[GBM] Regarding Congress And Such Trifles

Day 2,805, 09:42 Published in USA USA by Paul Proteus
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When I woke up today I saw I had unexpectedly been elected into Congress, which prompted me to look at the game through a slightly more analytical lens than the practiced apathy that has served me so well these past few months. And as the Feds' current Political Director, I have been watching this past election with more than a little interest. In fact, as I wait for my caucus to accept my various "friend requests" I even have stumbled upon something to say.


Let's duel like it's 1804 and I'm Alexander Hamilton. Wait, scratch that

A Congressional Analysis

In all the mystique surrounding Congress, the ponies and useless budget discussions, the absurd praise heaped upon the most generic of campaigns, all that really matters in the end is the results. Which party got X number of people in, and thus, which party has, without argument, the biggest dick.

So without further ado, in metric vote-tonnes, the result of our monthly measuring contest:


Mmmmm Percentage Points

So, a few things are initially apparent. The first thing I noticed is that Fed Votes stayed around constant (138-133: -5), perhaps a leveling off optimistically of the sharp drop off we've seen in recent months, total votes have dropped precipitously (694-605: -89). Though somewhat pleasing to me to see the Feds do fairly well, and as a result, getting me into Congress, none of this is particularly surprising, and is in general the continuation of trends we've seen for months now.

And of course, AMP came out on top. Well, in terms of pure votes they did, AMP received 150 votes and garnered a plurality 14 candidates, 1 more than either the Feds or USWP. However, there's more to the story. As anyone following the election, or gossip in general, can attest to, AMP's statistics here are conflated by their coöperation with the SFP. The deal, as I have heard it, from multiple public channels, was 3 candidates for around 50 votes. Now, what this means is that rather than 14 candidates, the AMP really elected 11 of their candidates, 2 less than the Feds and USWP, and equal to the results of the Black Sheep Party. Assessing the voting impact of the SFP is murkier, I have neither the time nor tools to do in depth research as to whether the SFP truly provided the AMP with 50 votes, but to assume they did doesn't leave the AMP particularly far from the vote tally carried by the BSP. I.E. without the vote boost, even taken essentially at face value, and I see no reason why this number wouldn't tend towards being inflated rather than the other way around, the AMP would've received around 11 members. In other words, running the SFP, especially in prime top 5 slots, did nothing to benefit the AMP in the Congressional tally. At any level beneath the superficial 24.79 plurality, the excess SFP votes did nothing to benefit the AMP's caucus, and it becomes clear that the Feds and USWP came out the strongest.

The Elephant in the Room: Why Run a 6th Party?


Goodbye Blue Monday, for all your elephant related humor

As Game Mechanics are designed, parties serve little function in the current flow of eRepublik game play. Hardly more than glorified cliques, bases for accomplished players and a far cry from the stable communities of the increasingly distant 2009-2010 landscape, parties are primarily useful in their capacity to nominate presidents, and, increasingly obsolete, run candidates for Congress.

Any party out of the top 5, while an admirable collection of like minded individual, has never served much purpose in the politics imposed upon us by Plato, and increasingly would be expected to be severed from relevance. In my estimation, a party out of the top 5 is like a shark, it needs to keep swimming. When top 5 parties run 6th party candidates, it tends to be under the guise of a deal, tit for tat, spots for votes, but when has this ever been true. AMP did not serve their members, nor garner a true plurality, rather they served a different master, perhaps one of good intentions or, if some are to be believed, clientelism. Regardless, it's not a view I've always had, but it's one that this election has cemented to me that in a game dominated by meta-experiences, there is one place where game mechanics should hold. To do otherwise is irresponsible.

Also I miss my 5 gold~


Your moment of zen:


Yeaaaaaaaah...

Oh also, I miss active and constructive party communities. Join the Feds yo.