EXPOSÉ: The Nightwatch (ft. Ezra)

[Ezra]

This was an interesting read, but doesn't it belong in the editorials section of the paper? If you're offering your opinion on the situation, it's no longer "news and reports", wouldn't you say? It's more of an op-ed.

There will be an upcoming article detailing the different types of journalism, as this confusion is common. As for right now, though, no. This is an analysis report of a current event, and not an op-ed.

-what's your source for who's allowed to vote and what the CLA is and what the definitions for those titles are? Is it just Aida or is there a website?

This information is freely available at Nightwatch Headquarters (http://nightwatch.catsboard.com/), specifically here.

-if the list is not publicly available, how did you come up with your list of members?

The list was confirmed by smitsmit.

-do you have proof of Kaleb's public campaigning for those of us that missed it? A quote from someone who saw him campaigning? A confession of campaigning?

On March 11, 2018, Kaleb was found asking visitors to Soledad's Cavern of Shadows:

If your in the nightwatch please for Solanea as Commander thank you

They don't tax me, so what business do I have pontificating on how they run things?

You are, of course, free to not weigh in on NW matters. But it is your business, if you decide to make your opinion known, as public representation is the entire point of the CLA. From the Nightwatch's own mission statement, found in their Headquarters:

The CLA was formed in late 2008 as a sister organization to the NW. The two organizations work closely together on mediation, and the process of having documents debated and signed. The NightWatch is not a self operating body and cannot rightfully function in its format without the input of the city. The CLA is made up of numerous clan and family ambassadors and politically oriented vampires (senators). The organization also contains three chancellors, who are essentially the moderators of this body.

Thanks for the feedback so far, guys, and also the response from smitsmit.

[Aydan]

Thank you for the good read guys. And again for highlighting the issues that we alone couldn't see very well - if at all. This article has given us something more than our own observations and we're grateful for it. Now that we can see the views of others that aren't involved in our organization, we can act to rectify anything that doesn't seem to be working any longer. It won't happen overnight, but we'll do our best to make it happen as quickly, but efficiently, as possible.

I'd also like to thank you guys for waiting until after our vote. I know it's been a while, but it's still greatly appreciated.

smitsmit, fourth commander of the Nightwatch, stepped down two years ago, leaving Solanea as acting Commander.

While smit stepped down two years ago and Solanea became Provisional Commander, she was actually Acting Commander from around 2012 on and off - I went over our old records again the night before last. I believe this is why the NightWatch fell all but silent in the years following - hardly anyone visited HQ but our lovely Gizmo and our Officers a few times a year.

I approached both Michiru and The Void about Ambassadors late last year, among others, some offered representatives, others did not for various reasons that I can't and won't disclose here. However, Lilly and I are currently out to speak to various groups, families, clans etc. If anyone is interested, please feel free to contact me, or just wait for me or Lilly to give you a call.

I apologize to those groups not previously spoken to by us, Lilly and I are working hard now to rectify that and speak to everyone we possibly can.

For both the NW and CLA, there is still much work to be done going forward from here. Making new contacts in the city, defining better rules for what deems someone eligible for the CLA, gaining new ambassadors from new lineages and groups, and removing older inactive contacts are just a few of these things.

These are points that we're currently working on. We're reaching out, as stated, but there's more of us awake within the halls of the NightWatch now and we'll be able to better contact those I'd mistakenly overlooked at the end of last year. Due to all that happened, the policies are now being looked at, though there is still a lot yet to do before anything can be finalised.

I say send a summons to the families and clans of today informing them of the required Ambassador. From there sit down and establish what the NightWatch will be moving forward or continue to be and place the appropriate person at its head with a new vote based on current events and current families/clans.

Thank you, Michiru. I agree that times have changed and the City has changed with it. I have no reason why newer lineages, clans etc. were not reached out to, other than the ones spoken to were older and more 'obvious', so to speak. I'm not saying that was right, of course, but that was a possible reason. That's going to change as of now. We can't remain stuck in the past forever; it's time to move forward and stop living in the old ways.

Perhaps there should have been a disclaimer, warning that the ballot could only be given once and not changed. This would have cautioned people to be very careful and thorough.

I'll make sure to mention this point, thank you Jackie.

At the end of all this, I'll be holding a meeting with both my fellow NightWatch members and also the CLA to discuss a second vote, as this one seems to have caused nothing but problems. It would not take place for some weeks, as we'll be trying to gain someone from every corner of the City, to make the vote fair and in tune with the current climate within the City. In the meantime, if anyone has any questions, concerns, suggestions or anything else, feel free to get in touch with me at (Aida#9198) and I'll be happy to help with anything I can.

While difficult to read, this article is one that I think we've needed. It's shone a light on a lot of issues we didn't think of, ignored, or simply haven't thought through. But we can fix it now that it's been brought into the open; I'm just concerned that it took this long. It won't happen again.

[Alex Ayres]

This was an interesting read, but doesn't it belong in the editorials section of the paper? If you're offering your opinion on the situation, it's no longer "news and reports", wouldn't you say? It's more of an op-ed.

There will be an upcoming article detailing the different types of journalism, as this confusion is common. As for right now, though, no. This is an analysis report of a current event, and not an op-ed.

-what's your source for who's allowed to vote and what the CLA is and what the definitions for those titles are? Is it just Aida or is there a website?

This information is freely available at Nightwatch Headquarters (http://nightwatch.catsboard.com/), specifically here.

-if the list is not publicly available, how did you come up with your list of members?

The list was confirmed by smitsmit.

-do you have proof of Kaleb's public campaigning for those of us that missed it? A quote from someone who saw him campaigning? A confession of campaigning?

On March 11, 2018, Kaleb was found asking visitors to Soledad's Cavern of Shadows:

If your in the nightwatch please for Solanea as Commander thank you

They don't tax me, so what business do I have pontificating on how they run things?

You are, of course, free to not weigh in on NW matters. But it is your business, if you decide to make your opinion known, as public representation is the entire point of the CLA. From the Nightwatch's own mission statement, found in their Headquarters:

The CLA was formed in late 2008 as a sister organization to the NW. The two organizations work closely together on mediation, and the process of having documents debated and signed. The NightWatch is not a self operating body and cannot rightfully function in its format without the input of the city. The CLA is made up of numerous clan and family ambassadors and politically oriented vampires (senators). The organization also contains three chancellors, who are essentially the moderators of this body.

Thanks for the feedback so far, guys, and also the response from smitsmit.

Thanks for the response! I still think that the bias in some of the speech in this piece borders on making it an op-ed speaking towards the writers' opinions on how an organization should be run, which is what prompted that question, but I also don't think that necessarily detracted! Still an enjoyable read.


ETA:

Also looking forward to the piece on journalism. It is a topic I have spent a lot of time studying!

[Nemesis]

On the topic of members of the Ab/Nec being made Representatives - I believe that would reflect poorly.

A Newspaper may be an organization, but not like a family line or clan. It does not move as a unified unit as clans and families do, and may also provide double or unfair voting from two people from one lineage.

News outlets, gossip rags, etc. should, in my opinion, be left out of any voting actions, strictly doing as they should be, which is reporting the news to the public and for keeping records of the events.

[Michiru]

On the topic of members of the Ab/Nec being made Representatives - I believe that would reflect poorly.

A Newspaper may be an organization, but not like a family line or clan. It does not move as a unified unit as clans and families do, and may also provide double or unfair voting from two people from one lineage.

News outlets, gossip rags, etc. should, in my opinion, be left out of any voting actions, strictly doing as they should be, which is reporting the news to the public and for keeping records of the events.

QFT

[Vex]

My thoughts on this have been echoed a couple times already, so I'm not going to bore everyone with a repeat.

The Nightwatch is beholden to the city at large in the form of the CLA. Who the CLA voted for should not be a matter of speculation; I fully believe each vote should be transparent.

That said, there definitely need to be some criterion for which groups can have an Ambassador. I'm not talking about pissing on the little guys, but things like...

On the topic of members of the Ab/Nec being made Representatives - I believe that would reflect poorly.

A Newspaper may be an organization, but not like a family line or clan. It does not move as a unified unit as clans and families do, and may also provide double or unfair voting from two people from one lineage.

News outlets, gossip rags, etc. should, in my opinion, be left out of any voting actions, strictly doing as they should be, which is reporting the news to the public and for keeping records of the events.

Agreed. Same with things like Port Luna. Those people are typically represented by other Ambassadors.

Another glaring problem is having Kaleb and Vamp_Melissa, both childer of Solanea and representatives of her Clanmily as Ambassadors is completely biased. One needs to be removed. A good criteria of selection would be 51% your group is not represented by another Ambassador. What that means would be something like this: Michiru is matriarch of Mandruleanu, Crimson is matriarch of Adanasii. din Kolesi is a combined lineage formed by Afanasii and Mandruleanu. Since most members of Afanasii and Mandruleanu are part of dK, having an Ambassador for Mandruleanu AND Afanasii AND din Kolesi would be exceptionally excessive. A din Kolesi representative would cover everyone, however.

Once this is all sorted out and all representatives are in place, I absolutely agree a new vote should be called. If it reconfirms Solanea, great. If it doesn't, also great. Who is in charge doesn't really matter half as much as how they got there and the job they're doing to support the NW's efforts to actually help the city again.

[Michiru]

Another glaring problem is having Kaleb and Vamp_Melissa, both childer of Solanea and representatives of her Clanmily as Ambassadors is completely biased. One needs to be removed. A good criteria of selection would be 51% your group is not represented by another Ambassador. What that means would be something like this: Michiru is matriarch of Mandruleanu, Crimson is matriarch of Adanasii. din Kolesi is a combined lineage formed by Afanasii and Mandruleanu. Since most members of Afanasii and Mandruleanu are part of dK, having an Ambassador for Mandruleanu AND Afanasii AND din Kolesi would be exceptionally excessive. A din Kolesi representative would cover everyone, however.

Just to touch on this: I completely agree with this, which is also why din Kolesi would not do such a thing. Our personal bloodlines are what -make- din Kolesi. So -only- din Kolesi as a whole would be considered for a respresentative, anything more than that would be leveraging bias. It would extremely excessive and frankly just plain tacky.

So, Aida has reached out to me, I will be taking her information to din Kolesi as a whole as suitable representative will be put in place to assist.

[Alex Ayres]

Another glaring problem is having Kaleb and Vamp_Melissa, both childer of Solanea and representatives of her Clanmily as Ambassadors is completely biased. One needs to be removed. A good criteria of selection would be 51% your group is not represented by another Ambassador. What that means would be something like this: Michiru is matriarch of Mandruleanu, Crimson is matriarch of Adanasii. din Kolesi is a combined lineage formed by Afanasii and Mandruleanu. Since most members of Afanasii and Mandruleanu are part of dK, having an Ambassador for Mandruleanu AND Afanasii AND din Kolesi would be exceptionally excessive. A din Kolesi representative would cover everyone, however.

"There's also the matter of what constitutes a bloodline/clan/group. Who decides what's a legitimate group, or could anyone and their mother waltz up and decide they're actually a valid entity? And what about representation - you said everyone has an equal say, but is that actually fair? Would a faction of 15 people deserve as much weight to their vote as a faction of 25? What if of those 25 people, only 5 are active? There's also the issue of 'double' groups. Example: Lateralus and the Order; one's a bloodline, one's a clan made up exclusively of members of the bloodline; would they get one seat or two? There's also de Vangeline and Ferrymen whose membership has significant overlap. Then you have the whole sticky situation of having a group of representatives attempting to govern everyone else and potentially trying to stack the house in their favor by sprouting off as many seemingly legit sub-lineages as possible, and quite frankly, fuck that."

-Vex, Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:38 am EST



Twilight zone.

I totally agree with Vex (both times), but would also like to add this:


"To address your concerns, I think there's really a simple answer. If the negative results that you listed are to be expected, then I question how much the blood lines and clans that would partake in such nefarious activities while being a part of a group whose sole purpose is to stimulate the city (something that benefits everyone) actually care about the city. To go one step further, should blood lines and clans that are clearly on that track even be a part of such a council?"

-Alex Ayres, Sun Sep 03, 2017 10:55 am


Just replace "such a council" with "The Nightwatch." XD

[Vex]

>.> I am remarkably consistent.

Just to touch on this: I completely agree with this, which is also why din Kolesi would not do such a thing. Our personal bloodlines are what -make- din Kolesi. So -only- din Kolesi as a whole would be considered for a respresentative, anything more than that would be leveraging bias. It would extremely excessive and frankly just plain tacky.

I'm pretty sure you know this already, but just to clarify, I didn't mean that to imply you were trying to stack the deck in your favor, so to speak. dK was just the first example that came to mind. I'm pleased that representatives from the NW are reaching out and more Ambassadors are stepping forward on behalf of their groups.

[Nemesis]

On the topic of members of the Ab/Nec being made Representatives - I believe that would reflect poorly.

A Newspaper may be an organization, but not like a family line or clan. It does not move as a unified unit as clans and families do, and may also provide double or unfair voting from two people from one lineage.

News outlets, gossip rags, etc. should, in my opinion, be left out of any voting actions, strictly doing as they should be, which is reporting the news to the public and for keeping records of the events.

Agreed. Same with things like Port Luna. Those people are typically represented by other Ambassadors.

I should have specified more. I do not think Newspapers, KRKN and the like should be part of any sort of council or take part in anything to do with the Nightwatch and their dealings. No Reps, No Ambassadors, etc., for all the reasons I had mentioned previously.

If the Newspapers want to take part in something concerning NW, I would suggest interviews with the candidates, allowing the candidates a place to debate and things like that. While the clans and families may have a Rep or Ambassador, some of their people may not get a chance to get to know what it is that their family is voting on and why. A Newspaper would offer a great chance for everyone to see a Campaign. KRKN could have some fun doing on air 'campaign advertisements'. News and radio should keep strictly out of the NW events other than giving the candidates a platform to reach out to people.

This is something that could draw things together nicely, with a fair and even outcome. If everyone could keep level heads (I know, asking a lot here) it could actually be fun.