Demipharaoh Debate 2016 01

DP Debate Format Tale VII - 4th DP Election, Sunday, January 17 2016, 3PM EST/20:00 UTC

The debate provides an opportunity for DP candidates to express their opinions on issues relevant to Egypt's population, so responding to questions from citizens is important. However, due to the nature of the Egypt-wide chat channels, it can be difficult to express coherent responses due to interrupting comments. Also, a one or two minute time limit for answers doesn't always allow enough time for a thorough, thoughtful response.

For this debate there will be two parts:

• Normal question and answer, like we have now. But limited to perhaps 7-9 questions.
• Pre-answered questions.

The way the pre-answered questions would work is this:

• Two or three days prior to the debate, an announcement is made that questions may be submitted for the debate. The questions must be posted to a web page designated, e.g. Third DP Debate Questions.
• Each candidate is instructed to identify 3 questions from those submitted as "Accepted" and prepare answers for them prior the debate.
• Answers to the accepted questions will be submitted to the moderator at the start of the debate.

The actual debate might be structured thus:

• Opening remarks from each candidate.
• One question from the audience.
• While the candidates are preparing an answer to the first question, the first of the pre-answered questions and answers can be posted. That will allow the candidates time to work on their answers to the question from the audience. Candidates have 7 Pluri-minutes from the time question is posted to answer.
• Repeat that, alternating between live audience questions and pre-answered questions.
• Closing remarks.

Question List

The candidates will be selecting up to Three questions each. The candidates have agreed to answer all of the questions selected by either candidate, and will prepare those answers prior to the debate. If you question is not selected, you can always submit it during the debate for possible inclusion then. In addition, the moderator may also select a question from the list for the candidates to answer prior to the debate.

Please enter your name and question in the table below.

Your name	Question	Accepted by
John Q. Egyptian	Under what circumstances would you use the ban as DP?	Lukeera / Balthazarr
	If the general consensus of the rest of the DPs were that a person should not be banned, but you felt strongly that they should, what would you do?	Lukeera
	Have you seen any bannable behavior? What would be your approach as a DP to handling the situation?	Balthazarr
	What question would you like to be asked, and why?	Balthazarr
	Have you played ATITD under other names in this tale or past ones, and if so, what were the names you played under?	Balthazarr
	What do you think of the practice of sharing the coordinates to cicada cages?	Lukeera
DaSpozz	What particular qualities do you think you would bring to the table which would compliment Egypt and it's population, that perhaps you feel might be different to other DP's?	Lukeera

Debate Log

Augir: Welcome to the Fourth Debate for Demi-Pharaoh of the 7th Tale of ATITD! For the duration of the debate normal Egypt Today posts will be halted (please use Egyptian Exchange for comments and normal posting during this period) and only debate-appropriate posts will be let through.

Augir: Our candidates for this debate: Ariella and Balthazarr!

Augir: I knew it! nobody is reading hehe

Augir: Our candidates are of course: Lukeera and Balthazarr!!!

Augir: ty for confirmations you are actually reading :)

Augir: For start please tell us more about yourself, how long you've been playing etc. :)

Augir: While you are typing I'll quickly go over how we are running this, our Debate Format:

Augir: http://www.atitd.org/wiki/tale7/Demipharaoh_Debate_2016_01

Augir: I'll post a question ... each candidate will type response, I will post them all at the same time, and then a couple of minutes for follow-up from the audience.

Balthazarr: Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow Egyptians, thank you for joining us for today's debate. I would like to thank Lukeera, my worthy opponent, for joining me here today to answer your questions, I would also like to thank Augir and the Egypt Today microphone guild for hosting this debate. This is my 5th tale. . . I played almost all of T2, all of T3 and a little bit of T4 & T6. My focus has always been on teamwork and helping make Egypt a better place for all of us. I love the camaraderie and teamwork that exist, as well as interacting with players from all over the world; I find this especially fun and rewarding. Working together discovering the little nooks, intricacies and hidden things in the game is quite enjoyable. In every tale I've tended to live in the Southern part of Egypt. . . Upper Nubia, Kush, Meroe & South Egypt. Despite living in the south, I have been involved in activities all over the map. I've been involved with research, public works, public service (Goods Teller, Microphone Owner & Moderator and Pyramids), group worship tests (Vigil, Festival & Pilgrimage leader), group leadership tests (Plantation, Bureau and Cartouche organizer & Mentoring and teaching), group architecture tests (Aqueduct, Mega, Seven Phoenix & Throne of Pharaoh organizer) and many other things I am forgetting ATM.

Balthazarr: Some personal info. . . In T2 & T3 I was married to Sparkle, and we are still friends to this day, and we often talk on Skype. T6 & T7 I am married to MissBarbara, and we also Skype. In every tale I have been on Skype, TeamSpeak, Mubble, Discord or whatever VOIP option players liked to use at the time. I love talking with people, and will always take the opportunity to talk rather than type if possible. I am a full tale pre-pay, so I will not be disappearing. I have made oracle in each tale that I played except T4, and plan to be an oracle this tale. Never been super concerned about leading a monument, BUT have always aggressively worked to make sure that the monuments get done. This tale I have focused on these following things. . . Research, both in SE and making contributions in other regions. . . Public Works, again in SE as well as other regions. . . Group activities, Vigil, Aqueduct, Bureaucrat, Messenger and other activities. . . Just being helpful, I am happy to Salvage (Level 7), lay out Gearboxes, Treat Boards and Metals all done without charge. . . Teach. . . Glazier's Bench technics, Gearbox Layout, Treat Boards and Metals, or just about anything I know anything about.

Balthazarr: I have had laws passed in in T7 and T2, and will probably try to write another one this tale (I have a few possible laws brewing in my head ATM), as well as help others write laws. I think the role of Demi-Pharaoh should essentially be the role of any responsible player, DP or not DP, that being that any responsible player can help make the game a happier and better place for all of us. To that end helping to resolve disputes and mediate conflicts can be done by anyone DP or not. I have helped resolve conflicts regardless of if a DP was available or not. Everyone should consider taking a roll in resolving conflicts between other players and help to make the game better for all of us. Egypt is a huge place there is room for everyone here. To get into childish squabbles over things is pretty much a foolish thing to do. There is always some level of conflict between people who have different points of view but as I stated before Egypt is a large place and you do not need to do things with people that you cannot get along with. If negotiation and conflict resolution cannot resolve the differences between players they should consider possibly not doing the same things together at the same time or living as next-door neighbors. We are all here to have a good time, So let's all try to be friends and to work together.

Lukeera: I have been here off and on since T3. I was a DP in T3-5. I am terrible at making speeches. I like to do a bit of everything, but chatting about pretty much anything under the sun is my favorite in game activity. I live in South Carolina, but I tend to keep very long and/or odd hours for an east coast US player. Not really sure what anyone would find interesting :P

Augir: Thanks! Now it's time for live Q/A

Augir: Q1: What do you think of situations where a DP was elected un-contentionally (as in, there were no other consenus DP groups except the one)?

Balthazarr: It would be a shame if only one candidate was elevated to the finals. Maybe if only one candidate was elevated Pluribus could add a none of the above or nobody option. This would give the players and option to decide whether or not they wanted the solo candidate to become a DP rather then the two groups, one of which deadlocked, to decide the fate of the rest of us. I for one would be curious to know why the one of the groups deadlocked and could not come up with a consensus of who to elevate.

Lukeera: I think it is a little sad when we have no general election, but the purpose of the groups is to choose a candidate that the individual group wants to put forward. If that isn't possible, then it is the way it goes ad perhaps should be. I do worry a little about the apathy in some DP groups. I feel that at least some weight should be placed on selecting trustworthy people when they could in theory capriciously execute our fellow Egyptians.

Lukeera: I generally refuse to deadlock a group if I can prevent it simply because it ends the conversation, and I feel that the conversation whether you agree with the viewpoints or not is always worthwhile.

Augir: If anyone have follow-up questions to candidates I am waiting 30 sec before posting next question

Augir: Q2: How would you handle it, as DP, if you were involved in an interpersonal conflict with another player? On a related note, how would you handle it if a close personal friend or guildmate made a complaint, or had a complaint made against them, and were seeking your intervention as DP and possibly a ban?

Balthazarr: Regardless of who was involved I would try to settle the dispute, And involve other players including DPs in trying to resolve the problem. I would never use the I am DP you have to listen to me kind of threat, If I was one of the people involved in the complaint. That would be totally wrong to threaten someone to bend to your will when they have a problem with you. In general having more people trying to talk it out and come up with a positive solution for everyone is better then unilaterally trying to force your point of view on anyone.

Lukeera: If I cannot be impartial, then I will not make a ruling, take a side, and certainly won't use a ban. Even if it is just a perception issut, if the involved parties cannot or will not trust me, then it is not my place to enforce my opinion or ruling on them.

Augir: Q3, When you come across a large camp eligible for DPAing, what do you do? What if there are more people there than just you waiting for the timer to click over allowing ownership?

Augir: While the candidates are preparing an answer to the question I will post first Q/A from prepared questions

Augir: Prepared Q/A: Have you seen any bannable behavior? What would be your approach as a DP to handling the situation?

Balthazarr: A: Other than GeoGuy, I have seen no banable behavior in T7. People have called for bans of players who have seized bureaus or jumped Obi queues, but neither of these are banable offenses, these actions are part of a test mechanic, even though in many cases they're socially frowned upon. In many cases discussion and compromise can resolve the situation in which people think that someone else should be banned.

Lukeera: *Have you seen any bannable behavior? What would be your approach as a DP to handling the situation?* The only banworthy event that I have seen so far this Tale is the Geodude pure griefing. I think Pascalito and the AGA handled that quite nicely. The AGA is a most excellent tool for dealing with the issue of having to chase someone down to ban them.

Augir: Live Q3 again and Candidates answers:

Augir: Q3, When you come across a large camp eligible for DPAing, what do you do? What if there are more people there than just you waiting for the timer to click over allowing ownership?

Balthazarr: Wow, I have yet to DPA anything this tale and rarely DPAed in prior tales. DPA is a law and therefore part of the tale and to salvage things of people who are gone just cleans up the game for the rest of us. Since I'm not a big DPA person, I would either just move along and let them have it, or offered to do the salvage for them since I have salvage level 7 and more stuff will be collected. In any case getting into a fight over a handful of materials would just be very foolish from my point of view. Just as a side note if you want to control who gets your stuff in the event that you stop playing, You should either guild it before you leave, or make sure that you have a Last Will and Testament recipient selected under your Special Menu.

Lukeera: DPA is always a situational thing. If there is any hope of the person/guild returning, I like to try to preserve their things for them. In the case of public works, I will make a concerted effort to keep things intact for continued public use. If there are others around, then perhaps have a nice chat about intentions and who has the cornerstoens available to preserve things. I have done joint DPA's in the past that went really well.

Augir: Q4, How many mentor shrines have you consecrated (not built by your alts)?

Lukeera: Ion was not a minion yet when his was built, but since he barely played beyond that point as himself, the answer is zero. I am terrible about even remembering that the things exist. Mentoring has little to do with the little shriney things, and I tend to think of it as just being me, not so much as mentoring being a seperate thing.

Balthazarr: In this tale so far none. I have never asked for mentor shrine from anyone, And have only ever gotten them when a person I have helped has asked me about them and whether or not they should give one to me. I have never bought or traded for a mentor shrine.

Lukeera: *What question would you like to be asked, and why?* Questions create dialogue, dialogue creates a relationship no matter how tenuous, relationship can blossom into friendship, new ideas, new ways of thinking. I don't know what questions I might want to be asked until I am asked. I am very partial to "How are you today?" though. When asked with genuine interest in the answer it is one of the most powerful questions.

Augir: that was prepare q/a from Lukeera

Balthazarr: Q: What question would you like to be asked, and why?

Balthazarr: A: The question that I always ask in DP finals I am not a finalist in. . . Since many of you have played for many tales I am curious who was your first mentor and what did they do to help you to become so in love in this game that you have now played for so long? Is there any particular attribute or skill they imparted upon you that really sticks in your memory? Even if the candidate is someone I know very well, I am unlikely to have known how he or she got their start in the game unless I happened to be their mentor. I find it interesting to know a little of the background of the players and how they got their start.

Augir: and prepared q/a from Balthazarr

Augir: Q5, "When are you going to ban another player?"

Lukeera: I don't have any plans to ban anyone. I prefer to not ban anyone. I can't really give a time table for that one. When is whoever asked that question going to start hemming someone's cp's in woodplanes and apiaries while taunting Egypt about wanting to be banned? That could narrow it down a bit :)

Balthazarr: I have never banned a player, and I have been a DP in several tales prior to T7, as well as having access to MANY other DPs accounts, in every tale I have played, except T4. I have not even been part of the end of tale create a funny named trial just to ban them that often happens in the last few days of the telling. I take the ban very seriously and would only ever ban someone under extreme circumstances, and I doubt I would do so unilaterally and without discussion with the community and other DPs.

Lukeera: Yendor is the only person with access to his account to the best of my knowledge. I trust him implicitly to not abuse the ability to use my avatar in any situation including the use of the ban.

Augir: Q6, Spouselog allows access to ban powers. Do you know who have access to your spouse account?

Augir: Lukeera answer is just before the question, my bad

Balthazarr: I have never shared my password with anyone, other than my spouse ever. And MissBarbara has not shared her password with anyone other than me. I must have some form of precognition, since I actually this question a couple days ago of MissBarbara to make sure that she had not shared her password with anyone. At this point in T7 I actually do not have her PW, nor does she have mine, as there was no need after we were married.

Augir: Q7, What would you do if you came across a player that was being a "problem" and there were no other DP's around to discuss with. What would you do?

Lukeera: It rather depends on the definition of "problem." We are very fortunate that there are few concerns that are absolutely immediate in this or any game. Those that would be an immediate issue generally fall outside the scope of a DP and in the range of call Pluribus.

Lukeera: However if the question is intended to lean more toward whether or not I am willing to act unilaterlally if it was appropriate, then yes, I am willing to act unilaterally at need and bear any consequences of my decisions.

Balthazarr: One of the first things I always do is to /info the parties involved, prior to doing pretty much anything else. From their information you can see what guilds they overlap in and perhaps figure out which mutual friends of theirs could also be helpful in mediating the problem. If there was no guild overlap or no mutual friends, seeking out reasonable people that know each of the parties individually is useful in helping to mediate the dispute. Legacy DPs, especially early in the tale can also be a useful resource. In any case I'm unlikely to unilaterally make a decision other than a short temporary ban, and would never use a permanent ban unilaterally.

Augir: Q8, How do you feel about players abusing the 24h free-to-play by creating an abnormal amount of alts for storage?

Augir: Whle we are waiting for answers another prepared Q/A from Lukeera:

Lukeera: *Have you played ATITD under other names in this tale or past ones, and if so, what were the names you played under?* Lukeera has always been my main. This Tale, I have Ion as a minion. Anzadi is a past minion. I have occasionally used other people's accounts upon their request for a specified purpose like feeding their scarabs. I feel rather strongly that people should know who they are talking to, so I always make it clear when I am a Fake Yendor, etc.

Augir: and prepared answer to same question from Balthazarr:

Balthazarr: A: My primary account has always been Balthazarr. I have always had an alt or 2. My first "alt" was Snugs, who actually was a real person whose account I started paying for when he was unable to, but over time he lost interest in the game and since I had paid for the account I use it after he stopped playing. Last tale I created Baltharina when I thought I might have to marry and alt rather then another player.

Balthazarr: Quick, follow up to that question. . . In prior tales I've also had access to multiple accounts primarily for taking care of camp chores while someone has been on holiday, or to do festival sacrifices for them when they were unable to be on time for the scheduled festival time.

Augir: Q8 again and answers from both candidates:

Augir: Q8, How do you feel about players abusing the 24h free-to-play by creating an abnormal amount of alts for storage?

Lukeera: I didn't know that was a thing, but as I understand it, any unpaid alt is violating the terms of service and essentially theft of service. That falls under Pluribus' auspices, not a DP's. I am not in favor of exploiting in any form.

Balthazarr: Having more than one unpaid trial account at a time is breaching the terms of service. If you get caught, the first time you'll probably get a warning. The second time you're apt to have all of your accounts banned by Pluribus. I do not approve of such uses of a trial account but so long as you only have only one and you are not breaching the terms of service then it is up to you to decide how you wish to use your trial account. It is sort of an ethical question, And each person needs to decide where is there beliefs are. I for one have never used a trial account for unlimited size Storage.

Augir: anyone with questions to the candidates please post them in Egypt Today

Augir: Q9, Please briefly describe the kind of work you've done this telling to help the people of Egypt.

Balthazarr: This tale I have focused on these following things. . . Research, both in SE and making contributions in other regions. . . Public Works, again in SE as well as other regions. . . Group activities, Vigil, Aqueduct, Bureaucrat, Messenger and other activities. . . Just being helpful, I am happy to Salvage (Level 7), lay out Gearboxes, Treat Boards and Metals all done without charge. . . Teaching. . . Glazier's Bench technics, Gearbox Layout, Treat Boards and Metals, or just about anything I know anything about. Plus Written a Law, Opened several Tests, Donated mats to Cooking Research, Been a Mic Mod, all while not getting enough sleep and forgetting other things I probably helped with as well. Only passes 5 tests, sorry if I have not helped your Prophet prediction, yet. :-)

Lukeera: I think the broadest impact item I have worked on this Tale is the mic guild. The mic fell into my lap by a stroke of good fortune, and it has been an ongoing focus of my energy to make sure we are staffed and the rules are reasonable. It takes more work than most people realize and I am thankful every day for Augir, Maata, and our awesome mod crew!

Lukeera: I also work on research and group projects like the aqueducts, but my personal style is usually more of a one on one make someone's day happier or easier level. Much like mentoring not feeling like a seperate thing, cooking meals, hosting digs, lending tools, throwing whatever I have at whatever project someone needs it for is more of just my day to day play than something I really consider a "contribution to the people of Egypt."

Augir: and we have time for one (only one posted in ET) question from audience:

Kalmkitty: As DP do you think you should share your password? Do you think a DP should have access to other DP accounts?

Balthazarr: I have never shared my password with anyone other then my current spouse, who had access to me and the ban anyway, via spouce logging. Both of my wives, Sparkle (T2 & T3) and MissBarbara (T6 & T7) have also been DPs in their own right. That is the question for each DP to answer on their own. I have never given my password to anyone else in this game DP or not other then my current spouse. No one has my PW at this time, nor will anyone be getting it this tale. In past tales I have been given the password of over 9 or 10 different sitting DPs, I can only assume that they trusted me enough that I would not do anything stupid or foolish while logged in as them. Additionally, I have never used anyone's account for whom I have had access to for any purpose other than specifically spelled out by them.

Lukeera: I am not comfortable sharing access to my avatar with many other people. My spouse is pretty much the end of my list. I cannot think of a reason that any other DP should need access to my account, and sharing passwords risks the spread of that password to people other than the intended recipient.

Augir: and we are out of time Closing Statements from both Candidates please

Balthazarr: Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow Egyptians, thank you for tuning into the debate. I would like to thank Lukeera, my worthy opponent, for joining me here today to answer all of the questions, I would also like to thank Augir and the Egypt Today microphone guild for hosting this debate. Both Lukeera and myself have been Demi-Pharaohs in prior tales, so there really is no bad choice. I would very much appreciate the opportunity to be a Demi-Pharaoh again. I pledge to be here for the balance of the tale and to continue to do the Good Works, Teaching & Mentoring, Research and Group Organizing that I have done in the past. This is only the forth election of the tale. Each individual brings a different set of skills and talents to the table, please consider what I have done in the past and what I will be doing in the future. The end goal here is to have a wonderful T7 where we can all work together, be happy and build seven (or more) monuments to give us new tests for T8. I am at your and Egypt's service. Thank you for your support. :-)

Lukeera: Thank you to everyone that takes the time to participate in the DP process from the first round groups to those reading through all of this and walking over to a voting booth to take a moment to use their voice. If anyone has any more questions for Balth or myself, I am sure we'd be happy to answer them. And for those that are inclined, we are both frequently on one or more of the voice chat servers for atitd, so come chat with us!

Augir: Thanks to both candidates and our audience, this DP Debate will be posted on the WIKI soon.