Shapeshifter wrote: ↑Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:29 pm
Should the voting be 100% anonymous or do we want people to "register with their username" by simply replying (maybe with an empty post) to the poll? This could help preventing the unlikely event of somebody trying to influence the outcome with several votes. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the honesty of our community very much
. Just for consideration.
Good question. This is something I had been thinking about myself, and it is something we will need to decide.
I think I'm actually in favor of total transparency and having each forum member post a reply to the thread which lists all of his votes. So 0% anonymous. If this method is used:
Pros:
- Total transparency.
- Every forum member is free to tally the votes for himself to confirm the results are correct and accurate.
Cons:
- Maybe some people don't want others to know how they voted? Personally, I don't see why anyone would really care if other members knew how they voted but I suppose this is a Con that should be considered.
- There is a higher likelihood of piggy-backing and having some members vote the same way a friend or respected forum member votes (even though we will attempt to discourage this).
If we use an anonymous poll method instead, I do think
at a minimum, we should require each member who casts a ballot to reply to the thread stating that they voted (as you suggest above). This just provides more legitimacy to the whole process I believe.
I do not like the 3rd option, which would be a completely anonymous poll where nobody really knows who voted and everyone must just completely trust the numbers we provide after it is over.
I also very much believe in the honesty of our community and I highly doubt anything shady will take place. Nonetheless, it doesn't hurt to be aware and take caution. I had even considered restricting the voting to forum members who have had an active account for at least 3 months.... just to prevent anyone from trying to create alternate accounts prior to the vote to sway the outcome. AGAIN...
highly unlikely anyone in our community would do this, but it doesn't hurt to consider all options.