Show Posts
1
The Lobby / A Speech to the Ziu from a Citizen
« on: August 15, 2021, 01:04:30 PM »
Senäts, Cosa, Government, and people of Talossa, I have some thoughts about our current crisis of activity.
The Ministreu del Interiör has rightfully pointed out that the "number of new, active citizens in Talossa is worryingly low." This isn't a new phenomenon. Over the past few years, we have seen a steady decline in the number of new citizens who have immigrated and remained active. There are a variety of explanations on offer, but I believe that the most significant part of the problem is that there's nothing to do.
Now, obviously, we do have big passionate bursts of activity. In particular, these bursts come at two times: at election time or when divisive legislation is proposed. But while these contests of power, control, and vision are interesting for many of us, they also are necessarily periodic and frequently bitter -- and even worse, they have become increasingly either tribal and angry. That's why they won't work as a broader solution to our problem. Consider the plain syllogism, after all: "We need to have stuff to do; bitter fighting is a thing to do; we need to have more bitter fighting." Contests of power and vision can't be our complete civic life.
For a very long time, this wasn't much of a problem in the country because our history has been dominated by two phases. From the Dictatür Atx of 1979 to the Interriét Atx in 2003, our founder King Ben I was the unchallenged engine of weird ideas and interesting plans. He was always around and usually interested and sometimes interesting. There were frequent contests of power and he could be very difficult, but he was the sharp and enduring rock of the nation: land on it, sail around it, or crash upon it... it'll still be there tomorrow. And after the Axhitaziun Atx until Reunision, there was so much elbow room to invent a new way to do Talossa: people took the old traditions and ideas and just ran with them. The Berber of Seville, Talossapolia, and all of those things took advantage of an atmosphere of amiable camaraderie that took hold as a rump nation rebuilt itself.
Neither of those conditions are replicable today, exactly, and it seems foolish to try. We need a new path forward.
We're taking some good steps. Reviving the TalossaAssistant program will help new immigrants feel a personal connection to engage them. Creating some physical aspects of the Talossan experience will help it feel more real. Looking for alternative sources of steady funding so we can eliminate party registration fees will lower the bar for political participation. Regular video chats are interesting for some people as a way to connect with each other. This is all to the good.
We've been taking some steps that are more questionable. It would be a mistake to raise the vote threshold to join the Cosa, for example, since we have had a lot of folks (Casalmac'h, da Dhi, Briga, etc) who have run individual and silly parties/campaigns, some of which actually took off because they hit on something that really interested people. The Government probably also shouldn't try to be reporting the news, since that just gives people even less reason to actually stay personally involved or do it themselves.
So, what should we be doing instead? I don't think we can mandate fun or bribe people into it. If Talossa isn't interesting to someone, we lack the force or funds to change their mind. Instead, we should concentrate on making our soil ready for the seeds that will come. Make our nation receptive to new growth.
The most important thing that we should be doing is keeping track of our success. As far as I know, we don't even bother tracking the number of immigrants per month/term, and we don't bother keeping tabs on who sticks around. This is a fundamental step: we are never going to know what works unless we bother to collect the numbers. Start a spreadsheet open to the public, put in the names of successful immigrants in the month and year of their entrance, and then put in another column for "still active at six months?" and a second for "still active in a year?" I'd suggest that this should be the task of the Prime Ministry itself, to emphasize its importance. It is absolutely vital.
We should revive the Zuavs. In the time I ran it, a dozen people joined and did things they hadn't been bothering to do. One zuav made a bunch of wiki edits and another wrote a language paper for the CUG, for example. This will help ensure that efforts get recognized, so that things that get accomplished or created receive some recognition. People like ranks and achievements -- that's why they're a big part of video games. The Zuavs also serve as their own form of visible activity, looking and feeling cool while requiring very little investment on the part of the Government. That's all going to help us. Let's build on success, rather than letting it stagnate for another year.
And as one last point in their favor, the Zuavs mitigate the problem of making worse versions of cool things. I entered my four-year-old's painting in last term's art contest, but mostly out of patriotism. If running or entering contests/tournaments/clubs counted as an achievement for rank advancement, it would help provide a reason for joining our Talossan versions. Right now, leading a prayer for Talossans United for Christ is an act of obligation or boredom, since that prayer's less interesting/fulfilling than one in your actual church (I'd assume, anyway). The Zuavs adds a nudge to make these things even better. Let's try to create those sorts of virtuous cycles wherever we can, where doing good stuff is rewarded with even more good stuff (for that matter, Zuav rank should be considered a major a point in your favor when it comes to knighthood).
We should centralize our civic life. Create private boards only accessible to people in the Government, and hold discussions and Cabinet meetings there. Create private boards only accessible to people in a political party, and encourage them to hold their discussions and meetings there. This is a change of tune for me from some years ago, since I used to encourage the proliferation of Talossan stuff. We're too small for that now. When we had forty active citizens, it was good to spread out the flavor of Talossa. When we have fourteen, we're just watering ourselves down.
I believe these three steps will help us take advantage of organic ideas and interest that develop, since they will make Talossa into a place where you can see people doing stuff themselves, and where initial steps get rewarded with cool experiences. If I think of any further ideas, I will add them here. If you don't know me, and want to know my history here for the basis for my opinions, don't hesitate to say so.
I am open for questions, additions, or criticism.
The Ministreu del Interiör has rightfully pointed out that the "number of new, active citizens in Talossa is worryingly low." This isn't a new phenomenon. Over the past few years, we have seen a steady decline in the number of new citizens who have immigrated and remained active. There are a variety of explanations on offer, but I believe that the most significant part of the problem is that there's nothing to do.
Now, obviously, we do have big passionate bursts of activity. In particular, these bursts come at two times: at election time or when divisive legislation is proposed. But while these contests of power, control, and vision are interesting for many of us, they also are necessarily periodic and frequently bitter -- and even worse, they have become increasingly either tribal and angry. That's why they won't work as a broader solution to our problem. Consider the plain syllogism, after all: "We need to have stuff to do; bitter fighting is a thing to do; we need to have more bitter fighting." Contests of power and vision can't be our complete civic life.
For a very long time, this wasn't much of a problem in the country because our history has been dominated by two phases. From the Dictatür Atx of 1979 to the Interriét Atx in 2003, our founder King Ben I was the unchallenged engine of weird ideas and interesting plans. He was always around and usually interested and sometimes interesting. There were frequent contests of power and he could be very difficult, but he was the sharp and enduring rock of the nation: land on it, sail around it, or crash upon it... it'll still be there tomorrow. And after the Axhitaziun Atx until Reunision, there was so much elbow room to invent a new way to do Talossa: people took the old traditions and ideas and just ran with them. The Berber of Seville, Talossapolia, and all of those things took advantage of an atmosphere of amiable camaraderie that took hold as a rump nation rebuilt itself.
Neither of those conditions are replicable today, exactly, and it seems foolish to try. We need a new path forward.
We're taking some good steps. Reviving the TalossaAssistant program will help new immigrants feel a personal connection to engage them. Creating some physical aspects of the Talossan experience will help it feel more real. Looking for alternative sources of steady funding so we can eliminate party registration fees will lower the bar for political participation. Regular video chats are interesting for some people as a way to connect with each other. This is all to the good.
We've been taking some steps that are more questionable. It would be a mistake to raise the vote threshold to join the Cosa, for example, since we have had a lot of folks (Casalmac'h, da Dhi, Briga, etc) who have run individual and silly parties/campaigns, some of which actually took off because they hit on something that really interested people. The Government probably also shouldn't try to be reporting the news, since that just gives people even less reason to actually stay personally involved or do it themselves.
So, what should we be doing instead? I don't think we can mandate fun or bribe people into it. If Talossa isn't interesting to someone, we lack the force or funds to change their mind. Instead, we should concentrate on making our soil ready for the seeds that will come. Make our nation receptive to new growth.
The most important thing that we should be doing is keeping track of our success. As far as I know, we don't even bother tracking the number of immigrants per month/term, and we don't bother keeping tabs on who sticks around. This is a fundamental step: we are never going to know what works unless we bother to collect the numbers. Start a spreadsheet open to the public, put in the names of successful immigrants in the month and year of their entrance, and then put in another column for "still active at six months?" and a second for "still active in a year?" I'd suggest that this should be the task of the Prime Ministry itself, to emphasize its importance. It is absolutely vital.
We should revive the Zuavs. In the time I ran it, a dozen people joined and did things they hadn't been bothering to do. One zuav made a bunch of wiki edits and another wrote a language paper for the CUG, for example. This will help ensure that efforts get recognized, so that things that get accomplished or created receive some recognition. People like ranks and achievements -- that's why they're a big part of video games. The Zuavs also serve as their own form of visible activity, looking and feeling cool while requiring very little investment on the part of the Government. That's all going to help us. Let's build on success, rather than letting it stagnate for another year.
And as one last point in their favor, the Zuavs mitigate the problem of making worse versions of cool things. I entered my four-year-old's painting in last term's art contest, but mostly out of patriotism. If running or entering contests/tournaments/clubs counted as an achievement for rank advancement, it would help provide a reason for joining our Talossan versions. Right now, leading a prayer for Talossans United for Christ is an act of obligation or boredom, since that prayer's less interesting/fulfilling than one in your actual church (I'd assume, anyway). The Zuavs adds a nudge to make these things even better. Let's try to create those sorts of virtuous cycles wherever we can, where doing good stuff is rewarded with even more good stuff (for that matter, Zuav rank should be considered a major a point in your favor when it comes to knighthood).
We should centralize our civic life. Create private boards only accessible to people in the Government, and hold discussions and Cabinet meetings there. Create private boards only accessible to people in a political party, and encourage them to hold their discussions and meetings there. This is a change of tune for me from some years ago, since I used to encourage the proliferation of Talossan stuff. We're too small for that now. When we had forty active citizens, it was good to spread out the flavor of Talossa. When we have fourteen, we're just watering ourselves down.
I believe these three steps will help us take advantage of organic ideas and interest that develop, since they will make Talossa into a place where you can see people doing stuff themselves, and where initial steps get rewarded with cool experiences. If I think of any further ideas, I will add them here. If you don't know me, and want to know my history here for the basis for my opinions, don't hesitate to say so.
I am open for questions, additions, or criticism.
