[FFmpeg-devel] Re: [POLL] [VOTE] code.ffmpeg.org vs. ML

[Nicolas George via ffmpeg-devel <ffmpeg-devel@ffmpeg.org>]

Martin Storsjö via ffmpeg-devel (HE12025-09-16):
> No, that is not the point at all.
> 
> The point is having one's voice and vote count, without needing to disclose
> it publicly. On potentially contentious matters, people eligible to vote may
> wish to do so, without having to publicly state their preference attached to
> their name.

“The point of secret voting is that people can vote secretly.”
Nice circular reasoning.

Historically, the point of secret ballot in democracies was to prevent
coercion and corruption. This is why citizen not only can vote secretly:
they must. Citizen have to be alone in the voting booth, they cannot
take anything with them that proves what they voted so that nobody can
force them to with a threat of the promise of a bribe.

This principle has been weakened with provisions for remote voting, but
it is still the logical justification for vote secrecy as we have in
democracies.

Note than in other contexts, vote is not secret, because the constraints
are different. Michael already mentioned elected officials. We can also
mention company shareholders: when the shareholders vote on something,
the votes are usually public, at least within the company.

The relationship of FFmpeg developers with the project is more akin to
the relationship of shareholders to a company than to the relationship
of a citizen to their country.

Anyway, the project leader who decides, when polling members, whether
the poll is public or private is a perfectly normal way of managing the
project.

-- 
  Nicolas George
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