Lumine for GM: nomination thread

[Blair]

As it says on the tin- I’ll let Lumine make an opening statement and then senators can ask questions

[Lumine]

Preamble:

I'd like to start by expressing my sincere thanks for the President for considering my application and for his subsequent nomination, and by saying that I look forward to these hearings and to hear what the Senate has to say or suggest, as well to answer any questions that might arise.

Generally speaking, I rather enjoyed my roughly 10-11 months in office and I'd like to think there were at least somewhat successful in terms of advancing previous storylines and introducing new ones, providing needed context in terms of the pandemic, and, of course, starting the successful NPC experiment, which Peanut managed to expand into an even more complex and rich experience. Still, exhaustion did set in (as it happens to all of us GM's due to how the office is set up), and that combined with RL led me to believe resignation was for the best.

Now, however, the game appears to be in dire need of an active GM due to our current emergency situation in terms of player activity (with the game appeared to be almost dead a few weeks if not days ago).

Purpose:

Therefore, if I saw my earlier tenure as the chance to experiment and push the boundaries, I see this, first and foremost, as a chance to help address and emergency and assist players in keeping the game afloat. Thus, it will be my priority to address all the narratives/crises left that involve player interaction and to resume storytelling and reporting on events, as well as to address all outstanding requests. To clear the backlog, so to speak.

My second objective will be to keep things running in a stable manner, keeping up with periodic updates and try and restore a semblance of activity and consistency that promotes further interaction and gives players more things to do or interact to, the absence of which proves to be rather fatal.

My third, very long term objective, is to serve as a transitional GM into a rethinking of the Game Engine and how it should function, because it's become painfully clear that the GM/CG division isn't working, and that the GM position as set up ensures myself and all of my predecessors (including very illustrious players) burn out within months regardless of ability and skill.

Personally, I'm of the opinion the only way the Game Engine can retain continuity and function in a stable manner is to introduce "Game Engine Team" of multiple GM's (perhaps with a team leader and with official functions for each GM, but the point being that they work as a team, communicating and collaborating on a constant basis to ensure things keep moving). Still, that's only a personal thought, as it will require a public debate - and/or the work of a given Administration - to settle on a reasonable consensus as to how things might work best.

That's pretty much what I can say at the moment (might be forgetting a thing or to), so while the legality of the vacancy is sorted out I very much encourage the Senate and/or citizens to ask any questions they think appropriate.

[SevenEleven]

Also here to support the nominee, and offer potential services as part of a future Game Engine team...very good idea and allows some of us who are busier to still contribute in a very meaningful way.

[OBD]

As a Senator, I will enthusiastically vote for Lumine's confirmation. He is clearly the most qualified choice at this juncture and will provide a much needed shot in the arm for the Game Engine.

As a private citizen, though, I'd like to indicate interest in potentially being part of this game engine team. I'd be happy to help out with domestic events, and with another hand on the team it might be possible to do stories on the governments of individual states - something I think would be cool (though perhaps not conductive to additional activity with NPCs dead).

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Including the CG we technically have two person GM team now. What would be the upper limits of size in regards to this proposal for a "GM Team"?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Lumine was a superb GM and I absolutely intend on voting for his confirmation. Although I have to say I am skeptical of a "GM Team". As I was arguing with Spark about earlier, having more positions than active players is a recipe for disaster. It has been tested many times and never worked. Although I think a Deputy GM (OBD, perhaps?) would be appropriate.

I basically have a "wish list" of things I'd like the next GM to assess, and I would like to know if the nominee intends on giving us this information:

- COVID rates (and the effects of the recently passed vaccine mandate)
- Foreign policy inquiries (Secretary wxtransit will work with you on that)
- Opioid addiction rates and the impact of legalization of soft drugs
- The state of the economy and poverty, including analysis of old factory towns which OTL have lost out in the new economy, particularly in the Upper Midwest and Western Pennsylvania

I'm sure I will be asking for a lot more; I just want to be confident that the next GM is willing to take on these challenges. It is a lot of work, and we need to make up for lost time caused by Peanut's inactivity (whom I personally respect but have been calling for his resignation or removal for a long time).

But, I thank the President for seeing that the GM Department is in desperate need of new leadership and I thank the gentleman from Utah for applying.

[Spark]

This is a pick that I agree with from the President. Lumine is clearly qualified, I am in favor of this GM team idea so far. How frequent would these meetings be?

I am interested in knowing your stance on NPC elections, foreign affairs events, and how we can reduce our growing prison population. As the Senator from Fremont knows, I disagree with him on his governing approach because it won't work to go it alone. I am also curious to know more about having a deputy GM.

[Lumine]

Also here to support the nominee, and offer potential services as part of a future Game Engine team...very good idea and allows some of us who are busier to still contribute in a very meaningful way.

As a Senator, I will enthusiastically vote for Lumine's confirmation. He is clearly the most qualified choice at this juncture and will provide a much needed shot in the arm for the Game Engine.

As a private citizen, though, I'd like to indicate interest in potentially being part of this game engine team. I'd be happy to help out with domestic events, and with another hand on the team it might be possible to do stories on the governments of individual states - something I think would be cool (though perhaps not conductive to additional activity with NPCs dead).

My sincere thanks! I honestly say that it would be great to count on either or both as a part of a team, and that indeed, it would substantially ease up the task of providing domestic/state news, always the most difficult thing to do for me (mostly because of a cultural gap of sorts, even if I've learned a lot about the US in these past few years). Even if there's no formal team or legislation, contributions of any kind would be greatly useful.

Including the CG we technically have two person GM team now. What would be the upper limits of size in regards to this proposal for a "GM Team"?

My personal guess would be three to four, as I believe larger numbers make coordination difficult and/or take too many active people away from offices to be filled. Ultimately, it's about finding a balance, as the problem was not creating an additional office, but that the theoretical workload is still too large for two people to handle for a long period of time without burning out (thus, the offices remain unattractive like the CG or burning people out like the GM).

Lumine was a superb GM and I absolutely intend on voting for his confirmation. Although I have to say I am skeptical of a "GM Team". As I was arguing with Spark about earlier, having more positions than active players is a recipe for disaster. It has been tested many times and never worked. Although I think a Deputy GM (OBD, perhaps?) would be appropriate.

I basically have a "wish list" of things I'd like the next GM to assess, and I would like to know if the nominee intends on giving us this information:

- COVID rates (and the effects of the recently passed vaccine mandate)
- Foreign policy inquiries (Secretary wxtransit will work with you on that)
- Opioid addiction rates and the impact of legalization of soft drugs
- The state of the economy and poverty, including analysis of old factory towns which OTL have lost out in the new economy, particularly in the Upper Midwest and Western Pennsylvania

I'm sure I will be asking for a lot more; I just want to be confident that the next GM is willing to take on these challenges. It is a lot of work, and we need to make up for lost time caused by Peanut's inactivity (whom I personally respect but have been calling for his resignation or removal for a long time).

But, I thank the President for seeing that the GM Department is in desperate need of new leadership and I thank the gentleman from Utah for applying.

Thanks Scott! I certainly see the point about more offices not being by themselves the answer (particularly when one enlarges regional or federal legislatures), but my hope would be that an actual team dynamic and constant communication manage to bridge the gap instead of having a handful of people working isolated and falling into the usual dynamics.

As to the wish list, let's see:

- COVID rates (and the effects of the recently passed vaccine mandate)

Yes. It was never an easy thing to sort out, but I did manage to provide a few pandemic updates in my earlier tenure and we can expect a return of those under the same format.

- Foreign policy inquiries (Secretary wxtransit will work with you on that)

My priority, I believe, as some rather urgent storylines were left unsolved and there's an active SOS (and NSC, I believe) aching to be allowed to work. If Peanut can provide the information about his planned storylines I'd be more than happy to respect what he had in mind, but if not, I won't hesitate to take pending storylines toward a clear road.

- Opioid addiction rates and the impact of legalization of soft drugs

I certainly can try! It could be delivered as a congressional report, much like the one I did for the High Speed Rail at the end of my tenure.

- The state of the economy and poverty, including analysis of old factory towns which OTL have lost out in the new economy, particularly in the Upper Midwest and Western Pennsylvania

This I can't do, because this legally falls under the purview of the CG and not mine. If there eventually is a CG I'll be happy to assist if I can, but as its well known, I'm not well versed on economics.

This is a pick that I agree with from the President. Lumine is clearly qualified, I am in favor of this GM team idea so far. How frequent would these meetings be?

I am interested in knowing your stance on NPC elections, foreign affairs events, and how we can reduce our growing prison population. As the Senator from Fremont knows, I disagree with him on his governing approach because it won't work to go it alone. I am also curious to know more about having a deputy GM.

Thanks, Spark! Much as I loathe the use of Discord, one could (theoretically) have a chat for a team to coordinate and/or provide feedback to each other, since this wouldn't be something one would be discussing in the public boards anyway (thus they wouldn't lose any activity they would otherwise have).

Let's see:

NPC Elections: I favor their suspension for a while due to other priorities being more pressing and the lack of activity (if the current bill is made into law, I will use those legal powers to suspend them), but I have a good opinion of this experiment and would bring it back if we start to recover from the inactivity crisis and there's public interest. I would probably make a few changes, like shifting the system far more towards quality and not quantity, and/or providing longer breaks between cycles for players to recover. But my priority here is clearing the backlog and ensuring the GM office is active.

Foreign Affairs: I think everybody knows those are my favorite subjects, so we'll be seeing those a lot. There's been a few elections to report on, storylines from Peanut (or before) to continue, and a few new ones I had planned but not executed before. I'm confident I'll have fun providing substantial info on this front.

Prison Population: It's not really my role as GM to make policy recommendations. But as I said to Scott, if people want a report - like the HSR congressional report - on what the current context is so as to enrich the public debate on it, happy to help as long as the backlog permits it.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Thank you, Lumine. I am satisfied with your answers so far, but I have another question pertaining to the philosophy of the GM: are you of the view that if there is no available information (such as the state of Rust Belt towns, or hurricanes/natural disasters), we ought to act as if these events actually happened or that the country is in the same economic state as the OTL United States? (I think my CUBI will help a lot of families living in poverty, but I know you've said you're not qualified to assess economic matters.)

[Lumine]

Thank you, Lumine. I am satisfied with your answers so far, but I have another question pertaining to the philosophy of the GM: are you of the view that if there is no available information (such as the state of Rust Belt towns, or hurricanes/natural disasters), we ought to act as if these events actually happened or that the country is in the same economic state as the OTL United States? (I think my CUBI will help a lot of families living in poverty, but I know you've said you're not qualified to assess economic matters.)

Hm. My philosophy would be that natural disasters happen anyway - as, barring a handful of exceptions, they really don't depend on anything people in the game do -, and would be willing to issue a ruling of sorts to offer a clear guideline.

However, I think it would be a fundamental mistake to assume Atlasia shares the US's economical state. Although this makes it far more difficult to craft public policy due to the lack of a CG, the fact is both countries have greatly diverged in economic decisions over the past few years, to the point in which much of the stuff you see in Atlasia would not be recognizable in the US, and viceversa (for better or worse, not making a political judgement). Even the approach to the pandemic was very different in terms of what stimulus programs or approaches were used, and so I would think the economic context has to be different, for otherwise much of the policies pursued by successive administrations and/or congresses would not make much sense or be pointless.

Now, ascertaining what the actual context of Atlasia is, is a serious pain (and something I strongly believe could only be ascertain by several people, whether that is a Game Team or a panel of players), but it would make little sense to me to assume similar conditions even if that is a notoriously (and understandably) easier road for any player.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Thank you, Lumine. I am satisfied with your answers so far, but I have another question pertaining to the philosophy of the GM: are you of the view that if there is no available information (such as the state of Rust Belt towns, or hurricanes/natural disasters), we ought to act as if these events actually happened or that the country is in the same economic state as the OTL United States? (I think my CUBI will help a lot of families living in poverty, but I know you've said you're not qualified to assess economic matters.)

Hm. My philosophy would be that natural disasters happen anyway - as, barring a handful of exceptions, they really don't depend on anything people in the game do -, and would be willing to issue a ruling of sorts to offer a clear guideline.

You make some very fair points, but just for clarity's sake: does this imply that RL hurricanes or widespread forest fires that happen OTL automatically happen in-game?

[Lumine]

You make some very fair points, but just for clarity's sake: does this imply that RL hurricanes or widespread forest fires that happen OTL automatically happen in-game?

It would say so, yes. I would apply the same standard to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and so on.

For an example to the contrary, here's what I unofficially ruled on the Texas cold situation back in February 2021:

The weather conditions are exactly the same, with the corresponding effects of it being that severe. (...) to provide some general guidance the situation in Texas is bad and much of the power grid has failed, but not to the extent as in OTL.

Part of this is due the fact that the state - and Atlasia in general - relies far more in renewable energies as opposed to coal/oil, but this only goes so far in light of A. how renewable energy has also failed in OTL (only less so than non-renewable sources), and B. how the implementation of such energy sources has been so rushed and based on very demanding legislation, with the corresponding extra strain on the power grid.

Weather didn't change, but the conditions on the ground varied due to player action. Thus I would say assume natural disasters happen as in OTL, unless the GM rules otherwise or makes a clarification on the circumstances.

[Joseph Cao]

Equally pleased that we have a qualified and willing nominee to get the GM office out of its rut.

I think Lumine's answers have been exemplary, but if I could add another question on the operational side of things: given how Peanut has driven the China crisis in a distinctly different (more high-stakes) manner from your previous gentle prods on Paflagonia, Hong Kong, etc., what elements of that driving style, so to speak, do you see yourself continuing in both foreign and domestic policy?

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Lumine's qualifications are obvious, and I will be supporting him when the vote comes. Hopefully Peanut resigns before then so we can get things on track swiftly.

[WD]

I intend to support this nomination.

[Lumine]

Once again, thanks for the questions and the kind reception!

Equally pleased that we have a qualified and willing nominee to get the GM office out of its rut.

I think Lumine's answers have been exemplary, but if I could add another question on the operational side of things: given how Peanut has driven the China crisis in a distinctly different (more high-stakes) manner from your previous gentle prods on Paflagonia, Hong Kong, etc., what elements of that driving style, so to speak, do you see yourself continuing in both foreign and domestic policy?

Well, I can see Peanut had a major set of interesting events in store, which I'll try to respect based on what info we have (naturally, this will be easier if I get access to his notes or what he intended to do).

I'm generally wary of high-stakes stuff, because it's been often used by past GM's to bring excitement (not a bad idea) with an execution has gone overboard, straining credibility (see, pre reset: aliens, ISIS rebellion in Michigan, and so on). And so while I recognize these events can help make things more interesting, I only intend to wield them if I believe they will allow for meaningful interaction without being too implausible.

Long story short, I'll be happy to provide a crisis here and there, but we won't be close to WW3 often.

[Joseph Cao]

Long story short, I'll be happy to provide a crisis here and there, but we won't be close to WW3 often.

Well that's a relief.

I may think of another question or two, but again reiterating my full support.

[Blair]

Final warning that we’ll be moving to a final shortly without any objections

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Can we even do that without peanut’s resignation?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Can we even do that without peanut’s resignation?

DoJ says go ahead.

[Blair]

The President removed Peanut and appointed Lumine. My job is just to swing the gavel! If anyone wants to challenge it then we’ll get an interesting court case

[Blair]

A final vote is now open

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

AYE!

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

AYE

[WD]

Aye