Mick.

Thank you.  I said this before and I'll say it again, I'm not entirely sure I deserve this.  I really don't see myself as being in the same league as GV and Gluc.  I am grateful and humbled to not only receive this award, but just to have been considered in the first place.  Again, thank you.

The words said about me by the other recipients of this award, I think, mean more to me than the award itself.  Like I said, I see both of them as being leagues above me and I hold the highest of respect for both of them, so for them to say what they just did about me is extremely touching. 

Congratulations to GV and Gluc.  You both deserve this award for the outstanding work you both done over the years in service to our nation. 

Long Live Talossa!

Quote from: Viteu on March 30, 2020, 08:53:24 PM
Apparently it's now 3-0. But Id still rather hear their concerns.

Agreed.

Quote from: Viteu on March 29, 2020, 07:04:14 PM

Quote from: Ian Plätschisch on March 28, 2020, 06:11:31 PM
In the absence of any more discussion, I think MM is ready to move forward

I'm so inclined to say yes. But I just voted, and it's now 2:1 for. I don't know if they will, but I'd like the person to reach out to Etho or me or publicly discuss their opposition. But, if nothing in the next few days, I'd venture to say that we're ready for formal talks.

Same here.  I'd like to hear the non-voter argue their case before moving forward.  If they do not wish to do so publicly, they could send one of us a PM that we could post on their behalf so they remain mostly anonymous?

I have submitted the following using the database:

The NCC Redux Act
The Investitures Act
The State Opening of the Cosa Redux Act

If the right platform is used then count me in.  It'll need to be something I can do with phone or tablet, otherwise I'll just need to be audience.

(also, please don't ban the idea of politics.  If the conversation flows into Talossan politics then I think that's fine)

Fancy asking Adern to invade and annex the UK?

We are currently being led through this crisis by a dude with all the leadership qualities of a pork pie and an intelligence level only found at the bottom of a bottle of piss.

Mister Speaker,

The coalition government didn't create the institution of the Council of Governors as the Leader of the Opposition, in pectore, suggests.  It has been on the books since the 31st Cosa, well over 15 years ago.  We are merely the first government in a very long time to attempt to revive it for any particular purpose.

The Free Democrats want to see provincial mergers. The NPW want to see all provinces abolished. The PNP want to see a total change in the nature and function of the provinces.  Enough appetite seems to exist to explore all this.  The government (and the Ziu) are extremely limited in all actions in relation to the business of the provinces, so we used the only mechanism available to us as law provides to probe the issue.

The honourable gentleman can call the work of the council busy-work all he likes if he feels it excuses his lack of participation in the process, but I suggest to him that perhaps busy-work is better than no work at all.

Quote
@Sevastáin Pinátsch
But seeing as we run the software, does that need to remain the case? If we're trusted enough to be in the Senats or the Cosa, it seems like letting us edit our own title isn't a huge risk.

Yep.  Especially since any abuse of the system (fake titles and the like) could just be reversed by an admin.

I thank the honourable gentleman for his question,

I would, first, remind the Leader of the Opposition that he, himself, sits on the Council of Governors and if he wishes to see the Council discuss any particular issues then he is free to bring those issues before the Council.  Could the Leader of the Opposition remind me how he has engaged with the Council to date?  Has he took part in any discussions or business of the Council?

Second, I would say to the honourable gentleman that this government's mandate was simply to get the Council formed and seated.  We have no powers to actually make the Council do anything.  In the very least, this government has met all statutory duties relating to the Council and have, indeed, went beyond the call of duty to force things forward, thus we have entirely fulfilled our manifesto pledge as stated in the Program for Government.

I would also say that I do find it slightly regrettable that the Council has not shown an absolute flurry of activity.  However, I would say that, indirectly, the discussions held thus far by the Council have spurred further discussions within the provinces on the topic of provincial mergers.  The provinces of Vuode and Maritiimi-Maxhestic have re-opened dialogue on the same and there has been some poking around the edges made by some other provinces. 

In summary, I would say that by forming and seating the Council, which resulted in inspiring some inter-provincial discussions on mergers, this government has met what it set out to do.  Whether any provincial mergers actually happen or not as an end result is entirely a matter for the provinces and for the provincial executives who sit on the Council.

@Eiric S. Bornatfiglheu

Quote from: Laurens Hughes on March 17, 2020, 09:56:20 PM
This is a really inopportune time, considering I just applied for citizenship. I got slammed with the stress of the pandemic - school is closed, many of my friends are immunocompromised so I'm worried about them, the grocery stores are clearing out - as well as some of my own upcoming personal projects that are coming up, not to mention how my general day-to-day routine's been impacted by this.

I'll try my best to interact on here more often, so I hopefully become a citizen, but everything just got kicked into high gear at once.

Wash your hands, gang.

Don't worry too much about it.  With everything that is going on, we will be understanding of people's circumstances.

As things currently stand (and as long as nobody goes getting an injunction against The Lexifore Leeway Act) immigration applications stay live for 60 days.  If the situation with the epidemic worsens to the point where it is felt that the window should be extended further, then I will introduce emergency measures to lengthen, or even suspend, the time limits.

Check in whenever you can, but don't stress over it.  Look after yourself and the people around you.  Stay safe.

The citizenship application form has been given a major overhaul to give it a modern look and feel.  Key features are new collapsible sections (to improve aesthetics and make things much less cluttered), conditional fields (so that when certain fields become irrelevant due to an earlier answer the field is not displayed (again, improved aesthetics and usability)) and the implementation of a declaration section to ensure compliance with the Pete Townsend Act.


You can check out the live pages here:
talossa.com/become-a-talossan-citizen/
talossa.com/immigration-application/


Here are some screenshots of how these changes look:

1) The first change is the splitting up of the immigration landing page.  The old page had a load of text followed by the form below it.  I now have the landing page just having the text with the form on it's own page.  New artwork has been created to improve aesthetics and "grab attention".  Multiple links are included on the landing page as 'calls to action' which lead to the new immigration form.



2) The first new feature of the improved immigration form is an age confirmation.  This is a conditional field where the form won't load until the applicant confirms the statement.



3) Once the applicant confirms they are 14 or older, the rest of the form loads.  As you can see it is all nested into collapsed sections, which have been categorised and titled.  Clicking each section will un-collapse it and reveal the questions within.




4) Example of a section once opened.




5) Conditional fields.  I can't really screenshot this, but an example would be the question on Micronations.  We have 2 fields for this.  The first being a yes/no question on whether you have experience in micronations.  The second being a 'tell us more' textbox.  Obviously, if you answer no in the first field then the second field is useless.  So, now we have the second field being conditional on the first.  That second field doesn't load into the form until the first question is answered with 'yes'.  If it is answered 'no' then the second field remains hidden.  If you want to see this in action you can try it out on the form (please don't submit the form though if you are playing around with it).

6) Pete Townsend.  The addition of a new field which is ask the applicant to tick a checkbox if they agree with a statement, which reads "I affirm/swear, under penalty of perjury in Talossan law, that the information I have provided in this citizenship application is accurate and true."




7) Fully tested and works fine with the automated immigration database and email autoresponder.

The UK has a little over 1100 confirmed cases just now, but the government estimates the real figure of untested active cases to be anywhere between 5k and 10k.  55 deaths in the UK so far.

In Scotland, here, we have had 1 death (near east coast) and have just over 170 confirmed cases, with most of those cases spread over the central belt.  Glasgow (my home town) and immediate surrounding area has most of those cases.

There are no mandated lockdowns just yet, but we expect that to happen in the next couple of weeks.  We expect an official closure of the schools by the end of the month, and it looks like the elderly are going to be asked to self-isolate from next week for anything up to 4 months.

Big football leagues have been postponed/cancelled. The Grand National (major horse racing event) cancelled.  Gatherings of over 500 people have been 'suggested' to cancel, and it looks like that's happening.  The concert halls and theaters in Glasgow have all closed for an indefinite period.  Tonight saw the start of pubs voluntarily closing with around a dozen of the most popular and busiest bars shutting shop.  The University of Glasgow and Strathclyde University have suspended face-to-face classes and the exams are all postponed.  Things are ramping up.

We are a little behind the curve compared to the countries in mainland Europe - Italy, Spain, France and Germany getting hit pretty hard.  The boffins are saying the UK is around 3 weeks behind Italy and that a huge peak in our numbers is inevitable.

Cabinet is discussing the issue and will make a final decision on our course of action shortly.

Both Bills have different intentions, and those intentions don't actually conflict.  Ian's Bill doesn't seek to change the bits of my Bill, and my Bill doesn't seek to change the bits of his.

I brought this up with the Chancery last month and the SoS isn't taking a position on this.  He's kicking the ball into the Scribe's court.  The SoS and Senator del Val both offered identical interpretations of how the final Scribing should look.  I agree with the way they wrote it (Ian, do you?)

Quote"An examination period shall begin with the prospective citizen's first posting to Wittenberg after an introduction by the Interior Minister. At any time at least fifteen days after the beginning of the examination period, any current citizen of Talossa who has corresponded with the prospective citizen at least once using a medium other than Wittenberg (excluding emails from the Interior Ministry) may petition the Secretary of State requesting that a Royal Grant of Citizenship be issued to the prospective citizen. The petition must name the non-Wittenberg medium the petitioner used to correspond with 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 Interior 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 Interior Minister shall notify the nation and the prospective citizen of the termination, and shall post a notification to the effect on Wittenberg."

The Chancery allowed both Bills to be Clarked.  The Ziu passed both Bills.  The Crown didn't veto either Bill.  They are both in force.