There's been an awful lot of talk in Talossa over the past few years about civil behavior. We've seen prominent members of other parties suggest things would be better if the then-Seneschal just left the country, harrass the Mençei to the point they renounce, harrass their own Seneschal to the point they renounce (and take their friend with them, sadly), sexually harrass the now-Secretary of State, and bully the Tuischac'h into silence -- he hasn't even been on Witt in the last three months now, which has made maintaining order in an already chaotic legislature even more difficult.

So what can you do to help turn down the heat? You can support the URL plan for a better-behaved, less toxic environment on Witt:

• Support empowering the Chancery to enforce Wittequette more strongly (done!)
• Support reforms to allow the Mençei and Tuischac'h to keep order more effectively in their respective chambers of the Ziu
• Impose a social cost on people who make Talossa an unappealing place to be
• Don't vote for the party that's led by someone who sexually harrasses his fellow Talossans
• Don't vote for the party that's now officially led by someone who harrasses his fellow Talossans
• Vote for the party and Seneschal candidate that know how to keep things civil -- the Union of Free Reformists!

As a public notice, I will be in the Barcelona area from October 13th to 24th doing some onboarding for my new (and hopefully more permanent) job. The Seneschal and Cabinet have already been informed of this, but I wanted to notify the public as well to be safe.

I will still be contactable via Discord and WhatsApp, and will have Witt access via Tapatalk, but I may not be able to respond as quickly.

Some of my October duties in various roles (publishing La C'hronică, keeping Infotecă and the Anuntziă dels Legeux up to date) will be completed when I return.

Yes, I know "Distain" does not rhyme with Spain/Main/Plane, let me have my sight rhyme.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on September 23, 2025, 08:30:11 AMI know that this information isn't publicly tracked anywhere.  But I thought maybe we might have a way of finding these numbers without too much work.  Perhaps by looking at emails to the MinImm account, compared to the application count, compared to the naturalization count?

Estimate Tuischac'h,

If this musing -- which, before the Member gets defensive, I would like to clarify I am not dismissing as meritless -- is the follow-up question the Member says he asked, the Public Records Ministry does not have access to the Immigration Ministry's email. Before we go too far down the road of Lexh.H.1.2.4.2, I would like to politely suggest the Member reconsider the Minister to which this question is posed so that the Government can answer his Terpelaziun most effectively.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on September 27, 2025, 12:22:17 PMAnd so my question was whether or not the minister agrees that it's not as simple as partisan control, since we saw improvement in 57th Cosa?

Estimat Tuischac'h:

I stated over three weeks ago now that partisan control appears to have little to do with immigration numbers. If the Member opposite had not been in such a rush to shout himself blue in the face, he might not have missed it.

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on September 04, 2025, 12:54:25 AM

• Partisan control also does little to explain the drops, since the Free Democrats were a member of the governing coalition from the 50th to 57th Cosas, which saw a downturn for a few terms before rebounding in the 57th (i.e. prior to the TNC taking control of the government).

Dave Brubeck - Take Five

That may work -- maybe serving as the TalossAssistant to a sufficient number of citizens could be grounds for something from the honors system, as one idea?

Welcome!

I know this is a long bill, bear with me.

The basic summary is that it takes Sir Luc's committee approach to replacing the CRL -- which I must admit I'm rather a fan of -- and applies it to immigration. Opens up the process and makes it a little more transparent, in part by giving the Opposition a (minority) seat at the table. A committee of at least three people, one of whom is the Immigration Minister, and one other is nominated by the Leader of the Opposition. (One big difference is that unlike the OCZ, this committee is not part of the Civil Service, but remains within the Immigration Ministry.)

It also lengthens the amount of time between first getting a Witt account and being able to have someone petition for you, which I will grant you might seem counterintuitive to "keeping up interest", but it also mandates that more areas of Witt are open to prospectives than are currently so, which gives them a better look at what's going on in the country. The process from the prospective's point of view does not require anything additional other than more time; since most prospectives that lose interest seem to do so very quickly, I'm not sure that actually makes as big of a difference as it might seem at first glance. I know we've talked about staggering the process out a bit more to avoid making new citizens feel like they're just adrift once they get citizenship, so this is a suggestion of how we try to do that.

This is all very much a draft, to be clear. I'm just trying to get some kind of concrete proposal in place.

WHEREAS Talossa's immigration process has proven to need reformation, and

WHEREAS granting prospective citizens a deeper form of participation in Talossan life than currently available to them, while giving them more time to integrate before being faced with the obligations of citizenship, should help them to feel better acclimated to Talossan society upon their naturalization, and

WHEREAS decentralizing control over the immigration process ought to help lessen concerns over the exercise of the Immigration Ministry's powers, then

BE IT RESOLVED by the Ziu that the following changes be made to El Lexhatx:

• Title D, Section 2.3 of El Lexhatx, which currently reads:

  Quote2.3 The Immigration Minister, who shall oversee the immigrant and new citizen experience. This includes the following responsibilities:
  2.3.1 Administering the immigration process in cooperation with the Chancery as described by law
  2.3.2 Working with the Ministry of STUFF to increase immigration
  2.3.3 Integrating new citizens into their new Talossan lives and working to find ways to most effectively involve new citizens in Talossan affairs.

  shall be replaced in its entirety with:

  Quote2.3 The Immigration Minister, who shall oversee the immigrant and new citizen experience. This includes the following responsibilities:
  2.3.1. Administering the immigration process in cooperation with the Chancery as described by law.
  2.3.2. Working with the Ministry of Propaganda to increase immigration.
  2.3.3. Integrating new citizens into their new Talossan lives and working to find ways to most effectively involve new citizens in Talossan affairs.
  2.3.4. Chairing the Comità del Veitariçaziun (Naturalization Committee, CV); the CV shall assist the Minister in the evaluation of citizenship applications and provide recommendations to the Chancery for the issuance of grants of citizenship.
      2.3.4.1. The CV shall be composed of at least two Clarqeux dal Inmigraziun (Immigration Clerks), who shall be considered for the purposes of law to be staff of the Immigration Ministry. The Immigration Minister serves as an Immigration Clerk ex officio.
     2.3.4.2. As soon as is practical after the conclusion of each General Election, the Immigration Minister shall review the composition of the CV, calling for new volunteers and dismissing inactive Clerks. Any Talossan with the right to vote in national elections shall be eligible to serve as a Clerk.
     2.3.4.3. Additionally, during review, the incoming Leader of the Opposition shall be explicitly asked if they wish to recommend one Clerk.
     2.3.4.4. The Immigration Minister may appoint an Acting Chair for the CV to exercise the Minister's authority over the CV in their place; the Acting Chair serves at the Minister's discretion.
     2.3.4.5. The Minister may direct the work of the CV, including but not limited to assigning Clerks to review particular citizenship applications and issuing recommendations and guidelines that shall direct the work of the CV in a legally non-binding fashion.

• Title E, Section 2.1, which currently reads:

  QuoteThe Minister of Immigration shall ascertain to their own satisfaction that the prospective immigrant is a real human being with genuine interest in becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. The Minister shall be free to inquire of the applicant on any and every subject, and shall be required to collect the legal name or name used in daily life, postal address (optional if the applicant is under 18 years of age, except for information needed to assign the applicant to a province), telephone number, and e-mail address(es) of the candidate, which information the Minister shall communicate to the Secretary of State. The applicant shall affirm or swear, under penalty of perjury and under the provisions of Lexh.A.16.1., that this information is accurate, and shall provide documentary evidence of the same if the Minister thinks it appropriate.

  shall be amended by deletion of the text "telephone number, ".
• Title E, Section 3, which currently reads:

  QuoteThe Minister of Immigration, working with the Seneschal and the responsible authorities for administering Wittenberg, shall cause the prospective immigrant to be granted an account on Wittenberg, allowing said prospective immigrant to converse with the subjects of the Kingdom gathered there. The Immigration Minister shall verify that the said account is fully-enabled, and that the candidate is able to communicate using this forum with the citizens of the Kingdom. The Immigration Minister shall then begin a single thread on Wittenberg introducing the prospective immigrant to the nation. The "Why I am Interested in Becoming a Talossan" essay shall be published by the Immigration Minister in this introduction. The Immigration Minister is further directed to remind his fellow citizens from time to time that the initiation of new citizens into Talossa is a serious matter and that questioning a prospective citizen is a patriotic obligation of all who love their King and Country.

  shall be replaced, without modifying subsections thereof, with:

  QuoteThe Minister of Immigration, with the approval of at least one other Immigration Clerk regarding the authenticity of the application, and working with the Seneschal and the responsible authorities for administering Wittenberg, shall cause the prospective immigrant to be granted an account on Wittenberg, allowing said prospective immigrant to converse with the subjects of the Kingdom gathered there. The Immigration Minister shall verify that the said account is fully-enabled to view all Wittenberg fora open to citizens except the private citizens' discussion board, and that the candidate is able to communicate using this forum with the citizens of the Kingdom. The Immigration Minister shall then begin a single thread on Wittenberg introducing the prospective immigrant to the nation. The Immigration Minister is further directed to remind his fellow citizens from time to time that the initiation of new citizens into Talossa is a serious matter and that questioning a prospective citizen is a patriotic obligation of all who love their King and Country.

• Title E, Section 4, which currently reads:

  QuoteAn examination period shall begin with the prospective citizen's first posting to Wittenberg after an introduction by the Immigration Minister. At any time at least fifteen days after the beginning of the examination period, any current citizen of Talossa may petition the Secretary of State requesting that a Royal Grant of Citizenship be issued to the prospective citizen. If no such petition is laid before the Secretary of State within the first sixty days of the examination period, the examination period shall end, the immigration process for the prospective citizen shall be terminated, and their Wittenberg account shall be disabled. In addition, if a prospective citizen fails to ever make a first posting to Wittenberg within thirty days of their introduction by the Immigration Minister then the immigration process for the prospective citizen shall be terminated, and his Wittenberg account shall be disabled. Furthermore, whenever an immigration process is terminated then the Immigration Minister shall notify the nation and the prospective citizen of the termination, and shall post a notification to the effect on Wittenberg.

  shall be amended by the replacement of the word "fifteen" with the word "thirty".
• Title E, Section 5, which currently reads:

  QuoteIf, at any point during the process, either before or after creation of the Wittenberg account, the Immigration Minister determines that the prospective immigrant shall not be considered further, the prospective immigrant shall be informed of this decision, and shall be made aware that a Grant of Citizenship may yet be obtained by the disappointed applicant if an act of the Ziu be passed directing that such a grant be issued. Any account created for the applicant on Wittenberg shall then be terminated.

  shall be replaced, without modifying subsections thereof, with:

  QuoteIf, at any point during the process, either before or after creation of the Wittenberg account, at least two Immigration Clerks determine that the prospective immigrant shall not be considered further, the prospective immigrant shall be informed of this decision, and shall be made aware that a Grant of Citizenship may yet be obtained by the disappointed applicant if an act of the Ziu be passed directing that such a grant be issued. Any account created for the applicant on Wittenberg shall then be terminated.

• Title E, Section 7, which currently reads:

  QuoteThe Secretary of State shall, on a date of his choosing, but within a period of ten days after receiving a petition from at least two citizens, neither of whom shall be the Minister of Immigration or anyone to whom they have delegated their powers, to issue a Grant of Citizenship as described in clause 4, and determine the provincial assignment of the prospective immigrant and issue a Royal Grant of Citizenship to the immigrant. This Grant shall be issued under the Royal Seal, either as applied by the Chancery, or, should the Majesty request, by the Sovereign under his or her own hand. If requested by the Government, the Grant may also bear the signatures of the Seneschal and/or Immigration Minister. The Royal Grant shall be promptly issued coincident with the candidate affirming his fealty to the Royal House and his allegiance to the Kingdom by taking any Oath of Talossan Citizenship specified by law. At the time this Royal Grant is issued, and from that point forward, the applicant shall be a full citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. The fact of the issuance of this Grant shall be posted on Wittenberg by the Secretary of State, that the new citizen may be welcomed by his compatriots. Any and all objections raised to the immigration made after this Royal Grant will be moot.

  shall be replaced, without modifying subsections thereof, with:

  QuoteThe Secretary of State shall, on a date of his choosing, but within a period of ten days after receiving a petition from at least two citizens, neither of whom shall be the Minister of Immigration or anyone to whom they have delegated their powers, and at least one of which must be an Immigration Clerk, to issue a Grant of Citizenship as described in clause 4, and determine the provincial assignment of the prospective immigrant and issue a Royal Grant of Citizenship to the immigrant. This Grant shall be issued under the Royal Seal, either as applied by the Chancery, or, should the Crown request, by the Sovereign under his or her own hand. If requested by the Government, the Grant may also bear the signatures of the Seneschal and/or Immigration Minister. The Royal Grant shall be promptly issued coincident with the candidate affirming his fealty to the Royal House and his allegiance to the Kingdom by taking any Oath of Talossan Citizenship specified by law. At the time this Royal Grant is issued, and from that point forward, the applicant shall be a full citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. The fact of the issuance of this Grant shall be posted on Wittenberg by the Secretary of State, that the new citizen may be welcomed by his compatriots. Any and all objections raised to the immigration made after this Royal Grant will be moot.

• Title E, Section 8 shall be amended by addition of the following bolded text:

  QuoteAt any time before a Grant of Citizenship is conferred, the Sovereign, or members representing at least one-third of the Cosă by seats, or members representing at least one-third of the Senäts, or any two Immigration Clerks,, or any single Judge of the Uppermost Cort may petition the Chancery that the said Grant of Citizenship shall not be issued until such issuance shall be ordered by an act of the Ziu. The Secretary of State shall be required to grant all such petitions, and shall withhold any issuance of a Royal Grant of Citizenship to the prospective immigrant who is the subject of such a petition until such time as an act of the Ziu directing the issuance of such a grant becomes law.

Estimate Tuischac'h:

The precedent when compiling data into Infoteca, as I have always understood it, is that the second, third, and fourth categories -- what the Member refers to as "shy" and "desisting" applicants, as well as "successful immigrants" -- are all counted under the heading of "applications", while of course only the successful immigrants are counted under "naturalizations".

Regarding his first category, can the Member clarify, is he referring to applicants who:
- Fill out the form "correctly" (in the sense that the form app will allow it to be submitted), but
- Submit information that is unclear or otherwise "incorrect", and
- Fail to respond to Immigration Ministry attempts at follow-up?

Estimat Tuischac'h,

I have provided the most accurate numbers possible in response to the Member's question in multiple threads now -- both this one and a previous thread from the same Member. The numbers he is asking about were provided two-and-a-half weeks ago. I understand he has a situation to attempt to spin to his advantage, but the simple fact of the matter is that any sane, reasonable individual would see that the Terpelaziun at hand has been answered ad nauseam.

If the Chair wishes to compel me to answer further, I will await a ruling saying so.

Guscht XLVI / August 2025

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Government News
STUFF Decluttering Act Makes for Cabinet Reassignments
In the wake of the disestablishment of the Ministry of STUFF, Mic'haglh Autófil and Bråneu Excelsio were appointed as the first Minister of Public Records and Minister of Propaganda, respectively:
https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=4339.0

Immigration Form Updated
Immigration Minister Miestră Schivă has streamlined the form prospective citizens use to apply for citizenship:
https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=4349.0

Cosă Enlarged by One
New citizen Leonardo Marques claimed his "new citizen's seat" in the Cosă, bringing the number of seats to 201 for the remainder of the term:
https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=4347.0


General News
Talossa "On Deck"?
Sir Marcel Tafial, UrGP is working on designs for a Talossan set of playing cards:
https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=2326.15

TCAT Spain Gets Underway
The third leg of the 2025 Talossan Cycling Association Tour commenced in Spain on 24 August; can Esqipă Velocostă be caught?
https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=4340.0

Fantasy Hockey to Return?
Tric'hard Lenxheir is putting out feelers to see how many people would be interested in a second season of fantasy ice hockey:
https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=4313.0


Immigration News
One new citizen immigrated in August: Leonardo Marques

Additionally, twelve citizenship applications were received in August, from Ali Yiğit, Mehmet Can, Ethan Vetrone, Layne Hebert, Danijel Lončar, Robert "Bronco" Bregenzer, Aminul Islam, Carteir Montanghă, Sadiq Ssali Abdulaziz, Joel Dale, CJ Macinko, and Baran Çetin.

Estimat Tuischac'h,

I thank the Member for his question.

Let me first begin by stating that when such outages occur, assuming they affect not just Wittenberg but the entirety of the nation's web presence, then they would indeed fall under the Ministry's purview. If the wiki and other services remain unaffected and only Wittenberg goes down, that would appear to be more of a Chancery issue under Title J. (I am responding here to comments from the Member on Discord regarding Chancery vs. Government responsibility, to be clear.)

To address the Terpelaziun posed: the Wittenberg outages in recent weeks appear to not be caused by any technical issue with our hosting service -- as were, for example, some of the outages following maintenance to our Digital Ocean server earlier in the summer -- but are instead caused by external factors, chief of which appears to be a larger number of bots, likely web crawlers, attempting to communicate with the server. When the server receives too many requests in a short amount of time, it basically overloads and will go offline.

The Permanent Secretary has already implemented an anti-bot measure to counter these bots, which at least in its first week appears to be properly thwarting excessive requests.

Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower

Brian Setzer Orchestra - Sleep Walk

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on September 04, 2025, 12:35:18 PMS:reu:

I thank the minister for his response.  I am also grateful for the detailed analysis, even though I disagree with some of the conclusions.  Here are your numbers:

61st Cosă: 1
60th Cosă: 6
59th Cosă: 11
58th Cosă: 8
57th Cosă: 8
56th Cosă: 2
55th Cosă: 4
54th Cosă: 4
53rd Cosă: 3
52nd Cosă: 9
51st Cosă: 6
50th Cosă: 18

Looking at the numbers, I think it might be a good idea to set aside an attempt at a just-so story to explain everything.  This is a complicated question, capturing a lot about the state of our country and its governance.  Let's at least start out by focusing on the bottom line.

So, as a supplementary question, would you tell me if you agree that this is a fair way to describe the trendline:

The immigration rate badly slumped during the 53rd Cosa.  This slump continued for several terms, reaching a nadir during the 56th Cosa.  After that, the immigration rate improved over the succeeding three Cosas.  It peaked again during the 59th Cosa, but it has since badly slumped again.

Is that accurate?  I know it doesn't capture all of the subtleties, and that we can tell all kinds of stories to explain it, but I want to be sure that we agree on just the actual trend in this data.

Estimat Túischac'h,

The Member opposite is, by his own admission, a big fan of data and letting numbers speak for themselves, and I think it is fair to say that they do. In light of the fact that the he appears to agree with one of the main points that the Government has been making the entire time -- namely, that there is no single "silver bullet" to fixing the immigration issue -- I will withhold further comment on the numbers or descriptions thereof and let them simply speak for themselves.