Gameside Affairs

[Catalyse]

As I mentioned in my campaign, one of my ideas was to try a new approach to gameside affairs.

The objectives:

• Bridge the gap between those who are predominantly gameside/RMB players and the offsite community and government, primarily by giving people a way where they feel their input isn't simply cast aside and where they feel they can impact the region;

• Offer a venue for involvement in the governance of the region to new players by putting them in a position of oversight over an area they can already be accustomed to (Gameside/RMB);

This is no way means that the rest of the government should or could ignore the gameside community. The Delegate should still maintain a presence on the RMB, as should at least some of the officers and government staffers.

For this purpose we would create something of a "Council of Gameside Affairs" or whatever we want to call it. This would also serve to officialize the roles of Hoff and Thepeopl, if they're willing to continue in their roles on t he implementation of this idea.

Selection of the member of this council could be mixed. My idea would be have four members in total.

Two are appointed by the Delegate and require Assembly Approval every four months, alongside the Officer elections, and could be removed by the Delegate at any point, triggering a by-election. These could be "junior Councillors". They could maybe be non-citizens (maybe as a way to convince them that the leap towards citizenship is worth it!!!)? We could require them to maintain their nations in the WA?

And then other two could also be appointed by the Delegate, with citizenship being a requirement. These could be the "senior councillors" and it could be a way to grandfther members like Hoff and Thepeopl into this new officialized role.

We could have some way to involve gameside in the selection of part of the council, but I'm wary of using gameside polls for this because they can easily be manipulated. Maybe some form of informal consultation.

The role of the council would be to:

• Moderate the RMB, alongside other RO's;

• Establish RMB rules, alongside the Delegate;

• Develop gameside events, games, etc;

• Promote regional engagement ( promote gov or TRT dispatches, promote endoing the delegate, etc );

What does everyone think of the idea? In my view the pros outweigh the cons. Promoting regional engagement and briding the gap between members of the regional community vs potentially making the current four officers delegate model more obsolte?

And what would be the better way to select the members of this new org?

[Manson]

ngl I hate this idea, sorry cat. I don’t see a need for it, I just think we should focus less on assimilation and moreso around cultivation of on-site activities.

[Minskiev]

This has a few similarities to TSP's Local Councillor program/initiative/what-have-you, which has seemingly had some ups and downs. One thing that comes to mind is RO slots - 4 officers, 4 councillors, which leaves room for exactly RRA high commander, EiC, and Speaker. This isn't nearly as bad as TSP's situation, having to force some Ministers to not have RO slots, but maybe in an ideal world we'd have a little room. But this isn't a big problem.

The "promote regional engagement thing" seems fine to me. But I'm not as sure with "develop gameside events, games" unless what you had in mind were the occasional word game or shitpost, because the gameside nature of the Councillors would make it hard to coordinate events that need more planning.

What is the difference in function between junior and senior councillors?

As for selecting the members, it might be possible to limit the onsite polls to require being "influential" and in the WA. We could probably test a gameside poll first before making it official.

[TheKeyToJOY]

I mean, I was in the rmb community for a long while.

[Manson]

I mean, I was in the rmb community for a long while.

Very cool.

To pretty much copy and paste what I said on discord: I don’t see what this accomplishes. The Delegate can pretty much choose anyone to be RO, the Assembly can override that and force the Delegate not to appoint someone or unappoint them. Let’s just do that.

[Catalyse]

This has a few similarities to TSP's Local Councillor program/initiative/what-have-you, which has seemingly had some ups and downs. One thing that comes to mind is RO slots - 4 officers, 4 councillors, which leaves room for exactly RRA high commander, EiC, and Speaker. This isn't nearly as bad as TSP's situation, having to force some Ministers to not have RO slots, but maybe in an ideal world we'd have a little room. But this isn't a big problem.

I don't really know how TSP's Local Council functions and I didn't really look into it other than knowing that it exists.

Not every member of the regional government needs to be an RO. I'm pretty sure we haven't always made the Speaker or the RRA High Commander an RO. And the number of members of this new body can be flexible, or be debated.

The "promote regional engagement thing" seems fine to me. But I'm not as sure with "develop gameside events, games" unless what you had in mind were the occasional word game or shitpost, because the gameside nature of the Councillors would make it hard to coordinate events that need more planning.

Gamesiders can still coordinate things over TG's or discord. They can run events like Anarchi's flag contest, or like Neq's choose your own adventure thing we've done before too.

What is the difference in function between junior and senior councillors?

It was a manner of differentiating members of this body based on their manner of selection.

As for selecting the members, it might be possible to limit the onsite polls to require being "influential" and in the WA. We could probably test a gameside poll first before making it official.

mhm Aga and Bow mentioned that idea.

We could have a nomination period, pre-selection by the Assembly ( or CitCo? ) to ensure problematic candidates aren't on the poll, and then a gameside poll?

[TheKeyToJOY]

I mean, I was in the rmb community for a long while.

Very cool.

To pretty much copy and paste what I said on discord: I don’t see what this accomplishes. The Delegate can pretty much choose anyone to be RO, the Assembly can override that and force the Delegate not to appoint someone or unappoint them. Let’s just do that.

I mean I think we can make the forums and discord more accessible for more people to join our real in-depth community. Like we can get a few more dozen people by doing that, I like this proposal because of that.

[Malphe]

I'm in favour of any move to further incorporate gameside players into the community by extending the community down to them, but this solution is a little too bureaucratic for my tastes.

Gameside players respond very well to direct onsite engagement, they engage with a regional map or a poll so readily cus they don't need to jump through any awkward offsite hoops to get at them. Specifically gameside governmental bodies work so well because of this, it gives them something tangible to interact with as a first step into the region. I think a gameside council would be best implemented if it were drawing from gameside players, elected by gameside polls, to perform gameside functions, to directly engage the RMB community with an area of government they otherwise wouldn't have any access to. Once they've already got a taste of government, with their big flashy RO badge, they'll probably be more eager to get more involved in the wider region.

I'd cut out any need for assembly approval and just host their elections gameside, delegate holds full discretion to appoint or dismiss councillors, they defer to gameside election at their own discretion. You'd probably want to make it WA only, it is prone to manipulation but I honestly don't think that many people are willing to commit several of their WAs to acquire what is basically an RMB moderator role. You could also layer on additional rules, such as all WA nations voting must've been in the region for a full month, to further dissuade manipulation. Senior councillors can be implemented just as councillors that have been selected by the delegate to skip poll election.

[Catalyse]

I think you make a good point about simplifying the process.

On the other hand doing everything at the Delegate's discretion isn't really the manner of the region, nor would that be agreeable to most people as per the discussion on discord. I also feel there needs to be some oversight, or pre-selection, of the candidates. I think it's better to have a pre-selection than to invalidate an election because someone said they were a nazi or something.

The process could be a nomination period during which people send their nomination to the Delegate and/or Speaker, pre-selection by the Assembly and/or CitCo and then gameside poll for the election. With removal at the discretion of the Assembly/Delegate/CitCo?

We could have terms concurrent with officer elections every eight months, rather than four?

[Hoffania]

I mean, I’m for it, I think it’s a good idea. One question, would Polls and QotD be a part of the senior positions? I’m fine with it either way(Lord knows I’ve had QotD long enough), I just want to be clear.

[Catalyse]

I mean, I’m for it, I think it’s a good idea. One question, would Polls and QotD be a part of the senior positions? I’m fine with it either way(Lord knows I’ve had QotD long enough), I just want to be clear.

The idea would be to make these things a group effort. No reason why you couldn't keep doing the QotD or Thepeopl keep doing the polls if that's the division of tasks you have agreed on.

And don't focus too much on the distinction between "senior" and "junior" RO's. Probably not something we'll end up going with.

[Malphe]

I think you make a good point about simplifying the process.

On the other hand doing everything at the Delegate's discretion isn't really the manner of the region, nor would that be agreeable to most people as per the discussion on discord. I also feel there needs to be some oversight, or pre-selection, of the candidates. I think it's better to have a pre-selection than to invalidate an election because someone said they were a nazi or something.

The process could be a nomination period during which people send their nomination to the Delegate and/or Speaker, pre-selection by the Assembly and/or CitCo and then gameside poll for the election. With removal at the discretion of the Assembly/Delegate/CitCo?

We could have terms concurrent with officer elections every eight months, rather than four?

Following the discussion on discord, agreed. I'd be in favour of this solution, including eight month terms.

[Gorundu]

I think the easiest solution to the vetting dilemma is to just limit candidates to citizens. It would give gamesiders an incentive to apply for citizenship and perhaps get them more involved in other parts of the region. And I think removal can be at the discretion of the Delegate. Handing it to the Assembly will just delay things if we're dealing with an inactive councillor.

My bigger question is, how do you see this working with our current Officer system? We sometimes have a gameside affairs officer portfolio, and even if not this still cuts down a bit on the Outreach Officer's portfolio. Do you expect our Officer portfolios to stay the same if this is implemented?

[Malphe]

I think the easiest solution to the vetting dilemma is to just limit candidates to citizens. It would give gamesiders an incentive to apply for citizenship and perhaps get them more involved in other parts of the region. And I think removal can be at the discretion of the Delegate. Handing it to the Assembly will just delay things if we're dealing with an inactive councillor.

My bigger question is, how do you see this working with our current Officer system? We sometimes have a gameside affairs officer portfolio, and even if not this still cuts down a bit on the Outreach Officer's portfolio. Do you expect our Officer portfolios to stay the same if this is implemented?

If the delegate's intention for this is to bring residents into a deeper involvement with the region by bridging the gap between offsite government and the onsite community, gating it behind citizenship defeats the point. My experience is that gameside players that have stuck around long enough to be considered a part of the onsite community that haven't already become citizens only have an incentive to bother with offsite properties if they gain a vested and dynamic interest in government with a low initial committal, I don't think trying to goad them offsite with this will be much more effective than anything else we gate behind citizenship.

[Catalyse]

I'll write a legislative proposal by the end of the end of the next weekend so we can start discussing a tangible proposal.

My bigger question is, how do you see this working with our current Officer system? We sometimes have a gameside affairs officer portfolio, and even if not this still cuts down a bit on the Outreach Officer's portfolio. Do you expect our Officer portfolios to stay the same if this is implemented?

I'll also post more on possible cabinet position reform this weekend, but the gist of it, is that Outreach could instead focus on integration of people who join the region and our offsite platforms, rather than focusing on moderating the RMB and gameside activities.

[Catalyse]

The RMB Comptroll Board Act

1. This Act establishes the Regional Message Board (RMB) Comptroll Board for the purpose of encouraging participation in the government of the region and to promote gameside activities.

2. The RMB Comptroll Board will be composed of two to three RMB Comptrollers, with the number being decided by the Assembly on reviewing the nominees. Elections will start on the first day of Decemeber and June, with nominations opened gameside by the Delegate, or any other official delegated to so, two weeks prior. Elections shall be conducted gameside via poll, for seven days, open to all World Assembly nations resident in The Rejected Realms. If any RMB Comptroller is removed or resigns before their term ends the same procedure will apply and and a new Comptroller will be elected for the remainder of the term, provided that there is more than one month before the next scheduled election.

3. The Delegate, or any other official delegated to do so, will inform the Assembly of the nominees on week prior to the election. The Assembly will have one week to review the nominees. The Citizenship Council may invalidate nominees provided that the Assembly has raised sufficient concerns over regional security or disrutption.

4. RMB Comptrollers must be World Assembly members and must be endorsing the Delegate of The Rejected Realms for the duration of their term. Failure to remain in the World Assembly will result in automatic removal from the position.

5. RMB Comptrollers will be tasked with enforcing RMB rules, creating gameside activities and generating regional engagement. To do so, they may cooperate with the appropriate government departments.

6. The Delegate is empowered to remove a RMB Comptroller from their position, provided there is sufficient concern over regional security or disruption to do so, and that the Delegate inform the Assembly of the reasoning. The Assembly may overturn this decision.

Preliminary draft.

[BowShot118]

Not a fan. I agree with the point Manson's already made that ROs can be appointed at the Delegate's pleasure, and given RMB Mods have been appointed/removed on and off since Kyo's Delegacy at least I don't see the need for a new system for them. As for "generating regional engagement" and "creating gameside activities", those can be done as regular staffers imo. It obviously comes with the downside of an inactive Officer and Delegate could cripple their ability to do much, but then there are bigger problems in that instance than a staffer not being able to unilaterally run a department. The WA requirement seems odd, and I agree with Gor that if we truly want to be certain of who we're appointing realistically the only line we can draw is citizenship, but that would help to defeat the point of this. The name "Comptroll" is also, uh, something.

I'm also assuming this would come with the removal of at least one Officer, which I'm firmly against.

[Catalyse]

Not a fan. I agree with the point Manson's already made that ROs can be appointed at the Delegate's pleasure, and given RMB Mods have been appointed/removed on and off since Kyo's Delegacy at least I don't see the need for a new system for them. As for "generating regional engagement" and "creating gameside activities", those can be done as regular staffers imo. It obviously comes with the downside of an inactive Officer and Delegate could cripple their ability to do much, but then there are bigger problems in that instance than a staffer not being able to unilaterally run a department. The WA requirement seems odd, and I agree with Gor that if we truly want to be certain of who we're appointing realistically the only line we can draw is citizenship, but that would help to defeat the point of this. The name "Comptroll" is also, uh, something.

I'm also assuming this would come with the removal of at least one Officer, which I'm firmly against.

WA Requirement is to assuage security concerns over alts and such. Or if you're refering to the gameside poll, so it's not overflooded with puppets.

What of trying to get those on gameside a vested interest in the regional government? Does that not matter? This is not about having the Delegate appoint RO's at their pleasure.

[Altasund]

I like the idea, but I don't feel comfortable with the assembly approving candidates or similar. That feels too much like the forumside community imposing its will on the RMB. Imo having the delegate or outreach officer overseeing elections so that full-on nazis don't get onto the ballot would be sufficient.
Has this been brought up at all on the RMB? Their input could be useful, given its specifically about them.

[frattastan]

I like the idea, but I don't feel comfortable with the assembly approving candidates or similar. That feels too much like the forumside community imposing its will on the RMB.

It should be worded better but the Assembly doesn't actually approve the candidates. Instead, it (that is, any citizen) has some time to raise concerns about them. The Citizenship Council can take those concerns into account to disqualify a candidate, but there is no positive approval required.

[Catalyse]

I like the idea, but I don't feel comfortable with the assembly approving candidates or similar. That feels too much like the forumside community imposing its will on the RMB. Imo having the delegate or outreach officer overseeing elections so that full-on nazis don't get onto the ballot would be sufficient.
Has this been brought up at all on the RMB? Their input could be useful, given its specifically about them.

The assembly would just voice their concerns, not actually vote on the nominees.

And I have brought it up twice before, didn't get much attention, but I'll mention it again on the RMB.

[BowShot118]

As I said on the discord, given the Delegate already has a lot of room when it comes to ROs, and with how unprecedented this is and how unknown the RMB reaction would be, before passing this into law I think Cat should run a trial run of the elections and end RO appointments to gauge actual interest, that way we can actually come back to the details of this proposal with information on what the Gameside wants and how they react to something like this.

[Manson]

As I said on the discord, given the Delegate already has a lot of room when it comes to ROs, and with how unprecedented this is and how unknown the RMB reaction would be, before passing this into law I think Cat should run a trial run of the elections and end RO appointments to gauge actual interest, that way we can actually come back to the details of this proposal with information on what the Gameside wants and how they react to something like this.

Wouldn’t be opposed to a trial run.

[Catalyse]

Ok, but what about implementation? If you're fine with the current molds set in the proposal I wrote I'll implement the trial run.

[BowShot118]

Ok, but what about implementation? If you're fine with the current molds set in the proposal I wrote I'll implement the trial run.

I have no issues with its functionality or how it's set up, I just don't think the name Comptroll gives off the best impressions of government intentions given how niche a word it is and how it could be... misinterpreted.