What if I proposed twenty people now? Or when I came in half way through the conversation. What if the large majority of THAT vote thought 20 was the right number?

either you like the status quo (folks didn't, enough),

The voting folks didn't. A lot of people stay out of it.

I'm not saying that the votes haven't been valuable information, but they aren't necessarily mandates either.

What Daniel said.

Actually, unless my reading skills have deteriorated, you aren't saying the same thing at all. He said, basically, "I was too busy." Fair enough. But you are saying, "some people are so upset with the whole voting procedure they are tuning it out."

The voting folks didn't. A lot of people stay out of it.

Okay -- those that cared enough to vote, or were around, or whatever. I do not pretend to have any clue to the opinions of the silent, because of the choice they made. Perhaps most folk liked the status quo. Perhaps they didn't. Doesn't actually matter.

Why aren't votes mandates?

What if I proposed twenty people now? Or when I came in half way through the conversation.

To be honest, I don't recall if a don't touch period has been decided on. If so, you'll have to wait before proposing 20 people. And then you're free to. If there isn't one, you can propose it right away. That's the answer to the first what if.

The second -- if you'd convinced the proposer to make that amendment to the proposal, well, there you go. Msbelle started out with 24 hours, suggestions were made for 48, she changed it to 48.

What if I had started my proposal two hours after Msbelle had?

Actually, unless my reading skills have deteriorated, you aren't saying the same thing at all.

I agreed with his point and then listed additional ones.

To be honest, I don't recall if a don't touch period has been decided on.

I thought that it had. Didn't we vote for 6 months, with a check in at 3 months to take the pulse of the board?

What if I had started my proposal two hours after Msbelle had?

As in made the suggestion, or as in received all the seconds you required?

If you got the seconds first, then your proposal goes live first, I think. If not, if you want to discuss the same thing she's discussing with different parameters, you can't until the waiting period if over.

I don't quite get your point. You sound disenfranchised, but I can't put my finger on your reason.

Perhaps most folk liked the status quo. Perhaps they didn't. Doesn't actually matter.

Well, it matters, it just has little to do with how the decisions are made.

Why aren't votes mandates?

A mandate would indicate overwhelming popular support for a proposal. Since so many people don't participate we don't really know if these are a series of marvelously constructed ballots or not.

I'm just saying that a small portion of the board has gotten into the proposing and making rules thing. And the people who aren't don't seem to vote.

I'm just saying that a small portion of the board has gotten into the proposing and making rules thing. And the people who aren't don't seem to vote.

But this vote had about 95 people voting, didn't it? That's about 12% of registered users, and I'd guess about 45% of active users. (That second number is a total guess.) I'd say there were no more than about 10 people actively discussing the proposal in the voting thread.

t edited to fix some numbers

A mandate would indicate overwhelming popular support for a proposal.

No, a mandate is a dictated course of action. There's no reason you can't have a mandate from just one person.

Well, it matters, it just has little to do with how the decisions are made.

Trudy, your hypotheses on people who don't speak up are just as wild as mine. Maybe everyone who cares voted. Who knows?

a small portion of the board has gotten into the proposing and making rules thing. And the people who aren't don't seem to vote.

Based on what? We don't know who voted. We only know who discussed. We can surmise, but it's kinda empty. Maybe people who hate proposals and rule making voted, because the outcome was more important to them than their hatred of the method.

If you got the seconds first, then your proposal goes live first, I think.

Which makes it impossible to vote between two constructive alternatives ("10" or "20").

From what I gather, unless the people in the discussion can persuade the person making the proposal they have no effect on what goes on the ballot.