Re: sede - secure democracy

[J.H.Boersema]

On 2010-10-12, J.H.Boersema <joshb@xs4all.nl> wrote:
> On 2010-10-12, J.H.Boersema <joshb@xs4all.nl> wrote:
>> I hope sede - secure democracy ( http://www.law4.org/sede )
>> will become part of the GNU collection of software, which was
>> always its goal.
>>
>> Hi Karl,
>>
>> Haven't heard from any decisions yet, so ...
>> If I may: last time my project was reviewed by someone
>> associated with GNU, they actually made a mistake about
>> how it functions (Brave GNU World column). That mistake
>> has never been rectified (though I asked for it).
> [...]
>
> They assumed, incorrectly, that the anonimity of the vote
> only lies in the encryption of the ballot. But the anonymity
> lies in the anonymous registration of the ballot communications
> channel (between voter administration & voter).
[...]

Hello Karl,

Thanks for your e-mail.

First of all abouth the new "don't advocate electronic voting
for elections" requested by RMS: sede is committed to be a voting
program, the purpose of which is to 'measure' the real opinions
of people. If take the sede website, it actually has a warning
that says sede has no opinion, no spokesperson, and that by 
investigating sede and or its website you may be affected by
residual opinions that could not be erased or have unfortunately
not yet been erased from the package itself.

Think of a measuring tool for the temperature of water.
It would not function well if there was a little heater element
on it, that for example starts to heat once the temperature goes
below -15 degrees.

Therefore I can not put in political content without affecting
the political neutrality of the package. You on the other hand,
can do so if you want to, once and if you lift the package over
to another site for further development/maintenance.

I'm sorry but I (sede) take(s) the job of measuring opinion very
seriously and does not want to play with that in any way. The
matter whether delegates in whatever political system should be
voted for is a matter of debate and ultimately, of voting. Such
voting could take place with the sede package. It is undue influence
if the sede package itself maintained certain opinions on such (or
any other) matter.

Perhaps in this respect voting packages are unique to other packages.

I take it that RMS wishes that the *package* suggests the idea that
electronic voting machines are bad (which they are, especially if
they do not print out a paper ballot), rather then that me personally
(jos boersema) suggests that; because I already suggest that any
way I reasonably can (but not on the sede package, for stated reasons).

Hence I deny the request to put in that file, and am against it if you 
did; though you have every right to do so.

About the attraction of new programmers ... if I can find the time
and energy to follow up on you recommendations (i appreciate your ideas),
then I would. I have no time/energy left at the moment to develop sede
further. I hope you agree that it is a very important matter (democracy
in general), maybe hopefully soon there would be people willing to
work on it.

Even if you don't yet accept it as an active package; perhaps you
could still take an individual copy-right on it (from me), so that
you have this thing at least filed somewhere ? It may not be maintained
actively right now (an issue that could change in minutes if someone
decided so), but at least it is better then having no democracy solution
at all in GNU ?

Please get on this actively, because it is very important that democracy
and true justice prevail. That is not going to happen out of a text
editor - although everything helps. We need real democracy and justice
*in the real world*. Though sede is no magic bullet for that either,
it could help more seriously to push the world into true democracy, imho.

best regards,
jos boersema

PS  Someone recently told me package developers where stubborn, I think
    i'm trying to see what they mean ;-) (referring to myself).
-- 
_ _ /_\ _ _ http://www.Law4.org     Free markets and democracy,
\ /v`V^v\ /                                  but now: properly.
/_\_#_#_/_\ 
    \ /     Day 170 of the revolution.