Support and opposition? (was Re: MOAV "criterion"?)

[Steve Eppley]

Mike Saari wrote:
-snip-
> For that matter, I now prefer "Support" and "Oppose" over Yes/No. 
> The word "No" is actually pretty ambiguous.  (Does "No" mean merely
> "No I do not support." or does it mean the stronger "No I am
> actively opposed."?  It's unclear which.)  "Oppose" is
> crystal-clear.
-snip-

It's certainly not crystal clear what "support" and "opposition"
mean.  They're really relative preferences, usually relative to the
"keep the status quo" choice, or possibly relative to a choice such
as "hold a new election" or "let some other entity decide". 

If Mike really wants to avoid ambiguous and misleading terminology, 
he should stop using "support" and "opposition", and instead refer to 
the voter's relative preferences.

---Steve     (Steve Eppley    seppley at alumni.caltech.edu)