ArAmesh/Aramesh Fereiduni; Daninja/Danny Roberts; viking63/Charles Benedict; skyace22/Casey Biero; Tigger_The_Tyrant/Dave Armitage.

New Members for July 02

Azuredevil/Drew Robinson; statshawn/Shawn Wright; wargeneral/Joe Bohrer; Spidey/Martin Teasdale; bobiner/Steve Peterson; cruzybeerzman/Paul Ridley; The_Spyder/Robert Foster.

Help Desk Coordinator (Hess): Greetings all. After a lot of blood, toil, tears, and sweat in his first five months in office, Wrec_It opted for personal reasons to take a leave of absence from the Help Desk. So Management called in the second string to fill the void. Here I am. Please contact me if I can be of any assistance, especially new members. E-mail me, or just pick up the phone and dial (from North America) 011-263-11-214118.

Cutthroat Overseer (Starchild): Cutthroat is alive and well for all intents and purposes. I would like to see the format expand into more games played and more players playing. I urge any of you interested in a different mode of play to give cutthroat a try. It's a casual game that doesn't have the time hindrances of normal PBEM play (it's played with 5 people so by default it's a slower paced game).

That being said, you can find the rules here http://www.axisandallies.net/public/variants.html I encourage members to read through these and give cutthroat a try. There are no Allies so each country has to make all the diplomatic decisions for himself (make his/her own alliances and abide or not abide by the pacts he makes with others)

So, please give cutthroat a try. It's a fun variant and of course, any questions come to cutthroat@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

Draft Officer/Exchequer (GroeFaz):

Draft Office: Lately I was working on this years Rivals on the Rhine tournament. It took much time to prepare and manage this tournament as we have a new record of participants. 84 players signed up, which means we have nearly twice as much player as last year. I am happy that this tournament, and the idea behind it, finds such an overwhelming response. So far I have heard only positive comments from both clubs.

Together with Borginvador, the coordinator from DAAK, I will find ways to improve this tournament and the things around it. I will wait some time until I release another issue of "News from IAAPA" on the message boards of the other clubs and some newsgroups of the internet...


Exchequer Office: The first thing I did in this office was to set up a guideline how a request for funding is worked out correctly. This was discussed in the Senate and the Legislature, and after approving the final version, the charter was amended. Since then there were some requests for funding. The latest one was to pay the BBS fees charged by Ezboard. Currently I am working with Starchild on the budget page. We expect the first results at the end of September. You will then be able to see how much money we got in a certain period of time and how it was spent.

Quality Control (Airship): I am working on making changes to the websites navigation. We will be removing links to dead areas (warzone etc.), renaming some links, and trying to arrange the navigation in a more logical manner. As this change will ultimately effect a large portion of the website, we are proceeding cautiously.

IAAPA TV Anchorman (boromir): No report.

Strategy Development Officer (HighCmmdr) and IAAPA Herald (Blackdog): Editors note: Trying to get these two guys to do anything is like pulling teeth. They don't return calls, or come into the office. But they do submit receipts from Ye Olde Swillhouse on a monthly basis. Business expenses my right foot.

If you have to go to the dentist, or are about to have an operation, read the following update on the official business that the Legislature has conducted. Better than Novocain!

What has the Legislature been up to?

     It has been a busy four months for the Legislature and I would like to personally thank every last one of my fellow legislators for their efforts. They really are a great bunch to work with!

     One of the first items that we covered was whether we would change the format used for our discussions. BlackWatch, our BBS moderator, made a forum available for our use on the message boards. Until that time, all of our discussions were via e-mail. You can imagine how hectic it got with up to 9 people discussing a proposal at once. We gave the new forum a test ride and quickly approved its use with a unanimous vote of 9 for, 0 against. Our operations have become very stream-lined. (Now if I can only keep up with the fast pace!)

     We also completed discussion about a proposal to make Gentlemen's Agreements more binding than they currently are. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that the current policy would remain in effect. 3 were in favor of change, while 6 voted against change.

     The Executive expressed interest in pursuing a promotional campaign for the IAAPA with various businesses involved with Axis and Allies. A request was made of the Legislature to set a spending cap on what would be available to pursue this endeavor. A spending cap of $72 CDN was approved by a vote of 6 votes for and 3 votes against. Note that this was an approval of what COULD be spent, and not an actual release of funds.

     We also had a quite involved discussion revolving around possible items that could be used in the creation of Membership Kits to be sent to everyone who enjoys playing in our club. After the Legislature rejected a number of items, including the production of posters and the printing of business cards, we did make some suggestions as to how the kits could be created. The Legislature was then asked to carry out the creation of the Membership Kits, which will be part of a membership verification process that may be implemented. This is currently an ongoing discussion for us. Some things that we are considering is whether the Membership Kits will contain physical items, or if they will be electronic in nature. Cost of production and distribution are a major concern to us. I will most likely be forming a committee to work out the details of what should be done regarding this issue. Any and all members who are interested in working on this committee are invited to write me at herald@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net Anyone who has experience with professional printing or graphic design is especially needed for this project.

     Another item that we covered was a review of the Transport Location Declaration rule that was covered by our Minister of Law in the last Revue. The following link will take you to the page on our message board that contains the membership discussion of this rule and also relevant information in how the governemnt operates with regards to making changes to club policies. http://pub120.ezboard.com/fiaapaopenforumbbsproposalssuggestionsforrulechanges

     The rule that was reviewed is as follows:

9. If the battle is an amphibious assault, the attacker must declare which sea zone the transport/s are in prior to rolling the battle. If this is not done, the battle will be void and must be rerolled, with the correct location of the transports divulged prior to rolling.

     There were 6 votes in favor of leaving the rule as is, 2 votes in favor of changing the rule, and 1 vote not received. (One of our legislators was on vacation. I'll have to put a stop to that nonsense.) However, the Legislature is currently discussing whether the IAAPA should make a fundamental change in the way that errors are corrected. There is some concern that in the effort to prevent cheating, honest mistakes are being punished too harshly. We are looking into possible methods that will allow players to reach agreements, and failing that, provide an official avenue of assitance that can also track possible instances of poor sportsmanship. This will be a large undertaking, and I do not expect a quick resolution to be reached.

     The Legislature also approved the expenditure of $79 US to extend our EZ-board subscription for another year. The message board is fast becoming a great resource for keeping up-to-date on the latest developments in the IAAPA. Everything from the latest ideas on strategy, to reports on games being played against other clubs can be found there. Our newer members can also find many experienced players who are willing to answer questions, provide tips, or even start a game with. The message boards can be reached by following this link:

http://pub120.ezboard.com/biaapaopenforumbbs

     Pay a visit and take a look around. I don't think you will be disappointed. I have bookmarked it as one of my favorites, and I visit almost daily.

     Wrec_It, our Help Desk Co-ordinator, recently resigned from his position. The appointment of Hess as a replacement was confirmed by the Legislature. It is felt that Lee will make a welcome addition to the Legislature. You may recognize his name, and that could very well be because he ran for this position during our last election period. Join me in welcoming him as your newest representative.

     The Legislature also approved an amendment to the Charter which authorizes the Executive, by unanimous vote, to make changes to the Charter. All modifications will be posted in bold, for one month, before becoming completely official. Upon posting a change, a letter about the change will be sent to the Legislature and Senate. During the one month, the change may be challenged using current governmental procedures.

     The latest addition to our agenda of official discussions is improving the IAAPA Dice Roller. We are considering adding features that will improve performance.

     One item that is still tabled is a proposal to review/rewrite the clubs policy regarding offensive aliases and or usernames. This is a very delicate subject and the Legislature is going to take our time with this. The only item that is still open is the one about membership kits, as presented earlier.

     We also have ten items that have not yet been givien official status. They are: Reorganization of Chancellorships and Legislative duties, the creation of personal profiles of our members, a review of the system used to award ranks to those who reach General status in the ladder, changes to petition requirements, 2 proposed rule changes, the vacancy of the CD chancellorship, and finally, webhost change over.

     The one remaining item that I am anxiously awaiting to be brought to conclusion is the IAAPA budget page. In an effort to expediate this process, I have asked GroeFaz and Starchild to combine their talents to create an informative budget page that will keep us up-to-date with all aspects of the IAAPA's finances. As I have stated before, this is of the highest priority, and I hear news that it is nearing completion.

     In closing, if there is any item that you are unsure of, or need assistance with, please contact me at herald@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net Especially if you feel that there is a problem with how the IAAPA operates, or if you are unhappy with any segment of our club. Let me know. It is my job to see that all members have a voice in how the IAAPA runs. That is why the Minister of the Members has voting status in both the Legislature and in the Senate. I can guarantee you that this is the most effective route to take in getting your concerns addressed. My office is almost never closed, I urge you to drop me a line at any time. You can be ensured that I will hold all correspondance with utmost confidentiality.

Thanks for reading this far!

John (Blackdog)
Minister of the Members