[Urgent Discussion] Re-structuring Democracy
May 19, 2015 12:53:33 GMT
Zucceta, Toma, and 4 more like this
Post by Hyoza on May 19, 2015 12:53:33 GMT
Hello all.
Now, you're hopefully aware that this site is basically a full democracy, where the staff are simply members given powers in order to maintain the site and implement changes as needed (more on this in a bit). Status-wise we're not in any way above the rest of the members, and we currently have no greater control than anyone else in the process of updating/modifying the site and its inherent mechanics. Unfortunately, this can be a huge double-edged sword. Now, at this point I would like to state that no part of this post is in any way targeted at our illustrious President Bao. I applaud the attempt to do things differently to the norm and escape the problems which have so frequently crushed other RP forums.
But myself, and indeed many of the site staff agree that it is doing more harm than good. The process by which our democracy currently operates is slow, messy and convoluted, with sub-boards sucking up threads where nobody will see them and mis-informed or wilfully ignorant voters regularly skewing the results of votes. We also can't ignore frequent abuse and direct violation of the suggestion-poll-implement process by members, which they are often allowed to get away with.
It can't escape the attention of anyone who is paying attention, that progress around here is excruciatingly slow. Rules changes take weeks to make it through discussions and polls, and then sometimes they are forgotten before they are ever implemented. This is even more frustrating for the staff than the members 90% of the time, as we have dozens of threads laying around in the staff boards listing our enormous backlog. But the simple fact of the matter is, until the process changes, we're never going to make any significant headway.
We all love Bao, but he's barely around. On-paper sure, he's not the 'leader figure'. But all-too-frequently both staff and members are relying on him to sort things out. Staff need more powers of their own to get this site rolling forward. Our member base is rapidly-growing, and it is becoming clear that we cannot maintain the current system. Staff are being burned out by juggling our immense implementation process with grading duties, and attempting to actually give some time to RPing their own characters. It's both frustrating for staff and has a negative impact on the site as a whole, every time we are slowed down by having to follow this cumbersome and heavily-flawed democratic procedure or have to wait for Bao's assistance to fix a problem.
We still don't have a system in place for the Dragon Balls. The afterlife was not implemented until after player characters had already been sent there. We have race profiles in dire need of editing across the character board, rules that aren't adequately explained, mechanics and rulings that have been in place for months but can't be seen in any of the relevant sections. It's getting to be too big a job for the staff team, regardless of its considerable growth lately, and some of our brightest and most dedicated staff are burning out trying to fight this system.
THE SOLUTION:
Check this thread out first!
The idea has been discussed previously, to mostly-positive response. Given recent conversations with the rest of the increasingly-low-morale staff team, I have decided it's time to try this again. This time, I come to you with a solid proposal for a re-structuring of the democracy.
The staff will not have absolute power over the site and its members. They will not have carte blanche to do whatever they like. They will not be able to commit abuses of their powers or position without facing punishment. But they will stand apart from members, and have a broader role in the process of implementing new content.
The system I propose (and have already discussed with several other members of the staff team) would work as follows:
- Staff are given control over rules and mechanical changes as a process. Resolutions are still voted upon, but internally by the staff team themselves.
Generally, staff are the most well-informed members with regards to current events, and the overall metagame of the site. No disrespect is meant when I say the staff are better at designing rules and mechanics than anyone else. They have experience, they have a direct interest in it. It's their job. This new way of working will cut down enormously on the bureaucratic aspect of making proposed ideas into finalised content.
- The suggestions and polling route for implementing ideas will remain in place for members. Staff are required to carry out resolutions that pass through this route, unless there is a unanimous staff vote to stall the resolution. This is not an outright denial, but a delay to attempt to negotiate a more satisfactory resolution with all parties.
This is where we begin to see how the members still maintain considerable power within this new system. Simply put, staff cannot ignore or bluntly refuse ideas put forward by members. This is also a way for members to contest changes made by the staff independently that they disagree with. This provides recourse against the actions of staff if they prove unpopular with members.
Though the staff may stall a contentious idea, this is a system in place only to prevent potentially disastrous ideas from being implemented, or to prevent abuses of the voting system. As you can see, the staff cannot stall unless they unanimously vote to do so. One dissenting staff member is enough to negate the possibility of stalling a proposal.
- Staff MAY NOT make any further changes to disciplinary or voting processes without going through the public voting channel for approval by the entire membership.
Simply put, this is another check on abuse of power by the staff. Staff cannot modify the disciplinary process (though members will be expected to keep up with rules changes) to allow them to more easily punish members. Nor can they make changes to the voting process which could potentially reduce the power of members under the new system.
That's my proposal. Please let me know what your thoughts are, and any suggestions for additions/modifications to the current rules. Whether you support, disagree, or are on the fence, this idea is one that affects the whole site and its future direction. PLEASE respond.
Now, you're hopefully aware that this site is basically a full democracy, where the staff are simply members given powers in order to maintain the site and implement changes as needed (more on this in a bit). Status-wise we're not in any way above the rest of the members, and we currently have no greater control than anyone else in the process of updating/modifying the site and its inherent mechanics. Unfortunately, this can be a huge double-edged sword. Now, at this point I would like to state that no part of this post is in any way targeted at our illustrious President Bao. I applaud the attempt to do things differently to the norm and escape the problems which have so frequently crushed other RP forums.
But myself, and indeed many of the site staff agree that it is doing more harm than good. The process by which our democracy currently operates is slow, messy and convoluted, with sub-boards sucking up threads where nobody will see them and mis-informed or wilfully ignorant voters regularly skewing the results of votes. We also can't ignore frequent abuse and direct violation of the suggestion-poll-implement process by members, which they are often allowed to get away with.
It can't escape the attention of anyone who is paying attention, that progress around here is excruciatingly slow. Rules changes take weeks to make it through discussions and polls, and then sometimes they are forgotten before they are ever implemented. This is even more frustrating for the staff than the members 90% of the time, as we have dozens of threads laying around in the staff boards listing our enormous backlog. But the simple fact of the matter is, until the process changes, we're never going to make any significant headway.
We all love Bao, but he's barely around. On-paper sure, he's not the 'leader figure'. But all-too-frequently both staff and members are relying on him to sort things out. Staff need more powers of their own to get this site rolling forward. Our member base is rapidly-growing, and it is becoming clear that we cannot maintain the current system. Staff are being burned out by juggling our immense implementation process with grading duties, and attempting to actually give some time to RPing their own characters. It's both frustrating for staff and has a negative impact on the site as a whole, every time we are slowed down by having to follow this cumbersome and heavily-flawed democratic procedure or have to wait for Bao's assistance to fix a problem.
We still don't have a system in place for the Dragon Balls. The afterlife was not implemented until after player characters had already been sent there. We have race profiles in dire need of editing across the character board, rules that aren't adequately explained, mechanics and rulings that have been in place for months but can't be seen in any of the relevant sections. It's getting to be too big a job for the staff team, regardless of its considerable growth lately, and some of our brightest and most dedicated staff are burning out trying to fight this system.
THE SOLUTION:
Check this thread out first!
The idea has been discussed previously, to mostly-positive response. Given recent conversations with the rest of the increasingly-low-morale staff team, I have decided it's time to try this again. This time, I come to you with a solid proposal for a re-structuring of the democracy.
The staff will not have absolute power over the site and its members. They will not have carte blanche to do whatever they like. They will not be able to commit abuses of their powers or position without facing punishment. But they will stand apart from members, and have a broader role in the process of implementing new content.
The system I propose (and have already discussed with several other members of the staff team) would work as follows:
- Staff are given control over rules and mechanical changes as a process. Resolutions are still voted upon, but internally by the staff team themselves.
Generally, staff are the most well-informed members with regards to current events, and the overall metagame of the site. No disrespect is meant when I say the staff are better at designing rules and mechanics than anyone else. They have experience, they have a direct interest in it. It's their job. This new way of working will cut down enormously on the bureaucratic aspect of making proposed ideas into finalised content.
- The suggestions and polling route for implementing ideas will remain in place for members. Staff are required to carry out resolutions that pass through this route, unless there is a unanimous staff vote to stall the resolution. This is not an outright denial, but a delay to attempt to negotiate a more satisfactory resolution with all parties.
This is where we begin to see how the members still maintain considerable power within this new system. Simply put, staff cannot ignore or bluntly refuse ideas put forward by members. This is also a way for members to contest changes made by the staff independently that they disagree with. This provides recourse against the actions of staff if they prove unpopular with members.
Though the staff may stall a contentious idea, this is a system in place only to prevent potentially disastrous ideas from being implemented, or to prevent abuses of the voting system. As you can see, the staff cannot stall unless they unanimously vote to do so. One dissenting staff member is enough to negate the possibility of stalling a proposal.
- Staff MAY NOT make any further changes to disciplinary or voting processes without going through the public voting channel for approval by the entire membership.
Simply put, this is another check on abuse of power by the staff. Staff cannot modify the disciplinary process (though members will be expected to keep up with rules changes) to allow them to more easily punish members. Nor can they make changes to the voting process which could potentially reduce the power of members under the new system.
That's my proposal. Please let me know what your thoughts are, and any suggestions for additions/modifications to the current rules. Whether you support, disagree, or are on the fence, this idea is one that affects the whole site and its future direction. PLEASE respond.