I am so excited to see the involvment and interest in the most recent developments of brickfilms.com politics. There are some really great candidates, and member suggestions this time; and it seems like you’re all really getting the hang of campaiging, supporting, and enjoying our political system.

There are a few things I’ve noticed that I thought I’d throw a post together to bring to your attention. I’m not criticizing anyone personally, just trying to continue the trend of improving the political system here.

I’d appreciate if you could all take a few minutes to read over these guidelines/suggestions. It will help the members know what kind of feedback to provide, and the candidates to improve their campaigns!

5 Suggestions for Candidates:

1. Be open-minded. So many candidates say “This is what I’m going to do.”

Then, upon gaining suggestions from other members, say “No I don’t like your idea. I said: this is what I’m going to do.” The members are your allies – you are running to represent them. Not to advocate your own agenda for change. Be flexible to new ideas!

2. Be personal. Prove that you’re listening! Address members by their name when you respond to posts. “Thank you for your suggestions.” Also, be sure to list something positive about their suggestion. (Especially if you have criticism for it, as well.) Constantly dissing people’s opinions isn’t going to help your campaign. If you don’t like the suggestion, propose revisions to it! That’s what they’re doing to help your campaign, show them that you’re willing to concede, compromise, and conform. This isn’t a reflection on your personal individuality, it’s a reflection on how well you can listen to your constituents and represent them in your elected position.

3. Avoid weak statements. Saying “I think” and “I feel” in your campaign speech is condescending. (Assume that the reader will know that your campaign speech is your opinion!) It also makes you sound insecure.

4. Name recognition. I cannot stress this to you enough. People are lazy. It’s human nature. No matter how much you encourage people to stay informed, and no matter how well thought out your platform may be – not everyone is going to take the time to read it. Make sure that you get your name out there – connected with a short slogan representing your campaign. That way, when election day comes, the lazy people have *something* besides popularity to go by.

5. Lastly, avoid mudslinging at all costs!! Politics are chaotic enough without pointing fingers and throwing around needless insults. If you can’t run on your own merits, and original ideas – do you really need to be in office? All this tells the forum members is that you’re not considerate, or polite.

5 Ways to Support Brickfilms.com Elections as a Non-Candidate:

1. Stay informed. If you can’t take the time to read over every candidate’s campaign platform, that’s fine. But if that’s the case, don’t vote uninformed. If you know all of the candidates and their ideas for Minister of Film Reviews, but not for Minister of Information, vote for the one you’re informed on. Leave the voting for positions you know nothing about to the informed members. This ensures we get the best men for the job – not just the most popular ones!

2. Be encouraging! The candidates are doing you a favor, taking time out of their lives to try and improve your experience on the forum. Be a little appreciative of that. If the candidate doesn’t have much experience, or is a little young for the position – it’s great to give advice or constructive criticism. Just be sure you aren’t too hard on them, or it’s going to discourage people from wanting to run again.

3. Communicate. It’s frustrating for a candidate to have members constantly saying “I don’t like your stance” but not saying “this is what I would like.” Give them a chance to prove that they’re willing to represent you!

4. Remind other members! Sometimes when glancing over the forums daily, the election forums get overlooked. Keep up the conversation about elections, make sure it’s a hot topic. Bring up the tight competition between two candidates in chat, or send a PM to a couple of friends, with links to the threads of the candidates you support. This will help to make sure everyone stays up-to-date! It will also give you a chance to debate, and think through who would be best for any position. Especially if there’s two very qualified candidates.

5. Be open-minded. Yes, they’re there to represent you. But sometimes the candidates have some great ideas. Even though it may not be how you originally had the position defined in your head, listen and be flexible to new and different ideas, and candidates!

Hopefully, this will help some of you that are having trouble getting seconds for your campaigns. If you have any questions, PM me.

Good luck with the elections, I’ve seen some awesome candidates and ideas.

-Trill