Badfic Manor

[He's found a place in the study for this; quiet, but public and neutral ground. He's back to more "normal", at least enough to be calm and controlled, without any signs of frayed nerves for this...]

I'd like to start by being perfectly honest - the last attempt at some kind of "legal system" had many problems.

Yet - as much as there's many people here who can take care of themselves? We need some kind of preparation so that the next time something like last week happens, it can be stopped fast, and hopefully something to help with "disaster response" when the Author has one of her whims.

I do think there should be something rebuilt - but it needs to be changed, and it's going to take work. The legal systems those of us from more structured societies are used to, that we take for granted, evolved over centuries out of cultural pressures and what was needed; yet even something with a history like that only exists because it holds respect from the people living with it - I'm sure everyone here realizes that a badge or a title from a world that isn't theirs doesn't hold much meaning to them.

This isn't a stable, structured society with a common culture. It's more of a collection of castaways with overtones of an internment camp.

There's four basic starting points that I think we need to have before we even pretend we have a system that might be relied on if someone needs it. The first is that the people responsible for it need to be prepared to coordinate from the start - that's likely to be our problem to deal with.

The second is that we can't involve the Author again. She'll meddle without us inviting her in, I'm sure, and anything we give her power over, we are subjecting to her whims. She does not think of us as people, and as much as she could be much worse than she's been, she's proven in the past that she'll inflict punishments on people that've been deemed innocent, or even help those that want to destroy and harm others for her own amusement. If we allow her in, we'll make a joke of whatever we build, and we are not merely going to be her puppets.

Third, no system exists without respect from the people living with it - and that won't happen without some kind of understanding. None of us can take for granted that we know what's normal and accepted "rules" of society where another is from, and there've already been past problems and conflicts simply because of a lack of understanding; there isn't even a common set of laws and standards among the people that were involved in the manhunt last week, much less the other residents here. There's too much variety here for the system any one person is used to, to work, but we can't build something that respects the others here without knowing what would or wouldn't be accepted. It might not be something everyone is perfectly happy with, but there at least needs to be some kind of compromise -

Which means that if you have an idea what should work? Say it. We won't know it if you don't speak up. If you're not comfortable with your reply being visible on the network, make it private, or come when we've got a meeting together. I believe that our backgrounds shouldn't matter more than how much we make them matter - John had the right idea in trying to stir up outside input, that people should have a say in this.

Lastly? There needs to be a sense of perspective and an understanding what the purpose of the system is. I doubt anyone here would stand for something that existed to control anyone...

And the original purpose of most laws that stand through time, anywhere I've traveled on my world, was to try to preserve the society and resolve needless conflicts and cruelties. The phrase "To protect and serve" is emblazoned on police cars in one country for a reason. I cannot speak for the others, but as far as a legal system goes, I believe that it should exist for that purpose - not something to rule with an iron fist or be afraid of.