Parliamentary Elections for Reddit

Parliamentary Elections on the 2020 Virtual Political Forum

A virtual political game mirroring the upcoming parliamentary elections here on Reddit. Think of the Reddit platform as our own sovereign nation, where we elect representatives to manage the state of the Forum.

To found a party, you need a leader, three members, some sympathizers, and a platform of at least 100 words (you decide the exact numbers). Founding a party is free. Anyone can do it just by starting a thread listing the party name, leader, members, and program. A statute is optional.

We’ll open up a new subforum where parties can pitch their platforms and debate with the voters. We'll also have separate threads for leader showdowns regarding the core issues of the Forum.

Some potential party names come to mind—Right to Moderate, I Love Reddit, KGK coalitions (Coronavirus-Music-Literature), Democratic Party (Sapunice-Spirituality-Psychology), Love and Sex for Everyone, Banned and Cardboarded, We Can But We Won't...

It’s a game, to be clear, because we all know there isn't any democracy on Reddit (we use a much more advanced system—enlightened absolutism😬). But even if it's just a game, the results could impact life on the Forum. After all, we have elections for the forum council, the creative department😉, and whatever other bodies we dream up. These elections also serve as an introduction to candidates running for those roles. Keep in mind that thanks to our unique system, even a small, smart party can exert significant influence over how the Forum develops and is run.

How will voting work? Through public polls within each party's specific thread. You can vote for multiple parties. Since election fraud is totally predictable anyway, the actual numbers don't matter—only the names do. 🙂

The game runs until the real national elections are over.

Lay your objections, additions, and comments on me.

We could move all the political party discussions over to pre-election rallies across the entire Reddit. 😁

This thread is basically doing a tour of the subforums to announce the elections. It originally started over at the PŽK. It spent a few hours hanging out in the Coronavirus subforum. Now, here we are.

Think about it... Build your own parties. Sign up. The very fate of this forum is on the line. 😁

Do you think this is actually going to have any kind of impact on the folks on the forum who really just want to stay far away from all the political drama...

swiftgull4 said:Do you think this is actually going to have any kind of impact on the folks on the forum who really just want to stay far away from all the political drama...

Theoretically, yeah. You know how it goes—if you don't deal with politics, politics will deal with you. 😁

I feel like the first step in this whole game is just realizing what you actually want. Everything starts there. Even the subtitle of this subforum recently changed to: Wish for it, and it shall happen.

If you're happy with things as they are? Then it won't matter at all. 😉

Well, I guess that isn't exactly the best kind of policy, but hey, it doesn't really matter...
Thanks so much for getting back to me!

I feel like my post is coming off as negative right now, which totally wasn't my intention at all... I was honestly just wondering if I should be bracing myself for what's coming or not 😁. I really don't care for politics and would much rather not have it bleeding into our discussions here on the forum either 😁
. But hey, if everyone else is enjoying the topic, then fine by me! Those who aren't just going to have to deal with it
.
But seriously, why does it always have to be about politics? 😁 😁

It’s all just a game. A big joke about politics. Let's just parody the whole system.

Who actually likes politics or politicians? Nobody sane does. 😁

Alright, Creative Department, let's see what you've got! 😁

Is it actually possible to form political parties based strictly on nationalistic, religious, or regional identities? :kripto-radikal:

I'm announcing the coalition, and we’re getting ready to unveil it soon.
☕

Right now, there's some internal fighting over who leads which party within the coalition, but don't worry, everything is under control. ☕

The only thing everyone actually agreed on was the agenda.☕

Wait, was that dark-haired lady with Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's hairstyle ever actually in power?😬?

If she wasn't, then this will be.🥳🤣

Just kidding. Maria Barnes, I think this is a great idea. It might actually be fun to see the forum users playing at being unserious politicians. Honestly, even us serious forum regulars could probably drop down to their level for once. 😳

Time to go work.🥳

I’m firmly in favor of maintaining the status quo here. In fact, I’d probably establish a forum version of the CIA just to shut down any attempts at peasant uprisings.

And since you brought up enlightened absolutism, I think Nice would make a perfect empress of this forum, with me serving as her advisor. To those little peasant revolts, I’d simply whisper, "If they have no bread, tell them to eat cake—then we'll just throw them off the balcony."

Draft application for starting a new political party

The SDN program party: A movement of good intentions

Our platform—here is what we’re fighting for:

• Mandatory Sundays off for all moderators.
• An organized upbringing and better mentorship for the forum's younger users.
• A "Survival School" specifically for navigating this Forum.
• A mandatory netiquette exam for everyone; fail it, and you're sent back to training.
• Establishing an Institute for History and a Forum Museum. We will dive into the hidden depths of our past and restore those legendary old threads.
• Reviving dead subforums, starting with everything in the New York City area.

Area of operation: The entire Forum.

Our slogans: Let’s flip this Forum upside down together. For a more humane and civilized Forum. And yes, cartoons are for people too.

If you're interested in joining, speak up below. List your favorite subforums and feel free to add your own ideas to the platform.

Maria Barnes said:Parliamentary Elections on the 2020 Virtual Political Forum

A virtual political game mirroring the upcoming parliamentary elections here on Reddit. Think of the Reddit platform as our own sovereign nation, where we elect representatives to manage the state of the Forum.

To found a party, you need a leader, three members, some sympathizers, and a platform of at least 100 words (you decide the exact numbers). Founding a party is free. Anyone can do it just by starting a thread listing the party name, leader, members, and program. A statute is optional.

We’ll open up a new subforum where parties can pitch their platforms and debate with the voters. We'll also have separate threads for leader showdowns regarding the core issues of the Forum.

Some potential party names come to mind—Right to Moderate, I Love Reddit, KGK coalitions (Coronavirus-Music-Literature), Democratic Party (Sapunice-Spirituality-Psychology), Love and Sex for Everyone, Banned and Cardboarded, We Can But We Won't...

It’s a game, to be clear, because we all know there isn't any democracy on Reddit (we use a much more advanced system—enlightened absolutism😬). But even if it's just a game, the results could impact life on the Forum. After all, we have elections for the forum council, the creative department😉, and whatever other bodies we dream up. These elections also serve as an introduction to candidates running for those roles. Keep in mind that thanks to our unique system, even a small, smart party can exert significant influence over how the Forum develops and is run.

How will voting work? Through public polls within each party's specific thread. You can vote for multiple parties. Since election fraud is totally predictable anyway, the actual numbers don't matter—only the names do. 🙂

The game runs until the real national elections are over.

Lay your objections, additions, and comments on me.

Are pre- and post-election coalitions allowed? Or things that aren't principled, like the Love and Sex for Everyone Equally and We Can But Won't!
?

Introducing our ticket for the forum elections:

PENIS - The Movement of Blatantly Independent and Free Souls

The core pillars of the PENIS party platform:

• Declaring the homework assignment a national cultural treasure and establishing the NDF (the super-forum) for the homework assignment
• Digging up every single bone in the archives—the absolute truth at last!
  Giving Maria Barnes a seat on the PŽK and appointing her as the lead moderator for both the Kokošinjac and Alternative sectionsImplementing a tier of super-moderators whose sole purpose in life will be to discipline the current moderators Making trolling perfectly legalEstablishing Forum Day as an official national holiday Legalizing the official greeting:
• Ready for the forum!

We’ll roll out the full, gritty details once the elections are officially called, at which point we’ll introduce the
PENIS party executive committee along with the candidates who actually intend to make this forum a slightly less exhausting place to exist. 👍

Ready for the forum!

Following the recent decision by the party executive committee regarding the PENIS, we are releasing the full statement here:

The Reddit forum election commission is basically mocking democracy at this point. We demand that elections be called within 48 hours and that a formal declaration be pinned right at the top of the forum thread leading to this topic. We want to make it crystal clear to everyone that the sneaky little spins being pulled by the current forum leadership PENIS aren't flying under the radar anymore. If the users aren't granted the illusion of democracy as soon as humanly possible, we'll have no choice but to withdraw from the race and organize a coup.

PS: I'm not taking any responsibility for that PDF fire that broke out last night, but if things don't improve, you can bet there will be plenty more where that came from.

The party executive committee PENIS

READY FOR THE FORUM!

In the spirit of election season, I’m thinking about starting my own party, the HFS (American Forum Sovereignists).

Here’s our quick program:
1. Total sovereignty—we’ll comment freely and independently (makes sense, since we call ourselves Sovereignists, right?)
2. Minimal moderator interference—unless someone is actually being abusive
3. Scraping the "trolling" penalties—most of those were just used to target people with different opinions anyway
4. A new way to pick moderators and making their actions much more transparent
5. Paying top users for their activity, free shows for all members, 100,000 new jobs, and finally finishing the Pelješac Bridge and the Sljeme Cable Car (hey, if we're going to stick to typical pre-election promises and such 😁).

The party will operate across the entire forum, and anyone who wants to join (or, well, anyone we decide we want) is welcome. Feel free to sign up where the membership section is already set up—and don't worry, there's no membership fee 😁. Our slogan: Sovereign—for a better forum.

Welcome, fellow comrades from the HFS! I’m looking forward to a fair campaign, those predictably heated debates, and the inevitable post-election coalitions our sovereignist parties will likely scramble to form!

For the Forum Ready!

Adam Doyle63 said:Welcome, fellow comrades from the HFS! I’m looking forward to a fair campaign, those predictably heated debates, and the inevitable post-election coalitions our sovereignist parties will likely scramble to form!

For the Forum Ready!

Just you wait until the dirty campaign starts—then I’ll pull out those posts from 2006 where you were praising squirrels and begging for a badger extermination. 😁

Christian Myers said:Just you wait until the dirty campaign starts—then I’ll pull out those posts from 2006 where you were praising squirrels and begging for a badger extermination. 😁

I honestly believe that if we want this forum to actually survive, we’re going to have to look past all these petty ideological divides and just get along for the greater good.

😬

What do you think about moving this straight to the top of Reddit?

Or should we just stay here and split the power in secret? 😁

Maria Barnes said:What do you think about moving this straight to the top of Reddit?

Or should we just stay here and split the power in secret? 😁

The looming dread of the Alternative and that whole damn chicken coop mess. 😬 🤣

I don't know much about the technicalities of the forum leader's position, but if things stay exactly like this, we could easily strike a deal between the National Liberals from the penis and the Sovereignists, given how many common threads exist in our programs, and you'll find yourself sent straight to the coop before you know it.

We desperately need some kind of Forum Workers Front or a Forum SRP to step up and start demanding fewer rights for us users and way more authority for the state forum administration. Someone please give me a lead. 🙂

Well, it’s not like you guys couldn't have just pinned an announcement to the top of the Reddit page or something, but clearly, I only realized that after the fact, so I suppose it doesn't really matter where this thread ends up anyway; I guess we'll just wait for a few more socialist parties to show up so we can finally get this debate started. 🎉