Post by Editor in Chief on Jun 12, 2011 5:16:43 GMT
What secrets lurk in the shadows of the Pyramid? In the recent census, many disturbing figures came to light with a great deal of kicking and screaming (mostly by the compiler of those statistics).
First and foremost, it is important to understand that there are 302 citizens of Klatch that can vote. Only 41 of them did, and 45% of all citizens have not logged on in over 6 months.
Up to and through this latest election (May 2011), there were no requirements that the voters be at all active. Every one of those 302 players was capable of voting, without even having to venture onto the Disc to do it. With no activity requirement, the posibility of our government being subverted by a few are shockingly real.
Due to the low number of voters, it would seem that inactive citizens had little impact. Afterall, 47 citizens have been active in the last week, indicating that they are probably mostly real citizens dedicated to the future of Klatch, rather than fictious creatures added to the voting rolls. Unfortunately another 36 citizens were on during voting, yet not in the past week. This begs the question: why were these inactive citizens online during the voting period?
In many cases, perhaps even in most cases, it is likely coincidence. Players log on their idle characters periodically to keep them active, to make a faith rod for another alt, to check the contract books, or for other innocent reasons. But some of those citizens look as though they have done virtually nothing since being granted their citizenship.
There are some citizens that are both very young (under 15 days) and very inactive, despite existing for more than 5 years. The ones that were created and forgotten would have idled out long ago if someone weren't logging them in once in a while. But they are doing nothing more - they would have aged more if those characters were being actively used. Some didn't log on during the voting period ... but thanks to website-based voting, they don't have to.
The unfortunate likelihood is that some of these characters are being maintained solely as voting alts. They contribute nothing, and allow one "real" citizen to increase the weight of his or her opinion. Such a situation is not conducive to a healthy communist democracy, where every citizen should stand equal, especially in having a voice. Exode/Exece/Inece/Inode (and whoever their "real" alt is) are an example of exactly this happening. At least four names are on the rolls to benefit one citizen.
We should take a stand and remove the mask from the face of Klatch. We should expel the idle newbies that have contributed nothing at all, so that we can protect our communist democracy. We should seriously consider reducing our numbers to reflect the true face of Klatch: the face of the active, interactive, and contributing citizens. If these old newbies want to change their habits and become more active, they can always reapply for citizenship when they have demonstrated that they are actually here to play, not just to vote.
First and foremost, it is important to understand that there are 302 citizens of Klatch that can vote. Only 41 of them did, and 45% of all citizens have not logged on in over 6 months.
Up to and through this latest election (May 2011), there were no requirements that the voters be at all active. Every one of those 302 players was capable of voting, without even having to venture onto the Disc to do it. With no activity requirement, the posibility of our government being subverted by a few are shockingly real.
Due to the low number of voters, it would seem that inactive citizens had little impact. Afterall, 47 citizens have been active in the last week, indicating that they are probably mostly real citizens dedicated to the future of Klatch, rather than fictious creatures added to the voting rolls. Unfortunately another 36 citizens were on during voting, yet not in the past week. This begs the question: why were these inactive citizens online during the voting period?
In many cases, perhaps even in most cases, it is likely coincidence. Players log on their idle characters periodically to keep them active, to make a faith rod for another alt, to check the contract books, or for other innocent reasons. But some of those citizens look as though they have done virtually nothing since being granted their citizenship.
There are some citizens that are both very young (under 15 days) and very inactive, despite existing for more than 5 years. The ones that were created and forgotten would have idled out long ago if someone weren't logging them in once in a while. But they are doing nothing more - they would have aged more if those characters were being actively used. Some didn't log on during the voting period ... but thanks to website-based voting, they don't have to.
The unfortunate likelihood is that some of these characters are being maintained solely as voting alts. They contribute nothing, and allow one "real" citizen to increase the weight of his or her opinion. Such a situation is not conducive to a healthy communist democracy, where every citizen should stand equal, especially in having a voice. Exode/Exece/Inece/Inode (and whoever their "real" alt is) are an example of exactly this happening. At least four names are on the rolls to benefit one citizen.
We should take a stand and remove the mask from the face of Klatch. We should expel the idle newbies that have contributed nothing at all, so that we can protect our communist democracy. We should seriously consider reducing our numbers to reflect the true face of Klatch: the face of the active, interactive, and contributing citizens. If these old newbies want to change their habits and become more active, they can always reapply for citizenship when they have demonstrated that they are actually here to play, not just to vote.