Introduction to the Demogame

Cyc

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Information on the Game of Democracy ~ The Lowdown

Hi, we’re glad you made it this far into the forum. The Game of Democracy is very complex and can be confusing to people who are new to the concept. This thread is an attempt to help new people as well as novice players understand our game a little better.

The Game of Democracy, otherwise known as the “Demogame” or the “DG” is a much different way of playing Civilization 3 than you might be used to. In the DG, a group of people come together and play a single game of Civ3, where everyone channels their expertise or preferences through one designated player. We have found that mob rule doesn’t work that well in expressing ideas, so we have set the game up in a democratic fashion, believing this is the fairest and most efficient way of hearing everyone’s opinion, no matter what their level of play may be. Divining the will of the people is the foundation of the Demogame. The People are players who register in the Citizen's Registry. The one I've just linked to is the old Citizen's Registry (CR). It's for Demogame 5. Please don't sign up in that one, come back in a couple of weeks and sign up in the new one for DG6.

The Government

As you might have guessed we use a democratic government as the structure of this Internet forum-based game. This allows for an easy paper-flow or channeling of everyone’s ideas to the person who actually plays the game save. Our government is setup for the long haul and a single Demogame can last an average of 5 to 7 months. Each month, elections are held for the Offices of the Government, from the President on down through his cabinet of Advisors (known as Ministers) and Governors of Provinces (we’ll get into the different Offices later ).

The President would be the top dog in this setup, the man if you will. The President is the chief player of the game save, otherwise known as the Designated Player. Although he may delegate this responsibility to others, the President is the Primary Designated Player. (Special Note ~ this information is based on all previous Demogames. Future Demogames may change the specifics if the majority of citizens agree with the change.) Keep in mind just because I called the President the man and use the word he in describing the position, anyone, male or female may run for the Office of the President and be elected by the people (this goes for all Offices).

So if you know anything at all about a democratic government, and most people do, you are aware of the protocols and basic paper flow of getting an idea or plan from the People to the President. We use discussion and polling to present ideas and get them approved, respectively. The Demogame Forums are set up to facilitate this presentation and approval system, although ideas and plans are not restricted to this format.

When you enter the Demogame, you are in the main forum, or main page. At the top of the page is the group of sub-forums. Below are the threads for the main forum. Let’s look at the sub-forums first.

The Citizen's sub-forum ~
The first one is the Citizen’s sub-forum. That’s because the citizens are the most important ones here . In this sub-forum, discussions are held on the various topics of the Demogame. These topics can range from in-game tactics to slowing the play schedule for the Holidays. Anyone can start a thread here to discuss a topic they feel is important to the game. Anyone may reply to the thread with his or her opinion on the matter. This is where most ideas for the Demogame are born and develop into standards. Do you have a question about why the game is moving in the direction it is? Start a thread about it. Want to volunteer to do a specific job? Start a thread about. Once you’ve registered as a Citizen of the Demogame, this is your sub-forum to express your ideas.

The Government sub-forum ~
The next sub-forum is dedicated to the continuous flow of government Offices in the Demogame. As I mentioned before, each month elections are held where the citizens choose their Leaders. Once elected for a monthly Term, a person will start a thread in this sub-forum for their particular Office. An Office thread, whether it be a Ministry thread, a Province thread, a City thread, or whatever can be designed by the elected official in the manner they see fit. The purpose of these threads is to give everyone a contact point for the elected position or Office in the thread title. Do you want to talk to the Domestic Minister? Go to the Domestic Ministry thread and post there. Have a question for the Judiciary? Go to the Judicial thread and post there. Citizens who have not been elected to an Office for the current Term may not start threads in this sub-forum, that is the privilege of the current elected officials. But as a citizen, you may interact with these elected officials at anytime in these threads.

The Poll sub-forum ~
The next sub-form is pretty self-explanatory. This is where we post polls for citizens to vote on the issues of the game. Any citizen may post a poll on any issue in the game, but be forewarned, there are certain protocols that are established so as not to step on another citizen’s or an elected official’s toes. These are kind of “learn as you go” protocols, but basically if the issue you want to poll falls under someone else’s jurisdiction, it should be them polling it. If they don’t or won’t poll it, then by all means, you can. I believe we will be setting up a “Polling 101 Class” to help citizens become aware of polling standards and help them write better polls. If you’re not sure what to do here, just ask. There are plenty of people that are willing to help.

The Role Playing Game (RPG) and the Multi-Site Demogame (MSDG) ~
These sub-forums are used for other fun parts of the Demogame world by our citizen base, but have little or nothing to do with the workings of the Government. You can learn about these later.

There’s more…
So there you have the basic premise of the game and the sub-forum structure. Now you’re ready to explore the game and become familiar with the many ways of participating. “But, wait!” you say, “I don’t know anything yet! How do I play the game? What’s my purpose? How do I get elected? How do I lead the people to Victory?” All we can say is don’t worry. There’s more info below.
 
Notice: Please don't post comments or suggestions in this thread. Discussion for items to be put here are taking place in the I want to help the newbies thread. Thanks.
 
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