Voting

What Is alt.gothic Convergence℠?

Convergence℠ has it's own page which explains, but we feel it's worth reiterating the core purpose here. alt.gothic Convergence℠ is the annual party put on by the denizens of alt.gothic for the denizens of alt.gothic and ALL their friends that squishes together hundreds of net.goths from around the globe and their friends into a single city for a weekend of socializing, booze, musical events and sweet debauchery.

Bid Selection Process

There are 4 steps to getting a bid chosen to be a Convergence:

1. Bids are entered.
2. The C*B*L vet the bids to ensure they are within the bounds of reason<ref>We may well look askance at a bid that looked like Glastonbury for example</ref> and fulfill the requirements.
3. alt.gothic ratifies the bids.
4. The voters vote for the bid they want to go to.

The events occur on the dates laid out in the timeline

Voting Overview

Every year we have to decide where to hold the next Convergence. Some poor mad fools take it upon themselves to put together bids to host it in various cities. If more than one group that wants to put it on is ratified, then there's a vote. This page covers off what you need to know when that happens.

2008 Ballot

The ballot of cities to host Convergence 15 will be announced here and on alt.gothic.* newsgroups once the proposals have been submitted. See the Timeline for more information.

The Discussion Period

The discussion period, in which the public will endlessly debate every little detail about every proposal, will begin as specified in the Timeline.

The 'Afterglow' mailing list also exists for discussions concerning Convergence.

Voting System

Upon logging in during the vote period, voters will be able to log in to Convergence Voter Database and place their vote.

This year's voting system will be determined once the number of bids is known. Likely it will be a single transferable vote or similar.

What Is The Email "Ping"?

Something we did in the past to let people know they were eligible to vote. Now that we have the voter database page, interested parties log in.

Who Is Eligible To Vote?

In order to be eligible to vote for the location of Convergence 14, you will need to be a Registered alt.gothic Convergence℠ Voter.

You get into the database by either:

1. Being friends of the C*B*L. If we know you, and you want to be part of Convergence then all you have to do is buy us booze. This is about friends after all.
2. Asking to be included (preferably while buying us a beer) and having someone we know vouch for you.
3. Going to Convergence, and the organizers sending us your information after the fact. If the organisers of a given Convergence do not send us your info, we’re not psychic.

C14 ticket purchasers should be automatically included, because the ticketing system is part of the same database.

How Can I Tell If I Can Vote?

Log in to the Convergence Voter Database

How Do I Register To Vote?

You may register to vote by getting into the voter database. See the question about eligibility to vote above.

How do I find out if I am in the database?

Go to the [voter database login] and enter your e-mail address. under the heading I'M NEW!. If you're having trouble, contact Peter H. Coffin.

When Is The Convergence Voting Period?

See the timeline

The Voting Timeline

This changes every year and so is on a separate page, conveniently enough named Timeline.

Continuing Reform

This voting procedure is obviously not perfect. As with all aspects of Convergence, it is a work in progress and everyone involved is intent on improving this process, as well as all aspects of Convergence as it continues to evolve. We hope as time goes on that those of you who attend and enjoy Convergence will work with us to continue this evolution, from the initial manual, Usenet public vote that we did for Convergence 1.

Questions and Contact

If you have any questions about past Convergences or the C15 voting process, feel free to either post to alt.gothic, alt.gothic.convergence. Links and reference resources are available in this here wiki

All official correspondence will carry the [C14 vote] subject tag and a document ID, date and version number.

Footnotes

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