SR - Hope for Wrenne and the rest...

[Lee & Sosha]

Dory Grace wrote:
> 
> I have to agree with Dieter (at least the parts before his medication wore
> off ;->). I don't think a lot of folk realize what an *exceptional* voter
> response 30% or so is. It certainly *doesn't* mean that 70% of the region is
> "apathetic" about having a name. There may very well be a percentage who
> don't care one way or the other, but that certainly doesn't of necessity
> spell apathy for the majority. 
Yes it does. Every time we have an election in this country political
analysts from both parties bemoan the apathy of the voters. Apathy
implies not feeling strongly enough about something to do something
about it. I'm sorry, 90-odd (in some cases, very odd) people out of the
estimated 500 or so playing in this region is not 30%. I'm not
restricting this to paid members, of course - that was a big point of
discussion, not to restrict this vote to those who would actually have a
vote if, say, we went principality. A little over 30% of the people who
did vote - who were maybe 20% of the people who could have voted -
that's what, about 7%? I don't call that exactly "a mandate from the
masses".

> Case in point, I *love* the name Campoleone.
> I didn't vote either time. Was it because I feel "apathetic" about the
> cause? No. I've been very busy with mundane concerns and just haven't been
> around when ballots were handed out. Lyonel voted the first time but not the
> second. Did he suddenly become "apathetic" about the project? No. Even with
> as active as he's been, he's not been to business meetings for a while as
> he's been busy as well.
But he's been to lots of fighter practices. And even you have been to a
couple. Ballots were handed out there.

> I think some folks are making some wrong assumptions
> and are completely ignoring the consistency of the actual results of the
> ballots that *have* come in. Two go-arounds have come back with the same
> result. 
I agree. Two results of a tiny fraction choosing Campoleone, with a
slightly smaller fraction (one vote the second time!) choosing None of
the Above, and a still smaller but statistically significant fraction
writing in a name in remembrance of a joke at Gulf War. Of course, we
disagree on what the "wrong" assumptions are. 

> But rather than have anyone think I'm for "rushing" the process
> (lord knows some dinosaurs get charlie-horses if they move faster than a
> crawl)
Gods forbid that anyone who's been around a while - whether in this
kingdom or whatever - might be cautious about rushing into something
that promises such sweeping change. By all means, let's jump in with
both feet!

, I'm all for doing it one more time. Send out the ballots, make sure
> there's a space for folk to vote "none of the above" or "no, I don't want
> the region to have a name or identity at all,"
Wrong again. I've never been against the region having an identity. I'd
love the region to have an identity. But guess what? A group does not
fulfill a list of requirements and get the Group Identity Merit Badge.
"Gee, Counselor, we've got a name, and we've done an event, and we have
some titled positions like Warlord and Bard! Do we pass?" "Sure, Region
Billy, here you go!" Let's have a few more instances of doing things as
a region before congratulating ourselves on our identity.

> (snip)  Make the ballots available
> online as well as in hard copy to make sure as many people as possible have
> the easiest access possible to the voting process.
That's funny, one of the chief complaints of the folks on this list who
missed out on the voting was that publishing online is not a good way to
reach the general populace.

 I'll bet money the
> results come back the same; but hey, third time's a charm, right?
> 
> I think it would also be interesting to compare the number of folks who
> voted for a name with the number of folks who are grousing about a name.
> Just something to think about.
(snip)


> > Regarding Meabhs appraisal of the situation, Wrenne wrote:
> >
> > It seems quite apparent taht we as a reagion are not quite ready
> > >to make this decision for what ever reason.  I personally think it should
> > >be put on hold for now and concentrate on working together as a region
> > >first.

Personally, I agree with Wrenne.

Donal

PS - I will retract what I said in an earlier post about TWO shires not
voting - it seems that Ffynnon Gath sent in their votes - about 6, if I
recall correctly - but it got lost in the mail. Kudos to Jan for
informing Sosha of the situation as soon as she heard the votes did not
get counted.
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