Osiris Fraternal Order

Cormac wrote:Sat Feb 15, 2014 11:25 pmI'm going to suggest that this be implemented as an executive policy, and not passed as legislation at this time, so we can see how it's going to work. If legislation is needed later, we could tackle it then but right now I'm personally comfortable with leaving this at the level of executive policy to allow it more flexibility.

That makes sense. It seems we're not entirely sure how we intend to implement this, so it might be best to avoid entrenching it in law for now at least.

I'll just outline briefly why I think the House Charter is a very interesting experiment for Osiris, and why I think that it should go ahead.

This is not something that has ever existed in Osiris before; it is a totally new project with a focus on culture, not on politics, not on laws, not on anything which is designed to have a legal impact. This charter would have a cultural impact by allowing people to look at other means that they can experience something new in the region.

It is an unconventional document, yes, and I definitely note that, because it's focus isn't a pile of red-tape, but to serve in a way that executive policy cannot - to prevent a ruling Pharaoh marginalise parts of the community, yet also allow them to recognise a new family, or to reward someone who has served Osiris well, as well as present a way to give the community a sense of identity in a way that an executive policy cannot, and set into laws something which could only enhance our culture if done right.

I didn't present this as a finished product, I presented it as a work in progress asking for opinions and edits to make the document viable yet at the same time, not to suck the life out of it and make it a boring, drab law - that's not the aim of this document.

If nothing else, I'd like to experiment with this type of law. It is something I have never tried in a region, let alone put a lot of work into on this scale - you can see the cities that have been created on the forum, and this is the start of something greater, and one that I think has a real possibility of being a major boost to our region.

Where do I see the House Charter going? I see it being used to allow new families to come together, I see it creating an RP role of a general archivist/record keeper for that, I see it allowing a new dynamic and the possibility of allowing people to be proud of the family they are part of, and gradually, allow them to start having their own areas - to see people sign their family names, to see houses compete with each other in various events on the forum - to see representations of the family discuss their views in the deshret, or a senate or whatever we create in the future, I see this as being a new way of having fun, and if we go extreme with this we'll kill it.

I feel the House Charter is a stepping stone to something greater, but I want to take it slowly, and I'm asking for people who do enjoy this style of roleplay to work with me to make sure this document is something that Osiris can work with, and it can work for Osiris.

So at the end of all this, I would like you to work with me, and work to make this document fit, even if you don't agree with the type of document it is, others will do, and if you do not intend to RP as a member of a house, or family, then this charter will not affect you, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't help be part of this - our community needs to focus on things that will help it grow, and I think this is a good first step.

I just want to be clear here that I think the House system is an interesting idea that holds a lot of exciting opportunities for Osiran culture. My hesitation wasn't with the idea, but with the Charter, and my concern there was that we would be too restrictive with an idea when we don't know yet what exactly will work and what won't.

That said, I think the Pharaoh has made a compelling case for some legislation to cover this. I'll take a look at this later and suggest revisions that I think would improve the Charter, and I would encourage other Councilors to do the same. Even if you're not a fan of the idea, we should give the Pharaoh the opportunity to make it work. If we find that it doesn't work out, it can be repealed later -- but we shouldn't be afraid to try new ideas that might liven things up and give us more to focus on than political contention, which has been a persistent problem Osiris has faced.

Sorry for the double post, I thought I would be coming back to this later today.

Green = Suggested Additions
Red = Suggested Subtractions
Purple = Commentary

Lord Ravenclaw wrote:Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:13 pmThe House Charter Act
Foundations of the Osiran Houses System

I've altered the title and the section titles to format them consistently with legislation the Deshret has already passed.

Article Section 1: General

1. The House Charter will be the fundamental document of legitimacy and legality in governing the creation of Houses for the Fraternal Order of Osiris.

2. The Deshret may amend the Charter at any time following the standard procedure for amendments.

The Deshret already has this power on all legislation by default; explicitly enumerating it in this legislation would imply the Deshret doesn't have this power by default, requiring it to be enumerated in all legislation.

3. 2. This Charter empowers the Citizens of Osiris to declare a familial allegiance or apply for residency in a named city of Osiris, or to found a city of Osiris if they meet the conditions set down by this act.

4. 3. The Registrar, who will be appointed/removed and may be removed by the Pharaoh, will be primarily responsible for maintaining executing this Charter, as well as maintaining living records of any and all officially recognised houses.

5. 4. A Major House is defined as a House which has seven or more members. If no house meets that criteria, then the four houses with the highest number of members will be considered Major Houses. Houses of current or former Pharaohs will always be considered Major Houses. Minor Houses are defined as any house which does not meet the above criteria. Further criteria may be set by the Registrar at their discretion.

6. 5. A House can only be defined according to the number of Osiran Citizens that count themselves amongst its numbers. A House may not use foreign numbers in official requests.

Article Section 2: Recognition of House Status

1. Houses may be recognised by the Pharaoh upon petition, without obligation of the Pharaoh to officially recognise them.

2. Houses may be recognised by the Pharaoh upon the conferring of an award to a member of a house.

3. The Pharaoh may declare the creation of a House when gifting a city to that house in the same way one would confer a medal.

The stricken language is probably superfluous, though that may just be a matter of legislative style.

4. Citizens may apply for official "House Status" using according to Guidelines set down by the Registrar.

5. Foreign Houses may be recognised at the discretion of the Pharaoh, if and only if they meet the conditions set down by this Act and the Registrar's Guidelines.

Article Section 3: Loss of House Status

1. House Status may be revoked from houses who contain members who have committed Treason or similar high-crimes against Osiris or her people the Osiris Fraternal Order.

2. House Status may be suspended for a length of time decided by the Pharaoh for actions which infringe against Osiris or damage Osiran standing internationally.

3. House Status may be lost, or declared "Dormant" if the final member of the house passes from Osiris without a named heir or successor. Houses may be declared "living" or "active" if there becomes a named heir or successor bearing the House name who successfully petitions the Registrar to recognise their claim. according to the Guidelines established by the Registrar, which must be uniformly applied to all Houses.

This is one of the areas where I feel we're being overly restrictive before we know what works and what doesn't, and I think it would be better for the Registrar to be able to quickly and easily amend the Guidelines if something isn't working.

4. Houses may be stricken from record if it is revealed that they have conspired with enemies of the State in order to overthrow the ruling House or Government in favour of their own.

I think this is excessive. House Status can already be revoked for commission of high crimes; striking them from the record just seems like historical revisionism that could get confusing.

Article 4 - House Autonomy
1. Each recognised House is empowered to handle any and all internal affairs without fear of interference from the Government.
2. Each house is empowered to set its own criteria for residency in their territories and may expel residents for breaches of House Law as needed after consultation of the Keeper of the Deshret, Pharaoh's Registrar and an official representing the Pschent.
3. Houses may display coat of arms, family colours or other regalia on the forum in family areas, or personal signatures and avatars as long as said items do not violate the Zetaboards Terms of Service or the laws of Osiris.
3a. Houses may incorporate Family regalia into the official flag of Osiris for official deployments if approved by the Registrar or the relevant official.
4. The ruling House of the Pharaoh shall reside in Memphis for the duration of the Pharaoh's reign, following that, they may return to their home city (should one exist), order the foundations of a new city, or remain in Memphis.

I have serious concerns with this entire section. 4.1 seems way too broad, while 4.2 gets the Keeper and the Pschent involved in a cultural matter in which I'm not at all sure they should be involved. 4.3 is already covered by Section 6.2(c) of the State Code. 4.4 is basically a good idea but I think it could be included in the Registrar's Guidelines rather than being defined by law.

Article 5 Section 4: Creation of Cities, Nomarchs and Towns

1. A house of fourteen or more members may petition the Pharaoh for the Creation of a new city in their name.

2. A house of seven or more may request a residential town in accordance with this charter.

3. Houses must exist for longer than three months before being able to request residential cities.

4. The Pharaoh and Forum Administration Team reserve the right to refuse requests at their discretion. The Pharaoh and forum administration may organize the placement of cities and towns on the forum as they deem appropriate.

I think this makes more sense than allowing the Pharaoh and admins to refuse requests, as it wouldn't be fair to eventually cut these off while other people still have Houses.

5. The Pharaoh and Registrar reserve the right to may amend the requirements for Residences and Cities residential cities and towns as necessary, provided such requirements do not contradict this Charter.

I've stricken the Pharaoh here because everywhere else it's left to the Registrar's Guidelines, and the Pharaoh can sack a Registrar who won't amend the Guidelines to his liking. I've also included a requirement that the Registrar's requirements for cities and towns can't contradict this Charter, because if they can there's no point in having this section of the Charter.

Article 6 - Administration

1. This Act may be amended by the Deshret with consultation from representatives of each major house.
2. This Act hereby creates the position of Registrar, an appointed role from the Pharaoh who will serve as Archivist for the Houses.
3. This Act hereby creates the College of Arms, to manage and maintain lists of all known Regalia, War Banners and Approved Deployment/Mission Flags which use the Eye of Horus or any official standard of Osiris.

Again, I think this section is problematic. 6.1 is probably unconstitutional, as the State Code gives the Deshret the power to legislate without consulting anyone (except of course the Pharaoh can veto legislation) -- and even if it weren't unconstitutional, I don't think we want the Deshret constrained by consultation with representatives of what are essentially RP houses.

6.2 doesn't need to create the Registrar, it's already created by Section 1.3 above.

6.3 may be something we want to do, but it could probably be incorporated into Section 1. Alternatively, this could be left under the duties of the Registrar or the Pharaoh can appoint a position for this that is answerable to the Registrar, like a deputy.

One other thing: Is the Registrar to be a junior cabinet official, and if so, under what department? The reason I ask is because if the Registrar is a senior cabinet official under no other department, they will need to be confirmed by the Deshret. If the Registrar is a junior cabinet official, no confirmation is required -- but this legislation probably needs to make clear that the Registrar is a junior cabinet official and which department.

All of Cormac's changes make sense to me and should make this a more workable document while still providing the legislative foundations.

I would hope that it's the Land of Osiris Map, although I wouldn't mind a larger map which is similar to the current one.

I'm happy to work with you to sort this out. Don't forget though that the main map is similar in scale to the whole of western Europe and that people have the freedom to make more detailed maps for the areas they control:

Spoiler

Thanks for the edits Cormac, they've tidied the entire thing up far better than I could.

As for the Registrar, the answer would be "neither", the aim would be to have it as a separate role that isn't linked with the cabinet or any other form of government so we didn't get too many interlinks between the various aspects of the region.

And thanks Cere, the last example you posted is the style I'd definitely be keen on. The aim for this larger map - which could hopefully be turned interactive - would be to map out the cities, houses and territories the houses control.

Lord Ravenclaw wrote:Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:14 pmThanks for the edits Cormac, they've tidied the entire thing up far better than I could.

No problem, glad I could help.

Lord Ravenclaw wrote:Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:14 pmAs for the Registrar, the answer would be "neither", the aim would be to have it as a separate role that isn't linked with the cabinet or any other form of government so we didn't get too many interlinks between the various aspects of the region.

Ah, I see. I think that actually works, as the State Code is silent on creation of new non-cabinet officials. Good idea!

It's one of my better ideas.

Lord Ravenclaw wrote:Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:14 pmThanks for the edits Cormac, they've tidied the entire thing up far better than I could.

As for the Registrar, the answer would be "neither", the aim would be to have it as a separate role that isn't linked with the cabinet or any other form of government so we didn't get too many interlinks between the various aspects of the region.

And thanks Cere, the last example you posted is the style I'd definitely be keen on. The aim for this larger map - which could hopefully be turned interactive - would be to map out the cities, houses and territories the houses control.

Sounds good. I'm happy to help however I can.

Very interesting indeed. Full support!