Ministry Talk
 

I'm a firm believer in communication (and I tend to be a long-winded jabber jaws), so now we have a place to talk! Do you have a laundry list of things to do and need to vent about it? Is your office spammed and you wanna cry?? Need ideas for a sub-plot and your well is running dry? We can chat Ministry stuff here. Catch each other up. Give advice. Be friends. Yay!

Come on, people! Feel free to talk! Reagan has Clara Belle in her office and she already wanted to rip her hair out and hide in the Locked Room on Level Nine! But at least my office isn't stuffed full of people like it usually is... LOL!

Though I doubt the peace will last long... ;)

Well, I'm here, happy to see we have a thread now to discuss various stuff going around the Ministry (thanks, Tiffanie!)

Come on, people, this could be really fun, think of all the great subplots we can dream up and inflict upon the world! I'm just kind of relaxing right now myself, having finally completed all the tasks that my department has been assigned for the upcoming Ministry convention, so it's a really nice time to relax and plot. Not that any time isn't a good time for that, teehee!

:mwaha: Alright, you've convinced me, Linda!

Right now, Lorraine is going around to all her divisions to perk some interest up / hand out tasks to those who haven't received anything yet... *sigh* *kicks employees into gear*
Oh and right now she's in the Floo Network, talking with a Ms Myers about a certain male groundskeeper albeit Lorraine has no idea who the male is in question, but whatever! ;P

Well Egypt has gotten all her research done and is chatting up with ice maiden Alexa:)

With the school term coming to an end at the end of August, we need to take advantage of the surge of activity we may get during the sorting time. I'm tempted to set the Conference during that time, though I haven't decided upon that yet b/c I need to discuss with Ern, but it is looking a bit appealing.
Though I have to determine if that will be enough time for each dept to get done, but everyone should start working toward that goal for now :)

But anyhow, enough a plot stuff... does anyone have anything fairly hilarious going on in their departments? If so, please share! ;)

I don't have any employees! I've sent them like 3 PMs already and many of them have gotten them and they still don't do anything. I'm at a loss as to what else I can do:(

I think we all feel your pain... Personally, I myself have like three total active employees! Which isn't good for a department that has four divisions!!
and one of division heads is frustrated cause he feels he is doing the work of employees, since he has no active ones. I'm like; there isn't much i could do! :no:
I've just sent them all a PM... so we'll see what happens :console:

I feel the same. I have 0 at the moment. But I usually have 2.

It seems we all have a problem getting people to stay here within our departments. I think we need to possibly brainstorm some exciting activities, something to keep people busy. The conference is going to provide something for people to do, and there was quite a bit of activity going on for a while as people worked on the OWLs and NEWTs, but now my department has died down to its practically extinct level of activity again. Let's think up some stuff to motivate people and keep them interested!

So, I had this idea. For the tasks we have within our departments, what if we found a way to reward people for doing a good job, such as raises, etc.? What do you guys think of this? (This may not be the right forum for this, but I thought I would get the idea out in the open.)

Oh yeah. As far as the conference goes, I think it would be awesome if we could have it during the time when school is out of session. It would work better for most of us, I'm sure! Give us a little something to do, plus we could concentrate and devote more attention to this.

See I thought the whole point of us being Department Heads was that we brainstormed plots. And I haven't really seen that happening.

Me neither. Maybe we should have a brainstorming session or something, something to get motivation going within the departments. Maybe we can think up some good ideas. Ideas for plots within each individual department seem to be an issue, and I think that's something we should all work on. Wouldn't it be great if the Ministry became as big a thing as the school?

As department heads, you all are responsible for developing subplots for your department in addition to seeing forth any major overall plots that have been decided for the entire Ministry RPG and for suggesting new ideas for major plots when one major plot is coming to a close.

You have the freedom to do develop you dept plots at any time you feel your department needs a boost. You are encouraged to do that and I expect you all to be doing that.

As for activity, right now is a tough time. The summer always sees a lull in activity, both in the school RPG and now in the ministry, because lots of people take vacations (or don't have any schoolwork to procrastinate doing by using SS ;)). Hopefully, activity will pick up soon. *crosses fingers*

I'm discussing with the other admin the suggestions that many of the dept heads have put forward to improve the RPG. A lot of the bigger suggestions that were made (like salaries or some other incentive program) require input from tech and other admin to even discuss feasibility, so bare with me as these things take time :)

Just another thought with regards to plots; is there anyway to perhaps encourage members to have their Ministry charries develop their own character subplots, as people do with their School Charries? I know this might seem rather silly or whatnot, but if people didn't develop their school charries then would they really see the point of RPing in places like the lake or pathways? No. They'd go to classes ... partake in the bigger plots of "house pride" and earning house points... but, they need to create their own individual charrie. Same with the Ministry.

Yes, some people do this already, but I think activity would increase more if we could somehow encourage people to develop "business relationships", perhaps even throwing in "workplace romance".

So Dept heads have the role of developing subplots. What exactly is the role of division head? Are they supposed to help develop the plots or just carry them out and do the work of a regular employee? :erm:

Yeah there doesn't seem to be any charrie subplots going on in the Ministry like at the school. I wonder why that is. I mean I know my charrie started off with drama in the break room.

Salaries would be awesome! :woot:

Members should definitely be encouraged to develop subplots for their own characters. I completely agree that what makes the RPs so unique is the uniqueness of the individual RPers characters. Hopefully the opening of Diagon Alley and the chance to RP a bit outside the workplace will encourage the members to develop their own characters away from work and then they can bring those attributes to the Ministry as well.

To answer your question Jess, Division heads are meant to assist the dept heads in the development of subplots, sometimes coming up with the ideas but at the very least helping flush them out into something manageable. They are expected to see any subplots in their Division through with their employees, keeping the flow of the RP continuously moving, and ensuring that their employees are informed both IC and OOC (unless you choose to have all OOC contact with your employees. That is the dept head's individual choice). They are meant to assist you in nearly whatever you need from them for the RP, both IC and OOC.

Ok I've sent out my 5th PM to all my employees, and all of them have gotten the PMs and many of them are online right now RPing in Diagon Ally just like I didn't nicely ask them to make 1 little post in the Ministry doing their job.:cry:

I'm at my wits end to be frank. :hairpull:

Hey guys, I have a question - how many of you have x-HermioneGranger-x as an employee in your department? Apparently she applied and got placed at least 3 different times back in the day and now I have no idea what department she really works in. Her profile says Education, but she's on other departments lists. I'd like to know #1) if she was placed into your department and #2) if she is an active RPer.

I'd also like EACH and EVERY one of you to go through your applications and record any person who has been placed in your department in the Employees Listing on the Ministry OOC. I often use this list to check if people have been placed before and I know it is incomplete. Even if your employees have told you they don't want to RP anymore, we need them on the list b/c if they ever come back, they stay in that department. SO PLEASE UPDATE THAT MASTER LIST ASAP! If the application is in your box, their name should be on that list.

I will be checking to see if this gets done and hunt you down if you don't do it! MAUAHAHAHAHA:mwaha: Pwease do it! :glomp:

x-HermioneGranger-x - She's in my department (Magical Education) and is not very active, never really has been except possibly in the first couple days. I can't remember the last time she posted there. (I just checked, the last time she posted was June 29.)

My employee list should be up to date, though most of the people don't play in the Ministry very frequently. Only change that I know of is that PhelpsLover101 has left the Ministry and is going to RP exclusively in the school. That's the latest I have!

hmmm I think she was in mine as well but got moved. Hmm she active in Knockturn Ally shes posts in there almost every day. So I mean shes active on the site.

She's hasn't been sorted in my department; hmph! I feel left out (I kid!)

As for my employee list, it should be up-to-date, but I could double check that again for you =]

I don't have her either!

I am up to date, I did it yesterday when I updated my colour.

So you guys wanna know a secret.... I find myself slacking in other parts of SS to play in here >.<

*dances*

^

*listens* I like secrets. Ooh, that's kinda interesting Caitlin :shifty:

Guess what? I like playing my Ministry Charrie better than my Hogwarts Charrie :whistle:
except other people seem to like him for some reason?[:/]

Hey, Tiff, what day are we looking to end this plot? For the finalllllll big, last day of the conference thing to happen?

Well, to be honest, it is kinda hard to say considering:

1. The plot hasn't even really gotten started yet (I'm going to open the main thread tomorrow I think. I'm done waiting on people to post, so we're moving forward without them.)

2. This plot kinda rolls into the next one... :whistle:

I'll be able to give you a better estimate soon.

What's the next one?

Alright well I'm all set and ready. :)

well, minus the zero Spirit Division but I'll just have my charrie cover that small part. :yes:

And the next part eh? I wonder what this is :shifty:

The next plot?! Ooh... now you have me curious Tiff :shifty:

... and I was wondering if people were ever going to post in this thread again! Haha! My post was the last for like a couple weeks, :tongue:

hehehe *rattles Jessica*.

Ministry talk = Teal and Lorraine shiftiness. :evil:

:O No rattling Jessica! *pokes Ernie* :tongue:


Teal and Lorraine shiftiness? Or shall we say Terraine shiftiness? Terraine... wow. :lmao:

*wanders away to go study the pelvis for her quiz*

Teal/Lorraine????

*eyes JessJess*

Teal and Lorraine are best friends... :yes:
and they went to school the same year as notable Professors like Rae, Lainey, and Shackleton

Anyone else in the 38-range for years? ;P


And why you eying me? *glares at Jenni* Not nice!

Aw! But rattling you is fuuun! *rattles one last time and stops* xD

Ooooh, Terraine is it? xD I mixed the names a different way, Loreal, like the shampoo! :lmao:

I think Terraine is better tho *nods*

hehehehehehehehe.

:blush: Not as much fun as it is to POKE YOU! ;P xD

:lmao: I never realized how funny their mixed names were... maybe they'll be using Loreal on the Terraine, that is known as the Ministry? xD

:dizzy: :rotfl:

I need some sleeeeeeeeppppppp......or something

Yes I know I'm double posting... but as we're getting to more chat in the plotlines thread, then I thought we should move it here to avoid covering up important plotlines :whistle:


Ernie: Yes... you KNOW Lorraine will get in the way of Teal and Theo siding with Brenny. :evil: Besides, they'll totally be torn between siding with Lor versus their boss... :upside:

Tommy: Big fight!? Says who? Actually, forget "wedding of the century", but this will now be called "fight of the century" :angel:

Big Atrium fight. Boys vs Girls. It should involve pies!

Lorraine is so devious :evil: *ish one of many reason's why Teal loves likes her*

Oh, not just pies. Teal has Dragon's, Sphinx's, Manticores, Chimaera's... etc to his disposal. *ish the perks of being in the creatures business*

Girls don't stand a chance. :evil:

Theo has bludgers and quaffles and gobstones, and not acceptable patents!

:lmao: Pies? Oh dear.


I know, right? She WAS a slytherin for a reason :evil: Teal is so dangerous, hence why Lor loves likes him... *cough*

And Lor has malfunctioning brooms and portkeys to send the boys off to far off lands. Not to mention the use of Floo Powder as an explosive substance....

oh yea, don't mess with a woman and her chemicals :eyebrows:

:blink: Remind me to NEVER let Ben get on Lorraine's bad side :xd:

Ben must join Teal and Theo on Brennan's side!

So who has Reagan got? I'm pretty sure she'll have Elijah and who's said they'd support her - Lorraine and Samantha and Egypt.

Maybe Evaline? She's worked with Reagan and they seemed to get along just fine... what about Ben Ben? Is he gonna leave Elijah as the only male on the GOOD side?!? ;)

I reckon Elijah won't want to be the only male *hits him on the head with a bludger and drags him to Brennan's side*

There aren't enough male Heads in the Ministry!

Yes, but Elijah and Reagan have an understanding of sorts... and I'm surprised Theo would support Cooper considering all the useless crud he made him do (like rearranging the Quidditch schedule for his wedding :whistle: )

Yes but Cooper did promote him from lowly Division Head. That is why Theo stands by the Man! Unless a pay rise is in order for supporting Reagan!

Teal has reason to be frustrated with Cooper actually. xD He made the whole House Elf ordeal even worse :lol:

:mwaha:
I'll keep you on your toes; have no fear!! :xd:


Yes; I think Elijah will be her only male supporter it seems... Though then again, Ben doesn't want to get on Lorraine's bad side, so I reckon he'll be joining Reagan as well :shifty:


On second thought, I think that is exactly what he'd want. Elijah IS the Dept of MYSTERIES head... doesn't that speak for itself :P

And there really aren't. Are there really only THREE Male Characters!? o.O

Geez... I love playing Lorraine, but y'all are making me want to switch :blush: and I think Lorraine would kill me if i switched though *cough*

yes it should be a huge fight. like brenny penny isnt going to go without a fight!

and it should involve pineapples :lol:

yep Reagan has Egypt and Nathan too!

Actually, I think that could be very much the case... Then again, maybe he'll just resign, much as Cornelius Fudge did :whistle:


And did you just say pineapples!? :lmao: Sorry; when someone mentions that... all I can think of is the time in the TP with Josey and calling me a "pineapple Hufflepuff"... I even have the siggy to prove it! :angel:



Oops! :blush: :hide: There are actually FOUR male dept head characters; Syd too... But I sort of see him siding with Reagan :hmm:

Though my Division Heads make up for it; three of my four are male charries (two of which are male OOC :shifty:) Hmm, no wonder why Kyra sides with Lorraine so much she'll just follow what Lorraine does :whistle:

Erm there are five!!!

Theo, Teal, Syd, Elijah and Ben!!!

And Brenny, but he doesn't count.

Oh shoot. That means I had four the first the time... I clearly cannot add! :head:

So how many females then?

Reagan, Samantha, Evaline, Lorraine, Egypt?

We're even? :gasp:

Even is good in terms of genders for Dept heads! Even is not good for Reagan's campaign if there is a gender divide! Good thing she has Elijah (I hope!)

What are you talking about darling?! She has Lorraine; she already won :evil:

:blink: I guess we are...I never noticed that before!

Don't underestimate the power of the male Department Heads...Ben can get rather feisty at times :evil:

Yeah, but guess what? The election is rigged, so the men will LOSE!! LoL! (At least its rigged from an OOC perspective, not IC of course!)

Neither did I, but I suppose that is because I never really thought about it :lol:


And don't underestimate the power of women . . . with power. :evil:


:lmao:
Ah... rigged elections. I like those. :shifty:

Double posting again... sorries!! <33
 

I didn't know where else to post this, but i had a question of sorts... It's not very important, more just to feed my curiosity which you all know is very active ;P

The old threads forum; I was wondering if that was supposed to be visible to anyone or only Department and Division Heads? Cause I saw someone viewing that thread tonight who was just a regular employee...


In other news, how is everyone's 2009 going? ;)

That forum is visible to everyone, much the same way as the School RPG Archive is available to everyone. :D

^ Okay; I wasn't sure which was why I asked! Thanks Tiff ;)

i think we should have a dept had mixer or something egypt doesn't know anyone :cry:

Neither does Ben :lol: Actually I think he knows one or two of the Department heads, and didn't we establish that they all know OF each other? They need to socialize with each other more :lmao:

I feel like I wanna stalk everyone's filing cabinets so we can figure out who went to school with who :lol:

I mean Teal and Lorraine obviously went to school together... I think Ben and Theo were one year ahead of them... but I haven't the slightest on the others (Evaline, Elijah, and Syd are all like 10 years younger though if i recall) XD

Yea, I need to stalk again :tongue:

No kidding, either that or we should establish a prior knowledge of each other. :P I mean as Jess said, some of them apparently went to school at the same time. And if they ended up as Department Heads, then they were probably stand out students that knew each other to a certain degree. :P

I really like the idea of having some sort of mixer or event where the department heads can socialize. Since we weren't able to do the party in Diagon Alley with the shopkeepers (which I was so looking forward to!), I would love to have the opportunity to RP more with all of you. Maybe we can figure out something.

I have an idea! Perhaps the election plot might bring us all together! Some sort of election/campaign social function. What do you guys think?

Okay, only a few people gave birthyears... but with my expert stalking skills, I've added a year or two onto what was given based on the ones that did give years...

As of 2067:

Reagan Taylor - 37 now?
Samantha Rose - 50 now?
Syd Wordsmith - 32 now?
Ben Cobblesten - 41 now?
Teal Andrus - 40 now (birthyear: 2027)
Evaline Bass - 30 now?
Lorraine Brothmeister - 39 now (birthyear: 2028)
Theo Newtington III - 41 now (birthyear: 2026)
Egypt Greenwood - 33 now?
Elijah Wright - 33 now?

* This would indicate that Samantha Rose graduated like way before any of the others entered Hogwarts even!
* Ben may have graduated with Teal and Lorraine, or may have been in Theo's year who was one year above them
* Reagan was two years behind Teal and Lorraine
* Egypt and Elijah were like four years behind Reagan, but if read correctly (in my brief readings), Egypt didn't go to Hogwarts at all?
* Syd was a year behind them
* And Evaline was two years behind Syd...

And I think that's everyone... =)

:no: Egypt went to school in Ghana and finishing school in Paris:)

but yeah like a pre party before the first press conference or something

I never really thought about Samantha's birth year, but 2016 works well for me. That would make her 51, but remember that she uses some kind of product which makes her appear much younger than her actual age. The secret of her youth will later be revealed to be some sort of pineapple donut which contains 12 crocodile tears, crazy, huh?

I like the pre-convention party idea. They do that kind of thing in real elections, and it would work and give everyone a chance to socialize.

If you'd like, I would consider making a Department Head Lounge (similar to the staffroom in the school) where only we can post. We can do it on a floor with not so many threads - perhaps Level 5? Its almost right in the middle of all the floors too...

And we can still have social functions, but would you guys like something like this also?

I personally like the idea. That, in addition to the social functions, would give us a chance to socialize a bit (I hope!) But, what about the shopkeepers and assistant shopkeepers? Maybe at the pre-convention party for them, and we will hopefully have the Secret Santa activity again next year.

I love the lounge idea. It gives the Department Heads place to talk IC rather than us OOC.

Yeah I really really like the lounge idea. I would love to get the chance to RP with all the Department Heads. ^_^

Ooh, I love the idea for the Department Head lounge... Either Level Five or on Level One (perhaps not in either subforum but just where those three threads are) would be an ideal location... =)

Ohh, I really like that idea! That would be a nice little place for all our charries to get to know each other before they all start taking sides in the upcoming election :evil:

Jess, you bring up a good point about Level One. With the subforums in there now, there are the least number of threads there than on any level (obviously not counting the subforum's threads). That may be a better place to have the lounge.

It seems like most of you want this, so I'll get that thread up either tonight or tomorrow.

:woot: I like the idea

Yay for subforums!! And yes, it would be good for the lounge, seeming how it'd be out of the way of any of the particular departments.

Department Head Lounge is open for business on Level One!

Also, if any of you have employees who want something to do but they don't have a plot going on (though you should all be working with your div. heads on getting them one), send them into DA to get supplies for the department. Activity is low there right now, so try to incorporate DA as often as you can.

:woot: for the lounge!

Sorry about the double post!

But if you guys haven't seen I will be moving over to the Prophet IC and working over there.

I just wanted you guys to know that I loved working with all of you as a Ministry dept head. I got to see all the hard work behind the scenes that you guys put into this and I tip my hat to all of you :glomp: I had so much with all of you:)

*blows kisses*

:shifty: be careful you don't want to end up on the Prophet's worst dressed list :evil:

Wait...what? You are leaving us?

B...b...but.... *will mourn forever*

I saw that, -mourns with Jenni-

Good luck Tommy and we'll surely miss your work as Dept Head here!! Thank you for all!! :glomp:

*smooches*

:shifty: Don't worry, Lorraine is quite well dressed, :shifty:

:glomp: Jen!!!!!! I still love you!

Thank you JessyPoo, and I just totally came up with that right now:)

I'm gonna miss the purple...and the huge PM inbox...and the banner under my name....and the mod powers...oh and you guys:)

*scratches head* Why am I leaving again?

You're quire welcome! ;)

You'll miss us the most of any of that... right? ;P And aren't you a mod elsewhere? Like maybe in the Neville FC, right? o.O Obviously not the same, but yea... It'll be weird seeing you green again though :upside:

You're leaving cause you chose to go IC for the prophet! *nods*

But...but...Ben and Egypt just met! *flail*

Good luck in the Prophet! :glomp: We'll all miss you!

Tommy - You will be missed! I know you will do a great job for the Prophet, though.

Gosh! Samantha had just gotten to start to know you, too!

Awwwww goodluck Tommy you are gonna love the Prophet!

I am gonna miss you here in the Ministry though. :cry:

you guys are gonna make me really cry!
 

:yes: I will miss you guys the most!

:glomp:

I know they just met...but Egypt is going to the Prophet so she will be int he ministry for stories and stuff so she will still see you guys:)

I know Samantha rocks! :glomp:

I'm gonna miss you too!

I love all you guys!!! *sniffles*

Yes why are you leaving?

And why have I only just found out?

I'm moving over to the Daily Prophet:yes:

aww Jen, I thought I told you on MSN sometime ago...I soweee :glomp:

That isn't a good reason.

No. Nobody ever tells me anything.

And well I love writing and its my passion and I got to write for the Prophet...And I think it will be awesome and I want to give it a shot...

Aww don't be like that love :glomp:

ok I swear this is my last double post :lol:

mathi expressed interest in becoming dept head for level 8 and i would like to support her application:) shes mah gummy bear and she is totally awesome and active in the RP and shes a rocking mod and totally devoted:)

So has hermygirl, and I will support her in that.

I think she would be good, since she is already a Division Head.

Becky has also expressed interest as well in the position and she's also a division head.

So since we have three well qualified candidates, then unless Tiff has one in particular she would prefer, then I think we should have them all apply and see what they could come up with in an application / how they present themselves on paper ;)

:yes: sounds good to me Jess:)

Do we have an open application in the Employment Office for this job? If so, I think we'll just have to sit tight and see who else applies in addition to these people (if they're still interested) cause you never know who might surprise us :D

:whistle:

It's been awhile for anyone to post here.... so I thought I might again XD

Anyway, I was just thinking . . . and you should all be scared, cause that's a dangerous thing for me . . . right, i was thinking, which might seem to be a strange question, but wondering how any of you would feel about maybe switching up the departments we headed a bit? I mean it's just an idea to sorta get some new ideas flowing by having a "new" head; though it might be too much work and more work than it's worth and completely idiotic idea too... though it was just a thought, really. :yes:

:yes: we should all be very scared when you are up thinking without proper supervision :lol:

Hmmm I dunno we all pretty much help each other plan out the plots in the different departments as it is. So I dunno if switching up everything would pump new blood in anywhere you know...if that makes sense.

JESS!

I have always thought this actually, it sounded really fun to me. Kinda freshen things up a bit, I think it would be cool. I loooovve Magical Creatures, but then again I'd like to give a go at something else too.

IDK, I definitely think it's a nice idea Jesseh :yes: