THE FAQ POLL IS NOW OPEN

[Steve Eppley]

Mike Saari proposed some rules for voting on EM's faq, but his rules
aren't consistent with those mandated by Rob Lanphier.  For one 
thing, he neglected to include Rob's "support quorum": 

   To pass, a proposal must receive at least 4 Yes votes.

Rob also wrote that a proposal must propose a FAQ, and that if it
passes it becomes THE [emphasis mine] FAQ for the list.  Mike's
propsed rules apparently ignore this constraint, so that any
proposal is allowed.  Clarification from Rob is requested.

Rob neglected to specify what we should do when there are three or
more alternatives to be voted on.  The 2:1 passing threshold coupled
with yes/no voting instead of preference voting will irrationally
privilege quite a few decisions which don't deserve being privileged
over competing alternatives.  I'm reluctant to participate in an
irrational process. 

I'm also concerned about the qualifications of some of the 
subscribers who haven't been subscribed for long.  Will we have to 
repeat the lengthy discussions of the past year in order to campaign 
for their Yes or No votes on complex topics?

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