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Good evening all,

Let’s get right to handing out this week’s Shameless Plug Best Article Award and its prize of 150 CAD. The polls pretty much said it right from the first day and ended with some clear-cut results. “Canadian Presidential Debate” by Gofarman and Joey Phillips was eCanada’s top pick.

Here was the final tally:

1. "Canadian Presidential Debate” by Gofarman in cooperation with Joey Phillips of The Yellow-winged Darter. 46% [ 12 ]
2. "Change in CEP Leadership” by Bruck of Brucks News 23% [ 6 ]
3. "Canadians Deserve Better" by Zanalan of the National Commentary. 19% [ 5 ]
4. "State of the Company: Weyland-Yutani Enegry, Day 442" by Weyland-Yutani Corp. of Cross-Border Shopping. 7% [ 2 ]
5. "The Freeholder Press endorses…” by Alias Vision of The Freeholder Press. 3% [ 1 ]

Total Votes : 26

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Shortly after Gofarman's deployment to Spain, The Shameless Plug managed to track down the moderator of the much-loved debate. With the ruins of PEACE tanks smoking in the distance, Gofarman, already giddy from the resounding ATLANTIS victory, shared these words with us:

SP: When you decided to set up the presidential debate through IRC, did you expect that it would receive as much attention as it did? What did you hope to achieve by bringing the leaders together?

Gofarman: Well, when I set my mind to getting the debate to be live, I received quite a bit of negative feedback at first. One of the great comments that I think I will remember for quite a while will be "This game is played by the week and days, not minutes."

The idea for a live debate wasn't actually mine some one mentioned that it had happened earlier, last May if I remember correctly. Once I heard it had been done, I just latched on to the idea and sent dozens of PMs to everyone that I thought might be able to help me. Once I got some positive feedback, I tried to nail a time down that would be doable. I was ecstatic that it garnered as many live viewers as it did although I was nearly petrified by the time it started.


SP: Despite some small difficulties (character limits to responses and late start time), the overall debate went smoothly. Do you think you’ll do it over again, and if so, are there any changes you might make to the format?

Gofarman: The late start time was one of the major obstacles of the debate, all the presidential candidates had very busy schedules, as expected, and 10 PM MST just fit all their schedules. When 3 of the 4 candidates were available all at the same time, it felt like one of the first battles I had won. When this happened I started to believe that I could actually pull the debate together. That’s when promoting it started for real.

Hmmmm, yeah, I would probably do it again. I think it is valuable that we hear from the candidates as candid as possible. While the PM interviews are valuable, I think that hearing it right from the mouth of the candidate is more real, more believable, and less polished.

SP: Who approached who about publishing the debates in The Yellow-winged Darter? Any plans to continue working with Joey Phillips?

Gofarman: The whole time I was planning this debate, my first goal was to make it happen; the second goal was to find a publisher. When Joey approached me about doing a review on the debate, I was very happy. When he posted a refined and high quality transcript of the article, I was ecstatic.

At that point in my eLife, The Yellow-winged Darter was one of 2 or 3 news columns that I had subscribed to. His consistently interesting articles and well thought-out stories were of great value to me. When my work was showcased on such a high quality paper, my greatest dreams came true for the debate. I can never thank Joey enough for the opportunity he provided me by doing what he did and I wish one day I can be an editor of such high esteem. I would love to work with Joey Phillips in the future, although once I start publishing, I hope to be an opponent of such caliber.

I would also like to thank all the people that helped behind the scenes, 1ronman, and Alexander Rearden for their support, and all those that offered your questions to shape the debate into what it was. I couldn't have done it without you.

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Not wanting to ignore the sharp editor who made this article possible, The Shameless Plug also contacted Joey Phillips to ask what made him interested in taking on the topic. He offered this brief word before hurrying of to the presses:

SP: What did you hope to achieve by bringing the leaders together?

JP: It wasn't my idea, but I was happy to see where leaders stood on issues. A lot of the areas covered weren't in most candidates’ platforms. I asked if I could publish it, and if quoting each candidate was okay, they all agreed.

SP: Any plans on doing this again?

JP: I'd like to see it happen next month, uniform questions, and time limits per answer... i.e. 2 minutes.

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Thank you for checking out this week’s SPABA gala. Next week’s ceremony will not take place in our usual mid-week slot unless we can find an equally handsome host to take over (our regular one will be away on vacation). There’s word Dominik will be working the behind-the-scenes prep and may hand out an award or two in a Beatle-mania themed presentation. Watch for the next nomination reveal this Friday!