Code of Ethics/Laws Part 2: A formal request

Day 3,663, 05:32 • Published in Ireland United Kingdom • by Rusty D


Dear citizens of eIreland,

I wrote an article a few days ago, calling for a discussion about creating a code of ethics for congress members. And whilst there was only a couple of replies, it is something I would like to present as a goal for either CP candidate if they win the upcoming election.

Whilst many of the idea's or even points raised are decent ones, enforcing them is a bit limited due to the way eRep's game mechanics are. So with this in mind, we could easily agree on a penalty/punishment that is with in the eIrish congress ability. For instance a breach of agreed upon rules, results in the member being banned from the threads as well as named and shamed.

While this will not stop them from casting a vote, it will silence their voices in the congress thread and allow discussions to take place. The naming and shaming part will put pressure on their party to ensure they sit at the bottom of the congress candidacy in the next elections.

This is something that I strongly believe needs to be addressed. As we have seen over the past congress members leaking information to our enemies, rules set up by the CP being ignored, cyber bullying happening, verbal tirades, insults and abuse.

For instance this most recent term, our CP posted a set of rules for congress:

This set of rules was posted in every congress thread from the start of term


While some people disagreed with them (when the news about a leak came out, one responded 'I never agreed to those rules so I can do what I want'), the majority have agreed by them and followed them.

However recently we saw this happen:

Naughty words blocked to keep admins happy


This tirade was 78 words, of which 16.6% or 13 were foul language. While granted if someone does not except rules set by the CP for the threads and if these rules are not officially accepted, it is hard to deem that they broke them. But with some common sense, this action should not be allowed in congress as it stifles anyone who might want to speak up as well as insults could be classed as cyber bullying. And I am pretty sure we all want congress to act professional.

In saying this and the realisation that we as eIrish, do not have a code of conduct or an agreed upon set of congress rules, I make a formal request to both Trito and Ethel our two CP candidates, that you get together with the Party Presidents and agree upon a set of rules/code of conduct for congress. Even if the individual members dont agree on them, if the Parties they represent do and the majority of the players do, the rules should be accepted.

We might not be able to fix everything, but at least with the limited game mechanics available to congress, we can try and make a start.

Rusty D
Congress Member for Omega Eireann