Exaggerated opinions

[Saari]

In a message dated 98-05-08 03:48:26 EDT, you write:

>> I agree, and it is also clear that ranked ballots cannot be converted back
>to
>> rated ballots.  This is strong evidence that rated ballots contain more
>> information.
>
>...and ballots that contain 500 word essays about each of the candidates
>contatin even more information.  However, that information isn't
>necessarily useful in the fairest election method.

By "information", I meant "information which can be tallied toward a final
score in an objective, definable manner".  Essay-type ballots contain info
that may be useful for perspective when looking for perhaps a better proposal,
but such prose cannot be tallied in an objective manner.

It seems clear to me anyway that a good group decision system MUST use a
tallying method which is clear and unambiguous, so there is no question of
"interpretation" by any ballot-counters in all but a few cases (mangled
ballots, etc.).

Perhaps "data" is a better term here than "information".  It is clear that
rated ballots have the capability to contain more data than is possible in a
ranked ballot.

Mike Saari