Presidential Task Force on New Member Recruitment

[Fritz]

As promised in my campaign, I have appointed a Presidential Task Force on New Member Recruitment.  This is not an official government office.  It will be the goal of this task force to develop and implement strategies for increasing our numbers here in Atlasia, through recruitment efforts both on and off site.

All Atlasians are invited to participate in these discussions.  Appointed to the Task Force are:

me
Kalwejt
Teddy
Tmthforu94
Dallasfan65



Members, please sign in.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Signing in.

[tmthforu94]

Signing In

[Rowan]

I hope we place quality over quantity.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Reporting for duty.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

signing in

[Fritz]

I suppose I should begin with why I am starting this task force.

Atlasia is becoming rather routine and boring.  The Purple State administration has done some remarkable work on game reform.  The changes made make the game somewhat simpler to navigate, but fail to change the game in any appreciable way.

It is my belief that larger numbers of active participants is what this game needs.  On its face, this would provide two things: a larger pool of potential candidates for our various offices, and larger numbers of voters leading to more exciting and competitive elections.

This game has consistently held 140-165 registered voters during my tenure as RG.  I think reaching 200 would not be an impossible task.  I believe there are a lot of folks out there who would get involved, if they knew we were here.  We need to get the word out: advertise.

Teddy, I know you have a few words to say, and I would like to hear from you next.

[Vepres]

Mr. President, how do we ensure that these new members don't just become zombies. I don't think anybody in this task force would intentionally recruit zombies for political purpose, but you could get people who participate for a few weeks and then slide into zombie-ism.

[Fritz]

An excellent question, Vepres.

And my answer is, you don't.

What is the definition of zombie-ism?  I define it as a voter recruited by a specific party or candidate who just barely meets the activity requirements to vote.  Others will define it differently.  Swedish Cheese has recently indicated that he will no longer vote in our elections because he doesn't want to be a zombie.  I think he is wrong about this, and I hope he comes back and votes.

As a Senator, I always stood against anti-zombie legislation, particularly the HAEV which thankfully got shut down.  I will take the same stance as President.  I believe our activity requirements for voting, which are being vigorously enforced by SoFE Teddy, are sufficient to ensure our election results are not unfairly affected by inactive voters.  I believe anyone who is interested in voting in our elections, and meets the legal requirements to do so, should be allowed to and encouraged to vote.

Atlasia cannot survive as an exclusive old boys club.  We need fresh blood just to replace people who are leaving.  I believe that a substantial increase in base membership will alter the dynamics of the game for the better.  Obviously, some new recruits will be less active than others, but you have to take the bad with the good.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

One of the biggest problems we will have with off site recruitment is time. This is twofold.

One, Dave needs to activate accounts. I've lost countless people who I've sent here because they lose interest in something in that short time. Its not that these are bad people, I've had tonnes of people show up and want to go NOWNOWNOW and some of them turn out to be amazing (like me). It is just human nature, and in particular, the nature of the type of people who want to play these games.

They have opinions and want to express them, all of them, quickly, and loudly. And that is what build a great game.

That is the first obstacle. The second is the fact that you have to wait multiple days before you can even officially join Atlasia. It may make sense to introduce a bill that says people can pre-register; IE register before they are allowed, with their registration only taking effect on the proper date; but that during this time, they can debate (but not vote) on things. This could help them get interested.

Recruitment is not easy. This is my example: http://rxr.ridingbyriding.ca/ My 'precious' game is dead. Died. Lack of players. Even our best minds could not keep it going.

The best way to grow the game is to grow awareness of it. This means, in short, playing other polsims. You need to go and play them and get to know their players. This does not mean you need to be a ninja about it. Ideally you should be joining these games to have fun and actually play them.

Most polsims dont like cheap ads for nothing. IE dont sign up and on day one say "JOIN ATLASIA" thats a quick way to a ban. Over time, however, note some differences. Say things like "Oh sorry, I didn't realize. I play Atlasia which is very different" and when people ask what it is, respond in a PM. Don't post a link to Atlasia publicly until you know for a fact it wont be frowned upon.

Knowledge of Atlasia is low. People just plain have no idea it exists. If you want more players you need to raise this knowledge. Google "political simulations" and google the names of other known ones like "US Gov Sim" "USGS" "United States Government Simulation" as well as "AGS" and "American Government Simualtion" for starters. "PolCan" "Politics Canada", "PolUK" "Politics UK" etc. Some websites/forums run a list of known polsims. Get Atlasia added to as many of those lists as you can. When you find these lists, take note of the other games. Try to reach out to the admins and see if you cant work out a link exchange between the Atlas/Atlasia and their game.

Recruitment is not an easy process, there are ways to do it, but all of them are difficult and labour intensive.

[Fritz]

Responding to Teddy:

I could see introducing legislation allowing people to pre-register- meaning one could register before the posts/time requirement is met, it just isn't effective yet.

As Teddy said, awareness in the world is low, we need to get the word out.  I don't think any of us wants to start joining other games just to recruit players for this game, however.  We should try to get on some of the lists Teddy is talking about.

I'm also thinking promoting on Facebook, etc.



Members, your thoughts?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I love the idea of pre-registration; facebook, not so much.  I feel like recruiting should only be done in Atlasia; otherwise we end up with Ogis v.1 - a complete troll with no interest other than causing havoc.

[Хahar 🤔]

Atlasia now is a cliquish wreck. There's nothing you people will do about it, because you're part of the system.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Atlasia now is a cliquish wreck. There's nothing you people will do about it, because you're part of the system.

Obviously. At least we, who are part of the system, are doing something in Atlasia, while all Xahar ever did around was complaining, bitching and demonstrating a deluded moral superiority.

[Хahar 🤔]

Atlasia now is a cliquish wreck. There's nothing you people will do about it, because you're part of the system.

Obviously. At least we, who are part of the system, are doing something in Atlasia, while all Xahar ever did around was complaining, bitching and demonstrating a deluded moral superiority.

I rest my case.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

We might also want to look into rules of conduct that are stricter in the game than in the forum as a whole. This is the only game I've ever played with trolls.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I'd be very cautious in recruiting people from outside the forum just to recruit them to Atlasia.

I admit, I recruited some new members, but they always were an established posters.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

^ Agreed with Kalwejt - I would be very careful about whom we recruit off-site, though I have no problem with the practice.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I guess none of us want people being literally chased from the streets just to have more citizens.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I do have a problem with offsite recruiting. Also, is there any guarantee this 'task force' of sorts won't help on party or another? Is this just a ploy to pad certain political party's numbers or not? In a perfect world, most of the citizenry would be active and engaged, but they aren't. The last thing we need is even more zombie voting. I guess I'm a little wary of this thing. I'll wait and see what happens.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Because we don't know if Task Force is going to do a proper job, I'd, for now on, limit stuff to already established posters, who are not in Atlasia.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Because we don't know if Task Force is going to do a proper job, I'd, for now on, limit stuff to already established posters, who are not in Atlasia.

That's a fair strategy to begin with, I guess. I'll withhold judgement until I see how this progresses.

[Fritz]

As far as offsite recruiting, all I am advocating is a little advertising- just get the word out about Atlasia, and let people come.  I am not advocating speaking to potential recruits individually, I agree that should be done on site only.

Is that better?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I guess it's whether you want to fundamentally change the game. Atlasia used to be a game available for members of this site to engage in before Hamilton arrived. I would argue we keep it the way it is, but perhaps encourage more members of this site to join the game rather than advertise offsite. We are liable to bring in more clutter and trolls than useful recruits. It's really not my call though, just my opinion.

[Fritz]

Thank you for your input, Senator Duke.  I would like to see some more discussion on the merits, or lack thereof, of what I am proposing.  Ultimately I would like the task force, as a body, to make the decisions regarding what is done.

Yes, my idea has its flaws.  Outside advertising is bound to attract some trouble makers.  But I have some faith that more "useful recruits" will be brought in, than "clutter and trolls".

I guess I do want to fundamentally change the game.  Atlasia will be a different world with 200+ registered voters.  The game will be more energised and dynamic than ever before.