Solution :: Increase accountability among legislators by tracking EVERY document change publicly, from draft to final, and tying each change to an individual who takes responsibility.

Increase accountability among legislators by tracking EVERY document change publicly, from draft to final, and tying each change to an individual who takes responsibility.

2,594 Views / Posted by Anonymous

Government Structure

Some legislative docs are already in standard XML format. These could be tracked with a version control system (VCS) like Git, and a custom XML "diff" driver (which the VCS uses to track meaningful changes in XML structure) could be implemented. Here's an example of a custom diff driver for diffing Word documents: http://www.cybersprocket.com/2010/project-management/sdlc/versions/versioning-word-documents-in-git/

Supporters: Aaron Greenspan, David Arnold, Jonathan Wallis, Kelly Wooters, William Hughes

Opponents: None

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Aaron Greenspan / October 16, 2011 at 1:17 AM EDT

This is an excellent idea, and really similar to what I'd like PlainSite to eventually achieve.

Problems

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7		Process of writing legislation is opaque and difficult to track, with large bodies of text attributed to large numbers of people.
		When I read legislation, I frequently find myself wanting to understand the motivations behind the living document. I'd love to know who added what, and what paragraphs were highly edited (suggesting meticulous wording or outside intervention).


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