[MC]Congress elections: a petition to players and plato

Day 2,148, 06:40 • Published in Chile United Kingdom • by Michael Crookes

Hello eWorld!

It’s been a very long time since I last wrote an article, and in that time I have moved across the world from the eUK to my new (not so new anymore) home in eChile. I will begin by introducing myself to those of you who might not know me. My name is Michael and I have been playing erepublik for more than 4 years now. I joined to have something to do, and I stay because I love the people I have met here.

Over my time in the game, there have been many changes, in fact the game we play today is almost unrecognisable from the game it once was (particularly in V2). We have seen changes to the way we fight, work, communicate and ultimately achieve satisfaction from this game. However, there is one change that I has negatively affected my experiences in this game more than any other. It is a change which has largely been ignored by the community since it happened more than a year ago, but which I hope to put back into the spotlight (in my own little way) through today’s article. That change was the congress election procedure change.

The old system



The major difference between the old election system and the current one is that the old system was based on regions. In order to run for congress, a player would candidate in exactly the same way as they do today, but instead of being put on a whole party list, they would be put on their region’s congress list. For example, if I wanted to run for congress, and my account was in Norte Grande then I would be a candidate for Norte Grande (still running in my party). Each party was allowed 3 candidates in each region and those candidates would be decided by the party president on the 24th of each month.

This all sounds pretty insignificant, but here is the key: rather than voting for a party, each citizen could vote for an individual from their region. What this meant was that if a new player ran a particularly good campaign, then they stood a chance of getting elected even if they were up against a well-known player and a good congressman would gain support from individuals who could then vote him again in subsequent elections. In other words, it gave people an incentive to be active, and to work hard to be good congressmen.

Did it really encourage activity?



In short: YES. If I am honest, the reason that I first got involved in the eUK community is because of these elections. I was put forward as a candidate in London in my first elections, and I vividly remember the excitement of the elections, I remember campaigning beforehand, I remember messaging on the day, and I remember the elation when my hard work paid off and I became a member of congress in November of 2010.

However, this activity incentive was not just for new citizens. I was quickly placed in the role of congress election director for my party (UKRP ❤) and I, together with other more experienced players spent hours working on our election strategy; where was it best to place each candidate, how should we present our candidates as a party and how could we encourage them to promote themselves as a candidate too.

This all cumulated in an intense 24 hours where the election strategists from each part pitted themselves against one another, directing votes and trying to keep as many of their candidates ahead of the competition as possible. These were my fondest memories of this game and I made many friends on those nights (you know who you are).

September 2012


President Obama after being given the news that the voting system was changing

In the September congress elections, all this changed, and we were instead given the system of election which we have been using to this day. A system where individuals mean nothing and where whoever controls a party, controls the election. The current system creates no incentive to be active. Who honestly can say that they watch the congress elections with excitement? The truth is, if the party president happens not to look favourably upon you, you won’t be elected.

When I joined this game it was so much more than the game that I play today. Erepublik has become a game all about money…whoever is willing to spend the most will do the best. A lot of this blame lies with the admins, but the players should take their share of the blame; the voters club for example (and before them orgs), has turned the media module into a pay-to-win module.

My request to the admins is simple:

Please give us a module which motivates players, a module which rewards activity and which brings back some of the excitement into this game:

Please give us back the old congress election system

And finally, my request to you, the citizens of erepublik: If you agree with me, and would like to see this change, please don’t simply vote my article or comment, please tell the admins. however, please tell them in a respectful manner, and with courtesy.

Stay safe and play hard!

(Michael Crookes)