Outside of NS politics, I’ve done my best to be friendly, relatable and welcoming to everyone in the community. I started a writer’s group called the Silicon Pens, which anyone is welcome to join (you don’t need to be on the forums, ‘cos we can use Discord too!) and I continue to roleplay as the Democratic Republic of Erinor in Treasure Island.

So, that’s who I am, but let’s talk about who I could be.

As your Delegate, I promise to be the following:

• A calm, considered leader of the Gameside: Whilst the Delegate is, in many ways, a figurehead, Head of State role, it is also the Head of Government for the Gameside and, as such, I aim to bring my experience as a member of both sides of the South Pacific’s diverse community to ensure that the Gameside gets the respect it deserves and that sensible compromise is reached when the debate between Gameside and Forums gets heated.
  We’ve seen, in recent months, a resurgence of suspicion towards the Forum government, most notably in the brief rise and fall of ‘TSP next’, whilst this was almost certainly more of an incursion than a grassroots movement by natives, nevertheless there is work to be done in improving the relationship between these two, mutually inclusive ‘halves’ of our community and I believe that I am the ideal person to help bridge that gap as I have always considered myself to be part of both and a champion of Gameside inclusion in government thinking.

• A bold, ambitious innovator in Local Government: That said, I will do what I can to aid the Local Council in running the region’s affairs on the game site and will look to expand the local government to improve its effectiveness and offer new opportunities for players looking to get involved in regional politics, but uncertain about joining the forum community.
  This will include, but not be limited to pushing for better standards of moderation on the Regional Message Board, so that those with the power to do so can feel free to act within the law to keep the RMB a friendly, welcoming place for all our players, new and old.

• A safe, reliable vote in the World Assembly: The Delegate gets its name from being the region’s delegate to the World Assembly and it would be wrong to ignore that. Thus, I will vote in the General Assembly according to the majority vote of the region, a precedent set by many previous delegates, which I do not think needs any change. With regard to Security Council votes, I will vote based on the advice of the Cabinet, who will be better placed than I to know the importance of any given vote and its impact on ourselves or our allies. I will also do my best to ensure that we promote the World Assembly and the endorsement system to help improve WA activity and our regional security. This is an area in which the South Pacific has fallen behind other Feeder regions and yet it would be relatively easy to start reversing that trend. I would look to appoint a WA advisor from the gameside to aid in this.

• A caring, trustworthy friend: The idea of pastoral care was one I included in my LC campaign in 2016, although I didn’t get much opportunity to practice it. Nevertheless, I believe the Delegate needs to be approachable and genuinely to care for those in their region and I think this is something which needs to be promoted more. As such, I will make sure that people know that my office (and my telegram inbox) are always open for those with questions, whether about the game or life, and I promise to give everyone a fair hearing amidst disputes.
  

If you elect me as your Delegate for the coming term, I promise to be all of that and more, because my final promise to you is that I will listen to your suggestions for how I could serve you all better in the future.

So, feel free to start asking questions, either here or on the RMB. New Year has passed, so we can be sure our Words won’t be Drowned by Fireworks and though I might not be one of Those Chosen by the Planet, and my summer campaign came, eventually, From the Edge of Depair, I can still my Anxious Heart because I know that we are On Our Way to something great, together.

Judgement Day is coming. Will you take to this One-Winged Angel and witness the Birth of a God? But, whether this ends with a Fanfare or a Tango of Tears, Open Your Heart to me for I promise to be faithful to the South Pacific for as long as I play NS.

I look forward to hearing from you all.

A1: Well, I'm currently 7th in endorsements in the region with only the CRS members including the delegate above me, which is pretty much where I'm allowed to max out, given that I am not either of those things at the moment. I got there despite having moved my WA to Lazarus and then to Lazarene Exiles over the summer and autumn. I haven't kept up with my 'tarting over the last couple of weeks because of being comfortably over the cap. I plan to resume shortly as the cap draws near once more.
I do not, however, believe that it is 'tarting that will get our endorsement numbers up significantly, but actively promoting WA membership alongside that. Alongside my plans to promote a WA advisor to help encourage more players to be actively involved in the WA, I would plan to use my position as the delegate to promote WA membership regularly outside of the welcome telegram. Indeed, there is more room for communication from the delegate generally and whilst there is a fine line between enough communication and too much communication, I don't believe it is too much for the delegate to send out a mass TG with information, updates and promotion of key projects (like WA membership and raising the endorsement count) on a regular basis. Even monthly might be enough.

Q2 - From Rikutso: Do you agree with Farengeto's proposition that the delegacy should actively vote to influence the vote of the region, and why or why not?

What would you be looking for in terms of Advice from your WA Advisor? Are there any other plans you have in terms of increasing WA activity within our region?

What is your position on endotarting, as Tim has so graciously mentioned?

A2: With respect to the General Assembly, I have no great opinion on how the Delegate votes and would generally favour the approach exemplified by Tsunamy during his tenure: to vote according to the majority opinion of the region (and so vote late) rather than any other metric. As far as security council votes are concerned, I believe it is important for the delegate to vote wisely and that, in a lot of situations, voting early would be best. I cannot commit to voting as soon as a vote goes live at the major update, however, as that is as 5am in my time zone and it is too much of a disruption to my real life routines to be manageable. I have my family to think about in this regard, as well as my own need for sleep! I do, however, get up fairly early and can usually vote within the first hour or two of a vote going live, which I believe can still have a fair degree of influence. As already stated in my campaign, I would seek the advice of the cabinet about any upcoming SC proposals.

As for the WA advisor position - I'd be looking for a player who regularly engages with the General Assembly side of things more than anything else. Someone with a passion for writing and debating resolutions so that, together, we might promote this rich seam of activity for those in the region who might get enjoyment from it. I'd be the first to admit that I'm not actually one of those people, but then I'm not much for R/D either and I'm still more than happy to encourage players to take part in it if it is for them. What I love about being in a feeder is that we have the chance to introduce the entirety of this mad game to new players and I want to see us do that and do it well, much more than we have recently.

I hope that my answer to Tim is sufficient to answer your question on 'tarting as well.

Q3 - from Escade: Based on the laws of the South Pacific, how do you intend to fulfill your obligations (1-3) to TSP as delegate and what background or experience can you point to that will help you do so?

A3 - For this, I'mma quote the Charter first, so excuse me:

The Charter of the Coalition of the South Pacific, Article VII, 1-3
1. The Delegate will be the head of state of the Coalition. They will be responsible for helping maintain the security of the region, promoting growth and activity, and serving as an advisor to the forum-side government. Barring reasonable circumstances, the Delegate will hold the in-game Delegate seat.

2. The Delegate will work with the Local Council in moderating the Regional Message Board, fulfilling Regional Officer positions, promoting game-side activities, and representing the preferences of the game-side community.

3. The Delegate must fulfill in-game actions required by law but assigned to others, if those actions can only be taken by the person holding the in-game Delegate seat.

So:

1) I plan to serve as a very active and visible head of state, aiding security by increased endorsements for myself and the CRS, through increased engagement with the community with respect to the WA and every resident's role in keeping us safe from outside influence. I intend to advise the cabinet on those issues which are relevant (mainly gameside stuff) and not get in their way over things that are their responsibility and their right to decide as they see fit.

2) In both my summer campaign and this one I've been quite clear that I want to see the delegate and the LC working together more closely, with the delegate role offering a position of leadership (although I see it, perhaps, more as 'a first among equals' position than anything more overbearing). That includes working with them on how best to moderate the RMB and manage the increasing number of trolls we're seeing, as well as promoting activity on the gameside (something I'd work with the current MoRA on as well). I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good representative of the gameside also, and I have plenty of past experience of representing views I don't personally agree with, both as LC but also as a representative of others in real life, so I know I can be fair and not just push my own agenda all the time.

3) I fully intend to fulfil my role according to the letter and spirit of the law and to do such actions required of me in a timely fashion. I'm on at least once every twenty-four hours, but usually much more than this, so nothing should be left waiting too long.

Q4 - from Kringalia: Do you subscribe to the Church of Cake or the Cult of Pie?

A4 - This question and its permutations get old quickly, huh? I'm a known Independessert, but favour ice cream (with cake, or pie, or sponge puddings or just more ice cream).

Q5 - from Kanglia: What, if any, measures would you take to increase the retention rate of nations to stay in the region as an active member of TSP?

A5 - I think there's definitely work to be done with this. We are a feeder region and we should not forget that that means we will, naturally, lose members at a continuous rate and that that is fine, because, after all, they are just feeding the rest of NS, but, equally, many players are probably lost by the pull of a recruitment telegram and not engaged with by their new region properly either. We have a responsibility to train players in the possibilities available to them so that they can make the most of the region and of NS as a whole and I'd like to see us doing more of that.

I plan to do what I can with the LC on the gameside and to work with the MoRA, should they be amenable, and the legislator committee to improve the connections between the sometimes disparate parts of our community and the activities which take place there. I think the right combination of good communication - a lot of it coming from the delegate, who is an obvious anchor point for many new players - and active welcomers and mentors would make a big difference.

Q6 - from Asia and Pacific: If you are elected as the delegate, What measures will you take to encourage newcomers to join WA ?

A5 - My plans have been very general so far, and nowhere near as specific as Drall (Mostly benevolent tyranny)'s, for example. I believe in honesty, so, if that makes me look bad, so be it. What I have intended to do is to send out telegrams on a regular (probably monthly) basis with general updates on the region, a bit like what Roavin does as PM, only more concise and gameside focussed, with a particular emphasis on plugging the WA, both in terms of membership and endorsements and in terms of what has been happening in the GA and SC. I would also regularly promote these things on the RMB and probably create a specific despatch for the purpose.

Now that I've see Drall's plan, however, I want to make sure that if I become delegate something the same or very similar (and involving the talented Drall himself) is implemented. It's undoubtedly a good plan and I would be an idiot to ignore that and a liar to claim otherwise. I would still want to do the update telegrams and RMB promotion but integrate those into the larger plan.

"I fully support your bid for delegate. I am impressed with both your platform and your credentials, but more importantly, I have been impressed by your leadership and character that I have seen on display since my return to TSP. I really appreciate your support of grass roots democracy, not only with words, but with concrete actions.

I really think the delegate is an important role as the face of TSP, and what I have seen is someone who is active, kind, and welcoming. Those are the values that I want TSP to be known for, and I can think of no one better than to represent those values on the game stage.

Thank you for all your service to the region so far, and good luck on the election."

Kanglia said,

"As much as I like all of the nominations(and I do, you guys are all fantastc) I'm going to formally endorse Seraph for delegate. Working with Seraph in the MoRA has shown that he is a hard working & well thought out person. I believe that Seraph will be able to increase activity in lots of ways & in multiple areas."

Roavin said,

"I'm trying to think of a question to ask you, but I honestly can't. You're an excellent candidate, and I can only refer to what SB said so eloquently. Thank you for being an awesome South Pacifican, and for being a great friend to me in NationStates."

Parazzia said,

"I'd love to see Erinor as delegate! He's a brilliant MoRA and I think his engagement with the region means he'll make just as great a delegate."