The Rejected Times

[Drop Your Pants]

And for the rest it's mostly Manson spewing his crap because he disagrees with others. Don't know why he felt he needed to put that in an article of TRT. It's a shame, because it diverts all attention from the actually good parts.

Thats most TRT issues really.

[Unibot III]

Lovely quick issue. Needs more Rejectmassssss.

I remember one TRT cartoon editorial that showed the NLO flag and zoomed up on it to show a sliver of the NPO flag in it. And it turned out Milograd had actually put the NPO flag in it, so we weren't wrong!

I think one of my favorite cartoons was the one that had a tombstone with "Francos Spain Lies Here" engraved on it.

[Marilyn Manson Freaks]

The democracy part was interesting (although, why was Balder named as democratic?). I didn't get what they were trying to say in the Solorni part though. By now most people who will read the article know that Solorni is gone, so I don't know why they included that. I liked the Rejectmas article. And for the rest it's mostly Manson spewing his crap because he disagrees with others. Don't know why he felt he needed to put that in an article of TRT. It's a shame, because it diverts all attention from the actually good parts.

How about you come write for TRT? We're a people's paper so I can put what I want there.

If you don't like that, oh well. Sucks for you, because I don't care.

[The Church of Satan]

TRT has been an "in your face" publication since it's founding so this is rather pedestrian for it. It's not like TRT has ever been a "people pleaser" publication. Somebody will always take issue with something in any given issue.

[Lyrical International Brigade]

TIL: I am one of about two people on all of NS who actually remember how literally every single Tom & Jerry cartoon went. The only reasonable interpretation of that cartoon is: look at this 'roided out NPO - their demise is going to be even more hilarious than we thought!

That's OK, I'm old. But this whole exchange was extremely funny.

[Pierconium]

TIL: I am one of about two people on all of NS who actually remember how literally every single Tom & Jerry cartoon went. The only reasonable interpretation of that cartoon is: look at this 'roided out NPO - their demise is going to be even more hilarious than we thought!

That's OK, I'm old. But this whole exchange was extremely funny.

My favourite was always Snowbody Loves Me.

But you are right, it would be epic.

[The Gilded Star]

I was about to say, I'm pretty sure a lot of those scenes start with Tom having the higher ground, but end with Jerry being victorious instead.

[Glacikaldr]

Yeah Jerry always makes Tom look like a right ol' fool.

[Vulturret-]

I should thank all the posters who have offered kind words as regards my article on “The Importance of Democracy in NationStates and Real-Life.” When I contribute to any publication in any capacity, I strive to ensure that the quality of my contributions is consistently high. Where some of the quality of The Rejected Times has diminished, I will not hide my concern. I should in particular highlight my alarm with some of the content that (in my view) mocks an important movement going on in Gameplay right now. I am also a bit concerned of certain comments madw by officials of TRR in my capacity as a private citizen, and I shall bring up my relevant issues with that in a private forum as appropriate. I should also emphasize that the author of the article incorrectly links to my TRI nation rather than my TRR one that I am posting on now. TRI plays no part in that content.

The democracy part was interesting (although, why was Balder named as democratic?).

I am glad you found my article interesting. Generally, through our limited interactions - mostly jointly in military operations - I’ve had a very positive outlook on you and appreciate what you have to say. Balder was “named as democratic” because it is indeed a parliamentary democracy. This is established primarily by the Representation for the Realm Act. I’m not sure if you’re genuinely unaware of Balder’s irrevocable status as a democratic region or mocking my inclusion of Balder. If the former is the case, your bad - you should go read up on Balder, it’s an interesting region. If the latter is the case, I should note that I seek to provide a factually sound basis for my opinions about the importance of democratic virtues, and, separately from any capacity I may have in the Realm of Balder, I seek to highlight those democractic virtues shared by other regions.

And for the rest it's mostly Manson spewing his crap because he disagrees with others. Don't know why he felt he needed to put that in an article of TRT. It's a shame, because it diverts all attention from the actually good parts.

This is true to some extent. The deteriorating quality and comments are most concerning to me as a private citizen and I shall of course address them as I see fit.

[Armaros]

The democracy part was interesting (although, why was Balder named as democratic?).

I am glad you found my article interesting. Generally, through our limited interactions - mostly jointly in military operations - I’ve had a very positive outlook on you and appreciate what you have to say. Balder was “named as democratic” because it is indeed a parliamentary democracy. This is established primarily by the Representation for the Realm Act. I’m not sure if you’re genuinely unaware of Balder’s irrevocable status as a democratic region or mocking my inclusion of Balder. If the former is the case, your bad - you should go read up on Balder, it’s an interesting region. If the latter is the case, I should note that I seek to provide a factually sound basis for my opinions about the importance of democratic virtues, and, separately from any capacity I may have in the Realm of Balder, I seek to highlight those democractic virtues shared by other regions.

I was aware of Balders democracy. I'm just not very impressed with it. Then again, I haven't looked at Balder's laws and consitution. I do believe it's an interesting concept they have ~ I just doubt it's executed perfectly, as I haven't seen too many new faces in Balderan offices.

[Unibot III]

Balder was “named as democratic” because it is indeed a parliamentary democracy. This is established primarily by the Representation for the Realm Act. I’m not sure if you’re genuinely unaware of Balder’s irrevocable status as a democratic region or mocking my inclusion of Balder. If the former is the case, your bad - you should go read up on Balder, it’s an interesting region.

You say, "you should go read up on Balder," but those laws, like the Representation for the Realm Act, aren't public. Balder is so democratic, its laws aren't promulgated.

When I did an analysis in 2014 on Free Speech in the GCRs, Speaking Truth to Power, Rachel moved Balder's laws to a private subforum so the public could no longer analyze Balder constitutional law. I've pointed this out through 2014 to 2018, receiving various shrill natterings from the leadership about the PRL et. al. They never had any real defense for closing their laws off to the public. Inevitably whenever people debate Balder's democracy, a Balder official steps in to sternly reference a constitutional law whose text, interpretation and implementation in practice we're supposed to just take at their word in the absence of any substantive government transparency.

Here's my post on this from earlier this year...

The real truth is that Balder deliberately hides its laws from its own residents and outsiders, which I've pointed out many a time - to this day, there's no trace of the Basic Laws promulgated to residents of Balder. That's not the hallmark of a democratic government, it has no commitment to government transparency. It doesn't particularly behave as a democracy would.

On Feb 09, 2017, Rachel made a big show of it to 'open' the Basic Laws to the public when I called her on it again, before yet again withdrawing access to the laws of the region when nobody was watching.

"In any case, I'm not sure what that has to do with [Balder] not being democratic. Particularly when we've had a stable democracy for longer than Lazarus and TSP with far less of the issues they have had with corruption and what have essentially amounted to gangster type politics" - Rachel, Feb 06 2017. Yet another example of her well-renowned diplomacy.

The deteriorating quality ....

I'm chuffed you feel the old TRT was of a higher quality, but I should warn you TRT was never much of an enthusiast of Balder's "democracy."

[The Church of Satan]

I can't deny, I've always wondered what purpose locking their laws away could possibly serve. I believe all of the other GCRs laws are publicly available.

[Unibot III]

I can't deny, I've always wondered what purpose locking their laws away could possibly serve. I believe all of the other GCRs laws are publicly available.

It's a strategic smokescreen that shields Balder from scrutiny by enabling officials to evade and dismiss lines of criticism by pointing to laws that were otherwise inaccessible and then, inevitably, chiding their critics for attacking Balder without all the facts. What you don't know, you can't criticize. When you do criticize, you cannot anticipate the counter-arguments for, or know (for that matter) if they are valid or not.

It is one element of Balder's overall absence of government transparency: a curtain that obscures its appearance as a "democratic" region. To what extent its government is a simulated reality - a pretense - is an open question.

[Aram]

So just what is the craic with Solorni?

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

TRT has been an "in your face" publication since it's founding so this is rather pedestrian for it. It's not like TRT has ever been a "people pleaser" publication. Somebody will always take issue with something in any given issue.

TBH I have more issue with the broken tags that still haven't been fixed. The preview button is your friend, whoever posted this one.

[The Church of Satan]

TBH I have more issue with the broken tags that still haven't been fixed. The preview button is your friend, whoever posted this one.

Those anchor tags are the bane of my journalistic existence.

[Onder Kelkia]

I am glad you found my article interesting. Generally, through our limited interactions - mostly jointly in military operations - I’ve had a very positive outlook on you and appreciate what you have to say. Balder was “named as democratic” because it is indeed a parliamentary democracy. This is established primarily by the Representation for the Realm Act. I’m not sure if you’re genuinely unaware of Balder’s irrevocable status as a democratic region or mocking my inclusion of Balder. If the former is the case, your bad - you should go read up on Balder, it’s an interesting region. If the latter is the case, I should note that I seek to provide a factually sound basis for my opinions about the importance of democratic virtues, and, separately from any capacity I may have in the Realm of Balder, I seek to highlight those democractic virtues shared by other regions.

I was aware of Balders democracy. I'm just not very impressed with it. Then again, I haven't looked at Balder's laws and consitution. I do believe it's an interesting concept they have ~ I just doubt it's executed perfectly, as I haven't seen too many new faces in Balderan offices.

My cabinet ranges from those who have been in Balder for a very long time, such as Zander, Fuzzy and myself, to those who have been in Balder for not as long but a reasonable period, like Cinder and Linkin, to those who only became involved in the latter half of this year, like Griffindor and Vulturret.

Our executive has a balanced mix of regional generations and gameplayer skills. The Statsraadet is well-equipped to serve Balder effectively. There are very experienced members, but also members who are newer to Balder. I appoint the right people for the job; not all new members or all long-time members.

Where all others thing are equal, more established players are favoured to succeed in a democratic system relative to less experienced candidates. Established players are more well known and are more likely to have a base of support. Moreover, in a democratic region, where ministers are the key decision-makers rather than the monarchy, there is a greater incentive for more experienced individuals to seek and retain elected office. In my own experience of regions where there is an elected government with less power, more experienced players will either seek permanent positions or exert influence without undertaking ministerial work.Experienced members will tend to retain control, either informally or formally, of areas where possessing experience is a requirement. In that sense, the presence of some long-serving members, in political roles where they are accountable to the public, is a feature of democracy; not a deviation from it. The alternative is often less accountability; not a genuinely greater role for newer members.

It's a strategic smokescreen that shields Balder from scrutiny by enabling officials to evade and dismiss lines of criticism by pointing to laws that were otherwise inaccessible and then, inevitably, chiding their critics for attacking Balder without all the facts. What you don't know, you can't criticize. When you do criticize, you cannot anticipate the counter-arguments for, or know (for that matter) if they are valid or not..

This is a lot of vivid imagining for something that is relatively simple. In general, we don't give access to most official/governmental areas to non-citizens (with some exceptions, including residents who have applied for citizenship and ambassadors from other regions). Presently this includes the Law Book. The government of Balder is the business of Balder's citizens. Frankly, the government of Balder is not the business of outsiders with no relationship to us.

Our laws are fully accessible not only to citizens but also to foreign diplomats.

[Unibot III]

This is a lot of vivid imagining for something that is relatively simple. In general, we don't give access to most official/governmental areas to non-citizens (with some exceptions, including residents who have applied for citizenship and ambassadors from other regions). Presently this includes the Law Book. The government of Balder is the business of Balder's citizens. [b]Frankly, the government of Balder is not the business of outsiders with no relationship to us.[/b]

Our laws are fully accessible not only to citizens but also to foreign diplomats.

I love this.

The justification for why Balder doesn't make its law public has varied from "Ooops, it's an accident! We masked the subforum wrong." to "The government of Balder is not the business of outsiders."

You guys can't even keep your bs straight month to month: "We didn't mean to do it, but if we did who cares, plus we did mean to do it, and bugger off."

Now square Onder's statement here with Solorni's statement in 2017: "Balder also has zero laws on classified information, technically everything in the region is unclassified. Which would mean that we are one of the most free regions as well when it comes to information. Very few GCRs are dedicated to this level of transparency."

Which is it? Are you "one of the most free regions" (as per Solorni's remark) or ... do you deliberately and knowingly withhold more information about the content of your laws than every other GCR?

The answer, of course, is the latter - you've confirmed that in making your most recent post. Your monarch was blowing smoke up our arses, Balder deliberately shields its law books from public display - the only GCR to do so. It's the least transparent GCR: even the NPO promulgates the Civil Code.

The idea that the government's affairs are only the business of Balder is of course, a ludicrous statement to make. Balder's laws are enforced in the whole Realm of Balder, including non-citizens. Meanwhile, Balder routinely publishes dispatches complimenting itself for its administrative and legislative developments. If Balder actually believed that the business of its government was for Balder only, it wouldn't spend so much time announcing its government's activities to the wider public - no, Balder believes its government's business ought to be trotted out for show on a superficial level, but not subject to scrutiny.

If you were to read your own Foreign Updates, you'd know that Balder often announces and celebrates executive appointments and legislation, here's some legislation that's been referenced:

...defeat of the Regional Identity Act
...amendments to the Criminal Code of Balder
....Demonym Act 2016
...5th amendment to the Representation of the Realm Act
...The 'Accountability Act'
...the Folketing Act

You announce these legislative changes to pat yourselves on the back and to demonstrate your region's activity, but by hiding the bill from public view, you don't allow the public to substantively review what it is that you're announcing. You believe that the business of the government ought to be public insofar as it serves as a public relations exercise. Take for example, this announcement from your Foreign Update...

The final piece of news comes in the form of the Regional Security Act which was introduced by OnderKelkia. The bill aims to promote accountability and professionalism and to fill a legislative hole in the Citizenship Act where no specific authority is responsible. Balder has largely relied on the Monarchy, specifically the Crown Prince NES to conduct these checks. As part of this new bill ,a new position of Head of Sikkerhet is to be create and appointed by the Monarch to conduct these security checks, and should one not be appointed then the responsibility falls on the Crown Prince. The bill was received positively by MPs and on the 6th of July was passed through the Storting.

We're supposed to clap and cheer uncritically that the Regional Security Act, your bill, was passed - which gives new powers to conduct security checks from a Monarch appointed official. But the public is given no access to review what checks and balances are in place in the Regional Security Act and the system it introduced.

No democratic GCR faces more frequent accusations than Balder that it is undemocratic, no GCR defends more adamantly that it is democratic, and no GCR does less to demonstrate its democraticness. You spend a lot of time telling the world how democratic Balder is, given you believe it's none of their business regardless. You want the world to agree with you that Balder is democratic without showing them that Balder is democratic and consequently subjecting the region's political institutions to scrutiny and review.

[Onder Kelkia]

This is a lot of vivid imagining for something that is relatively simple. In general, we don't give access to most official/governmental areas to non-citizens (with some exceptions, including residents who have applied for citizenship and ambassadors from other regions). Presently this includes the Law Book. The government of Balder is the business of Balder's citizens. [b]Frankly, the government of Balder is not the business of outsiders with no relationship to us.[/b]

Our laws are fully accessible not only to citizens but also to foreign diplomats.

I love this.

The justification for why Balder doesn't make its law public has varied from "Ooops, it's an accident! We masked the subforum wrong." to "The government of Balder is not the business of outsiders."

You guys can't even keep your bs straight month to month: "We didn't mean to do it, but if we did who cares, plus we did mean to do it, and bugger off."

Now square Onder's statement here with Solorni's statement in 2017: "Balder also has zero laws on classified information, technically everything in the region is unclassified. Which would mean that we are one of the most free regions as well when it comes to information. Very few GCRs are dedicated to this level of transparency."

Which is it? Are you "one of the most free regions" (as per Solorni's remark) or ... do you deliberately and knowingly withhold more information about the content of your laws than every other GCR?

Firstly, a difference between February 2017 and December 2018 is not "month to month". In my experience, regional policies can evolve in 2 years.

Secondly, it is no secret that Solorni and I had different approaches to many issues. This was one of them.

There was no change of policy or line, so much as a difference of view between the Government and the Crown. Solorni made the Law Book (and several other forums) visible to anyone in February 2017 because there was nothing to hide. Shortly afterwards, the Government (in particular me) successfully obtained more stringent masking for official areas, not because there was something to hide, but simply because we believe that official areas should only be for citizens and others with official credentials, as a matter of principle. I am not prepared to extend access to non-citizens and non-diplomats simply to appease people we wouldn't want as either citizens or diplomats. I've applied that approach in all the regions I have served in, as I think it is the one that serves any region best. In Balder, where the Monarchy wants one thing and the Government another, the elected Government usually gets its way.

The idea that the government's affairs are only the business of Balder is of course, a ludicrous statement to make. Balder's laws are enforced in the whole Realm of Balder, including non-citizens. Meanwhile, Balder routinely publishes dispatches complimenting itself for its administrative and legislative developments. If Balder actually believed that the business of its government was for Balder only, it wouldn't spend so much time announcing its government's activities to the wider public - no, Balder believes its government's business ought to be trotted out for show on a superficial level, but not subject to scrutiny.

A region can reasonably engage with the outside world without opening the contents of its government-related forums up to everyone in the world. The government of Balder is only the business of Balder's citizens, but others are welcome to learn things as the permitted guests of Balder's citizens.

There is a difference between receiving selected information in a press release and being granted an unfettered right of direct access. There is no reason why the two should go together as you suggest. If others don't want to engage with Balder on those terms, then we are not making them do so.

There is nothing nefarious about that. The difference is only one of degree with most other regions, as very few regions open up all their official areas to non-citizens without any questions. Official matters in Balder are internal to the citizens of Balder. That does not mean anyone outside of Balder is barred from ever knowing or learning anything about Balder. Rather, it means that that the automatic right of access belongs only to Balder's citizens.

[Glen-Rhodes]

... We believe that official areas should only be for citizens and others with official credentials, as a matter of principle. I am not prepared to extend access to non-citizens and non-diplomats simply to appease people we wouldn't want as either citizens or diplomats. I've applied that approach in all the regions I have served in, as I think it is the one that serves any region best. In Balder, where the Monarchy wants one thing and the Government another, the elected Government usually gets its way.

So y'all make people swear an oath before they're even allowed to see the actual laws of the region they're swearing an oath to? Sure sounds smart.

[Unibot III]

Which is it? Are you "one of the most free regions" (as per Solorni's remark) or ... do you deliberately and knowingly withhold more information about the content of your laws than every other GCR?
Firstly, a difference between February 2017 and December 2018 is not "month to month". In my experience, regional policies can evolve in 2 years.

Secondly, it is no secret that Solorni and I had different approaches to many issues. This was one of them.

There was no change of policy or line, so much as a difference of view between the Government and the Crown. Solorni made the Law Book (and several other forums) visible to anyone in February 2017 because there was nothing to hide. Shortly afterwards, the Government (in particular me) successfully obtained more stringent masking for official areas, not because there was something to hide, but simply because we believe that official areas should only be for citizens and others with official credentials, as a matter of principle. I am not prepared to extend access to non-citizens and non-diplomats simply to appease people we wouldn't want as either citizens or diplomats. I've applied that approach in all the regions I have served in, as I think it is the one that serves any region best. In Balder, where the Monarchy wants one thing and the Government another, the elected Government usually gets its way.

As "a matter of principle", haha. Have you ever heard of government transparency? That's a principle!

So who are we supposed to trust to speak for Balder when the Monarch and Onder Kelkia speak different stories? Who speaks for Balder? Does the Monarch always blab away without authority? The Monarch in 2017, spoke about her region's commitment to government transparency in superlatives ("we are one of the most free regions "), despite the government not sharing this commitment and you countermanding her policy change shortly after its introduction. You didn't make this change, "two years later," you made this change almost immediately and kept it quiet.

I also wonder (rhetorically) if the Monarch and the Head of the Government disagreed with one another on transparency, why did the Head of the Government not speak up then? Presumably, you neither wanted to contradict the Monarch in public, nor spoil the good will of the Monarch's announcement. Better to let people think Balder is an open region, than directly rain on the parade.

Balder reversed course on transparency to meet the bare minimum of standards, only to countermand this decision without publicizing the decision.

There is a difference between receiving selected information in a press release and being granted an unfettered right of direct access. There is no reason why the two should go together as you suggest. If others don't want to engage with Balder on those terms, then we are not making them do so.

There is nothing nefarious about that. The difference is only one of degree with most other regions, as very few regions open up all their official areas to non-citizens without any questions. Official matters in Balder are internal to the citizens of Balder. That does not mean anyone outside of Balder is barred from ever knowing or learning anything about Balder. Rather, it means that that the automatic right of access belongs only to Balder's citizens.

No let me correct you here, no other Game-Created Region administers laws to non-citizens that are not publicly available. 'Unfettered direct access' is not tantamount to promulgating laws and changes to laws thereof. You're promoting the legislative activities of Balder for its public relations value without allowing the public to actually see what laws are being introduced and amended, under the principle that it's none of the public's business - a principle that you yourself directly contradict every time you publicize Balder's legislative activities and wax sweet propaganda about the vitality of its democracy.

[The Church of Satan]

Without evidence to suggest otherwise Uni's assessment seems entirely accurate. However Onder, by your own admission Balder's inner-workings even at the most basic level is nobody else's business. With that in mind you're position to the contrary relies solely on your words. Words which because of policies you boast so much about, are entirely unable to be proven because of the very policies you champion. So it doesn't seem like you can achieve anything by responding here other than trying to make Balder look better than the evidence can ever hope to suggest. This also supports Uni's statement that your goals here are completely PR-related. Even then though, such a goal hardly seems achievable when you can provide nothing to support your position. This however is no criticism of Balder. These are merely the facts as they stand right now.

[Onder Kelkia]

... We believe that official areas should only be for citizens and others with official credentials, as a matter of principle. I am not prepared to extend access to non-citizens and non-diplomats simply to appease people we wouldn't want as either citizens or diplomats. I've applied that approach in all the regions I have served in, as I think it is the one that serves any region best. In Balder, where the Monarchy wants one thing and the Government another, the elected Government usually gets its way.

So y'all make people swear an oath before they're even allowed to see the actual laws of the region they're swearing an oath to? Sure sounds smart.

Firstly, if upon being granted citizenship they suddenly discover a law that they disagree with so strongly that they would not wish to apply in the first place, then they there is of course nothing to stop them leaving at that point. I have never known this to happen, presumably because our branding as a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy is not at all misleading, but there is nothing to prevent someone leaving if they felt that way.

Secondly, a large majority of our applicants undergo a period as Non-Voting Residents (soon to be renamed Viking Residents) prior to finally being granted citizenship. During this time, they have access to most citizen-only areas, including the Law Book. As such, in most of these cases, if they discovered something they disliked, they could withdraw their application before it was approved. In practice, residents can see laws before they gain citizenship.

Thirdly, you refer to our oath. Our citizenship oath reads:

I, @@NATION@@, pledge to vote, discourse, and hold any offices in Balder with the interests of Balder in mind and no other region or organization.

As you can see, this says nothing about allegiance to any laws or any institution. Citizens are of course obliged to be loyal to the region and abide by its laws while they remain citizens, but not as a result of the oath. As such, swearing the oath should not provide any obstacle to anyone renouncing citizenship on the basis that they, upon gaining citizenship, discovered that they disagreed with our laws so strongly they did not want to be a citizen.

There is accordingly no issue of the kind you indicate.

So who are we supposed to trust to speak for Balder when the Monarch and Onder Kelkia speak different stories? Who speaks for Balder? Does the Monarch always blab away without authority? The Monarch in 2017, spoke about her region's commitment to government transparency in superlatives ("we are one of the most free regions "), despite the government not sharing this commitment and you countermanding her policy change shortly after its introduction. You didn't make this change, "two years later," you made this change almost immediately and kept it quiet.

I also wonder (rhetorically) if the Monarch and the Head of the Government disagreed with one another on transparency, why did the Head of the Government not speak up then? Presumably, you neither wanted to contradict the Monarch in public, nor spoil the good will of the Monarch's announcement. Better to let people think Balder is an open region, than directly rain on the parade.

You are vastly over-stating the significance of Solorni's post in February 2017. It was not an official announcement made in Balder's embassy or even an announcement of any kind, but a personal reply made as part of a debate in a thread you created. Moreover, while she linked to the Law Book, she made no commitment that it would remain open in perpetuity. Nowhere did it require that a re-masking on our forums should result in an external announcement.

From an objective perspective, there was no "parade" to rain on. Other than you, I doubt anyone took any note of Solorni's post for more than a day or so.

Although you have never liked our answer, under the legal position in February 2017 and the legal position that exists today, the Statsminister speaks for Balder. We have never attempted to hide that reality. This is in fact a key feature of the democracy that you are here claiming does not exist. If you wanted to mislead yourself by believing the former Monarch's personal statements were official when we told you that they weren't, then that was your fault.

As it happens, I don't even recall seeing Solorni's post in February 2017. I learnt of the masking changes that had occurred within Balder and the Government secured the change within Balder. The re-masking of the forums was reversed not in response to Solorni's post, but in response to the event itself. In any case, it is entirely reasonable for disagreements regarding regional policy to be handled behind closed doors without making a fuss. It would have been unreasonable and unprofessional to create a public spectacle of a disagreement with the Monarch over something as minor and irrelevant as our masking.

No let me correct you here, no other Game-Created Region administers laws to non-citizens that are not publicly available. 'Unfettered direct access' is not tantamount to promulgating laws and changes to laws thereof. You're promoting the legislative activities of Balder for its public relations value without allowing the public to actually see what laws are being introduced and amended, under the principle that it's none of the public's business - a principle that you yourself directly contradict every time you publicize Balder's legislative activities and wax sweet propaganda about the vitality of its democracy.

On the contrary, as I stated earlier, it is merely a question of degrees. Balder might have the most stringent restrictions on access to official areas among the GCRs, but plenty other GCRs and other major regions impose other kinds of restrictions on access to information. This includes information about legislation. For example, there might be a citizen-only area for legislative discussions (or even a legislator-only area for legislative discussions in some regions). From your philosophical standpoint, you could easily invent a theoretical argument for why non-citizens should have access to legislative discussions. It merely comes down to which areas that a region believes should be reserved for its own citizens and which areas that a region believes should be open to all regardless of citizenship. Balder draws this line differently to other regions, but it is substantively the same judgement call.

There is no contradiction between publicity about Balder's legislative activities and declining to grant everyone in the world access to official areas pertaining to legislation, including the Law Book. Simply releasing a press release about something that happened on your forum doesn't mean you are surrendering the right to control who has access to the contents of your forum. There is no reason whatsoever for linking these two processes.

With that in mind you're position to the contrary relies solely on your words. Words which because of policies you boast so much about, are entirely unable to be proven because of the very policies you champion.

Those who refuse to believe Balder is democratic, just because they personally don't have access to our forums, will doubtless continue to wallow in their ignorance.

You will learn more accurate information about Balder from what I say than you will from Unibot's conspiracy theories.

Given this lack of trust for my words, I am sure you will understand why Balder does not trust our enemies to have access to our official areas in the name of "transparency". For any region, there are inevitably reasonable trade-offs between total transparency and the interests and security of the region.

[The Church of Satan]

Those who refuse to believe Balder is democratic, just because they personally don't have access to our forums, will doubtless continue to wallow in their ignorance.

You will learn more accurate information about Balder from what I say than you will from Unibot's conspiracy theories.

The lack of evidence in your favor however supports Unibot's assessment. You're more than capable of dispelling this ignorance without providing anyone access to your forum or government areas therein. The East Pacific does just that here, The North Pacific here, The Rejected Realms here, The West Pacific here and The Pacific here. It's not difficult nor is it intrusive in any way.

Given this lack of trust for my words, I am sure you will understand why Balder does not trust our enemies to have access to our official areas in the name of "transparency". For any region, there are inevitably reasonable trade-offs between total transparency and the interests and security of the region.

Lack of trust is only part of it. The other part is a complete lack of anything whatsoever to substantiate them. I realize you are under no obligation to take any of this into consideration and I am by no means attempting to change your opinion. I'm only stating the facts as I see them.

[Onder Kelkia]

Those who refuse to believe Balder is democratic, just because they personally don't have access to our forums, will doubtless continue to wallow in their ignorance.

You will learn more accurate information about Balder from what I say than you will from Unibot's conspiracy theories.

The lack of evidence in your favor however supports Unibot's assessment. You're more than capable of dispelling this ignorance without providing anyone access to your forum or government areas therein. The East Pacific does just that here, The North Pacific here, The Rejected Realms here, The West Pacific here and The Pacific here. It's not difficult nor is it intrusive in any way.

On the contrary, there is plenty of evidence in the public domain illustrating that Balder is a democracy. Unless you think we are lying when we post reports about holding elections, and the Storting passing legislation and choosing the Statsminister. If we are lying, and we don't conduct regular elections, the Storting doesn't have legislative powers, or the Storting doesn't choose the Statsminister, then I think that information would have leaked by now.

The entire line of argument is nothing more than a spurious attempt to undermine Balder by individuals and regions opposed to it.

The examples you cite (based on dispatches) differ from the issue Unibot raised (opening up the Law Book as a section on our forums to public viewing). At one level, the same principle applies (that the government of Balder is for the citizens of Balder), but dispatches are less intrusive than re-designating areas of our forums, when we do not allow non-citizens to access official government areas in general (and the Law Book is included as part of this). We have discussed the possibility of using dispatches to provide an array of additional information, including the Basic Laws, in the not too distant past, and it is possible that we might look at publishing laws in dispatches for promotional purposes in the same way as other on-site dispatches in the future.