User:JohnTheYooper/Michigan - Revision history

JohnTheYooper: updating thoughts since clearly the "start of 2026" idea didn't go so well

2026-06-25T20:09:30Z

updating thoughts since clearly the "start of 2026" idea didn't go so well

JohnTheYooper: upd into something more clear

2025-12-24T23:17:37Z

upd into something more clear

JohnTheYooper: plus thoughts

2025-11-12T22:59:13Z

plus thoughts

JohnTheYooper: thoughts on a michigan branch

2025-11-04T10:31:28Z

thoughts on a michigan branch

New page

For ease, this is written with the assumption that things are already made. They are not, current progress is just "I am here and here are ideas."

==Problem is==
I'm not a politician, extrovert, door-to-door type, political expert, speaker, any of that.

I'm a dork who plays with computers, spends time in weird rabbit holes and just likes to fill out the corners for the cause like nibbling at long-needed updates for the wiki. So for Michigan I'm a bench warmer and a librarian. Anyone with leadership aptitude and stake in the project can have it.

Everything that exists is online with no in-person representation.

==How it's set up==
Michigan is set up as a skeleton party to be filled in by volunteers. Its priorities are,
* promoting resources for getting people to think pirate, even if they don't identify as that or they don't want to sacrifice whatever affiliation they have
* kind of be an opinionated angle, partisan neutral who tries to inch in on at least third party space if not the mainstream
* Have a blog or the like committed to Michigan level affairs
* lean on and support national infrastructure as much as possible, avoiding repetition of effort
* Have an open model to build other states to a simple level with
* Absolute bluntness and transparency. There will be no stupid games to pretend to be what we are not, or mislead expectations. People who want to know will have every tool they need to choose where they want to go, even if identifying as a full on political pirate is not really their cup of tea, but they still despise the broken binary of the country's politics.

I'm not the guy who will run candidates and get people in office, nor can I manage my way out of a fishbowl let alone a campaign, so that will again require people with a lot more time, energy and relevant skills. But I'm happy to help out and share, even fill the gaps for someone who does want to go further but also needs backup to get it done.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Michigan architecture==
-The Michigan Pirate Party (name pending) seeks to have an official existence to point to at the start of 2026, even if its recognition by the PNC or any more formal organization take place later in the year.
+The Michigan Pirate Party (name pending) is not off the table but has been subject to crippling issues in motivation and volunteering. There are a few aspects required for this to exist, but mostly just a couple of people who agree on a vision to see it exist. This page reflects my own vision of what a Michigan Pirate Party would look like and do.
 ===Website===
 The site would have the following features:
 * An FAQ, written to 'give it straight' about the pirate movement with inspiration from the national
@@ Line 14: / Line 26: @@
 * Relevant political causes to look into, links on how to engage, 'issues of highlight' aside from news entries ^.
 ===Social Media===
-This is going to be tricky because the interim founder doesn't really like social media. Desirable coverage would be youtube, facebook,.... twitter.... possibly IG, mastadon, bluesky?, would like at least one decentralized option and at least one mainstream one. Promote what we want, use what works.
+So this is a point where I'd be terrible because I hate Facebook et al and would only be willing to sustain presence on Mastadon and maybe Bluesky and not a lot else. If some other founding member wants to work on the others that could be cool. Some presence is required so it is apparent we exist.
 ===Communication===
-Leverage national architecture with <code>#michigan</code> on discord and a bridged michigan channel on more libre software. Founder's preference for this would be xmpp.
+Leverage national architecture with <code>#michigan</code> on discord and a bridged michigan channel on more libre software such as Matrix, Stoat or Fluxer, perhaps something like xmpp. Self hosted infra would be nice but likely lean impractical. An email would be available.
-I'm not the guy who will run candidates and get people in office, nor can I manage my way out of a fishbowl let alone a campaign, so that will again require people with a lot more time, energy and relevant skills. But I'm happy to help out and share, even fill the gaps for someone who does want to go further but also needs support to get it done.
+==Needed volunteering==
-===Conceptual things to work out===
+I am rather introverted by nature. I don't do door knocking, you can barely get me on the phone, I do not like speaking, I am not a field expert except in knowing random stuff that exists, I just like computer stuff and pirate politics interests me. In effect I'm something of a bench warmer, certainly not a leader, which is why this page is as far as the michigan party can go until there are others on board. But I am willing to collaborate with others and take initiative as long as its not just me moving the ball forward.
 Branding. The Michigander Pirate Party, or just Michigan? Thinking a logo adapted from the pirate brand with Michigan coloring influenced by pirate purple.
-=== Michigan principles===
+How to avoid shortening the MI Pirate Party so it doesn't read as my pp. "pirate" is uphill as it is and mi pp is just weird.
-Additionally, this party would not demand absolute loyalty or people's participation in every possible angle the party supports, and be satisfied working with people and groups which generally embrace the spirit of the Pirate movement. It may have participants who overlap with less explicitly political organizations, and it may work with people who take the approach of using one of the mainstream parties to further Pirate ideals, for example a pirate-by-heart who runs in a 'big party' primary.
+==Other resources==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-For ease, this is written with the assumption that things are already made. They are not, current progress is just "I am here and here are ideas."
+==Michigan architecture==
 I'm not a politician, extrovert, door-to-door type, political expert, speaker, any of that.
 I'm a dork who plays with computers, spends time in weird rabbit holes and just likes to fill out the corners for the cause like nibbling at long-needed updates for the wiki. So for Michigan I'm a bench warmer and a librarian. Anyone with leadership aptitude and stake in the project can have it.
-Everything that exists is online with no in-person representation.
+Everything that exists is online and has little physical world presence. This is effectively a skeleton waiting for people with the necessary drive to take the party to the next step.
-==How it's set up==
+Branding. The Michigander Pirate Party, or just Michigan? Thinking a logo adapted from the pirate brand with Michigan coloring influenced by pirate purple.
-I'm not the guy who will run candidates and get people in office, nor can I manage my way out of a fishbowl let alone a campaign, so that will again require people with a lot more time, energy and relevant skills. But I'm happy to help out and share, even fill the gaps for someone who does want to go further but also needs backup to get it done.
+=== Michigan principles===
-===Structural blurbs===
+Additionally, this party would not demand absolute loyalty or people's participation in every possible angle the party supports, and be satisfied working with people and groups which generally embrace the spirit of the Pirate movement. It may have participants who overlap with less explicitly political organizations, and it may work with people who take the approach of using one of the mainstream parties to further Pirate ideals, for example a pirate-by-heart who runs in a 'big party' primary.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 * Have an open model to build other states to a simple level with
 * Absolute bluntness and transparency. There will be no stupid games to pretend to be what we are not, or mislead expectations. People who want to know will have every tool they need to choose where they want to go, even if identifying as a full on political pirate is not really their cup of tea, but they still despise the broken binary of the country's politics.
 I'm not the guy who will run candidates and get people in office, nor can I manage my way out of a fishbowl let alone a campaign, so that will again require people with a lot more time, energy and relevant skills. But I'm happy to help out and share, even fill the gaps for someone who does want to go further but also needs backup to get it done.