Demipharaoh Debate 2016 02

DP Debate Format Tale VII - 5th DP Election

Different time zones and pre-planned events made live debate impossible. Because of that our format changes to the following:

Part 1. We have twelve questions posted below, candidates will answer via user-pages by Saturday 8am EST/13:00 UTC. All answers will be compiled and posted here

Q1. For those who have never had the opportunity to interact with you before can you share a little about yourself, what you enjoy about ATITD as well as how long you have been playing?

Dymo: Well I am Scorpio, I like long walks on the nile. I like to "party hard" at the tasting table, and fish all nite. I try not to take most things seriously. I am laid back, and I do not take things from the game personally, normally. I am an avid coder, I very much like writing macros, I release very little of what I write, as most are wildely useless and most took more time to write then the action they were used for. I once wrote a macro to drop a 20x20 grid of carrots for getting rabbits to spawn. I spent an hour writing and tweaking it, it took 5 times longer to do it, than had I just dropped the carrots by hand, but I enjoy the challange. I am the same way on events, Its a challange, and I take them semi seriously, I read the challange, hope i figured out plur was saying between the lines, and then I plan the things I will need to be able to do it effectively. Sometimes it works sometimes, i still misread it and everything goes wrong, but i love the challange of it. I am loyal sometimes to the point of not being able to say no, when I should. And I try to trade as fair as possible.

LuluDivine: I started Tale near the beginning of T4 - my brother, Sigil, convinced me to give it a try. During the course of T4 I helped run the very large newbie/mentor/public works guild Oasis, in downtown Meroe. In T5, my primary guild was a smaller group of good friends, but I kept myself plugged in to the broader community by helping manage and arrange the many tentacled behemoth that is the Test of Festivals for a number of months. In T6 I turned my focus more towards research - both the University kind and the 'let's experiment' kind, as well as dedicating myself to a number of public access projects, such as the T6 public raeli project. I've continued my interests in these aspects of the game this tale. For university research- my primary guild dedicates the vast majority of their collective energy to opening tech for Egypt. For 'let's experiment' type research, I ran thousands of cooking tests in the fall to determine the stat profiles of all reasonably testable ingredients. And the T7 Public Raeli Project was opened just a few weeks ago - 60 publicly available ovens covering 180 raeli tile colors! The answer is trite, but the thing I find most interesting about this game is the community. I don't simply mean how supportive or friendly it is - what I find truly fascinating is the conflict resolution, the wild differences in playstyles, priorities, and perspectives. There were never any rules laid out for how we were meant to work out our differences - in fact, Teppy's original purpose was arguably to see what we would all do without any such rules or expectations. This is, in so many ways, the most interesting science experiment I've ever seen - and we are both the observers and the subjects of the experiment. Also, I write really long answers to these kinds of questions. >.<

Brucette: I have been playing since T1. Over the years I have made a lot of friends and met many people. I still play with the same group of people as I did in T2, they are like my 2nd family. In the past I have done my best to help people whenever needed and it is a joy to me to make new friends. Especially if they become long time players of this game that I love. I was a DP in previous tales and I would love the chance to become one again. My real life job as a Retail Manager has prepared me for many roles in Atitd. A leader, team player, organizer, builder, mediator and most of all a very good listener. These skills are an assett to being a great Demi Pharaoh. I have a passion for this game and I really want everyone playing to have as much fun as possible, my goal as Demi Pharaoh would be to make sure that is possible.

Hanid: Hello Egyptians. I have been playing since mid T3. I struggled in the beginning and consequently have a soft spot for newbies. My favorite tests tend to be in the arts, a bit of genetics, chemistry as well as critic, pilgrimage and some of the other group activities. Making paints for people is one of my pleasures, and I also make silk. The reason I play is I appreciate the nonviolence and the opportunities to be creative, from how we lay out our cps to how we manage our goals. Various regions have been my home, from Karnak to CCR to Memphis. Currently I live in the Hinterlands, which is why I haven't been running off at the mouth on the regional chats this tale. I was elected a DP in T5. In RL I judge international sporting events.

Alkhar: I have been playing since T4 with being on and off in between. I started very casual, in a remote oasis and enjoyed myself for the begining of the tale with another friend of mine. After he quit a couple of months later, I moved to play with others in Stillwater back then but kept my pace slow all the time. I wasn't around for long in T5. With T6, I started playing more intensely especially with getting a sense of community in the game. In the very beginning, I was enjoying authentic play style in a calming oasis, then it evolved into discovering more every day. Then I realized there is hardly any limit to what I can discover in this game and its form of community which is still an ongoing process and I am loving it.

Bryce: I started playing at the start of T2. I have attempted all and passed most of the tests that have been released since I started playing. I have done pretty much everything there is to do in the game, and have enjoyed most of the activities I've done and tests I've passed. I have been a DP in multiple other tales, have never banned anyone, and have used my authority as a DP to help mediate disputes to achieve a positive outcome for all parties involved. I have mentored many of the players currently playing ATITD at one point or another and am always willing to help out when I'm in-game. I enjoy building items and planning activities, but what I enjoy most about ATITD is the friends I have made, the interaction between players, and the group projects/activities.

MissBarbara: I am MissBarbara, I have been playing since Tale1. I live in South Egypt and I am married to Balthazarr. I love running around herbing, shrooming and especially meeting people. I'm very fascinated by other peoples cultures, experiences and to me, this game is a very nice way of socializing with different kinds of people that you might never have had the opportunity to meet in real life. In South Egypt, I spend a good deal of my time online working on research projects along with the rest of SE and EG. We are not a lot of people, but we are hardworking and enjoy the challenge :) I'm a moderator on the Egypt wide chat channels, Egyptian Exchange and Egypt Today, which I also enjoy. I have been Demi-Pharaoh in several tales, and it was a pleasure to serve Egypt as Demi-Pharaoh before, therefore I am here and able to serve again :) I am prepaid for the rest of the tale, and I will be staying active the entire time :) When I am not in Egypt, I breed Norwegian forest cats, serve as an editor for a cat magazine and I'm the employer for a hand-full of people, so leadership for me comes very natural as it is a daily thing for me to lead, delegate, solve problems of all sorts, encourage and make sure everybody around me is happy and performing their best in a positive way.

Q2. As some specific examples, would you consider any of the following playstyles as worthy of DP intervention? Obelisk queue violation, bonfiring of a clay patches to prevent others from building, using large quantities of alts to rig elections, mentorship advancement, or other test passes?

Dymo: DP Intervention. Only two ways a DP can "intervene" threatening to ban a person, and actually banning a person. As of right now, the DP holds no other sway or powers. I do think a DP "could" be more and "could" do more around the server. I like and use the Obelisk queue, but I do not take it personally if I get "jumped", its the nature of the test. Bonefiring clay patches, if its next to your CP, I can understand it ( understand not agree with thou) I would not want a raeli oven next to my home either. But Bonefire to reserve an area away from your home, is not something I consider to be good taste, but it does not warrant a DP interaction either. Mentorship advancement, yeah sure buy your shrines, how one is mentored, if its thru alot of chatting and hand holding, or showing them a simple rule, if you have resources, and want something else, you can trade ( you have XXX want a shrines, and are willing to pay XXX to get one) Not really worthy of anything aside from the two people involved in it. Using alts to rig or force test passes, hard one. Its not a "nice" way of doing things, and no its not really fair. BUT it also doesn't really bother me, If he feels the need to pay and use multiple alts, more power to him. Its game, I do really enjoy playing it, it wouldn't be worth it to me to spend the extra cash to buy wins, but to each his own.

Brucette: I'll cover these one at a time. Obelisk queue violation... In theory a queue is a violation of the "spirit of the test" we are supposed to try to out-build one another. While I typically wait until later in the tales to build an obelisk I have personally respected every obelisk queue in every tale. Bonfiring of clay patches and the new fad of the times in South Egypt right now of Welcome Banners all over the clay patches really bothers me. If you want to work that hard to cover a clay patch to keep someone from building an oven, why not put that same effort into building the oven? It looks even worse after almost two months into the tech and they have still not built their oven. Within personal camps is a different story but they must be a prettier way to cover that clay. Large quantities of alts are all still paid accounts and I believe that money earns them the right to play those alts as they see fit. However, "buying" a mentor pass just doesn't refelect the spirit of that test at all. Maybe it should be Test of Subscriptions. Whoever has the most wins.

Hanid: Obelisk queue violation- No, Bonfiring of a clay patches to prevent others from building -No Using large quantities of alts to rig elections- No Mentorship advancement- No Other test passes - No The only time I would intervene in these kinds of disputes would be as a behind-the-scenes mediator, and that would only be upon request. I would automatically step if there was destruction of public property, for example someone intentionally blew up a chariot stop. In cases of private property, I would have to be informed by the property owner that the act was malevolent and not accidental.

Alkhar: Some say obelisk queue is a violation of the test itself, and I may even agree with that. But what allways amuses me in this game is the amount of cooperation and the mentality of collaboration that is not imposed by any other instrument but for the players themselves. This is simply perfect. The society forms its own rule, follows it, and it works! I find bonfires quite a delicate issue. I hate them, I despise them, I carry the Bonfire Reduction Tax petition with the hope of getting rid of them. Their existence in the very remote parts of Egypt ruins the feeling of being out in the wilds and I am sure this upsets many other Body test lovers. Yet, it is in such a state now that if people doesn't bonfire the clay patch on their camp, people will think they are not worried about somebody building an oven there. I already have dealt with many issues as such where people of limited play styles doesn't prefer or afford to build an oven and they want to keep their camp neat. Everyone has the right to pick their play style and everyone doesn't have to play all aspects of the game equally. That said, there is no explanation of bonfiring a clay spot that is in somebody else's camp or in the wilds. This is an act against the spirit of the community. There is no room for greed in Egypt. About alts, sadly it is the way any paid game works. Each one of us exist in this game through avatar that is paid for and those of us who pays more gets more existence. But an alt still requires a lot of work and if people does that work, they have the right to do as they please. I believe that in many cases, fellow Egyptians are aware where they have the right to do something and where their conscience doesn't allow them to do any harm to others. I don't have any alts myself and no plan to get one.

Bryce: I do not consider any of those items by themselves to be grounds for banning. However, if there were complaints lodged against certain players for doing some of the above activities, the DP's should investigate and discuss ATITD's societal norms with the offenders and what most players consider appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Also there should be some open discussions to try to achieve a win/win situation for all parties involved in the dispute.

MissBarbara: I think that a DP could be helpful in mediating in some of the mentioned examples, yes. However if you are asking if any of the above examples deserves a ban, then my answer is no. We have a very unique legal system in this game, and if a person is harassing others with bonfires, wood-planes etc. then I strongly feel, that the Anti-Griefer Law should be used on the violating person. I think Egypt deserves the right to speak on those kinds of matters and not only one single person even if he is a DP. Banning another person is a very serious matter, and it should only be used as an absolutely last resort. If forced to use a ban, for a ban appropriate reason, I would strongly consider using one of the shorter term bans (one day, one week or one month) rather than a permanent exile.

LuluDivine: The ban is always the option of last resort. The first question to ask is 'is this an action that reasonable minds would nearly all agree is inappropriate'. For instance, bonfiring a clay patch far from your own camp is something I find inappropriate. But it seems to me that reasonable people could disagree on it. Therefore, the appropriate way to deal with it is to propose a legislative solution - majority rules. The ban should never be involved - that would simply be substituting my personal opinion on a controversial issue for some sort of majority consensus. But even for actions that most people might agree are inappropriate (perhaps calling another player nasty names in public), social consequences for the behavior would likely be the more appropriate reaction. Bans are only appropriate when 1) the behavior is so egregious that there's little chance of reasonable disagreement, 2) social consequences are inadequate to reduce or control the inappropriate behavior and 3) the damage from the behavior is substantial. None of the above examples qualify. (It's worth pointing out that purchasing alts to rig an election would be so insanely expensive as to be unlikely, but I'm not sure how a DP would have any way to prove that this was taking place - for elections or for other test passes.)

Q3. If the general consensus of the rest of the DPs were that that person should not be banned, but you felt strongly that they should, what would you do?

Q4. How's your progress in other Leadership tests?

Q5. How are you providing leadership in the game and amongst the player base?

Q6. What specifically have you done to further the growth of the community?

Q7. How many Egypt-wide events e.g Acro, Digs or others have you organized in T7?

Q8. Spouselog allows access to ban powers. Do you know who have access to your spouse account?

Q9. As DP do you think you should share your password? Do you think a DP should have access to other DP accounts?

Q10. What other powers would you like to see DPs hold, in the interests of improving game play?

Q11. What question would you like to be asked, and why?

Q12. Closing Statement

Part 2. Egyptian Citizens submit questions by Saturday night and candidates answer directly on the debate page by the end of the weekend.

Please enter your name (or Anonymous) and question in below or chat Augir with the question.

Question from John Q. Egyptian - Under what circumstances would you use the ban as DP?

Bryce - Being a DP in previous Tales I have not used my "ban stick". It would take someone like GeoDude or someone of his ilk to have me use it, but I would only after reaching a consensus with the other DP's as it being the correct course of action, and only as a last resort.

LuluDivine - I have been DP in two prior tales and I either used the ban once or not at all. (I cannot remember whether I helped ban one of Geo's alts at the beginning of T6 or if they were all done by Kuupid.) I answered this question already in the general questions, but here's the answer again:

Bans are always the option of last resort. Bans are only appropriate when 1) the behavior is so egregious that there's little chance of reasonable disagreement, 2) social consequences are inadequate to reduce or control the inappropriate behavior and 3) the damage from the behavior is substantial. This is exceedingly rare.

Question from Balhazarr - Since many of you have played for many tales I am curious who was your first mentor(s) and what did they do to help you to become so in love in this game that you have now played for so long? Is there any particular attribute or skill they imparted upon you that really sticks in your memory?

Brucette - My 1st Mentor was Gumby in Tale 1. He was there the second I landed on the mainland and helped me a lot. He is the reason I came back in Tale 2 and has always been a good friend.

Hanid - In my first tale there were so many strong personalities. I was completely overwhelmed and remember people I was in awe of, like Judd, Lorraine, Deeva and Soweto . . . I remember Shivani beating into me the right way to pick up gravel, hanging out with Ellorin making sculptures, Kuupid who was constantly trying to keep HHOF functioning and keeping me, and many others, out of various messes. Spooner taught me about quarries and mining and still hasn't given up trying to teach me to make a decent thermometer. There are new mentors with each new tale too. Zotep taught me the basics of chemistry last tale. This list could go on for pages. What each of these people have in common is they offered me some of themselves. I think it was their generosity with their knowledge and their patience that built the love I feel for the game today.

Bryce - My 1st Mentor was Usercare in T2. He was one of the first people I met other than the group that I migrated here from TSO with. His knowledge, humor, generosity, kindness, respect, and helpfulness really stuck out as traits that I should try to emulate.

MissBarbara - My first mentor in T1 was LittleCleo. A wonderful german woman who quickly got me into her and Susan's guild and helped me explore a lot of things on my own, always only a chat away. She was very good at making beer, a thing I still haven't tried, but since this is the tale for trying out stuff for me, I might take it up to honor her this Tale :)

Alkhar - I didn't really have a mentor as I started the game with a goal of discovering things by myself. I had many great friends who helped me a lot though.

LuluDivine - Though my brother, Sigil, got me into ATITD, my first mentor was Shayra. I joined her Newbie/Mentor/Public Works guild my first day of T4. She and I ended up running that guild together for the rest of the tale. I learned a lot about managing conflicting interests, motivating large groups of people, careful management of resources with a huge guild....all kinds of things. She's been a good friend for years now. She hasn't been online in awhile, though, and it's rumored that she may be ill - please send kind thoughts her way, if you can.