On 6/29/05, Mark Williamson <node.ue(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
I would discourage this. Unless you really
don't have an opinion, why
not vote for your preferred candidates? If you don't have a preference
and you don't like any of them, I can understand.
Well, I did write about it at the included URL.
I like the existing board members, and I think the proposed candidates
are great wikipedians and would probably all do okay. But none of
them have given me much basis to choose between them, nor to choose
against them. All I could really do is mark which ones I've had more
positive contact with, which isn't a really good metric. What little
validity my decision might have today will be long gone before two
years pass.
Had there been a participant with a pure 'I am the legal mouthpiece of
the community', or had there been one with a substantial story about
copyright, or NOR... I might have been inclined to vote in a way which
showed preference for or against them. Heck, had we even had a troll
or controversial user running I'd think a non null ballot would be
useful.
Hoi,
Two of the candidates have a substantial story about where they stand in
our community. A story that speaks louder than words as they have been
doing the job for the last year. You must like politicians if you only
choose on what they say in their manifesto and not judge the track
record of the incumbent. I am quite happy with the current board to the
extend that I did not make myself a candidate. My platform would have
been to help develop the other projects. However, it is possible to work
on other projects just that fine. The amount of support from the board
for the work I have been doing on Wiktionary and Ultimate Wiktionary was
great. They were critical and as long as good arguments were put forward
and as long as it was seen that there was something of a community
behind ideas there was room to do "good".
So for me it is simple who to vote for. As to the other candidates, they
are known. You may know them personally and this should influence you. I
am certain that people around you in your communities know the
candidates, just ask. You can even ask someone you trust who to vote
for. I did that at the last elections and Andre Engels told me that we
need someone non-English and he knew Anthere.. so I voted for Anthere
who I did not know at the time .. I know _sj_ and I know Francis
Schonken. personally and I know people who know the others. So yes it
is a bit obligatory to write a small voter manifesto but that is not
what should lead you. We know these people.
Thanks,
GerardM