Simone for Vice Delegate: I'll get the job done

[Simone]

Simone for Vice Delegate - I'll Get the Job Done - A Sensible Alternative​

I have been asked by various folks in TNP to run for Vice Delegate (VD) and I have accepted the invitation. I’d keep my platform brief.

Endorsements: This has to be the no.1 goal for TNP, given the plunge in our endos since Sep 2024, both in the raw number, and in the share of active WA players.

While the Delegate is in charge of Home Affairs, if I have the honor to be your Vice Delegate, I will pledge to ramp up the portions under the VD and the SC. This includes:

1. I am delighted that the WADP came back in the last administration. I will continue the great work from @Kaschovia and @Sil Dorsett on this programme.
2. Cards Lottery should be able to make a consistent return. There were some specific problems with the Cards Guild several months, but I understand it is now on a much more solid footing thanks in no small part to @Dreadton and the Cards Guild team.
3. The Security Council needs to do their part. SC members still need to endotart often and keep as close to the legal limits as possible, to set a good example for everyone else in the IC government.

I delivered on my KPI as Delegate in terms of the share of WA players (from 6.54% to 6.79% during my term starting in May 2024), in no small part due to recruitment., and I am confident of ramping up as Vice Delegate taking on the VD/SC portion of recruitment.

Vice Delegate Reports: I will keep the weekly routine. The statistics will be kept online to make it easier for citizens to reference the progress of the VD’s work, and updated as needed.

More listening, less talking: I am aware that VD is not a top-down role, so I will restrain myself from micro-managing. If I have the privilege to be your VD, I will defer to the Security Council for their advice and wisdom. As Delegate I have observed the Security Council at work, so I have a good understanding of the nuances.

Declassifications and other admin: I handled TNP routines like clockwork, and stepped up when needed - on top of WAA, I also stepped in for Comms and Radio when I was Delegate. At the request of various Security Council officers, I will also put in place a plan to clear the years-long backlog on Security Council discord message declassifications.

Executive Council: there is only one Delegate at one time, and I will not speak on behalf of TNP outside of TNP. I will not offer advice unless asked. I am not about to go and be a bombthrower in various Discords.

If the Delegate Resigns: I believe this is unlikely, but if I end up being a caretaker, I will not implement my own policies as interim Delegate - I will simply “hold the fort” until the next election.

In summary, I offer an alternative for those voters that desire one - someone who has a good track record for the admin work, having learnt from my mistakes to keep my mouth shut outside of TNP, stay active in TNP, and already reasonably familiar in the processes of the SC, having previously been Delegate.

I hope to seek your support in the coming days, and, if I have the privilege to serve you again in an elected capacity, over the next four months.

Cheers

(Any edits to my platform after posting will be shown below for transparency)

Edit 1: changed the section on "declassifications" on SC request. Some minor edits on formatting.
Edit 2: elaborated on the Endorsement strategies section as it pertains to VD as per a Discord conversation. Some minor edits on formatting.

 

[Owenstacey]

Hey Simone,

Interesting campaign, I just have a couple of questions that I was hoping you could expand on regarding your campaign:

1 - On the WADP, you said that you would continue the great work on this programme. Are there anything that you would like to see done differently with the WADP, or changes that you would like to see made, or will the work just be to ensure that the WADP continues with regular release?

2 - On the Cards lottery, what plans do you have to work with the Cards Guild to assist on this and facilitate its return?

3 - On the SC 'needing to do their part', what plans do you have to support the SC on this aspect, beyond what is already being done endorsement-wise?

4 - You talk about ramping up the VD/SC portion of recruitment. How do you plan on doing that?

5 - On the VD reports, you mention that the statistics will be kept online and 'updated as needed'. How often do you foresee updating these statistics as they obviously do change quite frequently.

6 - On your point of more listening, less talking, you talk about deferring to the SC for their advice and wisdom, what areas do you foresee this being the most important for you to have a successful term as VD?

7 - On declassification, you've said that you will put in place a plan to clear the backlog. Are you able to expand on this plan publicly any further, and how much of this are you expecting to be able to get through this term?

 

[Simone]

Hey Simone,

Interesting campaign, I just have a couple of questions that I was hoping you could expand on regarding your campaign:

Thank you so much for your questions. Please see below for my answers:

1 - On the WADP, you said that you would continue the great work on this programme. Are there anything that you would like to see done differently with the WADP, or changes that you would like to see made, or will the work just be to ensure that the WADP continues with regular release?

As you may know, TNP lost a number of technology infrastructure projects a couple of years ago, and reviving WADP was not really possible when I was Delegate last year. (I am also not a programmer, so could not really write programs myself for example). I am obviously delighted that Kaschovia and others have been able to get it back on in October. I would hope to get the WADP running for at least a month or two first and then look to expand it.

WADP is also a joint Delegate / Security Council project (at least it is branded as such), so obviously needs the Delegate's support as well, although I presume that would be straight-forward.

2 - On the Cards lottery, what plans do you have to work with the Cards Guild to assist on this and facilitate its return?

The Cards Lottery has been back for some time now (automated, every day at 11:50 AM Eastern Time), I would like to clarify that I was referring to ensuring that sufficient numbers of high value cards are kept in the inventory to fund the lottery for a long time to come. After all, it is daily, so it's using up valuable cards daily.

My understanding is that there are still very significant cards inventory in various puppets across the region. I will need to be in place to have access to that information to give a full assessment as my understanding is from mid-2024 and may be outdated. (I have not been in IC govenment this term).

3 - On the SC 'needing to do their part', what plans do you have to support the SC on this aspect, beyond what is already being done endorsement-wise?

4 - You talk about ramping up the VD/SC portion of recruitment. How do you plan on doing that?

I will reply to this part in a separate message.

5 - On the VD reports, you mention that the statistics will be kept online and 'updated as needed'. How often do you foresee updating these statistics as they obviously do change quite frequently.

From my understanding of the Security Council's current mechanism, Sil Dorsett has made changes to the scripting sheet, and it is now automated. I do not know the exact details of the automation, hence I was quite vague on that part of the platform. I believe I should be able to keep to weekly (or even more frequent) updates.

6 - On your point of more listening, less talking, you talk about deferring to the SC for their advice and wisdom, what areas do you foresee this being the most important for you to have a successful term as VD?

I have observed that in the past, some vice delegates have been more outspoken in IC government, in both domestic and foreign affairs. I believe there is only one delegate at a time, and I will not intrude on the prerogatives of the Delegate.

In terms of learning from the SC, the most important part is increasing my understanding of GP and security dynamics - although I have been Delegate for four months last year, I was largely focused on domestic matters such as culture, comms, and WAA.

7 - On declassification, you've said that you will put in place a plan to clear the backlog. Are you able to expand on this plan publicly any further, and how much of this are you expecting to be able to get through this term?

My understanding is that there are a significant number of conversations on Discord that have not yet been de-classified, and these have piled up for a number of years. Based on the fact that I have observed Security Council workings for four months (as Delegate), I believe completing the de-classification of all outstanding conversations over four months should be doable.

 

[Pallaith]

What’s so different about your method of endotarting that you feel your results are so superior to recent delegates and vice delegates or candidates for those offices?

Your opponent has alleged that your decision to run was not based on being asked by others, but out of a desire to see the he not be elected vice delegate. I do not necessarily agree that that is an invalid reason to run for office - I think it’s understandable and actually a fairly common reason why people run for office. So what’s so wrong about acknowledging that fact if it’s true?

This election seems to be showing a greater than historically normal extent of DM and private one on one campaigning. You are of course infamous for leveraging this method into a successful run for the delegacy last May, and your methods saw continued use in the election that followed, to the great success of the current delegate. But the cracks definitely show - being good at campaigning is no guarantee to being good at governing. Now we have four candidates who, essentially whether they want to or not, must engage in these tactics to compete. Do you think this is fair game and healthy for our democracy? Are some of us just overreacting or stuck in more traditional norms that are past their prime?

Why do you think your delegacy was as rocky as it was? Where did things go wrong, and what might have turned them around?

You indicated publicly that you decided against another delegate run this election due to your personal time constraints and obligations. Would you therefore not seek the delegacy in the event you must serve as Acting Delegate and a special election were to be held?

 

[Sil Dorsett]

The Cards Lottery has been back for some time now (automated, every day at 11:50 AM Eastern Time), I would like to clarify that I was referring to ensuring that sufficient numbers of high value cards are kept in the inventory to fund the lottery for a long time to come. After all, it is daily, so it's using up valuable cards daily.

This is true, with an important caveat. The Card Lottery currently consumes 1 Legendary card per day, which, with just over 3000 cards in the supply, would be consumed in a little over 8 years. However, this could change depending on any incentives the government, specifically the Delegate or Vice Delegate, wishes to run and have me implement. There is also the matter that the supply only contains Seasons 1 through 3. Season 4 and any future seasons are not and would not be in the supply unless action is taken. From what I understood, r3n spent a lot of time card farming, as it cannot be automated, something that is honestly unappealing to me at the moment.

From my understanding of the Security Council's current mechanism, Sil Dorsett has made changes to the scripting sheet, and it is now automated. I do not know the exact details of the automation, hence I was quite vague on that part of the platform. I believe I should be able to keep to weekly (or even more frequent) updates.

This is not correct. Read the report again. It is planned, but not currently implemented. However, some progress was made just today, after watching a youtube video which taught me a linux command that became immediately relevant to my efforts. (Thanks, Veronica!) Could even be done before my final report, but I am not promising that.

 

[Gorundu]

As you may know, TNP lost a number of technology infrastructure projects a couple of years ago, and reviving WADP was not really possible when I was Delegate last year. (I am also not a programmer, so could not really write programs myself for example). I am obviously delighted that Kaschovia and others have been able to get it back on in October. I would hope to get the WADP running for at least a month or two first and then look to expand it.

How might you look into potentially expanding the WADP? What do you think are some ways to leverage it better to improve our WA numbers?

 

[Simone]

Owenstacey:
3 - On the SC 'needing to do their part', what plans do you have to support the SC on this aspect, beyond what is already being done endorsement-wise?

4 - You talk about ramping up the VD/SC portion of recruitment. How do you plan on doing that?

I think given the requirement for a gap between VD and D endorsements, we need to get the Delegate's endorsement count up first, for obvious reasons. We do need to remind the Security Councillors that they have a need to stay fairly close to the endorsement count and not let it drop off. In addition, I believe some of the new recruits during my time as Delegate have come from me directly reaching out via personal DMs - more time consuming, surely. I would encourage SC members to do that in their spare time.

What’s so different about your method of endotarting that you feel your results are so superior to recent delegates and vice delegates or candidates for those offices?

I don't think it was apparent, but I chased down a lot of folks that I consider to be "potential converts" with personalised messages. I never really publicised this as I counted it as part of the overall recruitment duties of being Delegate.

Your opponent has alleged that your decision to run was not based on being asked by others, but out of a desire to see the he not be elected vice delegate. I do not necessarily agree that that is an invalid reason to run for office - I think it’s understandable and actually a fairly common reason why people run for office. So what’s so wrong about acknowledging that fact if it’s true?

As I referenced in our DMs, I feel it is important to offer an alternative and not let an election be cakewalk. It just happens that I also would prefer if someone who is more favorable to the General Assembly passing positive resolutions (rather than repeals) is elected. It's not particularly directed at any one candidate.

This election seems to be showing a greater than historically normal extent of DM and private one on one campaigning. You are of course infamous for leveraging this method into a successful run for the delegacy last May, and your methods saw continued use in the election that followed, to the great success of the current delegate. But the cracks definitely show - being good at campaigning is no guarantee to being good at governing. Now we have four candidates who, essentially whether they want to or not, must engage in these tactics to compete. Do you think this is fair game and healthy for our democracy? Are some of us just overreacting or stuck in more traditional norms that are past their prime?

I think you're better at answering that question than me, as I really don't have any experience of what happened "before I joined", and you joined much earlier in TNP than me. I just prefer to do things my way because I am not very good at public debates, both because I am in an Asian time zone, and because English is definitely not the language I habitually have been using for the last two decades or so. I also think I have a grating and slurring voice (if you ever listened to my NBS radio broadcasts).

You indicated publicly that you decided against another delegate run this election due to your personal time constraints and obligations. Would you therefore not seek the delegacy in the event you must serve as Acting Delegate and a special election were to be held?

I don't have as much visibility on my work schedule as a lot of what I do is case based, or fluctuates a lot depending on client demand. At the moment, it looks like it's a "no" as Delegate for the rest of 2025.

This is true, with an important caveat. The Card Lottery currently consumes 1 Legendary card per day, which, with just over 3000 cards in the supply, would be consumed in a little over 8 years. However, this could change depending on any incentives the government, specifically the Delegate or Vice Delegate, wishes to run and have me implement. There is also the matter that the supply only contains Seasons 1 through 3. Season 4 and any future seasons are not and would not be in the supply unless action is taken. From what I understood, r3n spent a lot of time card farming, as it cannot be automated, something that is honestly unappealing to me at the moment.

As you know I am the type of person who likes to prepare for all eventualities. If I am VD, I will see whether I can trade some S1-S3 cards for S4, with the caveat that I am not sure if that's actually a good trade or not - I suppose that depends on how prices settle on the S4 cards and whether the demand is there in particular for S4 cards vs other seasons. (I assume my own S4 card will be worth the junk price of $1. Just kidding.)

This is not correct. Read the report again. It is planned, but not currently implemented. However, some progress was made just today, after watching a youtube video which taught me a linux command that became immediately relevant to my efforts. (Thanks, Veronica!) Could even be done before my final report, but I am not promising that.

Sorry I misunderstood that point. I look forward to you making progress on that front. (I am not a programmer).

How might you look into potentially expanding the WADP? What do you think are some ways to leverage it better to improve our WA numbers?

I think the first thing is to update the factbooks etc., for the WADP (as I think some information online is out of date), the second thing would be for more residents/non-citizens etc to be made aware of the benefits of the participation in WADP. The rest will of course depend on the willingness of the Delegate to buy-in to this programme - as you know the VD doesn't have a full say on this.

 

[St George]

It's not particularly directed at any one candidate.

I would like to give you a chance to expand or re-evaluate this answer in particular, because I'm not entirely sure you haven't inadvertently been misleading here.