HOUSE BILL: Make Atlasia Debate Again Act, 2018 (Passed)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I get the intent here, but I worry that the practical effect of Section 1 would be to add one more task to the game engine's already-expansive list of official responsibilities. I've organized debates before, and pulling one off successfully is a lot of work; there's no way I can take that on as a regular monthly gig, in addition to my other duties as GM, without neglecting one or the other—particularly as I have serious real-life responsibilities that take up most of my time. Transferring the responsibility to the deputy game moderator only shifts the problem down a rung.

Furthermore, while hosting more debates is certainly a good goal, it's not clear to me how this relates to the original constitutional understanding of the game engine's role in Atlasia. This bill rather reminds me of how the old Senate kept adding new jobs to the SoIA position, culminating in one person being responsible for about a dozen different departments in addition to acting as chief legal counsel, wiki secretary, and deputy GM all rolled into one.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I get the intent here, but I worry that the practical effect of Section 1 would be to add one more task to the game engine's already-expansive list of official responsibilities. I've organized debates before, and pulling one off successfully is a lot of work; there's no way I can take that on as a regular monthly gig, in addition to my other duties as GM, without neglecting one or the other—particularly as I have serious real-life responsibilities that take up most of my time. Transferring the responsibility to the deputy game moderator only shifts the problem down a rung.

Furthermore, while hosting more debates is certainly a good goal, it's not clear to me how this relates to the original constitutional understanding of the game engine's role in Atlasia. This bill rather reminds me of how the old Senate kept adding new jobs to the SoIA position, culminating in one person being responsible for about a dozen different departments in addition to acting as chief legal counsel, wiki secretary, and deputy GM all rolled into one.

Hmm. What could you suggest as a replacement?

Perhaps the Secretary of Internal Affairs or, alternatively, the National Archivist? Congress lacks the constitutional authority to create new cabinet offices, but that would be a bad idea regardless.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I get the intent here, but I worry that the practical effect of Section 1 would be to add one more task to the game engine's already-expansive list of official responsibilities. I've organized debates before, and pulling one off successfully is a lot of work; there's no way I can take that on as a regular monthly gig, in addition to my other duties as GM, without neglecting one or the other—particularly as I have serious real-life responsibilities that take up most of my time. Transferring the responsibility to the deputy game moderator only shifts the problem down a rung.

Furthermore, while hosting more debates is certainly a good goal, it's not clear to me how this relates to the original constitutional understanding of the game engine's role in Atlasia. This bill rather reminds me of how the old Senate kept adding new jobs to the SoIA position, culminating in one person being responsible for about a dozen different departments in addition to acting as chief legal counsel, wiki secretary, and deputy GM all rolled into one.

Hmm. What could you suggest as a replacement?

Perhaps the Secretary of Internal Affairs or, alternatively, the National Archivist? Congress lacks the constitutional authority to create new cabinet offices, but that would be a bad idea regardless.

Both of those offices are currently inactive as is so giving them more work might not be that advisable at the moment.

Point taken. In perfect honesty, I'm not convinced this bill should be passed at all—federal commissions have a long track record of falling short of their grand founding ideals, and I rather doubt this will actually promote debates between candidates—but that is a matter for Congress to decide. I merely express my opinion that this is not something the game engine can reasonable take on.