[EM] MMPO vs MDDA

[MIKE OSSIPOFF]

A. First, the important difference, proposability:

Because it's a MinMax method, I've had some difficulty finding a really 
brief, but unambiguous definition for MMPO. MDDA has a simpler, briefer, but 
still unambiguous, definition.

I still consider MMPO to be easily proposable, but MDDA seems more so.

B. Other considerations:

   1. For acceptable/unacceptable situations:

        When power truncation is available, both methods are equally good.

         When power truncation is not available, the merit difference 
depends on which kind
         of voters you want to benefit. When power truncation is not 
available:

         In MMPO, the voter should always rank all the unacceptable 
candidates in reverse
         order of winnability, to maximize the votes-against of the most 
winnable ones.

         In MDDA, the voter should sometimes do that, but sometimes should 
truncate
         the unacceptables. For instance, if it's certain that the 
acceptables can't beat the
         unacceptables at Approval, then the only hope is to disqualify the 
unacceptables,
         and that goal is best helped by ranking them, in reverse order of 
winnability.

         The voter who is willing to strategically rank the unacceptables, 
and has the
          information to do so effectively is better off with MMPO, if he 
doesn't have the
          information to judge when to truncate in MDDA.

          The voter who either doesn't have the information needed for 
effective strategic
          ranking, or who just doesn't intend to bother, is better off with 
MDDA, because
          often, maybe usually, it's better to truncate anyway.


    2. Other situations other than acceptable/unacceptable:

        What I said above about truncation vs strategic ranking probably 
remains true even
        when it isn't an acceptable/unacceptable situation.

        Also, when it isn't an acceptable/unacceptable situation, it could 
matter that MMPO
        meets LNH, while MDDA meets SDSC. And that matters even whether 
power
        truncation is available or not. So the choice between LNH and SDSC 
would then be
        a factor in the choice between MMPO & MDDA.

Mike Ossipoff

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