SENATE BILL: Fix the Regions Amendment Take Two (Sent to the Regions)

[Lumine]

It is absolutely important that the consent of the regions being changed is required. If certain regions are abolished against the will of their citizens, there will be a lot of discontent. And that's a recipe for disaster. Thus, clause three should be amended to read as follows again:

"The consent of the Regions being changed is required."

I understand that this might be unfair to the Mideast, given that they seem to be the most functional, active and populated region. That said, when the rest of the regions have half the population and major issues with inactivity, trolling and the threat of collapse, it would be also unfair to stop the process just to please a single region. The majority of Atlasian citizens (assured by the two thirds rule) is more "important" than the majority of a single region.

I think we don't have enough time to allow for this to fail thanks to a single region being opposed. Zuwo has a valid point here, it is very dangerous to ignore a region's votes (in the case that, let's say, the Mideast votes against this). But this is our time to take a risk. Keeping this situation going for months is as dangerous as going forward with this amendment. A couple of days ago we lost 16 voters, and the Atlasian population has reduced itself in about 20-25% in the past months. The Pacific faces anarchy, the Northeast, South and Midwest have trouble with having competitive elections, twelve at-large Senators have resigned in the past year (I believe) and even the Mideast faces fatigue.

If we are going to make changes and create a new functional Atlasia, this is our time. I have learned to love my region, but as a Regional Executive I am willing to destroy it to create new regions so we can help improve the game.

[Lumine]

If we are going to make changes and create a new functional Atlasia, this is our time. I have learned to love my region, but as a Regional Executive I am willing to destroy it to create new regions so we can help improve the game.

Each of the Atlasian Governors has pledged to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitutions of our respective regions. We must not forget that.

As for Governor PJ's post, all I can say is that I don't have the power to block anything as I'm just an ordinary voter in a region made up of nearly 50 citizens. What I demand, however, is that the voice of every single Atlasian region is heard and taken seriously. If a majority of citizens in a region don't want their region to be dissolved we must respect that. Nothing is more harmful for a political simulation like Atlasia than forcing such radical changes down the throat of a large number of players. You simply risk losing many active players this way. The question is: Can Atlasia afford that? My answer to that question is no, and I therefore urge the Senate to defeat this amendment unless it includes a clause which states that the consent of the regions being changed is required.

I misunderstood the clause of the amendment, which isn't your fault, but it does not specify via public referendum.

You are right. A public referendum is a necessity, of course. Such far-reaching reform attempts must be voted on by the entire citizenry of the regions that are targeted for dissolution, not only by their governments.

Well, those of us who are strongly in favor of reform are counting on massive public approval, hence the existence of the consent process. I agree with you, there should be a referendum, but I think the majority of Atlasia matters more than a majority in all regions. What if the overwhelming majority of Atlasia votes for change and a single region votes against it with a small plurality? Should we disregard the entire process and the wishes of the rest of the country?

This is a dangerous solution, but all previous attempts have failed. God knows how hard PJ (and Tyrion as Governor) have worked to save the Pacific, and it's not enough. Should we just wait until problems are solved and the game functional again? Is there a way to address those problems without altering the dynamics of the game? I honestly can't think of one...