Subj : Need help with consensus
To   : All
From : Angus McLeod
Date : Sun Sep 11 2005 09:48 pm

I am a member of a club currently embroiled in a somewhat stormy argument 
about new membership.  It all boils down to deciding how an application 
for membership is judged/decided.

Currently, all members vote in a secret ballot by post, to decide whether 
applicants are to be accepted or rejected.  Any ballot must receive votes 
from at least 2/3rds of the members, or it is thrown out and a new ballot 
is taken. An applicant must get YES votes equal to 2/3rds or more of the 
current membership, for the application to be approved.  That is how it 
currently stands.  Now, there is a faction who want to change this so that 
the applicant only needs to get 2/3rds or more of the *ballots*cast*.  
People who abstain (by deliberate choice, by laziness, or because their 
postal ballot failed to arrive by the given deadline) are essentially 
to be treated as though they do not exist.

I am for the system as it now stands.  If the club membership stands at 
18, any prospective member would have to get 12 YES votes (2/3rds) to be 
admitted.  The idea is this:  We aren't particularly hungry for new 
members, and we want to make sure that any new member will get along with 
the *current* members with minimum personality clashes.  So far, we 
require that two out of every three members actively choose to have you 
join us.  If, despite your best persuasive efforts, more than a third of 
the club chooses *not* to vote for you, either abstaining or voting NO, 
then you shouldn't be allowed in.

With the new system proposed, if a minimum acceptable poll of 12 ballots 
were received, then only 8 ballots would have to be YES for the 
application to be approved.  That's 8 YES votes out of a club membership 
of 18 members.  To reduce it to a percentage, it would be possible to 
enter the club with only 2/3rds of 2/3rds or 44.444 (recurring) percent of 
the members giving their *active* approval.  

The way this works out, the more people who abstain from voting, the 
easier it is to get an application approved, because the candidate needs 
less YES votes.  The controvacy is around whether the number of votes 
required should be based on the number of members in the club, or on the 
number of ballots cast.  *I* believe that it is not the responsibility of 
current members to vote NO to keep out undesireable applicants.  I believe 
it is the applicant's responsibility to convince current members that they 
will be a congenial companion and/or asset to the club to such a degree 
that the current member will vote YES on their behalf, and not simply 
ABSTAIN, or worse, vote NO.

Anyway, here's what I'd like DOVE-netters to do for me, if they would be 
so kind:

1)  Voice an opinion.  Remember, we aren't trying to be FAIR to 
    applicants:  They are NOT club members (yet, anyway) and our
    rules are NOT framed for their benefit.  The goal is to keep
    our club environment enjoyable for our existing members by
    making sure new members are acceptable to as many existing
    members as is reasonable.

2)  Are you a member of a club or association of some sort?  Or
    more than one?  Tell me how your club does it.  Tell me how
    many votes applicants need to join your club, and whether that
    number depends on the number of actual members, or on the
    number of ballots cast.  If there are other adjusting factors
    (NO votes are deducted in some ratio, whatever) mention them
    too.  If you are a member of more than one club, give details
    for each, please.

I want to have an idea what DOVE-Netters think on this issue.  And I want 
to get an idea what *actual* clubs are doing in *reality*, with enough 
examples for me to get as clear a picture as possible.

Thanks for your help!


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