Voting FAQ: Difference between revisions

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==Purpose==

This pages answers [[Frequently Asked Questions|FrequentlyAskedQuestions]] about voting on addition, changes and deletions of [[MusicBrainz]] [[Metadata|MetaData]]. See [[How Voting Works|HowVotingWorks]] for some more detailed documentation.

If that still doesn't help, please find us in one of the [[MusicBrainz Forum|MusicBrainzForum]]s or via the [[Contact Us|ContactUs]] page. If you would like to update the content of this page, feel free to do so, but please do not add questions without answers.

==FAQ==

===What's this voting business?===

Since the database is going to be huge and mistakes are going to be made, there are several mechanisms in place to check as much stuff as we can every step of the way.

When you propose a change, it is entered in the database provisionally, and will be voted on by other editors. A change will remain provisional for a period of seven days before the change becomes permanent. In that time, everyone who checks the edits pages gets to vote for or against it. If a change is voted down, it is discarded and the data reverts to the original.

===How does the voting process work exactly?===

See [[How Voting Works|HowVotingWorks]].

Firstly, the edit is entered into the system. Next, the system works out whether this edit should be auto-applied or not (see above, 'Which edits get "auto-applied"?'). If yes, then the edit is immediately applied, and the editor credited (their "edits approved" count goes up by one). End of story.

Otherwise, the edit is left "open", any associated data is marked has having edits pending, and voting begins.

Each time a user looks at [http://www.musicbrainz.org/moderate.html the main edits page], the system fetches a list of all edits which are open (i.e. still in the voting process), and on which this user has not yet cast a vote. The web server then shows them the first (i.e. oldest) few edits. The user then casts their votes on those edits (Yes, No, or Abstain), and they go around the loop again.

If you vote 'No' to an edit, it's helpful if you also leave a note as to the reason why. This
* helps new users to learn how to make better edits in future, and
* acts as a point of departure for a discussion as to what the correct edit should be.

Every now and then (actually, every hour on the hour), the "[[ModBot]]" ("Moderation Robot") wakes up. It's the [[ModBot]]'s job to see how voting is going for each open edit, and decide if each of those edits should stay open for more voting, or be closed and applied, or be closed and rejected. The [[ModBot]] also checks for edits which the original editor has asked to be deleted, and deletes them.

For each open edit, exactly one of these things applies (checked in order):
* if the edit is marked as "to be deleted", then the edit is deleted (i.e. it is "undone", and then marked as "deleted").
* if the edit has failed some dependency or other, then it is rejected with an appropriate status (e.g. "Failed Dependency", "Failed Prerequisite", "Internal Error" etc). In these cases, the [[ModBot]] often adds a note to the edit explaining what happened.
* if the edit has expired, and at least one non-abstain vote has been cast, and there are MORE "yes" than "no" votes, then the edit is applied.
* if the edit has expired, and at least one non-abstain vote has been cast, and there are FEWER OR AS MANY "yes" than "no" votes, then the edit is rejected ("Failed vote").
* if there are NO "no" votes, and at least THREE "yes" votes, then the edit is applied (i.e. this can happen before the edit has expired. This is known as a "unanimous yes").
* if there are NO "yes" votes, and at least THREE "no" votes, then the edit is rejected, "Failed Vote" (i.e. this can happen before the edit has expired. This is known as a "unanimous no").
* otherwise, the edit stays open, and voting continues until the edit expires (see [http://musicbrainz.org/show/edit/conditions.html edit conditions] for the default action taken upon expiry).

In practice this means that voting works like this:
* if your edit manages to get at least THREE unanimous votes (all yes, or all no) before the edit expires, then it is approved or rejected as appropriate.
* when the edit expires, if at least one vote has been cast, then the edit is either applied (if more YES than NO) or rejected.
* otherwise (if the edit expires, and there are no votes cast yet), the edit is either accepted or rejected depending on it's [[Data Quality|data quality]] (see [http://musicbrainz.org/show/edit/conditions.html edit conditions] for a chart).

===What's the difference between "Abstain" and "None"?===

Short answer:
* '''Abstain''' means ''I don't know''.
* '''None''' means ''I don't want to vote'' (yet).

Long answer: Most voting pages only show you edits you haven't voted on yet. If you "abstain" on an edit, that's counted as a vote, and you won't be shown that edit again. On the other hand, if you use "None", that's just as if the edit hadn't been shown to you - a vote from you is ''not'' inserted into the database, and thus the edit in question will remain in your "not yet voted on" list (as a result you'll probably be shown that edit again). Using "None" is exactly the same as leaving the ''yes'', ''no'' and ''abs'' options all deselected.

===Why can't I vote on edits?===

In order to vote on others' edits, you need to have 11 or more accepted non-autoedits and your account must be at least 2 weeks old with a confirmed email address.

[[Category:To Be Reviewed]] [[Category:FAQ]] [[Category:WikiDocs Page]]

Latest revision as of 22:12, 28 September 2011