tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60709721104466970292024-03-14T00:59:40.880-07:00Virtual JungleDanton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-82357089882989649032014-04-01T11:13:00.002-07:002014-04-01T11:53:50.357-07:00CDS News – the 20th RA Part 4February 2014 in <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">CDS</a> started on a typically conflictual note. Abby Rose <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4300">complained </a> that she had seen ban lines around the property of Garnet Psaltery in <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-themes/locus-amoenus-sim">Locus Amoenus</a>, and that walking into the courtyard she was bounced. Garnet replied that she was sorry about Abby getting caught in the crossfire of Garnet’s conflict with Cleopatra Xigalia. But Delia Lake pointed out that the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/land-deed-convenant">CDS Covenants</a> prohibit ban lines, although they do state that: “as a land owner you are allowed to ban individual avatars from entering your land.” Garnet insisted that she had done nothing wrong, since she had only a few individual ban lines, as could be seen by anyone inspecting the land.
<br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">
This conflict may have contributed to motivating Cadence Theas to <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4301">propose</a> that the RA designate a sort of “People's Park” where CDS members could put up signs with messages about what is happening in CDS. Permission would be granted to all CDS members to rez signs in that space, on the condition that the messages should avoid naming persons or using incendiary language or graphic images. Every Sunday evening one of the Estate Managers would return all of the signs, so that Monday morning would bring a new start. This idea met with a mixed reception. Cleopatra <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4301#p21573">pointed out</a> that Cadence herself had recently put up such a sign, to publicize her call for a referendum about the Locus Amoenus sim redesign. To call attention to the sign Cadence had rezzed a charred building in flames on public land without permission from anyone (follow Cleopatra's link for a large photo of the sign and the burning building).
<br /><br />
A week later Pip Torok <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4307">suggested </a> that everyone observe a truce for Saint Valentine's Day, take down all bans and mutings, and desist from disparaging each other during a 24-hour period.
And in a similar cooperative vein, Cadence Theas <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4310">asked </a> who wants to see flowers early this year?
<br /><br />
<b> Locus Amoenus reconstruction </b>
<br /><br />
The big issue in CDS during February continued to be the redesign of Locus Amoenus. Chancellor Bagheera Kristan looked into how former Chancellor Jamie Palisades had sold land when the LA sim was first opened. It seems he requested notification from people who wanted land, and first gave current citizens priority, then anyone on the list, and finally whatever was left was set for sale on the open market. Bagheera therefore <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4302">posted a list</a> of the land that would soon become available in Locus Amoenus, and invited those interested to send her a notecard inworld indicating which of the parcels they were interested in.
<br /><br />
On 11 February Rosie Gray <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4305">posted the minutes</a> of a CDS Artisan Guild Meeting that had been held that day to discuss the list of buildings requested by the Chancellor for LA. The Guild passed the following motion: “That the CDS Artisan Guild does not endorse the Chancellor's LA redesign as presented, but individual creators will participate on the requested builds, on an individual basis.” However, it seems the transcript of this meeting was never posted to the forum, so it is unclear why this decision was made. Builders interest in building various pieces of the sim were to negotiate directly with the Chancellor.<br /><br />
That same day, Bagheera posted the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4306">LA building request notecard</a> that she had sent around on 7 February, concerning: 1) Guild negotiations for compensation, and 2) List of items for the Guild to consider working on for Locus Amoenus. The second point is self-explanatory. The first point refers to a discussion Bagheera had with Lilith Ivory, who was standing in for Callipygian as head of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-scientific-council">Scientific Council</a>, about the proper way to negotiate compensation to the Guild for work performed on LA. Lilith thought the RA should decide this issue, but with Rosie as Guild Master abstaining from voting.<br /><br />
On 13 February Victor Mornington <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4308">complained</a> that Bagheera had asked him to remove the new bridge he had spent hours building, because several people disliked it. He wrote: “Someone could have told me this was building by democracy, then I wouldn’t have wasted my time."
<br /><br />
<b>RA Meeting of 15 January 2014</b>
<br /><br />
An RA Meeting was held on 15 February 2014 (here are the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4311">agenda</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4314">transcript</a> and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4317">minutes</a>).
At first there were too few RA members to make a quorum, so Rosie Gray suggested taking citizen’s concerns. Chancellor Bagheera stated that she had been considering giving up her position as Chancellor mid-term, but had decided to stay, which was applauded. Tor Karlsvalt arrived, making a quorum, and it was decided that Rosie would conduct the meeting in the absence of Leader of RA (LRA) Shep Titian. Discussion of citizen’s concerns continued with Patroklus Murakami criticizing the Chancellor for alienating builders from working on LA (he later used the term “micromanagement”), and declaring that the actual build looks amateurish, with elements that are out of place. Bagheera replied that although the Guild voted not to endorse her work plan, individual Guild members have contacted her to work on the rebuild, and that Sudane Erato was about to begin terraforming. Lam Erin encouraged constructive dialogue, and Lia Venra made a rare appearance to support Vic’s work.
<br /><br />
Tor had to leave, leaving the meeting again inquorate. Discussion continued anyway on the next item, which was by-elections. Callipygian Christensen as Dean of the Scientific Council stated that she had been away from SL, but promised to post a draft law to the forum.
<br /><br />
This was followed by the sorting out of the old CDS laws. Cleopatra reported that had posted a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4309">draft Request for Proposals (RFP)</a> for the updating of the archives. But since Rose Springvale had volunteered to do this work, and since the RA had voted to accept her offer, the only relevant parts of the RFP were the scope of work, outcomes and monitoring. Cleopatra also pointed out that CDS still had no current archivist to ensure ongoing posting of RA transcripts and newly-passed laws.
<br /><br />
There followed a brief discussion of Cadence Theas’ idea of a place for citizens to rez posters with complaints, some of those present expressing support and others opposed.
<br /><br />
Cleopatra posed questions concerning the current land managers, and who grants them authority. It seems that Sudane Erato, as official Estate Owner (a role required by Linden Lab), is the only person who can assign these roles and powers. Cleopatra suggested setting time on the agenda of the next RA meeting to ask Sudane these questions. Patroklus Murakami suggested that everyone should simply read NL 5-6 “Estate Owner Act” on the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/code-of-laws">Code of Law page</a> of the CDS portal. And finally, there was no report about the Grievance Committee since Lam Erin had left the meeting by this time, but Rosie Gray passed along a message from Tor that he was planning citizen meetings on the topic in the next week.
<br /><br />
<b> Scientific Council Meetings </b>
<br /><br />
The CDS <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-scientific-council">Scientific Council</a> (sort of like a Supreme Court to review laws and legal issues) met on 29 January and 16 February. The transcript of the January meeting was posted too late for me to cover it in my last post, so it is described here.
<br /><br />
The 29 January meeting (agenda and transcript <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4316">here</a>) began with a discussion of dates for upcoming elections, the problem being that in the Fall there are too many days between the date of the voter census and the deadline to declare candidacy. This leads to the final list of candidates getting announced after the start of the campaigning period. Callipygian Christensen asked Aria Perrault and Lilith Ivory to decide on a final set of dates following the law, to be approved at the next meeting.
<br /><br />
The SC then discussed a Revised Procedure for Ordinary Scientific Council Meetings, which Callipygian <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4312">had posted</a> to the forum, with the aim of both simplifying and clarifying the procedures. The discussion was enlarged to address as well the existing unclear procedures for impeachments. Aliasi Stonebender agreed to help review the legislation and work on a new draft. Other items discussed were the procedure for moderation of flagged forum posts, which raised technical questions to be put to Gwyneth Llewellyn, and the idea of a standardized form (notecard) for petitions to the SC, to help citizens who are unfamiliar with the process. Lilith agreed to write a draft.
<br /><br />
Another SC meeting was held on 16 February (here are the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4313">agenda</a> and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4338">transcript</a>). Lilith Ivory submitted the proposed elections dates, which were approved. (Lilith then posted to the forum the official dates for the election of the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4326">21st RA</a> and Chancellor, and for the election of the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4327">22d and 23d RA</a> and Chancellor.) The next item, the new SC procedures presented by Callipygian at the previous meeting, was tabled to allow everyone more time to study the draft. Then followed more discussion of the unclear impeachment procedures, but it was suggested that the SC should hold off on formulating any proposal until the RA voted on the proposed Grievance Committee, which might impact the impeachment process.<br /><br />
<b> The Locus Amoenus rebuild continues</b><br /><br />
Shortly after the RA meeting of 15 February, Cadence Theas <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4315">posted</a> encouragements to Bagheera, telling her that she had read the transcript of the RA meeting and that she was really pleased: “That you are staying on and that you are reaching out to people with experience and commitment to finish LA, starting with Sudane and the terraforming.”<br /><br />
Bagheera herself gave an <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4319">update</a> a few days later (<a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4318">cross-posted</a> to the General Discussion board) explaining: 1) that she was turning over the rebuild of Locus Amoenus to the citizens who had offered their assistance to her, and 2) that Vic’s bridge was rezzed back at the harbor entrance for citizens to view and comment on.
<br /><br />
In parallel, Vic made an <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4320">offer</a> to residents of LA: since the SL marketplace had no buildings which will sit in the small fishing village plots, he would give his services to returning CDS residents or new residents who would buy one of the fishing village plots.
<br /><br />
Bagheera posted a copy of her <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4322">LA building request notecard</a> outlining the work that needed to be done on LA. She also indicated <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4323">which ships</a> on the SL marketplace would be suitable for Locus Amoenus water parcels.
<br /><br />
Cleopatra presented the results of her own research on the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4324">definition of the Tuscan Theme</a>, which attracted a series of mostly hostile comments. Patroklus, while noting that Bagheera had improved her communication about the LA rebuild, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4325">proposed</a> the opening of a sub-forum devoted to the LA rebuild, which would bring together all the information and help resolve issues.
<br /><br />
<b> More about grievances and conflicts</b><br /><br />
The final posts in February were on the recurrent theme of how to handle conflicts. Lam Erin presented the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4321">Draft Legislation for a Grievance Committee</a>, which Cadence and himself had prepared.
<br /><br />
And Cleopatra <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4328">suggested</a> that everyone should reread the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16">Forum Moderation Guidelines</a>, including the procedures by which the Scientific Council is supposed to protect all citizens from abuse and personal attacks (of which Cleopatra clearly feels herself to be a prominent victim).
<br /><br />
</span>
Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-2089496597363432152014-03-09T10:55:00.000-07:002014-03-09T10:57:42.946-07:00CDS News – the 20th RA Part 3The first post on the forum of <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">CDS</a> in 2014 was Victor Mornington’s <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4257">announcement</a> that Linden Lab had added his Tuscan Order building in Locus Amoenus to the Destination Guide for the next few weeks. <br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">
The second post was a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4259">request</a> from the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-scientific-council">Scientific Council</a> to the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-representative-assembly">Representative Assembly</a> concerning two issues. Firstly, the SC asked the RA to consider making a new law to address the filling of vacant seats on the RA in a more timely fashion. Such replacements could be made by automatic appointment of a candidate from the previous election cycle, based on the voting in that election, or by specifying shorter time frames for the by-election cycle. Secondly, the SC requested that the RA consider contracting a qualified editor to review all CDS laws and the Constitution in order to identify contradictory language, and to review past RA transcripts to ensure that all laws are accurately recorded on the laws page of the portal. <br /><br />
The third post of 2014 was an <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4260">invitation</a> from Tor Karlsvalt, on behalf of Widget Whiteberry and the people of Virtually Speaking, to a concert by acoustic guitarist and songwriter Reggiesunset at the newly renovated Colonia Nova theater. <br /><br />
<b>The RA Meeting of 4 January 2014</b><br /><br />
The first RA meeting of the year was held on 4 January 2014 (here are the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4262">agenda</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4266">transcript</a> and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4267">minutes</a>. The meeting began by approving an amendment to the previous Minutes, in order to correct the wording of the motion that had been passed about the new covenants for Locus Amoenus. <br /><br />
Callipygian Christensen, acting as a private citizen, then initiated a discussion of an incident in which a member of the RA had rezzed religious items on public land in CDS, and then ignored the Chancellor’s request to remove them. Callipygian wanted the RA to communicate to Chancellor Bagheera Kristan its support of expedient action in such cases, and that all RA members should confirm their oath to uphold the laws of CDS. From the subsequent discussion it seems that Cleopatra Xigalia had rezzed a nativity scene on public land next to her house on the Monastery sim, as a Christmas decoration, initially with the Chancellor’s approval. But when requested to remove it (public land in CDS should remain religiously neutral), she was no longer in-world. The discussion dragged on, but no specific motion was ever seconded. <br /><br />
Next Callipygian, acting this time as Dean of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-scientific-council">Scientific Council</a> presented the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4259">requests the SC had posted</a> to the attention of the RA. Discussion began on the request that the RA consider paying a qualified person a real-life rate to review the CDS laws and to make sure that they reflect all legislative decisions as recorded in the RA transcripts (the journals of the 11th, 13th, 14th, 17th and 19th RA are incomplete). Cleopatra suggested that a Request for Proposals (RFP) be put out to all citizens. Tor noted that the problem was partly due to the current lack of an RA Archivist, which was traditionally a paid position (at SL rates). Delia Lake estimated that updating the laws would take someone at least a month. It was suggested that Delia write the specifications for the job (the RFP), but she thought she would only have time to review specifications written by someone else. Cleopatra offered to write them. A motion was made to request Cleopatra to draft an RFP based on the required content identified by Delia, and to post it to the forum for review prior to the next meeting. The motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned until the next week. <br />
<br />
<b>The RA Meeting of 11 January 2014</b><br />
<br />
The next meeting of the RA was only a week later, on 11 January 2014 (<a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4268">agenda</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4270">transcript</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4271">minutes</a>).<br />
<br />
The first item of Old Business was an update about the Chancellor and the Guild working together on the remodeling of the Locus Amoenus sim. Shep Titian as Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA) read (or rather pasted) a statement from Chancellor Bagheera explaining that Locus Amoenus was back on track, and that either Rosie or Tor could share with the RA the collaborative spreadsheet used to figure out parcels and tier. But the RA would have to decide on the rates to be charged. Rosie Gray brought up an issue about parcels within Neufriestadt (somewhat off-topic) and again reminded the RA that the Guild has always had a working document about the parcels for the LA redo. Rosie also noted that the plan would only require moving 2 residents who have items on the ground. <br />
<br />
Next item of Old Business was the review and updating the of RA laws. Cleopatra had been charged with drafting a Request for Proposals to have this work done for a real-life fee. But Rose Springvale had posted on the forum that she was willing to do this work for no charge. Tor Karlsvalt motioned that the RA stop its efforts to find an editor for CDS laws, and accept Rose Springvale as the by-law editor. The motion carried. <br />
<br />Under New Business came a discussion of the other request that the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4259">SC had made</a> to the RA, concerning a procedure to fill vacant seats on RA, that would be quicker than the current by-election process. Gwyneth Llewelyn had suggested on the forum that the old “faction” (party) system be revived, in which case resigning RA members would be replaced by the highest-ranking candidates of that faction in the previous elections. Tos stated that he was against reviving the factions, but that he liked the idea of naming alternate RA members from among the candidates of the most recent election. Soro Dagostino observed that the new voting system with ranking points to the next candidate as a matter of math. But Callipygian added that the system also needs to address the times when there is no next candidate in line. And Shep thought that for only one vacancy a simple one-vote-per-citizen election would work. Finally Soro stated that an alternative could be appointment by the RA, in the case where there is no runner-up. A motion was made that the by-election discussion be moved to the forum for a period of 2 weeks, and the a commission be struck to hold a meeting in-world to discuss it. This carried. <br />
<br />
Tor brought up the Commission formed to study the Grievance Procedures that had been proposed by Cadence Theas. He reported that Lam Erin had some modifications to add, and hoped that the commission would have something available for public review by the next RA meeting. <br />
<br />
<b>Life on the forum</b><br />
<br />
Following the 11 January RA meeting, Shep re-launched the by-election issue by <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4269">re-posting it</a> to the forum. Also, Chancellor Bagheera <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4272">replied</a> to the criticism of her "slowness" in responding to complaints. And various challenges to the Locus Amoenus update were posted, by <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4275">Cleopatra</a> and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4274">Abby Rose</a>.<br />
<br />
On 13 January Callipygian acting as Dean of the SC announced a strange <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4273">Forum Moderation Decision</a>, concerning a forum post dated 12 December, and flagged on 23 December as off-topic, slanderous, libelous and overly inflammatory. The writer of the flagged post received a warning to refrain in future from referring to people's Real Life activities and relationships, and to post only provable facts, or personal opinions stated clearly as such. But I was unable to find the flagged post anywhere, and so I can report little more about it. <br />
<br />
There followed a series of posts invoking CDS history. A mysterious “lady observer” posted a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4276">curious, rambling text</a> in praise of CDS, which brought tears to Cleopatra’s eyes. Then I <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4277">announced</a> that I was reviving my CDS Chronicles. This seems to have inspired Cadence Theas to propose a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4279">Collaborative CDS Oral History</a> project. <br />
<br />Forum discussions continued about Locus Amoenus. On 15 January Rosie Gray posted a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4278">reminder</a> that the planning regarding redevelopment of Locus Amoenus goes back a couple of years. Bagheera held a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4283">Chancellor's Town Hall Meeting</a> on 17 January to discuss the work on Locus Amoenus. And Vic Mornington <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4281">announced</a> that he and Lia Venra had decided to put the Tuscan Order building to use as a restaurant, since it was in the SL destination guide. <br />
<br />
On another note, Bagheera <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4282">reported</a> that a Japanese crew from SLTV had shot a live hour-long broadcast featuring CDS (the video can be seen <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/42915449">here</a>).<br />
<br />
Bagheera also posted a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4285">proposed budget</a> for the 20th Term. This budget involved a global deficit, since the projected monthly revenues were less than the Linden tier, </span><span class="fullpost"><span class="fullpost">Bagheera </span>she said she was optimistic that reopening of Locus Amoenus would solidify the recent upswing in positive cash flow. Cleopatra <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4292">reacted</a> to the budget by congratulating everyone for the increase in revenue monthly in December of almost $200 US dollars. Cleo than asking a series of detailed questions about the revenue situation. <br />
<br />
Patroklus Murakami introduced two discussion topics. The first concerned a possible procedure for <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4290">recall of RA Members</a> empowering voters to remove RA members from office if they prove to be regularly absent or behave badly. The second concerned <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4293">reforming Land Sales</a> to prevent citizens from buying up plots of land whenever they become free, and then control who purchases them by only selling them to their friends and supporters. <br />
<br />
<b>RA Meeting of 25 January 2014</b><br />
<br />
Another RA meeting was held on 25 January 2014 (here are the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4291">agenda</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4294">transcript</a> and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4295">minutes</a>).<br />
<br />
The first item of Old Business was again the Chancellor and Guild working together on Locus Amoenus. Bagheera reported that there was an agreement that she would finish the parceling and the Guild would be on board for the actual doing. She presented the suggested parcel map and revenue report. If rent is paid on 80% of the private parcels, that would cover the Linden tier. Those present discussed items such as water parcels with houseboats, cliffs and beach, terraforming, an island, the fishing village, and how to sell the parcels once done – in particular, how to avoid taking parcels from current residents of the sim. It was suggested that Bagheera look at former Chancellor Jamie Palisades’s plan for selling parcels when LA opened the first time. She estimated that parceling and terraforming would take 3 to 4 days, and building 1 to 3 weeks. A motion was made to accept the Chancellor's plan for LA, including the parceling and terraforming, with the work to commence immediately. The motion carried. <br />
<br />
The next item was the need for a new by-election procedure. Callipygian had <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4269&start=15#p21445">posted a proposed solution</a> that involved performing a census every month so that by-elections could be held rapidly whenever needed. She offered to post on the forum some suggested wording for an actual motion, which could be placed on the next RA agenda. A motion was made to have discussion about by-elections moved to the forum, with the thread following Callipygian’s proposals, and to follow up at the next RA meeting. The motion carried. <br />
<br />
Under New Business, Chancellor Bagheera presented her proposed budget, as posted on the forum. Cleopatra asked questions, as she had done on the forum. From the ensuing discussion it appears that the income has improved over what it had been for a few years – as has the real world economy. It also seems that the advertising (promotion) funds come from reserves rather than from the operating budget. A motion was made to approve Bagheera’s budget, and this carried. Callipygian noted that financial statements on a monthly basis can be found <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-treasurer">here</a>. The meeting was adjourned. <br />
<br />
<b>Last days of January 2014</b><br />
<br />
On 27 January Bagheera <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4297">announced</a> a week long Arts Festival celebrating CDS Artists. This was Cleopatra’s idea, adopted by Bagheera as a government-sponsored event. Cleopatra <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4296">organized</a> a Town Hall planning meeting for the Arts Fest. (But Garnet Psaltry felt that: "This is not a Town Hall meeting, but a privately called meeting on private land.") <br />
<br />
Callipygian as Dean <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4298">convoked</a> an Ordinary meeting of the Scientific Committee for 28 January. But it seems the transcript was posted in February, so I may cover it in the next post. <br />
<br />
Concerning Locus Amoenus, Bagheera <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4299">observed</a> that within the Temple in the river (called Umbiliculus Mundi) is a time capsule, into which CDS citizens put personal momentos in 2008. (Danton was there!) She asked what should be done with it. <br />
</span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-43261321520082871962014-02-10T13:27:00.002-08:002014-02-10T13:30:06.904-08:00CDS News – the 20th RA Part 2The first full meeting of the 20th <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-representative-assembly">Representative Assembly </a> of <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">CDS</a> took place on 3 December 2012. (See the CDS forum for the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4225">proposed agenda</a>, the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4227">transcript</a> and the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4235"> minutes </a>.) <br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">
<b>RA meeting of 3 December 2012</b><br /><br />
Rosie Gray suggested that approval or amendment of the previous meeting’s minutes be added as an item on every agenda. Gwyneth seconded Rosie’s suggestion, and Cleopatra Xigalia and Shep Titian joined them in voting “aye.” The minutes of the last meeting were then approved. <br /><br />
Bagheera Kristan gave the Chancellor’s report, mostly presenting ideas about how to remodel Locus Amoenus, which he said should be possible without requiring easements on existing parcels. <br /><br />
Then came a discussion of the Grievance Committee mechanism that had been <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4220">proposed</a> by Cadence Theas, with suggested amendments by Lam Erin. The RA decided to create a Committee to study this proposal and to work it into a final document for the RA to approve. The Committee was to be chaired by Tor Karlsvalt, and to present a final proposal to the last RA session in January. <br /><br />
Next on the agenda were two questions requested by Cleopatra: “1. What is an emergency RA meeting? 2. Who has the authority to ban citizens or visitors of CDS?” It seems that Shep, who is Leader of the RA (LRA), had wanted to call an emergency RA meeting to ban Josjoha Resident. As told in the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2014/02/cds-news-20th-ra-part-1.html">previous installment</a> of this narrative, Jos had provoked an <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4217">outcry</a> on the CDS forum by stating his opinion that “gayness and transgenderism is an affliction.” <br /><br />
Cleopatra asked who has the legal power to ban someone from CDS. Any citizen can ban intruders and griefers from their own properties, but banning someone from the community is quite another matter. With respect to the related question of meeting procedures, Callipygian Christensen pointed out that the CDS portal gives the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-representative-assembly">RA operating procedures</a> (to make them visible you have to click on the link near the bottom of the page). Gwyneth pointed out that the Executive can place a <b>temporary </b> ban on someone for whatever reason, but that the banned person has the right to be heard by the SC within 48 hours. However, the RA has no jurisdiction either to ban or to revert a ban. As for the forums, they are the province of the SC, which can ban people <b>from the forums</b>.<br /><br />
Lan Erin stated that since there are no written CDS laws about banning, no CDS body has the power to ban someone. Tor Karlsvalt, who was Chancellor at the time, noted that he had punished Gaius Mistwalker by removing his privileges of rezzing on public land (the incident is described in the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2014/02/cds-news-20th-ra-part-1.html">previous installment</a>). Gwyneth emphasized that the RA cannot override SC decisions: it can only change the laws. The meeting had run over two hours by this point, so the decision was made to adjourn. <br /><br />
<b>More from Jos on “free speech” </b><br /><br />
Jos had made his controversial statement in the course of a discussion about “free speech” organized by Cleopatra Xigalia at her coffee house in Locus Amoenus. They appear to have planned the event as a sort of “test case” for freedom of speech in CDS. Since Jos’ right to make such a statement had been contested by some of the citizens, Jos now on 4 December posted a proposed <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4228">free speech law for CDS</a>. This text begins: “Everyone has the freedom to express any opinion that they want, without violating the right of other residents to enjoy the peace of their home, and be free to enjoy the peace of public order without being cursed at in open chat." Patroklus Murakami replied in a comment that such a law was unnecessary since free speech is protected by the CDS Constitution. <br /><br />
<b>In-world events</b><br /><br />
Bagheera announced that a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4230">Breakfast Jazz Jam with Pancakes </a> would be held on 10 December at the Rhenus Docks, "inspired by the real life Breakfast Blues Jam that begins at 4am in a club in San Francisco." The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4231">20 Term Inaugural Ball</a> was held on Sunday 8 December, though I couldn’t find any links to pictures. <br /><br />
<b>RA Meetings of 14 December and 17 December 2013</b><br /><br />
The RA meetings of 14 December and 17 December are considered to be a single RA meeting, adjourned and reconvened another day. The chat log is missing for the first part of the meeting of December 14 (but here are the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4240">agenda</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4243">partial transcript</a>, and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4251">minutes</a>.)<br /><br />
The incomplete chat log begins with Gwyneth in the middle of counting votes concerning insertion of Bagheera’s proposal as a bill – but it is unclear what proposal this was, since Bagheera presented her proposal later in the same meeting. After discussion of the meeting minutes, the first main point on the agenda was the need for an archivist. Since Trebor Warcliff has previously agreed to this role, he was formally voted in (although not present at the meeting).</span><br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">Cleopatra asked questions about parcels in arrears, and Sudane Erato tried to provide answers. Then Chancellor Bagheera Kristan presented her recommendations for the remodeling of Locus Amoenus. She suggested that the Guild’s proposed covenants, which had been <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4238">posted</a> by Shep the day before, could be merged with hers simply by adding the word “patio” to the list of items for the 20% of countryside parcels. (I think this means that the Guild’s sentence would then read: “20% of the plot of land will be open space, forested, pond, garden, agriculture <b>or patios</b>”.) For more details of Bagheera’s presentation, it seems you have to read meeting transcripts, as I haven’t found it posted anywhere else. <br /><br />
The session was then adjourned, and carried over to the RA meeting of 17 December (here are the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4241">agenda</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4247">Transcript Part I</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4248">Transcript Part 2</a> and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4252">minutes</a>).<br /><br />
After discussion as usual concerning meeting minutes, Bagheera again gave her presentation about the remodeling of Locus Amoenus, but adding more details this time. Rosie Gray then gave her own presentation of the proposal the Guild had developed under the previous RA, which was a modification of Callipygian Christensen’s original plans. <br /><br />
Cleopatra again brought up the concerns about sim residents who would be affected by the changes. Rosie acting as LRA told Cleopatra to “shut up” since did not have floor, and when Cleo objected to those words, Guillaume (or Gaius) typed: “/me throws a rock at CLEO’s mouth”. (This was to lead to a formal request from Ceasar Xigalia to the SC asking them to ban Guillaume, as told below.) Shep suggested that Rosie and Lam for the Guild should meet with Bagheera to bring together the two proposals. <br /><br />
Lam Erin, who is a member of the Guild, then presented the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4238">revision of the covenants</a> for the remodeled Locus Amoenus. Lam noted that disturbance to current occupants could be minimal, as almost half of the land of LA is currently controlled by CDS, expressed his concern that such projects should be designed and executed by consensus. He also linked to the Tuscany reference images posted <a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByGHT476NrLNQlBmRXIyVlM4dzA&usp=sharing">here</a>.<br /><br />
After some discussion, Gwyneth Llewelyn initiated a motion, which in its final form was: “to approve the covenants as proposed by Lam in public chat, subject to Lam’s considerations that there should be no zone changes, even if we don’t have the final plan yet,” with the following additional words attached: ‘plan will identify [current ]use, current owners may be grandfathered if they request it, and use reverts to the plan when the parcel is sold.’” This motion was approved. Apparently the only place you will find Lam's specific proposals is in the transcripts of the 17 December meeting (see above).<br /><br />
Just before the meeting adjourned, Tor Karlsvalt gave a brief update on the Grievance Commission, explaining that Lam and Cadence had been working on a plan, and would hold public meetings to discuss it. <br /><br />
<b>The last days of 2013 in CDS</b><br /><br />
After the RA meeting of 17 December, later the same day, the Scientific Committee <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4244">examined a petition</a> received from Ceasar Xigalia, asking that Guillaume Mistwalker be sanctioned for having written in chat that he was throwing a rock at Cleopatra. But the SC ruled that such petitions should come from the injured party, and since Ceasar was a third party petitioner, the petition would not be heard. <br /><br />
On 20 December Cleopatra posted a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4250">call for safe forums</a>, stating that “there are citizens who read the forums but are afraid to post here because they might be attacked if they do” (perhaps refering to Jos?), and suggesting that the Scientific Council was failing to protect citizens on the forums.
This plea only succeeded in producing angry reactions from other citizens who accused Cleo herself of disrupting the community. <br /><br />
On 21 December a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4253">Christmas Skating Party</a> was held on Monastery Lake. And on 24 December Callipygian posted a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4255">greeting card</a> that showed Alpine Meadow at night in the snow. And so the year 2013 came to a – momentarily – tranquil end in CDS
</span>
Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-37492526920274995702014-02-04T10:17:00.001-08:002014-02-14T10:49:46.162-08:00CDS News – the 20th RA Part 1On 25 September 2013 Callipygian Christensen, acting as Dean of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-scientific-council">Scientific Council</a>, posted the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4104">official dates </a> for the election of the
<a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-representative-assembly">Representative Assembly </a> (RA) and <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/chancellors-office">Chancellor</a> of <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">CDS</a>. Since this RA will be in office from 1 December 2013 to 31 May 2014, the electoral process began in October 2013 and the election was held in November 2013. <br />
<br />
<b>Determining candidates and voters</b><br />
<br />
A <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4123">first census</a> of active CDS citizens (landowners who are up-to-date with their tier) was generated on 1 October by Sudane Erato, to identify those qualified to run for office. On 7 October Callipygian posted the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4126">call for candidates</a>, noting that the 20th RA would have 5 seats and that the position of Chancellor was also on the ballot. The deadline for declarations of candidacy was the 1st of November at 12 noon SLT. Declarations were to be sent by in-world by notecard to Callipygian - although most candidates seem to have posted their declaration on the forum. <br />
<br />
The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4143">second census</a> of active CDS citizens was generated on 11 October by Sudane, to determine who was eligible to vote in the upcoming election. Sudane’s list included 75 citizens qualified to vote. <br />
<br />
At the expiration of the deadline for declarations to run, on the 1st of November, Callipygian posted the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4174">official list of candidates</a>. The 11 candidates for the 5 seats on the 20th RA were (in order of first names): Cadence Theas, Ceasar Xigalia, Cleopatra Xigalia, Gwyneth Llewelyn, Kaz Loordes, Moonrise Azalee, Rosie Gray, Shep Titian, Stephen Xootfly, Tor Karlsvalt and Ranma Tardis. The two candidates for Chancellor were Bagheera Kristan and Jamie Palisades. <br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">
<b>Meanwhile back at the ranch...</b><br />
<br />
During the month of October 2013, while the candidates and voters were being identified, life went on as tumultuously as usual in CDS. Since this post is about the 20th RA, only passing mention will be made of some of these events during the final months of the 19th RA. <br />
<br />
On 16 October Josjoha Resident <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4148">posted a report</a> about a recent abnormal rezzing spree in CDS. The items rezzed in public areas in Neufreistadt and Colonia Nova, some on and against private homes not owned by the attacker, included a poster of a nude women with the word 'pornography' over it, and a fire with a sign in it reading 'CLEO'. The rezzing seems to have been the work of Guillaume Mistwalker, to protest about complaints from certain citizens who had found the "pagan” posters he had put on his properties to be “pornographic,” which obliged him to remove them. <br />
<br />
The final RA Meeting of the 19th RA was held on 26 October (the transcript is <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4163">here</a>). The main item of new business was“Redevelopment of LA.” Evidence of turbulence at that meeting was <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4160">posted</a> the next day by Ranma Tardis, indicating that Alexia Carnell had left the community following the vote to redevelop Locus Amoenus in a way which was against her desires (and she took with her “Time Machine” – whatever that is). <br />
<br />
On a more positive note, a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4170">Halloween Party </a> was held on 31 October on Schloss Keller. <br />
<br />
<b>The electoral campaign and the vote</b><br />
<br />
On 01 November Callipygian posted <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4172">Rules and Guidelines for Campaigning</a>, and on 4 November the campaign officially began. Callipygian also <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4184">announced</a> the creation of a new section of the on-line forum, about the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=34&sid=f1a28395b0cc042eea2651677a7ef09e">Campaign for Chancellor and the 20th RA, Nov 2013</a>.<br />
<br />
In early November a series of in-world candidates’ debates were organized. The debates among RA members were held on <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4180">03 November</a>, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4191">06 November</a> and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4199">07 November</a>. Gwyneth Llewelyn held her own <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4192">informal debate</a> on 06 November. The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4188">Chancellor Debate</a>, with Bagheera Kristan and Jamie Palisades, was held on 04 November. (I haven’t read these debate transcripts to see what the candidates said - but I've read the subsequent RA meeting transcripts to see what those elected have done. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.) <br />
<br />
As <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4203">announced </a> by Callipygian, the polls opened at 12 noon SLT on 9 November for a period of one week. In the middle of the voting period, on 13 November, Jamie Palisades <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=4207">withdrew</a> his candidacy for Chancellor, explaining that unexpected commitments were going to prevent his being able to spend significant time in-world for a few months (and that he had put forward his candidacy before realizing that Bagheera was also ready to serve in that role). <br />
<br />
The polls closed at 12 noon SLT on 16 November. Later that same day, Callipygian as Dean of the SC officially <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4211">announced</a> the names of the new RA members. (However, I don’t find evidence that this was done at an in-world election results party, as is often the case.) The new RA members were (again in order of first names): Cleopatra Xigalia, Gwyneth Llewelyn, Rosie Gray, Shep Titian and Tor Karlsvalt. The new Chancellor was Bagheera Kristan (which was a foregone conclusion, as Jamie had withdrawn from the race).<br />
<br />
<b>The Inaugural RA Meeting on 23 November 2013</b><br />
<br />
The 20th RA officially began on the 1st of December 2013. But an Inaugural Meeting had to be held before that date, to swear in the new RA members so that they could elect the Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA). Under the old faction system, in force until early 2010, the main vote-getter of the leading faction automatically became LRA, but ever since then a special-meeting has been necessary. <br />
<br />
The first meeting of the 20th RA was thus held on 23 November 2013. (Here are: the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4213">transcript part 1</a>, the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4214">transcript part 2</a>, and the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4236">Minutes</a>.)<br />
<br />
Callipygian as member of the SC chaired the meeting until the LRA could be elected and take the gavel. The new Chancellor and RA members were sworn in. Cleopatra nominated Gwyneth Llewelyn as LRA, but Gwyneth declined due to other heavy commitments. Tor Karlsvalt nominated Shep Titian, seconded by Rosie Gray, and as there were no further nominations, the vote for Shep was unanimous. <br />
<br />
Rosie Gray then made a motion that formal Minutes should be prepared for each RA meeting. After some discussion Rosie’s motion was amended as follows: “Motion to have regular formal Minutes of meetings posted of the RA meetings, and to include a separate posting of the chat as well. All to be posted onto the CDS forum. The Minutes will be approved or amended at the following RA meeting.” This motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned. <br />
<br />
<b>More conflicts and a proposed grievance committee</b><br />
<br />
Between the swearing in of the new RA, and the first full RA meeting on 3 December, CDS residents produced a few more instances of the habitual drama. Full of enthusiasm, the new Chancellor Bagheera Kristan <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4215">stated</a> on 25 November her intention to push energetically the planned transformation of the Locus Amoenus sim from a Greek theme to a Tuscan theme. While the basic thrust of this post was to request the RA to provide a solid set of covenants to go with the already-decided Tuscan theme, Bagheera in her excitement wrote: “I, as Chancellor, determine the use to which any and all land in CDS shall be put, which I interpret as it being incumbent on me to make the final decisions about the layout and divisions of parcels in Locus Amoenus." <br />
<br />
This irritated Cadence Theas, who quickly <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4218">posted a reply</a> telling Bagheera: “you seem to forget that you were NOT voted in. On the ballot, the option to not vote for you did not appear, so this means that although you have a constitutional mandate, you have yet to earn your legitimacy and personal authority in the eyes of the citizens of CDS….” <br />
<br />
Both of these posts generated a long string of replies. Happliy, much of this discussion seems to be a constructive exchange of ideas about Locus Amoenus and the covenants. <br />
<br />
The other conflict that broke out on the same day was more polarizing. On 25 November Victor Mornington <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4217">wrote</a>: "I refuse to be part of ANY community which allows homophobic hate speech like Jos was sprouting in Cleo's little meeting.... I'm not gay, im not transgendered, im an everyday bloke, but i was sickened that the ‘Government’ allows this kind of crap to go on WITHIN their own regions, let alone in these forums." <br />
<br />
In a comment further down in this thread, Cleopatra revealed that the day before she had held one of her usual discussion groups at the Higher Ground Coffee House in Locus Amoenus, with “Freedom of Speech” among the discussion points. Since only a few people arrived she put a message in CDS chat inviting people to her personal event held on private land in CDS, and several came. However, on the forum Cleo insisted that no one in the room gave anyone permission to share the local chat, noting that shared chat can violate privacy and is subject to fraud. <br />
<br />
However, still further down in this thread, Jos himself posted a copy of part of the chat log. One of those who came to the meeting was Guillaume Mistwalker, and Jos accused him of having overstepped the bounds of free speech by rezzing posters over other people’s homes, which Jos felt should be punished. Then returning to what seems to have been a prior discussion with Victor, Jos said: “as a matter of fact i do belief that gayness and transgenderism is an affliction -- however out of generosity i also added ‘choice’ for the over-sensibility of some people here. Question: can i express that opinion, or is there no such freedom?” <br />
<br />
Patroklus Murakami reacted by opening a separate thread called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4219">Homophobia in the CDS</a>. Pat deplored that CDS had “at least one intolerant homophobic bigot making ill-informed and offensive comments about LGBT people,” but emphasizing that he saw this “as an opportunity to educate the ignorant rather than drive out people who hold such stupid views." Shep went further on her own thread called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4222">To ban or not to ban?</a>, stating outright: “I think he should be banned.” But it is unclear whether <b>any </b>member of the community has ever actually been banned from CDS.<br />
<br />
This seems to have been the latest emergence of deep-lying conflicts which had already provoked a search for mediation. On 27 November Cadence Theas posted a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4220">Preliminary proposal for a grievance committee</a>. During the election process, she had made a sort of campaign promise regarding a proposal for a grievance committee, so she now lay out a preliminary vision of how it might work. <br />
<br />
The proposed grievance committee would have a purely advisory relationship to government. Since scheduling is difficult in CDS, the committee could adopt the method of the circulating document. Affected parties would present their case before a majority of members, who would create the base document, accompanied by documented evidence. The document would then circulate through the committee, with comments and addenda, and within a few weeks, a majority of the committee would convene with the different parties to offer its suggestions and recommendations. The parties would then either reach an agreement that would be formalized before the committee, or they would agree to have the case reviewed by the SC, where the decision would be binding. <br />
<br />
The first full meeting of the 20th RA took place a few days after these developments, on 3 December 2013. But this first post has already covered enough ground, so the RA meeting of 3 December will be left for the next installment. <br />
<br />
</span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-964101675349108072014-01-15T00:23:00.002-08:002014-02-04T10:28:08.935-08:00CDS History - the 13th RA Part 1The following account covers the first part of the 13th <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-representative-assembly">Representative Assembly</a> of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">
Confederation of Democratic Simulators</a> (CDS), from April to July 2010. During these few months, I was still active in CDS. It is thus fairly easy for me to reconstitute the main events.<br />
<br />
<b>The May 2010 elections</b><br />
<br />
On 22 April 2010 Delia Lake, acting in the name of the CDS <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-scientific-council">Scientific Council </a> (the Judiciary Branch), <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2810">declared</a> that the deadline for announcing candidacy for the next RA elections was 30 April 2010. <br />
<br />
The atmosphere in CDS at that time was particularly tense. The conflict between one group of long-time CDS members and another group of long-time Al Andalus members was heating to the boiling point. I think I first realized that the merger might fall apart when I read the 30 April forum post <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2831">“We need to talk”</a> by Patroklus Murakami, in which he compared the merger to a failed love affair. Part of the divergence was in different approaches to democratic discussion. CDS has always operated as a very formal democracy with its Representative Assembly, where only the elected representative can vote, and which names various Commissions to discuss current issues. Al Andalus preferred informal consensus decision making, where all interested citizens were invited to discuss the issues at “Town Hall Meetings.” It is instructive to scroll down this <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=24&start=50">list of meeting transcripts from 2010</a> posted to the CDS forum in the first half of 2010, in which there are nearly as many Town Hall Meetings as RA meetings. The last Town Hall Meeting on this list is dated 2 May 2010 – and I can’t find evidence that there were any others after that. <br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">
On 01 May Sonja Strom <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2833">called for the traditional Candidates Debate</a> for the May Elections. She noted that up until then CDS elections were held on a party system, where voters chose a party or “faction,” rather than individual candidates. Each party named one of its candidates to represent the faction, and the debates were held between the faction representatives. But the electoral law had just been changed, and for the first time citizens would vote for individual candidates rather than for parties. The 15 candidates were <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2810&sid=e9bb67df937d6e61048631f419bda154#p14892">listed here</a>. The “debate” seems finally to have been organized as a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2872">Meet the Candidates Pajama Party</a>
on 16 May 2010 – although I was unable to find any transcript of it. <br />
<br />
The last meeting of the 12th RA seems to have been that of <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2857">9 May 2010</a> (the transcript was posted in three in three parts, which can all be found <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=24&start=50">here</a>).<br />
<br />
On 10 May Delia Lake, as member of the Scientific Council, <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2863">flagged</a> the referendum question concerning the merger, which the RA had decided on <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2857">9 May 2010</a> to put on the ballot. The referendum question was: "Do you want the merger between the CDS and Al Andalus to become permanent?" (A member of the SC may flag legislation by posting a notice to the effect that an SC review is desired, with a brief justification.) The SC apparently reviewed the question and decided that it could indeed go on the ballot. <br />
<br />
On 11 May Delia Lake posted the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2868">New Rules for Election Campaigning</a>. I can’t find on the forums the announcement of when the polls would open and close, but on 23 May 23 Delia posted the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2677">Election Results</a>. The winners were: Arria Perrault, Cindy Eksol, Gwynneth Llewelyn, Kasiedo Quandry, Lilith Ivory, Muhammedyussif Wikinger, Patrolkus Murikami, Pip Torok, Rose Springvale, Solomon Mosely, Stuichicanne Darkstone, Timo Gufler and Tor Karlsvalt. The results for the referendum question were: 23 votes for, 17 votes against, and 16 unanswered. Thus according to the referendum, the merger was to be permanent. <br />
<br />
<b>From the Election Result Announcement to the first meeting of the 13th RA</b><br />
<br />
A few hours after the election results were announced, Cindy Ecksol <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2886">summarized a question</a> (which had <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2881">already been raised</a> by Arria Perreault), concerning the procedure for selection of the Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA). In the past, the top vote-getter in the winning “faction” was automatically named LRA. This meant that the LRA was appointed before the first RA meeting was held (and the other new representative sworn), and could begin immediately get to work setting the date of the RA meeting, preparing the agenda, and soliciting candidates for Chancellor. But under the new voting system, there was no LRA until the new representative could meet to select one. Could the new RA “meet” informally before being sworn for the purpose of organizing itself? This question (an example of the type of arcane topic that can be endlessly discussed on the CDS forums) was apparently resolved by holding the first RA on 01 June, which date was pre-set by the legislation (but which fell on a weekday, which was inconvenient for some new representatives). <br />
<br />
On May 31, the day before the first RA meeting of the new term, Cindy Ecksol <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2897">announced her candidacy</a> for the role of Chancellor, joining Sonja Strom who had apparently already announced her own candidacy for Chancellor. <br />
<br />
<b>From the first meeting of the 13th RA to the breakup of the merger</b><br />
<br />
The first RA meeting of the 13th RA was held on <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2898">01 June 2010</a>, as per the official schedule. Since there was no LRA yet, the meeting was opened by Delia Lake, who proceeded to the swearing in of the new RA members. Once this was done, the discussion turned to the selection of the LRA. The RA members nominated two candidates: Arria Perreault and Rose Springvale. The assembly immediately split into two groups, which could be called the anti-merger group supporting Arria, and the pro-merger group supporting Rose. Or rather, one group contested the neutrality of Rose, as Estate Owner for Al Andalus and the founder of the non-profit corporation VDI which owns the AA sims, and the other group contested the neutrality of Arria, who had campaigned on a platform specifically opposing the merger. The underlying conflict seems to have been about whether CDS could be converted into a non-profit organization in order to take over the AA sims, which benefitted from lower tier as belonging to a non-profit. The tone got so aggressive that a vote was taken to stop discussing and vote for LRA. Arria received 6 votes and Rose received 7. <br />
<br />
On 01 June 2010, the same day as the first RA meeting, Kaseido Quandry submitted a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2900">Request to the SC to investigate the election</a>. The issue raised by Kaseido was that Sonia Strom, in her role as Chancellor, had given certain candidates the power to send official group announcements concerning their candidacies. This issue was reviewed by the Scientific Council at its <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2929">9 June Meeting</a>. The SC decided that Sonia as Chancellor had the right to give new candidates access to the group announcements, since candidates who were already members of the RA already had this access – and in a couple of cases had posted messages concerning their own candidacies. At this meeting the SC also nominated Callipygian Christensen as a new member of the SC. <br />
<br />
The next few weeks were deceptively calm. The new RA set to work on practical matters, seeming almost to forget the conflict about the merger. At the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2930">the RA meeting of 12 June</a> (see the Summary of Actions <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2944">posted here</a>) Callipygian Christensen was given the RA vote of confidence to serve on the SC. A Communications Commission was created to explore communications options and recommend legislation, and a Finance Commission was created to explore financial needs of the sims and recommend legislation. The vote for Chancellor was inconclusive: Sonja Strom and Cindy Ecksol both received 4 votes, with several “7 day votes” (requested by RA members who could not make the meeting). When the 7-day votes were counted later, Cindy and Sonja both had 6 votes (with 1 abstention), so there was still no Chancellor. <br />
<br />
At the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2946">RA meeting of 17 June</a> (see the Summary of Actions posted <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2948"> here</a> another attempt was made to elect the Chancellor: Sonja and Cindy were again tied at 4 votes each, with several 7-day votes outstanding. Several more Commissions were created: an Election Commission to clarify procedures, a Commerce Commission to address issues of businesses in CDS sims, and a Citizenship Commission to review the rules of citizenship and make recommendations. Jamie Palisades volunteered to write a proposal for a Covenant Review Committee (no motion at this time), and steps were taken towards the creation of a Committee on Ethics and Conflicts of Interest. Jamie Palisades initiated a discussion regarding an operating agreement for the Al Andalus sims, which ended with a suggestion to have three representatives from CDS meet with the VDI board. <br />
<br />
This last suggestion led to the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2955">Special Meeting of RA and Board of VDI</a>held on 21 June 2010 (the transcript is <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2963">here</a>. At this meeting Rose Springvale, Delia Lake and Micael Khander, the three members of the Board of the non-profit organization VDI, tried to explain the formal mechanisms underlying the merger. Linden Lab recognizes only two kinds of sim owners: the first is a single avatar who owns a private sim, which is the case for the 5 original CDS sims, owned by Sudane Erato. The second is a real-world nonprofit corporation, which is the case for Al Andalus, owner by VDI. According to LL, the Estate Owner (EO) of a private sim is an avatar who has the right to sell the sim, but the owner of a non-profit sim is the non-profit organization, and no individual avatar has the right to sell it. Arria Perreault pointed out that CDS law fails to recognize the second type of Estate Owner (EO), and Rose replied that the SC was reviewing whether the CDS Estate Owner law could be changed. Rose explained that Sudane could keep owning the five original sims while VDI owned the 6 AA sims, with a contract between the legal representative of CDS (the Chancellor) and the Executive Director of VDI - unless CDS created its own non-profit. (The initial merger agreement in fact foresaw that a new non-profit would be created to own all the sims.) Arria replied that many people are opposed to having VDI play the role of EO for the whole of CDS. Others present at the meeting worried what would happen if VDI broke the contract, or suggested that a non-profit would mean a loss of control, with suspicion of Rose’s motives. But if one reads to the end of this transcript, one gets the impression that Rose wanted Al Andalus to be integrated into CDS as the only way to save the 6 AA sims. And perhaps all the various objections of the CDS core group were basically a rejection of this additional responsibility. (Al Andalus finally <a href="https://modemworld.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/calat-alhambra-second-life">closed</a> on 6 June 2012). <br />
<br />
Business as usual went on. At the RA Meeting of <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2985">11 July 2010</a> (see the Summary of Actions <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2991">posted here</a>) Sonya continued to act as Chancellor, since a new Chancellor had still not been elected. Sonya therefore gave the Chancellor’s report, announcing that Anna Toussaint had been named the new Public Information Officer (it is unclear how this happened), and presenting the budget. The various Commissions reported on their status. The Elections, Commerce, Citizenship and Finance Commissions were all at various stages of progress, but only the Communications Commission had come up with a specific proposal. This was a new Public Information Act, which the RA passed into law. (See <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2968">Arria’s earlier post on CDS Communication</a> for background. However, I’m still looking for a link to the law as passed.) <br />
<br />
And then came the surprise. On 22 July 2010 Micael Khandr posted on the forum an <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3004">Announcement of Decision to Separate AA from CDS</a>. Micael reported that the Al Andalus community had held two separate meetings on 21 July 2010, attended by approximately 30 individuals from both AA and CDS. The majority had decided to separate the sims. VDI as owner of Al Andalus therefore officially notified the government of CDS that it had elected to separate from CDS, and that AA would work with CDS to assure a smooth transition. <br />
<br />
So that was it: the merger had failed. Looking back now on that one-year period of the attempted merger, I am struck by how rich it was in innovations for CDS.<br />
<br />
Life in CDS went on. But I personally was stunned, and my participation dwindled. A few months later I expressed my disillusionment in a post on <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2011/05/limits-of-virtual-democracy.html">The Limits of Virtual Democracy</a>. I stopped participating in CDS. For the past few years I have come in-world once a month, just long enough to pay my CDS tier. But the wheel turns, and I’m back.
</span>
Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-84717799409998581612014-01-14T04:52:00.001-08:002014-02-04T10:32:11.066-08:00Picking up the ThreadNow that I’ve decided to <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2014/01/less-is-more.html">come back into Second Life</a> a bit, I should catch up on events in the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">Confederation of Democratic Simulators</a> (CDS), which has been my SL home ever since my avatar <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2007/12/virtual-rose-garden.html">moved there</a> in late 2007. To know more about what has happened in CDS during the past few years, I plan to take up again my project of writing the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2009/02/cds-chronicles-part-1.html">CDS Chronicles</a>.<br />
<br />
There are several difficulties. What method can I use to accomplish this task quickly? And what moment in the past should I go back to in order to pick up the thread? In this post I will briefly present my solution to these two problems, and then discuss the wider implications of this writing project. <br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">
<strong>The Method</strong><br />
<br />
It would be easy to catch up on CDS if I had unlimited time. A vast amount of information is available on the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/">CDS forums</a>: meeting minutes, event announcements, official acts, discussions, disputes, rants…. But it would take very, very long to read through it all. My attempted series of <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2010/03/fast-forward-part-1.html">posts reporting on RA meetings</a> fell further and further behind, because it takes hours just to read the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=eb9b1f78c319209be33d9f09ef6d2795">lengthy transcripts</a> (which are just SL logs of everything said at each meeting) - let alone write up summaries of them. But the problem is that often you have to read the entire RA meetings to know what was decided at them - it was rare than anyone posted a summary of the decisions. (I see that recently there has been an effort to post short minutes of each RA meeting, which is a big step forward.) <br />
<br />
Knowing by experience how long it takes to read the old RA transcripts and to digest the information on the forums, I am going to try a differen method. Rather than study forum posts in depth, I will just glance at the beginning of what seem to be the most important threads, to get a rough idea of what they are about. It should thus be possible to piece together a sketchy outline of the principle events and issues during past RA semesters. <br />
<br />
I plan to write one article (or at most two) for each RA semester, giving an outline of the main events. I will post the rough draft, leaving possibility to fill in gaps later as comments and in-world discussions improve my understanding of what occurred. I hope that some of those who were active will provide feedback with which I can fill out the posts in the future. <br />
<br />
Another lesson from my past experience is that I should report on current events in CDS in parallel with catching up on the past history. I therefore hope to provide posts about “CDS News,” as well as posts about “CDS History,” in order to avoid falling further and further behind as I did on prior attempts. <br />
<br />
<b>Where to pick up the thread?</b><br />
<br />
My <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2011/05/limits-of-virtual-democracy.html">last post</a> before becoming inactive was in May 2011. But my last account of a <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php/cds-government/branches-of-goverment/the-representative-assembly"> Representative Assembly</a> (RA) meeting covered the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2010/06/ra-register-part-2.html">RA of 23 August 2009</a>, since I had fallen more than a year behind in my reporting. That meeting was the first RA meeting after the merger of CDS with-Al Andalus, which <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2010/08/demerging.html">fell apart</a> in July 2010, only a year later. <br />
<br />
The failure of the merger was one of the reasons I lost interest in CDS. At the time I was disappointed with the CDS leadership for their role in breaking up the merger. But with hindsight I see that they may have had a point: the conflict between two different conceptions of how to run a community may have been impossible to resolve in any other way. <br />
<br />
So where do pick up the thread? From August 2009, the time of the last RA meeting that I reported on? Or from July 2010, when the merger failed? Or from May 2011, when I wrote my last post before becoming inactive? <br />
<br />
I was participating in CDS in July 2010 when the merger fell apart. I thus know pretty well what happened up to that point, and can easily pick up the thread from there. But since the rhythm of CDS life follows the RA semesters, I should back up a bit further, to start with the elections for the 13th RA in May 2010. I can then cover the entire 13th RA, from the swearing in of the new representatives on June 1st 2010, to the elections for the 14th RA, in November 2010. <br />
<br />
<b>The wider implications of this project</b><br />
<br />
The main reason I want to write these summaries is to learn myself what has been happening in CDS. But there are also wider implications of this project of writing up CDS history and news. <br />
<br />
A fundamental part of any democracy is the free circulation of information. Citizens must have the freedom to produce, distribute and consume information as they want. However, freedom of information is an empty formula if the information fails to circulate in a such way that citizens can have effective access to it. <br />
<br />
The information concerning the life of CDS is available to anyone on the publicly-accessible forums. But this information is in fact difficult to access, because it takes too much time to dig it out of all of the scattered and lengthy posts and comments. Making the news about CDS more readily accessible could thus be a significant contribution to the democratic process. <br />
<br />
</span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-55116377912656255222014-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:002014-02-04T10:31:30.050-08:00Less is MoreI think I might get a bit involved in Second Life again.<br>
<br>
Internet engagement tends to be cyclic, as I already observed back in 2008 in a post entitled <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2008/10/boom-and-bust.html">Boom and Bust</a>. It now appears that one’s level of participation can go through both short cycles and long cycles.<br>
<br>
My first long cycle of engagement in Second Life lasted, with a few minor interruptions, from <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2007/12/virtual-rose-garden.html">my avatar’s birth</a> in late 2007 to the time of my <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2011/05/limits-of-virtual-democracy.html">last prior post</a> in May 2011. Since then I have been “away” from Second Life for several years, doing other things.<br>
<br>
<span class="fullpost">
During that first period of engagement I had great plans for my Second Life. I was going to learn to build and create content, to write scripts, perhaps to start an in-world business. But my goals were overly-ambitious, and out of phase with my real level of in-world knowledge. I failed to master even the most rudimentary tasks, such as shopping and improving my appearance. I put on some new clothes once in 2008, and have never changed them since! And I never put on any skin different from the one I was born with. (In fact, I am rather proud of Danton’s old-style avatar, because it shows how long he’s been around.)<br>
<br>
So I should face the facts. I will probably never take the time to learn how to use Second Life well - let alone write a <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.fr/2009/07/dantons-second-life-user-guide.html">Second Life User Guide</a>! (Actually I had a lot of fun capturing images of the in-world interface to use as illustrations for that User Guide website – until a new version of the viewer rendered them all obsolete.)<br>
<br>
This time around my plans will be more modest. My main goal will be just to maintain some sort of Second Life presence. Maybe I could start by learning how to buy a new set of clothes.<br>
<br>
In general, it seems that the higher you plan to fly on the upswing (the “boom”), the flatter you fall on the downswing (the “bust”). Thus the first principle of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability">sustainability</a>: less is more.
</span>
Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-33298197024896132872011-05-11T12:12:00.002-07:002011-05-13T13:46:23.974-07:00The Limits of Virtual DemocracyI joined the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">Confederation of Democratic Simulators (CDS)</a> in December 2007, when my Avatar was just a few weeks old. I participated actively in CDS until the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/08/demerging.html">failure of the merger</a> with <a href="http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201004/al-andalus.2.0.htm">Al Andalus</a> in the summer of 2010. At that point I pretty much dropped out of any involvement in CDS, though it took me a while to announce officially my withdrawal from certain functions. In August 2010 I quit <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=12">CSDF</a>, the political party (or “faction”) within CDS which I had belonged to. But I only resigned from my position on the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=sc0">Scientific Council</a> (the CDS equivalent of a Supreme Court) in April 2011. However, I’m still a voting member of CDS, and my Second Life home is still on the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=394">Colonia Nova sim</a>. <span class="fullpost"><br /><br />The time has come for me to assess my experience of virtual democracy in CDS. As explained above, I’m totally out of touch with what has happened there in the past 8 months. I would however be surprised if anything has drastically changed in that time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The democratic apparatus of CDS</span><br /><br />First, the positive points. The democratic apparatus constructed by CDS seems to me to be essentially authentic. There is clear identification of which avatars are citizens of CDS, based on the verifiable criteria of land ownership. (The only requirement for being a voting citizen is that you must own land in CDS. This is clear in principle, but in practice it can be hard to verify land ownership, as will be explained below.) Every 6 months the citizens vote for elected representatives, via an electronic voting system, on the basis of one vote per citizen. The elected <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly (RA)</a> then meets regularly (generally every two weeks) in sessions that are open to the public. The RA discusses and votes on legislative measures, including possible constitutional amendments, in a disciplined manner and following clearly established procedures.<br /><br />The elected representatives generally belong to one of the several political parties (“factions”) within CDS (although they are no longer strictly required to have any party affiliation). CDS thus functions as a true <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-party_system">multi-party system</a> with authentic <a href="http://www.saopaulo2011.ipsa.org/paper/government-alternation-new-explanatory-factor-quality-democracies">government alternation</a> (the process by which one party ousts another, for example in the U.S. when a Republican president replaces a democratic one, or vice-versa).<br /><br />During my participation in CDS politics I’ve witnessed several government alternations. While the dominate political party has generally been CSDF, some notable overthrows were when the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/04/swept-away.html">governmental majority</a> passed over to <a href="http://nucare.wordpress.com/">NuCare</a> in early 2008 (due it is true to the resignation of several CSDF members in protest over the behavior of their opponents) and the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/06/ill-have-to-try-new-formula.html">electoral victory of Rose Springvale’s group</a> (which nonetheless refused to recognize itself as a "faction") in the Summer of 2009.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The power elite</span><br /><br />Thus the democratic apparatus of CDS would seem to make it truly democratic. But I feel that there are serious short-comings in the way this community actually implements democracy. Before I go on I might observe that something similar can be said of any democratic system: democracy is an ideal which is only approximately approached in any real life situation. The question is whether a given community comes close enough to the democratic ideal to satisfy its members. In the last resort this is an individual judgement.<br /><br />A common defect of supposedly democratic systems is the formation of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_elite">Power Elite</a>. This term (coined by sociologist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wright_Mills">C.Wright Mills</a> in his 1956 book of the same name) refers to a small group of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, or access to decision-making.<br /><br />The Power Elite within CDS is made up of avatars who have more time to devote than others. It is said that time is money, but within communities time is above all power, because influence is exercised by maintaining an active presence. Thus an "inner core" (borrowing the term from <a href="http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2010/10/fic-10-and-fic-20-for-2010.html">Prokofy Neva</a>) has gradually formed over time in CDS. This is a relatively small group of avatars who have intimate knowledge of Second Life, of CDS and of each other, and who generally manage to steer the community in the direction that they want.<br /><br />One could argue that this hidden exercise of power provides CDS with needed stability. CDS is an ungated community, since any avatar in Second Life can become a citizen simply by purchasing land there. As such CDS is susceptible to being taken over by a concerted influx of new residents, which was a fear that I expressed in <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/01/troubled-sleep.html">this post</a>. At the time I was puzzled at how certain pillars of CDS could remain calm when the Representative Assembly <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/04/swept-away.html">fell into the hands </a> of their worrisome enemies the NuCare group. But I gradually realized that NuCare could wreak all the havok they liked in the CDS legislation without ever really putting CDS in danger, because the power elite would always find ways to bring things back under their own control.<br /><br />While it provides a form of stability, however, the unchecked sway of a power elite generally means neglect of the less active members. This is a rule that applies across all social formations. Participation by the rank-and-file never "just happens": it must be actively promoted by providing encouragement, occasions and information. The slow building of a <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/index.php?title=Inclusion_culture">culture of inclusion</a> requires deliberate, focused efforts in this direction over the long run. This perspective is missing in CDS.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The opaque citizen</span><br /><br />Another major shortcoming of CDS democracy is the weak control of citizen identity.<br /><br />A basic principle in democracy is that each citizen gets one vote. In CDS one avatar gets one vote, but in virtual worlds one real-life person can create several avatars. Each Second Life resident generally has a main identity and then one or more alts. Short of implementing strict identity control, this problem will remain inherent to virtual worlds. However, there are ways to limit the extent of abuse.<br /><br />The main way CDS limits the proliferation of alts is by requiring each citizen to own land in CDS. While the monthly cost of a minimal plot is low, it is a real cost, both in terms of Linden Dollars, and in terms of the effort that must be made to come inworld and visit the payment box once a month. Unfortunately, CDS allows land ownership by informal groups, and then recognizes any member of such a group as a valid citizen. Thus there is no way to directly establish the list of citizens by looking at the list of landowners: one must also contact the representatives of land-owning groups to ask which avatars they count as paying land-owners. This renders the citizen groups opaque and makes it easier to commit voter fraud.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">In search of participatory democracy</span><br /><br />The democratic system in CDS thus suffers from definite short-comings. But as I implied above, any real democratic system is going to deviate from the unattainable ideal. It is up to each individual to decide how much democracy they require. I personally have been willing to compromise up until now, in order to participate in an at least partially democratic system.<br /><br />But today I’m becoming more bold in my pursuit of the ideal of participatory democracy. I’ll have to devote a separate post to explaining what I mean by participatory democracy, but I might just say here that it involves taking deliberate steps to help all members of the community to participate more fully, taking into account their personal constraints. The primary constraint holding members back is of course time. If one has unlimited time it is easy to participate in any system. With enough time one’s avatar could serve on the CDS Representative Assembly, participate in the planning and building activities of New Guild, and contribute extensively to the forum and website. But the average citizen who has time constraints finds it difficult just to keep up with CDS news. This was why I tried to offer <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/06/ra-register-part-2.html">short summaries of the RA meetings</a>, to help less-active members keep abreast of RA decisions. But of course that project succumbed to my own personal time constraints.<br /><br />I see several possible courses of action for my own pursuit of a more participatory virtual democracy. I could try to push for reform within CDS. That might mean creating a reform party and trying to convince CDS members to support better information sharing and </span><span class="fullpost">greater </span><span class="fullpost">participation by all members, rather than just by those who have the most available time. The reform efforts could likewise extend to improvements in the verification of citizen identity.<br /><br />Or I could to try find, or help start, another virtual democracy that would function in a more truly participatory manner. (Wider sharing of power would probably be easier within a community that is at least partially gated, such as by limiting entry to candidates using some sort of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reputation_system">reputation system</a>.) But I doubt that I would find the time or energy for such a project. So the most feasible solution </span><span class="fullpost"> for me </span><span class="fullpost">will probably </span><span class="fullpost">just </span><span class="fullpost">be to keep going on as before - now that I’ve had my say.<br /><br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-61967921466122432942010-09-05T13:04:00.000-07:002010-09-05T14:02:16.416-07:00Danton's Real Life User GuideIt seems that I've given up on my series of <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/06/ra-register-part-2.html">posts about the </a> meetings of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">Confederation of Democratic Simulators</a>. My disappointment at the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/08/demerging.html">failure of the merger</a> of CDS with <a href="http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201004/al-andalus.2.0.htm">Al Andalus</a> obviously has something to do with it. For the moment I've turned my attention to another project: <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/">Danton's Real Life User Guide</a>. <span class="fullpost"><br /><br />In fact, <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/">Danton's Real Life User Guide</a> has been online for a while - but until recently it contained only a single article. Before that, I used that same website, with its bizarre <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Url">URL</a> "vwiki.ouvaton.org," for various experimental projects, which I subsequently moved to other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediawiki">Mediawiki</a> websites with more appropriate URLs. At the moment I'm too buzy to make another site with a better URL, so Danton's Real Life User Guide will stay at <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/">http://vwiki.ouvaton.org</a>.<br /><br />One of the previous projects developed at that URL and then moved elsewhere was <a href="http://sluserguide.com/">Danton's Second Life User Guide</a>. I had lots of fun fleshing out that site, but that Second Life User Guide was overly ambitious, and I stopped working on it when it was less than half-baked.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A mental toolkit</span><br /><br />With "vwiki.ouvaton.org" standing empty, I came up with a new experiment for it. For years I've been turning over the idea of developing some sort of <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/index.php?title=Mental_toolkit">mental toolkit</a> for popular consumption. As I explain on the website: "A mental toolkit is a collection of conceptual schemes which, by reflecting how the world works, help the person carry out individual and collective projects." The mental toolkit project is closely related to my interest in <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/index.php?title=Convivial_tools">convivial tools</a> - but it would take us off the track if I tried to explain that now.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The political dimension</span><br /><br />The mental toolkit includes pages containing various <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/index.php?title=Practical_tips">practical tips</a> on subjects that seem to me to be particularly important or useful. But it quickly became evident that there is a political dimension to this project. The very idea of disseminating a mental toolkit is rooted in a larger project of trying to distribute personal power more equally to all members of society.<br /><br />So this website has also become the place where Danton explains <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/index.php?title=Danton%27s_politics">his politics</a>. Danton, who was more radical in his youth, now espouses moderate socialism, meaning: "limited socialism under a democratic political regime with a free market economy." This is explained in more detail on the website.<br /><br />I find it a relief to be able to set out my political position, for the record. I've always been a bit of an anarchist, but at the same time some sort of socialist. In the years since the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989">fall of communism</a> (which I refer to as the "failure of Marxist governments"), the principal form of socialism has become <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social-democracy">social democracy</a>. This just means a certain dose of distributive socialism within a democratic regime: all developed nations are in fact already social-democratic, including Western Europe of course, but also including the United States itself (progressive income tax, social security and welfare are "socialist" mechanisms).<br /><br />This explanation of <a href="http://vwiki.ouvaton.org/index.php?title=Danton%27s_politics">my view of socialism</a> might also serve as a reply to John Carter McNight, who in a <a href="http://www.johncartermcknight.com/blog/?p=804&cpage=1#comment-378">comment on his own blog</a>, described "social democracy, Marxism and the US Democratic Party, all … as being sides in a war long over, products of a world that hasn’t existed since the fall of Reagan, Thatcher and the Berlin Wall." I understand his preference for a "techno-libertarian/anarcho-capitalist" viewpoint, but I think he's wrong to consider that social-democracy is a thing of the past. I would say instead that moderate socialism is the most favorable framework for the development of a techno-libertarian and anarcho-capitalist lifestyle.</span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-26044400038512013002010-08-25T13:42:00.000-07:002010-09-05T13:15:15.326-07:00DemergingI'm going to take a break from my series of <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/06/ra-register-part-2.html">posts about the Representative Assembly</a> of <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">CDS</a> to comment on the <a href="http://dwellonit.taterunino.net/2010/08/04/al-andalus-estate-leaves-confederation-of-democratic-sims">demerging</a> of CDS and <a href="http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201004/al-andalus.2.0.htm">Al Andalus</a>.<br /><br />I'm still a full year behind in writing my summaries of CDS <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> meetings. My <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/06/ill-have-to-try-new-formula.html">post-before-last</a> was about the very first meeting of the merged entity. And before I could even recapitulate that year of merger, this experiment in inter-community cooperation has ended – in failure. <span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How I Learned the news</span><br /><br />The way I learned the news about the demerger was odd. It had been <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3004">announced</a> on the CDS forum, but I missed it. I was on vacation at the time. When I checked in on the forum, the announcement had already dropped too far down in the list to catch my eye.<br /><br />So I only realized that something had happened when I read the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3008&p=16057&hilit=demerger#p16057">Transcript of the July 24 RA Meeting</a>. A few minutes into the meeting there was the following exchange:<br /><br />[9:07] Ranma Tardis: so now what? AA has left the CDS<br />[9:07] Rose Springvale: smiles<br />[9:08] Rose Springvale: we move forward Ranma. and that's what the RA will be addressing this term, how CDS will move forward. I hope you'll stick around to see<br /><br />A bit later in that meeting, Rose Springvale explained that Al Andalus had announced its withdrawal from the merger on the previous Thursday. What had happened?<br /><br />There had been little warning of the possibility of such an outcome at the previous RA meeting on July 11. Consider for example this <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2991">Summary of Actions</a> posted after the July 11 RA Meeting. There is not so much as a mention of the upcoming decisions concerning the merger.<br /><br />And if one digs into the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2985">detailed discussion</a> at the July 11 RA Meeting, one gets the impression that opposition to the merger was coming mostly from the CDS side. There was notably the following exchange between Patroklus Murakami and Rose Springvale:<br /><br />[9:10] Patroklus Murakami: has the RA meeting to consider the merger been set yet?<br />[9:10] Rose Springvale: it isn't on the agenda, but the time for it is between july 22 and july 29<br /><br />When asked why he brought this up, Pat explained: "it may well be a foregone conclusion but.... we still need to hold the vote." The period indicated by Rose marked the one year anniversary of the merger, at which time either party could decide to pull out, according the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2445">merger agreement</a> (see point 8).<br /><br />Thus Patroklus, who appeared as the informal head of the CDS group <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2831">opposed to the merger</a>, was sceptical as to whether the merger could be overturned. Pat seems unaware that there was a strong possibility that Al Andalus might themselves decide to pull out. But that is what they did.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aftermath</span><br /><br />A few days after I learned the news, I read Rose's blog post dated July 27, entitled <a href="http://rosesandthorntimes.blogspot.com/2010/07/sometimes-it-is-just-time-to-move-on.html">Sometimes, it is just time to move on</a>. Apparently Rose herself had come to the decision to demerge, even before the Al Andalus community meetings which were held on July 21.<br /><br />After I had read Rose's post I discovered that a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2734">CDS forum thread</a> I started had become "colonized" (as Jamie Palisades put it) by a discussion of the demerger. So I took advantage of that opportunity to express <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2734&start=15#p16329">my own reaction</a> to this sad development, calling it a "fiasco."<br /><br />And then I came across a post by Kaseido Quandry about <a href="http://www.johncartermcknight.com/blog/?p=804">The CDS as Modernist Bastion </a>. I replied to Kaseido with a <a href="http://www.johncartermcknight.com/blog/?p=804&cpage=1#comment-410">comment</a> in which I argued that the blame is to be shared on both sides. I concluded: "there was a failure of the collective leadership of the merged entity."<br /><br />So what now? Rose Springvale seems to think both entities can continue to carry on their separate business as usual. The CDS stalwarts seem to have quickly adapted to the new situation, promptly erasing all traces of Al Andalus from the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/">CDS portal</a>.<br /><br />But what about those of us who were counting on the success of the merger? I for one went out on a limb, seeing that CDS was in the process of opening up and changing. For example, I had written <a href="http://www.johncartermcknight.com/blog/?p=762&cpage=1#comment-335">this comment</a> on an earlier post by Kaseido, in which I refer to "covert control by a self-perpetuating elite." My dreams were that CDS would initiate a whole new group of members to structured democratic process (which I prefer to the Al Andalus ad hoc consensus process), and that this new group would in turn help CDS to evolve. Now both of these dreams have simultaneously collapsed. A great opportunity has been missed. Perhaps there will be others.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-21338816118567279362010-06-28T14:00:00.000-07:002010-06-30T14:35:04.108-07:00RA Register Part 2I'll try to stick to the new short format in the following summaries of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> (RA) meetings of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">Confederation of Democratic Simulators</a> (CDS). The short format aims to present just a bare register of topics discussed and decisions taken at each meeting. I will allow myself to digress if I find it necessary to add explanations or comments, but the goal is to keep everything as short as possible, in order to try to catch up to the present. (I'm still a year behind.)<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />The first Representative Assembly meeting of the Fall semester of 2009 was held on 2 August 2009, as told in <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/06/ill-have-to-try-new-formula.html">my previous post</a>. This had also been the first RA meeting following the merger of CDS with <a href="http://al-andalus.wetpaint.com/">Al Andalus</a> (AA), and thus the first one with representatives from AA.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly meeting of 16 August 2009</span><br /><br />The agenda for the Representative Assembly meeting of 16 August 2009 was posted <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2538">here</a>, and the transcript can be found <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2539">here</a>. During the opening discussion of administrative items, the Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA) Cindy Ecksol noted that there was not a quorum of members present, so no binding decisions could be made. Naftali Torok, who had been absent at the previous meeting, was sworn in as member of the RA.<br /><br />Jamie Palisades gave a brief Chancellor's report. He mentioned that he had posted the term's civil service appointments <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2528">on the forum</a>, and reminded everyone that he planned to implement decentralized events programming, as proposed in a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2372">previous Chancellor's report</a>. Then Joaquin Gustav, who had arrived late, was also sworn in as RA member. Carolyn Saarinen was not there to report on the in-world status board, nor was Claude Desmoulins there to present outstanding items from the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=sc0">Scientific Council</a>. Some discussion of the CDS census followed (about gathering more information than just the name), and preparations for the Oktoberfest were mentioned, and the meeting adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly meeting of 23 August 2009</span><br /><br />The agenda for the 23 August 2009 RA meeting was posted <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2545">here</a> and the transcript can be found <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2553">here</a>. The transcript begins with a link to a Google Docs <a href="https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B_T9_YWVIs4pZTFlNjI4OTktZjcyOC00MmQyLTg3M2QtZTVmZjk5Y2RiMzcw&hl=en">attendance poll</a> posted by LRA Cindy Ecksol.<br /><br />The first item of business was the swearing in of RA member StuiChicanne Darkstone. (This marks the beginning of the era of Stui, who set a distinctive new tone for the RA meetings.) Then Jamie Palisades asked if a Deputy LRA had been named. Cindy Ecksol nominated her fellow faction-member Soro Dagostino as Deputy LRA (who directs the meetings when the LRA is absent). The nomination was voted on and passed unanimously. Carolyn Saarinen reported on her investigations concerning a status board to show when RA members are in-world. An off-the-shelf system could be had for L$1000. The purchase was voted on and approved.<br /><br />The next item was a presentation by Jamie Palisades of the Chancellor's plans for regional event expenditures. During the previous term the events spending was well below the budget, so Jamie had proposed to set aside portions of an expanded events budget for four citizen-led volunteer panels, as follows: a cultural and arts commission (CDS-wide), an Alpine region commission (for the Neufriestadt and Alpine Meadows sims), and Andalusian region commission, and a Roman region commission (for the Colonia Nova and Locus Amoenus sims – though this latter is supposed to be Greek). The Chancellor would however require that commission members who are seeking funding abstain from any vote on their own proposals. Debate about this item went over the time allotted for it, and Jamie suggested the topic should be posted for discussion on the forums. A motion to postpone the item was presented and passed.<br /><br />Naftali Torok presented a bill to change election dates, since the existing election schedule put campaigning into the middle of highly distracting periods of the year (Christmas season and summer vacations). Her simple proposal was to amend Article I, Section 2 of the CDS Constitution to read: "New RAs shall take office on 1 June and 1 December." Sonja Strom linked to a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2534">poll and discussion</a> of this topic on the CDS forum. Discussion dragged on, and it was voted to defer this item also to the next meeting.<br /><br />Under "concerns of RA members," Naftali Torok brought up the subject of new building and terraforming in the sims, mentioning that builders should keep in mind the landscape themes. Carolyn Saarinen asked about education classes (building courses organized by the Guild). Rose Springvale made a few announcements related to events, notably about the one-year anniversary of the Locus Amoenus ceremony, and floats for the Oktoberfest parade. The meeting was adjourned. (LRA Cindy Ecksol posted a summary of the 23 August meeting <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2554">here</a>.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly meeting of 6 September 2009</span><br /><br />The agenda for the 6 September 2009 RA does not seem to have been posted on the forum, but the transcript can be found <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2560">here</a>. Soro Dagostino, who served as Deputy LRA in the pre-announced absence of LRA Cindy Ecksol, began with adjustments to the agenda. He then had the modified agenda voted upon, in his usual procedural manner, and passed the floor to Jamie Palisades for the Chancellor's report.<br /><br />Jamie mentioned subjects such as bringing more parcels in CN online as commercial properties, possible rent reductions, ongoing terraforming on the Monastery sim and in the joining sims between Al Andalus and Colonia Nova, the hard-to-use portal website, and a study of public buildings in CDS. Pip Torok mentioned that the 79AD exhibit by Symo Kurka in Locus Amoenus, which was intended to aid the sale of LA plots, had served its purpose and could be dismantled. Pip was also concerned about out-of-theme buildings appearing in the Roman sim. Jamie then discussed the regional cultural commissions, which he was hoping would take over event programming in the regions. Micael Khandr asked if the neighborhoods could also decide building issues (to keep buildings in-theme). StuiChicanne Darkstone observed that in AA there was no effective lower level authority to decide a building plan. Jamie replied that land covenant compliance was generally a responsibility of the Chancellor, who would attempt mediation in case of a complaint, rather than threaten land confiscation. He thought there might be an opportunity to develop more local responsibility in this process.<br /><br />The next item was the change of election dates, which had been proposed by Naftali Torok at the previous RA meeting. Sonja Strom suggested holding a referendum on the subject. As this referendum proposal was in fact a new item to consider, there was a motion to defer it to the next meeting, which passed. Carolyn Saarinen made two announcements, one about an upcoming course in building, and another on her initial contacts with the maker of the online indicator system. The meeting was adjourned.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-72946613571275557822010-06-26T13:36:00.000-07:002010-06-27T07:28:43.969-07:00RA Register Part 1I'll have to try a new formula. I've been trying to bring up-to-date my <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/06/fast-forward-part-6.html">summaries of meetings</a> of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">Confederation of Democratic Simulators</a>. But instead of a "fast forward" I'm stuck as far behind as ever. I'm still reporting on what happened in CDS one year ago! Henceforth I'm only going to present a bare register of topics discussed and decisions taken.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />The Representative Assembly (RA) meeting held on <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/06/fast-forward-part-6.html">28 June 2009</a> had been mostly devoted to discussion of the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=30#p13449">latest version</a> of a proposed constitutional amendment concerning merger procedures, presented by Patroklus Murakami. This amendment received four "yes" votes out of the five RA members present, but two RA members had requested 7-day votes. It turns out that those two RA members voted no, and the proposal therefore failed, since a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 12 July 2009</span><br /><br />The July 12 meeting was the last RA of the Spring semester of 2009. The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2493">agenda</a> was ambitious. Soro Dagostino, the Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA) arrived an hour late, and on the forums the transcript is in two parts. The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2496">first part</a> was recorded by Brian Livingston and runs up until he left the meeting, while the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2509">second part</a> starts from when Soro arrived and runs to the end of the meeting.<br /><br />The Chancellor's report was tabled, since Jamie Palisades was absent. Discussion moved to the next item, the General Master Plan (GMP). Sonja Strom reported on a workgroup formed a few months before, which had put a lot of work into making various maps. But the GMP had not yet been revised accordingly. Brian Livinston noted that the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2403">last forum thread</a> on this topic mentioned work still to be completed regarding terrain. There followed discussion of the incorporation of Al Andalus into the GMP process. Sonja noted that AA had indicated in their <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2448#p13345">merger offer acceptance letter</a> that they chose option 2 for the position of AA, which joined the AA sim with the libraries on it to the north side of Colonia Nova. Brian moved to consult with the New Guild regarding the status of the GMP and the position of AA in the final plan, and this was approved by a vote.<br /><br />Next on the agenda was CDS Economic Development, but time was running late, so the RA moved to an item which was not on the agenda, but which normally would have come under the time allotted to the Chancellor. Sonja Strom introduced Zaphod Enoch, a member of Munich in SL, who liked Neufriestadt, and who proposed that CDS and Munich-SL have a consulate exchange. The RA members were interested in this idea, but expected the Chancellor to carry it forward, and since he was absent it was tabled.<br /><br />There then should have been discussion of proposals from the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=sc0">Scientific Council</a> (SC), but no SC members were present, so this too was tabled. The final item was interviews with two candidates to the Scientific Council, Delia Lake and Danton Sideways. Candidates are traditionally proposed by the SC and then interviewed by the RA, who must approve them (though if the RA takes no action within a month the candidates automatically become SC members). The RA inhabitually decided to approve the two candidates without interviewing them, and the meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Elections for the Fall 2009 Representative Assembly</span><br /><br />Thus the Spring semester of the CDS Representative Assembly came to an end, and the election period began for the Fall semester. This was a rather special election, since the pre-merger CDS voted for representatives according to its traditional procedure, while Al Andalus selected its representatives using its own procedure.<br /><br />The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2435">election calendar</a> was posted by Rose Springvale on 25 May 2009 (long before the end of the Spring RA session). Rose stated that the polls would open at noon (Second Life Time) on July 11 and close at noon on July 25, and that the new representatives would take office on August 1. Claude Desmoulins added a correction later in the thread stating that the polls would in fact close at noon on July 18. (And the first meeting of the Fall semester was in fact held on Sunday August 1.)<br /><br />On June 27 Claude Desmoulins acting as Dean of Scientific Council posted the official <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2474">candidate list</a>. On July 8 Rose <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2482">announced</a> that the candidate's debate would be held on July 11. After the debate, the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2492">debate transcript</a> was posted on the forum.<br /><br />The CDS elections were held as planned from July 11 to July 18. On July 20 the Scientific Committee <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2501">held a meeting</a> to validate the election results and announce the winners. The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2500">election results</a> were then posted on the forum. The winners were (for each of the three factions):<br /><br />* SP: Cindy Ecksol (LRA), Soro Dagostino, Robert Galland<br />* DPU: Sonja Strom, Pip Torok<br />* CSDF: Arria Perreault, Gwyneth Llewelyn<br /><br />The Scientific Committee also reviewed the total number of RA members, in order to determine the number of interim representatives to be named by Al Andalus. Counting the dual citizens (those declared in both the old part of CDS and in Al Andalus) twice, as foreseen by the merger bill, the total number of citizens was determined to be 131, of which 71 were counted for the old CDS. Dividing by ten and rounding down gave 7 RA members from the old CDS and 6 RA members to be named by Al Andalus.<br /><br />On July 22 the sims of CDS and Al Andalus <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2503">physically merged together </a> to form one land mass.<br /><br />Cindy Ecksol as new LRA <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2506">announced</a> on July 23 that the first RA meeting of the new term would be held on August 2. And on July 25 Claude Desmoulins as SC Dean <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2510">called for</a> chancellor applications (candidates for the position of Chancellor declare their intention to the SC Dean).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 2 August 2009</span><br /><br />The Representative Assembly meeting of 2 August 2009 was the first of the Fall 2009 semester. The agenda was posted <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2516">here</a> and the transcript can be found <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2523">here</a>.<br /><br />The first item was inauguration of the new RA members. The following members were sworn in: Cindy Ecksol, Sonja Strom, Micael Khandr, Robert Galland, Pip Torok, Soro Dagostino, Carolyn Saarinen, Arria Perrault. Of these, Micael Khandr and Carolyn Saarinen were from Al Andalus. As Sonja <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2506#p13619">noted on the forum</a>, another two AA representatives, StuiChicanne Darkstone and Wasp Thor were absent. (And one can see lower down in the same thread that the remaining two AA reps would be Joaquin Gustav and Naftali Torok.)<br /><br />Then, after a few administrative matters, came the election of Chancellor. The two candidates, Jamie Palisades and Zaphod Enoch, were present to make statements and answer questions. Sonja Strom and Arria Perault voted for Zaphod. Micael Khandr, Robert Galland, Pip Torok and Soro Dagostino voted for Jamie. Carolyn Saarinen abstained on grounds that she did not know the candidates well enough. (Cindy does not seem to have voted.) Thus Jamie Palisades was re-elected Chancellor for yet another term.<br /><br />Sudane Erato made a presentation concerning the CDS budget. She spoke about collecting tier on the four original CDS sims. She had no experience yet with Al Andalus, but proposed to budget everything on a monthly basis, even though AA tier is paid every six months. The level of saving to reserves was still set at 25% of the available funds (after payment to Linden Lab). Sudane answered various questions, and Cindy reminded everyone that Jamie as Chancellor was responsible for preparing the budget for the upcoming semester.<br /><br />Under "concerns of RA members," Carolyn Saarinn presented her ideas concerning an in-world status board that would show which CDS RA members were inworld. She also brought up the question of administrative permissions of RA members. Under "citizen concerns," Claude Desmoulins expressed the hope that a new Archivist would be named in order to ensure timely posting of legislation. Then Gwyneth Llewelyn, who had arrived late, was sworn in as RA member, and Jamie was sworn in as Chancellor. Rose Springvale announced the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2533">Inaugural Ball</a> planned for August 9th, and the meeting was adjourned.</span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-45730199064677666322010-06-19T05:46:00.000-07:002010-06-19T07:04:52.273-07:00Fast Forward Part 6The <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/04/fast-forward-part-5.html">previous meeting</a> of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> (RA), held on 14 June 2009, culminated in a vote on a proposal for a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453&start=15#p13405">constitutional amendment</a>, which some held necessary to support the merger between <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">CDS</a> and <a href="http://al-andalus.wetpaint.com/">Al Andalus</a>. But the proposed constitutional amendment failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority, so another version was again presented at the Representative Assembly of 28 June 2009.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />(Note as usual that minutes of these RA meetings can be found in the part of the CDS forum called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=2">Representative Assembly Announcements</a>.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 28 June 2009</span><br /><br />The meeting began with a brief Chancellor's report. Jamie Palisades invited everyone to look out the window to admire the just-delivered Monastery sim. He noted that most of CDS was sold. However, the refurbishment of the former Emporia Romani space in Colonia Nova, which some guild members had been asked to do, was still awaiting completion. The Al Andalus merger transaction, barring any last-minute deterioration of the legal environment, was on course to take effect between 7 and 16 July. The first step would be to add the AA voter rolls to those of CDS, and for CDS to start collecting rents from their HIPPO system and paying their tier. Then there would be all the details to work out, such as memberships in land groups, which Jamie would write about on the forum.<br /><br />Patroklus Murakami mentioned that in previous elections no one knew what size the RA would be until polling day, since the electoral system defines it as 10% of the number of citizens, rounded down. If 30 new citizens joined just before polling day, CDS could end up with a 10 member RA but only 70 citizens entitled to vote (since new citizens have a waiting period before they can vote). Soro Dagostino, the Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA), thought Pat was out of order because he was speaking to an item that would be on the agenda later, but Jamie took Pat's question to be about what happens if no constitutional amendment were passed, and thus relevant to Jamie's merger report. (<a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453&start=15#p13405">Jamie's modification</a> of Pat's constitutional amendment had been voted on at the previous RA meeting. It failed to get a two-thirds majority, but this was only confirmed after counting the "seven-day votes" requested by two absent RA members, Brian Livingston and Sonja Strom.) Jamie maintained that his own version of the constitutional amendment would have resolved the problem of double votes by CDS members participating in the selection of Al Andalus representatives.<br /><br />Gwyneth Llewelyn observed that Al Andalus as a non-profit was billed every six months for tier payment to Linden Lab, and asked whether the merger would require CDS to change its legislation, which required the treasury to have funds for only 3 months of payment. Jamie replied that CDS had not yet had to deal with such a question, and would have to determine whether it would front the six months of tier while billing all citizens monthly.<br /><br />Discussion then began on Pat's <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=30#p13449">latest version</a> of the constitutional amendment concerning merger procedures. This version was the shortest yet, containing only three sentences, the key one running as follows: "The RA may be supplemented with interim additional representatives, freely chosen by a community joining the CDS." Pat explained that this amendment was intended to enable the merger, by ensuring that the AA reps can join the RA, and also provided a minimal framework for future expansions. The proposal was seconded, and Pat then presented his arguments for the amendment. The CDS Constitution defines the RA as a body of democratically elected factions, with involved rules about how to conduct elections, nothing of which will apply to the AA reps joining the RA. So to accommodate the merger Pat borrowed language from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), to put into the framework for any future mergers the expectation that the RA will remain a democratic body. And Gwyneth quoted the relevant passage from article 21 of the UDHR: "Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives."<br /><br />Jamie Palisades asked Pat whether the selection by AA of interim representatives in accordance with the merger bill would be constitutionally attackable without his constitutional amendment. Pat answered that he did think there would be a constitutional issue without his amendment. Jamie then asked whether, once the constitutional amendment was passed, the AA selection would still be open to challenge. Pat said he thought the amendment would reduce the likelihood that the AA representatives could be successfully challenged. Gwyneth added that some people in the future could contest the merger bill as unconstitutional, since it creates a way for RA members to be appointed outside the normal election process, and that Pat's amendment would ensure that the merger bill cannot be attacked. Pip Torok observed that "freely chosen" in the merger bill means that AA is free to choose according to their whim, and that CDS cannot say how they should choose.<br /><br />Jamie made a last plea for his own constitutional amendment, which would explicitly legitimate a transaction procedure in the case of mergers with large bodies such as AA, and which itself would make the AA process for selection of interim representatives constitutional. But he also stated that since the deadline had passed for constitutional challenge of the merger bill, the completion of the merger required no constitutional amendment at all. And he suggested that Pat's amendment could be interpreted as opposition to the merger. This brought protests from both Pat and Gwyneth, who insisted they had never opposed the merger. Gwyneth acknowledged that the merger bill had passed all required review and would be implemented, but stated that she and Pat wanted to introduce the possibility of RA members being freely chosen from their communities in any FUTURE mergers, and to make that part of the Constitution.<br /><br />The vote was called. Patroklus Murakami, Pip Torok, Sonja Strom and Gwyneth Llewelyn voted yes. Soro Dagostino voted no, and observed that there were two senators with seven day votes. Since a Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority, it required one more yes vote to pass. (As can be seen <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453&start=45">on the forum</a>, Cindy Ecksol and Brian Livingston voted no, and the proposed amendment failed.)<br /><br />There was a brief discussion of when the territorial accession of the AA sims would happen (most likely between July 7th and 16th). This was left to the discretion of the Chancellor, provided that it did not fall during the upcoming election. The meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Transition to The Register</span><br /><br />I'm losing ground. This series of summaries of CDS Representative Assembly meetings was supposed to be a "fast forward" to the present, but the last instalment was posted three months ago. I'm going to try yet another formula: a simple register of topics discussed and decisions taken. Transition to The Register Part 1.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-50221058959173409732010-04-10T12:21:00.001-07:002010-04-10T12:50:23.300-07:00Fast Forward Part 5The <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> (RA) of <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/03/fast-forward-part-4.html">May 31 2009</a> had approved the merger offer which <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">CDS</a> extended to <a href="http://al-andalus.wetpaint.com/">Al Andalus</a>. The next RA meeting was held just one week later, on 7 June 2009. This meeting and the following one on 14 June 2009 were primarily taken up with discussion of proposed amendments to the CDS constitution, which some held to be necessary to accommodate the impending merger.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />(Note as usual that minutes of these RA meetings can be found in the part of the CDS forum called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=2">Representative Assembly Announcements</a>.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 7 June 2009</span><br /><br />The RA meeting of 7 June 2009 was a Special Meeting, announced at the last minute under conditions <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2451#p13353">contested by</a> Cindy Ecksol, who could not attend but who asked for a 7-day vote.<br /><br />At the end of the previous RA meeting, the discussion on the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2395#p13241">latest proposal</a> for a new Monastery sim had been postponed. To resume the discussion, Patroklus Murakami made a motion to approve this proposal, which Gwyneth Llewelyn seconded. The Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA) Soro Dagostino noted that Chancellor Jamie Palisades had posted a new note on the subject that morning (which would seem to be <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2452">this note</a>). Those present were ready to vote without further discussion, so the motion was called - and it passed! Thus after 9 months of procedures Arria Perrault was finally able to create the first homestead sim in CDS.<br /><br />The next matter was a proposed Community Merger Bill, presented by Patroklus Murakami. He began by saluting the "fantastic" news that Al Andalus had agreed to the CDS merger proposal. (The previous RA meeting had approved the Al Andalus Expansion Proposal, the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2445">final text</a> of which was posted on the forum by Cindy Ecksol. The offer was sent to the Al Andalus Estate by Chancellor Jamie Palisades, who posted the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2448&p=13345#p13338">text of the offer</a> on 2 June 2009, followed by the text of the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2448&p=13345#p13345">Al Andalus acceptance</a> on 5 June 2009.) Patroklus maintained however that the merger required changes to the CDS Constitution, notably since the Constitution refers to the RA as being made up of "democratically elected factions."<br /><br />During prior discussions, Pat had proposed a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2438#p13292">first version</a> of such a constitutional amendment, but the merger offer was voted before any discussion of Pat's proposal. Then on the morning of 7 June, Jamie Palisades had posted a much simplified <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453">alternative version</a> of Pat's text. Soro asked Pat if he accepted Jamie's changed version. But meanwhile the RA members asked for time to read the text - and they were apparently reading Pat's original version instead of Jamie's modified version. Pip Torok suggested changing the first sentence of Section 2 from "at least a year" to "a year to 18 months." (This sentence, about how long after the merger the community joining the CDS will retain its own Estate Owner, is found in Pat's original version.) Pat accepted Pip's suggestion as a friendly amendment. Gwyneth Llewelyn observed that the approved merger offer defines a transition period of a full RA term of six months (see section 4 of the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2445">final merger proposal</a>), while section 3 of Pat's first version suggests instead a three month transition period. Sonja Strom proposed rewording this passage to read: "These temporary seats last until the first RA term in which the new citizens participate in the election." Pat accepted that also. There followed discussion of certain words that Pat had put in brackets, meant to be alternative wordings, in particular in the following passage: "the RA will be augmented by a number of [nonvoting] representatives (equal to the number of Interim Added Seats) appointed/elected by the community joining using its own [democratic] methods…." Pat proposed to take out "nonvoting" but to leave in "democratic."<br /><br />Gwyneth asked if it was clear to everyone that the Interim Added Seats expired at the next regular election. Claude Desmoulins noted that if the merger happens more than thirty days before an election, the text is clear that the interim seats will last a full term, but if the merger happens less than thirty days before, there is ambiguity as to how long the interim is. However, it would be reasonable to assume that in the latter case the interim period would also be until the end of the term, because otherwise it would not be "interim." Sonja Strom asked about the sentence in section 2 which said: "Any sims owned by the community will merge as one territory with the CDS." Pat explained that he didn't mean "one contiguous territory," but that they could remain in different places on the grid. And Gwyneth asked what about getting "half a community"? Then Soro asked if the discussion could be postponed until next week, and Pat agreed that it would be better to get things right than to rush. The meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 14 June 2009</span><br /><br />The RA decided that the first item of business would be continuation of the discussion about the constitutional amendment to facilitate the merger. Pat moved the proposed constitutional amendment that he had circulated at the last meeting and <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453#p13364">posted on the forum</a>. Jamie however linked to <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453&p=13405#p13403">Pat's most recent draft</a>, which was much shorter, and which was in fact what Pat was proposing. Jamie also distributed Pat's latest version on a notecard, together with <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453&p=13405#p13405">Jamie's own proposed modifications thereto</a>. (Some other notable contributions to this long forum thread were from Rose Springvale, who expressed her <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453#p13372">opposition to any amendments</a> that were "not part of the transactions contemplated," and Claude Desmoulins of the Scientific Council, who <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453#p13378">argued that</a> the proposed merger was unprecedented and outside the scope of anything in CDS history to that point, therefore requiring a certain amount of flexibility. Claude felt that the attempt to amend the constitution to provide a general framework for any and all future mergers could hinder future ability to negotiate each merger separately.)<br /><br />Patroklus opened the discussion of his own proposal. He observed that many citizens felt that his earlier drafts were too long, and that they undid the agreement with Al Andalus. He had therefore drafted a briefer version that would provide a general framework for all such mergers, and into which he had added a role for the Scientific Committee, to validate the number of seats a new community gets in a post-merger RA. Gwyneth agreed that it was important to avoid any amendment that would change the conditions of the merger offer. However, she felt strongly that it was necessary to deal with three issues: (1) transferring citizens (CDS members declaring themselves as AA members) exercising two votes, (2) RA members getting "appointed" (by AA) instead of elected, and (3) CDS maintaining the definition of "democracy" that had served CDS so well during the past five years.<br /><br />Jamie then set out four points of his own. First, he echoed the suggestion by Sonja Strom (who was absent) that any general framework for mergers should go light on specific details in order to allow flexibility in individual situations. He noted that Pat's latest short version was appropriately light. Second, he felt that the constitution should be adjusted to support the merger fully, so that there would be no room for someone to argue afterwards that the merger was unconstitutional. Third, with respect to the issue of how AA selects its transitional representatives, Pat's insistence on using the word "democracy" could lead to someone challenging the AA selection method after the fact. Jamie therefore proposed to change the wording to "any reasonable method consistent with the joining estate's past practice." Fourth, Pat's most recent text changed the approved merger offer, which included a minimum of 2 AA reps, and which excluded</span><span class="fullpost"> from the next CDS poll</span><span class="fullpost"> any CDS members who participated in selecting the AA reps, thereby resolving the problem of double voting.<br /><br />Cindy Ecksol moved Jamie's note card to amend the proposal on the table, which contained the text of <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2453&start=15#p13405">Jamie's latest forum post</a>. Patroklus commented that he was glad to hear that dual citizens would not be counted twice, but would like to see that clearly expressed in writing. And he still wondered how AA intended to select its reps. Had secret ballot elections been specifically rejected within AA? Why, he asked, would AA prefer to select its official reps at an informal discussion among only 4 or 5 members. Cindy explained that AA resolves everything by consensus – they talk about each issue until eventually there is a consensus that all can live with. Anyone who is interested shows up for the Town Meeting. Gwyneth called this "adhocracy," observing that the Guild functions similarly, only with voting by those present. Jamie stated that Pat had been wise to remove from his text all detailed procedures for dealing with the dual citizen issue, since such detail did not belong in the constitution. And he warned that imposing one specific sort of democratic decision-making on the joining party would appear to be a deliberate mechanism for undoing such decisions by referring them to the Scientific Council as unconstitutional. He felt that CDS should refrain from interrogating AA as to its method of initial selection, and adopt a more fair-minded attitude instead of giving lessons.<br /><br />Patroklus then argued against Jamie's latest additions to his own shorter version, on the grounds that they added too much detail, and limited the discretion of the Chancellor to find a working deal. Gwyneth agreed with Pat, asserting that Jamie's additions would void the constitution of what she held to be its fundamental principle, quoting the following passage: "The Representative Assembly (RA) is a body of democratically elected factions which represent different ideological views of its citizens." She proposed that they vote on Pat's shorter text.<br /><br />Cindy Ecksol observed that the motion on the table was Jamie's amendment to Pat's text. Gwyneth made a final plea for a text which would require all decisions to be made according to the principle of representative democracy. Soro called the question, and Jamie's amendment carried by three votes to two. Then the body voted on Pat's proposal itself (as amended by Jamie's additions). This proposal also carried by three votes to two.<br /><br />Jamie observed that as a constitutional amendment the proposal would require five votes to pass (five out of seven being more than two thirds). It would thus depend on the 7 day votes from Brian and Sonja. He also reminded everyone that in little more than a week, on the 25th of June, the filings of candidacies for the next CDS elections would open. Al Andalus should make their decision before then, and they might decline the merger offer if there was a negative vote on this motion. Gwyneth replied that the failure of the constitutional amendment bill would leave intact the already approved AA merger bill.<br /><br />Jamie then gave a quick Chancellor's report. He announced that the Monastery sim had been bought. Also, that CDS land was almost sold out – and so was Al Andalus land. The following item on the agenda was a presentation from the Scientific Committee, but as no SC members were online, this was postponed. Rose Springvale made a few announcements. A third Grand Tour of SL communities was upcoming. Rose advised everyone to go to see the CDS stand at the 6th Second Life birthday exhibit (SLB6). She mentioned that both CDS and AA had put up kiosks in Caledon's Oxbridge Village Gateway. The meeting was adjourned.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-53033532139012296112010-03-27T05:52:00.000-07:002010-03-27T06:37:11.018-07:00Fast Forward Part 4The <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/03/fast-forward-part-3.html">previous instalment</a> of this review of past meetings of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> (RA) of <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">CDS</a> took us through the RA of 19 April 2009. In that meeting the discussion of the merger between CDS and Al Andalus was picking up steam. The next RA meeting seems to have been on 17 May 2009, nearly a month later. (Perhaps the meeting planned for 3 May was held but the minutes were never posted?) The last two meetings in May, summarized below, were exceptionally long and dense, reflecting the complexities of the merger issue.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />Remember that the full minutes of these RA meetings can be found in the part of the CDS forum called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=2">Representative Assembly Announcements</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 17 May 2009</span><br /><br />The proposals discussed in the previous session had been given the form of bills to be voted on, one concerning the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2395#p13241">Monastery sim expansion</a> and the other concerning the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2394#p13240">merger with Al Andalus (AA)</a>. However, the first agenda item was the Chancellor's report. Jamie Palisades suggested that his time should be used as a Q & A session, so that he could answer the questions that RA members might have about these bills. Gwyneth Llewelyn mentioned a rumor that Port Spinoza was interested in a similar arrangement as had been drafted for AA. Jamie replied that the SL Bar Association might also be interested. (He said this had been discussed at the previous meeting, but as there seems to be no mention of it in the transcripts of 19 April, this further suggests that there may in fact have been a meeting on 3 May.) Concerning Port Spinoza, Jamie thought a possible merger would involve only that sim and its neighbour, rather than all of Cedar Island. (These latter sims were created under the impulsion of CDS member Jon Seattle.)<br /><br />The next item was discussion of the General Master Plan. Jamie Palisades reported that the Guild had prepared three maps for the possible joining of CDS and AA, each having its proponents. Two RA acts would be required, since RA has jurisdiction for approving major sim map changes under one procedure, and for deciding to buy or take over a sim under other procedures. Jamie proposed that the RA should first hear Moon Adamant's presentation of the Guild maps, then approve the maps, and then debate the merger. Moon presented the three plans, explaining that since the AA void sim Al Garnata has a building of classical design, it was chosen in all three maps as the hinge by which AA is joined to CDS. A question of RA procedure then came to the fore. Cindy Ecksol suggested that RA could first approve the merger with AA, and then pick a map. Jamie agreed that these two RA acts could be taken in either order. If the maps were discussed first, the RA could approve all three, subject to subsequent approval of the merger, but with a ranking of the maps according to the RA's preference. Cindy Ecksol made a motion "that we sever the question: vote separately on the plans and then on the merger." That procedural point was voted on and passed.<br /><br />Cindy then proposed that "we approve the plans for AA presented by the Guild subject to approval of the merger by RA." She thought that someone else (in other words AA) would decide which of the three plans would be implemented, although she was not sure that the RA should cede that responsibility. She also asked whether AA residents had a preference for one plan or another, to which Gwyneth Llewelyn replied that she thought they had their own set! Sonja suggested that this could be a referendum question. LRA Soro Dagostino summarized: the three plans would be generally approved, then submitted to AA for review and choice. Jamie reported that the AA residents were themselves split on the question of the maps. Moreover, AA decisions prior to the merger would be made according to their current process, which was consensus ratified by the estate owner. Jamie advised against a raucous referendum on the map selection: it's not a yes or no question. Jamie suggested that the approved maps would become part of CDS's global offer to AA. If AA accepts, the process is finished, and if not, the offer comes back to the RA for revision. Sonja Strom saw the map issue as secondary, to be discussed after AA confirms that they want to join CDS. They could join politically without joining geographically at first.<br /><br />Cindy Ecksol formally moved her proposal that "we approve the plans for AA presented by Guild subject to approval of the merger by RA." It was seconded. Jamie understood the motion to mean that the RA would accept any of the three maps, if AA expressed a sole preference for one. Cindy noted that AA might also come back with something else that the RA would have to evaluate. The motion was voted on, and passed.<br /><br />Cindy then moved to adopt Jamie's Al Andalus bill <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2394#p13240">as posted</a> in the forum. Brian Livingston requested discussion, and Gwyneth seconded, saying: "I would move to discuss a LOT first." Discussion began with <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2394#p13242">the question</a> posted in the forum by Patroklus Murakami, concerning the issue of double citizenship and double votes. Jamie summarized Pat's post as follows. First, the CDS constitution needs work to retrofit AA into it – though Jamie thought the minor changes implied by his bill would suffice. Second, Pat was asking how AA would choose its first RA members. Would they hold "democratic elections" within AA? Pat would prefer to hold elections for the whole of CDS+AA once the merger had taken place. Jamie reported that AA used a town-meeting consensus process for making decisions, rather than formal voting. Third, Pat expressed concern that Jamie's "converting dual citizen" device would in effect give certain citizens two votes, the one they had already cast for the current RA and another in selecting the new AA members. (A "converting dual citizen" was a former CDS citizen who chose to designate AA's sims as their primary residence within CDS.) Jamie replied that in the first draft of his bill he had proposed that AA select additional RA members now, before the merger, the number of additional RA members being based on the total number of combined CDS and AA citizens. But he changed that in the new bill because AA had replied that it was unfair for all of the dual citizens to be erased from their headcount. Pat countered that he agreed that AA should have their own RA members as a transitional measure, but that if they join the standing RA, converting citizens would in effect get two votes. This could be resolved by holding a special election for the whole of CDS and AA to elect a new combined RA for the merged unity.<br /><br />Moon suggested that AA could just appoint two reps until the general election could be called, but Jamie observed that AA would trash that idea if they think their headcount deserves more than two reps. Cindy asked who in AA gets to vote on the merger, and who gets to choose the AA reps, noting that these were separate questions. She quoted from the bill: "The [additional] vacant [RA] positions will be filled by [a process designated by AA management, consistent with AA law]." (The brackets denote Jamie's changes with respect to the first version.) Jamie emphasized that "they do. not. vote. there." AA decision-making used consultative town meetings. Sonja said she would be ok with AA choosing their two representatives for the remainder of the term, to which Cindy retorted by asking Sonja what happens if the merger does not occur until after the new term starts. Would Sonja still want them to select their own reps? Sonja said that would be less ideal but still ok with her.<br /><br />Gwyneth suggested that CDS could use the existing process of "special elections," which allows mid-term voting when seats are vacant that no one is able to fill. But since AA had 60 days to think about the CDS proposal anyway, everyone could simply vote together at the next regular elections. Jamie replied that a special election would either make AA candidates run against CDS candidates for the 2 seats, or force AA to run its own election (under CDS rules). The alternative would be to let AA select its representatives (by their own method), while eliminating double counting. Brian Livingston felt that each citizen's vote and influence should be the same as another's, which would be compromised by counting the votes of dual citizens. Patroklus argued for upholding the constitutional requirement that "The Representative Assembly is a body of democratically elected factions." And Gwyneth repeated her suggestion of holding unified elections at the usual time for the next term, recalculating all the seats, and giving each citizen – no matter where they have land – one vote. Jamie replied that fair law in mergers permits the creation of bridge measures (respecting both sides), and declaring that he personally finds the byzantine complications of CDS election law to be silly. Gwyneth gasped.<br /><br />Brian and Gwyneth both pointed to the clause permitting AA to dissolve the merger at the 1 year anniversary, saying that CDS should have a similar right. Gwyneth also objected to the clause in which the nonprofit "drops on us like a bomb." Article 5 of the bill foresaw the formation of a nonprofit "using two nominees from CDS and two nominees from AA as the nominal organizers, and the CDS chancellor," which Gwyneth apparently found prematurely detailed. By then the meeting had gone long over time. Against resistance, the LRA managed to postpone further discussion to the next meeting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 31 May 2009</span><br /><br />This meeting had trouble reaching a quorum. There were sighs of relief when Brian Livingston finally came online, making the quorum. The Chancellor's report was deferred, to see if Jamie Palisades would show up.<br /><br />The first item discussed was thus the General Master Plan and accession of AA. Jamie had posted to the forum a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2438">third draft</a> of the merger bill. Brian explained that Jamie had revised the proposal to allow CDS to dissolve the merger, and also to attempt to address the concerns over double voting. LRA Soro Dagostino moved to amend the second draft, as a way of putting the third draft on the table. Cindy Eckso requested that they begin instead by reviewing Jamie's second draft. Brian felt that while Jamie's new version allowed the RA to dissolve the merger by simple majority, it would be more appropriate to require a super majority of two-thirds, given the grave implications of such a decision. Soro wondered which version was being discussed, and Brian explained that he was going to propose a modification to the second version, rather than discuss the third version. Having carefully read the bill, Brian was less concerned about citizens of both CDS and AA counting twice in the RA, since their additional investment of time and effort in AA could reasonably deserve a separate representation. Moreover, he saw the AA method of selection of RA members to be an internal matter within their own community. He therefore proposed amending section 8 of the second version in the spirit of Jamie's third version changes to that clause, but adding the requirement of a two-thirds majority for an RA vote to dissolve the merger.<br /><br />Patroklus hoped that they would instead move on to discussion of the third draft, since the second draft had several problems. He also wanted to discuss his related proposal of a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2438#p13292">detailed constitutional amendment</a> to enable the merger to take place. Soro called on Claude Desmoulins, then head of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=sc0">Scientific Council</a> (SC), who had come to report on a recent SC meeting. The SC had examined the question of whether a constitutional amendment would be required in order to add representatives, even temporary ones, to an existing RA. Moreover, the merger could add as many as 45 new citizens to CDS, thereby raising the number of members any faction needs to be able to present candidates (which was then 10% of the total CDS population). This would mean that two of the three current factions would need to recruit very rapidly to remain legally viable, running the risk of leaving only one faction with candidates. Cindy maintained that the bill under discussion could be voted on without any constitutional amendment, since it only extended a proposal to AA, and that the constitutional issue would only arise once AA accepted and the proposal came back to the RA. She moved the second draft as amended, and Brian seconded. Jamie finally arrived just at that moment, ready to speak to the motion. Pat again raised his question about how AA would select its representatives, but Soro called the vote. The motion passed with four ayes, no nayes, and a 7 day vote still to come from Sonja.<br /><br />Next item for discussion was Arria's Monastery sim, as proposed in a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2395#p13241">new draft bill</a> posted by Jamie Palisades. Pip started things off by moving the bill as posted, and Brian seconded it. Rose Springvale noted that she had several times argued for making this a full sim instead a homestead, but that her suggestion had never been discussed. Also, she wondered whether, once CDS buys the homestead, it would get payments for the sale of the parcels. Arria replied that the Monastery holds exhibits but not events, so a homestead would suffice. On the payment question, she had committed herself to paying all the parcel fees for 4 months, with the CDS receiving this money in the usual way. Jamie confirmed that this was the procedure set out in the latest draft, adding that this sim would be an experiment in whether small lots can be attractive on a homestead sim. Rose repeated that she was opposed to using a limited homestead sim in that location, and noted that Arria's existing Monastery does hold events, having just participated in the latest Grand Tour (of community sims in SL). Patroklus retorted that the RA had just voted to add AA with its four homestead sims to the CDS. Cindy replied to Pat that the Monastery has much more going on that the AA homesteads, which are mostly one-person, one-function spaces. Cindy suggested adding a contingency to the Monastery bill that the usage of the sim be revisited after a certain time to see if the sim requires an upgrade. But formulating such an amendment would take time, so Soro steered discussion back to the proposal at hand. Rose explained that an upgrade of some of the AA homestead sims was being actively considered in relation to the planned relocation of AA next to CDS, and for the same reason (heavier traffic). Rose also stated that if the merger went through, CDS could have full sims at lower prices by using the non-profit organisation. But Arria specifically wanted a homestead sim so that the Monastery would be surrounded by low density space. Patroklus noted that Arria's whole proposal had been worked out in all its details for a homestead sim, and changing to a full sim would fundamentally alter it. Pat also felt the non-profit option was still uncertain. It was becoming clear that the Monastery proposal would require more discussion. Jamie suggested that Rose briefly describe AA's experience with the "Library" void sim, which was being considered for an upgrade. But Cindy moved to defer the vote on the Monastery until next meeting, and that passed. Arria stated that if she could not get a homestead sim in CDS, she would look for a solution outside of CDS.<br /><br />Soro asked if there were still items for the Scientific Council to review, but Claude Desmoulins and Delia Lake were gone. Pip moved to postpone the SC matters. That passed, and the meeting was adjourned.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-14031218665952490742010-03-20T12:56:00.000-07:002010-03-20T13:36:34.284-07:00Fast Forward Part 3We continue our brief review of <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">CDS</a> history as seen through the prism of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> (RA) meetings. In this post we begin with the RA of 15 March 2009. (Full minutes of these meetings can be found in the part of the CDS forum called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=2">Representative Assembly Announcements</a>.)<br /><br />Of course we have to agree with Dianne Mechanique when she <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2734#p14335">points to</a> the "many more exciting and interesting things that happened entirely outside of the legislature." But the task of reviewing RA meetings is all that Danton can handle for the time being.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />Our <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/03/fast-forward-part-2.html">previous instalment</a> went up to the end of the RA meeting of 1 March 2009. Following the discussion of the General Master Plan, the next agenda item should have been Sonja Strom's proposal for a referendum process, but that was postponed to the following meeting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 15 March 2009</span><br /><br />The meeting of 15 March 2009 opened among multiple crashes. LRA Symo Kurka then invited Sonja Strom to defend her bill for referendums. Sonja thought citizens should have the ability to vote on major decisions about the direction the community would take. The CDS Forum does have a poll feature, but not all citizens read the forum discussions. There followed much discussion as to how many questions could be asked per referenda, how many referenda could be held per term, or whether they would coincide with RA elections. No one contested the principle that the referenda would be merely advisory. The motion finally proposed one referendum per term, with up to five questions, to be voted along with RA ballot – and was passed.<br /><br />During the referendum discussion, since he had to leave, Symo announced that he was resigning from both the Simplicity Party and the RA. He stated: "I made this choice for personal reasons so please do not ask why." Discussion about his resignation followed after the vote on Sonja's bill. The person in Simplicity Party having received the next highest number of votes in the previous election would become the new LRA, and the Simplicity Party would name a new RA member to replace Symo.<br /><br />Arria asked for a report about the General Master Plan work group (formed by Cindy Ecksol and Gwyneth Llewelyn), stating that she would like to be involved in the process in order to integrate her pending proposal for the Monastery sim. Cindy replied that the work group was only reviewing the GMP process, and not the contents of the GMP. She suggested that Moon Adamant should report on the New Guild's development of the GMP content. Moon said that she was primarily sketching the basis for discussion of the technical aspects: cluster themes, orography, densities and transportation. Arria reiterated that she wanted to participate in the collection of that data. Cindy jumped back into the discussion to emphasize that the political aspects were creating problems, since no one in either the RA or the executive was responsible for moving the GMP along. Solomon Mosely asked if the Guild was currently reviewing the GMP for regular maintenance or for a specific proposed expansion. The answers that came back from various sides were contradictory, but generally indicated that both purposes were being pursued separately. The meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 29 March 2009</span><br /><br />Cindy Ecksol announced that in light of Symo's resignation from RA, the Simpicity Party had met and appointed Brian Livingston to fill Symo's RA seat. Brian Livingston was present and was sworn in. Cindy also announced that Soro Dagostino, as the leading vote-getter for SP in the last election, should become LRA, and that Soro had agreed to take on that role. Soro mentioned that he had experience in the matter, having served in real life as certified parlementarian at the conference of delegates of the California State Bar. (Soro's subsequent behaviour as LRA was indeed crisply procedural, and would have greatly pleased Beathan Vale, who a year before had pushed for the RA to use Robert's Rules of Order.)<br /><br />There followed a discussion of upcoming RA meeting times and frequencies. Then under "prior matters" Cindy brought up the outstanding flag and anthem proposals. To get discussion started she made a motion to adopt the Flag Bill. The main point of dispute was the number of stars, and whether the number would be fixed (at three or four) or changeable (such as to reflect the number of sims, for example). The final amended bill specified four stars, one for each branch of government plus another representing the people, and was passed. Gwyneth Llewelyn moved to adopt the proposed anthem, which was made up of two parts: lyrics and music. A recording was played in-world. The motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 5 April 2009</span><br /><br />The first substantial topic at this meeting was Pip Torok's suggestion concerning the "Look and Feel" within CDS sims. Pip proposed that when changes are going to be made to public lands (not private lands), the doer should put an announcement in a permanent "Look and Feel" thread on the forum a week before, stating what is to be changed (for example, choice of music or silence, advertisements) and the length of the change (indeterminate or with finish date), letting any opposed citizen express their objection to such a change. Cindy spoke against the motion because CDS already had caretakers to whom responsibility for such changes had been delegated (those planning such changes should ask the sim caretaker for prior approval). Brian agreed that this responsibility seemed to be in the realm of the executive. Rose Springvale also felt that the caretakers in CDS were responsive and dedicated, and should be trusted to approve changes without having to give public notice beforehand. Pip replied that the list of caretakers should at least be published so that citizens could know who they are. Brian linked to the list of caretakers on the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=executive">Executive page</a> of the CDS portal. Pip finally withdrew his motion.<br /><br />Then came "Citizen items." Rose Springvale had mentioned earlier that the Chancellor had opened the events budget for sim-specific events to be presented by residents of the sim, and that all citizens were invited to join the events team. She added that she wanted help with organizing the anniversary of CDS. She also said she would like to see more shops on the marktplatz and less offices for factions. Finally, she requested that potential citizens be sent to her, since CDS had a lot of land to sell. On another subject, Arria Perrault requested that in future the RA agenda should be clearer, without items listed just as "TBA" (to be announced). The meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly Meeting of 19 April 2009</span><br /><br />This meeting was attended by a guest, Sigmund Leominster, writer for Prim Perfect Magazine which was <a href="http://sigmundleominster.blogspot.com/2009/05/conferederation-of-democratic-sims-new.html">highlighting CDS</a> as sim of the month.<br /><br />First item discussed was the proposal concerning the possible merger of Al Andalus and CDS, as <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2394&start=0">posted on the forum</a> by Chancellor Jamie Palisades. The proposal was not yet up for vote, and what Jamie presented was more a list of bullet points than a legislative bill. Jamie noted that the two main AA sims were well occupied and broke even, although since AA operated as a nonprofit it got reduced sim costs from Linden Lab (about half the standard rate). This different in costs and status (the estate owner must be affiliated with a nonprofit, which Sudane cannot do) might be problematic. In the long term it might be possible to create a shell nonprofit for all of CDS. Moon Adamant and Gwyneth Llewelyn were worried that Jamie was suggesting that all of CDS would go under the umbrella of AA's nonprofit. Moreover, Gwyneth indicated that she would prefer as a goal to have harmonized rates. Jamie presented data about the rates in each of the CDS and AA sims, observing that CDS did not itself have harmonized rates. The AA rates were seen to be around the level of the low end of CDS rates. Arria Perrault asked whether, in the case of a nonprofit, the estate owner was the real-life organisation or an individual. Jamie replied that it was the individual (their avatar). Since Rose Springvale was the current non-profit estate owner, one possibility would be that she retain that role, but as an officer of the CDS government. Or, Gwyneth suggested, Rose could become owner of CDS as well, as a short-term solution while a longer-term solution is being sought – or alternatively Sudane could own all of both AA and CDS. Rose thought changes of ownership would cause needless costs.<br /><br />Jamie continued his presentation by observing that AA had four "homestead" void sims, each with a break-even tenant. These could serve as transition sims when joining AA to CDS – the tenants were all willing work with CDS on the necessary terraforming. Moreover, AA wanted CDS to take on these sims as a condition to the deal. As to politics, it appeared that AA folks were comfortable with bringing AA into the current RA and citizen structure.<br /><br />Then Moon Adamant reported on the workgroup that had been formed to review the General Master Plan. She said that the group process of considering the future AA location with respect to CDS had been rough. Jamie suggested that the Guild should take the available data and, within 30 days, suggest at least two possible positions for the AA sims. On Moon's suggestion, Rose accepted the role of officially representing AA in the GMP workgroup. LRA Soro Dagostino noted that there seemed to be consensus to move this question to the GMP workgroup.<br /><br />The next item was Arria Perrault's latest proposal concerning a new homestead sim to house the Monastery. (Arria's struggle to get CDS to approve this sim was the main issue within the RA during the entire Fall 2008 term.) Arria's latest proposal took the form of a letter to the Chancellor, which Jamie posted into the RA chat log. Arria confirmed that she was ready to pay the fees on the Monastery, as well as on the 6 other plots within the homestead for 4 months following the opening of the new sim, if they found no owners within that time. Jamie suggested that CDS accept Arria's proposal, which would mean that CDS would buy the homestead sim, that Virtus (Arria's nonprofit) would do the terraforming and amenities of the sim, and that CDS would carry one month of tier without tenant rent. Rose noted that the problem with homestead sims is that they have only 1/4 the prims of a regular sim, and a 20 avatar limit, which makes it difficult to hold even minor events on them. She was of the opinion that CDS would be better served by placing the Monastery on a full sim. Arria replied that Monastery organizes few events, and that the rates were based on CDS average price-per-prim. Soro closed the discussion by observing that Jamie had suggested referring this question to Guild for review at the same time as the AA proposal, to which everyone acquiesced.<br /><br />Rose announced the upcoming opening of the To Limani Greek project in Locus Amoenus, and the Queens Day celebration on April 30 in Alpine Meadows (initiated by Naftali Torok in honour of the Queen of her native Netherlands). She also announced that the last day of the Al Andalus Feria was getting under way.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-90032449208327062262010-03-13T03:22:00.000-08:002010-03-20T13:42:26.690-07:00Fast Forward Part 2The <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2010/03/fast-forward-part-1.html">last instalment</a> of this "Fast Forward" through <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">CDS</a> history took us up to the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> (RA) elections of January 2009. The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2282">election results</a> were announced on 18 January, and the first RA meeting of the new term was held on 1 February 2009. <span class="fullpost"><br /><br />(Remember that the RA minutes through to October 4th, 2009 can all be found on the CDS forum, in the section called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=2">Representative Assembly Announcements</a>.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly of 1 February 2009</span><br /><br />The first order of business at this meeting was to swear in the newly-elected RA members. The meeting opened with Symo Kurka in the chair as Leader of the Representative Assembly (LRA), since he was the leader of the party that received the Highest Borda score in the elections. The new RA members present swore in: Soro Dagostino, Sonja Strom, Justice Soothsayer, Pip Torok and Symo Kurka. Then Cindy Ecksol officially resigned her seat on the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=sc0">Scientific Council</a> before swearing in as the additional representative named for the Simplicity Party. Symo Kurka gave the traditional LRA opening speech, and there was a round of applause.<br /><br />Symo stated that the Scientific Council had proposed two new members for RA approval: Aliasi Stonebender and Delia Lake. However, the RA members wanted to hear the candidates explain their intentions, and the candidates were absent, so the item was deferred. Nominations for Chancellor were taken. Jamie Palisades was nominated, and presented his views on CDS in a long question-and-answer session, after which as sole candidate he was elected by official vote of the RA. By that time Delia had come back on line, and after making a short statement of intentions, she was approved as member of the Scientific Council.<br /><br />Symo Kurka then, in a new approach, invited faction members to give their point of view on the term's priorities. Gwyneth Llewelyn (who had arrived late) readily started detailing hers until someone observed that she had not yet sworn in as RA member, so she was sworn in. Sonja Strom spoke about her own priorities, and then the discussion rambled, several members observing that each faction had also set out its views in its official platform. Symo then realized that Jamie had to be sworn in as Chancellor, so that was taken care of. The remaining unfinished business was postponed until the next meeting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly of 8 February 2009</span><br /><br />The agenda began with a discussion of whether CDS should open new sims, a decision which would require collecting data about the Second Life economy in general and the CDS economy in particular, such as vacancy rates and how long it takes for a newly vacant parcel to sell. A rational statistical system should be set up, and as a first step suggestions of data types could be posted to a forum thread.<br /><br />The next item was nomination of the Deputy LRA: Cindy Ecksol was nominated and approved. The Chancellor's monthly report was postponed to the next meeting, since Jamie had to leave. There followed discussion of a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2329">draft bill</a> to adopt the General Master Plan, which had been proposed on the forums (and heavily commented upon there). There was disagreement about whether GMP provides only guidelines, or has the force of a law. Sonja observed that GMP is produced by the New Guild which is a Non-Governmental Organisation, and there seems no need for RA to limit itself to New Guild recommendations. The RA could make other sim planning decisions on a simple majority. Symo felt that GMP should be binding on the RA. The issue was bounced back to a commission formed of Gwyneth Llewelyn and Cindy Ecksol, who would review the laws in place and perhaps prepare a new draft bill.<br /><br />The agenda item called "Cooperation with other communities" in fact concerned the possible merger with Al Andalus. Justice Soothsayer noted that Jamie had said such a merger would work like a native sim addition, to which Jamie added that the RA must approve maps, land acquisitions and covenants. A motion was made for Jamie as Chancellor [and as member of both communities] to present a proposal regarding the merger within 30 days, and it passed.<br /><br />The final agenda item was about CDS economic development. Justice mentioned that there was the skeleton of a Chamber of Commerce but that no one had moved forward to form one with an RA-approved charter. Patroklus Murakami, who had long ago started the CDS Traders Association, replied that an RA-sponsored Chamber of Commerce felt too corporatist. Justice added that there had also been a Commerce Commission at one point. Patroklus suggested that it might be good for CDS to have Commerce Minister, so Symo asked him to open a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2336">forum thread</a> on this subject. The meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly of 15 February 2009</span><br /><br />Symo opened the meeting with a short presentation on the Monthly Economic Observatory, a new system for monitoring the economy of SL and of CDS. Symo showed 4 slides. CDS Treasurer Sudane Erato was on hand to explain the figures. Sudane recognized that getting data on the number of parcels for sale was difficult. Another interesting number is traffic, in the sense of unique visitors each month. Sonja questioned the sustainability of such data collection if were not automatic. There was nothing to vote on, so discussion moved on to Justice's proposal concerning Rules of Procedure for the RA meetings. Building on a list originally prepared by Jamie Palisades, Justice had <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&p=12973#p12973">posted a summary</a> of the RA rules, and he suggested adoption of his "reconciled" version. There was disagreement about restrictions such as the meeting being limited to 2 hours or each specific item being limited to 10 minutes, although it was argued that these were just "guidelines" that the LRA could overule on a case-by-case basis. Decision was postponed to the following meeting, when a redraft would be presented. Symo then mentioned the GMP, suggesting that work on this issue was ongoing, and that any "bill for approval" should be withdrawn for the moment. Under "general comments" Rose Springvale spoke of the recent Grand Tour, of the ski run, and of Solomon Mosely's build of a temporary Aphrodite temple in the old Toga space. Meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly of 01 March 2009</span><br /><br />(Something strange happened to the transcripts of this meeting: in the first posted version everything said by Jamie Palisades was missing. Jamie therefore provided a separate transcript of the "missing part," in other words the part he had attended, and in which his participation was recorded.)<br /><br />The nomination of Aliasi Stonebender to the Scientific Council had been communicated and posted on 28 January. The RA thus had until 27 February to act on the nomination, failing which the nomination is automatically ratified. Sonja objected to appointing Aliasi if she could not come to accept the nomination. Apparently no one had specifically asked her to come to that day's meeting. Although she was now automatically member of the SC, Symo Kurka as LRA proposed to invite her to come to another RA meeting as a courtesy. Then the new RA Rules of Procedure came up for a vote, and were approved unanimously.<br /><br />Jamie Palisades gave the Chancellor's report. Some appointments of executive officers were already posted to the forum. Instead of reappointing Rose and Brian as joint Public Information Officers (PIOs), he proposed to change Brian's title to Chief Information Officer (CIO), better reflecting Brian's role as manager of the web portal. Rose's responsibilities would be broadened, including an increased role in new citizen development (but not including sim expansion, which would be a conflict of interest considering her heavy involvement in Al Andalus). This would also mean that Rose and Jamie could lift some of the burden from Sudane Erato in the management of the CDS real estate market. Jamie also suggested creation of a new executive position to help in that area, with a title like Chief Development Officer or some such. On the subject of land, Jamie noted that Locus Amoenus was (finally) almost fully sold. And the previous weekend he had launched the bid process for the several reclaimed commercial plots that had been off the market for a time, and which would be a test for the reduced-price plan to stimulate commercial activity. Jamie mentioned recent events (Inaugural ball, February Grand Tour) and the events budget (CDS spent an average of L$11000/month on events, which was only about one fourth of the budget available after setting aside the monthly reserves). Jamie recommended appointing a standing Culture and Art panel, and that each sim be given a budget for local in-theme events, with some measure of decentralized decision-making.<br /><br />There were questions concerning the Chancellor's report. Pip Torok wondered if those (like himself) who were members of both CDS and Al Andalus should desist from certain discussions because of conflict of interest. Jamie replied that Rose's case was special, because she was officially the OWNER of AA, and CDS would be the buyer - although technically it is not a purchase. Soro Dagostino suggested that disclosure would be sufficient. Gwyneth Llewelyn asked what legal status the Arts Committee would have. Jamie thought it would fall under the executive, rather than being an NGO. As for the local councils, he thought the structure should be something simple, corresponding just to local event kitties, not local government.<br /><br />In response to a question about the proposed merger with AA, Jamie listed five issues. Do we want to do it? Is it fiscally sound? Can AA safely merge without it's separate cultural life being swallowed up? Can they safely merge without CDS razing their community structures? Do they want to come to us? The last point would depend on the first four.<br /><br />Cindy Ecksol then reported on her discussion group with Gwyneth about what additional legislation might be needed to properly maintain the General Master Plan. They found relevant statements in two items of code: 8-2 directs RA to consider the GMP when approving new sims, and 8-4 directs the Chancellor to consider the GMP when assessing proposals for private development. Both texts emphasize that the role of the Guild is advisory and non-governmental. In short, no one in RA or Executive has responsibility for developing or maintaining the GMP. Cindy and Gwyneth recommended opening public discussion on the role of GMP and of the New Guild, to see if the discussion would generate a basis for a bill.<br /><br />While on the subject of GMP and the Guild, Symo took the opportunity to show off new textures prepared for Colonia Nova, and then moved to adjourn.</span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-63834166721956840692010-03-05T12:38:00.000-08:002010-03-20T13:42:07.876-07:00Fast Forward Part 1In May of 2009 I gave up reviewing long-past meetings of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> (RA) of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">Confederation of Democratic Simulators</a> (CDS). The five instalments of the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2009/02/cds-chronicles-part-1.html">CDS Chronicles</a> reviewed the RA meetings from 3 August 2008 to 9 November 2008. But it soon became clear that the account was falling further and further behind instead of catching up to the present. And the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2009/05/cds-chronicles-part-5.html">fifth instalment</a> was followed with silence.<br /><br />Now another nine months later I still want to cover the missing period somehow. A possible approach would be to cover each RA as briefly as possible, at the risk of leaving out much that is important. So let us travel back in time to the point where we left off: the RA meeting of 23 November 2008.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />To minimize the need for links in these posts, please just note that the RA minutes through to 4 October 2009 can all be found on the CDS forum, in the section called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=2">Representative Assembly Announcements</a>. (RA minutes after that date are found in the section called <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=24">Representative Assembly Discussion</a>.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly of 23 November 2008</span><br /><br />The main business at this meeting was Jamie Palisades' Chancellor's report. The amended Commerce Bill had requested the Chancellor to pay a Second Life business consultant to develop a promotional plan for commercial activities within CDS. However, the candidates interviewed by Jamie were disappointing, and the effect on Second Life spending of the real-life economic downturn made such an investment seem rather futile. The Commerce Bill also provided that at least 15% of all unowned commercial plots in CDS be offered to CDS citizens with a 50% reduction in rent, in order to stimulate new business development. But very few such plots were available, although Jamie expected several appropriate commercial plots to become free in the near future. Jamie also noted that the "yellow map" direct sale feature adopted by CDS failed to give an overview of the prices and availability of land, which discouraged buyers. Moreover the yellow patches everywhere made CDS look half-empty. Another problem was that CDS outlaws subtenants, in order to ensure that land-owners are voting citizens - although people get around this by joining groups that hold land in the name of the group.<br /><br />Justice Soothsayer asked Jamie how the land questions impact on the newly-introduced idea of merging CDS with Al Andalus. Jamie replied that he expected to have soon a rent analysis from Al Andalus showing financial feasibility of the merger. Arria Perreault asked what it means to stimulate economic activity in Second Life, saying that it is more a question of teaching citizens how to create things, than of drawing new tenants. Gwyneth Llewelyn asked how renters could be made to abide by CDS law, and suggested that renters might be allowed in provisionally, with the expectation that they would become citizens after a certain time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly of 7 December 2008</span><br /><br />Gwyneth Llewelyn proposed a motion to introduce the "LRA pro tempore" (an RA member designated to replace the Leader of the Representative Assembly automatically in case of absence) as a Constitutional change. The motion passed. The election of someone to fill the new position was postponed to the next meeting.<br /><br />Moon Adamant reported from the New Guild. Jamie asked if there was a committee to review the General Master Plan (GMP). Moon replied that if a decision was taken about territorial expansion a committee could be set in motion. Arria mentioned that the RA had asked for calculations relating to land fees, and was worried about missing the possibility of buying a void sim at the current price.<br /><br />Jamie brought up draft legislation concerning land sales (the yellow map) and land reclamation (method of foreclosing and taking back land when rent is not paid). Gwyneth approved the strong measures of the Land Sales Reclamation Act, but Arria objected to the concept of "provisional citizen," observing that people don't lose the right to vote because they don't pay their taxes. No decision was taken. Jamie then discussed the budget, proposing investment in a new land management system instead of paying a commercial development consultant. He would need to see proposals to evaluate the price and features of the software, which should also generate an automatic list of all landowners.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly of 4 January 2009</span><br /><br />This meeting began with Moon, as New Guild leader, discussing redeployment of the Southeast corner of the city in Colonia Nova, where new lots were for sale. This led into new discussion of the issues of allowing renters in CDS and of encouraging commercial activity. Solomon Mosely proposed stalls in CN with satellite shops of existing CDS shops, with TPs to the main stores. Then Jamie as Chancellor reported on the previous month's activities, centering again on the newly available commercial lots. Jamie mentioning in passing the memorial service that had been held for our community's co-founder <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2229">Kendra Bancroft</a><br /><br />The next item was the Land Sales Reclamation Act. After addition of an amendment specifying that the CDS government would post a method whereby absent landlords could prepay rent, this bill was passed. Then the RA considered the Land Sales Listing Improvement Act, which would take the yellow map markers off of land that was up for sale. After discussion of alternatives, such as a "central listing method" and bulletin boards at the two main hubs, the motion carried.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Representative Assembly elections of January 2009</span><br /><br />The RA meeting of 4 January 2009 was the last one of that semester. It was followed by the bi-annual RA elections. The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2253">candidate list</a> was published on 5 January, and a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2266">candidate's debate</a> was held on 11 January. The polls were open from 10 January to 17 January, and the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2282">Election results</a> were announced on 18 January 2009. The Simplicity Party won 3 seats, to be filled by Symo Kurka, Soro Dagostino and an additional person to be named. The Citizen's Social Democratic Faction (CSDF) won 2 seats, to be filled by Gwyneth Llewelyn and Justice Soothsayer, and the Democratic Pragmatist Union (DPU) won 2 seats, to be filled by Sonja Strom and Pip Torok.<br /><br />This seems a convenient point to end the present post. The next "Fast Forward" will begin with the first meeting of the new RA on 1 February 2009.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-56767292442367591782009-07-05T11:01:00.000-07:002010-03-20T13:43:02.494-07:00Danton's Second Life User GuideIt's time for me to go public with my <a href="http://sluserguide.com/">Second Life User Guide</a> website.<br /><br />I'm announcing this User Guide website even though it is still Under Construction. The site is about 50% complete with respect to what I originally thought it should cover. But it is only about 5% complete with respect to what I now realize should go into it.<br /><br />So why am I jumping the gun and announcing a very-partially completed User Guide? In fact, why am I even trying to make a new Second Life User Guide? <span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><strong>New User Guide or new User Interface?</strong><br /><br />More than a year ago, I maintained that <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/02/linden-help-needs-help.html">Linden Help needs help</a>. I was responding to Wagner James Au's blog post <a href="http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2008/01/why-second-life.html">Is Second Life's User Interface Cursed by Knowledge?</a> Wagner suggested, as have many others, that the user experience might be improved by redesigning the Second Life interface.<br /><br />Public opinion has generally followed Wagner Au in focusing on the User Interface. In June of 2008 Dusan Writer announced an <a href="http://dusanwriter.com/?p=557">800,000 L Viewer Interface Contest</a>. In July Dusan posted the designs of the <a href="http://dusanwriter.com/?p=662">contest finalists</a>. And on August 12th he <a href="http://www.vintfalken.com/sl-ui-design-contest-winner-and-a-lot-of-photographs">announced at a Metanomics event</a> that the first place winner was the User Interface design <a href="http://www.dusanwriter.com/contests/ui_winner.html">submitted by Rheta Shan</a>.<br /><br />Linden Lab has also focused on the User Interface. In September 2008 M Linden <a href="https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2008/09/29/4-months-at-the-lab">announced</a> that they would hire an interactive design firm to create a viewer that is "new user friendly." In November Tateru <a href="http://www.massively.com/2008/11/10/a-chat-with-benjamin-linden-ll-and-big-spaceship-collaborate-on">interviewed Benjamin Linden</a> about the redesign being carried by the chosen firm, <a href="http://www.bigspaceship.com/">Big Spaceship</a>. By June 2009 Tateru got her hands on an early build of the new viewer, and posted a <a href="http://www.massively.com/2009/06/12/second-life-2-0-a-sneak-peek-at-the-new-user-interface">Sneak Peek at the New User Interface</a>. Tateru found this new viewer to be quite a change and called it "fascinating." But Lowell Cremorne <a href="http://www.metaversejournal.com/2009/06/13/second-life-2-0-safe-choices">writing for the Metaverse Journal</a> found the changes to reflect overly "safe" choices, and even in some cases to be disappointing, such as the disappearance of the pie menus.<br /><br />(Then there are the latest alternative viewers, such as Jacek's <a href="http://imprudenceviewer.org/">Imprudence viewer</a> or the <a href="http://www.meerkatviewer.org/">Meerkat viewer</a> - but this subject would require a whole separate blog post.)<br /><br />I remain sceptical about the extent to which a new viewer can improve the newbie experience. In my opinion nothing replaces an online help in text format.<br /><br /><strong>Online Second Life Help</strong><br /><br />Linden Lab has made definite progress with their <a href="https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417">Second Life Support Center</a>. More than a year ago, when I first tried to consult what was then called the "Second Life Knowledge Base," I had a hard time even finding it. Starting from their Support page I had to follow a long train of links (I think I even had to log in at some point).<br /><br />The information in the Support Center has been organized into rational categories, and greatly extended. But it is still very hard to find the information you are looking for in it. You have to wade through long pages of questions, as on any FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). When you find a question that seems relevant, you open the page and browse through it. However, there may be many questions on the same topic, and you may read through them all without finding what you want.<br /><br />Linden Lab now also provides a short <a href="http://static-secondlife-com.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/Second_Life_Quickstart.pdf">Quick Start</a> guide, which is a good idea, but too brief to take the newbie very far.<br /><br />The secret weapon of the Second Life Support Center seems to be <a href="https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417">support videos</a>. More precisely, the secret weapon seems to be <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Torley">Torley Linden himself</a> and his long series of Second Life support videos. These videos are certainly most helpful, but they are for those who have the time and discipline to sit through the equivalent of an online course. Again, when I personally want help with some particular problem, I look for text.<br /><br />Which brings us to the various online tutorials in text format that Second Life residents have already created. If you do a Google search for <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=second+life+tutorial">Second Life tutorial</a>, you will find that they are legion. But most of them are aimed at experienced Second Life users, and concern more advanced skills such as building, creating clothing or scripting.<br /><br />Some residents have created single help pages aimed at newbies, such as<br />Gwyneth Llewelyn's <a href="http://gwynethllewelyn.net/2006/12/21/first-ever-questions">First Ever Questions</a> or <a href="http://olilas-secondlife.com/2008/03/second-life-starting-guide-tips-new-residents-newbies/newbie-tutorial-1-first-steps-of-second-life">Olila's newbie tutorial</a> (both of which, although high in the Google listings, are by now out-of-date). Some Universities have also posted good one-page introductions, such as <a href="https://techinfo.esc.edu/kb_article.php?s=4c7abc1db6f73dd3c43b5bfaaf3a936e&ref=8548-WHVB-4578">this one</a> from the State University on New York. But the single-page format is limited in terms of the information it can convey.<br /><br /><strong>Help!</strong><br /><br />Thus I perceive a real need for something like my planned <a href="http://sluserguide.com/">Second Life User Guide website</a> for newbies who are struggling up the steep part of the Second Life learning curve.<br /><br />The shortcomings of the newbie experience in Second Life are well known. For example, when M Linden <a href="https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2008/09/29/4-months-at-the-lab">announced</a> in September 2009 that viewer improvements would be outsourced, he also mentioned the need to "reinvent" what is called the "first hour experience."<br /><br />A good example of a disgusted newbie was <a href="http://phasinggrace.blogspot.com/2008/12/jeff-jarvis-says-second-life-is-most.html">given recently</a> by Grace McDunnough. She was curious about why Jeff Jarvis had said: "Second Life is the most overhyped alleged phenom of the century, so far." Grace studied Jarvis's blog, and found at least part of the answer. Jarvis says about Second Life in one post: "John Markoff admits that he hasn’t gotten past the opening and I admit I have not either." And in another: "I tried hard but just couldn’t get into the thing or figure it out." Taking these statements at face value, the real reason for Markoff's sentiment that Second Life is "overhyped" is that he just simply couldn't get past the opening.<br /><br />I first went through the newbie experience in November 2007. At that time Orientation Island was made up of a central hub, surrounded by four regions, in each of which the new user followed a path between a series of learning stations. The experience was moderately confusing. I remember standing in a stairway repeatedly clicking on a panel that said "click here" but where nothing happened. However, when I had finished the entire route (it took me more than the "first hour") I had learned quite a few skills in the comfortable presence of similar newbies.<br /><br />I tried the newbie experience for the second time six months ago, when I created my first alt. I found it worse than before. There was nothing very useful at all on Orientation Island. I stood in front of a few of the large tutorial panels, which I found hard to read and even harder to capture (with a screen capture), and which covered topics such as a description of the different prims, which is hardly what the newbie first needs to know. Large signs everywhere incited me to go inworld at once, in an implicit recognition that this Orientation Island was a waste of time. The only new element that I found useful was the set of tutorial notecards. But why require newbies to download these notecards one by one, when they could just be placed in the Library?<br /><br />When I went inworld, the experience was worse. I found myself in one of the new <a href="http://sluserguide.com/index.php?title=Demonstration_Avatar">demonstration avatars</a>, which I preceived to be very ugly, and which had a body which I was totally unable to edit, because none of the sliders worked. I struggled with this for a long time, becoming increasingly frustrated – and remember that I had already been using Second Life for more than year! I went to an information hub and found someone who was acting as a mentor, but all they could tell me was to go to a such-and-such shop and buy another avatar.<br /><br />So I searched through the <a href="https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417">Second Life Support Center</a>, reading up, and wrote <a href="http://sluserguide.com/index.php?title=Appearance">this page</a> about how to edit your avatar. If you gave a newbie the url for this page, they would at least be informed of all the options available to them, and could for example easily switch to a <a href="http://sluserguide.com/index.php?title=Default_Avatar">default avatar</a> in order to have a first experience in the use of the sliders.<br /><br />Many residents have made proposals for improving the newbie experience. For example, Prokofy Neva wrote this <a href="http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2008/05/m-linden-the-ne.html">long post</a> on the subject. Grace McDunnough <a href="http://phasinggrace.blogspot.com/2008/05/solving-second-life-user-interface-and.html">offers her own solution</a> which she sums up as follows: "The Second Life interface and attendant new resident churn problems can be solved using Artificial Intelligence and bots."<br /><br />My own proposal is more modest. I'm ready to let Linden Lab fool around as they will with new configurations for Orientation Island, or alternative solutions, paying large sums to external consultants, and coming up with what may likely be little better than what they had before. I'd rather try to give newbies direct access to a more usable online help.<br /><br /><strong>Better Early than Never</strong><br /><br />Now that I've explained why I am making a new Second Life User Guide, I'm back to the initial question. Why am I announcing this only very-partially completed User Guide?<br /><br />First, I think that even in its rudimentary state, full of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Red_link">red links</a> as it is, it could be of some use to newbies - and maybe even other users.<br /><br />And second, I may never get much further with it. I hope to keep working on it, but I have noticed that online projects tend to grow sporadically, slipping easily into extended periods of hibernation. So I may as well try to publicise this one now, instead of waiting until it has advanced much further. The wait could be a long one.</span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-40727104586230174862009-06-08T12:04:00.000-07:002009-06-09T12:38:41.846-07:00Bing FailFor my first experience with Microsoft's new search engine <a href="http://www.bing.com/">Bing</a>, I decided to look for - what else? - "Danton Sideways".<br /><br />(I always put quotation marks around the name, in order to find only articles where the first and last names are together. I thereby avoid articles containing sentences such as: "Danton looked sideways at Robespierre…".)<br /><br />The results of my Bing search were pretty disappointing. <span class="fullpost"><br /><br />I look up <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22danton+sideways%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=">Danton Sideways on Google</a> from time to time, and I'm used to seeing the present blog as the first search result, up at the top of the first page of results. Which is logical, since this is my main blog, on which I've posted numerous articles over the past year and half, several of which have been widely cited in other blogs.<br /><br />But when I search for <a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=%22danton+sideways%22&form=QBLH&filt=all">Danton Sideways on Bing</a>, the present blog fails to show up at all on the first page of results. Down in the middle of the second page of results there is a single link to one article from the blog – and nothing more thereafter.<br /><br />Moreover, it is instructive to compare the simple number of search results. The Google search gives 649 results for "Danton Sideways", while the Bing search gives – a measly 153 (only about a fourth as many).<br /><br />The explanation for this relative poverty of search results may have been given by <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/06/01/bing-opens-up-live">one of the Mashable bloggers</a>. On first trying Bing, this British blogger discovered that the results were exactly the same as those given by the British Live.com, just with a different presentation. (However, it appears that there were significant differences between results shown on the U.S. Bing.com as compared to the U.K. Bing.com.) Microsoft quickly redirected all traffic from Live.com to Bing.com, so the experiment could not be repeated. But this strongly suggests that all of the novelty in Bing is in the presentation, and that Microsoft is still serving up basically the same data and algorithms as was in their Live Search engine.<br /><br />But there may be even more sinister reasons to explain why this blog is low in the Bing listings. Rather than allowing the algorithms to produce objective rankings, Microsoft seems to be manipulating certain search results. As <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/02/search-smackdown-bing-vs-google">TechCrunch noted</a> recently, the Bing search results for "Linux" are suspiciously scanty:<br /><br />"Using Google, you get much better results for this query, period. Google lists at least five very relevant links (Kernel.org, Debian.org, RedHat.com, LinuxJournal.com and LI.org) that you will not find in the first 15 search results on Bing. No nifty sidebars, nor any amount of spot-on similar results will help Microsoft here."<br /><br />Could it be that Bing deliberately downgrades blogs that run on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger_(service)">Blogger</a> (such as this one), knowing that Blogger is owned and operated by Google? Or on the contrary, has Google favored my Blogger blog, in order to promote Blogger?<br /><br />It occurred to me that I could put this question to a test by trying yet another search engine. So I looked up <a href="http://fr.search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22danton+sideways%22&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8&rd=r1">Danton Sideways on Yahoo</a>. The present blog showed up in second place in the Yahoo results for "Danton Sideways", just after <a href="http://dantonsideways.com/">my other blog</a>, which deals with <a href="http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page">OpenSim</a>. (I might note in passing that Yahoo returns 831 search results for "Danton Sideways" – even more than Google.)<br /><br />So there is reason to think that Bing is deliberately under-ranking Blogger blogs. This is just a supposition, but one that becomes credible in the light of everything we know about Microsoft's long-standing monopolistic practices. (Added note: this supposition would seem to be stretching things - see my Comment below.)<br /><br />For a pertinent commentary on Microsoft's reputation among internet developers, see this recent post about <a href="http://blogs.zoho.com/general/microsoft-silverlight-vs-google-wave-a-study-in-contrasts">Why Karma Matters</a>. The author of the post notably states: "Microsoft just has so much bad karma in this industry that I cannot imagine a company like us trusting them on much of anything."<br /><br />Another good example of the Microsoft approach was <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/02/oops-bing-is-now-your-default-search-engine-on-ie6-whether-you-like-it-or-not">noted by TechCrunch</a>: Bing automatically became the default search engine on Internet Explorer 6, whether the user wanted it or not. This was quickly explained by Microsoft as a "bug" which they claimed to have already fixed. But it is hard to believe that this was a mere accident, given that Microsoft has aggressively employed similar tactics for decades.<br /><br />It may turn out that Bing is more hype than a real innovation on the search engine market. The statistics seem to show that users are unconvinced. TechCrunch <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/07/quick-peak-bings-reign-as-2-search-engine-lasted-one-day">reports</a> that the flurry of media attention focused on Bing led to a sharp upward spike in use, which lasted… exactly one day. For twenty-four hours Bing shot ahead of Yahoo and captured part of Google's market share, only to fall promptly back down. Karma? Or just an offering that fails to satisfy the demand?<br /><br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-57616881893249262252009-05-31T13:34:00.000-07:002009-05-31T14:33:01.310-07:00CDS Chronicles Part 5Some time ago, when I started this review of past meetings of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=ra">Representative Assembly</a> of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=31">Confederation of Democratic Simulators</a> (CDS), I thought I would quickly catch up with the present. But during the past months my real-life professional responsibilities have taken up all my time, and I've been falling further and further behind. So I'm just going to finish this present post, which has been in the works for too long, and then do a fast-forward to the present.<br /><br />The <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2009/03/cds-chronicles-part-4.html">previous instalment</a> took us through the RA Meeting of 26 October 2008, in which Arria's Monastery Sim was ready to be developed under the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=214">In-Theme Expansion Act</a>. Also at that meeting mention was first made of a possible a fusion of CDS with <a href="http://al-andalus.wetpaint.com/?t=anon">Al Andalus</a>, another democratically-run region in Second Life.<br /><br />But the day after that meeting, on 27 October 2008, Jack Linden announced changes to the prices of the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/12/openspace-revisited.html">OpenSpace</a> sims, which dealt a severe blow to Arria's project.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><strong>Jack Linden's 27 October 2008 announcement of OpenSpace price changes</strong><br /><br />I've already given an account of the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/12/openspace-revisited.html">OpenSpace fiasco</a>. The OpenSpace sims, which were an upgraded form of Void Sim, had become so popular that they were undermining the Lindens' regular sim market. On 27 October 2008 Jack Linden <a href="https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2008/10/28/openspace-pricing-and-policy-changes">announced on the Second Life blog</a> that the OpenSim prices would be increased. For what followed, including the introduction by M Linden of a new product called Homestead sims, see my blog post <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/12/openspace-revisited.html">OpenSpace Revisited</a>.<br /><br /><strong>The RA meeting of 9 November 2008</strong><br /><br />At the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2199">RA meeting of 9 November 2008</a> the first item of new business was <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2195">Jamie Palisade's proposed swap</a> of one of his Neufreistadt parcels, which had been used to expand the CDS information center on the Platz, for a nearby parcel that was underused as a "store for citizens." The RA members were willing to approve the swap if the prims and fees on the lots were the same. There followed a laborious search for this information, including links to the <a href="http://neufreistadt.info/id11.html">old Neufreistadt site</a> (broken link) and to a Google spreadsheet of the <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pKpEHNlZSbBS95SoA3QNDOg">CDS Parcel List</a>. The RA finally voted to approve Jamie's land swap "subject to any fee differences to be paid." Just after the vote, Brian Livingston found the information, which showed that Jamie would pay a slight increase in fees.<br /><br />The next item was a discussion of CDS policy regarding void sims and public spaces. Arria Perrault opened this topic by noting that previous sims had been added using various mixtures of public and private land, and with different fee systems. The resulting system was complicated, and Arria suggested that there was a need for calculations in order to understand the existing CDS land rental system, and for a general policy of land management.<br /><br />Gwyneth Llewelyn asked Arria if she meant that every sim should have the same amount of public vs. private space. Arria replied that her idea was that since every sim has a certain amount of public space which is financially supported by the private space, all the sims together could pay for a void sim. Symo Kurka observed that the <a href="http://masterplan.slcds.info/category/gmp">General Master Plan</a> already gives an outline and figures on how to develop CDS territories. Justice Soothsayer added that the Linden's change of void sim rates probably meant that the numbers would have to be run through again.<br /><br />Arria responded to Symo by noting that the GMP was not like a law. Justice noted however that the GMP <strong>was</strong> approved as guiding policy. Moon Adamant reported that the Guild was trying to make projections of the additional cost of void sims – a task complicated by the recent change in SL policy. For instance, if a water sim was to be used as a connector, but had an island with a lighthouse for one inhabitant, they could calculate how much that inhabitant would pay per square meter, and how much CDS would support. Arria repeated that she felt that calculations should be made taking the entire CDS into account.<br /><br />Justice noted that fees could be graduated depending on the type of plot, for example, either giving subsidies to commercial plots to encourage business, or on the contrary charging commercial plots more, on the grounds that they take up resources. Symo used Justice's remark as the occasion to introduce a new idea: using certain public spaces to rez visual landmark-givers to advertise CDS activities. Gwyneth observed that Symo's proposal came down to paying the cost of public spaces out of the CDS marketing budget.<br /><br />Arria offered to give some numbers: CDS at that moment had 43744 prims in private use. Arria stated that a slight increase in the price per prim would have little effect on resident fees but a big impact on the CDS finances.<br /><br />Gwyneth interjected that the overall "price per prim" on the Second Life grid was estimated at L$2/prim. Gwyneth then turned to Sudane Erato, to ask how much CDS paid for tier at that time. Sudane said she was still working on this data at the request of the New Guild. Symo replied to Arria by noting that sims are different, each having its own density, number of residents, ratio of prims. Arria continued with her argument in favor of a global approach to CDS finances, noting that Alpine Meadows brings a lot of money to CDS that could be used elsewhere.<br />At that point Gwyneth produced the results of her rapid calculation. CDS paid tier fees for two sims at 195 US$/month (the older Neufreistadt and Colonia Nova cost less) and for two sims at 295 US$/month (Alpine Meadow and Locus Amoenus), making a total cost of 980 US$/month, or about 265,000 L$/month. For 45,000 prims that came to a bit less than 6 L$/prim. Arria objected that CDS income was more than 980 US$/month, so Gwyneth specified that her figure represented each citizen's <strong>contribution</strong> to pure tier costs. Moon agreed that it would be interesting to study how to make tier uniform. Arria thought the price paid by residents was about 10 L$/prim.<br /><br />Gwyneth emphasized that the average cost of mainland sims is estimated at 2 L$/prim, and the new Homestead sims at 10 L$/prim – she forgot the estimated cost for OpenSpace sims, but noted that the new policy would render these fairly useless. At an average cost of 6 L$/prim for the CDS island sims, the average resident fees of 10 L$/prim bring CDS a surplus of about 200,000 L$/month.<br /><br />Arria suggested that one could use the available figures to estimate the percentage of prims that would be public on each type of sim. The calculation takes into account the cost paid to LL, the revenues coming from landowners, and the number of sims in private use (since revenue is only collected for private prims).<br /><br />Moon replied that the present General Master Plan prevents making such estimates for void sims, since the main sims have densities that cannot be furnished with low-end products such as void sims. The three available products were full sims (with 11,250 prims), the new Homestead sims (with 1750 prims) and the revised OpenSpace sims (with 700 prims). The absence of a middle-range product means that low-end products could only be used for the lowest density areas in the Master Plan.<br /><br />Arria insisted that everyone stands to benefit by the introduction of void sims, to improve the landscape and view, and that everyone should therefore contribute. She pleaded: "we are a community and not a confederation of sims." There should be a general policy, rather than separate policies for each sim. As it is, Alpine Meadow which is full in fact pays for Locus Amoenus which is not.<br /><br />Gwyneth conceded that Arria seemed to be arguing for more fairness in the way different citizens contribute to CDS development, and suggested that the Treasurer and New Guild could analyze the fee policy using spreadsheets. Arria hastened to add that she would like to participate in the calculations.<br /><br />Symo was dismayed at the idea that all citizens might have their tier changed. Gwyneth concluded that although it would mean lots of work for certain people, a detailed study of the current price structure would provide greater transparency, even if it led to no changes at all.<br /><br />Justice finally formulated the proposal as follows: "that the RA asks the Executive and the New Guild to propose a new pricing structure, taking into account the Masterplan, that makes each citizen contribute more fairly towards the overall public spending, and to explore the financial implications of voids versus other kinds of possible new sims."<br /><br />The motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-19802674584838165592009-05-11T13:43:00.000-07:002009-05-11T14:07:35.748-07:00Danton booted off Facebook for being "fake"When I tried to log into Facebook today, I was shown this message:<br /><br /><blockquote><strong>Account Disabled</strong><br />Your account has been disabled. If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page here.</blockquote><br /><br />The FAQ gave the following explanations:<br /><br /><blockquote><strong>Why was my account disabled?</strong><br />Your account was disabled because the name it was registered under was fake. We do not allow users to register with fake names, to impersonate any person or entity, or to falsely state or otherwise misrepresent themselves or their affiliations. In addition, Facebook accounts are intended for use by single individuals, so groups, clubs, businesses, or other types of organizations are not permitted to maintain accounts.<br /><br /><strong>Why doesn’t Facebook allow fake names?</strong><br />Facebook is built around real world interactions. Operating under an alias detracts from the value of the system as a whole. Users who operate under fake names are also prone to abuse. We take this standard very seriously and take down fake accounts as we become aware of them.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />There was more in the FAQ, but the above states it clearly: Facebook considers Danton Sideways to be a fake.<br /><br />Facebook seems to be a game behind in its failure to understand the reality of virtual identities.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />Facebook did leave me the possibility of sending an email of appeal. Here is what I wrote: "I use this account to communicate with my many Second Life friends, whose real names are unknown to me."<br /><br />I'll post their answer in the comments.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-58688205981654992052009-03-22T13:08:00.001-07:002009-03-22T14:14:29.472-07:00CDS Chronicles Part 4The <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2009/03/cds-chronicles-part-3.html">previous instalment</a> of these CDS Chronicles took us through the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2157">Representative Assembly (RA) meeting of 28 September 2008</a>, which included much discussion of Arria Perrault's proposal for a Monastery sim. Arria's proposal was to be the major subject of the next several RA meetings.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><br /><strong>The RA meeting of 12 October 2008</strong><br /><br />The RA meeting of 12 October 2008 got off to a slow start, because LRA Justice Soothseeker was temporarily called away in real life to deal with a confrontation between his dogs and a skunk.<br /><br />When Justice returned, discussion began on the first agenda item, which was Arria's proposal for a webmaster position with a stipend. This proposal had been discussed at the meeting of 28 September, and minor amendments had been proposed. The new discussion centered on the clause saying that the webmaster would "update the version of Content Management System as needed, after consultation with governmental users." Arria asked "who are the governmental users?" Were they only the members of governmental bodies, such as the RA, the executive and the New Guild, or did they include the stipended "civil servants," such as the Public Information Officers?<br /><br />There was also some discussion of whether the RA should directly review and approve website operational issues such as choice of hosting provider, software or website design, or leave these to the discretion of the webmaster and those collaborating on the website? Flyingroc Chung observed that the proposal referred to "consultation" with government, rather than obtention of formal approval. The question was finally resolved by replacing the words "government users" with "heads of each branch of government." The amended proposal was unanimously approved. Jamie added that Alexicon Kurka had agreed to fill the position.<br /><br />The next item was Arria's proposal for purchase of a "void" sim, to which the Monastery would be relocated. Arria referred to the latest version of her proposal <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&p=12148#p12148">set out on the CDS forum</a>, which would place the new void sim between Alpine Meadow and Locus Amoenus, thereby filling the "hole" under the Alpine Meadow sim. Arria noted that the Monastery was an NGO, and that this project could be a model for other NGOs to develop, without CDS having to take a large financial risk. Justice Soothseeker asked whether the Monastery's status as NGO was really relevant, since other citizen groups could ask CDS to purchase a void sim, and then fully pay for it. Jamie noted that any group that was willing to pay could also propose to develop a new sim under the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=217">Private Development Act</a>.<br /><br />Gwyneth Llewelyn mentioned that land ownership by a chartered NGO would sidestep limitations on the quantities of CDS land that can be owned by individual citizens. Moon Adamant confirmed that that limit was 4096 m2 per sim and per avatar. But Jamie noted that there was no limit to group ownership of land, which already allowed widespread sidestepping of any theoretical ownership limits.<br /><br />Jamie referred to <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2069&p=12148#p12147">his own forum post</a>, which set out a way to implement Arria's proposal under the Private Development act. Jamie specified what he perceived to be three remaining points of disagreement between himself and Arria. First, instead of the Monastery being a seventh paid parcel, Arria wanted the six paid parcels to fund the void sim, with the Monastery being on public land, thus paying no rental. Second, Arria persisted in wanting the new sim to be implemented under the standard procedure, rather than under the Private Development Act. And third, while Arria agreed that the proposal must conform to the General Master Plan, she failed to explain how the sim's terrain and its parcel plan would be confirmed by the Guild and the relevant branches of government. Jamie observed that the deciding bodies usually see a map and a parcel spreadsheet before they commit to a sim purchase. However, the Private Development procedure shortcuts that by letting the developer terraform and landscape before any review.<br /><br />Gwyneth and Moon, following Jamie's lead, asked Arria if she could reconcile her proposal with the Private Development Act. For example, according to that Act the Monastery NGO should pay 4 months of tier in advance. Arria replied that she would pay those 4 months in any case, and would continue paying if the six other plots failed to generate sufficient revenue. Why should she be required to pay tier in advance?<br /><br />Gwyneth noted that the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=217">Private Development Act</a> in fact provides two separate models. The first model allows the private developer to acquire the sim, while the second model allows the private developer to "donate sufficient money to the CDS estate owner to allow the CDS to acquire a sim." Gwyneth suggested that Arria seemed to want to follow the first model, but since only those who already own a full sim can buy a void sim, Arria's group would have to follow the second model. But Arria insisted that she wanted to follow the model of normal sim development (but with a void sim, and with an NGO as major occupant of public land), rather than private development. In exasperation Arria asked: "If people know so well how the law is, why don't they help me to make a good proposal?"<br /><br />Gwyneth admitted that Arria's project could be seen as a regular, CDS-promoted sim, but with only 6 plots for sale in a void sim, and a Monastery on public land. Yet Gwyneth thought that the Monastery group wished to speed up the process by entering the land business themselves. Moon asked whether the Monastery was public or private? Arria replied that the Monastery had been private since its inception, but that she thought it should now become public, in light of its contribution to the CDS image and activities. To which Moon replied that if it becomes public, it must follow the public process.<br /><br />Jamie tried to sum up the two main options: development under the Private Development Act, or under the standard procedure used for Alpine Meadow and Locus Amoenus. Arria's proposal would fit under Private Development, except for the four month advance, and the manner of submitting the parcels and rents for approval. Perhaps the requirement for the advance could be waived, since Arria proposed to fully rent the parcels, thereby reducing the financial risk, and perhaps the table of parcels and rents could be submitted prior to purchase, thereby permitting full review by CDS. The process would then be quite similar to that of the standard procedure, whereas the standard procedure would require more work for the Guild, and would therefore take longer to implement.<br /><br />Justice suggested that Jamie as Chancellor should continue to refine the possibilities. Jamie therefore proposed to come back to a future RA meeting with details about Arria's map, showing parcel sizes, purchase prices and rental rates.<br /><br />Gwyneth however suddenly suggested that this project should fall under the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=214">In-Theme Expansion Act (NL 8-2)</a>. (I found this surprising, because Gwyneth up to this point seemed to be pushing Arria to admit that her project fell under the Private Development Act. But rereading the above carefully I concluded that Gwyneth and Moon had in fact been steadily undermining the Private Development option.) Gwyneth immediately formulated her suggestion as a motion, which Pip Torok seconded.<br /><br />Jamie, who had been championing a modified Private Development approach, predictably objected against taking a premature vote. "I wouldn't APPROVE before you have plans of the table," he said. And after a moment of reflection, he added wryly: "I see that if you use NL 8-2 it is the RA not the executive who decides."<br /><br />Gwyneth replied that the proposal was only for the RA to approve the project on general terms. Then RA would decide on the preliminary configuration (such as a void sim south of Locus Amoenus), and would commission the NG to draft a plan to be presented to the Chancellor. The motion would thus only initiate what NL 8-2 calls the "Preparation Phase." And Arria was quite satisfied with Gwyneth's proposal, because she had all along insisted that she wanted to avoid the Private Development approach.<br /><br />Jamie respectfully took his leave of "those who feel better able than himself to make such detailed legal analysis on the fly," cautioned against adopting motions with unexplored consequences, and concluded: "Please keep any approval CONTINGENT on a later approval from SOMEONE."<br /><br />Justice then summed up the proposal as follows:<br /><br />1) The RA supports the idea of acquiring a 5th sim, which would be a void sim next to AM.<br />2) The RA also supports the idea of the Monastery occupying public land on said void sim.<br />3) We want to see a map and detailed financials before final approval<br /><br />The vote was called. Gwyneth, Pip, Arria and Justice voted "aye," and Bells Semyorka voted "nay." The motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The RA meeting of 26 October 2008</strong><br /><br />The RA meeting of 26 October 2008 began with discussion of meeting times for future RA meetings, taking into account upcoming real-life events such as Halloween, the US presidential elections, and Thanksgiving.<br /><br />The first substantial topic was continued discussion on the proposed new sim. This discussion seemed to some to be premature, in that New Guild had not yet taken up the question. Gwyneth reminded Arria that the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=214">In-Theme Expansion Act (NL 8-2)</a> required the RA to approve the broad guidelines for a new sim, including:<br /><br />1) the rough number of plots<br />2) the range of sizes of plots<br />3) price and affordability<br />4) single/double prim<br />5) rough balance between public, private and commercial land<br />6) any specific public builds e.g. the amphitheatre<br />7) any other infrastructure that can serve the interest of the community and territory.<br /><br />Arria replied that she already had most of that information. Gwyneth observed that it would be nice to have it all as a document, or in a forum post. Arria said she planned to provide such a document, but was still working on it. Jamie noted that Arria had at each stage provided everything the others had asked for, but that the RA decision to apply NL 8-2 had added new requirements. The next step was Guild review of Arria's submittals.<br /><br />Jamie noted that Gywneth's point seemed to be that Arria should provide this information FIRST to the RA, and THEN to Guild. He suggested that Arria at least present a brief summary. So Arria rezzed a topo map of the new sim, and began explaining the layout. The six rental plots would be in a fishing village near the sea, at the same general elevation as Locus Amoenus. The new Monastery would be up the slope, at about the same elevation as the old Monastery on Alpine Meadows. A small cascade coming from under the monastery would feed a lake, which would in turn feed the river flowing into Locus Amoenus. There would be a total of seven plots, since Virtus would rent a small plot corresponding to the library of the Monastery.<br /><br />Jamie questioned whether seaside rental plots would sell well, since CDS experience was that upland Alpine Meadows plots sold much better than lowland plots in Colonia Nova or Locus Amoenus. Rose worried that all of the proposed plans would overload the one OpenSpace (void) sim.<br /><br />Arria then summarized the financial details. Each of the six rental plots would have an area of 512 m2, a prim count of 250, and would rent for 12 US$ per month. Virtus would pay 15 US$ per month for the library plot. The available prims would be allocated as follows: 40% to private land, 10% to NGO land (Virtus), and 50% to public land. The public infrastructure would include the lake (skating area in winter) and a ski slope.<br /><br />Sonja Strom said that she liked the project, but it seemed to go against the Master Plan concept for this area. Arria replied that, as Symo Kurka had stated, the Master Plan is just a guideline. Justice cut the discussion short by saying that the time for this item was up, and that it was precisely the role of the impending New Guild review to determine how well the project fits with the Master Plan. The subject was tabled.<br /><br />Next on the agenda was the Chancellor's report. Jamie began by announcing that Sonja had been appointed as Land Caretaker. He then noted that a small influx of new citizens had resulted from Oktoberfest and other recent events.<br /><br />A major concern reported by Jamie was land sales and vacancies, which was not going well, although not catastrophic. He planned to bring proposed changes to the laws about land sales and rent payments, which could help improve the situation. He had <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2171">posted about land and vacancies </a>earlier that same day on the forum, but had not posted his other views, which he set out at the RA meeting. (This subject deserves a parenthetical note. In the referenced forum post, Jamie mentions that one proposal would be to shorten the number of months to evict non-payers, down from the current 3 month period. It seems that ThePrincess Parisi, determined to leave CDS, had set a very high sales prices on her properties, and at the same time stopped paying rent on them. This final conflict between ThePrincess and the rest of CDS fails to appear in the RA meeting minutes, because the Chancellor exercises discretion in treating personal issues, and avoids mentioning names in any forum posts. A while later ThePrincess departed from Second Life entirely.)<br /><br />Jamie then noted that Alpine Meadows, which has an unusual hillside theme and small lots, sold fast, but that Locus Amoenus, which is flattish with a Roman theme, was selling poorly – though part of the reason could be poor economic conditions. He noted that due to the CDS Direct Land Sales Act anyone could see what is not sold. (Another parenthetic note: in his pre-meeting <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2171">forum post about land </a>, Jamie had written: "One can immediately see what land is for sale in CDS, because for the past year or so, we have used the "yellow map" direct sale system, and available land shows on the SL maps. Incidentally I believe that was a marketing mistake…" I tried to look up the Land Sales Act that Jamie refers to, but couldn't find it. I found an <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?t=503">old post by Sudane Erato</a> announcing the introduction of a new land management system. But when was it decided that plots for sale would show up as bright yellow splashes on the in-world map?)<br /><br />Jamie noted that most of the recent sales were turnover in Neufreistadt: the Fachwerken and scenic places get bought fast. Arria asked whether the plots for sale in Colonia Nova (these seem to be the large plots put up for sale by ThePrincess) could be an opportunity to start the plan for economical development. But LRA Justice Soothseeker announced that he had to leave, so Jamie proposed to share his further thoughts about the new sim at the upcoming Guild meeting.<br /><br />Jamie instead opened a broader discussion of expansion possibilities. The economic market for traditional rentals seemed uncertain, but Jamie identified three other alternatives for CDS expansion: 1) Arria's proposal, 2) another void or two for scenic and perhaps NGO use, and 3) potential joining with <a href="http://al-andalus.wetpaint.com/">Al Andalus</a>, another democratic community in Second Life. Concerning the third alternative, Jamie mused on the difficulty of arranging a successful merger, without CDS overwhelming Al Andalus like a colonizing conquistador. Patroklus Murakami expressed his astonishment at the announcement of this third possibility, asking: "As afar as I know, it's the first time this idea has been aired publically?"<br /><br />Jamie shifted to the last, minor, item of his Chancellor's report. During the Okotoberfest he had expanded the main CDS information center in Neufreistadt by donating his own lot next door to it. He proposed that the RA at the next meeting could approve a swap, taking Jamie's plot for the information center, and giving him in exchange the underused "store for citizen's" on the other side of the Platz.<br /><br />The Chancellor's report being finished, and the LRA Justice having departed, an informal discussion followed on the possible merger with Al Andalus. Jamie said that since CDS was a faction-based system, he expected to be talking to each faction about the Al Andalus question. Patroklus asked Jamie what approach he had had from Al Andalus. Jamie replied that there had only been informal chat, which had already revealed multiple possible conflicts of interest, since many CDS citizens also own land in Al Andalus.<br /><br />Patroklus asked why, what was the logic of joining the two regions? Al Andalus was set up independently of CDS, and why was there suddenly talk of bringing them together? What had been discussed? (Parenthetical note: Al Andalus had been formed under the impulsion of CDS members Rose Springvale and Michel Manen. Rose continued to belong to both communities, while Michel in a huff had slammed the door on CDS and concentrated on Al Andalus. But in the fall of 2008 Michel quit the Al Andalus project - which may have been one new factor that allowed consideration of joining the two regions together.)<br /><br />Jamie answered Patroklus by pointed to interests shared by the two regions : self governance, strong scenic themes, and general non-profit status. But there were also incompatibilities: the Al Andalus theme is very different from those of CDS, and the spirit there is much more communitarian and less fractious than in CDS.<br /><br />Patroklus called for discussion about this idea on the forum. He saw the way the news was introduced as evidence of a lack of transparency in government. He noted: "It's clear that some have been talking about it for a while." Jamie's replied that he would not make any forum postings until there was something appropriate and conspicuous to announce, because Al Andalus members can read the CDS forums. The discussion degenerated into a heated personal confrontation between Patroklus and Jamie. Moon interrupted to say that she found the possible merger very interesting from an urbanism point of view: it would allow testing of Symo's General Master Plan notion of clusters. Gwyneth intervened to reassure Patroklus that Jamie's presentation was just an open announcement of prior discussions, rather than any kind of formal proposal.<br /><br />The meeting ended with various event announcements by Rose Springvale (one of the two Public Information Officers). The first announcement concerned the deadline for the Fall Decorating Contest entry notes. (This seems to have a Halloween decorating contest, with winners announced <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2189">here</a>. Sometime later I stumbled upon macabre scenes of murder and mayhem in the Cloaca Maxima (main sewer) running beneath Colonia Nova – which seem to have been part of the Halloween "decorations".)<br /><br />Rose's second announcement was that the CDS guided tour Owl was now working, as can be seen in a <a href="http://gwynethllewelyn.blip.tv/#1473898">video</a> by Gwyneth Llewelyn. (Note: the preceding link unfortunately reverts to Gwyneth's video about Damien Fate's Locus Pocus - you have to search for "Tour of the Confederation" in the list of videos at the right of the screen). The third announcement concerned <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2161">Gwyneth's discussion series</a> held in the Neufreistadt Kirche.<br /><br />The meeting was adjourned.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-23049809075265668372009-03-06T14:50:00.000-08:002009-03-06T14:58:40.117-08:00CDS Chronicles Part 3In <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2009/02/cds-chronicles-part-2.html">Part 2 of these Chronicles</a> I went a bit too fast, and jumped directly from the RA meeting of 7 September 2008 to the CDS Birthday and Oktoberfest, which began on 20 September. But there was an RA meeting on 14 September which I forgot to cover. So we must go back and pick it up.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><br /><strong>The RA meeting of 14 September 2008 and the final Commerce Bill</strong><br /><br />The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2139">14 September RA meeting</a> was a short one. It began with a motion to approve <a href="http://forums.slcds.info//viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2108">the 9th term budget</a> which had been proposed by Chancellor Jamie Palisades in the previous meeting. The budget was voted and passed unanimously, in the blink of an eye.<br /><br />The next item was the so-often-tabled discussion of the Commerce Bill. Justice Soothsayer had posted a new <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2124&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a">Commercial Development Bill</a>, which was significantly different from the previous ones, although it included elements taken from them. The new bill set aside a budget of L$25,000 for the Chancellor to hire an experienced business consultant to develop a promotional plan for CDS commercial activity, including services as well as retail business. The bill also provided that 15% of all commercial plots would be allocated by competition among citizens who filed for new business development. Citizens winning the competition would be able to lease a plot for six months at 50% of the tier rate without having to buy it, at the end of which they could buy it if they wished. The provisions in the previous bill providing for rent surcharges were repealed.<br /><br />In the same thread Jamie <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2124&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a#p12091">had commented on</a> Justice's new bill, and suggested some revisions. Justice said he could accept Jamie's version, except for his proposed section 2, where "substantial activity" was to be measured either in terms of (a) updates installed on site, or (b) demonstration of substantial volume of transactions, or (c) SL traffic count. Both Justice and Arria Perrault felt that this section, and the idea of measuring commercial activity at all, should simply be eliminated. To support this position, Justice cited a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1611&p=12107&hilit=+soro#p12105">post by Soro Dagostino</a> who had purchased a property in the commercial zone, but had decided to pull out when he learned that the rental price would rise if his lot was short on traffic.<br /><br />Arria observed that point 5 already eliminated the rent surcharge. Flyingroc Chung asked if they could add a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_provision">sunset clause</a> to say that it would go into effect after "receipt of the above consultative report." Patroklus Murakami found the bill much improved by the new sections on promotion of business activity. He also noted that there was still the problem of lots in the commercial zone used by non-profits, which are hardly "commercial." Moon Adamant added that very few citizens surveyed in connection with preparation of the General Master Plan (GMP) found high commerce traffic to be a highly important goal. Arria brought up the possibility of opening some of the commercial space for rentals rather outright sale, such as for small local outlets for some of the larger Second Life shops. (CDS property owners are currently prohibited from sub-letting their property.)<br /><br />Justice passed out a revised version of the bill, incorporating his deletion and adding a sunset clause. But Arria still wanted to add that some plots could be rented to non-citizens. Flyingroc noted that the bill did state that one had to be a citizen in order to participate in the competition. Flyingroc suggested that they could just give citizenship to the winner of the contest, but Patroklus asked what would happen after 6 months if they declined to buy the plot. Bells Semyorka wanted to know whether big designers would in fact want to rent space in CDS, and expressed the opinion that citizenship was not a prize to be won.<br /><br />When the vote on Justice's revised version was called, it passed 5 to 0, with 2 RA members absent. Arria stated that she voted mainly because the new bill repealed the surcharge. The meeting was adjourned.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The RA meeting of 28 September 2008 and Arria's Monastery Sim Proposal</strong><br /><br />On 20 September the CDS Birthday and Oktoberfest began, as told in <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2009/02/cds-chronicles-part-2.html">CDS Chronicles Part 2</a>.<br /><br />The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2157">RA meeting of 28 September</a> began with the monthly Chancellor's report. Jamie first took up with appointments: Sonja Strom had agreed to serve as one the land caretakers.<br /><br />Jamie next addressed land sales. Locus Amoenus plots were selling at a slow speed, which seemed a combined effect of real life economics (and the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/10/boom-and-bust.html">crash of October</a> was yet to come!) and Linden Lab's odd land policies (the <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/12/openspace-revisited.html">OpenSpaces boom</a> was in full swing). Jamie concluded that any expansion plans should be grounded in positive cash flow projections. Arria again plugged her proposal to let people rent rather than buy CDS land. Jamie also suggested the formation of a volunteer citizen recruitment team to go out and evangelise for CDS, in search of new members.<br /><br />Jamie's next item was land enforcement, current policy for which was described in a post in the section of the forum on <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=8">Sim and City Planning</a>. (Who can help me locate this land enforcement post of Jamie's?)<br /><br />Jamie observed that the land groups and permission were in a mess, and mentioned that he was in the process of cleaning up certain SL groups pertinent to CDS. The groups, together with who is "estate manager" on each sim, control many matters, such as who can eject or freeze intruders, remedy bad prims or backup community builds. CDS still maintained permissions for many former citizens, like a company with high turnover that never bothered to change the door keys. A related issue was covenant enforcement. The level of complaints was low, maybe one sim each month, which allows Jamie to deal with both accuser and alleged violator direction and offline. The resolution of problems (without mentioning names) is posted to the forum section entitled <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewforum.php?f=14&sid=8a0158637770627db6d639fb520a76d6">Executive Branch Announcements</a>.<br /><br />On the subject of land management, Arria suggested that the rental fees are poorly indicated in the covenant in the "About Land" window. Jamie admitted that the law that permits resetting of the fees creates a certain vagueness, and suggested that Sudane should be consulted on this question.<br /><br />Jamie then addressed events, starting with the ongoing <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=oktoberfest">Oktoberfest</a>, which was half-over. Rose mentioned that she was taking down the parade floats the same day, and encouraged everyone who'd not seen them to do so. The next event mentioned was <a href="http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Burning_Life">Burning Life</a>, where CDS had an unofficial camp.<br /><br />The next item on the agenda was the carry-over of the discussion on Claude Desmoulin's <a href="http://forums.slcds.info//viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2034">Flag Bill</a>. There had been discussion of modifying the CDS flag by adding a new star each time a sim was added, but Claude suggested stopping at three stars, to represent the three branches of CDS government (representative, philosophic, and executive). The flag issue seemed to require further reflection, so the discussion moved on to the next agenda item, which Arria's webmaster proposal.<br /><br />Arria's proposal outlined the webmaster's tasks, including: to own the domain name on behalf of CDS, to be contractor for the hosting, to update the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system">Content Management System</a> (CMS), to implement the design template and to manage the users (accounts and permissions). Rubaiyat Shatner added that the webmaster should also be responsible for making regular backups of the portal (and the old websites that it replaces). Justice asked Arria and Jamie to post a draft bill on the forum for discussion, and the matter was tabled.<br /><br />Discussion then began on Arria's other proposal, which was to move the Monastery to a void sim (or more exactly, to an <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2008/12/openspace-revisited.html">OpenSpace</a> sim). The Monastery, situated on the Alpine Meadows sim, was managed by an NGO called Virtus. Arria wanted to move it to a void sim, and to surround it with 6 small plots with cottages and a few prims, which would be rented out to owners who would share the Monastery for their personal projects. Since a void sim could only be bought by the owner of a regular sim, Arria wanted CDS to buy the void sim for the Monastery project, which would thus remain within CDS.<br /><br />Jamie replied that there seemed to be within the CDS legal framework four ways of adding new sims, as he had set out unofficially in a forum post on <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2067">how sim expansion decisions work in CDS</a>.<br /><br />Jamie's four ways of adding sims were:<br /><br />1) The traditional sim expansion process, used for Colonia Nova and Alpine Meadow, under which open contests were held for the design of a new "theme".<br /><br />2) The <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=214">In-Theme Expansion Act</a>, which allows the New Guild to pilot the development of a new sim on an existing theme, under the <a href="http://masterplan.slcds.info/2008/06/11/map-03-cluster-expansions">CDS Master Plan</a>. This process was used for Locus Amoenus, which extended the roman theme of Colonia Nova.<br /><br />3) Private Expansion under Beathan Vale's <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1722&p=10980#p10980">Private Development Bill</a>. In the first two expansion methods CDS takes the entire financial risk and the New Guild controls the design. Under Beathan's proposal a private party submits a plan to the Chancellor and takes the financial risk of developing a sim which federates with CDS.<br /><br />4) Any other way the RA decides.<br /><br />Jamie suggested that Arria's project was an instance of Beathan's Private Development route, since her group would be bringing their own sim to CDS. However, it was private development with a twist, since to buy a void you must own a sim already, which Arria's group did not, and CDS would have to support the risk of the new sim failing to pay. Under Beathan's bill, the CDS was never to take the title of the sim, which would remain with the developers.<br /><br />Gwyneth observed that if CDS owned the Monastery from the beginning, it would logically rent it to Arria's group, in the sense of giving a deed. Only there would be no public announcement of available plots. Rubaiyat agreed that the problem could probably be solved by making some sort of sub-letting contract. Jamie replied that in this case Beathan's bill failed to apply, since no independent developer was taking the risk. Jamie added that the project would in any case require coordination with the Guild and approval by the RA, which makes it more like traditional CDS sim expansion.<br /><br />There seemed to be general agreement that Arria's proposal would present less risk that the traditional CDS sim expansion, because the cost for both acquisition and tier were much lower for a void sim. But there was a question of whether the land rents from the 6 tenants would be split between Virtus and CDS. Arria replied that there were two possibilities: (1) Monastery tenants would pay directly to CDS and become citizens, or (2) Virtus pays as a group and rents to tenants who remain non-citizens. Cindy Ecksol observed that this would pose the problem of how members of the Monastery group would relate to CDS.<br /><br />Gwyneth preferred the first solution, in which all members of the Monastery group were CDS citizens, and Cindy agreed. Justice noted that they were out of time, and that an in-world soccer game was waiting, so the meeting was adjourned.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070972110446697029.post-77264486382686526282009-02-26T04:49:00.000-08:002009-02-26T06:04:30.373-08:00CDS Chronicles Part 2The <a href="http://dantonsideways.blogspot.com/2009/02/cds-chronicles-part-1.html">first installment</a> of these CDS Chronicles ended with the Locus Amoenus Opening Ceremony on Friday 28 August 2008.<br /><br />At the last RA meeting prior to the Locus Amoenus Ceremony, held on 17 August, the discussion of the Commerce Commission was tabled. This discussion was picked up again at the following RA meeting – but only towards the end of the session.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><br /><strong>The RA Meeting of 31 August 2008 and MT's Candidacy for the Scientific Council</strong><br /><br />At the beginning of the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2094">RA meeting of 31 August</a>, Pip Torok was sworn in as additional RA member for the DPU faction.<br /><br />Jamie Palisades then reported on the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1998">first meeting of the Commission on Corporate Structure</a> which was held on 26 July. The general concern at this well-attended commission meeting was whether a formal legal structure for control of CDS was needed, or whether the underlying issues of stability and continuity of ownership could be better addressed in other ways.<br /><br />Moon Adamant, reporting for the Guild, announced that the new Locus Amoenus sim was completed and ready for inspection. Jamie explained that as Chancellor he was responsible for inspecting and accepting the roads and other amenities on the sim. However, he planned to seek input from the Building Advisory Committee, which was being constituted following the adoption by the RA of a revised Guild Charter.<br /><br />Gwyneth Llewelyn briefly reported on the three Electoral Commission meetings which had been held (out of an estimated seven), each on a single topic. The transcripts of these poorly-attended and generally consensual meetings were <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2088&p=12003&hilit=+electoral+commission#p12003">posted on the forum</a>, so Gwyneth merely mentioned that the Electoral Commission planned to present a document by October.<br /><br />Next came the major issue at this meeting, which was the nomination of MT Lundquist as member of the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=sc0">Scientific Council</a>, the CDS equivalent of a Supreme Court. Several RA members wanted to ask MT questions about his vision of the role of the Scientific Council, as was the tradition, but MT had failed to show up. Second Life residents tend to have high tolerance for failure to come to meetings, since a resident's first life generally takes precedence over the second. LRA Justice Soothsayer thus suggested that questions for MT could be posted on the forum.<br /><br />Jamie spoke up to endorse MT's nomination in the name of diversity of opinion, noting that MT had been a productive RA member and successful business owner in CDS. Claude Desmoulins, the head of the Scientific Council, showed up to answer questions about how and why MT had been nominated. Those present spoke either for or against MT's nomination, those opposed generally citing bias and temperament as reasons for their opposition. A vote was then hastily called on whether to confirm MT as member of the Scientific Council, and his candidacy was rejected with four nays (mostly CSDF members), two ayes and one abstention. However, this precipitous decision would be reviewed at the next RA meeting, this time with MT in attendance.<br /><br />The meeting finally got back to the Commerce Bill. Justice moved Jamie's proposed <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2065#p11910">substitute bill</a>,which was a compromise in that it required the Chamber of Commerce to operate under an NGO charter approved by the RA, but appointed MT Lundquist to take citizen input and formulate the charter. Jamie's bill also required the Chancellor to provide a map of all CDS parcels to be zoned "commercial," and delayed any imposition of penalty rents until the map had been approved by the RA.<br /><br />However, there was no second to Justice's motion, so the discussion reverted to Jon Seattle's <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2065#p11901">Commerce Clarification Bill</a>. Jon noted that he had posted a change to the forum, in response to comments by Flyingroc Chung. The change was that any action taken by the organization in violation of its charter would not be considered an official act. In other words, the Chamber of Commerce could act outside of its charter if it pleased, but only unofficially. Discussion then turned to Jamie's objections to Jon's bill, which seem to have been that the RA should allow the Chamber of Commerce to act as an NGO without a governmental charter (as do real-life Chambers of Commerce). Jamie had started a forum thread about <a href=" http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2068">how NGO's work</a> in CDS, noting that the legislation seems to leave this question wide open.<br /><br />Jon repeated his position, which was that this particular NGO was to be given the eminently governmental ability to recommend that a citizen's rent be quadrupled. (This suggests that the bill did in fact foresee repeat doublings of the rent of unvisited lots, month after month.)<br /><br />Further discussion was once again tabled to the next meeting. Jon noted that since the previous version of the Commerce Bill was still in effect, the Chancellor would be obliged to go ahead with implementing it. But Jamie reminded everyone that he had amended the bill so that fines could only be levied after concerned property had been marked as commercial in its metadata. He ensured the RA that he would hold this in abeyance until the current bill was resolved. The meeting adjourned.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The RA Meeting of 7 September 2008 and MT's Final Bid for the Scientific Committee</strong><br /><br />The <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2113">7 September RA meeting</a> began with the monthly report from the Chancellor, Jamie Palisades. He first mentioned that executive branch appointments were systematically <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2044">announced on the forum</a>, in the section entitled "Executive Branch Announcements". In addition to the 6 authorized funded positions, he was planning to ask for approval of a seventh, which would be a second Public Information Officer (PIO). Arria Perault mentioned that she was hoping that webmaster for the new portal would be a funded position. (It could be noted in passing that these positions are remunerated with a stipend of typical Linden Dollar dimensions, pitifully low compared to the time input, and that what counts is the title rather than the payment.) Arria observed that content and system are separate aspects of website management, and that Brian Livingston as one of the PIOs was responsible for the content of the website, while the webmaster would be responsible for the system.<br /><br />Jamie then reported on preparations for the upcoming CDS anniversary and Oktoberfest, which would begin on September 20.<br /><br />The third item of the Chancellor's report was land expansion. He referred to his forum post on <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2067">how sim expansion decisions work in CDS</a>. Jamie proposed to run CDS operating expenses from current income, leaving the reserve kitty for investments in expansion. (The kitty was at that time reported to be about 4500 USD.) Jamie also suggested that there were other investments that could make CDS grow. In passing, Jamie expressed the opinion that CDS had missed out on market expansion that had been captured by other communities, in response to which Gwyneth Llewelyn said she was interested in any data Jamie had to support this claim. Jamie also noted that a <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2069&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a">proposal for expansion</a> had already been received from Arria. (This was the first mention of Arria's Monastery sim project, which would be a subject of discussion during the rest of 2008.)<br /><br />The last item in Jamie's report was the CDS budget. He referred to his <a href="http://forums.slcds.info//viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2108">forum post</a> on the subject. Justice and Gwyneth expressed the opinion that the budget should be a voting item. Jamie replied that CDS had often functioned without a budget, and that approving the budget could be a bill if CDS Law so required, which at that time it did not. Gwyneth explained that when the Old Guild was phased out, they forgot to update the Constitution to say that the RA must approve the budget proposed by the Executive. Jamie said he would be happy to discuss whether the RA wants to take back day-to-day management decisions such as the budget, but that since these were currently left to the Chancellor, he would exercise this authority until vetoed.<br /><br />That said, Jamie referred to the presentation on CDS finances that Sudane had made during the previous semester. (Can anyone provide the link? All I can find is Sudane's Financial Reports, such as the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2121">Financial Report for August 2008</a>.) Sudane had suggested that CDS should routinely save 25% of the rent income each month, and spend the rest. Jamie calculated that these 25% savings would put an additional 58 USD per month into the kitty for future investments. After deduction of 10 USD to the ISP for the portal, this would leave about 175 USD per month for operating expenses, which is much more than is actually spent. Jamie noted that some citizens felt the surplus should be taken up by lowering some or all of the rental fees.<br /><br />As a concrete measure, Jamie suggested spending 44 USD per month on events. A decision was rapidly taken to approve the creation of a second PIO stipend position, but further discussion of the budget was tabled until the next meeting.<br /><br />The next agenda item was reconsideration of MT's nomination to the Scientific Council. Reconsideration was necessary because MT had stated on record that he would be unavailable until 7 September, so the RA should have waited until that date before making a decision. Justice noted that MT had <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2096&p=12059#p12059">replied to the various questions</a> posted on the forum. Both MT and ThePrincess had showed up for the discussion – although as it turned out MT did all the talking, while ThePrincess merely watched.<br /><br />In addition to relatively routine responses to questions about the role of the Scientific Committee, MT's arguments centered on two questions: whether he had a level head, and whether he had acted reasonably in contesting the CDS election methods. On the first point, he noted that in real life he is a senior manager in government service, managing over 100 staff running complex IT infrastructure for an organization of 18,000 staff. On the second point, he reviewed the reasons for his request for a new election following the announcement of the <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1983&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a">July 2008 Election Results</a>.<br /><br />MT claimed that there was a question over the type of count used, and confusion from people involved as to how the count should be made, and that a new election should thus be held only after clarification of the counting method. Even if the election results turned out the same, the method of getting to them would thus be beyond reproach. (This point seems in fact to have first been <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1983#p11682">raised by Bromo Ivory</a>.)<br /><br />Rubaiyat asked whether this issue of the election had been resolved, and how. MT replied that it had been resolved because the SC had finally <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1994">ruled on it</a> and that he accepted their arbitration, even though they ruled against him.<br /><br />Patroklus then reminded MT that Cindy Ecksol had posted several well-reasoned explanations of why MT's call for new elections was unnecessary, and asked why he had persisted. MT replied that he felt there had remained sufficient confusion to justify bringing the issue to the SC; since the rules had never been fully specified. Bells Semyorka observed that in response to MT's challenge the RA had voted to use the Borda count in the future, which implies that the issue did need clarifying. Jon Seattle noted that if the SC had agreed with MT that would have reversed the basis for every election that CDS had held up until that point. MT replied that historical elections could not be changed even if the method was flawed, but that on principle the rules should be known ahead of the election. Gwyneth replied to Bells that the RA had only voted on this issue in order to reinforce the decision of the SC. Gwyneth reproved MT for persisting in his opposition even after the SC had reviewed the matter, and said that this showed his failure to respect the constitutional authority of the SC. (Can someone give a link showing that MT persisted after the SC ruling on 22 July? His call for an <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1993">Election Reform Bill</a> following SC refusal to examine the case seems to have been posted before the SC ruling.)<br /><br />The vote was called. MT's nomination to the Scientific Council was again defeated, by 4 votes to 2, with one absence. The final curtain thus fell on the effective role of MT and ThePrincess in CDS politics.<br /><br />The meeting had gone over time, and remaining business was tabled until the next session. And this blog post is also dragging on, so let us table the review of the subsequent RA meeting, held on 28 September, and finish with a glance at the Oktoberfest.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The CDS Fourth Birthday Celebration and the Oktoberfest</strong><br /><br />I missed the 2008 edition of the CDS Oktoberfest because I was offline for an extended period. The CDS Oktoberfest began on Saturday, September 20, coinciding with the official opening of Oktoberfest in Germany, and ran two weeks, to October 5.<br /><br />As told in the SL History Wiki article about <a href="http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Ulrika_Zugzwang">Ulrika Zugzwang</a>, the first Oktoberfest in 2004 roughly coincided with the beginning of what ultimately became CDS. Ulrika's Neualtenburg project was approved by the Lindens on 12 September 2004, and construction of Neualtenburg city (later transformed into Neufreistadt) began in the sim of Anzere. In line with the city's medieval Bavarian theme, Ulrika and <a href="http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Kendra_Bancroft">Kendra Bancroft</a> organized an Oktoberfest, for which they created several of the city's signature items, including the Neualtenburg Bier Stein and the Neualtenburg Chicken Hat. At that first Oktoberfest members of the city and guests including Torley Torgeson danced under a tent on the Marktplatz, the only existing city structure at that time.<br /><br />The fourth Oktoberfest and CDS anniversary celebration was announced on the <a href="http://portal.slcds.info/index.php?id=oktoberfest">CDS portal</a>, with last minute modifications to the schedule <a href="http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2122">posted on the forum</a>.<br /><br />The CDS Anniversary Celebration began on September 20 with a triathalon, followed by a flag ceremony. The street market and carnival, which continued throughout the two-week festival, opened with streamed Polka music. The opening day finished with a music event in the evening.<br /><br />The next day started with a parade through all four sims to the Marketplatz, followed by the first soccer game, out of a total of three during the festival. Numerous music events were scheduled throughout the two-week period, including several open mics organised by Naftali Torok. The second soccer game was held on Sunday September 28, and the final on Saturday Oct 4.<br /><br />Pictures of the Oktoberfest can be seen at <a href=" http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilith-ivory/2875974544">Lilith Ivory's flickr stream</a> and at <a href=" http://picasaweb.google.com/sudane.erato/CDSOktoberfest2008#">Sudane Erato's Picasa page</a>.<br /></span>Danton Sidewayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592611193635208286noreply@blogger.com2