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An Introduction of Sorts and Others

Heya all! As you know, alongside Laurentus last term, I was previously Thane of Werewolf as well.  Werewolf has always been something of a passion of mine ever since before I had come here from the mysterious 10000 Islands region.  Now, I host and play the games here when I can, and usually end up being one of the go-to people anyways when it comes to questions about the game or gathering interest, so I figured...why not continue doing so under an official title that sounds neat?  So here I am running once again for Thane of Werewolf.

But once again, I'm also running for Thane of LGBT Affairs.  While I'm only passionate about certain areas of LGBT affairs, such as a person's rights to choose how they wish to disclose their own personal aspects of themselves (IE their sexuality, their individuality, their true identity versus their established identity) if they choose to do so...it actually saddened me a bit to see that the Thane spot for this area was vacant in the last term.  It's not something that I want to see as "unwanted" as a position for people, as I think the LGBT area should have an advocate to motivate discussion and be there as a guidepost for potentially new members who are interested in the more LGBT aspect of our region.  So...again, here I am running a second time for Thane of LGBT to fill that missing seat!

Questions N. Such
1) Why are you running for this position?
ToW: Because Werewolf is something I enjoy and wish to continue to find ways to make it fresh and endlessly enjoyable for those that take part in either playing, or hosting.

ToLGBT: Because I think the LGBT area needs someone active to act as an advocate, both for people just seeking someone to talk to, and for newer members that are looking for a safe place.  While Wintreath itself is very much a safe place, having that guidepost person there to spotlight that aspect can really help, which was what we lacked in the previous term unfortunately.

2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.

ToW: I still have plans on making one of the most innovative types of games the region has ever seen, which I'll be introducing in WWXX.  I'm also looking into Discord Werewolf, which I've happened to run into a region that has tried such an idea...so I'll be learning from them and figuring out ways to implement such a system into Wintreath.

ToLGBT:  This one is a bit more difficult to really consider clear cut goals, however...I'm going to cheat and borrow what I said the first time I ran, since it pretty much sums up what I'd want to say this time as well:

As Thane of LGBT, my goals are a bit more simple.  I want to accomplish what others have before me, which is maintaining the area in which members who identify as LGBT or even allies can post without worry of negativity surrounding them.  I want them to feel like they can be themselves without worry of judgment from others.  Most importantly, though, is that I'd want to accomplish keeping the Pride forum active by either continuing to promote topics such as the Drag Queens and Culture area, or posting new topics often to keep interest alive, maybe even thinking of events or even a festival we could do to promote the LGBT culture.  Overall, I want to see the LGBT area continue in its current course when it comes to the type of topics that arise...but I want to see it become a much more vibrant and active area, and maybe even extend that to events outside of the Pride forum.

Which this is still very much true.  The Pride Forum and LGBT aspect of Wintreath in general should be somewhere where members who identify as LGBT can feel safe and comfortable with talking about certain topics in a welcoming environment.  I want to continue helping find ways to maintain that atmosphere.  I still believe having a sort of Pride Festival where we just celebrate our differences would be a fantastic idea.  Create threads where people can share coming out experiences, or some of the scariest things they've had to deal with since coming out or embracing their true selves.  Just having a general support thread where we can be there for each other in times of crisis in the LGBT world.  While it's true threads like that can also be thrown into Say What's On Your Mind,  I think it'd be great to branch out of there a little bit and just make the Pride Forum a more lively place.

2a) If you are an incumbent running for re-election, did you fulfill your mandate from the September election? If not, why didn't you?

ToW: In part, yes, in part, no.  I think in part, my last game was definitely a big step in the direction I wanted to take my games for Werewolf.  It was odd, enjoyable, and in at least a writing aspect was a big accomplishment for me.  Was it something truly memorable? That's debatable, but it's definitely one I'll never forget.

However, at the very least, it did begin the steps in making the game that I want in the aspect that I promised.  It, along with other various things such as my desire for making more videos, pushed me to actually really discuss and get into more detail with aspects about the game I want to make, and will end up showing itself in 3 games time from now.  So while I didn't fulfill what I wanted in full from the September election, I've definitely made some wonderful headway in fulfilling both that mandate, and one of my overall biggest goals in general with Werewolf.

ToLGBT: This question isn't applicable for the LGBT Thaneship.

3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?
ToW: Hosted at least half of the games on Wintreath as of writing this, played in a majority of the games not hosted.  Likewise, I've also participated in almost 30 games elsewhere in 10000 Islands as well, both hosting and running.  Back in 2014, I also established 10KI's Werewolf of Past, Present and Future thread which acts as a guidepost to link people to past games, current games, and build interest for hosts and ideas for future games, and is still active to this day with hosts claiming future games.  I've also acted as Thane of Werewolf I believe twice now previously, and was Jarl of Culture previously before Gerrick, focusing mainly on regional games including Werewolf.

ToLGBT: I currently identify as someone in the LGBT community and have been out for almost 11-12 years now, and was LGBT Thane once before.

4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election in March?

Well, I mean this is the March Election, but I'm assuming you just mean the next term.  XD  I'm actually going back to a regular 7AM to 4PM schedule for this entire work quarter, so I'll actually be off work at a reasonable time.  I'd be able to juggle both positions just fine, especially since game wise, I'm taking a little breather to work on WW20.  Really, the only thing that will be seeking my attention outside of work will be my position in 10KI, but it won't take away from my duties here.

5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.

Actually, the Cartographer position opened up in 10KI.  I figured it would be a neat change of pace to be able to be in charge of 10KI's map (and it'll give me some great ideas for implementing a more in depth type of map in Wintreath), so I applied for the position and was accepted.

Basically what it means is that when a citizen with the right qualifications requests a spot on the expansive 10KI map, I add them in.  If they buy a capital city or the like for their nation from the community's Shop, if appropriate I add it to their nation on the map.  If they buy a second area, I add that.  It's not something that should take up an excess amount of time since it's not something that has to be done daily, so it shouldn't interfere with anything here, and could easily be done alongside my duties here, or even after I'm done with my duties here first for the day.

Last election, you and Laurentus jointly campaigned on a platform of hosting a huge Werewolf game that would draw many people to the region, which is why you campaigned for two people to hold the position. We did have a Werewolf game, which met the minimum requirements of the position, but I don't think it drew many people from outside the region. Do you think that we didn't do enough to attract people to the game, or do you think our ambitions were too big, and why?

We have a large LGBT community, yet the LGBT Thane position is one of the least popular to run for...there has even been a call to remove the position entirely. What are your thoughts on why that might be?

My ambitions may have been a bit big, but hey...go big or go home.  Dream big, plan big, and have a good time with it.  Will I expect 20 to realistically be grand? Well I can only hope so.  It may draw a crowd, it may be confined to a small few, but that's no reason to shorten it down or treat it as any less than it could be.  No matter how a game turns out, I'll always treat it like the spectacle it could be from the moment before it even is conceived.

As for why there's little ambition for LGBT Thaneship, I'm not sure.  I find it a little concerning that there's not more interest in Thane elections in general outside of the select few that usually run, but the fact that we have little interest in having an LGBT Thane is a little disappointing.

I don't think we should remove the position for the reasons I stated in my answers earlier, and if anything we should be encouraging more people to run in general, let alone encouraging people to run for that position.

Or who knows, maybe I'll just run each term for it.

My question wasn't a criticism of your ambition. I personally thought it was a great game, but at the same time it didn't reach the high goals you and Laurentus set when you were campaigning to be joint thanes, and I'm wondering if you feel there's something more we could have done to attract more interest to realize the goals you guys had.

I don't know either...maybe we've really pounded into people what a responsibility it is to be in the Cabinet.

My question wasn't a criticism of your ambition. I personally thought it was a great game, but at the same time it didn't reach the high goals you and Laurentus set when you were campaigning to be joint thanes, and I'm wondering if you feel there's something more we could have done to attract more interest to realize the goals you guys had.

I don't know either...maybe we've really pounded into people what a responsibility it is to be in the Cabinet.

Oh no, I realized that.  I just wanted to give an appropriate answer.  :p

In the end, the most wr can do is advertise, which we do already.  The rest falls on the people of outside regions deciding to take interest.  This last game just didn't grab the amount of people that it potentially coule have, and that's okay.

I think the only thing we could have done differently, something I want to try for 20, is mass TG.  That may be quite a bit more ambitious since there's much more to have to do in that regard, but that would be the most logical next step to advertisement that we could choose to take.

But again, in the end it really falls to the response we get.