{"slug": "debian-project-discards-about-25-of-the-votes-on-llm-slop-microsoft-votes-in-the", "title": "Debian Project Discards About 25% of the Votes on LLM Slop, Microsoft Votes in the General Resolution (GR)", "summary": "Debian's General Resolution on AI-assisted coding passed with nearly 450 valid votes out of about 600 cast, with roughly 25% of votes rejected, according to The Register. The resolution allows contributors to use AI tools, but critics, including a reader quoted by the source, question the vote's legitimacy and the influence of GAFAM employees, including Microsoft staff, who participated.", "body_md": "# Debian Project Discards About 25% of the Votes on LLM Slop, Microsoft Votes in the General Resolution (GR)\n\n**Last month**: [ First Female Debian Project Leader (DPL) Affirms Low Profile and Inferior Status of Women in GAFAM](/n/2026/07/18/First_Female_Debian_Project_Leader_DPL_Affirms_Low_Profile_and_.shtml)\n\nThe Debian Project has allowed GAFAM (including salaried Microsoft employees) to vote in GRs. It moreover lacks diversity. It hardly has any women in it. The \"token DPL\" wasn't elected, she was merely **appointed** for putting down her name.\n\nHow many GAFAM employees voted **for** slop in Debian? Did any of them disclose the conflict of interest?\n\nThe Register MS reports that \"only 450 of 600 votes in Debian were accepted,\" a reader has alerted us. Quoting [ the article in question](https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/08/30/debian-votes-to-let-contributors-code-with-ai/5293421), \"[t]he rules of the vote saw community members asked to rank each of the eight proposals. Just under 600 people voted, but Debian’s election team rejected many for unspecified reasons, leaving almost 450 valid votes to count.\"\n\n\"What kind of filtering is that?\" the reader has asked.\n\nMy guess is, they made the voting process [so complicated](https://www.debian.org/vote/2026/vote_002#texte) - unlike a straightforward referendum - that some newer voters put it an invalid (hence impossible to decipher) vote and there was no validation (input sanitisation aside) in the process to help voters __correct their mistakes__.\n\nAs a result, some people (probably newer people) weren't able to have a say **in spite of trying to**. They say that for democracy to function access to booths/voting and simplicity in the process are both highly essential so that nobody feels discriminated against, intimidated, uncertain etc.\n\nAt the end they [ allowed slop](/n/2026/08/29/Debian_Plagiarism_OK_Just_be_Responsible_About_It.shtml), which is tragic and causes a lot of anger right now (both inside the project and in social control media). Users of Debian GNU/Linux cannot trust the code of Debian (no audits; [easy to insert back doors](https://danielpocock.com/en/category/edward-brocklesby/)) and unpaid volunteers like DDs and DMs don't want to babysit botspam, they'd rather interact and work with other human beings. [█](#top)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/debian-project-discards-about-25-of-the-votes-on-llm-slop-microsoft-votes-in-the", "canonical_source": "https://techrights.org/n/2026/08/31/Debian_Project_Discards_About_25_of_the_Votes_on_LLM_Slop_Micro.shtml", "published_at": "2026-08-31 08:07:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-31 14:52:42.009554+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-tools"], "entities": ["Debian Project", "Microsoft", "The Register"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/debian-project-discards-about-25-of-the-votes-on-llm-slop-microsoft-votes-in-the", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/debian-project-discards-about-25-of-the-votes-on-llm-slop-microsoft-votes-in-the.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/debian-project-discards-about-25-of-the-votes-on-llm-slop-microsoft-votes-in-the.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/debian-project-discards-about-25-of-the-votes-on-llm-slop-microsoft-votes-in-the.jsonld"}}