2008/9/17 Andrew Turvey raturvey@yahoo.co.uk:
If the decision of the elections committee is that his candidacy can stand (although he still hasn't confirmed his full name), we need to bring the facts to the attention of the voters so that they can make an informed choice. We shouldn't let a troll get in just because we were asleep on the job. The committee also needs to be careful who they allow to vote - wouldn't want someone to get elected just because a load of his socks voted for him!
We certainly need to do something - I understand the user is currently blocked on meta, which makes answering questions rather challenging. I suggest the election committee offer to post answers sent to them via email.
Going forward, I dont see how a charity whose objective is to promote the vision of wikimedia (however this is eventually phrased) could permit someone to be a trustee who has actively undermined the project. We need to have some kind of rules and mechanism to deal with these issues - including the ability to bar people from standing and being able to remove trustees where new information comes to light regarding serious misconduct on wikimedia projects.
I agree, but the decision about what constitutes undermining the projects should lie with the community, not a meta admin. Following my previous comments on the subject of removing trustees, I've done a little reading of the Companies Act 2006 (I really don't recommend acts of parliament as light bedtime reading!) and it explicitly gives members the right to dismiss trustees at AGMs and EGMs. A simple majority of members present at the meeting is required, if memory serves.
On another point, the elections committee still haven't made a decision regarding the 50% rule. Could you do this ASAP - definitely before the voting starts.
Excellent point. I don't think we've heard anything from the committee yet, which suggests they are still in the discussion stage - I'm sure they'll speak up soon with their final decisions (I gave Seddon a long list of things they need to decide!).