View Topic

It has been some time since I've tried my hand at writing legislation, but I have been wanting to propose this particular legislation to the Storting for some time now. We often honour important people who have come and gone as we should, but sometimes I think we forget to also honour the people who have been making an impact for a long time and are still here with us today.

To that end, I propose a commendation of Chanku, someone who has not just been with us for a long time, but was the very first person to become a Citizen here as a new player to NS...in many ways you could say he is Wintreath's most native son. The fact of the matter is, his many contributions to the region and community have been overlooked because many of them have taken place over a long time and are in areas that are outside of the purview of the Monarchy and the ministry/nobility system, such as building a legislative and legal culture. I think it's time to rectify that and honor someone who has been part of the community, contributed and tried out ideas, and made an impact since nearly the very beginning. I hope the next Storting will agree when it assumes office.

I went an additional step and wrote a first draft for a commendation that I hope will do Chanku justice for a first draft, since I've given people shit before for writing inadequate commendations. Part of the draft would confer an honor title to him for his role in defending the region: Champion of the Just. This is a phrase from Dragon Age's Chant of Light from a portion of the chant that I felt was quite fitting for him because of that:

Blessed are they who stand before
The corrupt and the wicked and do not falter.
Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just.

We've never done such a thing before, so I did some research to see if it was appropriate for a legislative body to confer honor titles. I found that there is precedent where it has been done in the real world before, particularly in the Roman Senate, so I believe it is appropriate if the Storting feels the desire to do so. I can't think of anything that would forbid the Storting from doing so, in any case.

Anyways, the draft is below...feel free to post thoughts, ideas, and suggestions, especially if you feel like there's something I missed. I did a good amount of research before writing this, but five years is a long time for one person to recall and research.

Title
1) This act shall be cited as the Chanku Commendation Act.

Recognitions
2) The Storting recognizes that Chanku was the first Citizen to make Wintreath her original home, and that she has since been a prominent member of Wintreath's forum and IRC/Discord community, where she has contributed to Wintreath's special and freewheeling culture.

3) The Storting recognizes that Chanku has been an instrumental driver of Wintrean parliamentary and legal culture, particularly through her unparalleled belief in and devotion to the Underhusen as an institution, through such accomplishments as:
a) Having ran as a candidate for Underhusen in every election since the Storting was established, currently a span lasting over five years and growing.
b) Having been elected to 14 Underhusen sessions, where the Underhusen placed its faith in her by selecting her as its Speaker for 7 of those sessions and its Speaker Pro Tempore for another 3 of those sessions.
c) Having represented the Monarchy in parliamentary matters for an additional session as Chairperson of the Overhusen.
d) Having authored, co-authored, or influenced a number of acts that have passed into law, including the Citizenship and Demonym Act, the Code of Criminal Laws, the Default Seats of the Underhusen Act, and the Procedural Rules Speaker and Officers Amendment.
e) Having tested the region's legal system by bringing its first and currently only lawsuit.

4) The Storting recognizes that Chanku has also served in many other government roles, including Jarl of Foreign Affairs and Regional Gameplay Advisor. Additionally, she was involved in our regional military, the Hvitt Riddiral, through most of its entire existance, from being a trainee in its first operations to serving as Jarl of Defense for over a year.
a) In particular, as Jarl of Foreign Affairs, Chanku created the first formal Ministry mandate in Wintreath's history, which reorganized the ministry and in part led to a revival of the ministry and in foreign affairs unseen since the period right  after the region was founded.

5) The Storting recognizes Chanku as a stalwart defender of the region, its community, its principles, and its Monarch in cases where it has been the target of untruths and slander, particularly during:
a) The events of July 2015, when several prominent Citizens announced their intent to overthrow the Monarchy. Her defense led her to being inappropriately banned by one of the Citizens involved who was also a chat op.
b) The events of March 2018, when The Versutian Federation closed relations with Wintreath for reasons based on incorrect facts collected through poor research on their part. Her actions, along with those of others, resulted in a restoration of relations.
c) The events of May-July 2018 during the Lazarus Constitutional Convention, where she often sacrificed his own personal standing among the powers that be in that region in fighting untruths leveled against the region and its Monarch. Her actions in part inspired a renewed regional focus on foreign affairs, which included her own appointment as Regional Gameplay Advisor and later her second appointment as Jarl of Foreign Affairs.

Commendation
6) Recognizing these feats as fact, the Storting hereby awards Chanku the Commendation of Wintreath.

7) Recognizing the lengths Chanku has gone to in order to defend the region and its honour, the Storting additionally  grants her the honor title of "Champion of the Just".

Oh yeah, I hope that this will also spur more recolonization of others as well...I hardly think Chanku is the only person worthy of more recognition, just the one who is most overdue for it.

My currently sleep addled brain likes this.

Especially how it establishes a gold standard and precedent for high quality commendation acts.

And while Chanku has been... controversial... in the past, I do think the Commendation and new title befits him.

The Commendation, I have no problem with.

The title, though, I am unsure if we could do that. Or if the OH would approve of it. Perhaps their opinion should be sought.

If there are laws in the way, change them. Specific titles like these are very cool. Far from the generic stuff like count and duke.

Why that title, though?

I love it. Much better quality than other commendation or paragon proposals, and like the idea of special titles.

Holy heck, I never realized there was a coup attempt in 2015. A little before I showed up, to.

The Commendation, I have no problem with.

The title, though, I am unsure if we could do that. Or if the OH would approve of it. Perhaps their opinion should be sought.

With the title, there is legally nothing preventing us from doing so. In fact granting titles like this is required to occur through the Storting, unless it confers nobility which would be under the Monarch's authority.

Holy heck, I never realized there was a coup attempt in 2015. A little before I showed up, to.

Yeah, I've mentioned it before but it was a period in 2015 or so in which a few people who were IRC Ops and in the government announced they were going to coup, and establish a Republic and remove Wintermoot and stuff. I opposed it, quoting the law. One of them then banned me because I was being annoying.

It ended after Wintermoot got home, accessed the IRC, and fixed everything. Except that Alterra (a member of the 'coup' attempt), did declare a Wintreath Government in-exile for some time...that didn't work out (obviously).

While I wholeheartedly support the commendation, I have to balk at the title being given to him. "Champion of the Just" feels a bit much. While Chanku has done a lot for this region, to give him such an utterly extraordinary title feels a bit out of place. Firstly, we already have a system of nobility to reward people who have gone above and beyond for the region, and secondly the regional theme certainly isn't the Roman Republic. Next you'll be saying we ought to have a triumph for him Either way to put him so above the rest of the citizenry with this title feels too much, the commendation ought to be enough. At the very least a more measured title would be in order.

Have to say I agree, unless we confer a unique title like this onto everyone who's ever gotten a commendation, retroactively. Which, come to think of it, would also be pretty rad.

If there are laws in the way, change them. Specific titles like these are very cool. Far from the generic stuff like count and duke.

Why that title, though?

This title specifically reflects how I feel about how Chanku zealously defended me and this community during the Lazarus Constitutional Convention.

I've been trying to figure out how to explain what happened in a way that doesn't reopen the painful experience that I went through in the process. Early in the convention, I was asked to join the convention's Council of Natives, whose purpose was to vet people wanting to join the convention to make sure they had been actual natives before. Apparently, I rubbed some prominent people the wrong way in my defense of certain unpopular individuals that others in the council didn't want in, and when IC slander failed to deter me, the powers that be resorted to OOC slander to remove me from the IC position, claiming that I had been involved in OOC misbehaviour.

In NationStates lango, the accusation of "OOC misbehavior" means some kind of action that goes beyond the pale and probably warrants your removal from any and all communities involved with it entirely; things like sexual harassment, doxxing, hacking, etc. But I had done none of those things...their 'evidence' was a log from the public #wintreath channel from back in 2014 that involved me joking around in a slightly racy discussion with several other people, which by the standards of that time wasn't anything remarkable or unusual. However, they went on to claim that because it was a public channel which minors could access, that it counted as OOC misbehaviour.

To be honest, I had expected that I would be removed from the Council, but I had no idea that people would resort to this in order to do so, and I was utterly unprepared to respond to it. Just the claim devastated me for a long while after that, and it was the absolute lowest point in my time on NS. In the resulting argument in the Lazarus Discord, I should have personally defended myself, my character, and this community, but I was too shocked and upset to.

But Chanku did...he not only defended me and my character, but also defended this region and its community, past and present. He did so without regard for his own standing or popularity in that region, incurring the anger of many prominent people in the process. He went through all that trouble and effort not just because we're friends (you all know he has no trouble confronting me when he feels I'm in the wrong), but because he felt it was the right thing to do, and that's who Chanku is...someone who will fight to the end for what he believes is right. On a personal level, I can't tell you how...protected I felt at the time it was going on, when I was too upset to protect myself, and how comforting it was and still is to know that he has my (and our) back when we're being wronged.

That wasn't the end of it...later on when that reasoning ultimately didn't fly, they apparently changed their mind and decided I had actually been removed because accepting Govindia into this community showed that I wasn't a good judge of character (a swipe at the many people in the community who supported and voted to allow him to remain in the community for many years), and still later on there was also some slander regarding my motives in founding Wintreath to begin with, but in each case Chanku was there to forcibly set the record straight and defend that community decision, even though he himself had no love for Gov.

I understand that the justification for this specific title was probably unclear without elaborating on what exactly he did, but I didn't elaborate further in the commendation because I wasn't sure how to without making it more emotional than a piece of legislation probably should be, and to be honest it's still tough to go back through what happened...thinking about it still makes my stomach churn. For me, the selection of this title is personal based on my experiences with what happened, because I feel like he truly stood before corruption and wickedness and didn't falter in his defense...he truly championed this just community.

I hope that clears up why this specific title and why I feel the Chanku is uniquely deserving of it.

He's certainly never cared whether his opinion was popular, that's certain.

I have to ask, though: why not also confer a title of nobility?

(Of course this has nothing to do with my wish to have another noble house to compete with.    )

He's certainly never cared whether his opinion was popular, that's certain.

I have to ask, though: why not also confer a title of nobility?

(Of course this has nothing to do with my wish to have another noble house to compete with.    )

It's certainly possible in the future, but one shouldn't get all the recognitions at the same time.

I felt that given so many of Chanku's accomplishments are in the legislative area and are spread over such a vast period of time, recognition from the Storting and community would be more appropriate and meaningful than just recognition from me.

I think that this bill is wonderful. Chanku has been a friend and mentor when it comes to region things, I'm glad that he's getting recognized for his hard work. I know how much Wintreath matters to him and without him, I honestly don't think the region or the forums would be the way they are!

As for the title, "Champion of the Just" isn't really with the theme of the region, I propose his title be "Champion of the Starch", although I can see some questions popping up about his devotion to the Holy Potato, praise be.

I think that this bill is wonderful. Chanku has been a friend and mentor when it comes to region things, I'm glad that he's getting recognized for his hard work. I know how much Wintreath matters to him and without him, I honestly don't think the region or the forums would be the way they are!

As for the title, "Champion of the Just" isn't really with the theme of the region, I propose his title be "Champion of the Starch", although I can see some questions popping up about his devotion to the Holy Potato, praise be.

I don't see how it would be outside the theme, considering it's Nordic with many fantasy elements added in over the years. We've even pulled from Dragon Age lore before...we changed Honorary Citizens to Paragons after I ran into the word there, and Laurentus's title references the Dragon Age town of Highever.

What about "Champion of the Monarch"?

It fits a bit more, and he technically was your specific champion in the example you gave.