Path: sn-us!sn-xit-01!sn-xit-04!supernews.com!news-feed.riddles.org.uk!harlech.demon.co.uk!not-for-mail From: Richard Ashton Newsgroups: uk.net.news.announce,uk.net,news.config,uk.current-events.us-bombing,uk.politics.misc,alt.current-events.wtc-explosion,alt.security.terrorism Subject: RESULT - CFV uk.current-events.(us-bombing|terrorism) Option D wins Followup-To: uk.net.news.config Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 08:41:41 +0100 Message-ID: Sender: Iain Bowen as Control Approved: Iain Bowen as Control Lines: 788 Xref: sn-us uk.net.news.announce:2990 uk.net:67209 uk.current-events.us-bombing:38913 uk.politics.misc:813183 alt.current-events.wtc-explosion:61010 alt.security.terrorism:105415 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- RESULT: CFV - uk.current-events.{us-bombing|terrorism} Option D wins. Remove uk.current-events.us-bombing AND create new unmoderated group uk.current-events.terrorism WITH Optional NI Clause SUMMARY Option D (Remove uk.current-events.us-bombing AND create new unmoderated group uk.current-events.terrorism WITH Optional NI Clause) is the one remaining option which is not outvoted by any other and preferred to option F (Status Quo) by a margin of greater than 12. ====================================================================== Voting closed at 23:59:59 BST, 12th July 2002 Proponent: Jeffrey Goldberg Votetaker: Richard Ashton Distribution: uk.net.news.announce, uk.net.news.config uk.current-events.us-bombing, uk.politics.misc alt.current-events.wtc-explosion, alt.security.terrorism ====================================================================== The full results follow below in the following order: 1) Information on the ballot 2) Results 3) Vote Statistics 4) Individual Vote Details 5) Votetaker's Comments 6) Voting and Appeal Guidelines 7) Rationale and Proposal ====================================================================== INFORMATION ON THE BALLOT Voters were asked to vote on a proposal to create the group under two alternative names: uk.current-events.us-bombing and uk.current- events.terrorism. Both groups having the option of a special clause about Northern Ireland. The options on the ballot were: A: Recharter and keep uk.current-events.us-bombing B: Recharter and keep uk.current-events.us-bombing WITH Optional NI Clause C: Remove uk.current-events.us-bombing AND create new unmoderated group uk.current-events.terrorism D: Remove uk.current-events.us-bombing AND create new unmoderated group uk.current-events.terrorism WITH Optional NI Clause E: Re-Open Discussion F: Remove uk.current-events.us-bombing (Status Quo, see NOTE below) The NOTE for Status Quo read. NOTE: The existing group uk.current-events.us-bombing was created under the emergency procedure and has reached the age where it must either be formally re-chartered through the group creation procedure or removed. Thus if no vote is passed the groups removal (with no replacement) is the "Status Quo" according to the voting procedure. And according to those procedures, only those options which defeat the "Status Quo" option (F in this case) by at least 12 votes will be considered. Again, the "Status Quo" option does NOT keep the group, but removes it. You may contact the vote taker or the proponent for further clarification. ====================================================================== RESULTS Multi-option group creation votes in the uk.* hierarchy are decided by a two-stage procedure. All options are first compared with votes for the status quo (Do Not Create Group), and any which are not preferred to SQ by the required margin of 12 votes are eliminated. The remaining options, if any, are then evaluated by the Condorcet method. Stage 1: Option A was preferred to SQ (Option F) by a margin of 51 votes Option B was preferred to SQ (Option F) by a margin of 50 votes Option C was preferred to SQ (Option F) by a margin of 55 votes Option D was preferred to SQ (Option F) by a margin of 56 votes Option E was preferred to SQ (Option F) by a margin of 47 votes Therefore, all options proceed to a full Condorcet count. Stage 2: A full Condorcet count shows that Option D is preferred to all other options: Full Condorcet Tables: Table 1 - Absolute Figures (Raw Preferences Grid) A B C D E F A [n/a] [ 24] [ 27] [ 31] [ 51] [ 51] B [ 30] [n/a] [ 24] [ 25] [ 49] [ 50] C [ 32] [ 36] [n/a] [ 19] [ 51] [ 55] D [ 31] [ 34] [ 38] [n/a] [ 55] [ 56] E [ 11] [ 13] [ 10] [ 9] [n/a] [ 47] F [ 13] [ 12] [ 9] [ 8] [ 14] [n/a] In this grid, each number represents the number of votes which were cast that preferred the option named in the number's row to the option appropriate to the number's column. For instance, 34 votes preferred Option D to Option B while 38 votes preferred Option D to Option C. Table 2 - Relative Figures (Opposite Comparison Grid) A B C D E F A [n/a] [ -6] [ -5] [ 0] [ 40] [ 38] B [ 6] [n/a] [-12] [ -9] [ 36] [ 38] C [ 5] [ 12] [n/a] [-19] [ 41] [ 46] D [ 0] [ 9] [ 19] [n/a] [ 46] [ 48] E [-40] [-36] [-41] [-46] [n/a] [ 33] F [-38] [-38] [-46] [-48] [-33] [n/a] In this grid, each number represents the number of votes which were cast that preferred the option named in the number's row to the option appropriate to the number's column less the number of votes which were cast that preferred the option named in the number's column to the option appropriate to the number's row. For example, 5 more people preferred Option C to Option A than preferred A to C, and 12 more people preferred Option C to Option B than preferred B to C. The winning option in the absolute table is that where all the numbers in it's row are equal to or higher than the number in the equivalent position in it's column. The winning option in the relative table is that which has no negative numbers in it's row and no positive numbers in it's column. On this ballot this is option D. ====================================================================== VOTE STATISTICS There were 96 requests for ballots from the UKVoting server including multiple requests by some people. There were 80 messages received through the UKVoting server for this vote, consisting of: 66 valid and counted votes 5 valid votes superseded by later votes from the same voter 1 SMTP duplication of an email (ignored) 1 Spam (ignored) 3 Abstentions (recorded) 4 Votes disallowed by the Votetaker The counted valid votes, abstentions and those discarded as invalid are listed in detail below. ====================================================================== INDIVIDUAL VOTE DETAILS Notes: 1. Voters were asked to rank the options from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest). Equal rankings are allowed, and any unranked options are considered to be ranked below all ranked options. 2. Voters used a variety of different marks (or lack of them) to indicate unranked options. Irrespective of the actual character used, all unranked options have been represented in the table by '-' (dash). 3. The votes column shows the ranking given by the voter to each option. For example: A B C D voter 1 1 2 4 3 voter 2 - 2 - 1 4. The preference column records the order of the preferences. Using the above example voter 1 A>B>D>C A preferred to B, B to D, D to C voter 2 D>B>A=C D preferred to B, B to A, A = C Name Email A B C D E F Preferences 3Phase Phase3.worldten@att@ten 2 1 4 3 5 6 B>A>D>C>E>F Adam Price adam.pappnase@demom@kuoc 1 3 4 5 2 - A>E>B>C>D>F Alan Fleming af.etrigan@gro - - - - 2 1 F>E>A=B=C=D Alan Ford alan.whirlten@kuoc 4 3 2 1 5 6 D>C>B>A>E>F Alan LeHun ukvote.lehun@clara@kuoc 4 2 3 1 5 6 D>B>C>A>E>F Alex Holden vote.alex-holden@kuoc - - - 1 - 2 D>F>A=B=C=E Andrew Wheatley andrewwheatley.baesystems@moc 2 1 6 5 3 4 B>A>E>F>D>C Andy Walker ajwalker.bham@kuac 6 5 2 1 3 4 D>C>E>F>B>A Arthur Figgis arthur_figgis.bigfoot@moc 2 1 4 3 5 6 B>A>D>C>E>F Barry Dorrans barryd.idunno@gro - - 2 1 4 3 D>C>F>E>A=B Barry Salter ukvotes.salterg@demom@kuoc 2 1 4 3 - - B>A>D>C>E=F Brett Paul Dunbar brett.dimetrodon@demom@kuoc 2 3 1 6 4 5 C>A>B>E>F>D Brian {H K [1]} bhk.dsl@kuoc 1 3 1 2 5 6 A=C>D>B>E>F Charles Lindsey chl.clw@csman@kuac 4 3 2 1 5 3 D>C>B=F>A>E Chris Thompson cet1.cuscam@kuac 5 4 2 3 6 1 F>C>D>B>A>E DG dickg.dickalba@demom@kuoc 2 4 1 3 5 6 C>A>D>B>E>F Dave Mayall david@mayall.ukonline@kuoc 5 4 3 1 2 6 D>E>C>B>A>F Dave Roberts dave.studio33@kuoc 4 3 2 1 6 5 D>C>B>A>F>E David Boothroyd david.election@demom@kuoc 3 4 2 1 6 5 D>C>A>B>F>E David Buttery gplscrapyard.yahoo@kuoc 2 1 4 3 5 6 B>A>D>C>E>F David Mahon ukceubtvote.amigo@kuoc 6 5 2 3 4 1 F>C>D>E>B>A David Taylor davidt.yadt@kuoc 1 1 1 1 2 3 A=B=C=D>E>F David Uri daviduri.bigfoot@moc 4 3 2 1 5 6 D>C>B>A>E>F Denis McMahon denis.pickaxe@ten 4 5 2 1 3 6 D>C>E>A>B>F Egg Salad salad.sarnie@gro@uk 6 5 4 3 2 1 F>E>D>C>B>A Geoff Berrow $$bl.ckdog@kuoc 4 2 3 1 5 6 D>B>C>A>E>F Graham Drabble graham@drabble.lineone@ten 2 1 2 1 2 2 B=D>A=C=E=F Ian Kitching imkitching.apu@kuac 1 3 2 4 5 6 A>C>B>D>E>F James Coupe james.zephyr@gro@uk 3 3 2 1 2 3 D>C=E>A=B=F James Farrar londonstatto.yahoo@kuoc 4 2 3 1 5 - D>B>C>A>E>F Jeffrey Goldberg jeffrey.goldmark@gro 4 3 2 1 6 5 D>C>B>A>F>E Jezza jezza.hotwells@freeserve@kuoc 6 6 2 1 6 3 D>C>F>A=B=E John F Hall jfh.avondale@demom@kuoc 2 1 4 3 5 6 B>A>D>C>E>F Jon Beasley-Murray jpb8.duke@ude 2 1 4 3 5 6 B>A>D>C>E>F King Queen kq.kingqueen@gro@uk 1 3 2 4 6 5 A>C>B>D>F>E Mark Goodge mark.goodstuff@kuoc 6 6 1 2 6 3 C>D>F>A=B=E Mark Williams mark.aziraphale@homeip@ten 4 3 2 1 5 6 D>C>B>A>E>F Michael Parry michael.cavrdg@demom@kuoc 6 5 3 1 2 4 D>E>C>F>B>A Mogga mogga.mogga@moc 1 2 3 4 5 6 A>B>C>D>E>F Neil Fernandez ncf.borve@demom@kuoc 1 - - - - - A>B=C=D=E=F Oak jpcard.cchat@moc 1 1 1 1 2 3 A=B=C=D>E>F Paul Cummins paul.cummins@ieeu@gro 1 1 3 3 3 6 A=B>C=D=E>F Paul Evans paul_evans2k.hotmail@moc 1 1 2 2 3 4 A=B>C=D>E>F Pekka P@ Pirinen ppp.pirinen@demom@kuoc 2 1 6 5 3 4 B>A>E>F>D>C Peter Duck pduck.zetten@kuoc 2 1 4 3 5 6 B>A>D>C>E>F Peter Duncanson mail.peterduncanson@ten 3 1 4 2 5 6 B>D>A>C>E>F Peter G Sheppard peter.petersheppard@moc 3 4 2 1 5 6 D>C>A>B>E>F Peter Smyth psmyth.gmx@ten 5 6 3 4 2 1 F>E>C>D>A>B Philip Powell philip.blencathra@gro@uk - - 4 1 2 3 D>E>F>C>A=B Rabid rabid.hotpop@moc 2 1 4 3 5 6 B>A>D>C>E>F Rachel lady.shalott@demom@kuoc 1 3 2 4 5 6 A>C>B>D>E>F Richard Kennaway jrk.sys@uea@kuac 4 3 2 1 - - D>C>B>A>E=F Richard White whiter.gmx@kuoc 3 4 1 2 5 6 C>D>A>B>E>F Shane Matthews useten.cluelessweasels@moc 3 4 1 2 5 5 C>D>A>B>E=F TWP twpngmail.yahoo@kuoc 2 4 1 3 5 6 C>A>D>B>E>F Thomas Lee tfl.psp@kuoc 2 - 1 - 3 - C>A>E>B=D=F Tim Miller tim.economictruth@kuoc 4 3 2 1 5 - D>C>B>A>E>F Wm tcnw51.tarrcity@demom@kuoc 1 1 2 2 3 4 A=B>C=D>E>F arachedog philipjpage.btinterten@moc 1 4 2 3 5 6 A>C>D>B>E>F gandalf gandalf.btconnect@moc 2 1 4 3 5 6 B>A>D>C>E>F geek geek.paulmartin@karoo@kuoc 1 3 2 4 5 6 A>C>B>D>E>F guv les.thereeves@kuoc 1 2 4 5 3 6 A>B>E>C>D>F hmelton hmelton.btinterten@moc 1 2 4 3 5 6 A>B>D>C>E>F phobos_anomaly phoenix_equation.yahoo@moc 1 2 1 1 3 4 A=C=D>B>E>F spurious mjoseph.blueyonder@kuoc 1 2 4 3 5 6 A>B>D>C>E>F the kat the@kat.ntlworld@moc 1 2 2 2 3 - A>B=C=D>E>F [1] Brian {Hamilton Kelly} Abstentions Molly Mockford molly.mockfords@clara@kuoc ABSTAINED Jack Howard renegade.stormshadow@kuoc ABSTAINED paul {voter}.watman@clara@kuoc ABSTAINED Invalid votes: Ann Wood ann(at)baglady org uk Thomas Lee thomaslee(at)clara co uk Richard Ashton ashcan(at)clara co uk dilton dilton(at)tiscali co uk ====================================================================== Invalid votes. a)Ann Wood ann(at)baglady org uk The www.baglady.org.uk site is hosted by Dave Mason at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dave.mason/ and Frames Forwarded by "clicknamesforwarder". The vote from Egg Salad salad.sarnie@kugro from which Dave Mason usually posts [as sarnie at sarnie dot org dot uk] was counted. Email corroboration of "Ann's" involvement in newsgroups was unenlightening. That, coupled with both votes being uniquely identical F>E>D>C>B>A, leads the votetaker to believe, on the balance of probability, that "Ann" did not cast this vote. Dave Mason's vote under his normal Usenet name has been counted. Extra technical data about these votes has been supplied to the committee. This vote is declared invalid. b) dilton dilton(at)tiscali co uk Thomas Lee thomaslee(at)clara co uk Richard Ashton ashcan(at)clara co uk There is no doubt in the votetakers mind that these three votes were submitted by Allen Hughes. For the following reasons all three votes are declared invalid. 1) These "voters" did not correctly follow the instructions on the ballot: Enter your normal usenet name between the square brackets: Name: [ ] "Richard Ashton", "Thomas Lee", and "dilton" are not the normal usenet name of Allen Hughes who submitted these votes. 2) Two "voters" do not have any posting history, on groups.google or in any other place except the transparently absurd attempts to "create" a posting history by posting to uk.net.news.config The identity dilton@tiscali.co.uk was given the benefit of the doubt in a prior vote but has now been established beyond reasonable doubt to be another alias for Allen Hughes. 3) The thread in uk.net.news.config about the Votetaker allegedly sending "Thomas Lee" a virus illustrates well the orchestration of sockpuppets. See 4) "Richard Ashton" and "Thomas Lee" did not respond to emails stating that had not used their "normal Usenet name", "dilton" did reply to tell the Votetaker its vote had been counted in a previous vote. 5) All the votes of these three voted option 1 as first, with no other options marked, only one other voter out of 66, ignored the ballot instruction to: "You can leave options unmarked, but are requested not to; ..." 6) UKVoting has other evidence to support the findings that these three votes are from Allen Hughes, the Votetaker has made this evidence available to the committee. 7) Allen Hughes requested 4 ballots in his own name but failed to register a vote with them. The exclusion of the "Richard Ashton", "Thomas Lee" and "dilton" votes, does not, therefore, equate to disenfranchisement in this particular case. VOTETAKER'S COMMENTS There were a number of mistakes made in this vote, mainly by the votetaker, and some other issues. 1) In spite of multiple checking the CFV was sent to Control with an incorrect address for the ballot request. My thanks to the proponent and others who pointed out this stupid error and to Control for rapidly cancelling and replacing the faulty CFV. 41 people attempted to get a ballot from this address, all but 5 eventually got the ballot successfully, the ballot was sent to the 5, but none was returned. My sincere apologies to those who were inconvenienced. 2) During the first batch of ACKs (acknowledgements) of votes the voting software incorrectly processed four acks, this was due to a buffer overflow problem triggered by the inclusion of the ballot ID. One of the voters spotted this mistake and informed the votetaker. The problem was identified, corrected and the faulty ACKs replaced before the second batch of ACKs were due. My thanks to the sharp eyed voter for pointing out the error. 3) Allen Hughes, a reader of uk.net.news.config, posted an objection in unnc, with the Message-ID: <3D1556B9.2D9EC2C5@Allen.as>, to the effect that the proponent had apparently posted instructions about the vote that may in other circumstances have voided the vote. The votetaker did not consider that this posting was designed to, or would have the effect of, influencing the way voters should vote. There was no filled in ballot paper posted and therefore the usual reason for concern was not present. The votetaker decided not to void the vote and after discussions with UKVoting formally notified the Committee and Control of the objection. The votetaker also advised Allen Hughes that this had been done. 4) Filled in ballot posted On 23 Jun 2002 a voter posted his ballot to the newsgroup uk.current - -events.us-bombing. The voter was responding to a request in that group to check how the vote was going. The votetaker considered this carefully and decided not to stop the vote as this individual was not in any way canvassing for votes, consideration was also given to the fact that the voter was new to voting in uk.* groups. At the end of the vote a check was made and no other voter before or after the posting voted identically to the posted vote 5) The Email ballot system, developed for UKVoting by Jon Ribbens, after the sucessful trial run by Mark Googe in a earlier vote, was a great success. It did not seem to put off a significant number of voters and affords UKVoting a generally available method that can be used in all future votes. ====================================================================== VOTING AND APPEAL GUIDELINES This vote was conducted by a neutral third party member of UKVoting. UKVoting is a group of independent votetakers who count votes on behalf of the uk.* hierarchy and other 3rd parties. The rules under which votes for the uk.* hierarchy are taken are posted regularly to uk.net.news.announce or can be found at the following URL: The UKVoting web pages can be found at There is a five day discussion period after these results are posted to uk.net.news.announce. Allegations of irregularity should be sent to control@usenet.org.uk. ====================================================================== RATIONALE AND PROPOSAL FROM THE CFV RATIONALE: - ---------- uk.current-events.us-bombing was created on 11 September, 2001 through the quick creation mechanism. It was extended for the full 180 days allowed under the guidelines. The group continues to be used, and has become a place for remarkably civil discussion of different views. According to the hierarchy charter for uk. current-events.* groups created by the quick creation mechanism must either be removed after 180 days or created through a normal process. Users of the group have requested that the group continue in some form. During the first RFD period at least 15 people indicated that they would use the group if it continued in some form. The group has become a place for US/UK discussion. In many ways it is a place were Americans have come to seek statements of European/UK perspectives. Thus its placement in uk.* is well justified. PROPOSED CHARTER: Newsgroups line uk.current-events.terrorism Global terrorism CHARTER uk.current-events.terrorism This group is for discussion of international terrorism and efforts to combat it. Postings which provide links to news items about the so-called war on terrorism are particularly encouraged. News items concerning UK involvement or helping to elucidate UK perspectives are also specifically encouraged. Discussion of these news events is also on-topic, particular that which helps encourage understanding of disparate view points. Discussion of policy and background to the events is also on topic, but potential posters are encouraged to carefully consider whether they have anything to say which hasn't been stated many times before. Posters are reminded that feelings run strong about these issues and are encouraged to discuss matters civilly. Posters are reminded that the group uk.current-events.n-ireland exists and that discussion which is narrowly focused on Northern Ireland may be better suited there. Advertising Advertising is forbidden. Binaries & Formatting Encoded binaries (e.g. pictures, compressed files, etc.) are forbidden. Such material belongs on a web or FTP site to which a pointer may be posted. Cryptographic signatures (e.g. PGP) may be used where authentication is important and should be as short as possible. Posts must be readable as plain text. HTML, RTF and similarly formatted messages are prohibited. To see how to make some common newsreaders comply with this, read . END CHARTER - --------------------------------------------------------------------- The ballot emailed to requesters is included here for completeness. BALLOT FORM This is your official ballot form for the vote: uk.current-events.{us-bombing|terrorism}. It is personal to you and will only work for one vote. If you wish to vote again then you must request a new ballot. Votes must be received by 23:59:59 BST, 12th July 2002. For voting questions *only* contact The votetaker: Richard Ashton For questions about the proposed new newsgroup or charter change contact the proponent: Jeffrey Goldberg Distribution: This CFV has been posted to the following newsgroups: uk.net.news.announce uk.net.news.config uk.current-events.us-bombing uk.politics.misc alt.current-events.wtc-explosion alt.security.terrorism ================================================================= RATIONALE: - ---------- uk.current-events.us-bombing was created on 11 September, 2001 through the quick creation mechanism. It was extended for the full 180 days allowed under the guidelines. The group continues to be used, and has become a place for remarkably civil discussion of different views. According to the hierarchy charter for uk. current-events.* groups created by the quick creation mechanism must either be removed after 180 days or created through a normal process. Users of the group have requested that the group continue in some form. During the first RFD period at least 15 people indicated that they would use the group if it continued in some form. The group has become a place for US/UK discussion. In many ways it is a place were Americans have come to seek statements of European/UK perspectives. Thus its placement in uk.* is well justified. ================================================================= SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION - --------------------- The original name proposed by the proponent(uk.current-events.post-11sept) sucked. A great number of alternatives were suggested (some with difference focuses for the group). A straw poll was conducted with 10 options. Not included in the straw poll -- but deserving of (dis)honourable mention -- were uk.current-events.wot, a name based on the acronym from The War Against Terrorism, and the incomparable uk.current-events.war-for-votes. Unfortunately, the poll results were inconclusive, with typically one vote separating the options. However, it appeared that while there was little consensus on a name, there didn't appear to strong objection to many of the alternatives. At that point the proponent (just under the deadline for a second RFD) submitted a second RFD listing the top two options from the poll. The most contentious issue that emerged during the discussion was whether some clause should be in the charter which encourages that discussion terrorism related to Northern Ireland be directed to the already existing group, uk.current-events.northern-ireland. Some people, the proponent included, felt that because a more specific group already exists, discussion appropriate for that specific group should be there and not in the proposed group. Others, however, expressed the feeling that this would be an arbitrary and unfair curtailment of a very legitimate topic which would otherwise be fully appropriate for the group. The straw-poll was indecisive. The proponent never fully grokked the argument against the NI restriction, but was made fully aware of the strength of feeling among those who objected to the clause. And so the proponent decided that this question had to be voted on as no consensus was possible. Several aspects of this proposal are unprecedented, and so during the discussion the proponent asked for several rulings from the Committee. Some of those rulings are moot (concerning amending the uk.current-events hierarchy), but one is relevant to this CFV. The term "status quo" for 12+ rule in voting could be misleading on this ballot, and so the ballot must be worded with extra care. Although the term "status quo" may not appear as it would on other ballots, voters should be assured that there is an option that has an in built 12 point advantage and that is the one for the group uk.current-events.us-bombing to be removed as scheduled. So if you don't want to group removed with no replacement, then it is important to vote against that option. ================================================================= PROPOSED or AMENDED CHARTER - ---------------------------- OPTION 1: Recharter uk.current-events.us-bombing CURRENT NEWSGROUPS LINE uk.current-events.us-bombing The World Trade Center Terror Attacks PROPOSED NEWSGROUPS LINE uk.current-events.us-bombing 11 September 2001 attack on US and follow-up CURRENT CHARTER (to be replaced) For discussion specific to the tragedies occurring in Washington and the World Trade Center and any surrounding issues. This newsgroup has been created under the provisions of the uk.current-events.* charter allowing for the immediate creation of groups in response to current events. It will automatically be removed after 30 days unless some specific action to prolong it is taken (e.g. an RFD for the creation of a permanent group). Advertising is forbidden. Posts must be readable as plain text. No encoded binaries of any kind other than cryptographic signatures (pointers to binaries stored elsewhere, e.g. on websites, FTP sites, or binaries newsgroups are allowed). END CURRENT CHARTER CHARTER uk.current-events.us-bombing This group is for discussion of news events connected to the 11 September, 2001 attacks on the US. Postings which provide links to news items about the so-called war on terrorism are particularly encouraged. News items concerning UK involvement or helping to elucidate UK perspectives are also specifically encouraged. Discussion of these news events is also on-topic, particular that which helps encourage understanding of disparate view points. Discussion of policy and background to the events is also on topic, but potential posters are encouraged to carefully consider whether they have anything to say which hasn't been stated many times before. Posters are reminded that feelings run strong about these issues and are encouraged to discuss matters civilly. Posters are reminded that the group uk.current-events.n-ireland exists and that discussion which is narrowly focused on Northern Ireland may be better suited there. Advertising Advertising is forbidden. Binaries & Formatting Encoded binaries (e.g. pictures, compressed files, etc.) are forbidden. Such material belongs on a web or FTP site to which a pointer may be posted. Cryptographic signatures (e.g. PGP) may be used where authentication is important and should be as short as possible. Posts must be readable as plain text. HTML, RTF and similarly formatted messages are prohibited. To see how to make some common newsreaders comply with this, read . END CHARTER uk.current-events.us-bombing Create unmoderated group uk.current-events.terrorism Newsgroups line uk.current-events.terrorism Global terrorism CHARTER uk.current-events.terrorism This group is for discussion of international terrorism and efforts to combat it. Postings which provide links to news items about the so-called war on terrorism are particularly encouraged. News items concerning UK involvement or helping to elucidate UK perspectives are also specifically encouraged. Discussion of these news events is also on-topic, particular that which helps encourage understanding of disparate view points. Discussion of policy and background to the events is also on topic, but potential posters are encouraged to carefully consider whether they have anything to say which hasn't been stated many times before. Posters are reminded that feelings run strong about these issues and are encouraged to discuss matters civilly. Posters are reminded that the group uk.current-events.n-ireland exists and that discussion which is narrowly focused on Northern Ireland may be better suited there. Advertising Advertising is forbidden. Binaries & Formatting Encoded binaries (e.g. pictures, compressed files, etc.) are forbidden. Such material belongs on a web or FTP site to which a pointer may be posted. Cryptographic signatures (e.g. PGP) may be used where authentication is important and should be as short as possible. Posts must be readable as plain text. HTML, RTF and similarly formatted messages are prohibited. To see how to make some common newsreaders comply with this, read . END CHARTER uk.current-events.terrorism **** IMPORTANT VOTING INSTRUCTIONS **** Send your ballot to ukceubt@vote.ukvoting.org.uk Note: This is *NOT* the same as the votetaker's personal address. Please do not assume that just replying to this message will work. Check the address before you mail your vote. Please ensure that you enter your name and a valid e-mail address where asked to do so on the ballot form below. If you do not, your vote will NOT be counted. Your vote acknowledgement will be sent to the email address used in your ballot form. No address = no acknowledgment = no vote. Do NOT remove the placeholders around the ballot form. Please try and ensure that you do not reformat the ballot paper in any way - in particular, please delete surplus spaces between the brackets after entering your name and email address, so that the fields remain the same overall length. Please send your vote in plain text (ASCII) only - the votetaker will make a best-effort attempt to read votes sent in other formats, but this can not be guaranteed. **** CONDORCET VOTING **** This vote is being counted under the Condorcet system. To vote insert a 1 by your favourite option(s), a 2 by your second favourite option(s) and so on. You can give the same ranking to more than one option where you have no preference between them. You can leave options unmarked, but are requested not to; any unmarked options will be assumed to be ranked lower than all marked options. To abstain from the vote, fill in your normal usenet name and e-mail address only, and leave all options unmarked. - ---------8<-----Delete this line and everything above it------8<---- - ----------------------------- Start of Ballot ---------------------- - -------=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=- Mail your ballot to ukceubt@vote.ukvoting.org.uk Ballot Id: Enter your normal usenet name between the square brackets: Name: [ ] Enter your email address between the square brackets: Address: [ ] *PLEASE COMPLETE THE ABOVE SECTIONS FOR VOTE TO BE VALID.* RANK THESE OPTIONS IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE: A: [ ] Recharter and keep uk.current-events.us-bombing B: [ ] Recharter and keep uk.current-events.us-bombing WITH Optional NI Clause C: [ ] Remove uk.current-events.us-bombing AND create new unmoderated group uk.current-events.terrorism D: [ ] Remove uk.current-events.us-bombing AND create new unmoderated group uk.current-events.terrorism WITH Optional NI Clause E: [ ] Re-Open Discussion F: [ ] Remove uk.current-events.us-bombing (Status Quo, see NOTE below) - -------=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=- - ------------------------------ End of Ballot ----------------------- - ---------8<-----Delete this line and everything below it------8<---- NOTE: The existing group uk.current-events.us-bombing was created under the emergency procedure and has reached the age where it must either be formally re-chartered through the group creation procedure or removed. Thus if no vote is passed the groups removal (with no replacement) is the "Status Quo" according to the voting procedure. And according to those procedures, only those options which defeat the "Status Quo" option (F in this case) by at least 12 votes will be considered. Again, the "Status Quo" option does NOT keep the group, but removes it. You may contact the vote taker or the proponent for further clarification. BALLOT ENDS -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 6.5.1i Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBPVoJtmOfGXkh8vHZAQFJTQP/bmJVvpOT8ai6wTFd5jU+AT8T2rGD+7vv nat2ASQHYgWxOFv+eC5EaYTHDpLoL8UVjCCQbFxqF+yE789/KXuAIZBv2P07djoD SearS40M7qHJjcf3alkpEX5wC2CkFfMJK4FIpI1Ry/A07Dmaqu41T9XnCU5cCahi vdZqtrqkDnE= =+3Z/ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----