Members President Debate Topic

[Sierepica_Fuzzywalker]

raises hand Questions from the floor! Questions from the floor! hands a sheet of paper to the debate moderators Okay, I am having too much fun with this...

For all candidates:

1. What do you think are the most important issues facing the Aetherlight forums as of November 2021?

2. Which issues do you believe the Member's President is best equipped to address, as opposed to the Moderators, Staff, or the community as a whole (if any)?

3. What is the MOST important issue for the Member's President to address right now?

4. What are good points that the other candidates, besides yourself, have made so far?

5. What do you see as the flaws in the other candidates' positions?

I hope these questions may be sufficiently impartial. @moderators I would encourage answering question 4 before 5, in an effort to promote civility between the debating parties.

[Jessie_Dearsnap]

1. Glitches, spam and arguing have been some of the main issues lately. The glitches are a sign of new content and it's fun to watch things develop. But reporting of glitches has gotten a bit intense and it can be a bit hard to wade through it all and sometimes there ends up being some spam in there which makes it even more difficult. There is also spam from new users, but hey, we were all new users once and we are certainly guilty of it ourselves.

2. I don't know if the Members’ President would be better equipped than the mods and staff, but I do believe we could help them. With so many glitches and concerns being reported, often many are of the same thing. If we are elected, Lilliana and I would like to make a new topic for glitches that is JUST for polls. We would help go through the recent posts on the glitches topic, then make a poll in conjunction with specific glitches. That way the mods and staff could just look at the polls and see who all is experiencing the issue, what system they are using and thus determine the urgency of said glitch.

3. Glitches and spam are some of the most important things to address and they are what we would like to help organize to make the forums more manageable. As I mentioned above, making a topic exclusively for polls that Lilliana and I would compose to help the moderators and staff pinpoint the most important glitches to work on. We also want to help everyone clean up their posts so it’s easier for the mods to read through.

4. Each of the other candidates have all expressed their want to create a better, closer community. They all want what's best for the forums and it's clear that they love the Aetherlight Forums as much as Lilliana and I do.

5. I don’t think pointing out the flaws of others would be conducive to the peace-keeping aspect of this debate. We all have our flaws, and pointing them out will only add unnecessary conflict, which we would hopefully like to avoid.

[Lilliana_Umbrellascope]

Hey @Danyul_Braziervest, I did have a few questions about your Reconciliation Bench.

Now I'll be honest, it sounds a little too much Law and Order to me, but I can kinda see where you are coming from. The problem is, can you be constantly monitoring? We need a constant monitor to be watching for arguments and to be able to resolve the argument.

I think you said something about the Community Mods helping out. Why? As Presidents, we need to be helping the Mods, not creating a whole new system they have to do more work on, maybe even after your term has ended. We all know they are really busy filtering through the Episode Four topics on top of their normal duties.

You also mentioned only certain people would be allowed on that topic. Except, there is no way to block off the topic to others. It can easily turn into a colosseum between the arguers with the rest of us watching, until one member decides to step in and then another and suddenly we are back at Law and Order.

On top of that, rarely have I seen arguments been moved from one topic to another, unless by force. Member's will get too caught up in the argument instead of moving it themselves for a resolution. They want to prove themselves correct. What are your solutions for these problems?

[Danyul_Braziervest]

Arguments/conflicts are inevitable. We just haven't had one recently because A) we as a forum community have had way too many this year due to Law and Order, and since the closing of that topic, we have not had an outlet for arguments. B) The new update is taking up everyone's attention.

We already have constant monitors for arguments in our Community Moderators. They already do what Reconciliation Bench strives to do. They monitor posts, and when conflict springs up, they resolve it soon after. However, the President at the time would become another monitor. This would become a duty that every President after December's President would be expected to take on.

You are correct about not being able to block people from topics. However, it would be encouraged for only Presidents and the people arguing to reply on the Bench. This would also encourage people to not argue on other topics.

The President could reply to arguments on the Bench topic to move the arguments there. The President could also ask members to start flagging posts to encourage arguers to post on the Bench topic instead.

The Bench's goal is to resolve conflict quickly, not allow for arguments to linger there.

Does that satisfy you, @Lilliana_Umbrellascope ?

[Lilliana_Umbrellascope]

So if the next Presidents are simply going to be monitors like the Moderators, why must we take it to a whole new topic? We can sort it out in the topic it's already in.

You said it's encouraging Members not to argue in other topics. Are you encouraging them to argue there? Once again, Law and Order.

[Danyul_Braziervest]

What if the President takes all responsibility for resolving conflict? Then the Community Moderators would not have to resolve conflict, it's up to the President. If this is the case, then a new topic may be necessary.

The Bench would be there to isolate and resolve arguments, not start or continue them. If it turns out that the Bench is doing the same thing that Law and Order did. I myself will request it be taken down by the Moderators.

Debate Questions Answers
1. I think my values sum it up well: Community, we need to welcome new players and encourage folding them into our community. One person that comes to mind is @Logan_Brokenspark, he joined the forums this year and is now starting to come back due to the update. Stability, all the glitches, and the changes they bring with them can be overwhelming. Also, the forum itself may need more structure to withstand new people/glitches/conflicts. Wonder is not really an issue, but something we need more of. @Ariella_Newheart's Advent Calendar 2021 is a great example.

1. I think the President can address conflict the most. This is something I would love for the Community Moderators to not have to worry about anymore, and it would be something the President and members would resolve on our own.

2. The most important issue for the President to address right now is frankly anything to do with the update. Whether welcoming new players, organizing glitch information, or posting pics of themselves playing in-game.

3. I love seeing what @caleb_Larkmagnet1 and @Ariella_Newheart did this year, by encouraging weekly meetings and planning Aetherlight Bonanzas, as well as the Advent Calendar. I can respect the plans @Lilliana_Umbrellascope and @Jessie_Dearsnap have made concerning glitches and spam.

4. I decided to point out one flaw in each candidate. Please know I'm trying to be objective in my criticism. It seems that Caleb and Ariella are not going to provide any solutions to problems in the forums, only encourage more fun and participation on the forums and in-game. Even if they don't get elected, they'll continue the Golden Age 2.0. Maybe they do have solutions and I'm just not aware of them. Jayhawk and his VP have not made public any plans they have for their December presidency. Lilliana already encourages forum etiquette, and Jessie already is great at peacemaking. How would electing them enhance the plans they want to enact?

If I were to be elected, I would ask @caleb_Larkmagnet1 and @Ariella_Newheart to really make the Golden Age 2.0 SHINE in December . I would also ask @Lilliana_Umbrellascope and @Jessie_Dearsnap to go ahead and create their Glitches Polls topic as well as continue their fantastic Forum Etiquette and Peacemaking . Just because we weren't elected into office doesn't mean that our ideas have to end.

[Sierepica_Fuzzywalker]

Arguments/conflicts are inevitable

This strikes me as the old rationale for keeping Law and Order open. If I may ask more directly, how is the Reconciliation Bench different from Law and Order?

Right now, it seems to take the conflict resolution ugly with none of the prime intellectual cheesecake and donuts that the former topic engendered. Since Hans, Eerie, and myself have largely proven to ourselves that we can have the latter without the former (it just is slightly more difficult because we have to find a topic for it), idk why bringing back the former without the latter is a good plan.

[Danyul_Braziervest]

When I had Braziervest's Bench, it was during a time in which conflict and arguments were frequent. It was a topic where people could get away from the conflict.

Now that arguments/conflicts are not so frequent, maybe we don't need Reconciliation Bench. After Lilliana and your posts, I'm not so sure now that creating Reconciliation Bench is a good idea.

You are right about why people enjoyed Law and Order because it enriched our reasoning and minds with new ideas. However, it also had conflicts with it when people were close-minded to other people's opinions. True, Reconciliation Bench would not have debates, BUT it would try to be a failsafe against any future conflicts the Forums might have. I understand that the Members' Union already functions like this, but having only the President overseeing Reconciliation Bench might free up Community Moderators' stress and time. Does my explanation make sense? I know it might not be the best thing, but we can decide on this later.

I'm surprised that no one has brought up the Aethasian Court. This is a fascinating thing that is already set in place, and I'm interested in how the Forums could improve it.

[Danyul_Braziervest]

SFTDP (@moderators edit please)

To answer your question, @Sierepica_Fuzzywalker

Reconciliation Bench is different from Law and Order and Members' Union because...

1. the current President would be addressing conflict here in order to resolve the conflict, and minimize the chance of people leaving the Forums permanently (people like Creel and Peregrine come to mind)
2. Members could flag posts and bring arguments and conflict over to the Bench. This would help in isolating conflicts on other topics and sending them to the Bench. This way conflict would only be on the Bench.
3. Debates about Real World topics would Not be allowed on the Bench. The only conflicts that members have with each other would be on the Bench.
4. Instead of people privately venting hurt feelings to others on sites like chess.com, people have the option to come to the Bench to air out their feelings and come to an understanding with the other person.

[Ethan_Burnkeep]

This is very funny.....

Debating about Debating

[Jayhawk_Greencape]

I agree. Want a soda?

[Logan_Brokenspark]

One person that comes to mind is @Logan_Brokenspark, he joined the forums this year and is now starting to come back due to the update

I love everything you said but I did not come back due to them updated just had some stuff and was really busy moving from my summer to my winter home.