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I've just had the pleasure of reading witherd1's report from his survey work. Before we get into our dissection of what/where - I first want to place my gratitude to a hard working Cabinet member and the incumbent Speaker of the Senate for the work he put into it, processing responses and giving us some of the most recent data we've had to work with.

SURVEY SETTING

55 responses - a good snap shot of the eAustralian community based on current activity levels.

The questions posed to interviewees were based on citizen participation in government and what their attitudes were to both Executive and Legislative branches (Cabinet and Senate).

APPLICATION OF DATA

From this data, I will add my thoughts on how it applies today, reasons why and any shift from past trends using my 2 years of experience in the game.


1. Are you, or have you ever been an eAustralian Congressman?

62.3% responded they have served as a legislator. This is a high response that reflects trends in standing as a candidate and getting elected. What the data doesn't tell us is if they have fully participated in the game mechanics or Senate Chamber debates. Of this figure, the latter category would represent barely 20% based on Senate records. TL😉R - Over 40% of current and former legislators haven't participated fully during their Senate careers.

2. Are you or have you ever been a member of Cabinet in eAustralia?

44.4% answered they have served in a Cabinet or an Executive-appointed role. In stark contrast to legislative service, this is not a surprising figure. Out of the available population we have, most eAustralians either shy away from Executive service or don't relate to the principal policy decision making of our national administration.

3. If you have not been a member of Cabinet, please tell us why.

Out of respondents, only 30 people answered with 25 people missing or purposely not wanting to answer it. The responses varied from lack of engagement, to political or personal differences dominating their decision to get/not get involved, to not paying much attention to media - 'following' the work of the Executive Branch.

Previous discussions have touched on vast differences between Senate and Executive service participation. Key topic has been remuneration. Congress members are awarded 5 GOLD, by the game, upon their election. It also comes with both game and forum privileges. Executive service (other than CP) comes with no game subsidy, no game mechanics and forum privileges vary from position to position.

I won't comment on the widely-spoken issue of 'gold hunters' suffice to say that a clear difference between the functions and remuneration of each can't be ignored. Cabinet are often the 'hands on' branch of government, regularly supplying soldiers on iRC, to reporting business to the media, to negotiating and renewing MPPs etc.

Another fair comment - there is no 'handbook' to being a Congress/Senate member. Technically, once a Congress member gets elected - that appears to be the sum total of the bar setting until the next election.

Cabinet members are chosen due to personal expectations of the CP (depending on who the CP is at the time) or a knowledge that Cabinet member will perform. Hence, the service expectation of a Cabinet member is much more real and higher when compared to a Congress/Senate member. My belief what should happen doesn't enter into this. That's how it is.

Unless mechanics are introduced in-game to level the playing field between the two branches and service to each, or Congress election gold and mechanics are altered or removed, the trending result isn't likely to better any time soon.

4. Would you like to see eAustralia have peace with...

52 people answered this question, with 3 skipping/refusing. For transparency related purposes, I was one of them as I was biased at the time of the survey and I didn't want to interfere with the results by pushing my own wagon.

Of those that answered, 34.6% said eNew Zealand, 17.3% said eIndonesia, 21.2% said neither, and 26.9% said both.

In context, the results tell us that out of those 52 respondents who said both, 61.5% said we should ally with eNew Zealand and 44.2% said eIndonesia.

Having had a large hand in the outcome of this and being subject to some ridicule for the decisions made, the results of this question is the most startling of all.

Why? It's hard data to support what I've been saying for over a year. We are on the map based in RL where geography is king. Both of these nations are border states and it's nuts to continue wipes due to arcane foreign policy. It provides the government with factual intellectual property to back major changes it knows to be right. This is the message it has been waiting for.

Such changes will lead to a broader Pacific alliance that will allow eAustralia, arguably for the first time, to partner with our fellow neighbours, grow each other's region base and border with new nations we've never before had a chance to expand in. Best of all - we will be doing so together for the first time, putting down ancient animosities and building on a policy that makes sense.

5. Do you support the use of [in game Vs forum for government administration]

52 answered. 26.9% said eRepublik game laws only, 7.7% said Forum laws created by Senate (Legislation), 69.2% said a compliment of both.

Simple TL😉R - this compliments the status quo with national support to continue along the current path.

6. If you support forum made laws, would you change them if given the chance?

The data for this question suggests it could go either way. Only 38/55 responses with 14 skipping/deliberately not answering the question.

Of those that answered, 58.5% answered yes, 43.9% answered no.

7. If yes to Question 6, could you briefly tell us how you would change the forum made laws?

One observation that can be easily drawn from the many discussions that have ensued is that while the status quo is preserved in large part (i.e. people are content with where we legislate) there could be improvements to the way legislation itself is proposed.

Of those suggestions which has some cross-partisan traction, is the need to ensure legislation isn't boot-strapped for personal gain, hence the need for certain safeguards, while balancing that process with as little 'red tape' as possible.

These are complementary, though the action of both is contradictory. How can we protect our laws from abuse without a bit of bureaucracy in place? It's a difficult question.

8. The strength of eAustralia strongly depends on population size. How would you increase eAustralia's population if you could?

44 answered with 11 skipping/not answering.

Social media and out-of-game (RL) advertising continue to be major beliefs for the promotion of our country in the New World (eRepublik). Word of mouth is a generally held sales pitch among friends, family and colleagues, though it continues to be shunned. eRep isn't for all and some fair comment is that what we play and do could be misunderstood or somehow something to be ashamed of.

In the 21st century, speaking as someone of notoriety in RL politics, who uses my RL name in game, let me be the first to say I'm not embarrassed by my playing eRepublik. To me, this has been a great way to engage with people about a variety of issues and I enjoy it. It's a great learning tool as much as it is a social outlet.

TL😉R - it's the next generation crossword and social noticeboard rolled into one!


- TJ Norton
Multiple this, that and the other of everything government!
(V&S)