In defense of inclusiveness and activity

Day 2,830, 21:47 Published in Canada Canada by Foxfire

This article actually began as a comment to Garry Carter 's article Abolish the forum of eCanada. The eCanada Forum is a subject I've danced with for many many years and Garry Carter's article does resonate with me, at least in meaning. I have in the past taken substantial dumps on the lawn of the eCanada Forum because:
1.) If you are going to build a giant manure pile and declare yourselves king of the hill, then you deserve to be knocked off that high horse and
2.) I enjoyed it.

This will not be in that vein though. I will attempt (note: attempt) an honest account of this issue.

The eCanada Forum purports to be a tool of government to assist in the exchange of ideas, record keeping and organized government. In it's best moments it does just that. Unfortunately, there are also elements, both purposefully and by happenstance that create barriers to players wishing to participate in the political module in eCanada.

What is true is activity in the eCanada Forums continues to be even lower then the already low activity in eCanada and there is many reasons why.


I want a Big Mac – The bureaucracy of an independent forum website

If you went to McDonalds to order a Big Mac, then were told to leave McDonald, go across the street, sign up for gym membership to a gym you neither know or have any interest in joining, told to discuss with a bunch of people the merits of whether or not you should have a Big Mac, and THEN go back across the street to McDonalds to resume your purchase of that Big Mac, you would honestly think the world had gone insane. More then likely, you would just buy the damn Big Mac and be about the rest of your day.

Yet, there is the expectation among some that an eRepublik Congress person should not use the mechanics provided in the game, but will instead leave the game, create an account on the eRepublik forum, navigate the site, learn it's mechanics and rules, propose what they wish to propose in-game, wait for that discussion to conclude, have vote proposed, wait for the vote to conclude, go back to the game and then propose the same proposal.

It is a bureaucratic nightmare of red tape and completely contrary to the premise of enjoying a free and easy access browser game.

Que dites-vous?

The second largest party in eCanada is also the most noticeably absent from the eCanada forums. That is the FRENCH speaking second largest party in eCanada is also the most noticeably absent from the predominantly ENGLISH speaking eCanada forums.

A committee has been formed to investigate this matter and will report it's finds in three years.



But I don't like you

Many players in eRepublik assume personas of less then likeable, sometimes down right offensive people. Not too surprisingly reputations develop and animosities form. So to then be told by these same individuals that you are actually supposed to be logging on to a separate website, chances are you are not going to be very receptive to their instructions. Better yet, if you do check out the eCanada Forums and you get a glimpse of all your favorite villains ripping each other apart, chances are you will slowly back out of the room and never return.



Basic website design

The eCanada forum is not very well designed. Basic website principles of design, to which many books and statistical data will confirm, is that you have two levels that your user will drill down to until you lose them to frustration. Congress is three clicks in and four to a specific Congress topic. It is a mammoth of bulk. I can navigate it because of familiarity, but even I can't find old topics with any ease. There is no way to reasonably assume that a new user could comfortably navigate the site.



The need for order

There are players in eRepublik that have invested a truly astounding amount of time and money into eCanada. They deserve our respect for their efforts and continued services to our country. Much like anyone that has invested so much into anything, they don't want a bunch of people that don't have a clue coming in and fucking it all up. The eCanada Forum assists as a bastion of right to rule in this regard. The familiar faces (to which, if being honest, I'd have to count myself among) stand guard, both passively and actively, in defense of an established political institution.

So the irony is there is a desire for active people in eCanada, but it's really for people that are active in the way that those that maintain the existing establishment have dictated so the country stay the course as those before them have set out.



An unauthorized tax proposal! Burn him!

When an elected member of Congress makes a proposal in eRepublik without any use of the eCanada Forum, they are highlighting a couple of ideologies that don't get along with each other.

A person that doesn't submit to the system created in the external website is subjected to penalties in that website. This actually makes complete sense. If I make a private club with private rules and you don't follow them, they you are out of the private club. Simple enough.

It's when the penalties bleed out of the external website and into the eRepublik game that it gets real cloudy, real fast. Penalizing political parties who do not in turn punish players (with bottom placement in the Congress voting lineup) that the external forum has decided should be punished. At it's worst I have seen this system abused and turned into a popularity contest, where the guilty go free and those deemed guilty are punished with excessive banning. Needless to say these outcomes nuke activity for not only the individual involved, but those watching. Do you go into a bar that the bouncers are kicking the crap out of the customers?



There is a reason I've called it a house of cards

So why the fanatical reaction to what is most of the time completely harmless financial adjustments that are quickly voted down and rejected? The other side of the matter is the Congress person is going against the establishment. A carefully crafted series of hoops to maintain that which has been built before and those that protect it. What should be terrifying is that if no one uses it, then it has no power at all, for all the levers of power continue to reside in the game itself. So a strong club is used to insist upon the idea that an external forum is the only house of governance. It's a dangerous authoritative structure and I appreciate the frenzy to which it is defended.



Cracks do form

If I viewed the eCanada Forum as a bastion of governance, I'd be concerned right now. A very ironic vote was held recently whereby Congress members are not allowed to make proposals in the eRepublik game without posting why in the eCanada external forum. I don't put a condom on after I've had sex either, so this law confuses the hell out of me. There is simply no way an individual wishing to remain in game and utilize the tools the game has to offer would do this.

Where it gets real interesting is that only 12 out of a potential 40 Congress members voted for this law and only 18 participated in the vote.

ttp://ecan.forumotion.com/t824p15-amendment-to-the-charter

Yes votes - 12
No Votes - 5
Abstains - 1

Quroum met
65% + 1 requirement for Charter amendment met

If I was pro-forum this would terrify me. I don't get how this is a 65% quroum (18 out of 40?), but I'm honestly going to ignore that part. If I want people to use the forum, how does voting a law through with only 12 people supporting it actually translate into increasing forum activity? There is a greater majority of Congress not participating on the forum, so make more binding forum use legislation? It will never work because you've just reinforced the impression that the eCanada forum is an exclusive group that doesn't want others participating in government.



Meet them half way

If I was firmly in the “only in-game play” camp, I'd try to see the merit of what a fully engaged forum can accomplish and how it can be used as a tool to tackle broader issues that although can be discussed in-game, can be better discussed with the additional tools that the external forum provides.

The trick is getting that fully engaged forum, and that's where the “forum governance” camp needs to step up, as it won't be done at the point of a sword, legislative or otherwise. Tactics need to be used that create inclusion and from that inclusion activity will follow. This may require compromise and a loosening of restrictions.



Realistically

As I stated at the beginning, I've spoken to this issue many times over many years. Although I hope a positive and productive compromise can be reached from both sides, I suspect that the trend will continue much as I've witnessed it for years. The same individuals will utilize the eCanada Forum and their ranks will continue to gradually decrease. Those that would rather stay with the in-game mechanics will continue to be disengaged, further facilitating the inactivity that permeates eCanada.

I hope I'm wrong.