Re: GNOME Board of Directors Foundation Elections Spring 2009 - Preliminary results

[john palmieri <john j5 palmieri gmail com>]

On Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 12:44 PM, Julien Puydt <jpuydt gnome org> wrote:

john palmieri a écrit :

On Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 10:15 AM, Dave Neary <dneary gnome org> wrote:

The way forward seems clear to me - the membership committee decides what
counting method will be used, announces it, and we count the election
according to that means. There doesn't need to be a crisis here.

Deciding on the correct method after the elections seems a bit off to me.  A
member who voted should know exactly how their vote is going to be counted
before the ballot is cast.  If different methods reach different conclusions
then that is a crisis because the membership committee would be free to
choose the one which fits their agenda the most (not that I feel there is an
agenda but the possibility leaves doubt on the validity of the results).

I would agree it's a problem if the method could be changed each time there is an election. But for a one-time decision, that's not a problem.

Consider it as a bug : we knew the votes would be counted using a more elaborate method than plain comparison of number of votes, but it wasn't 100% clear which. Now it's clear, the bug is closed, let's move on!

Snark on #gnome-hackers

I don't like the "lets move on" sentiment but I will drop my challenge as long as the two variable candidates agree (I would back either of their challenges).   Please document our procedure as we use it so we don't run into confusion like this again.  Linking to an e-mail that links to 3rd party pages which may change or disappear isn't enough.  Just like law can be interpreted in different ways so can other documents.  It would be nice to have the method described in the membership committee's own words and for any software being use be vetted.  Descriptions on how any member can verify the results by hand would be nice also.

BTW the results page is great in terms of documentation - if those steps can be generalized on the election wiki that would be a good resource.

--
John