AWTeen Reborn - Announcements

Elections Start Back Up

nospam@example.com (Matthew) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:04:47 -0800

As if on cue, four people declared their candidacy to AWTeen Governor yesterday, two days less than a month until the new governor takes office. Some of the candidates came as a surprise to many, and others said that they would run only if Mark decided not to. Mark has not yet officially announced intentions to run, however it is predicted that he will.

Of course, GC declared that he would be running, which came as no surprise to most people. He only outlined a short and vague platform in his announcement, but one that would come with big changes to AWTeen nonetheless. The biggest change GC wishes to make for the world is a schedule of AWTeen events, as opposed to the random but successful events that the current Governor, Strike Rapier, runs. GC also wants a leadership council to vote on things such as banning, day and night cycles, etc. He claims that this will help give the users representation in AWTeen Government. Despite these intentions, the feedback in GC's announcement thread was either negative or off topic, as he holds a very bad image with most people in the community.

GC was not the first to announce his intentions to run, however. GSK started the avalanche of intent to run threads when he announced that he would be seeking election. GSK plans to "continue where Strike left off". The first change to the world that he mentioned would be the reversal of Strike Rapier's recent decision to change the name of the Just Ask Me Guides to the AWTeen GZKeepers. He says that unlike some other candidates, he would not just bring in a completely new organization to the world or fire everyone who is already staff. Overall, he claims that he wants to turn AWTeen into a place for teens to chat, build, and hangout.

Another candidate who declared candidacy shortly after GC and GSK was Chorus Line. The serious part of her announcement was short and sweet. Like Strike Rapier when he was running for Governor four months ago, she wants to stop the hindering of the world's staff by politics or personal opinions. Getting users of AWTeen more representation in the government is also a large part of her plan. Like GC, she wants a council of caretakers to make decisions for the world, or a "Queen's Court", as she calls it. Responses to her in the thread of her announcement were mostly focused on how funny it would be to have Chorus Line as Governor, although Asuran has given Chorus Line backing in the thread.

Last but not least, Gnu32 announced that he would be running for Governor too, or at least if Strike Rapier does not attempt to get re-election. He offers many of the same ideas as Mark did four months ago, including the ever popular "place a permanent ban on GC", claiming that this would be a decision "making AWTeen better". He also claimed that GC got AWTeen into the "shithole" that Strike got it out of. In his policies, he offers a Chuck Norris style of administration, promising to roundhouse kick anyone who disobeys his rules.

No matter who comes out on top, announced that they will be running next, or whatever happens in this election, it is sure to be an exciting one.

What's next

nospam@example.com (Brant) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:25:20 -0800

Well, unfortunately, the news has broken that Strike Rapier won the election. I'd like to congratulate Strike on his victory, and wish him the best of luck during the coming months.

There isn't really much else to say. While I'm obviously disappointed in the result, I'm much more disappointed in the voting method. Flagg himself said that this election was won with only a plurality of the vote, and I have no doubt the results would have been different had a runoff been used. The results here show that the majority of AWTeen's citizens do not support Strike. I hope that Flagg seriously considers a runoff system for the February election.

As to me, you might recall that I had committed to writing this blog only for the duration of the election. Now that someone with opposing views has been elected, there no place for me in a Strike-run AWTeen, and my criticism would mean very little until the next election approaches. For now, I plan to focus my attention on a new Activeworlds project that I hope to propose next week. I reserve the right to write periodically, however, and to resume posting as the next cycle heats up after the holidays.

I wish Strike the best of luck in the months ahead. Hopefully, four months from now, AWTeen will once again be recognized as one of the greatest communities in Activeworlds. Live long and prosper!

Weighing in on AWTeen's issues

nospam@example.com (Brant) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:24:00 -0700

Hi. My name is Brant, and I've been involved with the AWTeen community for nine years. Over that time, I've participated in as well as followed AWTeen closely and watched how its community has grown and changed. Now, AWTeen is being reborn with a new system of elections that will define Caretakers of future generations.

I should make it immediately clear that I have no intention to run for the position of Governor in this election, and that I have no affiliations with any of the individuals or groups running in this election. While I will share my opinions about the process and comment on each of the groups' campaigns, I will weigh the facts and wait until the day before the election to decide who I will support. My last post before the election will be an editorial stating my reasons for reaching that decision. In the meantime, I'll comment on the good, the bad, and the downright foolish - at everyone's expense.

This blog is enabled for everyone to post comments, and your views are welcome. May the most qualified person win!