Trebor,
as far as I know this section of the constitution is still valid. The change brought in by SEED during the merger period was that faction membership is no longer a mandatory prerequisite but facultative for RA candidates.
If I remember right the intention was to facilitate representation of citizens from Al Andalus. Proponents of this constitutional change argued no one would be kept off faction membership, but AA citizens might perceive the obligation to found a faction as an undue handicap because it would not have reproduced the democratic structures of their community.
Factions are more or less inactive networks at the moment, but they were never abolished.
Pip, for example, is a member of the Democratic Pragmatist Union, Beathan and Aliasi can be found in a sl group named Simplicity Party, and I am with the Citizens' Social Democratic Faction.
Now let me invoke a little scenario:
if Ulysse calls me tomorrow via CDSF group IM, telling me he wants to stand for the next RA as a CSDF candidate, I would be eager to support him. I would consult the constitution immediately to find out which ruleset applies and act accordingly to activate my faction:
We would draft a platform, discuss the issues, make sure all members are citizens and not engaged in another faction, select a leader, ask the Dean to grant us access to our Forum, invite others to participate, find out what to promote to the benefit of the citizenry and try to get assembly seats to put our projects forward (like: making CDS appealing to Hobos to foster social life and increase traffic)
-- end of scenario --
We have rules. I have heard someone stating CDS is byzantine with its rules to a deterrent degree. I do not agree. Much of the code is in place "just in case". It provides a stock of focal points to develop social structures according to our needs.
What if I want a faction to work on a complex and controversial project? Commissions go for consent, win-win or lose-lose. A faction is different. An opportunity to put it straight forward and push it in a civilized manner until RA votes aye or nay.
We do not have to reinvent the wheel. There is a car behind the garage door. You are citizen. You got the key. Get in and drive whenever you want. You do not want? You do not have to. But that is no reason to scrap the car.
Uphold Article IV of our constitution!
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Ian Maclaren