[TREATY] Inter-Regional Chat (IRC)

[Libertanny]

Ahoj Magisterium,

I am coming with a bill / treaty, that puts to life an interregional, unbiased and neutral chat.
The agreement was created by Europeia, Balder, The East Pacific, The West Pacific, The Pacific and The North Pacific.
The principle, as mentioned, is to create an unbiased and neutral chat, where no party / alignment / group of players is more important, than the other one.

Shoutout to Zukchiva for taking main role in representing us in drafting the treaty.

— Begin quote from ____

The Basic Structure of Inter-Regional Chat

1. Preamble

(a) Inter-Regional Chat (IRC) is a discord server consisting of member regions that will set its policies and determine its governance with the goals of fostering friendships between regions.

2. Member Regions

(a) The regions of Europeia, Balder, The North Pacific, The East Pacific, The West Pacific, and The Pacific shall be Founding Members of IRC.

(b) Any region may apply to join IRC by signing this agreement and submitting an application to the Chairperson of the Board of Representatives (the Board).

(c) Once an application is received, if the Chairperson deems it to be from an authorized representative of a qualified region, they shall hold a vote in the Board of Representatives as soon as reasonably possible on admitting the applicant, 2/3rds of the Board votes cast must be in the affirmative to admit a new member.

(d) If approved, the applicant shall become a member once they have ratified the agreement pursuant to their own procedures.

(e) A member region can be removed from IRC with 4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative not including the target of the removal.
3. Board of Representatives

(a) All member regions with over 25 endorsements on their World Assembly Delegate shall have a seat on the Board of Representatives and may appoint a Representative to the same pursuant to their own procedures.

(b) The Board shall hold the powers to appoint and remove administrators, appoint and remove moderators, admit and expel member regions, and set policies and directives pertaining to the rules and governance of IRC.

(c) Board policies and directives pertaining to the rules and governance of IRC shall carry with a majority of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(d) A majority of the board must vote in order for any vote to pass.

(e) The board shall elect a Chairperson of the Board by plurality vote, who will be responsible for setting the schedule of the Board, holding votes of the Board, and announcing the votes of the Board. The term of the Chairperson shall be 120 days.

4. Administrative Team

(a) Administrators shall be tasked with ensuring that the policies and actions enacted by the Board are carried out on a high level as well as carrying out their own policies when needed to protect the users of IRC; the policies set by Administrators override any Board policy only to the extent reasonably necessary to protect the users of IRC and comply with the discord platform “Terms of Service”.

(b) Administrators shall be appointed with 4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative and unanimous support of the Founding Regions.

(c) The existing Administrative Team may veto any appointment to the position of Administrator with a simple majority vote.

(d) Administrators may be removed from the Administrative Team by 4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative and unanimous support of the Founding Regions or by unanimous decision of all other Administrators.

(e) The Root Administrator position shall be held in trust among the Administrative Team, with the team able to decide who among them has access to the account.

5. Moderation Team

(a) Moderators shall be tasked with the enforcement of Board and Administrator policy.

(b) Moderators shall be appointed with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(c) The existing Moderation Team may veto any appointment to the position of Moderator by a simple majority vote.

(d) Moderators may be removed from the Moderation Team with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative or by unanimous decision of all other Moderators.

6. Other Matters

(a) Amendments may be made to the Basic Structure with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(b) The Basic Structure shall go into effect once it has been ratified by Four Founding Members.

(c) Any member region may leave IRC by submitting a notification of withdrawal to the Chairperson by an authorized representative of the member region as determined by its internal procedures.

(d) If a Founding Region leaves or is removed from IRC they forfeit all privileges of a Founding Region in perpetuity.

— End quote

[spoiler]
— Begin quote from ____

The Basic Structure of Inter-Regional Chat

1. Preamble

(a) Inter-Regional Chat (IRC) is a discord server consisting of member regions that will set its policies and determine its governance with the goals of fostering friendships between regions.

2. Member Regions

(a) The regions of Europeia, Balder, The North Pacific, The East Pacific, The West Pacific, and The Pacific shall be Founding Members of IRC.

(b) Any region may apply to join IRC by signing this agreement and submitting an application to the Chairperson of the Board of Representatives (the Board).

(c) Once an application is received, if the Chairperson deems it to be from an authorized representative of a qualified region, they shall hold a vote in the Board of Representatives as soon as reasonably possible on admitting the applicant, 2/3rds of the Board votes cast must be in the affirmative to admit a new member.

(d) If approved, the applicant shall become a member once they have ratified the agreement pursuant to their own procedures.

(e) A member region can be removed from IRC with 9/10ths4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative not including the target of the removal.

3. Board of Representatives

(a) All member regions with over 4025 endorsements on their World Assembly Delegate shall have a seat on the Board of Representatives and may appoint a Representative to the same pursuant to their own procedures.

(b) The Board shall hold the powers to appoint and remove administrators, appoint and remove moderators, admit and expel member regions, and set policies and directives pertaining to the rules and governance of IRC.

(c) Board policies and directives pertaining to the rules and governance of IRC shall carry with a majority of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(d) A majority of the board must vote in order for any vote to pass.

(e) The board shall elect a Chairperson of the Board by plurality vote, who will be responsible for setting the schedule of the Board, holding votes of the Board, and announcing the votes of the Board. The term of the Chairperson shall be 120 days.

4. Administrative Team

(a) Administrators shall be tasked with ensuring that the policies and actions enacted by the Board are carried out on a high level as well as carrying out their own policies when needed to protect the users of IRC; the policies set by Administrators override any Board policy only to the extent reasonably necessary to protect the users of IRC and comply with the discord platform “Terms of Service”.

(b) Administrators shall be appointed with 4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative and unanimous support of the Founding Regions.

(c) The existing Administrative Team may veto any appointment to the position of Administrator with a simple majority vote.

(d) Administrators may be removed from the Administrative Team by 4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative and unanimous support of the Founding Regions or by unanimous decision of all other Administrators.

(e) The Root Administrator position shall be held in trust among the Administrative Team, with the team able to decide who among them has access to the account.

5. Moderation Team

(a) Moderators shall be tasked with the enforcement of Board and Administrator policy.

(b) Moderators shall be appointed with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(c) The existing Moderation Team may veto any appointment to the position of Moderator by a simple majority vote.

(d) Moderators may be removed from the Moderation Team with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative or by unanimous decision of all other Moderators.

6. Other Matters

(a) Amendments may be made to the Basic Structure with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(b) The Basic Structure shall go into effect once it has been ratified by Four Founding Members.

(c) Any member region may leave IRC by submitting a notification of withdrawal to the Chairperson by an authorized representative of the member region as determined by its internal procedures.

(d) If a Founding Region leaves or is removed fromIRC they forfeit all privileges of a Founding Region in perpetuity.

— End quote

[/spoiler]

[Art_Sokala]

In favor but am very doubtful of it working

[AC5230]

We should probably change the acronym so it doesn’t confuse me with Internet Relay Chat (IRC). (I use that you know…)

[Bachtendekuppen]

I like the thought, but is a treaty an appropriate way to “found” a discord server?

[Nociav]

Hiw does it aim to better regional relationships? Will it just be a “Consortiun but bigger” thing? Can we change the acronym? I read it thinking “oh no, we’ve gone back to 2010”.

[Libertanny]

— Begin quote from ____

Hiw does it aim to better regional relationships? Will it just be a “Consortiun but bigger” thing? Can we change the acronym? I read it thinking “oh no, we’ve gone back to 2010”.

— End quote

1. It’s not an alliance, like Consortium is. It’s basically NSGP, that is not led by TBH and TGW, but by participating regions. No better or worse. No more or less important people. No Moderators interrupting and stoping argument, when they don’t like it politically. Neutral ground.

2. Frankly, acronym isn’t that important imho. Other regions liked it and… I mean, is it really that important? Ofc I can propose, but again, I don’t feel like this is the big thing here.

[Nociav]

— Begin quote from ____

— Begin quote from ____

Hiw does it aim to better regional relationships? Will it just be a “Consortiun but bigger” thing? Can we change the acronym? I read it thinking “oh no, we’ve gone back to 2010”.

— End quote

1. It’s not an alliance, like Consortium is. It’s basically NSGP, that is not led by TBH and TGW, but by participating regions. No better or worse. No more or less important people. No Moderators interrupting and stoping argument, when they don’t like it politically. Neutral ground.

2. Frankly, acronym isn’t that important imho. Other regions liked it and… I mean, is it really that important? Ofc I can propose, but again, I don’t feel like this is the big thing here.

— End quote

1. Sounds interesting. Don’t see it working but no harm as long as we stay careful to avoid drama.

2. The name isn’t important, just a minor thing.

[Virgolia]

I like this, hope the magisterium supports it

[Mangegneithe]

A new FA thing? Idk how I feel about it but why not discuss it with the Inner Circle?

[Algerstonia]

I support this, it looks interesting to me. I am likewise a bit confused about it being a treaty per say, but that’s a minor nitpick and won’t affect me supporting this bill.

[Libertanny]

— Begin quote from ____

I support this, it looks interesting to me. I am likewise a bit confused about it being a treaty per say, but that’s a minor nitpick and won’t affect me supporting this bill.

— End quote

How else than a treaty we would name it per our vision?

Per authors, its Constitution of this Chat. But since its FA, I thought, that [TREATY] tag fits best.

[Libertanny]

The following changes were proposed by other founding regions.

— Begin quote from ____

1. Preamble

(a) Inter-Regional Chat (IRC) is a discord server consisting of member regions that will set its policies and determine its governance with the goals of fostering friendships between regions.

2. Member Regions

(a) The regions of Europeia, Balder, The North Pacific, The East Pacific, The West Pacific, and The Pacific shall be Founding Members of IRC.

(b) Any region may apply to join IRC by signing this agreement and submitting an application to the Chairperson of the Board of Representatives (the Board).

(c) Once an application is received, if the Chairperson deems it to be from an authorized representative of a qualified region, they shall hold a vote in the Board of Representatives as soon as reasonably possible on admitting the applicant, 2/3rds of the Board votes cast must be in the affirmative to admit a new member.

(d) If approved, the applicant shall become a member once they have ratified the agreement pursuant to their own procedures.

(e) A member region can be removed from IRC with 9/10ths4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative not including the target of the removal.

3. Board of Representatives

(a) All member regions with over 4025 endorsements on their World Assembly Delegate shall have a seat on the Board of Representatives and may appoint a Representative to the same pursuant to their own procedures.

(b) The Board shall hold the powers to appoint and remove administrators, appoint and remove moderators, admit and expel member regions, and set policies and directives pertaining to the rules and governance of IRC.

(c) Board policies and directives pertaining to the rules and governance of IRC shall carry with a majority of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(d) A majority of the board must vote in order for any vote to pass.

(e) The board shall elect a Chairperson of the Board by plurality vote, who will be responsible for setting the schedule of the Board, holding votes of the Board, and announcing the votes of the Board. The term of the Chairperson shall be 120 days.

4. Administrative Team

(a) Administrators shall be tasked with ensuring that the policies and actions enacted by the Board are carried out on a high level as well as carrying out their own policies when needed to protect the users of IRC; the policies set by Administrators override any Board policy only to the extent reasonably necessary to protect the users of IRC and comply with the discord platform “Terms of Service”.

(b) Administrators shall be appointed with 4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative and unanimous support of the Founding Regions.

(c) The existing Administrative Team may veto any appointment to the position of Administrator with a simple majority vote.

(d) Administrators may be removed from the Administrative Team by 4/5ths of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative and unanimous support of the Founding Regions or by unanimous decision of all other Administrators.

(e) The Root Administrator position shall be held in trust among the Administrative Team, with the team able to decide who among them has access to the account.

5. Moderation Team

(a) Moderators shall be tasked with the enforcement of Board and Administrator policy.

(b) Moderators shall be appointed with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(c) The existing Moderation Team may veto any appointment to the position of Moderator by a simple majority vote.

(d) Moderators may be removed from the Moderation Team with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative or by unanimous decision of all other Moderators.

6. Other Matters

(a) Amendments may be made to the Basic Structure with 2/3rds of the Board votes cast being in the affirmative.

(b) The Basic Structure shall go into effect once it has been ratified by Four Founding Members.

(c) Any member region may leave IRC by submitting a notification of withdrawal to the Chairperson by an authorized representative of the member region as determined by its internal procedures.

(d) If a Founding Region leaves or is removed fromIRC they forfeit all privileges of a Founding Region in perpetuity.

— End quote

[Zukchiva]

IMO I don’t see why the name is bad

[Philville2]

Interesting. Comments from me:

1. In 6b it refers to Four Founding Members yet there are 6 mentioned in 2a

2. It seems odd that new Administrators need 4/5 approval from the board AND 6/6 approval from the founding members - yet can be vetoed by existing administrators by a simply majority.  I would have thought that Founder Members and the Board are more senior to Administrators, so having a high bar for senior approval but only half the junior can say ‘nah’ - doesn’t feel right. 4a/b/c. The same applies to the moderation team in 5 a/b/c

[Halleyscomet08]

I’m not a magister anymore so take this with a grain of salt I guess

— Begin quote from ____

(e) The board shall elect a Chairperson of the Board by plurality vote, who will be responsible for setting the schedule of the Board, holding votes of the Board, and announcing the votes of the Board. The term of the Chairperson shall be 120 days.

— End quote

This feels to me that there isn’t any way for re-elections to happen. If we take a little look-see into the SOM, we find this:

— Begin quote from ____

…3.1.1. An election shall be held when the position is vacant or atbefore the end of the Provost’s three-month term (March 30th, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st), organized by the previous Provost, a Deputy Provost, or a representative thereof.

— End quote

This defines when elections are held, which is important.

In the original text, we’re not actually sure when elections will happen. Is it immediately afterward? Do they even have to re-elect a new person?

— Begin quote from ____

(a) Amendments may be made to the Basic Structure with 2/3rds of the votes cast being in the affirmative.

— End quote

What is “the Basic Structure”? Is this the title of the Treaty? Maybe we should say that?

The preamble reads like it’s defining what the IRC is, not why we want it.
I think this Preamble would be nicer tbh:

— Begin quote from ____

The regions of Europeia, Balder, The North Pacific, The East Pacific, The West Pacific, and The Pacific, seeking to create a server meant to foster relationships between regions, hereby creates this treaty, to be known as the Inter-Regional Chat (IRC).

— End quote

The title of the Treaty doesn’t feel nice, not really that thematic tbh. I’m trying to find a title that’s thematic enough, but I have no ideas.

[Zukchiva]

— Begin quote from ____

Interesting. Comments from me:

1. In 6b it refers to Four Founding Members yet there are 6 mentioned in 2a

2. It seems odd that new Administrators need 4/5 approval from the board AND 6/6 approval from the founding members - yet can be vetoed by existing administrators by a simply majority.  I would have thought that Founder Members and the Board are more senior to Administrators, so having a high bar for senior approval but only half the junior can say ‘nah’ - doesn’t feel right. 4a/b/c. The same applies to the moderation team in 5 a/b/c

— End quote

1. It’s purposeful- only four Founding members have to ratify it.

2. The idea behind the split was due to IC/OOC. IRC is governed by an overall IC document, but Administration/moderation can veto IC-made appointments if they feel such an individual wouldn’t be fit to serve. This is meant to preserve OOC superiority for server administration. In other words, Admin is senior Board is Junior, at least when it comes to Admin/Mod appointments.

[Zukchiva]

— Begin quote from ____

This feels to me that there isn’t any way for re-elections to happen.

— End quote

IMO, it implies elections happen which should be enough. Additionally, it’s most likely that the Board will pass some policies further detailing elections in the future, so I’m not too worried about that. The implication is that the person has to be re-elected, yes.

I’ll bring up the preamble/title thing. Personally I think the name “IRC” is fine

[Zukchiva]

Updated the OP with changes.

A lot of people have asked the question about why this is a treaty. I’ve posted that question within the planning server, but to give my own take on it:

If you think about it, a lot of democratic regions treat joining an interregional organization like a treaty. In these kinds of things it’s usually more sensible to have the legislature ratify the agreement, rather than leave it to the Executive’s general whims. Additionally, there was going to be a “Basic Structure” anyways as the chat needed a basic ruleset to exist, so the idea of a treaty just came naturally. We’re making a basic rule-set so why not have people ratify it? We all began working on it with that idea in mind and soon enough we were set on a treaty-type thing.

At least, that’s how I explain why the IRC is a treaty. I’ll relay any other answers I get from the planning server.

[Zukchiva]

It seems like this may be moving forward soon- depends on what the other regions decide.

Last thoughts/comments on this appreciated.

[Halleyscomet08]

Personally, I feel like it should define what exactly is the, “Basic Structure”. It’s only mentioned in the last article, and I don’t feel it’s cleanly explained.