Worldvision Song Contest 86 | OOC | Sign-ups CLOSED

[Mister X]

I’ve noticed that someone else running for the committee has proposed abolishing it outright, if not making it a host choice. While I can see his reasoning in the second option, I vehemently disagree with the first.

Let me just clarify I would never abolish it without the support of the community, but at the very least, and this is very much a "very least" option, it needs some major reforms as it is unsustainable in its current format - many of the other concerns I have over it are still valid. It could well be the case that it only needs a minor change to have a majorly positive effect on it, but I don't think it can stay in its current organisational format: let the host calculate it... remove the concept of minus points so you can't rate your own entry above others... these are still things that could well be done.

Remember to vote for change.

[Todlichebujoku]

Who am I?

Hi, I'm Tobu! I have been participating in WorldVision since WV27, hosted twice (WV36 and WV63), and have been on the Committee multiple times where I have acted as both a force for change and a mentor to new WVC members. Regardless of being on the Committee, I have helped newer players gain an understanding of how the contest works, and aided them in creating graphics and writing. I do love making graphics and writing creatively, so I am down to help others out in those regards.

Turning to the wider WV community, I have to say that I love our community events like the Eurovision ranking, all the community games we have, the Teams special edition, and the banter we have on the Discord chat. It definitely feels much more closely knit than it was in the WV20s to 40s, and it's great to see that we have built strong genuine friendships here. As for the contest itself, I love it as an outlet for creativity, a place to appreciate music and to understand each person's individual style.

What do I bring to the Committee?

In terms of what I've done on the Committee so far, I have built flexibility and leniency into the deadlines and rules system, to ensure that the contests fits better with our international playerbase and that a minor infraction does not equate to a ban. I have also reorganized the OP to be far easier to read and understand, especially for newer players, removing areas where rules were being repeated or contradictory, and consolidating the rules into a single location with details on consequences. And of course I've played a strong role in organizing the WorldVision special editions: coming up with the idea for the first one with Ekoz, co-hosting the second with Polkopia, and organizing the latest one with Izmedu, Kish, Ax, and Besen.

My ongoing goals are to continue to mentor new WVC members in understanding and running the contest, along with conflict resolution in trying to see how we can best resolve community issues- seeing if an incident is indeed one-sided, or part of a mutual conflict with no clear aggressor, and thus coming up with an appropriate response. I'm also open to new ideas and hope to keep WorldVision fun and interesting for new and old players alike. And of course, you can be assured that I will be an active presence on the Committee. Especially with the last term where some members dropped off for various reasons during the last edition, leaving essentially just Kish and I to run the contest. (No shade to Izmedu, our boy was consumed by his doctorate and we understand that!)

What problems do I hope to solve?

But with that all said, there has been a lot on my mind.

So let's talk about what's not helpful in this community. What's toxic and what needs to exit promptly.

I am aware that certain Committee members have not been very courteous to some members of our playerbase. I have to thank Natanya for bringing my attention to a particular incident that I was not present for, and on revisiting that, I can see how the WVC members involved did not exercise the respect that should have been afforded to the participant and his complaint, and the way the conversation devolved into a rather chaotic dogpile that eventually managed to end with an understanding that should nonetheless have been reached much earlier. It's clear how this and similar incidents have been causing distrust from some in the community toward the current/latest Committee term, and whether or not I am elected again, I expect the new WVC members to exercise some restraint when emotionally strained, and I do hope the right group of candidates are elected in that regard. However, there is another side to this.

Respect is a two-way street.

Making every single WVC mistake to be "pulling the wool over our eyes" and being some sort of malicious action performed by a nebulous enemy is extremely hurtful to the atmosphere of the community and the well-being of WVC members, who in the end are simply other players like you doing their best to run the contest. If you treat them like a punching bag, don't be surprised when they are slow to act on your concerns. Questions and concerns should be brought up politely without accusations and passive-aggressiveness. For nearly all of us here, this is not an issue as we understand basic decency. But for a vocal few, this is an ongoing issue.

I know there were incidents when a certain member continually acted in a negative and passive-aggressive fashion toward WVC members and had the audacity to be shocked when they snapped. This said member also had a clear vendetta against another player and made a dedicated effort to see them specifically punished, both when this member was on the Committee and when he was not. I would like to see such nasty incidents ended. If players, whether WVC or not, are unable to self-police their behavior, they should be removed from the contest either temporarily or permanently, depending on their history of such behavior. If a player is causing others to cry or to take a break from the contest for mental health reasons, they should not continue to be in this community. And unfortunately I do know this has happened and I will endeavor to take care of this situation. Sometimes you need to step back to realize the gravity of a long running pattern of behavior, and I have been giving this much thought recently.

Similarly, I've noticed in the listenalongs, and even in the wording of OOC entry rankings, that there have been occasional issues with respecting other people's entries. Saying that you dislike a song, or even simply that you hate it is fine, but going over the top with statements like "VISCERALLY SICK TIER" or shouting "I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT" (@ the person who wrote something along those lines, I'm glad you deleted it but it's a notable example), is simply uncalled for, immature, and rather hurtful to others. Again, if players, whether WVC or not, are unable to self-police their behavior, they should be removed from the contest either temporarily or permanently, depending on their history of such behavior.

To be clear, especially with a recent conversation on the server, I am referring specifically to Out Of Character comments that are posted on the OOC or in the Discord chat. Rude comments made from an IC perspective in the contest thread can be distasteful and disheartening, but in the end they are still In-Character and thus do not necessarily reflect one's personal views. I know I have personally posted a rather chaotic commentary some contests ago that has evidently turned out a bit divisive, and I do not intend on repeating that again, and will instead focus on more serious and official forms of commentary as I used to do previously.

Another point I'd like to note is one that's flared up earlier this year. There were some conflicts over the usage of certain partially reclaimed slurs, and who had the right to say them, as members of those targeted minorities. I have been thinking about this one even after the furor died down. These were extremely messy conflicts and there were some extremely strong sentiments involved, even in the server moderation chat, which quickly wore on me. In one case, someone had spoken the full name of the rap group N.W.A. when someone else had asked, and at the time I didn't see that as actionable. Anyway that was a whole mess and my current stance is that I would much rather have all such slurs blanket banned rather than have to navigate a sea of "who gets to say what semi-reclaimed slur". Especially if someone new is coming into the community who doesn't know which people are what minority, this could otherwise look extraordinarily unwelcoming. So there we go.

Is there anything else I'd like to say?

I would just like to discuss points raised in other manifestos.

- Announcements on Discord vs Forum:

For the beginning of this latest term I fully agree that the WVC was highly Discord-focused and neglected to announce rule changes and such on the NS forum, which absolutely was a mistake. However, after Ethane, among others, brought it up about midway through, we made much more of a commitment for Discord announcements and important such news to be mirrored on the forum, and so this is already vastly improved. The recent exchange between Mister X and Ertzei Kishim concerns this early period before the reprioritization of the OOC thread on the forums, which I do agree should have been posted on the thread at the time.
Ultimately, I will continue to ensure that the OOC thread is prioritized. I have previously noted in chat, and likely in earlier manifestos, that the OOC needs to be more active in order to attract more new players, and this fits in with that sentiment.

- Successive Win Ban

No one's ever won 3 times in a row before, so I don't know what problem this is solving. And if it happens once, it's extremely unlikely to happen again, so there's not much reason for it to exist even then. In any case, I'd rather have fewer bans in WV rather than more.

- Televote:

The televote came into being through community involvement. The WVC sent out a questionnaire about what people wanted in a televote, and a referendum that was announced and run on both the forum and Discord. There was a clear 2/3 majority in favor of it and it was instated. Personally, I was on the fence about the televote- primarily because I had doubts about future WVC members being able to understand and use it, especially considering how many "hands-off" members there have been previously, where the WVC duties ended up squarely on one person's back.

Currently, I think the televote is workable, especially now that we have the data from previous editions to help new members understand what to do. There have certainly been teething issues as we figured out how to best implement the system- we had to figure out how to cut down on the number of null televote points being issued per contest, and also how to format the form to be less daunting to fill out. I know that there has been a question raised as to a recent miscalculation of the televote, but that at least is easily fixed and updated. Let's look at that in comparison with the jury vote. The jury vote has been miscalculated multiple times in the history of WorldVision, often visible on host graphics, but that doesn't mean that the jury voting system itself is flawed and should be abolished. In the end, it was just basic human error and I appreciate that the problem has been identified. It would be nice to just have it brought up without all the finger pointing and conspiratorial accusations.

On a side note, giving everyone negatives while giving yourself a middling televote score can only give you a very small advantage due to how small the negative point values are, compared to the positive values, so this is a moot point. You could give yourself a similar small advantage in pure jury voting as well with the 5 points to yourself and the rest to joke entries.

But honestly? Amidst all the sensationalist and conspiratorial language that I am seeing in a certain candidate's manifesto, there is one good point. I am definitely interested in allowing the host to do the televote, and the WVC can be in close contact to make sure all is well, and be there if any help is needed. This fits in with my historical position to give the host more say in how things are run, most notably with my push for the host having a choice on a flexible vs. hard deadline.

- Transparency:

Ah, we meet again. Personally, with the commitment to making sure that announcements are posted on both the forums and the Discord, it seems to me that things are not bad in this regard- the main point of improvement I can see is listing out Committee decisions in a forum post on a regular basis. However it's clear that some have issues with the status quo on this and so I am open to suggestions and ideas. Unfortunately one of the manifestos bringing this up does not seem to address a solution. The other suggests we make the WVC channel public, which does seem like a great idea.. until you realize that voting results spreadsheets are linked on there, and the WVC password, among other things, so that would be a bit of an issue to have public. Transparency is catchphrase I've seen a lot on manifestos over the years, and as far as I can tell, I've been the only one to have ever published an overview of one Committee's acts and decisions on the OOC, and I would love to see if anyone will really step up or come up with a solid idea.

So what are my priorities?

• Providing a welcoming environment for both new players and new WVC members
• Keeping WV flexible
• Taking action against toxicity between players
• Continuing to ensure that announcements are posted on the forums
• Making the televote work better for all of us
• Running the contest, maintaining an active presence.

In the end, I hope you will make the right choices this election cycle- as Kalosia said, vote!

While I may not agree with some candidates' views, it is definitely so refreshing to have such a surge of interest in the elections this time around, as opposed to having the bare minimum of 5 candidates that's happened in the past.

So thank you for reading, and thank you to those who are running for the position as well!

[WorldVision Committee]

Committee Elections Q&A Session

So after floating the idea, and there being a degree of interest for it, the committee (girl just me, Kish) will be opening an google form for those in the community, as well as other candidates to anonymously post questions to the people running for the committee spots. You will be able to direct your questions either to everyone, or to an individual candidate. I will select a number of questions from those submitted to be given to everyone, as well as ensuring every candidate receives at least one individual question (and more, so long as everybody has the same number of individual questions). The timeline we are currently working on is as follows: You will be able to submit questions until Wednesday 28th October, 20:00 BST, after which I will post the relevant questions on the OOC thread. If candidates want to answer the questions, they must do so on the OOC thread, but also bear in mind that this is entirely optional; as a candidate you do not need to answer any of the questions put to you, you can answer only some, or all - the choice is yours. Please see below for the google form where you can anonymously submit your questions:

Submit Here

[Pleau]

Country: Pleau
Song: The guy
Singer: Alexandro Radiateur
Compositors: Jimmy "the u" & Ricardo Radiateur (father of Alexandro)
Original song: Thierry Hazard - le jerk
Channel: PTV1

[Carrelie]

CarrelieOne is proud to announce Carrelie's participation in
WorldVision Song Contest 86!
Carrelie has always been a nation of musical talent. It's time we take that talent to the world stage!

For the longest time, Carrelie has been recognised as a hub for musical talent, but we've had nowhere to express this talent. That is, until today. CarrelieOne brings you Carrelie's first of hopefully many participations in the WorldVision Song Contest!

We are proud to introduce the lovely Songs of Carrelie winner Marien Lochnette as Carrelie's first WorldVision participant!

-


Pictured: A stock image bearing resemblance to how I imagine Marien to look

Hailing from the small town of Letant-on-Sea, Marien is a young woman with ambitions. Her music career began when she was only 14, when she signed with local record label Machannan, and began producing covers of folk songs. She soon decided to leave folk music behind to pursue pop.

She first made headlines when she was 16, when she released her first hit, Across the Lake. This song was a huge hit, spawning many covers and Marien's first appearance on television, as a guest on Rise and Shine, Carrelie!. Since then, she has grown into a nationwide phenomenon, even starring in a musical! She continued to release songs, and on the 4th of April this year, stunned the nation with her performance on Songs of Carrelie, bringing us to today.

Marien will be performing her new song Venture (Tune: Yelle - Florence en Italie) at WorldVision, composed by Madisenne Loisenne and Frédéric Danbenne.
We hope to see you there!

[Waisnor]

There is updated signup post:

Nation Name: Waisnor
Official Broadcaster: First National Channel (FNC)
Song Title: Navazhdeniye
Translation: Glamor
Artist(s) Name(s): Steppen

Tune: Tima Belorusskikh - Nezabudka

[Missus X]

Nation Name: Missus X.
Official Broadcaster: MSX Television.
Song Title: "Unscoop My Poop".
Artist(s) Name(s): Rick Leg.

Tune: Toni Braxton - "Unbreak My Heart".

[Mister X]

Nation Name: Missus X.
Official Broadcaster: MSX Television.
Song Title: "Unscoop My Poop".
Artist(s) Name(s): Rick Leg.

Tune: Toni Braxton - "Unbreak My Heart".

Confirmed.

[Der Chopland]

Nation Name: Der Chopland
Official Broadcaster: DCONN 3
Song Title: “Mein Schöne Pferde”
Translation: “My Lovely Horse”
Artist(s) Name(s): Vater Edvard Krillien and Vater Dougal Von Dough

[Mister X]

As for my main nation, Lauren will return to WorldVision to sing "Forevermore", to the tune of Kylie Minogue - "Better The Devil You Know".

This is a return to basics for Mister X, by which I mean it's a Stock Aitken Waterman song.

[Nekoni]

Nation Name: Der Chopland
Official Broadcaster: DCONN 3
Song Title: “Mein Schöne Pferde”
Translation: “My Lovely Horse”
Artist(s) Name(s): Vater Edvard Krillien and Vater Dougal Von Dough

I think we all know EXACTLY where this is going. And YES.

[Elejamie]

ElejamieVision
(I forgot to do a logo but then again everyone's been preoccupied with the election so I think I can get away with it)

Following the 85th WorldVision Song Contest in Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo, ETV announced that ElejamieVision will return to decide who'll be representing the nation at the next two contests. After a period of music experts whittling down the competition, as well as a few international juries helping out with the last ten we are now left with five songs that you, the multiverse, will decide who will be the lucky one to travel over to wherever the next contest will be held, as well as the lucky runner-up to represent us at the 87th contest. For the international juries who wish to participate, as well as the viewing public at home in one of our twenty tracts whose votes will be added at the very end, your five choices are:

1. South Working Funk Band - All Day, All Night
(Laura Tesoro - What's The Pressure)

2. Ramón Calvente - Libertad
(Alekseev - Forever)

3. Ethan Cohen - My Dream Girl
(ByeAlex - Kedvesem (Zoohacker Remix))

4. Tara Cullinane - Calling Me Home
(Can-Linn (feat. Kasey Smith) - Heartbeat)

5. Hannah McCleary - Without Me
(zalagasper - Sebi)

Same rules as last time and for the first round (which I won't do again until I decide on another decade of Eurovision): Just TG (or DM me on Discord) your votes, with 5 points going to your favourite entry, 4 to your second favourite entry, 3 to your third favourite, 2 to your fourth favourite and finally 1 to your least favourite. You can use IC names or OOC names, it won't matter in the slightest. EDIT: If you don't wish to vote again, feel free to ask me to carry your votes over from round one as that won't be a problem with me. Deadline will be at 00:00 on November 1st, 2020 (8pm on 31st October, 2020 EST), with results revealed either the same night or the day after.

[Malta Comino Gozo]

Malta Comino Gozo For Committee

If you don't know me I am Malta Comino Gozo but you can call me MCG or just Malta, any is fine. I have been apart of WV since WV76, hosting two successful competitions in WV78 and WV85. I feel Worldvision is a fantastic opportunity for people such as myself to participate in showcasing their talent at writing and roleplaying. Its a great place to make friends, learn and grow. I am a valued member and I get on with I'd say, everybody. I have made a lot of friends here. I am a positive hardworking individual and inspire to put a lot of effort into things as can be seen by my two hosting's and also my first Worldvision win in WV84.

I am a team player and consistently make the effort to vote in NF's and I have also co hosted with Nekoni the WV85 contest which also shows I work well with others. Having been a apart of this for ten editions I've decided that I think I'd like to experience the other side of the contest and get involved with the committee. I have a experience with this in my real life work, as I'm Chairman of my local workplace. This involves me planning/ attending meetings, conference calls, working with others locally and nationally as well as time planning and communicating to others feedback and information. I feel these are worthy skills to have to be on the committee.

Whilst I feel as it is Worldvision is a great place I can't sugar-coat everything and some changes could be made.

Whilst the televote remains a polar topic I do feel it brings so much life to the contest and brings people together I for one LOVE the excitement ands build up of the televote and feel it adds a sense of fun and joy to the competition. I would keep the televote if elected into the committee

I feel that here needs to be more communication between discord and the forums so people who don't use discord don't feel left out of any important decisions.

I am optimistic that the new incoming committee will address many of the issues that the current one does not have the time to work towards as we know they are short of members.

Overall I want this to remain a friendly environment, yes we all have different opinions, some love the televote some don't but this is a place to come together and share our love of Eurovision/ song writing and roleplaying and it should remain that way.

I hope you elect me for committee and I look forward to working with all the others elected too!

[WorldVision Committee]

Questions for Candidates

Thank you for everyone who submitted their questions on the google form for our wonderful candidates. Everyone who submitted a manifesto by 20:00 GMT has received two questions, as well as there being a list of general questions directed at all the candidates. Answering these questions is not compulsory - if you do not answer them, that is fine, equally you can answer only some of them, all of them, or none of them. However, please do not answer questions that are not directed at you, so that we can keep the conversations targeted and fluid. Ideally, you choose 2/3 questions from the general list, as well as answering your own personal questions, but this is all up to you. So, without further ado, here our the questions for our committee candidates:

General questions for all candidates

1) How would you deal with a complaint that involves a member of the committee without leaking it to them?

2) There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?

3) Do you believe that WorldVision currently has voting bias? If so, what are they and how do you intend to fix/moderate this?

4) Many of the manifestos have proposed additional rules or modifications to existing rules. Given that we are a relatively small group compared to other communities on NS, do you find it necessary to have this many written rules? What do you think about alternatives such as unspoken rules, best practices, trusting the community to self-regulate, etc?

5) In the event that you find yourself unable to continue your duties as a WVC member and for whatever reason become inactive, what do you plan to do to mitigate the effect of your absence from the WVC?

6) Everyone; While the televote has certainly bought some interesting results to the WorldVision Song Contest, I feel as though the televote can be tweaked. Each nation does not have the same amount of say as another and somebody's 10 in the televote in most cases won't equal a 12 in the Jury. How would you change this to make sure the Jury and Televote is truly equal?

7) Who should have access to the calculation of the televote?

8-) How would you handle a case in which somebody has been accused of unfair voting?

9) Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?

-

Questions for individual candidates

Amuaplye
1) Amuaplye, over the past few months, your participation at Worldvision is a bit spotty - meaning that you haven't finished your entries or haven't participated at all. How can voters be sure that you're dedicated to putting your time and effort into the contest as a member of the Committee?

2) Would by-elections not be better for resignations, and also wouldn't opening up the moderation channels lead to potential breaches of confidentiality?

Beepee
1) If you are advocating more of the same, surely that is untenable given how polarised the server has become?

2) Given that the role of committee member is a leadership position, but you are happy to follow the lead of others, do you think you are right for the committee?

Caryton
1) What punishments would be effective if disqualification is not an option?

2) Given you mentioned that somebody's manifesto inspired you to run (in order to counteract their ideas), in which ways will you compromise and find common ground with your fellow committee members?

Elejamie
1) Why is running against your better judgement?

2) To Elejamie; No nation has ever won three times in a row, with only three nations placing in the top two three times in a row, with a 2nd to stop them for pulling off a hatrick. These occurrences happened very infrequently. Why do you believe it's fairer to stop those who genuinely send more likeable entries to the contest?

Mister X
1) Given your poor relationship with many members of the server, and your belligerent attitude towards the current committee, why should people trust you to act fairly and professionally?

2) What mandate do you have to reverse the televote referendum which was passed 66/33 (which is more than 52/48, as you know)?

Nekoni
1) Is it not a bit of a power-grab for the committee to do all the graphics?

2) You've been in the WVC in the past, and if I recall correctly, it was a term that was notorious because it seemed that the distribution of the workload was particularly uneven, with only 1-2 members assuming most of the responsibilities. With your recent co-hosting, you've shown that you are able to do the work. But how will you make sure you won't repeat the mistakes of your previous term in the WVC?

Scotatrova
1) Is there anything you would change about the televote?

2) Given you have complained about poor results in the contest, and threatened to take a break if things didn't improve, do you think you are the right person to lead the committee as you may potentially disappear for a few contests?

Todlichebujoku
1) At times, IC commentary may appear like thinly-veiled OOC opinions on entries, particularly when the poster's personal thoughts on those songs are known and align with said commentary. How would you police this??

2) Why does it seem you are indirectly referring to specific members of the server in your manifesto? Do you think that is appropriate

[Beepee]

Thanks for your questions, if its OK im gonna take the personal ones first and then answer the general ones later. ...

1) If you are advocating more of the same, surely that is untenable given how polarised the server has become?

My manifesto does say more of the same ... I feel my more of the same comments were predominantly about making specific rule changes, although I'm not opposed to the discussion about rule changes... or making changes.

But what I hope was clear from my manifesto that its also about harmony and being together. 

So really its just about trying to keep everyone as content as they can be.

And I think for me that's the biggest thing.

Its clear from the other manifestos that there's some polarised views, that's not necessarily a bad thing (unless its hurtful or harmful)... as I see it people are allowed thier opinions.  For me the 'polarised' views are mainly about how the Committee communicates (or has communicated in the past).

If I'm nominated and I'm on the committee I see myself as someone who can listen to all sides and make suggestions about changes, and communicate those changes back to everyone in a clear but personable way.


2) Given that the role of committee member is a leadership position, but you are happy to follow the lead of others, do you think you are right for the committee?

Sure, yes its about being leader, but its also a committee and that means working together to build concensus.

Also, the Committee has tasks that need to be completed.  If everyone's leading and no-one's working then that can be a problem.

I see benefit in making sure that the WVC tasks are completed and things are organised and clear.

My comments about 'following the lead', I would imagine will be certainly true at the start of any time on the committee... there are other standing who have been on committee before and know the ins and outs of it whilst i'll have to learn from scratch... and I'd like to make sure I'm not just going in like a bull in a china shop....(I'm naturally a generally cautious person which is clearly what comes through in my manifesto)... but that doesn't mean I won't provide my ideas or comments, and certainly doesnt mean I don't or won't make decisions.

[Ethane]

Hi there.

I'm Ethane. Many of you may already know me, some of you may not. I've been in and around WorldVision for a while now. It's a place that I've felt able to express myself, be creative and free. That's what WorldVision is for.

Our aims, our ideals, should include the notions of inclusivity, tolerance, diversity, creativity, and a welcoming spirit. We certainly used to be so. And much of that community feel that I felt when I joined is still there. Look at the Minecraft Realms server we have on Discord. The open discussions that go on. It's a place where people should be able to feel welcome and at home.

Don't get me wrong. This spirit of WorldVision hasn't disappeared or gone anywhere. There's just a feeling it has been tainted. We're no longer as welcoming to others as we used to be. Toxicity seems to emerge around every corner, with bickering over what are sometimes the smallest of issues. It's hard not to get angry when you feel your work is being attacked, I get it. But it's also hard not to get angry when you feel you're bringing up a fair criticism and it gets downplayed. Basically, everyone and no one is at fault for the current state of the community. You're all loving and welcoming. But things do need to change.

That's why I'm here. I've been kicking around here and there. Not massively active, but not inactive either. I've watched WorldVision change and grow. I've seen how hostile this community can be, and how amazingly welcoming we all can be too. That's why I'm standing. Because I think it's on everyone to make the WorldVision community a friendly and welcoming place. And so the responsibility is on me, as on all of you, to stand up and make a difference. Not to blame anything on anyone, but to reassert those core values of our community, and to make everyone heard. So here's my manifesto:

Communication and Transparency:
- The way the WorldVision Committee communicates with the wider community needs to change. The forums will always be prioritised when it comes to announcements if I am elected, but not to the neglect of the discord server.
- All rulings made will be posted on the forum, with an explanation as to why said ruling has been made.
- When passing new legislation or rules for WV, the committee should consult the community during the drafting of said ideas. The #suggestions channel on discord and the WV OOC provide a great forum for said discussions.

Discord:
- The Discord is such an integral part of the WV and WHF community. The discord channel should stay in its current form.
- I'd be open to exploring a reform of how the discord channel is set up. An idea could be to include a way of opting in to certain channels, such as that taken by the NS Sports discord in relation to the #currentaffairs channel.
- Implementing a wider use of moderation tools on discord, including the imposition of cooldown timers when things begin to get heated, temporary bans from certain channels or the server, or a permanent ban should such a need arise.
- Trying to ensure that the forum is not neglected. The great thing about discord is the ease of communication. However, the more we post on the forum, the more likely we are to be at the top of the forum and thus be more likely to attract new users. Thus, I'd encourage the cross-posting of discord discussions on to the forums where possible for the sake of forum activity and for those who don't frequent the discord channels.
- Impartial rulings: Moderation members should only be able to rule when they are not directly involved in a situation. This prevents accusations of foul play.
- Moderation staff separate from WVC/WHF Overseer? (to be discussed?)

Win Ban:
- In that regard, I am wary of the WVC implementing too many rules that would stifle the fun of the competition. Thus, I'd be opposed to such a measure as this. I think it would be unfair to the winning nation and unlikely to happen anyway,

The Televote:
- The televote is not a settled matter. I don't want to make a decision on it personally because I recognise it is such an important decision for the whole community. I guess a disclaimer is needed that I'm not the biggest fan of the televote in its current form. However, I suggest we have a 'constitutional convention' style discussion on the televote, with a discussion of what works, what doesn't, and how we can improve it. This would probably be best over google forms. I have some ideas, which are in now way policies but more a group of ideas to start a discussion if I were to be elected.
- Should the televote be compulsory, or should it be a host's decision whether to use the televote or not?
- Should extreme votes have less weighting than middling votes ie those who grade positively give out more votes?
- To that extent, would these systems work better instead?
- grade each entry /10, then average it out and * by the number of nations.
- same as above but /12.
- same as /10, but with nations only allowed to give a maximum of 58 points in total (so jury vote=televote in weighting)
- should we use the current system, but average out the scores?
- any other suggestions.
- To these I don't have an answer, these are just ideas I thought up on the spot. I believe a feedback and discussion period is required to make sure that the televote works the best it can for WorldVision.

Hosting:
- I firmly believe that the host should be able to do the televote.
- However, I also recognise that there is a lot of pressure with the televote in terms of time pressure.
- Thus, I'd propose, where the televote is used, allowing for a more lenient voting reveal system. Thus, if the deadline for votes is on 2000 on the Monday, then hosts should be allowed to reveal the televote results on Tuesday and Wednesday evening instead without the committee stepping in, giving them time to prepare graphics/reveals. This, of course, would need to be communicated beforehand so the committee is aware of the plans for vote reveals.

Thanks for reading; please ask any questions you have. I'll add anything with an edit mark if I missed something.

[Nekoni]

Many of the manifestos have proposed additional rules or modifications to existing rules. Given that we are a relatively small group compared to other communities on NS, do you find it necessary to have this many written rules? What do you think about alternatives such as unspoken rules, best practices, trusting the community to self-regulate, etc?

Personally, I think that the general ruleset we have is fine and it's been user-tested to prove that. We have had tons of nations able to get in there just fine without needing to dig in deep and know in detail how the sausage is made. Additionally, I'm not in a whole lot of other communities on NS, but the ones I do seem to have roughly the same level of ruleset. What I do think is that the big rulesheet can be a bit overwhelming when it's all in one place like that. Perhaps it could be reworked into a seperate sheet book for each role (e.g. entrant/host/committee/overseer) instead of on one page? I do also think that the strike system could be streamlined further. I know 'three strikes' works well as a mental image but given the lack of nations that fall foul of them, I don't think it needs to be that complex.

Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?

I wouldn't be overly against trying it out once as a proof-of-concept, but ultimately I don't think it would be that necessary an addition, unless the number of entries consistently hits the high-thirties/forties like the real thing. I don't think that the current contest size needs splitting and extending. Additionally, if it WAS to be implemented, I would prefer that there were to be no automatic final places.

Is it not a bit of a power-grab for the committee to do all the graphics?

I don't think it is with how I'm envisioning it? I don't want to be in a position where it looks like I'm forcing people to utilise my work. I feel it'd be more of a situation where it would only be mentioned if the host in question specifically asks for it, an option that's on the table but not explicitly mentioned. I'm aware that if I keep metaphorically poking my business card out there down everyone's throat, there's a risk of it being The Nekoni Show and I really don't want to have it appear as that. All in all, it just comes down to me loving my time working on the graphics design and offering a hand if anybody would like to use it.

You've been in the WVC in the past, and if I recall correctly, it was a term that was notorious because it seemed that the distribution of the workload was particularly uneven, with only 1-2 members assuming most of the responsibilities. With your recent co-hosting, you've shown that you are able to do the work. But how will you make sure you won't repeat the mistakes of your previous term in the WVC?

I'm aware that a big issue that I've had is with time management, and that's not just internally wthin the WVC. I have been taking steps over the last year to rectify this, and in a weird way, the current work situation of mine where I'm working from home is making it a lot easier, and this situation is going to be continuing all throughout 2021. Not having to travel in the week has given me roughly two hours or so extra free time a day, and not having a whole lot of other committments outside of the WVC means I can prioritise these first. Additionally I realise that there needs to be more structure internally than my last run, and I can fix that easily. If there's a rolling checklist or something in the committee of what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and who's likely going to be around to do it, I think we'll be a lot more effective. Do give me a shout if you're already doing this, mind.

[Ethane]

1) How would you deal with a complaint that involves a member of the committee without leaking it to them?
It depends on a number of factors, including how serious the accusation is. In any case, I'd probably investigate it and see if it is worth pursuing it further. If in such a case where investigation warrants further dealings in regards to specific restrictions or inducements to prevent further infractions, I'd discuss with other uninvolved members of the committee to come to a ruling, provided it is not time sensitive. If it were time sensitive I'd make a ruling myself at the immediate time, with the decision later reviewed by uninvolved members of the committee/discord moderation team.

2) There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?
There are a number of ways of dealing with such a situation, depending on the severity of the argument. Were it a mild disagreement heating up, then I'd probably institute a slowdown timer to cool things off, and tell those who were at loggerheads to take a brief break without enforcing that. If it is an escalated version of that, I'd consider implementing a longer slowdown timer or even preventing messaging on that particular channel for a brief period of time. I'd also consider temporary withdrawals of permissions for users for a certain period of time dependent on the severity of the argument/infractions. If this was an extremely serious/toxic argument, I'd stop people messaging and I'd put in place temporary bans on the members engaging in significant infractions of the discord server rules with the aim of having a discussion with the rest of the moderation team about whether said ban should become permanent.

Such a situation requires swift and decisive action.

3) Do you believe that WorldVision currently has voting bias? If so, what are they and how do you intend to fix/moderate this?
I'm not sure in which way? In terms of voting for certain nations ie voting blocs? I don't think WV has that really. In terms of genres/style of song. Absolutely. But I don't intend to moderate/fix that, because what does well in WV reflects what is popular in the community; that's just taste. Special Editions can go some way to rectifying this issue by focusing on genres more often than not neglected in WV, but beyond that there shouldn't be any moderation on this issue.

4) Many of the manifestos have proposed additional rules or modifications to existing rules. Given that we are a relatively small group compared to other communities on NS, do you find it necessary to have this many written rules? What do you think about alternatives such as unspoken rules, best practices, trusting the community to self-regulate, etc?
I don't think we really need any new rules as such, just to reform and adjust some of the ones that we currently do have. For example, the televote is perhaps a little complex to understand. The way the rules are displayed could be changed to make it easier to read/user-friendly. And the strikes system for punishments could be made clearer.

5) In the event that you find yourself unable to continue your duties as a WVC member and for whatever reason become inactive, what do you plan to do to mitigate the effect of your absence from the WVC?
If I get to the stage where I am unable to continue my duties, then I will resign my place on the WorldVision Committee and start the by-election process to elect a new committee member, provided the circumstances for my inactivity are under my own control (if they're not and I get really ill or something then someone else should start the process).

6) Everyone; While the televote has certainly bought some interesting results to the WorldVision Song Contest, I feel as though the televote can be tweaked. Each nation does not have the same amount of say as another and somebody's 10 in the televote in most cases won't equal a 12 in the Jury. How would you change this to make sure the Jury and Televote is truly equal?
I've listed some ideas in my manifesto already, and would want to hold a discussion/feedback session with the wider community. One way is perhaps averaging out scores and then multiplying it by the number of nations in the competition, or allowing only a maximum grading total of 56 points over all the songs. There's a lot that would need to be looked into for this and I definitely don't have all the answers.

7) Who should have access to the calculation of the televote?
Everyone.

8-) How would you handle a case in which somebody has been accused of unfair voting?
Investigate the claims, see if there is any validity to the accusations. If there is, ask them to change their votes because they may not have noticed the error - constant clear communication with an aim of avoiding having to implement punishments is the best approach. If this doesn't work, start discussions with other uninvolved committee members as to possible punishments using the strikes system (or the system if it is reformed), with an eye to a swift but fair decision. Punishments could include disqualification and bans from the next edition etc, depending on the severity. However, the term 'unfair' is quite ambiguous so don't know exactly.

9) Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?
I don't think it would be as a permanent feature. WHF already has this and we don't need to implement the same things. However, perhaps having them if the WV reaches an unmanageable size, or as a special edition feature, could work. But there are other solutions to the size problem too.

You've been in the WVC in the past, and if I recall correctly, it was a term that was notorious because it seemed that the distribution of the workload was particularly uneven, with only 1-2 members assuming most of the responsibilities. With your recent co-hosting, you've shown that you are able to do the work. But how will you make sure you won't repeat the mistakes of your previous term in the WVC?
Upon request, I'm also answering this question. Time management has been a serious problem of mine in the past. More concerns may arise with the realisation I recently had a year where I was rather inactive - this was because I was on a year abroad and now have more time for NS. In taking upon the duties of the WVC, I'd be taking on a duty to spend some of my time fulfilling the tasks required of such a role. Thus, I'd put aside a little bit of time every day to work through tasks required by the role, and to discuss rulings on the discord alongside when I'm active on the discord server. Nekoni's idea for a rolling checklist is something that would work quite well and keep everyone focused as well.

And I think if a committee member does go inactive then there should be a way of removing them and starting the process of a by-election so that an active member could take their place. I don't quite know how it would work - perhaps all active members of the committee vote for removal? but would be open to discussing this proposal more.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask away and I'll get to them as soon as I can.

[Elejamie]

cracksknuckles.gif

OK, let's do this thing.

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General Questions

1) How would you deal with a complaint that involves a member of the committee without leaking it to them?

Simple. I'd open up a private conversation DM thing with the other committee members and discuss what action we should take. Once we've come to an agreement on what we should do, then we'll take action.

2) There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?

If I had any admin powers, I'd activate the slowdown mode just to give me enough time to go through what I need to do (though obviously I'll announce this either before or shortly after I do it just to make sure everyone knows I'm not abusing my powers) and maybe give people a chance to think about what they need to say or give them time to cool off. Then once I've made my judgements, I'll get up another post calling out the people I'll need to and maybe what punishments I can deal out. Slowdown will continue until I feel like things will be safe enough for me to resume as normal. Even if you're my bestest buddy in the whole wide world or you've finished top five in the contest since it first began, if you mess up and cause a huge slanging match I AM going to let you know how displeased I am with your behaviour.

Worst case scenario, which will never happen but I am going to bring it up anyway just to show that I won't be afraid to do it, I'll just cancel the competition and just wait until the OOC thread for the next competition's supposed to open before we move on. But that's only if things get REALLY nasty and if it looks like things won't be cooling down anytime soon.

3) Do you believe that WorldVision currently has voting bias? If so, what are they and how do you intend to fix/moderate this?

Ish. It's not as bad as it was from the mid 70s-82, where there seemed to be a bit of a bias towards the bigger nations (to the point where I called everyone out on it in that rant I regret posting even though I still feel it needed to be said), but there does seem to be a few voting blocs going around. I'm not going to lie and pretend I'm not part of one but I am going to say that we don't go out of our ways to give each other 12 points a la Greece and Cyprus. In fact, I was incredibly hesitant to give them 12 points and only did so not too long ago because I felt that there was no other entry that was better.

The problem is trying to determine if something is suss or not with someone's votes. After all, there are people who are buddy-buddy but rarely vote for each other or give each other a small handful of points and you've got people who outright loathe each other but occasionally swap high amounts of points. I'd say the committee should keep an eye out on votes, try and spot anything that seems a bit iffy and then maybe contact the resulting parties to try and get them to tone things down.

4) Many of the manifestos have proposed additional rules or modifications to existing rules. Given that we are a relatively small group compared to other communities on NS, do you find it necessary to have this many written rules? What do you think about alternatives such as unspoken rules, best practices, trusting the community to self-regulate, etc?

To answer the first question: Yes and no. I'd personally recommend that the committee should go through each rule and check to see if it should be kept, modified (either for simplicity's sake or to add one or two things) or discarded. If any new rules need to be added, we'll have a discussion about it and then we'll get a post ON THE FORUMS asking if it should be added or not.

To answer the second question: I'm fine with all of that. If there's anything fishy going on it might be clamped down on but overall if it means everyone's having fun and making some excellent contributions then I'm on board with any alternatives.

5) In the event that you find yourself unable to continue your duties as a WVC member and for whatever reason become inactive, what do you plan to do to mitigate the effect of your absence from the WVC?

I'd let everyone know in advance if I need to go away for a period of time and how long I should be away for. It's what I did when I couldn't get online properly because of my house move (which took longer than it should've because I underestimated how long I'd be gone and because of some issues with the sellers' solicitors) and it's what I'd do again if I have to take a leave of absence. Simple as. In the event I have to make an unannounced absence and I'm unable to explain myself for whatever reason (either because I'm without internet or something much worse), then I'd either wait a period of time (either a month or the end of the contest, whichever comes first provided they're not too close together) before holding a by-election for a replacement.

6) Everyone; While the televote has certainly bought some interesting results to the WorldVision Song Contest, I feel as though the televote can be tweaked. Each nation does not have the same amount of say as another and somebody's 10 in the televote in most cases won't equal a 12 in the Jury. How would you change this to make sure the Jury and Televote is truly equal?

Therein lies the problem: There can never really be true equality between the jury and televote. Someone could find a contest so weak that their 12 pointer would only be worth an 8 in their televote, after all. So I'd probably say that there should be a margin of error to at least have some sort of balance. For example, if I give Mister X 12 points with the jury then I'll have to give him anywhere between 8-10 in the televote. It's not a perfect method but it should be a step in the right direction.

7) Who should have access to the calculation of the televote?

During the actual working out of the televote: The Committee and the host nation. Simple as. If it's a situation like WV85, where Nekoni also had to handle the televote because the host (Malta Comino Gozo) was unavailable during that period, then the person the host nation's working with should have a look. Once the televoting's been done and the results have been revealed then everyone else can have a look and how it's broken down; this will also work for past contests (including WV82) just as long as a copy of the calculations still exist.

8-) How would you handle a case in which somebody has been accused of unfair voting?

If there's an actual case for it then I'd contact the committee and we'd have a look at the party's previous voting records (jury, televote and whatever we had until WV81) just to see if there's a pattern and not really a one-off. After all, not liking someone's entry isn't really grounds to call shenanigans but if it comes across as blatant tactical voting or there's a pattern of them voting unfairly then the Committee might have to step in to tell them to knock it off and change their results.

P.S. For the record as it led to a massive argument, I don't consider using an algorithm to calculate your televote results "unfair". After all, it's completely random so a song that person actually liked might end up with a bad score and a song they might've loathed could get a high score. Then again, I submit both my main and Placely Placington's televote results as part of the same form so I'm not exactly sure if I'm one to talk.

9) Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?

Fun? Yes. Viable? Probably not. HOWEVER, I won't be against a trial run just to see if it'll be a welcome addition or a horrible disaster. If we do decide to introduce them then a) I propose a discussion and a vote AGAIN ON THE FORUMS and b) if it does pass then we introduce it for the following contest (i.e. if we vote in favour of a semi-final during the WV87 cycle then we'll get it set up for WV88), just so we've got enough time to work out the kinks and figure out how it should be done before we actually do it.

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Personal Questions

1) Why is running against your better judgement?

Because everyone else was offering real policies and solutions and genuinely seemed like they wanted to become part of the Committee or retain their place, whereas you have me being the guy who's offering things like "OP updates" and "neutrality". Sure I had a couple of ideas, along with a third that I didn't mention (a minimum 30-second time limit for each entry), but they probably wouldn't have improved the contest in any way. The one-song moratorium would've worked 40-50 contests ago but now it feels a bit dated. The aforementioned time limit would help cut down on low-quality entries but feels restrictive (especially on those who decide not to send a tune to set their song to) and a wee bit hypocritical considering that Placely Placington's WV81 entry lasted 24 seconds. And the three-win thing I'll get onto soon. EDIT: Not to mention my stint as Vice President of the World Cup of Hockey, where I pretty much only really updated the sign-ups and left the president with all the hard work (something I still regret doing; even though we could've communicated better, it's still not right to do that) which ended up being one of the reasons for the Dark Age of NS Ice Hockey (as I call the WCoH30s).

That and I'm miserable and pessimistic.

2) To Elejamie; No nation has ever won three times in a row, with only three nations placing in the top two three times in a row, with a 2nd to stop them for pulling off a hatrick. These occurrences happened very infrequently. Why do you believe it's fairer to stop those who genuinely send more likeable entries to the contest?

I knew bringing that idea up would bite me in the arse but let's answer it anyway:

1. Because I wanted an example of why I shouldn't be trusted to come up with ideas. There have been times when it worked out despite their failures (such as the Rugby Sevens World Cup becoming a thing again despite the Sevens Series idea failing) but overall I don't have much of a track record as far as I know.
2. Complete openness and to prevent anyone asking what ideas I had swimming around in my head when I mentioned that. I did say there were good reasons why I probably won't introduce them and unpopularity was one of them.
3. As I previously mentioned, I came up with that idea during a period when I felt there was a bit of bias towards the bigger nations. And I wanted to cut down on that and actually make things fairer. On the upside, at least there's a bit of parity now (and four first-time winners on the bounce even if the first was during that period I mentioned earlier) so the good news is that I don't need to genuinely consider enacting that rule.
4. In all honesty, I think the "more likeable entries" part is quite loaded, mostly because a) everyone has different opinions and tastes so what one person considers good another might consider it bad and b) just because it's a winner doesn't automatically make it "likeable" (after all, Azerbaijan's Eurovision entry in 2011 is widely considered to be one of the weakest Eurovision winners).

TL;DR: Don't worry about a silly rule I'll probably never introduce.

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Yes, I know I didn't have to answer all of them and I didn't have to get a post up as quickly as I did but at least it means I won't have to worry about putting it off. Can't wait to see how badly I tank after all of this!

[Amuaplye]

Questions for Candidates

Thank you for everyone who submitted their questions on the google form for our wonderful candidates. Everyone who submitted a manifesto by 20:00 GMT has received two questions, as well as there being a list of general questions directed at all the candidates. Answering these questions is not compulsory - if you do not answer them, that is fine, equally you can answer only some of them, all of them, or none of them. However, please do not answer questions that are not directed at you, so that we can keep the conversations targeted and fluid. Ideally, you choose 2/3 questions from the general list, as well as answering your own personal questions, but this is all up to you. So, without further ado, here our the questions for our committee candidates:

General questions for all candidates

1) How would you deal with a complaint that involves a member of the committee without leaking it to them?

I believe that, if possible, it should be handled out between who filed in the complaint & who they sent it to. If it consists of a serious breach of protocol, a thorough investigation should be carried out.

2) There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?

Hopefully, by the time I had gone online & everyone else wasn't, the argument would've cooled down by then & we'd be able to discuss it calmly. If not, act accordingly if any rules were broken & try to mediate the debate in order to cool it down & have a rational debate.

3) Do you believe that WorldVision currently has voting bias? If so, what are they and how do you intend to fix/moderate this?

No, I don't.

4) Many of the manifestos have proposed additional rules or modifications to existing rules. Given that we are a relatively small group compared to other communities on NS, do you find it necessary to have this many written rules? What do you think about alternatives such as unspoken rules, best practices, trusting the community to self-regulate, etc?

While there's unspoken rules, best practices, etc, but we have shown time & time again that people might not follow said rules. I think that maybe we can do a middle-of-the-road policy. Incorporate some rules, but only the most integral ones.

5) In the event that you find yourself unable to continue your duties as a WVC member and for whatever reason become inactive, what do you plan to do to mitigate the effect of your absence from the WVC?

I'd try to institute all of the big things & get those out of the way, then resign so nothing gets half-done, there's no loopholes, etc. Hopefully, with the promised system of successions, I'd have someone take my place who'd carry on my promises in my absence.

6) Everyone; While the televote has certainly bought some interesting results to the WorldVision Song Contest, I feel as though the televote can be tweaked. Each nation does not have the same amount of say as another and somebody's 10 in the televote in most cases won't equal a 12 in the Jury. How would you change this to make sure the Jury and Televote is truly equal?

I believe that the televote should match the one used in the Eurovision Song Contest as closely as possible.

7) Who should have access to the calculation of the televote?

I believe anyone with the time, patience, and math knowledge (which isn't me, I suck at math ) can pitch in. I personally recommend Mister X, as he has mapped out all of the votes with incredible accuracy for I believe the past 60 editions.

8-) How would you handle a case in which somebody has been accused of unfair voting?

There should be an incredibly thorough investigation by the Committee, including the comparison of the past user's voting, any possible errors that showed up, etc., then a ruling should be put out.

9) Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?

It depends. I personally think that we might not have enough people to do a semi-final, but I'd love to see it happen.

-

Questions for individual candidates

Amuaplye
1) Amuaplye, over the past few months, your participation at Worldvision is a bit spotty - meaning that you haven't finished your entries or haven't participated at all. How can voters be sure that you're dedicated to putting your time and effort into the contest as a member of the Committee?

I do have to admit, yes, my participation in the contest has been spotty. However, I have been busy with school + I had a period of waning interest in the WV Contest. However, I do believe that my motivation has been high enough that I can be productive in the community whilst juggling schoolwork & anything else that comes my way.

2) Would by-elections not be better for resignations, and also wouldn't opening up the moderation channels lead to potential breaches of confidentiality?

By-elections, in my opinion, would be too long & cumbersome of an option, especially during a critical decision (i.e. the televote). Plus, we already have 2 different powerful positions similar to being on the WV Committee that would be incredibly easy to have as interim members in case of a resignation. We have an election every 6 months or so too, so they wouldn't be on there for long.

As for the opening of the moderation channels, everything critical (like voting & the WV password, which I have already explained in the Discord) can be changed or discussed outside of the WorldVision server. I personally hope that a security protocol can be established where the password is changed every WV Committee election & shared in DMs only.

Everything else can be deleted or edited, and only shared in DMs. But, only if it being leaked would possibly threaten the security of either the contest or the committee.

[Spiritual Republic of Caryton]

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

1) How would you deal with a complaint that involves a member of the committee without leaking it to them?

Assuming this complaint is not made to the public (and invariably snowballed into another dramatic escapade), leaking things is obviously a no-go and asking for trouble. Before I say anything, I would ask for evidence from the petitioner and also watch for future instances (if not an immediate matter) in silence. Then, when I have not one but two separate forms of evidence (incident and post-incident, if applicable) would I present it to the rest of the WVC. The only people that should be involved at that point are-- layman's terms-- the defendant, plaintiff, and the jury (the rest of the WVC).

2) There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?

The fact that this question has to be asked in the first place is unsettling. As I said in my manifesto, I will act in a policy of total impartiality. With a few exceptions, I believe in a tried-and-true method: warning 1, warning 2, mute, kick, ban. This will go for both parties, unless one is directly harassing the other post-facto, and will refresh after incidents have ended (unless the person proves problematic). Given the familiarity of the people with each other, I know this is a strict system but it's what we need to both bring order and quell the claims of bias against the WVC. This goes without saying I will provide relevant evidence and a log of my actions for the future interpretation of the rest of the WVC when they get online.

3) Do you believe that WorldVision currently has voting bias? If so, what are they and how do you intend to fix/moderate this?

Aside from accidental instances from new players and puppet nations, no. I'm willing to play devil's advocate and say that instances of tactical voting are just misunderstandings of the system that will fix themselves as time goes on and this matter becomes more well-practiced. That said, if there is evidence of tactical voting brought to my attention by a fellow committee member, I will act accordingly if the others will not do so.

4) Many of the manifestos have proposed additional rules or modifications to existing rules. Given that we are a relatively small group compared to other communities on NS, do you find it necessary to have this many written rules? What do you think about alternatives such as unspoken rules, best practices, trusting the community to self-regulate, etc?

I believe that we must have as much documented as possible. Loopholes are one of the sole reasons we have fight-able instances like this. We can't trust that the new members will "just pick it up" within the next 2-3 editions. What about the unfairness to the resident competitors "this edition"? Document everything, and there will be no room for debate. We can't trust the community to self-regulate. If the community as a whole is so riddled with corruption like some say, why even allow self-regulation in the first place?

5) In the event that you find yourself unable to continue your duties as a WVC member and for whatever reason become inactive, what do you plan to do to mitigate the effect of your absence from the WVC?

This is a good question. At first thought, I had no answer. I believe total succession is unethical and unfair to those both pursuing a fresh new system as well as those who underwent the work of writing manifestos to begin with. As somebody with an uncommon timezone in America (MST) when most other members hail from the British Isles area or the east coast of the USA, I would quite literally be on "the night shift". I would take a back seat and let the public vote on a stand-in while I work from the sidelines in more volunteer-related jobs.

6) Everyone; While the televote has certainly bought some interesting results to the WorldVision Song Contest, I feel as though the televote can be tweaked. Each nation does not have the same amount of say as another and somebody's 10 in the televote in most cases won't equal a 12 in the Jury. How would you change this to make sure the Jury and Televote is truly equal?

I don't know. In the short term, nothing. I know that sounds like a bad answer, but as somebody who's only exclusively been a member, I know little of how the televote works-- but I personally like it. I need to get actual data telling me which nations have which amount of power, and only then can I see the inequality in play and make an educated decision based on that.

7) Who should have access to the calculation of the televote?

Everyone. Forgive me if I'm incorrect, but isn't it supposed to be a simple process of obtaining net scores from positive or negative vote values? If it's really that simple, why hide it in the first place? Why does it have to be complex, so much so that it's even labelled a "calculation"?

8) How would you handle a case in which somebody has been accused of unfair voting?

I would need evidence of that instance, accusations are nothing. If my running mates are as corrupt as they are portrayed to be, then they can't argue direct screenshots, documents, and voting trends. The same goes for members, as well. This ties in to the last question. If you've got nothing to hide, open the data and its processes. I hope that it proves me right in my optimistic idea that we're fine as is.

9) Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?

No, plain and simple. Making the process more complicated than it already is will drive away both new members and the busy. I'd rather do more simple editions than less elaborate editions. It would also have mercy on the host nation.

SPECIALIZED QUESTIONS:

1) What punishments would be effective if disqualification is not an option?

Again, I say that the events of real life should not be reason for disqualification for incomplete entries or no entry at all. I believe that if someone can explain themselves, even just a "i forgot", they should be fine. Disqualification should only be considered for multiple instances of ditching. While warnings seem minor, I believe they'll go over with the public better than "you're banned for the next edition". Another idea I have is a one-edition host ban if they planned for hosting that immediate edition. This subject really needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

2) Given you mentioned that somebody's manifesto inspired you to run (in order to counteract their ideas), in which ways will you compromise and find common ground with your fellow committee members?

I'll name them for honesty's sake. I respect Mister X's entry. I disagree with their points but their expressed bravery has inspired me to run myself. This was not done out of spite but a colleague's projected opinions finally motivating me to feel the necessity to run myself. Compromise is everything, with the only indisputable scenarios involving evidence. I sincerely hope to work with everyone to bring about change. If I need to concede, I'll do that. I'm not right all the time. I may not even be right at this moment. We need to stop portraying ourselves as people with answers and more as people. Controversies would not exist if we learned, educated, and bettered ourselves as a community. We have the best opportunity to do that now. We shall overcome.

[Todlichebujoku]

And I think if a committee member does go inactive then there should be a way of removing them and starting the process of a by-election so that an active member could take their place. I don't quite know how it would work - perhaps all active members of the committee vote for removal? but would be open to discussing this proposal more.

I actually thought this was already a thing, since we already have a mechanism for a Committee member who has resigned. I think we can easily expand that to include inactive committee members with the process you suggested.

On to the questions!

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Personal Questions:

At times, IC commentary may appear like thinly-veiled OOC opinions on entries, particularly when the poster's personal thoughts on those songs are known and align with said commentary. How would you police this??

Honestly that can very hard to police. If the commentary is transparently OOC enough, and offensive enough, I would ask the person who posted it to tone it down. I think any further action (if the person refused to comply) would have to be discussed at the very least with the rest of the Committee, and most likely with the community, as I feel this is a rather gray area, and one that differs on a case by case basis.

Why does it seem you are indirectly referring to specific members of the server in your manifesto? Do you think that is appropriate

I made a point to name people when I referred to them in a positive light, and avoided naming people when referring to them in a negative light, as I would still like to point out types of behavior while avoiding naming and shaming. My manifesto is not a place to announce who did what wrong, but rather, to address behaviors that I've seen.

General Questions:

There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?

If it's just a few people in a very heated fight and not listening to requests to settle down, then it's time to apply the Shushed role for half an hour, so that they take a much-needed break from the server. If it's more than a few people, then the channel is getting locked for 15 to 30 minutes. In the most dire of situations, everyone involved is getting a cute Shushed role until more server mods come on to discuss and evaluate. Of course this would be noted in the server mod channel so that everyone is clear on what happened.

Many of the manifestos have proposed additional rules or modifications to existing rules. Given that we are a relatively small group compared to other communities on NS, do you find it necessary to have this many written rules? What do you think about alternatives such as unspoken rules, best practices, trusting the community to self-regulate, etc?

Honestly I think self-regulation is the ideal and makes the contest much more attractive to newcomers, but community pressure is not always the best way to keep the contest feeling fun and fair. For example, back before the puppet voting limits were introduced, I'd generally limit myself to 7 points or below when I entered a puppet, while other people with puppets would be giving themselves a whole 12 points or straight up swapping 12s between their main nation and their puppet. There was such a huge advantage over others in having a say in how the contest went, that community pressure could not end the practice. That's kind of a dramatic example but essentially I believe that there's a place for both, and we have to make sure we are not putting rules & consequences where there is no need to have them (like regulating host bid content) while recognizing that they are sometimes indeed necessary.

While the televote has certainly bought some interesting results to the WorldVision Song Contest, I feel as though the televote can be tweaked. Each nation does not have the same amount of say as another and somebody's 10 in the televote in most cases won't equal a 12 in the Jury. How would you change this to make sure the Jury and Televote is truly equal?

I'm not sure what this is asking, exactly. Is this asking for the televote to be Jury Part 2..? Or a reintroduction of a criticized element in the pilot run of the televote in WV82 where people felt restricted in being required to have their televotes progress identically to their jury votes? I'm going to try to answer this the best I can: a 10 could either be worth more than a 12, or less than a 12, in terms of impact on the final points count, depending on how other people have voted. If you give an entry a televote 10, and everyone else gives televotes of 1-3, then that 10 is going nowhere, as it should. If you feel meh or the same about all the songs, then it's natural that your votes don't impact the result much, and with the inverse, if you do have strong opinions then your vote does make a strong impact (unless of course if you give a high score to an entry that everyone hates). In the end, the number of televote points given out matches the jury points given out, and any differences in the steepness of the gradient reflects on the differences in quality/enjoyability of entries between the bottom and the top, which makes sense.

I noticed in Elejamie's response where he mentioned that a contest could be so weak that one's 12 points in jury could just be 8 in televote. And that's the cool bit of this televote system - you can actually send votes that are a much better reflection of how you feel about the songs, like if you have one clear winner or if everyone in your top 10 are all about the same to you. If you thought all the entries were a 5-6, then why should you be forced to give one an 8? As I said earlier, the total points number is equalized, which preserves the televote proportions while making them equal to the jury points. Sorry Elejamie if it sounded like I was coming at you, there's just not much to work with on this question.

I do think that there could be another look at the weightings, but other than that I'm not sure what this is asking, with the way it is phrased.

Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?

Fun? Yes!
Viable? Well.. there's been a good amount of discussion on this, and as far as I can see it, semis would require an overhaul of the entire WorldVision entry posting and voting process, in order to have an acceptably believable show. A challenge if we do decide to accept this overhaul, is to decide how much we want WorldVision to resemble WHF, as WHF does have a system that works. However one feature of modern WorldVision is its regular schedule, in comparison to WHF, which has a much more flexible schedule that can accommodate the introduction and removal of semi-finals depending on the number of entries. I'd love to hear more ideas though, there might be a solution out there that could work out for us.

[Beepee]

Hello again.... here are my answers to the general questions...

1) How would you deal with a complaint that involves a member of the committee without leaking it to them?

Ive had to do this before in NS and RL.  Its not necessarily a difficult process, but there's lots of variables, which would make it lengthy to type out here....  generally listen, investigate, communicate and, if necessary, mediate.

Generally, however, if the complainant is worried about confidentiality... it should not an issue.  Contact can be made through DMs or TGs.  The important thing is to ensure bad or unacceptable behaviour doesn't continue and people feel comfortable.

2) There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?

General disagreement on certain topics is fine - unless its about Juliana Pasha... dont come for me!

But If it turns in to a heated exchange - I'd try to deescalate by (1) redirecting the conversation (2) dm the party(ies) and ask them to stop, (3) let the party(ies) know of the consequences of their argument for others in the server.

If it got real bad I'd seek help from others... 


3) Do you believe that WorldVision currently has voting bias? If so, what are they and how do you intend to fix/moderate this?

Not really, there's little groups of people who have similar tastes,  (Brit and I for example) but I don't know if that's necessarily voting bias. 

Its not like the same people are always winning as we've had a mix of winners (9 different in the last 10 cycles).

If there's something which becomes obvious then clearly the WVC would have a word.

4) Many of the manifestos have proposed additional rules or modifications to existing rules. Given that we are a relatively small group compared to other communities on NS, do you find it necessary to have this many written rules? What do you think about alternatives such as unspoken rules, best practices, trusting the community to self-regulate, etc?

I didn't propose any new rules.  So probably not... I think what we've got rule wise is pretty good, clear and concise. I dont think we want to stifle creativity or fun, which might happen if we become too prescriptive.

Unspoken rules might be difficult for new entrants, so I'd avoid that.

I generally think we're an awesome family... and we can self regulate  beyond the written rules pretty easily, and point out (in a respectful way) what our rules and expectations are.

5) In the event that you find yourself unable to continue your duties as a WVC member and for whatever reason become inactive, what do you plan to do to mitigate the effect of your absence from the WVC?

I'd try and let my other committee fellows know like of I'm going away on holiday or something.  If I was burning out or wanted to fall off i'd probably tell them too. Give them as much heads up as I could.

If there's only 1 or 2 others left, that's probably not very fair to lumber them with the work, so I'd probably hold on.... I've been fairly active in Ns for the past few years so it'd probably be ok.

If I really couldnt, I think I'd ask them if they wanted to hold a special election or choose someone...  it could be whomever i gave 12 to in the previous cycle.

6) Everyone; While the televote has certainly bought some interesting results to the WorldVision Song Contest, I feel as though the televote can be tweaked. Each nation does not have the same amount of say as another and somebody's 10 in the televote in most cases won't equal a 12 in the Jury. How would you change this to make sure the Jury and Televote is truly equal?

The televotes interesting, I mean I can't bad mouth it too much after my win based off the televote...   ... oh wait am I the interesting result?

I mean we could limit the number of points given out by televote etc, but that might result in greater disparity between top and bottom.  Which might hinder certain entrants..

It'd have, i think, to be a wider discussion, between the whole community.

Certainly, despite my initial worries about televoting, its been fun and added more drama.  Its also potentially removed opportunities for some voting patterns the end of the jury vote process.

7) Who should have access to the calculation of the televote?

I'd say the host and the committee before the final results are finalised and once the contest is over it should be made public.

8-) How would you handle a case in which somebody has been accused of unfair voting?

It depends what's unfair... if someone doesn't like your song and gives it no points thats not unfair.  If someone gives you 12 in the jury and 1 in the televote that's also not necessarily unfair.  But if there's an issue like using random or patterns in voting that's potentially unfair. 

Obvs, chat with the committee. I'd probably dm the person and ask them how they got to their votes. If they explained it, it might be ok. 

If not, give them an opportunity to amend their scores... if they won't, then that becomes a bigger issue... generally we want it to be fair and fun.

9) Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?

Fun yes! more WV = more fun!
Viable... not sure.  There's how will the thread work, how will the voting go.  Is it overkill. will it burn people out. Happy to give it a try if we get 40+ entries again. Although if we do, I'd suggest we have a 'serious' and a 'comedic' semi so some 'joke' entrants get to the final, as so many people put a lot of work into those entries and it'd be a shame for them not to get to the final, because everyone went serious.... also it might be extra fun.... but we'll see...

[Scotatrova]

General Questions

How would you deal with a complaint that involves a member of the committee without leaking it to them?

I would first analyze what the complaint is and who its from. From there I would assess the severity of the complaint by conversing with fellow committee members about it. From there, I'm hoping that we would be able to come up with a plan of action on how to handle the complaint.

There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?

If I were to catch an argument before it truly started popping off, I would advise those involved to take the right course for them to diffuse the situation before it ended up getting out of hand. However, if it started getting worse or in the case where I stumble upon an argument that has already escalated, I would activate a cool down on the channel or for those involved so I can get an understanding of what happened. Then I would advise both parties to take a break if they need to from the server so that they can cool down and the situation doesn't degrade further.

Do you believe that WorldVision currently has voting bias? If so, what are they and how do you intend to fix/moderate this?

I don't think there is a voting bias. There are nations with similar tastes, yes, but I don't think that this constitutes as voting bias. If there are clear, obvious signs that something is up, then I will bring it to the attention of the rest of the committee so we can discuss and determine what's happened.

In the event that you find yourself unable to continue your duties as a WVC member and for whatever reason become inactive, what do you plan to do to mitigate the effect of your absence from the WVC?

If I do ever find myself unable to continue with my duties or inactive, whether that be on my own accord or not, I would let my committee members know about it. If it becomes so bad to the point where I have to completely disappear for long periods of time, which is highly unlikely for me to do, then I will resign if needed.

Who should have access to the calculation of the televote?

I believe that the committee and host country should have access to the televote's calculations.

Do you think semi-finals would be a viable and fun addition to WorldVision?

While I do believe semi-finals would be a fun idea to try out or test run in the future, I'm not sure it would be the most viable thing to do. It would take some time to organize and would probably result in a change to the WorldVision format, which could be seen as time consuming and not necessary.

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Personal Questions

Is there anything you would change about the televote?

If I would change anything about the televote, it would probably be to weightings and making it easier to calculate. While I'm not much of a math person, I will actively do my best to try and understand the process so that I can assist other committee members in calculating it.

Given you have complained about poor results in the contest, and threatened to take a break if things didn't improve, do you think you are the right person to lead the committee as you may potentially disappear for a few contests?

Ok I'm not going to lie, those complaints were made in the moment while I was "in my feels". It's unlikely that I would end up leaving WorldVision due to a string of bad results, if anything it would lead me to continue to push myself to do better. If I am elected to the committee, the chances of me not participating would decrease as I would like to be as involved with the community as much as possible while apart of the committee.

[Kalosia]

These are great questions, and some good answers too. Given that the WorldVision Committee make up only part of the Discord mod team, I'd like to as a question on behalf of the two current non-WVC admins (Britonisea and I), with whom you will hold joint responsibility of the server should you be elected:

Do you have any particular visions in mind regarding the day-to-day operations of the server? Any things you would like to change? Any ideas on how you would approach working alongside the two non-WVC administrators, in addition to your fellow Committee members?

Of course, like all the other questions, this one is optional. I've noticed some of you answer this at least partially in one way or another in your previous posts too.

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Also, due to my current status as the owner of the Discord server, I'd like to answer this as well for transparency:

There have been many arguments in the past on the Discord Chat between groups of people. How would you handle a burning argument if you were the only one online at the time?

I would do the actions listed below, in this order, until the situation has been diffused (which means I might not have to do every single thing below):

1. Respond to both sides, try to address their needs and encourage them to calm down.
2. Announce that a slowdown will be applied to the channel, and then apply a slowdown to the channel.
3. Assign the shushed role to the users involved, if there are a relatively small number of people.
4. Announce that I will temporarily close the channel from new messages, and then change posting permissions so that no one can post in that channel.
4b. Since, by nature, I can still post in that channel even after the fact, I may or may not deliver some final words to officially "end" the situation.

Once the episode is over, I'll explain the situation to the server moderation channel so that others can stay informed. From here, some decisions can be made to take action.