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RE: Proposed Constitution

mongoose201 — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 01:40:12 GMT

Ok.. the polls board is set up. Anyone who has posted requesting citizenship should be able to see it as a subforum of this one.

If you can't see it, please check here to make sure that you have posted.

We'll get some polls going in the next 24 hours.

RE: Proposed Constitution

Zigeuner — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 11:44:56 GMT

[quote]It took you two weeks to write three sentences?[/quote]You know the saying, when you want something done, ask a busy person? It's overrated... :D

RE: Proposed Constitution

mongoose201 — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 10:14:11 GMT

Ok... I think we're going to get rolling with some settings polls and such, as well as a constitutional ratification. When I get home from work today, I'm going to set up a polling board as a subforum to this one. Only those who have posted in the Dgame citizenship thread that they wish to participate will have access to the polls.

Everyone who wants in please check here to see that you have posted.

Thanks

RE: Proposed Constitution

maniacalmonkey — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 07:27:44 GMT

It took you two weeks to write three sentences?:P

Serisouly though, thanks for putting those in. I like the idea of a veto - it adds a penultimate step in the escalating scale towards deadlock, ie. one last point where the President and Senate have the option to sit down and work out a compromise.

As far as I can tell this constitution is about as waterproof as we're going to get it. I'll stay on station to answer any further questions, and I might just take a shot at a term as Supreme Justice to help steer things along during the first stages of the game. Let me see if I can find my old gavel :)

RE: Proposed Constitution

Zigeuner — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 18:14:03 GMT

[b]All additions have been bolded:
--------------------------------------[/b]

ARTICLE I: THE PEOPLE

1. The People of the Community shall be all registered members of the 1BigCommunity.com Civilization forums who, by personal choice, wish to belong to it, unless specifically forbidden to do so by an office with powers to that end.

1a. No person shall be allowed to become a member of the People with more than one 1BigCommunity.com Civilization forums account.

2. Any member of the People shall be allowed to make himself a candidate for any elected position in the Presidency, the Senate, or the Supreme Court.

2a. Before elections for positions in the Presidency, the Senate, or the Supreme Court are held, the People shall be given ample time and opportunity to present their candidacy and campaign.

2b. No member of the People shall be allowed to hold more than one elected position at any one time, nor be Deputy or Vice President to more than one elected official at any one time, nor be Deputy or Vice President when already an elected official.

3. The People shall have the liberty to organize themselves in such voluntary bodies as they wish, and to speak freely on any topic they desire

4. Whenever a majority of the People is required, this shall be established based on votes cast, rather than the full census.

4a. Any vote taken of the People shall have an "abstain" option; should a majority be achieved for "abstain", the vote shall be declared void.

4b. The People must be given ample time and opportunity to cast their votes when required.

5. No member of the People shall be allowed to interfere with the linear progress of the game.

6. The People may elect among themselves a person to organize and oversee a plebiscite to disband the Articles of Constitution and any body of legislature derived from it, and to execute its outcome.

6a. The People may, by a two-thirds majority vote, disband the Articles of Constitution and any body of legislature derived from it.

ARTICLE II: THE PRESIDENCY

1. The President shall be the highest power within the Community: He shall play the game at his own discretion, within the limitations set forth within these Articles of Constitution.

2. The President shall be elected by the People.

3. The President shall hold office for no more than 50 turns.

4. The President must deliver a full and comprehensive report before the People and the Senate after every period of ten turns, or when he reaches a point where a decision of the People, the Senate, or the Supreme Court is required to continue play, whichever may come first.

5. The President must present a request to the Senate, and have it approved by simple majority of the Senate, if he wishes to:

- Found a new settlement.

- Disband an existing settlement.

- Adjust Civics.

- Engage in treaties with a foreign power.

- Engage in acts of war with a foreign power.

- Construct a Wonder.

[b]- Use up a Great Person.

5a. The President may veto the Senate once per term, on any one of the actions described in II_5, unless the Senate vote was unanimous.

5b. A Presidential veto must be made public before the President executes the action, allowing the Senate ample time to disband the office of the Presidency (per III_5).[/b]

6. The President must appoint for himself a Vice President, who shall take upon himself all duties of the Presidency, should the President become absent.

6a. The Vice President shall be considered a member of the Presidency, should the Presidency be disbanded.

ARTICLE III: THE SENATE

1. The Senate shall bear responsibility for those decisions deemed the most grave by these Articles of Constitution, as laid out in Section 5 of Article II.

2. The Senate shall consist of five Senators, to be elected by the People

3. The Senate shall serve for no more than 50 turns.

4. The Senate shall elect from their number, by simple majority, a Princeps, who shall:

- Hold votes among the Senators on such issues as presented before them, which require a decision by majority.

- Confirm the outcome of votes among the Senators and present the outcome to the People and to those parties whom it may concern.

- Take upon himself all duties of the Presidency, should the President and Vice President become absent, with the special responsibility of requesting that the Supreme Court hold new Presidential elections as soon as possible.

- Organize and oversee the elections of the Supreme Court, and execute the outcome thereof.

- Organize and oversee such plebiscites as necessary to approve alterations to the Articles of Constitution.

5. The Senate may, by vote of simple majority:

- Disband the office of the Presidency.

- Disband the Senate.

- Dismiss a Supreme Justiuce.

- Alter the Articles of Law.

6. Each Senator shall appoint for himself a Deputy Senator, who shall take upon himself all duties of the Senator, should the Senator become absent.

[b]6a. If a Senator becomes absent for an undeterminable time, his Deputy may issue a request to become full Senator, for approval by the Supreme Court.[/b]

6b. The Deputy Senators shall be considered part of the Senate, should the Senate be disbanded.

7. Should half or more of the Senate become absent, the Senate shall be disbanded.

ARTICLE IV: THE SUPREME COURT

1. The Supreme Court shall bear responsibility for the proper adherence to the Articles of Constitution and the Articles of Law by the Presidency, the Senate, and the People.

2. The Supreme Court shall consist of two Supreme Justices, to be elected by the People.

3. Each Supreme Justice shall serve on personal title, for life, or until he resigns, or until he becomes absent, or until he is dismissed by the Senate, whichever may come first.

4. The Supreme Court shall organize and oversee the elections of the Presidency, the Senate, and the Princeps, and execute the outcomes thereof.

4a. In case of irregular elections due to dismissal or disbandment, the Supreme Court shall determine the length of the term of the office in question, in order that the sequence of elections as intended by these Articles of Constitution shall be restored as soon as possible.

5. The Supreme Court shall make such alterations to the Articles of Constitution as approved by the People.

6. The Supreme Court may, by vote of simple majority:

- Nullify a decision of the Senate.

- Nullify an Article of Law.

- Inflict upon individual member of the People such punishments as are necessary and proper for proven infractions against the Articles of Constitution or the Articles of Law, up to and including withdrawal of privileges granted by these Articles of Constitution.

- Present to the People proposals for alteration of the Articles of Constitution.

ARTICLE V: LEGISLATURE

1. These Articles of Constitution shall be the supreme law of the Community; no other body of legislature shall supercede it.

2. To alter the Articles of Constitution, a majority vote of no less than two-thirds of the People shall be required to be in favor.

3. To ensure the proper execution of the Articles of Constitution, Articles of Law shall be established, to be adhered to by such parties as they concern.

ARTICLE VI: START OF GAME

1. To begin the game, a staff member of 1BigCommunity.com shall:

- Determine the parameters of the game, and create a game accordingly.

- Create such forum boards as necessary.

- Organize and oversee the first election of the Supreme Court.

- Make the game available to the Presidency when both it and the Senate have been elected and installed.

2. The first Senate shall have a term of 25 turns.

RE: Proposed Constitution

Zigeuner — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 00:01:06 GMT

I like the ideas behind this constitution that make it so concise. There's only two things that strike me as a little odd.

- The President appoints the Vice President
Shouldn't there be some sort of double check on this?

- The President does not hold any veto power, or power to call a referendum on any of these issues that need to be approved by the Senate:

- Found a new settlement.
- Disband an existing settlement.
- Adjust Civics.
- Engage in treaties with a foreign power.
- Engage in acts of war with a foreign power.
- Construct a Wonder.
- Burn up great people (added)

If everyone sticks to their daggers, the only way out is some change of government, and not all of these issues should lead to that. Perhaps the President should be granted 1 veto per term, or if that's too extreme, 1 referendum per term. Let him build that Wonder! Make his super specialist! Drop that nuke? :)

I'll try to read it all through again this weekend and make those itty bitty adjustments that are causing the hold-up. Could become next weekend... ;)

RE: Proposed Constitution

Zigeuner — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:21:34 GMT

I think he means there's this persistent and eerie twilight in which both the dark and the light feel somewhat at home, but not too much... :P

RE: Proposed Constitution

tones — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:00:52 GMT

You mean it's uniformly grey? Now that doesn't sound much fun.

RE: Proposed Constitution

mongoose201 — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:04:20 GMT

[quote][b]Warlord (1/29/2007)[/b][hr]That was meant purely as a joke (you forgot my :P). I didn't know so many Civilizationerers :blink: participated over here. I shall play both sides the light and the darkness.[/quote]

This is the mothership.. Light and dark have no meaning here....

;)

RE: Proposed Constitution

Warlord — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:30:53 GMT

That was meant purely as a joke (you forgot my :P). I didn't know so many Civilizationerers :blink: participated over here. I shall play both sides the light and the darkness.

RE: Proposed Constitution

tones — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 14:36:46 GMT

[quote]with Biz forgetting to mail the check and all over at Civilized [/quote]

indeed, some of us may decide to convert to the dark side....

RE: Proposed Constitution

Warlord — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:01:37 GMT

Just stumbled on this grandous idea with Biz forgetting to mail the check and all over at Civilized :P. I really like this idea its a leap from the "give orders, execute orders" system. Not saying that was a bad idea HD because it is the best Dgame system I've ever been a part of. This new system seems to be more alive. I think what will make this system great is that the Senators won't be locked into a certain field (foreign relations, science, etc). Though I am sure different Senators will thrive in different areas, their ideas will be tested by the rest of the Senate and the president himself. The "call into question" clause helped to serve this purpose in the Civilized Empire of China game over at Civilized. We may get to see a legislator actually propose a bill, have it passed and then made law to be executed by the President.

The only problem I would comment on is the size of the senate. Can the senate grow with participation or would we then need a house of representatives?

RE: Proposed Constitution

Rishbhav — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:35:51 GMT

Not really, the spy will die and you might get a few negative relation points.

RE: Proposed Constitution

Zigeuner — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:41:27 GMT

From Article II Section 5:[quote]One might think of the use of forced labor to finish a project, or recruiting soldiers by drafting citizens, or about [b]espionage missions[/b] and the construction and use of nuclear weapons.[/quote]I've never used or seen Spies (the latter probably because of the former ;)) and I wonder if failed missions ([b]are[/b] there missions?) can have catastrophic consequences in Civ4...

Due to limited time it will take me a couple of days to read this thread with heightened attention. It's a delight to read though, wonderfully detached and clear.

RE: Proposed Constitution

mongoose201 — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:42:00 GMT

If someone would like to work on including the above discussed issues in the "mm" constitution, then we'll get to work on the ratification process which shouldn't take too long. Looks like we may be going with a random civ (I'll run an official poll).

I'll also set up a new board in the next few days so that only Dgame participants can vote in the polls.

RE: Proposed Constitution

von Clausewitz — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:25:02 GMT

I like HD's concerns and MM's responses to the concerns.

I think the key for the whole thing is the Articles of Law. It allows the Senate to 'fix' anything that this constitution does not specifically mention. It also gives the SC oversight to keep the Senate in check. So long as there is some manner of creativity in the Senate, or at least a benevolent citizen that can suggest to the Senate, then there should not be any obstacle that can't be overcome (short of insufficent participation).

I don't think there is any overwelming opposition to this, other then the addition of the President needing Senate permission in the use of Great People and the mechanism for allowing a Deputy to be promoted to Senator in case of absences that are expected to be permanent (resignation or banning).

Lets gauge the members intrest in getting things started, ratify the constitution, run some setting polls ect ect.

RE: Proposed Constitution

mongoose201 — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 08:03:50 GMT

[quote]As this is probably not a very common thing to happen, how about a mechanism whereby a Deputy issues a request to become full Senator, for approval by the Court?[/quote]

Yes.. let's have confirmation hearings... I want nothing better than to loudly bang a gavel while yelling "The witness will answer the question!"

RE: Proposed Constitution

HistoryDude — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:07:28 GMT

That could work. :yes:

RE: Proposed Constitution

maniacalmonkey — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 15:01:43 GMT

Well, although "absence" was originally meant to cover situations where officials become temporarily unavailable (eg. vacation, connection problems, goldbricking), it could work in a pinch. Still, I'd like a stipulation whereby the Deputy can become a full Senator, so he can get a Deputy of his own.

As this is probably not a very common thing to happen, how about a mechanism whereby a Deputy issues a request to become full Senator, for approval by the Court?

RE: Proposed Constitution

HistoryDude — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 14:05:07 GMT

I would say option A, too. Option B really isn't fair to the other Senators. Besides, the constitution alreadys allows a Deputy Senator to fill in when another is absent or inactive. This would be kind of, sort of the same thing, right...?

RE: Proposed Constitution

maniacalmonkey — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:33:37 GMT

Interesting point about individual Senators resigning... That could lead to the same sort of situation I wanted to avoid by not allowing individual Senators to be sacked.

Hmmm. I'm open to suggestions on how to resolve this - as, obviously, individual Senators [i]should[/i] have the right to resign. Right now the only way I see out of this is to a) Let the deputy become full Senator, or b) Disband the Senate altogether if one Senator quits and have new elections.

I'd be in favor of "a)" - although the deputy Senator is not democratically elected, he is appointed by someone who is, and as such can be considered to have been elected by proxy.

RE: Proposed Constitution

HistoryDude — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:58:24 GMT

I see your points MM. Again, I think we can easily live with this document. I'd say add the point about the President needing Senate permission in the use of Great People. Add the phrase clarifying the President's leeway and authority to engage in trades and other foreign relations.

And as for the disbanding of the Senate, that's fine to keep what's in there, but I'd also add an outside mechanism of some sort. Political deadlock, or not, I just doubt the Senate will ever vote themselves out of a job. If one Senator is that disgruntled, he/she would probably just up and resign/quit!? :P

RE: Proposed Constitution

Locus Coeruleus — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:30:06 GMT

Sorry Psweet, my schedule won't allow it. I'm working on wrapping up my Ph.D. studies (Over the next 8 months or so) so I cannot further commit myself to any such misadventures. I'm sure someday you'll understand! :P

RE: Proposed Constitution

Rishbhav — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:05:36 GMT

I'm in too, its just all this discussion is way above my head :P

RE: Proposed Constitution

maniacalmonkey — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:27:53 GMT

Guilty as charged. How y'all been :)

Mongoose caught me on MSN the other day and pointed me to this topic, I've been keeping an eye on it to see where it would go. This sure takes me back! I'll see if I can answer any questions that arise. If 'goose wants me to, I'll stay onboard for a while as an advisor, as there aren't that many left who still remember the early days of the 1BC Dgame. It would be awesome to have another one!

History Dude posted some excellent questions, I'll start with those:

1. I've deliberately chosen not to include any specific reasons for disbanding the Presidency, Senate or Supreme Court. It's a lesson learned from other DGames that trying to nail down all the specifics just leads to loopholes. It's better to leave those decisions in the hands of smart and adaptive people.

You'll note that the SC has the power to nullify a decision of the Senate and, in a two-judge Court, a "simple majority" can only be achived by a unanimous vote of both judges. This provides a check on the powers of the Senate. Of course, the Senate in turn can disband the Court; the Court can overrule even that decision, which would result in a deadlock. There are only two ways out of a deadlock; either the branches of government reach an agreement, or the people overthrow the government. Given the severity of the latter option, it is expected that the branches will come to an agreement well before a deadlock comes into being.

2. One possible situation where the Senate might wish to disband itself would be one where the Senators cannot come to a majority on some crucial issue, ie. where the Senate is split among three or more lines. If the Senate considers itself unable to continue its duties, it can disband itself and force new elections.

I do like the idea of adding another means to disband the Senate "from the outside", though I'm weary of making the people vote on that (they'll be giving their opinion in the elections that follow anyway). A mechanism whereby the President can propose disbanding the Senate, and have that proposal supported by the Court, could work quite well.

I would advise against any kind of mechanism to dismiss individual Senators, because of the problems in electing a replacement. Consider a situation where the people have elected three Senators of political direction A, and two of direction B: If you let those same people vote for a single Senator , it would be an A. If you follow me, this would allow a Senate to dismiss its minority members and easily have them replaced by people of their own side. Better to let the whole bunch go at once.

3. Agreed! An oversight on my part. The use of Great People is exactly the sort of "decision deemed most grave" that should be brought before the Senate.

4. "Treaties" is a fairly broad concept and is definitely something a Senate would want to specify on Articles of Law; again, though, the Constitution is intentionally vague on the subject so as to not tie anyone's hands too much in advance. I could imagine different Senates - especially those elected to run during the current President's second half-term - wanting to keep different levels of control over political and trade agreements.

Given the technical limits of the game, however, it would probably be wise to add an Article II Section 4a: [i]Should it be technically impossible for the President to obtain a decision of the People, the Senate, or the Supreme Court without compromising the linear progress of the game, he shall act on his own judgement and deliver a full and comprehensive report at the next earliest opportunity.[/i]

So it would be smart for a Senate to start its term by presenting an Article of Law stipulating which foreign offers the President may and may not accept :)

5. Good point, but I expect the report interval to become unpredictable very quickly. Within the space of 10 turns, at least [i]something[/i] should happen requiring the Senate to make a decision. The 10 turns stipulation is not intended to create a regular interval, but to provide a "cap" in case there's a lull between the exciting bits, limiting the President's power to reshape a stable civilization with impunity and/or deliberately avoid situations that require the Senate to step in.

Phew! Well, I'm glad this Constitution proposal is generating some good discussion. Keep it coming!

RE: Proposed Constitution

Tosk — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:35:32 GMT

MM sighting!!!!!

I do hope you can find the time to be in the new Dgame.

on now

Members: Tosk, jerm, Locus Coeruleus, Finlander, maniacalmonkey, Black Owl, Zone, cleopatra143

RE: Proposed Constitution

HistoryDude — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 11:31:16 GMT

Oops, I just saw this! :blush:

First off, I do think this constitutional structure would work very well. It requires only 8 active citizens (more if you include the deputies, but I see those positions are playing a minor role, officially, and so not as critical). I think this format is intriguing, because the President has much more lee-way than other games I've been involved in. This is positive for two reasons; one, it's more fun to be president and two, we are not relying on several individuals to all get orders up in a timely manner. Plus, the President has more elbow room to deal with unexpected in-game situations. But still the President is not all-powerful, nor the only official having fun. :P

I have not completely read MM's accompanying treatise regarding the constitution. I do have a couple suggestions, though, after reading the document.

1. I think we need to stipulate conrete reasons in which the Senate would have authority to disband the Presidency or a Justice (Article 3, Section 5). We need to be careful that a Senate can't do this just because they don't like the person. I think a President and/or Justice must have violated something, or done something other severe, to be disbanded; and I think as another check we should stipulate that in the case of the President, both of the Justices need to agree with the Senate and in the case of a Justice, the President needs to agree with the Senate. Maybe it could be that the President and/or Justice "ratifies" the vote of the Senate to disband the other?

2. Also, in the same section, I believe we could strike the point about the Senate disbanding itself. I cannot fathom any situation where they'd want to do that to themelves. Sounds odd to me, really. If we wish to have a mechanism to be able to disband the Senate, it should lie elsewhere. Or maybe just a mechansim to disband one Senator, if needed, again with concrete and severe reasons. Perhaps the Court can make such suggestions to disband Senate or Senators, if necessary, and the People vote on it by 2/3rds majority?

3. I think the President should have to present a request to the Senate in regards to the use of Great People, in addition to the other items listed in Article 2, Section 5. Great People certainly have a long-term effect on the game, and I think that that is the spirit behind this section. Therefore, I would argue to include Great People.

4. Also in the same section, I think we need to clarify the phrase "engage in treaties with foreign powers." Diplomacy is one of the most unpredictable components of any civ game. You never know when some other nation is going to come around asking you to trade this or change to that. When that happens, the President can't stop the game in the middle of the diplo screen and present a request to the Senate. And to delay anything might harm our relations when they otherwise might not have been hampered, or it might risk us passing up a good opportunity. Certainly, another power's request for us to join a war or change civics/religions would be right out as that's already stipulated. However, what about basic straight up tech trades? Or selling resources? What about Open Borders? Defense Pacts and Permanent Alliances? Does this constitute "treaties?" If it does not, let's just clarify that the President has a much freer hand in trading. If it does, let's consider revising it somehow? Basically, I think we need to add language to this section defining what kind of foreign relations/trading need consent from the Senate and what kinds do not.

5. I think we should revise the term lenghts if we are staggering the Presidential and Senatorial terms. At 50-turn term lengths, the first Senate serves for 25 turns. But if the President is posting reports every 10 turns, then all future Senates are being elected at 75, 125, 175, 225, etc., all in the middle of the 10-turn session? That just seems odd? Perhaps we could bump the term lengths up to 60 turns each with the first Senate serving for 30 turns?

Those are my initial thoughts. With some tweaking, I think this constitution is workable. We've already seen by poll that enough members are interested in a DGame to fill the necessary positions (yes, I know activeness is often still problematic, but...). And it's personally interesting, because it's different then the other DGames I've participated in.

RE: Proposed Constitution

jerm — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 11:26:12 GMT

shopping?

RE: Proposed Constitution

psweetman1590 — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:41:15 GMT

Where are all the comments? LC, ~~richboy~~ Mr. G? Where are you guys?

RE: Proposed Constitution

Bismarck2990 — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:04:04 GMT

Okay, I'm just going to go out on a limb and say I'm sold on this system after reading through it the past couple days. However, the only question I have is how we're going to determine total ammount of active citizens? Will we go by the ones that give feedback or the normal average for poll results?

RE: Proposed Constitution

Bismarck2990 — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 06:51:13 GMT

Personally, I would enjoy the thought of allowing the Judicial system back into the picture. I'll comment in further detail later.

RE: Proposed Constitution

psweetman1590 — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 01:46:06 GMT

I like it. But then again, and as I've said before, I don't have a great deal of experience with these things. As long as we're clear on that, I can say that I can't find any real snags or contradictions, or whatnot. Basically, I don't see any reason why this couldn't work.

I think the constitution for the Civilized Dgame is a bit simpler (fewer government positions), but that doesn't mean it's better, especially in view of the fact that we're sure to have more participants here than there. :)

RE: Proposed Constitution

mongoose201 — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:53:12 GMT

Dgame Constitution Treatise from maniacalmonkey:

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this treatise is to explain the motivations behind the Articles of Constitution. It is not law in itself, and should never be treated as such, although it my hope that this treatise may serve as a reference to those in the Community – the Supreme Justices in particular – when doubts arise as to the spirit of the law, versus the letter of the law.

These Articles of Constitution are based on the experiences of the first 1BC Democracy Game, as well as study of similar projects undertaken before and since by other communities, and have recently been adapted to take into the account the changes implemented in Civilization IV. The aim, as always, is to provide a mechanism by which a group of enthusiasts may enjoy a game of Civilization IV played in a cooperative fashion, as a single civilization, rather than a more traditional multiplayer game where each participant plays a nation on his own.

There are two supreme rules which are not included in the Articles of Constitution, because they are self-evident. The first is that the game is meant to be just that – a game. It should be an enjoyable experience for all who participate, or at least, for the vast majority. Should the game ever cease to be fun, it should be abandoned. The second rule is that the Articles of Constitution shall always be inferior to the rules of the site on which it is hosted. They, after all, derive their power from the man who pays for the site out of his own pocket, and not a thousand Articles could weigh up to that.

In general, these Articles of Constitution are designed to provide a more smooth form of gameplay than has been observed in previous Democracy Games. They seek to achieve this by putting most of the day-to-day power in hands of the President. To prevent the game from becoming an "elected monarchy" game, a Senate will be elected, whose approval will be needed for any far-reaching decisions. A Supreme Court will ensure that the game is played according to the rules. This results in a rudimentary form of the Trias Politicas. Various legislative powers and mechanisms of control are distributed primarily among the Senate and the Court: This seeks to ensure that no one political faction can gain absolute control of the Community by controlling any single branch of the government, and to make an impassable deadlock as unlikely as possible. In the very worst case scenario, the People can choose to nullify the Constitution as a whole (which would allow them to draft and ratify a new one, if they want to).

ON ARTICLE I

Article I stipulates some of the basic rights and limitations of the People. There are a few sections which might be cause for confusion. Section 1 allows anyone with one 1BC account to become a member of the People (ie. a citizen). Persons can have more than one account on 1BC of course, but they will only be allowed to join the Community with one of them. It is also important to note that citizenship can be refused – or indeed, revoked – "by an office with powers to that end". As the Constitution stands at the time of writing, only the Supreme Court has such powers, and it is intended as a hefty punishment for hefty crimes, like "playing ahead" (section 5). Of course the Supreme Court cannot just go around getting rid of political dissidents, as it would risk dismissal by the Senate or an outright revolt of the People.

Section 2 states that any citizen will be allowed to make himself a candidate for an elected position, and that he may hold only one position at any one time. Of course this also precludes running for two or more offices at once, as even attempts to violate the Constitution should be considered punishable crimes. This extends to Deputy or Vice President positions as well. The aim is to prevent the consolidation of too much power in any one person. The "ample time and opportunity" clause is intentionally vague; it can be filled in by the Articles of Law, as it is a technicality that should not require the complicated process of changing the Constitution should a present arrangement prove unsatisfactory.

Freedom of speech and organization are provided by section 3.

Section 4, then, removes the need for a census or a registration of voters in order to establish majorities among the People. Only those who vote will be counted. Should citizens wish to boycott a plebiscite or election, they are provided with the right to cast an "abstain" vote, which – if it achieves majority – will cause the entire vote to be void. In case of elections, this means they will need to be done again (and "ample time an opportunity" will need to be provided for alternative candidates). In case of a plebiscite, this means it will fail (although that, too, may be attempted again). A constitutional right to abstain ensures that no branch of government can present the People with a plebiscite where there is only one choice! This section also guarantees each citizen's right to vote.

Section 5 may require a little interpretation at times, but that is what the Supreme Court is for. The most classic example of interference with linear gameplay would be "playing ahead", that is, using a copy of the saved game to play ahead and discover the lay of the land, location of resources and rivals, and so forth. Other infractions may be possible – that is for the Justices to decide. Suffice to say that interfering with the linearity of the game is a very serious offence which should be punished harshly.

Section 6 provides a mechanism by which the People can, essentially, overthrow the government. This is intended as a last resort. If the Senate and the Court are completely deadlocked, it may be necessary to re-draft the Constitution. Of course, the People could then choose to re-establish the same Articles of Constitution, adding a new Article VI to force new elections of the entire government. With this being such a grave situation, it is expected that the branches of government will always choose compromise over complete deadlock.

ON ARTICLE II

The first section of this article contains important phrasing – the President "shall play the game at his own discretion, within the limitations set forth within these Articles of Constitution". This not only means the President runs the day-to-day affairs of the Community as he pleases, but also that he has the authority to deal with any wildcards which are not covered by the Constitution, as and when they appear. Additionally, it makes the President the de-facto supreme commander of the military, in peace as well as in war, which removes the need for the saved game being passed back and forth between the executive and an elected official in charge of the military, or for having extremely detailed plans and backup plans which the President must rigidly adhere to.

Sections 2 and 3 are pretty straightforward. Section 3 will probably need to be altered at several points in the game: The earliest phase often contains turns spent doing nothing but watching production bars fill up and maybe running around with a scout or two, so a long term is in order here. As the game becomes more complex and changes occur more rapidly, shorter terms may be appropriate to allow the People to better react to new circumstances and developments. Towards the late middle of the game, then, terms might again be lengthened as the emphasis of policy shifts to the grand strategic level.

Much the same goes for section 4. 10-turn reports are fine in the early game, but these might run for pages when there is more to keep track of, so it might later need to be adjusted down to 5 or so. What exactly constitutes a "full and comprehensive" report is up to the Court and the Senate to decide. It should probably include a saved game and a written report on major developments at least. Presidents should be strongly encouraged to also provide screenshots for the benefit of those people who do not wish to download and peruse a saved game every few days – this might indeed be stipulated in an Article of Law.

With sections 3 and 4 being designed to be altered over time, one might wonder why they are in the Constitution at all, instead of in an Article of Law which could be changed more easily. The reason for that is, that it would give the Senate (which has the power to alter Articles of Law) too much power over the Presidency. It could cut short the term of a president it does not approve of, or it could stretch the report terms out for great lengths so that a befriended President could run the Community almost unchecked. Although the Supreme Court could intervene in such a case, it would not technically be unconstitutional, so rather than open up that can of worms, it is safer to let the People decide if and how these terms should be altered.

Section 5 is a crucial one: This section limits the power of the President and gives the Senate something serious to do. For several "grave decisions", the President must first obtain permission from the Senate. As the Senate should represent various ideas on policy within the Community, the President will need to ensure he appeases a good portion of the People if he wishes to take any drastic actions. The grave decisions listed here are based on the early game: As time progresses and more options become available, the Constitution should be adapted to put additional responsibilities to the Senate. One might think of the use of forced labor to finish a project, or recruiting soldiers by drafting citizens, or about espionage missions and the construction and use of nuclear weapons.

Section 6, then, is the first stipulation to the chain of command. The President appoints a Vice President to take over his duties in case he becomes absent. "Absent" is not specified – again, the Supreme Court has the power to adjudicate on this. A 48-hour period of absence from the Democracy Game boards could be considered a good base to start from. Of course, extended leave could be arranged in case of holidays, Sundays, illness, or other circumstances – alternatively, the President might choose to become absent for a while and leave the office in the hands of his Vice President until he returns. What is important is that, as long as there is someone in the chain of command able to play the game, the game should be played.

ON ARTICLE III

The first section of this Article refers back to Article II to specify the areas over which the Senate wields power. This is done for ease of reference and alteration.

Section 2 requires five Senators to be elected. The number five is chosen, because it is uneven, making the chance of a stalemate small (three would have been too few to represent the People, while seven might create problems in getting enough bums on seats).

Much the same applies to section 3 as it does to that of Article II: The term can be shortened or lengthened as the game progresses. It should be noted that, in Article VI, the first Senate term is set at 25 turns. This causes the Presidential and Senate terms to be "staggered", essentially allowing the people to influence policy by elections every 25 turns.

Section 4 requires the Senate to elect a Princeps. The Princeps is primarily responsible for taking the votes of the Senate, running elections for the Court, and running plebescites for alteration of the Constitution if and when necessary. These are somewhat clerical duties, but it is better to consolidate them with one person, than to have the Senate fight over whose turn it is to do the monkey work. More importantly, the Princeps is the penultimate man in chain of command (followed only by his Deputy), adding another buffer to how bad things have to get before the game must be frozen. Note that if the Princeps needs to take on the executive's powers, this does not mean he actually becomes President, as that would make him occupy two elected offices, which would be illegal. Neither is he a Deputy to the Vice President. To prevent too strong a consolidation of power with the Senate in the event of the Presidency falling away (which could happen due to disbandment by the Senate in the first place), the Princeps is required to call for new elections immediately.

In section 5, the Senate is given far-reaching powers to disband various offices of government, including itself. These are powers of control – threats to be waved around to force a compromise. A truly unscrupulous Senate might attempt to disband the Presidency and dismiss the Supreme Justices, then refuse to hold new Court elections, thereby taking full control of the Community – however, such an act would surely cause the People to disband the Constitution.

Section 6 requires Deputy Senators to be appointed, much the same as with the Vice President, an section 7 automatically disbands the Senate if half or more of the Senators become absent.

ON ARTICLE IV

The Supreme Court is an important branch of government. It has far-reaching powers to ensure that the Presidency, the Senate, and the People adhere to the Constitution and other legislation. It must also ensure that other legislation adheres to the Constitution. Its offices should be occupied by the wisest the Community has to offer. Supreme Justices should not only know the letter of the Constitution, but also be balanced and fair in applying its intent and ideals to the many grey areas that are sure to arise. The Constitution is often deliberately vague on items which defy cookie-cutter answers, and relies on the Court to ensure that the Constitution is flexible, realistic, and humane.

Sections 1 and 2 are unremarkable. Section 3, however, is not. Supreme Justices can serve as long as they please, or until the Senate throws them out. Supreme Justices should not be concerned with popularity contests. They should not need to worry about whether or not their next decision will get them re-elected. And the Senate should be cautious about dismissing the Court, as the Court can in turn nullify the Senatorial decision, leading to a deadlock. In reality, a Justice who is no longer able to fulfill his duties can only be dismissed by the Senate with the approval of his colleague.

Section 4 gives the Court the somewhat clerical duty of running elections for the Presidency and the Senate, and allows them to shorten "irregular" terms so that the staggered terms of the Presidency and Senate do not become disrupted. Section 5 is another clerical duty, which requires the Court to put alterations to the Constitution into the Constitution.

The real powers of the Court are in section 6. In a two-Justice Court, a simple majority means a unanimous decision. However, should the Court ever be expanded to three or more Justices, it is entirely possible that one or more of them will dissent. In that case, it is the majority that decides. The powers of the Court are not limited to situations which violate the Constitution, although that is the prime intent. This ensures that the Court can perform its primary task – to adjudicate in the grey area between the letter and the spirit of the law. While a Senatorial decision or Article of Law may be technically correct, the Court reserves the right to dismiss it anyway if it feels it violates the spirit of the Constitution.

The power to inflict punishment on the People can go as far as removal from office, withdrawal of voting rights, withdrawal of the rights to free speech and organization, and even temporary or permanent banishment from the Community as a whole. Needless to say, such power should be wielded with great care.

The power to propose changes to the Constitution is also reserved for the Supreme Court. They may of course copy a proposal made by anyone, but the Court will decide whether it goes to the voting booths or not. This allows the Court to censor which proposals are actually voted upon – to the point, of course, where the Senate or the People will allow it.

ON ARTICLE V

Section 1 established the basic hierarchy of legislature in the Community – the Constitution rules all. No law may conflict with the constitution. This hierarchy and the wise auspices of the Supreme Court should ensure that laws which are put in place to make the system work will not interfere with the basic framework as set out by the Constitution.

Section 2 requires a two-thirds majority of the People to alter the Constitution. This is rather high, but changing the Constitution is no laughing matter. As the People can be expected to be a good deal more numerous than, say, the Senate, a buffer beyond simple majority is required to prevent slim majorities from implementing radical change.

Section 3 provides for the establishment of Articles of Law. These shall be treated in more depth in the following chapters.

ON ARTICLE VI

The sections of Article VI provide the start-up of the game. This is left in the hands of a 1BC staff member, as his powers exceed the Constitution anyway, so he can ensure that any creases which appear during this stage are ironed out. The staff member is encouraged to run a series of polls as to the parameters of the game, attributes of the civilization, and so forth, before creating the game and the necessary boards.

ON THE ARTICLES OF LAW

Articles of Law are not included with these Articles of Constitution, but they are provided for and made reference to, so I would be amiss to not spend some time explaining them. The Articles of Law should be written by the first Senate to provide a mechanical framework for the Constitution to be executed. There should be articles on how and where the Presidency and Senate will meet (in public and/or in private), articles on how to run campaigns and elections, articles on what a report should include, articles on how the boards should be organized, and so forth.

The division between the Articles of Constitution and the Articles of Law achieves two things. In terms of game mechanics, it provides an easier way to modify the more clerical aspects of the game. The Senate can handle it, the Court can make sure they don't abuse it, and the People don't have to run to the voting booths every time a formality needs to be altered. It also means that a minor infraction – like a typo in an election poll – will not necessarily violate the Constitution, and thus, not necessitate a Court order to follow proper procedures. For gameplay, it keeps the Constitution clean of all the dreadfully boring stuff about how long a poll lasts and how many stars there should be in the title of an official announcement. Hopefully, this will encourage more people to read the Constitution and be able to participate in the game – possibly even as elected officials – without a degree in Amateur Law!

It should also be avoided to make the Articles of Law more detailed than necessary. Specific matters of protocol, for example – like how to format a proposal to the Senate or a Supreme Court ruling – are best left up to the relevant officials to work out for themselves.

ON DEPARTMENTS, OFFICES, BUREAUS, AND SO FORTH

You will note that the Constitution makes no specific provisions for secretaries or departments, committees, or anything of that sort. There is a general one though: The right to organization. This extends to all the People and thus, also to government officials. I would strongly encourage members of the government to gather advisors and secretaries around them, both to involve more people with running the Community and to take some workload off their own shoulders.

The President will probably want to appoint some secretaries. A secretary of war would be useful to work out and present military plans, a secretary of state to advise on foreign policy, a secretary of labor to recommend build orders and tile improvements, and so forth. The Senate might want to appoint committees to advise them on specific matters. The Court could have use for a clerk or two to handle paperwork. One might even extend these agencies further and give them a hierarchy of their own – for example, the secretary of war could in turn appoint generals and admirals to advise on specific arms or theatres.

These agencies live or die by their creators. A particularly useful agency might be made more permanent by an Article of Law, and duties could be handed down to such agencies by their creators, but it should be noted that the elected government official will always remain completely responsible for his portfolio under the Constitution. On the bright side, this also means elected officials can never be legally bound to actually take note of an agency which does not have its role specified in the Constitution.

---------

He put quite a bit of work into this one. I'll contact him to let him know we are moving forward with a game to see if we can lure him back around.

;)

Proposed Constitution

mongoose201 — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:49:43 GMT

Greetings all, I was just digging through my email inbox and came across an email that I had forgotten about. Maniacalmonkey sent me this back during the summer a few days after we had chatted on msn for a few hours reliving Dgame days-gone-by. For the newer members of 1bc, maniacalmonkey, along with another old timer, bolan longpants, was instrumental in getting the first 1bc dgame up and running. Anyway, here is the email:

Hi 'Goose,
 
After our chat the other day and reading through The Lake, I figured I'd 
look around on an old hard drive to see if I still had some of my old DGame 
documents. There wasn't much, but what I did find was a revised constitution 
I'd been working on just before I finally had to leave. Browsing through it 
I was quite surprised to find that it was actually nearly finished.
 
Looking at it now I think it was a pretty decent idea. Basically, people 
elect a President who plays the game for them. They also elect a Senate of 
five members. The President has to obtain permission from the Senate for 
several specific important decisions, like founding cities, making treaties, 
or going to war. The fun part is that the Presidential and Senatorial terms 
are staggered - so halfway during his term, the President faces a new Senate 
and if he's been screwing up, he's in for hard times.
 
Beside that there's the trusty Supreme Court to make sure everyone plays 
nice. The Constitution itself is pretty streamlined, and the Senate has the 
power to fill in the specifics via Articles of Law (which may never conflict 
with the Constitution). Then there's a few control mechanisms built in (the 
court can overrule unconstitutional decisions, the Senate can dismiss the 
court or the president, and the people can dismiss the entire government) 
and that's it, in a nutshell.
 
So for old times' sake I put in a couple of hours to rework it for Civ IV, 
and also finished up the "treatise" which I had intended to go with it for 
clarification. If you guys get enough people together to run another DGame 
(you'll need a dedicated President, five moderately dedicated Senators, and 
two moderately dedicated Supreme Justices), you're welcome to it! Let me 
know if you actually do start work on another DGame, I'd love to have a look 
and maybe offer a helpful comment or two :)
 
Cheers,
 
--Sikko (MM)

Here is the first document, the Constitution:

ARTICLE I: THE PEOPLE

1. The People of the Community shall be all registered members of the 1BigCommunity.com Civilization forums who, by personal choice, wish to belong to it, unless specifically forbidden to do so by an office with powers to that end.

1a. No person shall be allowed to become a member of the People with more than one 1BigCommunity.com Civilization forums account.

2. Any member of the People shall be allowed to make himself a candidate for any elected position in the Presidency, the Senate, or the Supreme Court.

2a. Before elections for positions in the Presidency, the Senate, or the Supreme Court are held, the People shall be given ample time and opportunity to present their candidacy and campaign.

2b. No member of the People shall be allowed to hold more than one elected position at any one time, nor be Deputy or Vice President to more than one elected official at any one time, nor be Deputy or Vice President when already an elected official.

3. The People shall have the liberty to organize themselves in such voluntary bodies as they wish, and to speak freely on any topic they desire

4. Whenever a majority of the People is required, this shall be established based on votes cast, rather than the full census.

4a. Any vote taken of the People shall have an "abstain" option; should a majority be achieved for "abstain", the vote shall be declared void.
4b. The People must be given ample time and opportunity to cast their votes when required.

5. No member of the People shall be allowed to interfere with the linear progress of the game.

6. The People may elect among themselves a person to organize and oversee a plebiscite to disband the Articles of Constitution and any body of legislature derived from it, and to execute its outcome.

6a. The People may, by a two-thirds majority vote, disband the Articles of Constitution and any body of legislature derived from it.

ARTICLE II: THE PRESIDENCY

1. The President shall be the highest power within the Community: He shall play the game at his own discretion, within the limitations set forth within these Articles of Constitution.

2. The President shall be elected by the People.

3. The President shall hold office for no more than 50 turns.

4. The President must deliver a full and comprehensive report before the People and the Senate after every period of ten turns, or when he reaches a point where a decision of the People, the Senate, or the Supreme Court is required to continue play, whichever may come first.

5. The President must present a request to the Senate, and have it approved by simple majority of the Senate, if he wishes to:

- Found a new settlement.

- Disband an existing settlement.

- Adjust Civics.

- Engage in treaties with a foreign power.

- Engage in acts of war with a foreign power.

- Construct a Wonder.

6. The President must appoint for himself a Vice President, who shall take upon himself all duties of the Presidency, should the President become absent.

6a. The Vice President shall be considered a member of the Presidency, should the Presidency be disbanded.

ARTICLE III: THE SENATE

1. The Senate shall bear responsibility for those decisions deemed the most grave by these Articles of Constitution, as laid out in Section 5 of Article II.

2. The Senate shall consist of five Senators, to be elected by the People

3. The Senate shall serve for no more than 50 turns.

4. The Senate shall elect from their number, by simple majority, a Princeps, who shall:

- Hold votes among the Senators on such issues as presented before them, which require a decision by majority.

- Confirm the outcome of votes among the Senators and present the outcome to the People and to those parties whom it may concern.

- Take upon himself all duties of the Presidency, should the President and Vice President become absent, with the special responsibility of requesting that the Supreme Court hold new Presidential elections as soon as possible.

- Organize and oversee the elections of the Supreme Court, and execute the outcome thereof.

- Organize and oversee such plebiscites as necessary to approve alterations to the Articles of Constitution.

5. The Senate may, by vote of simple majority:

- Disband the office of the Presidency.

- Disband the Senate.

- Dismiss a Supreme Justiuce.

- Alter the Articles of Law.

6. Each Senator shall appoint for himself a Deputy Senator, who shall take upon himself all duties of the Senator, should the Senator become absent.

6a. The Deputy Senators shall be considered part of the Senate, should the Senate be disbanded.

7. Should half or more of the Senate become absent, the Senate shall be disbanded.

ARTICLE IV: THE SUPREME COURT

1. The Supreme Court shall bear responsibility for the proper adherence to the Articles of Constitution and the Articles of Law by the Presidency, the Senate, and the People.

2. The Supreme Court shall consist of two Supreme Justices, to be elected by the People.

3. Each Supreme Justice shall serve on personal title, for life, or until he resigns, or until he becomes absent, or until he is dismissed by the Senate, whichever may come first.

4. The Supreme Court shall organize and oversee the elections of the Presidency, the Senate, and the Princeps, and execute the outcomes thereof.
4a. In case of irregular elections due to dismissal or disbandment, the Supreme Court shall determine the length of the term of the office in question, in order that the sequence of elections as intended by these Articles of Constitution shall be restored as soon as possible.

5. The Supreme Court shall make such alterations to the Articles of Constitution as approved by the People.

6. The Supreme Court may, by vote of simple majority:

- Nullify a decision of the Senate.

- Nullify an Article of Law.

- Inflict upon individual member of the People such punishments as are necessary and proper for proven infractions against the Articles of Constitution or the Articles of Law, up to and including withdrawal of privileges granted by these Articles of Constitution.

- Present to the People proposals for alteration of the Articles of Constitution.

ARTICLE V: LEGISLATURE

1. These Articles of Constitution shall be the supreme law of the Community; no other body of legislature shall supercede it.

2. To alter the Articles of Constitution, a majority vote of no less than two-thirds of the People shall be required to be in favor.

3. To ensure the proper execution of the Articles of Constitution, Articles of Law shall be established, to be adhered to by such parties as they concern.

ARTICLE VI: START OF GAME

1. To begin the game, a staff member of 1BigCommunity.com shall:

- Determine the parameters of the game, and create a game accordingly.

- Create such forum boards as necessary.

- Organize and oversee the first election of the Supreme Court.

- Make the game available to the Presidency when both it and the Senate have been elected and installed.

2. The first Senate shall have a term of 25 turns.

------

Obviously, there is still work to be done if we decide to use this form of constitution. Old Timers will notice a resemblance to our constitution in the original game.

I'll post the Treatise below from maniacalmonkey below, as it includes his thoughts about each section.