We the People of Buzztown, in order to form a more perfect union, do hereby acquiesce and submit to the following terms and conditions concerning the government of Buzztown.
Article I: Parody[]
Section 1[]
Buzztown is a state of mind, purely free and ungovernable, with certain specific exceptions.
Section 2[]
Allusions to titles or government herein are for entertainment purposes only, and do not constitute a legal or binding contract under any stretch of the imagination.
Article II: The Monarchy[]
Section 1: Plurality[]
The form of government of Buzztown shall be that of a plural monarchy.
Section 2: Divine Right[]
The monarchs of Buzztown shall serve a term as bestowed upon them by the divine right of their employers at CNET.
Section 3: Benign Dictatorship[]
The monarchs of Buzztown shall have all authority to bestow and revoke titles and delegate or withdraw authority at their pleasure within the constraints of their positions.
Article III: The Parliament[]
See also: Buzz Town Parliament
Section 1: Athenian Form[]
The lay government of buzztown has no authority, but shall take the general form of a bicameral Athenian parliament.
Section 2: House of Monkeys[]
The upper house of parliament, called the "House of Monkeys", consists of those with authority over technical aspects of the Buzztown services, such as the Wiki, IRC chat room, and other Web sites and services. Members of the upper house are neither elected nor paid. Members of the House of Monkeys have absolute or shared authority over their particular domains, which they exert according to their own particular idioms under whatever form of governance happens to grant them their authority.
Section 3: House of Buzzers[]
The lower house of parliament, called the "House of Buzzers", consists of all listeners and contributors to Buzz Out Loud, who are free to organize themselves at will in any manner they see fit, within the constraints of the Constitution of Buzztown. Such organization may include, but is not limited to
- the bestowal of titles upon one another,
- the holding of popularity contests amongst themselves,
- the organization of various and sundry initiatives,
- the declaration of holidays,
- the selection of mottos,
- the eating of asparagus,
- the frying, boiling, and distribution of bacon,
- the editing of Wikis,
- the twittering of tweets,
- the issuing of chat messages,
- the sending of e-mails
Buzzers interested in a parliamentary title should consult the Buzz Town Parliament page, and the BuzzTownCenter.org Candidates page. It may also help your candidacy to become a licensed buzzologist.
Section 4: So Say We All[]
The wheels of daily Athenian democracy spin around the axis of unanimous consent. In other words, take the initiative, and if no one objects, then everyone effectively agrees. It is customary to express an attitude of unanimous consent with the phrase "So Say We All" or its acronym, "SSWA".
Section 5: Voting[]
Whenever unanimous consent is thwarted by an objection, try to resolve it first by "asking around" in the BOL Lounge and the chat room, or as appropriate, BTC forums, or the wiki forum.
If "asking around" fails to result in consensus, buzzers may request a poll at the aforementioned locations, or appeal to the next assizes: being the house of monkeys, all the way up to the monarchs themselves. All votes are subject to the approval of the monarchs, who have the authority to veto or otherwise change the outcome of any vote.
Article IV: The Mayor[]
See also: Mayor
Section 1: Monarchical Veto and Override[]
The monarchy has full authority to overrule this article at any time, and thereby to appoint anyone they see fit to the ceremonial office of Mayor for a term of predetermined or indeterminate length, or abolish the office entirely in favor of a more efficient model, such as that of a manager hired by council.
Section 2: Rotations[]
Except when otherwise annointed by the monarchy or assumed by the House of Monkeys, the ceremonial title of "Mayor of Buzztown" is bestowed by the casting of lots from among all licensed Buzzologists, in the grand tradition of Athenian democracy. The Wiki page Mayor shall document the order Mayors have been selected, along with the Gregorian dates of their service, and whether their selections were by lot, by royal decree, or by online poll.
Section 3: Term of Office[]
Those who accept the ceremonial title of Mayor shall serve for a term of 2.73785 Julian milliyears (24 hours) beginning at midnight UTC unless otherwise decreed by the monarchy. There may be several Mayors of buzztown serving in parallel as well as in series, just as there are multiple monarchs.
Section 4: Term Limits[]
No mayoral candidate may serve two consecutive terms unless so decreed by the monarchs. No former mayor may serve a second term until every qualified candidate has been chosen to serve, except as decreed by the monarchs.
Section 5: Recall and Abdication[]
A duly selected Mayor may voluntarily or involuntarily vacate the office under various conditions. Mayors will not be forced to serve.
Article V: Ratification[]
If you agree or disagree with the general principles or specific provisions of this Constitution, feel free to voice your concerns and affix your signature to this article's Talk Page.
Article VI: Amendment[]
This Constitution of United Buzztown may be amended by royal decree, or by clicking the edit button above and making responsible changes. Therefore, it's best to directly quote passages you want to discuss on the talk page, because they could change. If Randomtime or Pb30 revert your edits, please don't try to re-instate the reverted edits unless they give you the go-ahead on the talk page.