'Out Of Gas'
We open it up, we talks the talk, we votes, we shuts it down. This thread is to free up Bureaucracy for daily details as we hammer out the Big Issues towards a vote. Open only when a proposal has been made and seconded according to Buffista policy (Which we voted on!). If this thread is closed, hie thee to Bureaucracy instead!
This thread is now open to discuss the following proposal from Jesse:
Going back to an earlier part of the conversation, I'd like to formally propose eliminating "no preference" as a voting option and also revisit the minimum number of votes needed for a vote to count. I'm not going to propose a specific number at this point, because I could be persuaded that just getting rid of no preference serves the purpose, and I'm not sure what the right number would be anyway.
Reposted from Bureaublahblah:
I don't have the stats in front of me, but I have looked at them in the past. As I recall, there have always been enough Yes and No votes alone (i.e. 42 of 'em) to pass or fail every primary item on every ballot. The only time(s) there haven't been enough Yes and No votes (I forget if it's been more than once), it's been the secondary items like spoiler policy for the proposed thread.
So, I have (off the top of my head) two issues with eliminating NP as an option. 1) Like voter ID laws, it seems like a solution looking for a problem and 2) What do we do if enough people vote to create a thread, but not enough vote on things like its spoiler policy?
Am I correct in that the point of the proposal is to make it more difficult for new threads to be created?
I don't see anything in the proposal that mentions thread creations--Jesse, was that what you had in mind? I've certainly seen it raised in scenarios where thread creation wasn't the topic of discussion. It isn't all we talk about.
I don't think so, Laga.
I don't necessarily object to removing No Preference on philosophical rather than practical grounds, but I agree that Jon's Point #2 needs to be sorted out. Unfortunately, I have no suggestions.
Currently planning to vote "no preference" on this...
Only if Jesse gives that as an option.
I am interested in talking about participation in decision-making. I think it's probably a good idea to raise the bar in terms of number of participants -- and I don't think voting NP is really participating. I don't think "most people don't care one way or the other" (whether shown by not voting or by voting NP) to be a good enough reason to do something.
I do seeing making it harder to start new threads as part of this, but definitely not all of it.
I do seeing making it harder to start new threads as part of this,
How does removing NP make it harder to start new threads?
Really, I don't know if it does -- maybe everyone who votes NP would vote yes. I think I'm looking to raise the bar on "legit" decisionmaking.
This is not some crusade I'm on -- I'm genuinely interested to hear what other people think. In a time-limited discussion.