Guest Editorial

What's Not Happening

WHAT'S NOT HAPPENNING
There isn't always something happening on Fidonet, but there's always something which isn't happening. This column is dedicated to the lost causes which make Fido what it isn't today. Published semi-occasionally...

The Zone 1 Coordinator Election begins it's nomination phase on May 30th. Lack of candidates, however, has been no deterrent to the debate of issues. Here are a few issues from the past week which should not be a factor in the upcoming election:

1. Dallas Hinton posted as Bob Satti.
   Much ado was made over Dallas logging onto Bob's system as Bob and posting in his name. However, it appears that Dallas was merely passing on messages dictated by Bob from his hospital bed. This charge fails to establish any intent to defraud on Dallas part, and I seriously doubt that even Dallas' detractors will continue to hold him in infamy over the technicality that he didn't put his initials on the dictated messages.
   It's probably not a good idea for Dallas to list this activity on his election resume under "ZC EXPERIENCE," however...
2. Region 10 Net Coordinators were not consulted before the R10C voted on election methods.
   This turned out to be a simple technical error - the messages posted in the R10 regional echoes were lost on one system. Brenda Donovan, as Region 10 Coordinator, continues to enjoy (so fare as I know) a reputation for putting information before her region. The fact that the charge was even made is more indicative that there is still a deep distrust of regional representation than indicative of any actual RC failure. RCs should, of course, be aware of this distrust... but I don't see what more they can do except to continue to conduct their business openly and honestly.
3. Regional Coordinators sent differing messages to their regions in soliciting input concerning election methods for the Z1C.
   It's certain that RC's wrote their regions using their own words because there was no common message drafted for this purpose. Whether there should have been or not is open for debate, but there's been no case established that the differing wording resulted in differing input from the regions.
   This is unlikely to become an issue in the upcoming election because it doesn't express the underlying concern of those expressing the complaint. The underlying concern is that regional input may not be accurately reflected whenever the RCs vote. So long as the concept of RC representation is distrusted, or in the absence of independent monitoring of regional input, it's unlikely that this issue will be resolved in time for the current election.
4. Policy 4 does not require open election of the Z1C.
   This argument has normally been advanced whenever criticism of the current election process has become severe. The implication is that sysops should be content with whatever input they've been granted to the selection process, because they're not entitled to any by policy. Policy firmly places ZC selection in the RC's hands and does not address the method of selection they use.
   This is unlikely to become an election issue because it represents an extreme viewpoint - as extreme as the viewpoint that Fidonet sysops can void policy merely by withdrawing from Fido and reforming the net. However, the facts are that RCs have chosen to make part of the election process open, and sysops have chosen to attempt to work within the existing structure. Extremes have no place in the upcoming election.

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| Fidonet: Douglas Myers 1:270/720@fidonet.org
| Internet: doug@mdtnbbs.com
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.
| From Mdtn_BBS @mdtnbbs.com [ In the Heart of Three Mile Island ]