The South PacificBoard

Hello, Somyrion. Let's start with a nice and simple question - how are you?

Well, I'm usually not a terribly emotive person, so I'd just respond 'good' and be done with it! But to be a little fuller with my answer, I'm currently upbeat but a little tired and annoyed at myself for not getting more done today.

I hope you will be feeling happier soon. The Cabinet elections ended about two weeks ago. What do you think of our new Cabinet?

At the beginning of the Cabinet election period, I was honestly a little worried about what this Cabinet would look like, what with Omega unexpectedly stepping back from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and so on. But it quickly turned out that my concerns didn’t matter, because we ended up with an absolutely amazing Cabinet. I could speak to each minister’s virtues at some length — Nakarisaune’s common sense and even hand, Erinor’s inviting tone and well-thought-out plans, Qvait’s inquisitiveness and consensus-building, and Fihami’s smart enthusiasm and goals. I’ll say that I wish I had been able to serve in a Cabinet this awesome in one of my terms as a minister. I’m glad that all the members of this Cabinet are committed to embracing defenderism, and I have every bit of confidence that they will continue to make TSP a stronger, more enjoyable, and more welcoming place. All South Pacificans should share that confidence.

As the new Cabinet begins, your second term of delegacy nears its end. What have you enjoyed most as the Delegate so far?

I’ve enjoyed the little things most, I think. The day-to-day job of Delegate isn’t naturally very interesting — in fact, it’s almost easy to forget about it sometimes, except for remembering to endorse daily and making sure to talk at least a bit on multiple of TSP’s platforms. So the most enjoyable bits are the unexpected highlights that aren’t a typical part of the job. Some of the telegrams I’ve received as the delegate have been exceptionally funny (kudos to the Great Parkguinius for definitely the best telegrams). I’ve enjoyed lightheartedly ‘appointing’ players to different ridiculous jobs in the Delegate’s Biscuit Distribution Centre. I also can’t deny that seeing TSP’s endorsement numbers go up so quickly during the Drewpocalypse was quite a thrill, even if I really had very little role in making it happen.

What impact do you think you've left on the region?

In general or specifically as Delegate?

As Delegate.

I don't often think about what specific legacy I want to leave or effect I want to have on the region, so this is a hard question. As I play this game and do things in this region, I think more about how I can join in on an effort to push something along in a direction I think it should go than about what change I want to effect myself from conception to completion. When some people campaign for an office, they make sure to develop an overarching theme around which to structure their goals. When I campaigned for Delegate, neither time did I have any such theme. I had lots of little ideas about how things should go in each area I thought was important, but I didn't set out to have a clear and cohesive impact as Delegate.

Yet, while thinking over my terms as Delegate a couple days ago, I realized that in fact they have had sorts of themes -- themes that only become clear in retrospect. My first term was all about developing our WA presence from the perspective of endorsements and SWAN; my second term focused on developing our WA presence from the perspective of voting and OWL. It's certainly not exactly how I had planned for things to turn out; not the themes I would've imagined when writing my campaigns either time. But those themes may well be my "impact" on the region: after all, a legacy is really just the theme of what actually happened.

So, if the impact of Erinor's delegacy before me was to prove that the South Pacific could be a leader in the WA and that previously unthinkable WA achievements were thinkable, I guess I would say that my impact has been to make that previously unthinkable not only thinkable, but typical. I hope that my time as the delegate has developed our WA presence so that, forever in the future, delegates are not just applauded for, but expected to be super-active tarters and engaged WA voters.

What do you like most about TSP?

Well, I think what I like most about TSP is definitely, unsurprisingly, our community. I've often had a hard time finding a community to fit into in real life, so I appreciate that especially greatly. From passionate political debating to conlanging to endlessly rehashing voting methods, TSP is truly a unique place and I feel uniquely comfortable here. It's the people I know here, whom I enjoy working with and hearing from, who make me love TSP.

But I'd also be remiss not to mention one aspect of TSP in the present moment that I especially like: we're number two. (In endorsements, in an active WA department, etc., that is.) I've always felt there's something special about second place -- all the benefits of being at the top without the baggage of the number one position. In TSP's case, it means we're not resting on our laurels right now in any respects. We've made great strides, but as number two in the world we still have something big to work for. We're still in a position of transit, striving to reach progressive goals, rather than floating aimlessly with no clear target. We know we can be the best, so we're driven to make our versions of things -- SWAN, OWL, etc. -- even better than anything any other region has done. It's the enterprising spirit of an ambitious new player who knows they're almost there but can't stop working yet. I think that mindset has benefited TSP greatly and continues to do so. I hope that my successor in the delegacy keeps up that striving spirit. As I wrote in my campaign for delegate last January, it's all about continuous upwards motion.

TSP’s heartwarming community is a favourite to most, but it is interesting to see that you also like the ‘second place’ aspect.. What advice would you give to future Delegates?

Don't let yourself slack off. It's something I've been guilty of myself a few too many times. Unlike a Cabinet position, where there are often clear measures of the work you're doing in your ministry server or the content you've created and published, the delegacy is very self-contained, and as a result requires a lot of self-motivation. The position is what you make of it, and you're the main person holding yourself to account. There are no structural expectations beyond simply sitting on the seat, only the weight of precedent from previous delegates. If you want to take the initiative and set up a WA event of some sort, that's great, but no one will really complain if it doesn't go through because you don't have to make that specific thing happen to be a good delegate. All that means that if you do want to make something successful, whether it's keeping up your endotarting or constantly relaying government messages to the RMB, you have to hold your own self to account. You have to not let yourself slide, just like the Assembly wouldn't let the Minister of Military Affairs slide if they didn't carry out any military operations for a week or two. That's something it took me a while to realize I had to do, and I think future delegates would do well to keep it in mind from day one, as they plan what they want to do in the position.

Before we sign off, we must ask the most important question of them all. Cake or pie?

Biscuits.

Thank you for your time.

Aumeltopia has served TSP well and we’ll all miss him as the Delegate. He believes TSP is going to be left in strong and capable hands. Over his term he has done many things, but most importantly, he has helped the biscuits rise up against the Cakeitalists and the Pieletariet.