But? There's always a but. When this is over, can we have a big 'but' moratorium?

Fred ,'Smile Time'


Bureaucracy 1: Like Kafka, Only Funnier  

A thread to discuss naming threads, board policy, new thread suggestions, and anything else that has to do with board administration and maintenance. Guaranteed to include lively debate and polls. Natter discouraged, but not deleted.

Current Stompy Feet: ita, Jon B, DXMachina, P.M. Marcontell, Liese S., amych


Denise - Mar 04, 2003 5:22:07 pm PST #6831 of 10001

I think the ballot should just be kept simple. Whatever gets the most votes versus 50% + 1. Maybe throw in "regardless of the amount of options". But all this talk of preferential voting and run-offs being included in the actual ballot is just going to cloud the issue. Preferential voting wasn't even mentioned in the last vote, so if this vote is to clarify the first vote, including other stuff is unnecessary.

I also don't think that the vote should necessarily be what the person intended at the time. If they've changed their minds, then so be it. It will still represent the will of the Buffistas now. And isn't that what everybody wants?


Jon B. - Mar 04, 2003 5:27:36 pm PST #6832 of 10001
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!

including other stuff is unnecessary.

I think the lack of "other stuff" is what got us into trouble in the first place. All I've done is explained the implications of the two options in what I feel is a balanced way.


Denise - Mar 04, 2003 5:41:58 pm PST #6833 of 10001

I think the lack of "other stuff" is what got us into trouble in the first place. All I've done is explained the implications of the two options in what I feel is a balanced way.

Hey, it wasn't an attack on you or anything. I just think to include all of that extra stuff in there, is asking people something different than was asked in the first vote. I though the intent of this second vote was simply to clarify what people want simple majority to mean, not to poll them on a bunch of stuff that was thought of afterward.

Choice 1 means that in the rare cases where a ballot question has more than two choices, there will need to be runoff ballots, or you will have to vote preferentially, or we will decide that the vote fails if no choice initially gets 50%. We will decide this either vote by vote, or else there will be another vote where this gets decided for all future ballots.

Again, not saying that there's anything wrong with the wording. I just think that considering everyone's frustration at the conversation that's taking place now, that some people will vote against 50% + 1, even if that's what they prefer, simply because they won't want to go through even more processes and conversations just to get at a final result.


Wolfram - Mar 04, 2003 5:46:48 pm PST #6834 of 10001
Visilurking

Speaking of voting headaches, just imagine a poll on this.


Jon B. - Mar 04, 2003 5:56:22 pm PST #6835 of 10001
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!

Cute Wolfram.

I didn't feel attacked, Denise. No worries. But what in my wording do you think is different from what was in the first vote? I believe that I *am* clarifying.

And I have to say I find it amusing that connie thinks my wording for option one is loaded while you think my wording for option two is loaded. It's like when NPR runs a story on the Middle East and they get letters from Israeli and Palestinian supporters each claiming the story was baised toward the other side. :)


Denise - Mar 04, 2003 6:04:54 pm PST #6836 of 10001

I didn't feel attacked, Denise. No worries. But what in my wording do you think is different from what was in the first vote? I believe that I *am* clarifying.

I just think that if the questions are kept simpler, we''ll get a simpler and more honest answer as to what people think simple majority should mean. Just what they think it means not tainted by what and how many different processes may or may not come with it.

And I have to say I find it amusing that connie thinks my wording for option one is loaded while you think my wording for option two is loaded. It's like when NPR runs a story on the Middle East and they get letters from Israeli and Palestinian supporters each claiming the story was baised toward the other side. :)

Actually, I'm for most votes wins regardless of what percentage of the total vote the winner holds. I just think people are getting fed up with every question having 17 more questions attached to it. However the ballot is worded isn't going to change my vote, but I do think it has the potential to affect other people's votes.


Liese S. - Mar 04, 2003 6:11:20 pm PST #6837 of 10001
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."

In other words: those who want a 51% majority would be implicitly voting that, if there's no such majority, no action should be taken. No run-offs

Were there really people who believed this?

Yes.

I'm fine with Jon's poll as worded.


Sophia Brooks - Mar 04, 2003 6:15:22 pm PST #6838 of 10001
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here

I am fine with the ballot as written.

I think that if we are re-voting, we have to give the full information. I fsomene votes against majority because it has too much shit attached, I thik it is a valid reason.

I do want to bring up that we a) don't know how long the voting period is and b) we are sort of going against the policy of disucssing for x days, voting for x days. I don't think I care about the 2nd, but we probably should vote for awhile.


Jon B. - Mar 04, 2003 6:33:11 pm PST #6839 of 10001
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!

we a) don't know how long the voting period is

Someone (ita?) suggested three days and I heard no dissent, so I'm assuming three days. I think (b) isn't really a concern because in theory we're not discussing anything new. We're just looking for a clarification.


Cindy - Mar 04, 2003 6:56:19 pm PST #6840 of 10001
Nobody

Choice 1: An option which recieves more than 50 % of the vote wins.

Choice 2: Whichever option has the most votes wins

I'd like to suggest rewording this as:

Simple majority defeated higher majority on our last ballot. The only problem is, the Buffista who wrote up the ballot used an archaic definition of majority. (She also sometime uses shan't and whilst in her posts.) So, now we need to define "majority" in cases where more than two options are available to voters. We are doing this whilst blindfolded, with our hands are tied behind our backs, as we screw in a lightbulb with our teeth.

In the case where more than two choices are given, do you want whichever choice gets the most votes to win?

A yes vote signifies you want the option with the most votes to win.

A no vote signifies you think a majority (defined as 50%+1) should be required of any ballot item. How we'll arrive at a 50%+1 total is to be determined.

Oh my Gosh, ita.

Hmmm. Are we only polling the yes votes?

The above is exactly why I suggest rewording it. We don't only poll the yes votes. Given my poor wording on the first one, that's not fair to those who voted no. And we shouldn't shut out people who didn't vote before. They might now care. They might have weapons.

Most issues we come across are going to be a two choice (usually yes or no) thing, and the first ballot's results serves those fine. The only time we might come across a problem is if we have 3 or more choices on one item. This wasn't specifically asked about in our first poll. So now we're asking.

If we get more "no" answers on this, then we can proceed discussing the run-offs, vs. preferential, vs. drop it all, vs. whatever other way people want to suggest determining a 50%+1 majority.