Thanks for all your hard work Neilo. Everyone appreciates the effort you put into the league!

I'd like to make a nomination. This may seem a bit unusual, as this person has only been with the league for a short time, but I believe he posseses everything that is needed.

I nominate Iztok Bitenc to be the next Commissioner. I think he has both a deep and broad knowledge of the game, has always been very helpful to people asking questions on the forums whether they are newbies or experienced players, and will be completely fair & impartial.

Surprise Iztok! Will you accept the nomination?

Sentient species taste better...

I'd also like to thank you for your hard work as Commissioner, neilo. You've carried the League pretty far and it's much appreciated.

I can understand the burnout and your desire to step down. It's not a position that I'd ever want to tackle.

As far as nominating another Commissioner, three people come to mind right off the bat. The first one is Wyndstar. The League owes its existance to him as it grew from his tournaments. I doubt he'd have time to administer it though.

Another is Mumblefratz. He's been valiently keeping up with everything that's been happening here and would make an awesome commissioner.

Ghostwes is a founder of the league and would also make an excellent commissoner.

All of the above mentioned, including Iztok Bitenc have also proved impartiality, which is of overriding importance.

Picking out a favorite would be difficult indeed, but if it came down to a single nomination, I'd go with Mumblefratz.

That's actually very understandable because reading the entire thread is a very daunting task. Actually what I meant is that you should just read the Original Post (OP) which I keep updated with the latest information. That still can be some difficult reading but at least that limits the task somewhat.

Certinaly it's fine to ask the question and hopefully I provided an understandable short version of the answer, but my intent on making reference to the rule thread was simply to point out the OP of that thread as the "official" source of rule where hopefully the complete definition can be referenced.

Certainly I want to join Kzinti and Motti in thanking you for the effort that you have put in getting the league started. I think everyone pretty much realizes the time and effort that you've spent over these last 6 months and we all appreciate it.

As far as more elections, don't worry about it. The only issue that I see with votes in general is in getting people to participate and a concern that too many votes will try the patience of the league. For this reason we should probably try and keep the number of votes to a minimum, however there is no doubt that everyone in the League will see the necessity of having one in this case.

About a month ago the idea of a fixed schedule for league elections came up and I argued against it for precisely this reason. The reason is that these can be difficult and thankless jobs and I saw no need to “use up” someone that still had the commitment and desire to serve. I believe that in the long run there will not be a problem with people staying in office “too long” but in keeping quality people in office “long enough”.

I’m also very happy that resigning from the Commissioner position doesn’t mean that you will be resigning from the league. Hopefully now you can sit back and simply enjoy the fruits of your labor.

As far as the mentioned nominations certainly Iztok, Wyndstar and Ghostwes would make fine Commissioners. I would also like to thank Motti for nominating me and acknowledge that I do wish to accept the nomination.

I will try to keep the rest of this brief but I do want to make a comment or two about how I view the position of Commissioner. Basically the Commissioner is merely a representative of the average MVL member. Clearly the random selection of each round’s settings is the primary function of the Commissioner. Other than this the role of Commissioner is to step in when a quick decision is needed in the middle of a round where a long drawn out discussion (and vote) would be impractical. Another feature of a good commissioner is being always available to respond to any issue that crops up. Finally, a good commissioner is one that imposes his own will into the process as little as possible.

Basically, the commissioner’s opinion should line up with the “average” opinion of the league so that any ruling that the commissioner is forced to make is as likely as possible to be the same as what the league would have decided if there had been time to have discussions and take a vote. Kzinti also mentioned fairness and impartiality, certainly good qualities to have in a commissioner, to which I’d like to add the ability to listen to the opinions of others and the desire to try and come up with solutions that are acceptable to as many people as possible.

In any case I do feel that I have many of the qualities mentioned above, however I must admit that I am as human and fallible as the next guy and make no claims to perfection, although I will try to achieve it and try to learn from the (hopefully rare) occasions when I am unable to do so.

I apologize for the huge inconvenience I unfortunately caused. I would like to get back into the thick of things once I familiarize myself with any changes that may have happened while realife threw wrench after wrench at me these last couple of months.

It's great to hear from you PlayJeff We were hoping nothing too bad happened to you.

Hey PlayJeff! Just yesterday I asked if anybody had heard from you...people have been worried. Great to see you back!

Sentient species taste better...

Welcome back, playjeff!    It's great to hear from you again!

Thanks all

@ Neilo: Sad to hear about you stepping down as Commish, but congrats on doing a damn fine job!

@PLayJeff: It is absolutely wonderful to hear from you again. Two good things have now happened today (I can also breathe through my nose again LOL)

Good to hear your improving Silver.

As far as the commish nominations, I agree with the nominies chosen and really have nothing to add.

I would like to throw Fire Bender and SilverBeacher into the nominations as well. As long as they would have the time, that is.

Who posted your bail PlayJeff?  And how did you convince them to allow you internet access?    

Thanks for the kind words guys. I am quite proud of the league and the fact that i helped it grow to what it is today.

It is fantastic to hear from you again Playjeff....we were worried about you man...great to have you back with us!!!!

I'd also like to second a nomination that has been forwarded. I second Silverbeacher's nomination. I believe all those nominated will do a great job and i am happy to have left the commissioner's position knowing it will be in such good hands.

being able to just play in the league without having to do anything else was a big part of me resigning. Being burned out on GC2 at the moment, thanks to a gig abundant all that did not go as well as planned, all i wanted to do was play some small games, it is always reinvigorating to me.

I will continue playing in the league as long as we have a league.....Theres nothing quite like throwing taunts at Kzinti and FB....

Are there established election procedures? I dont see anything in the OP of the MVL Rulebook thread.

Sentient species taste better...

well we've never had one so...

My guess is

1)all the nominees would need to assent or decline their nomination

2)A vote would be set up.

3.) The nominees or members should be allowed to make a post about themselves or the person they wish to support BUT only post on that one individual. No character attacks, comparisons, or other such nefarious actions.

4.) If a nominee decides to drop out later, then any votes placed for that person would be null and void and those members would be able to vote freely again.

5.) In case of tie, or no clear majority, there would be a run-off election.

6.) In the case that the new Commissioner holds a post elsewhere such as Team Captain or MVL Administrator. For Captains, the player should be allowed to remain on his team unless that team is the same as the position of Vice-Commissioner. The Team will select among themselves who they want to become their next captain. In the case of a MVL Administrator, it can be discussed as the need arises, and replacements found if needed.

Other than what we just discussed in regards to voting rules we really haven't discussed the idea of league elections much and the elective process itself hasn't been discussed at all.

However I really don't think there's that much difference between voting for a new commissioner and voting on how ties should be broken, at least as how a vote is to be taken.

I think the best idea is for Neilo to basically drive the process since he is the outgoing commissioner and has the best interests of the league at heart. I doubt anyone would question a ruling by the current commissioner in case the election generates previously undiscussed and undecided issues.

On the other hand given that this election will form the basis for future elections then it might be worthwhile to take a little time and come to an agreement as to how best to proceed.

All in all I have no issue with either approach but treating it as we have treated previous votes with perhaps Neilo making a ruling if any question should come up seems simplest to me.

I think this was what he had in mind when he posted.



Actually I think a separate election is appropriate for any vacated position. I would agree with this in the case of vice commissioner since the positions are relatively similar, however scorekeeper and rulekeeper are actually quite different and someone suited for the one position may not necessarily be suited for the other nor would someone necessarily be interested in the other job.

Another thing I would add is that I think nominees need to accept a nomination for it to be official. The job does entail a certain commitment and simply because someone is nominated doesn't mean that they have both the time and the inclination to serve.

[edit] Silverbeacher's post beat me to the punch but I think what he said was consistent with what I just said. His rule #3 is a good point to make although I doubt that would be an issue with those nominated. [/edit]

elaborating on my point#3, that I find it ok if a player wanted to make known his support for a person such as Mumblefratz, whats NOT ok is if that person does it by knocking other players or saying something like "Well, So and so is really new to the MVL and shouldn't be Commish"...while that may be factually true I want to remind people to keep their words geared solely toward the person they intend them for

I can certainly act as the "chair" for the elections. We can run it the same as the MVC ones if we like....Pm me your votes and i will tally them and post results. Perhaps for transparency we could have two people acting as election officials, myself and someone else not a nominee but interested in helping out. Everyone pm's either of us their vote and we can post the results.

A campaign speech would be good and we would absolutely need any prospective nominee to accept their nomination.

Now if this process was to drag on for a while, as it might, i am more than willing to be commish through round 7 so that we can do the elections in a proper manner without having to compromise anything due to any time constraints we feel we might have.

Though i do have one issue already. Can the Rulebook keeper be the commish? I say yes as i really would like Mumble to stay as rule keeper even if he was to become the commish. I don't see any conflict of interest and im not sure any of us has Mumble's attention to detail.

Absolutely agreed. There is no need for any negative type of campaigning whether directly by the nominee themselves or indirectly by someone supporting someone else. Everyone in the league is qualified to be the commissioner simply by being in the league. As I mentioned the commissioner is really just a representative of everyone in the league and otherwise has no special power or right in and of himself.


Actually I had thought about this a bit and would be willing to continue as rulekeeper if necessary but there are at least a couple of people that I can think of off the top of my head that would be good for the job. I'm not sure I want to prejudice the situation by mentioning them at this moment since one is also nominated for commissioner as well, but I do think we have suitable replacements within the league and I do think it's best that I not try to do to much. I do believe that there is such a thing as too much Mumblefratz or too much of any one person. It's best if we spread things around a bit.

Clearly in any replacement situation there will need to be a period of transition where the new person will have to lean on the outgoing person to get up to speed. But I think it's dangerous to consider anyone irreplaceable. With how people can come and go with no notice it's a bad idea to be dependent on any one person for any specific function. Certainly a new person won't do the commissioners job as good as you have from day one, but I believe that people rise to meet expectations.

I don't know if we need to drag the process out all that far. But on a similar vein I'm not totally sure what we had in mind for the length of a "season" and the potential of holding a draft and reorganizing teams. I would suggest that if people are interested in doing this soon then perhaps we wait the election until after the draft. Basically I don't think it's a good idea that the first thing a new commissioner would have to deal with is a draft.

Personally I think that 3 rounds per season is rather short and think that the latest results, and the current round looks to confirm this, are that the teams do seem fairly well balanced with only very slight differences from top and bottom. Unless there's a big demand for a shakeup I would just as soon continue with the teams as they are until we're forced to rearrange teams because of continually increasing numbers.

In this case I see no major reason we can't be up and running with round 7 the start of the new commissioners tenure. Of course I would expect that in any case Neilo will need to be involved with the new commissioners first round simply to get the new guy up to speed.

Actually every other post I make seems to be part campaign speech but just to make sure folks noticed I quote the second half of my reply #229. Also I'd like to note that since that post Silverbeacher and FireBender have also been nominated and I would like to explicitly include them along with the others mentioned in the quote as having the potential of making an excellent commissioner.

First, I would like to again congratulate Neilo on doing a fine job as our Commissioner for these past six rounds. While there are of course many others that deserve praise for their hard work and contributions, Neilo’s energy and drive to see the MVL succeed was truly infectious for all of us. I am glad that he will be continue to be a part of what he helped create and that he can now sit back and enjoy as we take this endeavor into the future.

Secondly, I must thank Jeff and Neilo for their nomination of me for the position of Commissioner. I still see myself as a junior player in the GalCiv universe and their nomination of me is a very kind gesture of how far I have come since I started playing Dread Lords back in the fall of 2006. I am honored and would like to announce that I accept this nomination on their behalf.

When it comes to following in the footsteps of someone that headed the start of something, I could only look to one man for words of advice and that was President John Adams, following in the footsteps of the first American President, George Washington:




And while like John Adams, one may not always achieve the same results as our predecessors, it is our highest hope to always aim high; to be willing to admit a mistake; to ask for help when it is needed; to offer guidance when it is asked; to speak justly and kindly, but not condescending; to know when to speak out, and when to reserve judgment; to value experience, but be open to new ideas; to understand that one cannot lead for one’s self, but is a leader to others.

I would like to think that I embody these characteristics. I believe that I have shown my support and interest in the League by my participation, my time as a captain, as score keeper, and as an active player. But to me, it is not what I think that matters but that of those around me, for one may think himself a King all he wants, and yet a Fool is still a Fool.

Finally, I would like to congratulate all the others that have been nominated. I truly believe that each and every single one of you would be a great asset to the MVL as Commissioner and that no matter the outcome, we are all winners.

With much thanks to everyone,

Matthew
-Silver-

So if I were to say something like, "Don't vote for Neilo because I hear he smells like rancid goat piss", that would not be ok? Dammit....there goes my argument against every candidate I'm not going to vote for! You guys are tough...

My opinion is that we should go ahead with the draft as planned. I also think that 3 rounds seems just about right for a season.