[maemo-community] Explaining karma

[From: Sebastian 'CrashandDie' Lauwers]

On Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 2:06 PM, Dave Neary <dneary at maemo.org> wrote:
> Most
> civilisations have a minimum age requirement for voting in elections
> because children are not considered to have sufficient life experience
> to make that decision. In free software communities, new members are not
> considered full card-carrying members straight away, for the same
> reason. There is a culture to maintain. And allowing anyone to vote is
> not democracy at work, it is mob rule.

Yes, indeed, there is a minimum age to vote, but there is no minimum
IQ, no minimum education needed to vote.
And rightfully so.

> I want the council to represent doers in the maemo community, not the
> ranks of observers out there who don't really contribute to improving
> things in any meaningful way.

I agree, but aren't these observers part of those who will be able to
issue the most solid vote ?

> I agree with you that we need to improve how we measure contributions,
> but doing away with any measurement on the grounds that it's
> "democratic" is not something I want to do.

I understand, but any arbitrary rule to classify mob from legal voters
will create problems. I thought karma never meant anything else than
an e-peen enhancer. I was wrong. Or maybe, I was exceptionally right.

S.

-- 
question = ( to ) ? be : ! be;
 -- Wm. Shakespeare