Michael S · 
Top 100 Player · Works at Child & Family Support Services in Phoenix, Arizona
Dan,
Thanks for expressing Sean F's position better than he can. I will answer you in good faith here. (As I stated in Sean's thread, I'm bored with with his nonsense.)
I wasn't actually trying to "trip Sean up." He does that on his own, by presenting self-contradictory statements. That is, when he isn't...See more busy hurling insults at everyone around him. (Yes, I hurl insults, but only at him.) I wasn't leading him down some path of illogic, only pointing out the illogic of the steps he had already taken.
My disdain for Sean is born not only of his persistent rudeness, but he constant repetition of this same question that has been answered many times:
"Can someone who is a part of the witch hunt against "non-voters" please explain to me why they care if other people vote or not? What I mean by that is this; Why does anyone care what another player does when it doesn't effect the outcome of the game for anyone?"
The answer is that it DOES affect the game: Non-voters affect the outcome of the game by favoring their own posts. By voting, I give other people's posts a chance to outscore me. By not voting, I lessen that chance.
Is it a dopey argument? Yes! The effect is minimal to be sure. Is it fair? The rules don't say you have to vote, so it is. Is it in the spirit of fair play? No.
FTR, I claim responsibility for the introduction of the number of voters to the displayed information. That is, I asked Eric about, he said, "Sure," and it began appearing the next day. Personally, I think that 70-80% of the posters voting is a reasonable expectation. It takes much less effort to post than to vote. Over the last two weeks, I've had little time for voting. Some of the non-voting population will like that, i.e., temporary, others will be permanent. Who knows what the breakdown is? And who cares? Oh, yes - the witch hunters care.
Now the second point, the concern of collusion:
I have seen even less evidence of collusion than I have of non-voting; that is, none. Even if there is (and I wouldn't be all that surprised), having a "Following" tab, for example, isn't a big deal either. It is trivial for a group of people interested in colluding to exchange emails, phone calls or Facebook messages for the purpose of letting each other know which posts to vote for.
Do either of these things particularly bother me? No. I don't take the game all that seriously. I play to enjoy others' wit and (hopefully) validate my own. I play to give and receive a few chuckles.
I hope that clarifies my position on the issues for you.
As to my behavior toward Sean, I am not always proud of it. Early on he attacked my expression of "playing for fun" with some rude comments and bad debate logic. I called him on it, and he started in with insults. Ever since then, I've had a policy of stomping him back into his troll-cave when he wags his ugly tongue on the forums. When I get bored, I go back about my business.
Whew! That was long, but I wrote it in good faith, and hope you appreciate that.
Cheers.
