[quote="Beathan":31q4e370]Pel --
3. it is as matter of dispute whether two additional judges were "qualified" -- the qualification procedure had been challenged and repealed before their "qualification" -- which makes their "qualification" more akin to a failed palace coup than to any legitimate form of governmental action; and
4. that the three "qualified" judges all joined the CDS for the sole purpose of being judges, rather than for the more general purpose of being citizens and members of the community first, office holders second -- as demonstrated by their departure as soon as their personal ambitions were frustrated -- making the project as implemented more akin to foreign colonization of the CDS administered by native leaders (the British Imperial model) than to genuine democratic self-rule.
Beathan[/quote:31q4e370]
I rarely post, but just to keep the facts straight here, I do want to comment on this.
I was one of the people who applied to be a judge and was "qualified," albeit under a procedure that may have been repealed at the time. (I believe that's disputed? I don't know and I just can't bring myself to go back and read that thread.) Anyway, I do know I spent 5-10 hours on the application and took it extremely seriously. I thought that I [i:31q4e370]was[/i:31q4e370] approved by the RA -- I do remember getting a note from someone saying I was approved. Doesn't matter now, I suppose. But here's my story, for the record.
A couple of weeks before I applied to be a judge, Ashcroft found me (I believe this was the first time we talked) and he told me that the C.D.S. was creating a civil judiciary and needed judges. He suggested I should join and apply to be a judge based, presumably, on the fact that I had founded the Second Life Bar Association and had a pretty clear commitment to virtual law.
At the time, I was getting really fired up about virtual governance. The fact that the C.D.S. had a functioning government and might have a judiciary that needed judges is what attracted me to it initially, but I didn't join the C.D.S. [i:31q4e370]just[/i:31q4e370] to be a judge. And I certainly didn't join as part of any "palace coup." (At least not one that I meant to participate in!) I bought a big piece of land in Colonia Nova where I planned to put a nice home with a central courtyard, started talking to a C.D.S. citizen who did design work about building it for me, read all the background stuff, attended a couple of meetings, and intended to get fully involved in the community and call CN my home.
When the judiciary disappeared, it was much less attractive to me to keep an expensive plot of land in CN since I didn't see myself having a real role in the community. At the same time, I discovered that it had probably been a blessing in disguise, as the SLBA, Virtually Blind (my blog on virtual law at http://www.virtuallyblind.com) and my first-life career didn't really leave time to be a virtual arbitrator too.
That said, I seriously considered keeping it and staying in the C.D.S. anyway because I liked the build so much and liked the people I'd met during the confirmation process. In the end, I just couldn't justify the cost to myself. The only land I own now is the 512m plot the SLBA offices are on, though it looks like I may be able to turn that back into my home in the near future as we've been offered some land by a member.
Anyway, I'm not involved in any virtual governance projects in anything more than an advisory capacity now, and don't plan to be in the future. I just don't have time. I'd have made time for the C.D.S. if it had gone forward, but it didn't, and like I said, that probably worked out for the best for me, personally.
I have nothing but respect for the folks who put the C.D.S. together and who are running it now, and I wish the very best of luck to everybody involved with this project. I might even buy land again sometime if I find I need a "home" in a beautiful build enough to justify the cost!
Best regards,
Ben
[Added a few minutes after posting: I recall the approval situation more clearly now after reading another post in this thread. I was approved by the SC (it was Gwyn who sent me a note telling me that I'd been approved, I think) as my answers on the lengthy essay-test were deemed sufficient, but my appointment never went before the RA as the act it was based on was largely repealed.]