I occasionally have email correspondence with citizen J.K. Kelley, who, coincidentally, is an active member on the coin forum on which I advertised our five louis coins and kindly vouched that it was legit. I recently received this message from him and he asked that I post it.
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QuoteHow many Talossans have received orders of knighthood? According to the wiki, the number is twelve for the Order of the Nation. The text:QuoteThe Crown recognises worthy citizens, offering them admission into the order for long and dedicated service to the nation, or for particular acts of valour in the defence of the realm.
I submit that Royal Archivist @GV is extraordinarily deserving of this honor. So much so in fact that, if he doesn't qualify for it, I can't think of who might.
For years, and with only modest assistance, GV been gathering up every Talossan archive he could find, putting them into some semblance of order, and making the information available to all. You probably saw his recent publication of the texts of the Big History and Ar Pats, complete with Talossan name repair so as to protect the public anonymity of those who might desire it. I'm a professional editor, and I can tell you that this must have required enormous amounts of work and dedication. You certainly didn't see me stepping up to do any of it.
He has done this work without embroilment in the political mudflinging that so pollutes the Talossan political environment, for no compensation, on his own time and initiative. Without his efforts, much would have been lost or mislaid, and far less would likely be available to the public. That meets any rational standard for dedicated service. As for length of service, he showed up not long after my original involvement in Talossa. How long ago? He first appears on the scene, according to Ar Pats which he just republished, in 2002.
He's been at this for seventeen years. That's almost long enough for a Dandelion to be born, grow up, and attain adult citizenship. That's "long" by any reasonable definition of the term. All this time, he has done his best for reconciliation, historical preservation, and cultural progress. So far as I'm aware, he doesn't have an enemy in Talossa. I am confident that you, and a majority of any segment of the population one might select, would agree that GV has been one of the best things ever to happen to the Kingdom, the Republic, and again the Kingdom. I have a difficult time imagining any grounds on which even a small minority could dissent from that statement.