Vote Now: Who Should Be Time's Person of the Year? Edward Snowden

http://poy.time.com/2013/11/25/vote-now-who-should-be-times-person-of-the-year/slide/edward-snowden/

by ghosh • 13 years ago

288 131 13 years ago

poy.time.com

imaginator• 13 years ago

Poll results: http://poy.time.com/2013/11/25/vote-now-who-should-be-times-...

electic• 13 years ago

Nice, was looking for that...

repsilat2• 13 years ago

Strange looking list. On my browser Rand Paul's name is truncated to "RAND PAU.." (ironically all such truncated names are cut off at the last letter, making them all longer). Many longer names are not truncated, though: "RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN", "DZHOKHAR AND TAMERLAN TSARNAEV". Several names end with full-stops, too: "MALALA YOUSAFZA." is one.

I wonder if it is a secret message.

Yetanfou• 13 years ago

Well, I tried to have a look at the list. I also happen to use a request-origin whitelist (Requestpolicy) and script whitelist (noscript). Those two present me with a list of around 20 locations from where the page tries to pull in content and code, many of which will pull in more content and code. Sorry, time.com, but I already had spaghetti last night so I'll pass, I guess the list wasn't that interesting to begin with.

brokenparser2• 13 years ago

Poll requires Facebook

0/10 would not vote again

vertis• 13 years ago

Or twitter.

Honestly, It's easier than making people sign up for an account (safer too, since they don't leave an unhashed password in their database)

ggambetta• 13 years ago

Or twitter:

----------

This application will be able to:

Read Tweets from your timeline.

See who you follow, and follow new people.

Update your profile.

Post Tweets for you.

----------

SRSLY?

tjaerv2• 13 years ago

Ended up not voting because they are asking for way too many Twitter OAuth privileges (including following and posting with my account, plus updating my profile).

repsilat2• 13 years ago

Probably because of /b/'s vote manipulation in previous years. Another reason we "can't have nice things" on the internet -- systems that rely on implicit codes of civility still seem to break down when people can remain anonymous.

skimmas• 13 years ago

Nevertheless is kind of weird that in orther to show that I'm not a bot I have to allow some app to read and post on my tweeter timeline... I guess this vote is a joke. Snowden might win but the lesson is that people haven't learned anything. :)

alcari• 13 years ago

/b/'s vote manipulation lead to the selection of moot as most influential person, which is clearly correct, as moot's users influenced the voting process to ensure it.

ZoFreX• 13 years ago

I have no problem voting non-anonymously, but I'm not happy that I would have to share my friends list. That's too much.

mikro2nd• 13 years ago

Deserving of an Internet meme abbrev.: rf;ib (requires facebook, I bounced)

PixelPusher4• 13 years ago

No way, I don't vote for traitors. All his US supporters are a bunch of Benedict Arnolds.

BTW, just voted for Miley. She definitely made my year.

Numberwang• 13 years ago

I can completely understand your position if you are an American. And I'm sure you can understand us foreigners trying to show our appreciation for a man who uncovered this extensive evil intrusion into our lives.

PixelPusher4• 13 years ago

Bottom line, he's a traitor. Beyond that, most of the laws that helped start this were set into effect years ago. Where were the people crying then?

Most people complain about having their privacy taken away when using free online services. All I see are a bunch of ignorant loud mouths who got angry too late.

Grue3• 13 years ago

Don't speak for all foreigners. I'm from Russia and I loathe Snowden who basically became a propaganda prop for Putin.

MattBearman3• 13 years ago

You say that like it's a bad thing.

    Traitor (noun)

    a person who betrays someone or something, such as a friend, cause, or principle.

Damn right he's a traitor, but only a traitor to the US government. To millions of people (like me) he's a hero.

PixelPusher4• 13 years ago

And where were people like you several years ago when the laws were signed that allow the government to tap into network lines?

A hero and their army are useless when they're late to the war.

I don't honor traitors, but go ahead and worship him all you want.

lotsofcows2• 13 years ago

I never understand why USAians refer to Benedict Arnold as a "traitor". It's a really stupid word to bandy about in a civil war. The country was governed by Britain. Everyone who fought against the government was, by definition, a traitor. Using a word with such a definite negative connotation in such a complex environment is either disingenuous or obtuse.

For similar reasons, using the word "traitor" is also stupid in the case of Snowden. Against whom / what was he a traitor? - The government? A branch of the government? The constitution? The people?

Thrymr4• 13 years ago

I wouldn't call Snowden a traitor, but I think the term is perfectly apt for Benedict Arnold. He was a general in one army who defected to the opposing army. That's pretty much the definition of traitor. That doesn't deny your point that all the rebelling colonials were traitors to the British.

camus2• 13 years ago

the traitors are those who wipe their a with the constitution and then clame they are patriots.

beaker524• 13 years ago

Government: Snowden is a terrorist.

People: Snowden is a hero.

What a great way to bring this difference of opinion to the fore.

pgsandstrom• 13 years ago

Putin and Miley Cyrus is currently close to the top. Together with Snowden, they create a holy trinity of heroes.

sigzero• 13 years ago

Or the "axis of evil" depending on your point of view.

dagw2• 13 years ago

Person of the year is the person considered to have had the most significant influence on the world, but not necessarily for the better. It's an acknowledgment of their significance, not an endorsement of their actions. Previous winners include Hitler, Stalin and Ayatullah Khomeini.

No matter where someone falls on the Snoweden-is-a-terrorist/Snowden-is-a-hero scale, they can all agree that his actions greatly influenced the current poltical narrative, and stands a good chance of changing the world (for better or worse depending on which side of the debate you stand on) as we move forward.

lmm• 13 years ago

Person of the year is the person considered to have had the most significant influence on the world, but not necessarily for the better. It's an acknowledgment of their significance, not an endorsement of their actions. Previous winners include Hitler, Stalin and Ayatullah Khomeini.

IIRC those were all Man of the Year. TIME's choices in more recent years have been far more wimpy (e.g. Osama Bin Laden was snubbed in 2001); while their stated aim is to pick the most significant (for good or ill) person, I no longer have any faith that they will do so.

josefresco• 13 years ago

Government: Snowden is a terrorist. People: Snowden is a hero. Other People: Snowden is neither.

eli• 13 years ago

Public opinion polls are split on Edward Snowden.

Kiro• 13 years ago

I voted Lebron James.

thesadman2• 13 years ago

Ugh, do people still waste their time with TIME magazine and their "storied" polls? Sorry, but it is the equivalent of a tabloid because for the last 10 years the quality of articles have been continuously dropping. To see it linked here on HN is unfortunate. Lets spend our time on more interesting topics.

aaron695• 13 years ago

The masses read the tabloids, if they are not on your side then you're the minority.

Which leaves you with the only other options put up with the status quo or leave.

Until we get our seasteading going the tabloids are very important.

ethana• 13 years ago

Correction: The mass of baby boomers who still have subscription ;)

Although in TIME's defense, their POY is still better than the Nobel Peace Prize.

user243• 13 years ago

Are these polls typically good indicators of TIME's official choice? Or is this going to be a way of making Snowden "the people's POY" without TIME officially making it so?

lignuist• 13 years ago

Poll 2010:

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,288...

And then it became:

http://content.time.com/time/person-of-the-year/2010/

So probably this year it will be Miley Cyrus...

MattBearman3• 13 years ago

Currently (and thankfully) Edward Snowden has 10x more votes than Miley Cyrus

tlrobinson• 13 years ago

And Julian Assange had 21x more votes than Mark Zuckerberg...

user-id• 13 years ago

Update, Cyrus is now ahead of Snowden with a comfortable lead.

beaker524• 13 years ago

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan got a lot of positive votes. I imagine he doesn't have same support after Gezi.

stevoo• 13 years ago

How does Erdogan deserve to be the times person of the year. With everything that is happening in Turkey and all the countries that it defies and steps over. He shouldn't event be on the list !

egeozcan• 13 years ago

He has a fan base which acts just like Justin Bieber fans.

Disclaimer: I can't be objective on this issue because I disagree with Erdoğan on nearly every subject. I also keep hearing that he actually hires people to lead a social media army but I can't prove it. I really don't like him.

dersemih• 13 years ago

I do not support Recep Tayyip but, due to a reason which I do not know yet, the people of Turkey loves and believes him. Also we need to accept that, he is a strong man. To fix the economy, whole strategic companies have been sold. The power of military has been taken down. Also, the turkish companies and people are not supported by government.

JackpotDen2• 13 years ago

Time person of the year is not about the best person. It's about the most influential person.

Hitler won before.

hcarvalhoalves• 13 years ago

Wait... Julian Assange won, but didn't? Or am I misunderstanding how this PoY contest works (in the sense that, the votes are symbolic, and Time chooses whoever they want as PoY)?

ThePinion• 13 years ago

This is exactly it. When Moot won it was heavily talked about how Time wasn't going to actually choose him over Obama or whoever it was. I think there was enough backlash and fear of pissing off Anonymous that they actually stuck to that one. Here's to hoping they stick to what the people voted for with no hesitation this time. but who knows, maybe they'll be forced under gag order into not using Snowden because it will honor him instead of marking him as the most evil person ever.

argumentum• 13 years ago

The Time magazine chooses ultimately, it is only influenced by the voting.

mkohlmyr2• 13 years ago

http://i.imgur.com/jv9t4X0.png

I'd say those numbers sound about right...

baby• 13 years ago

I'm wondering why some people are on the list, like Miley Cyrus or the guy behind Netflix. If those are, why not others? I'd personally vote for the head of Naughty Dog and The Last of Us over Netflix.

PS: thinking about it, I'd vote for Satoshi. We should do a HN POY.

PS2 : done! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6800515

martincmartin2• 13 years ago

"Person of the Year" is really "Newsmaker of the Year." It's not an endorsement, just a recognition that they made the most news. Hitler was TIME's "Man of the Year" in 1938.

user243• 13 years ago

Hitler was TIME's "Man of the Year" in 1938.

- after the Munich Agreement wherein Hitler agreed peace with Chamberlain. Ok he reneged, but that's not the point.

cheald• 13 years ago

Snowden's kind of a shoe-in then, no? His name has been in headlines constantly for the majority of the year.

rdl• 13 years ago

I don't see how this is even a question capable of admitting debate (although maybe Poitras and Greenwald could get in.)

ck2• 13 years ago

As much as I appreciate Edward Snowden and what he did, Malala Yousafzai deserves even more attention for her deeds.

oddx• 13 years ago

It is not about deserves or don't, it's about influence. Yousafzai influence to the World is negligible in comparison to Snowden.

esamek• 13 years ago

Chrome won't let me vote..throwing shitloads of errors in the console.

GPT LOADED EVENT LISTENER EXECUTED load listener, textContent GPT LOADED Blocked a frame with origin "http://poy.time.com" from accessing a frame with origin "http://tags.bluekai.com". Protocols, domains, and ports must match. GPT LOADED EVENT LISTENER EXECUTED load listener, textContent Blocked a frame with origin "http://googleads.g.doubleclick.net" from accessing a frame with origin "http://poy.time.com". Protocols, domains, and ports must match. EVENT LISTENER EXECUTED old height: old width: scroll height: 55 scroll width: 275 new height: new width: Blocked a frame with origin "http://poy.time.com" from accessing a frame with origin "http://tags.bluekai.com". Protocols, domains, and ports must match. Uncaught SecurityError: An attempt was made to break through the security policy of the user agent. 93c0d7430d30e77dc6a5f0275dfcb679.js:48 Uncaught TypeError: Object #<Page> has no method 'init' 528c2242c903451bee0013d3:81 2 Blocked a frame with origin "http://poy.time.com" from accessing a frame with origin "http://tags.bluekai.com". Protocols, domains, and ports must match. Invalid App Id: Must be a number or numeric string representing the application id. all.js:56 The "fb-root" div has not been created, auto-creating all.js:56 FB.getLoginStatus() called before calling FB.init(). all.js:56 2 Blocked a frame with origin "http://poy.time.com" from accessing a frame with origin "http://tags.bluekai.com". Protocols, domains, and ports must match. Posted 2 errors to errorception.com 50eb3228903069e001000036.js:1 2 Blocked a frame with origin "http://poy.time.com" from accessing a frame with origin "http://tags.bluekai.com". Protocols, domains, and ports must match.

a3n• 13 years ago

You have access to another browser.

I don't have a facebook account.

chollida1• 13 years ago

Can't vote as I have to login with Twitter or Facebook to vote.

Why?

luckyno13• 13 years ago

My thoughts exactly. I went to vote in their poll, it told me I had to have one of those, so screw it, they dont want my vote.

Jgrubb• 13 years ago

It throws that up after you vote, presumably to make you broadcast this very important poll to the universe of rapt followers we all have. I didn't get the impression you actually have to do that to vote, though, since it pops up afterward. It at least gave me the impression that I voted even though I dismissed it.

Thrymr4• 13 years ago

The popup says "Please log in to ensure your vote is counted."

The Twitter auth also includes the ability to post tweets for you, although the popup says "We won’t post anything without your permission." Didn't I just give them permission if I authorize them to use my account? No thanks.

thrillgore• 13 years ago

Marblecake also the game

u2328• 13 years ago

Actually, looks like they took away the ability to use Twitter and it's Facebook exclusive.

beaker524• 13 years ago

2012: Anonymous got peoples vote, but Obama was chosen.

avisk• 13 years ago

The irony is to vote for Snowden,I need to login using Facebook or twitter :), so that time.com can track me.

ChrisArchitect• 13 years ago

Putin is a good one but I feel like he wasn't a top newsmaker this year, and further that he will most likely be a newsmaker next year (look at current happenings in Ukraine, continued things like that, and then the mother of all craziness that's going to be Sochi Olympics)

Snowden seems like the best bet for sheer impact/newsmaker. Tho I'm not sure how 'international' TIME is these days, and perhaps Snowden is only really know in the West.

benmarks• 13 years ago

"Authorize Poptip to use your account?

"This application will be able to: * Read Tweets from your timeline. * See who you follow, and follow new people. * Update your profile. * Post Tweets for you."

The hell.

drcube• 13 years ago

I stopped trying to vote after enabling the 20th third-party script on that page and the poll still didn't work.

Nilmay• 13 years ago

The future PM CANDIDATE OF INDIA SHREE NARENDRA MODI JI!deserved to the time person of the year! Cos he thoroughly deserves it!

thesadman2• 13 years ago

I think Modi seems like a no-nonsense forward thinking anti-corruption development oriented person. Completely unlike any of the rest of India's nepotistic political caste. I hope for India's sake that this guy gets a shot at trying to solve some of those problems.

kolbe• 13 years ago

This is one of the more disheartening polls I've seen. It speaks to a new, disturbing dynamic in our social order where people do not defend their beliefs with any sort of force or passion.

I had no clue so many people shared in my belief that Snowden has done something great. I figured the media had corrupted most of the people into thinking he'd done something deplorable, because no one has been taking to the streets or to the polls or to the anything to demand changes based on his revelations.

Past generations would have, but that's not the case today. We think he's great. We just don't care to actually support him.

Historically, I feel like there was a notion that someone was "too popular to execute." But, even though the vast majority appear to support Snowden so much that they declare him POY, I don't think we'd do a thing if the US raided his home in Russia and put a bullet in him. We'd be mad, and we'd write blog posts about it, and maybe some people would DDoS attack a website or send a bunch of pizzas to John Kerry, but there would be no political turnover. There would be no justice on Snowden's behalf. At best, it would be like Guantanamo, where some new POTUS candidate promises change so we elect him, then does absolutely nothing. And we'd happily just not care.

pmorici• 13 years ago

If you rely on Internet polls to deduce what the sentiment of the country is then Snowden is an American hero, Ron Paul should be president, and there would be no more software patents.

That is to say that Internet polls grossly over represent certain minority beliefs.

TillE• 13 years ago

Actual polls show a slight majority in favor of Snowden, despite the barrage of whining and accusations from politicians and cable news.

njharman• 13 years ago

I don't think we'd do a thing if the US raided his home in Russia and put a bullet in him.

Oh come now, of course we would. We'd up vote the HN article announcing this news. And the more radical among us would surely post a comment.

knodi• 13 years ago

I don't think Edward Snowden should be person of the year. Not because I don't think he did something important because he did. I truly think what he did was the right thing. But he needs to stand trial in the US so the we the people can see how extreme our government has become.

He needs to be like batman, sacrifice his mind, body and freedom for a cause that people will remember him for.

But he's in Russia and he's never coming back to the US so this will be a on going thing for years even decades where no one but few people will remember him and our blight.

3JPLW• 13 years ago

Why do you think that excludes him from being the person of the year? I don't think those two things are mutually exclusive.

beshrkayali• 13 years ago

I may not be correct, but Edward said specifically at the beginning of all of this: Please don't make this about me! Correct?

brdrak2• 13 years ago

Didn't he also say somewhere that we'll be reading about him in history books?

Hovertruck• 13 years ago

Thanks for the helpful error message, Time.

   Error (api.go:209) forerunner/api.getPollById: exception: can't connect to new replica set master [ec2-54-225-59-0.compute-1.amazonaws.com:27017], err: couldn't connect to server ec2-54-225-59-0.compute-1.amazonaws.com:27017

wehadfun• 13 years ago

Wonder how Zimmerman and Travon Martin did not get on this list.

Glyptodon• 13 years ago

Their voting system provider keeps failing.

jotm• 13 years ago

Voted (with my "fake" FB account cause I don't have a real one).

bcRIPster• 13 years ago

...and provide Time marketing info by giving them access to your Facebook data. Not happening, thank-you very much.

trekky1700• 13 years ago

I'd nominate Bill Gates, he's done more in the past year to support and make actual change and improve the world than anyone on the list. Then again, not exactly newsworthy.

mydpy• 13 years ago

Miley Cyrus has more votes than Edward Snowden. How can that be?

cdmoyer• 13 years ago

I just asked three people near me if they knew who Snowden and Cyrus were. Guess who was recognized by all three and who was vaguely acknowledged by 1.

Not a scientific study, but I'd put money on it being repeatable outside the workplaces of hacker news readers.

DanBC• 13 years ago

Is that an honest question?

You realise that almost no-one gives a fuck about Snowden, right? Most people really just don't care.

The Guardian newspaper has (if we're generous) a circulation of 250,000 people.

The (untrustworthy) numbers of the MileyCyrusVEVO "Wrecking Ball" video are 352,117,848 views.

JackpotDen2• 13 years ago

352,117,848 views.

Now I'm depressed.

Tosh108• 13 years ago

The numbers are completely different from this afternoon, seems like some people are hacking the votes for fun: http://www.dailydot.com/news/time-person-of-the-year-miley-c...

Vote Now: Who Should Be Time's Person of the Year? Edward Snowden

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