[GNUz] Workshop Weds 7.30pm - Online Voting

[Rik Tindall]

Hi all, monthly notice, October 1,

Want to be part of a discussion for increasing FOSS employment in Chch?

Wednesday night is the Sydenham Freenix* workshop, 7.30-9.30pm (first
Wednesday of each month, February to December), at the South Learning
Centre <http://www.library.christchurch.org.nz/South/>, rear door of
South Christchurch Library, 66 Colombo Street, Cashmere.

We use the 33-computer suite of i5s and overhead projector there, for
BYO thumbdrive or liveCD distro show & tell, knowledge exchange,
a troubleshooting & tuition workshop monthly. Notebooks are the easiest 
demo systems to bring. GNU/Linux Mint, Ubuntu releases 12.04-14.04 etc 
Debian variants are the main distros we currently display on the lab 
machines. If you require a DVD or CD burnt you can request it there or 
by off-list reply please.

Following the workshop at Software Freedom Day 14, 20 Sept, tomorrow we 
will review project findings on the possibilities for secure online 
voting to extend democratic engagement and choice using technology.

Report: Secure Online Voting first principles established.

'Secure Online Voting' (SOV) - to get started, maybe never - must be:

Secure - the toughest of technical challenges*;

Free and open-source software based - altruistic, community-good 
development, where proprietary SOV models have all dismally failed;

Optional - don't expect that SOV shift will ever necessarily happen, as 
digitised human variability is oxymoronic and not a good thing - bad 
historical precedents and SOV has to build trust;

Anonymous - without guaranteed disconnection of people from political 
preferences, new media will degrade and inhibit the current quality of 
choice, which is intolerable;

Independent - implemented by the Electoral Commission or similar agency, 
tasked with oversight of a voting system delivering 100% representative 
integrity;

Constitutional - reform required to establish independent democratic 
priority;

(more criteria likely)

* https://medium.com/message/everything-is-broken-81e5f33a24e1

http://wiki.softwarefreedomday.org/2014/New%20Zealand/Christchurch

All comment very welcome.

Workshop is also a chance to meet other *nix users, have installation
questions answered & resolved, get on-line security tips, etc.


Kind regards,

Rik Tindall

pp Sydenham GNU/Linux Users
Software Freedom Day Team Christchurch South 20-September-2014
http://lists.ourshack.com/mailman/listinfo/gnuz

* Freenix = Unix-derived, Free and Open-Source Software club:
BSD-friendly + http://www.infohelp.co.nz/fsanz-constitution.html