I see big potential problems with this.

For one, when you vote, there is a 25% chance that you will gain XP. That would mean that when you unvote, there should be a 25% chance of losing XP. That could be implemented fairly easily, but there are other problems.

An upvote on a node that already has a reputation higher than the $NORM¹ has a better chance of resulting in an XP gain for the author than a downvote has of resulting in an XP loss. What that means is that you could pick a high rated node of your favorite monk and repeatedly upvote and unvote and his XP would climb. That is, unless that were accounted for.

Another problem is that people could (and therefore probably would) use it to see node rep without casting a vote. Or, more precisely, by casting a vote and then unvoting to get it back.

In short, I imagine this change would not be easy to implement, and I think it would result in more problems than benefits. If you vote by accident, then "oh well." It happens. Life goes on. They're just votes, not hundred dollar bills. And it's just XP, not fame and fortune...

Update: Looks like I misinterpreted your intention too. Yes, it's a great idea! And, as you now know, null votes have already been implemented. I use the feature all the time. In fact, the reason I didn't think that's what you meant is that I forgot it was configurable in your User Settings and that the default was disabled, probably because I have had it on since it was implemented.

1. See Voting/Experience System for details.

-sauoq
"My two cents aren't worth a dime.";

Most of these problems could be alleviated by making it impossible to vote on a node even after retracting your vote. The potential for abuse still left should be cured if retracting a vote always costs an XP ("if you don't want to lose XP, pay attention next time you vote, mkay?").

Not that I'm advocating that this be implemented; just idly pondering how it could be done without creating loop holes in the current system. At least I can't see any way to abuse it if it's restricted in the way I've outlined above.

Makeshifts last the longest.

I agree... that would probably eliminate the possibility of abuse. Of course, it would probably also ensure that it was almost never used. (I have a feeling most people would prefer to lose a vote than an XP.¹) So, all the work to implement it would be for nought... :-)

1. Those with higher XP tend to be less concerned about it but they also have more votes and tend to be less concerned about wasting them as well. Whereas, those with less votes also have less XP and are still trying to gain levels. I'm sure there would be exceptions, mostly based on altruism. For instance, if I downvoted someone by accident, I might like that feature just to take back my down vote, but I wouldn't use it just to get back a vote wasted by accident if I didn't feel bad about the result. Besides, I don't think downvoting by accident is a frequent occurence...

-sauoq
"My two cents aren't worth a dime.";

Something that popped into my head with this suggestion: normally a node's reputation is not visible until after you vote on it (except in Best Nodes or Worst Nodes, etc.). If this is desired behavior, it could be easily circumvented by spending a vote to see a node's reputation, then unvoting.

I like the idea of being able to correct a mistaken vote, but I don't know whether being able to correct a mistake is more important to the gods than the hidden nature of a node's reputation (and I have no idea how difficult this would be to implement, either). ++Theo for an interesting idea.

-- Mike

--
just,my${.02}

Mike, you took the idea much further than I had envisioned. I only wanted to be able to uncheck a vote before I had cast it, not to be able to change my mind later on. I agree that once cast, a vote should be permanent.

Oh! I misunderstood. In that case, you may be interested in turning on the "Null vote" option under "Miscellaneous" on your User Settings page. That will add a +=0 (i.e., a "null" vote) option to the ++ and -- radio buttons.

-- Mike

--
just,my${.02}

Go to User Settings and look in the Miscellaneous section. There is an option for "Null Vote". Turn it on and you will see a "+=0" option button to deselect your vote.

HTH

If I gather correctly, you mistakenly checked the ++ or -- button and didn't want to cast said vote, and you are bothered by the fact that you can't re-click it to unfill the ++ or -- circle. Just refresh the page and it's gone :o). Or of course, you can enable the 'NULL Vote' option as others have suggested.

People seem to all have taken the interpretation that you meant that after hitting the vote button, there is no way to change your mind. However, reading your node more carefuly (OK, I admit it, I read the replies before the root note) you could have equaly validly meant that once you select a radio button, there's no way to change back to not voting at all. This isn't actualy true, but the feature is turned off by default. Just go to your user settings, and enable "null vote".

Again, Thanks!

-ted-

I don't think this is going to happen -- voting goes in one direction only. You'll just have to vote more carefully next time.

Review your selections before pressing the vote button. If you selected the wrong radio button in a node then use the back button on your browser or click on another link on the page (instead of the vote button) and you will continue on your way with votes intact.

HTH
Daeve

Voting is, just like in real life, a VEWWY serious thing. Consider, even if you have many votes to spend, if the node you're voting for is worth the vote.

I now got 16 votes each day, and that's more then I need. Pretty soon you also will gain more votes and your "problem" will go away.

A small list, why I think it's a bad idea: