As ever, I'd argue that if people want to vote no preference, thus putting this issue to rest for six months, then they should be allowed to. If you don't care, don't vote.

I guess, Jon, the thing is, we don't shut up for 6 months. We shut up about a specific thread. But we don't shut up about the underlying disagreement.

For me, Firefly is a prime example. I don't give a shit at all about whether or not there is a Firefly thread, except to say that the way the discussion has played out here really pushes me towards one perspective.

But I do care about the underlying issue of the strum und drang of threads opening and closing. And if only 3 or 15 people vote real votes and the rest vote no preference to shut people up.... well, that doesn't resolve what I see as the underlying issue nor really shut people up.

Frankly, I'm with you, Kat. I, presonally, don't like the No Preference. Either Yes or No or don't vote.

I thought it was a requirement (so to speak) for ballots. Is this not the case?

Is this not the case?

Nope. We had ballots in the past without it (for example Jon B. "Sunnydale Press" Mar 5, 2003 12:00:05 am PST ). It's up to the person who phrases the proposal.

Frankly, I don't think it will make a difference this time around, just like it hasn't made a difference for any of the primary questions on any of our ballots. Whatever. I'll remove it.

But I'm still waiting for ita to points votes@ to Nilly before announcing the start of voting.

Thank you, Jon. I appreciate that.

I'm still waiting for ita to points votes

I got the test e-mail, so I think it's pointing to me.

so a newbie question. What if a quarum isnt reached? Does that mean Firefly gets a new thread for the six months?

OK, great! Thanks, Nilly.

As an aside, the psychology of the no preference vote is fascinating to me. For example, we know that people sometimes feel obligated to vote, even if they don't have a strong opinion on the issue at hand. Some of these people would probably vote No Preference if it's an option. If we remove that option, will they not vote, or will they instead pick Yes or No out of obligation? And if they do vote, which way are they likely to go? My intuition tells me they'd be more likely to vote "No", since that ruffles the least amount of feathers.

Note: I have no strong opinions about closing the Firefly thread. I'm bringing this up purely as an academic exercise. And this thread is about to close anyway.