Re: GR Ballot Option: Allow, but do not require, secret voting
Hi,
On Wed, Mar 02, 2022 at 07:46:16PM -0300, Antonio Terceiro wrote:
[...]
> I have argued against this notion that private votes in some way
> contradicts our principles of transparency¹, but that got no replies
> whatsoever.
>
> ¹ https://lists.debian.org/msgid-search/Yg+tfywh09xmPZFM@debian.org
>
> I think that is a reasonable concern, but I'm not sure how exactly we
> are losing transparency here. Let's see; if we were to decide that all
> votes are public, then:
s/public/private?
> - the discussion of the GR itself, the formulation of ballot options,
> and the debate about them, is still public and transparent; or at
> least as public and transparent as they currently are.
>
> - the final ballot and the call for votes are still public.
>
> - the positions of all the people who participated in the public
> discussions is still public.
>
> - the only change is that after the vote, you cannot see how exactly
> each individual voted. I understand the argument that Debian decisions
> are of public interest. But how exactly being able to know how each of
> us voted helps with that? Are we harvesting peoples votes to be able
> to throw stuff in their faces stuff like "You say that now, but back
> in the day when we voted on XXX you favored YYY? You are part of the
> problem!".
>
> I get that knowing what people you like/respect/admire/collaborate
> think about an issue can be useful to form your own opinion, but
> that's only really useful if done before the vote, not after. And for
> that you would need to ask them explicitly anyway.
Agreed, I don't believe that individual position on votes make the project more
transparent. Nor internally, as Terceiro well pointed. Nor externally, since
DDs don't represent anyone but themselves inside the project.
Even if I happen to be convinced that votes being public brings a few extra
bits of transparency, I'd probably think it still makes more harm than good.
Regarding the 'public as an option' ballot: it's not hard to imagine a(nother)
controversial GR where people voting X>Y would be more likely to make it
public, while those voting Y>X would be strongly inclined to keep it private --
therefore creating material for assumptions, which can certainly lead to
intimidation.
Bests,
--
Tiago
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