Barry
09-13-2006, 09:08 PM
In the "Should Sebastopol have an election??? (https://www.waccobb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11556)" thread:
...Perhaps there needs to be a little (just a little) money spent to inform the citizens that it is an election year and that all interested persons need to get their "rears in gear". We're talking about a way that actually reaches the majority in a visible way. Many people don't read a paper anymore.Perhaps there just needs to be a new standardized way of doing things. It used to be the newspaper. That's what everyone turned to. Now it's the internet more and more or the TV. You can look up the obits or headlines online now. But, which site? Everyone has their favorites. What's the answer? I don't know. Hmmm... let's see... :idea: ooo! How about WaccoBB.net! :thumbsup:
Actually, I hope that time will come.
Also, I've heard some offline comments about the use of polling on WaccoBB. There are concerns that people could fake addresses, vote multiple times or not live in the area. All those concerns are valid. Please allow me address them:
First a technical point: Each user can only vote one time in a poll. A few users have 2 usernames (one for their business and one for personal postings). So they could vote twice, but most users can't.
I would never suggest that a poll on WaccoBB.net be binding in any other locality besides Waccoville. The way I see it, is that posting on WaccoBB.net is akin to writing a Letter to the Editor in the newspaper world. Often the letter is also sent directly to the public officials. Addresses in letters can just as easily be faked and multiple copies can be sent, including from people out of the city limits.
To carry the analogy futher, there are cases when people print up form letters for other people to sign and send in, essentially just saying "me too". So polls are just a count of the "me too" letters, or perhaps a petition, except that it also makes it very easy for people add whatever other comments they may have and share them with the community (ie. post!). And it gives the same community an equal opportunity to sign whatever petition they want to!
So I think that postings on WaccoBB.net should carry similar weight as a letter (which during my time on the Planning Commission was substantial), and that poll counts, rather than being an official vote, is just a way of making it easy for people to say "Me Too!". And rather than having to count the letters that support the various positions, the poll tablulates it for you! :thumbsup:
...Perhaps there needs to be a little (just a little) money spent to inform the citizens that it is an election year and that all interested persons need to get their "rears in gear". We're talking about a way that actually reaches the majority in a visible way. Many people don't read a paper anymore.Perhaps there just needs to be a new standardized way of doing things. It used to be the newspaper. That's what everyone turned to. Now it's the internet more and more or the TV. You can look up the obits or headlines online now. But, which site? Everyone has their favorites. What's the answer? I don't know. Hmmm... let's see... :idea: ooo! How about WaccoBB.net! :thumbsup:
Actually, I hope that time will come.
Also, I've heard some offline comments about the use of polling on WaccoBB. There are concerns that people could fake addresses, vote multiple times or not live in the area. All those concerns are valid. Please allow me address them:
First a technical point: Each user can only vote one time in a poll. A few users have 2 usernames (one for their business and one for personal postings). So they could vote twice, but most users can't.
I would never suggest that a poll on WaccoBB.net be binding in any other locality besides Waccoville. The way I see it, is that posting on WaccoBB.net is akin to writing a Letter to the Editor in the newspaper world. Often the letter is also sent directly to the public officials. Addresses in letters can just as easily be faked and multiple copies can be sent, including from people out of the city limits.
To carry the analogy futher, there are cases when people print up form letters for other people to sign and send in, essentially just saying "me too". So polls are just a count of the "me too" letters, or perhaps a petition, except that it also makes it very easy for people add whatever other comments they may have and share them with the community (ie. post!). And it gives the same community an equal opportunity to sign whatever petition they want to!
So I think that postings on WaccoBB.net should carry similar weight as a letter (which during my time on the Planning Commission was substantial), and that poll counts, rather than being an official vote, is just a way of making it easy for people to say "Me Too!". And rather than having to count the letters that support the various positions, the poll tablulates it for you! :thumbsup: