Thomas Marshall wrote:
It's an entirely fair point to say that only officers of the rank of Major-General & above should be eligible to stand/run for election because only then can they be sure to have some experience of what the task involves.
Now, this is entirely subjective, but as far as the voting goes, my view would be that it's more important to open the door to as many enthusiastic potential voters as possible. Ultimately, this is a hobby club - if someone has the enthusiasm to learn, the administrative skills can easily be taught. Both the Army of Northern Virginia & the Army of Tennessee are led by colonels, while the Army of the Tennessee is led by a BG. I happen to know all those officers, and their character, passion, and positivity would make them all excellent candidates for any and all leadership roles in the ACWGC. CoA/GiC is a big responsibility, which is why the Cabinet backed MG as a minimum rank for any candidates for office, but if anything, I would certainly be prepared to consider lowering the voting criteria below BG.
I just not sure how a member is "lured" into administrative contribution by allowing him to vote. If that would work we should really allow this for all, but I can't see how it works as the people vote on a matter that they don't understand because they have never done a job in that direction in the club.
That lower ranks are taking higher position is fine with me, I just have assigned a Sous-Lieutenant(lowest French rank) to be the new Grand Armee Chief Engineer over at the NWC. I think it proves that it is just a matter of character, abilities and time that a person contributes on a administrative position. He just needs the will, abilities & time to contribute and most will do so, allowing to vote won't help here.
Thomas Marshall wrote:
As far as the WDS issue goes - again, in principle, I agree that if it's a good ACW tactical or strategic wargame, then it should ideally be enjoyed here. However, the stats don't lie - if 99% of the games here are WDS, then that's simply the reality of what most people here are currently interested in playing. On balance, I believe that downloading a free demo is not a particularly high bar to entry, especially given PBEM requires a high level of commitment and reliability in any event. I entirely accept this is a subjective judgement, but you have to draw a line somewhere & it serves nobody for people to be in the ACWGC without the ability to play against the vast majority of our members.
Well if the free demo is enough to be able to join I don't mind about this requirement. It would be different if the interested person would be forced to buy a game, but with the free demo all seems fine.
_________________
Lieutenant General Christian Hecht
Commander I Corps, Army of the Potomac
"Where to stop? I don't know. At Hell, I expect."