Presidential Debate
Expanded Post-Debate Questions for Candidates
After Sunday's Presidential Debate, I PMd all 3 tickets (WL/Calvin, Kaboom/GraV, Haley/Sopo) to ask them to respond to some additional questions I'd received/prepared that I didn't have time to ask during the 1 hour Debate. I've received responses from the first two tickets, and those are posted below. While comments are certainly welcome in this thread, I encourage citizens to ask further questions (follow-ups, etc.) of each ticket in their platform threads as well.
I clarified below which candidate gave which answer, and there were some cases for both tickets, where the VP answered on behalf of the ticket or both parties on a ticket answered. I left the details of who answered what up to the ticket - so long as they were clear on who was responding where.
Domestic
D1. What are your thoughts on how current newcomers to the region and the forum are welcomed and integrated? What do we do well? What do we need to improve upon? And how will your ticket work to improve in the aforementioned area?
[Kaboomlandia] Personally, I think that newcomers are welcomed well in this region. Newcomers get a warm reception on the Regional Message Board, which is good as it shows that we're friendly to newcomers. What we do well is making new players feel welcome to this region. I think we could improve upon some things, such as making it easier for people to get involved in Ministries.
[Writinglegend] “Perhaps they should be viewed as the effort to make knowledge and experiences available to those that would use them.” -CSP
I’m going to take a rather pragmatic approach to an analysis of our integration, here, insofar as not looking at how many we are integrating out of everyone who has joined, but how many we are integrating out of those who have put forth the work and effort. Integration is something Europeia does something very well in and is not something we should look down upon and keep trying to fix: I don’t approve of fixing for the sake of fixing. Let’s take a look at some of the newcomers that have come into the region and have made a name for themselves with activity, hardwork, and dedication: Rand, Erebos, Starstream, Kuramia, Netz, Star (dangling on the edge of no longer being new, to me at least), GraVandius. Looking a bit farther we have zapper, Fort, Star, Cool Spring, Kaboom, and more. My point is we are still efficiently integrating newer members, but we, of course, can do better.
The point of our integration system should be to provide the opportunities for newer members to become actively involved in our community via finding simple solutions that allows them to efficiently “jump right in”. You may wonder why above I’m only worrying about people who have put forth the effort, and that is because we will always, always, always have people that sign up and go inactive, or sign up and sporadically participate, or sign up and then do little. Europeia is not for everyone; it’s a very “daunting” region due to its prolific systems, innovation, and high-class participants inside. In order to pragmatically look at our integration in terms of both success and failure, we need to recognize that fact.
Europeia does very well in giving these opportunities to newcomers by presenting them multiple venues to get involved: the CA, ministries, Senate Aide program, CSO, etc etc. All of these help newcomers interested in working in different areas. Presenting these opportunities are what should be the basis of our integration, and it’s unfair in judging our integration on the standard of expecting every new applicant to stay and give it a shot. Where we should be assessing our integration is from those who do stay and give it a shot, but either go inactive, don’t do much, etc. It should be easy to see why, as those are the ones who put forth the effort to get -involved- within our region.
I would say this pragmatic thinking has allowed me to see where we need to improve our focus, and that undoubtedly has to be at the stage of “after applying” and “getting involved” but before the stage of “In the Cabinet/Senate/Court/Leadership Position”. The main focus of our integration needs to be better tooled to, overall, helping these citizen who are actively getting involved becoming the leaders of Europeia’s future. Ultimately, this does not come down to just one ministry, or two, or three, but the region has a whole. This is hence one reason feel it’s redundant to have the Ministry of Citizen Integration any longer: the limitation it provides. When we have such a ministry set up we start thinking about how -this- ministry can fix the issue and how -this- ministry can improve integration and how -this- ministry can create our next leaders. Ultimately, it’s not just up to one ministry. Stuff like the Ambassador Academy, EIS, Senate Aide program, and training in the judiciary are all outside of one ministry/MoCI/Interior and rightfully so.
In my platform I have outlined several plans for increasing activity within the Ambassador Academy, a new CSO Internship Program, as well as noted encouragement -outside- of the government.
D2. What steps would you take to encourage new recruits to become active contributors to the region?
[Writinglegend]
I feel I answered it above. We need to -present- the opportunities to them. I feel putting the Patron Program under my Vice President will allow someone with the time and activity to Private Message all newcomers presenting some of these opportunities, and also give the “position” behind them to make newer people feel good. I know when I got a PM from a higher member of the region when I first joined I did feel good.
But as I said above, it’s not always going to work because no matter how hard we try we will always have some that make an account and leave or never do anything with citizenship: it’s something we need to accept. The CSO Integration program I want to ‘Beta’ test this next term will also be another great step in presenting these opportunities to those who go and get them, and will allow people to taste test the executive branch.
[Kaboomlandia] The first thing I would recommend newcomers do is to check out the Ministries. If a newcomer can get to know what the region is all about by putting in some work in a Ministry, then they can have a better grasp of the region's political environment. Next, they should get involved in the Citizens' Assembly, participating in discussions and maybe starting a few of their own.
D3. Europeia's media sector has long been a vital part of the region, often bridging the gap between culture and politics in ways no other institution can. What are your thoughts on the importance of media (both public and private) in Europeia?
[Kaboomlandia] I believe that media is of the utmost importance, as this is Europeia's link to the world. Obviously the public EBC articles are more noticeable, but publishing articles from the private media outlets gives the less prominent outlets a voice.
[Writinglegend] Well, in simplistic terms the media is a highly important communications stream for Europeia, and, as you said, bridges the gap between culture and politics. That’s why it’s so sad, to me at least, at the current state of our private media. It is also why I have addressed that issue by providing specific goals to do our best and solve it - private media awards, election pieces, and giving more content to private media. I’ve noticed that private media specifically is a great outlet for voicing your opinion as a citizen, and getting your name out there. If you have any issues with the current government, you can be vocal there in an article. The same applies to public media, although it is done rather less and private.
D4. What is the end goal for our Mixlr content? How can we get more people involved in running mixlr? How can we maximize the effectiveness of our broadcasts?
[Writinglegend] The end goal for our mixlr content is for it to be recognized internationally in order to show the innovation of our region, as well as attract others to our region. The main problem with mixlr, though, is its limited capacity only for people who have mic’s and/or are willing to go on. This creates a problem where we have a situation where only several people can host, and when those several people can’t make anything nothing get’s done. Like the International Paper, though, I think we should begin relying more on foreigners interested in appearing on EBC Radio - either in hosting a small discussion/interview or maybe a segment like Skeptic or Believer if others have the time and ability.
The simple way to maximize effectiveness is to utilize the underutilized mixlr guide hyanygo created which goes over this in explicit detail - and how to better project our content. His detailed and specific guide details pre-advertising via avatars, EuroChat, Sigs, IRC, Shoutbox, Twitter, RMB, possibly WFE, and our EBC Radio on the NS forums which is underutilized. After the event is most important, though. We need to do better in using Mixlr as a supplement for our columns, as well as beginning to find a free transcription service (something VP will continue to do) to draw the interest of people wanting to read the content not hear it.
In order to maximize the overall effect, we should advertise and use what we have in more effective ways. I do believe that having Mixlr under Noto with full autonomy will be a great way to charge it up better than ever, as he is a very dedicated man and will make this project succeed. Mixlr can be used in a variety of unique ways, and it’s time we begin exploring those ways of usages to fully reach its maximum effect.
[GraVandius] The end goal for our Mixlr content is to expand it and diversify it.
How can we get more people involved in running mixlr?
We can do a few things. First we can test out a few ideas that we discussed in culture when creating EBC Culture Radio. Such as encouraging individual citizens or private media to do mini-talk shows of their own. If the shows prove popular enough the option should be extended to allow them to broadcast on official EBC radio. With this perhaps shows could be "syndicated"/ Edited and listened to at a later date. Another thing would be hosting RP games (perhaps D&D) that could extend outside of the region. With this could come shorter shows that might attract a audience/host who does not have a lot of time to do long interviews, games ect. In addition to diversifying content to bring in new hosts we should make sure we have tapped/reached out to all of the people who are capable of hosting. I for one am not currently Mixlr capable but it is something I will try to do for the coming term.
How can we maximize the effectiveness of our broadcasts?
By the proposed diversification above and establishing consistent times/days for broadcasts. For example if it is widely known that Show X will be on at 5:00 on Saturdays then people who like Show X will try to make the time to listen in at 5:00 on Saturdays.
Beyond these questions we would like to continue Culture Radio's Correlation game and Just a Minute. Both of which I would like to participate in whether or not you elect our ticket. I unfortunately missed out last term. In regards to EBC Radio (Comm's) our ticket would obviously want continue the in-depth interviews with the notable members of Euro.
D5. Do you have any specific plans to encourage more manual recruitment from Europeians? If so, what? How will this encourage more players to be active in recruitment?
[Kaboomlandia] GraVandius and I plan to encourage continued manual recruitment by rewarding consistency in recruiting. This will be accomplished by implementing awards for sending certain numbers of telegrams for three or more consecutive weeks. Writinglegend's Recruitment ministry had some great weeks, but tailed off near the end of the term. If the region can maintain a steady flow of newcomers, then that will be better in the long run for the region.
[Writinglegend] I would like for my Minister of the Interior to set up a similar system Mouse had for her ‘Break the Endorsement Record’ campaign, which generated a lot of interest. Depending on how many weeks it took to break the record, people got a certain reward. For this, depending on how many telegrams are sent on a weekly basis determines the reward for the Recruiter of the Week. We’ve generally done this on smaller terms with avatar changing, but will hopefully mix up the rewards to something different than that -every- time.
In addition, Interior will set up recruitment tournaments which will allow for people to compete weekly in order to “go to the next stage”. Two recruiters will face off based on their totals for a given week, and the one with the most will go to the next round. At the end, the winning recruiter will receive a reward. Ideally, this would interest more people to recruitment rather than making it seem like a repetitive process of ‘click, paste, click’ give it a competitive aspect which people enjoy more than dullness.
D6. There has been some dissatisfaction with the prolific use of spam games within our Festivals. How do you plan to garner interest and participation within Festivals going forward? Do you think that spam games are an important component to include within these Festivals?
[Writinglegend] Spam games important in festivals? No way. We’ve seen several successful festivals that -have- happened without spam games, and we can’t just keep going to our crutch because we feel we “can’t do it without them”. No, we must think Outside The Box in order to innovate what we have come to know as a festival, innovate what is inside of the festival, and innovate how we treat the festival. Valentine’s Day Theme Festival during March got a -lot- of activity and that was just on some general roleplaying. Culture’s job is to -set the stage- for this interaction, and it is completely possible to do this without 1,000,000,000 spam games. Europeians can sometimes get hooked onto the average “festival” without thinking of how we can change how we perceive a festival to be for terms to come. That’s what my Culture Minister will do, change what we perceive as a “festival” and change our crutch of “spam”.
[Kaboomlandia] I don't mind spam games; however, they shouldn't drive a festival's activity. The Europeian Hunger Games are an example of a festival that has a great potential to drive itself without the need for spam games. Things like Pope Lexus X's Ovation not only should have been expanded greatly, the two spam games shouldn't have been included, as they wound up being a distraction.
D7. What are your thoughts on the current length of time it takes to receive a response from the High Court regarding an Advisory Opinion? Will that be a factor you consider when making judicial appointments? How/Why?
[Kaboomlandia] I believe that the length of time needed to get a response on an Advisory Opinion is appropriate and timely. To take an example, the Anumia recall petition was filed on September 7th, 2015, and reached quorum that same day, receiving six signatures before losing one (Calvin). Malashaan released a well-written and comprehensive Advisory Opinion on the 11th of the same month, allowing the petition to get to vote. Primarily, I will be considering experience when making appointments of justices above all other.
[Writinglegend] The Judiciary should be given the time it needs in order to create a well-rounded Advisory Opinion. Quality over quantity. While, yes, of course they could speed it up, we should give them the necessary time in order to create a well-rounded AO. My judicial appointments will stay the same in terms of what I look for: someone with activity, dedication, enthusiasm, interest, and some experience and knowledge in Europeian legislation.
D8. What are your thoughts on how widely Europeian law should be enforced? Should it be limited only to forum actions? Should it extend to the RMB, Skype, IRC, etc.?
[Kaboomlandia] If I recall, there was an advisory opinion on this matter, which defined "within Europeia" as the RMB, forum, Skype, and IRC. I have no objections with any of those, except for the RMB. If we extend Europeian law to the RMB, then we run the risk that people who aren't involved in the forum who are in the region could be breaking laws without knowing it.
Foreign
F1. The Ambassador Academy has been underutilized over the previous terms, as the last "new lesson" was posted in April of this year. As we're coming up on nearly 6 months since the last lesson was added, do you plan to revive the Ambassador Academy? If so, what plans do you have to ensure follow through happens on getting new lessons added?
[Writinglegend] Yes, the Ambassador Academy can and should be a core of our training of up-and-coming ambassadors. Our region has a problem in which we struggle in training the next generation of FA gurus, and it leads to lack of picks for the FA position when those veterans who we rely on cannot take the position. Frankly, this needs to change in our to secure the future of our region as a FA powerhouse. We will not always be able to rely on the veteran FA guru’s but we -need- to start training the future.
I’d ideally like to make the Ambassador Academy stroll away from “lessons” where people at the end answer questions, but application of knowledge. For example, if we give a short lesson on, say, Independence, we can give a situation where another region wants Europeia to join a large coalition, ceding some of our power but getting greater access to military and political resources in return, and asking those involved what they would do and why. It’s very easy to answer simplistic questions on the topic, but it get’s advanced when you have to apply that general knowledge. Ambassadors, in the future if they get MoFA, won’t get asked by other foreigners “What is Independence? Why is it important?” So I feel that portion is preparing Ambassadors to be the wrong thing. We need to teach Ambassadors to imply that knowledge, and show them how -stuff works- (host a mock treaty creation with another ally of ours is a good idea and then giving ambassadors a situation in which they need to reach a middle-ground, possibly applying the best answer into the mock negotiation). I have severa -possible-l ideas for such lessons:
1. Chat lurking: Give a “lesson” on how to “chat lurk”, its effectivity, and common IRC channels. Then a situation on what to do if you see an “argument” on a chat.
2. Coups - Give a “lesson” on influence, history of coups, and common reactions. If we are to really tain Ambassadors for the future, we need to prepare them to really respond to situations like these. Then give a mock situation if they were President how would they respond to a coup.
3. Raider v. Defender - Give a lesson on the Raider v. Defender game in NationStates, how it affects Europeia, and the history of these two. Give a mock situation in which the person must get a decision.
4. Treaty Negotiations - Setting up a mock negotiation with an ally of our’s, giving a situation and then applying who everyone thinks is the “best answer”.
5. And MORE.
You may be asking why I am providing all of these details on little specifics, but that answers number two of the question. In order to provide follow-through, we need a clear plan of action for the MoFA to take -action- on immediately. We need specific details in order to get this Academy up and running again, and frankly it’s something I feel the other tickets lack. Once my MoFA get’s these specifics, we can, once again, work hard on getting the Academy up and running to train the future of our foreign guru’s.
[Kaboomlandia] Reviving the Ambassador Academy was not a focal point in the platform, but along with my Foreign Affairs Minister, I will work on getting it restarted. Theoden Sebastian had an idea of having a couple of "introductory" lessons and having prospective members complete them. I would support implementing these, along with my Foreign Minister, and will work to get those up in the event I am elected.
F2. What are your thoughts on the international paper? (The Europeian Standard) Do you plan to continue this project if elected? How would you rate our current rate of publication/distribution? Would you like to see a change in that frequency? If so, why - and how do you plan to accomplish that?
[Kaboomlandia] I think the Europeian Standard has been doing a great job. With the current hiatus of The Rejected Times, there's a big chance for the Standard to take the spotlight. I am not currently involved with this project, but if I am elected, I will try to get involved with this. I would think that the current distribution rate of two per term allows for enough time to put a well-edited paper together and distribute it without it getting stale. I won't be trying to change this, but instead shoot for a consistent two issues per term.
[Writinglegend] The International Paper is a great tool for the promotion and spreading of Independence via NationStates, and is a great way to get our region’s name out there. However, last term we saw a dip of frequency which was saddening, but we did, in term, get some more content ideas. Out of a rating, I would give it a five on a one-to-ten scale. One issue is always good but we need to strive for better in the future. I would like to see -at least- two issues this next term, one for the first half and one for the second half, but would not complain in the least bit if we do get more. The more the merrier. As I noted, we need to keep reaching out to foreign authors, which we have been doing, but we are also short on domestic authors. If elected, I plan to do some reaching out to some domestic citizens to see their interest levels in writing for the Standard to generate more content. In addition, Mixlr was a source of Standard pieces with some of them being Mixlr segments (Foreign Skeptic or Believer). We absolutely need to generate -more- foreign mixlr content that can be usable in the Standard as content. Both of my oppositions have yet to propose much of anything for the International Paper, which is very disheartening because I do not want to see that project go on the backburner.
F3. We've had issues putting out foreign updates consistently this term. How often can we expect you to put out a foreign update during your term? What is the importance/significance of the foreign update? Are there any changes you would make to how we currently draft and deliver them?
[Writinglegend] I expect three foreign updates to be released this term: one after the Presidential Election, one after Senate Elections, and one before the term ends. The largest change to drafting of the Foreign Update is that it will no longer be under the Ministry of Communications, but will be under EComm which provides more eyes and attention for the project. Admittedly, putting it under Comm wasn’t a great move as it was pushed to the side for the columns, but allowing it to be under a fresh ministry, EComm, gives it the attention it deserves.
We have to keep our target audience in mind when writing these updates in order to attract attention to them. Our target audience are not citizens, but gameplayers in a variety of different regions. They don’t care about how awesome an ‘X’ activity in Europeia is, they will just skim over that. What they want to see, and what we need to show them, is international activities involving Europeia to build our prestige on a foreign level. In addition, updates absolutely need to portray Europeia as an active and vibrant community - so not everything has to be -international objects-. But why does Senate elections need such a large piece in comparison to the pure awesomeness of our Navy and involvement in a large-scale operation? Point blank, it doesn’t. Our audience are more likely to read and be interested in the Navy piece rather than who won the most recent Senate By-Election. Senate Elections we need to have short and quick pieces on, a quick couple of sentences summing it all up. International pieces need to have much more significance, such as recent items in our latest update which contains the Whitehall Accord. Because, let’s be honest, our target audience wants to read something like the Whitehall Accord which builds our prestige rather than what happened in that Senate Election.
So, in short, we need to better understand our audience and what they want rather than writing fluff domestic pieces. Yes, I have written such fluff domestic pieces in the past, and they have been in the update, but that doesn’t mean we can’t nor should change the update to improve its function as a platform to present Europeia with prestige and vibrancy.
[Kaboomlandia] If elected, the Foreign Affairs Minister and I will shoot to get three done, as a high goal, though two will be satisfactory. The role of Foreign Updates is to allow other regions to know how we're doing as a region. Over the last term, MoFA mostly discussed improvements to the ministry. Unfortunately, Anumia wasn't around often enough to implement these.
F4. How familiar are you with the NS Gameplay forum? If elected, what sort of posts and activity would you like to see from Europeians in that arena? How will you encourage such posts through your platform/Cabinet?
[Kaboomlandia] I'm somewhat familiar with Gameplay, being active on the forums. I would love to see Europeians posting on the Europeian embassy thread, keeping it visible and generating discussion with members of other regions. As of now, the only time the Europeian thread gets noticed is when Anumia posts the Foreign Update, which I do not believe is sufficient.
[Writinglegend] Very familiar and I check it at least twice per day. In Gameplay, we need to absolutely spread our message of Independence and show Europeia as an active and vibrant community. We do this vis a vis the International Paper, Foreign Update, and Mixlr, all three of which have a separate thread and all three of which need to be posted in more -often- to showcase Europeian innovation and skill.
F5. How do you plan to utilize the Navy during your term? What plans do you have for training and recruitment?
[Writinglegend] First off, we need more frequent small tag raid and I, for sure, know we can do at least two a week if we aren’t doing something larger with the ERN. It is the simplest way to showcase our military strength whilst keeping the navy and its members active and ready in developing their skills. There’s a heavy difference between reading a guide and actually putting what you know into action via tag raids, and it’s something that is beneficial to all (Navy included). My plan is to also have the ERN lead two large operations by the end of the term. The time of our region simply being a name in the WFE for a large raid as a notice of our support is -over-, it is time that our name is the one who lead the operation itself. If we -really- want to showcase Europeia’s military prowess, the next logical step is to hold these large operations with multiple regions involved.
In terms of recruitment, we need to bolster the ERNVS and we must do this by now going to gameside and those within Europeia. The ERNVS is simple as all it takes is having a WA ready for movement at any time, and I know that not all 1,100 people in our region EndoTart/like the WA. We need aggressive recruitment gameside, which EComm will do by running mass telegrams promoting the ERNVS, in order to bolster the amount who are volunteers, which, in turn, increases the amount of sailors we can reliably mobilize.
As for training, we can’t keep going to the triggering seminar. We must diversify. The triggering seminar is great, don’t get me wrong about that, but I feel more hands-on activities will definitely help develop the skills of our sailors. For example, we can have an interactive ‘Stealth Puppet Making’ activity in which during a given time period of ten-fifteen minutes, with the Grand Admiral watching, the goal is to allow your puppet not be caught by the Grand Admiral who acts as a "defender" looking for them. Such a training activity is great for newer members still learning the actions behind stealth puppet creation and is different from the continuous triggering seminar we have. Also in terms of development, I would like us to be more open in letting sailors trigger during tag raids. Tag raids are small and harmless if a triggering mistake is made, and are ideally the platform for people to get themselves acquainted to triggering skillfully.
[Kaboomlandia] The Navy, I believe, is currently set for the present with Kraketopia as the leader (who has accepted another term in the event GraVandius and I win). To that effect, the ERN has been somewhat left alone. I'd definitely like to see more sailors trigger their own operation. I think the best thing we can do to increase Navy recruitment is to let people know about their operations. Post on the RMB, telling about your operation, then post a link to the ERN dispatch encouraging people to join.
General
G1. It's generally believed that the President (and Vice President) set an example in terms of activity, participation, etc., within the region. Are there any areas of Europeia in which you feel we need a greater participation and focus on? How will you and your running mate use your actions to encourage more Europeians to get involved in those areas?
[Kaboomlandia] I really think voter turnout is important in elections. In the last Presidential election, 52 people voted, which is a fairly high number in the past year. At the last citizenship check, we have 153 citizens. That's only slightly more than one in three people voting. GraVandius and I, if elected, will prove that experience is not the be-all and end-all of elections. This could serve as an inspiration to newcomers looking to get involved.
[Writinglegend] While recruitment is definitely one of those areas, I feel like I have a Minister of the Interior that can greatly focus on Europeia’s manual recruitment and charismatically lead there, garnering enough people to consistently recruit over the term. I will definitely manually recruit, yes, but I don’t feel that will be the -specific area-. Instead, I feel we need a more focus on our Navy. Our region is huge, and we have such diverse interests but I know that what we currently have isn’t as much as we can have. We should be able to deploy 20 or more sailors easily, but it’s just not happening. With an aggressive recruitment strategy, consistent activity, and setting an example myself there, we can better the Navy to become a larger and more reliable foreign policy tool; one that other militaries will -instantly- think of when needing numbers.
As you noted, President’s and Vice President’s set the example as the leaders of the region. It’s simply us finding the major area(s) needing focus, and put some of our activity there setting the example. If we set the example with our activity, and show that we are committed, it is generally thought that others will be too. Therefore, if I trigger more, and if I participate in operations more (I already both trigger a lot and participate in all ops), and if my Vice President can too, then we attract that gravitas towards the ERN along with us.
G2. What are your thoughts on the separation of powers? Do you feel it's more important to have certain offices separated from other branches, and - if so - which ones? Why or why not?
[Calvin Coolidge] I don't think there's really much reason to have a clear separation of powers in Europeia. It's been debated before, and I think the points raised in previous discussions hold a lot of merit. In our current system of government we have multiple members in multiple branches of government, and we've seen this in numerous past terms with no real downside, conflicts of interest, etc. I know that Drecq and Malashaan have stated that the Chief Justice and Speaker of the Senate shouldn't overlap, and I'll trust their judgment on that.
[Kaboomlandia] One big facet of "separation of powers" that I feel needs addressing is the proposed bicameralism of the legislature. As it stands now, the Citizens' Assembly has no real power. I don't believe it needs to have any. I believe that the Citizens' Assembly should stay as a training ground for legislators, which GraVandius has taken initiative to do by setting up the "Legislative Arena", a place where Assembly members can harmlessly practice their drafting skills on topics that have been tabled already. By training the Assembly members in a harmless environment, we will make better Senators and lawmakers.
G3. Given the activity issues we've seen in a few areas over the past term, what sort of President would you be when it comes to holding your Ministers accountable?
[Writinglegend] I think I’ve said this before, but I need to have a stronger hand when it comes to these situations. Obviously, considering what happened last term, I will be tougher with my Cabinet and not take excuses. I will expect they set the utmost example of leadership and activity for Europeia. Lenient WL will be gone, as I fully expect for each Cabinet member to set the example for their AM’s and an inactive Cabinet member set’s a poor example and will be treated as such.
[Kaboomlandia] Coming off a weak term Cabinet-wise, I intend to keep Ministers accountable about their activity. GraVandius and I looked quite judiciously at activity when deciding our Cabinet. We will not tolerate extended, unannounced spates of inactivity.
G4. There has been talk about having a "short bench" in certain areas of expertise within Europeia. (judiciary, foreign affairs, ERN) What plans do you have to develop more talent in these areas?
[Calvin Coolidge] Our plan for this is to have leaders in these fields take interested citizens under their wing to ensure a wider pool of future leaders. We've seen this work very well in the ERN under Kraken's leadership due to his hands-on approach, and triggering seminars, and we have high hopes for the other fields, as well.
[Kaboomlandia] Judiciary is probably the only ministry where I believe "less is more". While Foreign Affairs could have its membership chopped slightly if the Ambassador Academy lessons are implemented, the ERN will have nothing but benefits from having more members getting involved actively in R/D.
G5. How would you characterize your leadership style? How will it manifest itself when it comes to getting productivity out of your Ministers and the region as a whole?
[Writinglegend] I would say my leadership style is Transformational, meaning I motivate others to perform their best. This can be demonstrated through my energy and passion. I understand the potential everyone has in them, and I always strive to help them reach that potential via development as well as giving them opportunities as leaders. This manifests in my Ministers because it helps them, to, strive for their full potential and do the best they can be. My energy also gives me a semi-charismatic leadership quality, insofar as I motivate others around me to work. This can be played off on a small level (Cabinet) and on a large level (the region).
[Kaboomlandia] I am an enthusiastic and easy-going leader who is easy to work with. This will help when getting productivity out of the region. Sometimes it is better to give a gentle tap on the shoulder to get activity out of people, other times it is an admonishment. While I prefer to go with the tap on the shoulder, I can be admonishing when necessary.
G6. During all of your time in NationStates or Europeia, of what are you most proud?
[Calvin Coolidge] I'm most proud of my first term as MinComm, because Kraken gave me a big chance to lead, and turn around an inactive Ministry, in a field that I really cared about (media). It went better than I could've hoped for with numerous articles, increased coverage, and I think there was a standard set that continues to this day, and I'm proud of that.
[Kaboomlandia] I am most proud of my article for the Europeian Independent 4 about the World Assembly Advancement Program. While it wasn't all that significant, I think it definitely gave me a step forwards in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
[GraVandius] This is an hard question as there is nothing I have done yet that has made a sizable impact in the region. I am proud of both my launch of the Avatar Culture Project and the Legislative Arena. I’m also quite proud of my 3 recruiter of the week Awards from culture.
G7. During all of your time in NationStates or Europeia, what is your biggest regret?
[Kaboomlandia] My biggest regret is leaving the region cold turkey back in April. I deprived myself of a chance to learn in the region to try and start my own. I completely cut ties with Europeia, which was a mistake, as I interrupted my learning.
[GraVandius] My biggest regret is not being able to really participate in weekend games. It is something that I’m sure I have had fun doing it just hasn't been able to fit into my schedule.
[Calvin Coolidge] My first term as VP, I would say is my biggest regret, because I just wasn't around as much as I should've been. There was a lot going on near the end of May, and a good chunk of June that kept me away from NS, and it showed, and I let the region down.
G8. During all of your time in NationStates or Europeia, what is the biggest lesson you've learned?
[Calvin Coolidge] Sometimes the easiest way to know about something is to just get involved. I didn't really have much interest in FA or the ERN for the first couple months I was in Europeia, but after I was put into FA, and after Kraken convinced me to sign up for the ERN, they have become some of the most interesting aspects of the game for me, and something I feel that I can really contribute to, and it all started just because I took a leap and got involved in something I had no knowledge of. If you work at it, you can learn anything in this game with enough time.
[Kaboomlandia] My biggest lesson learned is to be friendly with the newcomers and to get involved. Even failed runs can be a real learning experience for a newer citizen.
[GraVandius] The biggest lesson is that when you are asked a question in a campaign it is better to take slightly longer to actually give an informed answer then just generalities.
G9. If you could tell one thing to Europeian newcomers, what would that be?
[Kaboomlandia] Jump right in! Everybody here was a newcomer at some point. Get involved in the CA, join some ministries, get experience.
[GraVandius] I would tell them to get involved. They could possibly be the Next President, Vice-President or Senator as long as they work hard to be active and productive.
[Calvin Coolidge] We're a region that appreciates getting involved and asking questions. If you have any uncertainties about anything, just ask, and the government (and most citizens) will love to help you on your path. Get involved right away in the CA, and try and learn from your work there. Join a Ministry that sounds interesting to you, and work with the Minister (they'll need you
). Do these things, and in no time you'll be a valued member of our region. Thanks to both parties that responded for their time in answering these questions, and I hope that this effort spurts some additional conversation and questions regarding our current Presidential Election cycle!