Good
Good GoI. I actually may use this group for my articles in future lol
I know, I can do it.
Backrooms Bureau of Administration and Research / Discussion
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This is the discussion related to the wiki page Backrooms Bureau of Administration and Research.
"The only way we can find that exit is if we maintain law and order. We will find stability through governance and safety through regulation."
With all the craziness of the Backrooms, wanderers will gravitate towards what they find familiar and comforting. You offer wanderers a cut-and-dried "boring" political promise. They will eat this up! Tastes like home…
Your friend and colleague,
Goerman
http://backrooms-wiki.wikidot.com/goerman
My feedback here is essentially gonna be the same as what I said on the server. I can see the vision but it really does just feel like the stereotypical good guy American government from every American action movie. This page lacks the nuance and complexity that would be expected from what is essentially the government of the USA but Backrooms.
agree with you here, considering the name given to the G.O.I. , it really lacks of "depth".
critics given on discord is barely adapted——actually i don't think any concept crit were adapted.
What crit are you referring to? To my knowledge, I only received crit from Robot which wasn't concept crit.
- Univ
I understand your criticism tbh, it is like the type of governments you see in movies although adapted for the Backrooms. I find these types of bureaucratic and intellectual governments cool, but I get that many don't! I'll definitely expand upon the concept to be more mysterious and maybe corrupt in the future as I write about them, and probably change the group page soon.
- Univ
if I were it would likely be a downvote. I'd like to comment on this page because I'm the runner of the Indus canon.
I'm not sure what this page has to do with industrialization canon, but I'm sure you're going somewhere with this, so I'm not really concerned about that or anything, but this page is pretty bland.
The effort with the CSS is nice (but the top bar border should probably be yellow)
Putting government stuff in the backrooms has been done well on the wiki before but I think this is too surface-level. I can't speak on other people levying the complaint that crit wasn't implemented because I didn't watch this on sandbox-forum, but I do think this could have used some more concept stuff. The group isn't very interesting — it doesn't make me wonder who's a part of it, or want to see more about them or hear from their unique perspective.
Still, I wish you luck on the contest and I hope this goes somewhere awesome. Oh— and welcome to Industrialization!!
You promised you'd take me there again some day… but you never did.
Thank you! The CSS was made by the old concept owner, AnomalousMicrowave , so I don't take credit for that. The relation to industrialization canon stems mostly from the "In the chaos, many hope to rise and truly bring The Backrooms to peace once and for all" line on the canon page, it's a new upcoming industrialized group fighting for control of the Backrooms and for peace. If I misunderstood the canon then that's my fault and I'll make it relate to it in future projects relating to this group lol. I've also heard a lot of that critique that it's generic, and I'll make sure to stray away from that and maybe even rewrite this group page soon!
- Univ
I feel like this piece misses the mark. It's too generic of a government entity to really be interesting.
Soon after writing my own piece that involved the American government in the Backrooms, I've come to understand that everything plays out the same way — we discover the Backrooms, we impose law and order, we make empty promises to our followers, and we probably screw up something (but promptly hide it so as to not damage our reputation).
With that in mind, let me go over what this page does:
1. Generic Government Entity
The only way we can find that exit is if we maintain law and order. We will find stability through governance and safety through regulation.
This hits all of the marks when it comes to a government — claim that law and order is necessary, claim that our rule well establish stability, and outline what is necessary to achieve said stability. In other words, it's textbook politician talk. However, what I find most boring about this quote is how little it actually pertains to the Backrooms except for the mention of an exit.
In other words, it feels like you just shoved in a conglomerate of Frontrooms politicians and put them in the Backrooms… oh wait, that's exactly what you did.
formed by various former federals, bureaucrats, politicians, and other volunteering intellectuals.
1.1. The lack of political innovation
Governments must adapt to the lands they govern — a massive empire might need a lot of decentralization, while a small country can be run by a couple leaders with a splash of democracy. Here, I do not see that. What has flourished in the Backrooms is a repeat of the United States federal government.
Moral absolutism? Check. We had prohibition, the war on drugs, an entire court battle over whether saying "fuck" is protected under the First Amendment, and more.
Exploration and research? Check. We federally fund scientific initiatives, especially NASA, and more.
Multiple different branches? Check. Just look at American bureaucracy.
Leaders? Check. We got secretaries, the director of the FBI, the Vice President, etc.
Sources of income? Check. Taxes, foreign investments, stocks/bonds.
Initiatives? Check. You heard of CDC or FDA guidance?
But what I find most telling is that you just Backrooms-ified the FBI logo.
1.2. Basic Examples of Laws
Banning Memory Juice? Yeah, that's just a drug.
Banning Rixa Gas? Obviously, a ban on weaponry.
Despite their efforts, most of the attempts have failed and were simply ignored except for the weaponized object prohibition, which, in some way, has gained support from various wanderers.
Just like in the United States.
1.3. Basic Buildings
Brutalist architecture? That’s a staple of government buildings.
1.4. Basic Member Description
According to members of the B.B.A.R., he is an inspirational and motivational man who can boost the morale of any worker and is willing to do everything possible to make his group achieve success.
This tells me nothing about him. Of course the members of the government will say that.
1.5. Expected Branches
Office Branch? That’s Congress. Hell, it’s even got our Ethics Committee.
Field Agent Branch? That's our scientific bureaucracy.
Dark Phoenix Company? That's our army.
In other words, there’s nothing distinguishing this from a regular government. It has little to no nuance — just your average "shady government organization that claims to do good for the people.”
2. Lack of Description
Its reach is not elaborated on, you don't describe what people do under their rule, you say there’s laws but never actually say how they’re enforced, etc. There is a lot of work in creating a governmental entity, but this group seems to lack any legitimacy whatsoever. They exist — why should we care? What do they do for the average citizen of the Backrooms? If you would like to think about this in terms of social contract theory, what's the contract? Safety? What rights are we protecting? What is their relationship with other major groups? How did the group come to exist and exert its influence (not just how it was founded)? Most importantly, how does this relate to the Backrooms narrative in any way?
What’s stopping this from becoming a civil war in the Backrooms story or a 1984-esque revolution? Where would the Backrooms come into play in the midst of all this?
In Conclusion:
I’ll be completely honest when I say I don't know where you're going with this. You have set up a government in the Backrooms, but what we wonder now is why. What prompted a governmental entity specifically and not just a small voluntary organization a la the M.E.G.? Could you have told this story a little more concisely without resorting to political tropes?
All in all, this page feels unfinished, first and foremost. You took an idea, developed it halfway, and expected readers to get the rest of the story in a future page. I can't really say I'm interested in the implications of this, considering how "textbook" it is. It's written like a clinical encyclopedia page. I read it like a clinical encyclopedia page. What enjoyment am I supposed to get out of it?
PS:
As an Indus Canon page, I don’t necessarily see how this relates. There's already an established story, setting, and plotline. But here comes this page that seemingly introduces a completely separate story that you don't really connect to the original plotline — it feels like you're Simulation Canon’ing the Indus Canon.
Whoa, it’s a forum signature. Ain’t that cool?
I’m waking up to ash and dust
I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust
Unfold
As a person who has also written a “Government in the Backrooms” piece… by 
Sky3, 03 Mar 2024 21:57
Re: As a person who has also written a “Government in the Backrooms” piece…
Wow! That is a some very insightful and detailed critique. Thank you, it’s definitely opened my eyes to some things. You’re not wrong, I tried to make it as political and governmental as possible because I found that kind of concept very interesting, but it’s not for everyone. I think I’ll definitely expand on this page in the future and add a bit of spice to it. As for how it’s unrelated to Indus Canon, I intended it to be a subbranch that branches off the main plot line, another industrial powerhouse that joins the fight for Backrooms superiority and rises to establish peace. I lean heavily on the “societies which echo the ones back home” part, and human settlement. I may have misunderstood and took the Canon page a bit too literally, and if so that’s my fault and I’ll fix it. Otherwise thank you for your comments and critique Sky! I expected no less from you : )
- Univ
Re: As a person who has also written a “Government in the Backrooms” piece…
"What’s stopping this from becoming a civil war in the Backrooms story or a 1984-esque revolution?"
Both of those scenarios sound fascinating — if not inevitable.
Your friend and colleague,
Goerman
http://backrooms-wiki.wikidot.com/goerman
Unfold
Re: As a person who has also written a “Government in the Backrooms” piece… by 
Robert Goerman, 04 Mar 2024 00:07
Everything here is from an outsider looking in. I think it would be interesting if you added a recruitment poster or other propaganda material from BBAR.
Oooo not a bad idea, that would certainly be interesting. I am not sure how I would present that here on the wiki though if I do make a recruitment poster of sorts.
- Univ
/forum/t-16743032/backrooms-bureau-of-administration-and-research#post-