What Power does the Governor have?

[LdyBelial]

Please vote!

Recently I have been talking to other players about the role of Governor in Rhy’Din. It was during one such talk with a fellow play partner that I realized we should bring this particular discussion here.

I wanted to bring this up now, before the governor’s race because I feel this is important information that we all should know. I also feel that since this hasn’t been made clear we should clarify it as well as completely inform those who are running for governor. Besides… this really is vital information and should be clearly stated for everyone’s best interest.

From my discussions with Panther Player concerning the governor’s role:

The position of Governor is player-driven; meaning the admins, moderators and host do not have anything to do with the position or title.

The Governor is merely an honorary title; the player/character does not have any power over anything, except what each of us determines individually for ourselves and our characters alone. As an example, I can say the Governor has power over the law of Rhy’Din, but John Doe can say the Governor has none. While Little Red Riding Hood can say the Governor can feed the homeless and shelter the elderly.

My point being there is nothing set in stone that states what power or authority the office of governor has. Not even a notice informing the candidates or any of us that the position is simply “for fun” and has no real power other than what we individually wish to give it.


There are two sides that I can easily see here.

On one side, giving the Governor power can aid in creating a more lawful environment. On the other hand, power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Therefore, any power we give the Governor could end up coming back to bite any one of us in the future.

I for one do not want anyone to have the *right* or ability to dictate to me what I can or cannot play. I don’t feel any one character or player should have the option to nix my sls at their whims. I do worry that giving any one person the kind of power that could translate in sl destruction will eventually lead to that kind of situation arising. (Not necessarily with me personally… this is simply a fear of what could happen to any one of us should the power fall into disrespectful hands.)

On the other side of the coin… Having some law in Rhy’Din I think would also be nice. I can see lots of potential sls springing from the political foundation that the position of governor creates.

Back in the Guildy days, the one aspect of being in a guild that I actually enjoyed was the political arena. There was always so much there to pull from, to create enticing, tense political twists and turns. I enjoyed those kinds of exchanges and would love to create a venue for such play again, you know, without having to deal with guilds. (Please note: in no way am I saying I want Guilds on DM. I am making a point that the political arena created by them was fun to play off of, that is all!)

Now the questions I pass to you are these:

What power, if any, should the position of Governor hold?

If any power is given; how would we regulate the governor so the position can’t be abused?

Are you interested in having any form of law and order in Rhy’Din to begin with?

Lanette

(edited for clarification about my comment concerning guilds - 01/26/08)

[Mi]

The governor has as much power as each player gives them. So long as whoever elected holds respect for other players and doesn't use their 'power' to 'go after' people they might not like, or try to change things how they think it should be and trample over SLs in the process, I see no harm in them playing into things like law and the watch. I've seen plenty of other players, who are not the governor, also play into these aspects (or lack thereof?). Whoever has the title of governor, imo, holds as much power as any of the rest of us do.

I hope whoever is elected looks back at how Kitty did things, because I think she did a wonderful job of things such as playing things out without trampling over other's SLs, and being interactive with just about everyone.

And even if a person who is elected as governor tries to disrespect people, they can't if the players involved don't give them that power. Just like anyone else, the governor can be ignored.

[Hawk Jahad]

I just wanted to give props in this thread, since it is related, to the player of Kitty.

She understands very well that one of the best ways to play the Governor of a creature such as RhyDin here on DM is to play it as a figure-head. Kitty's player has handled the title with perfect grace, allowing her character to act in name as the Governor but never taking the position too seriously.

While I think that the Governor having some sort of power could be an interesting SL to play, I think the way that Kitty has played the role, to me, is the best way to approach it.

Kinda like Queen Elizabeth in the UK, but much much hotter.

[Maerissa LaeAnna Drakonis]

There are two levels that this question applies.

IC and OOC.

IC wise, my character tends to recognize that the governor exists, and that gives me something I can play off of in the room and in message boards as the character playing the governor can be referred to in various postings. If someone wants to know how my character feels about the acting governor, they'll have to ask her in-game.

However, OOC wise, well the position doesn't really exist, so there is no power there. I am still the goddess of my creation and determine it's creation and destruction date and what it will or will not be involved in in the between. I still intend to continue playing interactively with my fellow gamers, and expect them to extend me the same courtesy.

In other words, if I received a PM telling me that said person had declared my character dead and so I needed to talk to Panther about having my SN removed from this site, that person would recieve a PM telling them to go play my favorite game. That would fit right in there with the theory that my having my character greet theirs gives them consent to do anything they like to my character without first clearing it with me. Not happening now or ever.

I personally don't expect anyone to be that disrespectful a fellow gamer, so for the most part, if someone wanted to approach me with a possible storyline involving the governmental body, I'm game.
_________________
http://marissadrakonis.livejournal.com/

[Wolvinator]

I’ve talked with quite a few people in regards to the position of Governor and it seems as though everyone has their own ideas on how the role should be played out. Personally, Maerissa touched on it a bit, there are two levels, IC and OOC, yet they do go hand in hand. I want to touch on it a bit from the person that is playing the role of the governor. If I ramble a bit, please forgive me.

OOC: You have to realize that yes, you absolutely have no power. You’re not an Admin, a moderator, and nothing of the sort. Everything that you “attempt” to do, really has to be accepted by your fellow gamers. You can’t just try to waltz in, and suddenly have a holier then thou attitude. That’s the quickest way to get ignored by other players, and possibly actually make the IC title void.

There are a variety of people that could care less if Rhy’Din had a governor, and there are also those that are going to ignore it completely. I personally like the idea of having some Government body. It helps to give some stability to the Universe we all play in. Even though Free-Form RP has no rules, that doesn’t mean the IC environment shouldn’t have laws.

Laws and government helps clear the lines up for RP, Outlawing murder for instance. This opens up the game for good guys and bad guys alike. Bad guys are going to be actually breaking a law, and good guys can have an IC reason to investigate and go after the baddies. It’s honestly no fun, on either side, if there aren’t some basic laws set in place. The bad guys can just free roam, and do whatever they want; and the good guys are shunned upon when they try and “do the right thing”.

IC: The Governor could choose to basically be an outstanding political figure, a middle of the road type, an evil corrupt individual, or any variant there of. As long as the person behind the character truly understands that they can’t really change anything.

You’re supposed to have fun with this whole thing, and a lot of people get away from that. As the Governor you shouldn’t step on anyone’s toes per say, and players should respect the position enough to return the favor. People are still going to want to play their characters the way they play them, and there is a certain respect level that goes along with that. Playing nice IC, and playing nice OOC are two different things.

A major thing though, is communication. Just as in any Storyline, it’s respectful to contact the people that are involved and at least get a general “OK” from both parties. I know that I personally would rather talk a few things out with fellow players, then just have to “ignore” the Storyline, or position, altogether.

[Keaton]

What I typically tend to play is that the governor has some form of influence - some budgetary control and possibly some influence over the Watch, though the latter may have to do with Kitty's previous involvement with the Watch as an inspector.

However, I also understand that this is flexible, and yes, is also controlled by each player. In one character's world, the governor is a key political figure who is to be reckoned with whenever something big goes down in the public eye - in another, the position may be nothing more than a joke.

Respect is key on both sides, between the governor and the "governed," but really, that applies to any interaction between characters.

=) I think a lot of what I'm seeing here in this thread, in a nutshell, is, 'All the ideals of free-form roleplaying we love? They definitely apply here, too.'

[Kairee]

It has long been established IC that the Nexus and Nexus Points cannot be controlled or ruled.

The nature of the Nexus is chaos and the OOC practical considerations really forbid that level of authority over a Free Form site.

It doesn't stop every petty villain and hero from trying to exert their influence but it only extends to those that grant them that power.

Kairee is tied to the Nexus , she recognizes no laws anywhere least of all at this Nexus Point. She will ignore any attempts by any governor to claim any level of authority.

OOC, I will not allow some other player to dictate to me how my character should be played and what my character can and can't do.

Just as I don't have to play with X, I don't have to play with the Governor.

Just as I can chose to ignore the "bounty" put on my character's head as part of a SL I want nothing to do with, I can ignore any "law" a governor enacts.

I have been opposed to this governor idea from the very start for precisely the reason this thread is even necessary.

Someone who will win the popularity contest will eventually want "control" so that people play the "right" way. Villains won't be able to execute their evil plans without having to conform to and play with the "town watch" or other external bodies to their stories.

The real long term threat is that of diminishing creativity on this site. People will be expected to conform to the "laws of Rhydin" and if they don't, their SLs won't be welcome or that will be shunned by those that support the authoritative rule of "the governor."

"Oh, Kai! "you laugh, " that will never happen!"

Won't it? how many people play actively on a regular daily basis? 20? 30? (players that is and not their myriad of SNs)

Lest say it's 30 people and you have 10 who really thing the governor should have power and they support the "laws" he or she lays down. That's 1/3 of the active players.

If they all start to "enforce the rules" in their play, it will spread.

It will be like RangerBlue's Rules for Rhydin and the Guild scourge.

"You have to fight this way."

"Your character was killed you have to delete it"

"You have to have at least 3 lines posted to the chat at a time or you’re spamming"

"Your character is being brought up on charges , he/she/it has to go to court and be judged. And If you don't show you will be shunned."

What other stupid *** rules can you think of that people may want to enact to make it "better", more "playable"

"Villains must submit their evil plans, in triplicate, to be reviewed and approved before said villainy can occur...or it will be ignored and you will be shunned"

"The town watch is every where stamping out crime...so villains, Stop that Villainy! "

“All public works, building projects and other changes to the Rhy’din city limits must be approved by the governor. No, you just can’t claim your character built a new temple/manor/Inn”

"But Kairee! won't it add challenge to SLs to have to over come bureaucratic obstacles?"

Yes, but only for people that want to play with that type of obstacle. But they don't need a governor with power to write in NPCs that do that for them.

Sorry guys but I see this is one of the greatest dangers to free form and is the most slippery slopes EVER.

As we already know from reading these boards there are those whose ideas of play and interaction are different from ours. How much do you want to risk that a IC character won't be the means someone OOC will try to use to "effect change" their way into an IC, make believe, and purposefully chaotic environment.

To those that want a structured world, create it, get a website, link it as an affiliate to this site.

Others, who want to play there, will. Just don't try to establish and IC character in a position of authority over anyone else. (Excluding those that want to be in thrall IC to another.)

P.S. Budget? What budget? There is no budget! The Governor has not power! And there is no way in any of the hells that my characters will pay any sort of “tax.”

P.S.S -when the guilds started, I was cool with them as I saw is as a means of some folks to establish for themselves some nicely interactive play groups . But very shortly thereafter, Guild people were dictating to non-guild people how to play or they wouldn't play with them. It got nasty. They were targeting new players, like mad cultists, and teaching them the rules of play (according to them and not according to Free Form guidelines and priciples). They demanded people delete screen names as they were "dead." They told people what to play and with who. IT quickly got out of hand. This isn't to say all guilds were like that and that people didn't have fun in guilds. But it was detrimental to FREE FORM RP.
_________________
-Kairee
The Splendiferous One and Mage-Babe Supreme

"With Great Power comes Great Boredom."

[Wolvinator]

To be honest, I knew that this thread was going to pop up with that. Now, I'm not trying to turn this thread into a debate by itself, but... I just wanted to touch on a few things.

[JewellRavenlock]

[Kairee]

Wolvie writes:

[Maerissa LaeAnna Drakonis]

{editted}
_________________
http://marissadrakonis.livejournal.com/

[LdyBelial]

Jewel Player is right. The title of Governor is Player-Driven and has nothing what so ever to do with the admins, mods or hosts of DM.

I too send kudos to Kitty Player, we didn't have to address this issue when she was Governor. Obviously.

I would like to state that I don't believe in giving any player more authority or control over Rhy'Din than the rest of us have.

I feel that we can each individually choose how we play off of, (or not), the governor.

I understand that lately there has been a lot of frustration and helplessness abounding and people naturally want to do something to regain the control they feel has been lost. I get it. I honestly do.

But? Giving anybody the power to step in and "intervene" on anyone else's sls is a bad, bad idea. Once that precedence is set where will it stop?

It is up to each of us individually to determine what we are going to pay attention to. If something upsets, frustrates, angers, creates a helpless feeling? Ignore it. We can only control ourselves, our characters and most of the time our storylines. Outside of that, no one has the right to tell anyone else how they can play, what they can play, or who they can, (or cannot), play with.

Lanette

[Wolvinator]

I fully, and completely understand, that the role of Governor is a player created position. What I meant by the moderator comment, is that the Mods acknowledged it, accepted it, and actually granted the title.

When the governor is logged in to live chat, or the message boards, their name is Purple. The Admins run the election and everything, so thats what I meant by this.

I suppose Belial is right, it is not a position where one could just automatically intervene with someone elses Storyline. But honestly, I feel as though people do get a little too touchy on that subject.

I personally do not see the position as Authority OOC, IC however it is a political position. It's almost like someone getting hired as a City Guard. They aren't necessarily an "authority" but it is their job to prevent criminal acts from taking place.

There seems to be a lot of people that don't like that sort of thing. But then why Roleplay at all? You come to RP with people and engage in interactions, conversations and events... whether they are good or bad. Sure... that doesn't give anyone a free ticket to fully drive head first into your story and totally mess things up, but one would need to understand that people may want to get involved on some level.

Once again, as seem to happen a lot in the RT, I feel as though we're getting slightly off topic here. Hands down, the Governor has no authority, is not a step above any player, and should not be treated as such OOC. And the IC reasoning for it, is to promote Storylines amongst those that wish to play alongside it. At least thats how I see it.

[Kairee]

[Wolvinator]

Seems that there is a serious level of misunderstanding here.

I see the Governor as how a Governor should be IC. Whatever I am saying in regards to authority or anything of that nature, it is STRICTLY IC.

Again, I say... OOC... it means absolutely nothing. All I am saying is that the Admins are acknowledging the position, so it must exist. The position is not an Admin, or a Moderator. The Governor, OOC or IC cannot force anyone to do anything they don't want to do. I fully and completely understand that.