Cairnsman wrote:So St Byron, been thinking about your aversion to voting.
I note that you and BFUSA have been supportive of website upgrades in particular some of the suggestions Matrix has offered.
That's two votes.
How do we work out "majority rules" if BFUSA decides to make changes to the website proposed by Matrix, who as far as I can tell is the only person requesting the changes.
What if he gets it terribly wrong. What if Matrix's idea completely sux.
Wouldn't it be better to know what the punters want up front before making making website changes?
I put it to you this way, let's say we call it "surveying" and not "voting". Does that make a difference?
If we don't try and come up with some system to objectively measure what the members want then don't we risk killing the golden goose if the changes completely miss the mark.
So "surveying" is a form of market research if you like.
Surveying, similar to how we do match day voting, would that be a better system for objectively measuring "majority rules" than the system we currently have?
Hey CM. I reckon it's very valid to have input on things like format changes as per Matrix's ideas. You're right, Matrix's ideas might suck. They sound good, but they might not be. The thing for me with that is, I don't understand IT very well, so I'm not qualified to comment. Those who do and are should be able to put their two cents worth in of course. When we were all debating third party abuse a little while bacl, I thought that was good to have everyone's input. So for sure I reckon it's a good thing to have everyone's views. It seems to me the sticking point for you is the structure of the admin and ownership of the forum, in that it's in the hands of one or two people, one of whom is generally absent and one whom you don't respect much, and you'd prefer it in the hands of the general forum populace. I can understand that idea and I'm not against it in principle and in an ideal situation.
But, given the ownership structure that we have and given the history of personal enmity on this site between various posters, I just don't reckon it would work. It's my personal opinion that's all. I might be wrong. The fundamental issue it seems is that it's not a democracy and you want it to be one. Apologies if I'm wrong on that.
And there's nothing can be done about it unless the site owner agrees to relinquish ownership / control. He appoints the site admin, he has final say. That's how it is.
The only way I can see to have what you want is to start your own site. CM, I respect you for willingness to debate and for sticking to your vision and as I've previously said to you, I can see your intentions are for the good of the forum. I just can't see how it can happen. You're effectively wanting to shift the fundamental structure of site management and admin and that requires the site owner to agree. If he doesn't then there's nothing can be done. No point going on about it if he doesn't.
So yes, surveying, seeking input and opinions, everyone putting their ideas forward - well and good. You could even have a poll to see what a majority wants on a particular issue - but bottom line is it's not binding because it's a privately owned site and there lies the power to say yay or nay.
No animosity or ill will with you CM. Cheers.