Forum voting

Every forum thread and comment has a score. Members vote with Float up (a bubble icon) and Sink (a droplet icon) to push helpful posts up and unhelpful ones down. You need to be signed in to vote.

Where are the vote buttons?

• On a section's thread list, to the left of each thread title (this votes on the thread's opening post).
• On a thread page, to the left of the opening post.
• On a thread page, to the left of every comment and reply (slightly smaller).

The bubble on top is Float up, the number in the middle is the score, and the droplet underneath is Sink. Hover over either icon on a computer to see its name.

How do I vote?

• Tap Float up for posts that are helpful, accurate or just great to read.
• Tap Sink for posts that are wrong, unhelpful or off-topic.

The score changes instantly. Your vote is shown in color: a filled green bubble means you floated it up, a filled coral droplet means you sank it. The score turns the same color.

How do I change or take back my vote?

• Tap the same button again to remove your vote. The score goes back to where it was.
• Tap the other button to switch. Going from Float up to Sink moves the score down by 2 (your +1 is removed and a -1 added), and the reverse moves it up by 2.

You can change your mind as often as you like. Each member has only one vote per post.

How is the score worked out?

The score is the number of Float up votes minus the number of Sink votes. It can go below zero. The thread score shown in a section's list is the score of the thread's opening post.

What do votes affect?

• The Top tab. A section's Top tab sorts threads by score, highest first.
• Comment order. Top-level comments in a thread are shown highest score first, so the best answers rise. Replies under a comment stay in posting order.
• Hot in the forums. A thread's positive score adds to how "hot" it is on the home page and feed strip, along with replies and recent activity. Negative scores don't count against it there.
• The author's bubbles. Votes from other members count toward the author's bubble balance: Float up adds, Sink takes away. See Bubbles.
• Upvote milestones. Authors earn bonus bubbles for their first upvote received and for reaching 50, 250 and 1,000 upvotes across all their forum posts.
• Tier-ups. If a vote pushes the author into a new bubble tier, they get a New tier notification and an email. See Bubble tiers and milestones.

Votes don't change the order of the Active, New or Unanswered tabs.

Can people see how I voted?

No. There's no list of who voted on a post, and the author isn't told who floated or sank their post. Only the total score is shown. You see your own votes highlighted when you're signed in.

Does the author get a notification when I vote?

Not for the vote itself. The author is only notified if your vote helps them reach a bubble milestone that's announced (for example an upvote milestone), or pushes them into a new tier.

Can I vote on a locked thread?

Yes. Locking only stops new comments. The vote buttons on the opening post and every comment still work.

What happens if I vote while signed out?

Tapping Float up or Sink while signed out takes you to the sign-in page. Your vote isn't saved, so tap it again after you're back on the thread.

When should I use Sink?

Use Sink for content that makes the forum worse: wrong or risky advice, off-topic posts or low-effort replies. Please don't sink posts just because you disagree with someone's taste or approach; reply and explain instead. For spam, harassment, scams or anything against the rules, use Report as well, because sinking alone doesn't alert our team. See Reporting content.

Common problems

My vote didn't stick. If the score jumped back after you tapped, the vote didn't save, usually because of a connection problem or because you were signed out. Refresh the page and try again.

The buttons don't show my earlier vote right away. Pages load first and your own votes are filled in a moment later. Give it a second after the page appears.

A thread's score is different on the list and the thread page. Section lists refresh about once a minute, so a very recent vote may not show there yet.

My bubbles went down. Someone tapped Sink on one of your forum posts or tanks, or removed an earlier Float up. Your tier won't drop, though. See Bubble tiers and milestones.