[atlarge-discuss] Re http://www.fitug.de/atlarge-panel/0209/msg00035.html

[Joey Borda **star*walker** <starwalker@gay.com>]

Joanna et al:

The subject heading of this post is incorporated here by reference. See 
http://www.fitug.de/atlarge-panel/0209/msg00035.html.

To quote and comment Re said subject:

> POLLING OFFICERS Ordinary Member: Bruce Young At Large Watchdog: Walter 
> Schmidt Panel Member: Joanna Lane (or substitute volunteer if available)
The panel could also appoint another trusted designee in place of a panel 
member should the idea of a panel member(s) being in receipt of ballots not 
be acceptable to the panel.

This might be particularly appropriate to address “privacy of the ballot,” 
“privacy of the vote,” “privacy of the voter” concerns being raised in 
posts subsequent to the one being addressed here and which I would share on 
the whole.

I can just imagine member concerns that any particular panel member(s) not 
know how they voted, and I believe that would be a legitimate concern.

Each of the ballot-receipt trustees need to pledge in post statements to 
this list their oaths signifying they will not disclose TO ANYONE, except 
each other, the contents of any ballots other than the votes themselves! 
The votes should also be presented to the membership in their “raw” form* 
along with the tabulated totals. Interested members will be able to compute 
the final totals and members’ selected choice for themselves for comparison 
with the ballot receivers.

Spreadsheets anyone?

> If a name is favored whereby all possible defensive registrations are 
> secured, the inclusion of the TLD is not as significant as a name that has 
> none of the other TLD versions available, in which case, reference to the 
> name without the TLD extension would point the casual observer to another 
> domain altogether.
Point taken.

> Note#5. The "Pros and Cons" suggested for inclusion in the ballot 
> represent opinions rather than facts. It would therefore not be 
> appropriate to include these opinions on the actual ballot paper, but 
> there may be other ways this information can be disseminated to the 
> electorate. Suggestions please.
I would disagree in principle here, BUT do see an alternative for this 
occasion.

My disagreement goes to our needing to grow sophisticated, if in fact we 
are not already and not merely in presumption, in our elections and balloting.

The greatest number of our members I will wager do not have the time nor 
the inclination to follow the voluminous discussions and endless threads 
here on any given issue. I see no reason not to keep them enfranchised by 
summarizing issues PRO and CON right on a ballot!

While democracy may challenge us to stay informed on issues one of the 
abuses of “democracy” is inundating, innocently or complicitously, citizens 
with gobbledeegook until they go away or fall asleep, and miss the actual 
voting entirely!

This is unacceptable to me!

Just as speeches are given in parliaments pro and con before every vote, so 
it could be in summary form on our balloting. Let the chief PRO proponent 
lead the “pro’s” in composing THE ballot pro statement, and the chief CON 
proponent lead the “con’s” in composing THE ballot con statement.

I refuse to accept the all too easily and thoughtlessly held common view 
that the “average person,” the “reasonable person,” cannot intelligently 
vote on anything they have not dedicated umpteen hours of their lives to 
studying. This view is elitist and oligarchic.

I volunteer to spearhead the alternative for this occasion I allude to 
above. I am prepared to accept exactly the kind of “PRO” and “CON” 
statements I describe above regarding each balloted name for publication of 
the most timely post to coincide with the issuance of the ballots, as well 
as repeated posting in advance.

No member of this organization, unless they are truly already dead, will 
then have claim to have been uninformed of the “debate” on the various 
proposed names! Or in the affirmative, those that may wish to inform 
themselves will have a ready, easy, efficient mechanism for doing so!

I call upon viewholders, in concert, to well-compose their views and E-mail 
them to me for assembly and timely publication, organized along the lines 
of my previously submitted sample ballot.

/s/ Joey Bordo

Thursday, September 05, 2002 * 9:34 AM EDT USA


* Raw Form of IRV (i.e. & e.g.):

...Votes cast for/as.........[1]....[2]....[3]....[4]....[5]
...
... ATLARGE.ORG............20.....15.....30....05.....01
...
... ICANNATLARGE.ORG...05.....09.....15....10.....07

...and so on and so on...

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