Discovery Gaming Community

.::Incoming Transmission::.
Message to : Whom it May Concern
Comm ID: Yev Lightwing, Shipmaster, (]c[)
Location: Freeport 15, Omicron 74

Ahoy. Anybody here besides Miss Silvan, still alive?

Incoming Transmission
Comm ID: Aurelia Silvan

Yes, they are. However, I'm sure you understand that with the events of these past few days, a response may be some time in coming. Not to mention the fact that they also need time to discuss this amongst themselves and form an opinion on your proposal. If I'm not mistaken, it's been over a week since I heard anything from the Alliance about the proposal I sent to you..

We don't discuss everything on these communications, we prefer doing our discussions in the manner of a caucas, not a republican government. We may take some time to come to a decision, more than it takes three 'leaders' to do so, but in our opinions, that decision is a more valid one that encompasses everyone's opinions.
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*picks up head*



I am here, what the hell do you want.

Comm ID: Mirko von der Lippe

I am still alive too, if that is a question.

' Wrote:.::Incoming Transmission::.

Who would be in charge of approving applications?
At this time, TAZ would be in charge of overviewing applications for Aquilons, ZTC would do the same for Juggernauts. If the motion for a Security Committee passes, there is a chance (if the majority supports it) that SC will oversee these applications as a whole.


Sincerely,
Yev Lightwing

William Ironfoot stands up and speaks to the delegates and the alliance guest speaker, "The first business that needs to be attended to is for the ZA to agree to forming the Security Committee, once this has been agreed upon, it should be the committee's job to police the aquisition and ownership of such powerful vessels. We cannot have seperate groups responsible for different ships and policies, it will only cause confusion."

Ironfoot sits down again.

.::Incoming Transmission::.
Message to : Whom it May Concern
Comm ID: Yev Lightwing, Shipmaster, (]c[)
Location: Freeport 15, Omicron 74

Due to OSI CEO Sam Nichols' recent death, our discussion of the Security Committee proposal has been delayed. We meant to present a response to you this week, but circumstances have other plans in mind.

**Incoming Transmission**
**Comm ID: Captain Trogdor**

Lightwing:

Your proposal strikes me as nothing more than another grab for power on behalf of your factions. I noticed that you left out any mention of the Council being involved in the approval process.

Furthermore, I don't see the point. First of all the very idea that someone is 'buying' one of our capital ships is absurd. No individual person buys a battleship. Battleships are granted to worthy Zoners, or in rare special cases (Where there is always an investigation) to a non-Zoner. One is only promoted to the rank of Zoner Guard and given a badge if they have proven their loyalty to the well-being of the Zoner people. Now if someone is willing to go through that process of building trust and then either betray us or utilize the ship for some inappropriate purpose, I doubt they are going to fill out an application form in such a way that we might be warned beforehand. They'd have to be a complete moron to do so.

The only case where someone can obtain one of our ships without deed-earned approval is by stealing it. And those people certainly aren't going to fill out a form. So again, what's the point?

**Transmission ends**

' Wrote:.::Incoming Transmission::.
Message to : Whom it May Concern
Comm ID: Yev Lightwing, Shipmaster, (]c[)
Location: Freeport 15, Omicron 74

Greets to all delegates of the CoZ,
I hope you are all in good health and are prospering.
Miss Silvan was kind enough to grant me a temperary pass to your communications channel, so I will take this opportunity to be as blunt as possible.

Encyclopedia Galactica has this to say regarding Battleships:
"Battleships are the floating fortresses of space. They are awesome machines of destruction, capable of tearing apart ships of all sizes and glassing entire planets. Carriers are Battleships which exchange some guns for giant hangars and launch tubes capable of unleashing a swarm of fighters and bombers upon their enemies."

Now for countless years our Aquilons and Juggernauts have been purchased without any sort of regulation or even so much as registration. As these are massive weapons of war, a number of Zoners feel that allowing just anyone to waltz into Livadia and purchase a flying fortress poses a security risk. As such, TAZ and ZTC are moving towards mapping out new measures for Zoner Battleship purchase.

1. We would like to encourage everybody who has already purchased a Battleship to register it by filling out a form (stated below).
2. We would like for those who are planning to purchase a Battleship, to fill out the same form and await approval from Pueblo Bonito / Livadia Shipyard.
3. All reviews of the applications would be 100% transparent. Applicants will be able to read all discussions made by the authorized personnel.

Who would be in charge of approving applications?
At this time, TAZ would be in charge of overviewing applications for Aquilons, ZTC would do the same for Juggernauts. If the motion for a Security Committee passes, there is a chance (if the majority supports it) that SC will oversee these applications as a whole.
What will happen to those that do not register?
As of yet, there are no plans to take offensive measures against unregistered Battleships, besides the general "cold shoulder." Naturally, those who purchase these massive, deadly ships will be considered as illegal owners.

Now on a personal note, I would like to see some real consequences against unregistered captains. We are looking at violatile security risks here. But, if the majority of the Zoner community feels there is no harm in just anybody waltzing into Baffin and buying a fortress that can unleash swarms of fighters and bombers from its hangers, then I suppose enforcement will be minimal.

The following are registration/application forms that we currently have in mind.
Example:
What TAZ/ZTC needs from CoZ:
Your support and your thoughts. This is a rather serious matter and yes, we would like for as many captains as possible to register their Battleships. Which is not going to be an easy feat unless as many Zoners as possible provide their support.
Sincerely,
Yev Lightwing

.::Incoming Transmission::.
Message to : Whom it May Concern
Comm ID: Yev Lightwing, Shipmaster, (]c[)
Location: Freeport 15, Omicron 74

We are asking for your support.

If you don't wish to give it, you don't have to.

.::Incoming Transmission::.
Message to : Whom it May Concern
Comm ID: Yev Lightwing, Shipmaster, (]c[)
Location: Freeport 15, Omicron 74


SC proposal response:

Quote:The Security Committee has three duties:

1) The Security Committee will regulate the use of Zoner equipment and ships by non-Zoners. - This is the original duty the SHIZL was created for. All products sold in Baffin to non-Zoners will be regulated by Temporary Autonamous Zoners. All products sold in O-74 to non-Zoners will be regulated by Zoners Consortium.

2) The Security Committee will handle the management of misbehaving Zoners. This includes but is not limited to Zoners attacking other Zoners, Juggernaut commanders causing havok in foreign territories, and so forth. While trouble making Zoners may be removed from factions and organizations they belong to, the Security Committee cannot banish them from the Zoner community as a whole.

3) The Security Committee will participate, and in some cases lead, efforts that benefit fellow Zoners. This is focused on incidents of hostility from ships from other factions against Zoners or Zoner stations. This will also include managing the hostiles list of people who have harmed the Zoners.

The Security Committee will consist of five representatives. The Temporary Autonomous Zoners, the Zoner Council, the Consortium, and Omicron Supply Industries each chose one representative* -- making up 4 seats. The last seat will belong to a Zoner that is not affiliated with any previously stated organization. This fifth member can be Faction-nominated, Council-nominated, Committee-nominated, or self-nominated. This person will be selected by a simple majority vote: all Factions and Council members will vote as one with regards to this seat. The same voting process will take places in regards to removing Committee members and overruling Committee decisions. If a majority vote removes a member, the seat is refilled by the group that owns the seat, but not by the member that was removed.


*Each group must chose its own representative to take a seat in the Committee.

Signed,

Doc Henry Holliday, main Discordian of TAZ
Reisiger Duke, CEO of OSI
Charles Burns, John Boll, Yev Lightwing, the ZTC Board





_________________________________________________________

Supplemental FAQ:

1. Where is the "diplomatic representatives" duty?
We believe that every faction (including CoZ) is responsible for dealing separately with diplomatic issues, even those that are seemingly global. Our neighbors, the Corsairs, work in this matter and we have heard positive feedback in that regard.

2. You went from 11 reps to 5?
Our counter proposal is based on the "Keep It Simple Stupid" theory. Each group gets one representative with an additional rep for keeping the numbers odd and providing a different background that isn't affiliated with the 4 factions. Also, keeping 5 reps active will be cumbersome considering that we all have our own business duties plus personal lives. 11 is an over kill.

3. What happened to the "75% -- 80%" values?
Once more, we adhere to the "Keep It Simple Stupid" theory. There is no need for complicated percentage numbers. The majority gets what the majority wants via popular vote. Allow us to clarify: all ballots will be cast into ONE basket, as per our counter-proposal. The factions will not vote separately.

4. Why no banishing abilities?
We Zoners are not yet a nation. Banning someone from one of the four factions is easy when we have a signed agreement. Banishing someone from the Zoner community seems inappropriate, even for the evil doing Zoners.

5. Where is proportionate representation?
We have thought about a number of ways to tackle this issue, most of which are either too complicated or simply wishful thinking. Keeping rep numbers proportionately based on member activity seems like the best choice. But this idea fails because (one) we would have to constantly revaluate the numbers and (two) defining the meaning of "active" members would be impossible. Would you define it based on the official "registered" numbers, on pre-defined conditions (ex, must be seen in space once every week to be "active"), or something equally cumbersome to keep track of? The only real way to keep the Security Committee 100% proportionate is performing popular votes among all 4 faction members (CoZ, TAZ, OSI, ZTC) on every occasion, which sounds like a world of pain. Giving 1 rep per group is the only option we can think of that won't bury us in paperwork.

6. Did you say that all 5 Committee reps are elected?
Yes, you heard us right. The leader of OSI does not have to be the Security Committee representative for OSI. Same goes for ZTC, TAZ, and CoZ. If someone in the Council of Zoners wants to be the representative, they can do just that, provided that they are elected by the majority of CoZ. If TAZ doesn't want to elect Doc Holliday as their rep, they don't have to.

Incoming Transmission
Comm ID: Aurelia Silvan

As I said before to two of the leader figures in the Consortium, I do not support the proposed revision.

First, I will not support a Security Committee that is ran three-fifths by the factions. It unbalances the entire process. It will make any opinions or decisions by the non-faction Zoners useless as the factions will be able to overrule them whenever they wish to. This was the reason why there was a seat for each faction, one seat for the Council chair, one seat for the Council vice-chair, and six seats open to be nominated by anyone and be accepted on the vote of their peers. In that system there is no bias forced upon the Committee by having the numbers regulated to be slanted in the favor of one 'party.' If we can't have an impartial security committee, then we may as well not have one at all, for it will cause even more problems. If we are to do this, we need to do it right.

Furthermore, I think it highly arrogant of the TAZ and the Consortium to state any ships sold in Baffin and Omicron-74 will be regulated by themselves. If the Order is granted a Juggernaut for example, that affects all Zoners. If the Order takes that Juggernaut into Alaska and starts shooting the Liberty Navy, who will be to blame? Not the Order, but the Zoners. And not one group of Zoners, but all Zoners everywhere will be held as responsible by Liberty for allowing, even indirectly by not speaking out against it, the Order to have that ship in the first place. The way this counter-proposal has stated it, no non-faction Zoners may participate in the regulation of our own ships, which belong to the Zoners, not the factions, while the factions can regulate ships outside of those stations.. How is that fair at all? Furthermore, the Consortium may be in control of Omicron-74, but that does not mean Livadia Shipyards is their sole property.

Speaking as myself and not the Chairperson here; I provided a large percentage of the money that was required to build both Livadia Shipyard and Corinth Research Station out of my pocket. Many other Zoners were contributors as well, both major and minor. To come and claim every ship built at Livadia Shipyard, which is nearly every Zoner ship, is property, and thus regulated, by the Zoner Consortium isn't just absurd, but insulting the generosity and effort of other Zoners. If there is to be regulation, it goes both ways, the factions aren't going to receive special privileges that others don't receive. You may have spent a couple hundred million credits getting governship of Omicron-74, but that is a rather small amount compared to the one and a half billion credits that was needed to construct those stations in the first place. Nor does the Consortium supply Livadia with all the material it needs, or pays for the construction of new ships. Other Zoners do. This is a matter of mutual respect, as well as respect to others who have spent time and effort going towards the production of new ships and the construction of those stations. And a disservice done to Zoners who will have to deal with the repercussions when ships given out to other groups that are not Zoners. I wouldn't feel safe on Bethlehem with an Order-owned Juggernaut out there.

This can not be done by thinking about what's best for one side or the other, but what is best for Zoners as a whole, which is the entire basis for my forwarding the original proposal to the Zoner Alliance.
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