I have added navigation to the bottom of each page, and a few other little improvements as they occur to me.  If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to let me know.  I do plan on eventually making the forms for answers auto-check for correct answers, rather than making the reader do it, but that will have to wait for a later day.

Anyway, I started work on the next lesson, and it's partially complete.  We'll be working on translating into Talossan in different tenses, expanding significantly the number of things we can say.

https://talossan.net/lesson-five/

A future Lesson Six will be about error correction, I think.

Got a good start on it tonight.

https://talossan.net/lesson-four/

We need a fresh look at our immigration process.  To apply to immigrate to Talossa, prospective citizens must complete an expanding form that requires an enormous amount of work to fill out -- someone answering thoughtfully will end up spending half of an hour or more on their application, and possibly even longer if they are dyslexic or not a native English speaker.


The form is long and intimidating.  It's expanded over the years.  It looks complicated, and asks a lot of questions.  And it is assuredly not the best we can do.  We need to take a good hard look, thoughtfully winnow down or simplify the questions, and make it more accessibly and friendly.  We need a new approach: our immigration process can be better.

We need a fresh look at our website.  Since the wiki has become such an important part of keeping track of our national story and presenting information to the world, our website has become very limited.  Most of the information was removed, rightfully so, because it was a huge amount of work to keep updating it in multiple places.  But since then, no one's really tackled the problem of its presentation.  We need a redesign and a new look from first principles, to provide easy navigation to information and visually prioritize the most important links.

For example, almost all of the official merchandise on TalossaWare is unavailable at this point, for example, so maybe it no longer makes sense to promote it at the top of the page (or maybe it should be updated).  Or consider the page for La C'hronică: it hasn't been updated in seven months, so maybe it shouldn't be so prominently displayed?  Let's take a fresh look at how we're presenting ourselves, so we can put our best face forward.

We need a fresh look at funding.  Currently, the way to donate money to Talossa is only through a Paypal link.  But there's a host of other free options that we could be utilizing, including many that easily allow monthly donations.  Monthly donations of a dollar or two would add up quickly, and they might allow us to end the undemocratic fees required to run for office -- or pursue more ambitious goals, such as advertising campaigns on places like TTRPG websites or locally in the Greater Talossan Area.

We need a fresh look at promoting culture.  Some of the most popular things in Talossa are regular events and competitions that take place: such as Talossan Music Top Twenty, Talossachess, Ceampiunità Talossan del Rälli, and (of course) the Talossan Cycling Association Tour.  These are some of our most fun activities, all produced by reliable and wonderful citizens.  We should be meeting the people where they are, and promoting and cheering on these wonderful activities.  In addition to promoting them on social media, as is often done, a banner space should be set up on the website homepage to promote them and use them to engage new possible citizens.  Perhaps the Government might approach some of their organizers to see if there was some way they could be supported or assisted.  These are diamonds in the rough, and it will take the barest of efforts to show the world how they gleam.

The Progressive Alliance will provide a fresh look at our web presence, making sure our online tools are being used in the best way possible.

@Sir Lüc , I have some requests about how Wittenberg can be organized to be less intimidating to newcomers.

I'd like to request that the boards for La Società Talossan dal Siensiă-ficziun, del Fantasieu es del Wiski, Fora Talossa, El C'hlub Saxhitourófil, and el Cußeglh del Futbol Talossan be placed as subboards under a "Clubs" board, similar to the current setup for "Political Parties." 

I'd also request an "Archived" board with the two archived boards as subboards under that.

I'd also like to request that the two Ziu boards be put as subboards under "The Lobby."

I'd also like to request the deletion of the Funziun and Forziuns Armeschti boards, with their contents moved to under "The Lobby" as well.

Currently, we have thirty top-level boards.  These changes would reduce that to twenty-two, making things at least slightly more manageable and less intimidating.  Most of these boards are only needed by people with special roles who will go looking for them, and some aren't needed at all.

Over the past year, Talossa has shrunk in size.  Too many people have lost their citizenship, and too few have immigrated.  In fact, over the last year, the immigration rate has dropped by an astonishing 50%.

Fewer new citizens means that we're missing out on those who would be active and engaged, with new ideas and new energy.  It means fewer people to play games, run for office, write new poems, or just chat.  The necessary work and old institutions are divided up among a dwindling number of Talossans -- or worse, simply discarded.  It means that the same people stay in power, month after month, year after year.

According to the Seneschal, "the Government is not sure why immigration has dried up," but she notes that application numbers have been steady.  In other words, people seem just as interested, but they don't stay interested.  She suggests that "that Talossa is right now unattractive to newcomers," and that advertising wouldn't help.  On this point, she states, "I am convinced that you can't create a marketing campaign for a pile of garbage."  It's a problem with Talossa itself: she thinks that perhaps people just don't want to be here, and so they don't immigrate.

There's a serious crisis.  What should the Government be doing?  If this was a priority, what would we expect our Government to do?

Draw attention to the problem.  One of the most fundamental parts of leadership is helping to direct attention.  Since this is a serious crisis, and the Government has admitted they are at a loss, they should be shouting to the rooftops for help.  We have many citizens who pay only intermittent attention: perhaps one of them might have an idea.  Maybe you, reading this now have an idea.

Try new things.  The Government's signature policy on immigration was to make it harder to immigrate by barring any applicants with an essay of low quality.  This approach has rightfully been abandoned, but what has replaced it?  If we can't just advertise our "pile of garbage," then there must be other ideas.

We should be trying lots of things, since if we try nothing, we're certain to achieve exactly that: nothing.  Maybe we focus on our strengths with heraldry, and appeal to the online heraldic community?  Maybe we incentivize recruiting with awards, and publicize those awards with recorded video speeches?  Maybe we explore reaching out to former Old Growthers to invite them back?  Maybe we offer prizes for Talossan language writing, and then advertise those prizes on conlang forums?

Set goals.  The immigration rate has nearly halved during this Government's time in office.  Faced with that problem, a Government that was serious would set a goal for recovery.  An actual goal would demonstrate accountability.  It's much better than simply accepting decline.

The Avant Government is not doing any of these things, since solving this crisis is not one of their main priorities.  That's not good for the country.

The Progressive Alliance will prioritize immigration, the lifeblood of our country, by working to publicize the issue, trying lots of new ideas, and setting reasonable goals.

I would like to issue a hearty congratulations to the Seneschal, the Most Honourable Dame Miestră Schivă UrN-GC.  I just noticed today that she is now the longest-serving Seneschal in Talossan history.  She has been in office for an astonishing 1,225 days so far -- and we're only halfway through the term!  She's leaving her closest competitor, Mic'haglh Loquatsch, in the dust, already exceeding his record by more than a hundred days in office.

Congratulations again to Seneschal Schivă!

Estimat Tuischac'h,

The immigration rate since this Government took office a year ago has been quite poor, with an average of 0.75 new citizens a month (ie, 9 a year).  Over the past two months, it's been zero.

In the same time, sixteen citizens have left the country.

This seems like a serious problem.  I would like to invite the Seneschal to please speak to her plan to address this crisis specifically.

WHEREAS on October 17th, Breneir Tzaracomprada told another citizen he was cute amidst an aggressive policy dispute.  This made the other citizen uncomfortable, but when told that he was being rude, he reiterated that he thought the target of his affections was cute.  Several people again reminded him that was inappropriate behavior, but S:reu Tzaracomprada took it further, saying he thought his target was handsome and that he'd tell anyone who asked.  He said he'd keep saying whatever he wanted.

Some weeks later, S:reu Tzaracomprada followed up these incidents by saying that he thought the same young man was "suave and debonair."  He repeated it again when asked to stop.  And he loudly proclaimed that he would continue to engage in this behavior, even when told very clearly that his target was deeply unhappy with his attentions, and

WHEREAS this treatment of another Talossan was unacceptable.  Behavior must be considered in context: there's nothing wrong with the word "cute" in many other situations, nor is it unreasonable to compliment someone's physical beauty at times.  However, this behavior was situationally inappropriate: (a) the "compliments" were combined with antagonism, (b) they were directed by an older person to a much younger person with no real existing relationship, and (c) S:reu Tzaracomprada was made aware that his target was very uncomfortable with the behavior.  It is clear in context, then, that S:reu Tzaracomprada was engaging in sexual harassment and

WHEREAS S:reu Tzaracomprada has made it clear that he does not regret his behavior, suggesting that it might happen again, and

WHEREAS it is awkward for the administrators of Wittenberg to act to limit this sexual harassment, considering S:reu Tzaracomprada is the sole vocal legislator for a political party, and this hesitance is understandable but not sustainable, and

WHEREAS it materially harms the Kingdom of Talossa to permit it to become a place where one citizen can sexually harass another with impunity,

THEREFORE be it known that it is the sense of the Ziu that any further misbehavior by S:reu Tzaracomprada must not be tolerated by the administrators of Wittenberg and the Chancery.

Similarly, anyone else acting in such a way must meet firm consequences in a timely manner.  We encourage the administrator(s) of Wittenberg to be more proactive in general in their efforts to curtail personal or sexual harassment by other citizens.  Heated debate is wonderful, sharp words might be necessary, but persistent and unapologetic harassment needs to be addressed.

The Chancery is hereby further encouraged to appoint an official to whom this power is delegated, considering that the Secretary of State might feel conflicted if they are the personally the target of harassment.

No one deserves to be treated this way.

Uréu q'estadra så:
Baron Alexandreu Davinescu (MC-PROG)
Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC (MC-AVANT)

If I may, I'd like to begin by quoting the recent joint statement.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on April 25, 2025, 04:48:23 PMThis statement has been approved by the leaders of both the ¡Avant! Coalition and the Progressive Alliance.

When antisocial behaviour is tolerated, the victims of antisocial behavior are effectively excluded. If our patriotic goal is a large and vibrant Talossa, behaviour which drives other people out of participation (or out of citizenship) is unpatriotic. This goes for all forms of harassment, sexually-tinged or otherwise.

Creating a hostile environment in Talossa, where not only the target of the behaviour but others watching it feel icky and alienated, must be sanctioned. The threshold for criminal harassment (El Lexhatx A.7.1.2) is high and should remain high. However, there must be a ladder of escalation. There should be informal, or social, sanctions for such behaviour before it escalates to the criminal level. This is a call for serious enforcement of Wittiquette rule 8: "Don't be a troll or otherwise post in a way that is intended solely to annoy people or infuriate them." (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=125.0)

In previous years, effective moderation of Wittenberg was hampered when the targets of moderation made a claim to either "free speech" or "political bias". In a country like Talossa, where more than half the active population are political figures, it is far too easy to politicise basic requests for human decency. This is why a cross-party political agreement of forces representing a supermajority of Talossans is necessary so that this does not happen again.

Therefore:

1) we support strong moderation of Wittenberg to enforce Wittiquette Rule 8 when it comes to sexual harassment, even when it doesn't rise to a criminal level; we have confidence in the Chancery and its appointed agents to do so fairly, and we will back their decisions.

2) we pledge non-cooperation with and informal boycotts of serial harassers whose behaviour does not (yet) rise to the level of criminal activity; to end when such offenders convincingly change their ways.

3) we will likewise support similar measures following such behaviour on the part of any signatories of this declaration, or any members of their parties or their allies.

4) we will open a broader debate on how to deal with trolling, cruelty, and creating a toxic environment in Talossa.

I have asked for the creation of this board to begin the broader debate on trolling, cruelty, and creating a toxic environment in Talossa.  This is an important issue, since it exists at the intersection of free speech and the safety of the public commons.

Talossa is a mostly online experience, these days, although hopefully that won't always be true.  Accordingly, it is uniquely vulnerable to government intrusion on free speech.  Some of you may know that I am a political activist in my other country, as well, and we run frequent protests, stand-ins, and other activities (especially lately).  It would be impossible to engage in these physical forms of protest in Talossa, since speech is so central to our experience.

But we also cannot allow trolling and toxic behavior to drive away potential immigrants or target current citizens, since both of these groups -- and our public commons -- deserve protection.

D:na Seneschal, do you have an agenda in mind?

This is our public noticeboard, where we post information, perspectives, and advertisements.  Our political party is most known for several key facts:

• We were the first Talossans on the moon.  We claimed the Sea of Tranquility for the Kingdom of Talossa, and it has been subsequently renamed the Ocean of Dissonant Noise.  This was done out of sheer spite.
• After an initial 1000% tariff on Talossan goods, we engaged in extensive negotiations with the American president.  We also bribed him with twenty louise and some hard candy we found in our pocket.  He withdrew all of the tariffs.
• Progressive Alliance members ("Progs" for short) are not monotremes.
• Following a war of conquest throughout mainland France, a Progressive Alliance army successfully annexed Marine Le Pen's backyard in Millas.  We aren't sure what we're going to do with it, but for now we're just blaring Rick Astley from big speakers on repeat.
• No member of the Progressive Alliance has ever lied.

Infotecă is the information hub of the Kingdom of Talossa.  It hosts a great deal of useful data:

• Immigration.  Month-by-month statistics on the number of people who have applied to immigrate as well as successful naturalizations are compiled on Infotecă.  This lets us know the impact of public policy decisions on our national image.  It also warns us when there's problems with the immigration process.  Last term, the entire immigration system was broken, and there were zero immigration applications for four months.  This fact couldn't be overlooked or hidden, since immigration statistics are compiled together and made public.
• Budget and Expenditures.  The amount of money budgeted by the Government and the amount they actually spend are published on Infotecă.  This is the public treasury, held in trust for the citizens of Talossa.  They deserve to know how much of their money is being spent every term.
• Wittenberg Usage.  There are many ways in which Talossans communicate, but the most important one is our national webforum, Wittenberg.  The number of threads created every month and the number of replies are useful information.  They reflect -- at least partially -- the energy and depth of conversation happening in our little country.
• Population and Voting.  The periodic snapshot of our citizenry that's taken every election is incredibly useful.  How big is Talossa?  How engaged are its citizens?  The size of our country and the percentage who bothered to vote can tell us a lot, and provides a wonderful historical perspective.

For months now,  as of this posting, the Government has not bothered to update this information.  They probably aren't trying to hide anything from the people, but neglect isn't good, either.  It takes only a few minutes to update everything -- it's a simple matter of copying and pasting, and detailed directions are available.  There's just no excuse.

The Opposition does not agree with this state of affairs, and we pledge to try to rectify it.  We will find out what is going on, and try to ensure it doesn't continue.

The Progressive Alliance will update and support Infotecă.  We believe in transparency: the people have a right to know.

Okay, still not done with this one.  I have several times looked at my undone chart of pluralizations and then closed it again.  But it's mostly done, and hopefully in the next few days I'll get the motivation to grind through sorting out this chapter in my book into a useable reference table.

https://talossan.net/lesson-three/

WHEREAS we have to have some standards around here, and

WHEREAS there's only so much we can tolerate as a nation of good taste and decorum, and

WHEREAS our laws should reflect our values,

THEREFORE the Ziu hereby decrees that Article VIII of the Organic Law shall have a new Section 7, which shall read:

QuoteExpressing a fondness or even a vague tolerance for the music of Canadian rock band Nickelback shall be grounds for immediate impeachment from the Cort.

Uréu q'estadra så:
Alexandreu Davinescu (MC-PROG)

Okay, now that we have this private party board set up, let's discuss the evil plan we have been working on.

We're going to need to drop in from the air ducts. We will need to have the body double ready to go, and we will lower him in. He's ready to take over as soon as we get the real King out of there.

This is a fairly easy question, but I find myself stumped.  Can anyone point me to the legal provisions governing how many seats an MC can hold?

Estimat Túischac'h,

As the Ziu knows, I do not make a practice of frivolous terpelaziuns.  I see little point in make-work inquiries that ask empty questions and accept empty answers.  Instead, parliamentary questions should be used for serious oversight of our elected Government.  And I have a concern that is suitably serious.

It has come to my attention that official government records are falling out of date. Infotecă has not been updated in months.  This has become the central hub for important information about our government: how much we're interacting, how many people are voting, how immigration is going, and how much money we're spending.  The Talossan people deserve to know this information.  It shouldn't be hidden from them in obscurity.

My question, then, is this: has there been a change in Government policy to abandon our records, or was this only an oversight -- an oversight that will not be repeated in the future?

High and mighty Wittmeister, would you please create a party forum for the Progressive Alliance?

WHEREAS the government of the State of Wisconsin in the United States of America has openly declared its intention to burn a substantial portion of the province of Maritiimi-Maxhestic, specifically Lakeshore Park, and

WHEREAS this arson will be further accompanied by the forcible seizure of the same territory, violating Talossan sovereignty, and

WHEREAS at no point has the State of Wisconsin or the federal government of the United States engaged in any treaty which would permit such outrages, nor have they obtained the prior agreement of His Majesty's Government, and accordingly such conduct constitutes an act of aggression that must not be permitted, and

WHEREAS under the current circumstances, there's a good chance that during any conflict the American Secretary of Defense will accidentally text us their plans, giving us a substantial advantage,

THEREFORE it is declared that a state of war now exists between the Kingdom of Talossa and the United States.

Uréu q'estadra så:
Alexandreu Davinescu (MC-PROG)

Okay, so the second lesson is sorted: https://talossan.net/lesson-two/

I plan on adding more practice problems, like I did already with the first lesson (https://talossan.net/lesson-one/), but want to make sure I'm not on the wrong track.  I had to write this one without my book, so I'm less confident.  @Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP , anywhere I went wrong?

WHEREAS the judicial tenure section of the law is long and appears mostly pointless, and also it's weird to have these elaborate requirements for how we're supposed to address retired magistrates, and we should have simpler laws when we can, and

WHEREAS if these are bringing anyone real joy through their use, please just say so and we can keep them,

THEREFORE, section 11 of Title G, which currently reads:

Quote11. Judicial Tenure.
Judges of the Uppermost Cort[121] and of any inferior court may retire through voluntary leave of office. This shall be accomplished through submitting a letter of retirement to the King. The retirement shall take effect immediately upon confirmed receipt by the King or an authorized representative.
11.1. Uppermost Cort Judges may be compelled to retire through organic removal from office through an act of the Ziu in accordance with Article VIII of the Organic Law. In accordance with the appropriate section, the inactivity of a Justice is defined as the failure of that Justice to act, rule, or appear in an open case the Justice is assigned to or participating in for more than 60 days, as certified by the Ziu in a majority vote.
11.1.1 A Justice of the Cort pü Inalt shall be declared inactive, and to have vacated their seat, within the meaning of Organic Law VIII, if the Clerk of the Corts, contacting the members of the CpI to assign a case as described in this title, is unable to contact that Justice or does not receive any response to their enquiries, within 30 days.
11.2. Retired Judges or Magistrates shall enjoy the style "Honourable Mister/Madame" for life in commemoration of their service to the Nation, and may utilize the title "Retired Judge/Magistrate."
11.3. Retired status will be honorary in nature and shall not confer any authority or responsibility within any Talossan Court or the National Talossan Bar or over its members, students or associates. Neither shall these titles, in and of themselves, confer membership in the National Talossan Bar enabling the holder to engage in the practice of law.
11.4. Retired status can be revoked only in the event of a conviction by a Talossan Court for misconduct while serving in a judicial capacity. In the event of such conviction, revocation of retirement privileges shall be contained as part of the sentencing order. Retired status can also be revoked by the Ziu through majority vote, without needing to go through committee, and approval by the Monarch. Such legislative action can be taken only after the retiree has been convicted by a Talossan Court for misconduct while serving in a judicial capacity and only after all appeals have been exhausted.
11.5. Retired status will also be revoked in the event the retiree shall be convicted of a felony by any Court of the Realm. Felony convictions by a provincial court shall be forwarded to the Minister of Justice for review. If cause for revocation of retirement status is found based upon the nature of the conviction, the Minister of Justice shall propose or cause to be proposed a measure of the Ziu to revoke any and all privileges of retirement from the accused, after all appeals have been exhausted.
11.6. Retired status shall be considered waived if a retired Justice, Judge or Magistrate resigns their citizenship and shall be considered revoked if the retiree has their citizenship terminated by a Court of the Realm.
11.7 Every person appointed a judge to the Uppermost Cort[121] of Talossa shall publicly make to the Citizens of Talossa and subscribe to the following declaration within 10 days of such appointment:
I, [NAME], do solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare that I will duly, faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and ability execute the office of Judge of El Cort pü Inalt without fear or favour, affection or ill will towards any man, woman or child and that I will uphold the Organic Law and the laws of the Kingdom of Talossa. This I do solemnly affirm.

is replaced in its entirety with the following text:

Quote11.1.  Uppermost Cort Judges may be compelled to retire through organic removal from office through an act of the Ziu in accordance with Article VIII of the Organic Law. In accordance with the appropriate section, the inactivity of a Justice is defined as the failure of that Justice to act, rule, or appear in an open case the Justice is assigned to or participating in for more than 60 days, as certified by the Ziu in a majority vote.
11.2. Every person appointed a judge to the Uppermost Cort[121] of Talossa shall publicly make to the Citizens of Talossa and subscribe to the following declaration within 10 days of such appointment:
I, [NAME], do solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare that I will duly, faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and ability execute the office of Judge of El Cort pü Inalt without fear or favour, affection or ill will towards any man, woman or child and that I will uphold the Organic Law and the laws of the Kingdom of Talossa. This I do solemnly affirm.

Uréu q'estadra så:
Alexandreu Davinescu (MC-PROG)