Why didn't people vote in the Linux Australia elections?

By David M Williams
Tuesday, 27 January 2009 18:52

Opinion and Analysis

Linux Australia assert they are the peak body for Linux user groups around Australia and represent some 5,000 Australian Linux users and developers. Yet, the 2009 elections roused a mere 66 voters. Why didn't people vote? (And, in a related incident, why can't I please all the people all the time?)

Yesterday I reported the official results of the Linux Australia 2009 election season, with a new executive and committee staffing this community-based body which is responsible for, among other notable activities, Free Software Day and Linux.Conf.Au.

Yet, with surprise and sadness, I noted the voter “turnout,” so to speak, was a mere 66 people. With 11 candidates standing for positions that meant only 55 other people cast a vote.

I posed the question, can the President genuinely assert with authority he represents 5,000 people when only a teeny tiny number were sufficiently motivated to vote.

Now, as an iTWire author I'm used to creating my share of controversy. I've had one person threaten to sue. I've had Microsoft's internal evangelists and external public relations companies call me on various occasions. I've had the finest wits at SlashDot, Digg and Reddit tell me how much I suck.

Even so, where I didn't expect I was causing offence was within the Linux community itself. Not so, according to Melissa Draper, one of the successful ordinary committee member candidates. Here's what happened.

My story sparked an interesting dialogue on Linux Australia's own mailing list. One reader said I raised a valid point, but felt I had done so with a “kernel of snark.”

According to UrbanDictionary.Com, “snark” is a contraction of “snide remark.” Others define it as sarcasm or malice. Lewis Carroll famously wrote about a creature called the Snark which had feathers and bite, and whiskers and scratch.

I didn't think I had been critical - or, at leastt, unjustly critical. It is a matter of fact that only 66 voters cast a preference and my citing this fact, and expressing personal disappointment is certainly not a claim that (say) Linux Australia holds no relevance to the world today.

Happily, the conversation didn't focus on my words but contributors sought to answer the question. Just why did people opt not to vote?

Well, I'm glad you asked. Let me tell you. And then about the flak!