What's the Simplicity Party?

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Jamie Palisades
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What's the Simplicity Party?

Post by Jamie Palisades »

The designers of CDS really, really liked factions. (The local equivalent of "political parties.") They like them so much that our election system entirely depends on them. So if you want to participate in politics actively in CDS, you need one.

It does not necessarily need all of the traditional attributes of a political party, though: we are a small municipality, here, folks, not the European Parliament or United Nations. The Simplicity Party is a simple, positive, drama-free collection of CDS citizens who like serving as constructive volunteers and community leaders. We do not have lots of meetings, grandiose statements or political intrigue.

On the other hand, we do like to get things done. Our member Aliasi has served as Chancellor and content archivist; Beathan as long-time RA member, Brian as RA member, Guild member (and muse of the Colonia Nova project) and PIO; Cindy as a Guild and current SC member; Jamie as Leader of the RA and current Chancellor; Publius on the RA and as its archivist; Rose as long-time and tremendously successful PIO and Guild member; and Symo in the Guild, and as principal author of our CDS general master plan. SP spends its time mostly DRAFTING and PASSING legislation, not writing aspirational statements about it: a disproportionate share of key bills adopted by the last few RA terms were written by our folks, including land laws and the RA's own procedures. And, tellingly, in the occasional smackdown fights that seem to erupt occasionally in sim "politics", like a kindergarden playground ... we usually have nothing to do with it. If you want drama, pogroms or intrigue, we're the wrong faction for you. And the wrong bunch of friends, probably.

On the other hand, if you like helping a community of 80-100 avatars ... in a gorgeous, historical, self-governed sim estate ... grow, govern itself fairly, and host a range of creative activities by supporting and nurturing them ... well, let's work together.

(By the way, if you have landed here, but do not know CDS itself well, yet, please take a look at our government's general info site: http://www.slcds.info We'd be pleased to have you as visitors or neighbors. )

SP members don't always agree on things. (Woooo. understatement.) But you can see what we're thinking about in the faction's Forum pages (this thread here) ... and far more importantly, in the only track record that matters, the actions of our members. We all try to obey the "outdoor campground" rule: leave CDS and SL in better shape that when we found it, by making constructive contributions.

Have a great SL. Regards Jamie

== My Second Life home is CDS. Retired after three terms
== as chancellor of the oldest self-governing sims in SL.
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Jamie Palisades
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Re: What's the Simplicity Party?

Post by Jamie Palisades »

That's kind of you, and welcome to the village, Franz. SP was formed several years before I joined CDS, and was a reaction to over-complex rules, and politicians who dearly loved them as a game-playing field.

I led SP for a while, and believed strongly in those goals. As you can see from other forum posts, my view ... that many CDS rules and some of its meaner rulemakers are divisive, unneeded and unproductive ... were often fiercely opposed (as evil, monarchic and oppressive) by the folks who found change threatening. I worked on this for a few years. But I wasn't either at the start or the end of the SP. The views of others can be read on this forum. Aliasi S. was SP Chancellor before I was; Symo K., Soro D. and Cindy E. were SP L.R.A.s after me; Rose S., Lilith I., Naftali T., Brian L., Beathan V., Publius C., and many others served on the RA or in the executive branch.

The SP group eventually split up: it has no decade-long hereditary leaders, and that's OK.

Personally, I resigned from all factions, not because of SP, but for consistency: I was then working on a proposed change to CDS law, to end the then-mandatory requirement that all RA candidates be elected via a faction. (This was sort of like the 'closed-shop' versus 'open-shop' debates about trade unions, and a fight in which SP provided a strong support.)

That election law change passed, over the strenuous objections of one of the other oldest, most entrenched factions. So voters are free to choose their own representatives now.

Regards JP

== My Second Life home is CDS. Retired after three terms
== as chancellor of the oldest self-governing sims in SL.
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Aliasi Stonebender
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Re: What's the Simplicity Party?

Post by Aliasi Stonebender »

Jamie Palisades wrote:

That's kind of you, and welcome to the village, Franz. SP was formed several years before I joined CDS, and was a reaction to over-complex rules, and politicians who dearly loved them as a game-playing field.

That was a spammer, you know. :)

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Rosie Gray
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Re: What's the Simplicity Party?

Post by Rosie Gray »

I guess the Simplicity Party is no more now then? What a shame! I think I am one of you at heart.

Rosie

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Re: What's the Simplicity Party?

Post by Aliasi Stonebender »

Rosie Gray wrote:

I guess the Simplicity Party is no more now then? What a shame! I think I am one of you at heart.

Rosie

Not much need for it these days; we don't have "people with BIG PLANS" so much, lately. Last one was the merger, which was arguably a good idea until we learned that they don't have much use for democracy in Al-A.

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Re: What's the Simplicity Party?

Post by Beathan »

Rosie --

Your candidate statement was certainly in accord with the Simplicity Party conception. If the CDS has hard-core faction politics again, then the SP might make sense. Until then, we make can do with common sense (which is really what the SP is about anyway), with or without the SP as anything with formal organization.

Beathan

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Re: What's the Simplicity Party?

Post by Rose Springvale »

Aliasi Stonebender wrote:

Not much need for it these days; we don't have "people with BIG PLANS" so much, lately. Last one was the merger, which was arguably a good idea until we learned that they don't have much use for democracy in Al-A.

I beg you pardon? *we* learned nothing of the kind. Democracy is much more alive and well in Al Andalus than it is in CDS these days. Not sure what this has to do with ANYTHING with respect to this thread. The Merger was initiated by another faction altogether.

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