Changes

[Rose Springvale]

Sorry, too many things have changed to leave this post as is, deleted by author.

[Justice Soothsayer]

Rose, thanks for taking on a thankless job as our PIO. The quality of events in recent months has been just amazing, and you have been tireless. Here's hoping the CDS visibility will continue to grow.

[Patroklus Murakami]

I'd like to express my thanks for all your work as PIO. The quality and range of events in recent months has really added to the CDS experience and brought new people into the sim, first as visitors and then as citizens. I know that you will bring the same energy and enthusiasm to the new tasks you are taking on and I'm glad that you'll still be around in the CDS.

Bringing the Metanomics series to the CDS has been something that I've particularly enjoyed and I'm really pleased to see that Cindy has agreed to take over hosting these events for us.

[Rose Springvale]

Thanks for your kind words Justice and Pat... it has been an honor to represent CDS. I'm very proud of these sims, and the people who inhabit them.

[Sonja Strom]

Rose you have done a really great job as Public Information Officer. I thank you deeply for all of the time, work and spirit you put into to the CDS when in this position. It definitely made a big difference in the feeling of our community! My memories from Oktoberfest 2007 will always be there, and this because of all that you organised and brought together for us.

I look forward to continuing to run across you while walking up and down the hill between Neufreistadt and Colonia Nova.

[Beathan]

Rose --

You are throwing us aside for the wicked witch of the East? She will never love you like we do.

Thanks for your great efforts -- you have been the beating heart of the CDS ...

Beathan

[Gwyneth Llewelyn]

If I comment on your outstanding role as PIO in public, I'm sure someone will complain about my lack of impartiality, so I won't — not in public at least!

Instead, I'll congratulate you on bringing Hillary Clinton both to SL — and to the CDS. Now that's totally fascinating, for about a billion reasons. Independently on how some US citizens feel about Hillary (I'm suspect — as an European, we tend to be quite admiring of the Clinton clan ), this is one of the reasons why the CDS is so important — much more important than personal drama, bickering, and petty politics.

No matter how rough our path has been — and I'm sure it'll remain rough for the years to come! — we've done something quite hard here in the CDS. Look around yourself and ask friends and family: people are always complaining about "Living in a democracy". They complain about their politicians, their governments... and how they would be much better under a different system. This is widespread — people don't trust "democracy" any more, all they see is the corruption and the powermongering of politicians...

What they fail to realise is exactly that it is because they live in a democracy that they can complain publicly about it

Thus, the role of the CDS as the longest democratic self-government in the whole SL grid, even if tiny, is more important than most of us realise. There are a still a handful of people not only believing in the values and virtues of democracy — they even organise themselves democratically and set an example — willingly so. All of us could be elsewhere, spending their spare time with potentially more important things (or more fun ones!). Instead, we stick with the CDS — and try to make it work. Sometimes it seems a "lost cause" — but in fact, it is not. It's just hard, very hard.

But it's these tidbits of good news that make it so worthwhile!... I mean, RL candidates running for RL elections, setting up their virtual campaigns in our virtual democracy!... what does this mean? For me, it means two things: recognition (Rose could have set the campaign HQ somewhere on the mainland... or on a private island...) and education (in the sense that we are not afraid to show and tell others how we can "make democracy work" in spite of all the difficulties). No matter how few we might be, we're setting an example. Not an example of "perfection" — nobody's perfect, we're all humans, and we all make mistakes — but an example of defending our democratic values. And this is, well, any RL candidate's wish as well. Even if they don't get elected iRL, they will still be standing for democracy while they run for their RL elections. And that is quite important — perhaps much more these days as some decades ago, when people just took it for granted; now many are actively questioning that choice.

Well, we know now how hard the choice for democracy is. We can see how slowly we grow. We notice how long everything takes! We also struggle to keep things fair and balanced and impartial — and also so often find things not to be so easy as we thought. But we have the experience to be able to say that ultimately the system works. And that's an important lesson that we should be able to convey to the whole grid, and, who knows, even beyond that.

Enough ranting from me today hehe. Anyway, Rose, thanks for doing this. It definitely was my highlight of the day.

Now let's get back to work on the CDS, and, remembering that we all have a responsibility — to keep alive the flame of democracy, no matter what others might say about us — which has just been increased.

[Justice Soothsayer]

I'll congratulate you on bringing Hillary Clinton both to SL...this is one of the reasons why the CDS is so important — much more important than personal drama, bickering, and petty politics.

Personal drama, bickering and petty politics? I guess CDS is perfect for Hillary, and vice versa.

[Brian Livingston]

Rose:

Thank you for everything you've done for the C.D.S., both as PIO and as a private citizen. You have helped bring a level of activity to the C.D.S. that is simply wonderful. Best of luck in your future tasks!

Regards,

Brian

[symokurka]

Oh dear Rose,
as i told you I think what i've seen about your work here has been great and precious. Thank you from a humble CDS newbie.

[Jon Seattle]

Rose and I have had our disagreements in the past, but I do want to say I think her work as PIO has been extraordinarily valuable to the CDS, both in making our islands a move lively place, but also in getting the CDS to be better known. I also give her credit for suggesting Alpine Meadows, and helping us to link our two islands.

The CDS these days, tends to recognize it’s political figures more than the volunteers who keep the place together, plan an event, design a monastery, and build a sim. But it really is the volunteers that give the CDS its flavor or place and keep thing running, and Rose has been one of the volunteers that has given the most to this enterprise.

I also think she did a fine job in chairing the election debates.