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Hello, citizens and friends,

I am going to tell you some truths, and they will not please you. In fact, I expect to say some things that will displease just about everybody here. So be it. Here is what is happening.



I agreed to run for CP against my own better judgment in the hope of helping you achieve more peace in our community. I also told you I would have to be more or less a figurehead and that you would all have to help. I was totally honest about this. I have a more than full-time job, a house, a husband, 3 kids, 5 step-kids, an 89-year-old mother in a nursing home, and, if you can believe it, some actual interests and activities that do not involve the internet. I also have been trying to fill a cabinet with as broad a political base as possible. Unfortunately, there are positions that are still going begging, and today I was asked who is going to be MoI, a position that isn't even in the plan. Guess what? I don't know! The most active of my existing ministers (and he is doing a great job) is Nohjis, who is also married, has young children and works full-time. If I could clone him, I could fill every position in eBelgium, but otherwise, we need some other people to sacrifice a bit and pitch in.



Next, I proceed to other threads on the forum, where I am asked to weigh in on the battle between forum admins and forum users. Well, here it is. You are both right and you are both wrong, imho. On the one hand, we have had some of the same complaints about forum administration for a very long time. Certainly some of them are personally motivated, but there are clear indications that there is a broad base of concern about forum rules and whether they are fairly applied. I have personally witnessed instances where people were given warnings or bans abruptly, sometimes on the basis of several warnings in rapid succession with no opportunity for a change of behavior, or they were given to one person and would not be given to another who behaved in the same way. I know human error is going to be a factor here, but surely some improvements could be made in this regard. In addition, when forum users group together and ask for changes, they are either ignored or treated in a contemptuous manner that seems designed to provoke a negative response. A little less in your face behavior could go a long way to cooling the atmosphere on the forum.

On the other hand, it is futile to keep bringing up the same questions and expect to get different answers. In simple terms 1 + 1 is always going to equal 2 in a decimal system. If you receive a warning and do not change behavior, you can expect to be banned. If you put up a particular issue for vote and you know the admins are not going to accept it, you should not act surprised when they don't. In that case, you have 3 choices: accept the situation quietly, leave, or keep beating the dead horse while making everyone including yourself unhappy about it. Please note that if you choose the third, you may cause other people to leave, some of whom you might actually wish to keep here. Please also note that if I see any more posts that I consider offensive in a really broad sense (I will tolerate language, for instance, though not always happily, but will not tolerate xenophobia) or a personal attack, I will report it. Please be on your best behavior about this.



A third issue we are facing is the request for a training war. It has been explained at length and multiple times by multiple people why this is not feasible at this time. Since we were elected to serve the citizens, nothing would make us happier than to be able to give them what they want, but you can't create a favorable atmosphere where it does not exist and in the midst of a major war. Sorry, but repeated requests will not change this. Let's move on.

Please understand that I am doing my best to be fair and not to take sides, and to address your concerns as much as possible, but that does not mean what I say or do is always going to be what you want. Sometimes it will be what the other guys want, sometimes it could possibly please everybody, and just as likely, it could please nobody. Give yourselves a break. Stop complaining, stop blaming, and help to find solutions.

Honestly, with love,
MaryamQ
President of eBelgium