Can voting be set to default off?

[BarchesterTowers]

Or am I just not moving with the times?

Hi, @BarchesterTowers - if you really aren't a fan of the voting, then just head over to your Talk preferences and you'll be able to switch off (and back on) the voting feature.

HTH.

It should be opt in when people are posting a thread. I've seen a few people reply to their own post saying "didn't realise voting was on."

However it also highlights the amount of people who misuse AIBU because really, all threads on there should be suitable for a vote.

I also think it should default to off not on. Loads of threads have the second post as the OP apologising as they didn't intend to enable voting.

I like the feature in general but it should be switched so voting has to be turned on not turned off.

Thanks for these thoughts - they're useful and we'll send them onwards and upwards so we can have a proper ponder on this our end. We'll also keep an eye on this thread to see what others think.

I agree. There seem to be an awful lot of threads recently where OPs comment that they didn't mean to leave voting on. The default position needs to be No, and/or the notice about it needs to be much more noticeable.

Seen another thread with the OP saying they didn't want the vote option on. Would it be helpful to link them here?

Here's an example - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3788747-to-not-know-this?msgid=92920618#92920618

Morning, everyone. We've passed this on, as promised. Do continue to post your thoughts here and we'll keep reading.

In the meantime, if you find you have a vote on your thread that you didn't want, do hit the report button on your OP and tell us. We can take the vote off at our end if you send us a report.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3790696-Appointment-with-consultant-after-LLETZ-LEEP another with an unwanted vote added. Though also not an AIBU.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3793836-To-think-having-a-January-birthday-shows-you-who-your-fair-weather-friends-are

And another - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3794630-WWYD-pregnant-bridesmaid-and-hen-party

Two more threads where people didn't intend to enable voting:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3796316-AIBU-weird-game-at-Hen-Party
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3796238-Is-this-possibly-libel-Trigger-Suicide

I started a thread recently and it did show up how easy this is to do - you finish the post, you maybe check through it, you hit send; you don't look around the page for any other boxes you need to deal with before finalising the post. I only remembered because I've become aware of this issue, and even then it was only at the last minute that I remembered; if you're not familiar with the site or with starting new threads, realistically the chances of you realising you need to change the voting options are pretty limited.

And another - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3796623-To-disagree-with-Relate-counsellor-regarding-DH.

And another. Thus us a highly sensitive subject and the OP has apologised for the voting being enabled.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3800734--Trigger-violence-to-a-child-do-I-contact-the-Police?pg=1&order=

I like voting being set on as default. Even if someone accidentally leaves it on they still get replies.

It’s not like people just hit a button and leave.

Thanks for all these thoughts - please do keep them coming.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3803586-To-think-I-shouldnt-go-to-the-hen

This one has deliberately enabled the voting buttons but thinks she can re-label them to Yes/No!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3806317-To-have-thought-I-could-use-either-name

It’s not like people just hit a button and leave.

It's pretty obvious that people do precisely that. We regularly get more votes than different people replying.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3806366-To-think-its-odd-that-BBC-news-main-headline

Difficult to believe OP intended to set voting in a simple "Good luck" thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3810280-Good-luck-tonight-whiskeychaser

Another who didn't intend to enable voting - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3815655-Just-had-the-weirdest-callers-to-my-door