The Independent Vice Presidential Debate

[Snowguy716]

So let's leave it up to presidential candidate Marokai Blue to "correct" everybody in public by inserting himself into other debates that he is not a part of when people are "wrong", instead of bringing the issue up privately with the debate moderator. [/sarcasm]

Again, you coming in here and re-posting a talking point from your own presidential debate was wholly inappropriate.

What I posted was information from the former Game Moderator, aka Game God, aka where the information we use in this game comes from and what we're all supposed to accept as truth. Don't shoot the messenger for correcting what is objectively wrong.

Your opinion on the matter of deficits is hardly "objective", considering you were the sponsor of the bill you highlighted when you decided to campaign in our debate thread. 

I'm not shooting the messenger here.  I'm just asking him to get the hell off of the stage during our debate.

[Purple State]

So let's leave it up to presidential candidate Marokai Blue to "correct" everybody in public by inserting himself into other debates that he is not a part of when people are "wrong", instead of bringing the issue up privately with the debate moderator. [/sarcasm]

Again, you coming in here and re-posting a talking point from your own presidential debate was wholly inappropriate.

You're just being disingenuous Snowguy. You posted in the presidential debate thread to criticize a policy proposal by Marokai:

'm sorry, this all I can fit into 20 minutes, as I myself didn't have an answer already planned out.

Nor did I.

No.  You just gave a lengthy bullet pointed and annotated speech about credit card legislation that does very little to actually impact an economy in freefall.

So can we get back to the question at hand or do you all want to keep making yourselves look like idiots?

[Snowguy716]

You're right.  I shouldn't have posted in the presidential debate thread.  I was not, however, the only person who had suspicions of Marokai having advance knowledge of the debate questions.

[President Marokai]

You're right.  I shouldn't have posted in the presidential debate thread.  I was not, however, the only person who had suspicions of Marokai having advance knowledge of the debate questions.

LOL.

[Snowguy716]

You're right.  I shouldn't have posted in the presidential debate thread.  I was not, however, the only person who had suspicions of Marokai having advance knowledge of the debate questions.

LOL.

I know.  I eventually realized that that would be ridiculous.  So instead I realized that you typed up a quick response to the question and then added a bunch of pointless, irrelevant information about credit card reform legislation.  A visual charade of looking prepared.  Nothing more.

Let's move on.

[President Marokai]

I realize I should give less information in debates. I apologize.

[Yelnoc]

I assumed that the reason rumors that China will stop financing our debt indicated that we have a massive debt; otherwise there would be little panic.  This game needs an easy-to-access history of GM events; that is much more important then "politics". 

If you are not a Vice Presidential candidate (or myself, of course) do not post in this thread.  Thank you.

Question #3: What is your personal view on offsite recruitment to the game and will it be a feature of "your" administration?  Format is the same as last time.

[Purple State]

I assumed that the reason rumors that China will stop financing our debt indicated that we have a massive debt; otherwise there would be little panic.  This game needs an easy-to-access history of GM events; that is much more important then "politics".  

If you are not a Vice Presidential candidate (or myself, of course) do not post in this thread.  Thank you.

Question #3: What is your personal view on offsite recruitment to the game and will it be a feature of "your" administration?  Format is the same as last time.

The debt is large, but it's coming down over the next decade as long as current tax levels are coupled with responsible stewardship. But enough of that.

Offsite recruitment will not be a central part of a Marokai/Purple State administration. While I welcome new blood to Atlasia and know from my own experience what an active and interested newbie can do for the game, part of the value of these boards is discovering them on your own. The people that join should generally be those who are specially motivated to do so.

This game requires player interest to thrive and you just don't get that as consistently from players that are brought in by others. Now I'm not saying that every player that's recruited will be another Hamilton and deserves any anger directed at them. That would be disingenuous and wrong. But I really don't believe that you get the same caliber of player as often when you recruit, as when you let people discover these boards on their own as they become familiar with the forum at-large.

So we will be encouraging better "new member orientation" programs, like improving the "Introduction to Atlasia" thread and promoting a mentor program for new citizens, but we don't intend to make offsite (or even onsite) recruitment a part of our administration.

[Dallasfan65]

As someone who joined this game just a year ago and also serves on the Presidential Task Force for Recruitment, I too believe that a steady stream of new members is not only desirable, but essential, for this game to bloom. Let us note that the host of this debate recently joined Atlasia himself and has been a very productive member thus far.

Our administration will not take an active role in promoting off-site recruitment. If one wants to advertise on other websites on behalf of Atlasia, I have no problem with that, but I do not think we should be cherry-picking a handful of people.

One thing, however, (and I think everybody will agree with me here) is that we need to be more courteous to people who join the game, particularly in the New Register Thread - if you haven't anything nice, welcoming, and respectful to say, then don't say anything at all. Stuff like this:

Yeah for Hamilton trolls!!!

Is unacceptable.

Stuff like this:

Welcome to the Northeast! I'm the Lt. Governor, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Also, we have elections for our Regional Assembly coming up in December, and I suggest you run, if you want to hold regional office.

Is what we should be shooting for.

[Yelnoc]

Thank you.  Going back to the economy, the Atlasian unemployment rate is at record highs.  What would "your" administration do to get more Atlasians to work.

[Purple State]

Thank you.  Going back to the economy, the Atlasian unemployment rate is at record highs.  What would "your" administration do to get more Atlasians to work.

Our strategy is two-fold:

First, build on the successful "Social and Economic Development Zones" (SEDZ) created under the Social & Economic Development Zone Improvement Act. While those zones currently exist, the Secretary of Internal Affairs under a Marokai/Purple State administration will focus on using those zones as effectively as possible to improve the job climate.

Second, we will reinforce the Hiring Incentives Act, legislation originally passed under my administration that successfully stabilized the job market for a time. We will make sure that this, combined with a robust unemployment insurance system, encourages employers to hire while maintaining the safety net for those looking for work.

[The Artist Formerly Known As and Now Again Known As Ogis]

New Member Recruitment

Our administration will not focus on off-site recruitment because it encourages zombie recruitment, and it turns the election process into a farce. Instead of voting for the best candidate, political parties would be motivated to recruit people who would vote for their candidate every couple of months, making debates such as this one trivial and obsolete.

The far more pressing issue is that of welcoming newbies, and the lack of respect they receive from the general community. We should not be inclined to judge so quickly the nature of every new registration. Instead, we should attempt to accept every new member as a part of our community. Even if there are inklings that the new person was "recruited," that is something that should be taken up with the alleged recruiters without alienating the new member any further. Furthermore, our administration would champion a new system in which no posts are allowed in the New Register Thread except registration, state/party changes, and official RG business. Any constructive advice could easily be addressed to the new constituent via PM. Thus, we can reduce the RG's headache of having to read through pages of garbage and bickering while also discouraging negative comments to newcomers.

Employment:

Federal employment incentives are a necessity to keep Atlasians in the workforce. As Purple State previously stated, the Social and Economic Development Zones initiative should continue to be utilized by the federal government, along with a restructured Hiring Incentive Acts. Meanwhile, our administration would also champion work-related education programs at colleges, giving students the opportunity to map a course directly based on the jobs available to the public. An informed student is more likely to succeed in such a cutthroat work environment.

[Snowguy716]

New Member Recruitment
An Oakvale/Snowguy administration would not make off-site recruitment a main tenant of recruitment.  While the game needs more active members to remain fun and exciting, as Purple State said, it is best when these people find the game themselves. 

With that said, we need to work on changing our attitude towards new participants.  People should be welcomed kindly to Atlasia.  And to those that would simply join to be zombies or to troll:  Kill 'em with kindness.

Employment

I am skeptical that the federal government can be a catalyst for large employment gains.  The federal government can be a huge part in long term employment growth and provide stop-gap measures in economic recessions to stem the loss of jobs as well as provide resources for the jobless... but I just don't know that any employment scheme will have a major impact in the all-important medium-term.

What the federal government can do is give Atlasians the tools necessary to train for employment and create an environment that champions small business, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

I also believe that focusing major federal investment on infrastructure will help create jobs and make it easier for people to get their ideas and products to the marketplace.  Focusing on efficiencies that reduce our oil consumption and increase modes of transportation that don't rely on oil are key in promoting Atlasian growth.  While we don't know for sure when "peak oil" will come, it is curious that oil production only grew by a measly 0.2% between 2005 and 2008 despite a tripling in the price of oil and large rises in demand.  After the price crashed with the economy, the price is steadily rising right back up to where we were in early 2008 and the economy is in worse shape than we were then.

It is obvious that a serious effort to move away from oil is needed.  If the business community sees that we are making efforts to reduce overall transportation costs by developing alternatives, it will give them an incentive to hire here rather than somewhere else.

The challenge we face is obviously huge.  An Oakvale/Snowguy administration would push to lead Atlasia towards a more sustainable future that would bring not only prosperity, but much needed stability.

[Purple State]

I'm really happy to see the level of agreement that new members of the game need to be treated better. If anything comes out of this campaign, hopefully it will be a broad consensus among Atlasians that new members should be treated with respect and dignity.

Coupled with the mentoring ideas that some of us have mentioned, I think we might see a new dawn for young and aspiring players.

[Yelnoc]

Thank you all for your time.  The first Vice-Presidential debate is closed.  Good luck to all of you in the race ahead.

[Purple State]

Thank you Yelnoc for holding the first vice presidential debate of the campaign.

[Dallasfan65]

Thanks for having us, Yelnoc!

[Snowguy716]

It's been a blast.

[The Artist Formerly Known As and Now Again Known As Ogis]

Thank you for consenting to host the debate, Yelnoc.