[Eric] I just realized something

[karohemd]

If I hadn't had the idea to give Robin an adoption certificate for a penguin for his birthday three years ago, all this wouldn't have happened. Nobody would have made him member, no membership secretary would have given him #1000, the then NC wouldn't have awarded him MC13 and he never would have entered any election.

So, blame me!

Comments

[kyrthira.livejournal.com]

Harooo???

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Look at the nominations for International Member of the Year. You will find quite a few nominating "Eric the Penguin".

This is a penguin at Bristol Zoo we adopted for a friend of mine (and Cambridge DC). Some drunken night, somebody had the idea to see if it were possible to get him a Cam membership. We expected the application to fail but not only did he get to be a member, he got number 1000 as well. The year after the then NC awarded him MC13, just because he could.
Again for laughs, he was entered into various regional and national elections and even received some votes!

How stupid are people to vote for a frigging penguin (cool as he might be)?

Getting people to nominate him for Member of the Year was just another attempt in showing in a lighthearted way how easily the system falls down.

Sadly, too many people saw it as anything else but a gag...

[toxicpixie.livejournal.com]

Heh, I think its a good thing tbh.

He wouldnt get past the nominations stage, but it does show what people think of the society IMO.

Its not just a joke..

Nathan, The Toxic Pixie

[kyrthira.livejournal.com]

*sighs, shakes her head* That's... just wrong! :)

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Wrong is how people reacted to the whole thing.
*joins in the head shaking*

Nobody in their clear mind would vote for a bloody penguin!

[kyrthira.livejournal.com]

*shrug* Some people just don't get it...

Sadly...

[halaku.livejournal.com]

... it's what many people over here hold as the stereotypical view of your general membership.

Re: Sadly...

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

It must be said that if as many of the US membership came over here to visit us, as we go over there to visit you, that impression might change.

Re: Sadly...

[halaku.livejournal.com]

This is true. Until then, actions such as these are all that the hypothetical US member has to go by.

I don't know the membership of the Awards Committee. Odds are you'd want to talk to Bailey about that, see if there's an even spread amongst the Nations or not. And there's obviously a problem with said Committee if they're not vetting submissions. But when most of the UK nominations has been for a bird... one tends to write it (and them, I'm afraid) off as a joke.

Which, oddly enough, was the point I thought I saw y'all's NST trying to make, too...

Re: Sadly...

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to say here what the UK view of your general membership is.

It's always like that, a minority will be seen to represent the majority. There's nothing you can change about it, it's human nature.

I know that the general UK view of the US isn't true, I know a number of very cool people over there and I'm looking forward to going to ICC again, but it's the OTT things that get noticed and they tend to be bad.

[themadone.livejournal.com]

They might if he were the only name on the ballot form they recognised?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

If other candidates have worse PR than a penguin, then they really need to look at their strategy :)

Well....

[oz-not-ozzy.livejournal.com]

> How stupid are people to vote for a frigging penguin (cool as he might be)?

I know some Dundee people voted for Eric 'cos they thought it was a more interesting way to vote than a boring old abstention.

I was NOT one of them, I hasten to add.

MC13

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

14, please!

Re: MC13

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Whoops, I apologise.