hearted attempt to revive government media - and I will be officially re-constituting the Ministry of Communications with a dedicated Minister, should I be elected.
To give media its much-needed rejuvenation, I believe we need to look towards reporting and analysing news as the foundation of the ministry’s work, since they provide newcomers with opportunities for entry-level writing with lower stakes. Government publications will focus on creating and delivering intriguing content that generate discussions both internal and external. In addition to producing press releases (as mentioned previously), the ministry should deliver news, but more importantly, *analysis* on current events within and affecting TNP. This may not always be beneficial for the government, but I believe it is necessary for a functioning media scene in the region. It may well be that at first we have to heavily rely on a few writers, but once established, this has the potential of generating interest and creating sustainable activity within the ministry.
Radio is a trickier beast, requiring a degree of technical knowledge and a number of people not only willing to speak, but also available at the same time. I believe the smart thing to do at this point is to explore new varieties of show ideas that could generate interest and encourage people to sign up and partake, but not to exert pressure on staffers to produce shows which could lead to frustration and burnout.
To give media its much-needed rejuvenation, I believe we need to look towards reporting and analysing news as the foundation of the ministry’s work, since they provide newcomers with opportunities for entry-level writing with lower stakes. Government publications will focus on creating and delivering intriguing content that generate discussions both internal and external. In addition to producing press releases (as mentioned previously), the ministry should deliver news, but more importantly, *analysis* on current events within and affecting TNP. This may not always be beneficial for the government, but I believe it is necessary for a functioning media scene in the region. It may well be that at first we have to heavily rely on a few writers, but once established, this has the potential of generating interest and creating sustainable activity within the ministry.
Radio is a trickier beast, requiring a degree of technical knowledge and a number of people not only willing to speak, but also available at the same time. I believe the smart thing to do at this point is to explore new varieties of show ideas that could generate interest and encourage people to sign up and partake, but not to exert pressure on staffers to produce shows which could lead to frustration and burnout.
Building connections with Gameside
I believe that the Delegate has a personal responsibility to build a relationship with the gameside players. Although Gameside Advocates play useful roles, the Delegate can and should build a more personal relationship with this somewhat neglected constituency. Simple chats or impromptu question times would go a long way to letting gameside players, many of who are relatively new, feel connected to the leadership of the region.
Gameside Advocates still play an important role, of course. Much of the goals I have presented so far require some amount of active promotion and engagement, from press releases to news articles to projects and events, and the gameside community too needs to be kept informed. Gameside Advocates would also play a large role whenever RMB-based events, large or small, are organised, advertising the opportunity heavily and reaching out to potential participants.
Gameside Advocates still play an important role, of course. Much of the goals I have presented so far require some amount of active promotion and engagement, from press releases to news articles to projects and events, and the gameside community too needs to be kept informed. Gameside Advocates would also play a large role whenever RMB-based events, large or small, are organised, advertising the opportunity heavily and reaching out to potential participants.
Diversifying cultural activities
I believe the key improvement we can make to the Ministry of Culture is to make smaller activities and events a more regular occurrence and more diverse in options, so that there’s always something interesting to do. To that end, I hope to implement a formal Culture schedule with a multitude akin to what’s been run in the past. Because repeated events can quickly lead to interest waning, it’s important to maintain a fresh arsenal of ideas. There should be activities for all three of our most used platforms - RMB, Forum and Discord - and this will be a major focus for Culture. Discord events can include those we have done in the past, such as Music Mondays and Theme Thursdays, as well as lesser-tried ones such as jackbox games or even Discord’s own games feature. Forum and RMB events could include games such as continue the story or small creative contests that don’t have to require great effort from the participants. One potential type of forum thread which I think could be popular is where you're asked to do something and share it, like taking a quiz or sharing your best ChatGPT response for a particular type of prompt. We could also encourage people to post about their hobbies, like Marcus has been doing consistently with his trains and planes.
Explore the opportunities from Season 3 of Cards
TNP’s card guild has survived its toughest challenge in the wait between season 2 and season 3. It has continued to perform and recently managed another highly successful symposium. Enthusiasm for cards is still strong and I intend to keep the momentum going, but the biggest factor in its continued success will be resolving our work on improvements to our coding and our scripts. The guild needs a reliable, long term card pool for giveaways and lotteries, and we need to be able to rely on the infrastructure we have to make our programs a reality. That must be the priority in the term ahead, so that the guild will continue to do what it does best. With regular rewards and working tech, we should be able to keep interest in the program in the long term and from there we can continue attracting top talent and be a leading part of the cards community.
Cards will continue to have an important role in our regional culture and be a ministry in its own right. As we rebuild our executive staff, I believe we can continue to innovate what the cards guild does and take the lessons we learned from the symposium and expand our programs to keep up with the expectations and norms of the larger cards community. To continue to be a leader in this area we have to adapt to all the changes season 3 of cards brought to the game, and how cards are being used in the wider game. We built something important and innovative in the beginning, and now we have to find the next innovative approach with the way cards work now and how it worked 3 years ago.
Cards will continue to have an important role in our regional culture and be a ministry in its own right. As we rebuild our executive staff, I believe we can continue to innovate what the cards guild does and take the lessons we learned from the symposium and expand our programs to keep up with the expectations and norms of the larger cards community. To continue to be a leader in this area we have to adapt to all the changes season 3 of cards brought to the game, and how cards are being used in the wider game. We built something important and innovative in the beginning, and now we have to find the next innovative approach with the way cards work now and how it worked 3 years ago.
Building a secure and vibrant Frontier
There have been many questions asked about our plans for The Wellspring since we first took over the region. As some of you may know, I have been skeptical of the idea that putting the time and effort into building a Frontier would be worth it for the new members we will gain. In that case, what was I doing with The Wellspring? Simply put, I realised that in the first days after the update, there would be very few Frontiers eligible for spawns and those that are would be accumulating a huge advantage in nations - this is too good of an opportunity to pass up. So we quickly organised for the NPA to move into the only Frontier that seemed on track to receive new spawns, and next thing we knew half of all nations were spawning in a region we control.
What does the future hold for The Wellspring? Although I am not a fan of having our own Frontier, the existing advantage of The Wellspring makes it an attractive proposition to incorporate it as a territory of TNP to be our one and only Frontier. There are a number of TNPers who are dedicating some of their time to build a government and a community in The Wellspring, and I believe it would be best to give them some independence so that The Wellspring can develop a community organically and its own identity, which will make it more attractive as a region for new nations to stay in. However, I do intend to speak to those dedicating their time to The Wellspring regularly, so that I can be in touch with the progress and offer any opinions from a more TNP-centric perspective.
What does the future hold for The Wellspring? Although I am not a fan of having our own Frontier, the existing advantage of The Wellspring makes it an attractive proposition to incorporate it as a territory of TNP to be our one and only Frontier. There are a number of TNPers who are dedicating some of their time to build a government and a community in The Wellspring, and I believe it would be best to give them some independence so that The Wellspring can develop a community organically and its own identity, which will make it more attractive as a region for new nations to stay in. However, I do intend to speak to those dedicating their time to The Wellspring regularly, so that I can be in touch with the progress and offer any opinions from a more TNP-centric perspective.
Foreign Affairs
Continuing proactive action towards foreign policy goals
In times ahead, we will be facing serious challenges as a region, whether it is continued aggression from raiders against us and our allies, which include Independents and Defenders, or instability in the gameplay landscape that might result from the F/S update. I understand that some of you are still hesitant about continuing relations with some defender regions, but the reality is that we share many common goals with them in this new era - countering destructive practices from raiders, protecting regional sovereignty, and supporting our many shared allies, just to name a few. I believe all of these regions, including TSP, can be a productive partner for this future state of gameplay, and with the lessons learnt from this disaster of their own making, I believe they will be extra careful to maintain respectful communication with us and not to overstep their bounds again. Our talks so far have allowed us to take the first steps towards healing our lingering differences. I can see a future for our relationship with these regions. It’ll require serious commitment and careful steps on their part, but I’m willing to give it a try.
Rethinking record-keeping and information access within the ministry
In light of recent events, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun taking steps to ensure that ministry leadership, staff and our general population are all informed to the appropriate extent on our diplomatic undertakings. A key issue that we discovered while dealing with the recent diplomatic fallout was the poor transparency and record-keeping practices in the past administration. For example, negotiations are sometimes conducted over voice chats, with no written record of what was said during these chats. Furthermore, we will be looking to produce a Code of Conduct for foreign affairs leadership and diplomats, which will include best practices on what platforms to use for certain discussions, where to maintain records and how to document decisions. Internally, Pallaith began compiling records of past diplomatic conversations from Discord into a secure subforum during his previous term, and that will continue should I be elected.
I also believe we should begin more regularly including Deputy Ministers in diplomatic conversations. As well as being a form of training to develop future leaders, this would improve the number of people with knowledge of certain information and further guarantee that information is not lost. We also recognise that there should be a formal support structure within the ministry to support the Delegate and the Minister’s decision-making, and we will attempt to create a body that satisfies that need.
I also believe we should begin more regularly including Deputy Ministers in diplomatic conversations. As well as being a form of training to develop future leaders, this would improve the number of people with knowledge of certain information and further guarantee that information is not lost. We also recognise that there should be a formal support structure within the ministry to support the Delegate and the Minister’s decision-making, and we will attempt to create a body that satisfies that need.
Engaging Foreign Affairs staff
The Foreign Affairs section of the Executive Discord Server has been buzzing with activity the last few weeks, most of it of course due to the massive controversy we were embroiled in. However, Madjack, as the Minister, has also done his part to generate more conversations by inviting discussions and sharing occasional updates on our talks with various regions while they were ongoing. I intend for this approach to continue next term. For staffers, this is an opportunity to learn more about what is going on in the wider world, the norms and expectations of diplomacy, and the repercussions that certain actions can cause. For ministry leadership, this is a chance to gauge the foreign affairs understanding of individual staffers and observe any changes over time, so they can select staffers to further develop and advance to higher roles.
Foreign Affairs education for the wider population
As mentioned in my domestic agenda, I plan on producing regular press releases. Although the primary goal of these releases, as previously stated, is transparency, they can also be a useful tool for education. This is why I plan on including updates on foreign regions in these releases, to offer our general population easy access to information about what’s going on outside our region. These would be akin to the Foreign Affairs Reports produced a few terms ago, but more publicised to reach a wider audience in TNP. We will draw on Foreign Affairs staff to produce these, as they will be expected to keep an eye on foreign happenings and raise these items for discussion and inclusion in the updates. With FA being one of the most popular ministries in terms of staff applications, we can make use of FA staff who are not assigned to ambassador roles to contribute to these reports, thus serving to develop their own foreign affairs understanding while informing others.
Activating the Inter-Regional Chat
The IRC has had some ups and downs through its existence, and is currently in a rather inactive state. But I believe it only takes one region and a couple of people to take interest in it to drum up some serious activity, and there are some easy first steps we can take to help revive the IRC. I am hoping to collaborate with the other IRC member regions to introduce weekly topics of discussion on either recent gameplay events or important gameplay issues. If there is sufficient interest and available topics, the frequency can even be increased. As a gathering ground that is purpose-built to increase communication between people from different regions, the IRC has much potential in helping promote TNP’s image and foreign policy abroad.
Reinvigorating the North Pacific Army
With the region’s size (and crucially, WA numbers) poised to shrink due to the upcoming game changes, it’s more important than ever to utilise our other ways of projecting power and influence. One of these is our military, which has seen struggles in activity in recent terms, even if it is showing signs of being on the way up under Rom’s leadership. Here is how I plan to reinvigorate and reinforce the NPA.
One idea that has always been floated, sometimes executed, but never really implemented wholeheartedly is the idea of publicly reporting and celebrating large and successful military operations. The reason I am bringing this idea back to the forefront is that I believe it has the ability to kill two birds with one stone - firstly, it increases visibility for the NPA and consequently TNP in the wider world; secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it brings NPA activity out in the open for TNPers to see, and can be used to encourage more TNPers to join the NPA.
Another way to improve NPA recruitment is to change our messaging on the NPA. The current messaging revolves around touting the strength of the NPA, but I believe it should focus on the benefits it offers the individual - for example, easy way to meet players across the NS world, opportunity for political advancement to become Minister of Defence and even Delegate (as many of our Delegates did come from the NPA). Furthermore, telegrams can play a bigger role in NPA recruitment. Many prominent military organisations send out automated telegrams to new WA members, and I don’t see why we can’t try the same for new WA members in TNP.
Lastly, I believe it is time to start better organising the induction of new recruits. It has been tradition to train our new recruits on the go, but that’s not always the most efficient, especially if it happens to be on joint operations. I believe a channel in the NPA server to specifically organise times to train new recruits would go a long way in making sure our recruits are battle-ready when it comes time for their first operation.
One idea that has always been floated, sometimes executed, but never really implemented wholeheartedly is the idea of publicly reporting and celebrating large and successful military operations. The reason I am bringing this idea back to the forefront is that I believe it has the ability to kill two birds with one stone - firstly, it increases visibility for the NPA and consequently TNP in the wider world; secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it brings NPA activity out in the open for TNPers to see, and can be used to encourage more TNPers to join the NPA.
Another way to improve NPA recruitment is to change our messaging on the NPA. The current messaging revolves around touting the strength of the NPA, but I believe it should focus on the benefits it offers the individual - for example, easy way to meet players across the NS world, opportunity for political advancement to become Minister of Defence and even Delegate (as many of our Delegates did come from the NPA). Furthermore, telegrams can play a bigger role in NPA recruitment. Many prominent military organisations send out automated telegrams to new WA members, and I don’t see why we can’t try the same for new WA members in TNP.
Lastly, I believe it is time to start better organising the induction of new recruits. It has been tradition to train our new recruits on the go, but that’s not always the most efficient, especially if it happens to be on joint operations. I believe a channel in the NPA server to specifically organise times to train new recruits would go a long way in making sure our recruits are battle-ready when it comes time for their first operation.
Protecting the sovereignty of our WA vote
There has been much attention paid to our vote in the WA because, well, it was at the centre of the crisis that transpired and led to Hulldom’s resignation. The way to prevent a similar sort of thing from happening again is simple - we cannot make promises about how we will vote to a foreign region before a proposal is even submitted. That doesn’t mean we can’t discuss with other regions about our vote, but it must be clear to everyone that our vote is decided by our WA residents. It is the government’s right to form an official position on a vote before the start of the vote and convince residents to vote the same way, but we should be transparent about the reason we’re doing so.
Beyond that, the next term will see a new form of gameside voting being tested, which will hopefully allow more of our WA residents to have a voice in the regional vote and expand interest in the WA across the region. I will also continue to vote early on WA resolutions to maximise the impact of our vote. As a former Minister of WA Affairs, I am well acquainted with the workings of the ministry and will gladly offer any guidance or assistance if needed.
Beyond that, the next term will see a new form of gameside voting being tested, which will hopefully allow more of our WA residents to have a voice in the regional vote and expand interest in the WA across the region. I will also continue to vote early on WA resolutions to maximise the impact of our vote. As a former Minister of WA Affairs, I am well acquainted with the workings of the ministry and will gladly offer any guidance or assistance if needed.
Conclusion
As you have seen in my platform, there is no shortage of initiatives we can take in the coming term to help secure the future for our region. We must dedicate our efforts towards building a stronger community, and that starts from plugging in our gaps and confronting our current and future challenges head-on. This will not only be necessary to maintain our status as the largest and greatest region in the game, but grant us the resilience so we can be confident that no matter what happens, we are ready to respond to it.
I hope my past three weeks as Acting Delegate and the new vision I have presented for the region highlights why I should be the person to lead our region for the next four months. As always in our elections, questions and comments from you will be an integral part of our democratic process and shed further light on how I will perform as Delegate. Therefore, I invite all of you to ask any questions you might have, and I will respond to them to the best of my ability.
Thanks to @Kastonvia for the banner
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