2024 Moderation Election ***Update***

[chrisw]

I will be in that category. I do not plan to publish my real name, and don't care about having voting rights. I don't have high stakes here, so eventually if the real name policy is imposed rigidly, I will leave. Or if I give a fake name, how will anybody know? As someone asked above, are the mods going to ask for identity proof?

No, we're not asking for id proof, nor any form of rigid imposition, we're just leaving it to to members' goodwill. Here is a little special interest group, not a department of border security.

[scchess]

When the forum began years ago, it was more like a space where a close-knit group of chess engine programmers exchanged ideas. Everyone in the group knew each other, hence using real name. Time has passed, the new generation doesn't have the same personal close connection with others on the forum. Forcing everybody to use real names is just killing the site. Chess programming is much more easier and causal than like 30 years ago, one doesn't have to a super talent to do it. Forcing my name just for voting is meaningless.

[Graham Banks]

When the forum began years ago, it was more like a space where a close-knit group of chess engine programmers exchanged ideas. Everyone in the group knew each other, hence using real name. Time has passed, the new generation doesn't have the same personal close connection with others on the forum. Forcing everybody to use real names is just killing the site. Chess programming is much more easier and causal than like 30 years ago, one doesn't have to a super talent to do it. Forcing my name just for voting is meaningless.

Again you're a long time member who hasn't caused any trouble that I can recall.
I'd think that any new or very recent sign-ups who've been nuisances would be the targets, but that's a job for the admins anyway.

[chrisw]

When the forum began years ago, it was more like a space where a close-knit group of chess engine programmers exchanged ideas. Everyone in the group knew each other, hence using real name. Time has passed, the new generation doesn't have the same personal close connection with others on the forum. Forcing everybody to use real names is just killing the site. Chess programming is much more easier and causal than like 30 years ago, one doesn't have to a super talent to do it. Forcing my name just for voting is meaningless.

Ok, I understand. I guess my considered view is that we’re starting from a position where we have something like two thirds of active members who gave a real name and about one third who didn’t.
If we ask for real names to be on the voting register, it seems we increase democratic accountability and increase the security of the vote. The price paid for that is the disenfranchisement of the remaining one third. So, we ask for that one third to enfranchise itself by belated real name registration. We have roughly a fortnight for that to happen. Let’s wait and see the numbers.
There may of course be perfectly good reasons why a non real name should still have a vote in this scenario. You indicated you think you’re a special case (use of expression “someone like me”, IIRC). Can you explain? Something like a special category “long term member of good standing who wishes to remain anonymous”? I’m not averse to the idea, but it would seem to require majority of members to agree with the concept, maybe?

[scchess]

Nothing to do with being a long term member or not. Nobody knows me here in the forum, what's the point of giving out a name just for voting?

[Graham Banks]

Nothing to do with being a long term member or not. Nobody knows me here in the forum, what's the point of giving out a name just for voting?

If you're allowed that option, no problem. Just my opinion (which means nothing anyway).

[chrisw]

Nothing to do with being a long term member or not. Nobody knows me here in the forum, what's the point of giving out a name just for voting?

You got this back to front, you’re not giving out a name so you can vote, you’re being asked to provide a name do that all members can feel more confident in the integrity of the voting register and therefore the vote results.

[chrisw]

Nothing to do with being a long term member or not. Nobody knows me here in the forum, what's the point of giving out a name just for voting?

You got this back to front, you’re not giving out a name so you can vote, you’re being asked to provide a name do that all members can feel more confident in the integrity of the voting register and therefore the vote results.
You’re doing it for us, not for you. If you don’t want to, well, okay. If you want there to be a special registration list that can vote composed of members who want to be anonymous, then ask/campaign for that.

[eduherminio]

Can you imagine not allowing longtime members such as Ajedrecista or Carlos777 to vote just because they don't provide what you consider a 'real name', name that you won't and can't even verify in the first place?

Please stop embarrassing yourselves.

[hgm]

I don't think that Carlos777 wants to be anonymous, because I seem to remember his last name. I think he is one of the users for which the 'full name' he had originally provided got deleted in the upgrade to phpBB 3.

It would certainly not be a bad idea to request the users who suffered from that mishap to provide the name again. I assume they have no objection to this, as they did not object the first time.

I don't understand why members would want to remain anonymous in the first place. Only criminals and convicts would have any real benefits from anonymity.