Osiris Fraternal Order

I'm running for Keeper! I'll keep this campaign platform short and sweet.

Qualifications

• I've been involved in NationStates gameplay for almost four years and legislating is one of my most enthusiastic interests.
• I have been actively involved in Osiris and have deeply cared about the region's well-being for nearly as long as I've been playing NationStates.
• I am one of three co-founders of the Osiris Fraternal Order.
• I have served as Pharaoh of Osiris twice.
• I served as the OFO's first Vizier and, in that capacity, presided over the Deshret in the absence of a Keeper.
• I was the primary author of the State Code and several other laws. I have contributed in some way to nearly every law on the books.
• Since my return to Osiris three weeks ago, I've authored two pieces of legislation and brought activity to the Deshret, earning me Osiran of the Week this week.

Pros of Electing Me

• I will be active. Every day. Anyone who knows me knows this is true. As a result, the Deshret is bound to be more active.
• I will be doing a lot of organizational work most people don't want to do, like cleaning up the Keeper's office and reorganizing the law library into a single-thread law index that will be more accessible and user friendly.
• I will be taking a look at the Procedure and the laws and suggesting amendments to make our processes more efficient and stimulate activity, though I should note I'll be doing this whether I'm elected Keeper or not.

Cons of Electing Me

• I can be very argumentative and stubborn, with a hot temper (to say the least), though I've learned to temper this over the past few months.
• My two terms as Pharaoh didn't end well and I resigned before completing either term. I have completed my terms in lesser offices such as Vizier, however.
• I willfully committed treason, was convicted for it, and was just recently pardoned a few months before completing my sentence.

Conclusion

And there we have it, the honest pros and cons of electing me. What you see is what you'll get if I'm elected. If I'm not elected, I'll still be active in the Deshret doing many of the things I said I will do as Keeper -- though the organizational work won't be something I can do unless elected.

Best of luck to my fellow candidates Kajan and Jakker, and any other candidates who may enter the race.

I'm happy to take questions!

What do you think would be your biggest challenge as keeper and how will you combat it?

Jakker wrote:Wed Feb 10, 2016 11:22 amWhat do you think would be your biggest challenge as keeper and how will you combat it?

If you mean personal challenge, my biggest challenge will be compromising on legislative matters I feel strongly about, and compromise has to a degree always been one of my biggest challenges in Osiris. I will combat it by taking a breather, coming back, considering what those who disagree with me have to say, and doing my best to address their concerns while being true to my own views. I have recently done just that with the discussion over the Osiran Honors Act.

I don't foresee having any major personal challenges in executing the basic tasks of the Keeper. The challenge I've described above is really more a challenge I have just as a Councilor of the Deshret.

If you're talking regional challenges, the biggest challenge is going to be activity. I want to increase activity by making sure citizens see discussions and votes by linking them on IRC, on Skype, and possibly with mass PMs to Councilors when a new vote starts. I would also like to increase the visibility of the Deshret in-game with discussion on the RMB, links to votes on the WFE, and maybe a weekly or every two weeks region-wide TG about Deshret matters. I won't be able to do all this alone and I'll be looking to my Curators to help out with it.

How does an active keeper facilitate an active Deshret?

The keeper to the Deshret isn't the same as the pharaoh to Osiris.

The Almighty Jesus Whale wrote:Thu Feb 11, 2016 12:26 amHow does an active keeper facilitate an active Deshret?

The keeper to the Deshret isn't the same as the pharaoh to Osiris.

Well, the Keeper can't force the Deshret to be active, that's true. But I would suggest it is more likely to be active if the Keeper is active than if the Keeper isn't. I'll note that any of my fellow candidates are as likely to be active as I am, so I think we'll be getting an active Keeper this term no matter how the election shakes out, and Tomb was reasonably active in the prior term as well.

I think the best way for the Keeper to encourage activity in the Deshret is by doing some of what I've already suggested, like making sure Councilors are aware of discussions and votes, and promoting the Deshret better in-game. Reorganization also plays a role, because I think there will be more activity if the Deshret is more accessible and user friendly -- if people have an easier time finding votes, if they find it easier to find the Deshret applications, if they generally find it easier to know what's going on.

Hi I got some questions here for all those running.

1) What do you think are the 3 best qualities about yourself (they do not have to linked to your role as Keeper)

2) Who would you say was the best Keeper and why?

3) Under what circumstances would you deny an applicant entry into the Deshret

4) How many terms do you want to serve if you are elected?

5) What will you do differently (if anything) that other Keeper's haven't done

6) What are your opinions of a citizen-based and an elected legislature? Can you list the pros and cons of each?

7) How many Curators will you be having in your term and how will you manage them? Will you assign individual curators specific roles?

8) Do you think that the Voter Registry is still useful? If not, why and what would you do instead?

Good luck

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pmHi I got some questions here for all those running.

1) What do you think are the 3 best qualities about yourself (they do not have to linked to your role as Keeper)

Thanks for the questions. My three best qualities? That's actually a tough one, but I'll take a stab at it.

1. Loyalty: I know this may seem odd from someone who has switched gameplay alignments multiple times and who has just recently been pardoned of a treason conviction, but I'm actually an intensely loyal person. The distinction to be made is that I tend to prioritize loyalty to actual people over loyalty to abstract concepts and institutions.

2. Determination: Although this can sometimes manifest itself in stubbornness, I think my determination is one of my best qualities. I don't give up easily and, once I set goals, I'm driven to accomplish them.

3. Intelligence: To be clear, I don't consider myself more intelligent than others, as there are many NationStates players who are as intelligent or more intelligent than I am. I think intelligence is an important quality in many of us and is why NationStates can be so much fun, at its best.

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pm2) Who would you say was the best Keeper and why?

I would have to go with Treize Dreizehn. He was the first Keeper and shaped the office into what it is today, as well as having a huge impact on our laws. He was, as I was, involved in the drafting of the State Code and most laws on the books.

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pm3) Under what circumstances would you deny an applicant entry into the Deshret

I would deny an applicant if I believed them to be a compelling threat to the Deshret's security -- i.e., if I had good reason to believe they might leak from the private halls, for example. Otherwise I would be unlikely to deny an applicant already approved for citizenship. The Deshret can start a vote on any applicant the Keeper accepts, as well, so to me I think the Keeper denying applicants should be very rare, even with controversial applicants, because the Deshret can override an acceptance as well.

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pm4) How many terms do you want to serve if you are elected?

Hard to say. I would be open to two terms, potentially, but no more than that. It's entirely possible I would only be interested in serving one term.

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pm5) What will you do differently (if anything) that other Keeper's haven't done

I think there's been a lack of promoting the Deshret and trying to encourage people to discuss and vote, and that's one thing I would like to do differently. I'll note that Treize actually excelled at this when he was Keeper, so it isn't something no other Keeper has done, but it's been lacking for quite some time.

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pm6) What are your opinions of a citizen-based and an elected legislature? Can you list the pros and cons of each?

I think the biggest pro of an elected legislature is that it can encourage more competitiveness, which can lead to greater activity and participation in order to get elected. The obvious con is that fewer people can have voting participation in regional decision making. Conversely, the biggest pro of a citizen legislature is that everyone -- or, in our case, everyone who applies -- can participate and have a vote on regional decisions. The drawback, I think, is that it sometimes encourages complacency and doesn't maximize the potential for activity, because that competitive factor isn't there.

On the whole, I think for Osiris the better option is a citizen legislature. Osiris once had an elected legislature, and it was incredibly inactive, didn't encourage greater activity and participation, and turned into an old boys' club with little room for newcomers. Generally speaking, the fewer people who have had a role in regional decision making in Osiris, the greater the turmoil has been in Osiris as various factions struggle to control elite institutions of power. While I think elected legislatures may work fine for some other regions -- and right now Balder's Storting seems to be doing great, and I congratulate them on that -- I don't think that is the right choice for Osiris. So I would oppose an elected legislature here, and if anything I would like to see enfranchisement expanded so that citizens are automatically enrolled in the Deshret upon becoming citizens.

I would also note one important difference between Osiris and Balder: Balder has a constitutional Monarch-Delegate who does not serve as a frequently elected head of government, which reduces the likelihood that increased politicking, and increased political conflict, will transform into a regional conflict in which the Delegate overthrows the government and initiates a coup. We lack such a system here, and I would argue that such a system may be necessary to offset the potential conflict and instability that a more politicized legislature might introduce. In short, I don't think it would be responsible to introduce an elected legislature without introducing further measures to guarantee in-game stability in the event of greater political conflict, in the form of a unifying and apolitical head of state serving as Delegate. I don't think Osiris would favor that approach, and I'm not saying we should pursue it, I'm just saying I see it an essential component of making a more politicized legislature work.

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pm7) How many Curators will you be having in your term and how will you manage them? Will you assign individual curators specific roles?

I'll have two or three. I'm not sure I will assign them specific roles, so much as find out what they are interested in doing as Curators and let them go ahead and do that, while ensuring that nobody is bumping into each other trying to do the same thing at the same time. So, I'd be sure Curators are organized, but I want to give them free reign to do what they're interested in doing, and not micromanage them.

I should note that I'll be appointing Curators primarily to give others a chance for greater involvement, and to provide training and experience to potential future Keepers, and not because I intend to be less active myself.

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pm8) Do you think that the Voter Registry is still useful? If not, why and what would you do instead?

It's useful in the sense that, if promptly updated, it helps the Keeper track who has missed votes, and it can help citizens ensure they're meeting membership requirements if they actually look at the registry.

That said, I think our system for maintaining Deshret membership is flawed, difficult to track, and inefficient. I think we would be better off switching to a simple minimum monthly posting requirement, anywhere on the forum, than trying to track votes in the Deshret and keep up with who has missed votes. I will be proposing that change to the Deshret soon.

I would also favor eventually broadening the Deshret to include all citizens, which would eliminate Deshret activity requirements and make Deshret membership contingent upon simply maintaining citizenship. But that is a much bigger change, one that will require ample discussion, and one that the Deshret ultimately may not be interested in making. So, for now, I'm more interested in changing our activity requirements, which is a simpler and more reasonable goal.

Andrew wrote:Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:45 pmGood luck

Thank you, and thanks again for the great questions!

Can I endorse you?

I don't know if it helps you but seriously guys you should vote Cormac he's great

Tim Stark wrote:Sun Feb 14, 2016 6:30 amCan I endorse you?

I don't know if it helps you but seriously guys you should vote Cormac he's great

I appreciate the endorsement, but upon some further consideration, I realize that I only entered this race because I was concerned that this would be like some other past Keeper elections, no one would be all that enthusiastic, and we may end up with an unenthusiastic and inactive Keeper. I'm delighted that the opposite has been the case, and that we have three extremely qualified and enthusiastic candidates other than me. I think I would prefer to see one of them bring some fresh energy to the Deshret than see a member of the old guard elected Keeper.

So, while I will serve if elected -- in acknowledgment that my name can't now be taken off the ballot -- I would like to unofficially withdraw from the race, and ask anyone voting for me to please vote for one of the other candidates of their choice.

Thanks all!