- Pronouns
- he / him / his
HEM @ 3:39 PM ET: Debate is about to start, and Chasing Gold just released their poll results on EuroChat:
Looks like a tight three way race with Verteger and Ervald a little behind.
HEM @ 4:03 PM ET: Looks like all three candidates had pre-prepared opening statements because they were posted...pretty much instantaneously. Some of them are very long and boring, so here's the recap:
Ervald - hello, this opening statement is as vague and open-ended as our platform
Monkey - i used to really not know what the hell i was doing, but now i'm starting to get an idea
Malashaan - i heard ur feedback about me being too long-winded in the CoS debate a few months back, so here's something even longer:
Pichtonia - Lloenflys is really really really really really nice. and we can do this. here's some "words" in "quotes" to "convince" you.
HEM @ 4:07 PM ET: Before turning back to the debate, I just got an exclusive guest comment from Chasing Gold Founder United Vietussia.
United Vietussia @ 4:08 PM ET: This race is in...a weird place. As of now, this certainly looks like a 3 ticket race between Mac/Mal, Lloen/Pichto, and Sopo/Monkey. McEntire has a solid base but seems to have a low ceiling as few undecideds broke for him, opting instead for Lloen or Sopo. If we dig in further, McEntire has weak hypotheticals, tying with Vert and losing to Sopo and Lloen in 1 on 1 matchups. Interestingly for Lloen, if supporters for McEntire or Sopo were forced to support another ticket, they overwhelmingly support Lloen. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit about our results revolves around the Vert/Ervald campaign. While Sopo and Lloen handily defeat Vert in a 1 on 1 matchup, he ties with McEntire, though it should be noted that Vert's support there is much more soft than McEntire's. All in all, this race sees each ticket with its own advantages and disadvantages in different aspects, so I think Europeia still has a lot to decide, despite nearly half of respondents indicating that they are "very committed" to their choice. These debates may play a big factor in the campaign over the next few days.
HEM @ 4:10 PM ET: First question is how the Vice Presidency might differ from being Vice Chief of State or Second Minister. Interesting that Ervald is going to have a focus on the FA side, which historically has been a weaker point for him (except as it regards the World Assembly, where he has historically done well). Monkey makes a good point but fairly light point about the 2iC now being a coordinating role, while Malashaan write a long version of "it depends" while clarifying that he'd focus on FA if elected. Pichtonia leans into his experience but downplays any real change in the new system.
HEM @ 4:14 PM ET: I'm realizing that with four participants, touching on the high points of their answers will be impossible. So I'll just pick one person to mock every question (just kidding).
HEM @ 4:15 PM ET: Malashaan coming to the defense of Pichtonia in the Q about why Lloen is at the top of the ticket is interesting -- though maybe trying to insulate himself from activity concerns later on.
HEM @ 4:17 PM ET: man take a shot every time says we rely too much on festivals @Ervald
HEM @ 4:19 PM ET: Honestly, if candidates had time to glance at the polling data I'm not sure why Ervald is getting all this pushback on the question of culture. Every minute they spend attacking the ticket that won't win is a minute they aren't spending drawing contrasts with their better-performing competitors.
HEM @ 4:23 PM ET: Region of the Week is one of those things were as a (currently) semi active citizen, I just don't know a lot about it's successes or failures. I saw some of the shortcomings early on, but it seems like it has improved with time? At least that's the vibe I get? I find it interesting that Malashaan is promoting a very Discord-heavy event after...kinda downplaying the social parts of the platform in defense of his lack of visibility. I don't think the two issues are totally equivalent, but either building social relationships on Discord is important or not....right?
HEM @ 4:26 PM ET: oh fuck dispatches are so boring..........here we go!
HEM @ 4:28 PM ET: Maybe I just don't have all the information here (fully willing to accept that!) but why does the UpVote squad seem to wax and wane so much? I feel like every few terms it's a huge focus, and then drops off a cliff. Isn't it just a bunch of people who agree to upvote stuff? What's the pain point here -- the content creation, or getting people to log in to Nationstates.net and click a button?
HEM @ 4:35 PM ET: Interesting: Malashaan makes the case that "normal" people aren't really reading dispatches for fun on Nationstates.net and shifts the focus to distribution -- which seems like shrewd point. When he turns to the group to ask for their thoughts on distribution, though, Ervald double-downs on the upvote squad piece arguing that more votes = more eyeballs -- I guess not buying into Malashaan's point.
HEM @ 4:38 PM ET: Calvin asks the "Izzy question" in reference to a kerfuffle on the Nationstates forum over a resolution written by WAA Deputy, Izzy. A lot of similar responses here, though Ervald goes further than anyone in contextualizing Izzy's behavior. Issues like this are truly the hardest to deal with, so it's a good question that'd didn't extract much nuance.
HEM @ 4:40 PM ET: None of the current VP candidates running really have a ton of leadership experience with the Navy -- though all but Monkey say they would be FA-focused in their work. Rating the answers here in order of how vague they are:
MOST VAGUE
Ervald
Malashaan
Pichtonia
Monkey
LEAST VAGUE
Ironically, I actually think Monkey had the best initial answer here referencing fleet week and transparency in promotions.
HEM @ 4:44 PM ET: Monkey has a relevant follow-up question here. This is probably his best standout moment yet and it's,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, on the navy ??????
HEM @ 4:53 PM ET: ok so i missed a few minutes discussing the Navy in EuroChat. Some interesting snippets below:
HEM said:
Peeps said:
HEM @ 4:54 PM ET: Maybe I'm nuts, but I feel like we already have quite a few "spontaneous" shows. We are a long way away from Euro Today which discussed events from like a week ago (RIP).
HEM @ 4:57 PM ET: Man, I just don't know if this perception from Ervald that we have a ton of "dead air" is relevant to our current situation. We've had record-breaking numbers of shows, and there comes a point where we have to question whether we'll burn people out from show promotion. I don't want to discourage someone from practicing the piano on EBC Radio if they want -- but I'm not sure I'd tune into that personally.
HEM @ 5:00 PM ET: Monkey's answer on getting more foreign participation on radio was crammed full of relevant examples. Malashaan pushes back on whether we "need" to change Region of The Week // blow these things out more. My understand is that there are plenty of instances where nobody or only a few people abroad participated?? I'm not sure whether things have improved so dramatically that's no longer relevant, or whether he's trying to gloss over the rough patches.
HEM @ 5:04 PM ET: next question is a big one: I N T E G R A T I O N
HEM @ 5:07 PM ET: One thing I've noticed so far is that I haven't found much to say about Pichtonia. I'll have to go back and read the transcript, but it seems like he's done "well" but hasn't really broken out anywhere (or on the other side of the coin, screwed up anywhere).
HEM @ 5:09 PM ET: Malashaan has a great point about "group dynamics" or "cohorts" of members who join at the same time. Hard to see how any government policy could impact that dynamic, though. Honestly, "welcome wagon" sounds like a new version of discord buddies//help we are trapped in this loop of mentor programs.
HEM @ 5:11 PM ET: Pichtonia's response is getting applause in the EuroChat gallery -- and I want to emphasize, that I think it is a good point....but it's like....Here's A Good Point Which Proves Government Can Do Nothing lmao!!! And idk, maybe long-term it's best to shutter these overarching programs and redirect that energy to individual interactions. Hmmm!
HEM @ 5:15 PM ET: Last question is......"ask anyone whatever you want."
HEM @ 5:16 PM ET: God everyone is asking questions to everyone. what a waste of an opportunity!
HEM @ 5:26 PM ET: While we are waiting for this trainwreck of a "final question"...some thoughts.
I think this debate will have virtually no immediate impact on the race. Calvin did a great job researching questions, but there was just too much happening at once to full digest. ENN might do a scoring panel, but with the Presidential debate tomorrow we might also just save our shot for then. I think all the candidates erred on the side of playing it safe....probably because this debate is happening on the earlier side of the election and besides Veteger/Ervald nobody really needed a "game changer" they just needed to not screw it up. I don't think anybody did screw it up, fwiw.
On the whole, here's how I would "score" things:
Beat my expectations: Monkey
Met my expectations: Malashaan, Pichtonia
Below my expectations: Ervald
Overall, again, not sure anything is going to cause big waves.
HEM @ 5:38 PM ET: Okay, I have to run to the store so am wrapping up the liveblog a few minutes before the debate ends. In the "endless question" segment there was an interesting exchange of Monkey calling out Pichtonia for endorsing his ticket's EurOlympics ideas, but it didn't really turn into anything. I'm sure the closing statements will be pre-scripted and boring, so see ya'll here tomorrow for the PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE liveblog co-hosted with Sopo.
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