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Voting history

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Voting history lists every vote an entry received, with its date and time, vote ID, anonymized IP address and points, so you can check a total or spot unusual voting. Open an entry's Entry Details and click its vote count. Individual votes are recorded only while voting restrictions are turned on.

What voting history shows

ColumnWhat it shows
Date/TimeWhen the vote was cast.
Vote IDA unique string of letters and numbers for each vote.
Anonymized IPThe voter's IP address with its last part removed, for privacy.
Number of PointsWhat the vote is worth, usually 1.

Points from actions, and referrals, also appear in the list.

Before you start

  • Turn on voting restrictions to record individual votes. Without restrictions, the entry's total still counts, but each vote isn't listed. See Voting restrictions and limits.
  • Voters stay anonymous. ShortStack doesn't collect personal information about voters, so the history can show when and how votes arrived, not who cast them.
  • Adjustments are permanent. They can't be edited or deleted, but you can add another to reverse one.

Open an entry's voting history

  1. Open the Entries Manager and hover over the entry.
  2. Click View Details.
  3. Click the vote count at the top left of the entry's preview.

To change the order, click the button next to the number of records and choose Newest or Oldest.

Adjust an entry's votes

  1. In the entry's voting history, click New Adjustment.
  2. Enter a positive number to add votes, or a negative number to remove them. The total can't go below 0.
  3. Add a note saying why, then click Save.

The entry's total changes to include the adjustment.

Spot unusual voting

These patterns are worth a closer look:

  • many votes within the same minute;
  • bursts of votes at odd hours, such as 2:00 AM;
  • one or two entries with several times the votes of the next.

Treat them as signs rather than proof. Bots sometimes vote for an entry without the entrant knowing, and votes from one network share an anonymized IP. To make bot voting harder, see Voting restrictions and limits.

If something goes wrong

What you seeWhat to do
The history has no individual votes, only a totalVoting restrictions were off when those votes were cast. Turn them on to record votes from now on.
Many votes share the same IP addressUsually people on the same network, such as a school or office. Check the times too: votes seconds apart around the clock are more likely to be a bot.
You entered the wrong adjustmentAdd another adjustment with the opposite number.
You want to clear a whole round's votesUse Reset Votes in the Entries Manager. It sets that round's votes to 0 for every selected entry and can't be undone.

FAQs

Can I see who voted for an entry?

No. To comply with privacy laws, ShortStack doesn't collect personal information about voters. Each vote shows its date and time, a vote ID and an anonymized IP address.

Why do several votes have the same IP address?

The last part of each IP address is removed for privacy, so everyone on the same network, such as an office, school or home Wi-Fi, shows the same anonymized IP. Matching IPs are a sign to look into, not proof that one person voted many times.

Can I undo a vote adjustment?

Adjustments can't be edited or deleted. To reverse one, add another adjustment with the opposite number, such as -5 to undo +5.

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