Re: Sidelined by discussions -- stop and do the real work

[Cem Kaner <kaner@xxxxxxxxx>]

For some of us, the email thread is the main line, not the sideline.

If we don't have a strong form of vote verification, as a core
requirement, nothing else in this standard will persuade me to vote for
it and I will publicly oppose it and encourage everyone I know to
oppose it.

Alternatively, if the standard does require vote verification, I am
likely to be much more forgiving of the other details.

-- Cem Kaner

On Dec 12, 2004, at 4:02 PM, R. Mercuri wrote:

> Folks --
>
> I am going through my inbox here and find it deluged with
> banter from the P1583 working group members.  Some of us
> were beginning to believe that the barbed comments and
> ridiculous arguments that surface from time to time are
> INTENDED to waste time and divert attention from the
> review of the current draft.  I believe that this current
> spate is evidence of that.
>
> We have now a VERY IMPORTANT draft that is going to be
> delivered (with or without YOUR comments) to the EAC on
> December 21.  My suggestion is that EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY
> THOSE WHO CARE ABOUT VERIFIED VOTING, stop wasting
> time on email and sit down and spend the next week going
> through the draft VERY CLOSELY.  The draft includes new material
> that was NOT entered through consensus work.  The draft excludes
> consensus opinions that WERE supposed to be in it.  The draft
> currently could be viewed a roadmap to the backdoors to subvert
> the election equipment, because the security material continues
> to be sorely lacking, inadequate, or rendered utterly ineffective.
>
> You all have a choice -- you can allow yourselves to be baited
> into ridiculous and rude discussions over email, or you can
> write strong and detailed sets of comments that will be provided
> to the EAC along with the P1583 draft that can explain to them
> how wrongheaded various sections of the draft unfortunately still
> are.  I can tell you that those of you do NOT read the ENTIRE
> document and submit salient comments and who instead choose to
> spend one more minute of anyone's time sending email about their
> opinions will be making a MAJOR MISTAKE.
>
> No matter how important you think this email discussion is,
> it is a WASTE OF TIME.  I believe that some of the P1583 members
> are hoping you will choose to continue to do that.  I am hoping
> you will NOT, and that you will do the REAL WORK that will have
> an impact on both the draft and the EAC/TGDC.  Please DROP the emails
> AT ONCE and GET TO WORK on reading and writing comments on the draft.
>
> Sincerely,
> Rebecca Mercuri.
>
>
Cem Kaner, Professor of Software Engineering
Director, Center for Software Testing Education & Research
Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Blvd., Melbourne,
FL 32901.
http://www.kaner.com, http://www.testingeducation.org,
http://www.badsoftware.com
Senior author of
        Lessons Learned in Software Testing
        Testing Computer Software, and
        Bad Software: What to Do When Software Fails.