Spellchecked and with Jon's correction.

Buffista Vote

This weekend, there has been a lot of discussion, both here and at the Contingency Board at WXing, over the decisions we make and how we make them. There has been some (but it's not unanimous) dissatisfaction over our usual method of determining consensus. Several people suggested we start voting on the big things. Funny thing is, it's such a hot topic, and there’s no way to determine whether or not we want to vote on things, without taking a vote on it. The lovely jengod has agreed to tally our votes, and so I give you a proposal.

Voting starts Tuesday night (Feb. 25, 2003) at midnight and closes Sunday night (Mar. 2, 2003) at midnight. In other words, the voting period equals 5 full days. The following items are included in this vote:

A yes vote on this item signifies the voter agrees that we should create a voting system for community decisions that do not require immediate action.

Exemptions: Thread naming, disciplinary action against trolls (although the process itself could come up for a vote at some point) and tasks currently performed by Stompy Feet, including but not limited to board maintenance.

A no vote on this item signifies that the voter does not agree to a voting process to determine the community's will as it pertains to community decisions.

A yes vote on this item signifies the voter wants a minimum* number of community members voting on any item in order for the vote to count.

A no vote on this item signifies the voter wants implemented the decision of the majority** of voters who participated, regardless of the number of total votes.

A yes vote on this item signifies the voter agrees that a simple majority vote is sufficient to enact changes for any issue brought up for vote.

If this item passes, we will hold a discussion and vote on how to handle ties. If it doesn't pass, the point is moot.

Regardless, this item does not affect the outcome of Item 2. In other words, if people vote in favor of requiring a quorum on any issue, the quorum requirement will still stand and the smallest majority that would allow an initiative to be voted in would equal [one half + one] of the votes needed for the quorum.

A no vote on this item signifies the voter does not think a simple majority is sufficient to enact change for any initiative brought up for vote, and instead wants a higher majority.

If item is voted down, the size of the higher majority required will be put up for a separate vote.

A yes vote on this item signifies the voter agrees that seven days time is sufficient to discuss the issue. The week would be broken down thusly: Discussion: Days 1, 2, 3, and 4. Voting: Days 5, 6, 7. When there is a conflict for major holidays (to be defined) we will make accommodations (to be defined) as needed. We will vote later on whether discussions end on day 4 or continue during the votes.

A no vote on this item signifies that the voter doesn't agree with this timetable and is requesting that the community continue to discuss timetables.

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* for Item 2: Quorum, yes vote: the minimum number will be a number to be determined by the community in a subsequent vote, if item 2 is voted in.

** for Item 2: Quorum, no vote: "majority" is a percentage to be determined by the community in a subsequent vote.

Please note that discussion and voting on PROCESS will take place AFTER we decide whether or not we want to vote. (This post is courtesy of Cindy)

Voting Instructions are in the following post.

Trial Instructions:

Voting Instructions are in the following post.

Voting Instructions

To vote, go to the form

You may either vote yes, no or abstain from the vote for each separate item.

(form courtesy of the lovely Jon B.)

Thank you.

You should add:

If you don't want to use the form or have trouble using it, you can send an email to votes@buffistas.org. PLEASE put your user name at the top of the message and write your votes one on each line with the questions labelled. Here is an example:

username: Jon B

1.) VOTING: yes

2.) QUORUMS: no

3.) SIMPLE MAJORITY: abstain

4.) DISCUSSION AND VOTING PERIOD TIME LIMITS: yes

Looks good all around.

Thank you Jon!

Third thing:

We are decided earlier to put out an all-points bulletin to all the threads. This is the draft text:

Attention Buffistas!

Currently we are in a discussion about how issues on the Phoenix board are decided. If you are a newcomer, you may not know that we are entirely self-supporting and self-moderating, so any changes we make are decided by the entire community.

Please visit the Sunnydale Press thread here: (link to the voting post) for details. All further important messages about this board will be posted on this thread only. If you are interested, please check Press.

Questions and concerns can be addressed in the Bureaucracy Thread

Thank you so much for your continued participation in our community .

Can someone else take some of the threads and post this? I think there are way too many for me.

Smallville 1: Clex!-- Sophia
Angel 2: No Time for Losers--Sophia
Buffy 3: Once, Twice, Three Times a Slayer--Sophia
Farscape 1: Fetch the Comfy Chair --Sophia
Spike's Bitches 4: Bite you in a heartbeat Laura
Natter 9 ... Natter 9 ... Natter 9 ... Laura
Previously 1: The Who Whating How With Huh? Laura
Firefly 2: You Can't Take the Sky From Me. Sophia
Buffista Movies 1: Go Monkey. Choose Monkey.
Spoilage Lite: Buffy David
David Buffy and Angel SPOILERS
David
All Ogle, No Cash -- It's Not Just Annoying, It's Un-AmericanSophia
Due South: Mountie Fetishists Anon !Elena
Buffista Music 1: The Music (And Who Can Blame It) Swells Sophia
LotR - The Two Towers: "Dude, Where's my Precious?" Elena
Atlantic Canadian Monday Madness Elena
Literary Buffistas: Don't Speak Latin in Front of the Books Sophia
Spoilage Lite: Angel (117 messages)David
Sang Sacre 1: It's a Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood World

I can do more, I just absolulely cannot go in spoilers.

Just trying!

Voting Instructions.

To vote, go to the form

You may vote yes, no or abstain from the vote for each separate item. Obviously, you may only vote once.

If you don't want to use the form or have trouble using it, you can send an email to votes@buffistas.org. PLEASE put your user name at the top of the message and write your votes one on each line with the questions labelled. Here is an example:

username: Jon B

1.) VOTING: yes

2.) QUORUMS: no

4.) DISCUSSION AND VOTING PERIOD TIME LIMITS: yes

Thank you.

I'll take Due South, LOTR and Atlantic Canadians for sure. Feel free to assign more to me if needed...

Also, when are we going to post this?

Thanks Elena!

I am going to post the Press note at about 11:55 (in about 10 minutes).

Feel free to change my wording to make it more fun! I can be abrupt.

For future reference, I'd suggest that the next iteration of the poll take you to a "thank you, your vote has been received!" page after your vote is processed correctly -- the red band is really an awfully small an area to change the text in and have it be noticeable.

Yikes, it is soon. I can take Bitches, Natter and Previously.

Of course, more if needed.