Muh' Gustans!

I'm here today to give you a quick rundown of the most terrible bill and amendment prototypes out there! This list is not comprehensive, and I'm not picking on anyone in particular because we've all done it. If you haven't, then congratulations, you probably will. Mostly I'm writing this to encourage you guys to submit high quality content that will actually pass and benefit the city if it is actually needed.

The "Top of My Head" Bill This bill is never posted for discussion, is formatted stream of consciousness style, and usually has at least 1-2 glaring flaws. Sometimes it's a single run-on sentence; sometimes it's better organized. Either way, the lack of discussion means it will invariably die due to some unclear language or one controversial provision. Post your bills for discussion! EX: "Hey my dudes I was just chillin' and thought we should make traps and thots illegal in Mount Augusta. Vote yes if you agree. Also [insert name here] is a cuck."

The "Do it For Me" Bill This bill doesn't really need to be a bill. It usually asks the city to do something that the author doesn't want to do or is seeking social validation for thinking up. Always ask yourself, does this need to be a bill? Can I do this myself? If the answer to the first question is no, then the second question doesn't really matter. Don't post it as a bill. If you have a cool project idea, post it as a project idea so the mayor and judges don't have to tally up all the votes on something that still has no legal weight. You can't compel your neighbors to build a "blue waffle modern-art statue" across from your least favorite Augustan's house. If that's what you want, get ownership of the land and do it yourself! Augusta is the land of opportunity. EX: We should build a road to the farm. It should be 5 blocks wide and have nice streetlights. (DO IT! JUST... DO IT!)

The "Deport All [Insert Ethnic Slur Here]" Bill This bill is blatantly unconstitutional. Whenever you submit anything you should take a quick look at the criminal code, bill of rights, and constitution, linked at the top of the sub. Save us all the PITA of listening to your hate speech and just put a defamatory sign or some racist/classist/ageist/abelist/etc. pixel art on your house instead. This kind of bill isn't limited to stuff like this though. Sometimes things are just low-key unconstitutional. Just double check so you don't look like a doofis, and if it's questionable, bring it up in bill discussion, if others agree with the general premise, we might be able to think of a better way to do it that doesn't violate the constitution. EX: All weebs will be executed by being beaten to death with a pufferfish while wearing pink dyed leather armor.

The Civcraft UN Bill Some ideas like an all encompassing international body or a worldwide banking system have been tossed around since the beginning and are almost never realized. Usually they are good ideas at the core, but there isn't consensus about how to implement them. If you want to do these things great, but you need a whole lot of momentum, a bunch of friends, and international demand to even get off the ground. You should have something to show before you ask a nation, even your own, to join it. I get it, new people have so much enthusiasm and want to save the world; us oldfriends are crotchety jaded pessimists who don't believe in or care about anything. Show us something cool and you'll have an easier time getting people to buy into these grandiose ideas. EX: Hey guyz, lets make a civcraft UN. It will solve all the conflict on the server and the bad guys will behave because they will fear our legislative might. I don't have anything written up or planned, but we should pass a law and do this.

The "Just Because" Bill Sometimes you have so much enthusiasm you just have to write a bill. I've done it. I once submitted a bill to ban farms within city limits because everyone felt the need to have a useless 10x10 block wheat farm in the middle of town behind their house despite there being a 10x10 CHUNK wheat farm on the edge of town. I was the only person who viewed this as a problem, and as a newfriend myself, I didn't understand MTA land use and our freedoms at all. Do some research first on what people want and what needs to be done. If you are interested in writing legislation, there are a lot of little things that need cleared up because they use unclear language or they are outdated. Read through the constitution and find the unclear parts so we can have a discussion about how to fix that! EX: So there's this think that no one is doing and has never been a problem, but we should make it illegal because laws.

How to Write a Good Bill: A Template

An Example Bill Showing How to Write a Bill That Might Actually Pass

Title

(Short Title: Example Bill)

• Whereas, this is a problem
• Whereas this solution has been suggested but never implemented and requires a law to actually do so
• Whereas the time is ripe since this problem is growing

Give multiple well thought out reasons for the bill. Where, when, who, why, how, etc.

Be it therefor resolved that:

• This will happen, and it's within the abilities of our limited government to actually make it happen.
• This will go into effect immediately/on such and such date

It's that easy!

How to Write a Good Amendment

If you are writing an amendment, copy the section of the constitution, as is, into the top of the post. Post it again underneath and use the strikethrough and bold formatting to show what has been added or removed. People are way more likely to vote for things if they can see the changes being made.

I hope this helps everyone to be a more constructive contributor to MTA, the oldest continuously existing and most storied nation in the civva-verse.