In article ,
John McCoy wrote:
wrote in news:lmanl0dmkv8fb2o3pv7uoer5mkk1k3n7q8@
4ax.com:

can you clarify the meaning of the different possible votes? it looks
like the possibilities a



[ YES ] example.yes.vote
[ NO ] example.no.vote
[ ABSTAIN ] example.abstention
[ CANCEL ] example.cancellation

The usually accepted meanings a

[YES] - I approve of this group and intend to read it
[NO] - I have some technical objection to the existance of the group
[ABSTAIN] - I have no objection to the group but also won't read it
[CANCEL] - I have previously voted and now wish to remove that vote

Note that "technical objection" can include such things as "I
beleive this group will adversely affect other groups" as well as
"I don't beleive this group will have a viable readership".

Note also that these meanings are slightly different from those
in Robert Bonomi's post. These are slightly more accurate, altho
those are close enough for practical purposes.

For some reason, I feel compelled to take (at least minor) issue with most of
the above. grin

Notably that a yes vote implies that you *do* intend to read the proposed group.

Over the years I have voted _for_ a number of groups that I had no intention
whatsoever of reading. Where there was a valid functional division being
drawn, and the new group was going to siphon off stuff that I had no interest
in. Creating that new group was going to get the 'irrelevancies' (to me) out
of the group that I _was_ reading -- a 'worthy' reason for creating it.

Since 'abstain' votes are, for all practical purposes, totally *ignored* by
the voting system, there is no functional difference between an 'abstain' vote
and _not_voting_.

The 'cancel' description, above, is a bit misleading in that it would seem to
imply that if you wish to change your vote from 'yes' to 'no', or vice-versa,
that you need to 'cancel' the your prior vote, and then submit your new one.