Filling in the Cracks - Moe's Campaign Thread

[moe]

Filling In The Cracks: May Campaign for PM



Introduction: 

Hi everyone, I'm Moe/Monkey, and as you can tell from this thread's title, I'm running for Prime Minister! To address the elephant in the room: I am new to Lazarus, just having joined this month, however I have a lot of ideas and I'm really excited to contribute to this region. Previously, I've mainly served in the executive within Europeia, a decently-sized UCR. Part of this term will be me learning more about Lazarus, its history, and its community, and I'm so glad that the people in this community have been willing to talk to me and get me up to speed. I hope you'll join me on my journey!

As the name of this platform suggests, I will primarily focus on small changes in each department to try and boost its effectiveness. Accordingly, my platform doesn't have a ton of big, groundbreaking, revolutionary ideas. Rather, I want to focus on small changes and fixes that I know are doable, and that will hopefully have a positive effect. It is my hope that I will be able to bring a bit of activity back into Lazarus, as well as make it easier for new people to get involved. I plan to group my platform into two areas: foreign affairs and domestic affairs, even though multiple departments will be grouped together in each. I hope that's ok!

Foreign Affairs: 

The Regional Guard: 

Based off of what I've learned about the regional guard, it seems like it's currently operating well and accomplishing the purpose it's designed for, so I won't be proposing too many changes here. My main goal would be to hold one or two training operations if there is interest. Additionally, I want to look into ways to get more people interested in the regional guard. Even if there aren't super frequent opportunities for us to use our regional guard, it's important that our allies can count on a decent amount of us showing up (pilers/reserves) if they ever need support, or in anti-fascist operations, etc. Therefore, I will focus on getting updated rosters of everyone that is able to participate in operations if needed, make sure our guides are up to date, and hopefully try one or two training operations so people are ready in case the Guard is ever needed. 

Ambassadors: 

Ambassadors are a useful tool for us to get information about what our allies are up to, as well as to share news about regional happenings. During my term, one of my first actions will be to check in with our current ambassadors, and see if there are any ways we can help make their jobs/lives easier in terms of representing Lazarus abroad (as well as checking which regions don't currently have an ambassador). During my term, I also hope to release at least one update to our allies about current affairs in Lazarus, so that they know what we've been up to! Ambassadors are also a great way for us to develop our current alliances and think about new ones, which feeds into my next point...

Alliances and Treaties: 

Lazarus currently has allies across NationStates, which is great! During my term, I'll try to deepen those relationships by communicating with them through ambassadors, as well as seeing if there are opportunities for further collaboration. I'd like to look into hosting a cultural/games festival or weekend with at least one of our allies this term, and hopefully that should be a lot of fun and bring some activity to our region! Lastly, some things that I'd like to think about are creating treaties with more regions, as well as thinking about how we represent ourselves to the rest of the gameplay community, possibly utilizing our NSGP forum embassy thread more often to post updates. I don't have a ton of ideas here, but I'm certainly willing to think about those points!

NPO: 

As someone who's new to Lazarus, I intend on following the consensus last adopted by this region regarding the NPO and our relationship with them (waiting for a delegacy change before considering any next steps). I'm also a newer face to NS history and Lazarus history in general, so I don't have much to say here, except that I promise to listen to community input and people who have been here longer than I have before making any changes in this department (and this goes for other foreign affairs projects too). 

Domestic Affairs: 

Shareholdership and Employment: 

I think something crucial to getting newcomers involved is making sure that applications are processed promptly. Of course we all have our own lives and may be busy at times, but I will try my best to make sure that shareholder applications and ministry applications are processed quickly so newcomers aren't discouraged due to a long wait. Additionally, after talking to my potential future director in this area, I hope to standardize the application as well as review our current resources and guides on the forums to make it easier for new members to get involved within Lazarus. 

Gameside: 

Our region has nearly 8,000 nations, but we don't have anywhere close to that many people on our Discord or forums. While Lazarus is unique in that it is a sinker, I believe there are still thing we can do to attract people to our offsite resources. Some things I'd like to try are making more resources to alert our gameside community of the benefits of shareholdership, as well as interacting with them more and making them feel welcome, whether it's things like regional polls, contests, or even just checking in on the RMB more frequently. Hopefully that'll encourage more people to join our discord and our forums. In addition, I'd also like to look into advertising the importance of endorsements, especially on our delegate. If there are improvements that can be made in this area, I'd be supportive of running a campaign to get more nations to sign up for the WA, and emphasizing the importance that endorsements can collectively make. 

Culture: 

I feel that Lazarus already has a very welcoming and friendly culture. I proposed a mutual cultural exchange with an ally earlier on, and if that's successful, I'm definitely thinking of game or movie nights within our own community as well, or even things like hosting a flag contest, chess tournament, etc and inviting the whole NationStates community to take part! We also have a lot of new development happening on our forums in terms of games and activities, and I'm willing to help with that as well to bring more things to do on our forums. 

The Gazette: 

It's important for other regions in NS to know of our going-ons, so I intend on promising at least one edition of the Lazarene Gazette under my term. I feel as though with the platform I've proposed, there are a lot of changes that we would be able to update the NS community on, including this PM election. Although it would take some effort, I'm confident that I would be able to get together a collection of news stories, interviews, articles etc together to release an edition of the Gazette. 


That's all I have proposed for my platform! If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read about my ideas, and I hope you ask questions if you have any! As someone who's still new to Lazarus, if something doesn't look right or seems like a bad idea, I'm happy to revisit that idea and think of a different solution. 

Although my platform may seem long, in reality there are just one or two changes in each department I'd like to make, and some of them can be organized rather quickly. I think my platform is wholly doable, and I'm glad to have the help of some other Lazarus citizens to help me as Directors. I'm very confident that I can deliver most, if not all, of my platform over the next few months. 

//Moe

[New Rogernomics]

It looks like you may be running unopposed so far, so the questions may all fall to you to answer this election.

Q: You mention that the regional guard is already operating well, is there any area you think Lazarus could improve upon beyond what you have stated so far on your platform?


Q: Given you are new to the region, and some may ask about it at some point. Do you have any particular leaning or perspective as far as R/D, and what do you think of the neutral status of our military?


Q: A diplomatic rift has occurred recently between Osiris, which is our current ally, and Balder, and so far Lazarus has kept out of this dispute. Do you have any take on how you might approach this situation, given that Lazarus up to this point has tried to maintain good standing with other GCRs?


Q: This is a two part question, following on from the last. Lazarus has treaties with most GCRs, though apart from the The Pacific, there still remains the status of Balder-Lazarene relations. Would you consider pursuing a Non-Aggression-Pact or some other diplomatic or cultural agreement with Balder, during your term? If not, why not?


Q: Are there any regions, UCRs or GCRs, that you think could be a good idea for Lazarus to form closer relations with?


Q: Lazarus has had an unfortunate situation with forum-based activity, is there anything you have learned in Europeia or the other regions that you may have participated in, that we might consider bringing here?


Q: The Lazarene Gazette has had problems attracting writers to the point that it always seems to be the Minister who writes the Gazette, with few other contributors. How might your administration encourage writers to post to the Gazette?


Q: Last, but not least, what is your favorite color?

[moe]

Q: You mention that the regional guard is already operating well, is there any area you think Lazarus could improve upon beyond what you have stated so far on your platform?

Hm, I'm not sure if this questions means all areas in Lazarus, or areas within the Guard, so I'll try to answer both (even though my answers are similar for both anyway). I was able to talk with a few people to learn more about Lazurus' history and its alignment. In regards to the Guard, I understand why it is neutral, so my main goals in this department are to maintain its neutrality. At the same time, I understand that the guard is not a conventional military either, that needs to be active all the time, so my goals here are to increase the piling abilities of the guard so that we're an effective force when we ARE needed, and possibly do one or two training operations so that we are prepared for the cases when those are necessary. In other departments, I think I have a similar philosophy of small changes and improvements, but I do think there are definitely areas in the Lazarene government that can be revitalized and active again.

Q: Given you are new to the region, and some may ask about it at some point. Do you have any particular leaning or perspective as far as R/D, and what do you think of the neutral status of our military?

I was formerly a member of the ERN (Independent), and am currently a member of The Grey Wardens (defender leaning). Although I haven't really had enough time in either to really become 'entrenched' in one side or another. Typically, I view military alignment as just another part of the game, and do whatever I think will make this game more enjoyable for me. In short, I am much more casual about military and alignment rather than having it dictate all of my beliefs, policies, alliances, etc.

It's my understanding that our neutral alignment brings stability to this region and ensures that we can be allied with regions across the R/D spectrum. If this works, then I don't have any desire to go out of my way and change it.

Q: A diplomatic rift has occurred recently between Osiris, which is our current ally, and Balder, and so far Lazarus has kept out of this dispute. Do you have any take on how you might approach this situation, given that Lazarus up to this point has tried to maintain good standing with other GCRs?

I've heard about this conflict, and was actually the foreign affairs minister of Europeia during the initial stages of it, and had was in a similar position. While I think the conflict has been mostly settled, if it escalates or another similar event occurs, I would try my best to keep Lazarus out of it. It's always tricky to take a side in a conflict when both sides are allied with you. If Lazarus would be forced to pick a side, I would most likely work with my PR director or other members of the region who have been here longer and know the ins and outs of Lazarus' foreign affairs policies and determine which way the best path forward would be.

TL;DR: Try my best to not intervene, and if we absolutely have to, work with other experienced FA shareholders to determine which option is best.

Q: This is a two part question, following on from the last. Lazarus has treaties with most GCRs, though apart from the The Pacific, there still remains the status of Balder-Lazarene relations. Would you consider pursuing a Non-Aggression-Pact or some other diplomatic or cultural agreement with Balder, during your term? If not, why not?

I'll be fully honest and admit here that one of my weakest qualities in this game is probably NationStates/Gameplay history, so I'm not sure what kind of history (if any) Balder-Lazarus has had in the past. If things seem to have been fine, then I think we would share a lot of similarities as sinker GCRs, and I wouldn't see why we shouldn't establish some kind of relations with them. My only concern would be the fact that Balder is often criticized in NSGP by certain circles, and I'd want to make sure that any sort of negative PR we might receive from such an action is warranted in the end. Again, I would likely make sure that other people who have been in the region for longer than me and know Lazarus' history a bit more would be ok with the decision (I just want to make sure that people who have been around longer than me and have spent more time in Lazarus would be ok with such a decision from me!).

Q: Are there any regions, UCRs or GCRs, that you think could be a good idea for Lazarus to form closer relations with?

I'd like to take a look at our relationship with the South Pacific and potentially upgrade our relationship there, as well as other GCRs, like the East Pacific, the Rejected Realms, and Balder, like you mentioned earlier. Those regions seem like the immediate likely candidates for Lazarus to start reaching out to as potential partners. Otherwise, my term will mainly focus on enhancing our current relationships and making them stronger and collaborating more with our current allies. Of course, if any regions reach out during my term and would like a treaty, that's something I would definitely look into and not turn away.

Q: Lazarus has had an unfortunate situation with forum-based activity, is there anything you have learned in Europeia or the other regions that you may have participated in, that we might consider bringing here?

Unfortunately, I think all regions suffer from getting activity onto the forums. It might just be that a lot of newer players prefer the fast-paced environment of Discord instead, or aren't even willing to get past the NationStates site itself. Here, I would want to mainly make sure that we have enough resources and interaction gameside so that newer nations understand the benefits of signing up for our forums and getting more involved, as well as how to do so via guides, RMB interactions, general activity on our regional page, etc. Additionally, I want to make sure that we are accepting applications quickly, if someone applies for shareholder status or applies for a ministry, we should be accepting them as soon as possible so that they aren't frustrated/bored with the waiting time and leave.

Q: The Lazarene Gazette has had problems attracting writers to the point that it always seems to be the Minister who writes the Gazette, with few other contributors. How might your administration encourage writers to post to the Gazette?

I think this boils down to a question of activity, and truthfully, I'm not sure if I can guarantee activity. What I can promise is that over the course of my term, I will personally make sure one edition of the Gazette is released, even if it means writing 4 or 5 articles myself. Obviously, I'd love if other people contributed, so what I would like to do is reach out to past writers and see if they have an idea that they'd like to write about, or if someone's working on something cool I might see if they'd be willing to provide their thoughts for an interview or some other kind of article. In the end, I think we just need to make sure that writing for the Gazette is something fun, and not stressful, so things like helping them with drafts, suggesting ideas, letting them write about things they wan to etc, can really help.

Q: Last, but not least, what is your favorite color?

It used to be blue, but recently I've really liked yellow!

[Wymondham]

What is your stance specifically on the APC as a body?
Cake or pie?
if you could be any animal, what animal would you be?
Can you tell us a bit about your time in NS including any other roles you currently hold?
Could you provide a measurable target of success for your first 30 days in office?

[moe]

What is your stance specifically on the APC as a body?

It seems like there's not much gain for us to withdraw from the APC prematurely, without ending the war between us and the NPO first. I'd most likely remain in the APC until we've decided a direction regarding ending the conflict with the NPO, before withdrawing from the APC.

Cake or pie?

Tough question, I think it depends on the circumstances but I'll have to go with pie!

if you could be any animal, what animal would you be?

Not a big surprise, but probably a monkey, they're pretty smart and all that's really expected of you is sit around and eat various fruits/vegetables all day.

Can you tell us a bit about your time in NS including any other roles you currently hold?

Yes! I started playing NS in around 2016, and then joined Europeia's offsite forums in early 2017 and served for a term as culture minister. I came back to NS in April of last year, and since then I've spent most of my time in Europeia, serving as minister of culture, minister of interior, minister of foreign affairs twice, and vice president. I've also spent some time in other regions including Wintreath and TNP, although I don't think I've done anything notable in those regions. Currently, I am a citizen in TSP and UDS as well. I am also a part of other organizations such as TGW, and am currently the deputy PR director for NSToday.

Could you provide a measurable target of success for your first 30 days in office?

I think a lot of my platform goals can be divided into two areas: a) organizing what we currently have and checking on the status of things, and b) small changes to improve the general direction of each department. By the end of the first 30 days, I hope to have a) completed, which could include things like checking in with ambassadors, taking stock of our resources on the forums and on gameside towards getting newcomers involved, and updating the roster for the regional guard. Then, I hope to work on the rest of my changes for the remainder of my term.

[moe]

Hi everyone! I wanted to release a quick update as we enter our final day of voting for these elections.

Firstly, I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read and browse my platforms, and ask questions. It means a lot! And for everyone who has cast their vote and placed their trust in me, that means a lot as well.

This is a close election, and a bit of a strange one, between myself as PM and abstain. I know there are a lot of factors that might inspire an abstain vote, and some of them I can't really help -- perhaps people don't like an uncontested election and will abstain out of principle, or perhaps I'm too new to be seeking the prime minister spot, or maybe even some other reason!

However, if there is something in my platform that you disagree with, that might be playing into your decision, please do either ask questions, or contact me, and I'm very happy to discuss those issues! As I've stayed a few times in this platform, I'm still new to Lazarus -- and while that might be a negative in some contexts, it also means that I'm very willing to listen to more experienced citizens and change my views on issues if need be. If there's something that you think could be modified, or something that you disagree with, just let me know and I'm very willing to discuss it! I know that uncontested elections can often be a little strange because you can't pick between ideas, so I hope that my openness to different perspectives and flexibility helps sooth any concerns people might have!