I (rather hesitantly) present to you my platform for Minister of Discussion. I’ve been nominated by a third party, and decided to make it known that personally, I am supporting Night Owl for MoD.

I do not believe that I am the best person for this job, but have decided rather than declining nomination, to let the votes reflect that opinion. There are several reasons for this, the main reason being to display how smart you (the voters) are.

So many of you are very critical and discouraging to the candidates whose ideas are vague. But honestly, do you distrust your other members to the extent that you believe they would help in voting in someone unfit for a ministry?

With that said, I will go ahead and answer the required candidate questions and let you guys decide if I’m really up to the job.

What experience do I have relating to the Minister of Discussion position?

I have adequate leadership skills, mostly fostered by heading group projects, being a moderator here, and watching my five siblings during most week-days. I have also mentored young and pre-teens, who’ve been through parental divorce/alcoholism.

Having experience with many age ranges of kids, I’ve been very concerned lately about the content on the forums. A few years ago I would’ve considered it a completely safe environment for a 10-12 year old. Now however, I could not be coaxed to allow my 11 year old brother on the forums. I have a fairly reasonable idea of what an appropriate level of content is, to maintain the forums family-friendly reputation. But I have no plan of how to implement that.

How much time would I be able to spend performing my duties as Minister of Discussion?

At the moment, I’m in my first year of online college courses, so while I’m flexible — time is still usually tight. I’ve also applied for several jobs lately, and watch my siblings a great deal of the time. The time I’d be able to spend on the forums is minimal. 2-3 hours a week at most is all I could guarantee (despite the fact that I do check the forums a few times a day right now).

What are my ideas to expand or improve the Ministry?

I really have no ideas to expand or improve this Ministry as of yet, because I hadn’t even considered running for it before I was nominated last week.

I know several people have mentioned appointing new moderators, which seems like a good plan — but I’d like to suggest that maybe we have some sort of screening process?

It seems a bit unfair for the Minster of Discussion to be able to appoint whoever his/her best friends are to moderator positions.

Like I said, no real plan…just vague ideas and concerns floating around my brain.

What unique character qualities would I be able to contribute to the Ministry?

I really don’t know that I have any qualities that would make me exceptional at this position. I can be aggressive/authoritative, and have experience enforcing rules and fostering communication. However I can’t say that those are qualities my opponents don’t have.

With that said, you know where I’m coming from. Take it for what it’s worth – and be sure to read over my opponents campaign threads.

Thanks, and enjoy the elections!
-Trill