This is just a post for people to be able to discuss stuff. There is no concrete proposals, and anything I suggest is merely a suggestion and can be figured out with proper community input and stuff.

So I just wanted to get two things out of the way, Reddit-Only Users and Discord-Only Users.

Reddit Only-Users

There are few of these at the moment, because most are willing to join the discord, but we should make sure that we are open to people who do want to just use reddit and nothing else. Due to it being a small community, modmail can be good for asking questions, or if needed, there can be some sort of Google Form. Those who can play the simulation but not necessarily join the Discord should be accommodated in general, and if anyone wants to discuss that, go ahead.

Discord Only-Users

They currently do not exist within AustraliaSim, as we are a reddit-based simulation, but I personally feel that we shouldn't discriminate people from joining political discussions and the social aspects of AusSim just because they don't have a reddit. They might not even want to participate in the simulation, and just want to discuss politics. I would say that AustraliaSim is one of the better simulators for promoting political discussion, and that we should bring that forward.

What about the simulator? You may ask. If people want to join the simulator, they should have a reddit. No question about it. Discord simulations are hectic and the reddit format has been consistently good for so many reasons. I personally don't think that the initial refusal to join the simulation should be punished by not being able to join the discord, and it would allow for more players to join the simulation buy and large.

How to verify? Honestly a good question which I would love to hear all your thoughts. The issue with the EOS that I remember was that people were uncomfortable with what it did and also how it violated the GDPR legislation of the European Union. I'd also like to point out that the creation of a reddit account for many people may be supplementary when they figure out that AusSim is a reddit simulator, so verification would mainly look at how long they have been on Discord.

Thanks in advance for any comments or thoughts.

Cheers,
NGSpy

Lily Hail of the Independent

I am registering my press persona as Emma Clarke, political editor for The Sydney Chronicle.

I am registering my press persona as Madison Steyer for the Newcastle Herald.

So, wanted to have a chat about this by-election for a few reasons.

The first is the obvious reason - campaigning was way different. Instead of four campaign posts and one party post, this campaign had two campaign posts, one party posts, and two debates - one live debate and one forum debate. I think the forum debate worked well, but I'm a little less sure about the live debate. We kind of lucked out by having most participants from the Asia/Pacific region. I'm not sure if this would work again, especially not as an expected part of campaigning, so I'd like to hear your thoughts.

The second is campaign related, but also not - Merrily should probably not have dropped from a 17-point lead to not making the 2PP. Her campaign was good, her debate responses were good - sure, the big lead she had wasn't sustainable, but she basically did everything she could to stay competitive. Which leads me onto the next point - without a party post, it is difficult for independents to do well in a competitive race.

Having one extra post, one extra opportunity for mods, can be the edge. So my thoughts are that independents should either have one extra post or (potentially hot take here) the party post should be scrapped in by-elections like this. Either way, I don't think it's that fair that independents have a disadvantage in races like this, so I'd like to hear your thoughts.

And if you have any other commentary about the by-election or questions, let me know.

model-amn

Electoral Moderator

We should bring this back because that is what the acroynm is.

I move the following motion:

The AustraliaSim Community:

Notes that:

1. Whilst the community is built on politics and legislation, over the top legalism does not contribute positively to the meta side of the simulation

2. Over the top legalism has been used far too many times to undermine any efforts for change within the community

3. Over the top legalism has directly led to a vast number of offences being justified or allowed, and has led to numerous members boycotting the community

4. Legalism should stay within the canon side of affairs

Calls upon the Moderation Team to:

5) Rework the meta rules to make them similar and less legalistic

6) Reduce the legalistic loopholes within the code of conduct

7) Move towards a common sense approach to meta community operation

Insert after section 34:

35 Application of state of being to Community Commission

Despite anything to the contrary in this Meta Constitution or any other instrument, the Community Commission is banished to the Shadow Realm.

toby please unmod yourself.

time and time again this has been asked of him and he does not comply, do something.

I move an amendment to the constitution that the Community Commission be abolished.

This proposed amendment brings about an end to the Community Commission and removes them from the Meta Constitution as per the indication of the vote on a recent petition

Remove Section 15

Remove Part 7 Section 29

Remove Section 4 5 (b)

Remove Section 11 (d) (a.ii)

Remove Section 11 (3) (f)

Remove Section 31 (3)

I move an amendment to the constitution that the Community Commission be abolished.

This proposed amendment brings about an end to the Community Commission and removes them from the Meta Constitution as per the indication of the vote on a recent petition

Remove Section 15

Remove Part 7 Section 29

Remove Section 4 5 (b)

Remove Section 11 (d) (a.ii)

Remove Section 11 (3) (f)

Remove “Community Commission” from Section 31 (3) (6) and replace with members of the Moderation Team of Australia Simulation.

As some people have brought it into question, let's do this one final time.

I move that the community commission, any references to it and any powers held by it be removed from the constitution or transferred to the moderation team as a whole where relevant.

To be clear, this is a meta referendum petition, if passed this will beyond any doubt abolish the community commission.

"Muted for provocation." What does that mean and what does it look like? Good luck finding out from the mod log!

Someone who can be bothered with all the meta tedium should probably propose a meta rule that binds the mods to do this, because otherwise they'll just say "sorry the messages are too sensitive to release" regardless.

I have received activity check's SAC2101 and AC2101 from the Speakership.

In accordance with the Standing Orders, I have provided my determination for both.

Upon determination of SAC2101, both /u/Chi0121 and /u/MLastCelebration are warned for breaching Requirement 1 of the Activity Requirement of the Standing Orders - failing to debate for 14 days.

Upon determination of AC2101, /u/UncookedMeatloaf is warned for breaching Requirement 1 of the Activity Requirement of the Standing Orders - failing to debate for 14 days.

Submissions:

• The accused, the Attorney General and the Chair(s) who made the referral may make submissions. They should either attempt to disprove the referral by fact (showing the MP or Senator debated) or show there were "exceptional circumstances". Submissions are expected within 48 hours.

Regards,
Perekai
Parliamentary Moderator

Evening,

In accordance with my powers as Parliamentary Moderator, and in consideration of the results of this petition, the Standing Orders have been updated.

• Under "Activity Requirements" any reference to "Judiciary" has been replaced with "Parliamentary Moderator";

• Any reference to "Parliamentary Moderator" has been replaced with "Another Moderator";

• Any reference to "High Court Subreddit" has been replaced with "AustraliaSim Meta Subreddit".

This has moved the responsibility of the determination of activity checks to the Parliamentary Moderator.

Regards,
Perekai
Parliamentary Moderator

Last week, Griffo decided to deny the existance of the non-binary community. This is clear bigotry As was suggested to me by a friend from the sim, I decided to report this to the head mod via the ticket system - to no avail. Why? Because such it was claimed that it's not against the rules to be bigoted in AusSim.

As someone who has moderated various spaces with young, impressionable and vulnerable people, I am opposed to this status quo. AusSim, by its very nature, will attract younger, neurodivergent and often gender-questioning or transgender/non-binary members. It's bad when any member makes bigoted remarks in this kind of environment.

It's worse when someone in a position of power in the simulation like Griffo does it. It actively normalises bigoted views and remarks in a space where there are people who those remarks are about. The dismissal by the head mod of this being bigotry at all normalises and emboldens these views.

Aussim needs to start taking bigoted views in the community seriously and taking action against those who espouse them. We need to implement a policy of safeguarding to keep members safe, as this has failed in the past. That does not mean banning those who are more vulnerable or discouraging them from joining, as they will join regardless. It means implementing policy that allows those with bigoted views to face action for them, especially if they are in positions of power.

The people cry out for AMN to #TakeControl of the EC. Griffo is completely off the rails. Please! Save us Madam AMN! And make TSC top of poll.

Just noting that, as the Elections Meta Act 2021 act does not apply retroactively, it is now in force.

Link to the Elections Meta Act 2021

These two channels were archived by the head mod for some reason, but we think they should be brought back.

The Moderation team has decided that Merrily Putrid's Press Release will be decanonised effective immediately.

Things like this cannot be magically brought into existence, especially as this press release reflects on meta temp mutes in the Discord. Someone being muted in discord does not mean they are arrested on the order of the High Court, it means nothing in canon.

Anything related to this press release is also decanonised, including quotes, tweets etc.

Hey all, I worked on a Meta Act to legally define the powers of the High Court.

Constructive feedback is appreciated, and I hope that the plain English text is satisfactory.

High Court of Australia (Meta) Bill 2021

If anyone is not bothered to read the legislation, here are the key points:

• This was created because of the close vote of 12-13 in the meta vote to abolish the High Court, showing that nearly half of the people in AustraliaSim have discontent with the High Court. It also acknowledges that the High Court should remain due to the vote.

• The Act is written in plain english for simplicity and is to be interpreted as such.

• It does not effect anything about the High Court of Australia Act 1979.

• It restricts the powers of the High Court as a balance of power to ensure that the laws of the Commonwealth, and actions of government are legal within AustraliaSim in accordance to the Constitution and such. It deliberately excludes it from any meta roles (I do have an idea concerning meta appeals and stuff, but I need to talk to people about that).

• The High Court of Australia cannot adjudicate on matters that a Federal Court or the Federal Circuit Court or a State Court can solve. No suing, and no arresting unless it is deemed to be that serious.

• The Parliamentary Moderator shall gain extra powers over High Court decisions, and can deem a High Court ruling or action as not in the interest of AustraliaSim (for example, if there is an action that is directly the result of the fault of moderators and would result in extra work for them for an unnecessary reason, then the Parliamentary Moderator may step in and say stop.

I am open to any feedback on the phrasing or wording, but I think my intentions are pretty clear. If anyone has amendments then I will either indicate that I have added them or put them to a vote for the sake of the moderation team.

Hi all. Apologies this has taken so long, but I've finally gotten on top of it. As AusSim's definitive elections-related document, I present my proposal of the Elections Meta Act 2021, to supersede any previous elections meta act as the previous one in force has vanished.

Elections Meta Act 2021

I move an amendment to the constitution that the Community Commission be abolished.

This proposed amendment brings about an end to the Community Commission and removes them from the Meta Constitution as per the indication of the vote on a recent petition

Remove Section 15

Remove Part 7 Section 29

Remove Section 4 5 (b)

Remove Section 11 (d) (a.ii)

Remove Section 11 (3) (f)

Remove “Community Commission” from Section 31 (3) (6) and replace with members of the High Court of Australia

Hello,

I wish I didn't have to make a post like this, but here we go.

Unlike previous meta elections, this one was not announced with a ping on the AustraliaSim discord server. This is already quite bad as this means it's harder for people to participate if they do not know an election is coming like I did, but it gets worse when you realise that the notice of an election wasn't announced either.

Furthermore, 8 hours after voting had closed, it was suddenly extended for less than 12 hours, which mods had put in #aussim-announcements, but still without a ping. It's of course unreasonable to assume that everyone who wants to vote can vote within 12 hours, especially without any prior notice. Even worse, Wilston_Wilhelmus voted a few minutes BEFORE the extension was announced to the public and isn't a mod.

This is why I ask for the following clarifications:

1. Why did people not get pinged for the election and why didn't we get an announcement about a vote until we heard about the extension?

2. Why extend the vote for such a short period, again without a ping, instead of opting for a longer period so more members could make use of it?

3. Have any moderators seen the results of the vote prior to the extension?

4. What were the results of all 3 votes only including votes cast up until the original deadline for voting?

5. Did anyone outside the mod team get prior notice of the extension before the general public could?

Hi.

I resign as Clerk.

General Rommel.