Porthos
16 January 2009, 10:43
In the wake of my decision to do away with special elections, the admin team has discussed doing away with all special elections or making them univeral again. This is primarily to prevent confusion regarding regional rules (special elections or no?)
After much discussion, I'm reversing my policy on special elections on Northwest and special elections for appointment and Governor replacements will be universal again.
Morrison, Sherman, and Karcin were either notified they didn't have to run in 2012 or were appointed during the very brief window when I'd done away with special elections, so they are exempt for 2012 and 2012 only. Consider their exemption a one-time thing.
With deepest apologies to these three, I've been asked to review that ruling and have decided they can't be exempt either. I know that's not entirely fair to you, but I take the full blame and responsiblity for that. I'll also get someone else to grade your elections so you feel you're getting the fairest shake possible. I will PM each of you personally to apologize, as well.
All of this came about because I tried to do something a little different without full consultation. I take responsibility for that.
Porthos
17 January 2009, 10:24
This is on behalf of JPH-
QUOTE
The end of an era has come. Due to increasing real-life obligations and decreasing available time online, the longest-serving admin, he who officially does nothing, is taking an extended LOA from Govsim. In other words, I'm gone for who knows how long. It's been a pleasure seeing the game grow from the hallowed times of Teh Caldwell and Teh J-ffey to the present. To those of you I actually got along with, y'all know my AIM.
To those of you who I didn't get along with you may start rejoicing......now.
Sykes
17 January 2009, 12:07
JPH is gone, and I'm back. Who knew it could get so cold it could kill the Internet?
Hayden
18 January 2009, 10:28
December 2008 Hall of Fame voting is up, January 2009 nomination thread is open.
Addie
18 January 2009, 22:31
I'm finally back from my trip. Which means only now will I respond to various IMs and PMs.
Porthos
19 January 2009, 16:17
Be sure to see the
election announcement.
- Due to inactivity, I'm giving Phil Vokos AKA Teach just 24 hours from this post to show up before I remove him as Secretary of Defense. If he doesn't, Defense will be taken over by myself and the rest of the admin team, meaning any requests for Defense "briefings" will be run by us.
- 2012 international elections are
done, and the list of current leaders is, I believe,
current and complete;
Freedom House has updated for 2012 as well. I've announced the countries to run in
2013, but they will not run until March due to the long 2012 we're going to have. British Parliamentary elections, which will occur in 2013, will be run as a mini-game which, if successful... well, if I feel it was successful, we'll see.
Sykes
19 January 2009, 18:02
First, look up. No, not at the ceiling, at Porthos's post re: Secretary of Defense and International Elections.
Secondly, the Fraternal Order of Police is looking for a few good friends of law enforcement to help with some legislative goals. If you think you've got what it takes to be a true champion of America's hard working police, and want their endorsement in the upcoming elections, you should contact their national office. And by that I mean PM me.
Addie
21 January 2009, 17:29
As always, check the above.
There's been some concerns about questions that can be asked in the CRS, especially relating to cost estimates for bills. So, we've got a plan that should make the work on everyone a little more bearable. We'd still very much like players to offer their own cost estimates, but the administration is open to acting as experts who can be called before Senate or House committees to testify on certain legislation. Please don't take advantage of this (there's no need for us to be called in on every single bill, and doing so might cause this "rule" to be changed), but this should answer a lot of the questions that are usually out there.
My PM box is open if you have concerns or questions.
EDIT: Note #2: The budget.
Even though the Magruder White House has had the budget for awhile, I wanted to make sure that the membership at large understand how the process is going to work. Some of you might remember the explanation of how the Cabinet system works (seen
here, in the Library)- the budget is going to be closely tied to this. So instead of the Treasury cutting $5 billion by reducing a small program in the budget, increasing or decreasing spending is simply going to change the amount of "priority markets" that each department has. In this way, we'll be better able to show the players at large what spending changes will do- it will directly affect the functioning of the Executive.
Changes to individual government programs will need to be done through separate legislation. Sorry, there's no backdoor way of eliminating the Department of Education.
Magruder
21 January 2009, 19:53
See the Addie announcement above and after you read that, check out this reminder about the one player-one account rule:
This is a reminder that we have a "one person/one account" rule to prevent unnecessary cluttering of the board database. Please do not ever create a second account. In the event you wish to start over with another character, the correct procedure is to request a name and party affiliation change in the appropriate Help Desk threads. Duplicate accounts will be deactivated and failure to abide by this rule could result in discipline.
Hayden
25 January 2009, 22:45
A number of questions have arisen in the past few hours about the role of AIM and abusive and childish behavior on AIM. A few bright lines for you:
1) The Admin Team does not patrol or control behavior on AIM. Don't bring your complaints about AIM behavior here for we can and will do nothing about it. We do not condone childish or insulting behavior, but as it is not on this board, it is, quite simply, not something we're going to get involved with.
2) Activity on AIM is not in character and has no game effect unless memorialized on the board. By that, we mean that a debate or news interview that occurs on AIM has no impact until the participants agree to put it on this board. A discussion between parties or players about future action, about courses of action to take on a bill, backroom deals, or smoke-filled room mean nothing when they occur on AIM - they only "count" when they are on this board.
3) While we don't patrol AIM, we do request that all players be polite and respectful or, if you're incapable of that simple shred of humanity, just leave each other the hell alone on AIM.
EDIT: The one exception to the above is Admin-run AIM scenarios, such as last reset's Siberian weenie roast.
Porthos
28 January 2009, 08:31
You should see in your warrooms an itemized budget which, what the heck, I'll publish here too. I think I've explained the justification for the breakouts, but if anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me.
I must note that the fact it is currently itemized and wasn't before is no reflection on any player and shouldn't be used for in-game purposes. You should feel free to update the submitted budget with this info as an override.
Clarification- As we're getting asked about this a lot for some reason, I'm going to call this the "wooden leg" rule. Your character can have a wooden leg, is allergic to bee stings, suffers from epilepsy, fears snakes, was wounded in 'Nam etc. We don't care. It has no impact on the game, no bearing on your character's actions. Backstory and motivation are always welcome, but won't impact your policy or legislation or elections or... well, anything in-game.
-----------------------------
I have (with Addie's blessing) broken out the currently submitted budget with the operation/projects line items, and noted all relevant Departments under each section. Some items are rolled into a Cabinet position Department, but they won't have any priority markers, so the breakout for operations/projects is irrelevant.
The reason we broke it out was due to many, many requests for a breakdown of this nature. The originally posted 5 department budget was not well received in the published format.
CODE
FY 2012-13 Budget (in billions)
Category.................................2012..............2013
Revenue
' ' Personal Income...................$ 1,485.9........$ 1,515.6
' ' Corporate Income..................$ 359.6........$ 366.8
' ' Entitlement Taxation..............$ 1,031.4.......$ 1,060.3
' ' Excise Taxes..........................$ 74.9..........$ 77.7
' ' Estate/Gift Taxes...................$ 28.6............$ 29.4
' ' Customs Duties.......................$ 31.7...........$ 32.6
' ' Other...................................$ 30.3............$ 31.2
Total Est. Revenue....................$ 3,042.4.........$ 3,113.5
Non-Discretionary Spending
' ' Social Security (OASDI)...........$ 762.6..........$ 813.4
' ' Medicare.................................$ 444........... $ 489.9
' ' Medicaid/SCHIP........................$ 273.2.........$ 291.4
' ' Interest on Debt.......................$ 365.4.........$ 389.0
' ' Other.......................................$ 378.2.........$ 395.0
' Total Non-Discretionary Spending:...$ 2,223.7.........$ 2,378.6
Discretionary Spending By Major Agency
' ' Defense...........................$ 584.7...........$ 582.7
' ' ' Defense.........................$ 532...........$ 530.3
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 186.2...........$ 184.5
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 345.8...........$ 345.8
' ' ' Veterans Affairs................$ 46.8...........$ 46.6
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 16.4...........$ 16.2
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 30.4...........$ 30.4
' ' ' Corps of Engineers..............$ 5.9...........$ 5.8
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 2.1...........$ 2
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 3.8...........$ 3.8
' ' State (inc. Int'l Aid)............$ 38.3.............$ 38.2
' ' ' Operations......................$ 13.4...........$ 13.3
' ' ' Projects........................$ 24.9...........$ 24.9
' ' Homeland Security.................$ 277.7............$ 277
' ' ' Operations......................$ 97.2............$ 96.5
' ' ' Projects........................$ 180.5............$ 180.5
' ' Treasury..........................$ 51.7..............$ 51.5
' ' ' Agriculture.....................$ 20.5..............$ 20.4
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 7.2..............$ 7.1
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 13.3..............$ 13.3
' ' ' Commerce........................$ 8..............$ 7.9
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 2.8..............$ 2.7
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 5.2..............$ 5.2
' ' ' Labor...........................$ 10.3..............$ 10.3
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 3.6..............$ 3.6
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 6.7..............$ 6.7
' ' ' Treasury........................$ 12.2..............$ 12.2
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 4.3..............$ 4.3
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 7.9..............$ 7.9
' ' ' Small Business Admin............$ 0.7..............$ 0.7
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 0.2..............$ 0.2
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 0.5..............$ 0.5
' ' Interior..........................$ 288.3............$ 290.3
' ' ' Education.......................$ 60.2............$ 60.6
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 21.1..............$ 21.2
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 39.1..............$ 39.4
' ' ' Energy..........................$ 26.0............$ 26.4
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 9.1..............$ 9.2
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 16.9..............$ 17.2
' ' ' Health and Human Services.......$ 71.5............$ 71.8
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 25..............$ 25.1
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 46.5..............$ 46.7
' ' ' Housing and Urban Development...$ 39.6............$ 39.7
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 13.9..............$ 14
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 25.7..............$ 25.7
' ' ' Interior........................$ 11.7............$ 11.9
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 4.1..............$ 4.2
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 7.6..............$ 7.7
' ' ' Transportation..................$ 11.6............$ 11.7
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 4.1..............$ 4.1
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 7.5..............$ 7.6
' ' ' Environ. Prot...................$ 10.2............$ 10.3
' ' ' ' Operations....................$ 3.1..............$ 3.1
' ' ' ' Projects......................$ 7.1..............$ 7.2
' ' ' Justice.........................$ 20.4............$ 20.6
' ' ' General Government..............$ 11.5............$ 11.6
' ' ' Nat. Aero. Space Admin..........$ 18.6............$ 18.7
' ' ' Nat. Science Found..............$ 7............$ 7
' ' Soc. Security Admin...............$ 8.4
' ' Other Agencies....................$ 7.2
' Total Discretionary Spending........$ 1,240.7.........$ 1,239.7
Total Spending........................$ 3464.4.........$ 3,618.3
Budget Surplus/Deficit.............-$ 422........-...$ 504.8
Sykes
29 January 2009, 18:39
I have to take an unexpected LOA for a few days. If you contacted me concerning the Fraternal Order of Police, yes the meeting is still on. Look for it when I get back, probably around Monday, possibly Tuesday.
Magruder
31 January 2009, 07:58
Hurry back, Sykes.
A word on signatures, avatars and custom member titles (user added items under avatars):
Signatures, custom member titles and avatars have long been subject to the same sort of restrictions as are on board comments. There's been a growing trend lately to use these board features to bait or mock others both in and out of character. This sort of conduct is not productive and only causes additional problems as others respond in kind. This is a reminder that there is to be no mocking or baiting of others (either IC or OOC) in signatures, custom member titles or avatars. These items remain subject to the same restrictions as on-board posts. Failure to comply could result in discipline.
24 hours to clear out offending signatures, custom member titles and avatars.
Sykes
02 February 2009, 16:54
I'm kind of back. If you contacted me concerning the FOP watch your PM box.
Magruder
03 February 2009, 18:05
Welcome back, Sykes.
Effective immediately, no party change requests will be granted until the conclusion of the entire election period.
Hayden
06 February 2009, 16:36
The time to make Hall of Fame nominations for January ends tomorrow.
Porthos
07 February 2009, 14:00
I'm semi-LOA today as I have some guests coming over. As you may be aware, Secretary of State Leung has "died" (the player is fine of course, asked for a permanent ban). I have some requests in related to that and I'll process them tonight or tomorrow.
Sykes
07 February 2009, 19:22
And I can't seem to catch a break lately. I hope to be back tomorrow.
Porthos
09 February 2009, 10:29
Both mini-game sign-ups are now open.
Northwestern Regional Legislative GamePower and Peerage UKRules to each game are linked. As with all mini-games I start, please do not sign-up if you don't intend to play. Rules for board behavior apply. Disruptive participants will be removed from the games.
Porthos
14 February 2009, 15:55
Northwest regional legislature elections are open. The winning results will go into effect March 1st at the reopen of the regional legislature. Just post to that thread once you've coordinated your strategy. It's just a points game, shouldn't be too complex.
Oh, and as I'm being reminded by the loyal opposition, Democrats, your Majority Leader is MIA
again. Both Republicans and Democrats, there's currently no legislation in NW to debate or discuss either. We won't be closing the legislature until Congress closes, so that should still be running.
Porthos
18 February 2009, 12:46
Northwestern Regional Legislature mini-game ends. Seriously! Never again. Congratulations Team Red on
posting. By default, you have helped your side a bit.
As to the UK leg. game, participants are asked to complete their "Day 1" and "Day 2" events by Feb. 28th... you can do both items at the same time, really. If you are a no-show by then, you're barred from future mini-games and I'll just play out your part for you, so the others can actually play. Thanks.
(
Hobbies are not required, but damn are they funny.)
Note: I'll turn on moderated posts in that forum on March 1st for the actual campaigning, March 1-March 4.
Porthos
24 February 2009, 09:34
Important Election Note: I will not be online Feb. 28th or March 1st, as I'm out of town for the weekend. Results for my races will be provided March 2nd. All international game start-ups are pushed back a day to March 2nd; the four days of campaigning for Power and Peerage will not start until March 2nd. Consequently, you have until 11:59 PM EST March 1st to get in your Day 1 and Day 2 stuff. Read below if you are in Power and Peerage.
-------------------------
If you are signed up for Power and Peerage, you are competing against a number of other people and have a few days to complete your Day 1/Day 2 stuff... essentially, creating and assigning your politicians to constituencies.
No region has 100% compliance yet. This is important, as without your participation the game you've signed up for will be hampered. I'll be forced to play your part.
Following is a complete listing. If you have not done any work at all, please do so right away. If I see you posting OOC constantly and you don't show up for a game you signed up for, consider yourself out of mini-game sign-ups in future! Thanks.
- I'll update this post as things get turned in. -
Greater London
Jack Quinn - Labor Nothing
Fox - Conservative Done
Dunn - Liberal Democrats Done
JWK - NLA Done
Northwest England
Tickle - Liberal Democrat Done
Hood - Conservative Done
Sam Johnson - Labour Started, not finished
Scotland
Cojuanco - Labour Placeholder
Bill Bobby - Liberal Democrat Done
Virgil Hyde - Scottish National Party Done
Yorkshire and Humberside
Red - Liberal Democrats Done
Pat Larson - Labour Nothing
Thomas J Allum - Conservative Done
Wales
Wolff - Labour Nothing
Martijn - Conservative Nothing
Susan Merritt - Plaid Cymru Done
Natalie Roberts - Liberal Democrats Nothing
Porthos
02 March 2009, 14:05
Power and Peerage will be moving forward. I will simulate the opponents who didn't provide the courtesy of showing up.
Sykes
02 March 2009, 15:53
First, see above. Secondly, I had to go out of town unexpectedly for the weekend again. I'm hoping the situtation is now resolved. I'm sure you all noticed I went missing, right?
Britannia
03 March 2009, 07:30
House Majority will be announced tomorrow. I've been sick all weekend (still am) and haven't been able to sit in front of a computer screen for any length of time for days now.
Thanks for your patience everyone.
Hayden
03 March 2009, 14:21
Just a reminder - there's still time for nominations for the February 2009 Hall of Fame.
http://www.usgovsim.net/USG/index.php?show...mp;#entry115964
Britannia
04 March 2009, 12:16
01. HR 96. GOP 23 DNC 18 IUC 1
02. HR 94. GOP 22, DNC 23, IUC 1
03. HR 90. GOP 25, DNC 24, IUC 1
04. CC7. GOP 26, DNC 17, IUC 1
05. HR 85. GOP 28, DNC 18, IUC 1
06. HR 87. GOP 27, DNC 21, IUC 1
07. HR 78. GOP 30, DNC 29, IUC 2
08. HR 69. GOP 26, DNC 35, IUC 1
09. HR 65. GOP 29, DNC 30, IUC 1
10. CC4. GOP 27, DNC 29, IUC 1
11. HR 51. GOP 32, DNC 29, IUC 1
12. HR 45. GOP 30, DNC 32, IUC 1
13. HR 34. GOP 33, DNC 27, IUC 1
14. HR 26. GOP 34, DNC 21, IUC 1
Total:
GOP: 392 (28.00)
DNC: 352 (25.21)
GOP retains House Majority.
Cargill
05 March 2009, 16:55
Regarding Governor term limits in Appalachia vs. the Virginia Constitution:
Special elections under the Superregional additions to the Virginia Constitution count as an actual election, so the Governor of Appalachia cannot run for the term immediately following a special election victory. Non-consecutive terms are allowed, however.
Porthos
06 March 2009, 15:04
Looks 90% sure I'm heading to New England tomorrow. Back late Sunday.
Only bothering to announce this as WH and NW are opening, so I don't want people wondering where I went...
Liberio
06 March 2009, 17:08
Changes to 4E are here. See below or in the USG library.
QUOTE (Liberio @ 04 March 2009, 17:06 )
New 4E System
For those who have taken part in the 4E system so far this reset, or at the end of last reset, our sincerest thanks. Your hard work has led to this point, where we're able to address concerns from the player base about the media system, and incorporate them into the system, adapting 4E to meet the needs and demands of USG.
Media Multis:
Everyone gets one media multi. Think of this as your pen name. You do not need to post a bio in the sign-in forum for this character. Just make sure to attach your pen name to each submission you make in the Editor's Desk. When we publish your story, we'll just include your pen name, so feel free to use it secretly if you wish - no other player has to know who you are.
Media Outlets:
There are three types of media, internet, TV, and newspaper. Similarly, there are three outlets of each type - one right-leaning, one left-leaning, and one that is considered "neutral". They are:
Internet: Huffington Post, Politico, Drudge Report
TV: MSNBC, CNN, FOX News
Newspaper: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal
The "neutral" outlets have the widest exposure, so if you want to make a name for yourself, aim for those.
Each outlet also has three levels of prominence. Which level your piece is published on is decided by the publishing admin. They are:
Internet: Main story, Side post, Link snippet
TV: Primetime, Daytime, Late night
Newspaper: Front page, B3, Back page
The higher the level of prominence your piece is published on, the more eyeballs it gets.
Submitting a Story:
Post your story in the Editor's Desk forum. At the top of your post, please include the following information:
Name: This is your media multi's name.
Title: A suggested title for your piece. Note: we reserve the right to change this if we see fit.
Suggested Outlet: Where do you think it should be published? We won't necessarily push it there, but this does provide us guidance as to what outlet you're aiming for. Include the format and which publication you prefer. We may approach you with options on this if we see fit.
Getting Your Story Published:
After you submit a story in the Editor's Desk, one of the media admins will read it through and either accept it, moving it to publication, or reject it, sending it back to you with commentary.
A few words of advice on getting published:
Be interesting. Cookie cutter stories are boring, and probably won't make it to the public page.
Be well-written. No one likes to have to struggle through a story that's poorly done. Spell check is your friend.
Be topical. Pay attention to what's going on in the IG world and write about that.
Be respected. Authors who are constantly getting published or winning awards are more likely to continue getting published.
Be somewhat fair. We're not asking for everything to be written with a perfectly neutral tone, but hit pieces and slam pieces will either not be published, or relegated to the fringe outlets.
The Big Board:
Similar to the 4E rankings that were released periodically throughout this reset, Media Admins will keep an updated Big Board with rankings for all media members. How do you climb the big board?
Simple:
Get published. The more often you're getting out there, the more people know your name.
Be well-written. Again, the better written your articles are, the more people will read them.
Be neutral. Those authors who are consistently making their way onto the "middle" outlets will find themselves in front of more eyeballs. If you're consistently writing hit pieces, you'll lack a serious following. That said, there is room for some "Rush"-type mouthpieces. They're never going to be quite as respected as a mainstream author of the same quality, but it is quite possible to build up a sizable following from the fringes.
Why should I write a story?
Because media influences the sliders, and the opinions of the e-people. If you're consistently getting pieces published on a topic, the e-people are consistently going to be inundated by your views, and if you're convincing enough, you'll shift public opinion.
Can I play just a media member?
Absolutely. No one's forced to participate in the Washington side of USG, so if you want to be a dedicated media member, feel free. Dedicated media members will receive bumps in their big board scores - it's easier to climb the charts if you're only playing a media member.
What about press conferences?
Any one who is a published member of the media may attend a press conference and ask questions. You must use your press credentials for this, meaning if you wish to remain anonymous as a media member, you can't go to a press conference. We'll hold the line pretty closely on behavior in press conferences, and misbehavior in a press conference will get your press credentials permanently revoked.
So, is this the end of "investigatory journalism"?
Nope. Dedicated media members (those who do not have a character playing in the politics side of the game) will still receive access to some leaked news stories and information from admins prior to their publication to the rest of the sim. That means that those players who choose to focus only on media will be able to break this news to the sim at large.
Porthos
09 March 2009, 10:31
I'm back, but I'm playing catch up here IRL. Sorry, but you folks (Int'l elections, Cabinet, NW) are lower priority until I can find a quiet moment. Maybe tonight?
Hayden
11 March 2009, 16:06
The new code for the "Help me, I've gone blind" emoticon is now *_b_* (remove the underscores).
(b) now returns (b).
Porthos
18 March 2009, 20:50
Here's the big news of the day, if you missed it.After some quick feedback from the players regarding international elections, I've made a few decisions to improve the system.
1- Power and Peerage didn't work out as planned and rather than revamp it, I'm going to determine results and pull the plug. It was a nice idea and generally well-received, but there was poor execution on my part. That and my time limitations are creeping in- NW and the Cabinet are much busier this session. My next order of business after this announcement is to start processing some of the played regions. For those who enjoyed it, sorry for the cancellation.
The payoff will be that I have changed my mind on regional legislative elections. On further consideration, I've decided I didn't implement that well in the last election either. I'll look at some of the other guys' models and we'll try again for 2014.
2- Feedback indicates some players forget international elections exists and forget where it is located. I have moved it to have a slightly better profile than "the World" as I've literally taken over that forum anyway. I have pulled that forum out of Lake Wobegone and given it a top-level forum titled "
International Elections and Embassies." Election rules will also be posted in the Library.
3- If there is any interest, I'm going to allow players to be semi-admin assistants. No masking or extra forums will be required.
If you don't mind plugging numbers into a spreadsheet and returning the spreadsheet to me (which I will tweak just slightly so you can't determine the results for the elections) you can help me plan and process international elections each month. Only one spreadsheet (that's a continent) per player, and you may not participate in elections for that spreadsheet; standard restrictions against Cabinet members, etc. apply.
Part of the payoff will be that you can help me pick some successor politicians for some of the aging politicians on an as needed basis and you can help establish proper term limits (currently unobserved), as applicable for each country. I may consult you on a few other minor matters in this area.
Let me know of your interest by applying here.
(Closed)
Porthos
20 March 2009, 09:07
A couple of minor updates on the international elections.
- I intend to kick off 2014 international elections on April 1st.
- Spoke with 3 of my 5 assistants yesterday on IM, and they have the spreadsheets. I've asked them to research term limits, which we will implement effective 2014 or 2015. We won't be going "back"; so if someone is re-elected in 2014, we'll start their term limitation from there. This saves needless research time. (And if you missed this, I am still going to determine election outcomes.)
- They are also going to rotate out some of the older, graying politicians with fresh new faces. That won't include controlled incumbants, of course, and we're avoiding player-created characters.
- If you still guide a character, put in your 2013 requests now!
- I'm seeing the only thing players are really doing is requesting policy changes, probably since it's the most interesting choice available. Understandable. Effective 2014, you will be allowed to take two different actions per month (Set policy, Grow your party, Oppose another party, Meet and greet, or Repress the opposition). If you have some other suggestions for possible actions, let me know via the suggestion box.
Liberio
20 March 2009, 12:33
First, look up and read the announcement on foreign elections.
Second, the 4E Editor's Desk is now a moderated forum. This eliminates any possibilities of someone else looking and seeing who's posted in there and attempting to match up those who have submitted with those who have been published.
This means that your post will not show up after it's submitted. Do not post it several times, wondering if it's gone through. It's a simple system, aiming to fix a couple of small bugs we've hit so far.
Porthos
23 March 2009, 10:50
Impromptu weekend off, caused by unforeseen RL events on Friday. I'll just go ahead and say this for the record- I'm not going to be around weekends very often, so always presume I'm LOA. Unless I suddenly show up.
Porthos
27 March 2009, 07:00
I'm sorry to say I'm on an LOA with no definite return date- could be a day, could be a month. I'm not at liberty to discuss this and I'd appreciate not being asked.
I'll be on and off here and there. If I can find time and motivation, I'll run the international elections as planned soon. To my admin assistants in that area, I will try to be around on the 31st to discuss what needs to happen.
Sorry to suddenly become undependable. The admin team will be covering me as needed until I can return.
Porthos
31 March 2009, 07:42
Hello. International team assistants, I will be around today and we will get moving again tomorrow by firing up the elections, that is. Going to start working my way back to actively helping out here. Thanks all.
Please PM me if you are one of my assistants and want to know what to do.
Porthos
01 April 2009, 09:51
International Elections are open. Claim or name your politicians
here.
Assistants-
please check in here. I know Kagura is active, let me know where the rest of you are, please!
Also see the
new site disclosure. Or something.
Liberio
02 April 2009, 13:05
A reminder on the current policy on biographies:
Claims of fame, fortune, or past accomplishments in a biography are effectively considered fiction as far as the game goes. If you try to talk about these aspects IG, be it in the media, in your press office, on the House/Senate floor, or in elections, the e-people will just look at you oddly and scratch their heads.
Porthos
03 April 2009, 09:34
Hello GovSim!
I'm back, feeling better, and ready to kick out some work. I've been saying this a few evenings now, but
I do intend to get a lot done tonight. To be fair, I've been handed a lot more in two weeks than anyone could ever reasonably expect to happen to them.
My intention was to catch up last night, but I had an opportunity to visit a friend who'd walked away from a serious auto accident involving a concussion and stitches. Since he is going to be fine, you will be surprised to find this was one of the smaller crisis situations to arise.
Thanks to the admin team for your support during this unusual time period and thanks to the cooler players, in particular the Cabinet and NWesties for putting up with my absent ass. As time goes by, I'll probably tell you a little more about what went down, but not for awhile I think. Tonight, I'll-
- Process NW
- Process Cabinet
- Make sure international elections are still on track
- If I have time, process more of the Power and Peerage fail-project. Thanks to all who participated, but it really didn't work on my end. If I don't get to this, I'll announce a PM tomorrow and there may be a consolation prize for all who participated anyway.
Cheers all!
Porthos
06 April 2009, 07:35
Didn't find time this weekend to get everything done after all, but I did get some NW leg processed.
Time to start voting for
international elections.
I'm also hiring a replacement for the Americas international elections. PM me. Filled!
Incidentally, I want to make it known that people who are inappropriately hostile to me will be PM, IM blocked and ignored from now on. I don't usually make this a policy, but that's how it will be.
------
All participants in Power and Peerage will receive a, what I consider to be, fairly decent consolation prize for participation. That prize will be named at the end of this international elections cycle. I will not be calculating the results due to the time consuming nature of the way I set the game up on my end. I rolled a die and determined the UK government, by a fraction, is Reginald Cook (invented name), Labour.
Liberio
08 April 2009, 14:20
Richard Thorndike (Parker) is the newest addition to the admin staff. We'll be releasing an updated list of admin responsibilities shortly.
Athos note: At Parker's insistance, we are changing the game to BundestagSim. Please begin to learn German now.
Yes, I am messing with the new guy.
Liberio
09 April 2009, 07:10
Also, note that Red Blanchard is joining the admin staff as well.
Porthos
15 April 2009, 08:29
See Hayden's announcement.Summy returns to take over NW and help us with general news. I will assist Summy with NW, as the systems there are a bit different.
We'll update responsibilities as well.
Summy
20 April 2009, 14:26
The vacancy created by the permaban of Jason Harris shall be filled by the choice of the GOP Chair.
Although it has never happened before with governors that have LTGs from the same party, precedent says vacancies created by permaban will be filled by the party chair so as not to hurt the party over the actions of an individual over which they have no control.
Porthos
21 April 2009, 10:54
(This is not a totally game-related announcement.
Stop reading now if you like.)
I wanted to take a moment to say that during Autism Awareness Month, I am proud of the many accomplishments and hard work of my son, Jason. He was recently diagnosed with PDD-NOS, an autism spectrum disorder, and this is one of the things I've taken very hard (along with death of a mentor and another very major loss I'm not going to discuss), which may explain a little of why I've been gradually stepping away from GovSim and, in general, flaking a bit.
I'm sharing this very private and non-game related info via announcements primarily because I want to express my incredible pride, not shame or disappointment, in what my son has accomplished with his many abilities and at times challenges- and this is not the worst forum in the world to express that opinion, as many of you have interacted with him via chat or have heard me drone on about him.
Regardless of your beliefs on the subject, I ask that you respect my belief that autism spectrum disorders
are real, that people can learn to live and grow with it just fine (as my son is, who could read at 3 and is acing kindergarten), and that as a member of your community and board admin, you who do not care for me kindly keep opinions to yourselves, as I would about something like this impacting you. Those who do care about me and who've had the pleasure of chatting with my son online should know that I'm doing better, he's perfectly fine and has been all along, and that apart from some general realities of life that can't be avoided, we're doing pretty well.
Thanks for understanding, and take this time (if you think of it) to read about PDD-NOS this month. The next time you see a child have a meltdown in public, too, I ask for understanding... this is a very cruel neurological condition in that strangers can judge the children and parents in ways you wouldn't judge more obvious impairments, and it has happened to us on many occassions, from taunting to comments. That is not the person they are all the time- that
is what this is like sometimes.
Thanks, and a huge thank you to my friends on the admin team for your understanding this past month.
Advocacy moment over, sorry for the hijack.
Addie
29 April 2009, 15:17
Because he has gone 7 days without an IC post (last post was 22 April at just before 0500 EDT), Governor Aidan West of the Northeast is removed for inactivity.
Since this is before the FEC filing deadline, there WILL be a special election for this seat.
Addie
29 April 2009, 22:45
Given standing precedent on situations where both the Lt. Governor and Governor positions are vacant, and constitutional provisions (in NOR, at least) that leave the process up in the air, the office of NOR Governor will be decided by the following:
The Republican and Democratic Parties will be assigned numbers from 1-101 based on their control of the regional legislature. The Democratic Party, having 66 seats, will be assigned 1-66; the Republican Party is assigned 68-101 (there is one technically independent member).
A number will be pulled using a random number generator; the party that has that number assigned to them will be able to appoint the replacement. In the event that number 67 comes up, a new number will be pulled.
-----
The number, as determined by a random number generator, was 31. The Democratic Party Chairman shall offer a replacement.
Liberio
06 May 2009, 09:35
After the mature and reasonable discussion of the idea in the Suggestion Box, the admin staff has agreed to reinstate House multis for Governors with the following restrictions.
1) No leadership positions. This includes committee chairs, RMs, Speaker, ML/mL, whip, nothing.
2) No ridiculous characters - these members count towards the overall perspective of the caucus, so being dumb will hurt your party. Take these characters seriously, cause if you're just trying to make a joke character, it's not worth the time of the players who do play that part of the game seriously. This restriction will be up to admin discretion, and anyone who chooses to break this rule will forfeit all rights to a House multi.
3) Reminder of the one player, one account rule. No multiple accounts.
4) Reminder of the rule on primary multis. If your House multi fundraises for any position, then your Governor character forfeits any warchest or fundraisers currently outstanding.
5) Reminder of the rule on multis in regions. Your multi cannot be from the same superregion as your Governor character.