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It sounds so easy: "Just keep it open." The problem is people have a bias one way or the other and these "let's leave it open/let's leave it closed" solutions always expose that bias... not the actual voting.

There are two groups of people who vote on these things; the inclusionists (keep them open) and the exclusionists (close them). See the problem? Right now, if a question is open, you can only vote to close. If it's closed, you can only vote to reopen.

These so-called "close wars" are a misnomer for people waiting in line for their chance to vote five at a time (5-close, 5-reopen, 5-close, 5-reopen...). Hence the yo yo effect.

A Solution

Once someone votes to close, let everyone vote (close: yes, no). The total votes would be shown, as it is now. If the total votes reaches (-5) or less, the post is closed. If the total votes later reaches (+0) or more, the post is re-opened.

But it's way more likely that a general consensus will quickly be reached without forcing the question through the close-reopen-close-reopen cycle as everyone alternately waits for their turn to vote.

Its an beautiful, simple, elegant solution. So what am I am I missing?

Bonus: The system would no longer have to worry about aging votes (where close-votes eventually expire after a certain period of time). With the +/- votes shown, someone is free to counteract the random close-vote that accumulates over time.

It sounds so easy: "Just keep it open." The problem is people have a bias one way or the other and these "let's leave it open/let's leave it closed" solutions always expose that bias... not the actual voting.

There are two groups of people who vote on these things; the inclusionists (keep them open) and the exclusionists (close them). See the problem? Right now, if a question is open, you can only vote to close. If it's closed, you can only vote to reopen.

These so-called "close wars" are a misnomer for people waiting in line for their chance to vote five at a time (5-close, 5-reopen, 5-close, 5-reopen...). Hence the yo yo effect.

A Solution

Once someone votes to close, let everyone vote (close: yes, no). The total votes would be shown, as it is now. If the total votes reaches (-5) or less, the post is closed. If the total votes later reaches (+0) or more, the post is re-opened.

But it's way more likely that a general consensus will quickly be reached without forcing the question through the close-reopen-close-reopen cycle.

Its an beautiful, simple, elegant solution. So what am I am I missing?

Bonus: The system would no longer have to worry about aging votes (where close-votes eventually expire after a certain period of time). With the +/- votes shown, someone is free to counteract the random close-vote that accumulates over time.

It sounds so easy: "Just keep it open." The problem is people have a bias one way or the other and these "let's leave it open/let's leave it closed" solutions always expose that bias... not the actual voting.

There are two groups of people who vote on these things; the inclusionists (keep them open) and the exclusionists (close them). See the problem? Right now, if a question is open, you can only vote to close. If it's closed, you can only vote to reopen.

These so-called "close wars" are a misnomer for people waiting in line for their chance to vote five at a time (5-close, 5-reopen, 5-close, 5-reopen...). Hence the yo yo effect.

A Solution

Once someone votes to close, you can quickly capture the general consensus by letting everyone vote at once (vote-to-open, vote-to-close). The total would be shown, as it is now. Once it reaches a total of (-5) it's closed. If the voting later reaches (+0) it is re-open.

But it's way more likely that a general consensus will quickly be reached without forcing the question through the close-reopen-close-reopen cycle as everyone alternately waits for their turn to vote.

Its an beautiful, simple, elegant solution. So what am I am I missing?

Bonus: The system would no longer have to worry about aging votes (where close-votes eventually expire after a certain period of time). With the +/- votes shown, someone is free to counteract the random close-vote that accumulates over time.

It sounds so easy: "Just keep it open." The problem is people have a bias one way or the other and these "let's leave it open/let's leave it closed" solutions always expose that bias... not the actual voting.

There are two groups of people who vote on these things; the inclusionists (keep them open) and the exclusionists (close them). See the problem? Right now, if a question is open, you can only vote to close. If it's closed, you can only vote to reopen.

These so-called "close wars" are a misnomer for people waiting in line for their chance to vote five at a time (5-close, 5-reopen, 5-close, 5-reopen...). Hence the yo yo effect.

A Solution

Once someone votes to close, let everyone vote (close: yes, no). The total votes would be shown, as it is now. If the total votes reaches (-5) or less, the post is closed. If the total votes later reaches (+0) or more, the post is re-opened.

But it's way more likely that a general consensus will quickly be reached without forcing the question through the close-reopen-close-reopen cycle as everyone alternately waits for their turn to vote.

Its an beautiful, simple, elegant solution. So what am I am I missing?

Bonus: The system would no longer have to worry about aging votes (where close-votes eventually expire after a certain period of time). With the +/- votes shown, someone is free to counteract the random close-vote that accumulates over time.

It sounds so easy: "Just keep it open." But there are inclusionists (keep them open) and there are exclusionists (close them). Your suggestion amounts to "just keep them open" while someone else might equally suggest to partially lock controversial questions against reopening.

See the problem?

Right now, if a question is open, you can only vote to close. If it's closed, you can only vote to reopen.

Hence the yo yo effect.

A Solution

Once someone votes to close, you can quickly capture the general consensus by letting everyone vote at once (vote-to-open, vote-to-close). The total would be shown, as it is now. Once it reaches a total of (-5) it's closed. If the voting later reaches (+0) it is re-open.

But it's way more likely that a general consensus will quickly be reached without forcing the question through the close-reopen-close-reopen cycle as everyone alternately waits for their turn to vote.

Its an beautiful, simple, elegant solution. What am I am I missing?

Bonus: The system would no longer have to worry about aging votes (close votes eventually expire after a certain period of time). With the +/- votes shown, someone is free to counteract the random close-vote that accumulates over time.

It sounds so easy: "Just keep it open." The problem is people have a bias one way or the other and these "let's leave it open/let's leave it closed" solutions always expose that bias... not the actual voting.

There are two groups of people who vote on these things; the inclusionists (keep them open) and the exclusionists (close them). See the problem? Right now, if a question is open, you can only vote to close. If it's closed, you can only vote to reopen.

These so-called "close wars" are a misnomer for people waiting in line for their chance to vote five at a time (5-close, 5-reopen, 5-close, 5-reopen...). Hence the yo yo effect.

A Solution

Once someone votes to close, you can quickly capture the general consensus by letting everyone vote at once (vote-to-open, vote-to-close). The total would be shown, as it is now. Once it reaches a total of (-5) it's closed. If the voting later reaches (+0) it is re-open.

But it's way more likely that a general consensus will quickly be reached without forcing the question through the close-reopen-close-reopen cycle as everyone alternately waits for their turn to vote.

Its an beautiful, simple, elegant solution. So what am I am I missing?

Bonus: The system would no longer have to worry about aging votes (where close-votes eventually expire after a certain period of time). With the +/- votes shown, someone is free to counteract the random close-vote that accumulates over time.