Senate Confirmation Hearing: Sestak for Deputy GM (Confirmed)

[Sestak]

Thank you.


So, to put it plainly: after I rejoined, I noticed the slower pace of stories from the GM Department. I reached out to Mr. R to see if I could help in any way, and after we discussed it a bit, he nominated me for this position.

My understanding is that the GM Team is still operating under Mr. Reactionary's master list of stories, so I'd mostly be writing those. As with Scott, I also plan on abstaining from stories targeting Fremont specifically.

Ideally, I should be able to do several stories per week pretty consistently - this should hopefully give all avenues of government something more to do.

[Sestak]

So, to the Senate, I'm currently in the middle of a conversation with the Vice President, and I'd prefer to finish that before answering the questions here....is that OK with the Senate?

[Sestak]

Ok, I’m going to be responding to all these questions/concerns tonight. But first I would like to say that on my nomination and the issue of my fitness for the position, I will accept whatever judgment the Senate comes to with no hard feelings.

[Sestak]

Not a Senator, but just wanted to state that as someone who previously served as Deputy GM, I understand the backlog of stories needed to put out, and how hard that can be to get done when real life takes priority. I do have some concern with the fact that the two most recent additions (Scott and Sestak) are both registered in Fremont, and both intend to be in office in Fremont. So I fail to see how this really helps with ensuring equally represented stories can be posted when the two new additions focusing on stories won't be able to post Fremont stories due to conflicts of interest.

I think Mr. R's response addressed this quite well. It's not as if stories are currently only lacking from Fremont - stories at all levels just aren't there right now, which is the primary reason I'm being nominated for this. I intend to be able to write several stories a week.

[Sestak]

Not a senator, but I have two questions to which the answers I believe would add meaningful content to this process.

When you left the game last, you left it during a time when people were quite frankly counting on you. It was two weeks before the last presidential election. The ticket that you were the leader of had been formally nominated by the Labor Convention, and was favored to win according to the overwhelming majority of the polls. You also served as the PPT of the Senate. However, one day, without warning, you announced your departure from the game, saying it was negatively affecting your grades and serving as a drain on your life. Put simply, you made a big commitment to the game - but ultimately failed to have a life that allowed you to keep that commitment.

I am not objecting to your return in and of itself, but I do note that you are quickly seeking to take up a large role in the game once again. Not only are you seeking office in the Fremont Parliament once a seat opens up, but you are also seeking this office - part of the game engine, the very entity which makes this game possible. Collectively, these two positions make up a significant amount of time that you will be expected to commit to the game. Given the short amount of time that has passed since your departure and the fact that you cited your large role in the game in the past as part of the reason you were forced to leave it, What assurances and evidence can you offer to the Senate that your life now allows you to take a large role in Atlasia without neglecting the essential elements of your life - not just for the summer when you may have more time on your hands - but for the long haul - and that you will not find yourself leaving the game again?

For what its worth, you are correct in assuming that I have more time through summer than I will after that point. So it actually is quite likely that I will be toning down my involvement at that point - probably just to one role. It could be Deputy GM, it could be something else, depending on the need. I would also note that five months is actually a pretty long tenure for a Deputy GM relative to past holders of the position.

The direct answer to your question is that I'm going to make sure I'm not taking on too large a role that it would cause me to neglect parts of my real life. This includes not taking on roles that are constantly demanding - as Deputy GM, my primary responsibility would be to write a few stories each week, which is something I can frontload for periods of time if it becomes necessary. This offers a stark contrast to running for President, administering the Senate, or chairing a party, each of which requires daily or near-daily attention on its own.

Also, I personally find it rather amusing that you demand I assure the Senate that I won't leave the game again. People leave the game. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't. Even among the most well-respected Atlasian figures, only a few of them have gone without leaving the game even once. Many times, people have to leave the game because personal reasons make it the genuine best choice for them, and I personally would be rather alarmed at the precedent set, not just with myself but for future confirmations, if the Senate demanded I make an assurance that I will never leave the game again as a prerequisite for confirmation - thus I will make no such assurance. Only that I currently plan to serve in this role for at least the next several months and will do all I can to help the Game Engine run more smoothly during that time.

[Sestak]

Second, about two weeks after you left the game, you made a brief re-appearance in which you accused the then-Vice-President-Elect of manipulation of the electorate. Following mass criticism, you recanted, stating (as I understood it) that you had witnessed the occurrence of a glitch. I'm not here to re-litigate the specifics of what you did or did not see. But, given that you will be in a position of some authority should you be confirmed, What assurances can you give that you will not make spurious accusations with little or no evidence while you serve in this office?

Now this is a somewhat trickier issue - but it's one I have thought about before I reregistered. What happened last time was a combination of a series of lapses in judgement combined with pent-up frustration, all of which were causes of my being emotionally too invested in the game.

So I am trying to come at this from a lighter perspective this time - this is a game first and foremost, after all. I think this kind of attitude, if I can keep it up, will go a long way towards preventing unpleasantness like what I caused three months back.

I will keep it real, however. No system is foolproof, and I've already lapsed once before. What I do think I have now, however, is a more clear understanding of what the warning signs are that I may reenter into that kind of behavior. And I will say this: if I do start noticing those types of signs again, I will immideately start making preparations for my departure from the game. I don't expect it to reach this point - again, I think the way I'm approaching the game this time around (as a fun thing on the side, not an RL obligation) should prevent that from happening. But this is something that I'd like the Senate to be aware of - if I begin to feel my judgment slipping, I believe it would be best for everyone involved if I began to withdraw from the game. Granted, I wouldn't do it without making sure there was a clear, quick succession plan in place. And I'd continue with fulfilling all my ingame responsibilities until it happens.

[Sestak]

Honestly, my biggest worry would not be that Sestak is not qualified for the job; but the fact that it may affect his own mental health and RL situation. We must never forget that this is a game and RL comes first.

He seems to be rising fast again. Of course if he can cope with that, it's great, but he should be careful. However, that's a call for him to make of course.

Others have made some vague statements on this, but the responsibilities I'm taking on are still far less than what I had before - not administering a chamber, not running a party, not running for President, etc. Equally as important is that these commitments are much more flexible - they don't all require daily attention (I can miss Parliament for a day or two if I really need to, and the position for which the Senate is considering me is one in which I can, as mentioned earlier, frontload my work and do it ahead of time if I'm busy at certain points. They're also positions where I can take LOAs if necessary without major ramifications.

And, as I also mentioned earlier, I'm definitely trying to take it lighter this time. I'm hoping I can keep that up.

[Sestak]

Honestly, my biggest worry would not be that Sestak is not qualified for the job; but the fact that it may affect his own mental health and RL situation. We must never forget that this is a game and RL comes first.

He seems to be rising fast again. Of course if he can cope with that, it's great, but he should be careful. However, that's a call for him to make of course.

The confirmation process exists for a reason. The Senate should seek all the information it needs and desires from the nominee about why Atlasia now works in his life when two months ago his life forced him to abandon all ties with Atlasia. It should only confirm the nominee if it believes the nominee can be active for the long haul. For while RL takes priority, there is a difference between RL taking priority and RL taking over. The game does need an active GM team, and IF the nominee's outside life prevents him or seriously threatens to prevent him from executing the duties of this position, the Senate should reject.

The reason I felt I couldn't fit Atlasia into my life at that point was that I had taken on many responsibilities that:

1. I couldn't really get out of without having things crashing down
2. Required pretty much constant attention, so I was using all the time I could.

The seeming finality of my commitments sort of got me trapped in a spiral and made things only become worse for me, which is why my cutoff was so sudden in the end - I was afraid anything more gradual wouldn't stick and would end up making my situation worse.

Again, as I mentioned before, being an active member of the GM team doesn't mean the same thing as being active in my previous roles. Being an active member of the team just means I should have certain stories ready on schedule and help out with numbers stuff when I can. It's a much more flexible set of tasks than anything I was doing prior to my departure.

[Sestak]

The point that I am most interested in seeing Sestak address himself is the idea that his party will be responsible for "managing his behavior."

From subsequent conversations I've had with DFW, it seems his claim was only something along the lines of "Labor will make sure he doesn't become chair or a presidential nominee, which are what caused him to be overworked in the first place". Neither of these are things I planned on doing anyway, so I don't really see this as changing much. I find the idea that my party would actually be policing my actions and involvement absurd, quite frankly, but I don't think that's what was meant here.

In any case, I don't need a party or formal organizations to 'police' me, not do I want it. I can monitor my involvement level perfectly well myself.

[Sestak]

Is there anything else?

Anything I missed?