NationStates Jolt Archive

Greetings from The Nomadic Peoples of Nintu:

Although 6 percent does not sound like a large number of anything, when you're dealing with over 2,200 delegates, it comes out to over 120 delegates needed for a proposal to be approved! THAT IS TOO MANY!

It should be much smaller.

Also, the proposals are not left up long enough, and there are too many at one time - I checked a minute ago and counted 19 PAGES OF PROPOSALS!

ONLY THE PROPOSALS ON THE FIRST THREE PAGES ARE READ. The other 16 pages have NO APPROVALS. I wonder why?

In the real world, the UN proposals are given fairly equal time, just as when Congress proposes a new law.

BUT THIS SYSTEM ONLY BENEFITS THE AUTHORS WHO CAN GET THEIR PROPOSALS ON THE FIRST THREE PAGES.

UNFAIR.

I have no official capacity at NS, but I can try to explain some of my thoughts regarding this topic.

The NSUN is set up to limit the number of proposals which become resolutions (proposals become resolutions once they reach the stage where they are voted on by the General Assembly). This is because it was judged to be undesirable to have a backlogged queue of resolutions extending months or perhaps years into the future -- it seems better to have proposals up for resolution status which are assuredly relevant at the time at which they are up for vote instead of a year afterward.

This plan of limitation is executed by two main methods. First, an NSUN member nation of any class must have at least two endorsements from other NSUN member nations to submit a proposal. Second, a submitted proposal must gain the endorsement of six percent of the NSUN Delegates before it becomes a resolution.

One goal of this limitation is to prevent backlogging of the queue, but another important goal which then arises, at least to keep the game exciting, is to allow some proposals to rise and become resolutions. In one ideal view, there would always be one and perhaps two resolutions up for voting -- any more, and the queue becomes backlogged; any fewer, and the NSUN becomes inactive. In this view, the system has succeeded if there is regularly one resolution in the queue in that the NSUN is debating relevant matters at a regular and near-constant schedule. Using these criteria and in my experience, the system has typically worked well and doesn't necessarily appear to need tweaking.

And while the first few pages of proposals usually are much more frequently read, as proposals expire, the older proposals are moved up; each day, different proposals will be in the first few proposals. While many proposals which become resolutions are campaigned for, sometimes quite successfully, sometimes even in such early stages as during the author's drafting period, my experience tells me that the majority of a proposal's required Delegate endorsements frequently come as it reaches the front page or so of proposals.

Finally, the NSUN does not regularly deal with game mechanics issues. The changes you propose would require an adjustment to the underlying programming of the game, which you would know, if you read the "Before you make a proposal" sticky (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=77286), falls outside the jurisdiction of the NSUN. Such matters are better mentioned in the Technical forum (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=2).

And while the first few pages of proposals usually are much more frequently read, as proposals expire, the older proposals are moved up; each day, different proposals will be in the first few proposals.
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No. If you'll look at the proposals, most of the last 16 of 20 pages are made up of proposals that are expiring today or tomorrow. They will not go to the first page, ever. The proposals on the last page, voting ends May 13th. They will never get to the first page for consideration, as you pointed out has to happen for anyone to notice them.

Some of them have merit, some don't, but the opportunity to get considered is rigged in favor of the proposals on the first two or three pages.

I didn't suggest changing the programming. I only asked the question (there's a poll) which the delegates have an interest in answering.

No. If you'll look at the proposals, most of the last 16 of 20 pages are made up of proposals that are expiring today or tomorrow. They will not go to the first page, ever. The proposals on the last page, voting ends May 13th. They will never get to the first page for consideration, as you pointed out has to happen for anyone to notice them.

um, the 13th is a couple days from now.

proposals are added to the list in the order they are proposed. the first couple proposed each day will spend their last day on the first page. the proposals on pages 1 through 6 all run out of time today (which means they were proposed on the same day a few days ago). pages 7 through 11 end tomorrow (but tomorrow they will be pages 1 - 5). 12 - 14 on wednesday. and 15 - 20 were proposed today and have until thursday.

hth. hand.

I think that if new propasals start on the final page and as older propsals are removed it moves it place forward to the front page is a gr8 idea. It would be much better if everyone read all of the pages but as is easy to see that will never happen because people are well...
...lazy. I hate to admit it but i don't even look at proposals past page 4 :( i know that i should but myself like countless other have the simple problem that they cannot be bothered to read proposals that will only be read by them and a few others.

Thankyou.

Greetings from The Nomadic Peoples of Nintu:

Although 6 percent does not sound like a large number of anything, when you're dealing with over 2,200 delegates, it comes out to over 120 delegates needed for a proposal to be approved! THAT IS TOO MANY!

It should be much smaller.

BUT THIS SYSTEM ONLY BENEFITS THE AUTHORS WHO CAN GET THEIR PROPOSALS ON THE FIRST THREE PAGES.

UNFAIR.

I think the number is too easy to achieve, as evidenced by the fact that so many proposals can make it through the process with the author never campaigning ....

Furthermore, the quality of the vast majority of the proposals is poor. At best.

All that considered, I'd say that the system should be just left alone, because the quality issue can be handled by increasing the number of endorsements from 2 to something like 3 or 4.

-10kMichael