Reading 7 --- WANG HANPING

  1. Summary

 As seen earlier, polling is an available technique within the consensus process. When a poll is taken on Wikipedia, individuals are invited to list their position under one of the specified options (e.g., A or B; accept, reject, abstain) with an explanation, which then might prompt further commentary and discussion. How is polling different from voting? While people may confuse polling with voting — or even speak of voting as “a quick shorthand for what we are actually doing”  — polling should prompt and shape discussion, rather than terminate it:

 Wikipedia operates on discussion-driven consensus, and can therefore be regarded as “not a democracy” since a vote might run counter to these ends. Some therefore advocate avoiding votes wherever possible. In general, only long-running disputes should be the subject of a poll. Even then, participants in the dispute should understand that the poll does not create a consensus. At best, it might reflect how close those involved are to one. 


2Interesting points

In fact, even polling is considered suspect — and “evil” — by some as it is thought to discourage consensus, encourage groupthink, be unfair, be misleading, and encourage confusion; the botched poll in the disambiguation case is evidence enough of possible pitfalls.

3. Discussion points

Is the consensus reached by the vote consistent with the theory of a spiral of silence?

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