Book: Yes, I'd forgotten you're moonlighting as a criminal mastermind now. Got your next heist planned? Simon: No. But I'm thinking about growing a big black mustache. I'm a traditionalist.

'War Stories'


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


Typo Boy - Mar 09, 2003 10:52:47 am PST #6969 of 10001
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.

Nilly - the problem is two of the questions in Sophias proposal require decision between multiple options:

number or percent of minimum turnout required

and number of seconds (One choice being zero because we have not decided on seconds.)

So if we can't reach on consensus on how to handle that (at least this one time) then we have to vote on that before we can vote on Sophias propolsal.

If we really can informally agree to use preferential voting, just this one time, without prejudice to the future, then a nice possiblity arises. As long as the ballot will include multiple questions anyway, are there any other questions that need to be decided we can add? Because maybe we can we make this the last vote on process by including all other process questions that need to be decided?(iI can't remember any offhand.)

Because if we can then this becomes the last voting on voting ballot, the last discussing about discussing discussion for a while, hopefully for a long while.


Lyra Jane - Mar 09, 2003 2:17:39 pm PST #6970 of 10001
Up with the sun

I like the way Typo Boy thinks.

My problem with not acting if a vote doesn't provide a 50%+ winner is it really limits the utility of voting at all. Assuming most voters agree that some action is better than no action, the most likely outcome is discussing the issue until there seems to be a consensus winner that people will vote for as a compromise, which doesn't really strike me as an improvement.


Hil R. - Mar 09, 2003 2:25:09 pm PST #6971 of 10001
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l

Assumign most voters agree that some action is better than no action, the most likely outcome is discussing the issue until there seems to be a consensus winner that people will vote for as a compromise, which doesn't really strike me as an improvement.

I don't think you can make that assumption in all cases. My preference would be for the type of multiple-choice counting used to be determined on a case-by-case basis, with preferential used only at times when it's really necessary. (My reasoning for this is that, to begin with, I think it would be a pain to have to rank more than about three choices, and secondly, it would be a pain to have to explain preferencial voting whenever there's a new Buffista who doesn't understand it.)


Rebecca Lizard - Mar 09, 2003 3:41:29 pm PST #6972 of 10001
You sip / say it's your crazy / straw say it's you're crazy / as you bicycle your soul / with beauty in your basket

I'll reattribute your random generator quotes to you when I get home tonight.

Oh, shrift, you update the Buff Dive when people change their names? That is so cool of you.


Denise - Mar 09, 2003 3:44:56 pm PST #6973 of 10001

How about something like this. For each issue that goes up to vote with more than two options, why can't a second question be asked as well? Something along the lines of "If none of these options receives 50% of the vote or more, would you a.)like to see the issue tabled for x amount of time, or b.) like to have a run-off between the two most popular options. Seems something like that could work.


Kat - Mar 09, 2003 5:08:15 pm PST #6974 of 10001
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo

I'll also again mention the option that with no majority, the vote could be considered to be a Vote of No Confidence for making any change at all. I'm not wed to that notion, but I do think No Majority could be considered an instrument of closing discussion on issues and putting them aside for six months/year.

Can I say that I really really like this? A lot.

And that's all I'll say because I fear I'm one of thos oft-posters here and I don't really want to be.

Thank you Nilly!

I'll tally next time if there is a need.


Liese S. - Mar 09, 2003 6:07:19 pm PST #6975 of 10001
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."

So. There we have it.

I agree with David & Kat, and support the No Majority/No Confidence option.

The visible problem is what to do when we must come to a result. Either the item is necessary (making a change or not is not under question) like thread titles, or the change has already been voted in and we're just setting up the details like voter turnout numbers.


Sophia Brooks - Mar 09, 2003 6:14:46 pm PST #6976 of 10001
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here

This is hard to articulate, but I support the no majority/no confidence thing when we are deciding amoung 2 choices.

When it becomes more than that, it becomes ,pre difficult. If there are 5 choices, it is very hard to obtain a true majority.


Wolfram - Mar 09, 2003 6:16:46 pm PST #6977 of 10001
Visilurking

I'm not wed to that notion, but I do think No Majority could be considered an instrument of closing discussion on issues and putting them aside for six months/year.

The problem with this approach is in cases where one of the choices is against the proposal, that choice wins in each instance when it loses.


Elena - Mar 09, 2003 6:17:04 pm PST #6978 of 10001
Thanks for all the fish.

This is crossing (and maybe burning) bridges before we get to them, but I think for multiple choices we'd have to have a run-off/preferential voting. It's unlikely to get a clear majority in those, hopefully rare, situations.

We weren't planning to make thread-naming a voting issue, were we?