I can just about stump for a sheet of newspaper each to fold into one, if our new PGs don't mind ink on their fingers.

I agree with closing the election - I think the results are pretty clear, and eight days is plenty of time to get the nominations in. So I am delighted to confirm that Kittyauthor, Lily Winterwood, and Thoth will be doing all the work from now on and letting me go back to sleep. >:D

Team PG - welcome aboard! It's a pretty quiet task these days, but make sure you check up on the current Permission Request guidance - we changed it a bit not too long ago. Don't be afraid to give your view - and if you're not sure, don't be afraid to ask other PGs to chip in.

And now I'm going to hand over to someone, if anything, even more pompous than me.

~~~~~

Fondest greetings to the newest barons of this Protectorate of Plort! By the will of the people, you have been inducted into this most prestigious order. You are heirs to Jay and Acacia themselves, protectors and leaders of this fortressed isle of Konti-Nyuum.

As is known to all, Bast, the last of the first barons, created ere her departure an Edict, by which the succession of the baronies shall be known. Though it has at times been set aside (and here Baron Huinesoron gives a long, hard look at Barons Neshomeh and Storme, seated across the grey council chamber of sea-circled Otik), it is the surest guide we can have; and in this Age of Storms we must adhere to the truths of the past even as we lead our armies to the future.

The Edict of Bast

Let it be known that Baron Thoth will take command in what was once Barony PC, in the Western Diskord and Borrd. Likewise shall Baron Math be granted the lands once claimed by Larfen, in the Riding and Eastern Diskord; and the assumption of the reins of Barony Phobos by Baron Storme is (he sighs) confirmed.

The Wandering Winterwood - no, take the crown off - is granted...

(Baron Huinesoron stops and stares at the map)

Seriously? I'm supposed to run a barony when the two halves are connected by literally just a road? That's absurd, that's-- if I'm taking over Barony Hieronymus, why don't I get the Fanvik Whirl? Neshomeh has never even set foot in that castle!

Fine. The Wandering Winterwood is granted the eastern plains of Borrd, and lands in the Riding betwixt Godreve and the river Jid'auks. The road from Eksoeva via Godreve to Goch't shall form the boundary between baronies Winterwood and Na'Shirah, but shall be subject not to either, but to Barony Huinesoron. Which makes no sense, but... whatever.

((Phew! I got the map to make sense, and made Baron Me look silly. I'm not sure if there's already a name for Plort Thoth, so name subject to change. Not sure also how Kitty's barony should be named - "Barony Wizard of Math" is a bit clunky. And the map was assembled before I checked all the names, so it will have a few errors. But yes, baronies! Go built daftly-named castles in your own honour.))

hS

Lily, Thoth, kA.

I’ll add that I don’t know Thoth well enough to vote for him, so I’m abstaining.

—Ls

From the Discord:

Umbre (sercretly money?????): After looking over the thread to the extent of my spoons I vote for kittyauthor and thoth My reasons for this are that they are cool and to my knowledge good at writing things

-kA

If I'm counting correctly, the current tally is:

• Lily Winterwood: 12, 11 if we don't count Zing's statement about her being a "fine pick".
• Kittyauthor: 11, 10 if we don't count Zing's statement about them being a "fine pick".
• Thoth: 7

Scapegrace has 3 votes, but has not yet accepted or declined her nomination. I view my current concerns as more of an abstention than a vote against, especially since Scape has not yet responded to them or accepted/declined the nomination. Additionally, in a previous election, Scape declined to be nominated, so I would find it unfair to foist a Hat onto her before she even has the chance to express her thoughts on being nominated this time around.

Feel free to correct me! I'm worried I might have double-counted someone's vote.

We've got less people around than we did four years ago, and a lot of the people on your Discord Active list haven't posted here, so that cuts the numbers further. What we're really looking for is people who are getting a lot of positive reactions, and no or few negative ones. Right now that's you and Lily, but there's no reason Thoth, Calliope, or other yet-unnominated people couldn't get more votes.

(This sort of trickling in of nominations is a good argument for a separate voting thread, for what it's worth; the later nominees are sitting at less votes partly because nobody has come back to place them. Lessons for next time.)

I think we can count doc out, given that he's basically declined (though I tried to decline my election back in the day, and was told I couldn't). Scape would need a bunch more votes (like Thoth and Calliope), and would probably need to address Lily's concerns in person, but that's perfectly possible.

Does anyone (looking at you, Kitty) know if the Discord people from your list are deliberately not voting, not aware of the election, or just haven't found the time yet? Any of those are fine, but it would help to get a feel for how long the thread should run.

hS should probably vote soon

Maybe in the future I'll be willing to take on the responsibility, but I haven't even touched the canon PPC... literally at all in at least a year. Reading or writing.

I'm happy to provide advice and concrit, but I won't be that final arbiter.

Whatever your reasons, whatever your motives, I do not want this position. Pick someone who actually deserves it and who doesn't have my issues. Pick someone who hasn't got a capital-P Past when it comes to disciplinary issues within the community. Pick someone else.

Literally anyone.

At all.

For that reason, I’ll abstain from voting.

—Ls

I'll preface this with the fact that I do enjoy Scape's writing, and I love her way with words, her comedic timing, and the quirks of all of her characters. My favourite characters that she has written are the Notary and Bogbrush. The Notary is an excellent foil to the other Time Lords, and Bogbrush's physicality wrt his Sue Tracker issues have always been a joy to read.

That being said, being a good, or even a great writer does not necessarily mean someone is a good critiquer for beginning writers, who are the people in direct contact with Permission Givers. I have no doubt that Scape is a great beta for people who are already Permissioned, but I worry about whether or not her critiquing style may come across as too harsh for prospies. This is not a judgement on Scape's writing ability or her as a person -- not everyone has the ability to guide beginners, nor should we expect everyone to. But a Permission Giver is offering constructive criticism to beginners, and thus I do not believe the position to be a good fit for Scape.

You yourself mention that she can be acerbic and insulting, and I simply do not believe that to be a good fit for the average newbie. Once again, I do not doubt that she can give great concrit to more experienced writers, or at the least writers who have already passed muster by getting Permission. But just as not everyone wants a doctor with a wisecracking, sarcastic bedside manner, not every prospie will be able to handle Scape's concrit, and I am under the impression that this community is trying to move past being misunderstood as bullies. (Again, not accusing Scape of being a bully. I just worry that people may misunderstand her intentions unless they have had more experience with her.)

Perhaps I will be proven wrong. But with my current understanding, these are my reservations in nominating her. And since Nesh suggested I be the Not Groupthink-y person, here I am trying to be honest. Being a PG is not some sort of indicator that someone is the Best Writer Ever -- it is a responsibility to help mentor beginning PPC writers by offering concrit on their Permission Requests, and the judgement that PGs give can change entire spin-off trajectories. Scape does good work, and writes well, and interacts with people pretty well. But that still doesn't guarantee that she is a good fit for PG.

ETA: To address more specifically the "working with people who may not be confident about their writing": Scape is a tough-love sort of beta. I can respect that. I also believe honesty is best when it comes to beta reading and concrit! But once again it comes down to bedside manner for me. Scape does great with people who go out to seek her advice, because those people are prepared to take her advice in the way she presents it. I worry about prospies who may be expecting concrit in a less tough-love manner getting blindsided.

—doctorlit is sinking into a pit of obligation, though, for real

...I asked him if I could nominate him in DMs and he declined for work reasons.

But aside from that, I would have seconded him in a heartbeat as a mainstay who also offers thoughtful feedback on everyone's stuff.

Very unlikely to nominate anyone either - largely because, as I think I said when I first brought up the idea to begin with, I haven't really been so active lately that anyone comes to mind (especially beyond the people who have now been nominated, one of whom wasn't on board back when the discussion began). I may vote if I get around to it. As I am unsure I will, I should probably just include in this post that Lily and Kittyauthor seem like fine picks to me.

~Z

They're both solid candidates for reasons others have outlined better than I could. :)

In my case because I suspect there's a lot of people I don't know very well, so I don't want to colour the field by nominating badly.

My plan is to vote (in this thread) after a few days, so I can see who's up and, again, not come across as trying to influence where people vote.

hS

You can vote right now. However, you don’t have to vote right now if you don’t want.

—Ls

Not exactly sure where to reply, so I'm replying directly to the intial nomination.

I am honored to be nominated to be PG.

I'm not sure what else to say, sorry!

-kA

I'm more Board-based than they are, and it's always nice to have a PG or two who's more active in Discord. Kittyauthor's contributed a lot to continuity lately, too, which demonstrates not only knowledge of what's happened before but also creativity in grasping the spirit of the PPC.

You offer her a Hat and the Barony it entails? Oh! Oh! In place of a Dark Lord you would have a QUEEN! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as the sea! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair...

(But in all honesty, I'm... hesitantly accepting the nomination? I know how overworked the current PGs are, and am friends with enough of them to know I can communicate freely with them. But I worry about drama and the dangers of groupthink a lot and may get flighty at the first sign of srsbsns. It's part of why I had a major period of inactivity here in the first place, though that's 90% more that I got into other fandoms that no one else on the Board was into. Trying to drag Zing and Nesh into danmei hell with me is partly why I'm still around.

But, like I said last time, as long as someone's willing to keep chatting with me somewhere and share a fandom or two with me, I'm down to stay. I read Dragonriders of Pern, for example!)

I admit I go mostly with my old memories, but the little interactions I had on the board since returning tell me she's still the Lily I knew.

Anyways, Lily has been a pillar in the worldbuilding part of the PPC, and her concrit is always spot on. She knows how This Thing works, and knows how to approach and show the ropes to our wide-eyed newbies seeking to play in our sandbox, if those last two Permission threads are anything to go by. And, of course, she's been one of our most well-respected boarders for ages - I'm pretty sure she was already here when I first joined twelve years ago.

I know Lily's not really warmed up to the idea of becoming a PG if the previous thread is anything to go by, but... you pretty much already did everything in the PG's job aside from putting the stamp. Go for it, PGs don't have a permission deliberation quota!

Lily has been very helpful and um, PG-ish.

—Ls