Vote, vote, vote.

[icarus]

I have two favors to ask of you.

First: Vote.

Second: Post about the Livejournal representative election. Urge your friendslist to vote and then post about the vote.

If massive numbers of fandomers surge to vote, then we will have our pick of fandom candidates. Instead of being a race between an anti-fandom candidate, jameth and fandom candidate legomymalfoy, we can have a race between legomymalfoy and rm.

I know we can easily reach 14,000 fandomers. I've added up the f-lists of those who've posted about the vote already. And you don't have to wait. Because you can change your mind between now and Thursday.

The three top fandom candidates:

legomymalfoy
rm
vichan

As of this moment, the numbers are:

jameth - 2508 (17.8%)
legomymalfoy - 3785 (26.9%)
rm - 1522 (10.8%)
vichan - 707 (5.0%)

I've nothing against this guy personally, but I don't like his paranoid campaign and troll history.
jameth attacked fandom once he fell behind, accusing us of sockpuppeting with up to 200 puppets per fandomer (seriously?) all based on an "anonymous tip." (Other moments that smack of conspiracy theories include fears that LJ is locking in votes and jameth blaming legomymalfoy for a supporter being kicked off IRC chat by burr86. Let's not forget the backhanded pre-emptive swipes at all the candidates, with the caption "I don't think _my_ platform is going to change. Not sure about anyone else's, though." Not someone I would want to work with. For more paranoia: He now fears Legomymalfoy's ahead because the LJ support team doesn't like him.)

Longstanding fandomers like telesilla (whom you might remember from her reporting of strikethrough and FanLib) and caras_galadhon and others, remind us jameth is a known troll, while bethbethbeth points out the strongly anti-fandom attitude of his supporters, which he's made no effort to contradict.

But hey, let's plague an epileptic's journal with flashing icons!
So I guess it should come as no surprise that his supporters are deliberately posting flashing icons in the comments of an epileptic's journal. At least one other epileptic has been affected, so turn off graphics if you click to rydra_wong's journal. The bigdecision08 community which is run by three jameth supporters has posted about this, unfortunately directing jameth's supporters to her journal. I've asked jameth what, since he's seeking a leadership role and has been comfortable telling people to vote for him in all three categories, does he have to say about this? So far, although he's fine with directing people to vote for him and then null out in all categories, not a peep. To rydra_wong it's not his problem. Nice guy. ETA: I asked him about it and he replied "what post?" This guy's totally full of shit. He'd already replied to rydra_wong's post several times. He's attempting to run on his RL credentials, but I've learned in comments here that someone who's worked with him IRL "does not have complimentary things to say about his skills with dealing with people."

I've collected endorsements of legomymalfoy here.

I've collected endorsements of rm here.

We've got great candidates. The current second-place candidate is someone I don't want, I don't know about you. He is anti-fandom.

Comments

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

No, it doesn't wash.

I can believe going to cambler and telling him "I voted for your 70 times" or voted for someone he supports. But why go to him to admit that they cheated to vote against him and his friends?

[node-ue.livejournal.com]

btw, there are screencaps over at Jameth's journal and links to threads where LMM supporters admit to voting multiple times.

That isn't to say that nobody else's supporters have voted multiple times. I don't doubt that it has happened.

I'm just saying that it's unreasonable for you to take offense when it has been proven that some people have voted fraudulently for your candidate (if I recall correctly, and don't quote me on this, somebody said something to the tune of "I put so much work into my RP journals that I feel like they are real people. They all voted." What you can quote me on, though, are the screencaps and the proof that this has occurred).

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

A couple here and there, sure, probably. No doubt jameth and other candidates have supporters who've done the same. People who troll or post a lot of cat macros will often have one journal for everyday wear and one for the nasty stuff.

But 70 RP journals? *snorts* No way. No one I know has that many.

[node-ue.livejournal.com]

Yes, but Jameth recently specifically asked anyone who voted twice (or more) for him to nullify all but their first vote. It may be a symbolic gesture, but I think it's a key component to a truly clean election.

[jameth.livejournal.com]

bingo! thank you

[bitchtakeit.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiousity, every single post I've seen discussing the election so far, I've seen at least one comment from you - how are you finding all of these?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Jameth told me that he couldn't ask people not to put flashing icons in an epileptic's journal. According to him, he has no influence over them.

So.

Is he telling the truth that he has no influence over his pals? Then we can expect them to vote for him with all their lolcat sockpuppets, no matter what.

[cambler.livejournal.com]

Yes, but which is it?

Either it's a problem, and a problem for everyone, as you indicate, above, or it's not.

This is the problem I have with this issue - first it's denied. Then, when proven it's happening, it's marginalized. Then, when credible evidence that it's happening more than just a little is put forth, both sides are accused.

No matter which point you take, however, the fact remains that this vote is being manipulated, fraudulently. Period.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I find it amusing that this didn't become an issue until you and jameth started falling behind.

What I'm noticing is that they're both your friends (or acquaintances) who've admitted to casting fraudulent votes. Tell me. Would we have heard about this if a candidate you were in the lead?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I wish I knew how to edit comments.

That should read: What I'm noticing is that they're both your friends (or acquaintances) who've admitted to casting fraudulent votes. Tell me. Would we have heard about these friends of yours if a candidate you didn't like weren't in the lead?

[node-ue.livejournal.com]

Much like if you are broke and can only give your mother a hug and a promise of something more grand at a later date for mother's day, it's the thought that counts here.

Jameth made a point of posting in his journal that he was removing the icons, setting an example for his fans. Although he did not specifically request that people take it down that I know of (and I think he should do that, despite the fact that one of his better friends is a photosensitive epileptic and the icon is far too small to cause anybody any harm), I have seen a sharp decline in the number of people using that icon since he took it down himself.

Having said that, with or without the seizure icon, I'm sure you'd keep finding other problems with him. I doubt asking his supporters to remove the icons would gain him any votes, and as I have already noted, it is too small to cause any problems for photosensitive epileptics. So the two possible reasons I see to take it down: avoiding physical harm, and winning more support, are moot.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I lost a friend of mine to epilepsy years ago. She was fine, Nancy hadn't had an attack in years, and then she was gone. We still don't know what triggered it. I had a roommate with epilepsy (still alive) who had a seizure triggered by driving down the highway at night. When an epileptic tells me something will trigger an attack, I take them seriously.

I know there's some political advantage to pointing at his icons and saying, "Oh, what a jerk," and I do oppose his campaign on the grounds that he attacked fandom (including me) when he started to lose. But I'm willing to toss politics aside to get rid of a real risk. I'm glad he got rid of the icons, but he has said no to posting about it.

[julieannie.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to say that while I have no clue who this person voted for, someone mentioned in a news post earlier this year how they had 70 accounts, but now she is down to 69 per the comment thread.
Link here (http://news.livejournal.com/106731.html?thread=68522219#t68522219). From someone who used to RP, I could barely keep up with 3 accounts so it would be insane to have 70, but it appears it's been done by at least one person.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Man, I could barely keep up with two characters.

I checked her out. She's a major RPer, in at least five RPGs. But apparently all of those RP journals go to the same email. She wouldn't be able to vote more than once anyway.

I also checked out the people in that screencap that's circulating, where people talked about voting with alternate journals. I could only get a bead on two of the three names in the screencap, but neither are big RPG players.

[cambler.livejournal.com]

Change them to different hotmail accounts and she's golden. It would take about a half hour, at most.

You seem to be trying very hard to shoot down the obvious facts here with suppositions of your own.

Sorry, you must really think we're all stupid. I find that personally insulting.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*puzzled*

It's a striking coincidence. This is the exact same number of multiple journals that cambler mentioned. Yet he said it was someone he knew in RL.

*checks*

He and this leah_lightwing aren't on each other's f-lists.

I hate to call him a liar, but unless there was some sort of limit on LJ basic accounts (like a ceiling of 70 accounts for the same email?) it's a very big coincidence to have two people with exactly 70 accounts. Perhaps someone remembered her post and the story has grown around it since-?

Everyone in that thread expresses astonishment that she has so many. It's very unusual.

[cambler.livejournal.com]

Holy fuck on a stick, you really are trying to find any reason to ignore obvious facts based on some strange insistence at strawmen.

So this person coincidentally has the same number of RP accounts as my friend. Damn! What does this mean?

That we now have 140 accounts across two people?

No! That even though we now have one person admitting in public that she has 70 account, I must therefore be lying.

You really are some piece of work.

Again, you must take us all for fucking idiots.

We're done. I shan't reply to you anymore, you've shown that you're just out of touch with reality. Please, have the last word.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

This is very unusual number of accounts. You haven't answered the question yet: is your friend with the 70 accounts leah_lightwing?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Maybe his friend is leah_lightwing and they just don't have each other friended. I've asked.

[cambler.livejournal.com]

Because she's honest. She wanted to support the fandom candidate. Just because she's my friend doesn't mean she automatically wants me to win the election.

I'm friends with a lot of people in the Internet standards circles, but many of them I'd *never* vote for for any kind of authority office.

She didn't come to me unsolicited. We were discussing the election and she offered her position to me in terms of multiple votes. It really came out of left field and surprised me.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

You sound like a decent guy. Sorry, voting with with 70 sockpuppet accounts doesn't strike me as particularly "honest" in the first place.

It's such an exceptional case to even have that many that I think it's irrelevant. All sides have a few sockpuppet or RPG accounts. Some people will vote with them. Some won't. They'll cancel each other out and in the end, LJ will delete the votes of the obvious ones.

You support jameth now, and he's just using this as a cynical tactic to discredit the, so far, winning candidate. I'm not biting.

[cambler.livejournal.com]

I do think I'm a decent guy, thanks. I try.

We disagree on the scale. I don't think either of us can prove our side of that disagreement without more people self-identifying as multiple voters. Maybe we'll get that.

As for Jameth, as I said elsewhere, I don't support him. I'm running against him - how could that be supporting him? We agree on the voting fraud issue. He's been civil to me, and I've been civil to him.

I've also been civil to vichan - but nobody seems to bring that up, because it's not full of the lulz and drama.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

He's on your friendslist.

At the current rate, if you don't mind my saying so, you have no chance of winning. You can't drop out of a poll but you're replying in a post that doesn't even mention you, in order to defend jameth. All evidence says that you're supporting him.

[cambler.livejournal.com]

So is vichan. I also support her, by that logic. Indeed, I do. I think she'd be a fine candidate for the job. What's the point?

Please, the strawman and ad hominem arguments just make you look desperate, and you do seem smarter than that.

The fact is that voter fraud is happening. Period.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Your friend wouldn't happen to be leah_lightwing, would it?