To think that voting yanbu on a clearly emotive thread and not putting your opinion to your vote is cowardly.

[AlternativePerspective]

Yes, a particular thread has triggered this thread, however I’ve seen it so many times where a poster posts something which is very emotional, i.e. in the most recent example about pro life protesters harassing people outside a maternity clinic, where there is almost a unanimous “yanbu” vote because actually, the OP is so clearly not being unreasonable that it should be 100%.

However, on these threads there is almost always a 1 or 2% yabu vote, but the poster/s voting clearly don’t have the balls to own up to their vile opinions and so hide behind their vote.

Surely, if you believe that you’re right enough to vote yabu on something so emotive, then you should stop being such a bloody coward and state or opinion?

Or piss off.

It's no more cowardly than commenting anonymously.

Could it be that posting an Aibu on something that clearly is cut and dried, or worded in a particular way is pretty much pointless? In the OPs point " should women attending termination clinics be harassed" - who is going to vote for harassment - noone. "Should people be allowed to challenge or suggest women attending termination clinics be given alternatives" is less black and white.

It's actually probably quite enlightening to see which beliefs are widely held, but people are too scared to say why.

I haven’t seen th thread you’re referring to, but why would anyone need to justify how they chose to vote on AIBU? It’s a social media site where people create posts, some highly emotive, some totally full of bollocks. It’s not important in the grand scheme of things. Maybe voting should be opt in rather than opt out, so posters can’t actually be ‘’triggered’’ by the results.

What would be the point though?
Do you have a little black book of posters that think completely differently to you?

It would all descend in a bun fight, no one changes their mind, posts get deleted,sometimes entire threads etc. If anything, engaging with such posters on emotive threads can be even more triggering to a lot of people. Words can hurt, percentages not so much.

If you're so triggered (bad choice of words as well) by seeing 1% YABU get the app and you won't even see the voting function, much less the results. Simples.

I, personally, would rather the pro lifers,racist,mysoginists, rape apologisers etc. stuck to just voting rather than having to read their bullshit.

I haven't seen the thread in question, but some reasons why I might click YABU:

• because I think they are;
• because I think they're trolling (you can't say this on the thread - talk guidelines);
• because I did it by accident when scrolling, especially when MN freezes and you end up clicking on the wrong bit;
• because it's a bloody stupid AIBU ("AIBU to like bread?" "AIBU to not like breaking my leg?");
• because it doesn't belong in AIBU;
• because although I might agree with the OP, it's been done ad nauseum;
• because although I might agree with the OP, it's clearly designed to do nothing but whip people up into a frenzy (often goes hand in hand with the above);
• because it's an obvious journalist;
• because the OPs only here to virtue signal ('AIBU to give to charity?");
• because it's an obvious reverse.

I've clearly been here too long. If I have time and it's not against the talk guidelines I might comment, but I don't give two shits if someone thinks it's cowardly to use a freely available function on a website whilst not availing themselves of the others.

I didn't see the thread and dont know the content. But perhaps the fact that you called them vile for having an opinion at odds with majority is why they don't post.

@FluffyBooBoo
I don’t see that screen image at all. Directly below the OP post there’s a large advert, and beneath that is the first response to the question. No voting buttons or anything. How odd.

@DrSbaitso

It's no more cowardly than commenting anonymously.

It's certainly no more cowardly than creating a name change specifically to post goady stuff knowing that you can just change back again afterwards.

So on your example, I think those that are deliberately voting yabu wouldn’t offer a rational and intelligent debate anyway, they’d just say it’s their opinion and if you don’t like it then scroll by, seems to be the winning formula for most other comment sections.

Or, people get absolutely slaughtered on here for daring to have a different opinion sometimes so it’s not worth the abuse and bile hurled towards you, voting means you can still anonymously have out view counted but aren’t subjecting yourself to the cunts vipers of mumsnet.

@MrsSchrute

With the way some people on here react towards people who go against the mumsnet majority, it's hardly surprising that people just click on YABU but put no comments.

This.
I just saw the thread in question. Any one who admitted being pro life on that thread would be absolutely ripped to shreds! The tone wasn't about wanting to understand an alternative point of view, it was about wanting to tell someone how vile they are!

Well said! One takes one's life into one's hands when you say something 'controversial' (that is, an opinion contrary to the majority) here!

I wouldn't say I have maverick or deliberately controversial views but will often vote without comment.

I don't see the point in reading the same thing 100 times over and grasping for an original or witty way of putting exactly the same point across.

I also don't see the point in arguing with idiots. In many cases, there are interesting discussions to be had, but often people on here are deliberarely obtuse and I haven't got the time or inclination to engage with them.

Voting is a quick and easy way of expressing what you think without getting bogged down in the shite that is often AIBU.

I'm not saying I disagree with that particular post, or that I support the people holding placards with offensive literature, but there were clearly a number of people there protesting - they could equally be here on mumsnet, and think they have a valid point, but understand that expressing it here beyond voting YABU will release a box of vipers - and probably get the thread shut down.

Their choice - and hearing about the curbs on free speech, social media and news in Russia this morning, thank goodness one that they are able to make.

I think as others say there are so many reason for pressing yabu that it may not be cowardly all the time

I have looked at some threads though and honestly wondered how on earth people have voted that way…

Voting yabu cos you think the thread is in the wrong place is like those one star Amazon reviews that are complaining about problems with the delivery

Isn't that the point of enabling voting? So that people can express their view without writing in the comments. Otherwise just don't enable voting?

I have no voting options. Is it a mobile app vs computer thing?

What's the point of allowing people to vote without leaving a comment if they're not meant to vote without leaving a comment? The system is presumably set up this way for a reason.

People don't just vote YABU/YANBU based on the OP's question, they answer for all manner of reasons. When an OP posts an AIBU about a question where no right-minded person could say they were unreasonable, they could be seen as unreasonable for feeling the need to ask the question at all.

For example if I started a post saying "I think rape should remain illegal, AIBU?" it would be perfectly reasonable for someone to think I am unreasonable, not because they want rape legalised but because I've wasted everyone's time with such an obvious question.

@Spicerat
People get absolutely slaughtered on here for daring to have a different opinion sometimes so it’s not worth the abuse and bile hurled towards you, voting means you can still anonymously have out view counted but aren’t subjecting yourself to the vipers of mumsnet.

Totally agree with @SpiceRat's post there ^ , and that's pretty much what I have said.

Also, there is another post that I am not going to quote, that I DON'T agree with. Someone said further back in this thread, that anyone who votes YABU is stupid, thick, ill-informed, misogynistic, and twattish, and has no compassion.

How unbelievably narrow-minded. They're basically saying that no matter what the AIBU is, anyone who says YABU is wrong, and is a massive, ignorant, stupid, bigoted oik with more teeth than brain cells.

And THAT is the main reason people don't comment. Because of the posters on here who name-call, bash, mock, and ridicule ANYONE^ who has an opinion or view that goes against the mumsnet largely feminist left-wing grain.

This type always assume their view is the only correct one, and anyone who disagrees is a Daily-Mail reading, right-wing, racist, misogynistic, bigoted lump of gammon who probably can't tie their own shoelaces.

Totally agree with all of MurmuratingStarling 's posts.

OP - is it also ‘cowardly’ to start a thread and then never post again if the voting doesn’t go your way?

But if someone is say pro-life they have to just take it on the chin that the vast majority are going to disagree with them 🤷‍♀️ just par the course of holding such an archaic misogynistic view

Any one who admitted being pro life on that thread would be absolutely ripped to shreds! The tone wasn't about wanting to understand an alternative point of view, it was about wanting to tell someone how vile they are!

Well, if you want to tell someone that you would force them to bear a child they didn't want and take all the associated risks, don't expect sweetness and light in response. You want them to risk their body and mental health, possibly even their life, you can bloody well risk being told that you're a woman-hating dinosaur.

OP - is it also ‘cowardly’ to start a thread and then never post again if the voting doesn’t go your way? no, that would be to ask for the thread to be removed because of “privacy concerns.”

I never look at the voting results and I very rarely vote. If you are going to get het up about anything in AIBU then post in a more appropriate topic - one which isn't basically a joke.