Re: [Membership] [Comment-Mac] Re: Secret ballots

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

On Wed, May 19, 1999 at 01:15:01PM -0500, Michael Graham wrote:
> The American Aribitration Association IS the pre-eminent such
> association, not only in the United States but to international
> entities.  Its services are first rate and its guidelines are
> acknowledged to be appropriate, fair, and time-tried.

In your opinion.

> However, I'm
> not sure this would be the appropriate resource for this work. 

It is unfortunate that Eric blurted out his opinion without 
taking the time to research the AAA, then, isn't it?  And even you 
are blurting out an opinion without being sure, indicating that you 
maybe should go do some research.  Or maybe the point is that 
research is not the issue. ;-)

> It is unfortunate that Kent blurted out an opinion without taking
> the time to research the AAA.  We won't get far at all if we do this. 

Give me a break.  

1) You have it backwards.  Eric proposed the AAA, it is up to him to
make the case, and not just to me.  I conservatively estimate that
worldwide, 999 out of 1000 people have never heard of the AAA.

2) It is not just a matter of trusting the honesty of an entity -- it
is also a matter of trusting their competence.  Just on the face of 
it, arbitration is a very different competency than running secret 
ballots, as you hinted above.

3) The issue of competency becomes especially important when we talk 
about online voting, because then computer and network security 
become primary issues.

4) Roll-call voting doesn't take any research -- it is self-auditing,
and its integrity as a voting mechanism is transparently obvious.  
This is a big advantage.

-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Do good, and you'll be
kent@songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain