ATLAS: Atlasians Thinking, Leading, Acting, Solving

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I think we should have some sort of artificial GM-determined markets that change daily. An Atlasian Stock Exchange, Oil, Gold and the Atlasian Dollar value change. A daily report, just a few lines, could really make for interesting economic action in the Senate.

I suggested the same thing. You would also need to know Unemployment, and Inflation at the very least. I would also include the Trade Balance and finally the GM could report the decisions of the Federal Reserve(Does Atlasia have one?). If not we could create it and then just have the GM fabricate its actions and decisions.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I think we should have some sort of artificial GM-determined markets that change daily. An Atlasian Stock Exchange, Oil, Gold and the Atlasian Dollar value change. A daily report, just a few lines, could really make for interesting economic action in the Senate.

That's not a bad idea. Considering all the economic issues in real life, I'm sure the senators are eager to know the situation in Atlasia.

By the way, could GM activity requirements be legislated, or do they have to be constitutional?

Depends on the result of the current court case. I would argue it can be legislated (as I did before the Supreme Court) and plan to introduce legislation if the ruling is in my favor.

Actually Marokai said, when I asked him about it, that the Senate can regulate the actions of the GM but not legilsate the removal of the current GM. Since the court case is based on the President's power to appoint and fire people and checks and balances. Thus what you mentioned and what I asked Marokai about  would not violate what the GM Removal act violates n the constitution is thus is constitutional.

[Vepres]

I think we should have some sort of artificial GM-determined markets that change daily. An Atlasian Stock Exchange, Oil, Gold and the Atlasian Dollar value change. A daily report, just a few lines, could really make for interesting economic action in the Senate.

I suggested the same thing. You would also need to know Unemployment, and Inflation at the very least. I would also include the Trade Balance and finally the GM could report the decisions of the Federal Reserve(Does Atlasia have one?). If not we could create it and then just have the GM fabricate its actions and decisions.

In addition, and I know this may be difficult, shouldn't the GM report on the budget situation within the government so senators have to find money to pay for their programs.

What about taxes? The GM could report on tax revenue, say, biannually, where every citizen represents x amount of people. The GM would decide the average income for that half year as well, so the senate can act on declining or rising income.

[Purple State]

I think we should have some sort of artificial GM-determined markets that change daily. An Atlasian Stock Exchange, Oil, Gold and the Atlasian Dollar value change. A daily report, just a few lines, could really make for interesting economic action in the Senate.

I suggested the same thing. You would also need to know Unemployment, and Inflation at the very least. I would also include the Trade Balance and finally the GM could report the decisions of the Federal Reserve(Does Atlasia have one?). If not we could create it and then just have the GM fabricate its actions and decisions.

In addition, and I know this may be difficult, shouldn't the GM report on the budget situation within the government so senators have to find money to pay for their programs.

What about taxes? The GM could report on tax revenue, say, biannually, where every citizen represents x amount of people. The GM would decide the average income for that half year as well, so the senate can act on declining or rising income.

He could calculate government expenditures and revenue, but estimating revenue is a bit difficult. We could start by saying the budget is balanced and go from there...

[Marokai Backbeat]

I still think we should elect the position of GM, honestly.

[tmthforu94]

I still think we should elect the position of GM, honestly.

I agree with Marokai.

[Purple State]

I still think we should elect the position of GM, honestly.

I actually like it as something Atlasians should consider when they elect their other officials: will this person not only be active, but also fight for activity in other positions.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Just for the sake of discussion this is what I said awhile ago in the ConCon about this:

2. "Department of Statistics" (Or something other)

This is something that struck me in an earlier situation when I had to sue the government of the Southeast because they were issuing their own currency unconstitutionally. Basically, have a Department of Statistics or Department of Economic Affairs, or something. This is the conversation that led me to the idea.

From what I understand, the 'currency' would have the same effects as distributing say gift vouchers or even as 'wacky' novelty theme park money- they are issued by an individual or a compny and only reedemable through agreement with the same company or another company. They are valueless except to those who agree to their value.

In that case any citizen could make a group and claim to have X amount of gold reserves and therefore issue their own currency. It would be anarchy.

So? As long as they actually have gold reserves, I fail to see the problem.

It's a virtual game. There are no actual gold reserves... So you just say you have them and issue currency. It's like when kids play pretend army and one kid gets shot, he claims invincibility, so when he shoots someone they say they can't die, and it goes down-hill from there.

It's true though. I wish we had some sort of rules laid out for that type of thing so this sort of stuff didn't happen, or some sort of "Department of Statistics" to lay out reasonable and realistic economic reports on a semi-regular basis and kept citizens within reasonable fantasy rules. But alas..

Basically, there would be a position in the Cabinet (or maybe a legislative committee to release the reports?) that would lay out monthly or perhaps bi-monthly economic reports (GDP growth, unemployment, poverty rates, tax revenue, etc. It doesn't have to be too extensive) and would lay out and maintain rules about what individuals can do on their own. (Such as business rules or rules on personal wealth.) Basically we have a situation where anyone can make up anything they want, and go from there. I have no problem with people starting their own businesses per se, but it's when people start making up random s**t that things could go wrong.

Claiming to have large amounts of gold, for instance, or to own a huge armed force, is ridiculous, and it can get to the point to where it can seriously warp the game or just seem stupid. Also, this could provide unique instances where certain economic downturns, upturns, or other unrelated "disasters" could occur, which would require legislative reaction, and could keep the legislature in check when necessary. (We all know how they lag behind from time to time.)

[Purple State]

The next topic, and a timely one, is Rules for new members.

With the influx of new members into Atlasia and the surge of "flash in the pan" campaigns, do we need new rules for new members? Should we raise the restrictions on office holding? Do new members have ideas to better orient them to the game?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     An idea I've had was to have a noticeboard of upcoming elections. That way when a new member joins they can see what offices there are to run for. If they run a campaign for some office, then they help contribute to a more active Atlasia & hopefully will get to see the fun that can be had in being an active participant.

[Purple State]

     An idea I've had was to have a noticeboard of upcoming elections. That way when a new member joins they can see what offices there are to run for. If they run a campaign for some office, then they help contribute to a more active Atlasia & hopefully will get to see the fun that can be had in being an active participant.

That is a fabulous idea and perhaps a great responsibility to give to the SoFA. That would keep everyone more organized, allow the SoFA to keep track of his own work, etc.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     An idea I've had was to have a noticeboard of upcoming elections. That way when a new member joins they can see what offices there are to run for. If they run a campaign for some office, then they help contribute to a more active Atlasia & hopefully will get to see the fun that can be had in being an active participant.

That is a fabulous idea and perhaps a great responsibility to give to the SoFA. That would keep everyone more organized, allow the SoFA to keep track of his own work, etc.

     I was thinking of adding it to the Introduction to Atlasia thread. That way when they are referred there, that information is there alongside everything else they ought to know when getting started in Atlasia.

[Marokai Backbeat]

     An idea I've had was to have a noticeboard of upcoming elections. That way when a new member joins they can see what offices there are to run for. If they run a campaign for some office, then they help contribute to a more active Atlasia & hopefully will get to see the fun that can be had in being an active participant.

That is a fabulous idea and perhaps a great responsibility to give to the SoFA. That would keep everyone more organized, allow the SoFA to keep track of his own work, etc.

     I was thinking of adding it to the Introduction to Atlasia thread. That way when they are referred there, that information is there alongside everything else they ought to know when getting started in Atlasia.

I would be happy to add that, if I knew when the elections were myself

[Associate Justice PiT]

     An idea I've had was to have a noticeboard of upcoming elections. That way when a new member joins they can see what offices there are to run for. If they run a campaign for some office, then they help contribute to a more active Atlasia & hopefully will get to see the fun that can be had in being an active participant.

That is a fabulous idea and perhaps a great responsibility to give to the SoFA. That would keep everyone more organized, allow the SoFA to keep track of his own work, etc.

     I was thinking of adding it to the Introduction to Atlasia thread. That way when they are referred there, that information is there alongside everything else they ought to know when getting started in Atlasia.

I would be happy to add that, if I knew when the elections were myself

https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Office_Holders

     You can figure it out based on when the terms end. Mideast Assembly is voted on every two months, every other time coinciding with the Gubernatorial election.

[Vepres]

To prevent candidacies such as mine (absolutely a terrible idea on my part), what if we amended the constitution to prevent one from running for a national office (senator, president, VP) until they had voted in at least one regularly scheduled national election (special elections don't count). This gives them a familiarity of how national campaigns are run, and what it takes to win. It also ensures that, unless they join right before an election (not likely) they have some experience and familiarity with Atlasia.

[Associate Justice PiT]

To prevent candidacies such as mine (absolutely a terrible idea on my part), what if we amended the constitution to prevent one from running for a national office (senator, president, VP) until they had voted in at least one regularly scheduled national election (special elections don't count). This gives them a familiarity of how national campaigns are run, and what it takes to win. It also ensures that, unless they join right before an election (not likely) they have some experience and familiarity with Atlasia.

     Let me ask you this, though: did you have fun campaigning for the Midwest Senate seat?

[Vepres]

To prevent candidacies such as mine (absolutely a terrible idea on my part), what if we amended the constitution to prevent one from running for a national office (senator, president, VP) until they had voted in at least one regularly scheduled national election (special elections don't count). This gives them a familiarity of how national campaigns are run, and what it takes to win. It also ensures that, unless they join right before an election (not likely) they have some experience and familiarity with Atlasia.

     Let me ask you this, though: did you have fun campaigning for the Midwest Senate seat?

At first, until I realized that I had no shot, then I felt newbish and ignorant.

[Associate Justice PiT]

To prevent candidacies such as mine (absolutely a terrible idea on my part), what if we amended the constitution to prevent one from running for a national office (senator, president, VP) until they had voted in at least one regularly scheduled national election (special elections don't count). This gives them a familiarity of how national campaigns are run, and what it takes to win. It also ensures that, unless they join right before an election (not likely) they have some experience and familiarity with Atlasia.

     Let me ask you this, though: did you have fun campaigning for the Midwest Senate seat?

At first, until I realized that I had no shot, then I felt newbish and ignorant.

     The point of running campaigns in Atlasia is to have fun. As long as they don't realize it, there's nothing wrong in newbies campaigning for offices that they cannot win.

[Vepres]

To prevent candidacies such as mine (absolutely a terrible idea on my part), what if we amended the constitution to prevent one from running for a national office (senator, president, VP) until they had voted in at least one regularly scheduled national election (special elections don't count). This gives them a familiarity of how national campaigns are run, and what it takes to win. It also ensures that, unless they join right before an election (not likely) they have some experience and familiarity with Atlasia.

     Let me ask you this, though: did you have fun campaigning for the Midwest Senate seat?

At first, until I realized that I had no shot, then I felt newbish and ignorant.

     The point of running campaigns in Atlasia is to have fun. As long as they don't realize it, there's nothing wrong in newbies campaigning for offices that they cannot win.

However, they may get a bad reputation like GPORTER, and then they won't ever win an office. Reputations seem to stick here.

[Associate Justice PiT]

To prevent candidacies such as mine (absolutely a terrible idea on my part), what if we amended the constitution to prevent one from running for a national office (senator, president, VP) until they had voted in at least one regularly scheduled national election (special elections don't count). This gives them a familiarity of how national campaigns are run, and what it takes to win. It also ensures that, unless they join right before an election (not likely) they have some experience and familiarity with Atlasia.

     Let me ask you this, though: did you have fun campaigning for the Midwest Senate seat?

At first, until I realized that I had no shot, then I felt newbish and ignorant.

     The point of running campaigns in Atlasia is to have fun. As long as they don't realize it, there's nothing wrong in newbies campaigning for offices that they cannot win.

However, they may get a bad reputation like GPORTER, and then they won't ever win an office. Reputations seem to stick here.

     Don't talk about war with Canada or diplomatic relations with "Franco" & your reputation will probably fare pretty well.

     You do raise a good point in that it is dangerous to run when you are unfamiliar with Atlasian politics, but people here are understanding. If it is an understandable mistake then it won't be that big of an issue six months down the line.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

To prevent candidacies such as mine (absolutely a terrible idea on my part), what if we amended the constitution to prevent one from running for a national office (senator, president, VP) until they had voted in at least one regularly scheduled national election (special elections don't count). This gives them a familiarity of how national campaigns are run, and what it takes to win. It also ensures that, unless they join right before an election (not likely) they have some experience and familiarity with Atlasia.

     Let me ask you this, though: did you have fun campaigning for the Midwest Senate seat?

At first, until I realized that I had no shot, then I felt newbish and ignorant.

     The point of running campaigns in Atlasia is to have fun. As long as they don't realize it, there's nothing wrong in newbies campaigning for offices that they cannot win.

However, they may get a bad reputation like GPORTER, and then they won't ever win an office. Reputations seem to stick here.

     Don't talk about war with Canada or diplomatic relations with "Franco" & your reputation will probably fare pretty well.

     You do raise a good point in that it is dangerous to run when you are unfamiliar with Atlasian politics, but people here are understanding. If it is an understandable mistake then it won't be that big of an issue six months down the line.

Plus I can see making the Presidency and Senate off limits untill a newbie has voted in one national election. But I disagree on the Vice Presidency. Usually when a Vice Presidential candidate is picked that wins it is part of a political deal like Bgwah/Meeker and I doubt newbies who haven't even voted yet would be picked in such an arrangement. On tickets that are just to rally the troops and create activity like DWTL/NC Yankee last Feb I was picked to get my name out there, increase my knowledge of how the game works, and of course DWTL though I could help him win some votes. If such a proposal were to include a ban on running for V.P. that would have prevented me from running in Feb in which case I wouldn't likely be a Senate candidate now. 

[Purple State]

A debate I have heard thrown around in more subtle ways...

The next topic is Campaigning: Content/Activity vs. Seniority/Mobilization.

Essentially, some people prefer campaigns full of content, while others tout a big name and the ability to bring in a lot of old-time voters. So what do you prefer and why?

[Vepres]

A debate I have heard thrown around in more subtle ways...

The next topic is Campaigning: Content/Activity vs. Seniority/Mobilization.

Essentially, some people prefer campaigns full of content, while others tout a big name and the ability to bring in a lot of old-time voters. So what do you prefer and why?

Let me get this straight. Lots of people, newbs or otherwise, and activity and campaigning vs. big names getting high enthusiasm from the old guard and getting high turnout on election. Please clarify if I'm wrong.

Well I prefer content and activity. I think a candidate should have many campaign stops. Not only do these encourage members to check in often, but it catalyzes activity that otherwise wouldn't happen. I don't think all campaigns should be like this, but most. After all, it is fun to get two well known players in an epic and competitive race, but these shouldn't dominate the game, because newbies may not care that these established names are running.

Again, please expand on the options, they were somewhat ambiguous.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I would choose content/Activity for the simple fact that this is an elections game and the only way to keep people interested in the game it is necessary that the elections be fun and lively.

[Purple State]

I would say you had it spot on Vepres. To bring it into more recent events, do you prefer the style of someone like Marokai, who is focused on detailing an agenda and mentioning past accomplishments, or Keystone Phil, who prefers to avoid directly addressing issues while mobilizing the old guard and voters.