Guide to Patronising New Citizens

[Omnipotent-Q]

Useful Curia Links

-- The Constitution -- Quaestiones Perpetuae (Citizenship Proposals) -- Prothalamos (Proposals and Discussions) -- Curia Vote -- Consilium de Civitate Archive --
-- Citizen List -- List of Curial Officers and Suspended Citizens -- Curia Reports --

Discussion Threads: Townhall - Curial Feedback Thread | Curial Election Commentary Thread | Curial Commentary Thread

The Tabularium Records: Annals of Amendments | Annals of Curial Decisions | Annals of Curial Officer Elections | Register of Medals Awarded by Vote of the Curia

Guides: A Guide to the CVRIA | Guide to Patronising New Citizens | Citizenship Templates

Guide to Patronising New Citizens

If there is one thing every able Citizen should do it is patronise another member to become a Citizen. It is a great way to get to know someone else on the forum and easily breathe new life into the Curia’s hallowed halls. How do you do it? It is simpler than you think...

Any Citizen holding their rank for three months can patronise, ya hear?

This guide explains the typical process of patronising a new Citizen, with some tips and tricks along the way.

What makes a "good" Citizen?

Each Citizen will give you a different answer to this, and in truth here is no right or wrong person to sponsor for Citizenship so long as they meet the requirements to become one. There are however a few questions to ponder when considering a member to patronise:

• Is the member civil, helpful, and friendly?
• Where do they frequent on the forum? What areas do you think they represent on the forum?
• Do they contribute in some way to the forum?

What you define as a "contribution" is what the Citizenry will concentrate on in any application. Contribute doesn't mean they have to be the greatest member of all time, having created a mod, wrote hundreds of pages of Content and won numerous arguments in the Mudpit. In fact simply posting is a good contribution as it helps keep the site turning and traffic high. Consider all of the below fair gain as people you could approach for Citizenship, but it is not all encompassing. By all means ff you think someone should be a Citizen, sponsor them!

• Modders– Skinners, historical experts, coders, PR Guru’s etc
• Debaters– Debaters in the Political Mudpit, Athenaeum, "Ethos, Mores et Monastica" etc.
• Helpful members – helping users in the Basement, Personal Help and Advice or Technical Help areas for the games etc
• Good regular friendly posters. Those sharing their Travel Diaries in the Travelers' Lodge. Total War experts. Avatar and graphics creators. Sporting debaters in Universitas Ludus Olympus etc. Historical experts in Vestigia Vetustatis etc
• Content authors both in Content Staff and out. Those who provide content to keep other members interested for example reviewers and guide writers etc.
• Community RPG Leaders and Multiplayer games managers such as Total War hotseat games etc.

To reiterate, the list is endless and there is no right or wrong person to patronise. Sometimes people are scared too put in a Citizenship application but you never should be!. For example I became a Citizen with less than 200 posts and very little on board in terms of contributions. Sometimes being a friendly face on the forum is enough so long as you sell it in the Citizenship application correctly.

Approaching Users about Citizenship

Approaching users to ask them if they are interested in Citizenship can be daunting for some. However, the approach is simple – PM the user you are looking at and say what you like about their posting on the forum and their contributions. Ask them if they are aware of Citizenship and whether they would be interested in becoming one - remembering to emphasise the benefits of Citizenship, and be sure to check with them that they are eligible:

• Ability to change the default user title to a custom one (emphasise even if they already can)
• Allowances to give more focused feedback and bring up grievances and positive comments in the Curia
• Ability to put forth proposals that can change any part of the site
• Ability to run in Curial elections, such as Curator or Magistrate
• 3 funky badges to choose from and a coloured name
• Can post in the Symposium where the rules are more relaxed

If the answer is "Yes I'm interested!" explain the process of becoming a Citizen in your own words, and also explain that you will write the patron paragraph first as a marker for their paragraph and to introduced the candidate to the Curia. Bear in mind that there may be other answers:

• "No, I am not interested" – Ask them why? Try to find the underlying cause of their reasoning but listen to them attentively. If you conclude it’s definitely a 'No' after an attempt or two at trying to change their mind, explain you respect their opinion and give them your best wishes
• "I have already been approached by x user" – So long as x user does not equal "Omnipotent-Q" you have some options to pull manoeuvres here. It is an unwritten Curial rule that the person being patronised gets to choose who will be doing the sponsoring so you can try and convince them to pick you if you think you are better placed to be their sponsor! This can be done by explain the benefits of you patronising them etc. Nevertheless the most important thing is that they become a Citizen, and you shouldn't be negative about the other potential Patron. However the Curia did used to be known for such politicking as trying to secure a Citizen client, so if you feel like aggressively going around after potential Citizenship applicants go for it, but be prepared for disdain from other patrons who may feel you have 'stolen' their client and be wary not to break the site Terms of Service.
• "Questions" – They might simply ask some questions about the whole process. If you know the answer then of course give it them. But if it is something you are not sure about then feel free to PM PM the Curator or one of the Assistant's for advice.

When you have someone to sponsor, the next stage is the paragraph for the Citizenship application.

Creating good Citizenship application

All the Citizenry can vote on Citizenship applications, with the choice to grant the member Citizenship or not. As such a patronisation is won or lost based on the application that is made.

The respective people as stated by the Constitution should do their own paragraphs. However it has long been the case in the Curia that Patron's can advise their candidate on things to include, and can go as far as copy-editing, proof reading and suggesting changes to make - after all this is a team effort between the Patron and the client to make a successful application, and working on it together helps both parties get to know each other. Although called "paragraphs" (a tradition from when the Curia began) it is unusual for Citizenship applications not to exceed a single paragraph in total.

Each paragraph should broadly cover these topics:

Patron's "Paragraph"

• This should state why you're patronising a member for Citizenship.
• What you think the member adds to the Total War Center community
• What more you think they could add if they had Citizenship
• What you like about them as a member
• Perhaps how you know them/found them

Applicant's "Paragraph"

• Why the user wants to be a Citizen.
• How they found TWC and joined up.
• What activities they get up to on TWC and areas they like to post in
• The contributions they have made
• What difference they'd like to make to the site by becoming a Citizen is also a popular inclusion

Remember to include links to posts and threads where you can help verify your paragraph. Do not assume the Citizenry will see the great achievements or posts of a member you're patronising if you fail to mention them in the first place! Also ensure that both paragraphs don't have silly spelling mistakes and are formatted neatly and in an easy-to-read manner. There are many examples of Citizenship applications in the the Citizen Antechamber if you want to look at some past applications for advice.

When you've got your application ready post both the Patron's paragraph and potential Citizen's paragraphs in a thread in the Quaestiones Perpetuae forum so the application process can begin. Observe the applications in progress and feel free to comment in the application and fight for your candidate!

Success?

Not every Citizenship application is destined to succeed so do not be disheartened as either a Patron or an applicant if it fails. Take on board any criticism and advice that is given, and remember to keep it in mind for your next shot a month or so later - the chances are the application just failed so it will be more than likely to succeed next time round.

If you've succeeded, congratulations! You're +1 client closer to Siblesz' 23 client record. Perhaps one day you'll beat it? I wish you luck in doing so!

Spoiler for Editor's Note: 

19/01/2015: I've just gone through and updated this with the changes from the Abolish CdeC Amendment and what followed etc. I removed the pictures as well as the links were dead and also made a few changes here and there on structure/formatting whilst doing my best to stick to the tone of Q's original guide. All credits to him for the guide.