Path: feeder.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!newsfeed.straub-nv.de!feeder1-2.proxad.net!proxad.net!feeder1-1.proxad.net!198.186.190.251.MISMATCH!transit4.readnews.com!news-out.readnews.com!postnews7.readnews.com!not-for-mail From: Barry Salter Newsgroups: uk.net.news.announce,uk.net.news.config,uk.net.news.management Subject: RESULT - UK Usenet Committee Elections 2009 Followup-To: uk.net.news.management Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:29:52 +0000 Message-ID: Sender: Chris Croughton as Control Approved: Chris Croughton as Control Lines: 985 NNTP-Posting-Host: 1edfa13c.gradwell.net X-Trace: DXC=B_kbkPZmC4?27\TL:NC?]4@lWf8?fSK:1jS@R6]oDiI??RX?`CLP>3<71OgD_WOU06[B3E=ia3]k6RIS06<=\3l9 X-Complaints-To: abuse@gradwellnet Xref: eternal-september.org uk.net.news.announce:54 uk.net.news.config:6945 uk.net.news.management:2978 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Result of Call for Votes UK Usenet Committee Elections 2009 Due to the continued prevalence of viruses and worms the harvest Usenet posts for e-mail addresses, all e-mail addresses in these results are modified to prevent this. Summary: The following people are elected to serve as Open Members of the UK Usenet Committee until December 2012: Graham Drabble Clive D. W. Feather Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat') Matthew Vernon ======================================================================== Voting closed at 23:59:59 GMT, 17th November 2009. Votetaker: Barry Salter Secondary Votetaker: Jon Ribbens ======================================================================== Distribution: These results have been posted to the following newsgroups: uk.net.news.announce uk.net.news.config uk.net.news.management ======================================================================== The full results follow below in the following order: 1) Information on the Ballot 2) Summary of Mail Received During the Voting Period 3) Results in Detail 4) Voter List 5) Counted Vote List 6) Votetaker's Comments 7) Voting and Appeal Information 8) Copy of Statements from the CFV ====================================================================== Information on the Ballot Voters were asked to rank the following candidates in order of preference: Jonathan Amery Candidate A David Damerell Candidate B Graham Drabble Candidate C Clive D. W. Feather Candidate D Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat') Candidate E Ian Jackson Candidate F Matthew Vernon Candidate G ====================================================================== Summary of Mail Received During the Voting Period 180 messages were received to the Ballot Request Address, of which: 178 were valid Ballot Requests 2 were test messages sent by the votetaker 142 messages were received to the Voting Address, of which: 129 were valid and counted votes 1 was rejected due to the voter omitting their name, though they did later submit a valid vote 9 valid votes subsequently superseded by the voters 1 was an abstention, thus does not affect the count 1 was a test message sent by the votetaker 1 was a test message sent by a voter ====================================================================== Results in Detail The election was conducted using the Single Transferable Vote method of voting, with the count carried out under the Electoral Reform Society's 1997 (3rd Edition) rules. The STV analysis is as follows: UK Usenet Committee Elections 2009 Stage 1 Total Votes Cast: 130 Invalid Votes: 1 Total Valid Vote: 129 Places to be filled +1: 5 So Quota = 129/5 Quota = 25.80 First Preferences: Jonathan Amery : 1 David Damerell : 4 Graham Drabble : 22 Clive D. W. Feather : 61 Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat) : 29 Ian Jackson : 1 Matthew Vernon : 11 Clive D. W. Feather ELECTED with 61.00 over quota 25.80 Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat') ELECTED with 29.00 over quota 25.80 Active Vote: 77.40 Places left +1: 3 Vote required for election now: 25.80 Stage 2 No candidates can be excluded, so we transfer the largest surplus Surplus of Clive D. W. Feather Jonathan Amery gets 1 paper. David Damerell gets 3 papers. Graham Drabble gets 53 papers. Ian Jackson gets 2 papers. Matthew Vernon gets 1 paper. 60 papers transferred. Total Present Value: 60.00 1 paper non-transferable. Calculating transfer value: 35.20/60 Papers transferred at 0.58 Jonathan Amery now has 1.58 votes. David Damerell now has 5.74 votes. Graham Drabble now has 52.74 votes. Ian Jackson now has 2.16 votes. Matthew Vernon now has 11.58 votes. 0.40 votes non-transferable. Graham Drabble ELECTED with 52.74 over quota 25.80 Active Vote: 51.20 Places left+1: 2 Vote required for election now: 25.60 Stage 3 No candidates can be excluded, so we transfer the largest surplus Surplus of Graham Drabble Jonathan Amery gets 4 papers. David Damerell gets 4 papers. Ian Jackson gets 4 papers. Matthew Vernon gets 13 papers. 25 papers transferred. Total Present Value: 14.50 28 papers non-transferable. Total current value of transferable papers is less than the surplus, so these papers are transferred at their current value. Papers transferred at 0.58 Jonathan Amery now has 1.58 votes. David Damerell now has 5.74 votes. Ian Jackson now has 2.16 votes. Matthew Vernon now has 11.58 votes. 12.44 votes non-transferable. Active Vote: 38.76 Places left+1: 2 Vote required for election now: 19.38 Stage 4 No candidates can be excluded, so we transfer the largest surplus Surplus of Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat') Jonathan Amery gets 4 papers. David Damerell gets 2 papers. Ian Jackson gets 2 papers. Matthew Vernon gets 2 papers. 10 papers transferred. Total Present Value: 10.00 19 papers non-transferable. Calculating transfer value: 3.20/10 Papers transferred at 0.32 Jonathan Amery now has 5.18 votes. David Damerell now has 8.70 votes. Ian Jackson now has 5.12 votes. Matthew Vernon now has 19.76 votes. Matthew Vernon ELECTED with 19.76 over quota 19.38 ***Finished*** In grid format, this is expressed as follows: UK Usenet Committee Elections 2009 Number to be elected: 4 (from 7) Counted votes: 129 Quota for election on first round: 25.80 1st Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Pref T A T A T A 1 0.58 1.58 2.32 3.90 1.28 5.18 Jonathan Amery 4 1.74 5.74 2.32 8.06 0.64 8.70 David Damerell 22 30.74 52.74 -26.94 25.80 25.80 Elect Graham Drabble 61 -35.20 25.80 25.80 25.80 Elect Clive D. W. Feather 29 29.00 29.00 -3.20 25.80 Elect Fiona Gostling 1 1.16 2.16 2.32 4.48 0.64 5.12 Ian Jackson 11 0.58 11.58 7.54 19.12 0.64 19.76 Elect Matthew Vernon 0.40 0.40 12.44 12.84 12.84 Non-transferable 129 129.00 129.00 129.00 Totals Key to grid: Stage 2 - Surplus of Clive D. W. Feather Stage 3 - Surplus of Graham Drabble Stage 4 - Surplus of Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat') T = number of votes transferred at this stage A = votes for candidate after transfer ====================================================================== Voter List The following individuals supplied valid votes: Name E-Mail .m nospam#notnominet#name {R} {R}#semolina#org Adrian adrian#ffoil#org#uk Adrian toomany2cvs#gmail#com Alan Braggins armb#chiark#greenend#org#uk Alan Lee alan#darkroom#plus#com Alan LeHun ukvote#lehun#clara#co#uk Alex Holden vote#alexholden#co#uk Alex Potter alex#ap-consulting#co#uk Ali ali#on_usenet#ntlworld#com Alistair Gunn palmersperry#yahoo#com Andrew Gabriel Andrew#cucumber#demon#co#uk Andrew Heggie news#sylva#icuklive#co#uk Andrew Hodgson andrew#hodgsonfamily#org Andy Burns andy#burns#net Andy Templema andy#templeman#org#uk anonimulo anonimulo2003#yahoo#com Anthony R. Gold bigfoot#davros#org Bob Eager rde#tavi#co#uk brasseagle steve#offerton#demon#co#uk Brett Paul Dunbar brett#dimetrodon#demon#co#uk Brian Brian#bjforster#force9#co#uk BunnyHare barb#barbshouse#fsnet#co#uk Charles Bryant ukcom2009#vote#ch#chch#demon#co#uk Charles Lindsey chl#clerew#man#ac#uk Cherry Chapstick glenys#kororaa#com Chris Hills chaz#chaz6#com Chris Jackson chris#fluffhouse#org#uk Clive D.W. Feather clive#davros#org Clive George clive#evil-c#co#uk Clive Martin clive#cmartin#demon#co#uk Clive R Robertson usenet-vote#clive#org#uk Colin Rosenstiel usenet#rosenstiel#cix#co#uk Cris Galletly cris#galletly#googlemail#com Danny Colyer d#redpedals#co#uk Dave Williams dave#clues#com David Damerell damerell#chiark#greenend#org#uk David Kemper david#kemper#ntlworld#com David Taylor davidt-unna-2009#yadt#co#uk Dick Gaughan dg#dickgaughan#co#uk djc slais-www#ucl#ac#uk Dr J R Stockton J#R#Stockton#physics#org Dr Zoidberg alex#drzoidberg#co#uk Eleanor Blair eleanor#the-blairs#co#uk Geoff Berrow vote#4theweb#co#uk Graham Drabble graham#drabble#me#uk Grant xcom2k9b#mason#sh Gripper neely#weely#btinternet#com Herbie herbie1#gmail#com Huge huge#huge#org#uk I J Clifton ian#clifton#chem#ox#ac#uk Ian Jackson ijackson#chiark#greenend#org#uk J. P. Gilliver G6JPG#soft255#demon#co#uk James Coupe james#zephyr#org#uk jaygee corbei#post#com Jim Avery ja#averyjim#myzen#co#uk Jim Crowther Don't_spam#wotmeworry#org#uk John Blundell jcb#news#ntlworld#com John Hall john#jhall#co#uk John the R-T john-the-r-t#gmx#co#uk Jon Nicoll jkn#nicorp#co#uk Jonathan Amery jdamery#chiark#greenend#org#uk Judith Smith judithmsmith#live#co#uk Jusme nn-39282#jusme#com kat kat#news#ntlworld#com laz gurudamo-mail#yahoo#co#uk Mark mafw13#yahoo#co#uk mark BR mandd#barber-riley#co#uk Mark Goodge mark#good-stuff#co#uk Mark Spice mcspice#tiscali#co#uk Mark Williams mark#aziraphale#homeip#net Matt Balyuzi mbalyuzi#gmail#com Matthew Vernon matthew#debian#org MCC mcc11639#gmx#co#uk Michael Parry mjp#crowsnest#co#uk Mike Barnes mb-usenet#thedowerhouse#com Mike Bristow mike#urgle#com Mike Fleming mike#tauzero#co#uk Mike P mikepearson8#yahoo#co#uk Mike Tomlinson mike#jasper#org#uk Molly Mockford com2009#mollymockford#me#uk Mr. Benn censorshipnoto#yahoo#co#uk ned alandale#bugsandweeds#co#uk Neil Matthews neil#chaos#org#uk Nick Nick#Spam#yahoo#co#uk Nigel Cliffe ncliffe#btinternet#com Owen Dunn owend#chiark#greenend#org#uk Owen Rees owenrees#waitrose#com Parrotfish parrotfish20#btinternet#com paul {voter}#watman#clara#co#uk Paul Cummins tramlink0800#googlemail#com Paul Giverin paul#giverin#co#uk pcb1962 peter#pandasys#co#uk Pedt pedt#oddities-etc#co#uk Peter D Hill peter#hill#skyshack#demon#co#uk Peter Duncanson mail#peterduncanson#net Peter Grange peter#plgrange#demon#co#uk Peter J Ross peadar#ruadh#gmail#com Peter Maydell pmaydell#chiark#greenend#org#uk Peter Parry peter#wpp#ltd#uk Peter Robinson pmrobinson#gmx#net Rabbit Sandra#thistledoo#plus#com Richard Kettlewell rjk#greenend#org#uk Rob Morley nospam#ntlworld#com Roger Burton West roger#firedrake#org Roger Chapman r#chapman470#btinternet#com Roger Hayter roger#hayter#org Ross Younger news06#crazyscot#com Sam Holloway sam#samholloway#co#uk Sara Merriman saramerriman#blueyonder#co#uk Simon Brooke stillyet#googlemail#com Sn!pe steve#notforspam#fsnet#co#uk Stephen Gower socks-1netnews#earth#li Steve Baker stevebakerj#freeuk#com Steve Firth vote#malloc#co#uk Steve Walker steve#walker#mongo#org#uk Stuart O'Donnell news#venicones#co#uk Tansy aaaroseby#googlemail#com The Happy Hippy the#happy#hippy#ntlworld#com The Wanderer the#wanderer#tesco#net Thomas Womack tom#womack#net Tickettyboo tickettyboo#shaw#ca Tom Crispin Kije#freeuk#com Tony tony#darkstorm#co#uk Trevor A Panther tapan#blueyonder#co#uk Troy's Human john#pegler#org#uk Victor Meldrew com2k9#meldrew#me#uk Will Wilkinson will#lancre#net Wm tcnw81#tarrcity#demon#co#uk Zhang Dawei xiaoxi-1000#mugwort#adsl24#co#uk ====================================================================== Counted Vote List The guidelines for the UK Usenet Committee Elections stipulate that the votes of all voters shall be published in such a way that only the voter can recognise his/her own vote. The following votes were counted, listed in alphanumeric order of the Voter ID: Candidate Ranking Ballot ID A B C D E F G ================ =================== 01f0b0daa5575bf3 - - 2 3 1 - - 03183a58b5df6efc - - 1 2 3 - - 05d66374e6c1a3b9 5 3 6 1 2 7 4 0a71678de1f24a78 5 4 3 1 2 6 7 0da808c0c4208fab 6 1 4 5 7 2 3 0e45992f393f9ad9 - - 2 3 1 - - 0f95333789454c6b - 4 3 1 2 - - 121c4a51a4dbbfc8 5 7 1 3 2 6 4 18c841e100444f42 - - 3 2 1 - - 1d6695826e8b6a53 - - 3 1 2 - - 1d882cfc4d1903e3 - 4 1 2 3 - - 1e77a7d088e3ffc6 4 6 3 2 1 7 5 1ecf04a87a424b78 5 3 4 2 7 6 1 1f8bdd425f5fbd2e 5 6 2 1 3 7 4 20ffec71004aa23b 5 7 3 1 2 6 4 2317188c18deff4e - - 2 1 3 - - 2856a35f815dcdf6 - - 3 1 2 - - 29c96b37f2427d55 4 2 6 1 7 5 3 2ad2fbb622eca8f7 - 4 3 1 2 - - 2c1c4c908d8d7e3f 4 - 3 1 2 - - 2d8d14caf16d964d - - 3 1 2 4 - 2fa5d2d872c8c44b 7 6 2 1 3 4 5 31434d91a79b59c4 - - 3 1 2 - - 3260f83b7fe25b74 - - 2 - 1 - - 379576ecc4e87096 - - 3 2 1 - - 3a592a60803f79b0 2 4 - 1 - 5 3 410b9745c62ad81e - 4 2 1 3 - - 41cde194fa01b0c7 4 2 - 5 - 3 1 472383fec74c8bcd 5 6 1 2 3 7 4 4a1ff36d3972f4b1 3 1 6 5 7 4 2 4a687b23298f6a83 4 - 1 3 2 - - 4b1d2d37a2298f8a 7 5 2 1 3 6 4 4ba4be09d5d18d54 4 2 - - - 1 3 4e64b3037c36d1a2 - - - 2 1 - - 501bfbe6fd861155 - - 1 2 3 - - 51a803aa23c8e235 - - 3 1 2 - - 51af9a3f128a6385 - - 2 1 3 - - 526d33b905acd980 - - 3 1 2 - - 53091ae1d0c55c6b - - 3 1 2 - - 5b4cd87445c30f60 - - 3 1 2 - - 5b6775c8ff86ccf6 5 - 2 3 4 - 1 5c65e50213812b92 - - 2 1 3 - - 5c987ac5d883d683 7 6 3 1 2 5 4 5d1b67ae86b00acd 5 - 3 1 2 - 4 5eef31d3c434b4aa - - 1 3 2 - - 62cc72c5a52a7637 - - 2 3 1 - - 66cc4e6036176693 - 4 1 2 3 - - 66e754e8bb67076c 2 3 5 6 7 4 1 6b883f4bf25f7074 - 4 1 2 3 - - 6ce90e2bad8d92a6 4 7 1 2 3 6 5 6efb8bbe2a0995ab - - 3 2 1 - 4 72a1aa1370e7f532 - - 2 1 3 - - 76f9aa3e9960fe95 - - 3 2 1 - - 792af57cc97ccb3a - - 1 3 2 - - 7af31783a6e92c98 - - 3 1 2 - - 7d80fd5b6a6b6645 3 1 5 6 7 2 4 7e1c4ef7faf171a9 - - 1 - 2 - - 7e937c0122b1d4c2 - - 3 1 2 - - 81210c3186fe0f01 - 1 - - - 3 2 81722bdffbd9161c - - 3 1 2 - - 81ebb395dfb54d5d 7 5 2 1 3 4 6 835bedf0d8a61088 4 5 2 3 1 - - 840d415c29a5ce59 4 6 2 1 3 7 5 867f648ebbb80b18 - - 3 1 2 - - 88933cba016ca669 - - - 1 - - - 899bbab80a896097 6 7 3 1 2 5 4 8a7c73b9e1674b07 4 3 2 - 6 5 1 8ab06d2c6072deb3 2 5 6 4 7 3 1 8b3c2c666b53e650 - - 2 - 1 - - 8cb8d2b4ffa71667 - - 4 1 - 3 2 8cd89f72cd328d1c 6 5 3 1 2 7 4 8ed3c7c444e1f8d2 5 6 2 1 3 7 4 8f196a59bcd788fa - - 2 3 1 - - 93a60ebbd0d7ecfe - - 2 1 3 - - 97dc952acf2c0ec9 - - 2 3 1 - - 9de42e2489c68449 - - 3 1 2 - - 9e912c4744e5b402 - - 1 2 3 - - a0f187c06977e947 2 3 6 4 7 5 1 a352c219e0b7e44d - - 1 2 3 - - a4ecb308bab450d5 - - 3 1 2 - - a66ac2bc2ec0d844 5 6 2 1 3 7 4 a8da7d7da890706b - - 3 1 2 - 4 a971649383d2f4b2 - - 3 2 1 - - aa98bb3b24cf2cc9 - - 1 2 3 - - ab84858f05b62582 4 6 5 2 3 7 1 b10a876f256dd06c - - 2 - 1 - - b331d7da7d054ad1 - - 3 - 1 2 - b4a9ceaa45a6a2fe - - 2 1 3 - - b58ba2fdfcbf969e 6 5 2 3 1 7 4 b5df1ee35b0bba68 3 4 5 2 6 - 1 b61e6422188c4485 - 3 2 - 1 - - b7560acacba18011 - - 3 2 1 - - b85553a9e3ca0f9d - - 2 1 3 - - b8a2e8d12dab4a26 - - 1 2 3 - 4 bc7e6518a00115e2 - - 3 2 1 4 - bd1b17cb0ba39c9b 5 6 2 1 3 7 4 bdafe79da77d9186 - - 3 1 2 - - c17185d123438d1f 2 3 7 5 6 4 1 c35a87118b99dbc4 4 6 3 1 2 7 5 c406f1d1639cbf15 - - 2 1 3 4 5 c44d956d1833bd46 6 4 3 2 1 5 7 c7ce0fef1b0f1138 - - 3 2 1 - - c85c1085f6856e11 4 5 6 7 3 2 1 c8805fc5d2378974 - - 3 1 2 - 4 cac24abc58505774 - - 3 2 1 - - cd2498e3fd304d22 - - 1 3 2 - - cd4f3e41a7962e62 1 5 7 3 4 6 2 ce290f9da93f3220 2 5 7 6 1 4 3 ce7431dcf67d084c - - 1 2 3 - - cf365beeda9b4f9e 5 4 1 3 2 7 6 d27ebedb258d364e - - 2 1 3 - - d331dcab0168b5e0 - - 1 2 3 - - d36726646372eb5d 4 7 2 3 1 6 5 d3fe7fd41d565694 - - 2 1 3 - - d5809cf4fccb8f2d - - 2 3 1 - - d73f5351ab031245 - - 2 1 3 - - da8e40d3a900d0d4 - - 2 1 3 - - dbd6c1043686a232 5 3 6 1 7 2 4 ddd321641aba88c3 7 3 4 1 6 2 5 e07622ff2691fc67 - 4 1 2 3 - - e40e0b0050a54454 - - 1 2 3 - 4 e7719bf664d76425 - - 3 1 2 - - e78751cd2c890375 4 - 2 1 3 6 5 ea5446d57cae2658 - - 3 1 2 - - ec2830af69c2d683 A A A A A A A f017cb60fc5c84fa 7 6 2 1 3 5 4 f4abf0e619ce5a2c - - 2 3 1 - - fc697880093576fd - - 2 1 3 - - fe21849131467dec - - 3 2 1 - - fe920c247a901895 - 2 4 1 - - 3 Key: - = No preference expressed for that candidate A = Abstained If you wish to check that your vote has been correctly recorded, your Ballot ID can be found on your ballot paper and your acknowledgement. It should be noted that the Ballot IDs were issued randomly, and the sequence here does not match either the order in which ballot papers were requested or the alphabetical sequence of voter names or email addresses. ======================================================================== Votetaker's Comments Barry:- Whilst there were some problems with ballot requests being rejected by the SpamAssassin threshold on the UKVoting mail server being set too low (initially 5.0, then 6.0 and now 10.0), as far as I can tell no potential votes were lost. Participants are reminded that the instructions on the CFV clearly state that the purpose of the vote is to determine the genuine interest of persons who have an interest in the people who represent them on the Committee and that soliciting votes from disinterested parties defeats this purpose. Whilst we appreciate that Demon Internet is a UK ISP, a post was made to demon.service in a clear breach of this rule and, following discussion with other members of UKVoting, if this had been a normal group creation vote, the post would have been declared *VOTING FRAUD* and the vote abandoned. It was also brought to the attention of the votetakers that what can be politely described as "less than impartial" pointers to the CFV (or, worse, just the ballot request address) were posted to a number of groups within uk.*. These posts were made both by candidates and by others not directly involved in the Elections. In addition, the votetakers were advised that some people, again including candidates, were posting with controversial signatures relating to the Elections. Whilst reminding uk.* groups of the Elections is admirable, a neutral posting pointing people to unna is recommended. If in doubt, posters are asked to check with the votetaker(s) *BEFORE* making such posts. A statement from UKVoting, formalising our position on this matter, will be posted in due course. That aside, the vote ran reasonably smoothly, with almost all of the votes easily verified, thanks in part to how long I've been a member of UKVoting, and the majority of the voters being regulars. The usual peaks and troughs in the number of votes cast on a given day were present, as we expect, with smaller peaks following pointers to the CFV being posted to groups outside of uk.net.news.*. Finally, I'd just like to congratulate Graham, Clive, 'kat' and Matthew on their election, and offer my commiserations to Jonathan, David and Ian. Jon:- Apologies for any ballot paper requests which were rejected by the anti-spam system. This was somewhat unexpected as the system has been unchanged for a long time and has never caused any issue previously. The spam thresholds for the *.ukvoting.org.uk domains have now been relaxed considerably, to prevent any future emails being inadvertently blocked. Many thanks to Barry for handling this complicated vote which turned out to be rather more exciting than might have been expected in advance. Congratulations to those elected, and our thanks to all the candidates. ====================================================================== Voting and Appeal Information This vote was conducted by neutral third party members 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 the committee via email to: control (at) usenet (dot) org (dot) uk. ====================================================================== (The information in this and the following section is a copy of that provided in the CFV) Definition of Open Class of Membership Any participant in the uk.* hierarchy qualifies as a candidate in the Open class. ======================================================================== Application Requirements Any participant in the uk.* hierarchy qualifies as a nominator for the Open class. Any individual may nominate a maximum of four candidates. ======================================================================== Persons retiring from the Committee Open Member Class: Chris Croughton Graham Drabble Fiona Gostling (aka 'Kat') Who have served their respective terms. Clive D. W. Feather Who was co-opted as an Open Member of the Committee in November 2008. ======================================================================== Candidates: Seven nominations have been received. The Committee has four vacancies and therefore an election will be held to fill the four vacancies. A list of the candidates is below (in alphabetical order by surname). Candidates: Jonathan Amery Candidate A David Damerell Candidate B Graham Drabble Candidate C Clive D. W. Feather Candidate D Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat') Candidate E Ian Jackson Candidate F Matthew Vernon Candidate G Please find below details of the people who nominated each candidate (Name & Email Address) and a short statement from each candidate: Note: In each case, only the names of the first four nominators to confirm their nomination are listed. ======================================================================== Candidate A Name: Jonathan Amery E-Mail: jdamery (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Nominators: Name: Clare Boothby E-Mail: clareb (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Eleanor Blair E-Mail: eleanorb (at) gmail (dot) com Name: Matthew Vernon E-Mail: matthew (at) debian (dot) org Name: Ian Jackson E-Mail: ijackson (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Personal Statement: None provided. ======================================================================== Candidate B Name: David Damerell E-Mail: damerell (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Nominators: Name: Ian Jackson E-Mail: ijackson (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Clare Boothby E-Mail: clareb (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Eleanor Blair E-Mail: eleanorb (at) gmail (dot) com Name: Matthew Vernon E-Mail: matthew (at) debian (dot) org Personal Statement: I have used uk.* since early 1994, and served on the uk.* Committee around ten years ago. It's easy to forget that the Committee are the servants not the masters; I believe that has been forgotten, and that when members of the Committee suggest, in a petty-minded fit of pique, RFDing the removal of the group that received the largest ever "yes" vote, that is a fine example of how things are seriously wrong. If I am elected I will: Examine the de facto procedures in use and either RFD to make them Guidelines or make it clear that they are merely preferences that can be suggested during the RFD process like any other. Work with Control to determine if group creation can be done more expediently. Endeavour to maintain a civil tone in discussions related to uk.* administration, unlike many members of the current Committee. ======================================================================== Candidate C Name: Graham Drabble E-Mail: usenet05 (at) drabble (dot) me (dot) uk Nominators: Name: Tony Evans E-Mail: tony (at) darkstorm (dot) co (dot) uk Name: Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat') E-Mail: kat.news (at) ntlworld (dot) com Name: Molly Mockford E-Mail: com2009 (at) mollymockford (dot) me (dot) uk Name: Charles H. Lindsey E-Mail: chl (at) clerew (dot) man (dot) ac (dot) uk Personal Statement: Generally I feel that the committee should use a very light touch, giving advice where possible and only intervening when required to by the guidelines. unn* as a community, and, despite the naturally changing population, I do believe it can and is most sucessful when it acts as a community, should be responsible for ensuring that RFDs are discussed in a positive way and that proponents are guided to a sucessful RFD wherever possible. ======================================================================== Candidate D Name: Clive D. W. Feather E-Mail: clive (at) davros (dot) org Nominators: Name: Mike Bristow E-Mail: mike (at) urgle (dot) com Name: Peter Parry E-Mail: peter (at) wpp (dot) ltd (dot) uk Name: John Hall E-Mail: john (at) jhall (dot) co (dot) uk Name: Graham Drabble E-Mail: graham (at) drabble (dot) me (dot) uk Personal Statement: For those wondering what you'd get: * experience of Usenet in general, and the Committee in particular; * technical knowledge (see RFC 3977); * a common-sense approach to the unimportance of Usenet; * the capability to distinguish sensible points from idiot comments; * the ability to be pedantic for England [1] if necessary; * a world-weary cynicism. Your choice. [1] I have represented the UK to ISO. ======================================================================== Candidate E Name: Fiona Gostling (aka 'kat') E-Mail: kat (dot) news (at) ntlworld (dot) com Nominators: Name: Wm E-Mail: tcnw81 (at) tarrcity (dot) demon (dot) co (dot) uk Name: Molly Mockford E-Mail: com2009 (at) mollymockford (dot) me (dot) uk Name: Geoff Berrow E-Mail: com2009 (at) 4theweb (dot) co (dot) uk Name: Martyn Bailey (aka 'Mother') E-Mail: nospam (at) notnominet (dot) name Personal Statement: I have served two terms on the Committee and if elected would continue as before, to attempt to give the view of an ordinary user of usenet. The hierarchy appears to be running smoothly, and I hope this continues to be the case. But if it doesn't, I would be happy to continue serving the uk.* community. ======================================================================== Candidate F Name: Ian Jackson E-Mail: ijackson (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Nominators: Name: David Damerell E-Mail: damerell (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Theo Markettos E-Mail: theom+news (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Clare Boothby E-Mail: clareb (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Eleanor Blair E-Mail: eleanorb (at) gmail (dot) com Personal Statement: I've been on USENET since 1989, and in that time have been a participant in many newsgroups. I've also been involved in group creation processes: for example, as a votetaker for the big-8 around 1992, and most recently as the proponent for the very successful uk.rec.cycling.moderated. I'm hoping to provide assistance and encouragement to proponents to try to get them the groups they want. ======================================================================== Candidate G Name: Matthew Vernon E-Mail: matthew (at) debian (dot) org Nominators: Name: David Damerell E-Mail: damerell (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Theo Markettos E-Mail: theom+news (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Ian Jackson E-Mail: ijackson (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Name: Clare Boothby E-Mail: clareb (at) chiark (dot) greenend (dot) org (dot) uk Personal Statement: I'm Matthew Vernon, a research scientist and veterinary surgeon in my "day job". I've been reading usenet for the last decade or so, and am a contributor to several uk groups. I was involved in the recent discussions about the creation of the new group uk.rec.cycling.moderated, and am pleased to see the new group taking off nicely. I think the process could have gone more smoothly, though, and that members of the committee could have been more civil when the process was criticised. I spent ten years as a trustee of an education charity (including one year as chair), and am aware that what committee members say as individuals does inevitably reflect on the committee as a whole. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG-v1.4.9-(GNU/Linux) Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBSxLn0GOfGXkh8vHZAQJNhAP+OyCJcsl4f2U4wYmfsPx76Zre1an5IWnG gDsfLxOZS9Nb+j/QEOU9mY2r99DIZ3mO8BatGM8HxItunc9Ai5nTy7j6obTUd1Fx 7cLP3UFJBF8DlZe0j5Q3X314FyU8zepaVFTcyC7zLT4h+5KKjC+NyhYTVWbgBXKX 98Wmt8Zh8VI= =IBLS -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----