Your Majesty, My Lords, Gentlemen of Hanover:
In recent months I, like other veteran Hanoverians, have sadly observed the gradual sinking of this forum into obscurity and inactivity. As a result of this, I very much suspect that most of the micronational world considers Hanover inactive. If we are honest, however, this is not true: Hanover is alive and well, more active than ever, but the centre of activity has moved from forums like this to His Majesty's colony in Second Life, New Bergen.
It is my humble proposal that, rather than try stubbornly to beat the dead horse of Hanover's forum-based society, the Kingdom should embrace Second Life as her real territory. I have made no secret of my personal distaste for Second Life, but it has proven over several months that it is a viable, even excellent, medium for micronational activities. Every time I read the news blog I see new names, new buildings, and new organizations. Hanover has not seen that level of growth for years, but most of the MN world likely doesn't know it!
I suggest that we give this forum and its status as the real centre of Hanover an honourable death. We had some great times here: Wyatt and I battling in the Congress of Bergen, the glories of the Emden Conference, the various churches, even the Never-ending (ended) stories. But nothing lasts forever. Almost all of the old citizens are gone. A new generation has replaced them, the colonists of New Bergen. I propose that we give them the recognition they deserve by allowing them to lead the entire nation, rather than only a colony.
Sincerely,
Msgr. McQueeny
My beloved people,
The Prime Ministers message may come as a nasty shock to some of you, and what I'm about to say will likely shock you even more.
New Bergen needs you, and they need you sooner rather than later.
Best of all, Hanover needs them too!
New Bergen is populated by people who only sort-of get the vision of a micronation. The expertise represented by the people that use these forums is something New Bergen doesn't have, and cannot develop quickly. It has taken years for us to understand micronations as we do, and we're still learning, but most people who come to New Bergen have never even heard the word.
The Hanoverians who use the forum are new to Second Life and have yet to develop many of the more useful skills.
This is the best possible situation. Both groups can learn from each other and help each other. Both groups have something the other needs and can benefit from. Together both groups are much stronger than apart.
New Bergen needs structure, and guidance. They are not comfortable with making law and operating a government. They don't often practice any of the skills required to operate a government. If we see the growth curve continue on this path then soon situations will begin to arise where the lack of a central authority and planning structure will become a serious problem. Destructive chaos will break out.
Hanover needs their vision, skills and energy. The Governor General is an exceptional person who is constantly coming up with excellent ideas for the colony. The University Chancellor has taken the university from concept to the brink of classes (just a few more wrinkles to iron out and we should have classes by the end of April). The Royal Curator has built an entire art gallery and started an exhibition and is busy lining up follow on exhibitions. The Royal Gardener has made the fantastic Garden in the Sky and keeps updating it. NONE of these people would have been interested in being part of the forums system, and thus Hanover missed out on their talents.
The question "What next?" has to be answered.
The Kingdom of Hanover will still need a web presence because, technologically speaking, Second Life is a terrible medium for keeping documents and other limitations. Will that be a wiki, or a greatly reduced forum, or something else entirely, I don't know.
The Prime Minister and I have spoken on this topic at some length, and I believe he has the start of a plan which I will let him explain.
Everyone should feel encouraged to become part of this process. Your thoughts are important! You are the experienced nation builders that are being asked to use a new tool. What will the ramifications of that switch mean?
Alexander R.
Hanoverians,
His Majesty has stated the case for New Bergen very eloquently, and given the obvious success it has enjoyed, compared with the stagnation we see on the forum, I think most Hanoverians will support this change. As His Majesty said, New Bergen has opened up a new and unplumbed source of citizens and talents; none of these people would likely have been interested in Hanover outside of Second Life. By contrast, I suspect that most traditional micronationalists would be willing (even eager) to participate in Second Life -- even myself, who resisted this change as long as I could. The prosperity of the Kingdom will best be ensured by moving most of her activities to New Bergen.
Now, how is this to be done? My plan is a relatively straightforward one, but it has a theoretical background which I think is important. As it stands, Bergen is the capital of Hanover, and the forums are a relatively concrete representation of the city -- many of the fora are named after buildings which theoretically exist in Bergen.
My suggestion is simply that we elevate the Crown Colony of New Bergen into a full province of Hanover, and designate it as the capital city. The Governor-General would continue in office, but as Lord Mayor of New Bergen. All of the national institutions would, naturally, operate out of New Bergen, but like any capital, it would continue to be autonomous from those institutions. This way we bring Parliament, etc., into Second Life without squelching the independence of New Bergen's current residents. Those who are interested can seek national office, and those who are not can continue their own affairs.
In due course, I will propose a simple Bill in Parliament to make these changes legal. I'm not sure that it would be illegal to just move outright, but in Hanover we like to do things properly.
How does this deal with the people that have limited access to SL?
Hanoverians,
His Majesty has stated the case for New Bergen very eloquently, and given the obvious success it has enjoyed, compared with the stagnation we see on the forum, I think most Hanoverians will support this change. As His Majesty said, New Bergen has opened up a new and unplumbed source of citizens and talents; none of these people would likely have been interested in Hanover outside of Second Life. By contrast, I suspect that most traditional micronationalists would be willing (even eager) to participate in Second Life -- even myself, who resisted this change as long as I could. The prosperity of the Kingdom will best be ensured by moving most of her activities to New Bergen.
Now, how is this to be done? My plan is a relatively straightforward one, but it has a theoretical background which I think is important. As it stands, Bergen is the capital of Hanover, and the forums are a relatively concrete representation of the city -- many of the fora are named after buildings which theoretically exist in Bergen.
My suggestion is simply that we elevate the Crown Colony of New Bergen into a full province of Hanover, and designate it as the capital city. The Governor-General would continue in office, but as Lord Mayor of New Bergen. All of the national institutions would, naturally, operate out of New Bergen, but like any capital, it would continue to be autonomous from those institutions. This way we bring Parliament, etc., into Second Life without squelching the independence of New Bergen's current residents. Those who are interested can seek national office, and those who are not can continue their own affairs.
In due course, I will propose a simple Bill in Parliament to make these changes legal. I'm not sure that it would be illegal to just move outright, but in Hanover we like to do things properly.
Count,
I'm glad you asked this, as it is a critical issue. The moving of the capital should not have the effect of locking people out due to technical limitations.
Fortunately it is possible to have limited access to SL via a free service hosted at
http://www.ajaxlife.net that allows you to chat and instant message as well as do other things. You can even move around, but you cannot see the 3D world component. It will serve the purpose for those who need to attend real-time offices without having the requirements of a full SL client. People with low bandwidth, etc can use this access method effectively. I have used it many time myself when I want to log in quickly and communicate with someone and then log out.
Alexander R.