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How can I undo my vote to close a question? I accidentally closed this question - it was in the close review queue and (mea culpa) half asleep I accidentally hit the close button. It already had three close votes (and one leave open) and as a mod I, accidentally, cast a fourth and definitive close vote.

How can I retract my vote, without voting to reopen and reopening it (which would clear out the close votes and prevent those who previously voted from voting again)? I just want it to go back to being open and having three close votes and one Leave open.

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    Write a question on your site's meta asking if it should be closed or open. Depending on how voting/answering goes on that meta question, reopen it or leave it closed. Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 6:55
  • Thanks @RobertLongson- thanks. Yes, that OP has already posted a meta asking what they can do about the question to improve it, as they saw themselves the way that it was going... They did that yesterday. 3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/324/… Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 7:02
  • If this were a feature request, and perhaps in any event, then I think it is a duplicate of meta.stackexchange.com/q/41062/215590
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 9:14
  • @PolyGeo - This was an purely accidental vote. I was aware of the situation & had already commented on the question. I did not want to vote for either "Leave Open" nor "Close" (I personally liked the question, & thought that it should stay, but I did not want to override the community). Due to not being fully awake I accidentally hit close. As a mod I generally stay away from the close review. So my question is not a duplicate to your linked question - I am not asking how to vote (without casting a deciding vote), I am asking how to retract an accidental vote and undo the closure. Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 9:33
  • I was not certain that it was a duplicate, so I did not vote for it to be closed that way. I merely made a comment instead.
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 10:24

2 Answers 2

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As a moderator I think you should only close vote when you see a question that you think needs to be closed, and irrespective of how many votes it has at that time, you should normally close vote whenever you see a question that you think is not ready to receive answers.

In this case I think you should simply let your close vote stand.

If you thought the question needs to be re-opened because it is ready to receive answers then you should vote to re-open it instead.

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    I agree that I should close something that needs closing, and I do. But in this case, I didn't (think it needed closing), and it was a purely clumsy finger click... hence the question Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 9:38
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    If you think it should be open, then just re-open it.
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 10:21
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I am not an SE authority but I see the workings of the sites since some years.

You, as a mod, can't work as an ordinary user. If you close or reopen, it will be closed or reopened on the spot. You can't vote as an ordinary user.

Contrary the majority of the websites, the SE allows us to have secondary user accounts, while we follow some requirements (not vote to eachother and so on). You could vote as ordinary user with them. Although this leniency might be more strict in the case of the mods.

Beware also, mods have to stand against many critics. If you closed a question, or reopened a question, it is your responsibility from that point. If the community does it by its votes, then you can point to the community, whose will you have to represent.

On these reasons, mods typically take only a little part in the reviews (although, in theory, they are allowed as they want to) and do anything only if they are very sure, this is what the community wants.

Typically, as a mod, the best strategy is if your workings are so invisible as it is only possible. This is the best defense mechanism. Speak little, do little, so there won't be anything to criticize in your work.

Although 3d printing is only a small site now, and you might think there isn't too much to do, it won't be surely so in the future. But be careful, particularly as your site grows.

As far I know, there is also an SO team (essentially, a closed SE site) only for the mods. I suggest to try to join it, if you can.

Such single-case mistake is surely not a problem, but the best if you do it silently. Digging the SEDE, I found many times as post closure/deletions/reopens/undeletes have been done, and then quickly reverted by a mod. So, it happens, but don't make a habit from it :-)

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