>This way at least you can know who showed up. If they were supposed to read all that stuff at their office computers, how could you know whether they read it at all? It could be just another clerk of theirs who downloads it and signs out as "downloaded and read".

Let's put it this way, if I voted for (and paid the salary of) a Senator who just downloaded and read stuff, whether he really did it or a staffer did, I wouldn't vote for him again.

On the other hand, if I logged onto congress.net before it was time to vote for him, and I queried all the contributions he made to his body, if they were good contributions I would consider voting for him again.

The system I'm describing is for facilitating 1) active participation by the representatives and b) gathering and analysis of that participation by the represented.


>I've had another idea...http://ndragan.com/sf/sf06/ghost_in_the_machine.htm, but then I've just discovered that it breaks on the link to page3... so, here it is, in brief:
>
>Anyone interested votes on any question, period. Possible votes: agree, disagree, want to discuss, not interested, suggest a different question. Vote via whatever gadget they have at hand - cell phone, brain hookup, any sort of com(puting or -munication) device. Who's eligible? Anyone who passes the test:
>
>"The self-awareness exam is designed so that the examinee can prove to be able to defend himself with words, deed or lack thereof, to be resistant to offering of fool's gold bargain, that he is not gullible and that he uses his own head to think with. Most get past this exam by age of fourteen to nineteen, but it was recorded that some never passed it, and some did at the age of eight. The examination committee is nominated by the local government, or a standalone committee approved by them. There are strolling committees, who visit backwaters; they must have a planetary or federal license. They are paid for each exam regardless of its outcome; the exam happens when candidate calls."
>
>you can download the whole novel at http://www.lulu.com/DRFairday ... and yes, it's SF, and it's for free.

A better idea indeed, for an ideal and futuristic population. I'm surprised that if you truly think this is a better idea (and not just a good idea for a story) that you would not be favorable of my suggestion, which is really a baby step toward yours.

(BTW, I've bookmarked your novel for later.)