Curia
The Curia is a forum on Total War Center and an institution running since 2003. It is a place where users can be nominated and voted in for various Curial Awards and a legacy spot for members of the site to talk site politics.
The Curia is mainly composed of Citizens, though its main area may be posted in by full members. These citizens have voting power on discussions and decisions in the forum, and overall the forum is run by the Consul with occasional support from the administration.
Contents
The Curia by Section
CVRIA
The center of the Curia, which may be posted in by non-citizens but where only citizens are able to vote. It is used for general discussion in its sticky threads and to post decisions, discussions and award nominations.
SYMPOSIVM
A citizens only discussion forum, present since the founding of the Curia. Originally made for citizens to hold 'higher discussion' in confidence. It is now an archive of those days, hosting dedicated subforums for curial committees, old procedures and juicy threads regarding site history. On occasion it holds discussions as well, but the gradual opening of the Curia and the decline of overall traffic has made this a rare instance.
TWC's Living History Forum
Politia
The Politia has changed with generations of how the Curia is managed. Previously held the Citizen's Triumvirate, citizen referrals, the offices for Praefects, and other historical content. Today it is the office of the Consul in contact with the administration, and also available for curial assistants to view should the need arise.
History of the Curia
See more: History of Total War Center
The Curia was originally a staff-supervised meeting ground for Civitates, an in-group of users who showed their merits through quality posting when TWC was more of an intellectual discussion hub connected to the Total War series. This group expanded and in its earliest history was actually trimmed a few times for 'quality control' reasons. Eventually it became large enough for its new membership process to delegate to the Consilium de Civitate, a body of 12 citizens to vote on new arrivals as well as handle discipline. Over the years up to the late 2010s there has been an ethos of 'higher standards' held above the 'average' user; this standard, rather abstract, has caused controversy over time ultimately resulting in the concept being dropped entirely in later years, corresponding with a drop in the use of any curial disciplinary process. In its earliest times it had elected an administrator, developed a complicated system of Houses of TWC, and was governed by the Old Syntagma. Around the time the site re-entered independent ownership the governing document was renamed to The Constitution, and the Curia has been in a steady decline as its earlier years of impact were steadily supplanted by a stable staff and loss of purpose over the following decade.
The following sections are spotty and really only chronological to the late 2010s and the 2020s, when updates were posted.
Controversy
Throughout its existence the Curia has been a controversial subject. Even in its foundation there were those that opposed it, namely The Black Prince (one of the three top administrators of the time). Many have claimed the Curia is not an effective administrative body, that mob rule simply does not work on a forum, or that the Curia does not have the ability to undertake its goals. Under various Admins the Curia has struggled to define its place on the site, to what authority it should truly command. Under Ogre's Network the Curia's existence came up in various arguments, but the most pressing event was just before the sale of the site to Imb39, where the Curia was almost deleted. One major proponent of reforms to the Curia was Professor420; many others have left their marks as conservative advocates, critics, radicals, janitors and infamous members.
Curial Overhaul 66
In 2018 a joint proposition from the Hexagon Council spearheaded by Hader brought major changes to the Curia's layout. Its moderation was put under the Praefect, the Protholamos was opened and Hader himself oversaw this structure in three consecutive terms.
Further Simplification of the Curia
With the removal of the role of the Praefects and the cancellation of the Citizens referrals, the Curia has been further simplified in disciplinary protocols. Suspension of Citizenship upon site infraction became automatic, and Citizenship could only be removed through Ostrakon.
The Rostra & The Prothalamos
The Rostra was created to allow non-citizens to make proposals for the Curia with the support of three citizens. The forum was rarely used, and later Curial Overhaul 66 would make the Protholamos open to posting from non-citizens with support from citizens. Given the overlap the Rostra was moved to the Proth's Archives. A decision removed the forum entirely and merged the contents with the Proth Archive. In April 2024 the Prothalamos itself was archived into the Symposium, as its purpose had merged with the main Curia forum.
The Intervention
At the end of March 2023, the standing Consul was removed for abuses of power. Following public and private discussion, the administration collectively decided that the Curia must be simplified. Thus it was; old bureaucratic forums were archived, the function of the Prothalamos, curia vote and new citizenships were merged into Curia main, and its elected offices were transitioned to strictly appointed positions or removed, citing the severe lack of participation the Curia was seeing by this point and its inability to perform activities beyond token self adjustments and reruns of its traditional drama.
See Also
External Links
- The Curia on TWC
- The Constitution on TWC
- A Guide to the Curia on TWC
- Curia Reports & Curial Officers list on TWC
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