- Pronouns
- he / him / his
The Stench of Decay
HEM Tiberius
Op-Ed
In 2008, an up-and-coming citizen named Solimaria gave a rousing speech about the state of Europeian society. He condemned the region as disappointing, stagnant, and boring. However, as citizens went through the litany of his complaints, they slowly discredited both the message and the messenger. While Europeia was slightly less active since the previous Fall, we had just emerged from an activity depression that saw the Republic on the brink of martial law. The region had also just added three active newcomers, which was an influx almost unheard of in our recent history.
So as it turned out, Solimaria's speech wasn't wholly appropriate for the circumstances of 2008. Maybe, though, it would be more appropriate for the circumstances of 2017.
_
"I am tired of tuning onto the forums and finding nothing is happening. I am tired of the lack of initiative. I am tired of seeing Europeia become the most boring, politically correct place ever. What happened to great leadership that inspired us into patriotism? What happened to great leadership that stood up to the bad guys? What happened to Europeia being the haven for every democracy loving intellectual?
I don't care if you are a communist, or a fascist, a liberal or a conservative. I don't care if you cheer for Red Sox or Yankees, this has got to stop. We are bloodletting our influence internationally and disappointing so many newcomers."
_
There is no accurate way to measure how much activity Europeia creates today. So far this year Europeia is averaging about 8000 forum posts a month. That puts us slightly above our lifetime average of roughly 7000 posts a month.
However, with the rise of Discord, the amount of Europeia-associated activity is almost assuredly at history breaking levels. There is no way to categorize the content created in #eurochat and other rooms on Europeia's discord. Furthermore, the lines of where Europeia ends and where the rest of the internet begins are fading fast. Many Europeians have private non-regional associated chats that are not officially associated with the region, but almost definitely discuss regional topics upon occasion and involve regional members.
It is not a stretch then to claim that Europeia is almost certainly the most active that we have ever been in our history. The quality of that activity, and what it bodes for our region, are certainly up for debate.
_
In the June Presidential election there were 85 votes. There were 85 people who were politically aware enough to case a ballot between the three tickets facing the electorate.
Another major political event happened in June. Perhaps one of the most important political events to happen in years within Europeia. The region was debating the role of the Supreme Chancellery, and whether the institution should be dismantled into the history books and swept away. This was a pretty important debate for the region. If one wasn't chiming in on this debate, what topics would motivate one to involve themselves politically?
31 citizens made at least one post in the primary Citizens' Assembly thread discussing the proposal to remove the Supreme Chancellors. Out of the 85 people who vast a vote in the most recent election, only 36% of them bothered to express an opinion on the most important political debate in the last several years.
Of the 31 who contributed, the average join date was 2012. This meant that the average participant in the discussion had been in the region for five years. This is a pretty drastic skew toward old members, as past ENN surveys have consistently shown a 50/50 split between members who joined before 2014, and members who joined in 2014 or after.
_
There is no doubt that the Europeia of 2017 will be radically different from the Europeia of years past. We have become a part of the mobile culture where interactions are fast and speed is prioritized. I don't have a breakdown of our users by mobile/desktop over time, but I suspect if I did, more people would be accessing Europeia on their smartphones than ever before.
This means we have to adapt in some ways. People are going to be less likely to get their news from long-form posts like this, and more likely to hear regional gossip from their friends on Discord. Indeed, when forum posts do get substantial traffic it is often from a thread having been posted on Discord for consumption.
This is not wholly a negative thing, but it does mean the reprioritizing of our communications agenda. The custom of "addresses" from Ministers at various points in the term are probably fruitless endeavors. However, it has never been easier to recruit for a project among a pool of excited newcomers.
Part of our failure to engage new members has been to realize this shifting paradigm, and alter our structure accordingly.
_
Another part of our failure is failing to fully grasp how the professionalization of our region has impacted integration. Five years ago, someone who was reasonably sane and wholly active could snag a Cabinet-level post within a month of joining. Today, many members of our region have their noses pressed against a government that is seemingly never interested in them.
In reality, two of our three branches of government are inaccessible to moderate-commitment members. The Senate, a once storied institution that was seen as the people's house, has been reduced to a committee of people who polish legislation rather than lead a region. Serving in the Senate means you have to be, or aspire to be, a master law-writer. That branch of government is effectively out for anyone who doesn't want to spend hours learning how to do that.
The judicial branch is even more exclusive. When former Speaker Aexnidaral was nominated to the bench he faced widespread criticism of his experience level, even though he personally held more experience than most of the people criticizing him combined.
That leaves the executive as the only possible means of advancement for the moderate-commitment player. This has left the executive branch as an unyielding bloat of Assistant Ministers and Deputy Ministers that scarcely anyone can fathom to manage. Players sign up for Assistant Minister positions, but never get the experience to move up, leading to frustration and personal resignation.
_
And all of this might be quickly amendable if our region was currently pursuing something. If there was something super exciting that would get members passionate and moving. But the truth is, Europeia tends to shy away from big projects and not in recent history has any politician had the political capital or seen a need to rally the region around anything.
Instead, the function of government seems to be keeping the trains continually running on time. For what purpose? Nobody is sure. The trains keep leaving the same stations with the same passengers—always on time—but never any destination in mind.
_
This is not a problem caused by any single politician, nor should this article be seen as an attack on the current administration.
Quite simply, Europeia needs to adapt to new technological realities to reclaim the interest of younger members. We must also provide these young members with real chances to be leaders in our community—not training programs.
On the other hand, newer members should also give more back to their community by being more political. The social side of this region doesn't exist without the political side. If there is no government, there is no recruitment, there is no #eurochat.
And together, we must all set a larger vision for Europeia. There has to be something new we can do. Our law system is near perfection, our judicial system is the envy of the world, what's next?
HEM Tiberius
Op-Ed
In 2008, an up-and-coming citizen named Solimaria gave a rousing speech about the state of Europeian society. He condemned the region as disappointing, stagnant, and boring. However, as citizens went through the litany of his complaints, they slowly discredited both the message and the messenger. While Europeia was slightly less active since the previous Fall, we had just emerged from an activity depression that saw the Republic on the brink of martial law. The region had also just added three active newcomers, which was an influx almost unheard of in our recent history.
So as it turned out, Solimaria's speech wasn't wholly appropriate for the circumstances of 2008. Maybe, though, it would be more appropriate for the circumstances of 2017.
_
"I am tired of tuning onto the forums and finding nothing is happening. I am tired of the lack of initiative. I am tired of seeing Europeia become the most boring, politically correct place ever. What happened to great leadership that inspired us into patriotism? What happened to great leadership that stood up to the bad guys? What happened to Europeia being the haven for every democracy loving intellectual?
I don't care if you are a communist, or a fascist, a liberal or a conservative. I don't care if you cheer for Red Sox or Yankees, this has got to stop. We are bloodletting our influence internationally and disappointing so many newcomers."
_
There is no accurate way to measure how much activity Europeia creates today. So far this year Europeia is averaging about 8000 forum posts a month. That puts us slightly above our lifetime average of roughly 7000 posts a month.
However, with the rise of Discord, the amount of Europeia-associated activity is almost assuredly at history breaking levels. There is no way to categorize the content created in #eurochat and other rooms on Europeia's discord. Furthermore, the lines of where Europeia ends and where the rest of the internet begins are fading fast. Many Europeians have private non-regional associated chats that are not officially associated with the region, but almost definitely discuss regional topics upon occasion and involve regional members.
It is not a stretch then to claim that Europeia is almost certainly the most active that we have ever been in our history. The quality of that activity, and what it bodes for our region, are certainly up for debate.
_
In the June Presidential election there were 85 votes. There were 85 people who were politically aware enough to case a ballot between the three tickets facing the electorate.
Another major political event happened in June. Perhaps one of the most important political events to happen in years within Europeia. The region was debating the role of the Supreme Chancellery, and whether the institution should be dismantled into the history books and swept away. This was a pretty important debate for the region. If one wasn't chiming in on this debate, what topics would motivate one to involve themselves politically?
31 citizens made at least one post in the primary Citizens' Assembly thread discussing the proposal to remove the Supreme Chancellors. Out of the 85 people who vast a vote in the most recent election, only 36% of them bothered to express an opinion on the most important political debate in the last several years.
Of the 31 who contributed, the average join date was 2012. This meant that the average participant in the discussion had been in the region for five years. This is a pretty drastic skew toward old members, as past ENN surveys have consistently shown a 50/50 split between members who joined before 2014, and members who joined in 2014 or after.
_
There is no doubt that the Europeia of 2017 will be radically different from the Europeia of years past. We have become a part of the mobile culture where interactions are fast and speed is prioritized. I don't have a breakdown of our users by mobile/desktop over time, but I suspect if I did, more people would be accessing Europeia on their smartphones than ever before.
This means we have to adapt in some ways. People are going to be less likely to get their news from long-form posts like this, and more likely to hear regional gossip from their friends on Discord. Indeed, when forum posts do get substantial traffic it is often from a thread having been posted on Discord for consumption.
This is not wholly a negative thing, but it does mean the reprioritizing of our communications agenda. The custom of "addresses" from Ministers at various points in the term are probably fruitless endeavors. However, it has never been easier to recruit for a project among a pool of excited newcomers.
Part of our failure to engage new members has been to realize this shifting paradigm, and alter our structure accordingly.
_
Another part of our failure is failing to fully grasp how the professionalization of our region has impacted integration. Five years ago, someone who was reasonably sane and wholly active could snag a Cabinet-level post within a month of joining. Today, many members of our region have their noses pressed against a government that is seemingly never interested in them.
In reality, two of our three branches of government are inaccessible to moderate-commitment members. The Senate, a once storied institution that was seen as the people's house, has been reduced to a committee of people who polish legislation rather than lead a region. Serving in the Senate means you have to be, or aspire to be, a master law-writer. That branch of government is effectively out for anyone who doesn't want to spend hours learning how to do that.
The judicial branch is even more exclusive. When former Speaker Aexnidaral was nominated to the bench he faced widespread criticism of his experience level, even though he personally held more experience than most of the people criticizing him combined.
That leaves the executive as the only possible means of advancement for the moderate-commitment player. This has left the executive branch as an unyielding bloat of Assistant Ministers and Deputy Ministers that scarcely anyone can fathom to manage. Players sign up for Assistant Minister positions, but never get the experience to move up, leading to frustration and personal resignation.
_
And all of this might be quickly amendable if our region was currently pursuing something. If there was something super exciting that would get members passionate and moving. But the truth is, Europeia tends to shy away from big projects and not in recent history has any politician had the political capital or seen a need to rally the region around anything.
Instead, the function of government seems to be keeping the trains continually running on time. For what purpose? Nobody is sure. The trains keep leaving the same stations with the same passengers—always on time—but never any destination in mind.
_
This is not a problem caused by any single politician, nor should this article be seen as an attack on the current administration.
Quite simply, Europeia needs to adapt to new technological realities to reclaim the interest of younger members. We must also provide these young members with real chances to be leaders in our community—not training programs.
On the other hand, newer members should also give more back to their community by being more political. The social side of this region doesn't exist without the political side. If there is no government, there is no recruitment, there is no #eurochat.
And together, we must all set a larger vision for Europeia. There has to be something new we can do. Our law system is near perfection, our judicial system is the envy of the world, what's next?
h43r: 
