Time to come together and get to work

[Leland]

Re: Constitutional committee

I suppose there's nothing wrong with the constitutional committee meeting in a chat, but since the constitution is a written document after all, I believe that the brunt of the work should be done in the forum. Anyway if someone wants a chat just suggest a time.

As for the terms, we are selecting a new Commissioner/Alpha at the same time as we select a new directorate, aren't we? That would seem most logical to me. So, with absensence of the directors, the first commissioner's job is to get us into the point where we have a savegame of some sort so that the elected officials of the second term can start playign rigth away without hassle.

[Leland]

Re: Time to come together and get to work

Originally posted by Crisler
I also call for the closing of nominations for all cabinet position within the next 48 hours. This provides enough time for any last minute runners to come forward.

I don't think that's enough. I'm probably out of the loop of party politics, not having followed all the relevant threads, but it seems to me that at least ACE is a bit lost with their nominations, and forcing everything to be rushed in two days is not good. Besides if the elections aren't until the end of the month, what's the big hurry?

[DeathByTheSword]

I would be honored to take up the position of alpha talent but with current changes in my overall online time I may not have the time....what do I have to do anyways? only the polls for election of the directorate?

[Juliennew]

Crisler, the problem with the closing of the nominations within 48H (24H now) is we don't have nominations for all the cabinets and we don't even know exactly which cabinets will be created.

[Crisler]

I was under the impression that the cabinet positions where all posted now and that most people that had chosen to run had already spoke up.

I wanted the longer time between the nominations and the election to allow some serious thread discussion of the views of each of the cabinet candidates. This public debate forum is important since these people will shape the early game.

However I can see there is some work going on with people changing the offices they wish to run for. Lets push the nomination deadline back say another 48 hours and see if that can help get this under control.

E.L. Crisler
First Commissioner

[Juliennew]

I was under the impression that the cabinet positions where all posted now

It is your work to officialize them in the constitution

[Juliennew]

DBTS, you should post the last version of the constitution. It will serve as a working base for our constitution.

[jdd2007]

whats this about party leaders? im a 'chairman' anyway...

[DeathByTheSword]

IF SOMETHING ISNT CORRECT THAT IS BECAUSE I RUSHED IT AND BECAUSE MANYTHING ARE STILL NOT SURE BUT THIS IS JUST AN UPDATE

only the article 1 has been updated

UN CONSTITUTION [*]= still in discussion
This is the constitution that we, the new people of the United Nations Peacekeepers, have decided upon. In it, we have declared that we shall form a government of the people, a Democracy, in which we shall choose who leads us. We shall gather the smartest and most wise people of our faction together, and they shall erect polls, and they will do their bidding. This if By the people for the people.

ARTICLE I: Commission Stucture

Executive Branch

This is the administrative section of our faction. The Executive branch is made up of the Commissioner and the Alpha Talent. These two are required to abide by the suggestions of the directors, who represent the will of the people.

Commissioner:
The Commissioner shall physically play the game after referring to his directors, and generally checking with the people.

Once the turns are played the Commissioner shall send out the save game file via the apolyton internetsite in a special save thread

[The Comissioner is required to host at least one turnchat a week.]

Alpha-Talent:
The right hand of the Commissioner; he may assist the Commissioner in any way currently needed (holding polls, consulting directors, distributing the save files, etc). In the event the Commissioner is unable to play his turn, the Alpha-Talent shall play the turn instead.

Director Branch

Directors make up the core of our Commission. Directors are experts in the area they oversee, and they have the task of informing and advising the people on our situation. They are required to conduct polls in order to interrupt the people’s will. They are then to carry out that will, by giving their direction to the Commissioner.

All Directors are allowed to advise and consult with each other. They are also granted the right to petition for changes or actions from other Directors that may be critical to the their department. Ultimately, however, it is the Director in charge of his/her section that has the final say in how things are handled.

Director of Research:
The Director of Research is the faction’s greatest mind in the area of technological advancement. It is his/her responsibility to advise and to poll the people on which techs the people wish to research.
The Director of Research is acknowledged the right to advise the Foreign Affairs Director on matters of Tech trading.
[if blind research is chosen this position will not be needed and everything science related will be split up to D of F and D of SE]

Director of Peacekeeping Operations:
This officer is the principal military advisor to the Commissioner and the people, and prepares military plans and reviews overall military requirements for our nation. He/She also has the responsibility to assess threats to the security of the faction and keep everyone up to date on these threats.

The Director of PO is granted the power to manage the engineering of new military units.
The Director of PO is granted the power to set up the army's strategy. He tells what troops to move where, and which battles to engage.
The Military Advisor is granted the right to take an active part in negotiations of Blood Truce, Treaty of Friendship and Brothers Pact. (Note: The Foreign Affairs Director calls the shots, but the Director of PO must have his voice heard).

Director of Foreign Affairs:
This Director is the commission’s chief advisor on foreign affairs and is responsible for carrying out foreign policy. He/She is given the power to enter into diplomatic negotiations with other factions, however should refrain from making commitments until approved by the people.

The Foreign Affairs Director is granted the power to make/accept peace, make/accept Treaty of Friendship, and make/accept Brothers Pact. The exchange of all items falls on the broad shoulders of the Foreign Affairs Minister. It is strongly recommended that the Foreign Affairs Minister consult the appropriate ministers when gifts or exchanges are involved.
This Director is required to consult the Director of Energy and Industry when energy credits is part of a deal.
This Director is required to consult the Director of Research when technology is part of a deal.
This Director is required to consult the Director of Exploration and Intelligence when the map is part of a deal.
This Director is required to consult the Director of peacekeeping Operations when peace/war is part of a deal

Director of Energy and Industry:
[The Director of I and E is truly the architect of our faction, for he is responsible for making the foundation of our faction, bases, as prosperous and successful as possible. The Director of Industry manages building queues and citizens, but may also request the Expansion and Terraforming Director to improve city tiles when needed.]
This Director is responsible of the treasury of the faction.

[The Director of I and E is required to cooperate with all the others Directors in case they require something build in the bases.]
Director of Expansion and Terraforming:
The Director of E and T posses the important job of placing our glorious new bases.
The Director of E and T is in charge of all the formers and crawlers of our faction.
[The Director of E and T must cooperate with the Director of I and E for the placement of crawlers.]



Director of Social Engineering:
This Director is reponsible of the way of life of our people. He is in charge of preventing riots in our bases.

The Director of SE is granted the power to make polls on the Social Engineering choice and to report the results to the Commissioner.

[The Director of SE is required to consult the Director of Research and the Director of Energy and Industry to agree on the psych rate. **]
[The Director of Research is required to consult the Director of Energy and Industry and the Director of Social Engineering to agree on the science rate.**]
[The Director of I and E is required to consult the Director of Research and the Director of SE to agree on the energy rate.**] [**=do we want this together or dont we?]

Director of Exploration and Intelligence:
This Director is in charge of Planet's exploration.

The Director of Exploration and Intelligence is in charge of all the scouts (1/1/1), rovers (1/1/2) and foils (1/1/3) used for exploration purposes. But theses units will return under the Director of PO rule as soon as they are garisonned or used for offensive against another faction.
The Director of Exploration and Intelligence is in charge of probe teams and missions.
The Director of E and I should cooperate with the Director of Peacekeeping Operations to agree on probe teams missions goals.
The Director of E and I has the power to ask the DPO for anyother unit to explor with (i.e needlejets or an idle unit near black terrian_
Public Information Servants

[Governers:

They take control over X number of bases and manage everything from worker allocation to building orders.]

[EXTRA SERVICES
Chief Librarian:
The Chief Librarian logs everything that happens to our faction, however, he should do so without biased to political leaders or parties. The Chief Librarian is not allowed to vote in governmental polls.

The Chief Librarian may request detailed information on certain things from the Commissioner.

Reporters (Newspapers):
These independent agents are bestowed the great privilege of keeping the people informed on the happenings of the game and commission, as well as the general environment around us. They should strive to obtain accurate facts, and state things how they are, free of political involvement. The reporters act as a window into the game, serve as a commission watchdog, and are general tool of the people.
]

ARTICLE II: Commission Policy

Amendments:
Amendments to this Constitution can be submitted by any member of our faction. An amendment is passed and made official by a 2/3 or greater vote on the amendment's inclusion.

Length of Office Terms:
All office terms shall last one month. A member can run for a different office at the end of his term, but he cannot change offices during it. If a member is elected three times into the same office, that member must run for a different office in his fourth term, or not run at all.

Impeachment and Resignations:
All members of our great faction are recognized the right to bring foreword the issue of impeachment of any government official at any time. Resignations will be handled the same as any impeachments.

A poll will be posted which will expire in no less than 5 days. There are to be three poll options, yea, nay, and abstain. Upon the expiration of the poll, if 2/3 of the people who voted deem impeachment necessary, then the official shall be immediately removed from office. The Commissioner shall establish an emergency member to take his/her place until a new election can be held, and a new person voted into office to finish the term.

ARTICLE III: Polling

General Rules:
Polls may be conducted in an ‘unofficial’ format to simply gain information, but CANNOT be used in any official decisions. All of the following rules are regarding ‘official’ polls, which may or may not be used as official results for the actual game. Any unofficial polls must be labeled as so within the first post.

Each official poll should have its rules laid out, as well as a form of expiration, either when a certain event takes place (i.e. ‘when the game starts’), or a time limit (i.e. ‘5 days’). This is to prevent the occurrence of an incident such as if doesn’t include an expiration, and says 3 weeks later "well this poll said this" kind of thing, and use its results officially. Each poll should lay out the potential options, as well as the question in a clear format. The required inclusions for the post are: an expiration date/event, a fair, clear and concise, unbaised question which addressed the issue of the poll, and a general description of what your poll entails. Instead of a description if you wish to post a link to another thread to give a description, that is acceptable as well.

Those who wish to put up a poll are strongly recommended to first discuss the issue in another thread, and bounce around possible options for voting. If someone feels that a poll could have been better made as a 'grouping' poll, or a 'yes/no' poll, then it may be deemed invalid.

Length of a Poll:
Each poll must be open for a minimum of 3 days. This allows enough time for the majority of our members to see the poll and vote in it. Any poll open or taking results in less than 3 days is invalid. This includes 'spur of the moment' polls, that say something like 'This poll ends when turn 5 starts', but turn 5 starts in 2 days instead of 3 - this poll would be invalid.

Fairness and Neutrality:
The first post in a poll thread should be completely neutral. No options are to be suggested for voting, just what each option entails in an unbiased format. The same is true for the voting options. While poking fun at an option will probably be acceptable, if someone thinks that it interferes with a voter’s decision, then they may deem it invalid. If you show bias in your options, then it is no longer fair. So be warned, if your poll is a landslide one way and should win but someone feels that the options you presented are unfair and calls for a validity vote, if it’s deemed invalid your poll is useless.

Poll Format:
Each official poll MUST include either a ‘yes/no’ format, or a ‘group’ format, where similar options are grouped together, where the winning option within the group with the most votes is the official winner. The only time these formats do not have to be followed is in true multiple-choice polls, i.e. ‘Which Civilization should we be: Egyptians, Persians. Etc.’ In these cases, a simple ‘yes/no’ or ‘grouping’ poll does not suffice.

Repolling:
If someone wants to conduct a repoll, then it must be created at least 3 weeks following the initial poll. If a repoll is created before 3 weeks has passed, then that poll is immediately invalid. If a poll is an alternative poll, offering alternatives to decisions made in a previous poll, then it also must be conducted at least 3 weeks following the first poll, or be immediately deemed invalid. Any poll that's general purpose is the same or similar as another poll will be considered a repoll.

Length of Validity:
Poll results are valid until either a repoll is conducted, or an optional expiration on the results of the poll is included (either from an event or a time limit). In any other case, the results of a poll are official until the end of the game.

Invalidity of a Poll:
If these rules are not abided by, anyone may consider the poll invalid. If someone believes a poll to not be following these rules and declares it invalid, then a vote may be conducted among the elected officials listed above to be either ‘valid’ or ‘invalid’. If the poll is deemed invalid, then its results cannot be used for any official purposes regarding the game. A poll deemed invalid cannot be voted on again unless it abides by the rules regarding a repoll.

ARTICLE IV: Declaration of Rights

Clause 1: No person shall be denied the right to become a emeber of the UNP.

Clause 2: No member shall ever be denied the right to vote in any poll.

Clause 3: Free speech shall not be abridged unless it violates Apolyton rules.

Clause 4: No one shall be banned permanently from participating in the democracy game, excluding those who are permanently banned from apolyton. Note that people may still be banned for any amount of time, as long as it is not permanent.

Clause 5: The right to associate into any form of organization shall not be denied.

Clause 6: No member may be punished in any way without due process of law.

Clause 7: The commission may not knowingly hide information or give false information to the people.

[MrWhereItsAt]

Ahh, a modified Civ3 game Constitution... I much prefer the Civ2 style one - a minimum of crap, no impeachments, and a whole heap of goodwill from all concerned. Anyone confused or sees a problem, they let the Ministers know, the Ministers apologise and respond accordingly.

Less time reading the monstrosity and more time to concentrate on the game.

[DeathByTheSword]

I agree this is way to long but it has to be clear and if you look only at atricele 1 (that is where the most problems lay anyways )

[AdamTG02]

My thoughts

I agree mostly with what has been posted; the main change I would make is to have the Director of Social Engineering able to, by himself, conduct polls on energy rates. This simplifies things and allows the Director responsible for base production to concentrate exclusively on that. Of course, the other Directors are able to recommend policy to that poll as is the Director of Social Engineering (after the first post).

Director of Energy and Industry might be less confusing as Director of Industry (as his main job would be base production). He would still be the main advisor on the energy rate, as the main use for that is hurrying production, but the polls on rates would be conducted by Social Engineering.

I also think it needs to be explicitly stated that, when feasible (as in not in the middle of a turnchat or the equivalent), Directors have a responsibility to poll the people. Although this might be taken for granted by most, I think that it should be in the Constitution. Otherwise a poll might be considered something a Director does when he or she feels like it and not a Constitutional right.

Feel free to post your thoughts.

[DeathByTheSword]

btw has the committee done anything yet...? the most discussions are ending right now and i am getting bored so please tell something funny

[Pandemoniak]

Citizens too should be able to make a poll. But with special rules, like 50% of citizens must have voted, or else the poll is not valid. Does it sound good ?