Did somebody just drop the S word?! Senate?! Why yes, the word senate has been dropped in just about every chatroom that exists on Whyville lately. It's that time of year, folks. Prepare for the never-ending flood of campaign y-mails that will ooze into the crevices of your inbox, the explosion of threads consuming the BBS, and the plethora of voting signs in Akbar's Face Mall!
As many of you know, I am one of Whyville's current senators. Before my position is over, I'd like to share some words of wisdom with you before you think about how you run your campaign/how to vote for who you want. Believe it or not, the senate race isn't just fun and games. There's a lot of technique behind it. Before I do so, I would like to say good luck to all who are participating in this election. If you've made it this far . . . you've got courage. Yes, I know the whole process has just begin, but it's hard to stand up to a crowd of peers and voice your opinions. So congratulations, my friends.
First, I'd like to start off with a big eye opener. Throughout my time as a senator, I seldom wore my crown. I've received numerous y-mails pertaining to the absence of my crown, so I think it's about time I tell you why I choose not to wear it. When I ran for senator, my intentions were clear: I wanted to help this site. I wanted to be a great senator. I didn't want to run for fame or popularity. A lot of people have done that in years past, and I was not going to continue this dreadful trend. I mean, if Barack Obama only ran for president in order to obtain fame, I'd be very scared. In fact, I'd probably be hiding under a bed right now because our country would be far too vulnerable for its own good. Thankfully, Obama ran for the right reasons. He wanted to help America, and he is in the midst of doing so as we breathe. Me? Well, I know this is just a website, but I don't care about all of that fame. I just wanted everybody to be happy, so I prepared to put a lot of plans in motion for my role as a Whyville Senator. I know I haven't made a lot of changes, but I tried - I'll get to that later.
The message I am trying to convey to you is to run for the right reasons . . . please. There are hundreds of people who want one of those three spots as a senator, and if you take a spot for the wrong reasons . . . you just took a spot that a potentially amazing senator could have had. You'd be letting everybody down. I have been around since 2004 and have seen enough senate races. People who run for fame get shunned, and people begin to spread horrible rumors about them. I would really hate to see this happen to any of you. If you only want the crown and a lot of friends? . . .here is my advice to you: make your own version of a crown in the Face Factory, flaunt it, and go to Beach South for a week. I'm sure it'll be just as satisfying.
Moving onward . . . I don't want to bore you with a novel, so I will sum up the rest of my article with some tips for the runners and some tips for the voters.
If you are running for senate:
1. The most important tip I can give you is to run for the right reasons, as stated above. This is vital to your honest success in the senate race.
2. Be yourself. Don't act nice just to win everybody over and turn mean after the race - regardless of the outcome. It's just not cool. Let your true colors shine through!
3. Do NOT trash talk other people who are running. That's just terrible. Respect them, because if you win . . . one of the people you trash talked could also win. You'd feel terrible if that happened, wouldn't you? I'm serious. You have to communicate with the other senators once you are chosen. You better start everything off on the right foot!
4. Sending out advertising y-mails is tacky. Most of the y-mails are not personalized for each individual, and when people realized you copied and pasted this to 50 other Whyvillians they're not going to feel very special anymore. Chances are, they will get annoyed and opt not to vote for you.
5. Word of mouth is one of the best campaign methods. Build a good reputation and you're on the path to success.
6. Designing "Vote [insert your username here] for Senate" signs in Akbar's really helps. Just keep it at a considerable amount . . . don't go overboard. Also price them very cheap - one clam will suffice.
7. I know I'm guilty of this, but I learned my lesson from it after I was elected: Do not propose to get WhyPasses back. I have tried SO incredibly hard to get these back, and Whyville has decided to completely convert to the pearl system. They will tell you no . . . it's just impractical nowadays. Just letting you know ahead of time . . . it won't happen.
8. Do not pay people to vote for you. This is a HUGE no-no!
9. If somebody doesn't want to vote for you, don't get snippy with him or her. Also, if people would like to remain neutral and not vote for anybody . . . don't pressure them. Respect them!
10. Avoid all drama. The senate race can turn into a nasty realm of rumors that spread like wildfire. Let's just face it . . . anything political involves a lot of drama. If people say things about you that are not true, do not snap back at them. If you do, you're only feeding a fire which will only lead you down a slippery slope. Don't start drama and don't fight back. It makes you look bad when you attack . . . take it from somebody who has seen a lot of campaigns in the past. It's okay to defend yourself, but do so in a polite, civil manner.
Now it's time to give advice to those who are voting!
1. If somebody offers you clams to vote for them, do not do it!
2. If your best friend is running and they want you to vote for them, only do it if you like the contents of his or her platform. Barack Obama didn't win because all of his best friends voted for him. He won because people genuinely liked his objectives. Vote for the platform you like best.
3. Ideas sound too good to be true? They probably are. "Free clams forever! Parts will never expire!" Yeah, if anybody says any of those nonsensical things, seek somebody else to consider for this upcoming election. Those ideas are preposterous.
Back to one of my earlier cliffhangers . . . are you wondering why I didn't make a lot of changes? Are you wondering why Amber and Steve didn't make a lot either? It's because being a senator isn't as easy as it looks. There were a lot of behind the scene things/meetings with City Workers, and y-mails shared between rain15133, steve6, and myself. We communicated here and there, but politics is a slow process. We really did work on what we could, and were not lazy people. We just don't display everything we do for the world to see. Not everything is sunshine and daisies. Not every idea that we walked into "office" with was approved. City Workers are very busy people who have a lot of other tasks to handle. Remember, they're the top dogs, not the senators. Did you know that one of the main duties to being a senator is to listen to what people say? We have to pay attention to this stuff, because if a lot of people want the same things changed . . . well, it's our duty to relay this information to the City Workers with some simple suggestions. Please be considerate with the new senators! They will find out how it works as well. It truly is a nice program that Whyville does, so embrace it!
I hope this article helped. Good luck to everybody who is running!
