Act II: Beyond the Barricade

Day 2,717, 11:12 • Published in USA USA • by Xander Wilson

Dear Fellow eUSA & eWorld Citizens,

Last article touched on a divisive subject, the dictatorship module and protective dictatorships; however, this time, I would like to address a subject that appears to be one issue that most eAmericans agree is plaguing the eUSA.

It can all be summed up as so:

In my short tenure as an eUSA citizen, I have come across countless complaints about the current communication practices (or lack there of) between our government and everyday citizenry. There has even been time or so when veterans have lamented about the glories of past administrations and their open press. What many do not seem to realize is that this is a fixable problem. We, as eAmericans, still have access to the tools that once made this nation great, Plato be damned. Although many beloved modules have been stripped bare, we still have the power of the press and the meta environment.

Below I have put together a list of a few ideas that may improve communication and community and would like to open the comments to critiques and other courses of action.
1) A single, comprehensive eUSA Gov site built by a team of developers

The current state of our off-site departmental websites resemble a ruin of a once bustling community. The eUSA holds a total of four domains: Department of Education, Interior Department, eUS Census Bureau, and Unofficial eUS Government . These portals are readily available through our current eGov publications, but are largely inactive. Three of the four list an inaccurate, out-dated list of our public office holders. The Department of Education has the only site demanding any traffic, but even that is mostly due to the small amount of citizens whom answer the Question of the Day routinely.

I propose that we create a single eUS Government site, if we are to have one at all (Most programs are solely run on google docs recently). Different departments will have tabs along the top which contain drop down menus that can direct a user to different program/information pages within that same domain. The only off-site links should be to the eUSA forums, Google forms, or eRepublik pages. This way the meta game for the eUSA can be limited to eGov, IRC, and eUS/PP/MU Forums. It can become a hub for up-to-date information needed by an eUSA citizen without constant searching. The team of developers is a component because depending on a single person makes the site vulnerable. ScottCoyleJr currently does a great job building smooth websites, but if any RL or eRepublik event caused him to leave, all those sites he has created/manages would become stagnant and inactive.
2) Revamp of the Congress newspaper and other communication

Congress is the target of many outside criticisms, especially regarding their usefulness and communication. eGov publications link to a paper that was short lived which was purposed to summarize Congressional events. I simply propose that this paper be revived or a new paper created for this purpose. A weekly publication could go a long way in fostering the relationship between Congress and eUS citizens. Many times we get a quick blurb about going to war or aiding another, but never the discussion or reasoning behind such an action. Another feature that could help is a forum visible (but not editable/addable) to the public that Congress holds select discussions in (edit 5/22: There is a public congressional forum; however, I suggest shouting and including more links to it in government articles so that citizens can keep up to date.)
3) eUSA Forum maintenance/cleaning

The eUSA forum is currently the central hub for citizen communication amongst each other. As a new member, one of the first thing that jumps out is how entire sections have been inactive for months (Department of War and Political Parties (outside of individual ones)) and that the first page on some can go as far back as 2012/2013. This simple idea is to just go through a delete or move old topics that are taking up space. Seeing such dated conversations on the first page give off a message of inactivity.
4) Update Government Publication Footer

and finally, updating the footer at the bottom of government publications such as the DoI, DoE, and PotUS articles. Many of the links direct readers to papers or website that have not created content in months.


All of these suggestions above are just my personal ideas and are in no way above criticism. These options may not be feasible or reasonable and those opinions (or possibly facts) are welcome. I hope that at the very least this can help get the gears moving for idea generation that can rise the eUS to the superpower it has the potential to become.



Reader question: What made past administrations, such as Scrabman and Emerick, successful, especially in terms of communication? Can it be replicated or improved upon?

Thank You for reading!

O7X

WJ4CP
I believe Wooky Jack is the ideal candidate to improve eUS Government communication as well as provide new blood and ideas to the eUSA.