You're running for a fourth term as Seneschal, and this prior term has been so disastrous that you and your party have made like seven apology speeches, collectively.  If you don't understand why that might lead to some criticism during your re-election campaign, then there might be larger problems at work here.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on March 17, 2022, 03:06:59 PM
What the good Baron is doing here is simply dismissing the outgoing Government's very successful legislative programme. What we're being told is that passing laws is insignificant and unworthy - not nearly as worthy as, for example, publishing a cookbook. But I don't know. I think outgoing Túischac'h has said that for him, the Cosa/Ziu is supposed to be the centrepiece of Talossan activity. And certainly that's all that Talossa was, for most of its history. Most of the "cultural stuff" was just King Robert I's weird obsessions. Ordinary Talossans were only really involved when it came to Clark time. I think it's shameful and poor to dismiss the centrality of "passing laws" to Talossanity.

Yes, you guys have been passing laws very successfully.  But we don't need a very well-legislated graveyard.  And also, how can regulations have been the problem if you've had such success in changing them?

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on March 17, 2022, 03:06:59 PM
There is another point, and that is Point Two of the Free Democrats programme for this term - cutting red-and-green tape. I predict that - without a veritable bonfire of legislative restrictions on Government activity this term - the next Government will find itself in the same trap as the outgoing one did, simply being unable to do stuff because the legislative requirements for "doing stuff" are far too onerous.

You've been making this excuse a lot.  I'm not sure it holds up to any scrutiny.

The Free Democrats promised to do a bunch of things when they took office.  Very few of them happened.  Some of the ones that did happen, like the redesign of ID cards or the New Citizen's Information packet, happened just because citizens started trying to work around their own do-nothing Government.  Could you tell us which restrictions you're talking about?  What needs to go in the "bonfire?"

Which restrictions prevented the Government from running any sort of advertising campaign?  This seems like a pretty obvious priority... what "red-and-green tape" got in the way of making this actually happen?

Which restrictions prevented the Government from creating any kind of memorial, including the promised stamp, for Art Verbotten?

Which restrictions prevented the Government from firing inactive ministers, as repeatedly and explicitly promised?

Which restrictions prevented the Government from being honest about the Seneschal's inactivity?  The guy was understandably unable to do his job, so why did the Government explicitly keep announcing that he was still very active and busily running things?

Which restrictions prevented the Government from relaunching TalossaWare?  Not even flags can be purchased right now, nor anything else.

Which restrictions prevented the Government from reforming or moving on from the database?  I don't think there were even any attempts to find a Talossan (or non-Talossan) who could devise a replacement.

Which restrictions prevented the Government from doing anything at all with the Zuavs, as promised?

Which restrictions prevented the Government from using the Talossan Job Centre at all?  Which restrictions prevented the Government investigation and appointment of a registered agent for Talossa?  Which restrictions prevented the Government from creating new learning materials for our language?  Which restrictions prevented the Government from creating tournaments, gaming streams, a "battle of the bands", or online quizzes?  Working more on their official state history?  Creating a formal military awards structure?  Reviving BHAID?  Setting up a Landing Pier?  Creating ambassadors?  Raising funds for charity in the GTA?

I think some of these things were good ideas, and some were not.  But they're all things that this Government promised to do, yet they never happened.  And I don't think the problem was any sort of "red-and-green tape."

The problem is that you tried to take a step back this past term, since you said you wanted to see if the Free Democrats were a "real political party or just a Miestra Schiva fan club."  That didn't work.  So you basically had to do most things yourself, and you're just one person, and you mostly focused on remaking the laws the way you want.

There aren't a lot of folks who have been citizens for a long time, consistently communicating, and who would be suitable for having a United States bank account.  Maybe V, if he was willing?  Istefan shouldn't have to do it if it's making him anxious.

Quote from: Caleb Frenibuerg on March 17, 2022, 04:20:26 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on March 17, 2022, 06:58:24 AM
I love the "Talossa's Newest Citizen" thing, and I hope that can be carried forward in the future.  Good show on @Mic'haglh Autófil for inventing that.

Caleb, typically we're a "make your own fun" kind of place, where you can seek out to get involved in anything particular you're interested in.  Unfortunately, there's not a lot happening these days.  There used to be multiple media outlets (newspapers, podcasts, websites), active initiatives (like the Zuavs), clubs or activities (like the Three Word Story or the Talossan Science Fiction & Whiskey Society), or translation efforts (like the Berber of Seville).  But for a variety of reasons that can't be blamed on any one person in particular, almost all of these things are defunct at this point.  That's actually been a central problem for a while: there's nothing happening, so people aren't interested, so nothing happens.

However, in really just the last couple of weeks some folks like Breneir and Mic'haglh have worked hard to start creating some new ideas and projects.  So if you're interested in cooking or media work you should ask Breneir what he needs help with (he's almost done with a cookbook and planning a media thing), and if you're interested in fantasy sports you should join Mic'haglh's Talossan Football plans.

Beyond that, you can start your own thing on whatever topic that interests you.  Or if you have energy and are just generally looking to be helpful, there's definitely some things that need to get done that I can point you to and that anyone can do.

I've recently resigned my job, so have a lot more spare time than I did. Point away!

Sure thing.  Bear in mind I'm just a private citizen, so you're under no obligation to do this, but I know we have some important needs right now.  These are just some general things that I wish would happen if people have time, and some of them are hobbyhorses that matter a lot to me.

The Wiki
The wiki is badly out of date in many places.  Some of the most basic things have simply been dropped, since it's too much work (understandably, but sadly).  For example, this page needs to be updated with correct info: http://wiki.talossa.com/Government
And some of the recent elections aren't even recorded on the wiki at all, much less on the relevant menu: http://wiki.talossa.com/General_Election

Most of the wiki-editing is pretty basic, but if you need a primer on how to get started, there's this course I taught at the University (back when it existed and had courses): http://wiki.talossa.com/Class

The Zuavs
The Zuavs is a branch of the Talossan military that is distinctly Talossan: rather than doing anything militaristic, it focuses on rewarding people for doing stuff in Talossa.  There are a series of ranks and awards.  Right now Txec is the Capitan, but he's also doing like ten other jobs.  The Zuavs really needs someone to join and start administering it by announcing with pomp and circumstance when someone has accomplished things and gotten a promotion -- plus anything else the organizer thinks might be cool for them.  I laid out this before for the MinDef in this post:

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 21, 2021, 10:27:02 PM

Quote from: GV on August 21, 2021, 10:05:22 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 21, 2021, 09:56:37 PM

@GV , the program for this Government lists a more active Zuavs as your first priority.  I know you have a lot going on, but I'd love to hear some initial thoughts on how that will look.

To be honest, how MinDef can help the Zuaves baffles me.  Who is the person (yes, I should know this!) with whom I can best discuss things?  The last thing I want to do is to go ahead unilaterally with some weird programme no-else else really wants.

I can tell you my intentions and how I operated, if it helps.  Here was my founding speech and here is the first recruitment thread, and here is the Witt thread I was using on this Witt after we moved over here.  The Wikipedia page also has a lot of this info, plus the list of enlisted when I left office.  I was replaced by ESB, and the current Capitan is our Secretary of State, who has more than enough to do around here already.

What I think needs to happen is just for someone to directly write each of the people enlisted, letting them know where to submit their achievements, and begin visibly awarding promotions and recruiting once more.  Obviously, not a lot will happen immediately, since it's a system based around rewarding activity.  But think of it like a big wind -- not enough to lift anyone into the air, but enough to give each set of wings a boost towards the sky whenever someone gives a flutter.

Language
Learning the language would be an invaluable thing.  We have so few people with any command of it, and it's our greatest national treasure.  There are a variety of resources to get started, if you're interested.

Media
I think someone should start another newspaper.  It seems to me like it should be half-opinion and half-news, like my old paper was, but obviously different approaches might make sense for different people.  I would recommend keeping it simple by just making it a blog-style thing without spending a ton of time on things like producing PDFs or the like.  There are folks who will do graphic design for you and probably some who might be willing to write articles; I'd even volunteer to write a column for it if someone did this.

Quote from: Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM on March 17, 2022, 04:43:28 PM
It's a shame that some of the works on the site aren't linked. I know I'd personally enjoy perusing the "stacks."

I think almost everything that's actually available is linked or directly uploaded to the wiki.

Quote from: Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM on March 17, 2022, 04:46:09 PM

Ah, Beric'ht Talossan! I'd almost forgotten about that gem of journalism. Ok, I am going to get lost looking through all of this!

You're too kind!  Yes, those were good days.  Exhausting, though!  Never missed a deadline, largest staff in Talossan history, first corporation, and went for two years straight releasing an issue every fortnight.  Difficult stuff.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on March 17, 2022, 04:08:12 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on March 17, 2022, 04:06:07 PM
I only have an amateur's knowledge, but I can most certainly chop and splice video. I've been digitizing some old family videos from my childhood and so I've had to learn a lot about it recently. I haven't done subtitles or anything like that, but it looks pretty easy.

It sounds like you can be helpful. There will definitely be some video chopping and splicing.

Upload on Dropbox or something when you're ready, and send it over along with instructions about whatever you want done.

I only have an amateur's knowledge, but I can most certainly chop and splice video. I've been digitizing some old family videos from my childhood and so I've had to learn a lot about it recently. I haven't done subtitles or anything like that, but it looks pretty easy.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on March 17, 2022, 03:51:41 PM

Quote from: Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM on March 17, 2022, 03:45:00 PM
It would not be too onerous a task to publish this cookbook using the tools provided by Amazon in e-book and print book creation. All of my writing (my two novels and my book of plays) are published using this platform.

Thank you Mr. Secretary, that is a great idea. Do you know if the National Library is a standalone online institution or if it is connected with the TalossaWiki? Talossan published works might be an awesome inclusion in the National Library.

So I created the library on the wiki as a place to easily keep track of everything, since we were starting to lose poems and stories and things. I'm sure we did still miss things along the way, but it also preserved a great deal. Separately and also excellently, GV has a large Google drive of different primary documents that he's collected over the years. There's a lot of overlap. We've never really bothered to formally sort it out, since I think that GV has created more of a research archive and the wiki has more of a consumer library.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on March 16, 2022, 07:43:42 PM
Does anyone have experience with video editing in Adobe or Mac programs? The Fora Talossa project could use some video editing help.

What help do you need?>

Quote from: Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM on March 17, 2022, 07:12:17 AM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on March 17, 2022, 06:58:24 AM
Talossan Science Fiction & Whiskey Society

I'd quite forgotten about this. Not only do I love a good whiskey, but I'm kinda a published SciFi novelist. If and when I find some time, this might get revived!

Yeah, I was just saying that you weren't doing enough around here, lazing about and refusing to get engaged.  Nothing but time on your hands.   Shame on you.  It's about time you got involved with Talossa.

That's amazing, Txec!  Where did you find the time to do this?  Truly superb work, thank you.

I love the "Talossa's Newest Citizen" thing, and I hope that can be carried forward in the future.  Good show on @Mic'haglh Autófil for inventing that.

Caleb, typically we're a "make your own fun" kind of place, where you can seek out to get involved in anything particular you're interested in.  Unfortunately, there's not a lot happening these days.  There used to be multiple media outlets (newspapers, podcasts, websites), active initiatives (like the Zuavs), clubs or activities (like the Three Word Story or the Talossan Science Fiction & Whiskey Society), or translation efforts (like the Berber of Seville).  But for a variety of reasons that can't be blamed on any one person in particular, almost all of these things are defunct at this point.  That's actually been a central problem for a while: there's nothing happening, so people aren't interested, so nothing happens.

However, in really just the last couple of weeks some folks like Breneir and Mic'haglh have worked hard to start creating some new ideas and projects.  So if you're interested in cooking or media work you should ask Breneir what he needs help with (he's almost done with a cookbook and planning a media thing), and if you're interested in fantasy sports you should join Mic'haglh's Talossan Football plans.

Beyond that, you can start your own thing on whatever topic that interests you.  Or if you have energy and are just generally looking to be helpful, there's definitely some things that need to get done that I can point you to and that anyone can do.

I'm sorry to hear that so much has been difficult for you.  It certainly makes sense that you were unable to really address your duties, and I hope that things are better from here on out.  But it's crazy to argue that the buck stops with you and that therefore criticism of your party or its leaders is invalid.

This nation came close to dying this past term.  For weeks at a time, no one said anything.  We had one new immigrant all of last year, and zero the year before that.  Up until this past month, that was the first new active immigrant in years.  The Government did almost nothing except pass laws to re-order things.  That wasn't new: things had been getting this bad for years, and I warned of these problems in a speech a month after the election.  But over the course of the term, the issue of inactivity became even more acute.  There were almost no discussions or conversations.  Events and ideas would sometimes be announced, only to slump to nothing. 

The Free Democrats did a bad job this past term, in other words.

It's not unfair to point that out.  It's not unfair to argue that it's evidence to voters that the Free Democrats shouldn't get another term.  You don't own the government, even though your party's led it for years.  It belongs to the people.

It's also not a big deal - he's like the first new citizen since I made the thing, I think!  @Caleb Frenibuerg , did you get a chance to look at the file linked above?  If so, I'd love it if you could tell me if it's helpful or if it fails to answer any big questions you might have.

Quote from: Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM on March 16, 2022, 09:03:31 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on March 16, 2022, 08:56:29 PM

Quote from: Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM on March 16, 2022, 08:55:04 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on March 16, 2022, 08:44:50 PM

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on January 16, 2022, 01:43:49 PM

QuoteThe Zuavs rewards activity with pomp and ceremony.  The whole program is already set up.

Cabinet has discussed this. Initiative now lies with the new Minister of Defence.

It's been months.  Is anything going to happen with this?

I guess you missed the recent activity in the Zouavs. Weird, since you commented on it.

The, uh, one new citizen who actively sought out to join, requesting specifically, and has since not received any sort of recognition or promotion for their numerous efforts?

No.  Um.  I noticed.

Dude, using the very rules you set up, the private in question may have done something culturally related within the past week or so, but seeing as I as the Captain personally commended his efforts while at the same time preparing for a national election, you'd think some small courtesies could be made. But then, that doesn't fit your narrative of a do nothing government, even though the Zouaves are not political.

You're not in the Government!  This has nothing to do with campaigning, as you can see because I've been asking about this for six months.  I just don't know why you're pretending the Zuavs are an active force right now.

Like, I was hoping that the MinDef would promote the thing?  Or even the Seneschal (either one)?  And then maybe do the thing where people who actively contribute to cultural stuff get officially recognized with pomp and announcements?

I know that you have a lot on your plate.  You're the Secretary of State, you're the leader of the largest party in the election you're running, you're the most active herald in the College of Arms, you're administering Wittenberg... this isn't your fault.  But the Zuavs are very much not going right now, right?