We discussed additional requirements to run for delegate as part of Roavin's security reform package a few months ago, but I think we need to start thinking about them again.

I admit the reason I'm bringing this up is a bit selfish -- I don't want the endorsements I've gained as Delegate to be all for naught when my successor begins their term at 650 because the transition was such a struggle. I remember my transition into the delegacy and don't want that to be a regular occurrence. At the time, we had to make up a difference of 224 endorsements to get me into the delegacy, and it took over a month to complete. I was sitting just above the endorsement cap of 400 when the transition started. If Tsunamy -- the highest-endorsement CRS member -- had been the winner of that election, he would've had to make up 80 endorsements to reach Seraph. If a delegate transition took place today, on the other hand, Seraph -- the highest-endorsement CRS member today -- would have to make up 110 endorsements to reach me. A TSPer sitting at the endorsement cap of 450 would have to make up a difference of 330 endorsements. That's almost 150% what it was a year ago, and the math is fairly obvious: if it took over a month for the last transition, it could easily take a month and a half to two months now. And that's not to mention that the higher the number of endorsements you're reaching (i.e. the 700s instead of the 500s), the harder they are to gain.

Basically, the numbers have grown.

I don't think having the delegacy in either an election period or a transition for 38% of the year is a good idea, and I'm worried that's where we're headed. I'm hoping we can come up with some solutions.

• Requiring delegate candidates to be CRS members or fulfill the requirements for CRS, as proposed in the security reform, might at least ensure that we don't have Delegate-elects who need to start completely from zero. I would raise the endorsement requirement, though -- no more than 30 endorsements below the endorsement cap.
  
• Allowing candidates to exceed the endorsement cap for the duration of the campaign in order to give the Delegate-elect a head start might be worth thinking about. 
  
• Clarifying that the incumbent Delegate remains Delegate with full powers until the in-game delegacy has switched might eliminate, at least partly, one of the main issues with a long transition -- that the Delegate's responsibilities are split up between two people and therefore neither one really is in charge of the position. This could also be phrased as, essentially, "doing the election two months early": the incumbent continues their term as normal while the Delegate-elect has no official powers but is given some time to work their way up to the delegacy in the background.
  
• Other ideas?
  

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(This post was last modified: 04-14-2020, 05:42 PM by Somyrion.)

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> This could also be phrased as, essentially, "doing the election two months early": the incumbent continues their term as normal while the Delegate-elect has no official powers but is given some time to work their way up to the delegacy in the background.

To throw an idea out there: why not have a literal early election? Like, the Delegate-elect gets elected a couple months early and then is immune to endo-cap for a couple months to let them get up to speed. Then when the incumbent delegate's term officially ends, the next del is inaugurated, and they should be close enough to the incumbent by then to take over pretty quick.


I actually like the CRS requirement one more but hey this might be an  interesting thing if developed more.

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The only issue I’m seeing with the CRS requirement is those are essentially locked in positions and people may complain about having the same people in those positions for ages but I agree people in those positions have already been cleared to hold a Delegate office so it makes sense

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I don't think having the delegacy in either an election period or a transition for 38% of the year is a good idea, and I'm worried that's where we're headed. I'm hoping we can come up with some solutions.

• Requiring delegate candidates to be CRS members or fulfill the requirements for CRS, as proposed in the security reform, might at least ensure that we don't have Delegate-elects who need to start completely from zero. I would raise the endorsement requirement, though -- no more than 30 endorsements below the endorsement cap.
  
• Allowing candidates to exceed the endorsement cap for the duration of the campaign in order to give the Delegate-elect a head start might be worth thinking about. 
  
• Clarifying that the incumbent Delegate remains Delegate with full powers until the in-game delegacy has switched might eliminate, at least partly, one of the main issues with a long transition -- that the Delegate's responsibilities are split up between two people and therefore neither one really is in charge of the position. This could also be phrased as, essentially, "doing the election two months early": the incumbent continues their term as normal while the Delegate-elect has no official powers but is given some time to work their way up to the delegacy in the background.
  

Of these proposals, I think the second is the best. (It would be relatively easy to campaign for endorsements while also campaigning for the seats.) This combined with getting the CRS closer to the delegate's numbers (and raising the endorsement cap) should ease the siuation.

I wouldn't be opposed to the first option — and know Roavin had proposed it earlier — but I'm not sure how everyone else feels about it. Moving in this directions would certainly drive new CRS members, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

I'm not keen on the early election (or pushing the start for the term) for two reasons. First, if we push the start of term we're going to have staggered elections like we do for the CoA, which isn't ideal. Second, if we did an early election, I feel like we lose energy and interest in the interim for both ends.

Not to speak out of turn, but I do imagine the CRS would prefer the next delegate to get up above Somy's numbers (rather than have Somy drop) so it probably is a good idea to tackle this now.

-tsunamy
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certainly drive new CRS members, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

Is the CRS doing anything to get new members? I generally am okay with requiring the delegate to have been a CRS member so if the CRS is not working to expand it's membership, this could be a barrier to entry people could be unable to surpass.

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Is the CRS doing anything to get new members? I generally am okay with requiring the delegate to have been a CRS member so if the CRS is not working to expand it's membership, this could be a barrier to entry people could be unable to surpass.

I would like to see some transparency from the CRS. For example, releasing statistics such as the number of applications submitted in a given time period while maintaining the anonymity of applicants. It would show that there are actually people applying to be CRS members.

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(This post was last modified: 04-15-2020, 06:07 PM by Jay Coop.)

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You can apply for CRS?

If so, why isn't that made clearer to more users? I'm blissfully unaware of this.

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(This post was last modified: 04-15-2020, 06:37 PM by Aga.)

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From Article IX of the Charter:

(3) Eligible members may become members of the Council on Regional Security via two methods, either application to the Council itself, or nomination by the Delegate and Prime Minister.

(4) If applying directly to the Council, applicants should explain why they are well suited to protect regional security. Applications will remain private. The Council will review the application and determine whether or not the applicant is well suited. If the application is approved, the Council will forward the nomination to the Assembly for approval via a simple majority vote.

The CRS adjusts the requirements to apply/become members and screens the applications. And, membership is designed to be limited to the people who have been around the longest and are the most trusted, so the idea isn't to have a lot of applicants cycling through. (For example, our neither of our last two delegates have been members prior to running.)

As such, I'm not sure how that would coincide with this proposition.

-tsunamy
[forum admin]

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The CRS adjusts the requirements to apply/become members and screens the applications. And, membership is designed to be limited to the people who have been around the longest and are the most trusted, so the idea isn't to have a lot of applicants cycling through. (For example, our neither of our last two delegates have been members prior to running.)

As such, I'm not sure how that would coincide with this proposition.

Even though the last two delegates were not members of the CRS prior to running, would they have even met the basic criteria to be members?

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The CRS adjusts the requirements to apply/become members and screens the applications. And, membership is designed to be limited to the people who have been around the longest and are the most trusted, so the idea isn't to have a lot of applicants cycling through. (For example, our neither of our last two delegates have been members prior to running.)

As such, I'm not sure how that would coincide with this proposition.

Even though the last two delegates were not members of the CRS prior to running, would they have even met the basic criteria to be members? 

Seraph certainly would have and I suspect Somy would have (or would have been close), but I'm unsure where they started before they ran.

-tsunamy
[forum admin]

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