A few changes to the management structure of DE were made about nine months ago, not too long before the change in sim ownership. Among these was the creation of the role of Mayor, which was intended to have a joint IC and OOC function. The original idea was, I believe, for the Mayor to hold office for a period of around six months, after which some kind of review of the system would take place. The office of Mayor still exists under the new regime although it has a much lower profile than before.

Having a nominal but inactive city administration causes problems both IC and OOC. Any roleplay involving government has to effectively treat it as being made up of NPCs. The DEPD need someone to be answerable to, not just to allow people a legal way to fight back, but also to help the police themselves have a clearer idea of the boundaries of their role. The dynamic between the DEPD and civil administration would open up another area of roleplay for those interested. Everyone needs a councillor or other official to direct their dissatisfaction towards IC. Currently, we don't have any government roles other than a Mayor, whether they be for people elected, appointed or employed.

As I understand it, the primary OOC role of the Mayor is to act as a channel of communication between roleplayers and sim management. This isn't working very well at the moment partly because not many people seem to know we have a Mayor. The City Hall is never staffed, there is no sign outside the building and the front door is always locked. There are no roleplay or general notices given out and there is nowhere for people to leave comments, suggestions or requests.

There's also the question of the D.E.C.A.D.E.N.T. group for the Mayor's office, which had a dual IC/OOC function. The OOC role has now largely been superceded by the new management group and as far as I'm aware D.E.C.A.D.E.N.T. hasn't been used for anything IC for a long time. Does D.E.C.A.D.E.N.T. still have an IC function and if not, can it be closed down?

I'm sorry if this sounds a bit negative, it's not intended to be. The main purpose of this post is to reopen discussion on the issue of a civic administration for DE in a more neutral way. In doing this, I'm really looking for ideas about what kind of government system we want IC, and how this should be linked to an OOC role (if at all). I'd also appreciate it if replies could be confined to thoughts about what we can do now rather than digging up the past.