[DRAFT] Bad Optics

[Fhaengshia]

My first issue proposal, I want to make sure I'm doing this right.

Title:
Bad Optics

Description:
The @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Society of Surveyors has come under controversy with a significant land owner in @@NAME@@ claiming society members fraudulently measured their quantity of land. Due to an old law regarding the society you are asked to deal with the situation.

Validity:
Nations with Capitalism Policy

Options:
[option]“These conmen have been ripping me off for years!” Claims landowner @@RANDOMNAME@@, with wads of @@CURRENCY@@ poking out of @@HIS@@ pockets. “They’ve taken my land and charged me for it! The whole lot should give me back my land and reimburse me, with interest!”
[effect]it’s a sight for sore eyes for surveyors in @@NAME@@

[option]“Let’s all stay level headed here” reasons @@RANDOMNAME@@, the President of the Society who has trouble standing up straight. “Surveying is a complicated scheme, I mean process. Mistakes happen and you can’t hold the whole society responsible, that’d be out of plumb!”
[effect]landowners often seek new horizons

[option]"We can all compromise!” interjects @@RANDOMNAME@@, the surveyor behind the fraudulent surveys, while wearing an eyepatch. “You can provide a refund and we can forget this all happened, sounds alright to me.”
[effect]there’s a lack of foresight in @@NAME@@

-------------------------------------------

Title:
Bad Optics

Description:
The @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Society of Surveyors has come under controversy with a significant land owner in @@NAME@@ having found undated plans of their land showing boundaries with a larger claim than a more recent survey shows. With many of your predecessors being historically involved in the society, precedent is that high level disputes are to be decided by you.

Validity:
Nations with Capitalism Policy

Options:
[option]“These conmen have been ripping me off for years!” Claims irate landowner @@RANDOMNAME@@, with wads of @@CURRENCY@@ poking out of @@HIS@@ pockets. “They’ve taken my land and charged me for it! The whole lot should give me back my land and reimburse me, with interest!”
[effect]it’s a sight for sore eyes for surveyors in @@NAME@@

[option]“Let’s all stay level headed here” reasons @@RANDOMNAME@@, the President of the Society who has trouble standing up straight. “Surveying is a complicated scheme, I mean science. Methods change over time and these plans could be historical, I can barely make them out. You can’t hold the whole society responsible for this fellows tantrum, that’d be out of plumb!”
[effect]landowners often seek new horizons

[option]"We can all compromise!” interjects @@RANDOMNAME@@, the surveyor behind the recent surveys in question, while wearing an eyepatch. “You can provide a refund and we can forget this all happened, sounds alright to me.”
[effect]there’s a lack of foresight in @@NAME@@

[Candlewhisper Archive]

There's actually quite a lot of interesting law around boundaries and the like, for example to do with people treating a boundary as being elsewhere from where it actually is on plans, and that having some legal weight in many jurisdictions. However, fraudulent measurement seems quite clear cut, legally. Fraud is fraud.

[Fhaengshia]

I wanted to focus on the boundary law aspect, so I changed the wording to remove references to fraud.

[Baggieland]

If someone believes the boundry of their property has been incorrectly measured, surely this is a matter for the local court. How would it require government action?

[Fhaengshia]

The second sentence in the description is what is bringing this issue to the player.
The intention is based off the links between US Presidents and Surveyors, eg. the meme that Mt Rushmore is “three surveyors and one other guy”.
I’ve copied the original sentence here with some alternatives:

Due to an old law regarding the society you are asked to deal with the situation.

Alternatives:

Due to a quirk of legislation the Society had lobbied for years ago the decision rests with you.

Due to historical ties between the Society and former leaders, precedent is that high level situations are to be decided by you.

With many of your predecessors being historically involved in the Society, current law for high level disputes lays the decision on your desk.

[Australian rePublic]

How long ago was the boundary erected? I feel that that matters

[Fhaengshia]

Thanks for picking that up, it's meant to be something recent.

[Australian rePublic]

Thanks for picking that up, it's meant to be something recent.

If it's something recent matter? Whoever erected it is in the wrong. The only way that this would not be the case would be if someone erected the barrier, say 30 years ago, are they entitled to the land given how long it's been since anyone's actually complained about it. So this would work better if the boundary was erected a long time ago. But not too long. If you go back far enough, it becomes a matter of which war lord fought whom for what land, who are the decedants of the person who took the land, what happens to the decendamrs of the warlords who've held it for centuries and that kind of stuff and/or indigenous land rights

Therefore, maybe you can make this issue be about how long a non-tenant can occupy a land before it becomes theirs. This is actually a law in some IRL countries. For example, if you occupy a land (unless you're a tenant) and nobody complains about the fact that you're occupying that land, the land becomes yours after 12 years in Australia

[Fhaengshia]

Ahh, that's interesting, I think this then makes most sense if the time is ambiguous/unknown, that's why the player has to make the call.