A Personal Message to eBelgium

Day 2,128, 12:32 • Published in Belgium USA • by MaryamQ

Dear eBelgians and friends,

We have some huge issues, and we need to have a serious talk. This is not going to be easy, and I’m afraid it will not be short, so grab yourself some chocolate, some beer, some fries, some waffles – whatever makes you happy - and let us reason together.



Issue: What is eBelgium, and who is a “real” eBelgian?



What is an eCountry? Is it a color on a map? A bit of virtual territory that may or may not shadow Real World boundaries? A flag symbol beneath an avatar? If it has no more regions, can it cease to exist? Or is it more than that? Could it be that what makes a country, in this world or in the real world, is the people, the community, who perhaps label themselves with the country’s name, perhaps even have some RL loyalty to a country with the same name, but come together regardless of RL differences to make something new with people they have never seen but with whom they share, care and have fun.

My land’s only borders lie around my heart

eBelgium is and always has been a diverse community. Not counting repeated terms, by my rough count, RL nationalities of CPs (both elected and by default) since the end of eUNL have included 19 Belgians, 3 Americans, 2 British, 1 French, 1 Dutch, 1 Bulgarian, 1 Italian, 1 Hungarian, 1 Luxembourger and 1 Romanian. To the best of my knowledge, the present government has 15 RL Belgians, 2 Americans, 1 Romanian, 1 Spaniard, 1 Iranian, 1 Macedonian, 1 Portugese, 1 French, and 1 Serbian. Most, though not all, started the game in the country of their RL birth, and many have lived in other eCountries, but for many of us, our identity is clearly eBelgian, and continues to be even when we wander from time to time.

It is easy, at times, to say that some of these people are not “real” Belgians, but It is hard to populate a small country with “natural” citizens. RL Belgium is small, with 1/3 the land area of my RL home state, which is not one of the largest in the US (although Belgium does have a bigger population). “Foreign” immigrants keep the country going, not only by filling positions that need to be filled, but also by providing fresh viewpoints and ideas.

Issue: Who’s in charge here?



This is not always easy to answer. This is a game, after all, and many of us have that mythical thing called a Real Life, which may include jobs, school, family, community, or any of these in combination. Some also have other issues to deal with, such as personal or family illness, relationship problems, occasional political activity, or any of the other things that tend to interrupt the flow of a person’s life. Sometimes decisions need to be made quickly, and they get made by whoever is available, hopefully with consideration to the known views of the current government and the general population, but it is not always possible to be sure about these things and there may not be time to take a poll.

One thing you do need to know about this is that often your elected officials are not there doing their jobs when you might think they are. For instance, both in-game and on the forum, Congress in eBelgium normally has 30 members plus the Country President, for a total of 31 voting members. This month saw the following activity levels:

Party Forum Activity Citizenship Passes Forum voting presence
CM elected/signed in % used/% approved % possible votes cast
Res Belgica 8/7 75/100 82
H.O.P.E. 8/4 88/0 14
The Belgian Dream 6/5 83/100 55
AllTOgethers 5/5 60/100 23
Union-Unie 3/3 100/100 26
Totals 30/24 80/71 44
Notes:
For citizenships, the second value shows the percentage of citizenships accepted after screening and approval (indicating no apparent threat to eBe) by the Immigration Officer/Ministry of National Security.
The votes of JdlF during the end of his CP term are counted under ATO.
Maresal Lengas was elected CP while a member of Congress, and his votes continue to be counted for TBD.
One member of RB and one member of TBD resigned from Congress and emigrated early in the term due to objections about policy decisions.
The total voting presence would actually be 33% if all Congress members had signed in at the start of the term and remained in Congress throughout it.

Okay, you may say, what about in-game activity? These votes are not individually visible, but of 10 proposals in game, there were votes ranging from 19 to 26, with an average of 23, 73% of the potential votes.

Why should this matter to you? These members of Congress are elected to be your voice in game and on the forum. The forum votes decide such things as citizen programs; budget for military units, wars, education and games; and who will command state MUs. In game votes decide such things as what taxes you pay, Natural Enemy votes, and MPPs to give you fighting opportunities without moving costs. Votes directly affect the quality of your day to day gaming experience, and they are being decided by only a handful of your elected representatives.

Issue: What is going on here, and why doesn’t anybody tell me?



As already mentioned, there are no simple answers to these questions. Sometimes things happen too quickly to consult all citizens about what to do about them. Sometimes people have other time commitments, and communication gets put on a back burner. The current war situation is an example. The Natural Enemy against eUK was proposed rapidly after it became clear that their Natural Enemy vote was going to pass. There was not a lot of time for debate nor for asking the opinions of the citizens. A failure to vote a counter NE would have deprived our fighters of bonus damage for ranking up and for winning battles, and opportunities to win True Patriot medals. Likewise, as long as a peace was under discussion and there was no agreement on terms, it could do no good and might have done harm to give details. As soon as it was agreed that eUK would release our regions, a resistance war was organized in Wallonia, with the understanding that many of our citizens wanted our lands and a full Congress. It is now up to you to take this opportunity to retake that which was lost.

Issue: Who is going to solve this for us?

This is the hard question. I have been in enough governments to know that most really do try to what is best for eBelgium, and at the same time to allow as many people as possible to enjoy the game. There are frequent accusations of elitism, particularly in the older, more established parties, but a quick look at the table above tells you who is showing up and pulling the weight. This is harder to document for the government, but there is similar variable activity in that area, as well. Ultimately, it is up to you to change things if you are not happy with how they are going. Become active in a political party, make informed votes, run for office or accept a job in the government. If you don’t step up and take your share of the responsibility, then do not be surprised if things do not go your way, and also do not be surprised if people who have spent hours of time and huge amounts of their own resources (both real and in-game) to make eBelgium better finally burn out and leave.

One more thing, my name was recently placed in nomination for the office of CP by Res Belgica, without asking my consent first. I am not yet decided whether to run. I have been deeply involved in several recent governments, all of which have tried really hard to please as many people as possible, but all of which have drawn heavy criticism from some of our citizens. I will tell you, I cannot solve our problems by myself. If you are looking for someone to do that, you had better find another candidate. What I can and will do is tell you all the truth I am able to tell, when I am able to tell it. I can and will surround myself with the best team I can assemble regardless of party, friendships, or age in the game, because nobody can do this alone. Finally, if tough decisions need to be made, I will consult the people when it is possible, but ultimately, I will make decisions based on my own best assessment of what is best for eBelgium at the time the decisions need to be made. It’s up to you. You can choose someone who will promise you whatever you want, or you can choose someone who will not even try to promise what cannot be certainly be delivered. Let us know what you want.

Love,
Maryam