[Cynnabar] To Seneschal et all

Randy Asplund randyasplund at comcast.net
Thu Feb 9 14:40:47 UTC 2012


And yet, if the poll I wrote were distributed out to our membership  
along the schedule I proposed it would get a higher response (thus a  
more accurate sampling) of the greater number of members. We  
"poll" (call it a vote if you like) at almost every Cynnabar meeting  
by a show of hands. Why is this different?

Do you really want to steam-roll this without adequately sampling the  
opinion of as much of the group as possible? The seneschal making this  
call based on his interpretation of emails in a situation that is  
slanted in favor of one opinion is not fair and not representative. At  
that point, our own rules call us to go back to the consensus model of  
three meetings. Would you rather have that or compromise enough to  
allow people to voice their opinions honestly and fairly?

Regardless of how I would "vote," (and as I said, I still do not know  
how I will vote yet) I will keep pushing for  fair and honest sampling  
of opinion because it is the right thing to do.

RanthulfR


On Feb 9, 2012, at 9:22 AM, Greg Less wrote:

> Sir Ranthulfr-
>
>    As stated yesterday, the Barony of Cynnabar does not vote. A  
> poll, regardless of the outcome, could not be used to make a  
> decision on this matter because it would be tantamount to voting.
>
>   In my experience, it has always been the job of Cynnabar's   
> seneschal to listen to the discussion, steer the discussion,  
> contribute to the discussion impartially, and at the end of the  
> allotted time, decide whether a consensus opinion has been formed on  
> the proposed action and whether or not a substantive opposition has  
> been voiced to said proposal.
>
>    Here, the proposed action is to give the Kingdom 18% of our 2011  
> coffers rounded up to the nearest dollar. The discussion is ongoing.  
> I am sure that Finn is doing his best to hear all of the opinions,  
> both pro and con, and decide whether the aforementioned consensus  
> has been reached without substantive opposition.
>
>    If a person wishes their voice to be heard on this matter, but  
> does not wish to speak up in public, Finn has made his home phone  
> number and personal email address available. Their Excellencies are  
> also available for private communication,  I am sure. There are  
> plenty of ways to get your opinion out there; don't let being shy,  
> my rhetoric, or anything else stop you from being heard.
>
>
> -Gregoire.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 9:08 AM, Randy Asplund <randyasplund at comcast.net 
> > wrote:
> Lord Finn,
>
> How will this decision be made before Saturday? A poll has been  
> proposed and seconded, and another person has offered to draft it,  
> but t is now Thursday and we've had no word yet about how the  
> decision will be made.
>
> I ask because I am concerned that this group might make the mistake  
> of using the gist of this week's emails to imply a decision rather  
> than actually using a method that is impartial and non-public. We  
> are already in a darker than gay area for stretching the "emergency  
> decision" definition, so we should try our very best to be as fairly  
> representative as possible.
>
> The logic for using the poll system rather than looking at past  
> emails is about fairness because:
>
> 1) Although many posts on this subject have been made, the majority  
> of the posts have been from the same few people, which is not a fair  
> representation of the far greater numbers of the Barony. In fact, we  
> have not heard from most of our active membership and only (if I  
> counted right) three of our local Peers. It may turn out that the  
> opinion of the ones who posted the most for one side carries the  
> favor of the majority, but we won't know until we have a chance to  
> decide and vote in private.
>
> 2) From the first post by Gregoire, language has been used that  
> would dissuade anyone who disagreed from saying so has been used. I  
> am NOT saying that was intentional on anybody's part, but that is  
> certainly the psychological effect. Who wants to publicly state an  
> opposing opinion when it might cause them to appear ungenerous or  
> not in support of Kingdom and Society, even if they thought there  
> was a better way to do both? I know for a fact that there are people  
> who have not posted but do disagree. They deserve to have the  
> opportunity to be counted privately and impartially.
>
> 3) There are people on the list who just don't post much, but would  
> like to vote. There are also members of the local group who are  
> physically active but are not on the list-serve.
>
> 4) Some people have expressed off-list that they have not posted  
> because they felt others had already made their points.
>
> 5) Regardless of what has been said already, we are still waiting  
> for the last information to arrive, and people on either side might  
> change their minds in either direction based on that information.  
> Frankly, I don't even know how "I" would vote yet.
>
> 6) And who is eligible to vote ought to be stated. (Please note:  
> This is not a slight to Their Graces, who live in Pittsburgh. I  
> personally feel that anyone who feels they are a member of Cynnabar  
> first and foremost should be allowed to vote. But we have people on  
> this list who are in a grey area and others who were just plain  
> never members of Cynnabar but simply want to keep aware of what we  
> are doing).
>
> I doubt strongly that anybody in either camp wants anything but what  
> is best for the SCA, for the Middle Kingdom and for Cynnabar. The  
> question is really about what is the wisest way to deal with the  
> situation. The decision needs to reflect the honest opinion of the  
> group's members without having anybody feel socially pressured into  
> voting against what they believe.
>
> RanthulfR
>
> Randy Asplund
> Facebook: "Randy Asplund, Artist"
> www.RandyAsplund.com
> Maker of Medieval books and
> Illustrator of Science Fiction & Fantasy
> (734) 663-0954
> 2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI 48103
>
>
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>

Randy Asplund
Facebook: "Randy Asplund, Artist"
www.RandyAsplund.com
Maker of Medieval books and
Illustrator of Science Fiction & Fantasy
(734) 663-0954
2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI 48103

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