Regarding the decline in participation

[mximo]

**Declaration of the Senator of Florencia**

*Distinguished colleagues,*

I rise today to address a matter that quietly erodes the vitality of our community: the fragmentation of our discourse across multiple boards and private channels.

Honorable members, we find ourselves in a paradox. Never before have we had so many avenues for communication, yet never has staying informed required so much effort. Our deliberations are scattered across countless threads, private conversations, and parallel boards.

This confession, made in good faith by a committed citizen, reveals the very illness we must confront. When keeping pace with our debates demands constant vigilance across fragmented spaces, absence of even a few weeks becomes a kind of exile. Members who step away briefly return to find the thread of discussion lost, the context gone, the decision-making already completed without them. Discouraged, they participate less. Then less again. And finally, not at all.

This is not a failure of dedication — it is a failure of architecture.

Therefore, I propose we consider three remedies:

**First**, the consolidation of our official deliberations into a single authoritative forum, with private channels reserved strictly for matters that demand confidentiality — not for ordinary exchanges that belong to the public record.

**Second**, the establishment of regular written digests summarizing decisions and ongoing debates, so that a member returning after weeks away can rejoin the conversation with dignity rather than confusion.

**Third**, a culture of referencing: when decisions made in private bear on public matters, let them be reported back to the common record.

**Fourth**, the institution of periodic videoconferences — a regular assembly held by video, scheduled well in advance and open to all members. A scheduled meeting restores the rhythm that scattered boards have destroyed: no one need monitor five platforms daily, for they know the community will gather at a fixed time. And a recorded session, accompanied by brief minutes posted to the board, allows those absent to catch up in minutes rather than weeks. The spoken word also rebuilds what fragmented text has eroded — trust, presence, and the sense that we deliberate among colleagues rather than post into the void.

Participation is the lifeblood of any assembly. We must lower the cost of belonging, not raise it. If we allow our discourse to remain scattered, we will find ourselves governing an empty chamber.

I yield the floor, and I remain — as always — at the disposal of my fellow citizens on Discord and by email, precisely until the day our boards become worth reading again.

*Respectfully,*
Mximo Carbonèl
*The Senator from Florencia*