Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uwm.edu!wuarchive!kuhub.cc.ukans.edu!sloane From: sloane@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu Newsgroups: news.groups Subject: Re: Suspicious Results of sci.aquaria vote Message-ID: <18221.2562e5cb@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> Date: 16 Nov 89 22:52:26 GMT References: <21910@gryphon.COM> <4323@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM> <18175.25612d86@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> <4199@nigel.udel.EDU> Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services Lines: 40 In article <4199@nigel.udel.EDU>, berryh@udel.edu (John Berryhill) writes: > I can't believe the number of people that believe that campaigning and > canvassing for votes is "dishonest." It may surprise some of you to know > that not everyone and his pet monkey read all of the trash in news.groups > and elsewhere. There are quite a few grad students at UDEL that keep > aquaria and I let them know that a newsgroup was being formed for that > purpose. What on God's green earth is "dishonest" about it? I never said that it was dishonest to tell someone else that a vote was going on. What I object to is rounding up a bunch of friends who could care less about aquariums or newsgroups, and asking them to vote YES. To quote Mary: > Yes, I asked them to vote YES on this. I explained my view of the situation, > they agreed, and voted. That isn't "let[ting] them know that a newsgroup was being formed." That is ballot box stuffing, at least to me. Note that she didn't say that she explained the issues involved, she just told them her side of it, and asked them to vote YES, and they did. That is what I objected to. > I suppose > that you think it is "dishonest" to work for political campaigns or > collect signatures on petitions and other subversive and "fraudulent" > activities. Of course not. But a newsgroup vote isn't a political election, either. It is supposed to determine what those with an interest in the group (either the topic or the name) think about the group. If I call in a bunch of favors from friends who could care less about aquaria or newsgroup creation, that distorts the results. > What the hell is dishonest about passing along information? It depends on whether or not the information is complete. If you or Mary went to someone, carefully and fully explained the issues involved, and didn't ask for a YES or NO vote, then I have no problems. I just don't like soliciting votes from people who can't make an informed decision. -- USmail: Bob Sloane, University of Kansas Computer Center, Lawrence, KS, 66045 E-mail: sloane@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu, sloane@ukanvax.bitnet, AT&T: (913)864-0444