"Senators' Dominate Conversation in Four Provinces," by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu

A Beric’ht Talossan investigation of the eight provincial message boards has revealed that while they vary enormously in their character and activity levels, half of them have one unusual thing in common: they’re dominated by a single local citizen. These citizens are all four the Senators of their provinces, and their regular Wittenberg participation and interest in their province makes them stand out prominently from the pack. It's an odd situation.

The public interactions of citizens from the provinces of Benito, Cézembre, Florencia, and Vuode disproportionately come from just one of their residents, something that has drawn little attention in the years since the Organic Law effectively eliminated local autocracies like that of Maritiimi-Maxhestic’s Ian von Metairia. There may not be anything to be concerned about, but it is certain that local citizens should at least be aware of how heavily their provincial destinies are being shaped by single individuals, especially since these individuals are all Senators and hold significant political and cultural power. Is there something sinister at work?

The dominance is most impressive in Benito and Cézembre, where Seneschal Lüc da Schir and Senator Glüc da Dhi have been the most active participants for years. Seneschal da Schir has started more than half of all the front-page threads on Benito’s message board, while da Dhi has been responsible for an astonishing 63% of the threads posted since 2009/XXXI, creating 75 threads out of the most recent 120. At this rate, in fact, da Dhi will soon have started a majority of all the conversations ever begun in Cézembre - ever. This trend is also present in Florencia with Senator Pôl d'Aurìbuérg and in Vuode with Senator Eðo Grischun, who have begun 40% and 45% of recent threads, respectively. In all four cases, the dominant person’s garrulousness stems from both consultation on national politics and with their participation in local politics.

There is no clear reason why this situation is present in these four provinces and not the others. There is no relation to activity: Florencia is one of the quietest parts of Talossa while Benito has frequent new discussions about national legislation and local politics. It does seem clear, though, that the high level of activity of these individuals bears some relation on their high political offices. One of two things is happening: they have ascended to their posts by virtue of their energy and skill and interest in their provinces, or they simply have relatively little opposition.

The situation is not new. For many years, energetic locals have controlled the conversation in different provinces, usually because Talossa (a rather small country) often had only a handful of citizens in any given place. There's no sign of skullduggery. But as the country continues to grow, the situation should become increasingly rare. If it does not, Talossans would have good reason to harbour serious suspicion that it's a sign of an unhealthy province.