Voting Results Turned over to the Board.

[Mark]

This is somewhat off-topic, but it needs to be said.

The security of Linux vs. Windows has nothing to do with obscurity. It has to do with fundamental system design.

Windows: a system that was originally designed for a workplace; easy sharing of resources is key, and so the system is open.
Linux: a system based on old time-sharing UNIX servers, where sharing was explicitly not the point. So the system is closed.

Obscurity is not a replacement for a good security system, but it helps. In fact, the best thing you can have is both. Make it hard to find the holes and then make it hard to exploit them. Think about it for a second - of course making something harder to find makes it harder to exploit. Problem is, once it's found (and thanks to easy communication and automation) then the obscurity part doesn't help anymore.

"Security through Obscurity" is a bad idea - because there's no security and only one person has to get "lucky". Security _and_ obscurity is best.

(and I'm a security researcher in real life )

Good to hear from a professional. You should exchange emails with MM, if you have time, and throw any extra tips or help you can toward making each successive year better than the previous one.

 

[Michael Morris]

Um, pretty much the only thing modern security and programming has concluded is that all security can be bypassed/compromised/hacked. There is no such thing as security through obscurity (that is, it doesn't actuall provide security). The only difference is that publicly-discussed security will have flaws known to all--the whitehats and the blackhats. Keeping it secret stops the whitehats from helping, but doesn't stop the blackhats from hurting.

Flat wrong. Security such as it is on the Internet is simply a matter of buying time. Obscurity adds to the time required to attack a system, so it adds to the security. It is not the only layer I intend to rely on though.

 

[Dextra]

Question for you guys. If a person isn't present at the awards, how would they be informed if they won or not?

If a person isn't present at the Awards, we expect to be notified before August 12th so that we can make arrangements for the acceptance and/or shipping of any awards. Please contact rsvp@ennieawards.com if you can't make it.

 

[Dextra]

We're preparing an official statement, but basically it goes like this:

Fear the Boot was offered the chance to withdraw because of comments the hosts made about having voting more than once. I'm not referring to the Microsoft "jokes", but to admissions from hosts that they voted from work and home.

We're disappointed that it is necessary to put in writing that we use the democratic system of one person, one vote, and that to break that is grounds for disqualification. But we will.

We are striving to improve the Awards and are investigating manageable options for eliminating the possibilities of cheating.

More later. In the meantime, I would be happy to address specific concerns via email at denise@ennieawards.com.

Well, if disparaging the awards is reason for disqualification, pretty much every year there's been complaints and disrespect from many a publisher, though usually after the fact. If disrespecting the awards is really a reason to be disqualified, I'd think the list would be much longer than Fear the Boot.
snip
That's just my opinion, and I'm sure many disagree. But, that's what a community is all about.

 

[JustinA]

I just have to say that I felt the ENnies turned themselves into a joke during the early years of their existence by nominating and even giving awards to thoroughly mediocre and bad products. It took a long time for them to rehabilitate themselves in my eyes, and this was the first year I took them seriously enough to actually participate in the voting.

But this thread has pretty much convinced me that it's still amateur hour as far as the ENnies are concerned. Either they're unfairly smearing the reputation of a podcast because it had the temerity to make a joke at their expense, or they're simultaneously touting the "huge turnout" for the vote while knowing for a fact that their ballot boxes have been stuffed.

And, if they were stuffed, it's because they didn't bother putting any kind of security procedure in place to prevent or discourage it.

No matter what the truth is, I (yet again) find it impossible to take the awards seriously. We'll see if this is something that can be corrected in the future.

Justin Alexander
http://www.thealexandrian.net

 

[Crothian]

I just have to say that I felt the ENnies turned themselves into a joke during the early years of their existence by nominating and even giving awards to thoroughly mediocre and bad products.

Like what? And what released in that year was better? I'm always curious to hear what people think of the results.

 

[booboo]

what a joke

we will see a second rate podcast win

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

what a joke

we will see a second rate podcast win

For all we know, FtB might not have won anyway.

 

[booboo]

For all we know, FtB might not have won anyway.

Well now we wont, to me it really brings into question the legitimacy of the winner.

 

[Crothian]

what a joke

we will see a second rate podcast win

Wow, that's rather insulting to the other podcasts. :\